Painted Flowers

Chapter 35 - A New Age

Feoria spent the remainder of that night contemplating to herself, reciting in her head over and over again the speech she was to give to her pack to catch them up on what was happening. She didn't sleep a wink, and was surprised that her restlessness didn't wake dear Kichea curled up next to her. As birdsong at last rang through the air, her mate opened her eye and stretched her legs. After giving Kichea a couple of greeting licks on the cheek, Feoria was on her paws, racing outside and towards the medicine cave.

Kwasi and Amare were already awake, looking sullen and exhausted, clearly on the same wavelength she was. They sat just outside the cave, their paws stained from the night's work of burying their mother. Feoria acknowledged them in turn, wishing them a good morning, though it appeared anything but.

"Are you ready?" Amare murmured.

Feoria nodded leniently.

The entirety of the Pack of Falling Ash--every member, from the tiniest pup to the frailest elder--sat at the base of the gathering rock. Never before had Feoria been given the chance to sit atop the massive stone structure, and never before had she been given an aerial view of everyone she knew and cared for. The new leader gulped nervously, but her siblings were at her side to support her.

Feoria had instructed Layali and Zain to sit near the front, since they were the main subject of the morning's meeting. Kioni was safe with Kichea, who was given the task to watch over her. Her siblings, Cyrah's litter, having graduated the nursery and were now in training to become hunters, sniffed the cheetah cub with interest and play-bowed repeatedly towards her with a whirlwind of wagging tails, finding her presence quite entertaining. While a bit overwhelmed, Kioni was still excited to have so many dogs wanting to play with her.

When at last it seemed like every Ash dog was settled in their place and had their attentions set on the royals, Kwasi cleared his throat loudly.

"Pack of Falling Ash," his voice echoed against the stone walls. "As you may have heard, our Mambokadzi, Xenia, passed away last night."

The Ash dogs all bowed their heads in vigil, though this wasn't exactly news given how fast information spread within the camp. A few of them murmured condolences, and others shed a couple tears.

"We have buried her just outside the camp walls, and the funeral will take place at the sun's highest point," Kwasi went on. "Furthermore, King Barke has made the difficult decision to retire, leaving the roles of Mambo and Mambokadzi passed down to us, their lineage. You shall now address us as King Kwasi, Queen Feoria, and..." Kwasi turned to whisper to the third sibling. "Er, well...Amare? You're neither of those."

Amare thought for a moment. "How about just...Royal Amare?"

"Yes, right. King Kwasi, Queen Feoria, and Royal Amare."

Kwasi then nodded to Feoria, indicating that it was her turn to speak. Taking a deep breath, Feoria stepped forward, a little too timidly. "Also, as some of you are aware...Kichea has become my mate. She is now a part of the royal family as well. Please refer to her as Queen Kichea."

The Ash dogs began murmuring among themselves, and from what Feoria could tell, at least half of them were approving. This was quite unorthodox, after all; while it was more than common in painted dog society for the king and queen to have a litter fighting for the crown, usually the strongest and best fit to lead would become the main ruler, and it was usually a male, while their chosen mate would join them and bear their pups while any sisters would go on to become healers.

This generation changed all that. All three royal siblings were now the rulers of the Ash pack, while instead of one queen there were two, neither of which would be able to pass down their bloodline in that case. No matter; that was an issue to be addressed in the future, by any of the royals, not just Feoria. For now, the four of them would lead and guide the pack just fine. Judging by the reactions of their subjects, the majority would at least go along with it. Feoria decided to ignore the ones that looked entirely confused or displeased.