Empress Nataki

The heavy weight of grief seems to rest on everyone's shoulders as you glance around at what's left of the pride, a gentle breeze ruffling your fur and causing the tall grass surrounding you to sway around your paws. Although the pride was now only short of one lion in particular, the silence of each individual member makes it as if you were sitting in an abandoned clearing, a shell of what once was your home laying ahead of you.

It had only been about a week since he passed, and the sorrow hung heavy in the air like a thick fog, clinging to everything and everyone around it. You hadn't been here long when he passed, but you had gotten to know him while he was still alive. The pride was already going through a big change, considering that he had just been crowned the Emperor since his father retired. But his reign was cut short, as well as his life. His father died in attempt to save him. But in the end, his attempts weren't enough. He left behind his childhood love, Empress Nataki, who you see sitting alone in the distance under a tree where the couple had spent most of their free time. She sat completely still with the exception of an occasional blink or exhale, scanning the horizon. Her stare was blank, and the shimmer that had once shone in her eyes was lost. The two had just discovered they were expecting their first litter of cubs prior to the incident, and when Nataki heard the news she was overwhelmed with grief. The stress from the whole situation had caused her to miscarry, losing the last thing she had left of him. Last night had been the first time she slept since everything had happened, the nights before being consumed by the sound of her wailing.

Empress Nataki