Red Horizon

Red Horizon is a fanfiction short story by Songfire. * * *

The rainy season sky was a deep blue, with a few weak, wispy clouds scudded across its wide expanse. In the dark of the night, the jagged western cliffs were smoky black. At their base, in a den dug into the hard, dusty earth, two aardwolves were huddled, one male, one female. In the curve of the female’s belly were four tiny cubs, their coats of fur made sleek and glossy by the gentle rasping of their mother’s tongue.

“Four,” the male muttered fervently. “Four cubs. Isn’t that wonderful, Faraji? I’d always been visualizing two, perhaps three. Four certainly is something.”

“Yes, yes, it is,” panted Faraji. Her vibrant green eyes were half-closed. “They all look good and healthy, so I think it’ll be fine for me to get some rest now, Tendaji.”

“All in good time,” he assured her. She flashed him an irritated look, uncharacteristically temperamental after the long night’s ordeal. He smiled. “You know what they need.”

“Oh. Of course. Names.” Faraji glanced down at the eagerly suckling cubs- one the same pale frosty tan color as herself, another with his creamy brown coat, the others somewhere in between. All had their eyes open, and to Tendaji’s surprise, they were all different colors- red, yellow, blue, green. “I suppose those cannot wait.”

“Do you have any ideas?” he inquired.

“Not quite. I prefer seeing them before naming them,” she replied. “I’ll bet you have a few suggestions.”

She knew him well. “Yes, I do. I was thinking of names to tie in with what we are.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Names that have to do with the earth, the ground, the dirt- our protection, our home,” he explained.

“I see.” Faraji gazed down at the cubs with adoring eyes. “Well, since this little one looks like you,” she pondered, indicating the small brown cub- a male, the last to be born. “why don’t you name him?”

“I’d be delighted.” Looking down at the scrap of fur that was his son, he selected his favorite of the predetermined names. “Ardhi,” he announced.

“Ardhi he is,” decided Faraji. “That’s perfect.”

It was only natural that he returned the courtesy she’d extended to him. “You should name the oldest- the female who looks like you.”

“Chinja,” Faraji told him almost instantly.

“That was quick. But why such a violent name?” he asked.

“Because she’s biting and clawing like a mad hyena,” his mate explained with a grimace. He studied his daughter more closely and noticed that her tiny white teeth were indeed flashing frequently and quickly.

“The other two?” Faraji pressed. “I’m sorry, but I do need rest.”

“Very well, how about Dongo for the male and Chafu for the female?” he suggested. She simply nodded in reply. With a final lick to each cub and a brief nuzzling of his cheek, Faraji’s head dropped to her paws and she slipped immediately into peaceful slumber.

* * *

“Hush now, all of you. The sun is rising and it’s high time you got some rest!” Chinja was the last of the group to go in and lie in the curve of their mother’s tail. She thought the sunrise was beautiful. The sky was bright red, the color of freshly spilled blood- the color of her eyes. The analogy was regrettably morbid, but Chinja found it suting.

“Get comfortable, now,” their mother, Faraji, continued. “You’re to be up late today. You’re getting older, and it’s time you learned the basics to surviving on your own.”

“On our own, already?” asked Chinja’s brother Ardhi, blinking his wide green eyes. Chafu, Chinja’s sister, cocked her square head, while Dongo, her second brother, continued gnawing his black-striped leg to rid himself of an itch, unperturbed by Faraji’s words.

“Yes, little ones. It’s the aardwolf way. Sooner or later, come rainy season, I’ll be expecting another litter of cubs, and by then, I’ll need you to have found your own place in the Drylands.”

Chinja flattened her ears. She could interpret the unsaid meaning of her mother’s words. “You’re going to replace us, Mama?” she asked quietly.

Instantly, Dongo, Ardhi, and Chafu’s heads swivelled towards her. They hadn’t thought of that, Chinja realized. Shock flitted across Faraji’s round face.

“How could you think that, Chinja? Of course not. It just that it makes no sense for you to be sitting around with me and your father caring for you when you grow to be big aardwolves. And once you leave, we won’t have much to do- unless we have another litter to tend to. Does that make sense?”

“Certainly,” Chinja replied levelly, snuggling deeper into her mother’s silvery tan fur, the same color as her own coat. Inside, she wasn’t as sure as she felt. Would Faraji and Tendaji- their father- forget about them once they had their “another litter”?

She shook these thoughts away and inhaled deeply, filling her nose with Faraji’s warm scent. What happened would happen, and no matter what did, she would always have affection for her siblings and her parents. Even once she was on her own, she might chance visiting them enough for them to remember her. Perhaps, over time, her tenacious love for them would dissipate.

“Keep talking,” Dongo ordered Faraji, his words interrupting Chinja’s thoughts. “Tell us more about what’s gonna happen when we’re older.”

“Well, you’ll go off on your own. Establish a territory, find a mate. You’ll begin a family of your own,” Faraji explained gently.

“I want a family,” Ardhi declared. “I want to have a big family. With lots of cubs!” Chinja wasn’t sure. She supposed she liked cubs, but then, the only ones she had met were her brothers and sister. Chafu, however, nodded in agreement, smiling contentedly.

“And you can have one someday.” Faraji drew them even closer to her. Chinja glanced outside. The sun was climbing higher- it was almost fully above the horizon! The red was beginning to fade. She wished it would stay. She found her eyes roaming about the spacious underground den. “Mama, how are we to get ourselves homes like this one?” she asked. Faraji parted her jaws to answer, then paused.

“Tendaji? Is that you?” she called.

“It is indeed,” a voice answered. Their father Tendaji slipped easily into the den, a lean brown shape with glaucous eyes. “Sorry I’m late, Faraji. I spotted a jackal at the border of the territory and had to circle around.”

“A jackal!” exclaimed Chafu. “You should’ve torn it’s head off!” Amused by her sister’s eagerness for violence, Chinja gave her a playful shove, to which Chafu gave a raspy attempt at a snarl in reply.

Characters
In order of mention:
 * Tendaji
 * Faraji
 * Chinja
 * Ardhi
 * Dongo
 * Chafu