Light and Dark

Chapter 18: Her Last Days

Asteria's death had done a huge number on Leru. She had gotten a bad vibe from Asteria, and Leru's gut had been right. She hated Asteria. But what Leru hated even more was that she had been right. Leru had caused Snake's death. Leru had rejected him. But that was in the past. Asteria can rot in Umbra's Kingdom for all I care, Leru thought with disgust.

Vine and Leru were now looking for a place to live. A suitable den for their cubs. They were mates now, and they needed a place to raise their cubs.

"Why don't we live with my mother?" Leru suggested hopefully. She wanted to know how Anaiyu was doing. It had only been a couple days since she became independent, but it seemed so long ago with everything that happened.

"Well, I guess we could. I mean, she must be getting old and I'm sure our cubs could spice up her life," Vine agreed, placing a paw to his mate's stomach.

Leru giggled. "I'm not sure yet," she said shyly. Vine looked at her with a teasing grin. "Well know for sure soon," he said in his husky voice.

Leru led the way. It was a miracle that she remembered the way at all. But either way, she rejoiced at being able to see her mother again. She couldn't wait to see Anaiyu.

They came upon a river that they had to cross. Vine led the way, with Leru scampering along behind him. The water was crystal clear, so Leru could see right down to the bottom. Little fish darted this way and that between and around her paws. Leru mischievously splashed Vine on the back with a pawful of water. He turned around with a playful glint in his green eyes. He then splashed a pawful of cold river water. She squealed with delight. Leru couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun. Then memories of her and her brothers as cubs started to flash back. Her mood dampened instantly when she realized that she could barely remember their faces.

Vine must've noticed her expression, because he stopped and asked, "Are you alright? What's wrong? Your mood went from happy to sad in a second."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I'm remembering what it was like to be a cub, Vine. And it scares me because I can barely remember my brothers'  faces," Leru admitted. She was looking down at the water running around her legs.

"Well, allow me to refresh your memory," a voice boomed.

Leru looked instantly behind her as a huge black jaguar padded towards them from the river's shore. Vine padded closer to her, a territorial move that her brothers had gotten her used to. The unknown jaguar padded up to the shore and stopped. "You two are very interesting jaguars to go swimming in a river at this time of the year," he said. He laughed a hardy laugh, genuine and strong. Leru swore she'd heard that laugh before... But where?

"If you must know, my mate and I are going to our new den," Vine stated defiantly. He took a challenging step towards the male at the shore. It gave Leru goosebumps to hear Vine call her his mate.

The huge male jaguar looked surprised. "My lil' sis has a mate?" He exaggerated with that flashy smile he so often showed.

It clicked.

"Jinkx?! Is that you?!" Leru asked, suddenly so excited.

"The one and only," Jinkx said in a proud tone.

Leru bounded to her brother and nuzzled him until he was sore. Vine stepped lot of the river and stood by the shore, awkward as can be. When Leru and Jinkx were finished their reunion, Jinkx looked Vine over.