Stars dotted the sky, as a lone lion stood upon a dune and watched. A light breeze tugged on his mane, pulling it to his left like a dark banner against the equally dark sky. He let out a sigh, as he looked for answers in the sky above. "Finar-si... Please come back to put your den back in order..."
Shula wasn't sure what had roused her from sleep, but she soon found herself staring up at the top of the dune and at Kosuke. She let out a sighing smile, before padding her way up to him. She was just in time to hear his words, and a curiosity filled her. "Finar-si...? I think you told me once, but... I've forgotten... Remind me who that is..." Indeed, since they'd last talked about it... She'd forgotten. It was the result of not being told as a cub, perhaps.
The male turned and looked at the female, then the sky. "Sad is this pride for denying you this kind of knowledge... It makes one forget when they're told.. See, the old stories say that Finar-si created this pride in her image... We were once a proud pride, full of fire... Different pride and fire than now." He sighed, mapping the stars with his eyes. "Not even a full generation ago, we kept slaves... The liones joining now... Including your mother... They'd be slaves if they came into these lands. They wouldn't be allowed to join, regardless of pelt color. The Blood kept to its own, and didn't breed outside its own."
"But that's not good, it leads to problems.." For as long as they'd been hanging around each other, Shula had never talked about the pride before the rebels mostly reunited with the traditionalists. Like Kosuke, she looked up at the sky and the stars. "That can lead to inbreeding..."
"Exactly... I've come to realize that Kidondo wasn't as wrong as I was told he was by the Traditionalists.. He had the right idea about letting others in, the ones who proved worthy... What I think he's been wrong about, was turning his back on Finar-si. The pride will meet a fiery end if we don't change that..." A heavy sigh came from his chest. "I Saw it last night, in a dream... But it was almost like a different pride. Nobody looked like anybody we know. There were a few tiny similarities, some markings... But I think it was far into the future... Too far for any of us to see, or our children, or even our children's children's children..."
Shula looked at Kosuke, eyes shifting in the moonlight. "But the future can be changed, can't it? We can keep that from happening?" She didn't like the idea of the pride meeting its demise. What if it happened sooner than Kosuke predicted?
The male chuckled, shifting on his paws. "It can... Besides, there's no telling if what I Saw was because Kidondo turned his back on Finar-si, or some other reason... That's the trouble about Seeing the future." He looked at Shula, watching the moon reflect in her eyes. "You never know if it's exactly as it appears. And for all we know... I could have just been dreaming. I hope I was..."
The lioness nodded, before she looked to the sky. She soon found the great hunter of the sky, as well as the great serpent. "So, what happened to change the pride, and make Kidondo change? Do you know...?" She wanted to know this history she'd never heard before, the parts she'd missed.
"Well... Back when my grandfather was younger... A plague came through the pride, and decimated much of it. While some lions came drifting back in, including your father... It wasn't enough. If the pride kept to the ways of the Blood keeping to the Blood... We'd inbreed beyond repair far too fast and destory ourselves. So Kidondo changed it." He shook his head, frown on his face.
"So then what do you not like about his change, if it's saved the pride from inbreeding into oblivion?" What COULD he miss, anyway? Besides mention of Finar-si. She still wasn't sure of who that was, only that Kosuke said Kidondo turned his back on her.
Kosuke started to answer, then paused, looking at Shula. After a moment, he shook his head. "Nothing worth worrying about. Come on, it's late and we should sleep. Tomorrow comes too soon, and all..." He turned, walking back towards the dens.
He'd dodged the question... Shula let out a sigh, shaking her head. She'd get that answer out of him eventually. For now... He had a point. Following the male, she made her way down the dune and back for home. She was tired, and sleep was a welcome idea.
