Lioness TalesBy Niche Eenhoorn Tale 3: Jiwe's Freedom Disclaimer:
Any other character you don't recognize from the film belongs to me. If you want to use one of my characters for writing, fanart, etc., just drop me a note!
- The story contains non-explicit scenes of lions and lionesses mating. While the scenes are not extremely descriptive, they might be more suitable for adult/mature audiences.
- Rated M, for mild cursing, some violence, references to drug dealing and substance abuse, references to physical abuse.
- All the "herbs", except for Catnip and "Upendi Petals", were made up by myself, and lots of liberties were taken concerning their consumption and effects. They're heavily based on drugs that humans take, but they might not mimic the effects 100%. The credit for the name "Upendi Petals" goes to fellow ETPR RPer, Fousafia.
- I am not a native English speaker, so if you find any recurrent grammar issues, please feel free to point them out!
- Special thanks to my dear friend Darkgodakito and my husband Jeroen, for beta-reading the story for me! 3
- Thanks to my dear friend Koai too, for all the inspiration! Without her "Escape to Pride Rock" comic and her roleplay board, Jiwe would have never been born in my mind. :)
I hope this covers everything up, now on to the story! Reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcome. Thanks in advance, and enjoy!
Lioness Tales
Tale 3: Jiwe's Freedom
By Niche Eenhoorn
Chapter 1: Rough Start
Evening had fallen in the African Savannah. The stars were visible, shining brightly in the dark, cloudless sky. Under the light of the full moon, the lioness Rahisi sat by the edge of a small waterhole, staring intently at her reflection, with a thoughtful expression.
The lioness let out a deep sigh, and then stared down at her belly, where she could already feel life stirring inside her. She knew she would have to tell her Pride sooner or later. It was becoming rather difficult to hide her growing tummy and making up excuses as to why she felt sick often as of late. She was clearly troubled, and seemed to be having a difficult time making her mind about what she should do. But it all came down to one thing: she would need to tell them the truth, and face the consequences.
Afraid of confronting her Pride-members, the lioness began grooming her light-brown pelt, as if postponing the inevitable for just a bit longer.
When Rahisi heard the calls of the rest of the lionesses, announcing that dinner was served, the lioness finally stood up and slowly made her way back to the lair, trembling slightly in anticipation.
Rahisi joined the rest of her Pride-mates, who were waiting for the male leader to finish eating so that they could have their turn.
"Hey, Rahisi. Feeling better already, hun?" Kiongozi, the alpha lioness, asked.
Rahisi only nodded quietly, and then thanked her for allowing her to skip the hunt.
As a reminder of the resolution she had made earlier, Rahisi felt her cubs moving inside her once more. She had to tell Kiongozi now.
"Kiongozi... There's something I need to talk to you about. Have you got some time?"
The alpha lioness nodded and walked a few steps away to ensure them some privacy. She eyed Rahisi with curiosity, wondering what she had to say. Rahisi had always been rather meek and submissive, and seldom spoke her mind, so Kiongozi was intrigued, to say the least.
"What's the matter?" she finally asked, once they were alone.
"It's about me being sick all the time-" Rahisi began to say, but Kiongozi interrupted her.
"Don't be silly, it's not like we can help falling ill, right?" she asked, a friendly and understanding smile spreading across her face.
Rahisi shook her head and stared down at the ground, shuffling the soil under her paws nervously. "Kiongozi, I'm not ill. I- er, I'm with cub," she blurted out, and braced herself for what would come.
Kiongozi's smile promptly faded and was replaced by a deep frown. "You did not..." she started to say, but Rahisi's guilty look gave her crime away.
Kiongozi growled slightly as she started pacing back and forth angrily. "And tell me, just where is he now?"
Rahisi couldn't look her leader in the eye, and simply kept staring at her paws, her trembling now visible to the eye. "He... He left."
Kiongozi cursed out loud. She stopped her pacing and faced Rahisi with a furious expression. "We warned you about him, didn't we? But of course, you didn't listen. You never do!"
"I'm sorry!" Rahisi exclaimed, her eyes now moist with tears. "I really thought he was the one-"
"Yeah, I bet you did," Kiongozi snorted, "Bet he made you believe he was in love. He promised you the moon and the stars, too. And you believed him, like the idiot you are!"
Rahisi closed her eyes tight. She knew that Kiongozi was right. They did warn her about Mchezaji, the lion in question. The rogue lion had a reputation for charming up the ladies and leaving them behind once he got what he wanted from them. But Rahisi had honestly believed his tales of being a changed lion in search for a mate to settle down and start from scratch.
"You know that Nguvu won't tolerate this, right?" Kiongozi asked.
Rahisi nodded quietly, licking away the tears rolling down her face. Nguvu, their male leader, had already warned her about messing around with rogues. He was quite a jealous and possessive lion, and sometimes just catching a lioness looking at another male would send him in a fit of rage. The Pride accepted him and tolerated his jealousy because Nguvu was also an excellent fighter, and extremely capable of keeping them all safe and protected. But Rahisi feared now that she might not count with his protection for long.
"What can I do? Please, Kiongozi, I need your guidance," Rahisi pleaded.
Kiongozi stared at her with a cold expression, which softened slightly at her pleas for help. "Well, the problem is I don't think you have that many options," she said, "Nguvu will either beat you up for cheating until you miscarry, or, in the remote case that he leaves you unharmed and allows you to stay in the Pride, you know what will happen to the cubs once they're born. Are you willing to let that happen?"
Rahisi finally looked up and stared at Kiongozi, her jaw trembling slightly. Rahisi had no idea how she herself felt about these cubs. She had been angry at first, thinking she despised them. The thought of abandoning them somewhere even crossed her mind. But as the cubs grew and Rahisi began feeling their movement, she realized that she felt much different now. She was eager to see them, to nurse them, and just try a hand a being a mother. However, without the support of the Pride, Rahisi feared her cubs would be doomed, either way. But she had to at least make an effort and try.
After a moment of pondering, Rahisi admitted, "I don't want him to hurt me, or kill my cubs. I'm so scared, I don't know what to do..."
"Then here's what you have to do, Rahisi," Kiongozi replied firmly, "You have to leave, before he finds out. Go away, as far as your legs can carry you. Cross the river, if you must. In the meantime, I'll try to buy you some more time, so that he doesn't go after you. I'm afraid that's all I can do for you."
So, it comes down to this, Rahisi thought. Leaving, and raising her cubs on her own. With some luck, she could find a group that would accept her, but her cubs would be in constant danger. She let out a deep sigh and looked at Kiongozi sadly.
"So this is it, then? We say goodbye and we never meet again?"
Kiongozi nodded, and looked away. "Don't look at me like that. You brought this upon yourself, you know."
"I already feel terrible about it, you don't need to rub it in," Rahisi mumbled. "Anyway... Will you say goodbye to the other lionesses for me?"
Kiongozi gave her a little smile. "Of course I will. You take care, and good luck out there."
The two lionesses head-butted each other one last time, and parted ways. The last thing Rahisi saw was Kiongozi walking away with her head and tail drooping low. She was a stern lioness, and would never sugar-coat her opinion, but despite all that, she was a respected leader. Rahisi could tell that Kiongozi was sad to see a pride-mate leave this way, whatever the reason may be.
Kiongozi in turn didn't look back, forcing herself to keep calm and not let any tears flow. She returned to the lair and announced that she had allowed Rahisi to take some time off in solitude until she recovered from her illness. Nguvu didn't seem to find any issues with that, and it was until several days later that he himself went to search for her to see how she was doing, only to find out she had disappeared.
When he didn't find her in the territory, Nguvu immediately assumed that she had ran off with the rogue lion. His rage was terrible. He was in such a sour mood that Kiongozi was actually glad that Rahisi had ran away after all. She would have ended up dead or terribly wounded for sure.
Kiongozi then summoned the other lionesses and in confidence she explained to them what had really happened, and how Rahisi had meant to say goodbye to them all, but hadn't had time to do it. The lionesses, while shocked, all had an I told you so expression, having warned Rahisi about the rogue lion many times. They all agreed on one thing, fleeing had been the best decision Rahisi could have made.
Nguvu tried searching for her, not willing to leave her crime unpunished, but as suggested by Kiongozi, Rahisi had crossed the river, where her trail had vanished for good.
Rahisi wandered on her own for several days, managing to catch small prey to feed on. As she got heavier, hunting became harder, and in the end she had to resort to catching small rodents and sometimes eating a bit of carrion to get by.
She felt very lonely, and missed her pride-sisters terribly. At nights she longed for a warm body to lean against, and during the day she missed their conversations. Rahisi even resorted to talking to herself, in an attempt to drown the oppressing silence around her.
Despite being rather meek, Rahisi quite enjoyed the company of the Pride and would love to listen to their chats, even if she didn't participate often. They were all much dominant than she was, and Rahisi was content with letting them do all the talking. She never thought she would be missing all their angry moping after a hunt gone wrong, or their jokes and their taunts, and even their rants against her beloved Mchezaji.
One hot and sunny morning, as Rahisi searched for food, the contractions finally started. Rahisi could tell that the cubs were coming now, so she looked for a shaded and secluded spot to bring her babies into the world, and waited for nature to take its course.
Not long after, Rahisi was cuddling three little cubs close to her chest, two males and a female. With Mchezaji gone, Rahisi could not follow on the tradition of having the males named by the father. So it was up to Rahisi to name all three of them. She decided she would call the males Bahari and Maji, and the female would be named Jiwe.
They all seemed to be healthy and were eating well. Rahisi looked at them, as strange feelings bubbled inside her. On one hand, she was glad that she had fled and kept the babies safe, and on the other hand, they were all a reminder of how she had been lied to and used by Mchezaji. This caused her immense pain, and put a damper in the whole motherhood experience, and just a few days after birth, Rahisi became very depressed.
She would spend a lot of time crying and feeling sorry for herself, cursing her luck. Sometimes she couldn't even be bothered to get up and hunt. But whether she liked it or not, she had to take care of herself, now with three babies that depended on her for survival. That thought seemed to fuel Rahisi's strength and forced her to try and move on, if not for her sake, for the sake of her cubs.
With nobody to babysit, Rahisi was forced to stay close to the den to keep an eye on the cubs, but unfortunately there was not much game around. She would have to travel further south to find the herds, only she didn't feel it was safe leaving the babies alone for that long. Instead, Rahisi decided to relocate their den. She found a good hiding spot closer to where she would be able to hunt properly, and one by one she started moving the cubs to their new den.
Rahisi was faced with a hard decision: which cub to move first. This would mean leaving the other two exposed for a while. But the decision was quickly made for her, as one of the cubs crawled towards her, mewing happily in greeting.
Rahisi looked down at the cub and smiled. It was Jiwe. She had been the first one to open her eyes, and always seemed very happy to see her mother back, greeting her enthusiastically even after just a short absence. Rahisi bent over and picked up Jiwe gently, carrying her by the scruff of her neck. She hummed a tune for the cub as she walked to the new den. Jiwe seemed to be enjoying herself, and looked around while trying to identify all the new scents flooding her tiny nose.
Rahisi placed Jiwe down and made sure she was well hidden before returning for the other two cubs. "Now, you keep quiet little one, and I'll be right back."
Jiwe curled up and stayed put, falling asleep not long after.
Rahisi then decided to fetch Bahari first, leaving Maji, the runt, as last. The lioness was so determined to get back to the new lair as fast as possible, that she became careless and didn't notice that there was a stray wild-dog hiding nearby. The dog had spotted Rahisi's pattern, and she knew that the lioness was about to leave the den unattended for a while.
Once Rahisi left with Bahari in her muzzle, the wild dog made her move, finding helpless Maji fast asleep, without a worry in the world.
The wild dog made sure that her kill was swift and quick, little Maji didn't even wake up when it happened. The wild dog whispered, "I'm sorry..." and ran away with the dead cub in her mouth, which she promptly gave to her own pup so it could feed.
Rahisi returned later to pick up the third cub, and felt her heart sink to the ground when she found the den deserted. Judging from the blood spilled on the ground, and the scents around the area, another predator had snatched Maji away. Rahisi tried looking around, calling for him, in hopes that she could find the cub still alive, but it was no use. She made her way back to the new den with a very heavy heart. She was glad to have found a new hiding place, otherwise her three cubs would have all perished for sure.
Having one of her cubs killed took a toll on Rahisi's already down mood, and as such, her hunting abilities started to be affected as well. She became somewhat paranoid, and kept running back and forth from the hunting grounds and to the den, just to check on the cubs, and as a result, she rarely brought anything down. The small, meager meals that she managed to catch were not enough to keep up her milk production as plentiful as before, and the cubs began suffering from it.
Jiwe, who was faster than Bahari, always got to Rahisi first, and would drink most of her milk, leaving little left for her brother. Bahari, still too young to voice his complaints, could do nothing but whine and cry, leaving Rahisi puzzled as to what was bothering him. She was unaware that even though he was suckling just fine, he was not receiving enough food in return.
Rahisi suspected that he might be falling ill, especially when she woke up one morning to find Bahari very lethargic. She gave him a gentle push with her nose, and realized the cub felt very cold to the touch. She embraced him close to her chest, offering breakfast to him, but Bahari didn't have any strength to suckle anymore.
The lioness whispered soft words of comfort, telling the cub to be strong and hold on until the illness was over, but clueless as to what was the real problem, Rahisi simply allowed Jiwe to nurse as usual, instead of attempting to share the milk between the two cubs.
Bahari, in one last attempt at trying to eat, raised his head and looked for Rahisi's teats, but Jiwe had already drank all the milk available, and the cub let his head fall back down on his paws, and let out a deep sigh.
Rahisi looked at Bahari sadly, wishing she knew what was wrong so that she could help him. She groomed him tenderly, but after a while, she felt Bahari's body going limp in her paws. Rahisi assumed that the cub had fallen asleep, but she quickly noticed that he had also stopped breathing.
"Please, talk to me, come on, wake up!" Rahisi said, licking the cub thoroughly, hoping to bring him back to life, but it was no use. The cub had succumbed to starvation, and Rahisi, feeling devastated, let out a series of loud, mournful roars.
"What have I done to deserve all this?" she screamed as tears rolled down her face. "I just slept with the lion I loved, for crying out loud! Do I really deserve this punishment?"
But nobody answered her questions, and Rahisi continued crying in silence, cuddling Bahari until all his body heat had disappeared. When she calmed down, Rahisi decided she couldn't stick around. The smell of decay would eventually attract other predators, so she knew she had to look for another den. The lioness picked up the remaining cub in her muzzle, and slowly walked away from the painful sight of her lifeless son.
During the days that follow, Rahisi was having great trouble finding the strength to go out and hunt. She was determined to keep Jiwe alive, but on the other hand, the loss of her cubs kept weighing her down. She had clearly lost a lot of weight, and Jiwe herself also seemed smaller for her age, and slightly malnourished.
One evening, at sundown, Rahisi was in a terrible mood after having let a zebra escape. She was about to flop down in exhaustion, when she heard someone approaching. She quickly crouched and hid between the tall grasses, keeping very still, wondering if she would manage to make a kill today after all.
But her hopes were crushed at the sight of the strangers approaching. They were two male lions, both rather well fed and strong. Rahisi folded her ears backwards and tried to suppress a snarl. She realized in alarm that they were heading straight to the place where Jiwe was currently hiding.
Rahisi knew she was no match for these two, but fearing for Jiwe's safety, she came out from her hiding spot and tried to distract them. She bared her teeth and let out a deep, loud growl.
The two lions heard it, as well as the grass rustling. They both turned to face Rahisi, and looked at her with curiosity. They gave her a warm smile, despite her aggressive demeanour.
"Hi there, don't be afraid," a large lion with a dark-brown mane and a tuft on his chin said, "We're not going to hurt you. We just want to know why you've entered our territory."
Rahisi didn't lower her guard and replied, "I was just searching for food. I was so focused on it that I didn't notice your marks, I'm sorry..." Rahisi was lying, she knew she was trespassing all right, but the sight of the zebra herd, so close by, made her ignore the border marks.
His companion, a smaller, dark-pelted lion with a black mane, nodded calmly and told her, "I get it. You do look like you could use a good meal, heh, no offence. Why don't you join us for dinner?"
Rahisi perked up her ears, and her mouth began to water at the thought of food. She was weary about trusting these strangers, after what Mchezaji had done to her, but her stomach was urging her to accept their invitation.
"I... I can't... Sorry for trespassing, I'll just leave... Thanks anyway."
"Wait, wait!" the bigger lion said, "What's the problem? We don't mean you any harm. We would have attacked you already if we wanted to as soon as you crossed the borders."
Rahisi sighed deeply and replied softly, "The thing is, I'm not alone. I have a cub."
The two lions laughed brightly. "Oh, come on, that's not a problem," the bigger lion said, "Bring it along. Once you two are well-fed and rested, you can continue your journey. What do you say?"
Rahisi pondered for a moment. Still unsure whether she was taking the right decision, she nodded at them and went to fetch Jiwe, who was demanding to be fed.
Rahisi followed the two lions back to their lair, and let out a sigh of relief when they guided her to their recent kill, a fresh impala.
"Eat as much as you want, we've already had our share," one of the lions said.
Seeing that they both went to sit down further away, and didn't show any threatening signs, Rahisi began nibbling at the carcass. She quickly lost herself in the meal and began eating ravenously, until she felt as if her tummy was about to explode.
When she couldn't have one bite more, Rahisi approached the two lions and thanked them for their hospitality.
"I'm very sorry, I didn't catch your names..." she asked hesitantly.
"I'm Kiume," the darker lion said.
"And I'm Shukrani, but everyone calls me Shuk," the one with the tufted chin replied, "How about you?"
Rahisi smiled for the first time since she met them, and answered, "I'm Rahisi, and my baby girl is Jiwe."
"Nice to meet you both, dear," Shukrani said, "How about you take a nice nap and we'll see how you feel in the morning. If you're still tired, you're welcome to stay as long as you need."
Rahisi nodded gratefully. "Won't your Pride mind?"
Shukrani let out a deep chuckle. "There's no Pride, dear, it's just the two of us. So don't worry about any jealous females, you're safe here."
Rahisi laughed, and felt relieved. The last thing she needed was a jealous lioness thinking she'd been sleeping around with her mates.
"I think I'll follow your advice and go get some sleep, thanks again for everything," Rahisi said, and bid the two lions good night.
They watched as Rahisi made herself comfortable next to a tree, and began nursing Jiwe before falling asleep.
After a brief moment of silence, Shukrani asked in a hushed voice, "What do you think? She seemed like a lousy hunter to me..."
Kiume shrugged, "Dunno... She was dead tired and hungry, but let's see how it goes once she's got her strength back. I just hope she'll be better than the last one!"
"Oh, yeah! Hell, even a blind hippo could hunt better than that excuse for a lioness," Shukrani added, snorting slightly, "But yeah, we'll wait and see. If this one proves to be useless too... Well."
The lion said nothing more, he only let out a mean chuckle, which was echoed by Kiume. They both remained silent after that, and fell asleep too not long after.
Author's note: I'll be working on character sheets for this story too! You can already find Rahisi's character sheet available on my Deviantart page: nichers . deviantart . com (remove the spaces between the dots!)