Lunik had never really been the most bold of lions– fearing every bump in the night– but he had a greater purpose now. And finally, protection. The Great Lion had turned its back on him since the night he had been born, but now the white and gray and purple lion had the shining, purple visage of King Shangyue to keep him safe. All he had to do was return the favor in the more corporeal world. The pendant that indicated his status as a royal guard shone round his neck and he walked with his head a little higher and his chest puffed out a little further since he had received the medal. He did not act or feel like he was superior to his fellow pride members, no, not in the least bit. Instead, the lion was as confident as he probably had the potential to be all along if not for his crippling anxieties.
He was strutting through the pride on a patrol during a new moon tonight without the least bit of fear or hesitation. Only the stars cast light that glinted off his pendant. The grey-maned male noticed someone approaching him, and with his ears pricked forward, he eagerly awaited their approach so he could discern who it was, but with no hint of his old fears. When the lioness was close enough, he smiled at her.
"Hello, Mabichi!"
The green lioness bobbed her head to return her fellow Royal Guard's greeting. She was usually more surprised if someone called her by her full name as opposed to just the first half of it. She would not have said that she and Lunik had ever been close or even had grown any closer now, but they did have a deep bond thanks to their devotion to their king and guardian. Mabichi had also been a slave before she had joined the ranks of the royal guards. Unlike Lunik, the blotchy green and white lioness was always a little bit more bitter than frightened about her plight. But things were finally looking up for the lioness.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," the lion answered in reply.
Then they fell in alongside each other. Things had been tense in the pride recently, but the guards were silent for a while, neither of them really wanting to acknowledge it. It was nicer, instead, to just walk along in silence for a little while, pretending all was still well. They understood the reality and potential seriousness of the situation and were not slacking. Rather, perhaps, they were mentally preparing themselves for a possible coming war.
Mabichi had only ever had very little family in the pride, and most recently the last of them, a cousin (in truth they may have been something like a second cousin or so on), had passed away not too long ago, leaving Mabichi behind as the last member of her immediate family in the Mwezi. There were relatives in the rogue lands, sure, but she would never know them. Perhaps, she had mused before, it was an advantage for her. She would not be forced to face any dissenting family members. Politics would not pit brother against sister for the blotchy green and white lioness. She looked at Lunik from the corner of one of her golden eyes, wondering if the lion had ever thought much about it.
In fact, he often tried not to. The mostly-white lion was related to an abundant number of other pride members of many different ranks. He tried to imagine, instead, that his fellow royal guards were more of his family, perhaps that Shangyue was more his true father. Shanguye and the other royal guards would protect and take care of each other in ways that his genetic family could not.
As the pair of lions walked along, both of them kept their eyes peeled for any moon flowers.
Each one that had been found so far had clearly been planted as a symbol, or perhaps something else that the royal guards could not decipher. They were uneasy as they walked closer and closer to the edges of the pride where such events had been more concentrated. The lions glanced at one another every now and again as if to wordlessly instill each other with any sort of confidence or support– or maybe to draw it from their companion. They passed a few other pride members on their patrol; another royal guard, a sleepy lion making his way home from visiting a female he fancied, a familiar or two who were tending to some late night request or perhaps taking advantage of their free time. Nothing too suspicious or anything to cause concern.
As they walked, Mabichi still could not help but be suspicious of any lion or lioness who was up so late on the night of a new moon. But she tried to push such thoughts from her head as none of them were truly doing anything to deserve her skepticism. She sighed deeply, trying to relax herself. Could they truly trust anyone who claimed to be a loyalist? All that the blotchy green and white royal guard could be sure of was herself and her other royal guards. And her one, true king, Shangyue. Weelll, the lioness supposed, she probably could trust whatever Tyfu or whats his face– Shangyue's 'mad dog'– told them. But only by extension of Shangyue's faith in them. Lunik, meanwhile, was forced to even be wary of his own family members.
As they ended their patrol, they still had not encountered anything remarkable or worth reporting. The lions chatted briefly before saying their goodnights as other royal guards came out to take their places. For tonight, the pride was calm but all the closer to a civil war. The two royal guards often ignored the reality of how their king came to power, but each of them supposed that they would reckon with that when they had to.
the end
word count: 1,000