|
On the other side of the main kopje in the king's territory, there is a hill crested by a singular tree, where leopards can be heard calling to each other. Taking careful steps in that direction, you pick up their scent and shape before they can see you coming. You find at least three adults and a cub, lounging together like a pride of lionesses all on their own. To your surprise, the cub is a lipard, and the biggest leopardess of all...is a blue, spotted lioness!
The furthest leopard on the tree watches you warily, appearing pregnant. You can smell one of the local submales on her; perhaps Kifalme or Sethembiso got lucky, even if she wasn't a lioness? The other is also a female, laying happily beside the spotted lioness, grooming her fur while she's being washed in turn. The lipard cub squeaks excitedly upon seeing you and quickly bolts around the adults, ducking out of view, peering around them from time to time.
The blue lioness smiles calmly and invites you closer with a flick of her tail. "Welcome. I am Sayina, the Queen of the Pride. All life that steps through my kingdom is mine to watch over, to ensure you obey our laws and keep the peace we're trying to uphold. You need not worry for my friends here; we welcome leopards and cheetahs as well as other lions. One day, we will welcome even more, too."
She explains this in great detail after you ask: when Sayina took her place as queen, she introduced new, thoughtful ideas for her king to follow. Once they were tested and shown to work, Ukombozi enforced them, creating a safe haven for other cat species regardless of if they were competing predators or not. As a result, it was forbidden to attack leopards and cheetahs (and other lions as well, unless it was to gain experience or protect the pride). Pregnant cats could even give birth in the same place the lionesses themselves had their cubs, provided they relocated quickly so as not to encroach or take over their home.
"My king would like to one day extend the same truce to the hyenas, but we may need to wait until January for that. I shall simply help him maintain the peace and comfort until then. Come by anytime if you'd like to listen to a story or two," she offers, curling up with the loyal leopards. "We will be here, on the other side of my dear Ukombozi. He stands vigil for us and sleeps when his energy is spent."
~November dialogue~
Shortly after Tuzo was grown to maturity, the queen had exchanged tense words with him in his den and immediately upon returning to the kopje given the command to call the family together--from the Royal Den to the nursery. Arranged to allow plentiful room, cubs nursed from their mothers and Sethembiso circled widely around the family, watching for threats; Kifalme was left in charge of guarding the entrance to Tuzo's den, to prevent him from leaving and attacking anyone else, though they knew by now that such a battle would surely mean Kifalme's death.
The queen took several deep breaths, looked into each curious face, noting the concern in their eyes, as she told them what she had heard. "I fear that this is the beginning of the end for us," she finished. "We cannot make it here without help. The suspicions of humans and the danger they pose both bring us new threats. They remained hidden before because the Tsavo King, it was said, was touched by an ancient demon, this 'serpent' he mentions. That demon could kill them instantly if it offered its favor. Now we live as naturally as we can, carrying only jewelry to set us apart, and now Raha, with the arrow in her shoulder and the collar around her neck, has given humans the chance to get closer to us...The question is, can we rely on human support if things fall apart with the leopards and cheetahs?"
"If I may," called out Maarifa, slowly getting to her paws. "I have been to the shamans and asked them each their opinion of my son and his...condition. They each said he is afflicted, like he is sick. My true son is still in his own body, but it is covered by the demon. He is dominated." Her bottom lip trembled and she clamped her jaw shut to avoid bursting into a fit of grief. Maarifa hated knowing her children were at risk, so near but so far, and that she could do nothing to help them.
"Have we yet learned how it came to be that Inkohlakalo inhabited Tuzo now, and not a different male earlier?" Ukombozi took his place beside his queen, grooming the top of her head soothingly.
"I believe I can answer that," Vuka said gravely. Her neutron eyes seemed both tired and angry at the same time, like she'd been disturbed too many times about the issue. "The Nightmare Sphinx insisted that bad sons would be born from good mothers. The truth is thus: Maarifa may have had nefarious plots before, when Inkululeko claimed her, but her nature changed when she formed attachments to her children. A bad mother who neglected her good-natured son would've provided either a stronger or weaker vessel to the demon, depending on what deal it wanted to make."
"On top of that," Sayina added, "Sangoma Tefnut explained that a deceased soul can only possess the body of a descendent of the same gender. That is why Kusudi was never possessed, though she was changed in appearance."
"So, if I stopped having cubs after her, this would've never happened?" demanded Maarifa, feeling a cold pit of fear in her stomach.
"No, my dear," Ukombozi reassured her. "That is not so."
Vuka sighed, shaking her head. "I'm afraid the only way to ensure that Inkohlakalo never returns again is if he doesn't have a descendant to possess...which would mean the end of the entire line as we know it."
Maarifa took this to mean that her son would have to be killed, and likely so would every other son she'd had. She clenched her teeth and growled savagely, unsheathing her claws, crouching as if she would pounce. Before she could lose it, she turned and ran down the kopje, abandoning the royal summons and retreating to her personal cave in the Pride Den. Vuka was right: the Chief Huntress couldn't think straight when she was stressed about her children.
Ukombozi watched her leave sadly but didn't stop her. Instead he looked back at his beloved Sayina. "Is there a way to save him?"
"I only know that if we do not, what that demon won't destroy, he'll enslave and mutilate everything in reach." She pinned her ears back, her blue eyes large and frightened. "I am afraid of what he will do to this family."
"Ukombozi, you cannot let him do this!" Jinamizi, Sababu's eldest living daughter, suddenly came forth. She laid upon her belly, almost submissively, her nursing cubs behind her. Imploringly, she wrapped both her front paws around one of his, the old female's grip still strong. Her mother's willpower was evident even near the end of her life. "You are too young to have experienced the hardships we did at your age, but it is not a life you should submit to! Inkohlakalo lost the respect your cousin--our cousin--earned for a reason! Please, if you would do anything to protect us, you must guard against such a future. You must...for our mother."
The other Royal lionesses either added similar statements or remained quiet, watching intently. The only lioness not present was Nasaba, nursing Maana below. Sababu's presence would become more evident as time passed, but for today, she was still just a little cub relearning her world. Still, King Ukombozi was compelled to answer their desperate pleas: "We must find a way to either subdue Tuzo or excise the spirit possessing him--before he reaches three years of age. By then, he will be old and strong enough to challenge me, if he isn't already. I dare not risk a hostile takeover."
"I have some ideas," Vuka murmured, turning to look at her horned daughter, Amka. "I shall tell you what I know, once I am certain it will work. If I find it will not, I will not come to you until I have a solution--or at least part of one. Fear not, Ukombozi. You will have your son back and Maarifa's heartache will end soon." As the pride dispersed back into their normal routine, both Vuka and Amka walked together, side by side, and then Kusudi joined them, talking in low voices. Whatever their plot, the king hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't cost the true, innocent Tuzo his life.
~~
A rarity of a lioness discovered by Ukombozi, "Sayina" is the word meaning sign in Zulu, and the blue-colored female was considered one of the good omens seen during the Harbringer's quests, even if she was too young to be aware of the events in September. Believed to be a fitting counterpart of Maarifa to bring balance to the Pride Den, she was quickly introduced to the rest of the family, while the king planned to have cubs with both her and Maarifa at the same time, thereby avoiding the question of choosing one particular lioness over another. While she settled into her new home, she quickly became a favorite of the younger generations, and it was wondered if she would either take the position of broodmother...or Chief Huntress, to offer another insight into how to deliver food, since Vuka and Maarfia both were treacherous or violent with their methods.
Because they were lacking a broodmother at the time of her arrival, King Ukombozi decided her talents would best be kept to guarding the children--and likely because he wanted her pristine coat and gentle nature to remain that way. Even in the brief span she spent with the family, the silver Tsavo was enchanted by her beauty, a stronger song for his instincts than Maarifa's seduction had ever accomplished. To this end, the darker Chief Huntress almost seethed with jealously at being "cast aside" for the younger, spotted female. For the first time, Ukombozi had the idea of a handsome heir in his mind's eye: spotted, with the Cloudburst mane, and likely his or Sayina's good nature. On the same day when he bred both her and Maarifa, Queen Sayina ascended as his chosen co-ruler and first consort.
|
