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Anjil and Mara had always known that their pride's king was a stern and imposing figure, but they never imagined that he would go mad. It started with small things at first: the king would snap at his subordinates for no reason, or lash out at a hunting party that returned empty-handed. It all went out the window once his queen died, soon, his behavior grew more erratic and violent.
One day, the king declared that he was going to sell off all of the pride's members for a single silver beetle each. Everyone was horrified, but the king refused to listen to reason. We were all was scared at the thought of how many cubs would be sent to the Enclave. He ordered his subordinates to carry out his orders, and soon, the cubs were being hauled away one by one to be sold at a nearby trading center, then the adolescents were gone the next day. Adults who didn’t have anything special were chased, and others were left to fend for themselves.
Anjil and Mara were sold off for the same price and left at the trading center, where they were neglected and forgotten. They were constantly hungry and scared, and it seemed like they were destined to live out the rest of their days in misery. Their only solace was each other, being in cages next to each other they were able to have some kind of familiarity, and spoke constantly sharing stories of home. They hadn’t paid much attention to each other before that, as they weren’t related in the slightest.
Every night before she went to bed, Anjil prayed to the Goddess Aureliana that her and her best friend wouldn’t be sent to the enclave, she believed the stories, that you were left there with the promise of love and care with the gorillas, but once you became an adult you were sold for your meat, and they were both nearing the cutoff already.
One day, Starman came to the trading center to buy some supplies. He saw the two adolescent lions going for a ridiculously low price and knew he had to see if any wanted to join him. He approached the seller and bought Anjil and Mara for a silver beetle, even though he didn't need more lions in his pride.
At first, Anjil and Mara were untrustful of Starman. They had been through so much hardship that they couldn't believe that someone would take them, except to send them away. But Starman was patient and kind, and he slowly gained their trust. It was a lot easier once they were adults to trust him, since he didn’t hurt them or send them away.
They joined Starman's pride and lived a happy life, where they were treated with respect and kindness. They were no longer starving and had a sense of safety they had never known before. Eventually, Anjil and Mara realized that Starman was not like the other lions they had known in their lives. He was kind and loving, and never would hurt a soul, unless to save them and their newfound family.
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