| Chapter Twelve |
Shadow was frightened. Not quite as frightened as she had been when this day had begun, true. The human whose skin
was almost as dark as her fur had been gentle with her, and had actually known her name somehow. She had been
given plenty of water and food that was different and better than anything her mother had been able to give her. But
Shadow was still in the world of Man, locked in a cage, and without her mother. She and the little hyena had been taken
and put in a much larger cage, which itself was inside an even larger man-made cave-thing. She still did not know what
the humans were going to do to her, or if there was anything she could do about it.
“So, can you talk, or what? Who are you?”
Shadow looked up at the hyena pup who had just addressed her. She answered softly, not trusting the hyena for a
second but scared of what it might do if it got angry. “Yes, I can talk. My name is Shadow.”
The hyena merely blinked. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Leonid. You can speak Commonal, can’t you? What kind of cat are
you, anyway?”
Embarrassed, Shadow switched from the complex language her mother had spoken with her to the common tongue that
all animals could understand. “Oh, yes, of course. I’m a lioness, my name is Shadow.” She hesitated for a moment, and
then continued, “What is your name?”
“Sapphire. Incosi Sapphire. And I don’t know what you are Honey, but you ain’t no she-lion, that’s for sure.”
“What? Of course I’m a lion. I’m just a dark lion.”
“It ain’t your color that’s the trouble, Miss Shadow, it’s your scent and your skeletal form. I’m telling you, you’re
something else.”
“What else could I be?”
The impossibly young incosi simply shrugged. “Sozo knows.”
“Who is Sozo?”
The question hit Sapphire like a zebra kick. As a follower of Sozo it was her responsibility to tell others about him; to
clear away ignorance and confusion. Most lions had at least heard of him by now, Sapphire had just taken it for granted
that Shadow would’ve been taught about the Sovereign One. The young incosi hoped she had not been so harsh that
this strange black cat would not want to hear what she had to say. But she had asked. “Well, Sozo is one of the names
of the Living Circle…”
She was interrupted by a very large human being entering the cave-thing. He had some of their hand-shaped hide
things covering his hands and arms, and he was carrying a small cheetah cub. The cheetah appeared to be crazy. He
kept sputtering nonsensical gibberish in both Commonal and what had to be Cheetic. His eyes rolled around and his
tongue kept lolling out of his mouth. The human seemed rather frustrated with his burden. He opened the door,
practically threw the cub inside and slammed it shut. As he grumbled to himself and stalked out the cub tried without
much success to walk around and talk.
“Well, hello, ladies! Fancy meeting you here.” He spun around and shouted at the top of his lungs for no apparent
reason, “My! Such beautiful weather we’re having for dinner this morning!” He turned back around and appeared to
rediscover Sapphire and Shadow all over again. “Well, hello, ladies! Fancy meeting you here.”
Sapphire replied, “Yes, you said that.”
The cheetah cub got right up in the hyena’s face and said, “You! You…have very pretty eyes. And you!” He spun
around to face Shadow. “You… well, you’re just pretty all over ain’t you?” He faced forward out the cave door, not
looking at either of them. “Zipper!” Having apparently spoken his peace, the strange cheetah thankfully passed out. The
two females looked at each other in bewilderment.
Then, several other humans entered excitedly. The black man that had known Shadow’s name and a female human
they hadn’t seen before were happily assisting a smaller younger-looking human as he carried a large cub in his arms,
wrapped in blankets. It looked like it was asleep. The smaller man sat on a bench with the sleeping cub and began
feeding it milk out of a clear container while the other humans left, smiling and laughing. When the feeding was finished,
the light-skinned human reached for the latch to open the cage, but stopped midway. He looked around, closed his eyes
and steadied his breathing. He then looked in at the pup and cub and spoke. “Don’t worry, girls, you’ll be okay. My name
is Kodi, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Both young animals were dumbstruck. The human had just spoken in Commonal!
was almost as dark as her fur had been gentle with her, and had actually known her name somehow. She had been
given plenty of water and food that was different and better than anything her mother had been able to give her. But
Shadow was still in the world of Man, locked in a cage, and without her mother. She and the little hyena had been taken
and put in a much larger cage, which itself was inside an even larger man-made cave-thing. She still did not know what
the humans were going to do to her, or if there was anything she could do about it.
“So, can you talk, or what? Who are you?”
Shadow looked up at the hyena pup who had just addressed her. She answered softly, not trusting the hyena for a
second but scared of what it might do if it got angry. “Yes, I can talk. My name is Shadow.”
The hyena merely blinked. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Leonid. You can speak Commonal, can’t you? What kind of cat are
you, anyway?”
Embarrassed, Shadow switched from the complex language her mother had spoken with her to the common tongue that
all animals could understand. “Oh, yes, of course. I’m a lioness, my name is Shadow.” She hesitated for a moment, and
then continued, “What is your name?”
“Sapphire. Incosi Sapphire. And I don’t know what you are Honey, but you ain’t no she-lion, that’s for sure.”
“What? Of course I’m a lion. I’m just a dark lion.”
“It ain’t your color that’s the trouble, Miss Shadow, it’s your scent and your skeletal form. I’m telling you, you’re
something else.”
“What else could I be?”
The impossibly young incosi simply shrugged. “Sozo knows.”
“Who is Sozo?”
The question hit Sapphire like a zebra kick. As a follower of Sozo it was her responsibility to tell others about him; to
clear away ignorance and confusion. Most lions had at least heard of him by now, Sapphire had just taken it for granted
that Shadow would’ve been taught about the Sovereign One. The young incosi hoped she had not been so harsh that
this strange black cat would not want to hear what she had to say. But she had asked. “Well, Sozo is one of the names
of the Living Circle…”
She was interrupted by a very large human being entering the cave-thing. He had some of their hand-shaped hide
things covering his hands and arms, and he was carrying a small cheetah cub. The cheetah appeared to be crazy. He
kept sputtering nonsensical gibberish in both Commonal and what had to be Cheetic. His eyes rolled around and his
tongue kept lolling out of his mouth. The human seemed rather frustrated with his burden. He opened the door,
practically threw the cub inside and slammed it shut. As he grumbled to himself and stalked out the cub tried without
much success to walk around and talk.
“Well, hello, ladies! Fancy meeting you here.” He spun around and shouted at the top of his lungs for no apparent
reason, “My! Such beautiful weather we’re having for dinner this morning!” He turned back around and appeared to
rediscover Sapphire and Shadow all over again. “Well, hello, ladies! Fancy meeting you here.”
Sapphire replied, “Yes, you said that.”
The cheetah cub got right up in the hyena’s face and said, “You! You…have very pretty eyes. And you!” He spun
around to face Shadow. “You… well, you’re just pretty all over ain’t you?” He faced forward out the cave door, not
looking at either of them. “Zipper!” Having apparently spoken his peace, the strange cheetah thankfully passed out. The
two females looked at each other in bewilderment.
Then, several other humans entered excitedly. The black man that had known Shadow’s name and a female human
they hadn’t seen before were happily assisting a smaller younger-looking human as he carried a large cub in his arms,
wrapped in blankets. It looked like it was asleep. The smaller man sat on a bench with the sleeping cub and began
feeding it milk out of a clear container while the other humans left, smiling and laughing. When the feeding was finished,
the light-skinned human reached for the latch to open the cage, but stopped midway. He looked around, closed his eyes
and steadied his breathing. He then looked in at the pup and cub and spoke. “Don’t worry, girls, you’ll be okay. My name
is Kodi, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Both young animals were dumbstruck. The human had just spoken in Commonal!
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