Lana had been the first to rise that morning, although she suspected that her father had a hard time sleeping, as he was awake just as soon as she had finished stretching her legs and jumped off his head. She loved how soft her father's mane was, and always loved it when he would take her for the morning lessons, as he was about to do now that he had woken up. "Lana? Good, you're awake. Since we're both awake, what do you say we start the lecture early?" He had said 'lecture', but to Lana it was more of an adventure that Icarus took her on and then explained either why it went so well or what Lana could do in the future to prevent another failure. And today's adventure would be interesting, to say the least.
"Now, Lana, we are starting earlier than normal because Cano should still be awake at this time." Lana's own purple eyes glowed. "You mean, we're gonna go talk to a tiger today?" Lana asked, remembering how impressive that particular tiger looked. Icarus nodded, and did his best to give a reassuring smile. Tigers were bigger and stronger than most lions, but because they are solitary creatures and tended to be less than sociable, they often were unable to take control of a kingdom on their own. Lana figured out that much, just from witnessing the way Cano acted towards another male tiger. But, her father and mother only ever had good things to say about the old tiger, so the least Lana could do was have a good attitude around him.
"Cano!" Icarus called out, getting the tiger's attention. He had just finished eating, and was using the bones to pick his teeth. "Ah, if it isn't the King." Lana couldn't help but notice that the tiger was… well, he just had an air of shadiness about him. Not that she wanted to think that, but it was just something she couldn't help but notice, so you better believe Icarus noticed it. "Looks like you just caught yourself a nice meal there. That wouldn't happen to be one of the okapi that I told my pride and other predators here not to eat until next season, would it?" Cano's eyes went wide, before he regained his composure. "Oh, no, no, no. I know the law; I don't need any trouble right now." Icarus narrowed his eyes. "No, you don't. But I trust you, and I also trust you are doing your other duties?" Icarus said, jovially but the mere fact that he had figured out Cano was lying got the point across. And Cano, though he was quietly and professionally reporting on his nightly patrol, was clearly rankled by Icarus's questioning.
As soon as Cano was dismissed, Icarus turned to Lana. "So tell me; what did you just learn?" Lana thought about simply repeating everything she had just heard, but instead, she responded with what irked her: Cano's demeanor. "Why does he hate us lions so much? He looked like he wanted us to just leave already." She pointed out, and to her surprise Icarus smirked, and then chuckled. "Well, you aren't wrong. Remember the story I told you? About how I came to be king of the Jungle?" Lana did, and she happily recited it in one sentence. "You and Saul defeated the evil tyrant that had oppressed this jungle for years."
At that, Icarus nodded. "Yes, so you must know that Cano has lived most of his life as one of Miran's slaves. Of course he's going to be rather short with us lions." Lana however, still wasn't certain. "But, Daddy, you aren't anything like that evil lion, nor have you done anything to deserve his scorn. So why would he treat you as though you have?" Lana asked, and in her innocence she sincerely couldn't understand the concept of species discrimination and the idea of tigers just having a culture different to lions. Times like this reminded Icarus that Lana was still a cub, no matter how precociously smart she was. He considered explaining these concepts, but for now, he would hold off on it. "Lana, some animals will just never care for others, or even other members of their own species. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that all animals are deserving of immediate judgment. Unless and until they give us good reason, as rulers we lions shouldn't be so quick to make demons out of those different to us." Icarus explained.
Lana, however, still had one question. "Has Mom ever told you what she always says?" Icarus stopped in his tracks, and it took Lana a minute to notice but he had paused to take a deep breath before reciting what Nyota would always tell him and Saul concerning Sina and why they should not show her any kind of mercy. "Never trust a cat that never lets you see her purr." Lana and Icarus both said it at the same time. To Lana, this was simply her mother warning her that the world could be fraught with all kinds of treachery and danger, and that she should take the hints given to her and understand when she's not wanted.
But to Icarus, this struck a chord, one that he hoped Lana would never find out about. Neither he nor Saul had ever felt it safe to show even a hint of what could be perceived as weakness in the Wastelands. To do so would have invited every creature in that domain to take advantage of your kindness, or worse, see it as an excuse to murder and eat the ones you love the most. As Icarus thought about the constant paranoia that he and Saul had to live with, and the constant fear that a new enemy could be made each and every day, he wondered how Nyota could even say such an absolute maxim to their cub.
And he wondered if Kuendesha would be saying the same to her own cubs.