|
She'd watched Hokori from afar for years after joining his pride. "It's safer," she'd thought to herself, "Safer to be in a pride than on my own." At least that's what she said when she tried to convince herself that's why she'd joined.
The truth was that she'd been smitten by him the first time she saw him. He approached her, full of confidence, and roared loudly. It was a roar that should have come from a much older, more experienced lion. He was young, hardly more than a cub, but he was so gorgeous. She couldn't help but stare as he shook his thick, fluffy mane, lighter than his deep red coat. As he stood there, nearly strutting, she admired every one of his rippling muscles under his fur. And when he looked at her, a playful glimmer in his eyes as he approached her one last time, she knew she would never follow another lion as long as she lived.
Years passed, and Shendi watched Hokori grow into a lion that suited his voice. She watched as younger, prettier lionesses joined his pride. She watched her litters of cubs grow up, wishing every time that she'd been home when she was in heat. She'd just been bred by another male, much to her dismay, when she'd come back and Hokori approached her.
"Shendi," he'd said, a slight frown on his face and his eyes sparkling with anger.
"My lord?" She asked, afraid she'd done something wrong, something to displease him. He'd seemed so happy before she left.
"We need to talk. Come with me," he growled in a low voice, slowly padding into the den he claimed as his own, and didn't allow lionesses to enter. She cowered slightly, then regained her composure and followed him quietly. He stopped briefly, letting her pass and commanded her to sit, facing him. He blocked the only exit to the den as he sat before her, eyes still flickering. She swallowed as he began to speak.
"Shendi, you have been in my pride longer than any other lioness, did you know that?" She blinked, slightly taken aback. She had noticed that the lionesses in the pride changed regularly, but she hadn't realized that she was the eldest lioness left. "You have been here the longest, and yet every heat you have had after your first with me, you have fled my sight and come back carrying some other male's cubs."
Shendi cringed at the tone of his voice, but she looked defiantly into his eyes. "You have many pretty lionesses, my lord. Why is this of concern to you?"
He stood up abruptly and started pacing, the anger in his eyes mixing with some unknown emotion. "Because I want to father your cubs!"
Shendi sat before him, stunned. Unable to form words, she slowly wrapped her tail around her feet and watched Hokori walk quickly back and forth. He took a deep breath and shook his mane out. When he had calmed down, he approached her slowly. Anger still flickered in his eyes, but it was slowly fading to something else.
"Shendi, of all the lionesses in my pride, you are the only one I wish to have raise my heir."
"Your... your heir, my lord? But only the Queen of a pride can bear the successor. I am not your Queen." The tip of her tail swished quietly back and forth, the only indication she was upset.
"You are, if you will accept the position." His eyes sparkled with amusement, and love, as he looked at her, eagerly awaiting her response.
She looked quietly at the floor and trapped the tip of her tail with her front paw. "I am not good enough to be your queen, my lord. I am nothing compared to you." She heard him lay on the floor of the den, and heard a quiet rustling sound before his face appeared under hers, wearing a goofy grin.
"You are everything that I could want in a Queen. You are a skilled huntress and a strong leader. You mean more to me than the rest of them combined," he said, pointing a paw to the outside of his den. "You are beautiful, you are successful, you know how my pride WORKS."
"I ought to," she said, unable to completely hide her smile, "I helped you build it."
His eyes shone as he rolled over, nudging her head up as he sat before her once more. "You did. Will you help me lead it, officially, as my Queen?"
Her eyes glittered as she gave her response. "Yes. I will gladly be your Queen, I will gladly help you lead your pride."
"Our pride," he corrected.
She rolled her eyes at him. How could he still be such a cub when he was such a fine lion? "Our pride," she agreed.
The pair walked out of the den, side by side as equals, and Hokori called the pride together to announce their news.
|
