At one point, everything was normal and exactly the way that it should be. Nabila was running around playing with her brothers and sisters and causing trouble for all of the adults around her. They were happy and carefree with nothing in the world to be concerned about until they reached adulthood. They'd had a wonderful time as small cubs. They were loved and well taken care of, everyone was attentive to them and their needs. Their mother had waited so long to have cubs that she was completely besotted with her children once they came into existence. Nabila knew that they could get away with just about anything and that they could do no wrong in their mother's eyes. No one could have predicted the complete loss of their reality. Nabila and her siblings were in the throes of adolescence and their burgeoning adulthood when it all fell. They were each in a state of hopeful wonder at what their adult lives might entail. Her brothers were already making plans of adventuring out into the wild rogue lands to seek their destiny. However, Nabila still hadn't been prepared for their abrupt loss.
One day, everything that Nabila knew was gone. The home in which she had lived with her family was gone. The lionesses that were a constant presence in her life and that had taught her everything that her mother hadn't were gone. The few males that protected the pride and provided strength and support to the lionesses and cubs were gone. Her own brothers and sisters, whom she'd never been without were also gone. They had taken off and scattered in the midst of the downfall of their home. The only one that Nabila had left out of everyone that she'd ever known was Busara, her own mother. The two of them now stood, alone, a distance from the borders of their home looking in at what was once their own personal paradise.
The adolescent girl looked to her mother, her only source of comfort now, and asked what they should do now. Her mother looked so lost and defeated. Nabila had been told by her mother how she had wandered most of her life in the rogue lands by herself. She'd been told that a rogue life could be a very lonely and isolating experience. Now faced with such a life, Nabila felt anxious and fearful of the imminent future. Busara only looked at her sadly and told her not to worry, that they would stick with each other and that she would continue to care for and raise Nabila to the best of her ability given their current situation.
It took a while before they were able to tear themselves away from the sight of their fallen home in order to turn toward the direction of the endless lands outside of what was once their home.
Busara gently urged her young daughter onward, and Nabila torn herself away and began to move alongside her mother. Her mind was blank and her stomach was beginning to feel sick at the prospect of what they were doing. She moved her legs numbly as the land where she was born and raised slowly disappeared into the distance. Despite the calm demeanor that Busara maintained, Nabila would never know until she was an adult herself just how terrified and worried she was. Her mother was consistent in her role as her protector and guardian and stood solid as rock as she lead them into an unknown future.
Nabila would never know just how much her mother would sacrifice her own fears and emotions in order to protect those of her daughter's. All the young girl knew was that her mother was all she had left in the world and that her survival depended on how close she stayed to her. That night, they huddled together in a patch of tall grass they'd come upon after walking for hours. Busara told Nabila that the grass would keep them from being seen and protect them as they slept. The last thing that Nabila felt like doing at the time was sleep. Her stomach was still rolling with emotion and she felt numb on the inside, like she was having a delayed reaction to it all.
Her mother did her best to soothe her, speaking to her softly about whatever she could think of whether it was what they were going to eat tomorrow or the various sounds they were hearing out in the open. Technically, they'd always slept under the same sky and the same moon, but everything that surrounded Nabila was strange and unfamiliar. The night sounds frightened her, and the idea of having to find food for themselves each day frightened her even more. Busara had told her children stories of having to fend for herself and going hungry for days at a time. Of course, Busara had told these stories with the assumption that her own children would never have to face her own experiences.
The next day, the gravity of everything that had transpired seemed to crash down upon Nabila like a tidal wave. She woke up initially not remembering what had happened, thinking that she was safe at home with her siblings. When she realized that it was just her and her mother out in the middle of nowhere with no home, she began to shout and argue with Busara inanely, not really knowing what she was talking about or saying. Busara tried her best to calm her daughter and get her to understand that the noise that she was making could draw unwanted attention to themselves. Nabila continued to rant and rave until she began to cry and collapsed onto the ground, refusing to move.
Busara was forced to leave her young daughter in the cover of the grass in order to find food for themselves. She only hoped that Nabila would still be there when she returned. There was nothing that she could do but give her daughter time to process all that had transpired.