Four moon cycles had passed. My tail and side had healed very well. Although they had healed I still had the annoying habit of instinctively looking behind me. For some reason I couldn't place. I always feared waking up one morning and my tail being gone.
Although they were healing well, my leg hadn't. Whenever I tried to walk on it the same sharp pain shot through me. It plagued me. To make matters worse, Fire had been driven out of the pride. Quickmane – the No-Mane who had murdered my father- now led our pride.
As was custom he had driven Fire out when he came of age, but was careful not to kill or badly injure him. Fire had gone off to travel in a bachelor group with other No-Manes. The word disgusted me, and the fact that my own brother was now considered one disgusted me even more.
Just before being driven out my brother told me that the next time I saw him he would be a true Mane, and that I would be accepted into his pride, no matter how crippled I was by my leg. My hopes for the future were high that day, but as the spots on my legs faded as did my chances of being accepted into any pride. Not even my own…
Today was the day. It was my naming day. My mother now was now our elder because she was the oldest and most experienced lion in the pride. And was going to test me on my skills as a hunter. Females all had names that reflected their hunting skills so that when a Mane organized positions he knew the skill just from the lion's names. My muscles felt alive with energy. I had been preparing for this for weeks; nobody thought I could do it. In fact, usually every young lioness is given a temporary teacher to show them proper hunting crouch, stealth crouch, and death bites, they didn't bother with me, so all I knew I taught myself. No one thought I could earn my name.
I would show them! I knew I could do it! I knew I could never learn to run as fast as any of the other lions, but I could be as silent as a shadow! That must count for something! I pranced up to my mother. She had an apathetic expression on her face. As the months went by, and my leg didn't heal, she had become more and more bitter toward me. "Female, we know you can't do it, save yourself the humiliation, and skip it."
"No, Mother, I want to do this." I said staring into her dark golden eyes. She rolled them. I knew I could do something. In that moment, I swore on the lives that my father and brother had given up for me, that I would be something I could do something, their lives could not have been a waste, I wouldn't let them be! Determination surged through me.
"Come." My mother commanded. "Your first test is the speed test. You must run from this log, to that baobab tree." I looked over the path.
The tree, it was the same one that Spark had died hitting, the same one that my father died beside, and the same one that part of me died beside. Had she chosen this tree on purpose? It was well known though the pride that the tree brought back bad memories. They would often torture me with taunts like "Oh, female look! The big bad tree's gonna eat ya!' or "Well, they say that we're at the top of the food chain, but according to you female, it's that tree!"
That tree gave me nightmares, in my dreams, eyes would burn in its mighty trunk. Yellow eyes, full of hate, and blood lust. It would call to me; the wind would hiss my name through its branches.
Baboons would howl at me, Spark would appear, staring coldly at me, bloody and broken, asking me why I didn't do something. Why I let him just die. I shivered. "You can still back out you know female." My mother said smugly, twitching her whiskers.
"All I have to do is run from the log to the tree? That's all?" I asked. My mother's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, yes…that's all." I walked gingerly over to the log. I can do this. Just because I haven't run in months doesn't mean I can't do it now….My mother grunted impatiently. Ok, deep breath, I can do this…I launched myself over the log, landing only on my right forepaw- if I used my left at all, my test would be over before it began.
I kept running, not as fast as any other lion I know could, but as long as I didn't fall I could make it to the stealth test, and then I would be home free. I kept running. The baobab tree was nearing. I felt sick. The sound it made when it killed Spark rang in my head. His face appeared just like in my dreams. But my eyes were open, his shady figure just glided beside me. Mouthing the word "why".
I shook my head, in an attempt to get the grim figure out of my mind's eye. He didn't go away. I couldn't take this. I shut my eyes but kept running forward. I was not giving up. I knew where I was going, I didn't have to open my eyes, and I didn't have to see his bloodied face. Have his once gentle eyes sear through my pelt like termites through wood.
It happened so fast I didn't even know it had occurred until I was on the ground, sliding. I must have tripped on a rock; I guess closing my eyes wasn't really a smart move.
I careened into a termite hill, how ironic. Dirt clogged up my nose, my mouth and my eyes, the tiny insects scurried out of their now ruined home, also getting into my mouth and nose. I coughed. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to ever get up.
My last chance to prove myself had just blown up in my face. I sighed. I felt utterly defeated. I wasn't worth the amazing gift that had been given to me. Life. Had Spark stayed in his hiding place, the lionesses may have gotten there soon enough to save him.
He would have been a great Mane. He would have had a mate and cubs; he would have at least been something. Unlike me. Destined to live out my life as a burden, a weight. Nothing, no one. Alive but not living…I felt a paw jab my shoulder. "Is that it?" Swiftspring snarled.
I didn't move. I just slid my paws over my face and sat there, on my belly, like a possum playing dead. The dry breeze blew orange soil over my face, and the wind whistled in my ears. It sounded like it was laughing at me. Even the wind knew I was useless.
"That was even worse than I expected from you. If that's even possible. You're pitiful. You have more in common with those termites that fill your pelt than you do with me, or with your father. You're a disgrace to the bloodline." I could hear the disgust and contempt in her voice as she went on. "You fell during your test, and didn't even have the dignity to get up. How am I supposed to name you on your best qualities when you have none? All you have ever done is take up space and valuable food.
The only thing that you have that no one else does is your crippled leg. 'Hobblestep.' That's your pitiful name, for your pitiful life!" She was roaring by the end of this and I didn't dare look up into her eyes. With that, she stalked away. I heard heavy breathing somewhere nearby. I opened my eyes to see a figure dash past my nose.
I sniffed the air. What was that? The scent wasn't of my pride but it was a lioness, that was for sure. I stood up, shaking dust and bugs off of my pelt, and followed the scent. It let me to a disoriented looking young lioness. She looked like she was only a bit older than me. She had a deep wound in her right shoulder that looked like it had been inflicted by the huge, wide-set claws of a Mane.
She was crouched by the part of the river that ran through our territory, taking a drink. She was shivering violently as blood dripped off her wounded foreleg. She whipped her head around; at first there was a look of panic in her pale blue eyes, which hardened into a dark stare.
"What are you looking at? Looks like you're no better off than me with that leg of yours, so stop staring!" She snarled. "Um, I'm s-sorry. I was just surprised to see anyone and-" "Look, I don't care. Just get out of here, cripple." She flicked the dark brown tip of her tail at me in dismissal. How dare this lone lioness boss me around? This was my territory after all.
"Hey! At least I have a pride!" I roared. "At least I have pride!" She hissed back coolly. "Oh really? Pride? Pride in what? You're a loner who's injured and trespassing in someone else's territory. You don't seem to have anything to have pride in." I was fuming with anger now.
A stranger had treated me like dirt in my own territory. She opened her mouth; teeth bared, then abruptly closed it and looked down into the murky water. At first it looked like she was going to cry, then her face twisted into a grim smile, and she started laughing. Laughing like I'd never heard anyone before. It was a joyless sound, but not ugly.
It was like listening to the song of a mourning rhinoceros when she's lost a calf. The sound was strange and beautiful. She stopped then looked me in the eye. "You got me on that one cripple. What's your name anyway?" "My name-" "Wait, let me guess. Brokenleg? Uslesshunter? Umm… Deadfoot?" "It's Hobblestep…"
"Wildebeest-eyes! I was so close! Pride names are so odd! I've never been in one, I'm Hover by the way." She quickly opened up to me. Dumbfounded, I sat and listened. Her mood change was more than dramatic, it was the exact opposite as how she was only a couple of seconds ago. She continued speaking,
"See, all I was looking for was an impala or two, just a quick meal right? And this territory had like a gazillion in it, right? So I think to myself: if I just take one it won't kill anyone. They can live without it, and I can't. So, their Mane catches me stalking one, and the brute attacks me like I was a dirty baboon!
Can you believe it? I only wanted a stupid impala! So I got out of his grip, and he's like 'if I ever find you in my territory again I'll kill you!'. Kill me? Really? I mean, it's just some lunch. What a hot head. Anyway, that's at least my fiftieth death threat from a Mane so far…I'm running out of places to hunt.
And, I don't know how long it'll take for this parting gift that last Mane left me will take to heal." She cocked her head toward her wounded shoulder. Not quite sure why she was talking to me at all, I nodded because I couldn't think of anything else to do.
"So, anyway, that's how I ended up here… What about you? What's with the leg? And all the scars? I mean, for the moon's sake, you look like you got eaten and spit back out." Exclaimed Hover, grinning.
"Well… it happened when I was just a cub and-" "Yes, she was a cub, and she caused the death of 3 lions! And came out of it barely worth the food we let her eat." I cringed. The voice belonged to my cousin Stealthspeed. She was my aunt Stealthstriker and Quickmane's cub.
She was born after he took over our pride, and would never let me forget that she was almost half my age, but received her huntress's name before I did, not to mention that she is better than me in just about every way.
But, then again, that wasn't very hard to do, seeing as I was useless at almost everything, and had the ugliest face, any lion could hope never to lay eyes on. My once un-marked face had scars that spread up from my cheek over my right eye, and my muzzle was misshapen, with a texture resembling the rough bark of an acacia tree.
Hover just glared at Stealthspeed. "I didn't ask you did Hover asked her. Why don't you try getting your fat nose out of other lions conversations?" She said then smiled when Stealthspeed raised her paw over her nose. "My nose is NOT fat! I'm going to tell aunty Swiftspring that a mangy lioness is drinking our water! Hmph, You'll be in trouble then!" She hissed before running off and mumbling about how perfect her nose was.
Oh no…I thought. Is mother going to chase away the only lion who might want to be my friend? I glanced over at Hover who looked perfectly calm, and even a little excited. "When I speak to your mother, I'm going to try to get into the pride!"