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She leapt at the butterfly, pinning it to the ground with gentle paws, inspecting it closely with her sky blue eyes before releasing the creature, having been sure not to harm it. Jini would never harm a fly - and butterflies were, like, super-flies! They were loads prettier than other flies. Jini giggled, glancing around her surroundings. Mother wasn't far - she knew that. Otherwise she'd have been worried. Jini became very distressed very quickly when she was left alone, but the knowledge that her mother and siblings weren't far kept her mind at rest.

Her mother had told her of a nearby pride - Anto...Anter...Ant-somethingorother, which she should be cautious around. Not scared of, necessarily, but just wary, in case the guards thought she meant harm. But who could ever think a small cheetah cub such as Jini was a threat? Her dark fur was pleasantly warmed by the sun's rays as she trotted through the vegetation, searching for something interesting to do.



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It had been three weeks since Carnadhiel had been named a guard by the queen of the Antianeira. So far, she was enjoying her work immensely, loving each day and each experience; loving that she was serving her new home, and queen. It was a fulfilling job and helped to make her feel as she used to, how she felt as the general of her old pride.

The black lioness stalked the edge of the lands, white eyes scanning over anything and everything, assessing her surroundings for danger and signs of life. In one of these visual scans, the lioness spotted something small and dark moving around in the grass very close to the border, to Carnadhiel's left. At first, she thought it was some type of rodent. But then she realized it was a cub. Was that good or bad? A cub near the border...Well, anything near the border alive and moving wasn't good. The border had to be clean of intruders. The pride had to remain protected. Thus, this cub was automatically a threat.

Eyebrow twitching in a rare display of facial expression, the lioness gripped her black claws into the earth and bolted towards the moving creature.


Jini had just found a beetle, and was following it intently, never lifting her head to check where she was going. She didn't know she was on the Antianeira borders - she hadn't even noticed Carnadhiel. Well, at least not until the lioness darted towards her. With a yelp and a squeak, Jini jumped backwards, shuddering from the fear that had sparked in her from the sudden movement. She squeaked a little, blue eyes widening in fear before they softened once more. it was only a lioness. A pretty lioness, too. With another squeak - a more playful one - Jini jumped forwards merrily, dancing around Carnadhiel's feet.

"You're preeeetty~! What's your name? Mine's Jini! It means fairy!" She spoke, sincerely and merrily, clearly enjoying the company. How could anyone think such a sweet girl as Jini was a threat?


Awkwardly stopping in front of the cheetah cub, Carnadhiel raised a paw above the earth as if about to step on a squishy insect that would be unpleasant to put one's paw on.

The lioness eyed the cub, at first unsure of what to say. It wasn't every day she received a compliment. She used to, when she was a general, but over time everyone had become so intimidated that they mostly stopped addressing her entirely. That thought aside, the female tried to focus on her current duties; keeping the border safe from all intruders.

"You are dangerously close to the Antianeira lands, young one." Carnadhiel addressed the cub sternly, but there was an air of awkwardness in speech about her tone. "You would do well to return home. Now."

Was ignoring the cub's question for her name a bad thing? How was she supposed to treat a cub? She...Didn't remember...


Antianeira? Wasn't that the pride her mother had mentioned? Giving another squeak of surprise and happiness, Jini continued danced around the lioness' feet, although paused as she noticed the awkwardness Carnadhiel seemed to be feeling. Jini paused, bright blue eyes lit up in excitement as she watched Carnadhiel, seemingly ignoring her request for the cub to return home.

"Is that the pride Momma was talking about - the girl one? Ohhh, what's it like being in a pride?" Jini asked, a wave of curiosity suddenly flowing through the cub. She watched Carnadhiel expectantly, though she still wasn't done, "What do you do in a pride?"


Carnadhiel blinked, icy-faced. There was a glimmer of confusion in her eyes, and her ears flickered.

Why did the tiny creature dance about her feet like that? It was...strange. Didn't it know how many lives the lioness had taken with those very paws? How may times those black and scarlet hairs had been stained with blood? And yet the cub danced around, seemingly oblivious to any danger around her. What an ignorant, foolish creature. It was no wonder Carnadhiel had heard that the mortality rate for cheetah cubs was near seventy-five percent.

But surely this creature wasn't a threat...But she needed to be removed from the area.

"I..." The lioness found herself speaking, tail stiff behind her. "I am a guard. I protect the border of these lands. And you are intruding." she explained, hoping the cub would understand what she meant.


Jini watched Carnadhiel with admiration and amazement, eyes sparkling. She wanted to be like this lionness when she grew up! All serious and strong and AMAZING! Her maw stretched into a grin, although after Carnadhiel's words it faltered a little, before her eyes clouded in tears a little.

"You...You don't want me here?" she blubbed, a tear falling down her cheek. Jini sniffed, clearly quite upset as her bottom lip wobbled, and another tear fell. And the next thing Carnadhiel would've known was a sobbing cheetah cub, head buried in her paws.


What in the name of--...

Carnadhiel's lips parted, face still mostly expressionless as she stared at the bawling cheetah cub. White eyes searching left and right, as if for an immediate answer to the present problem, Carnadhiel was left with the realization that there was no help and she was alone in this matter. The cheetah cub was crying, and it seemed more and more that the lioness was failing her guard duties. But maybe it was best that the cub cry? Maybe she would...Be scared off and go away?

Letting out an exasperated sigh, the masked lioness reached out a paw in an attempt to, perhaps, claw at the thing and scare it off. However, the strength seemed to leave her body the instant her paw touched the cheetah's back, and instead she looked as if she was consoling the cub.

Why were cubs so difficult to work with?!


At the feeling of something on her back, Jini at first whimpered and began to pull away. However, it felt more as if the lionness was trying to comfort her? Jini raised her head from her paws, sniffing and attempting to wipe tears off of her face with her paws, to stop herself looking too stupid. She offered a sweet smile to Carnadhiel, and allowed a purr to vibrate through her body, closing her eyes and smiling in contentment.


Carnadhiel cleared her throat, removing her paw as if she had touched frigid water. She placed her paw firmly on the grass and raised her head, donning a rather intimidating posture. Even as she did this, there was still an air of awkwardness and unsureness.

"Well..." she said in a murmur, voice emotionless. "Now...Run along to your family." she commanded strangely, testing the phrase on her lips for the first time. She had never told a cub to go anywhere in her life. That wasn't her job; it had never been her job. Actually, she hadn't even spoken to many cubs in her life. This discovery was slightly alarming, but the lioness wasn't sure why. She shouldn't have been alarmed over something like that. Cubs were cubs, and it was someone else's duty to look after them. Unless, of course, they tried to cross the border...In which case, it was Carnadhiel's duty to...Deal with them.

Cubs were strange things. But perhaps...Not all bad.


Jini grinned up to Carnadhiel, eyes sparkling once more, all traces of tears gone. As Carnadhiel spoke, she nodded enthusiastically, turning to leave, but then thinking twice. Suddenly, she turned back to Carnadhiel, darting forwards and hugging the female's front paws tightly, beaming a smile up at her. "Thank you Miss-Guard-person! I'll come back and visit you someday~"

And with that, she turned and bounded obediently off into the vegetation, tail waggling in anticipation. That had been fun!


Carnadhiel's body went rigid at the strange paw-hug; the paws that had slain so many, yet the cub hugged them with affection so carelessly. Carnadhiel felt almost...regretful of her past actions. But that was insane. What was...Happening to her? Was it because she had had so little interaction with cubs? They certainly weren't her forte, she knew that much. She would definitely have to leave them to the nannies. But as she had thought of before, she would always have to deal with cubs wandering near the borders. Would it always be so difficult? It put Carnadhiel completely off-guard, and she disliked the feeling. She had to be a wall of protection, if only to serve her pride and fulfill her duties.

What was a cub? What kind of creature was so full of joy and bliss and ignorance--So much so that it had no bearing on the meaning of the word "danger"? Carnadhiel didn't remember her own cub-hood. She had no memories before her juvenile stage of life.

White eyes narrowing slightly, the black and red lioness watched the cub skitter off into the jungle brush, disappearing behind a line of bushes.

And the cub left a bit of emptiness in its wake. Now Carnadhiel was alone again, marching along the border in search of life...

...And wondering if the cub would come again, one day.