What's Meant To Be (Mheetu's Story)

[Zoketi]

Thank you both!

[Zoketi]

Chapter 4:
New Family

Mheetu's nose twitched, and he let out a tiny mewl. His paws pattered the moss, searching for Stiff-shape. The nest was cold and empty. Mheetu squealed his displeasure.

The tiny little cub clawed at the moss weakly. Still blind, but not deaf any longer--his ears had opened in the night. He was flicking them about, tuning the nearby sounds.

Still, he couldn't figure out where he was. And it didn't smell like home, either. He couldn't find Warm-shape.

The crunching of paws made the cub scoot around, squeaking. Asubuhi ducked into the den, a chunk of wildebeest clutched in his jaws. He set the meat down by the entrance, then turned to his son.

"Hello, my son." He murmured to Mheetu, a delighted smile on his muzzle. Now that the sun was up, he could really see the cub's pale fur and resemblance to Asubuhi.

Mheetu stopped his pitiful mewing and sniffed, his tiny nose trembling. His eyelids quivered, then opened for the first time.

Asubuhi blinked with amazement. Mheetu's eyes were a light, blue-tinted green. Sarafina's eyes.

Such color! Mheetu immediately shut his eyes, overwhelmed with the blinding brightness. He squinted them open again, trying to take in the glorious picture before him.

There was something large and pale in front of him--the thing that had spoken--it was Stiff-shape. Mheetu stared at it--this was so confusing.

Asubuhi smiled again, bending down to lick the surprised cub. Mheetu squirmed away, but relaxed at the soothing strokes. Gently, Asubuhi grabbed the cub's scruff and picked him up. Mheetu mewled, but again he calmed down. Stiff-shape was getting more familiar.

Asubuhi exited the den, padding out into bright sunlight. The fronds of grass waved gently in the breeze, and the numerous trees swayed lazily. The rocks on the horizon gleamed. Mheetu squeaked again, his eyes taking in this whole new scene.

The pale lion carried his son towards an enormous log, framed by numerous scruffy trees. It was a wonderful spot to be, perfect for raising cubs and had easy defense--and that's why the Meadowlanders pride lived there.

Asubuhi approached cautiously. Though he was on good terms with the pride--in fact, he was very close friends with most of them--he didn't want to appear threatening.

One of the lions, a hefty tan male who had been lazing on the log, raised his head and jumped down to greet Asubuhi. Two lionesses followed, a light gray-tan and a rusty gold. The other male, whose fur was a deep brownish orange, was sitting with another lioness, a slim light cream. They had a bouncing brown cub between them.

"Asubuhi." The tan male had reached the visitor. His dark mane rippled in the wind as he dipped his head. "I bid you welcome."

Asubuhi nodded, the cub in his mouth preventing him from talking. The rusty gold lioness had reached them, her purple eyes sparkling. "Where did you get the cub?" She asked, her tail high.

The tan male glanced at her. "Uchawi, wait a moment." He commanded lightly, turning to lead Asubuhi towards the huge log. The other lioness, the gray-tan, had turned back and was sitting down besides an older cub.

Asubuhi followed the large male, who gestured for him to sit anywhere. Asubuhi halted beside the slim female, who's brown cub peered curiously at him. Gently, he set Mheetu between his legs. The slim female looked over at him, wonder sparking in her amber gaze. "Asubuhi, who is this?" She purred, holding her cub back.

"Kijani, this is my son. Mheetu." Asubuhi replied, with a bit of shyness. Kijani blinked warmly at him.

"Nzuri!" She scolded her cub. "Go play with Jeshi or Kishindo." Kijani nudged her cub towards the other side of the log, where the older cub was speaking with a slightly younger one--both males. Nzuri shot her mother a glare before bounding away.

Asubuhi looked up as the tan male padded nearer, with Uchawi and the gray-tan lioness following. "Greetings, Filimbi, Madini, Uchawi." Asubuhi greeted, dipping his head.

Filimbi, the male, gave him a friendly smile. "I see you have a friend."

"Yes. This is my son, Mheetu."

"He looks like you." Madini, the gray-tan female, purred gently. Asubuhi nodded, glad to be with his friends again.

"Hello, Asubuhi." A low rumble came from the other male, sitting on the other side of Kijani.

"Greetings to you as well, Mjanja." Asubuhi replied graciously. The last two lionesses in the pride, one a small gray-brown and the other a dusky tan, were now padding over.

"Asubuhi! It's so nice to see you." The dusky one purred, her tail swishing.

"I missed you since your last visit." The smaller one added shyly, her pale golden eyes shining.

"Thanks Ngoma, Kitawi." Asubuhi murmured, letting out a small chuckle. Ngoma dipped her head, while little Kitawi stepped back.

"Now, Asubuhi, tell us your recent happenings." Filimbi had taken control of the conversation again.

Asubuhi's grin dimmed a bit. "This cub...my cub…" He began, wondering how to keep it short. "You know my mate Sarafina is a Pridelander, right?" At the others' nods he went on: "You see, she's had trouble there, and decided to give me the newborn to keep safe." He ended quickly; talking about it reminded him of Sarafina's pain as she gave up Mheetu.

"How much trouble is the Pridelands in now?" Ngoma asked curiously, though concern glowed in her eyes.

"I don't really know much...." Asubuhi sighed, feeling Mheetu nuzzle against his leg. "But I need a mother for him."

Uchawi perked her ears. "I could take him. I still have milk running for Kishindo, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind a brother."

“What will you tell them?” Asubuhi muttered, glancing towards where the three cubs were, paying little attention to the adults. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he ought to keep Mheetu’s true mother a secret to the young ones.

Uchawi seemed to sense his concern. “I’ll tell him that I had been expecting another cub.” She mewed, giving a guilty glance to the three youngsters. “As young as he is, he won’t have any suspicions.” She seemed to find resolve, and straightened.

"Alright." Asubuhi nodded, relaxing slightly. He gave her a quick flick with his tail, a gentle thank-you.

Gently, with the others’ warm gazes upon him, he picked up Mheetu and brought him close to Uchawi. The rusty gold colored lioness bent to sniff the tiny cub, who recoiled in instinctive fear. Uchawi began to lick his head, purring with soothing rumbles. Mheetu began to relax, to Asubuhi's relief. "Thank you." The lion murmured to the lioness, voice unusually faint.

Uchawi glanced up, still purring softly. She didn't reply, but dipped her head. Her sparkling eyes showed her happiness and warmth.

"I guess I'll be sticking around here more often." Asubuhi raised his head and looked around. "If that suits you." He added to Filimbi.

"Of course. I couldn't separate a lion from his cub." He smiled warmly, dipped his head and padded back towards the log. Madini and Ngoma followed quickly, and Uchawi picked up her new cub and padded towards a sheltered spot underneath a bush. Kijani shuffled her paws as her daughter came running, with Kishindo leaving Nzuri to pester his mother with excitement-filled questions. The oldest cub, Jeshi, padded maturely towards Filimbi, his father.

With the pride going about its normal duties, Asubuhi let out a yawn. He glanced up, seeing the sun was nearly overhead. With a snorting grunt, he put his head on his paws and huffed softly. He glanced once more at Uchawi, who was now letting Mheetu suckle, before the noon laziness pulled him into slumber.

[TheWhistlerify]

Carry on =]

[Kopalover]

Pleeeaaassseeee, write another chapter! It's sooo interesting :$

[Zoketi]

Lol thanks both of you!

[Zoketi]

Chapter 5:
Belonging

"Mheetu! Mheetu!" A cheerful voice was calling nearby, making Mheetu's ears twitch with annoyance. He shuffled his paws, drawing them closer to his body. "Mheetu!" The call grew louder, sounding right next to him now.

A paw prodded his side, making him squeak in surprise. He raised his head, blinking blearily. For a moment, he couldn't see as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was night, and the whole pride was asleep. Except for one, that is.

Nzuri. The charming brown cub stood beside him, eyes sparkling and paw poised to poke Mheetu again. "You're awake!" She purred, dropping her paw and smiling at him.

Mheetu flicked his ears, blinking at her. He sat up, meeting her happy gaze. He was almost as big as her--he had grown slowly, and was a small cub anyway--but wasn't a mewling kitten any longer.

"What do you want?" He yawned, curling his tail around him as a light breeze tugged at his fur. The night carried an unwelcome chill.

"I have to show you something!" Nzuri giggled, her tail swishing rapidly as she talked.

"Shh!!" Mheetu scolded her, glancing behind him at his mother. Uchawi was snoring softly, and his brother Kishindo was sleeping peacefully near her hind legs. "It's the middle of the night! We can't just run off!" He continued, returning his pale green gaze to the she-cub.

"You're just grumpy because I woke you up in the middle of the dark time." Nzuri replied cheekily, still smiling. "Follow me!" She moved before he could reply, dashing away through the grass, around the bushes that created the pride's little camp.

Mheetu sighed softly, but rose to follow her. She was his friend, and he couldn't just let her run off in the dark. Picking a slow trot, he slipped around the sleeping lions and out into the open savannah.

The lush, waving grass and gentle slopes were suddenly unnerving. The moon, hidden by thick clouds, gave no comforting light to the dark savannah. Rustlings sounded everywhere, and faint flashes of movement appeared every so often.

Mheetu trembled, keeping low to the ground. Small as he was, the grass easily grew above his head. He moved cautiously and quickly, unsure of this different setting. The only comfort he had was of Nzuri's tail, constantly twitching above the stalks. He stared at it as if his life depended on it.

Suddenly her brown tuft disappeared. Mheetu's ears pricked with surprise and he hurried forwards, starting to panic.

"Ow!" Mheetu's shoulder collided with Nzuri's side. He blinked, the grass behind him swishing from where he had run through it. "Nzuri?" He looked to the other cub, who was crouched down and sniffing at a rather odd-looking pile of stones. They were pretty large too, bigger than him and a dull dusty gray.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" He asked, a bit confused. Nzuri's ideas were usually much more interesting than...well, a pile of rocks.

"Yep!" She replied at last, glancing back to him with a sneaky smile painted across her muzzle. Mheetu frowned slightly, still not understanding. But she had that look on her face.

"Uh...a pile of rocks?" Mheetu asked, hoping it didn't sound too blunt. Nzuri's smile widened and she stepped away from the stones. As she did so, she shoved one of the smaller boulders away from the pile. A gaping hole opened up between the other rocks, dipping slightly into the ground.

Mheetu stared for a moment. "I guess that's not just a rabbit hole, is it?" He glanced to Nzuri, feeling a wave of fear. "Y-you don't want us to go in there, to you?"

Nzuri rolled her eyes. "You're such a scaredy-gazelle." She scoffed, her ears flicking.

Mheetu huffed softly. "No, I'm not!" He protested, though he knew it was a lie. He definitely did not want to go down in some random tunnel. What if they got lost? What if it caved in? "Besides, we'll get in trouble!" He tried to make Nzuri see sense.

"Nope!" She grinned happily. "We'll be out of here in no time." She always sounded so confident.

Mheetu sighed. "Why didn't you show this to one of the others?" He grumbled softly, tail tip twitching with discomfort.

Nzuri hopped closer to him, her pretty eyes sparkling. "Because you're my best friend." She meowed, for once showing signs of seriousness. Mheetu managed an awkward smile at her tone.

"Well, if you're my best friend then you won't make me go down there." He replied, admitting to his fear.

"Ha! I knew you were afraid!" Nzuri regained her eager personality once again. She giggled and then turned to push the boulder back in front of the hole. "But fine. Maybe tomorrow." She slipped past him and dashed back through the grass. Mheetu jumped and skittered around to follow her.

Their journey home was much quicker, as both cubs ran. Nzuri led the way back into the brush, now slow and silent, and crept close to Kijani. Mheetu pattered quietly over to Uchawi, where he settled down and curled up close to her. A yawn escaped his little jaws, and he turned his gaze to the sky.

For a moment, his gaze drifted across the heavens. Again, he wondered if he truly belonged here. He looked so different from the other lions, with his thicker build and rounded features. Even his mother and brother looked so different, their thin, supple bodies and angled heads and legs.

But no one ever said anything about it. They acted like he was one of them...but was he? Even Uchawi avoided deeper questions when Mheetu asked her about their family. He wanted to believe he belonged, but it was very hard.

Mheetu sighed and scooted closer to Uchawi. He watched a leaf flutter above his head, stuck tightly on a branch. His eyes slowly drooped, and he felt exhaustion descend. The question still burned in his mind, as he drifted to sleep. Who was he?

[Kina]

Oh, I love this! Definitely got to say, one of the best quality fanfictions I've read here. Thank you for posting!

[Zoketi]

Thank you! Sorry for the lack of posting the next part...been a bit busy and not very inspired. -__- But I'll try to post more soon!

[TheWhistlerify]

Keep up the good work, it's very interesting =]

[Zoketi]

Thanks! Again, I'll try to post more soon. Lost my muse lately. >.>