Light and Dark

Chapter 4: Danger in the Wild

The next day was a sunny one. The birds chirped, monkeys yelped to each other through the trees, and other interesting animals called out weird sounds left and right.

Anaiyu stuck her head out of the den, checking if it was safe. When she gave the all-clear, Jinkx, Shade, Ifrit, and Leru all scrambled out of the den. They all rolled around and ran amok while Anaiyu laid down on one of the big and flat roots of the kapok tree. It was sunny here, and she could warm herself up.

The cubs were playing in the field a few meters across from the kapok tree. Anaiyu could see the cubs all playing hide and seek in the grass. They weren't just playing, however; they were practicing fighting and hunting moves. Ifrit was 'it.'

He suddenly caught sight of a frog in the grass. He abruptly ended the game by going off course and walking cautiously up to it. It was bright blue, like the color of the sky. It was about the size of Ifrit's head, which was what attracted him to it. It had splotches of black on it, too. And it smelled funny.

"Hey guys! Come here, look what I found!" He called.

"What did you find?" Anaiyu asked.

"I found a sky-blue frog, Mom!" He answered.

Anaiyu froze. She bolted across to the field and jumped clean over Jinkx, Shade and Leru. She ran straight to Ifrit.

"Don't touch it!!!" She screamed.

Her other 3 cubs ran at her heels, sensing something was wrong. Anaiyu leaped and landed beside Ifrit, and grabbed him by his scruff. She then yanked him backwards, and swung her paw at the frog, sending it flying in the other direction. The frog then hopped away.

Ifrit was shaking behind her. Anaiyu turned to him. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Y-y-yeah. I'm o-okay Mom," he replied, trembling. Anaiyu looked him over, then, with him alright, licked the top of his head to make him relax.

Leru, Shade, and Jinkx all came bounding up to their brother. They all huddled around him and licked him. "What was that?" Ifrit asked.

"It was a poison frog, Ifrit," Anaiyu replied. "They can burn your insides if you eat them. They only look pretty, when really they taste horrid."

"Okay, that's so unfair," Shade said. His mother and siblings all giggled.

"Mother! Your paw!" Jinkx shouted, alarmed. Anaiyu looked at her paw and, sure enough, there was fur missing from the tip. This paw was the paw she used to swat the frog away.

"Does it hurt?" Jinkx asked, sniffing it.

"It hurts a little, but I've felt worse," his mother replied.

"Oh Mom! I'm so sorry!!!!!" Ifrit cried as he collapsed on the ground with his paws over his face, crying. Leru nudged him softly with her muzzle. "It wasn't your fault, big brother. You didn't know," she said soothingly. At that, Ifrit got up and wiped the tears away with his paws.

Suddenly, there was rumbling. The ground was shaking. Anaiyu placed her ear to the ground. The rumbling was getting louder. "Mom!!! Look!" She heard Leru call out. She snapped her head in the direction of the rumbling.

Suddenly, tons of deer burst through the tree line at the edge of the field opposite the jaguars, and they were running right towards them. The kapok tree was a few meters to their left, but they wouldn't make it in time. Shade turned and tried to run, but before he could get very far, Jinkx grabbed him and dragged him back. "Get down!" Anaiyu demanded. They all crouched down, and the grass was tall enough to where they were barely visible.