Lioness Tales
Tale 1: Njano's Secret
Chapter 8: Unexpected Company
Much to Erevu's disappointment, Safi had been right about the lionesses looking for solitude instead of going to him for assistance during their season. When Etana decided to disappear for a few days, he even tried to find her, to see if he could persuade her to accept his help, but the lionesses' hiding spots were carefully chosen, and he never found out where they all went to hide from him.
In the meantime, Nura was making a lot of progress with her lessons, and was almost ready to take her Hunting Test. If she passed, she would then be allowed to go on her First Hunt. However, the lioness still had not reached adulthood yet, and thus was not ready to be wedded.
The Eyasi Pride was also facing some problems due to a recent drought. Food was scarce, and sometimes they could go without a meal for a couple of days. Duni did her best to catch as many rodents as she could, with Nura's help, but it was not enough to keep everyone well fed and satisfied, so the lionesses were even less inclined to think about bringing cubs into the world and complicate matters for everyone.
The Pride had gathered near the lair one afternoon, to get some rest. The lionesses had been out hunting all morning, and managed to bring back a gazelle for lunch. With their tummies full for now, they were all longing for a well-deserved nap.
Duni, as usual, groomed and tended to the tired huntresses, until they all had fallen asleep. Duni then sniffed around, wondering if Erevu and Safi were nearby, but she could not smell them or hear them. She let out a loud sigh and tried to join the rest of the lionesses in their nap, but she just tossed and turned, feeling restless, longing for someone to groom her instead.
The lioness immediately recognized the symptoms and stood up quickly. She located Adla, and whispered softly in her ear, "Adla... I'll be going away for a few days... You know where."
Adla opened one eye and looked at her sleepily. "Oh... That time again? Sure, sweetie... Be strong."
Duni gave her a quick lick on the cheek. Before she could even begin to think about asking the male lions for help, Duni quickly set off in the direction of her secret hideout. It had been a while since she had been there, at least three full moons that she could remember, so the marks she had placed for herself were extremely faint. She knew that if it were to rain unexpectedly, she would have problems detecting these worn-out marks, so she decided to renew them, not wanting to risk getting lost.
The lioness finally reached the familiar spot where she had spent some lonely nights on her own. She sniffed around to make sure there were no other animals or predators nearby, but besides a bird or two, Duni was all by herself. She cuddled next to the log and waited for the worst to come.
Safi and Erevu were making their way home after chasing away two cheetahs that had gotten too close to their lair.
"Good catch on spotting their pawprints," Safi said, "I bet they were going to try and steal the remains of our gazelle as soon as the Pride went to sleep."
Erevu grinned, looking proud of himself. "Father always taught me to keep an eye on that sort of thing. He said I have to get to know my surroundings extremely well, so that I could recognize as soon as something looked out of place. That's how I noticed someone had been trampling the grass, and how I found their pawprints."
Safi listened intently as Erevu shared more of Faraji's wisdom with him. He would have loved to be able to participate on those lessons instead of the hunting ones that he got from the lionesses, so he kept asking questions, and Erevu, enjoying seeing this older lion so interested in what he had to say, was happy to answer.
As they got closer to the lair, Safi stopped on his tracks to sniff a nearby bush. He then scented the air around him and couldn't suppress a sigh.
"What? What is it? Another intruder?" Erevu asked, walking to where Safi was, and he too started sniffing around.
Safi did not respond, but Erevu let out a triumphant laugh as he realized one of the lionesses was in season.
"Oh, I'm going to find her this time, and I'll make sure she doesn't feel lonely," he told Safi while giving him a big wink. "I wonder, who could it be?" Erevu added, looking around as he tried to locate the lionesses in the distance and determine who was missing.
"Don't bother," Safi replied, looking serious, "that mark belongs to Duni."
"Really? Damn, just my luck," Erevu replied, looking visibly disappointed.
Safi smirked. "Looks like you'll have to keep on waiting for Nura instead."
Erevu grunted. "I warn you, Safi. Nura will not survive the wedding night if I don't get some action soon, darn it..."
Safi couldn't help but smile as he recalled when he went through that stage as well. "Don't rush it, your time will come. Anyway, I'm going to take a nap with the rest of the gang now. Are you coming?"
"I'll pop by the lake first, I'll see you later."
Safi nodded and walked towards the lair, trying to suppress the urge to run off and go find Duni himself.
Erevu in the meantime made his way to the lake and quenched his thirst. The lion appeared very thoughtful. While he had no desire at all to mate with what he considered the ugliest lioness in the Savannah, he still wanted to get close to Duni, just to see how she'd react to his presence. He wondered if she would shower him with attention, or if she would beg for his help. That thought brought a little, evil grin to his face. It would be a fun thing to witness, a lioness begging for his love, and him playing hard to get.
Unaware that Duni's current state would also strongly affect his own behaviour, Erevu's curiosity eventually got the best of him, and he finally decided to look for her hideout, just to tease her a bit.
As Erevu made his way back from the lake, he kept looking over his shoulder, making sure he was not being followed. He stopped by the same bush Safi had been sniffing earlier, and studied Duni's scent mark carefully. Erevu knew that this lioness in particular would leave marks all over the place wherever she went, so as not to get lost.
"I wonder if she's done the same today..." he muttered to himself, and started sniffing the area, until he found another recent mark.
"Aha... Gotcha!" he exclaimed, and started following the trail that Duni had marked for herself earlier that day.
Duni was pacing in circles restlessly, in the hopes of wearing herself out and getting some decent sleep. She'd often stop to rub full length against the log, enjoying the contact. She would then start walking circles again. The lioness kept repeating the same motions over and over, unaware that she was being watched.
Erevu had been quite good at stalking, and he had managed to make his way up to Duni's hideout without a sound. He had been peering at her from behind a thicket of bushes, slightly amused at her unusual behaviour. While he had been searching for her, Erevu had already planned about a dozen tricks he could play on Duni, however, he found himself too entranced by her scent. He forgot all about the pranks, wanting nothing more than to get closer to her.
For a short moment, Erevu realized that perhaps it would be better for him to just go back to the lair, but by then Duni took a break from her pacing, and started grooming herself. Erevu found that he could not take his eyes off her, and he just sat there, watching her for a long time, while the needs of his body began to impair his judgment.
Screw the rules, screw waiting. I'm going in, he thought impulsively. Erevu finally crossed the thicket with no delicacy at all, making a tremendous amount of noise as leaves and twigs were forcefully pushed aside in his haste to reach Duni.
The lioness jumped to her feet, looking startled. She turned towards the source of the noise and adopted an aggressive stance. "Who's there?" she snarled, while her nostrils widened as she tried to identify the intruder.
Erevu walked up to her so that she could smell him.
"Oh..." Duni said, her ears drooping slightly. "You... You shouldn't be here..."
"I know," he muttered, "I just... I wanted to see... Oh, man..." He didn't say more; he found himself unable to speak as he sniffed Duni's neck and shoulder. The closer he got, the more he was willing to forget how repulsed he was by her missing eye.
Duni was standing very still. She was hoping he'd just turn around and leave. As much as she craved company, she knew that Erevu, while old enough already, was still off limits to her. So she tried her best not to lead him on.
"What's wrong," Erevu whispered in her ear, "I thought you'd be all over me or something."
Duni swallowed with difficulty. "I can't... Not until you and Nura-"
"Forget about that! Besides, I don't want Nura to think I don't know what I'm doing when my wedding night comes. I need some practice first. C'mon Duni, let's help each other out here..."
Duni tried to back away, but Erevu didn't give up so easily. Without warning, he nipped her on her shoulder, making Duni react in a positive way towards his advances.
"That's better," he told her, and he kept nipping here and there until Duni could not control herself anymore. Both lions finally gave in to their instincts, not stopping to think about the consequences.
Their love making lasted very shortly, perhaps even shorter than normal, due to Erevu's urgency to get it done. Duni found the activity rather painful, and she couldn't stop herself from growling from beginning to end, and as Erevu stepped away from her, she even turned around to swipe a paw at him, feeling very angry for the pain he had caused her.
Wait... That was it? Duni thought, feeling extremely disappointed. She remembered Adla had once warned her that it would hurt, but that it would be worth the pain. As Duni started to wonder if there might be something else wrong with her other than her eyes, just a couple of seconds later, the pain made way for an immense feeling of gratification that swept through her body like a tidal wave. It was a combination of pleasure and relief that rendered the lioness unable to speak and think clearly, and before she knew it, she was rolling around on the grass like a playful, overgrown cub, feeling extremely content and relaxed.
Duni eventually stopped rolling around, and finally lay down on her side, as she warmly welcomed the feeling of drowsiness. The lioness smiled as she admitted to herself that she would definitely put up with many more painful mating sessions, if they all resulted in the amazing feeling she had just experienced.
Erevu, having also found the relief he had been looking for, didn't linger for too long. He returned to the lair shortly after, so as not to arise any suspicions. But he kept visiting Duni's hideout several times per day, until her season came to an end.
The young lion had gone to her hideout one morning, hoping for some more intimate time with Duni, only to find her peacefully asleep, snuggled next to the log. He sniffed her for a moment, but whatever it was that made her so attractive all of a sudden, was gone.
The lion watched her sleep, as he thought about the past few days. He stared at her missing eye, and he couldn't believe he had led himself into this mess. He still felt nothing for this lioness, and he knew he would get in big trouble if anyone were to find out.
Erevu prodded Duni with his paw to wake her up. "Get up, come on..."
Duni looked up. "Huh? Whasswrong..."
"Looks like your season's over. So I was thinking... I don't think we should tell anyone what happened," he told her curtly.
Duni got to her feet, still a bit sleep drunk. "Um... I suppose not... But what if I've become pregnant? The Pride will want to know who the father is..."
Erevu cursed softly to himself. "We'll deal with that later, if that's the case. But for now, please just don't tell anyone."
Duni nodded. "Okay, okay. Don't worry..."
The lioness could hear that Erevu had turned around and left her without another word. She simply sat there, thinking about the past few days. It was clear to her now that Erevu had only come to her for pleasure and nothing more. While this was not a bad thing per se, as she harbored no feelings for Erevu either, Duni was aware that both of them had made a terrible mistake, and she had no idea how the Pride would react if they were to find out. The lioness spent what seemed like hours grooming herself, hoping that no one would notice Erevu's scent on her, giving away the fact that she had not been alone during her season.
Weeks went by and the drought was still making things difficult for the Eyasi Pride; the lionesses had to cover longer distances to find food. If this continued, they would be forced to relocate somewhere else. For now the Pride was doing their best to survive with the limited resources at their disposal.
Duni and Erevu kept avoiding each other as much as they could, whereas Safi had been doing some serious thinking about what he wanted to do with his life. He regretted more and more not having helped Duni when she asked him for assistance, and he found himself daydreaming about what it would be like to live together, she hunting rodents for him, and he hunting bigger game for her. Doing the hunting himself had sounded very unappealing at first, but he realized now that he wouldn't actually mind doing it for her.
Safi made up his mind, and he decided to have a talk with Duni, to find out what her feelings towards him were at this point. He looked for her all over the place, and finally found her resting under the shade of a dried out tree trunk. He swallowed with difficulty, feeling a bit nervous, but walked resolutely towards her.
As Safi got closer, he could hear Duni humming. He pricked his ears and recognized the tune; it was the lullaby Gasira used to sing for them as cubs. He felt intrigued as to why she'd be singing that, but didn't think much of it for now.
"Hey!" he called out loud so as not to startle her as he got closer.
"Hello there," Duni replied, and then sat on her belly, trying to hide it from his view.
"I've been looking all over for you. The thing is... Well, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. Do you have some time?" he asked, while sitting down close to her.
Duni tilted her head and pricked her ears, interested. "I'm all ears."
"Listen... I... I know I've let you down before, and I've apologized a thousand times already but..." he paused for a moment as he looked at the lioness, who despite not being able to see, it appeared as if her left eye was intently piercing him with her stare.
"What I wanted to say is," he went on, "I'll be leaving soon. And I remember that long, long time ago, you offered to go with me, so that I wouldn't feel lonely..."
Duni nodded, recalling that day very well. "Yeah, and you also turned me down then, because of these," she added, motioning with a paw towards her eyes.
Safi bit his lip for a moment, cursing his own bluntness as a youngster. "Well... I've changed my mind in the meantime. And what I wanted to know is... Have you changed yours?"
Duni's expression was a bit hard to read. Safi couldn't tell whether she was surprised or not.
"Er, are you actually asking me to leave the Pride and go with you?"
"Yes," he replied quickly, "I've realized that I made some huge mistakes regarding you in the past, but I want to rectify all of them. I don't care anymore if you can't see. You're the sweetest lioness in the Pride, and I'd be honored if you were to go with me, when the time comes."
Duni appeared shocked at this revelation, since she had no idea that Safi felt that way for her. She looked down as if staring at the ground and for a moment she was not able to speak.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, "Hey, if you don't want to go with me, it's okay, I understand. I messed up way too many times. But I just had hoped..."
When Duni finally looked up again, Safi could tell she was crying silently. "I'm flattered, really... I'd never thought..."
"Shh..." Safi said and nuzzled her as he gently dried her tears with his tongue.
"There's something you need to know, Safi..." she whispered nervously, feeling Safi deserved to know the truth about what happened with Erevu, before making such an important decision. "Erevu came to me during my last season."
Safi pulled back, gasping slightly. "What? That can't be! He said he'd never- I mean..."
The lion was at a loss of words for a moment. "Did you... Are you..."
"I'm quite sure I'm expecting his cub," she said as her voice cracked up, "I swear I didn't invite him, he found me and he wouldn't leave... He was very insistent, I just couldn't control myself..."
Safi looked away as he let out a very deep sigh. "Does anyone else know?"
Duni shook her head.
Both lions remained quiet for a moment, as they considered their options. It was Safi who eventually broke the awkward silence.
"I suppose you'll want to raise the cub here, to be taught by its father, and under the Pride's protection."
"I have no idea what the Pride will do to me once they find out. For all you know, they'll kick me out."
"And if they don't?"
Duni shrugged, looking helpless, "I have no idea, Safi. I need time to think... Your proposal couldn't have come at a more difficult time... That is, if you still want me to go with you."
The lion looked at her, but his feelings towards Duni remained unchanged. He could not reproach Duni what she had done, especially when it had been Erevu who incited it. "Of course I still want you to come with me. But you having Erevu's cub makes matters more difficult than I anticipated."
"What if we leave now? Then nobody will have to know... Maybe we could raise the cub together."
Safi shook his head. "I can't leave now, not until Erevu's strong enough to lead the pride on his own. I promised Adla I'd stick around until then."
"Then I guess I have no other choice but to wait and see what their reaction is," Duni replied, sounding defeated.
Safi looked at her body for a moment. "Stand up for a sec, let me see."
Duni got to her feet, while Safi inspected her tummy. "It's not that obvious yet, you could tell them you've been sneakily eating some rodents and they'll probably believe you."
Duni couldn't stifle a laugh, while the seriousness of the situation still made her feel like a nervous wreck. As much as she had wanted a cub, she regretted having accepted Erevu's sneaky visits.
"Do you want to go back to the lair? I can walk you there," Safi offered.
"No, I'll stay here a bit longer, if that's okay with you. My head's about to explode with thoughts and I could use some quiet time to try and sort things out."
Safi took the hint and stood up. "All right, then. I'll see you around."
The lion kissed Duni's cheek gently, and walked away, with a very worried expression on his face.