A Leopards Tale

Chapter 1

A white cub with black markings ran through the forest, searching for somewhere to hide. The creature chasing him not far behind. The cub quickly hid in a hollow log, but the wood gave in and he fell into a deep cave. It was pitch black and the storm was still raging. The cub wandered around the cave, trying to find a way out. Suddenly, an echoing, enchanting voice called out to him. "Lynx...Lynx...Lynx..." The voice was that of both a female and a male. The cub ran out of an opening in the cave and through the forest once more, but the voice was not fading. "Lynx...Lynx...Lynx..." The voice got louder and louder. "Lynx...Lynx.." 

"LYNX!!!" Lynx opened his ocean blue eyes to see his best friend Ryuk standing over him. "Get up! It's time for us to go on patrol!" 

Lynx was an adolescent Lion, or at least he thought he was a lion. His father was a lion, he never knew his mother though. His fur was longer than the other lions, and it was a different color. On top of that, his tail was a bit longer than his body. His father had been killed by an intruder when he was still a young cub, so he never got the chance to ask him about his mother. 

Lynx could roar like a lion and he could do everything else that a lion can do, so he had always thought of himself as a lion with a rare coat. After all, the other lions had always referred to him as a lion, so why shouldn't he?

There were six females and seven cubs in the lion pride, and of course, the male. 

The females' names were: Nala, Serena, Mayla, Irena, Freya, and Kara. The cubs were: Leon, Jay, Aladore, and Kyan, the cubs of Mayla, Nala's cubs were: Puma, Alana, and Naomi. Nala's cubs were all female, Mayla's cubs, were all male.

And then there was Ryuk and Lynx, they were almost ready to leave the pride and look for mates. But they wanted to stay and help Aslan with anything he might need. They also wanted to take over for him when he passed away, the two had decided to both take over and split the responsibilities between them. They were the only two males their age at the moment. Lynx was the calmer one, while Ryuk was the playful (and chaotic) one. They were as opposite as night and day, but they always agreed that Lynx was night and Ryuk was day. 

The leader of Dragonborn Pride was Aslan. A powerful male who had filled the pride with other powerful lions. Dragonborn Pride was considered 'Deadly' and 'Enchanted' because they were so powerful. There were rumors that Dragonborn Pride was full of magical lions. Lynx didn't know why this rumor existed, but he didn't question it. 

As Lynx got up, he let out a yawn. He exited the den and looked out onto the wild plains below. The sun was just starting to rise, giving the land a golden glow. A herd of zebra was nearby, Lynx could see a few calves in the herd. 

An elephant and her calf were making their way to the lake, just a few miles south of Dragonborn Pride Rock. Lynx could also see a few giraffes, not far from the elephants. 

"I don't see any Rhinos today. Thank goodness." Lynx was relieved, Rhinos were hard to avoid without getting charged, well, for him anyway. "It's useful, how you can see so much farther than the rest of us. It's freaky but useful." Ryuk approached Lynx from behind. "Come on, time to head out on patrol." Ryuk, followed by Lynx, left what the pride called 'The Rock'. The two friends would travel the entire territory of Dragonborn Pride and make sure there were no intruding male lions or humans in their area. 

Lynx was still thinking about his dream. He had been having the same dream or similar dreams every night since he was a tiny cub. He was the size of a fully grown Siberian tiger now, bigger than the lions. 

Ryuk looked at Lynx, wondering what he was thinking. "You ok Lynx? You seem a bit distant." Lynx looked back at Ryuk and smiled, "Yeah, I'm alright." "Another dream?" Lynx nodded. Ryuk was the only one in the pride that knew of Lynx's bizarre dreams. Ryuk also knew that Lynx was something entirely different than anyone thought. 

Lynx looked across the golden grass of the plains. The sky was a pink/yellow color, the river to the right was a glistening blue and there was a slight breeze coming from the south. 

"Looks like it's going to be a lovely day." Lynx's fur was swaying in the breeze, Ryuk's mane was too. "Can't wait." Ryuk tried to swipe at Lynx and get him to play, but Lynx dodged it. "Nice try, Ryuk. We're supposed to be on patrol, we can play later. Do you have any idea what Aslan will do to us if he finds out we were playing while out on patrol?" "He'll have us on patrol 24/7 for two weeks..." "Yes! Now let's get a move on! I don't want to be on patrol when the migration comes." 

Every year, the migration of songbirds would go right through Dragonborn Pride territory. Some of these songbirds were a bit aggressive and would peck the pride until they dropped (well...tried to...). The last time the migration came by, they chipped Aslan's ear. Lynx would normally stay in the den during this period, though no one blamed him...

"Oh yeah, thaaaaat....." Ryuk wasn't looking forward to it. The migration was definitely one of the worst things the pride had to go through. "Yeah, so let's get a move on." 

Once Lynx and Ryuk got back from patrol it was time to go hunting. Lynx was assigned to the hunting party that day, along with Serena, Freya, and Irena. They were going to hunt three of the nearby zebra. The pride was big so they needed a lot of food. Luckily, all the nearby zebra herds were also very big so there were rarely any food shortages. 

As the hunting party was about to head out, Aslan stopped Lynx. "Lynx, please try to stay out of sight this time." Because Lynx mainly had white fur, he couldn't blend into the light-brown grass like the lions. This caused him to scare animals away during hunts. 

"I'll do my best Sir..." Lynx bowed his head before following the others. 'If only I was a normal lion...maybe I wouldn't be such a failer at hunting...' Lynx knew that if he was around, the hunt would either take longer or fail. His fur stood out like a sore thumb. One time when he was with the hunting party, a pack of hyenas saw him and attacked. They spooked the entire herd of zebra and Lynx got trampled. He ended up with several bruises and a dislocated back leg. So Lynx didn't really like hunting.

While Lynx and the others were hunting, Serena spotted a group of humans in what the pride called 'A Monster' (Car/Van/Jeep). "Humans, Lynx get down." Serena knew that if the humans saw Lynx, they would try to capture him. Lynx hid behind Freya and Irena as quickly as he could. Luckily the humans didn't see him, either that or they thought he was a dead zebra. 

Lynx and the others waited for the humans to leave, then Lynx came out of hiding. "I don't think they saw you." Serena was relieved that Lynx hadn't been seen.

Serena thought of Lynx as a son, so she always acted like a mother to him. She had taken care of Lynx after his father died. Serena had always believed that Lynx was special, that he would be part of something great. 

"Thanks for the warning, Serena." Lynx lowered his head in respect. 

Lynx was surprised. They had actually managed to successfully hunt three zebra. Lynx had even taken one down himself. He had hidden within the herd, they thought he was another zebra. 

"You did good today Lynx. I'm proud of you." Aslan was impressed with Lynx and decided to have him only hunt zebra. It occurred to him that Lynx's black and white fur would be very useful while hunting zebra. "Thank you, Sir." Lynx had his head lowered again. 

Lynx went into the den. The sun was beginning to set. 

The sky was pinkish-red and the grass was gently swaying in the wind. Lynx could hear the river behind the den running. 

Lynx fell asleep soon after he lay down on a bed of grass and hay. 

'I wonder what tomorrow will bring?' Lynx thought as he fell asleep.