I Feel The Gravity

Kiasi left small droplets of blood behind him as he left the Coldlands, his blood staining small red spots into the cold powder until he'd passed into the wasteland of his home. Passing the cold lake that marked the border was a blur, and so was the unconscious thought to head straight home, he wasn't scared but he was in pain. Jabari had given him enough cuts to put most of his muscles on fire, though none of it would scar, it certainly didn't feel so good. He knew his foray into the Coldlands wouldn't be a secret now, there wasn't any ways he could avoid his parents until his small wounds healed, he wasn't old enough to stay away that long without them worrying.

He sighed softly to himself as he neared the den, it didn't look like either one of them was around and he felt slight relief. He padded into the protective comfort of one of the skulls and plopped himself down, licking his wounds with a rough pink tongue to clean them of any dirt or leftover snow. No doubt at least one of the lionesses would smell the small amount of blood and come investigating, perhaps he could pass it off as running into thorns, or maybe not. What would his father think when he told him of the wounds and how he had gotten them? Would Ni side with him or the nasty Coldlander cub?

The small male fretted and curled himself into a tight ball of misery, his wounds stinging. This was turning out to be a fiasco already and he hadn't even run into either one of his parents just yet, no doubt his mother would worry herself sick. He pushed his tail tuft under his chin and hugged it to him for comfort.

Ni had been walking through the kingdom that he and his new mate now ruled together. But there was something else at the back of Ni's mind which he found exciting. He was going to be a father, an actual blood father. The thought honestly scared him, he had raised two cubs already, but what about cubs from his own blood? There could be so much disappointment or his own children could hate him. Either or, Ni hoped that one of the cubs would look just like their mother, spots and all. The two had spent all night together flaunting over the prospect of new cubs and Ni had to clear up Abuto's worries once or twice. She was going to be a great mother, Ni knew that for a fact, and honestly it was going to be just like Kiasi and Makosa again. Except for the fact that this time they would be ready for their new arrivals. But unknown to Ni, telling at least one of their children would have to wait for when Ni was patrolling he smelled something odd. Something he hadn't smelled in a long time; blood. Curious to what could be bleeding, Ni followed the scent of the bodily fluid until he reached the top of the cliff that overlooked the Elephant Graveyard. Straining his eyes to see into the massive piles of bones that lay in his territory, he finally spotted what he had been smelling. A small blob of tawny lay motionless in the shadows. Ni's heart stopped, it couldn't be, no Abuto would kill him after he killed himself.

The king rushed forward, praying that this tawny blob was still alive and once he near level ground around him he say that his son was still breathing. Letting out a large distressed call, Ni became very scared in that moment, "Kiasi!" The ruby-eyed male came to a screeching halt right next to his son but not before slipping and tumbling off into a bone before hand. If the situation wasn't as serious as it was, then the sight of the king making almost a fool out of himself would have been comical. Ni quickly stood up and rushed towards his son, scooping him up quickly yet carefully into his arms as his body slid into a laying position. The king's tears did not seem to stop flowing, and he sniffled twice while he nuzzled his son. "T-Thank goodness you're alive. Y-You scared your daddy you know that?" Upon opening his eyes, Ni saw that his son's body lay beaten and cut all over. Getting quickly to work, Ni washed his rough tongue as gently as he could over his son's wounds. The taste of the copper blood on his tongue was horrifying, more so since it was his own son's. No the meat that they usually feasted on was since drained of blood thanks to the elder huntresses. But this was a whole different level. After Ni decided that his son's wounds were clean enough, he brought his son closer and hugged him tightly. For the first time in a long time, Ni was scared. He thought he was about to lose his son, and that to him would mean losing his world.

Seeing his sniffling cub broke the king's heart and he shushed him softly, "It's alright Kiasi, daddy's here," His son was almost a teenager, but that still didn't mean that Ni treated him any differently than when he was first learning how to walk and talk. Looking around to make sure no one was spying, Ni nuzzled his son's growing mane and pressed his muzzle against it just as he did to Abuto so long ago. But finally Ni pulled his son away from him just slightly in order to see him fully. "Who did this to you Kiasi? It wasn't Kosa was it?" Ni was naive to the fact that his sons were wanderers, just like their biological father was. So he was also naive to the fact that his son had just came from the Coldlands, for his body temperature hadn't stated otherwise. The Coldlands were the Shadowlands' allies, and Ni hoped to soon get the chance to go talk to the Coldland King of Ismahel to make sure their alliance held strong. But with this confrontation, the two cubs involved would need a lesson taught to them, but Ni had no idea what he was going to tell his son. Nonetheless, right now Ni wanted nothing more than for his son's wounds to be washed away as the misty shadows washed over the pair. Today things would be said that Ni wouldn't have thought been said before, but there was always time for learning of that caliber. As the king cleared away his tears, he stared at his son and awaited an answer, as well as any other questions his son might ask.

Kiasi heard the distressed call of a male lion and he knew instinctively it was his father but he couldn't raise his head out of shame. He heard but didn't see his father tumble through the debris towards him and couldn't help but sniffle harder at the thought of how angry Ni would be with him. When his father scooped him into his arms and he felt the dampness of tears on his back, his orange eyes raised in surprise to his fathers ruby ones, he hadn't expected him to cry and he felt guilt twist his stomach into knots more than it already was.

He mumbled something along the lines of 'sorry dad' when his father mentioned how worried he was and dipped his head in shame again but winced as his father cleaned the wounds with his own rough tongue. It stung but he didn't dare protest and instead just lay limp in Ni's paws with misery, he had scared his father and made him cry, he knew it was because Ni cared for him and it made him feel like he had betrayed him in some way. When Ni pulled him close again the cub felt tears flow anew and snuggled into his father tightly and let out a few shuddering breaths, doing his best not to just sob.

When Ni asked him if Makosa had been the one to do it to him he jerked his head up wide eyed and shook his head quickly, "N-No! It wasn't Kosa!" he protested quickly. Kiasi shifted uncomfortably before crawling from Ni's paws and turning his back to him, dragging a paw through the dust and dropping his ears flat to the sides of his head. "It was another cub, an older cub from...the coldlands" he was meek with his last words and turned his head to look at Ni with a wince. "I didn't mean to get into a fight with him, I just wanted to see the snow and then he was there and he was mean and he growled at me and he started it and I just couldn't run away from him" he babbled in a rush to explain himself.

When he was done he hung his head again, "I'm sorry papa..." he muttered.

Ni was almost relieved to find out that his light chocolate pelted son wasn't the one who had done this to Kiasi; almost. There was still the matter of finding out who had done this to his tawny son. But his question was answered immediately as Kiasi explained that he was attacked by another cub from their allies of the Coldlands. The king's eyes widened and he shook his head violently for a second. "The Coldlands?" Ni listened to his amber-eyed son as he explained that all he wanted to do was see the snow. The aging male closed his eyes and nodded as his son finished up his story, hanging his head and apologizing to his father once more. Ni smiled and raised his son's head with his paw, nuzzling him close as he began to speak again. "Kiasi if you wanted to see the snow you could have just asked me you know. The Coldlands are our allies and I've been meaning to go and check up on their king and I would have happily let you tag along," The creamy-golden coated lion looked to his son and now was ever more the curious. "Who was this cub? Do you remember his name, or even what he looked like?" Of course, Ni had no idea who Jabari was or even who his father was. He would assume that he was just a pridemember's cub that was just protecting his borders from an unknown enemy. The cubs were so naive now a days, how were they supposed to know ally from enemy right off the bat?

The king chuckled and hugged his son yet again, "Don't worry, I don't think we should tell your mother about this. We'll just say you've inherited your dad's clumsiness and took a spill down the rocks and got all scraped up as we were playing together alright? Your mother has enough to worry about now that she's queen," Abuto's coronation was early that next morning after their talk, before anyone left to do their daily wanderings around the lands. And although Ni didn't wish to leave Abuto alone on her first day as ruler, patrols weren't something that could easily be skipped on. And here he found himself again, patrolling while his mate lay at home with the other females of the pride. Thankfully Ni took his patrols and found his son before anyone else did. The king unlike some of the pridemembers was understanding, it wasn't Kiasi's fault that this older cub attacked him, he wasn't the one who instigated the fight. Just because of a little scuffle, Ni wasn't going to declare war on the Coldlands, especially since they were allies. But Ni was bound to run across the Coldland king sooner or later, and with that he would tell him of what happened, and that the cub in question needed a stern talking to. Ni wouldn't of known that the cub had been an orphan, but he would realize it sooner than later when he would ask to speak to the cub's parents. Separated from his brother and sisters, Jabari was going to turn into one nasty lion if he continued like this.

Chuckling once more, Ni smiled and pressed his paw onto the ground. "So how was the snow? It was cold wasn't it? In all my life I had never seen a kingdom quite like the Coldlands, and how those lions survive there is something I will always be amazed by," Ni flicked around some of the small bones that lay on the ground, "It seems much more beautiful than our shadowy lands, but I think we have the better pride. Don't tell anyone I said that though," The king snickered and finally remembered the status of Kiasi's adoptive mother. Pushing away all thoughts of Kiasi's attacker and the Coldlands, Ni brought his son close and smiled a proud grin. "I have some exciting news my son, I was hoping to tell you and Kosa together, but maybe it'd be better telling you now than later," His muzzle was brought close to the tawny ear of his son and he whispered softly, "You're going to be a big brother," Not biologically of course, but no one would have to know that. The thought of even more cubs running around the Shadowlands brought pride to Ni's heart, finally there would be a younger generation that his grandfather and aunt had not created but could of if they hadn't exiled Ni and his parents. Finally Kiasi would have some playmates along with a handful of cubs and young adolescents that Ni was about to find very soon. There would be life back in the Shadowlands, and maybe, just maybe, the lands wouldn't look as dark as before.