Grieves's Den

Ichika, the great golden lion, was not always so great.
Once, he was just a scared cub, begging the vultures to share their meager meals with him. He would soon learn that they responded better to aggression.

When his mother's pride had been taken over by a new male, she had pushed and urged Ichika to run and hide, fearing the new male would kill off the cubs of the previous king. But why hadn't she come with him, Ichika wanted to know?

"Ichika" she said, in a hushed tone. "Don't you see my size? He would notice me leave. But you... You are small and quick, clever, too. You will be all right. Now go, before it is too late"

And so he went, whimpering like a newborn into the tall, dry grass. He didn't always eat, and it was never easy, but somehow, that golden cub had managed to survive.

Perhaps it was this will to survive, or the strength within him, that drew Tiskan to him. The golden lioness followed him, a few kilometers behind, for several days. At first, Ichika was suspicious of her, and he thought to attack her. Then, he became curious instead. Why was she following him?

He deceived her, disguising his scent and waiting for her to approach. She was barely surprised.

"Why are you following me?" he demanded to know.

She shrugged her shoulders lazily. "I saw you take down that elephant calf, right behind its mother's back. Now, I figured you're either a big show-off, or... you can show me how to survive out here"

Ichika, then, was reluctant to allow the lioness to tag along. He'd been doing things alone since the separation with his mother so long ago, and he wasn't all that eager to change that. However, Tiskan was persistent, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Even when he beat her down and sent her off with her tail between her legs, she simply followed from the shadows as if nothing had ever happened. So, he finally agreed to showing her what he knew.

Tiskan was the start of another life for him. Sveri, the lioness who reminded Ichika of a sunset, decided he and Tiskan were a part of a pride, and that she had a right to join it. She was as stubborn (and endearing, Ichika would admit) as Tiskan. After her, other females joined his side. He also took pity on several orphaned cubs who were struggling as much as he once had, back when he was alone.

Now, solitude was a thing of the past. Now, despite all odds, the scared cub had not only survived, but he had become the king of this pride, this... family he'd been coerced into accepting. Whether he had wanted for this or not, it was all that mattered now, wasn't it? Guiding them, protecting them, leading them...

And he wished that he might see his mother one last night, so that he could tell her: "Yes, mother, you were right. I'm all right after all"

King Dynasty

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