That Cub's Not Right

I wanted to do some "Gift Art & Story" combo for Koai ([link]) for a long time already, aside of the contests that she hosts and I've participated on.

So I finally went ahead and gave it a try at something with a bit of a more detailed background and stuff. (I'm so proud of my clouds, you have NO idea. ;D )

Warning, the story below is as creepy as the image itself. But you wouldn't expect anything else from our favorite psychopath, inmate Farai, would you?

I hope you like, Koai!

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"THAT CUB'S NOT RIGHT"

On a hot, summer day, the lionesses from the Ziwa Pride had taken refuge under the shadow of a large tree. The sun was shining hard upon them, but in the horizon there were already dark clouds forming, hopefully announcing the arrival of some cooling and refreshing rain.

The Ziwa Pride was not very big, consisting of one male, three huntresses and two young cubs. The lionesses were resting for the time being, while they waited for the sun to set, before going hunting.

The oldest cub, a small, golden lioness named Farai, was growing restless. She had been nipping at the lionesses' tails playfully, but was quickly told off, since they wanted to sleep instead.

"Why don't you play with your brother?" one of them asked, yawning noisily.

"Might as well go play with a rock. He just sits there and does nothing," the cub replied, rolling her eyes.

Uzima, Farai's mother, looked up and grinned at her. "Be patient, Farai. Kujali's already getting the hang of his little paws. Soon he will be following you around everywhere, you'll see."

Oh that's just great, Farai thought to herself.

She had clearly not been happy with the arrival of her sibling, and the lioness did not seek much contact with him.

The older lionesses were not worried. They all knew that cubs tend to feel a bit jealous and left out especially when introducing a new cub into the Pride. So they didn't think much when they saw Farai being angry and distant with her brother.

The truth was that Farai was not really jealous. She simply did not like him, at all, and for no particular reason, either. She just didn't see any purpose to having a brother, and she wanted him gone.

Farai waited until the older lionesses were fast asleep, and she sneaked away to the nearby lake on her own, feeling moody.

As she approached, she heard the voice of another cub in the distance. Farai pricked her ears to listen better, and she recognized it. It was Nafsi, a happy, young lioness about the same age as Farai, apparently talking to herself as she played.

She belonged to one of the neighboring Prides, and while the other Prides and the Ziwa lions were not really close friends, they would often meet by the edge of the lake and share a drink in peace. That's how Farai had met Nafsi, and they both had shared a few short talks and games every now and then.

Nafsi had heard someone approaching and looked over her shoulder. She smiled at the sight of Farai and greeted her enthusiastically. "I'm so glad you're here! I'm so bored I could die! Wanna play a game?"

Farai looked around for a moment. "Um, are you here all alone?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Nafsi smiled, looking excited and nervous about having disobeyed by coming here on her own, and without permission.

Farai shrugged as she walked closer. "The lionesses are all sleeping, and they didn't want to play with me."

Nafsi laughed brightly. "Same here, my sitter fell asleep too. She was supposed to keep an eye on us while we napped..."

Farai looked at Nafsi, annoyed by her cheerfulness. She had come here to be sulky, and did not appreciate to have this bouncy, giggly cub bothering her.

"C'mon, let's play something! Round of Tag?" Nafsi insisted.

Farai shook her head. "How about a round of Alligator instead?"

Nafsi frowned. "You know very well I can't swim. Do you have to rub it in every time?"

Farai gave her a toothy grin. "You still haven't learned? Geez."

Nafsi looked away. The truth is that she had tried to, but being submerged in water terrified her, for no reason. She would simply panic, with no explanation. She looked at Farai and made the mistake of confiding in her, by whispering softly, "I'm scared of water, okay?"

Farai's expression was one of amusement. "Really? Hmm... What a wimp."

"What! Don't tell me you aren't scared of something!" Nafsi said, looking away, slightly embarrassed.

Farai thought for a moment, trying to think if she had felt scared or frightened before, but she shook her head in the end. "Nope, I'm not scared of anything."

"Liar," Nafsi muttered, "You're just trying to make me feel dumb."

Farai walked closer to her, eyeing the lake thoughtfully. "Just how scared are you of water?"

"Well... I don't mind rain and stuff, you know? But when it comes to swimming... I can put my paws in, but that's it," Nafsi replied.

Farai took a few steps forward and stood by the edge of the lake, with her forepaws in the water. "Like this?"

Nafsi nodded, and joined her slowly. "Yup... this is as far as I'll go--"

The young lioness couldn't finish her sentence, because at that point, Farai stood on her hind paws and wrapped her front-legs around Nafsi's chest swiftly. Farai then picked the cub up and threw her right into the water, head first.

Nafsi tried to scream for help, but she could not get her head above water as she flailed helplessly, trying to stay afloat.

Farai took a few steps back and sat down, looking completely nonplussed. She had no idea what motivated her to do this. She even asked herself why she did it, but part of her simply answered, 'because it's funny to see her panic.'

She continued to stare at the flailing cub, who was trying desperately to swim back to the edge, to no avail. Farai made no effort to help Nafsi out either. She simply sat and watched, until Nafsi stopped struggling and her now limp body floated before her.

Farai let out a deep breath, as she finally realized what she had done. She didn't feel guilty or scared, she was merely intrigued by how easy it had been to deprive someone from their life. It made her feel powerful and in control. She admitted that she liked that feeling very much.

The lioness turned around, knowing that someone would come looking for Nafsi soon. She didn't want to be there when that happened.

When Farai rejoined her Pride, she lay down next to her mother and looked at her little brother, still snuggled comfortably between her paws.

"I've changed my mind... I really can't wait for when _you_ start following me around," she thought, smiling to herself as she lay her head between her front paws, and closed her eyes to sleep.

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Character Farai (c) Koai
Character Nafsi (c) Nichers
Image and story (c) Nichers 2012