"Do you think he'll be handsome?"
"Who?"
"My father. I bet he's handsome."
"Surely he is, Corallus. I hardly think your mother would waste time on an ugly male."
"You must be right. Aagen is handsome, after all. Do you think I favor my father?"
"I do not know, but we will find out soon enough, Corallus."
Orla watched the pale lioness with patience and adoration. The two cubs she'd taken with Cor's blessing had grown into beautiful adults. Corallus was somewhat dreamy-eyed, but it was endearing to Orla, even if her questions and concerns were not those of an adult lioness.
"Do you think there might be a handsome male there that might fancy me, Orla," Corallus continued, letting loose with a wistful sigh. "I should hope so. I do think it only proper that he take me to wife, first, and then we shall have a large family, I think. He will have beautiful eyes, and never lust after another. And together we will live a long and healthy life in this pride we travel towards."
Orla chuckled softly, opening her eyes a slit to glance over at the pretty, pale lioness.
"I will have a son named Aagen, after my brother, I think. And a daughter named Cora. That is after me, and a little after mother. And perhaps another daughter named Sorla, do you like it? That is for you. If that is too mannish a name, I will give it to my son. Not my son named Aagen, but another son. I wish for a large family," Corallus said quite seriously, gracing Orla with a very determined look. "A large family, robust and exceedingly healthy."
"A fine dream to have, Corallus. I have little doubt such a dream will come true."
"And my den will be large, and I will hang feathers in it, and there will be flowers and bits of cloth, and furs for when the weather is dismal and dreary, and when the sky is clear and the stars are in the sky, we will walk among the stars and the darkness, and my husband will whisper words of love and adoration into my ear."
Orla had never, in her life, met a more fanciful lioness. Even her own nieces had never been such, and it was both a beautifully refreshing thing and a terrifyingly awkward thing to listen to. There were times that Corallus reminded Orla of her sister, Liraz. Liraz had always been able to see the beauty in things that might otherwise be dreary, and it had been a refreshing thing in a sad situation, despite the tragic outcome.
"You will find a husband too, Orla. A dark and mysterious one, I think. You will have a large family, too, and many babies. And when the sun is high in the sky, we will laze about in the warm rays and watch our children frolic and play, and when we are older we will watch our grandchildren in the same way. Life will be very good to us, Orla. I have little doubt. Life has been so good thus far, why should it not only get better from this point on?"
Corallus was quiet for a moment before continuing.
"Aagen will find a wife, and she will be beautiful and soft-spoken. She will braid flowers into his mane as they laze about in grassy fields with the blue sky above them, the perfume of flowers heavy in the air. It will be an amazing thing, their love, and they will give me many nieces and nephews, and our lives will be filled with laughter and love."
"I hope life does not disappoint you, Corallus," Orla replied in a matter-of-fact tone, a smile in her voice and upon her muzzle. "It is known to take many twists and turns, and I wouldn't see you broken-hearted because of it, little dear."
"Life is what we make of it, Orla," Corallus responded softly, "and my life will be nothing but gentle beauty and sweet words, poetry and song. I will allow for nothing else. I am in control of my own destiny, Orla. It really is simple as that."
Orla chuckled, but did not disagree with the pale lioness. To do so would be to take the stars from her eyes, and Orla would have no part in that. They were far too beautiful to observe, and Orla had never been a destroyer of beauty. She liked to think that she was a protector of everything worth protecting; the lives of children, for example - and though she had not been able to save her sister, she'd been able to protect her legacy.
That would have to be enough.
"I have little doubt that you will charm not only your father, but your future husband, as well, Corallus. And with a sister such as yourself, Aagen will have no trouble finding a most beautiful wife to bear his children and make him smile."
Corallus nodded and laid back with a smile.
"As do you, Orla. If not for you, I fear what would have become of Aagen and myself. I am allowed to dream, now, of a father I have yet to meet, a future husband and our home, not to mention the beautiful cubs we will undoubtedly have. It is much nicer to dream of happier things than speak of the ones that leave us sad and forlorn."
Corallus had a firm belief that positivity was the only way to true happiness; if one sought trouble and unhappiness, one would undoubtedly find it.
"We should find Aagen," Corallus sighed softly, rising to her feet and shaking her coat free of dust. "He was going to hunt, and I find myself starving. All this talk of the future has made me hungrier than I was previously."
She grinned in Orla's direction, watching the other lioness rise to her feet.
"Do you think we'll be there soon? To my father's home?"
"No more than a few days time, I should think, Corallus."
"Perfect."
And with that, Corallus was off in search of her brother, leaving Orla to follow behind.
WC: 1025