The Lion Guard: Fuli's Story

Chapter 3: The Ugly Cheetah Cub

"Fuli, wait for me," Unina chirped when her daughter once again ran ahead of her.

Fuli skidded to a halt to let her mother catch up. The little cheetah cub took a deep breath, smelling the air of her savanna home. A purr rose in her throat as she closed her eyes, feeling the warm rays of the bright afternoon sun hit her body. Opening her eyes, Fuli prepared to surge forward when a paw suddenly planted firmly on her tail, halting the cub in her tracks before she could take another step. Fuli stumbled backwards from having tugged on her tail and she looked over her shoulder.

"Mama!"

"I said wait, sweetie," Unina mewed, can't help but smile at the lively young girl. Then she gradually withdrew her paw from Fuli's tail, "Okay, go on."

"Wa-hoooo!" Fuli chirruped, instantly sprinted forward again, making Unina laugh. It was only day two in their travels, they trekked through the afternoon until nightfall before continuing on their way as soon as dawn came around. Unina won't allow them to stop until she and her cub are as far away from the African wild dogs as possible. As always, Fuli was always up and about the second the sun was out, ready for another great trip across the savanna.

The young one-year-old cheetah zipped through the grass, closing her eyes and grinning from ear to ear as she relished the feeling of the cool breeze whipping through her mantle fur, sending an excited shiver down her spine. Wispy yellow-green blades gently brushed against her small, spotted flanks, tickling her.

"Weeeee! Look at meeeeee!" Fuli whooped as she zoomed on through, "Mommy, look how fast I'm going!"

"Yes, dear, I'm looking," Unina chuckled. In reality, Fuli wasn't going as fast as she believes she is, since she's still a cub of course. But she felt as if she were sprinting at the top speed of an adult cheetah, and her mother didn't have the heart to break the truth to her.

"I'm so fast!"

"Honey, wait! Slow down so Mommy can catch up!"

Fuli giggled, "Hehe, I'm faster than you!"

Unina sighed and shook her head in amusement, her daughter was quite the pawful. Just when it seemed like her energy couldn't be depleted, gradually, Fuli grew tired, having tuckered herself out from all the running throughout the whole morning.

Unina walked over to where Fuli plopped down to sit and rest, the little cub was nodding as she tried to sit up and her eyelids were growing heavy.

"You look tired," Unina said with a lighthearted smirk.

"No I'm not..." Fuli mewed, only to be cut off by a long yawn. She didn't have the energy to protest against her mother as she took her by the scruff and carried her over to a nearby umbrella thorn acacia tree. Unina herself was growing a bit tired herself from all the endless walking she'd been doing for the past two days. They made good progress, there was bound to be a good kilometers between her and the pack of painted dogs by this point. They'll be able to travel more once they have more energy after some well-earned rest.

The female cheetah gently lowered her cub on the ground beneath the umbrella thorn; like its name suggested, the tree's canopy of green leaves grew in an exaggerated umbrella-shaped crown, easily providing plenty of shade underneath. Unina laid under the acacia and rested her head on her paws, wrapping her tail around Fuli, who was already fast asleep.

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By the time noon rolled around, Fuli was the first to wake from her nap, slowly blinking open her eyes. Pushing herself up, she silently slipped out of Unina's grasp and did a big stretch followed by an equally big yawn. Then she shook her head to clear away the grogginess. Thanks to the nap, Fuli felt a sudden rush of newfound energy that anticipation prickled in the hairs of her mantle fluff and itched at her paws.