| Chapter Four |
They were trapped. Trapped like rats and they were going nowhere. The cave that Sapphire woke up in was dark as
night. Not that that bothered her too much, hyenas loved the night. But this place was strange, and she was alone. Well,
there were certainly no other hyenas in this tiny cave-thing, anyway. There was another creature in the opposite corner,
but it hadn’t spoken. Sapphire could smell it, obviously. It was definitely feline and female (a male’s scent trait was
unmistakable, no matter the species), but it wasn’t like any lioness she had come across before. Too subtle for a
cheetah, and what there was to it was too earthy to be a leopard. Despite only being a few months old, Sapphire was
more than a little annoyed that something as basic and vital as her nose wasn’t supplying the answer.
But she had more pressing questions than the identity of her cellmate. Such as the nature of the cell itself. The last she
remembered she had been preaching to her clan at dusk as usual. There had been unrest lately, talk about reverting to
their old ways, threatening to undo all the progress and enlightenment accomplished under her mother. Sapphire was a
very young Incosi, but that didn’t make her any less passionate about her clan’s physical and spiritual welfare. What the
clan needed nowadays was something to unite them and strengthen their belief in the new doctrine of freedom. Perhaps
a pilgrimage to Pride Rock to hear a message from Jothra, the Light Revealer. It had been her dream for as long as she
could remember to meet the Teacher of Teachers anyway…
Her musing was interrupted by a sudden noise. It sounded a bit like a branch creaking in the wind, but not too similar.
The sound was followed by low voices in a bizarre language she had never heard before. The next sound, a muffled click
like a pebble falling on dirt, was accompanied by a small amount of light. Her cave apparently had a few holes in the top.
One beam of the odd-colored light revealed a patch of the other creature’s fur. No wonder she was unseen until just
now, the feline’s fur was inky black, like a shadow underground at midnight. She did indeed look like a small lioness cub,
but the skull’s facial structure wasn’t right.
Sapphire definitely didn’t like this new place. An unnaturally small perfect cube cave. A cellmate that made no sense.
The sounds weren’t right, the voices weren’t right, and this light was not sun, nor moon, nor stars, nor fire. Dear Sozo,
what is going on?
And then suddenly the front part of her cave partially disappeared. Her world was flooded with light. The black cat
shrunk back from the opening as their captors looked in at them, and though she had never seen their kind before, they
were unmistakable. Suddenly everything made sense.
She was in Man’s world.
night. Not that that bothered her too much, hyenas loved the night. But this place was strange, and she was alone. Well,
there were certainly no other hyenas in this tiny cave-thing, anyway. There was another creature in the opposite corner,
but it hadn’t spoken. Sapphire could smell it, obviously. It was definitely feline and female (a male’s scent trait was
unmistakable, no matter the species), but it wasn’t like any lioness she had come across before. Too subtle for a
cheetah, and what there was to it was too earthy to be a leopard. Despite only being a few months old, Sapphire was
more than a little annoyed that something as basic and vital as her nose wasn’t supplying the answer.
But she had more pressing questions than the identity of her cellmate. Such as the nature of the cell itself. The last she
remembered she had been preaching to her clan at dusk as usual. There had been unrest lately, talk about reverting to
their old ways, threatening to undo all the progress and enlightenment accomplished under her mother. Sapphire was a
very young Incosi, but that didn’t make her any less passionate about her clan’s physical and spiritual welfare. What the
clan needed nowadays was something to unite them and strengthen their belief in the new doctrine of freedom. Perhaps
a pilgrimage to Pride Rock to hear a message from Jothra, the Light Revealer. It had been her dream for as long as she
could remember to meet the Teacher of Teachers anyway…
Her musing was interrupted by a sudden noise. It sounded a bit like a branch creaking in the wind, but not too similar.
The sound was followed by low voices in a bizarre language she had never heard before. The next sound, a muffled click
like a pebble falling on dirt, was accompanied by a small amount of light. Her cave apparently had a few holes in the top.
One beam of the odd-colored light revealed a patch of the other creature’s fur. No wonder she was unseen until just
now, the feline’s fur was inky black, like a shadow underground at midnight. She did indeed look like a small lioness cub,
but the skull’s facial structure wasn’t right.
Sapphire definitely didn’t like this new place. An unnaturally small perfect cube cave. A cellmate that made no sense.
The sounds weren’t right, the voices weren’t right, and this light was not sun, nor moon, nor stars, nor fire. Dear Sozo,
what is going on?
And then suddenly the front part of her cave partially disappeared. Her world was flooded with light. The black cat
shrunk back from the opening as their captors looked in at them, and though she had never seen their kind before, they
were unmistakable. Suddenly everything made sense.
She was in Man’s world.
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