100 Theme Challenge: #2 Past

My thoughts on Shira's past.

"Why did you leave your pack?"

It was a random and out of nowhere type of question. One minute Shira was just lying next to Diego on top of a cliff that over looked the valley and the next, he asked that question. Pausing for a moment, Shira thought about blowing it off. Sighing, she decided to tell him. After all, he told her everything.

She made herself comfortable, her head on his paws, and his head on hers.

"My father was the leader of our pack," she begun, her expression going soft for a moment. "I was born with three others; all boys, all the right . . . color." She purred a little when she felt Diego licking behind her ears to comfort her. "When the rest of the pack saw me, they thought my mother had cheated on my father. Which was stupid; my father would have smelled it." She scoffed anger in the pit of her belly. Her parents loved each other; they had been the sickly-in-love type.

Above her, Diego snorted.

"Idiots."

"I know!" Shira explained before continuing. "My parents were never distance towards me, unlike my brothers and the pack. And the only reason my brothers were was because of some of the older sabers, with their whole 'bad omen' thing. After a while, I got used to it after a while." Shira blinked away some tears, hoping Diego wouldn't say anything. "After a few years, I joined my father on a hunt. It was just us, no one else wanted to hunt with me." She took a deep breath, her heart starting to race. "We were hunting a gazelle when we smelled it. A short-faced bear." Diego nuzzled her neck.

She knew he understood.

"We tried to sneak away. Dad didn't want to take on a short-faced bear without the pack; he and I were good, but not that good. He must have smelled us too, but he charged right for us. Dad and I tried, but the bear got his mouth around Dad's neck and I heard a snap. I didn't really comprehend what it was at that time; I only knew that Dad needed my help." She took a deep breath. Despite her voice breaking a little, she opened her mouth to continue.

"Shira," Diego cut in, shifting to face her. "We can stop here." He licked her cheek before pressing their noses together.

"No." She said, nuzzled him. "I need to do this; I've held it in for so long." Diego looked her eyes; for so long, Shira lost herself in his green orbs for a moment.

"Whenever you're ready, Kitty." She bumped her shoulder at him for the nickname, but said nothing about it. She was used to and actually kinda liked it.

"I jumped on the bear, clawing him up the best I could. No long after, I heard the growling of the rest of the pack. The bear stood no chance with almost twelve sabers. I went over to my father and nuzzled his face, trying to get him to wake up." Even now, as she was remembering the whole thing, she felt the same emotions she did then; despair, sadness and anger. "As soon as the pack knew he was dead, I was blamed."

"What?" Diego cut in, anger forming in his eyes. "You just lost your father to a short-faced bear and they were blaming you?" Shira shrugged, leaning up to rub her cheek against his.

"That's just how they were, Diego. To them, I was a bad omen. Anyway, right then and there, I made the decision to leave. It hurt my mother, losing both her mate and only daughter in one day, but she understood. I never did like the pack mentally. I never liked being born in a family were I wasn't liked because of my fur." She smiled here. "But I do like being a herd." He knew why, so she didn't have to say it.

Besides, she already made herself so vulnerable to him.

"Good. Because I have no plans of letting you go." Shira tried no to smile, but it came in full and Diego saw it. She knocked him over and stood, starting to walk back to the herd.

"Softie." She called. She heard a growl and that was the only warning she got. In a split second, she darted off, willing to play a game of chase.

After all, it made mating so much more fun.