The Lion King: Dawn Of The Nations

Episode 13: Toss

 The Lion King: Dawn Of The Nations

Episode 13: Toss

It was midnight, Nuku laid among his parents and sisters, he twitched and trembled constantly over the ground, groaning and gasping, moving his paws while shaking over his back, with a face of fear and worry. Naibi opened her eyes slowly, having been awaken by her son's groans, she saw him and sighed when noticing his troubled sleep, she moved a bit to get closer to him and licked his forehead, making him to gasp and wake up abruptly. "Shh..." She stroked him with her lower jaw. "It's me...son." She rested her head over her front legs, next to Nuku, who was now awake, he yawned and laid his head against his mom's.

"I saw them again." Nuku said with a broken voice.

"It was only a dream, Nuku." Naibi said reassuringly.

"I wish it was." Nuku replied. "You saw them too, mom." He sighed by the painful remembrance. "Dokka and Gezi."

Naibi stroked him again. "I did." She said. "I can't possibly imagine how much you miss them."

Nuku let out a sob. "What did they do?" His voice was deeply broken, he began to sob more repeatedly.

"Who, son?" Naibi inquired.

"My friends..." Nuku started to cry. "What did they do to them?" He sobbed. "To the hyenas?"

Naibi lowered her head, getting thoughtful by her son's question. She just rested her head over his back. "There's evil out there, Nuku." She yawned. "But I'm here with you, and it'll not reach you."

Nuku sobbed. "I'm scared, mom, I...I don't know what to do..."

"That's why I'm here, me and your dad, alright?" Naibi said reassuringly. "You have nothing to fear."

Nuku closed his eyes again, letting more tears to fall, finding shelter in his mother's support, but still bearing a heavy sadness. After a few minutes, he finally managed to fall asleep, now more calmly.

The sunlight already invaded the cave's corners, Ari woke up with a long yawn, standing up and stretching at the view of the cave's outside, she glanced at her family then at Nuku and his sisters, their parents had already left the cave. She gave Emba and her cousins a final look, they were still deeply asleep just as the caracal, so she let out a sigh and just walked towards the cave's exit. She reached the beginning of the path that led to the yard, her eyes widened after taking just a couple of steps as she thought she had seen a familiar face through the narrow view between the two rocks that faced the cave, so she walked backwards and with an eye closed she looked through the narrow aperture, gasping and blinking when seeing her father at the distance, sitting down among four caracals, like waiting for someone. "Dad?" She mumbled at herself then turned and entered the cave again with hurried steps, approaching her brother and waking him up by stepping on his face with her front paws. "Emba..." She murmured rather loudly.

Emba growled with discomfort. "Ari...get off me..." He said while snarling and pushed her, rolling a bit over his back to ignore her and keep sleeping.

Ari grunted and looked briefly over her back then at her brother. "Emba...is dad...he is he..."

With a gasp, Emba rapidly got into his paws and looked at her with his eyes widened. "Here?!" He exclaimed, waking up Keru and Zale.

"Wh..." Zale yawned and stretched. "...what's going on?"

"My father, he is here!" Ari answered.

Nuku, Vari and Makei woke up abruptly. Vari yawned. "Why are your friends so scandalous?" She complained, glaring at her brother rather upset.