The pride

Part three

Tio flicked a fly from his ear as he watched the burial of Katia from a far. Three lionesses pushed dirt over the whole they had dug. It was a small hole, due to the fact that Katia was just a small cub. Tio laid alone on a hill under the shade of a large tree. He took a deep breath and moved his eyes away to gaze at the base of the dusty mountain. His green eyes stuck on the white form of his uncle Telka. He gazed at him darkly. His breath caught in his throat as Telka looked right back at him, making eye contact with the young cub. Tio swallowed hard. Those burning amber eyes made Tio feel like they were burning through him. Tio pulled his eyes away when he heard paws coming up behind him. He turned his head to see Takana and Sala padding calmly and sadly up the hill. Tio lowered his ears at the sight of them. Sala's amber eyes were dim and sad. Yesterday they were so bright and powerful. Just remembering them made Tio shudder lightly. Now they were dark and almost lifeless.
"I hope your intentions aren't to be alone." Takana rumbles softly. Sala steps forward and rubs her head on Tio's.
"If so, we apologize." She mews softly. Tio shakes his head softly.
"No, not at all." He replies with a soft breath of air. Sala nods softly and sits down so close her pelt pressed against his. Tio took a deep breath. He blinked as his nose filled with the new scent of his father and his sister. Takana turned and sat against the trunk of the tree with a groan. Tio looked over at Sala. She looked so tired. So sad.
"Sala?" Tio lowered his voice. He didn't want Takana hearing him, although when he looked at his father, his expression showed that his mind was elsewhere. Sala looked back at Tio.
"Hm?" She forced a purr. Tio flicked his tail lightly.
"You left the den last night for a while... where did you go?" He whispered. Sala raises her ears lightly. The question was so random and out of the blue. It surprised her. She hadn't noticed that she woke Tio when she left in the dark. She hoped no one had noticed.
"I got thirsty. I didn't want to wake you... I didn't mean to wake you..." she blinks. Tio shakes his head.
"No, it's ok." He mews softly. Sala then looks away from Tio. Tio takes another deep breath, looking towards the lionesses who had just finished their burial job.
"But you were gone for over an hour... why were you gone for so long?" He asked. Sala sighs, looking at her paws.
"I tried to go see Katia... but Zarah was in there. Mother was wide awake. I knew I would get in trouble if I went in there so I waited for her to fall asleep." Sala claws lightly at the ground.
"And she didn't, did she?" Tio doesn't take his eyes away from the place that his sister was just buried. Sala takes a moment before responding.
"No. She didn't." She closes her mouth and rests her head on her paws. Tio didn't have anything else to say. He didn't know what else he COULD say. He turned his head to look at the dusty base of the mountain where a white lion sat, licking away dried blood. Tio watches Telka as a feeling of hate bubbles in his stomach. He thought about what Telka had said about Katia. Why he viciously attacked and killed a cub.
"Father?" Tio mews softly. Takana looked at Tio like he had just been pulled out of a daze.
"Yes, son?" His voice rumbled deeply.
"What is the savior? And the fall? Why did Telka say that one of us was the savior and the fall?" Tio continued to watch the lion. Takana takes a deep breath and sighs.
"There is an old prophecy... that A king with a mane of dark and a queen with the eyes of gold would come together and raise the cubs of the savior and the fall. It is told that there will be six elements. Six animals. One of water, one of earth, one of air, and one of fire." He pauses. Sala raises her head.
"And the other two?" She asks.
"The two most powerful. One of creation, and one of destruction. The savior and the Fall... Katia was believed to be the element of creation..." he pauses to gaze at the two cubs.
"We are... unsure who is to be the element of destruction." He licks his lips. Tio lowered his ears.
"Now That Katia is gone... what are we supposed to do? Who are we supposed to believe in?" His voice trembled. Takana looks away.
"Our only hope is in the other elements... if they ever come together." And with that, he stood, and padded quietly down the hill and into the tall grass where he vanished. Tio flicked his tail and looked at Sala.
"That was..." he pauses.
"Uplifting?" She mews back. Tio smiles lightly.
"Totally." He chuckles. Sala rolls her eyes.
"No, not at all." She sits up.
"Why not?" Tio perks his ears.
"Because Takana believes that the prides are as good as dead." She snaps. Tio shakes his head.
"But we still have hope! The other four-"  before Tio could finish, Sala stood with a loud, threatening growl.
"Tio, one of us is going to betray the other! One of us is the element of destruction! There isn't hope, alright?" She snaps. Her eyes seemed to glow now with anger. "Katia is DEAD." She hisses. Tio looks into her gold burning eyes.
"Sala I-" he starts, but he stopped. Sala lowers her ears and sighs, looking away.
"I'm sorry... I just..." she looks towards Telka, and her expression changed back to anger. "I just don't see the point in hope." She turned as she spoke and started walking away. Tio stood to follow, taking a step towards her but froze. He looked towards Telka and realized that the white lion was gazing darkly back at him. Full eye contact. Tio's breath caught in his throat as he gazed back. For a moment, he felt like he couldn't move. He say Telka scoff, and look away, licking his wounds again.

Tio chewed distastefully on a chunk of meat. He didn't feel hungry, but his mother had given it to him in a forceful way. She didn't want to loose anymore cubs. Sala sat quietly in the corner. She said she was extremely hungry today, so she got two helpings of meat, which confused Tio slightly. She always ate a smaller helping. Tio looked over at her for a moment, but when she looked at him, he jerked his eyes away.

Telka licked a patch of blood on his paw weakly. The milky moonlight seemed to make his white pelt glow. He was almost clean of the blood from days before. He was still weak from his wounds and the lack of food and water. He growled lightly as he licked over a deep, painful wound on his paw. He moved his paw lightly through the dirt, searching for a cooler part under it. He freezes, and perks his ears.
"You will never be able to hunt and kill anything if you sneak up like that." He says, lifting his head. A small cub steps behind him. Her white fur looked dirty. She held a large chunk of meat in her teeth.
"Good thing I wasn't trying to sneak up on you." She hisses through her teeth. Telka scoffs and turns to look at her. He gazed into her burning amber eyes.
"Then what were you TRYING to do?" He rumbles. The cub looks at him for a moment, not moving.
"Does it matter?" She growls darkly. Telka perks his ears, looking at the meat.
"Are you just going to make me sit here and smell that?" He asks softly. The cub glares at him for a moment, then she takes her golden eyes off of him. She looks cautiously around, sniffing. Once she found that no one was watching her, she opened her jaw, which released the piece of meat. The flesh dropped to the ground and Telka shot forward, snapping it up in his mouth. He immediately started ripping away at the meat with his teeth, swallowing the pieces quickly. The cub watches distastefully for a moment, then turns and sits to watch the area.
"If you don't die soon, they are going to be suspicious. The cub growls, curling her white tail over her paws. Telka lets out a growl.
"And?" He snarls.
"And they will take matters in their own claws. Zarah or Takana will kill you themselves." The cub turns her head slightly to the side as she spoke. Telka swallowed the last piece of meat and licks his lips.
"Then we should leave." He grumbles. The cub perks her ears and looks at him.
"When?" She asks softly.
"Right now." Telka stands. He sways slightly on his feet. The cub stands.
"Are you sure..?" She steps closer to him. Telka rolls his eyes and scoffs.
"Yes I'm sure. I don't intend on waiting here until they try to kill me... so are you coming or not..?" Telka looks at her with a look of challenge in his eyes. The cub nods.
"I am." Her voice trembled lightly
"Do you know what you will be risking? And losing?" Telka steps closer to her. The cub takes a moment, looking down at her paws. She unsheathes her claws for a moment, then looks up.
"Yes... and I'm willing." She growls. Telka's eyes burn lightly.
"Alright then... lead the way... Sala."