King Of The Mountain

Chapter 4: Deep Breath

Young Kazi and Young Sikara became best friends as time went on. Together they made a great team. Sikara had nobody, so having Kazi travel with her gave her good company. Kazi didn't know anything about surviving on the stretch, so traveling with Sikara helped him get by pretty well. There was never a dull moment with the pair, as they always had something to do. Wether that be to play fight, chase baboons (or get chased by them), to fish, or to explore. They always had an adventure to go on; they truly made a good team. One morning, the two woke up in some tall grass, and decided that they wanted to do something different than their past days. Sikara walked over to the edge of a ledge and sat down, looking off at some cliffs with colors bouncing off the peaks from the early sunrise. Red, orange, pink and Yellow shined past the tall cliffs and illuminated a beautiful light towards the cubs.

"Hey Kaz! How about we go there today?"Sikara asked him with a smile. Kazi padded over to where his friend was and looked towards the cliffs. "Woah.." he said, mesmerized by the beauty of the shining cliffs. "Yeah, yeah! It's nice and all but can we go already! I'm getting bored." The green eyed cub rolled her eyes and lightly trailed over towards a walkable path. Kazi shook his head and quickly made his way to join her side. They made their way down the ledge and ran through a field with dry grass to the red cliffs. The cubs chuckled with laughter as they began to explore, taking in all the sights of the new land. Kazi jumped on top of a high rock, just above Sikara. "Hey Sikar! Check this out!" Sikara placed her front paws on a rock in front of her and looked up at him. Kazi took a deep breath and with all his strength, he gave out the biggest roar he could. Sweat beaded at his forehead as his claws extended out, clutching the ledge as he did so. Sikara laughed as Mazi only made a squeak. She leaped up to join him on the rock and gave him a playful shove. "Move on over, moron! Let a real lion show ya how it's done." Kazi rolled his eyes and stepped back. Sikara stood to the edge and gathered her might, she channeled it well, as instead of a little squeak, her roar came out as loud as a mighty king. Kazi's jaw dropped as her roar echoed against the cliffs. It sounded as it would go on forever. "Woah! T-that-that was awesome Sikars!" Sikara looked at the cliffs a bit dumbfounded, but then shook out of it and looked proudly at her gleaming friend.

"Uhh.. yeah! Of course that was awesome..! Because I am awesome!" She sat up proudly. "Yeah!" Kazi agreed. Their small celebration was cut short however, as the sounds of hyena laughter drowned out the echo of the powerful roar. Kazi padded over to the edge of the rock they were on and looked down at the hyenas smiling. "Hey look! I guess they heard it too! Maybe they wanna be friends!" Sikara quickly stood up and pushed Kazi a little to see the dark furred animals. "Oh no." She muttered underneath her breath, "what's wrong?" Kazi asked her. "Kazi we need to get outta here! Now! I think that this may their territory.." Kazi thought for a second before responding to her. "Hmm.. maybe they wanna share! And then we can all have adventures here together!" Sikara shook her head, how dumb can he be? "No Kazi.. they don't wanna play.. they wanna bite.. those.. those things.. they are the reason why I haven't seen my parents in a while.. and right now, this is their territory.. and we are trespassing.." Kazi didn't know half the things she said to him, but he did notice her tone in voice.. this isn't good. Kazi nodded to show he understood, but he wasn't sure if he ever would.

The hyenas caught scent of the cubs as they scurried down the chipping rocks and made their way through the crevasses, trying to find the way to stay out of sight of the hyenas. The big furry creatures with their sustaining laughter quickly made their way after the two, with a clear mindset that a cub-sandwich was on the menu today. The cubs screamed as the hyenas followed their every move, close behind them on every movement. Kazi followed Sikara as she led him to the top of the highest cliff. The hyenas surrounded them as they were forced to constantly back up towards the cliff that had a pit of darkness beneath. Their breathing became heavy as the hyenas licked their lips. Sikara shook with fear as she continued to step back. She subconsciously walked backwards, not focusing on the edge that her paw skimmed. The rocks underneath her continued to chip as the cliff came out from beneath her. "Sikara!!!" Kazi screamed as he watched her fall. The quicker she continued to fall, the quicker she faded out of view. Kazi turned back to the hyenas as tears formed at his eyes. He was all alone now, and he had to fight. Fight or he'd be killed. But he wasn't a fighter. Was he? Kazi saw an opening between one of the hyenas legs, if he took that window, maybe he could get out alive. Then again, it would be one heck of a drop down. Was it worth the risk? Yes, if he had any hope of surviving, and maybe seeing Sikara again, this was it. He took a deep breath and ran towards the hyenas. They looked shocked, but only a second went by as they watched the small cub squeeze between one of the clan members legs and make a leap of faith. Kazi watched the pointy ledges that continued to get bigger as he fell closer and closer to them. This is gonna hurt.