I've missed writing, and I've been so busy, but now, I think I can keep at this one!
It's all about one cougar who has a destiny to save her pack of wildcats from a terrible danger!
I'll try to update every week or so! Thanks for reading, and remember,
FEEDBACK IS NEEDED!
NOTE: Also posted by me on MagiStream
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Reviews
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Current Characters
Alaqua (AH-lah-qay): Pretty honey-colored female with bright blue eyes and one white paw
Tahlia (TAH-lee-a): Large pale brown female with an untidy patch of white fur on her head and green eyes
Nalamute (NAH-lah-myoot): Muddy brown male with white ears and green eyes
Alliku (AH-likoo): Beautiful honey-colored female with blue eyes
Shekou (SHEK-coo): Dark gray male with a muzzle tinged silver; amber eyes
Sosie (SOH-see): Pale ginger female with white patches and green eyes
Avril (AHV-ril): Gorgeous ginger female with amber eyes and a white ear
Nero (NEE-ro): Light gray male with a black muzzle and paws; amber eyes
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Prologue
Pale sunlight filtered through a hollow, dappling the grass with honey-colored splotches. There, under the delicate willow leaves, lay a beautiful cat, her sandy fur rippling in a gentle breeze. She had a lean, strong body, and a long tail, which was wrapped loosely around two bundles curled against her flank. They whimpered and squeaked, sucking their first mouthfuls of milk. The mother smiled wistfully, her eyes swimming with pure love for her new cubs.
Above the thin thicket of forest, clouds smothered the never-ending blue sky. And for a few precious moments, the world was still and hushed, everything in the forest sitting a silent vigil for the leader who was just born. Not a frond moved, not a fern rustled, and the pretty golden she-cat lay, her eyes closed, her heart bursting with love.
The brief flash of quiet was broken by a twitch of under-brush, which seconds later produced a sturdy, muddy brown male cougar from its depths.
“How-” he started to mew, hurrying up to his mate, but finished, “Oh, Alliku, they're perfect.”
The lovely sandy female raised her weak head to nuzzle the burly male's cheek.
“Yes, Nalamute,” she murmured, licking him softly on the forehead, “There are both females, Tahlia and Alaqua, Morning Dew and Sweet Gum Tree.”
As if she knew her name, Alaqua let out a soft mew and shifted in the lush grass. Tahlia, who looked incredibly like her father, squeaked in protest as her sister's yelps awakened her from her sleep. The two cubs bickered a bit, which sounded, to their amused parents, like some birds chattering and quarreling over a poppy seed.
Nalamute rose from his place beside Alliku and padded toward the brush again, meowing that he must tell Sekou about her birthing.
Tall mountain ranges surrounded the large cougar as he glided gracefully out of the forest and up their slopes; his paws appeared not to touching the stone. The male began to pick his way carefully up the rock as he neared his destination, a small dusty cave embedded in the sheer wall. A ledge jutted out over the dark entrance like a curtain, and growing from inside the mountain was a gnarled old tree, the color of rust.
The roots had somehow tangled in the craggy stone, and the bright, leafless branches were bent up in an odd fashion.
Nalamute halted on the cliff's edge, curling his tail around his paws and waiting for his leader to welcome into his den.
At last, he heard the gruff, growling voice called from inside: “Enter.”
Nalamute slipped into the cave, licking down a tuft of untidy her on his pelt, to see Sekou sitting in a shadow near the back.
“Sekou,” he mewed simply.
“Nalamute,” the male replied back, shifting a bit in his position so that the light gray hair on his pelt shown clearly, despite the gloomy area. “You told be that your mate has just had her cubs? What are they?”
“They are two females, Tahlia and Alaqua.”
“Very nice. They shall be fine cougars one day.”
“Yes,” piped up a pretty ginger-colored female who was sorting through a pile of rabbit bones.
“Sosie!” Nalamute mewed contentedly, stepping forward to nuzzle his old friend. He and the she-cat were once in love, but they soon realized that they weren't for each other, and after a while, both found love elsewhere. Sosie bonded with Sekou a few months later to have a cub, who was now a teen. The lovely Avril was almost at the point of mating herself.
“It's so nice to see you again,” Nalamute meowed, resting his tail lightly on her back.
She nodded. “Of course, its always nice to see you, too.” Sosie pushed the rabbit bones aside.
Nalamute nodded and headed out of the cave, flicking his tail lightly to Sekou to tell him he was leaving.
Sekou smiled. “You're gonna be great father, Nalamute. And those cubs will make you proud, I can feel it.”
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When Nalamute returned to the hollow, Alliku was lying on her belly, her eyes closed. The sound of her gentle breathing told her mate that she was asleep. Beside her, the tiny cubs were awake and mewling. The pretty golden one, Alaqua, was curiously prodding a leaf that had fallen from its branch with her paw, and Tahlia, who busily drank more milk, made no movements at all.
Next to them, a pretty slender teen was licking her paw as she watched, laying a little ways beside a scruffy white figure.
“Avril? What are you doing here?” Nalamute asked, confused at why Sekou's daughter was in the birthing area.
“I was out hunting when my den mate, Nero, told me about your new cubs,” she flashed him an adoring smile, her blue eyes bright, “And I thought I might bring you some kill.”
With a flick of the tall, the ginger she-cat gestured to the dead mountain goat.
“Thank you.” the male mewed gratefully, tearing off part of the leg and placing it beside Alliku's sleeping form.
When Avril left, night began to creep into the hollow, darkening the bright, colorful land. As the sun slipped deeper into the canyons. The breeze had picked up, and as it blew threw their fur, Nalamute could pick out the smell of damp leaves and misty foam, which probably came from the river. The sky was dark as blackberries, and the stars twinkled like little marshmallows.
As he settled down next to his mate and the cubs, the dusty brown male saw something odd dancing in the sky. It seemed to be a bear, which made him shudder, attacking a young cub. But not just any cub. Alaqua! The cougar almost jumped to his feet, but remembered that his daughter was safe at his side. As he watched, the cub got larger and stronger, and soon the star-bear collapsed, and the teen stood triumphantly on its carcass.
But suddenly more figures appeared around it. Alliku, Tahlia, and himself! Their forms dropped limply to the ground, slashed by an army of bears, who'd just appeared out of no where.
And when Nalamute blinked, it was all gone. It took him a few seconds for him to notice that his breathing was shallow and terrified, and he was beginning to be drenched in sweat.
Just the stars. It was just your imagination. He tried to tell himself, but though he managed to put the vision out of his thoughts, the pain and fright remained with him.
I can't end that way for my family. I can't. That can't be the future. But as a cougar, he believed that his ancestors became stars when they died. Could they be telling me that one day, my family will be murdered by bears? Or are they trying to say that my daughter will one day lead our pack? Or both?
Post with your comments please!
