Characters: Swara, Pepo, Ubusika
Word Count: 1199
It was another cold down at the snowy mountainside but the robust lions who lived there were not deterred- even less so were the hares. One very small hare was easily visible on the white snow with his dark fur undoing all potential camouflage of his white face, racing here and there over the drifts and happily diving under the snow to attempt to sneak around. Watching nearby with a smile on her face was Swara, a lioness who had come to the pride knowing she would need to partner up with a bunny but had never in a million years expected to find one who matched her so well. They could have been twins! She just wished she had the same amount of energy as him, but she expected he would slow down as he grew.
“Don’t get lost under there, Pepo,” she called as he peeked out of the snow after a surprisingly long trip underneath, “I’m not going to be able to find you, you’re too quick for me.”
Swara would try and she might succeed, but unless he was tiring out, it would take her some time to narrow down exactly where he had gone. She’d had to do it a couple of times and she didn’t want to have to do it again.
“I won’t!” he cried, pushing himself out from a hole in the snow to the surface, shaking off the loose flakes. He stopped to scratch one of his long ears, falling back onto the snow and coming face to face with a young lioness that he didn’t recognize. He squealed and flailed around, trying and failing to right himself so he could run away. Swara watched but she wasn’t worried- the lioness who was nearly nose to nose with Pepo was Ubusika. Though Swara didn’t know her name, she did know that she was a Princess and she was confident she meant the little fellow no harm.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you!” she said, looking hurt that the little hare was in such a panic over her presence. Of course she had a sense of personal space but she was a little too interested in the hare population. Every member was supposed to have a companion and she, of all lions, did not. It was her own fault for being so hesitant and now she was convinced she would know when she found the right companion for her. Unfortunately, high expectations made it very difficult to accomplish the task.
“Straighten up, Pepo,” Swara called, chuckling to herself, “That’s not just another Snowman.”
Pepo stopped flailing when Ubusika spoke to him and sniffed at her curiously, even when Swara called for him to mind his manners. No longer panicking, he had a much easier time getting turned around and back onto his feet.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Ubusika,” she answered with a smile, “What’s yours?”
“I’m Pepo!” the little hare replied brightly, turning to look back at his lioness, “Her name is Swara, she gave me my name.”
Swara offered a polite nod of greeting from her seat several feet away but didn’t move to close the gap, instead letting the Ice Princess and the hare talk.
“Pepo?” Ubusika repeated curiously, wondering at the name and why the lioness had named him and not his parents.. but he was quite young and he was already in the care of a lion so perhaps that wasn’t as a story to ask about. It was only while she pondered this that she actually saw Swara and realized what a similarity there was between them. She straightened herself up so she was no longer nose-to-nose with the hare.
“What--”
Finally, Swara got up and walked closer.
“I know,” she said.
Ubusika looked back and forth between the hare and lioness. Pepo just smiled from his spot in the snow before hopping back a few steps to take a seat on one of Swara’s warm, fuzzy paws.
“I can’t explain it, I don’t know what it means or if it matters at all,” she continued, “It was quite the surprise to find a twin for myself that’s so small, fuzzy and obnoxious..”
“Hey!” Pepo squeaked, finally drawing a small laugh from Ubusika.
“I suppose you were meant to be together,” the princess commented, smiling, “I’m jealous.”
“Jealous of us?” Swara asked, surprised by the comment, “Surely it’s a coincidence, nothing to envy.”
Ubusika shook her head, looking down at Pepo as he made himself comfortable right on top of Swara’s paw as if she could stand there patiently for him while he napped. She looked back up to the lioness.
“Maybe,” she said, “But maybe not. And I suppose I would say the same thing to anybody having such fun with their companion. I haven’t managed to find one for myself, I must be an unbearable bore to have such trouble.”
The comment was a tad dramatic but it was also based in truth. She didn’t have to dedicate herself to a job the same way the others did, she was a Princess.. it did make for a less exciting existence a lot of the time. But she had yet to tire of it so much that she would seek to properly train as a huntress or guard or anything. It made the situation regarding her lack of hare less dire, but no less important to her.
“I doubt that very much,” Swara said, tilting her head and smiling awkwardly, “I’m sure many of the hares around here would be happy to accompany you, you just have to ask.”
“Maybe,” she said again, showing the indecision that had caused this problem. She glanced down once again to see that Pepo was now sleeping soundly on Swara’s paw. She spared a moment to admire the adorable, peaceful bunny before looking back up to excuse herself. This had been sufficiently awkward, she ought not to go around admiring the companions of strangers.. even if this pair was especially interesting.
“I’ll leave you be, I don’t imagine you want to stand here with a sleeping bunny on your paw,” she said, “I’m sorry I scared him.”
It didn’t seem like it bothered Pepo now, he had moved on quite quickly and now he was asleep. And honestly, Swara blamed the scare for him calming down now- and she was glad. One reason she wasn’t in a hurry to have any cubs of her own, they were so very busy. And if there was more than one of them.. well, thank goodness for Snow Angels.
“Don’t worry about it,” Swara said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, Princess Ubusika.”
Ubusika perked up a bit when she realized the other lioness had recognized her but she didn’t get a chance to say anything about it. Swara had knelt down, carefully picked up the fluff-ball that was sleeping on her and was already on the move for her den. The princess was left staring after her, wondering if it really could be so easy to get a companion.. and if having a baby hare for a companion was really that much more work.
Fin!