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Fire and Ice

SoA1 name (and Meaning): (Tiger Lioness) Uimarisho "Maris" (determination)
SoA2 name (and Meaning): (Spotted Lioness) Rahausi “Raha” (dark joy)
Story:
How had he convinced her to go along with this? The humans could have Raha, for all that she cared. With Raha gone, Maris had a fair and whole take of their shared lover. She had shared Mwenzi for so long, and now there was nothing to stand in their way of a normal, happy relationship. Those humans, really, had done them a favor, but Mwenzi couldn’t bear the idea of leaving Raha to the two-leggers’ unknown whims and so, grudgingly and haltingly, Maris had been talked into coming along to assist her leopard lover. To be honest, if he had asked her to take Raha’s place among the humans, she might have acquiesced. The love she bore him was so great that her heart would burst before she could betray him, or not fulfill his every desire. If he had preferred the dark lioness over herself, she would have stepped aside for him.

It hadn’t taken long for them to track down the group of poachers, though she hadn’t the name for them. They stunk of rotting flesh, old blood and dung – a heavy veil over their true heady scent of sandalwood and male sweat. They were prey beasts, but they were not natural. They were predominately weaponless, but fear gave the big cats pause. It wasn’t until a glint of steel was caught in the firelight that Maris understood: these humans shielded their defenses like a cat withdraws its claws and immediately she felt less assured of their success. The long sticks they waved about seemed ridiculously cumbersome, but she was fully aware of the formidable nature of that glint of sharpened metal. But Mwenzi bolstered what little confidence she had, and the two of them plunged through the night into the camp: silent as ghosts as they approached Raha, shackled to a metal post deep into the ground. The metal was weakened, but Raha was slight enough that even that kept her bound.

Maris had felt the sneer and disapproval welling in her before she could stop it, pulling back a speckled upper lip as they came upon the spotted lioness from the shadows, “This is what keeps you here?” She hissed vehemently, the words drawing across her lips like a python through the tall grasses, “This is pathetic, Raha. Might you have at least been kept prisoner by something a bit stronger.” The darker lioness opened her mouth to respond, baring her teeth in the firelight as her black ears pinned against her skull, but before she could speak, Mwenzi intervened.

“Enough! We’re not going to get out of here if the two of you aren’t silent and cooper-“ His snarl and the screech of straining metal as his heavy paw crushed the links were loud enough to draw attention to the three of them. The answering blast sounded like a volcano exploding, interrupting Mwenzi’s scolding and causing Maris’ fur to stand on end as she leapt to one side and glanced back. A human had his gun leveled at the three of them, and another shot rang out as something hit the dirt between her paws. A narrow miss, but the point was made. Rather than stand and fight these strange weapons, Maris turned and ran just as she heard her lover’s beckoning, “Run, Maris! Raha!”

She would never forget the fear of that flight through the savannah grasses; the sounds of her own breathing like an inescapable roar in her ears tainted by the echoes of the long-stick’s explosion. The scrambled rhythm of her paw-steps served percussion to the race of her heartbeat, and she would never admit to the level of fear that possessed her as she saw the streak of blood on her side as she looked back for pursuers. What had that weapon done? She felt no pain, so from where did the blood spill? A quick second glance had confirmed that they were not being followed (the humans would not risk being in the predators’ territory after dark) and she’d slowed to a stop. Breathing deeply, she had cried out hesitantly until at last she heard the faint reply of her beloved.

She found them: Raha and their shared Prince Charming curled up in a flattened circle of bloody grass. Mwenzi had a gaping wound in his side, surrounded by a scattered few; Maris wouldn’t recognize it for it was – the results of a shot gun blast. All she could smell was the blood, and all she could see was her lover’s face. For as much as she hadn’t understood, she knew the important thing: Mwenzi would not survive this. Her teary blue eyes met that of the dark lioness’ own, and suddenly they not only shared the love of their prince – something neither had ever been so willing to do – but they shared the pain of his loss. It is true that misery loves company, and the idea of facing this disaster with one who felt the same was a bitter comfort.

He was gone before morning, but neither of them left for days. Blindly fighting off the scavengers, they protected him as they silently and separately dealt with their pain. Four days later, driven by grief, they wordlessly went about the careful act of separating his tattered skin from his corpse. Maris was only vaguely knowledgeable about the art of tanning, so the job was certainly messy, but after the vultures had picked the bones clean, Raha used a bit of the meat to barter a troop of baboons to finish the job. The entire process passed in a haze, but the two lionesses were sure of one thing: never again would they resist cooperation as a team. When the baboons returned the pieces in wearable garments and armor, the two donned the remains of their beloved. They would share the pain of his loss for as long as they lived: one bone and one flesh as one body.