Lioness Tales
Tale 1: Njano's Secret
Chapter 15: Change of Heart
Adla kept true to her promise, and didn't waste time in confronting Erevu about Njano's situation. As much as she wanted to slap him and make him apologize, Adla had to think carefully about how to approach Erevu without letting him know that Njano had confided in her. She managed to come up with a plan, and decided to put it in action that evening, just as the sun had set behind the horizon.
The lioness approached Erevu resolutely after he had finished his dinner and began grooming himself.
"Erevu, do you have some time? There's something really important I have to talk to you about," Adla whispered discretely, making sure the other lionesses would not hear them.
Erevu looked slightly disappointed, as he was planning to ask Njano to meet him again by the waterhole.
"Right now? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
She shook her head. "The safety of the Pride might be at stake. I want to speak to you in private so as not to alarm the rest."
Erevu hesitated for a moment, looking mildly curious. "All right, let's go somewhere quiet."
The two lions walked silently towards a secluded area, while Adla made sure there was no one else nearby.
"Well, what's the matter?" Erevu asked as he sat down. He stared distractedly at his reflection in a puddle of water, admiring how much thicker his auburn mane had become as of late.
"I think there might be an intruder in our territory," Adla whispered with some urgency, "I can't tell for sure, but the evidence certainly points towards it."
Erevu turned to Adla, looking slightly confused. "Huh? That's strange, we didn't notice anything out of the ordinary while on patrol... What sort of evidence are you talking about?"
Adla sat closer to him and whispered as low as she could, "It's Njano. She was a total wreck during the last hunt, and later I found her crying, but she just wouldn't tell me why."
Erevu did his best to try and keep a straight face. He was better at lying now than when he was younger, and was determined not to let Adla see through him again. He simply listened to her quietly.
"I tried to comfort her, so I started grooming her," Adla went on, "That's when I noticed some marks on her neck... You know, the marks a male leaves behind after mating. She's very unhappy, and that leads me to think that she didn't want to do it. Maybe she was forced, somehow? I know nobody within our Pride would sink so low and commit such a heinous act... It has to be a rogue! An outsider must've taken advantage of her and forced her to mate outside her season."
Erevu stood up and started pacing in circles. "How can you be so sure that someone forced her? I mean, it's no secret she's leaving soon. Maybe she gave herself willingly to some passing lion, expecting to be taken into his Pride. He could've just broken her heart and left her behind, or something."
Adla did her best to contain her anger, knowing that he was blatantly lying to her again. She had hoped that after what he had done to Duni, Erevu would admit his mistake this time, but sadly the lion had not changed one bit.
"She doesn't wander outside the borders often. If she's meeting with a rogue in secret and she's had enough time to actually fall in love with him, then that means you've been doing a very lousy job at keeping our borders secure."
Erevu tried with all his might to suppress a deep snarl that was threatening to escape from his throat. He could also tell that Adla's temper was starting to flare too, so he tried to keep a composed demeanour, hoping he would get Adla remain calm too.
"Hey, Imara and I have been doing our job just fine. Besides, she doesn't have to be in love with him, she could just be moping because she thought she'd get something in return, and she didn't. Either way, we can speculate all you want, but that's not going to lead us anywhere. What exactly did that lioness tell you?"
"Njano didn't say a word, no matter how hard I tried to get her talking. But it was obvious. She was so emotionally shaken, and she's physically hurt too; I clearly saw she was bleeding."
Erevu continued pacing in circles, as he pondered what his options were. The best solution he could think of was to promise Adla that he would chase after the non-existent intruder, and then sometime later either tell her hadn't found him, or that he'd found him and chased him away. Only this meant he would no longer be able to bully Njano into mating, at least not as easily as he had done so far.
"All right..." Erevu sighed, not looking too worried, "I'll do an extra round and bring Imara with me just in case. If that rogue's still in the area, we will teach him a lesson."
Adla nodded, attempting to look grateful. "I appreciate this, Erevu. I can't think of what I would do, if I were to come face to face with the jerk who hurt her like that. I'd skin him alive and throw him to the crocodiles," she added, in a warning tone that she hoped Erevu would not miss.
He looked at her, managing to conceal his uneasiness. "Now that's a charming mental image. Anyway, I'm going now, I'll let you know if we find him."
"In the meantime," Adla said, before the lion could leave, "I will also take some precautionary measures. I personally will be keeping an eye on Njano, and will ask the lionesses to go out in pairs if they need to get a drink or if they want to go for a walk. That way no one will be on their own, if he decides to strike again. I have also told Njano she can stay with us, under our protection, for as long as she likes. I don't want her leaving this place until she feels safe and confident again. I trust you don't have any objections to this?"
Erevu had some slight trouble trying to hide his anger and disappointment at this point; the fun had lasted way too short. He couldn't blackmail Njano any longer, and it would be too risky to attempt anything again, with Adla keeping tabs on her all the time.
"Yeah, yeah, good idea," Erevu said, pretending to agree, and tried again to cut this conversation short, "Anyway, let's go back now so that I can start the search with Imara."
When the two lions finally returned to the Pride, Erevu went to look for Imara. The young lion was getting ready to sleep, so he looked up startled when Erevu addressed him in a quick and hushed manner.
"Get up. We're going to patrol the borders again," Erevu commanded, sounding sour.
"Huh? We have to patrol again? At this time of the day?" Imara asked, feeling tired and drowsy.
"Remember what I told you about keeping the alpha lioness pleased?" Erevu whispered, looking moodier than before.
Imara nodded, yawning noisily in the process.
"Well, today's one of those days where we have to do a little extra something for her. Adla thinks she saw an intruder and wants us to check it out, so we'll go away and pretend to look for him and keep her happy."
Imara eventually got up and followed his father, wondering what he meant by that, but Erevu cast a warning glare at him and muttered, "No more questions."
Adla watched them leave, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. She was very disappointed in Erevu, and her stern features finally revealed just how angry she really was. She felt she couldn't trust him anymore. How many more lies has he told throughout his life? But what mattered the most now, was that he got the message that Njano was definitely not alone.
Once Adla could no longer see the silhouette of the two lions walking away in the distance, she went to look for Njano. She found her grooming Duni, who appeared to be fast asleep. Adla motioned with her head for Njano to follow.
Njano stood up as quietly as she could, and followed Adla, looking over her shoulder to make sure that Duni was still sleeping. The lioness had stirred slightly, but did not wake up.
They sat down further away, while Njano looked at Adla expectantly.
"I've spoken with him and I have the feeling he won't be bothering you again. Also, you can stay with us for as long as you please," Adla told her, smiling triumphantly.
"Really?" Njano asked, her eyes wide open in surprise. "But how did you- How?"
Adla proceeded to retell what she had told Erevu, and Njano couldn't help but chuckle, picturing him wasting his time while pretending to look for an invisible intruder.
"In the remote case that he asks this sort of thing from you again, please let me know immediately."
Njano nodded, as tears of happiness streamed down her face. "Darn, why didn't I come to you sooner... I'm over the moon! Can I please go tell Kanai?"
"Sure, go ahead. If the other lionesses start asking you about when you're leaving, just tell them you have my permission to stay, and tell them to come to me if they want any more explanations."
"Thank you, thank you so much," Njano replied sincerely, nuzzling the alpha lioness, "I wish I could repay you somehow..."
Adla shook her head. "Forget about that. Now run off and go tell your best friend the good news. I'm afraid your mother won't be so ecstatic to hear them, though."
"She already knows I wanted to stay. Only she didn't think that Erevu would let me... I hope she won't be too sad."
"We'll see, when she wakes up."
Njano gave Adla an enthusiastic head-butt, thanking her once again for her help. She darted away in search for Kanai, who was playing with Damisi's cub, not too far away. As Njano came closer, she could clearly hear Kanai cooing at the tiny lioness that was snuggled comfortably between her paws.
"Who's the cutest? Who's the sweetest of them all? Yes, you are..."
Njano approached Kanai and sat by her side, laughing at her antics towards the cub.
"Sorry," Kanai said, looking a bit embarrassed, "They're just so adorable at this age... Just a few minutes ago she had a laughter attack. It's the cutest thing I've seen, I tell you. I just can't get enough of these cubs!"
"Well, when you're done spewing honey all over this little one here, what do you say we go to our tree?" Njano asked.
Kanai's smile faded quickly. "Oh... Sorry... I kinda promised Imara we'd go to the hill by the cave. Something about looking at stars or such."
"Oh, but Imara just left. He's gone to patrol with Erevu again; they went to look for an intruder Adla spotted earlier."
"Still, I don't know... What if he comes back and starts looking for me and finds our hideout?"
Njano could not contain her excitement anymore and simply blurted out, "Okay, okay, no problem. I just wanted to let you know that Adla has convinced Erevu to let me stay in the Pride!"
Kanai's eyes opened wide. "Really? Wow... I- I had no idea you were actually planning to stay... So you're not leaving with Duni and Safi anymore?"
Njano shook her head, looking happier than she had done in weeks. "I didn't say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise. That, and I also wanted to spare myself the extra humiliation just in case he said no."
"Wow... That's... That's really cool... I didn't expect this, you always talked about going away," Kanai said, sounding genuinely surprised.
"I haven't talked much anymore about wanting to leave, ever since you told me you liked me. That day changed my life, Kanai. Forget all the adventures! Since then I've wanted nothing more than to stay here, with you... I'm so happy, and I just want to snuggle you and kiss you so badly... Oh, man, are you sure you can't ditch Imara and just come with me?" Njano asked, eager to be alone with her.
Kanai was rendered speechless for a moment, but recovered her composure quickly. "I'll tell you what, I'll go with Imara for a short while, and then meet you at the tree afterwards, what do you think?"
Njano let out a happy sigh and nuzzled Kanai. "All right... I'll settle for that. Don't keep me waiting too long, hmm?"
Kanai nodded and watched Njano walk away. The lioness let out a deep sigh, and then stared down at the cub quietly, not feeling in the mood for cooing anymore.
Njano was very pleased to see that even weeks after Erevu's conversation with Adla, the lion kept avoiding her as much as he could.
What Njano didn't know was that Erevu had opted to keep on lying to Adla, just to get Njano to leave. He told her that the intruder was nowhere to be found, and since Njano was no longer sporting any bite marks, and looked at lot chipper, the rogue must have left and the problem had solved itself. She should be ready to leave any time now.
Adla could not take his lies any longer and she lost her patience one day, finally confronting him with the truth. Adla knew she had the upper hand now. She blackmailed Erevu by stating that Njano would be allowed to stay, or else, she would tell the whole Pride what he had done.
Erevu knew that the lionesses would all gang up on him for bullying a Pride-mate, so he reluctantly agreed to Adla's terms. He did very well at keeping his distance after that; if he had ever been aloof towards Njano, it was nothing compared to how he treated her nowadays. It was as if Njano simply didn't exist. If she caught him looking at her, he would glare and bare his teeth, and then turn away.
Njano was relieved, knowing he wouldn't take advantage of the situation anymore, but she would have preferred if she could have stayed in the Pride under friendlier terms, and count with Erevu's respect and protection. The way he looked at her sometimes made Njano feel that Erevu would allow a hyena to rip her to pieces, and he'd gladly sit to watch.
In the meantime, Safi and Duni kept distancing themselves from the Eyasi Pride more and more. Sometimes they wouldn't be seen for a couple of days, while they took long walks in search for a good territory to settle down. Safi had already met a couple of lionesses who had shown interest in joining him, but they eventually decided to move on, once they found out about Duni and her problem. The lionesses hadn't been too keen on doing extra work to provide for her and any future cubs she might have, so Safi kept on searching.
Duni's mood began to suffer from these strangers' rejection. She couldn't help but feeling like a burden again, no matter how much Safi tried to persuade her otherwise. Then there was the fact that her daughter would be staying behind. Duni wanted nothing more than happiness for Njano, whether at the side of a lion or a lioness, it didn't matter to her. Only Duni was not sure that Njano would actually be happy in this Pride. She could only hope to be proven wrong in the future.
Kanai in turn continued her lessons on leading the Pride, how to be diplomatic with the other animals, and keeping the balance in their territory, while Imara had already experienced his first opportunity to chase after a leopard. The intruder had been trying to snatch some of the pride's food, but Imara saw him right on time. The lion chased the thief down and managed to put up a decent fight. The leopard eventually limped away, looking angry and defeated.
Njano had started taking the hunting sessions seriously, and her abilities were improving little by little. She made a big effort at concentrating, determined to gain the acceptance and respect of the rest of the lionesses. She even dared to approach Chiku once, surprising her by showing interest in her hunting methods, and asking for tips and feedback.
The lionesses could tell that Njano was finally trying her best, although none of them knew yet that it was because Njano was planning to stay for good.
While the Pride appreciated her efforts all the same, Njano came to the painful realization that the lionesses never built a real bond with her, and they weren't interested in trying to build one now. No one would ever ask her to go for a walk together, and it was usually Duni or Kanai who helped her with grooming. So with Duni spending days away searching for territory, Kanai busy with her lessons, and the lionesses fussing around the young cubs, Njano ended up spending a lot of her time alone. It didn't bother her, though. She had always been an expert at entertaining herself, but nowadays it gave her the feeling that she was still not seen as part of the group. She couldn't help but worry every now and then.
One particularly hot afternoon, Njano decided to go to the lake and cool off with a swim. She dived into the refreshing pool and swam around, while catching a few fish in the process. She was sure that Kanai would appreciate a little treat after her long and tedious lessons.
Njano swam for a long time, until she finally felt her leg muscles becoming sore. The lioness climbed out of the water and shook herself, while the gentle breeze provided an added cooling effect.
Njano dried herself shortly, and then picked up the fish with her muzzle. She started her way back home, feeling in good spirits for no particular reason. She waited for a long time for Kanai to return to the lair, and when she finally showed up, Njano could see already in the distance that Kanai looked very tired and sleepy.
"I hate diplomacy. I know it's important and all, but I really have a hard time keeping my eyes open during those lessons," Kanai muttered, sitting down next to Njano and yawning noisily.
"Hopefully these might give you some energy," Njano said, pushing the fish towards Kanai.
Kanai brightened up at the sight of the tasty treats and began eating immediately. "Mmm! You bet they do, thanks," she said between bites.
Njano lay down on her tummy, while Kanai continued to rant about her boring lesson as she ate. Njano knew she couldn't do anything about Kanai's strict training, but she had noticed that Kanai always felt better after letting out a heated monologue about class, so Njano would let her talk, and she'd listen quietly, interrupting only when necessary.
Once Kanai had finished eating, the lioness sighed and stared into the distance, reminiscing of her younger days. " Ah, can you still remember when we were cubs and we could spend all day running and playing, without a worry at all?"
Njano nodded, smiling slightly. "Everyone thinks I'm still stuck in that age, remember?"
"True, true..." Kanai chuckled and remained quiet for a short while, as she groomed her own face and paws. "That was delicious... I think I could also use a drink now. Wanna tag along?"
"Sure," Njano replied, not minding at all that she had already been to the lake herself. It had been a while since Kanai actually requested her company, so she was really looking forward to it.
As they walked together, Njano looked at Kanai from the corner of her eye. She still looked a bit tired, so Njano had an idea that might cheer her up a bit. "So, you miss cubhood, hmm? How about I bring it back for you, just for a little while?"
Kanai turned to look at her, but before she could ask what Njano had in mind, the lioness quickly poked her on the ribs with a paw and yelled, "Tag!"
Kanai stayed put, shaking her head. "Oh come on, you can't be serious. We're way too old for those games!"
"You're as old as you want to feel," Njano replied, jumping around her playfully, daring her to give chase.
"Oh, all right!" Kanai exclaimed, laughing brightly. She gave chase, forgetting all about her responsibilities for a short moment.
The lionesses were so engrossed in their game that they didn't notice Imara watching them from afar, frowning slightly. He decided to follow them with the intention of addressing Kanai about this childish behaviour, while the lionesses continued to run and chase each other, unaware of his presence.
"Okay, okay, I think you were right, I'm getting too old for this... Time-out!" Njano said eventually, panting slightly.
Kanai nodded and stopped to catch her breath as well, lowering her guard in the process.
Njano noticed that, and she didn't waste any time; she immediately pounced on Kanai, wrestling with her for a short moment and pinning her down. "Hah, I lied! Gotcha now!"
Kanai let out a high-pitched squeal and tried to shake Njano off, who was whooping triumphantly. Kanai managed to escape Njano's grasp and both lionesses began tossing and tumbling, rolling around on the grass as they both tried to end up on top of the other, claiming the dominant position, while pinning the loser submissively to the ground.
Njano eventually succeeded and ended on top of Kanai's back, but Kanai still refused to admit defeat. She simply lay with her tummy close to the ground, awaiting for a moment of weakness from Njano to free herself.
"Now, be a good girl. Say uncle and show me the belly," Njano told her.
"I'm not exposing my belly to you, you cheater!" Kanai sniggered, trying to wiggle out of Njano's grasp.
"There's no escape. The mighty huntress has tackled down her prey, and will now proceed to dine!" Njano laughed, resting all her weight on top of Kanai, to try and keep her still.
Kanai kept on struggling but eventually she got tired and short of breath from Njano's weight on top of her. She finally let out a deep sigh, admitting her defeat. Only then did Kanai realize the position they were in; Njano's forepaws and back legs were nicely aligned with her own.
"Um... Njano, you do realize what this looks like, right?" she said, looking at her over her shoulder.
Njano looked down, watching their two bodies so close together, and chuckled slightly. "Oh, my."
"C'mon, lemme up before someone gets the wrong idea," Kanai insisted.
"Oh, no, you won't get away so easily. The mighty huntress still hasn't eaten yet," Njano said, carrying on with the game, and began nipping Kanai softly on the back of her neck, pretending to eat her while making yumyumyum noises as she did so.
Kanai was not in a receptive mood yet, so she found Njano's playful bites more ticklish than arousing, and she could not hold back a series of snorts and giggles, while she started struggling and squirming once more, trying to get away.
"Stop it! You're tickling me! Come on! Uncle, uncle!" Kanai said between bouts of laughter.
Njano let out a deep sigh, enjoying being this close to Kanai. She could hardly wait for her to have her first season. Smiling to herself, Njano stopped biting Kanai and gave her a couple of gentle, loving licks.
"Oh, save them! Those kisses won't make me forgive all this abuse. I'll have my revenge! Now let me up," Kanai told her, chuckling slightly, still a bit short of breath from her laughter attack.
"You heard Kanai. Get off her, now," came Imara's voice just right behind them, startling both lionesses. Njano dismounted Kanai immediately, tripping in the process.
Kanai stood up and faced Imara. "Well, look who's come to join the games," she said nonchalantly as she shook the dead and loose grass off her pelt, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Just what sort of game was that supposed to be?" he asked, eying Njano a bit angrily.
"Sheesh, Imara," Kanai interrupted, "we were just having fun like we used to do when we were cubs. What's wrong with some tag and some wrestling?"
"Yeah, we were just fooling around," Njano tried to explain, but Imara motioned her to be quiet with his paw.
"I want to speak to Kanai alone, please,"
Njano lingered for a few seconds, looking at Kanai, a bit unsure whether to leave her alone with him or not.
"It's all right, go ahead, I'll see you back at the lair," Kanai told Njano.
Njano nodded, glancing nervously between them. "Okay... Talk to you later." The lioness turned around and left, but in the spur of the moment, she decided to stay nearby, just in case Kanai would need her assistance. She looked for a hiding spot where she could listen to their conversation, feeling guilty for bringing Kanai into trouble.
Imara waited until Njano was gone, and addressed Kanai with a serious expression. "That was extremely inappropriate, you know."
Kanai snorted. "Relax, you're starting to sound way too much like Erevu. What happened to the funny lion that makes me laugh?"
"This isn't funny," Imara replied, "Erevu has told you both many times to quit this childish behaviour and act your age. Aren't you afraid he might lose his patience and punish you two?"
"Again, it was just a silly game after a hard day's work, all in good fun! Please don't drill me, I had enough of that this morning during the lessons. I needed a distraction and Njano just happens to be a very good one."
Imara let out a deep sigh. "Why did you let her dominate you? You also think that's appropriate as well?"
Kanai rolled her eyes. "Do you remember the rules of wrestling? There's a winner, and a loser. Njano won, that's that. What, are you afraid she'll start climbing up the rank order? She was and will always be bottom of the Pride, regardless of whether she pins me down at a play-fight."
"That's not what it looked like, Kanai. She was clearly enjoying her brief moment of power, while simulating-"
"She was just pretending to eat me like I had been a zebra she had hunted. Get your mind out of the gutter, please. So what if I let her win every now and then? It keeps her confidence up, you know. But do you really think she'll go and try to pin down Etana next? Come on, get real. This is Njano we're talking about. She practically worships me, you know that. She wouldn't dare to raise a paw to hurt me or to try and express dominance."
Njano, who had been listening intently to them, pricked her ears, her face frozen in a mortified expression. She didn't like the way Kanai was expressing herself about her. For a moment, she tried to find comfort thinking that Kanai was just doing what it would take simply to get Imara off her case. But Njano already knew that Kanai was not a very good liar, she tended to stutter and stammer, and it made Njano very uneasy to hear that there was none of that going on during her conversation with Imara.
Imara sighed deeply, dropping his stern expression. He gazed into Kanai's face for a moment, looking sincerely worried. "I don't know... It's just... Erevu's been in a really bad mood lately, especially when it comes to anything related to Njano. I don't care much about what happens to her, as she has had thousands of warnings already anyway. But I really don't want Erevu to punish you too, for hanging out with her like that. Not now that I'm starting to actually like you," he said, smiling slightly.
Njano frowned, wondering if Kanai would defend her, but the lioness didn't seem bothered by Imara's coldness towards her best friend.
"We've been through this, Imara... You know I also like you better than before, but I don't want you to pressure me."
"And I won't," the lion replied, "My previous offer still stands; you don't have to come to me on your first season. I'll gladly wait for you, until you're a hundred percent sure it's me you want."
"You talk like it's going to be a fact. Looks like the shy guy has gotten some confidence lately, hmm?"
Imara finally broke into a smile and boldly rubbed his cheek against hers. "I'm not the little, quiet cub I used to be. Can't you see me for what I am today?"
The lioness closed her eyes, enjoying the contact, and muttered, "Is this your idea of not putting pressure on me?"
"Hey, it's just a nuzzle. Last time I checked, lions nuzzle each other all the time."
"True..." Kanai replied softly.
Njano perked her ears further, but the conversation between them appeared to be over. She risked a peek to see whether Kanai had left the scene, or whether both of them had walked away. But her stomach did a turn when she saw that they were still there, sitting close together. They were nuzzling each other quietly, clearly enjoying the contact as they explored each other's face more intimately, for what appeared to be the first time.
Kanai in particular was enjoying burying her nose in his short mane, while Imara, always polite, did his best to disguise just how much he was enjoying himself, and when he could not hide it any longer, he simply excused himself, and gently asked Kanai to go back home and to remember his warnings about letting herself go around Njano.
Njano watched, with pain in her heart, as Kanai actually hesitated going after him, but the lioness stopped herself. Kanai shook her head and turned around, heading towards the lake as she had initially planned.
Njano was overwhelmed by sadness. Could it be that Kanai really thought that little of her? All of a sudden it felt as if her best friend was a stranger. She also experienced for the very first time a twinge of jealousy. She didn't mind Kanai being friends with Imara, but seeing that the lioness herself was now seeking more intimate contact with him, despite having proclaimed time and time again that she felt nothing for Imara, made Njano feel extremely insecure all of a sudden. She wasn't sure what to think anymore, but decided against letting her questions brood inside her. She needed to know right away what was going on.
With that in mind, Njano followed Kanai, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to escape at any moment.