Eeva Subiani yawned and stretched out across the cool grass and lifted her head to watch the setting sun, taking pleasure in the gentle breeze and the touch of a shadow across her back. In the branches above her head, Malki preened quietly, and the sound soothed her somehow. Eeva did not consider herself a young lioness anymore but it was hard to feel old when you were surrounded by such beauty. Grey fur did not yet exist on her muzzle and perhaps that was because of her life here or maybe her lifestyle. She'd never married. Never had cubs. And sometimes, watching her siblings settle into family life, she wondered who would age quicker.

Her or them.

Still, though she yearned to feel what it was like to be a mother, she had other duties keeping her busy. Hunting lessons and hunting parties. Meetings with clan members to ensure all was going well. Her own family was huge, too, and their little dramas often kept her on her toes.

And so it would be this evening.

"Your sister approaches." Malki warned her from above.

"Which one?" Eeva asked, "no, wait, don't answer that. It'll be young Laka."

"Hardly young, anymore." The eagle reminded carefully, folding away his wings and lifting his head to watch the shape of the silver lioness approach.

Eeva gave a quiet snort and lifted her head to roar a welcome. In the peace of the evening it echoed further than she might have wished. Still, it was nice to hear some of the returned roars - particularly that of Laka as she closed the gap between them.

"Come, little Laka. Join me in the shade."

"The sun is going down!" Laka chirped, "no need for shade anymore. Oh, good evening, Malki."

"Evening, Miss Subiani."

Laka giggled and dropped down next to Eeva, pausing a moment before giving a sigh, "how are you, sister?"

"Wondering when I should consider myself old."

Laka giggled, "oh, silly. You could never be old. You're just big sister. Besides, mother and father are far older than you. Practically ancient!"

"Shh, don't let them hear you say that, love."

It was true, though. Her dear mother and father, Ona'raha and Rehema, were not how she had remembered them growing up. Both of them were grey and their bones creaked and their wits were not as sharp as they had once been. It was hard coming to terms with the fact that they would not always be around. Hard but inevitable. She would liked to have given them grandcubs herself before they went.

She realised, then, how quiet her chatty sister was being, and turned to look at her with concern.

"What have you come to talk to me about, love?"

Above her, Malki took flight, coming to land before the pair of lionesses and settled himself there on a rock, his wings held neatly at his sides. Whenever advice was needed, he liked to be right there at the forefront.

"I...I'm worried you'll be mad."

Eeva nuzzled her sister gently, "I could never be mad with you."

"I feel...unhappy."

The admission had Eeva's heart lurching and, to hear her sister's sobs, she leaned in and pulled her into a hug, "sweetheart, tell me what is wrong. Has someone hurt you?"

"No. Nothing like that. I just...you know how it has been. I have always wanted adventure but I loved my family and didn't want to leave. And so I decided that family was more important and...and..."

"You stayed in the pride," Eeva whispered. She remembered a time that Laka had travelled briefly into roguelands with a male she had grown fond of. That male - as far as she was aware - had never returned and she always suspected that had made her little sister rather sad.

"Have you found someone out in rogue lands?"

"No, nothing like that. I've not spoken to an outsider in so long. Not many come by this way, after all. But part of me...part of me thinks that something is waiting out there for me. A...an adventure."

"Mother and father wouldn't like it."

"I know," and she sounded so heartbroken that Eeva held her again.

"If you don't mind me interrupting," Malki butted in, "but it seems to me that this is a matter of head against heart. Your head is telling you to stay and your heart is telling you to go. Forgive me for being blunt, but one should not listen to their heart in matters of such importance."

"Utter nonsense, Malki. The heart is what drives us. You can't ignore that. You'll understand when you fall in love."

The eagle sniffed, unamused.

"I love my family and I don't want to leave them but, deep down, I know that its not enough anymore. It used to be. But...Eeva...I don't want to be single and cubless forever and...there's no one here for me."

Eeva knew that pain well.

"You are quite sure? There are many more rogues joining us now. At the festival..."

"The lions that come here want a simple and stable life, Eeva. You know it to be true. The adventurous ones are elsewhere. The ones who I would like to meet..."

Malki fluttered his wings again, "there is a reason that many lions crave this type of life. Out there, in the wider world, lie all sorts of dangers. Lions that would hurt you or kill you or enslave you. Strange lions who would not blink an eye at hurting a poor, defenseless female like yourself. There are other prides that are more 'adventurous' but that doesn't mean you'll find yourself in a dependable family unit like this one. The Ela'wadiyi is rather unique in that way. Others might take family for granted or even treat it poorly. That is not our way."

Laka's jaw wobbled and, with a sob, she buried her face against Eeva's side.

And, without any thought at all, Eeva said: "Laka, you must go."

"But---"

"---No buts. Mother and father will be sad and they will not understand, but I do. I am happy here but I am lonely too, at times. I have no mate and no cubs, no heirs to take my place when I wish to step down. How can I stand by and watch you grow up lonely and craving adventure that this land cannot offer? Malki is right. There are dangers out there, but there is love and joy, too, and I know you can find it. We only get one life here on this plain. Let us both make the most of it, hm?"

Laka blinked, mouth agape.

"I love you, sweet sister."

"And I you."

Malki opened his beak but Eeva swatted him away with a paw. The eagle, begrudgingly, retreated back to his tree.

Perhaps this would be the beginning of change for all of them.