The Lion Guard: Fuli's Story

Prologue: A Miracle

I didn't like the original plot anymore, so I'm changing it. Anyways, here's one of my oldest OCs suffering again because idk I always make her suffer somehow.  😔

Unina screamed as another contraction wrack her body, she clawed helplessly at the ground of her den, curling up in a feeble attempt to curb the pain. Gradually, the span of time between the grueling contractions diminished. They grew closer and closer to each other, giving her less time to recover. The female cheetah groaned and gasped as white-hot pain flared through her aching belly. Summoning every bit of strength in her body, she squeezed her muscles and pushed, sobbing and howling as she did everything in her power to get the cubs out. It was slow, excruciatingly slow. She could barely breathe, wheezing and gasping around the pain. Of course she was scared, terrified out of her mind. It felt like she was dying. It didn't help that she had to go through it all on her own, writhing in her own agony with nobody close to comfort her.

How did mother do this...? How did she stay brave for so long...?

Minutes grew into hours, time was the least of Unina's concerns. She rapidly grew increasingly weak and dazed. Her whole body felt numb, her spotted fur drenched in sweat, and she could barely keep his eyes open. After many hours of screaming and cursing and crying as she endured her insufferable labor, seeming to have no end, it finally did. Then everything went quiet and Unina passed out.

By the time Unina regained her consciousness, the sky had completely darkened and the moon and stars were out. The cheetah blinked open her eyes and her pupils glazed dizzily around the dark gloom of the underbrush. Her nostrils flared at the metallic scent of blood and she suddenly remembered; My cubs!

Wearily, Unina tried to lift her head up. She gasped and groaned as a sharp pain shot through her head, causing her to lean back down. Her whole body felt sore and there was an especially deep ache throbbing in her abdomen. But Unina tried again to rise up, willing to force through the pain to turn around to see the result of the sheer misery she had just endured for nearly the entire afternoon; and what she found completely horrified her.

Through the bloody discharge, she found five, tiny bundles near her trembling, aching body. But out of the five, only one of the cubs was blindly wriggling around at the curve of her mother's belly as she nursed. The remaining four lay still in the nest, none of them even suckling or letting out soft, feeble mewls like their littermate.

Leaning forward, Unina gingerly lapped her tongue over their soft, damp pelts; none of them moved. Whimpering, Unina tried again, licking and gently nosing the small bodies, hoping to see at least one of them crawl or hear a faint cry, something, anything. But all four of them remained still, not a peep from any of them.

The pain that tore at Unina's heart sharply like claws felt even worse than the pain in her weakened body. I-I've lost them... My first litter, my babies... I've lost all of them...

Then, her gaze drifted over to the only cub that was still alive, watching as it finished feeding off her milk. The little cub yawned and snuggled against her soft, cream belly for a nap. Unina's lip quivered as a sob escaped from her throat, she sweeped up the single cub away from the bloody mess and still littermates and into her paws. The infant cheetah gave a startled squeak and squirmed from the sudden embrace, but she soon calmed down when she recognized the scent of her mother.

"Mah...!" the little cub mewled, raising her tiny muzzle upward and opening her mouth wide to reveal a strikingly pink mouth. "Mah... mah...!"

Unina's body trembled as she buried her muzzle into her paws, eyes squeezed shut as tears flowed down the sides of her spotted face.

"My baby..." the mother sobbed uncontrollably, holding her surviving child closer to her chest. "My dear, sweet, little baby..."