Nadia

INTERACTIONS:

BASAVILA'S JOURNAL:

_{The first lioness I had ever encountered was named Nadia... She actually saved my hide! I'd found myself in the jungle, a completely foreign area, while in search of my own pridelands after my father chased me. I was being chased through the jungle by a horde of them and she appeared. She appeared out of nowhere, like some sort of ghost, and told me to follow her. We ran as fast as we could. It felt suffocating as the density of the foliage caved in around us. She led me under the base of a tree and through the winding roots of it, past slippery moss-covered rocks. It was evident by now that the baboons had lost interest. I asked her where she was taking me. She stayed quiet and motioned for me to come forward. All I could see was a dense wall of vines. She smiled at me and my heart fluttered. She told me this was her home as she pulled the vines back. It revealed a large area, untouched by other lions. Completely uninhibited. It echoed with birds and the sounds of the jungle but was clearly safe. I was awestruck. There were tiers of waterfalls, there was a shallow moat around a plot of mossy rocks and a massive tree that could easily shelter multiple lions. From where I was I could see a cave behind the bottom waterfall. It was... a beauty beyond anything I'd ever seen. But Nadia... Nadia seemed so much more beautiful. I was in awe of her grace as she climbed down the rocks to the bottom and beckoned me after her. I was nervous but tried to seem as tough and dignified as I could as I descended- and then I slipped. I tumbled down and next thing I knew I was on top of Nadia with her on her back and my face burning. Looking back at it, my only thought is "Ah, young love." I hadn't known it at the time but she was to be the love of my life- the start of my pride- the first queen. I remember her laughing and calling me "tough guy" while I scrambled backwards away from her with a flushed face. She nuzzled me and my heart skipped a beat. She then showed me around the area and told me stories of how she'd been here on her own since she was a youth, how it was her safe place, her little getaway. We decided to start a pride together...}