Sydney ran after the two lions happily! 'Ash Caden, Shawn and Ken...wait for me! I'm coming home!' she thought to herself happily.
She ran on the ground that was covered with thick fallen leaves as her feet were protected from peebles, she trusted these lions and seeing them unguarded made her feel safe as well. She was happy!
The brothers looked back but saw that the female was slow despite trying to keep up, they slowed down and she soon caught up. Her stomach growled when she came to stand next to them sending the whole forest into silence. Sydney's face burned red and she wrapped her hand over her stomach, she had been moody and failed to eat yesterday and in the morning, well the events that took place were as clear as day hence she didn't get the chance to eat.
Hungry? One of the lions softly growled in question.
"Don't mind me!" Sydney mumbled.
The other lion came and sat infron to Sydney. She understood this signal well, he was asking her to sit on his back. Well, thank you." She said awkwardly and climbed onto the lion's back. Her fingers sunk into his massive mane and she secured her hold before the lion begun to run.
They ran for a short while and soon arrived before a wide piece of land with trees covered in vines.
Berries!" Sydney cried out happily and jumped off the lions back, she ran to the tree and took the plumpy looking purple berries. Stuffing a few into her mouth, she cried out as the extra sweetness burst in her mouth. She as a sweet tooth couldn't hold the delight, she ate alot that some of the juice slipped past her lips and glided down her mud filled face.
"How did you guys know these fruits? Do you eat them?!" she asked after half filling her stomach.
The two lions who grew up fending for themselves were happy that the female like the berries. Whilst they were cubs, they couldn't hunt for food and they also didn't have milk from their mother and hence during their wondering ventures in search for food, they ended up learning to eat miscellaneous foods in the forest and thanks to their legacies that were passed down through knowledge, they didn't eat any poisonous foods which helped them survive. And bringing Sydney here was because their legacy showed how females loved the juicy balls that grew on trees.
Sydney packed some in a wide leaf and went back to mount the lion with which they proceeded on their journey. They ran past different kinds of animals and even the wild carnivores but none looked their way which delighted Sydney to no end.
After two hours of riding on the back of the lion, they came to a vast grassland that stretched for thousands of miles. The two juveniles came to a stop and Sydney with a confused expression got off the lion's back. The sight was beautiful and breathtaking. Thousands of wilder beasts, zebras, antelopes, buffaloes and some she couldn't even identify were grazing calmly in the soft morning sun.
This is beautiful!" Sydney praised and continued to admire around. She thought they had only made a stop and would continue and hence she took out her berries and mulched on them happily. She didn't dare be four feet away from these two lions.
Feeling exceptionally achieved, the brothers sat down on their hind legs and looked at Sydney awaiting to be praised. They had brought her to the city of beasts!
Have you guys rested enough?!" Sydney asked afraid that they might not have enough time to get to the city of beasts. "Let's get going then!" she said but saw that the lions didn't make an attempt to stand. Her gut feeling told her something but she refused to believe it.
Is this the city of beasts you brought me to?" she asked skeptically and the brothers nodded happily. They even purred and rubbed against her midriff. The female was so smart!
Sydney almost cried! She looked around and saw the groups of beasts from different kinds grazing and slumped to the ground her hope gone. Her throat constricted and she fought hard not to cry. "This isn't the place I was talking about!" She was frustrated. "The place I'm talking about is very huge with big houses...I mean big caves! With beastmen walking around in skin skirts like the one I'm wearing..there are bears, wolves, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars and all sorts of beasts! There are also many females like me! That's the city of BEASTS not some grass eating animals! I want to go home!!!" Sydney couldn't hold back and tears begun to fall involuntarily. The others hadn't found her yet! She wanted to go back and be with them!
Seeing the female cry, the brothers whimpered in apology. They didn't mean to be incompetent...they just didn't know about the city of beasts.
Don't cry! We will help you get back home!' One of the lion's lapped at her mud filled face cleaning it in the process.
Yes...we will get you home, so don't cry! The other rubbed at her belly in consolation.
Sydney cried out all the pent up feelings. She couldn't lash out at these lions since they were already doing her a huge favour and she couldn't blame them for not knowing. She had to put their circumstances into consideration too. After crying for a long time, Sydney stopped but her eyes were puffed and red while her nose was also pink from rubbing it. She sniffed and looked at the two lions who were looking at her with lost and sad expressions.
I'm sorry...I was just very frustrated." She laughed to dispel the awkward atmosphere. Let's go back to the cave." she said and stood up. She kept sniffing thanks to the running nose that came uninvited.
Hearing that they were going back home, one of the lions ran to the herd and hunted down their prey for the day. It was a huge buffalo twice his size but funnily, the other animals remained unfazed and even didn't run like they were used to these kinds of things. Sydney watched in amazement as the white lion dragged back it's kill.
They went back to the cave.. Sydney was in silence and the only thing she did was pluck fruits along the way since they went home at a relatively slower pace.
Reaching the cave, Sydney walked over to the bed and poured out all her food contents, she looked back and saw that the brothers hadn't come in. Seconds later, she heard the sound of skin tearing and her skin lined in goosebumps. She didn't go out to scare her soul out of her body and settled for her own fruit meal as she contemplated on how to get home.
They had run for a while today and she noticed that there wasn't even a single stray in sight which meant she was miles upon miles away from the beast city. Walking around a female was also disadvantageous to her. She was lucky that these two lions weren't of age yet and didn't pose a threat to her, another pointer she had was that they didn't exhibit violence tendencies that she had noticed in strays even just from the look in their eyes.
These beastmen were either abandoned or had run away from home to end up here. It could be anything but she was glad that they were merely big cuddly beasts at the moment. The question was how long was this going to last. She had to derive a plan to help her get to the city of beasts in at most a week!
She planned to ask these lions to escort her during her journey and was sure once they reached the city of beasts, Ash the city lord would grant them permission to stay and survive in the city.