Chapter Two: Torrent

The next morning started with excitement. The group was pretty sure they were only a full day away from entering the Pridelands.

"Who do you think has a cub now?" Dayya asked Tempest as they started their day of travelling.

"I wish Kudzu would have told us."

"I know, but guessing is kind of fun, isn't it?"

"Yes." Tempest said with a smile. "Kivu and Ciara for sure."

"Think so? Wouldn't they have to wait 'til after their coronation?" Dayya questioned.

"Nah, they're married, they're allowed."

"What about Jayden and Dark?" Dayya asked quietly, looking back at Drayden to make sure he hadn't overheard. The lion used to be in love with Jayden before she had decided to stay in the Pridelands with Dark. After he and the others had returned home, he'd seemed a little sad, but never brought it up.

"Who knows?" Tempest replied. "Would you be okay with that?"

"Pfff, yeah sure!" Dayya said cheerfully. "That feels like such a long time ago that I got upset over them."

"That certainly was an interesting love rectangle going on." Tempest joked.

"Yeah, haha!" Dayya laughed remembering how hurt she was to learn Dark had loved Jayden when Dayya had loved him for so long. To add insult to injury, Drayden loved Jayden too. "I'll be sure to keep any of my future love life shapes in a perfect circle.

Tempest giggled. "I love your good attitude. Does this mean you might try to rekindle something with Malowa when we get there? I remember you two seemed to bond before we left last year."

"It's possible. We will see." Dayya smiled, then whispered, "I might like Drayden, though... I'm not sure."

"What!"

"Shhushh!"

"I guess I have noticed you two always hitting each other."

Dayya giggled. "That is fun. Like this...watch." Dayya turned back, walked over to Drayden who was minding his own business and swatted his arm.

"Hey! What's that for?"

Dayya laughed, and trotted back up to Tempest.

"Charming." Tempest commented.

Drayden caught up to them. "What'd I do?" he demanded.

"I don't know." Dayya stuck her tongue out at him.

Torrent came up on Dayya's side. "Aunt Dayya hits harder than you!" he said to Drayden.

"What! Is this Gang-up-on-Drayden Day? Come on, Torr, you're supposed to be on my side!"

Torrent only stuck his tongue out at him like Dayya did. Tempest watched them with a small smile and a shake of her head. I can't wait to see Jayden's reaction to Tempest's new crush. I miss her and Koru.

Tempest brought Koru up in conversation, and they talked about him for a while. They wondered if he and his new mate, Jiyi, had any cubs yet. Was their home close to the Pridelands as they expected it to be? Did they visit the Pridelanders very often? One of the things Tempest regretted was living so far away. The Pridelanders probably heard from Koru every few weeks, but Tempest and her pride had heard nothing from Koru's group or the Pridelands in a year.

Dayya seemed to sense her sadness, and somehow knew what she was thinking about.

"I wish we lived closer to the Pridelands." she said.

"Me too."

"I wish mom would think about moving back."

"Yeah, but you know how she is. And she loves our home."

"Yeah. I do to though."

Tempest agreed.

Soon, the group decided to hunt. Everyone was getting pretty hungry and needed the break. Tempest stood in front of Torrent. "Would you like to join us today?" she tried.

"No."

"And why not?"

"I'm not an adolescent yet! I don't need to learn. Besides, I'm a boy! Boys don't hunt."

"Yes, we do." Mani stepped up. "And you do too. We are very lucky to be in such a large group that we are safe. Some lions live alone and their cubs are forced to learn to hunt at an even younger age than you are. So feel fortunate."

Torrent rolled his eyes.

"If you aren't going to hunt, you'll at least practice your crouch and stalk with me." Mani said to him. Then to Tempest, "You go ahead. I'll deal with him."

Tempest nuzzled Mani in thanks, then went off. Drayden and Dayya followed.

"Why do you always yell at me?" Torrent asked, looking down at his paws.

"I didn't raise my voice at all, Torrent. We are your parents, you have to listen to your mother and me whether you want to or not. Be thankful you have us. Now come on. Show me how you were stalking that grasshopper yesterday. If you practice, you can catch one someday."

"Okayyyy..." The cub said reluctantly. Mani led them into an area of tall grass that was as tall as Torrent.

"Hunting in tall grass is a little harder, 'cause it blocks your view. But it can also give you an advantage. Do you know why?"

"It helps us blend." Torrent replied instantly.

"Good! And especially for you, since your fur is a similar pale tan as the grass. This means you'll be a great hunter one day."

"Really?" Torrent looked up at his dad with wide blue eyes.

"Sure, as long as you keep at it. So let's see your crouch."

Torrent ducked into a crouch, pretending he saw a grasshopper sitting on a blade of grass in front of him. He wiggled his hindquarters.

"Keep the wiggling to a minimum." Mani said, and placed a paw on Torrent's back to soothe him. He stopped wiggling. "Good, but go lower." Manu pressed on him with his paw a little. "There!"

"Am I doing it?"

"Yep! Are you letting out any wiggles?"

"No." Torrent reported.

"Good, keep all the wiggles in your head and not in your butt."

Torrent giggled. Mani smiled. He loved this.

Next, Mani told Torrent about stalking and how to be extra careful about where he put his paws. It took some practice for Torrent to stalk through tall grass without the grass hitting him in the face every time he stepped. He reminded the cub to stay quiet, even if he just got swatted in the face by grass.

"You keep the 'ouch' in your head, just like the wiggles, right dad?" Torrent asked.

Mani chuckled. "Just like the wiggles." The brown lion stooped and licked his son on the cheek.

"Hey! There's no kissing in hunting!" he protested playfully, and swatted his dad. Mani laughed and pinned his son on the ground with a paw. Torrent struggled and nipped the heavy paw and got loose.

"Attack!" Torrent shouted, and pounced on his dad.

"Woah!" Mani fell a little under the cub's weight. "You're getting big!"

"Yeah, and I know how to hunt big dumb lions better than grasshoppers!" he batted his paws at Mani's mane.

"Excuse me?" Mani replied in mock rage, and grabbed Torrent, flipped him on his back, and tickled his belly with his paws.

"No!" Torrent yelled and laughed loudly.

"Take it back!"

"Never!"

"Have it your way..." Mani tickled harder and Torrent was in a fit of laughter.

"You two seem to be having fun!" Tempest and the rest of the group were back. Drayden and Dayya dragged a zebra behind them.

Mani let Torrent up. "You finished fast!" he panted in surprise.

"I thought you were teaching him how to hunt."

"I was..." Mani said, looking guilty under Tempest's hard gaze.

"He was, mom! I learned to keep my butt from wiggling, and to watch out when grass hits my face, and if it does, not to say 'ouch' out loud. I just keep going instead." Torrent said enthusiastically, his eyes shining.

Tempest smiled at him, "Sounds like good advice." Torrent nuzzled his mother's legs happily. Tempest turned her smile to her mate. Mani instantly felt better when he saw that smile.

"Let's eat already!" Drayden called, standing over the zebra.

"Good catch, guys." Mani commented as he and Torrent moved toward the kill.

"It was mostly Dayya." Drayden said. "She's still got the skills."

"Oh, stop." Dayya said with a smile, then dug into the meal.

The rest of the day went by quickly. After lunch, the mini-pride walked until they felt fit enough to run. Even Torrent had good energy to run pretty far without having to rest. Tempest was so grateful to Mani for putting Torrent in a good mood, that she couldn't stop smiling at him. Mani felt like he was on top of the world.

That night, when it was time to sleep, Torrent was restless.

"Will we be there soon?" he asked.

"Yes. Tomorrow for sure." Mani answered, settling down while crickets chirped noisily in the background.

"Can't we keep going? If we go through the night, we will get there faster."

"Everyone needs to rest, Torrent." Tempest said, settling by Mani. "Even you. It's time for sleep."

"I don't need sleep!" he protested.

"Yes, you do. You worked hard today." Mani said.

Torrent didn't argue anymore, but he didn't look happy. Dayya settled by Torrent. "The sooner you get to sleep, the sooner we will be awake and ready to go tomorrow." She told him.

"Everyone's tired, buddy." Drayden added. "You'll see how tired you are once you put your head down."

"Okay, okay..." the cub muttered, and curled up into the grass, scooting from Dayya a little.

"No cuddles for Aunt DayDay?" Dayya joked.

"No! Go cuddle Drayden!" he stuck his tongue out at her. She only giggled and put her head down on her paw.

"Thanks anyway, kid." Drayden murmured. Torrent laughed, and the rest of the family chuckled.

After that, the only sounds were the crickets and the occasional owl hooting. Fire flies flew around them silently, showing off their flashes of light. Torrent put his head down too, but didn't feel tired like Drayden said. He watched the flying lights for a while.

Although Torrent tried to act indifferent, he was excited to be at the Pridelands again. He didn't remember much from the first time he was there, when he was a tiny cub. He did remember a nice brown lioness with soft purple eyes. He remembered the fresh water from the waterhole. He remembered the rocky walls of the underside of Pride Rock and how at night, he would gaze at the cracks and lines and pretend they were shapes of lions, and animals, and clouds and stars.

He wanted to be there. Maybe he even did want to meet the new cubs. Even if he was a little older than them.

A snore broke Torrent's thoughts. Drayden had fallen asleep already. Torrent listened closely and head the others breathing deeply in sleep as well. He tested them by raising his head. Then standing. Then walking away. His mini-pride were all asleep. Torrent crept away quietly toward the Pridelands. He only knew the direction they were headed, he didn't actually know how to get all the way there. But the one most powerful memory that had stayed with Torrent was the Prideland's scent. He could smell it now.

He went forward a while, wondering how far he could get before his family woke up. He didn't think his parents would freak out too much if they woke up and he wasn't there. He was almost an adolescent, after all! It should be okay for him to wander a little. He just wanted to see the Pridelands.

Torrent went on quietly. It was already pitch black out, but he wasn't afraid. The Prideland's scent comforted him and brought him forward. The cub trotted for a while, careful not to run into anything concealed in the darkness. He'd been gone for half an hour when he started to tire. His eyes began to droop, and he knew he needed to head back soon. He didn't know how far he'd come. Was he close to the Pridelands or not? The scent that carried on the wind said yes.

Torrent decided that before he headed back, he would climb a tree to get a better view. It took a few tries to get into the lowest branches of a nearby baobab tree, then he climbed the higher branches until he was near the top. He pushed some leaves aside, and perched carefully in the limbs.

The clouds in the sky that had been obscuring the moon moved away. The moon shone brightly over the land, as if the clouds had moved just for him.

The scene he beheld was amazing.

"Wow." he whispered in awe. "The Pridelands."

The moon showed a lot of plains and fields. There were a couple herd animals out late, still grazing. He could see the sparkling waterhole, still far away. And much farther than that, just a speck to Torrent's eyes, was the famous giant rock that stood proudly which housed the Prideland lions.

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to my cat, Robin, who died unexpectedly on March 8th, 2021. She was my little Torrent. Rowdy, full of attitude, and full of butt wiggles. And full of love and light and life. RIP, my baby.