Following the trail of a very large and stompy lion was quite easy. Three Squeaks had learned basic tracking from Anton, and that was more than enough to find his way into the lions’ territory. Along with him came Contented Grunt the hippo, and Echoing Cry flying above.

It was rather difficult to converse with the eagle while they were on the move, but Contented Grunt was quite happy to talk when she was not munching on something they found along the way.

“What do you think we’re going to find?” the hippo asked.

“Hopefully nothing,” Three Squeaks said. “Maybe another lioness or two…”

Contented Grunt could definitely fight one on her own. Three Squeaks didn’t know if he could kill one, but he could at least keep one occupied. Echoing Cry… would be quite dangerous if the eagle found an opening. His talons were sharp.

Three Squeaks almost wished the journey would take longer, because he didn’t want to actually see the results. But he had to… and ultimately, he was able to move fast enough they made it by evening.

There wasn’t much to look at. Lions weren’t known for having fancy homes. They laid their heads to rest wherever they pleased, occasionally resting under a tree or an overhang to stay out of the sun. Thus, open plains was their home.

His head swiveling back and forth, Three Squeaks looked for threats. He didn’t sense the natural energy of a powerful lioness, so at least he was relieved about that.

But something leapt out at him, claws extended. He held his bow in paw, formed an arrow of natural energy… but could not shoot. Instead, he dodged backwards. Even a single step at his size was enough. In fact… there was no way to say if the pounce would have reached him at all.

The creature was twice his size. Which was to say… extremely tiny. It barely even seemed able to stand up. Nor did its ‘claws’ seem particularly dangerous. Even so… this was the worst situation.

“Flooded burrow!” he cussed.

Contented Grunt tilted her head as she approached. “What’s wrong with a little wat- oh.”

Three Squeaks picked out two more cubs ‘hidden’ in the surroundings. The grass was barely high enough to cover them when crouched down, to the point that even Three Squeaks could see down upon them from above.

“They absolutely won’t survive alone,” Three Squeaks said.

“Right,” Contented Grunt agreed. “Should we… get rid of them?”

The eagle landed atop the hippo’s head. “He won’t,” Echoing Cry said.

“Well, I… we can’t just…” Three Squeaks stammered. “These ones didn’t even try to kill us personally,” he narrowed his eyes at Echoing Cry.

“See? This one is not even afraid of them growing up into predators.”

“That’s not… entirely true,” Three Squeaks said as he batted away a swiping paw with his small bow. “I don’t want them to grow up to be like… those.”

“And they may hate you for killing their parents,” Contented Grunt pointed out.

“I’m not stupid,” Three Squeaks said. “I know that. But I don’t… they should have a chance.”

“How so?” Echoing Cry asked, leaning down towards him. “Would you raise them?”

Three Squeaks shook his head. “I wouldn’t know how. And I wouldn't want to lie to them. But… there must be others around. Lions, like them.”

“Smart ones,” Echoing Cry said. “That would be quite happy to eat you. Or them. Who accepts children of others?”

“The kind of people I’d want to leave these cubs with…?” Three Squeaks said.

“How long do you intend to look for these perfect lions?” Contented Grunt asked.

“Until I find them…” Three Squeaks said. “There have to be- if they can think like us, some of them have to be reasonable.”

“And the others, will you fight them all on your own?”

“I was kind of hoping the two of you would help. Among other things… I can’t carry these fellows.”

“Me neither,” Echoing Cry pointed out. “Not far, at least.”

Contented Grunt snorted. “So you expect me to waltz into danger with you?”

Three Squeaks was getting buried by the three cubs that were semi-seriously chewing on him. “Uh, maybe? You came here, didn’t you? And you came to help the first time. I can pay you back… eventually.”

“Your intentions are quite bold for someone so tiny,” Contented Grunt said. Then she lowered her head, her massive jaws opening. They closed down on the cubs… gently. She tossed them onto her back, where they looked around confused- unable to find a way down from the massive height. “I shall join you on this foolish journey.”

“And you, Echoing Cry?” Three Squeaks looked at the eagle expectantly.

“I can at least find different food,” Echoing Cry fanned his wings, taking off to avoid the cubs from bothering him. “But I must say that I am currently content with the land dwellers we are already working with. I find no need to seek out more.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I’m not really trying to make some lions into our allies…” Three Squeaks said. “I just don’t think it’s fair if these cubs die because their parents were awful.”

Echoing Cry circled just above them. “I would normally disagree. But seeing our growth, I think that perhaps we can survive when something goes wrong. You’d better make sure I’m not wrong about that.”

“Of course!” Three Squeaks declared. “I’m going to get stronger and stronger. I’ll reach the Spirit Building phase and… beyond that, probably! And nothing will be able to hurt us.”

-----

The trio- with an additional three cubs that were constantly trying to wander off- began to make their way north, towards the next closest tribe Echoing Cry and the eagles had spotted. Throughout the day, they had to find food for themselves as well as the cubs, though the vast majority of things were eaten by Contented Grunt. Fortunately, she wasn’t too picky about her meals, able to eat a wide variety of things that were difficult for the others to digest.

They made their way closer to a river, hoping it would not only be easier terrain to travel but also because Contented Grunt would be more comfortable there.

By the time they arrived, it was time to sleep. Even the lion cubs had tired themselves out with their shenanigans, not quite understanding the situation they were in but seemingly finding it amusing. And they very much enjoyed the tailless scorpions Three Squeaks fed to them.

The meerkat made sure that the three cubs were together before settling down into a meditative state. It wasn’t quite as good as sleep, but it would provide some rest and more importantly keep him alert. Echoing Cry was in the highest tree he could find nearby, and Contented Grunt was sleeping in the river, so he was responsible for taking care of the cubs himself.

It was nerve wracking to spend the night without a proper burrow, but Three Squeaks couldn’t dig a relevant one on his own in a short time. So he was tucked in some bushes near the cubs.

Motion stirred him from his lapsing consciousness. It wasn’t the cubs, at least not this time. No, it was something new. A viper, sneaking towards them. Or perhaps toward him. Either way, Three Squeaks sat unmoving as he waited for it to approach. Then before it could strike, he darted forward, striking its head with his claws. Natural energy in sharp lines extended from his paw, piercing into the creature that barely had more natural energy than a mundane animal.

Then Three Squeaks settled down. His two companions looked at him- down from the tree and out of the water- but he assured them everything was fine with a wave, holding up the snake. It would be a decent snack in the morning, at least.

-----

Anton wanted his disciple to be successful, but he didn’t know how much he wanted to tip the scales. However, as unimportant as this task seemed, Anton actually found it to be perhaps as significant as the alliance of beasts surviving their little war. The capacity for pity- for mercy- that was an important part of being people. Even if Anton thought that humans often underused such capabilities, he wanted to encourage that here in this place. Akrys was still developing, and perhaps it would be impossible for it to transform into a peaceful ecosystem where every sort of beast that awakened to sapience could get along with each other. But he wanted it to have that chance. And the early stages were some of the most important.

The nearest group was… hopeless. Anton had watched everything in the area, and the pride there was aggressive with their territory. He’d personally seen the patriarch come into power, and that involved slaughtering the cubs that weren’t his. He wanted to warn away Three Squeaks… but he knew that challenges were important to growth. Ultimately, if he couldn’t judge correctly then some consequences were expected.

But Anton knew that things weren’t entirely hopeless. There was a rival group nearby, with several males in a coalition. That wouldn’t have necessarily made a difference, but from what Anton had gathered it had built up over time instead of simply one group searching for territory together. That didn’t necessarily mean they would accept strange cubs as their own… but that was where his part came in.

Though he would also very much prefer if things worked out without his interference. So he was going to think about the possibilities as the odd trio traveled. He could make up his mind any time before they arrived, which might be a few days at the pace they could travel.

-----

The midday sun was bright and hot. Personally, Three Squeaks would have preferred to be in a burrow taking a nap or instead properly cultivating. As it was, the heat could spur his cultivation… but he wasn’t able to do it properly. After all, they were traveling. Which at the moment involved herding the cubs ahead of them to try to tire them out. The tiny things were nearly inexhaustible. Maybe he should feed them less.

He kept his eyes, ears, and other senses ready… but he couldn’t watch everything. He did look for threats in the sky, but even so his reaction would have been too late. The attacker from the sky was quiet in their approach… but revealed by another loud screech.

“Stay away!” Echoing Cry said, slashing with his talons at another figure Three Squeaks couldn’t quite make out. It was something large, though.

“Crazy bird!” the other avian responded. “Three stray cubs down there. You eat them all yourself?”

“I won’t eat them. And neither will you.”

Three Squeaks was able to make out a bird with thin plumage and downy feathers on its head. Some sort of vulture, perhaps? Another threat to meerkats. While some vultures waited to find dead prey, they weren’t above finding smaller food and making it dead. And this one could speak.

“I eat eating eagle, then!”

It could speak, but it was foolish. That was Three Squeaks’ assessment. Then again, it didn’t know. Even now, it was only just beginning to see the flight techniques Echoing Cry had learned, dancing around it.

And it probably didn’t know anything about bows. Its natural energy was nothing impressive, mid Body Tempering at best. And while Three Squeaks wouldn’t underestimate the offensive prowess of a bird such as that, they weren’t known for great defenses.

The midday sun made it much easier to create an arrow of fire. It might have been an unnecessary move, but that was what he chose regardless. It arced through the air towards the vulture who didn’t even truly realized it wasn’t locked in single combat until it was too late. His energy pierced defenses, and one wing caught aflame. From there, there was nothing to be done.

The bird spiraled into the ground as its feathers suddenly lacked the capacity to carry it. Right into a patch of dry grass.

A great roar came from Contented Grunt. A surge of natural energy and then… a bubble of water splashed over the area.

“... Thanks,” Three Squeaks said. “That was dangerous, huh? I could have eventually put out the fire. But not as fast. But uh… why didn’t you use that against the lions?”

“It is not an attack. Not yet, at least,” the hippo said. “Basic conjuration of water. And look. The lions wouldn’t even be wet.”

Three Squeaks looked, and indeed the ‘water’ had quenched the heat of the flames… but it barely left any other traces of itself behind.

The three cubs bounded over, curious. Three Squeaks drove them off before they had the chance to consider nibbling on the vulture. He wondered if it was worth it, killing another sapient thing for these three. Then again… he had the feeling that vulture would have happily attacked him as well. Though it may have interacted with others enough to learn speech, it certainly wasn’t friendly.

Things were so complicated. Three Squeaks almost wished he wasn’t smart enough to think so he didn’t have to deal with such things. Almost.