Mephiles's Den

pride lore

You have been venturing through the territory of an unknown pride. Sure, you knew that a pride has been living here-- and for quite a long time, too --but you have never even seen a single lion near this place. A classic, temperate savanna makes up the landscape around you, and it's all you've seen of it for what feels like miles. It's a repetitive sea of dull, golden grass and a pawful of acacia trees that dot the land. You feel like you've past that same rock before, stopped right under that same tree. You're lost, there's no goal in sight, and yet... there's something keeping you from turning tail and heading back home. Perhaps it was the smell of lions. You couldn't see them, but their scent was surprisingly fresh. Someone has been here before, and you would give anything to find them.

Maybe I should just turn back. As your mind chased that thought away for the umpteenth time today, you hear something. Stopping dead in your tracks, you raise your head to peer through the savanna grass. You could have sworn you heard something-- someone. You can feel their gaze, too: whatever is here, it's staring at you. Is it a bird? You look up and around. Nothing in the air, no trees for any birds to take shelter. One by one, you rule out whatever it could be, until no culprit remains; no culprit except...

A lioness steps out from the tall grass, snarling at you. She flicks her right ear, and soon, more follow, emerging from the foliage, baring yellowed fangs at you. You're surrounded, you realize, and you're deep within their territory. Each female is low to the ground, prepared to strike at any moment. You're severely outnumbered, so the odds of winning this fight are slim. Your chances of even escaping are down to nothing! There's six lionesses circling you like sharks, at least one at each corner.

As you say a mental prayer to your wives back at home, the first lioness that jumped out at you, a dark gray lioness with white and orange points that appears to be the oldest, flicks her left ear. While the other five lionesses remain hostile, their snarling threats cease. "Introduce yourself." The gray lioness demands.

You tell her your name and where you come from.

The leading female narrows fiery orange eyes, unamused. "Come with us now. You must speak with our leader." You're not even given a moment to hesitate. Her left ear twitches twice as she steps away. The other lionesses follow, one giving you a shoulder-check that tells you to get moving. In no less than a heartbeat, you're heading in a different direction than the one you were originally going in. Good to know that you were going the wrong way, anyways, but maybe you wouldn't do anything to see another lion again.

The walk to this pride's camp feels long. You follow behind the leading gray lioness, with the remaining five somewhere behind you. Only now, when you definitely know that you're being followed, do you realize how unsettling it is to feel the eyes of the unknown staring into your back. How long were you followed? Are there more surrounding you in the grass, waiting for you to put a single toe out of line? As you walk, you look around you, scanning the land of the savanna for more eyes. With your focus elsewhere, you start to slow down, but don't worry! One of the lionesses behind you snaps at your ankle, quick to correct you. You're careful not to say anything to piss them off anymore, clenching your jaw to keep it closed.

"We're here." The tri-colored lioness in front of you says. She has an almost motherly voice, you realize, collected and smooth, but with a sharp edge of aggression. The tall grass around you starts to clear, and you can finally see something other than endless grass and a scarce amount of acacia trees.

Once another patch of savanna, this pride's camp was now a large clearing. Whatever foliage took over the earth here was worn down by the footsteps of many. Large stones dotted the area, the biggest lying in the heart of the camp. Tunnels were dug out in a few areas, and four different acacia trees provided shade to the many lions that surrounded you.

There were dozens, perhaps more, dotting the hollow. The further you advanced with the gray lioness, the more that raised their heads and noticed you. If you thought six pairs of eyes felt unsettling, the entire pride made you want to curl in on yourself. Even wrestling cubs stopped to stare into your soul. Some children scurried away to watch you as they hid. When it grew too much to look back at them, you locked your gaze to the ground.

The gray lioness stopped and turned, just as her pelt was darkened by the shade of a fifth tree close to the outskirts of the camp. "Just beyond here is our leader's den." She jerked her head to gesture to the tree. There was a short wall, just tall enough that you couldn't see over it, made from thorn bushes and other thick foliage. It provided a border around a nest-- you could just barely see motion, there was someone inside.

The gray lioness watched as you cautiously stepped around the wall of thorns in order to locate a safe entrance. On the other side, opposite from where you came, there was a gap in the wall where you could step inside.

Step inside...?