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🌹🥀A Pride Divided🥀🌹

>>Sp eedpaint<<

"Why are we here?" Topanga whined, lifting her paws one at a time off of the scorched dirt of the riverbed. She was always questioning everything and it annoyed me, but you have to put up with certain things as an older, much more wiser sister. And to be fair, the riverbed was hot that day.

Even I, as strong as I was even as a cub, remember the waves of heat coming from the baked earth that day, but it wasn't enough to push away the odd yearning within me that drew me to the relic that lay further down the riverbend.

It is odd how memories tend to recall themselves, isn't it? One moment you're pacing through lush grass with cubs by your side, the wind carrying smells toward you that you've smelled so many times you don't take the time to bathe your tongue in them, but one certain smell hits you; it has all the power to take you back to specific moments in time.

I hold many memories from my cubhood, but the day that Topanga and I stumbled upon the old fang within the twists and turns of the now dead river is the day I remember with pleasure.

"I told you, Panga," I gushed unintentionally, "I have something you need to see!" I leapt several paces ahead of her, the odd tug at my soul making me feel irritable and frantic to return to the location where I'd left it. Not daring touch the odd sliver of bone that was cooked into the earth. Ever since the day prior when I'd stepped on the thing, painfully pricking my paw pads, I longed to dig it up. But I dared not to without a shaman's opinion on the matter.

Topanga reluctantly toddled on behind me, crunching along over the dirt, our paws becoming imprinted and leaving a tiny trail. I could smell her fear scent as we steadily lurked further away from the Prideland's borders. Topanga wasn't one to break the rules unlike me. She was of course safe with me though, I was the princess after all, and I'd never let any harm come to my best friend.

A cloud sailed through the sky, allowing the sun to drench the path ahead of us in a brief shower of light. "Right there!" I squealed as the sharp, pearly point of the bone caught a ray of sun, glinting so quickly you may have thought you imagined it. The closer I came to the object, the stronger the mystical pull tugged on my heart, feeling as if my paws couldn't pound the cracked soil hard enough to carry me to where it lied within its earthly coffin.

Topanga, now visibly on edge as Pride Rock was but a pebble on the horizon, approached with curiosity that quickly turned to distaste. "You drug m-me out here for a lousy bone?" She stammered before me, eyeing the small shard with a lack of enthusiasm. Why wasn't she as drawn to it as I was? Couldn't she feel the weight of its presence?

"C'mon, Panga, I brought you out here to see if we could remove it. Maybe give it a blood ritual. Talazami says you need the practice anyways," I lied, quickly thinking of a reason for needing to dig up the small relic. I needed to have it near me. I couldn't spend another night knowing it sat out here within the riverbed. It seemingly whined, and whispered to me all night; begging for me to return. I of course couldn't tell Topanga this as I didn't want her to know I potentially had powers she did not. Little sisters always get the short end of the stick.

My sister rolled her eyes and scoffed lightly as she approached with a more studious eye, gently taking her claws and scraping away years of dried dirt from the bone. My guts clinched as her sharp claw grazed the side of my treasure, not wanting her to bring harm to it for some unknown reason. "Be careful," I mewled, bowing my head to examine the now protruding spike. It sparkled in the sun even though it was dry and encrusted with dirt. "What do you think it is?"

Topanga gingerly lowered her head, tilting it slightly and squinting, doing whatever it is she does when she's pretending to be a shaman. "Hmm… It looks like…" she tilted her head a second time, taking a moment to nod, "A tooth. It seems to be a tooth…" she stated as a matter of fact. She seemed proud with her hypothesis.

I swallowed a bit as the tug at my soul was now almost unbearable. It felt as if I would be drug into the earth at any moment, being buried once again with this lost object. I lifted my gaze to look into my sister's shifting eyes as she scanned our surroundings nervously.

"A lion's tooth…?" I questioned warily. Already knowing the answer as the tooth told me many things last night within my dreams. Or at least I think it did. So far everything had become reality that was only figments of what I thought was my imagination the night before. I felt as if I should be afraid and yet I couldn't be.

I was more afraid of the fact that maybe Topanga was experiencing the same feelings as myself, hiding them away from me as I am her; only her being too afraid to pursue the calling. I shook these thoughts from my mind as they didn't seem possible. I stumbled upon this discovery on my own yesterday and that is when the yearning began weaving into my mind. Unless Topanga had found the tooth before as well and seemingly left it behind…

"Yeah," Topanga uttered, her light voice dragging me away from my inner monologue, "but it seems really, really old," she continued, lightly nudging the bone loose from its burial grounds. I cringed inwardly and almost squeaked as it lightly bounced across the ground toward me. I instinctively placed my paw over it, the heat baked into it from the sun warmed my pad and filled my insides with what felt like butterflies. I'd never experienced a calling such as this. I don't know who this tooth belonged to but they've seemingly chosen me to be their savior.

My mind raced as I thought of reasons to bring the tooth back home with us. Topanga clearly didn't want to as she was afraid of Talazami forcing her into a blood ritual, but it only felt right. Every animal deserved a peaceful rest, and with this lion's tooth being buried deep within a riverbed instead of traditional burial grounds, it was obvious they lacked a proper escort into the afterlife.

Topanga locked pleading eyes with me and silently begged to leave it. What did she know that she wasn't telling? Or did she know nothing at all and simply wanting to avoid certain duties?

"Let's bring it to Talazami," I uttered almost without a second thought to my sister's desires. "She'll help you put this lion at peace," I said as I gingerly lifted the bone and tucked it safely behind my ear for the trek home. "This could be an ancestor that's stuck within the realm of the living still, wouldn't you want to help them rest?" I asked her as I turned to trot back toward the Pridelands, not waiting for my friend to reply.

The tug inside of me seemed to be aiding in my decision making at this time, but I didn't mind. I kind of liked this secret internal visitor I'd picked up over-night. I found comfort in being chosen to help the dead. Or so I thought.

Topanga squeaked minor protest behind me as she scrabbled to catch up, her fear scent drenching the now empty grave of the odd lion's tooth.

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More of A Pride Divided

Description

🌹🥀A Pride Divided🥀🌹

>>Sp eedpaint<<

"Why are we here?" Topanga whined, lifting her paws one at a time off of the scorched dirt of the riverbed. She was always questioning everything and it annoyed me, but you have to put up with certain things as an older, much more wiser sister. And to be fair, the riverbed was hot that day.

Even I, as strong as I was even as a cub, remember the waves of heat coming from the baked earth that day, but it wasn't enough to push away the odd yearning within me that drew me to the relic that lay further down the riverbend.

It is odd how memories tend to recall themselves, isn't it? One moment you're pacing through lush grass with cubs by your side, the wind carrying smells toward you that you've smelled so many times you don't take the time to bathe your tongue in them, but one certain smell hits you; it has all the power to take you back to specific moments in time.

I hold many memories from my cubhood, but the day that Topanga and I stumbled upon the old fang within the twists and turns of the now dead river is the day I remember with pleasure.

"I told you, Panga," I gushed unintentionally, "I have something you need to see!" I leapt several paces ahead of her, the odd tug at my soul making me feel irritable and frantic to return to the location where I'd left it. Not daring touch the odd sliver of bone that was cooked into the earth. Ever since the day prior when I'd stepped on the thing, painfully pricking my paw pads, I longed to dig it up. But I dared not to without a shaman's opinion on the matter.

Topanga reluctantly toddled on behind me, crunching along over the dirt, our paws becoming imprinted and leaving a tiny trail. I could smell her fear scent as we steadily lurked further away from the Prideland's borders. Topanga wasn't one to break the rules unlike me. She was of course safe with me though, I was the princess after all, and I'd never let any harm come to my best friend.

A cloud sailed through the sky, allowing the sun to drench the path ahead of us in a brief shower of light. "Right there!" I squealed as the sharp, pearly point of the bone caught a ray of sun, glinting so quickly you may have thought you imagined it. The closer I came to the object, the stronger the mystical pull tugged on my heart, feeling as if my paws couldn't pound the cracked soil hard enough to carry me to where it lied within its earthly coffin.

Topanga, now visibly on edge as Pride Rock was but a pebble on the horizon, approached with curiosity that quickly turned to distaste. "You drug m-me out here for a lousy bone?" She stammered before me, eyeing the small shard with a lack of enthusiasm. Why wasn't she as drawn to it as I was? Couldn't she feel the weight of its presence?

"C'mon, Panga, I brought you out here to see if we could remove it. Maybe give it a blood ritual. Talazami says you need the practice anyways," I lied, quickly thinking of a reason for needing to dig up the small relic. I needed to have it near me. I couldn't spend another night knowing it sat out here within the riverbed. It seemingly whined, and whispered to me all night; begging for me to return. I of course couldn't tell Topanga this as I didn't want her to know I potentially had powers she did not. Little sisters always get the short end of the stick.

My sister rolled her eyes and scoffed lightly as she approached with a more studious eye, gently taking her claws and scraping away years of dried dirt from the bone. My guts clinched as her sharp claw grazed the side of my treasure, not wanting her to bring harm to it for some unknown reason. "Be careful," I mewled, bowing my head to examine the now protruding spike. It sparkled in the sun even though it was dry and encrusted with dirt. "What do you think it is?"

Topanga gingerly lowered her head, tilting it slightly and squinting, doing whatever it is she does when she's pretending to be a shaman. "Hmm… It looks like…" she tilted her head a second time, taking a moment to nod, "A tooth. It seems to be a tooth…" she stated as a matter of fact. She seemed proud with her hypothesis.

I swallowed a bit as the tug at my soul was now almost unbearable. It felt as if I would be drug into the earth at any moment, being buried once again with this lost object. I lifted my gaze to look into my sister's shifting eyes as she scanned our surroundings nervously.

"A lion's tooth…?" I questioned warily. Already knowing the answer as the tooth told me many things last night within my dreams. Or at least I think it did. So far everything had become reality that was only figments of what I thought was my imagination the night before. I felt as if I should be afraid and yet I couldn't be.

I was more afraid of the fact that maybe Topanga was experiencing the same feelings as myself, hiding them away from me as I am her; only her being too afraid to pursue the calling. I shook these thoughts from my mind as they didn't seem possible. I stumbled upon this discovery on my own yesterday and that is when the yearning began weaving into my mind. Unless Topanga had found the tooth before as well and seemingly left it behind…

"Yeah," Topanga uttered, her light voice dragging me away from my inner monologue, "but it seems really, really old," she continued, lightly nudging the bone loose from its burial grounds. I cringed inwardly and almost squeaked as it lightly bounced across the ground toward me. I instinctively placed my paw over it, the heat baked into it from the sun warmed my pad and filled my insides with what felt like butterflies. I'd never experienced a calling such as this. I don't know who this tooth belonged to but they've seemingly chosen me to be their savior.

My mind raced as I thought of reasons to bring the tooth back home with us. Topanga clearly didn't want to as she was afraid of Talazami forcing her into a blood ritual, but it only felt right. Every animal deserved a peaceful rest, and with this lion's tooth being buried deep within a riverbed instead of traditional burial grounds, it was obvious they lacked a proper escort into the afterlife.

Topanga locked pleading eyes with me and silently begged to leave it. What did she know that she wasn't telling? Or did she know nothing at all and simply wanting to avoid certain duties?

"Let's bring it to Talazami," I uttered almost without a second thought to my sister's desires. "She'll help you put this lion at peace," I said as I gingerly lifted the bone and tucked it safely behind my ear for the trek home. "This could be an ancestor that's stuck within the realm of the living still, wouldn't you want to help them rest?" I asked her as I turned to trot back toward the Pridelands, not waiting for my friend to reply.

The tug inside of me seemed to be aiding in my decision making at this time, but I didn't mind. I kind of liked this secret internal visitor I'd picked up over-night. I found comfort in being chosen to help the dead. Or so I thought.

Topanga squeaked minor protest behind me as she scrabbled to catch up, her fear scent drenching the now empty grave of the odd lion's tooth.

Characters Shown

More of A Pride Divided