Peaceful Reflections

The pale golden form of the young male cub slipped through the grass as he sought out the waters of the Lake he knew was close. He was headed for the small pool that he had grown fond of, the one that hung over the eastern bank and let him gaze out at the entirety of the Lake. His mother had really taught him nothing in his time with her so he had little knowledge that this place was a meeting ground for shamans or sacred in any way, his ignorance probably wouldn't protect him completely but at least it was sincere.

When he reached the top he sat near the edge of the pool and looked down into the water admiring his features. He had a strong face and bold blue eyes, his tuft however was growing in with a curl to it and he wet his paw and attempted to flatten it but to no avail, it only sprang back into place and made him splash at his reflection. He often wondered if he looked like a leader, true he was the biggest and oldest of the cubs but did that make him look strong or just healthy? He couldn't be sure and he curled his tail around his hindlegs in thought, so far he cubs had stayed safe, fed and sheltered so he had little reason to doubt himself.

Full leadership though always came with a price but soon he would be old enough to really protect his little pride and that's all he wanted was to keep them safe. Safe the way he should have kept his siblings. His failure was the only thing that made him continue being the best leader he could, he refused to abandon his duties no matter how stressed they made him or how quickly they were forcing him to come into adulthood. Light from the sun reflecting on the water made him wince, it was early still and the rest of the cubs were still asleep which was why he had felt confident enough to sneak off for some quiet time to himself.

He could see some of the other animals moving along the other banks to bathe or treat themselves to a cool drink meaning that he should be getting back soon. He sighed and felt himself sinking to his belly instead, they would be fine for a few more minutes without him, and he let his eyes close gently to take in the smells of the pure water near him.

The brown-pelted lion cub was invisible in the Savannah grass, as it crawled along in a crouching position. It suddenly jumped out, chasing an oxpecker. The bird flew far away from the cub's grasp and the cub said: "Come back here ya little..." He chased after it, breathing unevenly as he ran across the grasslands surrounding the Magadi. It had landed on the back of a rhinoceros who was grazing on the low vegetation.

The cub approached it, slowly and cautiously, wanting to make as little noise as possible and catch the bird. Once he was there, Kusubiri jumped and swung his paws, but alas, the bird fled once again and he had ended up on the rhino's back. As quickly as he had landed, Kusubiri jumped off and slipped into the grass. This was one thing he attempted to do every day - catch a bird. Those impudent little creatures were cheating by always flying away when you're that close to catching them! Why did they even have those wings, the cub would think.

Then, he saw his friend on the lake's edge, looking into a small pool around it. Maliki seemed to be quite fond of it, as he usually drank from there. Probably because of safety, there were large crocodiles in that lake, and none of the cubs wanted to be attacked by one of those. The brown cub ran over to his friend, and when he was closer, his running slowed down into a prance. Maliki was never in a playing mood, he was rather a talker, like an adult. This is probably because of the great efforts he has made for his small pride over the past time. He said: "Hay Maliki!"

Maliki hadn't really expected anyone to be awake so when he heard another voice he was visibly startled and stood quickly, turning on the stranger only to find it was just Kusubiri. The brown cub surprised him and he nodded at him, "Good morning Kusubiri, why are you up so early?" he asked curiously. The cub was the second oldest though he held little responsibility or authority, he was just as playful and cubbish as the other cubs that Maliki watched after. The golden cub envied him in a way, Kusubiri rarely seemed like her worried about much while Maliki constantly found himself worry about one thing or another.

His dark blue orbs moved to stare off in the distance where he had left his small pride and he briefly worried that one or more of them were left on their own, there were only six of them in total counting himself and he with two of them gone it only left four of them to watch each other and it was only the young ones but maybe Kuubi could keep an eye on them. She wasn't too young and she was a bit more mature than Kiseki in Maliki's eyes whom shared her age, he fretted for a moment and took a few steps back towards the small pride. His peace had been broken anyways had it not?

He sighed inwardly and tried his best to smile at Kusubiri, "Are the others awake? I didn't mean to wander too far, I just wanted to watch the sun rise" he explained though part of it was a lie. He never wanted the other cubs to feel like they were a burden on him, there was nothing he wanted more than to keep them all together, he didn't need them leaving him simply because they felt bad. Being alone would have been worse than being with ones that he cared for now.

Kusubiri sat over to Maliki, listening to him finally speak to him. It was quite early to get up today, but Kusubiri simply wasn't very drowsy, so he wanted to kill off the boredom of lying down and not sleeping and run through the vast, open Savannah. Once again, the bird catch had failed. Still, the cub was in a very good mood for play and talk, so he smiled and replied: "Aw, I'm just so bored. I can't sleep anymore." Probably Kusubiri had laid down early, and therefore he had more than enough sleep for one day.

The brown cub nodded to Maliki's next words, though he was a normal cub and very playful, he could understand when Maliki had enough antics and when he wanted to settle down. And what would be better than watching the Sun rise, simply calming, careless, no one can disturb you, hurt you, anything. You were just with yourself but still, every beautiful moment is more beautiful with someone laying his head on your shoulder, that way, you don't feel lonely and abandoned, you feel complete. A herd of buffalo were thundering by from afar. The cub gave a short look toward them, but quickly enough, he turned back to his friend.

His smile looked rather nervous, sad and unsure, his protectiveness for his friends was once again displayed through his words as he asked if the others are still up. The responsibilities of a caring parent have fallen upon him, but Kusubiri gave a serious answer: "Eh...No. I think everyone is still asleep. But, just one thing...Kiseki is missing. I haven't seen her with the others." Where could she have possibly wandered off this early in the day? She was probably more mischievous than Kuubi or Adia, and definitely flirtier than both of them. This would often get her into trouble and she would often find herself stranded.

Maliki was glad that it was simply enough sleep that had Kusubiri up rather than anything else and he felt himself relax slightly. He had laid down early last night to rest while Maliki himself had been up until the others had fallen asleep around him to make sure that nothing harmed them in the night. Little sleep didn't bother him so much and he'd gotten more than usual last night since they had found a rather safe spot to bed down for the night.

He didn't mind Kusubiri's company, in fact it was nice, he wasn't sure he liked being all on his own as it was. Being alone was too depressing for the cub, he'd rarely cried since his first night when his mother had left him alone and the presence of the other cubs helped keep him strong and from his mind dwelling on such things. He noticed the buffalo as well and his eyes snapped to them making sure they weren't headed the cubs way, but when they passed towards the water he relaxed again knowing that they were headed for the water and not trampling through the grass towards his little family.

Maliki was glad the others were still resting until it was mentioned that Kiseki was missing, he felt his jaw drop but closed it shaking his head with a stern expression. That female was always wandering off, causing him to worry about her, he knew she was capable of watching her back but it didn't make him worry any less. Not that it seemed to matter to her. "I'm sure she'll come back but she really should have told someone where she was going or at least stayed close..." he said and sighed. He'd have to reprimand her when she returned and she'd likely be angry with him for it but it was his job...wasn't it? He still wasn't sure how all this parent stuff worked but if he had to he'd go looking for her by the lake later.

Kiseki was always the ever frisky one among the cubs, and not a very obedient one. Even though she, like most other cubs grew with very little parental care, she was more mischievous than most girls. Why couldn't she be like Kuubi? Kuubi was more obedient and much more reliable, not a troublemaker. Well, Kiseki wasn't a trouble maker either, but wandering off when she pleased to made her find herself in peril.

Kusubiri's thoughts fled from Kiseki's disappearance and onto another topic - other girls and love attention. As a cub, he wasn't paying much attention to it, but, being over one year old and growing fast, he thought ever more about it. By each passing day, he felt different about females from his pride, and started to judge them more by their personality. He would try to be as kind and gentle to them as possible.

But, as a cub, he didn't know how to talk about it to others, so he looked at Maliki and asked: "Err...Maliki...what do you think about girls?" He wasn't very sure how he'd respond, but since he was the eldest of the cubs, he expected him to be more mature and fonder of girls than most boys. It would hurt Kusubiri if some boy would insult a girl, because any girl should be treated like a queen.

Maliki had been staring out towards the lake again when silence lapsed between the two cubs and he watched some of the birds take wing. If only he had that kind of freedom, if only they all did, to fly together and not worry about the dangers from below. His heavy thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound from Kusubiri and he peered over curiously when his friend asked him a question that would have flustered any young male, his jaw dropped for a minute before he closed it and cleared his throat. "G-Girls...well...what do you mean?" he asked, far less composed than was normal for him.

He was well aware of what Kusubiri meant, it wasn't hard to guess what was on his mind, they were after all getting older. Maliki hadn't really thought about love too much because of his responsibilities but he had noticed the lovely way Kiseki's eyes stood out from her coat, or the cute way that Kuubi's tail tuft was wavy rather than a uniform straight. He didn't want to admit it however, they were the closest to his age so it was probably normal that he'd noticed these things but it felt odd, they had all practically grown together like a small family. He shifted slightly and furtively scuffed his paws in the dirt, he'd entertain this talk but for once he was almost not sure what he could say.

Kusubiri sat down and with a positive smile on his face, just giggled slightly and said: "Oh, you know. Girls, crushes, dating...I didn't get that stuff either when I was smaller, but now I do. " Then, he turned to Maliki: "Do you think we're old enough for that stuff?" He thought yet again that Maliki, being older, would say something wiser, but he was somewhat stumped when he fist started the conversation, so Kusubiri had some second thoughts about it.

Then, for a slight second, Kusubiri took a glance to the vast lake that was near them, looking at the equally vast herds of animals that drink from it every day. Kusubiri has lived out one drought, and as many other rivers and watering holes mostly dried up, the Magadi was always full of water, even in the hottest droughts. He looked around seeing various animals: zebra, elephants, wildebeest. But then, something caught his eye. A crocodile leaped out of the water and grabbed one of the wildebeest, dragging it into the depths of the lake.

A slight shudder coursed through the cub's brown fur, when he put himself in the zebra's place, it would definitely not be pretty. But soon enough, peace returned to his mind and he looked back at Maliki, awaiting an answer. gain, he seemed to be stumped and struggling to answer, but Kusubiri wasn't nervous and waited patiently, because he was always shy and reclusive. Therefore, Kusubiri was always kind to him, he respected him like a real brother.

The males tail flipped about as he thought on the subject and he glanced discreetly away again before looking back. "Well...I don't know. I guess we're old enough, t-to have crushes anyways" he said unsteadily and stood circling the pool and studying his reflection. The tuft of fur on his head was growing thicker with every passing day and he had to admit he was growing, maybe Kusubiri was right but...how could he really think about girls with all of his responsibilities.

Despite being grown up the most Maliki was still a cub and he didn't know anything about love, he didn't even know if his parent had ever really loved anything in their lives but themselves. He finally settled himself down again on the bank of the little pool and fixed his blue eyes on his reflection, "I guess we're ready for love but...it's not just because of how old we are, we have to be ready for it in other ways...I guess is what I'm getting at" he said and lifted his eyes to the other male cub. More than one of them had demons chasing their tails and he wasn't sure really if any of them were ready for love, even Kiseki with her flirtatious attitude could prove to be unready for such a thing.

He would like to think that he was but there was too much doubt, too much worrying to do to find himself in love. His mother had once told him that love made you blind and dumb, he didn't want these things, he couldn't have these things happen to him while protecting the others. If they did they'd be goners. He blinked quickly and glanced out at the lake again seeing the ripples and blood left by the crocodile and it's prey and he was reminded just how dangerous the world they lived in was. It was daunting but he had faith in them, he had faith in himself...for now.

He stood and tried to smile at the other boy, "Why is there someone you have your eye on?" he asked with a chuckle to try and turn the conversation around on Kusubiri.

The cub's brown eyes were focused on his friend as he made his answer to the question that he asked, his replies were still unsteady and he could understand that something might have been bothering him, and therefore he had gone off to seek solitude and get his thoughts together. He might have been depressed about something in his early life, and then it had come to his mind once again, a wave of depression that hit him this morning. He realized that Maliki had a strong point when he mentioned there is more needed for love than just age, and he gave a small nod. Kusubiri was looking out to the horizon when he heard Maliki ask him of his crushes. His ears instantly twitched, but he didn't inflame like a spoiled brat, he turned around and smirked at him, giggling: "I keep that for me, but if I told you, would you say it to someone else?"

After that, Kusubiri took a short look at his friend, then, he sighed and slowly approached the golden cub: "I think there's something bothering you...is there?" Then, he saw him remain slient to his question, and then, his eyebrows lifted and he lifted his paw and laid it on Maliki's right shoulder: "Look Maliki, if there is anything bothering you, you should talk to someone. It's a lot easier when you share it with us. You'll feel better later on, trust me." Soon, the brown cub winked with a smiling grin on his face, he hoped that this would improve his mood and refresh his thoughts.

Soon, Kusubiri felt his mouth go dry, and then, he took a few laps of water from the pool to quench his thirst. Then, he took a look at the sky, to see that the sun was already very high, and quickly as he did, he looked back at Maliki and asked: "Should we wake the others and go look for Kiseki?" It was already early morning, and predators were active at dawn and the morning, especially hyenas and rogue lions, who woul easily pick off any lone cub that was in their way.

Maliki saw the twitch of Kusu's ears but ever the calm and playful one his brown friend simply turned to smirk at him and giggled, his answer was coy but there was no need to really hide it. Maliki laughed himself and shook his head, "Of course I wouldn't tell, what kind of friend would that make me? I don't think you'd tell mine either...if I had any" he mumbled the last and seemed slightly embarrassed, his tail flipping gentle on the ground. He wasn't sure he really had any crushes yet, he hadn't had much time to individually spend with each cub, Kusubiri was probably the one that got to be around him alone the most if he was honest and maybe Ahdia but she was so young, a baby to him.

He frowned slightly but his friend was indeed perceptive, "No more than usual, I just worry about finding us food and it's getting hotter...we can't exactly chase the herds if they move and every day we could face a new challenge. I worry that we won't all stay together...Kiseki has at least proved that worry isn't unfounded. I feel her drifting every day, I don't know how to feel about it" he looked slightly downtrodden. It wasn't that he was in love with Kiseki, not that it wasn't possible he could be in the future, he simply felt saddened that he would lose another he considered close to him. They were all precious to him even if they didn't realize it.

Kusubiri took a drink from the pond and Maliki glanced in it again, he was still so young, he couldn't really imagine his mane growing out like it soon would in his adolescence. He was very close to turning two now, closer than he realized and already he was getting larger but he hadn't yet hit that point where he would see changes. He nodded however at his friends suggestion, "We should look for her, but you know how she is, if she doesn't want to be found then it'll do no good to find her. I just wish she'd let me know where she was going...but I think she finds me more of a nuisance than sweet" he said rolling his eyes.

He moved towards the hill again, leaving behind the pool and heading back towards where his little 'pride' was slumbering. At this point he wished for anything to pluck them up and save them, to ease their harsh existence, of course he had no idea that saving would be happening just as he hit the mark of adolescence or that he would feel mixed feelings about it at the time.