John Burkitt - The Leonid Saga

It was time for the hunt, a pleasure Elanna had been denied for almost three years. And rather than leave Elanna with their cubs, Isha stayed behind to sit with them. It was the ultimate accusation of uselessness hurled against Elanna that a fine huntress like Isha would leave the hunt to cub-sit.

Taka was surveying his territory, about to leave to walk the border on his usual evening rounds. Though Elanna counted herself fortunate that he was a very loving husband, he had turned more and more inward as the drought had worsened. He would neglect her for hours at a time, even when he was not walking the line. These times were her private hell, as neglected by her Pride Sisters she was also neglected by the reason for their scorn.

Isha had to go relieve herself. That was what she told the cubs at any rate, but the fact was she had other things she wanted to do. One was to raid some of the food the hyenas had stashed away to keep up her strength. After days of eating lizards and mice, she felt entitled to her turn at raiding the cache. It would take skill and finesse, and Elanna knew she would be gone for a while.

She sneaked quietly to the cubs and sat down next to them. “Hello there, sweet things! It’s good to see you again!”

“Hi, Aunt Lannie!” Togo and Kombi said. Habusu and Lisani rubbed against her endearingly and wiggled with joy as Elanna kissed them.

“How about a nice story?” Elanna asked.

“Yeah!” Togo said. “One we haven’t heard in a while!”

Now there was one story they had not heard in a very long while because it struck uncomfortably close to home. It was the only one Elanna could think of before they lost interest, so she started uncertainly into The Drought of Negeb.

“There was once a Lion King Ulu who was a great ruler and exceedingly kind. He had a son Negeb and his love for him was boundless, and everything that came to his son had to be the best. But Negeb son became spoiled to this attention and when his father died and he had to rule the kingdom, he wanted to keep the privileges to which he had been used.

“Where his father had placed few responsibilities on his shoulders, he did not wish to make his daily patrols but instead had the lionesses drive off the hyenas and wild dogs whenever they found them. And though the lionesses worked harder for him than they did for his father, Negeb barely deigned to notice the voices of the lions under his rule, and the other animal Incosi were rarely permitted an audience.

“Kills made by the lionesses were judged harshly, and if deemed unfit for his tastes, he ordered the lionesses to hunt again.

“Tashi who was his betrothed came before him and nuzzled him. ‘My King, I would remain behind from the hunt tonight.’

“’And why is that, Tashi? Are you ill?’

“’I am approaching my first season, and I have come to please my husband.’

“He looked at her appraisingly. ‘Then why do you come here if it is your husband that you seek.’

“’But Sire, were we not betrothed by our parents good and true?’

“’Indeed we were,’ King Negeb said. ‘And yet your face is round and eyes are small, and your constant croaking like a raven is only matched by the harshness of your giggle. What COULD my father have been thinking??’

“’Oh, my King!’ she cried, falling prostrate before him. ‘You pierce my heart with thorns!’ She sobbed inconsolably. ‘If my chatter bothers you, I shall remain silent, but do not cast me out!’

“’Who cast you out, I say? My belly is empty--the hunt begins. Hunt well, and you shall remain. But do not call yourself my betrothed--the thought of breathing on your cheek makes me want to wretch!’

“Deeply hurt, he young lioness went into the North, into the land of the hyenas, and when the sentries challenged her to leave or die, she said, ‘All places are one to me. Do to me as it seems fit.’

“Her great sadness touched the hearts of the hyenas, and they allowed her to remain and eventually to be adopted into the clan. And for a long time Tashi stayed with them, learning their language and their customs. Because her heart was good, they came to love her like a clan sister, and her love for them was returned. But still there was an emptiness in her heart. She missed her old pride sisters and despite all she still loved King Negeb and prayed each night that he would love her in return.

“Aiheu was incensed with Negeb for his sins. In a cloud of anger which blotted the sun and sent thunder and lightning to shake the foundation of the earth, Aiheu revealed himself in all his glory to the king, who wailed with terror. ‘What is this that my servant has done? In foolishness have you increased, oh Negeb, and in foolishness shall you decrease. Suffering shall overtake you, son of Ulu, and with the measure you granted mercy shall mercy be granted to you. But for the sake of a good lioness who prays each night for you, I shall not rip you alive as I had wont to do.’

“As the days passed, Aiheu's meaning became apparent. The Lord's wrath burned from the heavens scorching the earth below. Plants withered and died under the assault, and animals became scarce. Only the hardy gemsbok remained, scrounging what nourishment they could from the dry earth. The kings lionesses preyed heavily upon the gemsbok, as they were their only source of food as well as moisture.

“One morning dawned to find the plains empty.” Elanna bowed her head and tears began to stream down her face. Lisani snuggled closer against Habusu in the awful quiet, and her eyes reddened.

“Lannie, are you all right?” Habu asked.

Elanna kissed him. “I’m sorry. Really I am. I just get emotional when I tell that story, Honey Tree. I’m sorry.”

“Oh Lannie!” Lisani cried. “Are we all going to die?”

“No, hon. Don’t say that.” She rubbed her eyes and said, “I feel much better now, really I do. Let’s finish the story, shall we?”

Elanna regained her composure. “Aiheu had instructed the gemsbok to leave the land and journey to another kingdom far away which he had prepared for them. The lionesses began to desert the land as well, saying, ‘Shall we remain here and die with one who loves us not?’”

“I hope Nala comes home,” Habu said.

“So do I,” Lisani said.

“And us,” Kombi said. “Do you think she will?”

“I hope so,” Elanna said. “Well, the king railed bitterly against God for the curse; each day his pride numbered fewer and fewer, their reports becoming more and more bleak. Many things did he learn to eat, and days came when he would have been glad to eat anything, but there was nothing. Then finally, he awoke one morning to hear only silence. His cries for help were pitiful, but no one remained to hear them.

“Utterly desolated, he shrank in a corner of his cave, the taste of fear strong on his drying tongue. Weaker and weaker he became, his cries for help becoming hoarse, feeling his body's grip on his soul become weak as the water was drawn from him with each breath he exhaled. At last in utter misery, he cried out, "Oh gods, kill me! Aiheu, release me form this torment, I cannot bear it any more!"

Elanna’s chin began to quiver. “Poor, dear creature! He wasn’t evil--he was just an overgrown cub that wanted to be loved by someone! Somewhere along the way, he got on the wrong path, but his heart was good!” She looked up at Taka as he sat unmoving upon the promontory and trembled. “Who can say what pain and suffering he felt inside? What lonely thoughts he carried in his heart?”

Lisani left Habusu and snuggled against Elanna. Habusu then lay against Elanna’s other side and nuzzled her. Togo and Kombi looked down, depressed.

“His ear twitched as he heard the gentle pad of footsteps. A voice spoke to him in the hyena tongue, and he shrank back. ‘At last, it pleases Aiheu to release me from my suffering.’