Queen Kione

QUEEN KIONE
By annabethred9 (#59930)

“We can’t keep her!” “Wembe please, what else could we do?” King Wembe and Kamaria argued back and forth about their young cub, Kione. They had no idea what to do with her, but Wembe knew she couldn’t be kept. She wasn’t big enough, pretty enough. Their pride only kept the very best, and Wembe couldn’t favor cubs that were his own. It would give the others a wrong impression. “But..look at her, she's beautiful!” “No. By joining this pride you agreed to follow all of our rules, and this is one of them. I'm abandoning her tomorrow and if you try to stop me, you'll be sorry,” Wembe ordered. Kamaria just shook her head and padded away, picking up her sleeping cub by the scruff of her neck. And just like that, the fate of Kione was decided.

Wembe crept out under the cover of the night, holding the cub with his teeth. He dashed off, heading towards the large acacia tree at the edge of his territory. It was where they always left unwanted cubs; sometimes they were found, sometimes they weren't. It wasn't cruel, it was just Wembe weeding out the weak links in his pride to make it better. At least that's what he told himself.

He left the cub nestled up in the roots of the gnarled tree, laying in a bed of moss. She was just one of many cubs they abandoned over the year, and another that was to be forgotten. As Wembe was about to leave, the cub mewled softly, sensing she was about to be left to fend for herself. Wembe just sighed softly and headed back to his den. Kamaria’s words troubled him as she sounded very attached to the cub, but she was the one who asked to join the pride. If she didn't like how they did things, she could leave.

As the sun rose in all of its fiery glory, it's rays fell over the sleeping cub. Her eyes fluttered open and she jumped to her feet with a start. She didn't know where she was or what she was doing there. “Mom?” she called, close to tears. “Dad? Anyone?” But nobody answered.

Kione wandered around the tree, looking for approaching lions. When none came, she decided to walk around and find them herself. Kione knew she couldn't go back to her (ex) pride’s territory, so she stayed away from it, but there seemed to be no other way to go. Kione sighed and then walked in the opposite direction of it. She had no idea where she was going, no idea what would happen, and no idea if she would even survive. Kione could only hope to come across a kind lion who would take her in, or get lucky enough not to run into any mean ones.

Kione stayed away from prides she knew. Most of them were inherently evil or not trustworthy. She skirted their territory and stayed on neutral grounds. As the days wore on, Kione realized that she might stay a loner forever. She grew older, and with age, the blinding truth of reality set in like a weight on her shoulders. She might never find a family. The only one she had known turned their back on her, and once she turned two, no one would want her. Prides are more likely to take in cubs rather than adults. Kione wasn’t going to stay a cub forever.

Kione decided to make her home in a small cave she found nestled underneath a large hill. It was littered with aging animal bones, muddy leaves, and all sorts of other rubbish, but by sweeping that all into the back and burying it in a hole, Kione was able to make it looks pretty. She spruced it up by lining the cave’s entrance with flowers and collecting enough moss to carpet the whole ground. Kione finished up the work and then flopped down on the soft floor. She had been on her own for over a year now, and each day seemed worse than the last. She was lonely and was always in a bad mood. She hadn’t said a word since the day she was abandoned and her life just seemed to be on the decline. In fact, she wasn’t even living anymore. She was just existing.

Kione headed out to scope out the grounds around her ‘home’ and get something to eat. She looked around and noted the areas that were the best for hunting, watering holes, and areas that she should stay away from, like human campgrounds. After hunting down a gazelle, she dragged the carcass back to her cave and finished the entire thing. Being on the move 24/7 proved difficult for hunting. She couldn’t carry anything with her, and sometimes, there wasn’t prey at all. Those days were the worst, as she was sad, lonely, and hungry, the worst combination. She had gone without a proper meal for days, snacking on half rotted warthog carcasses that she stumbled upon. The gazelle was a relief to her stomach, and she finally went to bed with a full belly, even if it was accompanied by a sad being.

“Shh, don’t wake her.” “I know, I just really want these flowers.” “Sparrow, don’t take her things!” Hushed voices jolted Kione out of her sleep and she opened her eyes tiredly. “Who’s there?” she grunted, her voice raspy due to the lack of use. Two lionesses, one a young cub and the other older than Kione, stood in the entrance of her cave. “I’m really sorry miss!” the older one said, bowing her head. “Sparrow here has a thing for flowers. We don’t mean disrespect to you. Sorry for waking you!” They turned to leave but Kione called them back. “Wait! You can have them. The flowers I mean. I can find more anyway,” she smiled. ‘It’s not like I have anything better to do,’ Kione added mentally. “Really? Thanks Missus!” the younger one, sparrow beamed. “Yes, thank you. My name is Eritrea by the way.” “I’m Kione.” Kione got to her feet and padded forward. “Do you have a pride? I haven’t seen you around much,” Eritrea remarked. “I...no, I don’t,” Kione muttered, staring at her paws. “Come with us then! We’ll introduce you to ours,” Eritrea offered. Kione grinned. “Yes, thank you!”

Kione followed the two back to their territory, stopping every so often to let Sparrow pick a couple flowers. They finally made it to be greeted by an attractive lion. “Sparrow, you drag Eritrea out to go pick flowers again?” he said, looking amused. Sparrow shrugged and padded off to leave her flowers somewhere and the lion turned his attention to Kione. “Why, hello,” he said, bowing his head. “Hi,” Kione said shyly. “My name is Prometheus.” “I’m Kione.” Prometheus smiled at her before giving Eritrea a strange look. “Can I talk to you?” he asked. Eritrea nodded and followed him as he walked away from Kione who stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with herself. Kione waited patiently and Eritrea and Prometheus finally came back, Prometheus looking a bit exasperated. “If you’d like a place in this pride, you may have it,” he smiled, his eyes shifting towards Eritrea who was beaming. Kione was taken aback but said yes immediately. She couldn’t believe her luck. After all that time of being isolated and lonely, all of a sudden, two lions drawn to her by her FLOWERS of all things ended up with her being taken into a pride.

So miracles WERE possible.

BECOMING ROYALTY
By annabethred9 (#59930)

“And this is the meeting rock. If I ever get on top of it, it means I’m calling a meeting and everyone in the pride must be there.” Kione nodded at Prometheus’s words. He was showing her around his - now hers as well - territory. After joining the pride just a day before, Kione felt a bit lost. The territory was moderately large and the pride was a huge change from living on her own. She had to share prey, and no food ever went to waste. She also had to help hunt for the entire pride, not just herself. It was a bit more work, but still a lot better than being a loner.

“Okay, I think I got everything. I’ll just ask Eritrea if I have a question,” Kione smiled. Prometheus nodded. “She’ll be able to help you, I’d hope,” he laughed. “Alright, well I’m going to go grab some grub. See you around!” Kione padded off to the carcass pile and grabbed a half eaten impala, taking it over to a corner to eat. As she was going, she noticed a cub crying and blubbering about some bullies. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she said, releasing her grip on the carcass. “T-they took my otter! I caught it and t-they took it!” the young cub wailed. “Aw, don’t cry. You’ll be able to catch another one, I’m sure of it. You look like a really skilled huntress.” The cub sniffled and quieted down. “You think so?” she asked, ears perking.up. “I know so,” Kione winked, before dragging her impala away to find a spot to eat. She saw the cub grin and run off, probably to go hunt for something else.

“Man, you’re really a social lion, huh?” Eritrea appeared out of nowhere, plopping down next to Kione. “Huh?” Kione asked, mouth full of food. Eritrea tore a chunk from her impala and swallowed it, before saying “Yeah, you just talked to that cub and made her happy. You do that a lot from what I’ve noticed.” “Hm, you think?” “Yeah…” Eritrea paused to take another bite from Kione’s impala. “I’ve heard that Prometheus is looking for a new queen. I think you’d be a worthy candidate.” Kione nearly spit out the food she was chewing. “Me?” she choked. “Yeah, why not?” Eritrea shrugged. “Because I joined this pride a day ago. Because I’m not big enough, strong enough, pretty enough.” Kione remembered why she was abandoned by her pride. It was the only reason. And if she wasn’t enough for her old pride, why would she be enough for this one?

Eritrea looked stunned. “Now why in the hell would you say that?” she demanded. “My pride left me because I wasn’t enough. I didn’t find a family for over a year because I’m not enough. I didn’t make a single friend in over a year because I’m not enough. Hell, I didn’t use my voice for a year because I had no one to talk to. Know why? Because I’m not enough! And just take the stupid carcass,” Kione snapped. She shoved the carcass towards a shocked Eritrea and stormed off.

“Kione, wait!” Eritrea scrambled to her feet and dashed after her. “You are enough Kione! Don’t you see? You help all these lions, and you make them happy. You make ME happy. Everyone loves you, and it’s only your first day!” Eritrea struggled to keep up with Kione’s quick strides. Kione halted suddenly. “Is that really what you think? Or are you just saying that? My own FATHER left me for dead!” she yelled. Eritrea shook her head. “Kione, why do you think you’re still here? Why do you think you aren’t still in that stupid cave?” she demanded. “Because we thought you were enough! We thought you were worth it, and you were, so get your butt back there and finish eating, because we all know that you haven’t had a proper meal in ages, because YOUR father wasn’t enough.” Kione frowned at her friend, surprised at how genuine she seemed. “I…” Kione chewed on her lip. “Really?” she whispered. “You’re telling the truth?” “If that isn’t the truth then I’m not the best lion you’ll ever meet,” Eritrea declared. Kione smiled weakly and bumped shoulders with her. “I think you are. I really do.”

Kione continued thriving in the pride, making loads of new friends and loads of lions happy. Prometheus noticed how well she fit in with everyone and how she was such a ray of sunshine. She lit up their pride and Prometheus grew to adore her so he decided to ask the question, “Will you be my queen?”

“W-what?” Kione mumbled weakly after Prometheus sprung the question on her. “I..yes! Yes, of course!” she beamed, bouncing on the pads of her paws. Prometheus smiled. “I’m glad I had you join this pride.” He gave her a lick on the cheek. “I think you’re going to be a great leader QUEEN Kione,” he said, exaggerating the queen. “I...I think you are a great leader KING Prometheus,” Kione smiled. ‘And I think everything will turn out just fine,’ she added mentally, letting out a happy sigh.