Cari-Part of Chapter One

Preface
Once upon a time, a barely pregnant woman from America came to Africa. Staying with a friendly village, she became their doctor. She helped with medicine, birthing and surgeries with not just the village people, but the animals. Not only did she help both groups separately, she taught the tribe to care for the animals and she taught the animals to be gentle with the few humans they encountered. In the free land of Africa she gave birth to a daughter and died of fever before her child could turn one. So the tribe raised her until she was five. Until she became wild. As wild as the wind.
Chapter One
“Aren’t you pretty?” I stroke the thick fur of my companion.
With a deep purr, she wiggles her head under my arm and lays it in my lap. Rin wiggles some more, knocking me over and lying on top of me.
“Stop it!” I laugh and gently push her until she realizes she must get off.
The sun has just risen in the distance, causing shadows to leap from the tall grass and the branches in our tree above. Lily, the lemur I rescued from a bird, climbs down to say good morning. When she was a baby I rescued her from Skyler, a tawny eagle who’s now calm and gentle. Skyler himself sits at the very top of the tree, still waking up.
“Breakfast!” I call and all three animals are beside me.
To Rin goes a chunk of zebra she killed the night before, Lily gets some berries I picked yesterday and I give Skyler some of the zebra meat as well. I eat squirrel and berries from the tree, watching all three below. The day has just begun, but a wonderful feeling has already spread all over me.
Once the meal is done, I throw the bones in a pile, help Lily onto my shoulders, set Skyler to fly over us and get Rin to walk casually by my side. Into the forest we treed, enjoying each other’s company and gathering items to eat. I release Lily into the trees where she can eat and play beyond my shoulders. Rin runs off after animals or sounds, then comes back with a dead animal or nothing at all. Skyler swoops down for rats and other tiny creatures and sometimes I lose sight of him. All I do is keep their food and what they catch in a pouch and gather berries and plants as I walk.
The day goes on as all days do, dead animals going into the pouch, the midday meal coming out of it and stops for drinks and naps. Lily plays in the trees and I join her, swinging, climbing and jumping. Rin gets into the thick branches at the bottom of the tree, but not high enough to play with us. Skyler mostly stays in the air, where he belongs and watches us act foolish.
Suddenly, the roar of a lion thunders through the forest. Rin stands straight, tail flicking soundlessly in the air. Lily climbs high in the tree and Skyler flies so high he is only a speck against the blue above us. Me, I stay put, frozen in fear and wondering what to do. This part of the forest normal stays clear of other lions and big beasts, but now and again something comes our way. Yet it has never been a lion.
“Rin?” She barely turns her head at the whisper of her name. “Rin, be safe.”
I climb high in the tree to be with Lily and keep safe from whatever is coming. Rin backs against the tree, either for protection or to protect us. A loud, roaring, male lion bursts through the trees and growls at Rin. Her tail flicks back and forth as she watches his jaws part for an earsplitting roar. His eyes scream his thirst for blood and hunger for meat. Does he smell me or Lily? Or does he simply want my dear Rin? Slowly, he walks towards her, sniffing her face and neck. The exact spots where I pet her.
Quickly, Rin growls and throws herself forward, but only to make him back up. He backs her against the tree in return, and puts a paw over one of her eyes, which she shakes off. He roars and leaves silently, beady, hungry eyes waiting for us to fall from the tree.
“Oh Rin!” I rush down, throw my arms around her neck and kiss her forehead. “You’re a perfect darling!”
Lily hesitantly follows and climbs onto Rin’s back, clinging to her in a hug. Skyler remains high in the air, not daring to come down yet. I stay close to her, walking back the way we came, none of us leaving one another’s presence. Once we each our tree, I untie the pouch from my waist and tie it as far as I can climb up in the tree, twisting a knot so Skyler or Lily can’t take it.
Out in the open fields herds run, eating the tall grass and drinking at the water hole. A cheetah pounces on a flamingo, ripping off its slender neck in one powerful move. From this far away, I can almost hear the crack of the bone. But it’s only my imagination.
“Rin, go.” I say gently and she springs off into the open space, chasing after the nearest herd of wildebeest.
Skyler comes down and snaps at the pouch, trying to open it and get out his food. I pick a piece of meat off of a bone from this morning’s meal and throw it up to him. Lily crawls over my shoulders, her tail tickling my face and tiny paws gripping my hair. Leaning against the trunk, I fall asleep in the afternoon sun with Lily in my lap.
Something big knocks me over and I wake up with a start. Blocking the sun is a huge creature. Did the male lion return for Rin? Squinting, I see only Rin, dragging a big wildebeest behind her for our evening meal. Skyler is once again pecking at the pouch and Lily is leaping through the trees, her big eyes glued to me.
“Okay, okay. Dinner.”
Using my knife, I cut off sections of meat for Skyler, Rin and myself. I pour half the berries out of the pouch for Lily and some of the roots as well for us to share. As the sun sets and animals roam, we eat, waiting for them to leave.
“Come on Rin, Lily. Let’s go.” I whisper to them as the sky goes dark.
That's all for now. I have more if you guys wanna read it later.