Life On The Savannah

Chapter one: Dawn of new life

***possible Trigger warning***
Life on the savannah was anything but easy. Especially if you were an expecting cheetah mother. Asuga(translated to swift) was no exception. The sun beat down on the plump cheetah as she stalked through the tall grass in search of something to eat. Upon spotting a clearing the young mother to be soon noticed a group of young warthogs not far off. Deciding to take her chances with the piglets she quickened her movement ever so slightly as she drew closer. When Asuga thought she was a close enough distance from her target she nestled down into the tall grass and waited for a moment, her ears flicking ever so slightly. Occasionally she could feel a jabbing sensation in her belly, dismissing it as simple hunger pain and averting her attention back to the task at paw. If she didn't succeed in catching something to eat soon she risked losing her kits long before she even got to meet them. Taking one last relaxing breath the young cheetah crept closer before locking her gaze on a medium sized adolescent hog. She licked her maw before bunching up her muscles and exploding from her cover, quickly covering the ground between the warthog and herself. Within moments the ordeal was over, dust flying in every direction, the panicked squeals of piglets and warthogs alike as warthogs scattered in every direction. When the dust settled a cheetah could be seen feasting away on her kill.

As the sun began to set, Asuga felt nothing but pride in herself as she slowly drug the remains of her kill to a more secluded spot closer to her den site. After storing her prey for later the young mother to be slipped into the crevice in the rocks that she currently called home and settled down into her nest before stretching out. A few hours passed as she lay sleeping soundly in her nest, the only noise, the occasional grunt from Asuga as she slept. Just before dawn, new sounds and movement began to stir in the nest beside the female , six little bundles of movement to be exact. Asuga was finally a mother. She had successfully managed to birth three daughters and three sons , now would come the hardest task of her life, making sure that these Cubs made it to adulthood. The very same path her mother took before her, and hers before that.
Asuga curled herself around her six bundles of fluff and smiled warmly as she gave them each a gentle lick behind their ears before nuzzling them each in turn. She would later name her daughters Maira, Asvini, and Sable, they would remain with their mother until the day they started their own families. Her sons would later be known as Duma(translated to cheetah), Akela(translated to alone), and Tamu(translated to sweet), the young princes of the Savannah, who would venture out together once old enough, and make their own paths.

Asuga would watch them each grow and develop their own personalities within the next few months of their lives. Her daughters proving to be very observant and copying almost everything their mother did, her sons on the other paw were proving to be troublesome. She never could tell where those three would run off to, which was always fine, they never strayed too far from the den site. Until the day they did. Asuga was attempting to teach Maira how to hunt when she noticed that the boys were nowhere in sight, but neither was Asvini or Sable. Becoming frantic at this point Asuga ordered her remaining daughter back into the crevice as she went in search of her missing Cubs. Letting out frantic stress chirp's the young mother began scenting the air. Once she caught Akela's scent she quickly followed it until she could hear the sounds of her Cubs frantically mewling ever so clearly. Without hesitation Asuga launched herself into action when she heard the distinct sound of unmistakable laughter. Her Cubs were being circled by three striped hyenas. Well three of her Cubs were, where was Asvini and Sable? Glancing around, the scene that welcomed the mother made her blood run cold. The hyenas had torn Asvini and Sable apart before turning their attention on their brothers. Seeing this caused Asuga to go into full rage mode and she barreled into the hyenas with anger filled eyes. Asuga could see nothing but Red at this point, her first attempt at being a mother and already she'd lost two of her precious cubs, she'd already failed two of them. With that in her mind Asuga quickly chased the hyenas off before gathering up her sons. Scolding them all the way to the den site where they met up with Maira, her remaining daughter who quickly came scampering over to her mother the moment she spotted her. Maira looked around her mother at her brothers before tilting her head slightly. What had happened to her sisters? Where were they?
She never would learn the truth of what happened to Asvini and Sable. She would spend the rest of her cub life learning everything she could from her mother, and playing with her brothers.