The Lion Guard: Fuli's Story

Chapter 4: A Thousand Years

The walk was silent, neither Unina or Fuli said a single word as they left the territory. Fuli glanced ahead at her mother apprehensively, guilt creeping in her stomach as she lowered her head down again to look away.

When they were far enough, Fuli noticed Unina finally stopped and so she followed, sitting beside her mother while still avoiding her gaze. There was a long, awkward pause between the parent and her daughter, before the former finally sighed heavily;

"Fuli, look at me."

Biting her bottom lip anxiously, Fuli looked up at her, shuffling her paws against the ground. "Mama, I-I'm sorry..."

Unina sighed again, "I know dear... But you still disobeyed me. I told you not to go off on your own, but you did anyway." She turned to look at Fuli with an exhausted look, "I was practically scared to death when I found you missing. I thought someone might have taken you or you wandered off and got hurt or killed. And worse, you've injured a local cub and angered their family!"

"I know..." Fuli mewed, shame burning her pelt. While the other cubs were mean to her, she now felt bad for biting Duma. "They were just teasing me so much, and they called you bad names! And I was gonna wait for you to wake up first before going out, I swear. But I couldn't wait... I know what I did was wrong..." She sniffled as she blinked back tears that threatened to spill from her eyes; "I'm sorry..."

""You're grounded," Unina told her. "For a whole week, you will not leave the den sight. No more exploring after mealtimes, after dinner you'll be going straight to bed. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mama," Fuli mumbled, accepting her punishment with no further objections.

Her mother gazed at her sympathetically, she knew how hard this would be for her very hyperactive daughter. She couldn't blame her for wanting to go out and explore on her own; she is a growing cheetah girl who may be a bit too curious for her own good to the point where she lets it get the best of her. Unina had been like that at Fuli's age once upon a time. Though it didn't excuse what she did, and Fuli couldn't just get away with hurting someone unpunished.

"Mama?" Fuli meekly spoke up again.

"Yes, dear?"

"Why were those cheetahs so mean? I just wanted to be nice and play with other cubs for the first time. But they kept telling me to go away, and they said really mean things about me!"

"Oh honey, a cheetah doesn't have friends," her mother mewed.

"Oh..." Fuli's ears drooped. Well that's just sad...

"I know it's hard to understand now, but it's just how we are," Unina went on. "Cheetahs, especially us girls, live solitary lives. Unless we have cubs, we don't live with other cheetahs even if they're our own kin."

But Fuli was still perplexed, "Don't you ever get lonely?"

"Well not anymore, since I have you now," Unina pointed out, nuzzling her daughter. "But the life of a loner isn't all bad. At first it's hard, but eventually you'll get used to it."

"What about boy cheetahs?" Fuli pointed out, "Do they live alone too?"

"Sometimes," Unina answered, " But for the most part, they like to stick together with their brothers and maybe other guys to form a group called a 'coalition'.  Boy cheetahs are more social than girls." She gave a small sad sigh; "If any of the brothers in your litter survived, they'd do the same thing. While you and your possible sisters would be loners when they come of age."

Speaking of her brothers and sisters, there was a new burning question weighing on Fuli's mind, and it seemed like Unina could tell.

"Anything else wrong?" she asked.