Warriors of Africa (Ice Tails)- Chapter 1

Inside the Ice Tails Den, Ime was having a wonderful dream, but it quickly turned into a nightmare...1

A cold wind rushed through the icy landscape. Hidden in its comfy burrow, a snow hare watched silently as the day went by. It was searching for the source of the noise it had just heard, but hearing nothing, it slowly crept out of its hiding place.
The scent was stronger, but the little hare could not place where it was coming from. Suddenly, without warning, it bolted through the rugged landscape.
It could feel a presence behind it, and it was catching up. The hare panicked, and doubled its speed.
Something caught its leg, and the hare’s lifeless body dropped to the ground.
“Nice catch, Kayin!”
Above the lifeless body of the hare, a tall female snow leopard sat looking at her catch proudly.
“Thanks, Ime!” she answered happily.
A second snow leopard walked toward Kayin; this one was smaller.
“You want to help me take it back to the clan?” Kayin asked happily.
Ime purred “Of course, silly!”
Suddenly, Kayin’s ears shot up into the air, and she hissed silently.
Ime flinched, startled. “What is it?” She asked in a worried tone.
“Forget the hare; get back to camp, now!” Kayin told her younger sister.
Ime seemed to stutter, then nodded and disappeared into the bushes.2

Ime was crying, tossing and turning in her sleep. Her hind paw accidentally jabbed Rasha in his back, causing him to squeal in surprise.
When he saw Ime thrashing and crying, he slowly reached out to her with his paw.3

She woke, raising her head with a gasp of surprise as her ngihtmare ended with Rasha's wakening.
After seeing Rasha, Ime turned away and let out a huge sob.
“Are you all right, what is wrong?” He asked, worried.4

Ime turned to face him, eyes red from the tears.
“I can’t stop thinking about her. Every time I close my eyes; I can see her in front of me. And when I fall asleep, I can even smell her!” She said slowly, then turned around and whispered sadly ‘Kayin, Kayin, Kayin’.5

Ime and Rasha had both been 2 months old when Kayin disappeared, and Ime was the last person to see her. But she has never opened up to anyone about it.6

Rasha blinked, and then looked into the distance.7

Without thinking; Rasha laid his long tail over her shoulders, attempting to comfort her. When he looked into her eyes, he could tell that she was truly upset, so he said slowly “It was a long time ago, Ime. I miss her too. I know I'll never know the pain you're going through, but she was my friend as well. You know what? Knowing Kayin, if she was here, she would be laughing and shaking her head sorrowfully at your grieving. You remember her favorite saying, the one she made up right before she left us?"8

Ime smiled through her tears. "Yes." she whispered.9

"' If you cry, it’s like letting storm clouds hide the sunshine within.'" he recited. That had been Kayin's favourite saying, she had learned it from a friend, is what she'd always said.10

Ime sniffed, then silently whispered so quietly Rasha could barely hear “Some of the 'sunshine within me' is faded since she left."
They both sat there for a long while; remembering all of the good times they had with Rasha, until they both fell asleep where they sat. 11