(Mane Fluffy) Darkcherry {S}

13 years, 10 months- "(Mane Fluffy) Darkcherry {S} woke you up this morning by flopping onto your side and licking your ear. Hard to be grumpy about that!"



Darkness was all around. The stinging cold of the night seemed especially cruel at this particular moment. A lone lioness heaved in pain as her labor contractions increased. Forever seemed to pass when the her ordeal was over. Three tiny furry bodies lay suckling at her belly. One male, two female. The male and one of the females cubs looked similar to her, cream based with leg stripes and white tip-toes. Maybe they'll have her amber eyes as well, who knows? The other female cub looked like a copy of her father: prune based, lilac rouge, dim black, onyx siamese, and gold panther.

It was overwhelming for the lone lioness. “H-how could you do this to me, Cerberus?!” She cried to the stars. “I loved you! I bore you cubs and hunted for you! Then you toss me out like a rotten carcass. It is you who deserves to be thrown away!” The loner had convinced herself that she would care for these cubs, but now, looking at her former leader’s twin, it seemed next to impossible. At least, for that cub. She could never kill her own flesh-and-blood, but perhaps it would be best if someone else cared for the beautiful lioness cub.

Amber, the lone lioness, waited until all her cubs had finished their first meal and were sleeping soundly before she put her plan into action. She hid her lookalike cubs, whom she named White Toes and Fang, in a thick bush and rubbed her body all over it so other animals would leave it alone. They didn’t want to deal with a lion, let alone one with cubs. She carried the pretty cub by her scruff and set out to find the closest Pride near her.

As Amber walked, she began to think of the cub as Filth because her ungrateful father. After a few minute of being carried, Filth began to squirm. The newborn cub was hungry again. ‘Oh no,’ Amber thought, ‘no more food for you. My other cubs need it more than your wretched body does.’ Filth kept wiggling from Amber’s mouth as the lone lioness walked on, but Amber ignored her.

Not long after Filth had quieted down, Amber smelled a Pride lion near her. Lone lions smelled of the Savanna, but Pride lions had distinctive scents. A few pawsteps later and Amber found herself nose-to-nose with a sweet-looking adolescent. The female adol gasped from being surprised and then introduced herself as Leaf. Leaf was a caramel based lioness with onyx brindle, white socks, white cobweb, leg banding onyx, celestial shine, sapphire eyes, and a tan nose. She was a common kind of pretty.

“Could you please take this cub to your Pride? I-I found it and… I have far too many cubs to look after it. Four cubs is a lot to deal with all at once.” Amber chuckled nervously, hoping that the stranger wouldn’t see through her lie.

“Sure!” Leaf purred. “And congrats on the cubbies! I, myself, am only a year and six months old, so, not an adult, yet, but I know a lioness who can take care of her!” Amber set the cub down at Leaf’s paws and bowed her thanks to the adol. Before Leaf could change her mind, Amber dashed off as fast as a cheetah chasing prey.

Leaf coughed at the dust that Amber had kicked up. “Gosh, was she in a hurry!” The caramel-furred adolescent checked the cub out to make sure it wasn’t injured. When she felt confident that it was fine, she said, “Boy you’re pretty! I wish I had your markings.” Then she gently picked Filth up by her scruff and carried her back to her Pride’s camp.

Filth was starving by the time Leaf carried her into the camp’s center. She kept mewling and squirming as if she was searching for her mother’s belly. ‘Poor cubbie!’ Leaf thought, ‘I hope Star Rise will take care of you.’

Leaf padded over to an onyx lioness with celestial speckles, celestial agouti, starshine eyes, and a black nose. “St-Star Rise?” Leaf started. Star Rise was the oldest lioness with cubs in her Pride. Age had made her a bit sour and short-tempered, but she was the most loving mother a cub could wish for.

The pretty lioness lifted her head from her nap. “Yes, Leaf? And what is that soun- where did you get that cub?! It’s starving, can’t you tell?! Put it at my belly, NOW!” Leaf did as she was told. The abandoned cub searched for a nipple and began to suck greedily when she found one on the experienced lioness’s belly. “You poor little thing!” Star Rise cooed. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you until we find your mother.” She looked up at Leaf. “Where did you find this cub, again?”

Leaf hesitated. Should she mention the lone lioness or lie and say it was crying in the tall grass? “Um, I, uh, was hunting and I heard her making noises. I didn’t know it was her, of course, but I knew what cub noises sound like. I checked a patch of tall grass, where the sounds came from, and there she was! All cute, but hungry and abandon.” Leaf nodded her head with satisfaction in her tall tale.

Star Rise narrowed her eyes to slits and glanced over the nervous adolescent. “I know you’re lying to me, but your story is as good as any. If you’re sure she’s an abandon cub, then I’ll raise her as my own. You know that I lost the last cub I’ll ever have a few days ago, and I think this little girl will help me move on. All things happen for a reason. Maybe the Great Lion took my cub because this one needed me more…” The elderly lioness gazed at the tiny cub with warmth in her eyes.

Leaf just nodded as the old lioness rambled on. The Great Lion was a touchy subject with most lions for he was the one and only god in the world and almost every lion on Earth believed in him. Leaf, however, did not, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Her pride was very religious and she if wished to stay with them, which she did, then she couldn’t speak a word about how she truly felt. She wished she had someone to confide her skepticism in, but there was no one…. until now. Leaf stared at the abandon cub. She would teach this cub to be more open minded about the world and she would finally have a confidante.
*****
Four years later, and Dark, the abandon cub’s name, was an adult. She was obviously different. She was one of the rare lions that had a mutation. Hers was a more flattering one, though; Mane Fluffy.

Mutations were not a problem in this Pride. Everyone still accepted her, as though she didn’t have it. The king of her Pride, Blizzard, was even beginning to show a strong interest in the pretty lioness. One afternoon, Blizzard asked Dark to take a walk with him. She agreed, but first she had to take some of the Pride’s kill to her adoptive mother, Star Rise. Star Rise was fifteen years and ten months old. The whole Pride knew that she wouldn’t be here much longer. Dark especially knew this and spent all of her free time with the elderly lioness.

Dark returned from bringing a zebra leg to her mother and walked out of the Pride camp with her leader. The mighty king was named Blizzard for his slate fur and three, bright Vitiligo markings that looked like snow. He had a silver wavy mane with a white hairband and onyx ends over the white. His ice-colored eyes only added to his snow-like appearance.

For a few minutes, the two lions walked in silence, enjoying the twilight breeze over the Savannah. Then, Blizzard cleared his throat and spoke. “Dark… I was wondering if you’d like to be my new queen. Full Moon is quite beautiful, but she’s twelve years old now and she’ll be getting to where she won’t be able to breed anymore in a few short years. You are young and the Pride needs someone young and fresh to help me rule. You are absolutely stunning and the Pride adores you. Not only because we adopted you in with us, but because you have such an exquisite personality… I believe you should help to lead the Pride with me. Full Moon has done a great job and I know she will trust in you to continue on her legacy.”

Dark thought about this for a moment. Being the Pride Queen was a huge deal. And of course this would be her only chance to ever be Pride Queen, but… there was something holding her back. She wanted to be Queen, but she didn’t feel that it was right for her. There was only one lioness that should be Queen, and it wasn’t Dark. “I’m sorry, King Blizzard, but I don’t think I’m right for the position. However, Leaf is just the lioness for the job. I know she’ll make a fascinating Pride Queen, if given the chance.” She purred in delight over her adoptive sister. Even though Star Rise wasn’t related to Leaf by any means, Leaf still treated Dark like a blood-sister, so Dark treated caramel-furred lioness the same.

Blizzard’s eyes widened at this new thought. “Leaf… as Queen? Are you sure you want to turn down this position, Dark? It won’t come to you again, you know.” The mutated lioness nodded. She was absolutely sure. “Well,” the mighty king sighed, “If you really do not want to be Queen, then I have no right to force you. And I agree that Leaf would make a fine Queen. She is so spirited and happy, not to mention smart, that she’ll be able to help me lead with optimism and greatness.”

Dark purred louder than before. She was so happy for Leaf! “I can tell by the way your eyes lit up that you are truly happy for Leaf and that you don’t regret your decision. That is why I have grown to love you so…” Blizzard nuzzled Dark’s long, soft neck fur and padded away, back to camp. Dark felt happy that Blizzard loved her, but she loved him in a different way. She would be a great lioness and hunt and provide cubs for Blizzard’s Pride. She loved him as a friend, admired him, but she would never love him in the way that he loved her.

Dark trotted back to camp on light, happy paws. She couldn’t wait to hear the news. When she entered the camp, Blizzard had called a Pride meeting and announced that Full Moon would no longer be his Queen. She was getting older so Leaf would be his new Queen. Every lion gasped. They had not expected that Blizzard would choose such a basic-looking lioness to be his new Queen. Most Pride Queens had special markings and/or bases that can only be obtained by breeding.

Blizzard also announced that he had purchased some Marking Applicators and Opacity Changers from a neighboring Pride for some of his nice decor he had stashed. The great slate king asked Leaf to step closer to him and he applied the Marking Opacity Changers to brighten her celestial shine and white cobweb markings. Then, he added tail banding onyx to her tail, to match her leg banding onyx, and added white facial 1 to her head. The small change made a big difference. Leaf looked more than a common beauty, she was a special kind of beauty.

“A new name is in order, too.” Blizzard called. “Leaf, your new name shall be Queen Shimmer!” Queen Shimmer’s sapphire eyes glowed with pride and adoration. What a great name! Dark was the first to start the chanting, “Queen Shimmer! Queen Shimmer!” Dark was positive that Queen Shimmer would be the most beloved Queen that Blizzard ever had.

The next morning, Dark woke up to dawn light filtering through her thickly woven leaf den. The pearly color of the early sun stung her eyes. The prune mutated lioness stretched luxuriously and yawned before she exited her sleeping place. Every morning she checked in on her adoptive mother and then went for a stroll to the waterhole. She was sure to carry one of those thick, bowled in jungle leaves on her way there. Dark would drink till her thirst was quenched, then she fill the leaf with water for Star Rise to drink.

Dark tiptoed into the large den that the older lions slept. Only Star Rise occupied it. She was still sleeping soundly, almost not breathing at all because she was in such a deep sleep, so Dark quietly walked out of the den and made her way to the waterhole. When she returned, the Pride was huddled around Star Rise’s den with worried looks and hushed whispers. Blizzard was at the entrance to it and his eyes had tears spilling out of them.

‘No!’ was Dark’s first thought, ‘What’s happened to my mother?!’ She shoved her way past her Pridemates into her mother’s sleeping quarters. There the onyx lioness lay, on her side as if she were still sleeping. The pink and white blossoms that had been strewn over her body gave her a heavenly look. “No…” Dark choked on her words. “This cannot be happening! Star Rise! Wake up! I.. I dropped your morning water, but I can get you more! Please wake up so that you can drink… Please…” The mutated lioness knew that he adoptive mother was dead and that she would never open her eyes again.

She walked quietly over to the dead elderly lioness and buried her muzzle into Star Rise’s neck fur. Grief crashed over Dark in strong, powerful waves. She had nothing now. Queen Shimmer was too busy helping King Blizzard rule the Pride to go hunting and walking and just play around.

Dark barreled out of camp. She could no longer stay in a Pride where she had no purpose to serve it. She ran on and on, until she had passed Blizzard’s scent markers on the edge of the territory. Once she smelled that she was out of her former Pride’s territory, she slowed to a walk to catch her breath. So many memories went through her mind at once. The memories were sweet and Dark wanted to remember them forever, but they made her grief worsen. She would never get anymore of those sweet memories of Star Rise again.

Night spread it's way over the Savannah and Dark walked on as the world turned pitch black around her. Lions have good senses so it wasn’t too hard for Dark to scent her way through the quiet darkness. She was exhausted, but she feared that if she stopped, what happened that morning might catch up to her. Dark found herself having thoughts that her former Pride would be repulsed at. ‘How could you do this to me, Great Lion?! She was my mother and you took her from me, you lump of fur! I hate you! If you were real, then you would have let her at least say good-bye. But you’re not. If you are, then you're a cold-hearted piece of rotten carcass! You’re no better than the Infernal King!’ The Infernal King was equivalent to the humans’ “Devil”.

Dawn was beginning to break as fatigue finally got the best of Dark. ‘I’ll walk for a few more seconds...’ Dark thought. Not a pawstep later and something was strangling Dark. Is was hard and glinted barely in the milky-pink light as the sun rose above the horizon. She was so exhausted and every time she struggled, it just got tighter. After mere seconds, Dark gave up. It’s not like she had much to live for, anyways, and if she were to die, then she’d be with Star Rise very soon.
*****
Dark blinked open her eyes. She wasn’t dead. Her neck felt heavy, though. She shook her head and listened to the clink of the thing around her neck. It must be from a human trap.

“Are you okay?” Dark snapped her head up at the sound of the new voice. The voice belonged to a cream lone lioness with leg stripes, white tiptoes, and amber eyes.

“You got caught in a human trap. It took me forever to get you out of it, although the chain collar part is still stuck around your neck.”

“That must be why my neck feels so heavy. Anyways, thank you. Um, what’s your name?” Dark wanted to at least know that name of her savior.

“My name is Amber, after my eye color. And your father’s name was Cerberus. You had a sister and a brother. White Toes, your sister, is dead. Your brother, Fang, turned evil and went crazy when I told him about what your father did when I was pregnant with you all. I am your mother.”

Dark shook her head. There was no way that this lion was her mom. She had always imagined her real mother was dead. “H-how do you know?” Dark was shaken.

“You look exactly like your father. That is the reason why I abandoned you. Your father was a selfish brute and I could not bare to see him every day for the rest of my life. And to know that he has produced mutated spawn is a joy to me.” Amber paused for a moment, purring happily as if she were telling Cerberus to his face about having a mutated cub. “So, that adolescent gave you to a good mother I see. Who raised you? Why are you a loner now? Did your former leader cast you out because of your disease?”

This lioness was making Dark angrier by the minute. No wonder Amber’s former leader tossed her out. She had no manners and she was cruel with her words. “My mother died so I got upset and left. You are no mother to me. Just some stranger that the heat has gotten to and you keep babbling on. That’s all. And if you must know, the Frozen Pride took me in and King Blizzard is its leader. A lioness named Star Rise raised me.” Dark then remembered something Amber had said. “What adolescent did you give me to?”

Amber sighed. “A caramel based one named Leaf or something like that. Why?”

“Well, she became my adoptive sister, that’s why. She never told me that you gave me to her, though. She told everyone that she found me in the tall grass.”

The mean loner purred. “Awww, are you sad to know that your friend never told you about your real mommy? Poor kitty. And she probably didn’t tell you because I told her that I found you and I couldn’t keep you because I had four cubs recently. Of course that was a lie, but three is close to four, though I would only be raising two. Who cares, though?”

“Who cares?! Who cares?! I do!” Dark sprang at the lioness and lashed her long claws out at Amber’s face. She hissed when her claws caught Amber’s right eye and pulled it out of its socket. Blood spewed out of the new hole in the loner’s face and Amber screeched in agony.

“MY EYE! YOU TORE IT OUT! IT’S GONE! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER, YOU PIECE OF DUNG! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Dark was glad to leave the suffering beast to herself to bleed out. After all, it’s not like Amber was her mother.

Hours passed and Dark was coming to a more populated part of the Savannah. Maybe she would find a new Pride to live in. She trotted along when she bumped into a handsome fiery based male lion. “I am so sorry! Are you okay?”

“Of course,” the male replied in a cheerful manner. “I’m fine, but why are you in my territory? Do you belong in another Pride?” Dark shook her head. “Well, do you want to come with me? I could use more lions in my Pride.”

Dark nodded furiously. “Yes! I’d love to go with you!”

“I'm on my way back from exploring so let’s go now. I’m EmberKing, by the way. In my Pride, we have a different way of naming lions. I’ll explain more on the way.” Dark only nodded. “Oh, and what’s your name? I’ll call you by that name until I give you your new one.”

“I’m Dark. My adoptive mother, Star Rise named me.” EmberKing’s eyes told her that they wanted to know more, but he seemed to not want to pry. Dark purred at this gentlelion. “My real mother abandoned me and my adoptive sister found me. Her name was Leaf, but now it’s Queen Shimmer. My adoptive mother died yesterday morning and I felt that I served no purpose in King Blizzard’s Pride anymore.”

EmberKing nodded. “I think you’ll get along with the other lions just fine.” He purred.

“Why do you say that? Were they all abandoned, too?” Dark was curious now.

EmberKing shook his head. “No. They all have sad stories like yours. My adoptive father, BraveKing, taught me to be kind and gentle and to always help whenever you can. He has passed and I took over. It is a shame that you will never get to meet him. He was a fantastic lion. BraveKing didn't have a beautiful pelt like you. His heart was where his beauty was.” The fiery King had a sad tone in his gruff voice, but it was one of fondness and adoration. “I can only hope to be as great as he. I am glad to have claimed you, too. I guess he trained me well to know what a lion-in-need looks like.” EmberKing purred. The two lions continued to walk along in comfortable silence.

When they reached EmberKing’s Pride, it was late at night. “I’ll do your naming ceremony tomorrow, okay?” He said to Dark. She nodded. “For now, you can sleep in the elders’ den until we can get you a nest in the warriors den.” Dark only nodded, too tired to say anything else. So much had happened to her in two days. Her adoptive mother passed, she’s in a new Pride and whatnot.

EmberKing purred. “Tomorrow, you can tell us about your story, if you want, that is. My adoptive father taught me to document every story on the walls of my den.” He flicked his tail at the opening to a cave not far from where they were standing. “It’s a hard, difficult process, but the stories of these lions have been written through my claw marks on the walls. In the language that only lions know.” Dark was intrigued. Why go through the pain for engraving each little letter into the walls of stone? He probably tore a few claws with the first sentence!

EmberKing walked into his cave and Dark went to the elders’ den and laid down. Sleep overtook her in seconds and it felt like only minutes had passed when she felt a paw prodding her awake. Dark opened her eyes to see a beautiful onyx lioness with a high opacity white cobweb marking on her fur. The lioness had one green eye and one blue eye and a black nose. It was obvious that she was way too old to breed anymore. She kind of reminded Dark of Star Rise.

“Are you going to sleep all day or are you going to let us welcome you into the Pride?” The elderly lioness asked Dark. “I’m Lightningfur, by the way. The oldest lion here.” Dark nodded, too groggy to speak yet. She rose to her paws and stretched. She let out a massive yawn and followed Lightningfur out into the clearing that served as the center of the camp. All of the lions had gathered already and EmberKing was standing on the small cliff that his cave den was built into.

“I, EmberKing, call upon my warrior ancestors to welcome this lioness as a member of my Pride.” The fiery king’s voice bellowed. He beckoned with a paw for Dark to step closer to him. She did as was told and EmberKing continued with his speech. “Dark, do you promise to protect, serve, and defend this Pride, even at the cost of your life?” Dark paused to think this over. It was a lot to take in at once. Protect this Pride? Even at the cost of her own life?! Would she die to protect this new Pride? Dark looked at the friendly faces around her and nodded to EmberKing.

Yes, she could die for this Pride. She would die, if she had to. “Then,” the great king continued, “By the powers vested in me as leader, I now name you Darkcherry!”

“Darkcherry! Darkcherry!” the Pride called. Warmth and happiness swelled up in Darkcherry’s heart. Never before had she felt this sort of love. Of course everyone accepted her in Blizzard’s Pride. They didn’t want a lashing from Star Rise’s tongue, and they didn’t want to deal with Blizzard himself, but she was never loved by the entire Pride. She felt- no, knew- that each and everyone of these lions would love her like family. Her new name had established that.

‘I wish you could see me now, Star Rise,’ Darkcherry thought. ‘I miss you, but I’ve finally found a place where I belong.’ At that moment, a cream lighter lioness walked over to Darkcherry. The newly-named lioness gasped at the older lioness. She had the same mutation as Darkcherry!

“Hello, Darkcherry. I’m Goldstripe. I thought that it might be helpful for you to know that mutations are not a problem here. If you ever have any questions, you can always talk to me.” Goldstripe purred and Darkcherry glanced over her. The older lioness had a golden coat, leg banding onyx and tail banding onyx. Her hetero blue and green eyes gave her and interesting look.

“Is Lightningfur your mother or something?” Darkcherry asked the mutated lioness.
“Oh, no. She is very much like a mother to me, but she is not my actual mother. EmberKing bought me at the Trading Center. My former king was very greedy and cruel. He gave up a lot to save me.” An adoring warmth came into Goldstripe’s eyes at that moment. It was obvious that she loved EmberKing.

“Oh, I just thought because of your eyes.” The newly named lioness purred, embarrassed that she was wrong.
“No, look closer. My right eye is blue and the left is green. Lightningfur’s right eye is green and the left is blue.” Darkcherry nodded. She understood now. Their eyes were opposites.

“Ooooooooh, okay. And who is the queen around here? I’d like to meet her.” The young lioness looked around at the other lionesses near her. Maybe Goldstripe was the Pride Queen. She did had such a loving look every time she mentioned EmberKing.

“Ah, there is no Pride Queen here. EmberKing thinks that we all should be treated with equal attention and I couldn’t agree more.” Although Goldstripe said this, she gazed longingly at the fiery king.

“All right! Time for a hunting patrol!” EmberKing called out. “I want Fawnstripe to lead. Take Pantherblaze, Goldshimmer, Mistysnow, and Darkcherry. Go now, please.” Darkcherry could hardly believe it. Her first hunting patrol with this Pride, and she’s only been here for a day! She leaped to her paws with excitement and followed a lovely fawn-pelted lioness with blue eyes, a red nose, onyx panther, leg banding onyx,tail banding onyx, and under white four out of the camp. She looked over her shoulder and saw EmberKing and Goldstripe nuzzling each other. ‘If there was a Pride Queen here,’ Darkcherry thought, ‘I think Goldstripe would be it.’
*****
Darkcherry has had a great life in EmberKing’s Pride so far. She, along with everyone else was upset when he passed away at a young age. StormKing has taken over and he introduced a new position to the Pride: there is now a Pride Queen. Darkcherry’s suspicion that if there were a Pride Queen when EmberKing had been alive, then Goldstripe would be it is true. EmberKing favorited Goldstripe over his other lions for the simple fact that he was absolutely in love with her. She may have been lot older than he, but that changed nothing. The only mutated lion he ever produced was Goldstripe’s first daughter, Whiskerflame.

Darkcherry gets along great with StormKing and the other lions of the Pride. She has never once regretted the decisions of her life. She could not ever get that chain off of her neck and now it has become permanently embedded into her neck. Reminding her of the night when she met her mother for the first time.....