Featuring Sunniva, Vilhelmas, and Nysse

1,257 words

It was an exciting day for the family. Nysse had finally grown up enough to go on her first reaving, and while it wasn't exactly standard, Sunniva had convinced the captain of her band to let her daughter accompany her. She also invited her uncle to see her precious daughter succeed, under the guise that he would be a pack thrall for the trip. He was just as eager to see what she could do as herself, and Sunniva was feeling quite optimistic about the whole adventure.

"Ready to go?" Sunniva asked Nysse, who was busy fastening a bag to hold goods to Vilhelmas, who looked about ready to start on the journey without them with the boredom of standing there and the excitement of the outing in his eyes. The thrall didn't get to go out much, especially with his master, Sunniva's aunt, mysteriously absent.

Nysse was less eager. Spending her first reaving with her mother wasn't exactly going to win her popularity points. It was bad enough her mother considered the thrall her uncle, though no one could deny the unusual resemblance they had to each other. As far as anyone knew, they were unrelated. And yet, Nysse was born with a mark much like his. Nysse shuddered a little. She didn't know her father, and she really didn't want to know the implications of the marking.

"Yes, mother, we're ready." Nysse couldn't help but roll her blue eyes.

Sunniva didn't notice. "That's it! Let's go meet the rest of the band."

Three generations of lions made their way to the meeting spot. It was going to be a short trip, with the purpose of training some of the new and the young pride members. There was an unusual amount of chattering and excitement from the group because of it. Nysse kept back, reluctant to join into such a bunch of aimless talk. Sunniva met with the captain, pointing out her daughter and the thrall, before returning to them.

"Everything is sorted out. Just watch, listen, and you'll master everything in no time."

The group headed out with a lot of fanfare, but soon the group fell into silence as they left pride territory. Vilhelmas and Sunniva stayed behind most of the band, meaning to let Nysse and the other young lions to learn from the captain and the other experienced band members. Sunniva herself was still pretty young, so she wanted her daughter to learn from the best. Vilhelmas, meanwhile, had been loaded up with a bunch of extra gear and was struggling to keep up the pace.

"Sorry, uncle Vilhelmas... this is the only way you can come with us," Sunniva muttered to him, just for him to shake his head. He'd done this before, he was just a bit out of shape. He would be able to pick up the pace soon.

"I'm so proud of my kids," Sunniva said suddenly, her eyes shiny with welling tears. Vilhelmas nodded; he wasn't close to his kids but he could understand the feeling. Currently, two of his sons were living together as bachelors in the pride, and he wondered if they were ever going to amount to anything. Nysse had more ambition and energy, just like her mother.

"Don't cry, you'll embarrass Nysse," Vilhelmas replied with a chuckle. Sunniva swatted at him with a paw, then giggled. He knew how to cheer up his niece, even though she was an adult now. Oh, how time passes.

Nysse, meanwhile, was completely focused. There had been a camp spotted nearby that they had planned to raid. It should be good training for stealth and perhaps strength, if the owners of the camp returned while they were there. Sunniva and even Vilhelmas, along with the older reavers, would be backup just in case things went south.

It was nightfall when the group reached their destination; a sheltered spot out of sight and smell of the camp, but close enough that the band could observe the area. Sunniva volunteered to keep watch and Vilhelmas settled beside her, exhausted from hauling this and that. No one paid any mind to what the thrall was doing as his job was done for now.

The new reavers prepared to attack, and Nysse took a moment to compose herself. She couldn't afford to mess up, especially when her family was watching. She twitched her tail impatiently, ready to get going. By the time some of these fools figured out the plan, it'd be morning!

Finally, they moved to attack. Sunniva, Vilhelmas, and the older reavers shepherded the reavers-in-training forward, then stayed back to watch how they would handle the situation. Nysse didn't hesitate to hit the ground and slink through the long grass. The members of the camp had flattened the ground with repeated walking on it, so it was easy to spot where they had to go. They appeared to be merchants who had left their things in the center, while they settled to sleep in a circle around it. The merchants were absent, likely taking advantage of the cover of darkness to hunt.

Sunniva watched with apprehension. What if something happened and Nysse got hurt? She dug her claws into the dirt. Vilhelmas put a paw over hers to comfort her. It was stressful, but it was important to let cubs grow up.

Nysse was one of the first to reach the pile of goods. She didn't hesitate to plunge her paw into one of the hide bags they used to carry their goods, and dug around. Soon, the group discovered they had stumbled upon wealthy merchants and they couldn't help but be giddy when they pulled out precious stones, necklaces, and other fancy goods. Some of them draped themselves in the decorations and laughed at the sight of each other, but Nysse rolled her eyes. She put on a few necklaces in order to carry them, but nothing more.

The captain scolded them for the noise and ordered the retreat. All of the lions withdrew, and Nysse took the opportunity to show her mother what she had retrieved.

"Well done, Nysse," Sunniva said, tears once again welling up in her eyes. Nysse rolled hers more obviously now, which drew a chuckle from Vilhelmas.

"It was literally nothing. For rich merchants, they were-"

Suddenly, the band was ambushed. Bulky, burly lions pounced upon them, having been following the actions of the group from afar. Roars and screams pierced the night and Sunniva didn't hesitate to attack a male that was bearing down on Nysse. Motherly instincts died hard! Vilhelmas also joined in the fight, even though he technically didn't have to, he was a loyal Stormborn regardless of his status, and he had family at risk.

The Stormborn outnumbered the merchants, though they put up a good fight. Apparently they had been trained to protect their goods, but enough bites and slashes to sensitive parts by the sheer number of enemies had them fleeing into the dark. Nysse had managed to keep her necklaces on the whole time, but she hadn't come out unscathed. She licked at a deep bite wound on her foreleg.

Sunniva looked distressed, but Vilhelmas stuck out a paw to stop her from running up to her daughter. "Let her deal with this on her own," he said, and kept blocking Sunniva until she nodded.

This was the kind of dangers she'd face out in the world. It was the same dangers she herself faced. Sunniva reluctantly sat down, and decided to just enjoy Nysse's success.