fern

fern's father was ashkii, a very large, korat primal. he had a large pride, and was the second ever king of the pride. it was stressful on him, to say the least, but the cubs he bred were always nice. a couple primals, a felis.
fern was one of the felises born, and would grow old in the pride. she would always hang around the two hybrids, atlas and tamika, who were in a relationship. they didn't mind it at all. she knew of iris, who was a gentle lioness with nothing really special about her.
she knew all the *older* lions. knew them very well.. dhalia, diana, sunflower, june.. all of them. she was best of friends with some of them, with cleo, another primal in the pride.
ashkii was dying. she knew he was. she stayed by him, as his only daughter in the pride, and lapped at his mane as his heir, oliver, watched.
"fern," ashkii coughed. "oliver is going to give you something. and it's gonna be a little weird, but you need to eat it."
the felis blinked, confused. she didn't know what he meant, and brushed it off as him being exhausted and scared of death. she quickly agreed to it, "sure, papa. anything. just rest now, yeah?" she just wanted him to be calm.
he wheezed, lapping at her cheek gently. she leaned down into his larger body, curling around her father as eventually, his body relaxed, and he was passed on. retired. spirit floating up to the dynasty, where he would meet the previous king.
fern wasn't sure how to react; she felt the tears prickle at her eyes when she realized he was officially gone, felt oliver apologize and sink down next to her.

fern lived on, but not for long. she lied awake, wondering when her time would come. most of her friends already died, and she truly hoped she would be next. she missed everyone so much..
"fern?" oliver stepped into the den; she looked up, not really interested. "..remember when you told your father you'd eat something..?"
she looked up, glaring over at the king. "yea..? i just thought he was dying and exhausted. delusional." she missed her father, too. she missed him so much.. "why?"
"well.." oliver shuffled. he looked a little uncomfortable.. he nosed forward a weird thing. a jellyfish?
fern looked down at the thing, before looking back up at oliver. "you can't be serious. he asked me to eat this?"
"he did. well, he asked me to give it to you. he didn't want to give it to you too young.." the piebald stuttered.
she wrinkled her nose. "what is it supposed to do? why do i have to eat this? it looks slimy.." she poked at it with a claw, itching her paw back.
"i'm unsure," oliver lied easily. ashkii told him to never tell her. "he just begged me.."
fern glared at the king, before back down at the jellyfish. she thought about it. well, if it kills me, i could see my friends. and i'm getting older.. oh well. nothing to lose, i guess. she quickly ate it, holding back gags.
and then suddenly she felt like she was glowing. at first, she panicked a little. what was it doing?? before it settled back down. she felt lighter, felt like her core was lifted.
she felt weird, honestly. "what did it do?" she demanded, already catching oliver in his lie.
"it's, um." he was short. nervous. "it's supposed to make you immortal."
her eyes widened. "are you serious?! i.." she wasn't sure if she was excited or depressed. she knew almost nobody in this pride. she was hoping she would see her friends again.. "you're serious, aren't you?"

she outgrew every single pride, every single generation. she made friends, watched them die. this happened at least three times. she was tired of it, but no lion was like the other. watched each queen come up and die, watched the pride go from evil to good several times.
and eventually, another frozen lioness came across their pride. gifted by a close friend of the queen's..
mars. a leopon, who was apedemak only knows how old she was. she was a little skittish, a little closed off, to fern especially. it confused her.. they were the same, right?
and at first, fern felt horrible for the leopon. she herself sometimes hated being immortal; getting close with lions in the pride, only to watch them wither away and die. as she stood there, outliving her time given. it felt.. wrong, in a way. that they had to die as she was very much alive. she almost wished she would retire, but each queen prevented her from doing so. the felis couldn't help but be slightly glad that they prevented her..
it wasn't boring. fern would never list it as that; it was more of exciting, seeing how each lion reacted. each personality.
she met annie and sedna, the pride's first ever dwarves. the two were a cute pair, almost sisterly. they were very close.
annie was the healer of the pride; carrying around her herbs in a small bottle around her neck, hopping from den to den. her short body weaving through cubs and lions.. fern could tell that mars also admired their little herbal dwarf, and it relieved the frozen felis, knowing that mars wasn't entirely disinterested and closed off to the pride.
and then they died, too. they died, leaving their cubs. fern took care of them.
and as the pride grew incredibly small, fern had more time to spend with mars. mars was still closed off; disinterested in fern. it didn't seem to hold any malicious intent.. just disinterested, as if fern was unappealing.

"it's funny, isn't it?" fern eventually asked the leopon. as she expected, she didn't reply. "how the pride restarts and we're still here."
as the felis awkwardly sat next to the much smaller hybrid, mars didn't say anything. didn't really move.. before she asked, "how long have you been here, fern?" she sounded sad..
"30 years?" fern tried, "maybe 40? a while. i've been here for a few generations, a few queens.." her voice died off. thinking too hard about the previous rulers honestly made her depressed.
mars didn't say anything, zoning out. trying to decide if it was a good idea to interact..
"how old are you?" she asked gently, looking down at her. she wished she would at least hold eye contact before looking away, down at her paws.
"i'll be 102 years old in october," she murmured softly, still not holding eye contact. keeping her eyes trained ahead.
fern was.. well, surprised. she didn't expect her to be that old; she couldn't help but wonder if the other ever wanted to be retired, ever wanted to just.. leave the immortality.
"i know. i'm old," she chuckled, a dry thing. "i've been in the same pride my entire life.. so when the king decided to pass me over here, i wanted to deny it. i was denying it."
fern blinked, listening as the leopon continued on. she didn't want to butt in and ruin this moment of the frozen lioness opening up to her for once.
"i just didn't understand why.. i mean.. he kept me in the same pride forever. since i was a cub. it's nothing against you, you know?" she swallowed. "i just don't want to become close with you.."
"why?" fern asked almost immediately. "why don't you?"
".." mars rested her chin on her paws. "how long have you been here, fern? in this pride?"
she looked around, murmuring, "my entire life."
the reddish leopon looked back up, sighing. "my exact point. what if, at some time or another, a queen here doesn't find you suited for her pride? what if you leave next? what if it's like the same situation as my pride.."
"it won't be like that." fern was half certain of it. "and if it is, i'll retire before i can be sold."
"you'd rather be dead than to move onto another pride?" she asked, "why?"
the felis stopped, looking away. "mars.. how hard is it? being alive? how hard is it for you?"
"not that hard, i guess.." she answered with certainty. "why?"
"i've been in this pride, and although i'm not as old as you.." she took a breath. "i still get depressed. i still think of all my friends waiting for me in the pride dynasty. of every lion there. of sedna, annie, iris.. i don't think i could ever leave this pride." she turned to stare at mars. "and i don't think you should, either."
mars scoffed. "there could be a queen in the future who is uncaring."
the two sat in silence for a moment. it was comfortable, now that mars got it out.
"mars..?" fern started. "does it ever get better?"
"does what ever get better?" the leopon gazed up at the large primal, forever frozen in age.
"the pain. knowing you probably won't be able to see your old pride ever again." she sucked in a shaky breath.
"it does.. and it doesn't," mars replied hesitantly. "it gets better in the sense of knowing that they're happy up there, and being here, still spreading their stories around. no matter how many years pass by."
"and in the sense of it doesn't?" fern asked.
"it'll hurt, no doubt for sure. i guess it depends on your personality too.. for me, it's easier for me to move on and accept things. i was 60ish years old when i realized it.. didn't matter anymore. i'm immortal, and there's no use in trying to return to my pride.. so there's no use in dwelling on 'what ifs'."
fern nodded, a dull throb starting in her chest. she sighed. "i hope it gets better. i'm so tired of being sad all the time."
mars frowned. she felt bad for the primal; the lion was stuck in the past, stuck where her father was the king, stuck. stuck in this depression.
she vowed then, she would be close with the felis for however long she needed her.
and the two got closer after that. fern developed feelings for mars, and told her in a quick, jumbled confession. mars blushed heavily, before leaning in and curling her large wing around the felis. lapping at her cheek.
the two were known as a romantic couple afterwards. living out until eternity itself ends.