The Last Lioness: As A Cub

Chapter 7: I'm A juvenile.

It has been a few months since I saw the leopardess with her cubs. I am now older than before, not too old but older. I can catch my own prey now! I survive on buffalo and wildebeest calves, zebra foals and mostly antelopes and gazzelles. I love it here!....It would've been better if my pride was here..I really miss them....

Anyway, lets get back to where I was at,

I stood their in the tall golden grass with my sandy pelt of shining fur glowed at dawn as I witnissed a herd of Zebra mixed in with some Gazelles and Antelopes in front of me. I was excellently blending into the tall forest like grass when all of a sudden a gun shot. I gasped and looked around frantically before dashing into thick brush, as I managed to step inside the was a cry of a zebra and the moan of a wildebeest. Two more gun shots. I looked up to the herd to see all of the animals running as two men ran towards the lifeless carcasses. They picked up the flesh by the legs and pulled them onto the truck of the vehicle. I recognised that vehicle! The vehicle my mother was pulled on! I started to run foreward, hoping they wouldn't turn around.

And they didnt.

I leapt into the air and stretched out like a bird of prey swooping for the kill, I knocked one of the men down as the other person grabbed a gun and pointed it at me, I managed to dodge the end of the rifle and pushed him down, slitting his throat and making him scream and cry, I turned to see the other man with the rifle, pointing at me. I bent my ears back and went to leap,..it was too late...

FOR HIM! HAH!

A juvenile she leopard with half a tail came running and pushed him down, making the rifle snap and no use was it now, she then thrashed the body about until it was a lifeless pile of meat. I went to see the vehicle and lied where my mother had while gazing at the leopard, it nodded its head and bounded off into the savannah, I shouted after it. "Wait! Wait stop!" It stopped and turned. "Thank you! Thank you ever so much!" It looked as if it gave a small smile and continued off where it had come from. I thought but then saw it was getting to dusk, i needed to go back to my den for now.

When I arrived at my den, it is a pile of sticks over a overhang, disguising it as a normal pile of branches. I managed to squeeze my way into it and lie therre with my paws and the tip of my nose poking out of the entrance. I hear hyena cackles and wild dogs howl, "They're at it again. Always fighting them mutts" I muttered to myself, glad to be a graceful feline not a mangy mutt of a hyena. I close my eyes but i hear a loud thump and a whine, I looked outside of my den and then wearily peered out before looking around.

Something was whining and I had to know what. As my paws padded along the dry grass i turned to see the hyenas were still at it with the wild dogs, but a lone pup of the wild dog family had made its way to my den, I look around before snatching it and dragging it into the farthest corner of my den. I paced around it while it stopped whining and looked at me, confused it started whining again and the dogs had gone silent. I gave it a scrap of zebra meat and it went quite again, devouring the rotting flesh it lied there quietly.

I knew if the dogs found out where the pup had gone they would tear me up and eat me for their dinner...

No thank you.

I decided in the morning I would take back the pup and let it go out and find them itself. I realised it was a boy when it cocked his leg up and had a pee over my den walls -.- I had to wipe it off and try to disguise the smell.

MORNING

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I woke up to feel bristly whiskers touching my face and little paws on my stomach. It was the small pup I had found. "Hello little man." It went down on its front paws and wanted to play, I tried to do the same. I couldn't. "Lets find your family." I took him by his scruff and saw the wild dogs in the distance, I placed him down half way thee and ran back into my den, I shut my eyes but heard another whine. It was him. "Go back to your family.." I said while running up to the wild dogs I placed him down. "Yours?" I said sarcastically. The mother broke into bits and started barking at me, so did the rest of the pack..they had me running for my life. I was so stupid! If I could survive them a small little pup WOULD'NT! Dogs are small and helpless!

Why did i bring him out there...I could've used his whines to draw them to me and they could take him themselves. So I ran and ran I sprinted up a tree and they gathered at the bottom. I saw the leopard and it started to chuckle. "I thought lions didn't climb trees!" It called to me. "We do when we are bloody being chased by a pack of wild mutts!" The dogs went even louder and tried clawing their way up. The leopard ran in, roaring and snarling, making them back off. They finally disappeared and so did the leopard. I smiled when she left. But then I thought. I looked at her tail, it was distinctively like the female leopard cubs tail...it had half of the tail missing at the bottom.