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This is the third chapter in this series. This is the chapter where we meet Neha and Dumi as well as their band of little ones.


Chapter 3: Brothers

“I don’t see him.”

“Me, too.”

“Where is he?”

“Mommy? Where is Uncle Adon?”

Neha, a slender cougar woman, sighed as she set a bowl of fish cakes onto the dinner table and brushed her wavy chocolate colored hair away from her face for the umpteenth time. Her four half-breed sons had been on the couch peering out the window keeping watch for their uncle for hours. Even during the rainstorm that had passed over them just a short time ago, the four anxious green and hazel eyed kittens kept up their vigilant watch. No matter how many times she had told them that he wouldn’t be out in the storm, they continued looking out for him, just in case. One could never be sure and it would be better to be safe than sorry.

Adon was supposed to arrive that afternoon and so her male children had taken up their watchful positions at the very stroke of noon. But, when a storm formed in the distance, she had tried to explain to them that he might be a little delayed or that he might even have to come tomorrow. But, they knew their uncle would be there today, no matter what it took. Their uncle never broke his word, so they had no reason to believe that he would start, now. And so, they maintained their places on lookout.

“My babies, your uncle will get here when he gets here.” Neha said. “But, look at the road. It’s all muddy and wet. It’s not safe to travel right now, so you have to understand that maybe Uncle Adon will be here—“

“I SEE HIM!!” one of the boys exclaimed.

“THERE HE IS!” cried another.

“UNCLE ADON! UNCLE ADON!” a third cheered.

Collectively, all of the boys hopped off of the couch and rushed toward the door in a flurry of excitement.

“HOLD IT!” a loud voice called, freezing the boys in their tracks.

Like one single entity, the children turned around and addressed the one who had shouted unto them. “Yes, Daddy?” they said in unison.

A tall, lean figure of a male lion stepped into the living room. Brown chestnut hair crowned his head and, like his brother that was due for arrival, his tawny brown coat complimented his eyes, perfectly. Though, unlike his sibling, his eyes were an enchanting shade of hazel. He glared pointedly at his four eager sons as they looked back at him with barely contained excitement. Dumi, the boys’ father, walked toward his male cubs while holding his fifth child, his precious only daughter, Leilani, in his arms. She hadn’t been feeling well and had a slight fever. She had been resting with her father in the reading room while he looked over assorted paperwork. But, when he heard his little sentries announce his younger brother’s arrival, he carried her into the living room to see if his brother had indeed arrived at last.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

“Uncle Adon is here!” Kendi, the eldest and tallest of the quintuplet cubs proclaimed. Out of all the children, Kendi was the one that most resembled his father. His bright green eyes were just a few hues away from Dumi’s hazel eyes. His short, neatly trimmed hair was the same lighter brown hue of his father’s instead of the much darker brown shade of his mother’s. The only significant difference in their appearances was in their tails. Being half lion and half cougar, his tail wasn’t tipped at the end with a tuft of fur like a lion’s. Instead, it mirrored his mother’s thicker, fuller tail that was tipped at the end with a dark brown band of color.

“Didn’t your mother say that it was muddy outside?” Dumi asked.

“I’m not scared of mud, Daddy.” Yaro, the next in line and only a few centimeters shorter than the eldest child, said. Yaro also had the lighter brown hair of his father, but unlike Kendi whose facial markings were more comparable to that of a lion, Yaro’s markings were decidedly a reflection of his cougar mother. The front of his muzzle was white with the characteristic pair of dark bands on either side that marked his cougar heritage.

“I know very well that you four are not afraid of mud. In fact, you and dirt are good friends.” Dumi said.

“Yup!” Yaro agreed.

Though he was amused, Dumi shook his head. “Be that as it may, your mother works very hard to keep this house clean. So, the four of you will stay inside and wait for your uncle to come in.”

“Aww…” the four moaned, pitifully. Dejected as they were, they were obedient children and so they stepped away from the doorway and sat in a neat row right in front of it.

Neha chuckled as she sauntered up to her husband. “Thank you for that.” she said, kissing him sweetly.

“That’s what I’m here for.” he grinned, wrapping an arm around his cougar mate’s waist.

“Among other things.” she teased, swatting his rear, playfully.

“Ah, so THAT’S why you keep me around.” he said, biting her neck and squeezing her shapely bottom.

“Dumi!” she giggled, struggling to get out of his grasp. “Your brother is going to come through that door any second.”

“…and?” he mused, continuing to nibble and bite her.

“He’s going to SEE us!” she gasped, as he moved his hand from her bum and slid it down to settle just below the heated spot between her legs. “You dummy! Not now!” she breathed, sensuously.

He sighed. “Alright. …later, then.” he moaned and swatted her on the bum.

“…dummy.” she chuckled. Suddenly, her countenance became more serious as she looked over at their sleeping daughter. “How’s Leilani feeling? Does she still have a fever?”

The little girl was still sleeping soundly in her father’s care. Unlike most of her brothers and even her parents, Leilani didn’t have the monochromatic brown tones that most of her family yielded. Her tiny head was crowned with bright red hair, a hue that neither parent could identify in their respective lineages. Likewise, unlike the rest of her family that had either green or hazel eyes, her eyes were a clear sky blue. The rest of her appearance was entirely that of a cougar. Except for the shade of tawny brown in her coat, she held little else of her father’s image reflected in her, but instead favored her lovely mother.

“A bit, but it’s breaking. She’ll be alright with just a bit of rest, I think.” he said, smoothing wandering strands of fiery red hair away from the sleeping girl’s face. “Do you think we should wake her up for dinner?”

Neha sighed, pondering his question, thoughtfully. “No, let’s let her sleep. If she wakes in the middle of the night, I’ll warm some of the soup I made for her dinner and feed her, then.”

He nodded and would have said more when a knock sounded at the door.

“UNCLE ADON!” the boys, cheered, rushing to the door. But, being just four years of age, none of the children could quite reach the knob. They turned anticipating eyes at their parents, silently imploring them to do something about the distressing predicament. Chuckling to herself, Neha walked over to the door, ushering the children back so that she could open it, safely.

“Oh! Kichoro!” she sang, as she swung the door open revealing the lady waiting just on the other side. “You made it!” she said, as she moved to embrace her friend.

“I’m sorry it’s so late.” Kichoro said, returning the embrace. “I hope we didn’t cause you much trouble.”

“You caused no trouble at all.” Neha said, stepping aside as Ja poked his head beyond her. She heard her children cheer at the sight of their young friend and watched them rush off to wrestle on the floor, nearby.

“Ja, you didn’t say hello to Neha.” Kichoro chided.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, quickly scurrying up from pinning Kendi beneath him and over to Neha. He hugged her legs, tightly and said, “Hi, Auntie!”

She ruffled his hair and smiled. “I’m glad you’re here. I tried making one of your favorite foods.”

“Fish cakes!?” he asked, excitedly.

“That’s right. You’ll have to tell me how they turned out. Although, I’m sure they won’t be as good as your mother’s.”

“Oh no!” Kichoro exclaimed, suddenly. “Cake! Ja, we left the cake we baked this morning at home. We forgot to bring it.”

The boy gasped. “Mama, we can run home to get it!” he suggested.

“That’s a good idea, love, but it would take too long.”

“I can run really fast.”

“Yes, I know. But, it’s getting late already. We can’t keep Neha and Dumi waiting like this. I’m so sorry, Neha. I’ll bring it over tomorrow morning.”

“It’s alright, Kichoro, no worries.” Neha said, giving the fretful mother’s arms a squeeze. “You’ve had a lot to deal with, recently. I’m just glad you were able to make it. How in the world were you able to get here? The roads are a disaster.”

“We got to ride Garet!” Ja supplied.

“Garet?” Neha mused.

“Yup. He’s really big. I bounced a whole lot on him back.”

“I see. So, what is, Garet?”

“A eggland!”

“’Eggland’?”

“Eland.” Adon corrected, as he appeared at the doorway.

“UNCLE ADON!” the boys erupted, rushing over to tackle their long awaited relative. Kichoro barely made it out of their way in time to avoid being run over by the pintsized mob.

Adon scooped his tiny nephews up, hugging them all at once in his strong embrace. “Hey, you four have gotten so much bigger since the last time I saw you.” he said, smiling down at each of them.

“Yup! I’m getting bigger and bigger!” Kendi said, proudly.

“Me too!” Yaro chimed.

“I’m going to be big like Daddy!” Ajamu, the third son and the only child to inherit his mother’s dark brown, wavy hair, proclaimed. Also like his mother, his eyes were a clear viridian. Apart from those pair of traits, the rest of him was decidedly mirrored after his lion father. From the color of his coat to the markings on his face and body, he was an accurate reflection of his paternal parentage. To add to that, out of all the children, he was the only one to have the more slender tufted tail that lions yielded. All of his other siblings had tails that were as their mother’s.

“Not like Mommy. Her is little.” Mikaili, the fourth and final son said. Like Leilani, Mikiali broke from the monochromatic brown tones that the rest of the family held. His long, straight hair was an illustrious shade of midnight black. Also like his sister, his appearance was entirely a reflection of his cougar mother. From the hue of his coat, to the assorted markings on his face and body, he was unmistakably of cougar heritage. If one didn’t know of his father, one would certainly mistake him for a pure bred cougar kitten.

Adon chuckled at that, earning him a swat on the ear from Neha. “Well, your mother is a cougar, so she’s a little bit smaller than a lioness.” he explained, setting the boys down to climb to his feet. He hugged Neha who gave his nose a poke before returning the gesture. He chuckled at her chastisement of him. “Sorry, but little isn’t bad. It’s very cute on you.”

“It’s a good thing you’re so charming, little brother.” she said, kissing his cheek. “Oh, so you gave Kichoro and Ja a ride, then? Did you run into them on the road or something?”

“Not quite.” he said, flatly.

Neha gave him a puzzled expression, then turned to Kichoro who managed to put a brave, yet somehow sad smile upon her face. “Actually,” Kichoro began, “he is the one who came to see the house, today. He’s decided to take it.”

If Neha could look more surprised, she didn’t know how she possibly could. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or sad at the news. On the one hand, her brother-in-law was moving to their town, just down the road. Yet, on the other, her beloved friend would be moving away, leaving them behind, perhaps forever. It was all a whirlwind of occurrences and emotions.

“Adon, you’re the one buying Kichoro’s house?” Dumi said, breaking the awkward silence that had ensued.

Adon looked over at his elder sibling and said, simply, “Hello, brother.”

“Never mind all that.” Dumi said, as he walked over to where Adon and the pair of women stood. “You’re buying Kichoro’s house?”

“I’ve already purchased it.” Adon corrected.

“Why in the world didn’t you tell me?”

A look of genuine confusion adorned the younger Ayele’s face. “Why would I have?”

“Adon!?”

Adon regarded his brother for a moment before turning to Neha and asked, “What’s wrong with Leilani? Is she ill?”

A deep growl left Dumi’s chest before he spun around on his heel and stormed off to retreat into the reading room before he allowed his temper to get the better of him. It appeared that things hadn’t changed.

Neha watched her husband leave in a huff. She wanted to go to him, to comfort him, but she also couldn’t leave her guests standing in the doorway of her home. Unsure of what to do, she finally found her voice and answered the question that had been asked of her. “Ah…yes. She is not feeling well. She has a bit of a fever.”

“I see. But, she’ll be alright?” he asked, with worry.

She smiled at his concern. Even if things were strained between the two brothers, at least her brother-in-law showed nothing but love and devotion for his brother’s children. It was something, at least. “Yes, she’ll be fine with a little rest.”

A sigh of relief escaped him. “Thank goodness.”

…yes, it was something.

“Umm, boys, why don’t you and your uncle go and get washed up for dinner.” Neha said.

A series of “okays” and “yeses” arose from the children as they hurried off to do as they had been told. Adon quietly followed after them, leaving Neha and Kichoro to watch the army of boys march off to get themselves cleaned for dinner. An uneasiness settled upon the women in the light of what had just transpired between the two men.

“Neha, if there is anything that I can do to help…” Kichoro said, gently.

The cougar shook her head, gently. “No, this is a bit of bad blood that has been festering between Dumi, Davu and Adon for a long time. There isn’t anything that you or I can do about this. This is a healing that they have to do themselves.” She turned to the lioness and smiled, faintly. “Thank you, though. For now, I’d better go check on Dumi. You can wash up at the kitchen sink, if you’d like. I’m sure those boys are going to be a while.”

Kichoro smiled. “Yes, you’re most likely right about that.” she said. She glided over to Neha and gave her a supportive hug. “Things will work out, in the end.” she whispered. “If we can do no more than this, then we have to believe the best will surely come.” She pressed her brow to the other woman’s and gave her a reassuring smile before heading into the kitchen to wash herself for their shared evening meal.

Neha listened to her friend’s words and prayed that she was right. This was a conflict that had been stewing for years, long before she had even met Dumi. A conflict that started when her man was still just a boy and when he yielded the meager wisdom afforded to a child. She replayed Kichoro’s words in her mind as she entered the reading room. Dumi was stretched out on the futon that rested against the wall that faced westward. His eyes were closed as he stroked Leilani’s hair while she rested comfortably on her father’s chest. Neha wondered what thoughts were filling his mind in that moment. What thoughts were he holding in his heart and would he choose to share them with her or would he keep them locked away? She walked over to him and sat on the edge of the futon. He opened his eyes and looked over at her. An unreadable emotion covered his visage and filled his hazel eyes. She gently ran her fingers through his chestnut hair then leaned over and pressed her lips to his.

“I love you.” she whispered.

He smiled, faintly. “You know I love you, always. I’d be lost forever without you.”

“Yes.” she whispered. “…because you would never be able to find your way out of the piles of dirty clothes you and your sons make in a week. A rescue team could search for you for an entire lifetime and never come close to uncovering the five of you in that mountain of filth that I somehow manage to tackle each and every week. When it comes to cleaning, my skills are unmatched, thanks to the efforts of the rowdy, messy, lively band of boys that exist in my life.”

She could feel his body shaking with mirth before he erupted with boisterous laughter. He pulled her close and kissed her thoroughly. “You’re the best.” he chuckled. “You always know exactly what to say.”

She giggled. “Yes, because that’s what I AM here for.” she said, kissing him once more. “And I am always here for you.”