“Mmm,” Allegra muttered, her body and mind refusing to wake from the dream she had.
But the licking continued, her face now full of saliva.
Her eyes fluttered open lightly, blinded by the sun above her head.
Luckily, the face of a cheetah blocked the sun, making her realize who had disturbed her.
It was her old and only true friend she had among the other clans.
“Melsa,” Allegra muttered, her voice raspy.
At the mention of her name, Melsa turned into the tailed woman she always knew.
“Allegra, you are out too early. What happened to you?” Melsa asked.
But Allegra ignored her question, “What happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing,” Melsa shook her head, “We are at a standstill, they remain in their city while we hold for your return, some wanted to keep attacking, but we calmed their blood down.”
“Thank the Vita,” Allegra exhaled, “What time is it?”
“It’s well past noon,” Melsa replied.
Allegra’s eyes jumped wide open, hearing that she had slept for hours. “What?”
“You look worried. Since when were you here?” Melsa asked.
“Dawn,” Allegra replied, “We need to go, help me out, everybody needs to hear what I have to say.”
“Why? What’s wrong? Did you find something in that place?” Melsa questioned, trying to get Allegra on her feet.
“I’ll explain later,” Allegra said, trying to put weight on her feet, but failing again, “Damn.”
“Let me help you for a bit. Iahmi is not too far away, he will let you on his back,” Melsa said, placing Allegra’s hand around her shoulders.
“I don’t want his help. He will ask weird things again,” Allegra muttered.
“He loves you, Allegra. What do you want him to do?” Melsa sighed as they began walking.
“To leave me alone,” Allegra replied coldly, “But forget that. How did you find me?”
“Heru was above, making sure no ambush came our way when he spotted you. He told us where you were,” Melsa explained.
“Finally, a good thing coming from him,” Allegra sighed, trying to keep her feet steady, so as not to place too much weight on her friend.
“Leave him be,” Melsa replied, “He has been cursing the humans ever since he got shamed, he’s trying to make amends.”
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Two hundred of our generation died pointless deaths as punishment for the lack of patience he showed, and all the gold spent on his ransom,” Allegra argued.
“And others, including him, blame the humans. No point in throwing blame. It’s war, and war comes with death,” Melsa countered.
“It’s the humans' fault and always has been,” a tall man said, coming out from behind a tree.
The man was quite good-looking, his body strong, his chest pushed forward by the pride of his clan. A pride he carried as if it were his own accomplishment.
And the thing that made them stand out was their hair. He had light brown hair that flowed around his face like a lion’s mane.
Just like Melsa and her clan had their tails, just like Allegra and her clan had the hair on their bodies, he and the males of his clan had their manes.
“Iahmi,” Allegra muttered, “You might have forgotten who the High-Chief bowed to.”
“And who attacked us after, Sweet Allegra, hm?” Iahmi asked, drawing closer to the two women, a prideful, warm smile on his face, “You’ve always had such radical views.”
“Radical? Since when is logic radical?” Asked Allegra, “And stop calling me sweet, it’s disgusting.”
“See, Melsa?” Iahmi sighed, “She doesn’t know how to appreciate me.”
“Leave it at that, both of you,” Melsa sighed. “She has news that needs to be said to the rest; leave your quarreling after that.”
Iahmi clicked his tongue, seeing that Allegra once more walked past his pride, but he still did what was told.
He turned to the two and began walking slowly in the opposite direction.
As he took his first step, the mane began waving, each strand of hair moving like serpents, until they began growing, with each step he took, taking over his body, until it quickly took shape.
And with a bellow, a roar so deep it made the air tremble, the hair began retreating back into a wild and beautiful mane, revealing the prideful glory of his clan.
And it showed on his face as he turned towards Allegra and Melsa.
‘Did you like that?’ his face said.
It was a sight to behold, for most at least.
However, it wasn’t that impressive for the woman he wanted to impress.
“Was that roar really necessary?” Allegra asked, too exhausted to care or act like she did. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on nοvelfire.net
And a deep growl that showed Iahmi’s discontent left his throat as he stared at Allegra.
“I will get on, but do not take this as anything else than what it is,” Allegra muttered coldly, “If I hear any foolish words about me riding your back because we are mates, I will pull your eyes out myself.”
A quiet whimper left the lion’s throat.
He was annoyed, frustrated.
The bastard planned to do exactly that.
But, after a few seconds, he nodded in understanding, a deeper growl leaving his mouth.
“Yeah, yeah,” Melsa said, petting his mane, “Now sit your ass down so we can get on.”
And once more, he did as he was told, and, with a loud thud, he sat down on his belly.
“Now come on,” Melsa said grunting, as she helped Allegra onto Iahmi’s back, before she too climbed up, “Back towards the camp, big guy.”
And with a sniff from Iahmi, he got up on his feet and began running towards the campsite they had prepared a few miles away from the city of Kanat.
As Iahmi ran, the screech of eagles approaching them reached their ears.
It was Heru and two of his clan greeting them, and keeping them safe from above as they flew back towards the camp, curious to see Allegra back so soon.
And in less than ten minutes of running, they were back at the basic camp they had ready, with hundreds of tents made of cloth and sticks.
Outside the camp, on the right side, there was a pyre built, with people of different clans dismantling a tent and using it as material for the fire that was to be lit later at night.
“Who died?” Allegra asked.
“One of the Eagles,” Melsa sighed, “Shot down by a human while she was on the lookout.”
“This has to end,” Allegra whispered, just as they entered the camp, a roar from Iahmi telling the others of their return.