Yawning softly, Sliabh lifted his shaggy head, gazing round as he surveyed the early dawn landscape. Today was the day.... he would cross the last stretch of land to the Kitwana boarders... home. A strange sense of apprehension filled him at the thought, mixed with excitement at being home again and eagerness to see Eva'raja. It had been so long, he longed to see her smile and feel her warmth against his fur. He wondered how much Haruma had grown, and her siblings Ndale and Faraa.. Smiling faintly he looked forward to seeing them again, though the faint nervous twinge still bugged him as he wondered if his family back home would accept the three cubs asleep against his flank.
As if his thoughts had called to her, the eldest of the three stirred, then lifted her black-tufted head to peer with toxic green eyes up at her father. Yawning heavily she stretched then stood, slipping from between her siblings and flopping down across her father's paws. "Mornin' " Yawning again she rubbed her face in the thick fur of Sliabh's mane, still not fully awake.
Smiling softly as she came over and snuggled up against him, he lowered his massive shaggy head and licked her splotched two-tone fur. "Morning kiddo." Lifting his gaze he looked out across the landscape, able to see the very edge of the Kitwana lands in the far north. "We will finally reach the boarder today, Caoilainn. Our homeland. Are you looking forward to it?" Looking down he smiled gently. It had been a hard journey, striking out on his own as a rogue, fighting to keep himself alive against other males, struggling to feed himself in many a strange land from flood plains to mountain sides. Seeking females willing to talk to him, to bear cubs for him. yet the most frightening time had been when his first mate had given birth. He had been with her and those few hours as she lay sobbing in pain, himself unable to protect her from what it was that hurt her.. it had been agony. But then, the cubs had been born and he had discovered a whole new joy, watching them learn and play, eating their first meat and succeeding in their first pouncing lessons. He remembered parting with their mother, a strangely sad event that had left him feeling vaguely disturbed. Yet his three daughters were worth it all. Beautiful youngsters so full of life and vibrant with energy, so unlike the sickly cubs back home.He understood why his Queen had sent him now, understood why his genes were so important to the pride. He desperately hoped all three of his girls settled into the Kitwana'antara smoothly, and the curse stayed away from them. Smiling softly he licked at the youngster's ruff.
Giggling as her papa ruffled her (to her) perfectly smooth head tuft, she wiggled round on his forelegs. "Of course I am! I want to see our home, and Eva and sister Hara and Bozo and the Queen!" Grinning she jumped up and proceeded to climb up via his thick black mane. With a little boast from her father's paw she managed to scramble up and perch atop his head, gazing out across the landscape from her new vantage point. "When do we leave?"
Holding still while his eldest used him as a climbing frame the massive male waited patiently until she had a firm grip in his mane. "As soon as your siblings are awake, Cali. It will be a long day of walking."
Nodding she let her forelegs collapse and splayed out over the top of her father's head, paws dangling in front of his eyes making him chuckle, the low, deep sound rumbling through her. "Oooh ok." Mock-pouting she looked thoughtful for a moment before proclaiming. "Im huuungry." Giggling she wiggled forwards and slid down his face, trusting him to catch her as she dropped which he did, cradling her safely in his large paws.
Chuckling softly he righted her and set her down, patting her rear as she scooted forwards playfully. "Alright then kiddo.Lets go hunt something for you and your sisters before we set off. Go rouse them for me will you?" Smiling a she scrambled round to his side where her sisters were still slumbering soundly, he watched fondly as she pounced them, initiating a classic sibling quarrel before all three cubs, one overly hyper and the other two still rubbing sleep from their eyes, settled down in front of him.
For the rest of the morning he took the three hunting, teaching them how to read the wind, how to distinguish the sign of a wounded beast in a large herd and how to keep downwind of the beasts until it was time to strike. Of course it was not the first time this lesson had been given, but each time was different and presented different problems and situations for the cubs to puzzle out. Finally, after there failed tries the cubs successfully directed their father into catching a young gazelle and then the fun really began.
Wanting to get as much practice in as possible before they returned home, he left the little critter alive and let the three sisters chase and tackle it for some time. The kid, exhausted from trying to outrun the powerful male, didn;t get very far, but Sliabh had intended for to to be worn out, since his cubs were frankly.. useless at finishing a kill. They chased and tackled just fine, but having so little opportunity to kill something made them clumsy and inexperienced. several times they lost their grip and simply became distracted, allowing the fawn to leap up and make a run for it, but it only ever got a few strides before they brought it down again.
Eventually Sliabh took pity on the prey beast and snapped its neck, the cubs more than delighted were soon stuck in and feeding. Soon enough they had stripped the small body and Sliabh nabbed a bone to chew on, knowing he would catch his own later on. After a brief nap the three cubs woke and turned into bundles of energy, so Sliabh roused himself and with a measured stride, set off on the last leg of their journey, back towards the Kitwana'antara.
Words = 1,055