Donte’fao was a man of honour. He was determined that if he started something, he would see it through. ‘See’ be the key word. He had had a dream, a surprisingly vivid dream, of a feline of mixed descent. In the Achana, he had seen many hybrids but this feline held a power to her that he hadn’t seen before. She held herself differently. He had seen her talking to strangers, her words echoing around him in an almost dizzying manner. He could almost feel her words echoing around him, caressing his fur, ruffling his mane and sending him slightly crazed.
”What you have is a gift. An honour. Today you stand before me willing to learn, and I, along with many within this walls, are willing to teach. If you will accept us, we will accept you in return. If you learn from us, we will learn from you. Teach us, and we will teach you. Do you understand?” The feline spoke, and her eyes flicked up, a vivid red that struck Donte’fao so intensely that he found himself violently awoken from the dream, her last words echoing around him. “Are you ready?”.
He had felt fevered when he woke, dizzy and unable to move for a few moments. It was not the first intense dream that he had had, but it was the first that he could remember so vividly. Who was the feline? He had no idea. What was she talking about? Similarly, he didn’t have a clue.
There was only one thing that he knew.
A location.
That morning he had struck out early, earlier than he had ever risen before, eager to start to walk towards the mountains. He was desperate to know what was happening. Since the Achana had disbanded, he had been wandering almost endlessly, trying hard to find something, anything to occupy himself. He could not join the wild dogs again, but he was poor at being a cheetah. What was he? Some stupid hybrid.
Maybe the strange hybrid could teach him how to adapt. Maybe that’s what she was teaching?
It took him days of walking to reach the base of the mountains, travelling almost none stop except for sleeping and eating, and the occasional drink when he stumbled upon a pool of water. He was ragged when he reached the valley that he had seen in the dream. It was like an oasis in the dessert to him. The valley mouth opened wide, a broad opening that spread and slowly swept upwards, cocooning the pride in a wall of mountain from all other angles. It felt safe.
In the valley he could see creatures moving about; all sorts. Cheetahs. Leopards. Lions. Everyone, moving in peace. It was like the Achana. A sanctuary.
A pale figure moved towards him, her eyes a crisp blue, a shock of colour in her otherwise empty pelt. She smiled softly as she approached. She stopped a metre from him, bowing her head low to him. “Greetings. Oracle Ishara said you were coming. You must be tired,” she remarked softly, gazing at him with sympathy.
He blinked, realising his mouth was dry, and he took a moment to gather himself enough to speak. “Uh…how..” he murmured, blinking slowly.
“Come,” the young lioness encouraged. “First you need water and some food, then we will speak.” She smiled and waited for him to begin to walk before she led him further into the valley. There was a small spring at the base of the mountain, run-off from the mountains no doubt. She stood to the side as he drank, giggling a little as he practically gulped down all of the water out of a sudden realisation that he was thirsty.
He felt awkward, being so undignified around the feline who was obviously so graceful. He swallowed and raised his head up, shaking off the excess water around his mouth.
“Where am I?” He asked, with what seemed like the most sensible question he had had thus far.
“The Mimi’naona,” a voice behind him replied, and he spun towards the sound. It was the hybrid that he had seen in his dream. He couldn’t mistake her bright blue markings, nor her slightly rounder fighter than most other hybrids he had met. She wasn’t smiling, but she was not aggressive. Her stance was passive, but she did not stand too close to him. Out of respect to him, or fear for herself, he couldn’t help but wonder.
“We are a pride for the gifted,” the pretty lioness remarked from his side, her voice joyful and young. “Oracle Ishara says you’re gifted too.”
“Me?” Donte stuttered. “I’m not special. I’m pretty damn ordinary.”
The leopon before him cracked her first smile, a half one that only really twisted the corner of her mouth upwards. “You wouldn’t be here if you were ordinary. I saw you coming her. I saw your determination. You barely slept. You barely ate. I’m surprised you didn’t die of dehydration. If you were not special, your dream would not have instilled such a passion in you.”
“How did you know I had a dream?” He asked, stunned.
“Because I had a dream of you,” the leopon replied simply.
“Oh, we haven’t introduced ourselves,” the lioness interrupted softly. “May I present Oracle Ishara, the Monarch of the Mimi’naona,” the lioness said, motioning to the leopon.
Ishara cracked another high smile and nodded to the lioness. “And this is Seer Mirae, one of our students.”
Mirae smiled gently. “Oracle Ishara had no dream of me, but the father of one of my guardians is her uncle,” she tried to explain but probably confused Donte more. Their species difference was only half a species but it was enough to baffle him.
“What am I doing here?” Donte’fao asked, sounding absolutely confused.
Ishara shrugged her shoulders. “That’s entirely up to you. What do you want to be doing here?” She asked.
He took a moment to answer, staring at the pride milling around them, at all the creatures who seemed to be inhabiting the pride. “I want to learn,” he replied.
Ishara smiled, her smile mirrored by Mirae, only the lioness’ was much broader. “Then you have come to the right place, Donte’fao.”
(WC: 1042)