Hera

Friend of the Hyena

A pair of paws slammed in to Aquilo's back, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall. Barely having time to lift his head to find out who had attacked him, he was greeted by the snarling face of a young female lion, only she looked... different to a normal lion; her build had similarities to his own, in fact. Perhaps she was a Felis too?

"You should be more careful. Roaming in hyena lands can be dangerous" the female hissed in his face, a smirk on her face as she kept him firmly pinned to the ground. Aquilo blinked, taken back by her tone and the surprise of finding a lion so far in to lands known to be crawling with hyenas. "I'm surveying the area, miss. These lands do border my own" Aquilo replied calmly, gently pushing the female's paws off of him. She moved back, letting him stand. "Who are you, anyway? Why are you in a place like this?" Aquilo continued once he'd stood up, shaking bits of dried leaf off his fur. The female simply smirked once again, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "My name's Hera, and I live here. I was found by these hyenas when I was an adolescent and, having been kicked out of my own pride, they took me in. I agreed to help clear their lands of...unwanted company" Hera didn't elaborate on why she'd been kicked out, and Aquilo decided not to ask. Instead he bowed his head slightly, announced himself as the local king, and told her that, so long as the hyenas stay out of his territory, he wouldn't bother them. Hera simply watched him leave, her expression changing as she watched the oddly coloured lion walk away. Disappointment? He was the first lion she'd seen for a long time, and was no doubt the politest; most just snarled in her face, asking how she could defend such filthy creatures. As the king stopped to call something back to her, however, Hera's mood soon improved:

"If you need anything, there's a rocky hill not far from here on the outskirts of my territory... I patrol there quite often".

Aquilo and Hera met several times after that, and soon it was clear that there was a connection between the two. Soon after Aquilo asked her to be his Queen, and she agreed, though she still frequently visits the hyenas, always thankful for the kindness they showed her.