So. It was decided. They would try.
No pressure. No expectations. Just… try. See what happened. If nothing, great! If something, great! A part of both of them worried that, in being pride less, they might risk the children’s safety but… they were strong lions, young and capable. And so far their luck had been good.
Some might argue they were due for some tragedy but the optimism Awiki wore like a shield would not let any of that s**t fly.
The red lioness was a cheerful, bubbly creature that played well into Awiki’s own energy. The temporary company helped distract her from the excitement and anxiety of trying. Instead of hoping for something to happen, she turned her focus to Aruna. What made the lioness tick? Why was she traveling? Was she alone?
“Oh, yes. I’m actually with a hunting group. They’ll be expecting me back shortly I’m sure. This is so unexpectedly wonderful though! I so often meet with strangers but rarely two who are adamant on staying solitary.”
“We’re not adamant about it, or anything. It’s just that… it’s worked for us so far? We haven’t had a need to find a group you know? But if we ever do, I hope to run into you again.”
Awiki and Aruna stole the conversation almost entirely, leaving Kanene to listen, occasionally add his opinion, and eventually to rise and leave the females to their chatter.
Once gone, the brazen Aruna hiked a brow and smiled wide. The girls might not have known one another long, but could have fooled anyone listening in.
“He seems wonderful! And very lucky to have a mate like you!” Her words were pure, her excitement genuine. Awiki’s face reddened.
“We are both lucky. It’s been an incredible couple of months.”
“A couple of months?! You two seem like you’ve been lovers for a lifetime!”
“Haha…” this gave Awiki pause. They… did… didn’t they?
“I mean, I don’t mean to pry but I’m so curious. How did you two meet?”
“It’s alright, pry away. I don’t really have anything to hide.” Her laughter faded in a serene hum. “Well, it was by chance actually. He was wandering the jungles on his own and so was I. I… I had just left my home, actually. On to greater adventures, as they say! We spoke for a spell and chose to journey a bit together. It didn’t take long for either of us to catch feelings, though.”
The girls giggle in unison.
“Wow.” Aruna and her bi-colored eyes stared into Awiki with awe. She lived for a good love story. “Only a couple of months, huh?”
“To be honest I haven’t really been keeping track. Every day is precious, but they’ve blurred together a bit. I’m just… here. And he’s here. And that’s enough for us.”
“Wow.” Aruna repeated, stretching out on the cold interior of the couples den. “There’s a fella back at the party I’m traveling with that seems keen on me, but I insist on finding something like this. With him it’s so forced but… what you and Kanene have is effortless. It’s beautiful!”
“I suppose you’re right.” The redness in Awiki’s face intensified. A long breath was sucked in, held, and then released in a heavy sigh. “I have never been one to believe in this sort of thing.”
“What? Love?”
“No, no… mmm..” Awiki squirmed slightly, a little uncomfortable with the words about to spill from her lips. “—This. Like… soul mate stuff?” Her breathy voice had taken to a whisper, and Aruna leaned in to hear her better.
Before reeling back in laughter.
“Awiki! Of course it’s real! But you know, they always say that the ones who are in are the last ones to see it.” The red lioness snorted. “What do they know, right?”
“Haha, yeah.” Awiki paused, her gaze shifting to her feet. “What do they know…”
“You’re meant to be together. You’ve found your one. I bet you feel it, even if you might not understand.” The grin on the other female’s face had softened, as if she understood Awiki’s need for a gentle touch. “I can see it.”
“You can see it?” Awiki countered, taken off-guard and triggered slightly. What with Kanene’s visions…
“Yeah. Again… I know we’ve only just met but the way you two look at one another is nothing like the young love I’ve seen around. And trust me, I’ve seen a lot of young love.” Aruna herself was rather young, and to this end Awiki couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “What, it’s true!”
The red lioness continued. “It’s different. And it’s rare. And it’s beautiful! Not everyone gets to meet their soulmate in this lifetime. You guys are some of the lucky ones.” There was a wisdom behind her gaze as it looked through Awiki’s walls and into the very core of her being.
It made her swallow the guilt. And then regurgitate it in words. “I have been doubting everything as of late. I think he wants cubs, and we are trying but… I don’t know.”
Aruna exhaled. As if she knew. “Yeah. That’s a big deal.”
Awiki had taken just a beat to breath, the sentences flooding out as if a dam had been breeched.
“Cubs were the responsibility of an entire pride where I’m from but now… now it would just be us. We would have to raise them right. Teach them everything. Protect them. Guide them. And what if I’m not a good mother? What if I’m not okay? What if Kanene leaves because they’re too much to handle because the Gods know that kids are a lot. A lot, Aruna. A lot. He wants them, I know he wants them, and I want them too but… what if—”
“Stop Awiki! Breathe!” Aruna had found her feet and moved closer, sitting besides the panting lioness. A paw reached out, laid itself upon Awiki’s shoulder, and in an instant she felt calmed. She looked up, brows furrowed, heart racing, tears ready to spill, and sighed. “I love him so much, I don’t want to lose him.”
Aruna kept her paw aloft Awiki’s shoulder, her entire expression changed to one of understanding, of strength, yet of equal tenderness. There was compassion behind the stare. That wisdom had returned, floating to the surface of the red lionesses face… reminded Awiki of Nombuso.
And she let a silence fall over them. She let Awiki breathe into a steadiness once again. She waited. And then she spoke.
“You have every right to your fear. It is a terrifying thought; I can only imagine. But we often surprise ourselves, don’t we? You seem like such a capable lioness… one who could take on the world, all of it, by storm. All on her own. And Kanene must know that. He must know that you have a choice in all this, and you are choosing him. And he must feel so honored to be your mate.”
She removed herself, standing to her full height as, just in the distance, Kanene was making his return.
“I know true love when I see it. Trust your heart.”
(WC: 1194)