Aileen

Daughter of Nehemia
*Aileen is bordering the line of good and evil. Is going to be part of an uprising. Story line of her and Kopa-sub male.
-Switching between her and Kopa's Bio.
Cub stage:
The young cub, full of glee and wonder, ran around her gorgeous and regal mother, laughing and pouncing as young cubs did. Other cubs joined her, running around and pouncing on each other, preparing their hunting skills for when they are old enough to hunt on their own. The young cub, deep blue eyes piercing into others' souls, is pinned to the ground by the achromia cub, and turns her head to see the intimidating, colossal inferno lion that lay alone away from the rest of the pride. She had seen him before, roaming the outskirts of the pride and often trudging alone away from the pride, either to patrol or spend time on his own. He was a quiet lion, mostly staying away from the lionesses except for what Aileen believed were his two sisters, Mali and Masaai. She had kept her distance, mostly staying near her mother and surrounding cubs, though she was always curious about the whereabouts of the sub male. She had already met and recognized Harlen as her kindhearted king, but mostly kept away as Harlen bored her most of the time. Harlen ignored Kopa most of the time aswell, only giving his a flick of the tail as he walked by, instead choosing to join the other lionesses. Kopa didn't seem to mind, enjoying the solitude that he was given along with the freedom to wander where he pleased. Aileen envied him for the freedom he was given, but also pitied him for the loneliness that came with it.
Aileen pushed Peony off of her, growling, and stood up, shaking the dirt off of her back. She focused on the large, red lion with piercing blue eyes just as her own and a hallowed mane that maintained a natural wavy texture. She turned back once to look at her mother, making sure she wasn't watching too closely, before she narrowed her view on the lion and carefully padded over. The sub male had his eyes closed, but was flicking his tail in a playful manner that she knew he wasn't asleep. As she neared closer, he let out a heavy sigh that moved some loose mane hair out of his muzzle. Aileen paused, unsure of her decision after she saw how much bigger he was up close. She shook her head and took in a deep breath before continuing, trying to bed as quiet as possible. When she got close enough, she sniffed, smelling unfamiliar places and other lions from outside the pride that he must have run into while patrolling. She was entranced by the smells, hoping one day she could visit the areas outside her territory that he must have been to. The sub male's nose wrinkled, making Aileen leap back in fear. When he didn't move again, she stepped closer, gently whacking his nose with her soft, white paw. When he still didn't move, she began pouncing on his mane, feeling the strangely soft texture on her paws. At this, the lion moved, but Aileen was too entranced by the mane to notice. She sunk into it, biting parts of it and playing with it happily. The lion opened his eyes, annoyed at how was interrupting his rest. He had first thought it was simply Mali or Masaai trying to bother him, but it kept persisting and believed it was a cub. He wasn't in the mood to deal with cubs, now or ever, so he lifted his head from the ground and shook his head, shaking the cub away with it. He then sat up so he could get a better look of the cub that was bothering him, planning to scare it off. The young cub jumped back and looked up, blue eyes locked on his. Kopa recognized her as Nehemia's daughter and knew he couldn't scare her off so easily. Nehemia would ruin him if he hurt her cub and scaring the cub would even annoy her. Kopa growled, annoyed at his predicament. He decided scaring her would teach her a valuable lesson and hopefully Nehemia would agree. The young cub didn't look scared though, just curious. Kopa snarled, flashing his teeth at the cub. Aileen's eyes widened, shocked at the size of the male's teeth. She grinned, her less magnificent teeth showing. Kopa was ataken back by the courage of the young cub. It reminded him of her terrifying mother.
"Hello. I'm Aileen." said the young cub. She was beautiful, and would definitely be sought after when she was older, but her beauty wasn't even a noticeable feature when you saw the way she moved and saw her clever, wonderous self, but her beauty was more of an aftermath of her actions and personality.
"What do you want?" Kopa asked through his teeth.
"To look at you I guess." Aileen said without hesitation. Kopa instantly felt self conscious, but before he could reply Aileen had already moved on.
"Why are you always by yourself?" Aileen asked. Kopa sighed, sitting down. He was getting bored with playing the intimidating act.
"Because then I don't have to spend time with obnoxious cubs like you." Kopa retorted. Aileen chuckled.
"Well you're not exactly great company yourself." She muttered. Kopa couldn't help but laugh, amused at the sass on the young cub.
"Maybe you should go find some lion better to talk to." Kopa replied. Aileen wrinkled her nose.
"Surprisingly, you're more fun." Aileen said. Kopa chuckled.
"Do you go on lots of adventures?" Aileen quickly asked, eyes full of excitement.
"Um, what?"
"Like, I know you go off and explore a lot. Do you fight vicious lions, save lionesses in distress, help defenseless cubs, protect the pridelands?" Aileen said in a rush of words. What an imagination the cub had, Kopa thought. He saw Aileen look at him with hopeful eyes he wasn't sure he could disappoint her.
"I'm afraid not many lionesses are in distress these days, but I do try to keep as many lions out of the pridelands as possible. And defenseless cubs? Only twice, most of the time the mothers take care of the cubs, like yours." Kopa replied. Aileen gave heavy, delighted sigh.
"I wish I could do that. It gets boring just having to stay here. I wanna explore." Aileen said. Kopa smiled.
"Well, maybe when you're older." Kopa said, walking away to get away from the cub.
"Or you could take me! No one would have to know! We could sneak away and you could take me on your adventures. We could be partners!" Aileen exclaimed, running after him. Kopa laughed.
"I don't think so, kid. Go back to your mom." Kopa said.
"Oh come on, it wouldn't hurt." Aileen said.
"Oh yes it would. Maybe not for you, but I would be lucky if I got chased off. You're mother would kill me if Harlen didn't. There is no way, you can go when you're older." Kopa said, knowning he would be long gone by the time she was two.
"Or I could just go by myself." Aileen taunted, still following Kopa. He stopped to look at her.
"No, you can't, and you know it. You'll be dead in an hour if you go off by yourself." Kopa replied. Aileen bared her teeth.
"Hmm, we'll see about that." Aileen said before darting under Kopa and running towards the outskirts of the territory. Kopa, shocked at the cub's boldness, looked right and left before looking back at the cub. She'd have disappeared before he reached her mother. Kopa growled and darted off after her, dreading what was to follow.
~
Aileen growled and hissed, the fur on her back standing up. She glint of amusement flickered in her deep blue eyes as she sunk her claws into the floor, preparing to pounce. Her opponent was Kopa's tail, swaying from side to side in irritation and amusement. Aileen leaped in one fluid motion, perfectly capturing her prey in her claws. For less than a second. The strong muscle twisted and swiftly escaped from the grasp of Aileen's small paws that were not match for the fiery tail. Frustrated, Aileen groaned and toddled over to Kopa who was lazily attempting to sleep while Aileen toyed with his tail. Aileen kept somewhat of a distance in case Kopa made any sudden movements while crossing over his colossal body and towards his large, furry head.
Aileen sniffed him, checking to see if he was asleep before whacking him on the nose and backing away quickly. Kopa's nose wrinkled before returning to it's former resting state. Aileen whacked it again, sinking her small claws into his black nose before releasing and backing away. This time Kopa opened his intense blue eyes that landed on the young cub of Nehemia. He growled, knowing he couldn't harm the cub unless he wanted Nehemia on his paws which was the last thing anyone wanted.
"Go away." Kopa mumbled, half asleep. Aileen wrinkled her nose and flicked her tail.
"Come on, Kopa. I want to play." Aileen pleaded. Kopa groaned.
"Go play with the cubs."
"Ew no. What fun are they, pleading for their mothers all the time and always wanting to the center of attention. It's disgusting." Aileen retorted. Kopa gave a grunt of amusement.
"Am I sensing a tinge of jealousy?" Kopa questioned. Aileen made noise of disgust.
"What, no! I couldn't care less about lions liking me, I just want to play." Aileen replied. Kopa lifted his head, his hallowed mane sagging on the ground as he looked at Aileen.
"You can't play your whole life you know. You should try getting along with other lionesses, it's whats going to keep you alive." Kopa advised.
"I know that. The lionesses don't mind and the cubs at least respect me so that's not a problem. And besides, Mother tells me that playing is actually great practice for hunting later on, so therefore I should play." said Aileen. Kopa shook his head in disagreement, though he got up from his resting position on the ground. He chuckled, watching the young cub eye him intensely, attempting to intimidate.
"Fine. You win." Kopa said. Gleam filled the little cub's eyes as she showed a flash of her teeth and got into a crouching position.
"Yes! And that's not the only thing I'm gonna win. Come on Kopa, let's race! First one to that tree and back wins!" Aileen exclaimed.
"You won't win. I'm naturally bigger and faster than you." Kopa said. Aileen grinned, but Kopa couldn't detect what for. He saw a glint of mischief in her eyes and he wondered what that small mind of her was conjuring.
"We'll just see about that." Aileen said before darting ahead of Kopa. Kopa counted to five before taking a leaping start and chasing after Aileen, knowing he would catch up to her in a few seconds.
This was how it always was, one running and the other one chasing. It started to become a pattern between, a game they always ended up playing with each other, always wanting to the one to run free and always have the other to pull them back. Kopa worried this cub stage would all end too soon, it would be silly to play such cub games when she was an adult, ready to have cubs of her own with the lion of her choosing, and soon they would slowly drift apart, her reconnecting with the lionesses and joining in hunts and bonding over the adorable cubs they produce, and Kopa would watch from afar, uninterested, but hoping that the once small cub would return to him. He would go out of the pridelands by himself more often, trudging along and trying not to think of how he grew so attached to someone he knew for such little a time. He dreaded the day she became an adult, and would therefore have to live up to respectful lioness standards, which meant no longer socializing with a subordinate male lion of no importance. But he knew that Aileen couldn't wait for the day she was given freedom, when she would be able to go off by herself as Kopa often did, and just explore the great lands out there meant for exploring. She wanted to see the world as she so often said to Kopa, and not have to be looked after as she so often was. Little did she know that was not the way of the pride, she would have to stay nearby and hunt with the other lionesses, and they wouldn't roam. They would wander from time to time with the cubs, showing them their territory and little bit farther so they would know the boundaries, teaching them hunting skills and other skills needed for survival. But that was only if she became a mother, but it was no question that she would be. Even if she didn't want to, it would be socially forced upon her to become a mother like the rest of them, but she would make beautiful cubs despite her will to not to. Even if she chose not to take of the cubs, though she wouldn't as it would be against her nature, the other lionesses would fawn over her cubs and take them for her, but they would accept Aileen since she at least had them. Kopa could only hope she found some way to keep her cub dream alive as she ages, and one day finds a way to change pride life to meet her standards, instead of her needing to change for the standards of the pride.
But all he could do for now was smile, and tussle, and play with the young cub until that day came. And perhaps, he wouldn't even be around long enough to see that day come.
~
Adolescent stage of Aileen:
"Kopa!" exclaimed Aileen, running up to the inferno sub male and grinning. Kopa nodded his head in acknowledgment and continued walking away from the pride. They walked side by side to the outskirts of the pride.
"Where are you going?" asked Aileen. K
"

6/9/15-Aileen turns two
Aileen wandered the edge of the prideland territory, desparetly wanting to enjoy the world beyond her lands. She had turned two today and was finally able to go off on her own. She had thought that would mean going outside the territory but it didn't, no lioness was meant to go out there. Only Vitani, Maneno, and Sarabi had been outside the lands and only because they were the eldest and therefore had priority to sometimes spy on certain adjacent prides. Aileen was forced to stay where she was, not to venture out and explore the world she had dreamed of wandering. She was tempted to go anyway, and just be back in time to not get caught, but she knew her mother was expecting her to do just that, so there she stayed, looking out. Harlen had marked the end of the territory so she knew when to stop. Tomorrow she would go on her first hunting party with a few other lionesses also around two.
A rustle in the bushes came from behind her and she quickly turned around, panicking. Lions were known to venture onto other prides territory, especially along the border. Aileen got ready to fight, though she was shaking on the inside. A moment later, a familiar inferno lion emerged from the bushes, his smile curling up on one side, giving him a half smile. Aileen smiled back, trying to hide the odd butterflies she received from the glance at Kopa. After what Mgeni had said, Aileen couldn't help but think about her emotions for Kopa. Now she wasn't sure how to act. Aileen tried to see if Mgeni was right about Kopa's feelings for her, but Aileen wasn't sure what she was looking for. She pushed down her feelings and padded over or Kopa, wanting everything to be the same.
"Hey." Aileen said. Kopa nodded, staring into Aileen's eyes before walking past her and to the very edge of the border. Aileen realized Kopa must either be patrolling the territory or going off on another one of his brooding moments where he had to get far away from the pride. Harlen never noticed, or if he did he didn't do anything to stop it. Kopa was pretty much on his own. Kopa paused for a moment, just on the line on the border, and stared out into the abyss Aileen so desperatly wanted to venture. He then walked across and began on his journey. After a few steps, Kopa turned around, a wide smirk plastered on his young face. Aileen inclined her head to the side, trying to read his expression.
"Ya coming?" Kopa asked. Aileen lit up, excitement creeping through her. She looked back for a moment, debating whether she should go or not. Before turning back and running after Kopa, crossing the territory line. Kopa laughed and walked beside her.
"So how do you feel, being outside the lines?" Kopa asked, nudging Aileen playfully.
"Exhilarated." Aileen said. She squinted. "And a little scared."
"Good. That's how you should feel." Kopa replied.
"What, why?" Aileen said, glancing at her surroundings.
"Because you're going to be in so much trouble after this." Kopa said. Aileen whipped to face him.
"Hey! So are you." She said. Kopa shook his head.
"No. I could say I found you wandering outside the lines while I was patrolling and brought you back safely." Koap replied. Aileen stuck her tongue out at him and walked a little faster. Kopa matched her pace. After a while, Aileen saw new birds and other prey she had never seen before. It amazed her.
A herd of gazelle crossed their path, grazing peacefully. Aileen and Kopa watched. She had never been so close to

4/16/18
Aileen stormed out of the pridelands and into the dry savannah. She sprinted through her hunting grounds and out of patrolling territories into the great unknown, searching for an answer ton unknown question. She thought back to the days when she was a cub, frolicking with adolescent Kopa, avoiding the watchful eye of King Harlen. She had told she wanted to get away from the pride and see the great unknown. She had fantizised about running away with him as an adolescent, just like Vitani had run away to this pride with Harlen.

But Kopa refused her. They hadn't spoken since that day and Kopa has barely been seen my the lionesses other than his sister since. He patrols all day and most of the night, only stopping by to report to Harlen before swiftly leaving again. Aileen, on the other hand, had a cub with an ally King and was contributing to her duty as a pride member. Nehemia mainly raised Aileen's cub as Aileen refused to acknowledge her the second she was born.

Aileen thought back to that now, as she ran away from the pridelands, never intending to come back. She hated herself for agreeing to that lifestyle set before her and she knew she had the chance to be free if so willed it. But Kopa was back there, Kopa, the shimmer of light in the darkness, kept her from leaving altogether.

As dawn turned to dusk, Aileen lied down to rest under the shade of the jungle leaves. She had to consider what to do next. She wanted to get back at Kopa for not going with her, with refusing his own feelings as well hers.
A shuffle came from behind her.
Aileen jumped up, at the ready to pounce on any enemy coming her way.The stomping of heavy paws sounded as they neared toward her, a looming shadow inching through the bushes and leaves, stopping right in front of her. It was an enemy lion from another pride. He was...different. A distinctly animalistic nature described the alluring beast and Aileen couldn't resist her staring. A thought popped into her head.

"Why, hello." She said, flicking her tail flirtatiously. The bulky, muscular beast stared, cold eyes stamping into her facade.
"What are you doing in my territory, small thing?" He inquired. Aileen cleared her throat, nervous now.
"I must have gotten lost during the hunt, apologies for the intrusion. Do you know how I could find my way back, you surely know the way better than I do."
He shook his head.
"No."
"No, what? "
"You know exactly what. Just go back, you naive child." Aileen was enraged.
"Child! Who do you-You may be a king but I am clearly no child!"
The beast laughed, the sound thundered, shaking the ground beneath them.
"Of course not, come join me, wont you?" he asked, turning around without looking back.
Aileen grinned from ear to ear. This was her payback. He was her revenge.