Outlawed In-laws (A TNC Novel)

Chapter 22

The night was dark and silent, the savanna absent of animals. There was no wind, so the grass and flowers stood still. The silhouettes of trees loomed in the distance, looking as if they were the shadows of giants come to life.

Kunto wandered the desolate land, having no clue as to where she's going, let alone why she's going anywhere in the first place. Her eyes are focused on nothing in particular, mind completely blank.

Suddenly, there's a loud sound. The shock causes Kunto to flinch, her eyes squinting shut. When she opens them, she is overcome by surprise, astonishment, and fear, her once cold body overflowing with heat.

An inferno rises above and moves toward Kunto, enveloping her like water from the ocean. Except, she wasn't sucked into the fire; the flames parted to each side when they reached her.

Then, just as quickly as it arrived, the inferno was gone. Nothing was left, except for Kunto, and emptiness.

For a moment, Kunto was unsure of what to think or feel regarding her experience. She felt like she should keep going. For what reason, she did not know.

But as soon as she lifted her leg...

"You."

A mysterious voice said.

Sounding at the same time as the appearance of a glowing pair of eyes.

***

Kunto jerked away, her breathing heavy, and body taught with anxiety.

"What..." Kunto began to ask herself out loud. She stopped, though, for she didn't want anyone else to hear. As far as she could tell, everyone else was still asleep.

What was that? I've never had a dream like that before.

Kunto thought about it some more, but the whole "it was just a dream" excuse was not buying it for her. Not tonight.

Maybe . . . no! That sounds ridiculous!

Kunto shook her head and lied back down. She tried to fall back asleep, as if nothing happened.

Her attempt lasted less than a minute before her brain hit overdrive.

No, there is no way that that was an ordinary dream. There's no way it could have been a nightmare, either! Maybe . . . maybe it was a vision. Or something along those lines. I mean, it's strange, but it makes sense.

Doesn't it?

***

"OW!"

Before she knew it, Kunto let go of whatever she was holding onto and went flying through the air, only to land on the ground a few seconds later. Her side hurt, she could barely breathe, and she couldn't see due to the dust cloud that had formed in front of her eyes.

"Kunto!"

"Kunto, are you alright?"

"Makini, did you seriously have to throw her?"

"I didn't mean to! It was just a reflex!"

Soon, there was a cacophony of voices surrounding her, causing her headache to evolve into a migraine. Kunto groaned, a vocal response to deal with her pain and let it be known to others. Though to her surprise, she wasn't mad about it.

Kunto's immediate thought is that her emotions are still dulled from her vision.

"Everyone, shut up! Give Kunto a moment to properly wake up and get her bearings straight!"

Thanks, Uncle Makuu, Kunto thought. If dad was here, he would've done the same thing.

A pit formed in her heart when Kiburi came to mind. Kunto missed her father, and wished that he would return, safe and sound.

"Kunto?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Makuu," Kunto responded. She stood up and shook the loose dust from her scales. "But mind telling me why somebody was poking me constantly?"

"...I'll let your mother explain that one," Makuu relented, stepping aside so that Zula could come forward. Berko and Mosi were right there, too, following in her footsteps.

"Sorry, Kunto, but you were sleeping for so long and wouldn't wake up, and I was just so worried, and..." Zula tried to explain, barely keeping herself together.

She's been like that ever since I got back, Kunto thought. And according to everyone else, she was like this after dad and I disappeared. By the gods, I never realized how much stress and worry I could put mom through. This is awful, seeing her like this!

Kunto stood up and walked over to Zula. She placed her claws on hers, attempting to comfort her mother.

"It's alright, mom, you don't have to explain yourself," Kunto said, her tone calm and soothing. "You're just worried about me, and . . . well . . . I guess you just needed a little reassurance from someone else."

With tears streaming down her face, Zula embraced Kunto in a hug and curled herself around her daughter. This time, Kunto didn't try to push her mom away. She would stay with her as long as she needed to, even if that meant sharing space with her brothers, who were also caught in the cuddle circle.

Hm . . . I missed this. Just one more, and we'll be whole again.