-1Wonderful heat surrounded the beige lioness as she stayed on the rock. It was nearly mid day by now, judging by how high in the sky the sun was. She sat up after a moment of thought, watching as the pride began to stir. They had all gotten their share of the meat, the zebra had done her family good. Ieh smiled triumphantly to herself, glad that she had finally done something right since her crowning. She watched curiously as the rest of the pride exited the den, now heading for a drink at the water hole or to watch over cubs.
There was the familiar Desti, a beautiful lioness with dainty wings sprouting from her back. She walked closely between Tyo and Hek, who were brothers. All of these creatures appeared to have a magic about them, as their pelts were of odd colors, and they each had wings. Resting on the rock was a long familiar lioness, Xia. Her fur was as black as midnight, and adorned with many small crescent moon shapes. Her golden eyes were bright and could be seen even from this far away. She was a good friend to Ieh, having delivered prince Azaan and many other cubs within the pride. Ieh smirked when Heather and her brood finally emerged, watching with amusement as Xia made a face and shook her head sadly.
Xia appeared to be taking up the position of baby sitter for the day, as Heather's two newest cubs pounced on her and began to tug at her ears. A lioness with steel blue fur and leopard spots joined Xia, purring as she nuzzled the older lioness affectionately. This was Raine, Xia's first daughter.
Ieh sighed, lowering her head on the rock. She fancied a nap in this dreadful heat. She truly wished for rain to come, and soon. It seemed to have already dried up from the humid air, leaving the grass as dry and brittle as ever and not a single herd in sight on the plains. A sudden cool breeze embraced her and she sighed dreamily, closing her eyes. This moment would have to last as long as she could make it. She began to remember…times of cub hood…
Her first memories were of water. Cold water being splashed onto her face, and her pitiful cries for it to stop. A soft voice, murmuring apologies and a lick on the head followed. Then she smelled the familiar scent of her mother, and relaxed. With alarm the cub Ieh realized her mother was carrying her across a river. But why? A cold breeze trapped the cub, making her shiver violently. She heard her mother grunt and pant as she pulled herself up the other side of the steep bank.
Then she remembered the smell of earth. A damp cave where she and her mother spent the night. Where was her father? The cub mewed pitifully in the darkness, and was scooted closer to her mother by a weary paw. "They'll never have you, my darling." An overwhelming sense of safety and warmth surrounded the cub, and she fell asleep. It was in fact, too warm, it was burning her…burning…
Ieh screamed, snapping her head up in alarm. She panted, a cold sweat covering her pelt. She sprang to her paws clumsily, looking around with wide eyes. "I didn't mean to startle you so much!" Uru cried, jumping back from Ieh. Clearly she had been just as startled. "I was only looking for you, is all." She said simply, staring up at her queen on the rock. Ieh groaned, finally feeling her pulse begin to slow.
"It's…quite alright, Uru. You didn't know." She said, giving herself a shake as she leaped from the rock to the ground. She smiled at the young lioness to show her genuine forgiveness. "Bad dream, is all. Have you been to the water hole today? What say we go there together?" She said in a cheerful tone, prancing forward.
"Uh…ok." Uru responded, still a little shell shocked. The instant she had touched Ieh, the queen had acted as though she had stuck lava to her arm. What kind of horrible dream had she been living? Still, it wasn't her place to ask. She shook her head and smiled back at Ieh as she joined her side. "Yeah, I'd like that." She said, her voice happy instead of uncertain now.