He had been plagued by guilt ever since he had last seen Jiona. The dark red leopardess' face was imprinted on his memory, like a mark that would never fade. It probably never would, he knew. Djakovo wasn't especially attentive to the world around him, so what it was all coming to, he had little idea. He only knew that what had happened was not right.
Having one night stands were not right. Truth be told, he supposed that part of it was his fault. There was a duty one had in protecting their family, one that lay in being responsible and raising cubs to keep their species alive. The ancient ways that had been evolved over time, where the strongest won the right to live and the weakest did not.
That was the way life was supposed to be. Life was not supposed to be full of one night stands and flings. The very idea that he had panicked, upped and left, scared him more than the consequences of the fling itself. Indeed, he had been so caught up in the leaving for such a long time that he had never even ventured so far as to consider the consequences.
The spotted lion padded along, frowning lightly, as it seemed he had taken to doing recently. It had been many, many moons since the incident, and his mind was slowly letting go of its fixation on the fling. Perhaps, he mused, one day, he might be almost free of it.
