The Begining Part 1

In a city in the Brules Empire

Raheem Judas ran as fast as possible to get to the exam site. Ever since he was little, he wanted to be a zoologist. He didn't know why, but animals have always been drawn to him. When he was only three years old, a lion's pack surrounded and watched over him until his mother found him. They went to the market, and his mother tried to haggle the merchant to decrease his price. A chinchilla attracted his attention, and he let go of his mother's hand to catch it.

He caught it eventually but realized his mother wasn't with him and started crying out. A lioness heard the cry and roared for its pack. Raheem turned around and saw the pack of lions walking towards him, but he didn't scream. Sitting at the alley's edge, the lion stopped about ten feet from him. The lioness circled him and laid down. The chinchilla had long ago run away. It loved being around Raheem, but its animal instincts made it run from predators.

The village guards and Raheem's mother found him. They couldn't believe their eyes. Raheem was climbing and sliding down a lioness's back with no care. The guards approached, and the lion growled as a warning to stay away. A few lionesses heard the growl and came to stand beside him. The guard slowly backed away. "Mam, you should approach them instead."

Raheem's mother wasn't a native to Bradent let alone Brules, she gave the guard a look. The guard explained. "The lions are guarding your son and won't allow us to retrieve him." She still didn't understand why the guards could not just kill the lions and retrieve her son. "Why don't you all just shoot or stab them to death"? The guards gasped in shock.

The head guard had a frown on his face as he explained to her why they couldn't do that. "Mam, that's impossible! It is not harvest season, nor have their numbers increased to the point where we must kill them." "They are keeping my son!" "Yes! They are keeping him from harm. They have an incredible sense of smell, so they will not allow just anyone to approach." "You can, however, because he is your child; the lion and lioness will smell his scent from you."

"If we approach knowing these facts and provoke them into attacking us, we will get penalized and detained for six months, or worse, we will lose our jobs!" Raheem's mother, Najire, was still skeptical but still went forward. The lion saw her walking forward and raised his head to smell the air. Najire stilled at the sight. 'The lion is smelling my scent'? This was a first for her, her knowledge towards animals was limited to their dead body parts and what they were used for.

The lion gave a slight roar and laid back down. The lioness backed away and lay down on the side, no longer having any interest in Najire. The guard shouted, "Mam, you can now retrieve your son. They won't bother you anymore". Najire nodded and slowly went forward, making sure not to make any sudden moves. "Raheem, it's time to go home"! Raheem turned around and ran to her. "Mommy, can we bring her home? She lets me play with her and doesn't get mad when I climb on her like you do".

Najire immediately refused. She grabbed his hand and started to walk away with him. The lion turned and growled at them. Najire tensed up, but Raheem pulled away and ran towards him. Najire wanted to chase him. "Mam! The lion will not harm him. Please wait and watch."

The lion stood up and rubbed his body over Raheem, making him giggle. The lion then gently nibbled on his shoulder. Najire had to be pulled away by the guards when this happened. 'Crazy lady'

Raheem winced a little, but the lion escorted him to the guards. The guards nodded towards the lion, and the lion did the same. It roared, ran away from the market square, and headed into the jungle. Najire broke free, quickly checked Raheem's shoulder, and found he was bleeding a little.

"What is wrong with you people?! My son could have been killed, and you all just watched"! Raheem wasn't too worried about it because he could tell the lion would not hurt him. A man's voice came from the back. "Najire!" Raheem heard this voice. He knew it was his father and jumped towards it. His father caught him, and his wife interrupted him before he could ask his son what happened. "Oscar, these so-called guards watched as a pack of lions surrounded our son and did nothing!"

The guards saluted Oscar because he was still in his military uniform. The uniform was an officer's uniform nonetheless! Oscar turned around, "At ease!" In perfect sync, the guards responded, "THANK YOU, SIR!" The whole market went still when it heard their response.

Oscar looked upon them with satisfaction. "Now report!" The head guard stepped up and saluted while explaining the situation. Oscar's face after hearing what transpired was one of pure jubilation. Contrary to Najire's belief, Oscar started laughing! "Why are you laughing? Our son was in danger!"

He stopped laughing and turned around. "My love, I understand you don't know our customs well yet, so let me explain why this is such a joyous occasion." "In our culture, animals of all types are treated with respect, and in return, they treat us the same. The guards did nothing wrong; they followed the rules to the tee. Look around, love. Have you seen even one animal on a leash?"

Najire looked around and found that it was true. Not one animal was on a leash. "If the lion wanted to, he would have gobbled up our son, but instead, it defended and protected him." Najire could not understand why an animal would protect such an easy meal. Oscar sighed. "Our son has a gift with animals, it seems. The proof is the scent and bite mark the lion left on his shoulder." "What does that mean?" Oscar smiled again, "It means he was accepted into the pack. No lion will go out of their way to attack him, and some may even bring him prey from their hunts."

The guards all had envious looks on their faces. They longed to be acknowledged by an animal, and a three-year-old received one! Oscar shouted. "Guards of Gnagi village!" Instantly, they all stiffened up, waiting for their orders. Oscar looked towards them and bowed."Thank you all for watching over my son and wife!" The guard's hearts started beating faster cause an officer in the Brules Empire bowed and thanked them personally. They will never forget this moment. It wasn't every day they saw an officer. Let alone one so humble.

Najire also calmed down and showed her thanks. Oscar bent down, looked at the bite mark, and then looked into his son's eyes. He saw no pain in them when he touched the wound, which made him smile again. He slowly wrapped the wound up. "Why didn't you run away from the lion's son?" Raheem looked up and, with an innocent smile, said. "I felt they were safe to play with. They also told me they weren't going to hurt me." Oscar knew the animals couldn't talk; it was just how Raheem interpreted their body language.