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It was late. Dark, and would have been slightly chilly with the breeze coming in through the mouth of the den off the rolling black mass that was the sea, had it not been for the body beside his. Pahale slept, a firm, deep slumber unusual perhaps for someone so far from home and among strangers in a strange land. It had been a tiring day of hope and stress, and endless amounts of time spent talking to the female who had later invited him to weather the night in her own den. He shifted in his sleep, rolling onto his side. The red lioness beside him looked back at him, one ear cocked to gauge if his breathing had changed. No, he slept on. Poor, weary fellow.
Outside a chorus arose from the long grass that waved in the stiff night breeze. To anyone but Amefungwa it might have sounded like nothing more than crickets chirping in the night. But to her it was a glorious raising of voices, singing praises for the day gone by, and the cool night, and the day to come. Of leaves to be eaten and birds to be avoided. She wished she could chirp along with them, but she didn't have the ability. Maybe one day, in her next life, she could be like them, singing to the night sky together!
Up above the stars began to peek out from behind the clouds. The light caught Ame's eyes and she looked up, gasping in awe at the sight of the heavens laid pare before her. Reflected in her eyes were all the wonders of the world, space, and time, laid bare in a glorious tapestry of inky blue black and glimmering specks. She could read the stars, and what they meant about the future. She was no seer proper, but that hadn't stopped her from becoming a fortune teller. She had learned from the grasshoppers what the stars meant; everything from the weather to pending calamities could be foretold if you knew what to look for.
Behind her the male stirred. He'd heard her gasp and as any male would be, was concerned for safety of the den and ready to defend it. Instead of danger though he found a starry-eyed lioness staring straight up, and mumbling under her breath. He gingerly poked her with a paw, and she didn't stir. He waved that paw in front of her eyes and she didn't blink. He called, "Hello?" and she barely seemed to notice him. He looked up. The stars were lovely...but he didn't understand. Why had she begun to mumble? It looked like she was in some kind of trance almost. She was just growing stranger by the minute.
She finally seemed to notice him, though the glazed look was still in her eyes, and she suddenly put her face right near his. She mumbled into his ear, rasping whispering words that set his fur on edge. They sounded almost like...prophecies? How odd. He rumbled low, and pulled away from her. She returned to watching the stars in relative silence, mumbling under her breath just barely loud enough to be heard if he tried. He curled up in the back of the den, put his paws over his head, and tried his best not to listen.
He'd fallen asleep again by the time the clouds once more grew to coat the sky in nondescript darkness. With eyes sleepy and half lidded, a pleased look on her still smiling lips, Ame pulled herself away from the lip of the den. The insects outside continued to croon their lullaby song, and she slipped down down into the dark of the den to curl into the male's side. She inhaled deeply. His fur smelled exotic, like far off lands and places and lions she'd never met. Her mind was still reeling from reading the stars and the cricket songs, and she looked up at him, eyes wide and dark and searching.
Perhaps something in her mood had struck him too. Or maybe it was some of the pride's inherent insanity already seeping into his bones. He woke, looked to her, and saw something in her eyes. Something that told him here was a safe place, a place to relax and enjoy your own needs and wants. To forget about pressing matters and focus on those near to you. And she was very, very near to him right now. normally he would resist temptation, finding it unsound and against his morals...but...she had been so kind...and so comforting. She'd tried to help him find his sister. He knew what she wanted. Shouldn't he give her something in return?
She nuzzled his chin and he smiled at her. Maybe just this once. In this strange land where no one knew him, and no one would remember him, and no one would link him to his home. No one would judge him, after the next morning he would probably never see her again. She wanted something, so why not give it to her? He licked her forehead gently, feeling himself giving in. This was wrong, and part of what made it so appealing. To live without consequences...even if only for one night. He liked the sound of that. Just for one night...Here, in the dark, with just the crickets and the stars to see or hear...
For a time the air was full of nothing but hushed rustles, the occasional muffled word deadened by the earth, and the crickets chirping. By morning he would be long gone, well before she'd woken. This sort of thing, a romantic night time fling, it wasn't in his nature. HE would never be entirely sure what had possessed him to do that kind of thing, and it would be longer still until he felt comfortable reflecting on the incident. It made him uncomfortable. Why had he done that? It was as if he'd not been himself. Occasionally he would wonder what Ame was up to, but never again would he go near that pride again, the one that made his mind go blank and fuzzy.
