Kali was usually pretty good about trusting strange females. At least, she was better about it than trusting other males. Females were safe, were relatable. Kali had few experiences where another female had tried to take advantage of her, or ridiculed her. So when this strange purple lioness sitting across from her, tearing into the thigh of a young zebra, had approached and asked for Kali’s help to hunt, the former pirate had agreed. But now that the thrill of the hunt was over, the lioness found herself wondering about this stranger. She seemed so…composed, yet open. Friendly and cheerful, but with the threat of a deadly fighter coiled beneath her muscles. Not to mention that Kali had been addressed as ‘sister.’ Who did that? Kali was sure she was in no way related to this other lioness, so what was with the title? And though she appreciated having a larger, proper meal for once instead of a stringy hare or tiny klipspringer, the fact that this (what had been her name again? Leeta? Litu?) female had just come up out of the blue and asked to hunt like they were good friends was just so strange. Kali looked up the other lioness, her purple eyes narrowed judgingly. ”So, what’s got ye wanderin’ bout all by yerself, hm, friend?” She asked with a slight scowl.
Leto looked up, a bit of zebra still sticking out of her mouth. Not wanting to be rude, she chewed as fast as she could, trying to swallow the lump of zebra meat. The female across from her, Kali, had been a good find. Leto was tired of eating small prey. She hadn’t eaten a true meal since setting off to explore, and the young male zebra they had grabbed was just ripe for the taking, injured from trying to challenge older, stronger males. Thanks to the skill and cooperation of Kali, the male had been easy prey. Leto had pegged the red female for a good huntress by the way she moved, by the way she looked things with sharp, focused eyes. Leto was willing to bet the girl was a fighter, too. She certainly had enough scars to be one. She also seemed a little lost, in need of a friend. And Leto desperately wanted company, making this afternoon quite a pleasant one.
The zebra meat went down a little roughly, not chewed enough just yet. Leto gave Kali a small smile. ”Just out exploring the Roguelands. I wanted to see what else was out there besides just the Amazon lands.” Leto shrugged. It was a simple enough answer, she thought. ”Yourself, sister?”
Kali’s ears perked. Amazons? A pride? This…Leto (that sounded right) had come from another pride? It couldn’t possibly be the land of fire? This was the first time she’d met someone who had come from another pride since meeting with that seer. Perhaps Leto was from this land of fire, and could direct Kali to it. ”I’m sort of exploring meself. I’m trying to find a new home, some place called the land of fire? A seer I met saw it in a vision and told me to go there. But I haven’t had any luck finding it. Perhaps yer Amazons know anything bout it?” She held her breath, trying to make sure she didn’t get her hopes up quite so far. The last time she had done that Kali had crashed down to the ground hard, and she didn’t want to repeat something like that ever again.
The female cocked her head to the side, thinking. Land of fire? It sounded pretty interesting. It sounded...familiar, actually. Something in the Amazon’s history, perhaps? Or maybe one of her mothers’ stories. She didn’t know much about it, no specifics, but she had definitely heard of it. “Mm, I believe we do actually. I think some of the pride’s founding females came from there. Fierce warriors, they have. All the sisters in the pride would do well taking example from them, my mother would say. But they have male warriors as well, while we just have females, of course.” Leto admitted. She frowned, a new thought dawning. ”I guess that’s why I left. I wanted to learn about different prides, different ways of life, the pros and cons of different cultures. I mean, the obviously con with the Amazons is that it’s rather hard to keep new life in the pride when there are only females.”
So she did know about the land of fire. That was good. It was good to know it actually existed. Kali would have to ask Leto if she knew where it was. And…and maybe this Amazon place too. An all-female pride sounded nice. No stinkin males to put anyone down, no forcing females into the lesser roles just because of her gender. Hah! Good riddance. Kali hoped they killed any males they had. It was serve the gender right.
But her brother had never been like that. Her brothers had always been supportive, for the most part. Kali would have hated to see lions like them killed…just because of their gender…the lioness shook her head. All these thoughts were making her confused. ”Males have plenty o’ cons, I’ll tell ye that. Most of ‘em always putting ye down just cause yer a girl. S’why I left me birth pride, the pirates. Wanted to find a place where I was judged by me abilities, not what I was born as. Even if I do miss the ocean.” Kali added wistfully.
”The ocean?” Leto broke out into a wide grin. She had heard stories of the ocean before. Big, blue, sparkling waters that stretched out for all the eye to see! Leto wanted to go see it in real life. ”If you tell me how to get to the ocean, I’ll tell you what direction the land of fire is in. I don’t know where it is exactly, but I can point you the right way.” Leto offered. It would be the least she could do, especially since Kali had so graciously agreed to help her hunt.
Leto was going to tell her how to get to the land of fire. Finally, Kali would truly be on her way to her new home. Thoughts of visiting the Amazons forgotten in her excitement, Kali jumped up, eager to get going. The lioness couldn’t blame Leto for wanting to visit the ocean either. It was quite a site to see. Kali looked towards the open savannah, trying to gauge what direction everything was in. ”Head east. You’ll hit the coast eventually that way. Be careful though, there are plenty o’ prides in those parts, and not all of them are friendly. Watch out for borders, especially if ye hit Viking territory.” Vikings. Kali could never hate anything more than Vikings. But she would never be seeing them again, so what did it matter,really?
Vikings? They sounded dangerous. Leto made a note to steer clear of any mention of Vikings. ”And you should head Northwest, towards the desert. The land of fire is somewhere in there, hidden in the dunes.” The lioness got to her paws, giving Kali a smile. ”Good luck to you, Kali. I hope you find your new home.” She said warmly and sincerely. Leto always had been a sucker for happy endings.
Kali gave Leto a goodbye nod and started off towards the desert. But a sudden idea came to her mind, making her whip around with excitement. ”Hey Leto, do me favour, ya? Go see the ocean at sunset. There ain’t no sight quite like it, really.”
Leto smirked a little, her eyes crinkling playfully. ”Mm. Sounds nice and all, sister, but I much prefer sunrises.” The purple female returned Kali’s nod before trotting off into the distance, leaving Kali to ponder the stranger’s words.
Final Word Count: 1317
