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The sun beat down over the dry cracked earth. Heat rose in waves from the ground. Large paws padded softly, tail silently swaying back and forth as they walked. Chay'se and Jelani were making their way across the desert in the rogue lands. Chay'se had to keep telling herself that it was worth it, that they would find food and water soon. She'd made this trek before, just usually she was alone.
Jelani marched behind, letting his mother lead the way. He had been through the desert before, but he hadn't had any destination in mind. He didn't care where they were going, so long as they got there soon. He felt like his entire body would burst into flames at any moment.
Chay'se was concentrating on just moving forward when she spotted something move from the corner of her eye. She instantly crouched, and whispered, "down" as quietly and quickly as she could. It's not like they could actually hide. They stood out like two sore thumbs, a striking contrast of colors against a bleak and arid backdrop. Instinct kicked in and senses heightened. What had she seen? Was it another lion? Prey? She sniffed the air. No. It didn't smell like another lion, but the smell was almost familiar. She scanned their surroundings. A few small dry bushes, few sparsely scattered cacti, and many rocks dotted the landscape. Whatever she'd seen, must have run behind something. She sniffed again and noticed a dusty pawprint in the sand nearby. She inched closer to it. The print was feline but much smaller than her own, or Jelani's. Could it be a cub? she wondered. "Come," she said aloud to Jelani who had remained frozen where he stood.
Jelani watched as his mother's expert instincts seemed to kick in, and he moved closer to her when she called. "What? What is it?" he asked. He was still a young lion, still learning the right and wrong ways of hunting and stalking. He was very eager to possibly catch something. He couldn't deny that he was past hungry and ready to eat. "I'm starving. Please say it's food." As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly. Just as it subsided, there was a rustle from a bush a few feet away and something pink darted out of it, and behind a rock. Jelani sprang after it, aloof with excitement. Unfortunately for him, the rock the critter had darted behind also hid a patch of short and spiky cacti, and he jumped right into them, yowling with pain.
"Oh no," she groaned, following after him. She rounded the rock and tried her best to suppress a laugh when she saw him. He lay there covered in many spines, wincing at every movement he made to try and stand. "Hold still," she directed and moved closer to him. She bent to try and pull some of the spines out as gently as she could.
"Ow. Ow. Ow. OWW!!" was all that could be heard for a few moments. The two had forgotten about their hunger, and it wasn't until a small pink serval peeked over the top of the rock that Jelani remembered. "YOU!!" he growled and jumped to his feet. "This is your fault!" He roared out and started to pounce, but a spike in his paw dug in deeper causing him to yowl very loudly and fall back down.
Chay'se scuttled back out of the way when he had jumped up, about to scold him not to move when he fell back down. "Leave the poor creature alone. You have bigger problems right now." She shook her head at him. "We need to get these out before they become infected." He had begun to lick at the one in his paw. "Don't lick it, you'll push it in further." She sighed and bent to pull it out, but her teeth couldn't get a grip on it. She tried for a few moments before raising her head. "We'll have to leave it for now and get the rest out."
Jelani whined at her words and looked to see if the pink creature had run away. It was still there atop the rock, watching them. He furrowed his brow. "At least you could help if you're going to just sit there and stare." The small feline's ears perked up and it retreated behind the rock and ran around to the other side where Jelani lay. He was surprised that it had actually listened. The serval set to work trying to pull out more of the spines. He watched it curiously, wondering why it would choose to help him after he'd chased after it.
Chay'se chuckled softly at the two of them. "It looks like she's sorry that you got hurt and wants to help. Maybe she can get a better grip on them than I can." She continued to pull out the larger ones and the two worked together to get all the spines out, even the one in his paw after a bit of reluctance from Jelani. After they were done, Chay'se climbed up on the rock and lay down. "We'll take a few moments to rest and you can clean your wounds, then we must keep moving."
Jelani looked up at her and nodded, and then down to the serval. "Err, thanks, I guess," he said, "And I'm sorry for trying to eat you."
Nkiru had remained silent the entire time she had helped pull out the spines. It was only when he apologized that she finally spoke. "That's a very odd apology but I'll accept," she replied. She wasn't sure that meant a truce between them or not. "Does this mean you won't try to eat me in the future?"
Jelani shrugged at the question. "I don't think so." Chay'se cleared her throat at that exact moment. He sighed, rolled his eyes and continued. "Fine. No, I won't try to eat you." He looked up at his mother. "But I am still very hungry."
Nkiru's ears perked and she quickly got to her feet and ran off, into the brush they'd heard her in before. "Be right back!" she called over her shoulder.
Jelani watched her run away, thinking that would be the last they saw of her until she emerged from bush dragging a large rodent. His mouth instantly started salivating. Nkiru dragged the rodent over to the two lions. "Here. I've already had my fill. I was just going to hide it for later, but I'd rather you two eat this than me."
Before Chay'se could stop him, Jelani had taken the entire thing in his mouth and walked over to start eating. "You'd better share with your mom," she warned sternly. She was half-joking but she was very hungry as well. She looked down at the serval. "Thank you for your generosity and help. It's far more than we deserved after what happened."
Nkiru smiled and found a spot shaded by the rock to sit. "That's ok. I can always hunt for more later."
Jelani paid them no attention as he devoured most of what was left of the carcass. It was only when he heard his mother's growl as she jumped down from the rock that he relinquished the meal to her. He moved away and licked his lips, and paws cleaning them. Chay'se tore into what was left, which wasn't much, but it would get her by.
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After they had all had something to eat and had rested, she urged them to continue their journey. She invited the serval to travel with them, as it would keep her safer than being on her own in the desert. Happy to have the company, Nkiru agreed. Jelani wasn't too pleased with their new companion, but he wouldn't argue.
It took them the rest of the day to cross the desert, but with Nkiru's help, they were able to find water and even worked together to catch something substantial for dinner.
End
(1332 words)