What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

The pair of jungle cats had traveled throughout the dark of the night, with a bright, full moon to illuminate their path. Neither Giza nor Upendo had any clue where they were going. They only knew that they must continue, for their sake and for their lost siblings. Now the sun was beginning its steady descent in the western sky, painting the horizon unimaginable shades of rose and violet, indigo and fuschia. The dry ground of the savannah was already beginning to feel like an oven beneath their paws, and so the two decided to rest. It had been weeks since they left the Lowlands, and so far, they had no success. Upendo easily fell into a deep slumber, and Giza sat watching him for a long while, feeling both sad and happy to have him so close.

Only Giza was restless, despite her exhaustion, and despite her best efforts, sleep never came to her that morning. The seemingly endless days of youth had all blended together, and now the russet lioness had stopped growing. Giza was now as tall as she would ever be, though she was a full head shorter than the average lioness, and her pelt clung to her bones in such a way that made her appear slender, almost hungry-looking. This trait she had inherited from her father, who had never been a strong, formidable lion. Ebony nostrils flared as Giza tred carefully away from her friend as he slept. Perhaps if she could find a zebra foal, or a sickly gazelle to feed Upendo and herself, the day's journey would be less torturous than the previous day's exertions.

She had only strayed a short distance when the scent of another of her kind met her senses, and she instantly froze in her tracks. So far on their trek, the pair had had good luck when it came to rogues. Sky blue eyes flashed around cautiously, but they did not detect the presence of a big, hulking lion. Still, her nose was convinced that there was a stranger present, and her muscles remained tight and rigid; ready. "Hello?" she called out, more meekly than she had intended. At least Upendo was nearby if something went wrong, she reasoned to herself as she took a few more timid steps forward. And though she was no longer an adolescent, the awkwardness of those months had yet to leave Giza. Without seeing the rock under foot, the lioness was sent tumbling, tripping over and over until she landed in a dusty heap on her belly, the air knocked clean out of her.

As Giza lay there flat, she felt grateful that Upendo had not been present to witness her fall. But before she could rise, she realized she was definitely no longer alone there. She could sense it before she looked up, but when she did, the moonlit shadows cast by the cub gave the illusion that the lion before her was much larger than he was in actuality. Giza stared at the long shadow, still stunned, as a stranger's voice reached her. The little voice came as a shock, and finally she pushed herseld into a sitting position with her front legs. From that height, she now found herself looking down upon a much smaller creature than her mind had anticipated, with a shaggy brown mane and clear blue eyes, even brighter than her own.

An unconscious chuckle broke through her dark lips, a low laugh similar to the sound of one being choked. Her breath had not been fully regained, and she inhaled slowly, sucking the night air deep into her sore lungs. "Why, you're just a little thing!" She finally remarked, when she had at last recovered herself. "I probably scared you more than you scared me." She brushed off his last question with a nod. The color of his pelt was a bit of a surprise now. His fur was lighter than her own, but he looked as if he could be her long lost brother. For a moment she wondered if indeed, he was another of Scar's progeny she didn't know about, but she quickly dismissed this idea. He looked too strong to be one of her wretched father's unfortunate creations. He reminded her of her siblings; not one in particular, but certain traits from each, and she felt a dull ache in her heart.

As harmless as the cub seemed, a thought rushed into her brain and set her ill at ease once again. Her dark rimmed ears flicked forward; where there was a cub, more often than not, there would be a parent or two following behind. But perhaps the little fellow was simply lost. His wide eyed expression were characteristic of someone who was misplaced and frightened. Giza knew from personal experience, though a couple of years had gone by since she had been in the same predicament. "It's awful late to be out here running around, kid. Shouldn't you be asleep?" The russet lioness remained sitting, studying the young cub closely with pale, weary eyes.

As Kauli reacted to her first statement with drooping ears and narrowed eyes, Giza quickly realized her mistake. She had no experience with cubs, other than the fact that she had been one herself not terribly long ago. But what cub liked to be reminded that they were small and essentially helpless? She lowered herself back down to the hard ground again, lying on her belly before him to demonstrate that she had no intentions of making a meal out of him. "Between you and me, I’m not so big myself when it comes to other grown-ups. It’s not so bad to be short." From the size of the cub, Giza could only guess his age but regardless he didn’t look like a runt. In a couple of years, he would likely tower over the lioness, and the thought made her laugh inwardly.

Her amusement was short lived, however. By now, Giza assumed that the cub was indeed lost, and her expression turned serious. The savannah wasn’t safe for a lone lioness, let alone a young cub. "You’re right about that." The next question she had to ask caused Giza to hesitate, for fear of the response she would receive. She inhaled a deep breath and exhaled in a sigh, preparing herself for a response that was likely to be a sad one. "Where is your mom?" Her chin lifted from the dirt to peer around once more, hoping but not expecting to see an anxious mother searching for her dear lost boy. But again, there was nothing there but the two lions, save for a random few acacia trees illuminated by the moon and the stars.

His question about her pride only confirmed her worries. Clearly the cub didn’t know whether he was in claimed territory or in neutral grassland, which meant he was far from home – if he had a home at all. Dark lips pursed as her mind raced. "Well, I do belong to a pride, but the Lowlands are pretty far from here. These lands are free for anyone to travel through." Another heavy sigh parted her jaws. What could she do now? She had left her home for a specific purpose, and rescuing misplaced cubs wasn’t it. But then, she couldn’t very well let the cub go off alone to fend for himself. She felt guilty at the very notion of it. Far off in the distance, the sound of an animal in distress fell upon the ebony rimmed ears of the lioness, and she could feel her heart racing again within her chest.

A light smile appeared on her muzzle as Kauli tried to reassure Giza that she wasn’t all that small. Already she could tell the male cub was friendly by nature, which could be a bad thing out amongst strangers. It was good that she had found him before someone ravenous did. The russet lioness soon learned that perhaps it wasn’t Kauli who was lost, but rather his mother. "How long has she been missing?" She then fell silent for a lingering minute as the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in her head. Again in the distance, she heard the death cries of a creature pursued by an unknown and unseen hunter (or hunters), and it took all of Giza’s courage to keep from starting. The look in her sky blue eyes remained calm, despite her growing anxieties.

The cub seemed to perk up when he thought Giza could help him locate his mother. She followed his nod as he indicated the direction his mother was traveling. "Well, no, the jungle is in the opposite direction. And it’s pretty far from here." She listening quietly as the cub explained what his mother looked like. Walking with a limp? Oh boy… Giza’s heart felt then as if it had dropped into her stomach. It was hard enough to be a lioness alone in unfamiliar territory without suffering from an injury. The adjectives he used to describe his mother – very nice and a bit older didn’t bode well, either. The mental image of a light colored lioness struggling to escape flashed into her head; a frightened lioness, unable to run full speed, pursued by a lion, or maybe a pack of hungry hyenas. In her imagination, Giza feared the worst. It was a wonder that the cub was still alive.

She made a decision in that moment, without consulting Upendo first. She simply couldn’t let the cub leave alone, helpless. Never had Giza been one for responsibility, but she was older now. She didn’t want to alarm the youngster with her assumptions, so she kept her fears for his mother to herself. "What’s your name? I’m Giza. My friend Upendo and I are traveling that way. We’re looking for our family, too. You can come with us." A nod of her own was given in the direction he had originally indicated. Finally, she pushed herself up from the ground again, her worries getting the better of her as she glanced about wearily. But the only sound she heard now was the rumbling protests of her own empty belly. "Are you as hungry as I am?" Her nostrils began to test the air for any sign of something edible.

Kauli’s vague response about how long has passed since he last saw his mother wasn’t very helpful, and Giza pursed her dark lips thoughtfully. The cub was determined to find someone who might never be found, but it wasn’t Giza’s job to destroy his hopes. It wasn’t her job to watch out for the cub either, but her own painful memories of being alone and terrified made it impossible to leave the cub behind. Her tail swished behind her as her mind raced, but she couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t offer false hope, so she let the subject float away like a fallen leaf on a river.

If Giza appeared calm, it was only a façade maintained for the sake of the youngster. Inside she felt a growing sense of fear; the longer she was away from Upendo, she more nervous she felt. As Kauli asked what the sound in the distance was, Giza just shook her head slowly, once again scanning the dark horizon for any sign that she and the cub would be next. ”I don’t know,” she responded honestly after a moment. It took a few seconds for her to snap out of it. She saw Kauli look to her again for reassurance and she forced a smile. ”It’s probably nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The lioness nodded again when the cub offered his name, noting the way he lifted his head with a lingering sense of pride in himself. She guessed that he hadn’t experienced anything too horrendous while wandering on his own, for it was obvious his spirit had not been broken. Perhaps he simply hadn’t realized yet how hopeless his search likely was, and Giza was not going to be the one to point that out. She felt a great sense of relief when the cub agreed to join her and Upendo, and she even breathed a soft sigh as she ushered Kauli back, away from the awful sounds that had ceased and away from whoever or whatever had caused them. ”You will like Upendo. He is very nice.” But for now, Giza knew it was up to her. If there was food to be found, it was her responsibility to find it, since she was the oldest. She stepped slowly back in the direction where she had left Upendo to rest, eyes darting about wildly.

For once, fortune decided to throw Giza a bone. As her stomach growled impatiently, the familiar scent of zebra greeted her nostrils, and she stopped in her tracks. ”Today is our lucky day, Kauli. Smell that?” Her ebony nostrils flared, and she instinctively lowered herself close to the ground again, crawling on her belly over a small hill. On the other side was a zebra, but it was laying prostrate on the ground, as if it was already dead. The heavy smell of blood was absent however, leaving Giza to wonder. ”I think it's already dead! How convenient.” But she didn’t see the animal’s chest rising and falling from a distance, and didn’t realize that it would fight back like a zebra possessed if approached by either of the young lions.