Chapter Text
A single bright ray of sun shone through a slit on one of the rock walls surrounding her, and landed straight on Summer's face. It sat there, persistently, for few moments, and she frowned in annoyance as it rose her, reluctantly, from sleep.
Tilting her head back, yawning, the cheetah popped the joints in her neck and began stretching her front legs like she usually did in the mornings. However, she stopped herself midway through it, when she sensed weight atop of them.
With a heavy heart, she revived the painfully ordeal from the previous night, as her gaze fell upon Yang.
Reaching down, she rested her snout lightly against the cub sleeping form just like she had done before under the heavy rainfall. Feeling the softness and warmth of her fur, her small body shifting as she breathed. Her little cooing noises, as she reacted to whatever she was dreaming of.
A moment passed and Yang stirred in her paws, her little face shifting into a frown.
She then took a breath and yawned in the cutest way, head stretching back in her shoulders, and her little pink tongue sticking out of her mouth. Her adorableness lifted her spirits in a flash, and drove away sorrow thoughts.
“Good morning little one” she chirped as she groomed her and-
“Choo!” the cub sneezed, nose twitching in the air as it seemly tried to itchy itself.
“CHOO!” she sneezed once again, a bit louder, rubbing her face against the teeny tiny toe-beans between her paws.
Something wasn't right.
With a closer look she noticed Yang seemed a bit too warm; pale and sweaty, and definitely not as a lively as she was the previous night after she first nursed. She brought her ears close to her chest and heard the congested sounds of labored breaths coming from small lungs.
“Oh no.”
She quickly moved to nurse her, for surely, a full tummy and warm milk would suffice to make her feel better, much like before? Right? Or m-maybe no, and it would only make things worse? Maybe she should've woke up sooner to feed her? Or perhaps that’s what got her sick to begin with? O-or maybe she should keep going to the burrow and get help? Could someone even help? Just how sick was she????? She had stayed god-knows-how-long in the opening, under the rain with no food and barely any shelter!!! Was she gonna di-????
Summer closed her eyes and shocked her head, wielding herself to forcibly stop her - twirling and scattering - distressing thoughts before they went any further. Freaking out and dueling endless on “what if’s” and insecurities would not take her anywhere!
“Sigh, Glynda would definitely know what to do thoug-” yeah, but she wasn’t there, and her burrow was too far away to try reaching in one go.
Deep breaths.
“Alright, I just need to focus, and think.”
‘ Here’s what I know; I can’t move Yang too much, sudden movement could worsen her condition. She needs peace and quiet in other to heal properly, and that also includes myself – if I get sick suddenly or debilitated in anyway, I can’t feed nor protect Yang.'
And . . . that was about it.
Her best shoot was - even if the mere thought of it was all but itching to rehash her anxiety into a whole new level already – to stay put, keep feeding Yang and providing her with everything she could to help her body heal as fast as possible on its own (or at least enough for them to be able to start moving again), and hope for the best.
Deep. . .
. . . breaths.
“Okay, one step at a time then.”