No Laughing Matter.

Chapter 1

We should have been more careful if we had of been, we wouldn't be in this situation right now, I can't blame them though they are just cubs. Innocent small balls of fluff and laughter. Before you ask why I, a twenty-year-old male hyena, is with three cubs, alone, I wouldn't be able to answer without laughing but that's a species habit. My name is Casius and I now must give my life to protect the young ones.

My clan was wiped out, but I managed to get the cubs out just in time. Our matriarch had killed the elephant herds baby that had just been birthed and thus greatly angered them. The elephants have alliances with all the local herd as well as many lone creatures such as the cheetahs and lone wild dogs, that we share our local hunting area with , so my clan did not stand a chance. They were ripped to shreds and trampled before my very eyes. All because my matriarch had decided she was stupid and hungry enogh to kill the herds newest calf. I did not agree with hunting shifters but many of my clan did not care about such rules.

Now I'm travelling, mainly at night across the grasslands, with three cubs who haven't had their first shift yet except Zar who was three shifts in so about five in human years. The rest of the children did not have names yet as they are given after the first shift by some of the more tribal members of our clan. The other two are thankfully too young to notice and fully understand why the clan's weak babysitter is taking them away from the only home they've ever known. By the grace of the elders the cubs are weaned. That would be too much to deal with as I am a male and even though I was the babysitter I couldn't produce the necessary milk yet, in my species the male is also able to carry a cub but it does take a lot of trying and time so I may be able to produce sometime in the future but for now I am still useless. My matriarch would often tell me she believed I was only good for producing and raising children. I guess she was right about that. I have managed to keep us alive for more than one night, we are now far past the single digits of nights alone so maybe she was wrong also?

Yesterday I found a rotting antelope left by a local pride and fed myself and them. If our matriarch wasn't a power-hungry villainous woman, we'd still be safe, all the responsibility wouldn't be on my shoulders. I'm only a cub myself at least in the eyes of the clan, I was the runt of the litter and my growth was stunted due to that. Whereas many of our clan members looked like the normal size for our species counterpart, I was more the size of a striped hyena rather than spotted. The spots on my coat and my cackling are the reason I know of my species though.

The grasslands I live on are home to many herds and packs of shifters and normal animals alike. My clan was known to only change into their human form when necessary. We were the last remaining spotted hyena clan in this area, the rest moving to the human areas, but I had never been there. When the matriarch had to go for council meetings, I was left with the pups. It's honestly a miracle she didn't kill me as a pup due to my smaller size. It wouldn't shock me I had seen it happen to others over the years. She cared not for the lives of those pups rather just the strength of her clan.

The cubs weren't too keen on traveling as a group so most of the time I carried one in my mouth and two on my back. I had no idea where exactly we were heading but away from the massacre is a good idea. The further distance we put between us and the angry elephant herd the better, I do not need to be killed or have them killed because of a mistake that wasn't theirs. There would come a time that either we will run out of food or have an encounter with a local group of shifters and that is daunting. It would be so much easier if I could be human and travel with them as such, but they are too young, and I have no experience with that.

It's currently daybreak and so we must find a secure environment to rest and allow the cubs to sleep and such. The golden beams of sunlight were on the horizon now and warming my fur I cackled in discomfort as I still am yet to find somewhere to sleep and rest with my small clan. I am male I shouldn't be a matriarch to unruly cubs, this is a lot. As we pass the top of a grassy hill, I hear the roar of a lion awaking and my hair stands on its end and the cubs all immediately hide beneath my stomach and the one in my maw hides its head. I look around quickly and notice a large cluster of rocks and a nice dark space. I slowly head towards there and walk faster as I hear more noises and the animals of our area are awakening.

As I reach the den, I breathe a sigh of relief. I had sniffed out the area briefly and there were old scents of honey badgers and older still of another smaller creature, but they were long gone hence why I cannot determine the other creature. This was a dark damp place for us to rest until just before dusk. Because the only predators around here are also shifters, they are less nocturnal then their animal counterparts and that plays well in favour for myself and my cubs.

I hear small cackles as the children gather around my stomach and nuzzle in as if they are doing all the work. I suppose this is traumatic for them as well. I need to find food and water soon. I stretch out my legs and the cubs are soon on top of me bathing in each other's scents and my own. I close my eyes but don't really sleep because I am on high alert for our safety. I can feel the precious breaths of life on my stomach and neck as the cub's sleep, thankfully. I swear to protect these children with everything I have, and nothing will stop me. They are innocent. Our clan was innocent apart from a select few and now they are gone.

Due to the tribalistic nature of our clan the council doesn't interfere with the happenings and killings. We are a more naturalistic traditional way of life on this grassland. We don't cook our meat as I have heard others do. We have no issues with killing other shifters, but we stay away from the children, that's a rule. I try not to eat shifter, it just doesn't sit well with me. I settle in and try not to let the overwhelming negative thoughts consume me. It's time to rest until it's time to move again and find food, water and shelter. That's all that matters.