It was a beautiful day, which was a nice change. Han had lived through many types of weather and droughts so it was nice to finally wake up to a hot day and not feel as though she was going to whither away under the intense glare of the sun. Today she got to pick her way from her resting spot under a tree to one of the many watering holes that were now plentiful in their lands. She waded in up to her ankles before leaning down to drink, keeping a careful eye out for any crocodiles or something similar that might interrupt her. Thankfully none had been seen in this area for quite some time so she felt a bit safer than she might have if she had selected a larger watering hole or a river.
Lifting her head, she licked her muzzle free of water as she glanced around. There were other lions milling about as well, relaxing by or in the water, young cubs playing not too far from where she stood, their laughter and voices reaching her ears. She smiled fondly at the memory of her own children when they had been that age and for a moment a pang of desire ran through her. Han had loved being a mother even though she certainly hadn't been physically fit enough to give birth. Half of her litter had been stillborn, leaving her with two daughters and one son. She sometimes still asked the gods why the male had survived and the two other little girls had perished, but she tried to remind herself that life isn't fair and she had to accept whatever blessings she could get her paws on. Her son had stayed within the pride, taking up an oath of celibacy simply to watch over her and protect her, and she thought of her strong daughters with a fondness in her chest.
A noise caught her attention and she turned to see what the ruckus was. A large, pale cub with the pelt of a zebra on her back - or at least part of a zebra - was chasing a small silver bird. For a moment Han thought she was hunting it, but as she observed the two she realized that they were friends. Moving quietly out of the water, she settled down to observe the two.
---
Ukufana pounced after Khapha, her large paws just barely catching the silver vulture's tail as her companion scuttled over the ground. Dark eyes darted back to observe the albino cub and with a clack of her beak the vulture chick fluttered a few feet forward again.
"Can't catch me, Uku," the bird teased, spreading her wings and fluttering them in a baiting sort of way. Ukufana laughed at the display and used the moment to pounce forward once more, paws landing on either side of her friend. Khapha gave a shrill chirp of surprise and tumbled onto her back, looking up into deep red eyes that were now mere inches from her beak.
"Gotcha!" the little lioness said triumphantly, her tail bobbing back and forth behind her in excitement. "I gotcha this time, Khapha! Now you're not goin' anywhere!" She opened her muzzle and leaned in as if going to take a bite of out the chick, but instead she began to bathe her with her rough tongue instead. The little bird coughed and sputtered, laughing as she tried to shove off the much larger animal with her wings.
"Uku! S-...stop that! I don't need no bath!" she squawked as Ukufana continued to lick her, ruffling her feathers in all the wrong ways. The two finally fell apart, laughing and rolling on the ground, paws and little legs up in the air. Their laughter slowly settled to giggles as they stared up at the sky. The sun began to beat down a bit too much on Ukufana's stomach, so she rolled over to let the zebra pelt soak up the unforgiving rays of the sun.
"You're getting better at flying, Khapfa," she said, resting her head on her paws as the bird rolled to her feet as well, fluffing up her feathers and setting about preening them back into place. The vulture clacked her beak in approval and opened one small wing to situate some of her flight feathers that were finally growing in.
"Gettin' there," she agreed, dark eyes bright with delight. "Gettin' the feather's in more 'n more every day. Gonna be flyin' before the next big moon!"
"That's so exciting," Ukufana said with a dreamy sigh. She wondered what it was like to fly as she couldn't wait for her companion to be able to tell her. Ever since the two had met a few months ago they had been inseparable. Her father had thought it a bit odd that she was so attached to a bird, but having Khapha around had helped her deal with her mother's untimely death so he didn't have the heart to tell her to play with other cubs rather than birds.
Khapha finished settling her feathers in place and reached over with a wing to tickle Ukufana's nose. The lioness sneezed, blowing dust into the air that had them both laughing once again. "You're gettin' pretty big too, y'know," the vulture observed. Indeed, the albino was already quite large for a cub thanks to her parents Firekin ancestry, but now it was no longer just that she was big. She was growing. There were times when it hurt too much to walk because of her growth spurts and even the little bird could tell that she was growing much faster than other cubs.
"Yeah, I know. Maybe soon I'll get to go on an Inqina," she said with a grin. She couldn't wait to become an 'adult' in the pride's eyes so she could start going on more adventures. She wanted to roam, wanted to see what the world had to offer, and she knew her friend would be right by her side at all times. They were going to have adventures and meet lots of new creatures and be famous within the pride for the stories they brought back.
"Me too!" the little chick said, fluffing up her feathers as she hopped forward. "You don't get t'have all the fun, Uku. I'm gonna be able t'fly then and y'can bet I'll be comin' along, even if I gotta tail you guys so they don't see me."
"Aw, I'm sure they'd let you come along," the cub said, reaching out with a large paw to pat her friend on the head. Khapha made a few irritated squawking noises again before ducking away from the huge paw, fluffing up her feathers in indignation.
"Easy on the goods, Uku, I just got done fixin' everythin' y'made all fluffy 'n wet," she groused which only made Ukufana grin. The cub lowered her front end to the ground, her rear raised comically in a playful bow.
"Oh, I'll go easy on you. Since you can't take it," she said with a teasing tone to her voice which instantly set off the little bird.
"What? I can take anythin' y'can throw at me, y'big fur ball! C'mon, show me whatcha got!"
Ukufana gave chase again as Khapha dodged and twirled, using the few flight feathers she had to gain a few inches as she sped along the ground. They two were moving so quickly they were kicking up even more dirt than before until they fell to the ground again, coughing in the dust. As it settled they both looked at one another and began to laugh once more, happy that they had each other to play with and at the same time learn from.
"I'm getitn' hungry," Khapha said as she shook herself free of dust once more. "Y'think there's somethin' t'eat? S'bout that time the huntresses come back with fresh food."
"Yeah, we can go see if they've returned," Ukufana said, glancing back in the direction they had come from. "Last one there's a rotten egg!"
"Hey! I was an egg once!" the chick said as she hopped forward a few feet. "Don't go callin' me rotten!"
Ukufana only laughed and began to run, putting some distance between her and her friend. Another squawk and flutter later and Khapha was on her tail, fluttering and hopping after her friend.
---
As the two ran off, Han smiled and returned to her feet. A relationship like that so early in life would surely result in a wonderful bond. She knew the pride had had a surge in cubs as of late but it really was good timing given the end of the drought and the wonderful weather they were currently having. She knew there was a new Inselelo - the previous two hadn't been in position for very long - and she wondered if she could talk him into supplying her with cubs. The ache to be a mother again was real - she knew she'd be bitten by the maternal bug once she started having cubs - and she didn't wish for either Andhaka or Bangizwe to sire her children. They had enough running around now that the breeding pool was starting to get a little dense.
With a little hum, Nehanda set off on a mission - to become a mother once more.
FIN
WC: 1557