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 months. 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 the return of them, 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 mother, Kioni?"

Kioni nodded rapidly. "Brother, too."

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

"Oh...well done, Kioni," Layali praised. "See, 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. She again turned her focus back to Zain, who was lost in his own anxious head. He wasn't nearly as skinny as when she had last seen him, but his fur was just as scruffy. He looking at something at the ground, but met Feoria's eyes again when she cleared her throat.

"Now, would you mind finally telling us where you've been all this time?" she asked, trying to tone down her impatience. "And why you chose to finally return to us?"

A hush fell over the cave, eerily silent all of the sudden. The weary travelers glanced at each other with a frown.

"We were so worried..." Kichea murmured. "We waited so long for you."

"I'm sorry," Layali glanced down. "I really am. You see, after the eruption, after the fires... I-I decided to carry on on my own. I thought it would be best."

Feoria narrowed her eyes. Given the chance, she would have apologized to Layali for her accusations and for their fight. She no longer held a grudge against Layali, knowing that there was probably a reason for the desire to erase her past. Their bad blood had been carried on for this entire time, since Layali had run away without a final word. Feoria noticed that she had a nasty scar on her floppy ear, and realized with a twinge of shame that she was the one who gave it to her.