Some time passed, and Lana and the other cubs were adolescents now. Though Kuendesha hadn't eased up one bit on the motherly instincts, her two cubs were no longer small enough to be intimidated by her anymore, especially David, who was looking more and more like Saul with each passing month. Meanwhile, Icarus's own Nyota was pregnant again and just in time, as some of the other lionesses were also with cubs. Who they mated with was their business, sure, but Lana couldn't help but wonder who the fathers of the cubs were. After all, Icarus had formally mated with Nyota and was quite faithful to the ceremonial vows.
Lana, for her own ends, never thought she could get any more privileges than she already had, but boy had Icarus proved her wrong. Now a teenager and preparing for her first hunt, she wandered throughout the jungle, chasing a young mouse to relieve the boredom. She caught the mouse and held him between her fingers.
"Oh, how cute." Lana giggled, her teenage voice already dripping with the seduction that she would be capable of as an adult. "What must you be thinking, little guy? Before today, you were running free, living your life in the way you saw fit. Now, a being much stronger than yourself is tormenting you. And can even decide your very fate. You didn't plan on it, but yet here we are." Lana asked as she toyed with the mouse. She watched the mouse squirm, and struggle to get free.
Being royalty made her feel exactly like that mouse, as though much was expected of her simply because her parents just happened to have the throne. She couldn't understand why anyone would even want the stress of constantly listening to morning reports and having to figure out what to do with all of it, but such was her destiny. She was just thankful that her father wouldn't stop her from exploring other kingdoms until it was time.
She let the mouse go as she remembered that her friends would be up at around this time. She trotted her way to the edge of the shared border of the Goldlands and the Kuatan Jungle, her jovial, friendly attitude a nice harmony to the lush landscape. As she did she noticed something was… off.
Her friends were gathered there, as she noted. Okay, David, Julia, Akato, Masika, Othello, Jezebel, Sefu and Khari are all here. But who's this one? She mentally listed the friends that she had played with since cubhood, the same group of friends that she had played after meeting the Pridelanders some time ago. However, there was now an extra lion there. And though he seemed familiar, he also seemed much different.
She was about to ask who he was, but then she took a better look at him and recognized that it was Iago. While it was clear that puberty was kind to all of them and especially the other males present, it seemed that Iago had gotten the scraps that the Circle of Life couldn't give to the others lest they be mistaken for gods and goddesses among feline-kind. Although he certainly has grown up, and his blood-red mane was more filled out than the other teens which even included a rather nice goatee that would be majestically filled when he was an adult, the favored son was still shorter and thinner than the other males. In fact, next to Jezebel, Iago was barely taller than her and was barely more filled out than she. And that meant he stood eye-to-eye with Lana. His short stature and slight build contrasted greatly with the brightness and vitality of his mane and fur, which Lana found odd.
"Long time no see, Iago." Lana said, wondering why now all of a sudden the favored son was so keen on joining them. She had an idea, considering it was next to impossible for him to hide how surprised he was that she looked the way she did.
And if her other friends were being completely honest, they too were shocked at just how much she had changed. As a cub, she looked quite androgynous, to the point where quite a few had simply mistaken her for a male cub. She was scruffy, constantly roughhousing with the rest of the males, and her voice was scratchy and rough. Not helping things was the tuft of fur on her forhead, which formed a sort of 'mini-mane', so to speak.
Now, however, even though she wasn't an adult just yet, there was absolutely no mistaking her for a female, even if she was slightly taller than the average lioness. Adolescence had been especially favorable to the dark lioness, as her features softened considerably, her eyes had replaced the cuteness of innocence with a seductive allure that could easily hypnotize most males under its gaze alone. Her body had lengthened considerably, just as the rest of the lionesses present, but unlike the others she was filling out with feminine muscles that had no doubt been carefully trained by her parents in preparation for her first hunt, as well as to fight alongside the Jungle Pride as it's Queen one day. What was more, she began to take more pride in her appearance, though Jezebel and Masika jealously suspected that she perhaps woke up looking stunningly beautiful. As for Othello, David and especially Akato, they certainly didn't mind waking up to see her dark-chocolate fur in the morning light, and wishing she hadn't outgrown her old habit of getting too close to others. They would always find themselves envying their mute friend Sefu, whom she still playfully nuzzled and hugged on a regular basis.
And seeing her hug Sefu, and seeing how much the blonde teen absolutely loved it, made Iago's blood boil. Hearing the others discuss what they were going to be doing today, as they had always done before, made him feel as though he were a total outsider, and he knew who all were to blame for this. He knew who was to blame for him not being the center of attention for the princesses, as he should be. Icarus, for daring to threaten him and his mother because his daughter was a flirty hypocrite who had the gall to retract her invitations as soon as a real lion was going to take her up on said offers. Chumvi, for humiliating him all those months ago, abusing power he didn't deserve and bringing physical harm to a leopard that knew who the rightful ruler was. Othello, for thinking he was better than his older brother and had some sort of right to flirt with and make moves on a lioness that was too good and beautiful for him, especially in his presence.
But, most of all, this goes right back to a lion that wasn't even present right now. Malka, for not only turning the rest of his peers against him, but then constantly undermining the destiny and way of life Blood had bestowed upon his favored son. But, just as Blood taught him, Iago was destined to have it all, no matter what others will think. And he was going to get it all, no matter who might object.