Pride of the Plains by Colin Dann

one. The cubs bounced around in excitement too. Eventually the inevitable question was asked by Kimya.
    â€˜Where’s Blackmane?’
    Battlescars flopped down on to his belly. His head dropped. ‘My brother is dead,’ he murmured dolefully. For a moment there was silence. The pride members were stunned. Then, in a rush, Battlescars was bombarded with questions and, while he explained about the tremendous fight with Challenger, the sisters began to notice his latest wounds.
    â€˜These are the work of that young upstart?’ Huru asked with surprise. She could see that some of the wounds were the most severe Battlescars had ever suffered.
    â€˜He’s no upstart now,’ the old male growled in answer. ‘He has learnt a thing or two and he’s very strong. He killed my brother.’ He turned his head and looked away towards the northern horizon. ‘The large pride is no longer ours. No longer mine,’ hecorrected himself. ‘I surrendered it without a fight. I didn’t have the stomach or the heart to do battle for it without Blackmane.’
    Huru was secretly delighted that they had Battlescars all to themselves now, but refrained from saying so for fear of wounding his self-esteem. But she realized that having only one adult male in the pride posed a problem. She and Kimya would have to share him. ‘It’s good to have you back,’ was what she did say. ‘We’ve had our work cut out looking after the cubs by ourselves.’
    Battlescars looked at the youngsters properly for the first time since his return. He noticed that his biggest cub was still absent. ‘Moja must be dead too,’ he said resignedly.
    The lionesses didn’t contradict him. Kimya in fact had remained virtually silent since the first greetings were over. Blackmane had been her mate and she was truly saddened by the news of his defeat. Yet at the same time she couldn’t help thinking about the powerful young male who had defeated him. Battlescars had taken punishment too so the younger lion had obviously fought heroically. She wondered what would happen if he should choose to mount a fresh challenge at some later stage. Battlescars was ageing visibly and, although victorious last time, would be seriously tested if the moment should come when he must fight on his own. Despite everything, she couldn’t suppress a feeling of excitement at the prospect.
    â€˜Was the young lion badly hurt?’ she asked as Huru started to lick Battlescars’s gashes.
    â€˜Oh, yes. He was well and truly beaten,’ Battlescars answered categorically. ‘He crawled away afterwards and went into hiding. I doubt if he’ll come looking for me for a while.’ His confidence was returning ashe spoke and he felt the loyalty of his pride members as they surrounded him.
    But Kimya said, ‘If he’s young and strong he’ll recover and he
will
come back. What else can he do? He will want a mate and a pride for himself – he will challenge again and again.’
    Huru glared at her sister. ‘Perhaps you’d welcome it?’ she snapped, suspecting Kimya was jealous of her closer tie with Battlescars.
    â€˜No,’ Kimya replied, though she wasn’t really sure herself. ‘I’m only speaking the truth and Battlescars knows it.’
    â€˜Yes,’ he admitted. ‘You are right. But I’m not done yet. I don’t intend to give up my last pride. Whoever might try to take it from me will find he’s got the battle of his life before him.’

—7—
The Sisters
    For the first time there was a slight uneasiness between the sister lionesses. They continued to hunt together as always. There were hungry cubs to feed as well as themselves and Battlescars, who still demanded the best meat from their kills. The male lion was content now to move around very little. He was recuperating, and enjoying the company of the cubs who found him a more