Painted Flowers

Chapter 34 - The Other Side

Kichea was particularly enthralled by Kioni, and was quick to grow attached to her. She had offered Kioni a bone from the previous day's meal for her to chew on, to which the cub timidly accepted, purring with contentment. She even scooted over to cuddle up next to Kichea's flank, leaving the one-eyed dog ecstatic.

"I love her," she whispered giddily.

Feoria smiled at her mate, glad to see her in such a good mood for the first time in moon cycles. It had been so grueling not knowing what had happened to their missing packmates after the eruption. Even before it had been safe enough for them to return to their camp, Feoria and Kichea had gone on search parties together, which of course had been to no avail, losing the three scents easily in the ashy confusion of what remained of the forest--the area that was safe enough to travel through at least. Feoria had practically given up at that point, so she never in her wildest dreams would have imagined reuniting with Zain and Layali that afternoon.

Despite her joy for their return, there was still someone missing, someone she could not stop thinking about. Judging by how sullen Zain seemed, she knew she needed to wait for the right time she could ask him about it.

"So she speaks Canine?" Feoria asked curiously, turning back to the cheetah cub.

"A little bit!" Layali replied. "She's learning."

Kioni was looking at Kichea's face, and she began pawing at her bandages. Kichea shrunk away with a frown, and then Kioni gestured to the bits of scattered scar tissue on the side of her muzzle that was visible.

"Cat?" Kioni asked, flexing her claws. "Cat scratch?"

Kichea's hazel eye widened. "Yes...a lioness." She ducked her face away shyly.

Kioni nodded thoughtfully. "Lioness... Mama, too. Lioness scratch Mama."

Kichea's breath caught in her throat, and it was obvious that this statement had startled everyone else in the cave as well.

"Oh..." Layali breathed. "What? A lioness hurt your mama, Kioni?"

Kioni nodded rapidly, her fur now standing on end. "Family. Family gone now."

Layali let out a soft gasp. Clearly this is the first time that the cub had been able to communicate what had happened to her before the eruption. Feoria leaned in closer, completely fascinated.

"R-really?" Kichea gasped.

What a strange coincidence, Feoria thought. What if that lioness was the very one that had killed Nuru, and injured Kichea? Or perhaps big cats were just savage killers in general, preying on fellow predators just because they could. She found herself hating them. But she was impressed that Kioni, in her broken language, had been able to relay this information.

"Oh...I see. Well...well done, Kioni," Layali praised, lightening her tone. "See, I told you she was learning our language. She's really smart--for a feline."

"Perhaps she'll become fluent?" Kichea mused. "A cheetah living among dogs--that would be really interesting."

"It would," Feoria agreed. "It's not like she has anywhere else to go, right?"

"Don't think about Mama now, Kioni," Layali soothed, giving the cub a lick on her forehead. "You can tell me more later. And...we may not be your, uh, new parents or anything, but...I could be your auntie, I suppose? I kind of like that better." She nudged her traveling companion. "Right, Uncle Zain?"

Feoria studied Zain for a moment as he gave a small smile and a nod. He wasn't quite as skinny and underfed as when she had last seen him, but his fur was just as scruffy as ever. He looked down again at something at the ground, lost in his own anxious head, but met Feoria's eyes when she cleared her throat.