The Sakura-Motaki pride is an alliance of two old, old bloodlines. The Motaki lions have lived in this territory for generations: it is Watain and Taavi's line, the line that has run strong for generations. The Motaki are desert lions, hunters, warriors, survivors.
One seldom speaks of the Sakura lions. An ancient pride from the east, with strange and secretive customs and unique
coloring. Their culture was not one of war, but of philosophy, of astronomy, of the arts. The two prides had been allies for generations - the blood ties went so far back one couldn't even remember them. And for the first time in generations, when the Motaki King failed to name an Heir, a young Sakura king was put on the throne.
His name was Ryukin.
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Ryukin is one of the last surviving lions of the Sakura line. Only months after reaching adulthood and setting out on his own, a messenger ran to inform him that his birth pride had been attacked by a vicious warmongering pride. The Sakura pride was no more: it's king slaughtered, it's members dispersed, it's unique and vibrant culture destroyed. Rage went through Ryukin as he heard the news, for his slaughtered brothers and sisters, for the knowledge they had gathered, all lost.
Only a moon later, the messenger came again. Ryukin had been summoned to the Motaki pride, which was in need of a King. The blood ties with this pride went back generations, but within moments of arriving he knew he had little in common with these lions. Though they were not unwelcoming, their ways seemed backward to him, brutal. He quickly settled into his new role, creating new peace treaties and alliances, passing new laws. The first law he put into place regarded the treatment of lionesses. He found the way they were treated here barbaric - they were used and discarded like objects, worked to the bone and mated with brutally without any regard for their own pleasure. Where Ryukin was from, lionesses were equals, treated with dignity and respect. Within days of his ascension to the throne, Ryu outlawed this kind of treatment, and therefore won the heart of every member of the pride. They had been unsure about the newcomer at first, but after this, they embraced their new king with open hearts.
The pride had never been so vibrant and flourishing. But Ryu's dream was bigger than this. He was already making plans to track down the barbarians that murdered the Sakura pride, and swore he would bring them to their knees. But first, he would send out search parties for any of his surviving kin, any Sakura lions that survived the massacre. He planned to restore their culture, once again gather archives of the knowledge they had discovered, and build the Sakura Dynasty again from the ground up.
Within a month of his reign, he made the decision to move the pride. It was a decision not everyone agreed with: the Motaki lions had lived in these lands ever since the pride was founded, generations ago, and had know the shelter of the great Kopjes their whole lives. But the land around the Kopjes was dry and desertic - hunting was poor, and the land that Ryukin had promised them sounded like a kind of paradise. Not a single lion decided to stay behind as they set out for the Sakura lands to the east - a place that had been lifeless and barren since the death of the Sakura pride. Ryukin planned to bring life to it once again.
But when they arrived, the land looked anything but barren. Situated at the base of a mountain range, the land was fertile and lush. Trickling streams ran down from the mountainside and blossoms burst from the trees: the birds had made the valley their dominion, and filled the air with the sound of new life. The pride quickly settled into life here, in this secret green paradise of waterfalls and birdsong.
Ryukin had at last found his kingdom.
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Within months of his reign he had already fathered countless cubs. He took every opportunity to breed - with every lioness he bred with, another cub of Sakura blood would be born. These cubs were as precious as life to him. Some said he had become a little obsessed with the Sakura heritage - the destruction of his birth pride had affected him deeply. The lionesses, however, weren't complaining. Ryukin wasn't like those other brutish males that mated with them without even bothering to learn their names. Ryu soon formed a unique friendship with each of the pride lionesses, spoke to them as equals and regularly spent time with their cubs. But although each of the lionesses was sweet in her own way, none of them had captured Ryukin's heart. The Sakura culture spoke of soul-mates, of hearts separated at birth, and Ryukin fiercely believed that somewhere out there was the lioness that carried the other half of his heart and spirit, the lioness that was destined to be his Queen. He often stared up at the stars and thought about her, whoever she may be, and wondered what she was doing, and when they were going to meet. When they met, he'd be sure, he'd feel it in his heart. A peace. An understanding.
Or so he thought.
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Love came to find our young Ryukin right when he wasn't looking for it.
It was February - the month of romance. The time when the waters ran deep, the flowers began to bloom, and the birds began to pair up for spring. A time of rebirth, of new life. With the warming of the sun and the lengthening of the days, all of the lionesses in the land came into heat like clockwork, and were out to find mates. In the Sakura-Motaki lands, the month of february held countless traditions. Tribal festivities worshiping the fertility goddesses, gatherings between prides at the rivers and waterholes as young lions paired up, aphrodisiac potions being sold by shamans on the sly. February was a month of fun, of new encounters and light-hearted flirting. It was a time for flings, not for true love.
For Ryukin, a very young lion only recently crowned king, it meant some down time. Time to unwind and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. The day he met his match was no different to any other day. He was taking a stroll along the outskirts of his pride territory, enjoying the morning sun. He'd heard whisperings that females from other prides were gathering in the jungle on the hunt for mates, and Ryukin was more than happy to oblige them. Since he'd been crowned King, he'd got himself quite the reputation - and not in the way you might think. Many kings were known to be serial womanizers, but this wasn't Ryukin's way at all. He had a certain way with the lionesses. Not only did he respect them as equals, but he made a lot of effort to make the mating experience pleasurable for them. And this was so different to a lot of other males that lionesses were flocking to his lands from far and wide just to see if the rumors were true.
He caught a drift of scent on the wind, and knew he was in luck. She smelled lovely, sweet like fresh blossom. He tracked the scent for a few miles, and came across the lioness in question grooming her fur in a sheltered clearing. Her youth immediately struck him: she was barely even of age, so young to be out alone. The next thing he noticed was her beauty, her fur was the color of a new dawn, shining with all the pink and amber hues of a fresh sunrise, and mottled with white piebald patches that only seemed to accentuate her peculiar beauty. The fur at her cheeks was thick and fluffy, giving her a curious, feline air. She lifted her head at his approach - her eyes, too were striking, the warm, rich tones of a summer sunset, wide and inquisitive and lovely. She wore only a garland of pale pink blossoms - the source of the scent he had smelled before. By her coloring, he guessed she was a member of the Pride of the Rising Sun, which lay far to the east. She had traveled far.
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Ryu ducked his head in a none-threatening gesture as he approached. The young lioness climbed to her feet, a soft, strange smile playing at the edge of her lips.
"Hello, stranger," purred the lioness softly.
"Hello," said Ryukin, bowing his head in greeting. "How may I be of assistance you?"
The lioness laughed. "Why the small talk? You know why I'm here."
Her voice was not what he had expected: she was bold, eloquent, well-spoken. Not a note of shyness in it.
"Oh?" Ryukin raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. His attraction to the young lioness was growing by the second, a paralyzing pull. Her scent made him dizzy.
"I've come to find out whether the rumors are true," she said, brushing along his flank. "This is my last shot at freedom, Ryukin-Rah, so you'd better make it worth my while."
He stepped closer. They were circling each other now, the courtship dance that was all so familiar to him. The push and pull. The game of seduction.
"What do you mean? Your last shot at freedom?" he inquired, voice low.
"In one moon's time, my father is selling my freedom to the highest bidder," she purred. "He is selling me to an enemy king whom I despise. I am to be his princess, his plaything, his little wife. This is my last chance to be free, to be who I am," she whispered. "To do what I want with my body, my life."
"Well them," purred Ryu. "I plan to make the journey worth your while. Tell me your name, sweet one."
"My name is Calico. You may call me Cali."
So close. He was so close to touching her when it happened. The flash. The pieces coming together. Her eyes. Her father, the Sunrise king. Her name. Cali. Princess Calico.
Princess of the Rising Sun.
He couldn't do this. To mate with this princess would be to defy one of the great kings, possibly bring war upon his pride. And no amount of beauty and blossom scent could make up for that.
"I see," Ryukin's tone had changed. His seductive purr had turned businesslike. Cali struggled to hide her disappointment. "In that case, I think I will take it upon myself to escort you home, Cali-Rah."
"What are you talking about?" she laughed. "What does it matter who I am?"
"I cannot defy your father, or your future husband," said Ryu sadly. "I'm sorry, Cali-Rah. I know how much this means to you. But you know I can't risk it. I have a pride to take care of."
She snarled. "You have no idea how much it means to me! You have no idea what it means to be born into a world where your body does not belong to you, where your choices are not your own to make! I thought you'd be different, but you're just like all the others."
Her serene air was gone, her soft eyes now flashing with hurt and anger. With a final snarl, she stalked off into the trees, tail whipping in agitation.
"Cali-Rah!" Ryukin bounded after her. "Where are you going?"
"To find a male who's not too afraid of my father to give me what I want."
He caught up with her at last. "I can't let you do that. You're so young, and travelling alone. If something happened to you on my watch..."
"I am not your watch," she hissed. "You've made that clear. Now leave me."
"I insist on accompanying you back to your home pride," Ryu said. "These lands are dangerous for you, Cali-Rah."
"Back home?" she growled. "I'd rather take my chances out here than ever go back there, hyena packs, rogue males and all."
"But - "
"Don't you dare question my choices, Ryukin-Rah," she said quietly. "They are all I have left."
And so he let her go for the first time.
π
Ryukin continued his wanderings, trying to put the young Cali out of his mind. It was something about the honesty of her eyes, the sadness in her voice as she told her story. The way she chased after her freedom as if it were an elusive gazelle. She was different. A little wild. She was so much more than her pretty face.
He felt oddly heavy-hearted after their parting. He felt bad for denying her her freedom, but he couldn't risk it. Nevertheless, regret turned his mood stony. Even an encounter with a group of pretty young lionesses couldn't lift his mood.
The sun was beginning to set - he began to make his way back home, as it was getting late. It was around then that he heard it - a fierce snarling, the sound of ripping fur. And the smell of blood. Ryu broke into a run, bounding towards the sound. By the time he arrived, it was too late. Cali stood in the middle of the clearing, panting and bruised but standing strong, her flower garland ripped and bloodied around her, claws glistening with red.
"Cali-Rah," he panted. "What has happened?"
She turned to face him with a wry smile. "Some males don't understand the meaning of yes," she looked at him pointedly. "And others don't understand the meaning of no."
"Who was this brutish lion? He will pay for this, I assure you."
"Don't worry, stranger," she smiled. "I made sure he won't be coming back. You see, sometimes we lionesses have to make our own justice in this world."
"You are very brave, Cali-Rah, I'll give you that," said Ryu. "A little stupid, too. You could have been killed."
"Bravery, stupidity, call it what you want, I had no qualms about removing his right eye," she grinned. "And now I shall be on my way. Goodbye, Ryukin-Rah. I will always remember you as my greatest disappointment."
There was no way he was letting her go a second time. He had made that mistake once.
"You are injured," he stated. "Limping. The smell of blood carries a mile off. Where that rogue lion came from, there will be a dozen more. It would be indecent not to offer you shelter within the safety of my pride."
He chose his words carefully. Offer, not insist. He had learned the hard way that this lioness was proud to a fault.
Cali cocked her head, a hint of the flirty smile returning. "Are you making me a proposition, Ryukin-Rah?"
To his mortification, he blushed. "I am offering you food and shelter for the night. Nothing more."
"Loosen up, stranger, it was a joke," she chuckled. "For someone with such a ... reputation, you're awfully uptight."
And with that she followed him home, spitting barbs all the way.
π
The lionesses of the Sakura-Motaki pride were quick to notice the newcomer. Their king had never brought a lady home before - let alone a princess. They didn't fail to notice that he had prepared her a bed in one of the royal chambers near to his own, or that he brought her some of his favorite beverage; warm milk spiced with cinnamon and anise, a specialty from the Sakura pride. The medicine lion was quickly summoned to tend her wounds - between the infected scratches and the sprained ankle, it seemed like the young princess wouldn't be returning home for a few weeks. Much to her delight, and Ryukin's mortification.
He quickly sent a messenger to her father, King of the Rising Sun, to inform him that her daughter had been injured and would be offered shelter until she was well enough to travel. He did his rounds in the pride- checking up on cubs, conversing with huntresses and sub males, until finally his duties were finished, and he went to see how Cali was doing, in the cave he had settled her into. He had given her the best spot, of course, in a high cave den overlooking the territory. From up there, there was a wonderful view of the sunset when the sky was clear. This was what she was looking at when he arrived, gazing out across the soft gradient of purple and gold, and the first stars beginning to blink to life.
"Hello again, stranger," she said, sensing his approach. She had been cleaned up after her fight, her wounds bandaged and treated with herbs. "Hate you compliment you, but that spiced milk was wonderful. I've never tasted anything like it."
"It's from home," he went on to explain, taking a seat beside her. "My grandmother used to make it for me when I was a cub. Helped me sleep. The spices don't grow around here though - I have to get them traded in."
"Where were you from?" she tipped her head. "You look...other."
And so of course he had to tell her everything. About his family, the Sakura pride. The life he had led before, their strange traditions. And the massacre that had left him an orphan, sisterless, brotherless. About how he planned to restore his dynasty, track down any survivors, make sure his culture didn't die forgotten. He didn't know why, but it was easy to talk to Cali. After all, she had already opened up about her own past, her own predicament.
"Do you know if anyone else made it out? Your family?" she inquired softly.
"I've been searching for weeks," he sighed. "But it's as if they vanished without a trace. If anyone else survived, they obviously don't want to be found."
"You're not alone here, Ryukin," she said, nuzzling against him. He tensed at the contact, but she only moved closer.
"Cali-Rah..." he objected.
"I wish you wouldn't call me that," she purred. "That title has only ever been a burden."
Ryukin closed his eyes. It would be so easy to give in to her. He wanted to. Oh, he burned to. But he reminded himself once more why he couldn't get involved with her - she was betrothed, her father would only punish her for it, she was betrothed. He mustered all his willpower and stepped away from her. She turned on him like a flash.
"Why, Ryukin?" she said, brow fierce. "No one would ever have to know. I've seen you," she hissed, eyes flashing with something almost like jealousy. "Taking that lioness into your den earlier. Why does it have to be different with me?"
"That lioness," he growled. "Her name is Katriel, she is the messenger to my pride. She had just returned to tell me of any news concerning my birth pride. She came to my den to report her duties," he growled. "You know why I have to stay away from you, Cali. It is better this way. But I will not pretend it is not difficult for me. You may remain here until you are healed, then you are free to leave as you please. In the meantime I think it best of we do not spend too much time with each other. Good night, Cali-Rah."
Without a backward glance, he trailed off down the slope, leaving her once again.
π
The weeks passed, and flowers bloomed in the Sakura-Motaki lands.
Ryukin kept his promise, and kept his distance from Cali. He contented himself by watching her from afar as her wounds healed and she ventured out of her den. Over the weeks she had taken quite an active role in the pride: she had been out on hunts with the other lionesses and came back bruised but triumphant, she'd taken her turn looking after the cubs, and although they were wary of her at first, she had made a great many friends. She'd had to fight to prove she wasn't the stuck-up little princess they thought she was, but it had been worth it, for now they saw her true courage and admired her for it.
Every evening, Ryukin had a bowl of spiced milk sent up to her den. Every morning, he found it all drunk dry.
Despite everything that had gone on between them, they barely exchanged terse nods of greeting as they passed each other. No more longing looks or deep starlit conversation.
Ryu missed it, but it was for the best. He told himself it was for the best.
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Ryukin knew that Cali would be leaving soon, but when she finally did it came as a blow nonetheless.
No fanfare. No teary goodbyes. She had slipped from her den early one morning without waking a soul. The pride seemed quieter without her, the birdsong subdued, the flowers duller in color, their blossom not so sweet. He missed the sound of her wild laughter as she sparred with her new friends in the training ring, he missed her wise words, her cutting humor, her haughty, unruffled pride as she marched past him, feigning disinterest.
He missed her.
He spent the afternoon by the river in a black mood, cursing himself for not being kinder towards her. When he heard the voice of Katriel the messenger summoning him, he felt like snarling at her to go away. The pride could be under attack, the sky collapsing - it would have to wait. Finally her shouts became too loud to ignore and he trudged back up towards the Kopjes to see what all the fuss was about.
Two lionesses were trudging up through the green savanna towards him. The first he recognized immediately: her bright eyes, her graceful, upbeat stride, the way her fur shone in the sunset.
Cali had come back to him.
He was so overjoyed by the fact that he almost failed to notice her companion. When he finally turned his gaze to the stranger, a sharp ice shard went through him, he felt cold, like a he had seen a ghost. A ghost of a time long passed.
Because she wasn't a stranger at all.
Looking at this lioness was like looking in a mirror. They had the same delicate features, the same unique coloring, the striking, swirling markings that were so typical of the Sakura bloodline. A long-forgotten memory flashed into Ryukin's head, of a spring as bright as this one, many years ago. Two cubs, mirror images of each other, tumbling and playing in the shade of the cherry blossoms that bloomed every year above their home.
"Sister?" he said. The words were barely a whisper, but she heard.
The pride had gathered all around them, whispering in undertones. They too had noticed the uncanny resemblance between the two lions, the way they stared at each other in disbelief.
"Brother?" the small lioness came right up to Ryukin, staring up into his face as if searching for something she lost long ago. "Is it really you?"
"I thought you were dead, Shubunkin," he gasped, a strange, strangled laugh. "I thought you were all dead."
"You left us," said Shubunkin, voice cold. She did not make to embrace her brother. "Where were you, when they came for us that night? Where were you, when they destroyed our home, when they slaughtered our parents?Where were you, Ryukin?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I only heard the news when it was too late. But Shubunkin, I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make amends. I will track down those tyrants that killed our family. We will find anyone who survived and start again."
"And I will help you, brother," said Shubunkin, finally pressing her forehead to her brother's.
π
He spent the afternoon with his long-lost sister, talking quietly about the past, the future. They had a lot to catch up on, after all, so many stories to exchange.
"I couldn't believe it when that sun princess walked into my pride, and asked to see me," said Shubunkin in awe. "A princess, ask to see me? And when I realised it was you who had sent her..."
"I didn't send her," said Ryukin quietly. "I have no idea how she managed to find you, but thank the skies she did."
"She's a strange one, is Cali-Rah. Stubborn, but she's sweet."
"She has an awful temper," grumbled Ryukin. "And she's proud as anything."
Shubunkin leveled him with one of her glares. "You're fooling no-one, brother, least of all yourself. Go and thank her. I owe her my life, and you your heart."
π
Ryukin threaded quietly up the slope towards Cali's den. She was sitting how he'd first found her, gazing out at the sunset with a strange wistful expression. The thick, fluffy fur on her cheeks was blowing in the night wind, her eyes were closed. She saw him anyway.
"Don't be a stranger," she smiled. "Sit with me."
He did. "I don't know how to thank you, Cali-Rah."
"Then don't," she smiled. She still had not opened her eyes.
"How did you even find her? How - "
"My father is a very powerful lion, controls lots of territories," she said. "Shubunkin's pride included. A little research was all it took. She'd been living there for years under a new identity, a simple huntress named She-Ra. If you'd have seen how they treated lionesses there, Ryukin, how they had treated her..."
Ryukin shuddered, remembering the scars on his sister's pelt. "You saved her, Cali. You brought her back to me, and I will be eternally grateful. Your soul is as brave as your heart is true, Cali-Rah, and I am blessed to call you my friend."
She dipped her head. "I am glad," she said. "I am glad we are to part as friends. For I must leave you in the morning, Ryukin."
It came as a blow, an acute pain in the chest. He had only just got her back, only to lose her again so soon.
"Where will you go?" he asked.
"I must return home, to my father, to my duties," she sighed. "It would be cowardly to flee. I see that now. But these weeks with you, Ryukin... they have been something else. Thanks to you, I have known happiness. I have known freedom, if only for a short while. I will always cherish it."
"And I will always thank whichever star decided for us to meet in those woods," said Ryukin with a smile. "God, you were so stubborn. So lovely."
"Ryukin..." she hesitated at his tone, unsure.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, that I couldn't give you your freedom," he said. "I was a coward. Perhaps now I can make amends."
Cali just stared at him. "But you said, my father..."
"Will never have to know," he sighed. "You are leaving me tomorrow, Cali, and I doubt we will meet again. And in truth, I can't stay away from you anymore."
She smiled, brushing against his fur. "Sweet Ryukin. Let us hope the dawn never comes."
π
Ryukin had never slept so well in his life, curled in the warmth of Cali's den, in her arms. As he yawned awake a muddled recollection of last night came back to him like a warm tide: the star-speckled sky above him, Cali's soft, lithe body below, her blossom scent, the way he had made her arch under his touch, the way she had whispered his name like a spell.
He stretched and rolled over, expecting to feel her soft fur beside him, but the space she had layed in was cold. He placed a heavy paw on the frigid stone. She was already gone.
π
The days passed slowly. Then the weeks drew into months without a word from her, without a whisper on the wind. Ryukin threw himself into his duties, caring for his pride, and with Shubunkin's help they managed to track down another of their family: Ryukin's little half-brother Kuro, a battered servant boy who he soon made a prince. But still Cali's face, and memories of that night haunted him. Sometimes he thought he could smell blossom on the wind, and looked up in hope, only to find the horizon empty, the leaves wilting, the trees bare.
It came somewhat as a surprise to discover that Cali and his sister Shubunkin were keeping up an almost weekly correspondence. Through his sister he learned that Cali was well, newly wed to the lion she despised, and settling into her new life as a royal consort. She would hate it, he thought. Not that she told him. She never wrote any letters to Ryukin. He wondered if he should write to her, but he never found the courage, and as the months went by, he let himself forget her. Soon, all that remained was a fond memory of a strange young lioness he had loved once. The memories were no longer tinged by sadness. In fact, he rarely thought of her at all. Only in fleeting moments did she come to him, decked in flowers, pale in the moonlight. She always smiled.
π
The next time Ryukin saw Cali, she wasn't smiling.
He was awoken early one morning, before even the dawn had broken, by his sister shaking him awake.
"Ryukin, come quickly!" she hissed. "Katriel just came in from patrol - there's a lioness down by the edge of the river, seeking sanctuary. She looks in a bad way."
Ryukin sprinted down to the river's edge, flanked by Shubunkin and Katriel. He didn't think anything of it - travelers passed through these lands all the time, seeking refuge. He drew to a halt at the water's edge, where a small form lay collapsed, face half in the water. The traveler was barely recognizable as a lioness - fur caked in mud, body wasted by hunger and her belly swollen with pregnancy. With his sister's help, Ryukin hefted the lioness's body over his shoulder and carried her back to the pridelands. He set her down in his den, where lions immediately rushed to his aid, bringing medicines and bedding. Ryukin lifted a turtle shell of warm spiced milk to the lioness's muzzle - she stirred, her eyes blinking open. Ryukin almost died from shock.
He would know those eyes anywhere.
"Cali-Rah? Is it really you?"
She was almost unrecognizable under the mud of her fur and her decayed state. But there was something else - a deeper change. The clever, curious look in her eyes, the proud way she held her head, her voice full of life - was gone. She looked beaten down and exhausted, her spirit trampled into the mud. This was what scared Ryukin far more than the wasting of her flesh.
"Ryukin, friend," she whispered. "I had to come to you. I need your help."
"Hush," said Ryukin gently. "Rest now. We will talk later."
"You don't understand," said Cali, distress sparking in her eyes. "You must send your medicine lioness. I need help Ryukin, and I know that you will aid me."
He did as she requested, and summoned Tio-La, the shaman and herbalist, to Cali's side. The two spent a long time whispering in undertones before Tio-La came to speak with Ryukin.
"Your friend seeks my help," said Tio-La in her accented voice. "The life that stirs within her is the cause of her torment. The father of these unborn cubs is a tyrant she despises. She wishes for me to end the pregnancy. But I must seek your permission first of all."
"Do it," said Ryukin immediately, shuddering at the thought of the abuse Cali must have faced. "Do whatever she asks of you."
Tio-La dipped her head solemly, and slunk back into her den to prepare the herbs. Ryukin tipped his head back to the skies, feeling empty, wondering, more than anything, why didn't she tell me?
π
It was early afternoon when he slipped back into the medicine den where Cali was resting. The ordeal was over - the herbs had done their job. Cali was sleeping now, her face soft and tranquil. The mud had been cleaned from her fur, her injuries treated. She looked a little closer to the lioness he remembered, that he had once loved. That he perhaps still loved, with every fibre of his aching, yearning soul.
She stirred at his approach, blinking awake, but said nothing.
"How are you feeling, Cali-Rah?"
"I will be well soon," was all she said. Her voice was flat, worn thin.
Ryukin sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me? You know I would have helped you."
"Do I?" she said. "I have lost faith in your kind, Ryukin. After months of being told that your body does not belong to you, you begin to believe them."
"You know I'm not like that," he said lowly. "That I have never believed that. If a lioness wishes to end her pregnancy in my pride, it is her choice."
"It's been so long, stranger," said Cali softly. "Almost a year, and yet some days it feels like forever."
"Why didn't you leave before?" Ryukin said almost angrily. "You could have stayed here, you could have been happy. Why did you leave? Why didn't you write to me?"
Cali looked away. "I suppose I didn't know what to say."
"Listen to me, Cali," said Ryukin fiercely. "I will grant you a permanent position in my pride, if it is your wish. You never have to go back there, to that terrible lion - " Ryukin bit back a growl. "From now on, your home is here. You will live in peace and safety, among friends. You will wander where you will, steal hearts at your leisure, never again will anyone hurt you, or tell you what to do. You are my equal in every way, Cali-Rah, my dearest friend and greatest protector. And whatever it takes for you to be happy again, I will do it."
"Ryukin-Rah," she lowered her gaze. "Your kindness is appreciated. Truly. But Ryukin, I'm afraid I can't be what I once was. That lioness in the woods is gone now. I don't think I could bring myself to love you, or anyone at all."
"I'm not asking for anything," said Ryukin softly. "But I don't think she is gone - just in hiding. With some sunlight and time, she will come out again. You are brave, Cali-Rah. You must not let them defeat you. Rest now. I will visit you in the morning."
"Thank you," said Cali. "For everything."
That night, Ryukin couldn't sleep and so sat and gazed up at the stars. They seemed brighter than usual tonight, as it they wanted to tell him something. He sighed, feeling both wistful and hopeful.
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The weeks passed, stretching on into months. Spring bloomed around them once more - a time of birdsong and blossoms and stirring life. The flowers bloomed in the woods, showering pink blossoms onto the lions's backs wherever they walked, and tiny streams bubbled to life, trickling down from the mountainside and criss-crossing the pridelands, water so sweet you'd think it was made of the sky.
The scents and sounds of spring brought a fresh wave of nostalgia to Ryukin, joy tinted with sorrow. It was this time last year that he had first met Cali in those woods - that he had first saw her, decked in flowers and ready to steal his heart. Only a year had passed, but it was if the young lioness had aged centuries. Her health and vigour had returned, her spring coat shiny and lustrous, but something in Cali's eyes remained so very winter, despite the spring blooming all around.
It had taken months for her to show him anything remotely akin to trust. Months of gentle words and hesitant smiles and spiced milk sent up to her den. He knew how much she loved the stuff. Over time he brought the beverage up to her den personally. They spoke - tentatively at first, but the friendship between them grew fierce, and sometimes they talked long into the night, about long-lost friends, heart-rending stories and burning injustices, while overhead the stars smoldered twilight into dusk.
Together they tracked down more of Ryukin's family, brothers and sisters separated in the attack. Ryukin's sister Shubunkin and Cali had grown into fast friends - when they were not out hunting together they were cackling in undertones, exchanging increasingly embarrassing stories about Ryu. The three of them, Shubunkin, Cali and Ryukin practically ran the pride - organizing patrols, building alliances, meeting kings and queens. The Sakura-Motaki pride became known for it's values of kindness and compassion, and the way lionesses were not only treated with respect but with honor, and for it's benevolent king, and the strange little lioness that stood by his side. And yet nothing of love was spoken about between them. Ryukin knew not to push Cali too soon - he would wait until his whiskers turned grey, if that's what it took.
He showed her in the little ways - making sure she didn't trip on that rock, telling her to take care while out hunting, saving her the bits of his kill everyone else turned their nose up at but she loved. And in the big ways too - one day while she was out on a hunt he began to dig a pond by her den, knowing how much she loved to swim in the river. With the help of his brother Kuro and his sister Shubunkin, the lions dug with their claws to divert the stream splashing down the hillside, so it would trickle in a miniature waterfall into the pond beside Cali's den. And over time pink lilies bloomed and fish made themselves at home and every morning Ryukin smiled to see his beloved Cali-Rah splashing in that clear water like a cub without a care in the world.
Every day his love for her swelled fierce and true, made even more exquisite for the fact that he could not express it. Her soft heart. Her free spirit. Her courage.
It was this courage of her's that he had first fallen for in the woods all those moons ago.
It took weeks for him to realize she didn't feel the same way.
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"It disgusts me," said Cali, looking out with revulsion at the pridelands that spread out below. From their vantage point, all Ryukin could see were the night-blooming trees rippling in the wind and the glassy surface of the river reflecting the night sky. He turned to Cali in puzzlement.
"All this beauty in the midst of everything dead," she sighed. "It seems so unfair. Here were are with flowers and the moon and freedom, when in a day's travel in either direction there are cubs dying of hunger under tyrannical kings, and lionesses forced into slavery. It's seems wrong, Ryu. For us to be happy."
"As much as I would like to make this world kinder for you, Cali, I'm afraid even great kings have limited power," sighed Ryukin. "But it is because this world is so ugly that we owe it to ourselves to be happy. Those lions you spoke of, living in misery? We owe it to them. To make the most of our freedom. You were one of those lions, once, living in cruelty," said Ryukin, not missing how Cali dropped her gaze. "And so was I. You and I, we walked through the fire and came out standing. We are the bent but unbroken. And now we must make the most of our freedom, for we have earned it."
"Ryukin-Rah," chuckled Cali, nuzzling his shoulder gently. "You fancy yourself a prophet."
Ryukin blinked in surprise. It had been months since she had shown any mark of affection. And that cutting humor of hers had obviously survived the ordeal.
"You are so different to any lion I have ever met," Cali continued, brow furrowed. "You were the first and the last lion to look at me like a being, and not like a trophy to be traded or owned. You were the first to value my opinion, or give a thought to my desires and feelings. You brought me to life again, Ryu, like the spring rains quickens the land."
"And you," said Ryu, voice dropping into a husky growl. "Were the first to stand up to me, the first to challenge my opinion. You showed me the world from a different place, and opened my eyes to everything beautiful and terrible. You made a king of me, Cali-Rah. You are not just a fleeting flower, you are the woods in full bloom. You are my equal in every way. You are my best friend, by soulmate, my queen."
Cali's eyes widened in equal parts surprise and fear. "Ryu- "
"You heard me correctly," continued Ryukin, his voice rough from emotion. "I want you to be my queen, Cali. I want you to lead this pride with me until the sun sets on us both. Gods, you practically already run this pride. You are the bravest lioness I have ever met, and it would be an honor to have you by my side."
"Ryukin... it has never been a secret, how I feel about you," she whispered. Ryukin chuckled, remembering how they met. "But I don't know if I can be your queen. I don't know if I'm ready to lead, to have a family, any of it."
"You know I won't force you into anything," said Ryukin. "Think about it. I'll let you have some peace."
"What is there to think about," smiled Cali. "Who else would put up with my sense of humor all the time? Of course I'll be your queen one day. But not now. For now let us just be young, and happy, like you said. With the stars and the flowers and freedom."
With that, she leaped up from her perch and began to run into the night, Ryukin on her tail. They rolled through the fallen blossoms and scattered starlight, laughing and chasing.
"Who knows," called Cali over her shoulder, a sly grin playing on her muzzle. "Maybe I'll make a king out of you someday."
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