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It all started on one foggy morning, life was hazy, like a thick fog that wouldn't drift away. Cub life was uneventful, I trained alongside my brother. I wasn't the best at play fighting and he would always best me. I grew my mane faster then him so I was proud of that. In adolescent years, he would bully me for being rather scrawny. My mane covered most of the front half of my body. We had always fought with each other. Ma and pa were always busy, ma was always sent out to hunt, she was always exhausted 'cause pa always overworked her.
I never quite understood the circumstances but one day, she just vanished. The entire pride was moody for the next few weeks, tension rose as ma was also the calm one, she would help to defuse fights among the pride while pa was away. He would head out for long periods at a time, bringing back things to help the pride. I asked him once where ma went, he simply scuffed and laid down, I left it there 'cause it wasn't good to make pa angry.
Me and my brother would often look after each other since nobody liked him. He was... more feisty then everyone else. I caught on to his ways and we became the duo of the pride. We rebelled against the pride in unison. When pa caught wind of our antics, he said we had gone to far and jumped onto my brother, he tore my brother to pieces, he screamed in agony as he clawed at the dirt, trying to escape dad's grasp. Of course we were younger and weaker so we had no chance. Pa, with a blood-stained face and limbs, glared me down. I remember every word he spoke..
"You betray those you love, your heart will bleed further than heartbreak, son. Now scat or you will join your sad excuse of a sibling." His voice echoed all around me, tears filled my eyes as I turned around and ran off. As I escaped I could hear a shattering roar behind me, I could never return.
The following days were rough, obtaining food was hard and there were many enemies. I soon came across a lioness who seemed to be alone. She looked at me and tilted her head, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. We slowly approached each other and after some time, we grew a bond. I was happy, but I knew this happiness would soon end. I decided it was time to form a pride of my own, with this lioness, I can build a family of my own. Of course it was hard but with the basic needs taken care of, I swept up three more lionesses.
I also ended up finding an adolescent female and a male cub who were abandoned. I took them in and saw a bit of my brother in the feisty little cub. He was eager to fight. I knew I would not live for long, my mane was already receding and turning more and more gray every week. I announced this cub would be my heir once I retired. My story shall end but my heir will rise and rule over this pride with a mighty paw.
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