Love Letter

Split personality

They'd been woken from their tent before dawn.  In the inky blue sky, stars still shone, and the sounds of the night were still playing like some backing tape.

They sat around the campfire and ate their breakfast of eggs and toast.  They could have done the 'glamping' version. They could have had a tent with an ensuite and a terrace.  They didn't. They had a relatively small tent, two comfortable but basic cots, and an outside shower cubicle. It was,  they agreed, perfect.

Their luggage was stored at the hotel they would return to, and now, all they had were basic clothes and a couple of rucksacks.

If Ali was being completely honest? Not having to worry about doing your hair, putting on makeup, and worrying whether your top went with your jeans was a blessing.

Now, breakfast done, they climbed into the landrover that had transported them for the last few days around their own little slice of heaven. Only the ever present firearms the staff carried reminded them this was real life, not a movie set.  Poachers stopped at nothing.

As they trundled into the dark, their guide and  ranger turned and smiled. "Today is your special day. Today, you get to see what your time and money have helped to do.  Loki has been tracked by his radio collar - they have them until we're sure their going to be ok - and he's come to see us.  He does this regularly, but we won't force him. Seems today is the day."

They pulled up as the first rosy fingers of dawn crept over the hills beside them. To their right, a couple of trees, making the scene like some epic David Lean film. 

As they waited, silence descended. No one spoke. No one wanted to break the spell. The spell of Africa.

Then, gradually out of the dawn, a figure appeared. A large, lithe figure. Loki.

Ali grabbed Tom's arm. "It's our boy!" She whispered.  "He's here!" Her eyes glittered with emotion, and Tom could only nod. 

Loki approached, then stopped and gave a chirrup in greeting. The ranger answered and Loki walked forward. Sniffing the landrover he climbed onto the bonnet and lay down. There was an intake of breath from inside and three faces broke into smiles.

"Come, get out and greet him,  it seems he wants to meet you too."

Ali and Tom carefully got out. Under the strict supervision of Kenneth, their ranger, they approached. Loki watched them, his dark eyes glittering. He lay and let Kenneth stroke his head, murmuring to him in the local dialect.

Then it happened, "you can greet him."

Tom went first and Loki leaned his head into his touch. "Hello boy" Tom said softly. "Welcome home." He looked up and Ali saw he was crying and smiling at the same time. She nodded, her own face wet

Then it was her turn. She was desperately trying not to sob with happiness.

Her eyes shone, and her smile would have split the sky. If she had been any happier, she couldn't have recalled it under pain of execution.

Tom felt his heart about to burst as he looked down.  This was, he thought, the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.  It would be a long time before he saw anything to rival it.

She closed her eyes as her fingers ran through the warm, soft fur. The vibrations from Loki's purr running through them. The sound, breaking the Maisai dawn, soothing, and a rhythm she would never tire of

Tom put his phone down, moment captured forever. Now, he would live in that moment.

"So, Loki's doing well then?" He turned to the ranger, a tall man with almost as wide a smile as Ali. "He's been released, and yet he still comes back?" Now he too ran his hands through the velvety, spotted fur.

"Yup. Seems to still want to hang around with us. Sits on the landrover a lot. When we sit in the shade of a tree for lunch, he's either in the tree above us, watching or lying by our sides, sleeping." Kenneth bent down and rubbed the young cheetahs head, eliciting a happy chirrupy squeak.

"Ohhhh!" Ali was thrilled by the sound and the fact Loki was now lying on his side, letting her pet his belly. "Cute boy. Such a cute boy!"

Tom smiled and kissed her cheek. "If I let you rub my belly, will you call me a cute boy?" He asked cheekily. Ali flushed, and Kenneth laughed loudly.

"You wouldn't believe how many men end up playing second fiddle to one of our boys!" He winked. "Come on, we need to go." His tone changed as he looked around. 

"Ok, come on, love.  If we're lucky, we'll see him again." Tom helped her stand, and the three of them climbed back into the car.  It wasn't until they were safely seated that Tom and Ali saw the reason for Kenneth's change of demeanour.

Hyenas. A small pack, ranging across the savannah towards them. They were dragging the remains of their latest attempt at theft. Opportunist hunters, they stole as often as they could. Loki sat up.

He smelled the kill. The purring stopped. Not normally prone to eating carrion, this kill was fresh. He stood, standing stock still.  The hyenas spotted him, and the cry went up.

Normally, a pack was too much for even an adult cheetah on it's own let alone an adolescent.  Loki had no such qualms.  In a flash, he was gone, across the grassland towards them.

Tom and Ali looked on, fascinated and terrified in equal measure. Kenneth started the engine and slowly followed, being careful to stay out of the way. Observe but not interfere.  It would be good from a research perspective to see how Loki had developed.

The two sides clashed. Howling and a screeching, tooth, and claw, Loki and the pack leader clashed. Despite her resolve, Ali had to cover her face and look through her fingers. She couldn't bear to see 'her' Loki hurt.

Two minutes later, it was all over. The hyenas retreated with their prize almost intact.  Almost. Loki had grabbed a leg and not let go.

Now, bearing his reward, he trotted back and lay gnawing in the shade of a large tree.

"Time to go, folks." Kenneth said with no small amount of pride. "Our boy will be happy now."

"So are we, so are we." Tom said, squeezing Ali to his side. "He's going to be just fine, love."

Ali nodded, feeling more emotional than she would ever have believed possible.  This was the real side of things.  Loki may look 'cute' and 'fluffy' and look like a big pussy cat, but at the end of the day, he was a wild animal. A hunter. Not a pet. And that was just perfect.