Lioness Tales

Tale 1: Njano's Secret

Chapter 18: The Beginning of a Long Journey

Njano was so tired that she slept soundly, despite the emotionally rough night she just had. She even slept through the sound of Duni's roaring as she called out her name in the distance. When she finally woke up, she looked around, feeling confused and unable to recognize her surroundings.

"Where am I..." she mumbled, and groaned when she tried to sit up. Her body was extremely sore, and every little movement she made caused her intense pain.

The memories of the night before started coming slowly back to her, and the heartache began to rival her physical pain.

The lioness could not stop herself from shedding new tears, as she came to grips with what had happened. She felt extremely angry at Kanai, and her disappointment in her was huge. Njano felt used, almost as bad as when Erevu asked her to mate with him. But the pain of having being used by Kanai felt ten times worse.

After she was done crying, Njano dried her face and shook herself, grunting slightly from the pain caused by her wounds. She thought, I'm not going to cry for her anymore. She's not worth my tears, she's not worth my love. She's probably roaring in pleasure right now as Imara claims her as her mate, pretending like I never existed. Well, two can play that game, Kanai...

Njano took a deep breath, determined to get Kanai out of her mind. She stood up resolutely and concentrated on her new surroundings instead. She began sniffing here and there, making sure she wasn't invading anyone's territory. She had been too tired to check when she came out of the river, and the last thing she wanted right now as make yet another enemy. Surveying the landscape, she noticed there weren't that many herds around, and wondered whether she would encounter any Prides at all.

The deeper she ventured into the area, the more desertic the landscape became. Njano eventually sat down, unsure where to go next. She thought returning to the river bank would be the best option. At least she could have a drink there, and perhaps look for some rodents to eat.

As she made her way back, she thought she heard some voices in the distance. Njano decided to get closer and see if anyone could tell her more about this area, or if they had seen other lions around.

The strangers probably heard her coming, because they hushed immediately.

"Um... Hello?" Njano called, "I mean no harm, please... I'm new here, I just need some directions..."

After a short moment, two skinny lionesses peeked curiously from behind a termite mound, and approached Njano, eying her carefully.

"Oh... Hello... I'm sorry, are these your lands? I really didn't mean to intrude," Njano told them, adopting a submissive stance right away.

"Relax, we ain't gonna hurt you. We're nomads, just passing by," the oldest lioness replied, getting closer to inspect Njano's wounds.

Njano looked at her nervously; she looked like a thinner version of Chiku, covered in scars, but lacking half the muscle mass.

"That's quite a beating you took," the lioness finally said, "Lemme guess, a rough encounter with a male?"

Njano nodded as she took a step backwards.

The other lioness also came closer to check her out. "Wow, he got you good, you must be in a lot of pain!"

Njano was slightly taken aback by their sudden interest, and wasn't sure what to do or say. "Er, yeah, it still hurts. These cuts are fresh, from last night."

The older lioness frowned. "Really? Weird, I was so sure there weren't any males around here yesterday, we checked..."

Njano shook her head. "I come from across the river. I swam all the way here after-" she interrupted herself, not sure how much she actually wanted to disclose to these strangers. "I was... I was banished from my Pride," she admitted in the end, not going into more details.

"Oh, I see. No wonder you look so healthy and well fed. I already thought you looked too good to be a rogue lioness."

"Well, I am one now..." Njano whispered.

"I guess all these cuts and gashes are part of your punishment?" the younger lioness asked, still inspecting Njano's wounds. She looked about Njano's age, perhaps slightly older, but her fur was dull and unkempt.

"Yeah," Njano replied, "I ran away from him before he could do any more damage. I can swim very well so I jumped into the water, and the river carried me down here..."

"Why did he banish you? What did you do?" the older one asked.

"I'm sorry, but that matter's private," Njano said firmly. She would never speak of Kanai if she could help it, nor about her forbidden love for her, and would take her secret to her grave.

"Are you with a stranger's cub?" the lioness insisted.

"No," Njano replied, "and I didn't kill anyone either."

"Hmm," replied the older lioness, staring at her thoughtfully, trying to figure out what else could have gotten Njano banned from her Pride.

"Well, since you don't have anywhere else to go, why don't you stick around with us for a while? Maybe we can hunt something nice and big if we work together," the younger lioness suggested.

Njano looked at her and smiled slightly. "That sounds like a good plan, is she okay with it too?"

"Zira?" the younger lioness asked her companion, "What do you say, ain't that a good idea?"

The lioness whose name was Zira pondered for only a moment, and nodded in agreement. "We can always use a good set o'paws to aid us in the hunt. I assume that coming from a Pride, you've had proper hunting lessons, right?"

Njano nodded, keeping to herself that she was not the brightest hunter the Eyasi Pride had seen.

"All right, then I suggest we get moving then. There's little food in this area, but I heard from the buzzards that if we keep following the river we'll find greener grasses. What's your name, by the way?" Zira asked.

"I'm Njano, and you're... Zira, was it?"

Zira nodded in reply.

"My name's Kahawia," the other lioness added.

"Nice to meet you both," Njano replied sincerely, feeling lucky to have found company so quickly. These two lionesses were helping keep her distracted from thinking over and over about what had happened.

"Have you been nomads for long?" Njano asked.

"Yeah, since we were cubs actually," Kahawia replied, and then turned to Zira, "It's okay if I tell her, right?"

Zira shrugged, "There's not much to tell anyway, but go ahead, if you feel like it."

Kahawia went on, "Our Pride was taken over by a passing rogue, and we had to run for it. So we did, and here we are."

"Didn't you ever try to join another Pride?" Njano asked, genuinely curious.

Kahawia's ears folded back sadly for a moment. "Yeah, but Zira never wanted to stay. I didn't understand why, until recently..."

Zira looked over her shoulder and growled, "The leaders we came across kept asking for something in return every time, even if we weren't of age yet. So I kept on searching."

Njano let out a deep sigh. "I see... One of the lessons I learned myself was that if you want a favor, don't go to the male, look for the alpha lioness instead and you might get better results."

Zira looked at her for a moment, wondering what Njano's rank might have been.

"In the end we decided we needed no stinking Leader or Pride," Zira went on, "We were getting by just fine, all on our own. So we stopped searching, and instead of settling down somewhere, we just kept traveling a lot and checking out new places."

"I've always dreamed of seeing new lands, I guess now's my chance..." Njano said.

"Brace yourself, it's no glamorous life, being a nomad," Zira warned her, "Sometimes we have to get into fights just for the right to sleep somewhere, and you can probably tell already by the looks of us that catching food ain't easy. This ain't no holiday, get it?"

"I understand," Njano replied, and sniffed the ground around her. "Are you hungry right now?"

Kahawia let out a laugh. "We're always hungry."

Njano kept sniffing until she located the burrow of a gopher, the way Duni had taught her. She swiftly killed the critter, snapping its neck with one single bite, and placed it in front of Zira, who was obviously the more dominant one, as a gesture of friendship.

Zira smiled for the first time since meeting Njano, her stern features brightening up considerably. "Well, well... I could really use some of this... Thanks," she said sincerely, and began eating voraciously.

Kahawia's mouth started to water and she even made an attempt to steal some of Zira's food, but the lioness growled and took off with the gopher in her muzzle, looking for a place where she could eat in peace.

"Hey! It wouldn't kill you to share every now and then!" Kahawia yelled at her, but before she knew it, Njano was already holding another gopher in her mouth.

Kahawia perked her ears, looking hopeful, and grinned thankfully when Njano pushed the food towards her with her nose. She too took off with her gift inside her muzzle, and looked for a secluded place to eat.

Njano watched them eat, while keeping her distance. She noticed that the two nomads were extremely protective of their food, something she had not experienced before with the Eyasi Pride. There had been small fights every now and then, but dinner was always considered a good opportunity to bond and catch up. It was then when Njano realized that she had never really experienced hunger, like these two nomads had. Maybe in time she would become as protective of her meal, just like these two lionesses.

Njano got distracted from her thoughts when Zira returned. Part of her chin was still covered in her prey's blood. She sat down next to Kahawia and they groomed each other's face quite quickly, having forgotten all about their fight earlier.

Once they were done cleaning each other, Zira stretched herself, revealing her extremely sharp claws in the process, and told them, "All right, let's get going."

"Were you actually heading somewhere in particular?" Njano asked with curiosity.

Zira turned to her and smirked for a moment. "How good are you at climbing trees?"

Njano looked away, mumbling softly, "There was one tree I could have climbed with my eyes closed."

"Well, try this one here," Zira said, and she quickly climbed up a nearby tree with extreme ease, almost leopard-like.

Njano did her best, and managed to reach the same branch, although less gracefully than Zira had done.

"Look over there," Zira told her, staring into the distance, "See that huge, pointy rock, all the way back there? That's where we're heading."

Njano squinted to look better, and noticed a monolith, far away in the horizon. "Yeah, I see it, but it looks so far away... You really think we can make it all the way there?"

"You'd be surprised to see the distance Kahawia and I've already covered," Zira added, "We won't be there overnight, of course, but we've heard lots of good things of that area, so I think it's worth the long trip. We got nothing else to do anyway. Why not go check it out?"

Zira climbed down the tree with the same agility as before, while Njano lingered a bit longer on the branch, looking at the distant monolith. She turned around with the intention of climbing down, but couldn't resist trying to take a quick peek at the area on the other side of the river. She climbed onto a higher branch instead, and looked over the river, towards the place that had been her home.

Njano looked at her old territory in the distance. She could spot the rocks that formed the Eyasi lair, the sheltering trees, and the lake. It impressed her to see how small and distant it all looked from her current point of view. All of a sudden, that monolith didn't seem that far away after all.

"Hey, are you coming?" Kahawia called.

Njano nodded, and whispered a soft farewell. She then climbed down the tree, losing her grip in the process and landing hard on her face.

"Yikes, we'll have to teach you how to climb down," Kahawia chuckled, while Njano rubbed her nose.

"You okay there?" Zira asked, not looking amused at all.

"Sure, sure, no problem," Njano nodded, her eyes watering slightly from the stinging pain.

"All right, let's go. And don't fool around."

Njano watched Zira as she took the lead, and whispered at Kahawia, "Is she always so serious?"

Kahawia smiled slightly as she walked, lagging behind so that Zira wouldn't hear them. "Kinda, yes. You have to understand, she had to assume the role of mother at a very young age, to take care of me. While other cubs our age were busy playing and having fun, she was looking for food for the both of us and fighting to try to keep us alive."

"It's amazing that you managed to survive on your own... Who taught you how to hunt and fight?"

"No one, really... We've picked up a few tricks from other animals here and there, but we learned everything mostly on our own. So don't laugh at us when you see us in action!"

"I promise I won't," Njano told her, and whispered, "between you and me, I am not that much of a huntress either."

Kahawia laughed again, enjoying greatly the company of this younger lioness. Zira had always been the quiet type, so Kahawia was very relieved to have someone to talk to during these long walks.

"As for fighting... It sorta comes natural to Zira. She's stood up to lots of predators and even a few grown males already, just in case you're wondering where all those scars come from. She might look skinny, but she's damn fast and strong."

"Hurry up, you two," Zira called them, walking at a brisk pace.

The two lionesses increased their tempo and caught up with Zira, walking silently now while enjoying the scenery.

Njano took a deep breath, once she realized they had finally left the river behind. The sound of the running water could not be heard anymore in the distance. They could only hear a few birds in the air and the gusts of wind, which brought to Njano new and unfamiliar smells. The lioness kept scenting the air, trying to take everything in.

She didn't look back anymore, and when her mind wandered back to Kanai and to what she might be doing now, she would simply glance at the wounds Erevu inflicted on her, reminding herself of the pain Kanai caused her. She would then try to focus on something else.

Whenever she felt like she was missing Duni, or when she felt like crying, either with sadness or in anger, she'd go to Kahawia and ask her a random question about places she had been. Kahawia turned out to be a good story-teller, and she was more than happy to answer Njano's questions, keeping her distracted.

And so began Njano's life as a nomad lioness.

As days went by, Njano realized she didn't miss her old life all that much. She got far more respect from the two nomads than she ever got from the Eyasi Pride, and despite being labeled as a poor huntress all her life, Zira and Kahawia admired Njano's skills and were very insistent in learning from her.

Njano in turn began taking fighting lessons from Zira, so that if any other male were to attack her again, she would be able to defend herself and not feel afraid.

She had to agree with Zira that being a nomad wasn't easy. They remained constantly on the move, heading towards the monolith, leaving little time for naps and leisure moments. Njano was practically forced to forget all about her childish games, not by orders of Zira, but because she simply had no time to engage in those activities anymore. They spent most of the time walking, searching for food, and fighting off other animals as they constantly invaded other's territories while passing through.

To add to that, Njano had lost a lot of weight, and her pelt eventually became dusty and matted, since they didn't have much time to dedicate to grooming. The nomads preferred to catch on some sleep instead, and Njano could now understand why. She was no longer able to sleep as soundly and deeply like she did before. They always remained on the lookout for possible attackers, and any little sound would wake her up and keep her on edge, making it difficult to fall asleep again. So, if she had to choose between a grooming session and a power-nap, she would certainly go for a short moment of precious sleep.

Njano also earned new scars, from trying to defend her food from opportunistic scavengers who wanted to steal it. She knew now what it felt like to go several days without eating, and she was more than willing to fight to protect her meal.

But all in all, Njano wouldn't even think of returning to the Eyasi Pride now, even if given the chance. She had finally found a group where she felt like she belonged, and Njano had never been more satisfied and proud of herself than she was today. Her only regret was not having had time to explain to Safi and Duni what had really happened between her and Kanai.

Njano was sure that Duni would be very happy if she could hear how much she'd grown and matured ever since she left, and Njano kept telling herself that they would meet again, somehow, and she would finally make her mother proud. That thought warmed up Njano's heart, and gave her strength and courage to go on.

THE END

Author's Note:

So that was it, Njano's secret! I hope you enjoyed this story, I certainly had lots of fun writing it!

Please let me know in a review or PM whether you'd like to find out more about one specific lioness, whether one of the OCs from my previous TLK stories, or an official TLK lioness. Who would you like to see featured in the next Lioness Tale? :D

Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, special cookies go to Reldor, nightrunner21193, Eternal-M0onlight and Ururocks513! *hugs all*

Also, please check out the following awesome pieces of fanart for this story (remove the spaces between the dots and the slashes!):

"Njano's Secret", made by nightrunner21193 on Deviantart: nightrunner21193 . deviantart . com / art / Njano-s-Secret-297733920

"Duni and Faraji", commission made by TLK-Ileana on Deviantart: tlk-ileana . deviantart . com / art / Commission-Duni-and-Faraji-296489933

Thanks again, and until the next story!

Signing off for now,

Niche Eenhoorn.