Mahatma sat in the shade of a tree, examining a series of shells. Finally, he seemed to settle on one that was large, bulbous, and seemed to ring with the sound of the ocean. The male lion smiled, setting it aside before looking at the other shells. They each shone with their own beauties, glimmering with many colors between them. When dry, some showed their own pastel beauties, impressing any that viewed them. Mahatma himself admired them each, having found them all washed ashore by the sea. He carefully cradled one in his paw, admiring the soft shades of blues and greens. It reminded him of Dimbwi's coat, decorated like the sea.
Shaking water from her coat, Dimbwi let out a bit of a purr. She loved the sea, and all it had to offer. Which was why she spent her free time swimming. It gave her an opportunity land life didn't, as well. Often, she'd find things floating in the water, mostly driftwood. Driftwood simply being a curiosity for her, she'd drag it on shore and form piles of it, leaving it be for the sea to decide if it wanted it back or not. Other things she'd find were rope, something left by humans before. And, of course, on the sand, shells and shells and feathers. And Mahatma. Wait, Mahatma? What was he up to now? The wave-marked lioness padded over, curiosity in her eyes. "What are you up to now?" Another story, surely.
Mahatma looked up, eyes dancing. "Ah, Dimbwi! I was jus' thinkin' of ya!" He showed her the shell. "It looks like ya!" He set the shell down away from the rest, as if to signify how special it was to him. "I was also thinkin' of a new story." He motioned to the shells, in particular the large conch shell. "Tha story of a lion who wanted to change his destiny, from a lion with nothing to a lion with everythin'..."
Dimbwi's eyes widened, listening to the male's words. "That sounds so amazing! Where did it take place? Was it by the sea?" His last story had literally been on the shore of the sea. Was this one the same, or was it different? She lay down, paying rapt attention.
"Well..." Mahatma picked up the conch shell, rubbing a paw over it. "It started, long ago, long before some of the prides around now were even here. Far back, into ancient times... There was once a pride, far from here, at tha edge of a desert and a grassland, with only one river cutting through and dividing tha two areas..." He used a claw to draw a line in the sand, placing some grasses in the sand on one side. "Tha pride was a huge one, with social classes determined by yer birth within the pride. If yer parents were lowly, then ya were lowly with them. As it happened, tha king had only sired one cub in his long life, before his mate had died. The cub was a female, tha heiress to tha kingdom, and he sheltered her greatly, fearful of losing her to tha outside world..."
The lioness let out a bit of a coo, finding the father's protectiveness sweet. Smothering, but sweet. "'E only wanted the best for 'is only child... That's so sweet!" She could imagine where he was coming from, too. What parent wouldn't be protective of their only child and the heir or heiress to the throne? "What 'appened?"
The male chuckled. "Well, ya see, tha pride had a tradition, to keep tha royal bloodlines royal and avoid inbreeding. If tha heir was a female, she HAD to marry a prince from another pride, who would then become tha king of tha pride. But she had other ideas. Having never left their protected den area, she snuck out early one morning, going to see what tha rest of tha pride was like. She was disappointed, of course. There were lions who had nothing, not even a den of their own, and had to sleep huddled together" He let out a wistful sigh. "She was saddened that her own pride, that she'd inherit, had lions who lived like this. But she discovered something else..."
Dimbwi's eyes widened. A pride of lions that had a concept of poor people? It was something else. "So what did she do then? She 'ad to 'ave 'elped them!" What good queen WOULDN'T? Her pride had a lower class that needed help, and they were looking to the royals for it. "And what did she discover...?" Eyes still wide, the lioness leaned in.
"Aye, she wanted ta help, but she couldn't. She was just a female, for ya see... In that pride... Females only had voices if their male mate had died. She had no mate, so she had no voice, even as tha princess. No male seemed to want to listen to her, and tha females... Well, they were little help. And then she met a male who was different..." Mahatma motioned with his paw, drawing in the sand a lion. "He was a sly lion, often escaping tha guards by hiding somewhere. And he'd spotted himself tha princess, a beautiful lioness that captured his attention almost dangerously so."
Dimbwi gasped. "What if 'e gets CAUGHT?!" Somehow, this male struck her as a good character. Maybe he had a sordid past that led him from a good life to a bad one, getting on the wrong side of the law. Was he an orphan, forced to rely on other methods to survive since he was a cub? She'd seen it out in the rogue lands before. The poor creatures refused help, too, thinking they could make it on their own.
Mahatma wagged a fortoe, a grin on his face. "Ah, but he was too sly to be caught! Of course, bein' at tha bottom of tha peckin' order, he had no idea what tha princess looked like, so he just saw a lovely girl who looked lost. So he took her under his wing, showing her tha ways of tha lower class." The male chuckled, still smiling. "His was a world apart from hers, a dangerous world, where he was walking tha line every day between life and death, eating and starving. And then..."
"And then..?!" She leaned forward, eyes wide and jaw slack with anticipation. Quite suddenly, though... A seagull dropped in, squawking as it nabbed a shell. The lioness jumped back in surprise, yelling at it. Before she could chase it, though, she heard laughter, looking back at Mahatma. "What's so funny...?"
Rolling onto his side, Mahatma did his best to hold his sides. When he opened his eyes, they were dancing with mirth. "Leave the silly birds alone, Dimbwi, they'll do their own things!" When he sat up, he was all grins. "I think that's tha end of tha story today, lovey, we should go tend some cubs so somebody else can take a break."
Dimbwi smiled, before going over and butting her head against Mahatma's forhead. "You silly male!" She then gently tickled his nose with her tail, padding off up the beach toward the dens. He was right, they should relieve somebody of cubsitting duties.
He let out a sigh, smiling to himself, before gathering up the shells. Mahatma would have to continue the story another day, it would seem. Yet again. What stories would he have if they had cubs, though...? Maybe romance wasn't the type for them... He'd save this story for the older cubs and juveniles of the pride.
