“Preys on the edge of grove!” called Raia, who took a lead for good. Kota was dragging one fallen adaks to gathering point when she noticed that sandy-furred was hurt. Raia cowered wounded paw but still was commanding companions, like nothing had happened. “We’ve gotten three! Watch the rest, they could try to escape on desert.”

“Raia!” called Kota, getting to friend. “Lay down, you are hurt!”

“Just a scratch!” snorted lioness, barely overscreaming the storm. She quickly looked on limb, cut with some dry branch of acacia, then she turned her stare on the east. “They are running!” she cried, pointing on two antelopes, who made a desperate escape on open air and were jumping in heavy fight with overwhelming element. “Wait with preys. Akra, Simma and Kota, follow me!”

“This is a suicide!” yelled Akra.

“No, you stay!” growled Kota, looking on bleeding paw of Raia. “You won’t run even minute in this condition.” She nudged Simmi and Akra to chase and she turned her stare on friend. “Right, we will get them. But not for your king. For you!” she gasped and followed the chase.

Lioness had thought that wind in grove was strong. But when she run away the shelter of dead trees, fury of sandstorm almost stunned her. She stopped, waiting for two companions, who fell down due to sand-blows, then all three followed a quickly fading paw-prints of adakses. They were running side to side, supporting each other. Kota, running between friends, felt regrets, because she had the easiest task. But suddenly the chase finished – they almost ran into adaks, who - blinded and panicked - was lying and kicking in the air. Fast blow of Kota’s paw finished a torment of creature.

“We’re going back.” Called golden-furred. grabbed a dead body on jaws. They started off with wind in grove’s direction, or at least in direction where Kota expected to find a grove. But march with wind was sometimes even harder than against it. It was so tempting to surrender to element’s power and to go wherever it was leading. In theory it wasn’t a problem, because wind seemed to blow in right direction, but...

“Stop!” cried golden-furred, looking ahead with terrified stare.

Lionesses got to the next body of antelope. It was an animal that had escaped them just moment before. Someone got lost – adaks or huntresses. Or maybe all of them.

„And what now?” asked Akra. Or at least Kota thought that she told that, reading from lips. Howling of the wind was muffling every word.

“Let finish her and go ahead. Maybe...”

Suddenly adaks, in desperate attempt, jerked and pinned her horn in golden-furred’s paw. Kota yelled in pain but instinctively hit a victim, killing it. But then she fell on the sand, next to antelope’s carcass.

“Kota!” cried Akra and Simmi.

Lionesses laid down next to friend, and Akra looked on wounded paw of huntress. Cut wasn’t bleeding too much, but was deep. Hit of adaks damaged muscles and – what was much worse – opened the body to sandy dust. Akra started to lick a wound, trying to clean it from and sand other filth to avoid an infection.

„And what NOW?” cried terrified Simmi.

“Leave the meat and search for grove.” Gasped Kota, repressing the burning pain in limb.

“And what with you? And... we even don’t know where to go!”

Wind again changed its direction. If it had been blowing in lionesses backs, then was hitting theirs sides. So if even had been earlier some possibility to determine the right direction of march, then it became impossible – even the most experienced Kota had no idea where they were and where Dried Forest could be. “Sparthi, the patron of desert, help us!” whispered in mind and he came almost instantly. Not Sparthi in person, of course. That time an emissary of desert guardian was a lion with blond-red beard and black mane. He went to lost lionesses with heavy effort but with determined expression on his face. Without needless questions he grabbed Kota’s side.

“Go to the grove!” called to Akra and Simmi. “There, about three hundred meters ahead.” He pointed a direction from he had come. “I will take care of her.” Lionesses looked uncertain on friend but black-maned added. “This is Niva’s order. Get the meat and go! In Dried Forest drink blood of adakses, to prevent dehydration.” He raised his head higher and thousands of sandy projectiles hit his muzzle. “Wind is growing, sandstorm will be even stronger. Tell Raia she must take whole team back home. Immediately! At dawn will come the wind you won’t stand even in grove!”

“And you?” asked terrified Akra.

“We will join you... I hope. But go now!”

Uncertain lionesses, hastened by stare of wanderer, grabbed meat and set off in showed direction. And lion laid on windward side of Kota, shielding her (at least: partially) from fury of element. He started to lick a wound, to finish what Akra had started.

“Taka...” whispered Kota.

He just murmured, hushing golden-furred. With free paw he pressed her head to sand surface, waiting for some calmer moment. “But what then?” thought Kota. “If the greater storm is nearing...” But incoming wave of exhaustion, weariness caused by wound and sudden sense of safety deluged lioness. She wanted to say something, to order Taka to leave her and save himself, but sleep muffled her mind.

Raia was leading a column of Golden Ones to home. Wounded, she was supporting by sister’s side, but sandy-furred was guiding – it was obvious that she knew the route better. Although wound was aching mercilessly, she didn’t complain but just giving strict orders to the team. According to Taka’s warning, she had to get them to some solid shelter. But she already completed the main goal of that mission – she got a prey for her king. So then she could focus on duties to the pride.

“Faster! Storm is coming!” she called, still hobbling next to Niva’s side.

Her heart was beating fast, scared about Kota’s fate. But in the same time she was appeasing by soothing awareness that time she hadn’t failed her king.

*

Senses were returning to Kota slowly and it wasn’t a pleasant return. Before she regained her sight and hearing, even before she understood that she was lying on sand, nestled into Taka’s side, the pain had stricken. That time it was enflaming not only wound but also whole right paw and it didn’t let her even think about moving a limb. She moaned what instantly alarmed Taka.

“Thank Ahadi, you are awake!” he said. Or actually: Kota guessed that he said that. Wind was still muffling almost any other sound. “We must go, to find some shelter, until storm still isn’t in its prime.”

“Isn’t?” thought Kota. “So what is all THIS?” sand was constantly and ruthlessly hitting in lying lions, but maybe not as hard as few hours earlier. Taka had on mind some real disaster – the one he warned Golden Ones about.

“So we must go.” Repeated gently, bending over her ear. “I take you on my back, but you have to hold me tight. Right?”

Golden-furred couldn’t answer, but obediently tighten her paws on shoulder of black-maned and cuddled to his mane. Taka stoop up and started top march with slow but certain steps against the wind. Lioness actually hadn’t idea where they were going but she was too tired to be scared due to that. Calm breathing of Taka and his regular steps were lulling her, however she remembered the order to hold saviour’s neck. If not those sandy projectiles, hitting her painfully, she would fell only a blissful calm. She worried about nothing and just was rocked by swaying of lion’s back.

So they were marching oven an hour. Finally black-maned put lioness on the ground and she opened her eyes. But instead of expected wave of dust she was attacked only by almost perfect darkness. After a longer while she understood that she was in some kind of den and a shadow moving next to her was Taka, securing a entrance to improvised lair.

“Now it should endure a while.” Announced lion. “But after several hours we will have enough of sand above us.”

“Taka...” whispered Kota, feeling burning thirst.

“Yes, me too.” Confessed wanderer. “Unfortunately we have only... a previous resident of that place.”  She put a body of fennec in front of lioness. “This isn’t much, but his blood is a liquid too.”

She greedily plunger her teethes into a carcass and started to suck blood. After a longer while, when she almost drank everything, she froze, looking on Taka.

“I... I left nothing.” Confessed with breaking voice.

“That’s good.” Replied lion, in the same time looking for something in vault of lair. After a minute he pulled from ceiling a root of some herb and started to chew it. “I will satisfy with dry appetizer for now. But it doesn’t matter, the point is to survive the storm. Then we will thing about a better drink.”

“Taka... I’m afraid.” Said lion.

„There is no reason to be afraid.” Lied lion, then he laid next to female. “Now we have just wait.”

After few minutes Kota’s eyes used to darkness in den, so she could see her unexpected saviour better. And that view amazed her. Taka fell asleep, but in spite of that he was still holding Kota with left paw and his left limb was outstretched before him, as if he was ready to fight and defend her any time. For that few months since he left Dry Oasis, he had changed much. Still was skinny and light-built (then maybe even more), but it was just a testimony of his long and exhausting wanders. Under his dark fur a touch muscles were seen, that earlier had carried Kota to shelter. Face of lion was also different – more mature and more serious. Maybe it was because dim in lair, but Kota thought that clumsy adolescent she had been carrying few months earlier, then looked like a king. “Like the Golden King.” Added silently. “He was walking through the desert like ruler of Golden Sands.” But in that moment wandered opened his eyes and with smile he looked on Kota.

“You

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