Lioness Tales
Tale 1: Njano's Secret
Chapter 2: Breaking the Ice
A couple of months went by, and against all odds, Duni was still very much alive. The lionesses quickly realized that the cub was not sickly at all, on the contrary, she had as much energy and drive as Safi, and was growing up at the normal rate of a healthy cub.
The biggest problem with Duni, though, was that she was not able to see. It appeared that the eye on the flat side of her head never developed properly, and the eyelids simply remained closed at all times. But Adla soon also discovered that even after Duni had opened her left eye, the cub still could not see where she was walking. Duni kept tripping over rocks and twigs, and falling down the edge of their niche at the lair.
This would have meant a death sentence for any other cub out there, but Adla had been very keen in taking care of her, and dealing with Duni's disability. She even decided to trade her usual resting spot for another, to a lower niche, so that Duni wouldn't hurt herself if she were to fall down again.
Faraji, in the meantime, had reluctantly gotten used to the cub's presence, but he still had not built any kind of bond with her. He didn't have any hopes for Duni. What good was a lioness that could not see? She wouldn't be able to hunt or cub-sit. In his eyes, Duni was basically useless. While he never voiced this out loud for Duni to hear, the fact that he didn't seek any contact with her, made Duni feel a bit shy and insecure whenever he was around.
The cub was already aware that she was different than Safi, in several ways. The lionesses had made no secret of the fact that she had been adopted by Adla into the Eyasi Pride. Damisi, in particular, kept reminding her of the chance that she had been given, and that she should always be grateful to Adla for saving her life.
Then there was her disability. You can't do this or do that because you can't see, they told her often. But Duni didn't understand what they meant. To her, it was as if someone was telling her a word in a foreign language. What did it mean, to see? The cub simply relied on her sense of smell and hearing to navigate around, but from what they kept telling her, this was not good enough.
She couldn't understand why, and this would bring her down every now and then. But most of the time she was happy and cheerful, and would play-wrestle with Safi, putting up such a good fight, that anyone who didn't know Duni would have a hard time telling that she was blind.
Duni had also started to recognize the scents and voices of the members of the Pride and was already quite good at matching these with the names of the lionesses. She was mostly familiar with her adoptive mother Adla, whose voice was soft and soothing, but could be strong and stern when she needed to assert her dominance.
Then there was Bahiya, Adla's closest friend. They often hung out together, and Duni learned they were very close in rank. When Adla was away, Bahiya would quickly assume the leader position, and the rest of the Pride wouldn't hesitate in following her orders.
Gasira, the lioness who shared her milk with her, had a melodious voice and she enjoyed singing lullabies for her and Safi, before nap time. She was very gentle and warm, and preferred to avoid confrontation, leaving the big decisions to the leaders of the Pride.
The rest of the lionesses didn't pay her much attention, but Duni could still tell when they were around by their voices, their laughter and their scent. There were Chiku and Damisi, who liked to gossip about everything, and would laugh loudly a lot. Etana and Faiza would often come and go, as they shared guard and cub-duty, and would inform Faraji about any intruders nearby.
And then there was Faraji himself. Duni could hear him and feel his presence, since the lionesses tended to be more reserved and subdued when he was around. Once, per accident she tripped on one of his massive paws, which made him snarl at her and walk away. That was as much contact as she had had with him, so Duni was still pretty much clueless as to what his personality was really like.
Judging from what the other lionesses had to say about him, he was a fair leader, and cared for his lionesses deeply. Duni couldn't say she felt the same way about him, but she didn't waste too much time pondering about this. She'd quickly get distracted and forget about Faraji as she played and frolicked, whether with Safi, or on her own.
It was one early morning, as the sun came out and cast its warm rays on the rocks of the Eyasi lair, that Duni's daily routine changed in a matter of seconds. She woke up when she heard Adla muttering to someone, "It's time, I can feel it. The cub is coming..."
"Oh... Can you make it to your chosen place?" came the deep voice of Faraji, sounding concerned.
"Yes, I'll leave now. Bahiya already agreed to watch over Duni while I'm gone, but... Could you also keep an eye on her too? Will you do it for me?"
"Sure, don't you worry about her, just concentrate on your own cub for now. Please, take care..." Faraji replied, sounding excited about the arrival of his new son or daughter.
Adla nuzzled his face and nodded. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks."
Seeing that Duni was already awake, Adla bent down and whispered, "Duni, I have to go now, sweetie. Remember what I told you the other day, about the new cub?"
Duni nodded, staring straight ahead for a moment as she sniffed the air around her. She could smell both Adla's and Faraji's excitement, and couldn't help sharing the feeling too.
"The time has come now, so I have to leave for a few days. Now, you'll be a very good cub, and will do everything Faraji and the older lionesses ask you to. You promise?"
"Sure, I promise," Duni replied, and sensing Adla's face was near her own, thanks to her long whiskers that tickled Duni slightly, the cub took a step forward and head-butted Adla gently.
Adla gave Duni a tender lick on her cheek, and walked away, heading towards the secluded spot she had chosen to bring her cub into the world.
Duni smiled and sighed deeply. She lay down on her belly, while resting her head on her paws, wondering what the new cub would sound and smell like. As she let her imagination run wild for a moment, she listened to Faraji's steady breathing. The lion usually shared the same niche with Adla, and Duni could tell he was still somewhere nearby. The cub couldn't help but feel curious about Faraji, and wondered whether she could get to know him better.
She raised her head and smelled around, while pricking her ears, until she could determine his location. Duni then stood up and approached him, little by little, not wanting to trip on his paws again and upset him.
As his scent grew stronger, she paid close attention to his breathing; she had already learned that he tended to breathe a lot faster and heavier when he was upset or annoyed. But Faraji still sounded relaxed.
For a short moment, Faraji held his breath, once he noticed Duni slowly making her way towards him. He looked around, making sure there was no one else nearby, and then fixed his gaze intently on the cub again.
Duni tilted her head, looking confused for a moment, wondering why Faraji's breathing had stopped. It was then when she suddenly felt a burst of hot air on her face that made her cringe. She curled into a tiny ball and tucked her tail and ears, trying to make herself smaller. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that Faraji was simply sniffing her, for the first time since she was taken in.
His nose must be huge... Duni thought, feeling his breath on her face, allowing Faraji to get familiar with her own smell.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," his voice boomed, as his head retreated, "Adla would never forgive me if I gave so much as a scratch to you."
Duni uncurled herself and looked upwards, towards the sound of his voice. Maybe now is a good time to be grateful, like Damisi always says, she thought, hoping to break the ice a little bit.
"Um, morning, sir... Er... Thanks... I mean, for letting me stay in your Pride..."
There was a short moment of silence, after which she only heard Faraji say, "Hmmph. You're welcome."
At least she's learned some manners, but what else can she learn? he thought.
Duni took a few more steps forward, using her whiskers to feel when she had gotten close enough. She finally reached one of his front paws, and started sniffing it and rubbing it with her head and chin carefully.
"What in the world are you doing?" Faraji asked, retreating his paw upwards and sounding slightly annoyed.
"Sorry... I'm... The thing is, I know what Adla and the other lionesses feel like, you know? But you feel different... I mean, your paw's huge! I think you're a whole lot bigger than them. Am I right?"
Faraji couldn't help but chuckle for a moment. He even lowered his paw for her again, looking at the cub with an amused expression. "Well, of course. Lions are always bigger than the lionesses."
"Huh? Really? Then how come Safi's about my size?"
"Just wait until he grows up."
When Duni was done getting familiar with the feel of his paw, she ventured to ask, "Is it okay if I feel your face too?"
Faraji blinked, looking surprised at her boldness for a moment, but he decided to humour her.
"All right," he said, as he lay down on his belly for her. He found it intriguing to see how Duni dealt with getting to know the other members of the Pride, and wanted to experience it himself.
Duni got closer as she carefully sniffed his face. Although she couldn't see anything through her left eye, it was wide open anyway, giving her a curious expression. She then closed her eye and concentrated on Faraji's features, as she proceeded to paw and rub his face with her own. It was indeed bigger than Adla's, and with more rough patches and battle scars. But what startled her the most was the huge amount of fur surrounding his head.
"Whoa... What's all this?" she asked, as she kneaded his mane with her paws and buried her nose in it.
"It's my mane," Faraji replied, feeling amused at the cub's reaction to something as mundane as his thick, dark-brown hair, "All male lions grow extra long fur around their head and neck when they grow up."
Duni seemed to be having fun while burying her face in it playfully. "Weird... What's it for?"
"It offers me protection for when I have to defend our territory from intruders. My throat and chest are less exposed this way."
Duni nodded, absorbing every word he said like a sponge.
Faraji then heard someone approaching, and not wanting to be caught bonding with the weakling, he stood up hastily, while Duni, not expecting him to get up so quickly, rolled off his mane and fell unto the ground. Faraji looked over his shoulder and saw Bahiya walking to him.
"Good morning, Faraji. Have you seen Adla?" Bahiya asked, as she greeted him with a nuzzle. The lioness raised an eyebrow, wondering why Duni lay sprawled in a strange position on the floor while giggling to herself.
"Adla said she felt the cub was coming, and left this morning to give birth," he replied casually.
Bahiya couldn't help but smile when she heard the good news. She then approached Duni and helped her up."You okay there?"
"Yeah!" Duni replied with a grin, "I was just getting to know Faraji's face and mane, but then he got up and I lost my grip, and I fell."
Bahiya turned to Faraji, giving him a warm smile. "Well, well... Are you actually warming up to her now?"
Faraji looked away, as he knew his cover was blown. "Adla asked me to watch over her, that's all."
Bahiya simply smiled and didn't push the issue further. "Yeah, we also promised Adla to keep Duni safe and sound until she returns."
The lioness bent over and nuzzled Duni gently. "Hey, do you think you can find the other lionesses, by following my most recent trail back to where they are resting?" she asked her, knowing that the Pride was not far away, and Duni wouldn't encounter any dangers.
"I bet I can!" Duni replied enthusiastically, "Will you be there soon?"
"Yes, you go ahead and I'll catch up with you in a minute."
Duni grinned and started following Bahiya's trail, feeling happy that the lioness trusted her tracking abilities enough to let her walk on her own, even if it was for a short distance.
"You really think she'll find them?" Faraji asked with curiosity, watching the cub walk away with her nose glued to the ground.
"Of course. I've left extra marks for her, to help her along the way, and the Pride's resting nearby. Don't worry, she'll be fine."
Faraji nodded and looked at Bahiya, who was staring at him thoughtfully.
"Something in your mind?"
Bahiya hesitated for a moment, "Adla's gonna be gone for a few days, so I was thinking... Could I sleep by your side while she's away?" she whispered.
Faraji sighed deeply and looked away. "You know that's bound to raise a few eyebrows."
Bahiya shrugged. "Then let them gossip, who cares?"
"I do. How many times must we go through this, Bahiya?"
The lioness frowned slightly. "It's so unfair... I still can't understand how you can be so at ease with this whole situation."
"It's how things are, okay? Everyone knows that Adla and I were betrothed since we were born, as tradition dictates, and that's that."
"I've heard tales of lions breaking the rules. Why couldn't you be one of them?"
"Please stop," he said, looking upset while pacing back and forth, "This situation hurts me as much as it hurts you, but you're certainly not making things easier on me whenever you keep bringing this up, Bahiya..."
The lioness looked at him as tears started to form in her eyes. "You know Adla wouldn't mind if we slept-"
"That's not the point. I know Adla wouldn't mind, but she and I are the leaders here, the figures of authority. If we start breaking the rules and doing whatever we want, our Pride's going to start doing the same and everything will fall apart. We need to have structure and discipline."
Bahiya snorted for a moment. "Oh, sure. So tell me, why did you accept Duni into the Pride then, huh?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Faraji asked her, sounding more annoyed than before.
"You're so ready to stick with the rules and traditions, but the moment Adla asks something of you, you're willing to bend those rules in a whim. Why didn't you kill that cub the moment Adla brought her to you? That's the tradition, isn't it?"
Faraji was at a loss of words for a moment, knowing Bahiya was right. "She's my mate, of course I'm bound to make some concessions for her," he snarled softly after a while, trying not to sound defeated.
"How about for the lioness you love? I'm not asking for much, Faraji... I just want to snuggle up beside you, that's all."
Faraji looked at Bahiya with sadness in his eyes. He sighed and motioned her to come closer.
Bahiya sat close to him and nuzzled his mane, while drying her tears on it. Faraji returned her affections and for a moment they remained silent, nuzzling and licking each other's face, while he cursed in his mind the moment they realized they had fallen in love. That had only made things more complicated than they already were.
Eventually Bahiya looked into his eyes and whispered, "So... Can I sleep here with you?"
Faraji closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bahiya... My answer is still no. We can be together once your season comes. Then we won't owe anybody any explanations, and we won't be betraying Adla's trust either."
Bahiya took a step back, looking hurt. "Fine... So be it then. I guess I'll go now. Duni and the others are probably wondering what's taking so long; you don't want them getting any nasty thoughts, hmm?"
Faraji sighed and watched as the lioness left without another word. He cursed softly, and left the lair, hoping that some fresh morning air and some cool water would help him clear his mind.