The Starseer

For many many years, lions have wondered what they would know in their future. A wishful thought; to know where the prey would be in the morning, of danger was coming, how many cubs a mother would have, but more importantly, what was the correct thing to do? Then was born a cub. One like no other. But on the outside she was no different than others. In fact, she was clumsy, ditzy, awkward. At every sense of the word. But for some reason, she always seemed to know when something would happen.

“Look out!” She would yell, seconds before a lion walked into a trap.
“Dont eat that!” She would yell at a lion about to eat secretly rancid food.

It was obvious that there was something different about this cub. How did she know all these things?
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As she ages to maturity, The Starseer seeks quiet wisdom beneath the stars. No longer engaging with the trivial matters of the pride and their infinite questions of what they think they must know for the future. That’s not all she does anymore anyway. To commune with the whispers of the past, to gain the knowledge of history and pass down their stories to lions who would have never known their legends. To track the herds and make sure they take no more than what is absolutely necessary for the sake of many generations into the future. And to help Mian with death rites for those who pass from this land into the next. With her worldly emotions taken care of, she can keep herself safe becoming needlessly attached to others.

• is still young and learning but The Starseer was attempting to sever the ties that truly made her a lion
• spoke with pride members but only is short, to the point sentences
• was called to help Kirion as a young cub and grew to have a strong dislike for what she called “dumb old kings”
• disliked Kirion and was very vocal about it, when he came to have council with her she would turn him away

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• when Mishalei was chosen as king, Starseer had grown more
• still attempted to stay disconnected from the pride but allowed herself to help Mishalei if he had questions
• over time grew closer to him until finally he convinced her to move into a cave closer to the rest of the pride
• started letting herself connect to the lions around her, understanding who they were and keeping tabs on those with abilities
• spoke with Mishalei frequently and as he grew old, was the sole person he asked to help pick his heir

“Starseer, may I speak with you a moment?” The Starseer turned her head towards the opening of her cave and Mishalei stood there with a worried look. “Your highness? What is the matter? You look miserable.” Mishalei drooped his shoulders. “Is it truly that obvious? I’m conflicted on many fronts.” Starseer huffed lightly. She disliked when lions did this. Ask her to use her powers for stupid reasons. They were not for helping individuals, her powers were a gift to the pride as a whole. She had no pity to help those who wanted to use her selfishly. “What, do you require my powers?” She asked sharply, her tail flicking with annoyance. “Your powers? No, I only want the advice of a friend.” He said. She was taken aback by this. He didn’t want to use her powers? He moved inside, laying down on the dirt floor with a stretch. “Starseer I’m indecisive.” “Extremely.” “And you know how I adore cubs..” “Obviously.” He flicked his tail at her and she giggled. “I’m serious! I’m having an heir problem, don't laugh!” Starseer tilted her head, settling down so he could talk. “As you know my original heir, Mironi is gone. He was the only solid answer.” “My king, he was only a solid answer because Kirion had chosen him for you.” Starseer interrupted. Mishalei stopped for a moment and thought about it, nodding as he did. “I.. you’re right. I hadn’t realized..” Starseer patted his paw. “Don’t dwell on it, you get emotional when you think of Kirion. Who are your choices right now?” Mishalei nodded, shaking his head clear. “You’re right you’re right.. I’m at in impasse with these choices. Yoonai says our cub Lula should be queen.” Starseer stopped him again. “Lula is mean and gossipy, there’s no way she would make a good queen.” Mishalei nodded. “I love my daughter greatly but she is not queen material. Her pile of secrets is enough to prove it. My other choices are of course between Eskse and Hyracath.” Starseer thought for a moment. “Only those two?” Mishalei nodded. “They're good males with a chip on their shoulder. They may play rough right now but that means they could grow into protective and strong kings.” She hadn’t realized he was putting that kind of thought into it. “I suppose you’re right but is there anything special about either of them? It sounds like you’re just picking the first two rough and tumble boys that stumbled into your line of sight. Is there no cub who you’ve just been.. I don’t know, finding yourself interested in recently?” She asked moving to gesture outside. “I assume you’re implying I look to the cubs in the pride with powers like yourself huh.?” The Starseer huffed, annoyed. “Well we both know you don’t often trust magic unless it gets you something you need. You let them into your pride but you do not let yourself get close to them.” “I’m close to you aren’t I? I see you as a close friend Starseer, I would hope you see the same of me. But you’re right. Did you have some in mind then?” Starseer thought carefully. “Cynth shares some of my powers but not enough to be a full starseer. Jalil focuses too much on hunting to settle for queendom, Aether is vain, Kaon wants nothing of the throne.” Mishalei nodded. “None of my males have offered to take the position. Kraven said he would have taken up the offer if he was younger but he desires nothing but peace and quiet now. Kaon has never wanted the throne. That’s why I’m so focused on cubs. We have some male cubs that I can look towards.” Starseer thought more. “Are you only looking to crown a male?” It was Mishalei’s turn to think. He was silent for a moment and then shook his head. “No, I’ll admit though it was all I had been considering but I wouldn’t be opposed to a female heir.” “What of Echo?” Starseer posed. They both turned their head to look and sure enough, the cub was using her unnatural vocal abilities to play pranks on the other cubs. They almost turned away, about to dismiss her as just another one of the cubs to turn down but as they did, Echo heard another cub cry out and ran to help, licking a scrape on their paw before getting help. Mishalei watched and nodded carefully. “I’ll watch her a little closer. This is nothing I have to decide on now but I’ll take this conversation into consideration. Thank you Starseer.” She bowed her head with a smile. “Of course your highness.”

• with Mishalei as her first real bridge to the pride, Starseer now protects the lions of the pride with
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• with Echo as
“Starseer!” Echo called out, padding over to her companion. The Starseer noticed she looked very deep in thought. “What is the matter Echo? Is something wrong?” Starseer asked, moving to meet her. They continued walking towards the tallest mountain, Where Stars Touch the Earth, and spoke together. Echo had come to rely on her friendship with Starseer greatly and the Starseer felt the same. “I need your council. I know I am getting older and the world is becoming more dangerous. In case something should happen to me, I need to have an heir..” she trailed off, looking behind her at the pride. “And are you unsure of who shall be your heir?” Starseer asked, tilting her head slightly. “Extremely. I’ve been queen for almost just as long as Mishalei had and yet while he had four heirs before me, I have not even thought of this until last night. I haven’t even looked at any of the cubs in this way.” Echo replied. The Starseer rolled her eyes and smiled. “Mishalei spent all of his time around the cubs of the pride. He loved them greatly. It’s nothing to be ashamed of that you enjoy exploring and helping other kings and queens more than you enjoy sitting in a cave with annoying cubs.” Echo laughed and bumped her shoulder with Starseer in a friendly way. “Yeah I guess you’d be the one to agree with me on that.” They came to a resting spot at one of the rocky outcroppings on the base of the mountain and both turned to face the pride. Surveying from their high vantage point, they could see every pride member. Especially Sashi taking the cubs for a walk. They both watched silently, taking notes of which cubs played rough and which were gentle. “You know Echo, this isn’t something that can really be decided in a day, this is the future of the Southern Sun pride, not just picking out a cub we find interesting.” Echo nodded, turning her head away from the pride and back to look at Starseer. As she did, something caught her eye. Just now coming out of the cub cave, way behind everyone else, was a little brown cub with white patches. It looked quiet but kind, watching the other cubs almost like Echo and the Starseer were, looking for who would make the best playmate. “Starseer.. Who is that cub?” Echo asked, her eyes trained to the brown cub. “If you had asked me about any other cub I honestly wouldn’t have been able to tell you.” Starseer said with a laugh. “But that one I do know. It’s the cub of another starseer, not belonging to any pride so she asked if I would take the cub in to be raised alongside ours.” Echo nodded in thought. “Does she share these powers?” Echo questioned, watching the cub finally choose her playmate and pounce, laughing peacefully. “They are a bit too young for me to know of powers. Mine hadn’t shown their face until I was nearly two. I’ve been watching this one though, they are a little different in terms of cubs.” “Indeed.. much to think about then.”