Loss - Part 4

Shre'ka squalled piteously, tiny paws reaching for Fan'tara who stood desolately in the doorway of the dwelling she shared with her mate and her sons, Shas'tan a solid grim presence beside her, as Fey'qua'ri carried the she-cub away. The child squirmed and struggled to get down, but the Sa'uuk Mo'at held on resolutely until they reached his home. When he set her down, Shre'ka immediately bolted and ran back to Fan'tara.

The first time, Fey'qua'ri simply came and returned her to his lodge. The second time, he cuffed her soundly when he came to get her, his ears flat, trying to ignore Fan'tara's distraught hisses. Then he compelled the cub to walk back beside him, growling a low reprimand and swatting her, none too lightly, when she looked back or straggled in the slightest.

Shre'ka got the message. She stayed at Fey'qua'ri's dwelling after that, but her neck fur remained bristled with childish fury, her little ears lay plastered to her skull and her eyes stayed fixed on the ground. Fey'qua'ri talked to her, but she didn't respond. He brought her food and water which she spurned. When night fell, he laid out bedding for her, which she also refused to use, huddling sullenly against a heavy hide wall as far from his sleeping area as she could get. The cub was extremely tempted to go back to Fan'tara after Fey'qua'ri had gone to sleep, but her little body still smarted from where the Sa'uuk Mo'at had struck her and she didn't dare.

She slept fitfully, missing her parents, the strange place and smells disturbing her. The funeral rites held early the day before had not helped ease her grief, no matter how peaceful her mother and father had looked lying together on their pyre, no matter how many lovely go'la and mosa flowers had been clustered around them. They were gone from her, that was all she knew. Her mother would never pick her up to gently cuddle her again. Her father would never carry her on his broad, strong shoulders any more. They would never again go hunting together. These thoughts plagued her slumber and she whimpered, tossing and turning throughout the night. In the morning, she awoke, aching and stiff, feeling absolutely wretched.

Fey'qua'ri became more and more concerned for the cub as days went by in similar fashion. After making several attempts to entice Shre'ka to eat or drink, with her either allowing the offering to drip or drop to the ground or swatting it away with a petulant hiss, the Sa'uuk Mo'at's patience was sorely tested. His temper frayed, he was tempted to snatch the cub up by the scruff of her neck and hurl the scrawny little furball into the nearby stream. He was too old to be raising a child, especially on his own! He didn't have the slightest idea on how to relate to her. She obviously didn't like him, and he was becoming none too fond of her. He thought he had made some progress when he left her out in the rain one day and she finally responded to him and came inside on her own, but her sadness lingered still. Having never been a parent before, the Sa'uuk Mo'at felt at a loss on how to help the child work through her sorrow and considered taking the youngster back to Shas'tan on more than one occasion.

One particularly trying day, Fey'qua'ri had retreated outdoors and sat musing on a rock, absently mulling over his idea about Shre'ka and the stream yet again. Not long after, Shas'tan and his sons entered the village, returning from a hunt. The boys were all carrying a kin'to, their little chests puffed out with pride. Shas'tan spied the Sa'uuk Mo'at and waved his cubs on toward the communal area with their prize, before walking over to join Fey'qua'ri.

"An'na ma'we," he said in greeting.

"An'na ma'we," Fey'qua'ri growled.

Shas'tan sat beside the Sa'uuk Mo'at, affecting not to notice his dour demeanor. "Cubs are such a boon," he said, smiling indulgently after his sons.

Fey'qua'ri grunted, his ears at half mast.

The anu'at gave him a sidelong glance. "I take it things are not going well?"

Fey'qua'ri growled. "That's putting it mildly." He turned an anguished look to the clan leader. "I don't think this will work, Shas'tan. Someone else must raise her. I can not replace her parents."

"Perhaps that is the problem."

Fey'qua'ri backed his ears. "What do you mean?"

Shas'tan flicked his ears back thoughtfully. "You are not her mother or father, so perhaps you should not try to be."

Fey'qua'ri frowned. "How should I raise her, if not as a mother or father?"

Shas'tan considered a while. He sighed. "Have you tried just being you?"

The Sa'uuk Mo'at scowled. "Me?! I am no parent! I have never been one! What have I got to offer this child?"

Shas'tan looked at him squarely, raising an eyebrow.

Fey'qua'ri stared at Shas'tan a moment, then smiled, shaking his head. He rapped his staff lightly against the anu'at's shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the wise one."

Shas'tan smiled. "And you are, my friend. But even wisdom's vision can become blurred when things are too close. If matters are put into proper perspective, you will see clearly what to do, I am certain of it."

To be continued...