A Crack in the Ice

As a cub, Cracked Ice was just another nameless male in his father's pride. He was sold, marketed as "Heir Material." If he was such good heir material, why wouldn't his father let him stay? Leooan, a large primal male, took in this cub and gave him his name. For many months Cracked Ice trained under his mentor, and a dream formed in his mind. He wanted to prove himself to his father. After countless days proving to Leooan what he could do, the elder. nearly on his deathbed, gave in. Cracked Ice would be Leooan's heir. As Leooan retired and Cracked Ice took on all of the responsibilities, he grew more desperate. He feared he would never live up to Leooan's name. But he knew he had to, he had to prove to his father! And one day, he found himself at the mountaintop. he had reached his peak, finally welcoming in his first cub. And what a pretty girl she was. Athena, he named her. And her tiny self finally let him realize something. This was his pride now. He was their king, his friends looked up to him. So off he went, to see his father for the first time in months. He saw his mother, a pretty blueish lioness, and he spoke, asking for his father. She paused before responding. That was the moment he learned his father had passed. He was gone. Now he thought to himself, was this worth it? All this hard work and dedication to impress a lion he'd never see again? But after arriving back to his pride, he looked into his firstborn's eyes. Yes. Because he didn't do it for himself. No, without realizing it, he did it for his children. To let them have the life he wished he had.