Valley of Weeds

Chapter Twenty-Five

A/N: My favorite line in the entire book is at the end of this chapter :)

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Amur bolted upright, and Flower backed away. "Amur?"

"Atrista," Amur breathed. "Fillius, Nata..."

Flower's eyes widened. "You mean my family?" She squeaked.

Amur looked around frantically. " 'A storm is coming, with gleaming lightning,' " He panted.

"What's going on?" The cub demanded.

Amur looked at her for a second, then turned away, exhaling deeply. Flower still didn't know who her real father was. Perhaps this was the time to tell her? He looked back, and was taken by surprise. The cub looked leaner than most her age.

"Flower, you're as skinny as a stick!"

Flower looked herself over. "I guess I have lost a little bit of weight."

"A little? I'm going hunting. You can't stay that skinny." He headed towards the exit. One would be able to see that it was reasonably moodier out, which meant that autumn was officially over.

"Wait! Amur!" Flower called after him. "What about-" He was out of the cave already. She sighed. "Nevermind."

-----

Alright, it's right there. Just a little closer, and-

A member of the nilgai herd Amur was stalking raised his head from the grass and looked around. It's ears twitched a few times, and it went back to grazing.

Yes!

Amur, relieved for the second chance, slowly crept forwards. He knew that it would've been easier to find an elderly, solitary one, but he found the old ones to be rather tough and stringy. The tender meat of the young and strong would be better for the hungry mouth back at their tree trunk of a den. The tempting smell leaked into his nose, and his mind flashed back to his dream. Nilgai had been Atrista's favorite.

Amur accidentally let out a small sigh, and his eyes widened when he saw that the herd had noticed. They began to flee, so Amur started to persue, regardless of his knowing that he was built for stealth, not speed. He wouldn't be able to catch it. But Flower was worth trying.

-----

When the herd had dissappeared, Amur scowled at the dirt. I'm not going back home yet. Home... He missed the warm cave he had wandered into three years ago. He still remembered that first spring that he had welcomed Atrista inside, and they had caught up with the last four years they had been apart for. He still felt the gentle rain.

-----

"Isn't it beautiful?" She had asked, twirling about in the raindrops.

Yes you are, Amur had replied silently. "Yeah, it is." He looked around at the wonderous scenery. It seemed like another world; a prettier, happier world, with the raindrops reflecting the few strands of moonlight, and the tigress he'd loved since first sight.

"How long did you say you've been here?" Atrista stopped twirling for a moment to ask.

"Three months."

"Ah," Her eyes became distant. "You were so young when you left. What happened to you? When we were cubs, we had so much fun! You weren't as reserved back then."

"And then Axel died," Amur lowered his voice as his eyes darkened like embers. He shut his eyes tightly and his teeth tightened together, as if in a vice. "They didn't believe me when I said that his body smelled of Searn. They said that the sorrow disoriented me - tigers still call me crazy."

Atrista slowly went over and touched her nose to his. "I believed you Amur."

Amur smiled. "I know. Thank you, Atrista."

-----

Amur took a deep yet excited breath as he stepped into the den. "Come outside, Flower."

The cub raised her head. "What is it?"

"A surprise."

Flower eagerly followed him outside, going on once more about how she loved surprises. She stopped and gasped. In front of them was a freshly killed blackbuck.

"Amur," Flower breathed. "You caught this? But... how?"

Amur shrugged. "It was old and sick. Easy prey."

Flower looked back at the blackbuck. Blood had stained the white and dark brown neck. "And we get to eat it? All of it?"

"Yes, of course!"

"You first," She backed away a few steps. "You caught it."

Amur nodded. "Thank you, Flower."

-----

Flower dug into what was left of the carcass. Amur, who had eaten to near-immobility, watched her on his side with sleepy eyes. The white markings on his jaw were dyed with blood, so he rasped his tongue around them. The sound of Flower ravenously gulping down the insides of the split body filled his ears.

"Don't eat too much or too fast," He advised, guiltily looking over at his own bloated stomach. Flower sighed. She went over and flopped out over his belly.

"You're so fat!" She exclaimed.

Amur scowled. "I haven't eaten this much for a while. Don't blame me for indulging. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep inside the den. If I speak much more, I'll throw up."

Flower watched him haul himself up off the ground with much effort and slowly stagger his way inside. With another sigh, she went back to the carcass and began stuffing her jaws once more.