[1st POV]
"Leo!!"
The concerned call from my mother brought out of my stupor. I was but a living statue, barely conscious. My body was locked in its upright position, like my body knew I would never fall, so it just used that position to rest.
My mother, not knowing the state I was in, ca like a storm. Luckily, I had recovered so energy during the wait so I did not fall when she softly knocked against .
The action was akin to a mother hugging her child.
"Are you alive? Can you breathe, Leo?" She was both hurried and gentle in her behaviour.
She pranced around and surveyed my entire body for injuries. The sight must not have been too pretty in her eyes, as she released soft growls mixed with whining sounds.
"My poor baby, I'm so sorry," she said and licked on my head to clean the blood. Her rough tongue against my fresh wound should have been painful, but it brought a strange sense of ease.
It was comforting.
"I won," I choked out. Even my voice sounded exhausted. "I'll survive."
This ti, my mother was not the only one who reacted. The other lions, who were also present but surveying the surroundings to track the leopard, also paused and looked towards in a mix of disbelief.
"You won a fight for survival," Sarabi said. "I'm proud of you."
That felt good to hear. I'm so proud of too.
"Now let's get you ho," she said and was about to pick up by the scruff.
She stopped. My scruff was nothing more than torn skin at the mont. The leopard was not as gentle as my mother when he bit there.
"I can walk," I said and then moved using all my effort. My body felt like it weighed a ton, and I moved like I was in a dream.
My mother imdiately ca beside so that I could lean on her. She matched my movent, and with her help, I was able to take small steps towards Pride Rock.
There were three other lionesses beside my mother. They didn't co too close to , knowing that they couldn't be of much help since my mother was already beside . They would just rob the oxygen from my surrounding air.
They were also cold-hearted predators, so they found it hard to be too sympathetic towards . I had to remind myself that one out of eight cubs reached adulthood, so losing a cub was all too common for them.
After we walked for a few minutes, my nose caught the scent of new blood. I looked around for a bit, and then I saw the corpse of Jua in the clearing.
His body lay on the ground, and behind him was a trail of blood which indicated that he had crawled away until he died from his wound. The leopard had inflicted a fatal wound, and he didn't survive. However, he didn't die imdiately either.
I could imagine the regret, the horror, and the helplessness he must've felt right before his death. I felt sothing familiar until I started fighting back.
I stopped in my tracks and stared for a bit. That could've been if I were not strong enough. That could've been if I were not braver. That could've been if I had wasted even one opportunity.
Survival of the fittest. The saying had never been more true and aningful to .
I swore once more in my heart to be the fittest in the world. I swore I was going to die of old age in this life.
"Co on, his mother will deal with his corpse," Sarabi said with barely any emotion in her voice. Her heart was only big enough to care for her own cubs.
The loss of a cub was bad for the pride, but that was it for her.
We continued walking for so ti before we eventually devised a new way for her to carry . I climbed on her back, and the rest of the way was much easier. After we reached ho, I finally allowed my consciousness to slip away while my mother nursed my wounds.
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(Two weeks later)
My ti during the recovery phase was quite enjoyable, to say the least, except for the early days.
The first and second days after my fight, the world was literally burning down for . My wounds started swelling up and bruising, making even the simplest act of breathing painful.
I couldn't sleep, as every way I lay would irritate my wounds.
I almost wished I had died right then and there, because the agony was that unbearable. But on the third day, things got better, and then it improved as more days passed.
My mother beca my nurse while I recovered. She would lick my wounds to stop any infection, and she would share her body heat so that I didn't have to waste energy staying warm on my own.
She even started feeding her milk again due to my injuries. Not only that, the pride also shared with more at than I could eat while I recovered.
During the two weeks, my life was filled with eating and sleeping, just like how it was when I was an infant.
And today, most of my flesh wounds have healed. The only pain was in my bones, but that too was fading rather quickly.
"Leo, Leo, Leo!! Tell that story again."
Simba relentlessly nudged to my side while I was trying to sleep peacefully on top of a rock. He was not alone in annoying , as other cubs were right behind him.
I had beco so type of war hero among the cubs after my fight with the leopard. They would keep bothering to tell the story of my fight; I've repeated the sa story more than five tis at this point.
"Just let sleep peacefully," I said and knocked Simba down from the rock.
"Co on, just a little bit," Simba insisted while getting up.
In the end, it was much easier to tell the story and tell them to fuck off for the rest of the day instead of waiting for them to tire out. I sighed and sat upright. I looked at the five cubs on the ground beneath .
Simba, Zuri, Nala, and two other cubs whose nas I could not recall easily.
The pride had seven cubs originally, but now it was only five that remained. Jua was killed by a leopard, and I think the other one was killed by a stampede when he went to see the adults hunt buffaloes.
"Okay, but this will be the last ti I tell this story," I said, and the cubs shouted hurray before huddling up in front of .
And so I began my tale. I was reluctant to begin but when it did, I quickly lost myself just like the other cubs. It was quite enjoyable since it was about how aweso I am.
Everyone loves boasting in the end. I added so exaggeration here and there.
"The wind carried Jua's final screams to my ears. In that mont, it settled in that the situation was truly life or death and my dear friend was killed just like that," I said, and then a sober mood ca over us. So ears dropped at the ntion of the dead cub.
"The fear I had in my heart was replaced with anger. It was rage unlike anything I've ever felt before. I looked at Nala and Zuri, who ran in front of and I imagined the sa fate for them. I couldn't forgive myself if I let them die just like Jua, so I decided to fight the leopard. I turned around and stared death in the eyes... and it blinked first," I said.
The cubs oohed and ahhed while Zuri and Nala looked at with round, shining eyes like I was their hero. Which I did to be fair, saving them was just not the main reason why I fought.
I continued the story, the cubs paid attention like I was breathing fire.
"In the end, the Leopard ran away. He might have been bigger and faster, but I was more courageous. We both gave each other permanent marks to rember the brutal battle. I took his eye, and he took..." I said, turning around to show the stump at my rear.
There was no tail, only a small stump.
"He took my tail," I said.
"Wowww~"
"So cool!!"
"I wish I was brave enough to fight leopards too."
In their amazent, they were getting too close to my butt so I quickly turned around to stop them.
"That's it, now leave alone."
This ti, the other cubs listened to my words. They left one by one to do their own things, most of them would probably do sothing stupid as is the nature of the cub.
"Thanks for the story Leo!!" Simba said and jumped away on the rocks. He looked like he was playing 'The floor is lava' with how he refused to touch the ground.
Nala was the last to leave. She stared at for a little bit, wanting to say thank you even though she had said it countless tis already.
"Nala, hurry up!!" Simba called her and she finally turned away.
"Coming."
I watched the four of them leave. Then my eyes went to Zuri who was laying down on the ground slightly below .
"You're not going? Again?" I asked.
"Yes, I prefer staying right here with you," she said while getting more comfortable on the ground.
"I'll only be sleeping so it will be pretty boring to hang around ," I said.
"I know that, and it's alright, I need so sleep as well. The newborns were so loud last night I could barely sleep," she said.
That reminds , there were newborns two days ago. One of the lionesses gave birth to three new babies. Which ans that now the pride consists of Mufasa, nine lionesses, five cubs and three newborns.
"Do whatever you want to do," I said and lay down on the hard rock. It felt oddly good to press my aching bones lightly on the hard surface.
With Zuri's gaze on my form, I went to sleep.
I've healed, and now it's ti to grow once more
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[IMAGE]
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