The clearing where we had set up camp was a quiet one. No one was saying anything, all eyes downcast. A large oak tree was off to one side of the clearing. It was there where I sat, my heart burdened with matters both for myself and for the tribe. We didn't expect where we used to have camp would be found by a legion of soldiers. an error on my part. The fight had been fierce, and we had managed to catch some of the soldiers, whos body parts were being cooked over the fire at this very moment, but we took it hard as well. Some of our best warriors took some damaging wounds and wouldn't be able to participate in our nightly hunts for some time. And poor Toitsu... not even the tribe elder could save him. My eyes scanned the women and older cubs setting about erecting tents and preparing fires. I noticed several of them worked with matted fur around their eyes, a sign they had been crying. the eyes of the warriors were dry, but evidentally they were as distraught as the rest. As I continued scanning the grounds, it was then I saw Natasha.
She was one of the older cubs, but old enough where she would be of age to mate shortly. Mating had gotten interesting in the tribe since I took over. The previous leader was a glutton and would not permit any of the other males to mate with the females, making all the older cubs in the tribe his children. But since I came into power, I permitted the woman or man to choose they're mate so long as I blessed the union. And with Natasha soon to be of age, I had in mind to approach her at that time and engage in the mating dance with her, basically a ritual that asks her to be my mate. I had been watching her for some time. She was not as hardened as the others, much more compassionate. She would not eat any of the humans we brought back from our hunts. Rumor has it her true father was a human man who had snuck into the tribe during the night a long time ago. That rumor was what set her aside from the others, but it was also what drew me to her. As I watched her, she looked up and locked eyes with me, her look one of solemn sadness and reverence for the wounded and the dead. The look in her eyes reminded me of how the tribe was feeling and I cursed myself inwardly for putting my own social life above the welfare of the tribe. With that resolve in place, I sighed and stood with my staff in hand, preparing to go visit the mate of Tuitsu and give her my condolences.