Painted Flowers

Chapter 15 - Apprehension

"A lioness...are you sure?"

Layali's good ear perked as she picked up on Amare's concern. The two royals were still at the meeting place, though there were no more impala bones to chew on. They sat in a circle with four dogs who had just returned from a patrol and were apparently sharing urgent news.

"Definitely," Amaryllis answered, a dog that Layali had only recently learned the name of. She only recognized them as the kindler dog that tended to the morning and evening campfires. "I recognize the scent from when...well..."

"When we lost Nuru," Amare whispered solemnly. "And when Kichea lost her eye."

What? That grabbed Layali's attention. A lioness was what mauled Kichea? Who was Nuru? A shiver ran up her spine. There was still so much to learn about her new pack.

"Surely it's not the same one?" Kwasi added. Though he could be a bully, Layali found that Kwasi had genuine concern for the well-being of the pack.

"It's possible..." Amaryllis replied chillingly.

Amare stood to their paws and raised their tail authoritatively. "We ought to send out an investigation at once. Let's start gathering a patrol."

As Layali padded past, she accidentally caught Kwasi's eye. He gave her a smirk, then turned back to his sibling. "Speaking of which...it's about time our guest has started contributing, don't you think? Rather than wasting our resources and not giving anything in return?"

Layali narrowed her eyes. Was that really necessary given that there was a lioness wandering the borders? "Who's the guest? I'm pretty sure your mother said I was a member of the pack now? And I'd love to help out, actually. Allow me to join the patrol."

"She'll just hold us up," some other dog muttered, though it was loud enough for Layali to hear. "Her shoulder?"

"I can walk," Layali said curtly.

"She'll make us lion bait for sure," another added scornfully.

Kwasi glared at her with his sharp eyes, but Layali met them unflinchingly. "We need real Ash dogs to see to this," he sneered. "I'm not sure you're up to it, honey. What if another antelope attacks you?"

Anger flowed through Layali's veins. She would not be another pawn for his mockery, and she would not stand there and take it like Zain would.

"Do you want my help or not? It's not like this is the only pack I could join, you know. Maybe there's one out there with a few less princes baring their teeth at me. Seriously, you should chew on something once in a while--they're looking a little yellow."

Amaryllis lifted a paw to cover their mouth, stifling laughter. When Kwasi swung their head around to face them, they quickly turned away, looking up at the sky.

"This is serious," Amare put in, shooting a warning glare at Layali. "We need to go."

But Layali could see Kwasi's fur standing on end. He raised himself up and padded towards her, but Layali stood her ground. This superiority complex of his needed to be challenged. Just because he was a prince, didn't mean he needed to belittle everyone around him.

"My mother may have been welcoming to so many outsiders," Kwasi growled, "and I respect her as my queen...but our parents are old. Soon they will retire and it will be my turn to lead! And when it is..."

"Then what, Kwasi?"

That was Feoria. The attention of the hunters, the royals and Layali turned to the mouth of the medicine cave, where she was standing beside a nervous Kichea with fresh bandages. The mamoyo left her friend behind and came into the clearing, facing her brother head-on. Layali could sense tension in the air like the heat of a fire.