Saoirse swallowed the cough that pushed at her throat like a lead ball, the thickness never left her throat these days, making eating difficult. Having always been a slender female the disease-induced diet had turned the pale lioness almost ghost-like, wispy and insubstantial. She moved as silent as always but her wanderings were increasingly confirmed to the pride’s heartland. She hadn’t been out near the boarder in several moon cycles.
But this night found her walking slowly towards her favourite hiding place, a corps of trees within sight of the pride’s boarder. Within it’s thick bushy sanctuary was a sandy hollow and a tiny fresh water spring. The water was sweet and the sand wonderfully scratchy and course, perfect for rolling in and cleaning the sweat and sickness from her fur.
With a tired tread she finally slipped in between the overgrown bushes and massive blackened trunks, crawling into her little hideaway with a relieved sigh, letting her tired body sink down onto the welcoming, sun-warmed sand. Of course it wasn’t really a secret place, her whole family knew about it, as they often had to come up here to help her home again, back to the healer dens. Sliabh, Eva, Caoilainn, Lochlan, Siobhan, Eirinn, Yezekael…
A deep, forlorn sigh escaped as she tipped her head back, gazing up through the dark circle of interlocked branches up at the moon, nearly full and vivid in its velvet-night surround.
Yezekael… Zeki… she missed him so much. His smile, his laugh, the warmth of his pale fur, the strength of his shoulder when she leaned into him. Closing her eyes she let her muzzle rest across her crossed forelegs, tail curling against her side as she held back the tears. She wanted to see him again, before the disease wasted her so badly he wouldn’t recognise her… She wanted to walk with him through the pride, to show him off to everyone, to be well enough to claim him as her own, to play and laugh in the sun, to share with him her remaining days, not in the healer den, but in their own…
Taking a deep breath she swallowed the sob that wanted to escape along with her cough.
“Zeki….” Her breathy voice barely audible in the quiet night air.
The night rolled past, the moon a watchful eye in the heavens. Though it did not take long for her weakened body to fail her, succumbing to sleep where she lay curled up in the protected shelter of her oasis.
It was barely an hour later when the brush around the pool rustled, before parting around the huge muscular figure of the lioness’ father. Sliabh stepped silently into the moonglow that lit the clearing, expression gentled yet sad. His sleeping daughter looked so painfully fragile, curled up on the sand, trying to keep warm despite her ravaged frame. The shadows of her ribs marked her pale flanks and her shoulders like blades under her fur.
Settling down behind her he gently manoeuvred her frail body into the protective circle of his own. His huge frame dwarfing her slender figure. Curling up carefully, her head resting across his forelegs and his tail wrapped about her, he settled in for a long wait. She needed what sleep she could manage, and her cough seemed to have stopped for the time being. He was more than content to let her rest while she was able. When she woke, they would return to his den. He knew how much she hated being stuck in the healer dens and honestly, she would get no better care there than with him, being as his mate was the pride’s Master healer and she kept a store of herbs and pastes at their home.
Propped up on his elbow he watched over his daughter, knowing she would be the next to leave them. The loss of Ruko, her brother, had been a terrible blow though far from unexpected. The disease had struck the young male down most violently, his condition deteriorating faster than even Eva could imagine. The night Sliabh had escorted his son to the pride’s edge and sat with him while his last breath passed had been one of the hardest of Sliabh’s long life. But he would never regret it, for he had been there when his son most needed him. Just as he would be here when Saoirse followed her younger sibling at last. And while Sliabh hated the thought of her end, he understood it would mean the cessation of her pains and for that, he would be grateful. She had been a true joy in his life, her love and happiness undaunted even by the worst the sickness could throw at her. But everyone had their limits and her suffering was painful to watch, no matter how well she bore it. He knew her strength of character could not last indefinably and he did not want to see her spirit broken by her circumstance just as the disease had broken her body.
Her litter would carry on her memory, just as her brother’s was carried by his own offspring. Both his son and his daughter having managed a litter each. He doubted Saoirse would be strong enough for a second, even if her childhood love returned to the pride. It would be sure to overtax her already struggling system. He only hoped she did not take the disappointment too hard.
Feeling her stir at his side he bent his head, gently caressing her cheek with his tongue so she knew she was not alone. After a moment he was greeted by her warm golden gaze and a tender, tired smile.
“Hello father….” She whispered weakly, though her expression held only love. For she never complained of her illness even during the worst times. Love and devotion bloomed afresh within Sliabh as he beheld her with his gaze. His baby girl, so strong and vital of spirit. He could not love her more than he already did.
“Hello my daughter… shall we go home?” He asked softly as she weakly lifted her head. Once she felt ready he carefully helped her to stand and then climb aboard his broad back. For thought she may have been full grown, she weighed scares as much as a healthy adolescent. With his precious burden secure, he set off towards their den just as the first soft glow of dawn touched the sky.
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