[PRP] A Different Sort Of Slavery (Nkemdilim x Koko)

[hibi-tea]

Nkemdilim was so happy to have time for herself. Lately Tichaona was very adamant about creating heirs. It seemed every time she turned around he was there, wooing her and taking up his mount. She wondered if her pregnancy would put a sound end to it all, or if the fact he could produce heirs with her would only further his want for more of them. All Nekmdilim knew was that she was sore, everywhere, from nose to tail she was sore.

Usually a lioness enjoyed their time creating children, but for Nkemdilim it was like torture. She had no love from Tichaona or Mwenye, and though she had feelings for Tichaona they were mixed and felt wrong to her. Sometimes she just wanted to run away and find something more, but she couldn't. She'd disgrace her family and her pride if she did so. She was the consort of the Kings. Her time would come and all would praise attention to her for birthing wonderous heirs.

"My time will come," She said quietly.  

[bipolar bee]

Koko had been wandering for what felt like forever. It had come to her realization that while she had previously felt such anger towards her mother, she had started to miss the other lioness. Being alone had allowed her to confront all of the anger and frustration she'd felt towards Amara, and towards Chacha before she'd left. Koko had been so engulfed by her own pride and desires that she hadn't seen the times her sister had reached out to her, or even her own mother.

Or Behnam.

She missed him each and every day that she was gone, but she refused to return to the pride. She could not force herself to live that life, a life of emptiness and jealousy. She'd seen the way that Kifa had looked at Amara, she'd seen the anger and frustration in the Banu's eyes when Amara answered to the title of Beybanu. She didn't dare lower herself to such a situation. She'd already wasted such time feeling jealousy over her own mother's relationship with Kwea, and enough was enough.

Frustration drove her now. What was her purpose in life? What was there left for her to do? Being alone wasn't helping much, having to hunt for her own food without the help of another lioness, well, it was just plain miserable, in all honesty. Could anything change her mind about returning to Behnam and sharing him with others? Koko couldn't think of anything that possibly could. It was sad.

As she neared a tree, Koko caught sight of a lovely lioness sitting alone. She was feeling far too fragile to be alone now, and she slowly approached the other lioness, clearing her throat as she drew closer in order to announce herself.  

[hibi-tea]

Koko had startled the poor Nkemdilim, sending the sandy colored lioness with deep teal eyes onto her feet and panting heavily. She spun her head to see the other, darker, lioness and literally looked like she would fall unconscious as she fell back onto the ground. She had thought it was Tichaona. She had thought she had been caught and that the time she had reserved and much needed for herself would quickly come to an end.

"H-hello," Nkemdilim said, dipping her head to the other lioness out of sheer habit. Most of her time was spent around her Kings, and so frequently she found herself starring at ground, "You gave me such a start, I thought my heart would leap out of my chest."

She gave Koko a strained smile and nervous laugh, but it was obvious she had thought she had been caught at something. Similar to how Koko had felt when she finally escaped the U'Ws lands. Moving over to the side, Nkemdilim patted her tail to the spot next to her, inviting Koko over.

"I am Nkemdilim," She said, slowly relaxing and giving her a smile. "I don't recognize you, are you new to our lands?"  

[bipolar bee]

Koko swiftly apologized, mumbling a soft, "I'm sorry, I did not mean to startle you." She offered a smile to the lioness, hoping that she could see that Koko meant no harm, posed no threat whatsoever. "I am Kokojicho. Just a wandering lioness in search of many answers." She paused for a moment, looking troubled. Giving herself a mental shake, Koko gave a sad smile as she made her way closer to the lioness, taking a seat where Nkemdilim had indicated.

"You belong to a pride, then?" Koko was curious. "I am newly freed from the pride I once called home. I left behind many things that I regret." She shook her head again, "Regret is such a fickle thing," she mumbled to herself, falling into an easy conversation with the other lioness.  

[hibi-tea]

"Kokojicho. That is such a pretty name," Nkemdilim mused, quickly finding she was quite happy to talk to someone. She hadn't had a good conversation with anyone in some time, and even though the sad stranger she was talking to didn't seem to look like she was in a good place, it was still nice to talk.

"Oh, yes. We are a very small pride," Nkemdilim explained quietly, looking away for a moment, "I am the consort of my Kings, Mwenye and Tichaona. I was given to them as a gift when Tichaona was coroneted."

It was a little amazing to her how quickly she was divulging the intricacies of her life to the strange, Kokojicho, but for some reason she felt so much better doing so. It was like a weight being lifted being able to tell someone who would not scold her about the difficulties she faced some days.

"Why would you leave your pride?" Nkemdilim asked, tilting her head to the side, "Prides are to keep you safe. Did they not keep you safe? Is that why you left?"  

[bipolar bee]

Koko had always been fond of her own name, and she was glad that another found it pretty, as well. She dipped her head in gratitude and then listened to the words that Nkemdilim spoke. Instantly she froze, a flash of anger in those eyes of hers before she could muster up enough control to speak.

"You were given to males? By whom?" She shook her head. Who had the right to give a female to males? In her old pride, fathers had such capabilities. She wondered if it was the same for Nkemdilim. It was wrong, just wrong in Koko's eyes and she easily sympathized with the other lioness.

"I come from a pride where males use females to show status, to hunt for them and provide them with cubs. Any given male has at least two females, sometimes more but never more than the Sultan himself has." Koko shook her head, looking at Nkemdilim sadly.

"Why don't you run away? That's... that is what I did."  

[hibi-tea]

"That sounds so terrible," Nkemdilim said, a look of sorrow haunting her face for Koko. It was true she was given to the Kings of her pride, but this was a different occasion. It was not normal, and for her it was expected to be a honor. She would give birth to the pride's heirs and everyone in the pride would love her for it... one day.

"I can imagine how that feels, for those are mostly my duties to my Kings. Except for hunting. I do not hunt for them," Nkemdilim admitted, giving Koko a sad smile, "My role is a precarious one. I was given to the Kings by my parents. My one and only job is to tend to their desires and to give them cubs..."

She looked at Koko with small tears welled in her eyes. She was attempting to be strong right now. She needed to be strong right now, "Once I do this, I'll be free to do as I like. I would much prefer this, as neither loves me anyway. King Mwenye is old enough to be my own father, and King Tichaona... I am just his tool. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Surely, some of the males love their females, don't they?" Nkemdilim asked, wondering if perhaps Koko had fled because like with Mwenye and Tichaona, no one loved her.  

[bipolar bee]

Koko nodded, her heart aching for Nkemdilim. They were not in different situations. It was nice to have someone to talk to who found that they were in a similar situation. "I hope that you are able to fulfill your duties soon so that you might be free of the two of them." She shook her head, eyes seeking out the horizon as she grew pensive in her silence.

"Do you think it would be different for you if either of them loved you, Nkemdilim?" Koko wasn't sure that it would be different. She didn't think it would be different in her own situation, honestly. She knew she had Behnam's love, but she wasn't sure that it would be enough. He probably had already found someone else to fill the ranks in his harem. That made Koko feel upset and she banished the thought from her mind.

"I... I think that they must hold some love in their hearts for their females," she said softly. "But I don't think that it is enough.. Having to share the love of your mate, well... I don't know."  

[hibi-tea]

"...It would be much different," She said sadly, letting a few tears escape her eyes, "I would be happy about the attempts being made to produce heirs. I would enjoy it. I wouldn't need to run and hide to find myself a few moments of piece, and if either of them loved me even a little... They'd use my real name."

She felt bad, talking the way she did of Mwenye and Tichaona. Neither of them had ever been bad to her. She was never beaten and never talked badly to. But just because they hadn't abused her, didn't mean they were good to her. She felt so neglected all of the time.

"Lust is not love," Nkemdilim said quietly, looking to Koko, "Wanting to possess something is not love. That's really all I know about that, Kokojicho... I've never been in love. Maybe one day, one of them will love me. Maybe one day, someone will be capable of loving more than one person. I don't know... I'd like to hope that one day one of them would love me, and that some of the males in your former pride actually love their females and don't just own them."  

[bipolar bee]

Koko shook her head as she watched those tears fall from Nkemdilim's pretty eyes. She was lucky compared to Nkemdilim, she supposed, because she knew that Behnam loved her. He'd said it and she could tell by the expression in his eyes. Nkemdilim's words struck something in Koko's heart, something that made Koko feel petty for having felt so sorry for herself. At least she had a male that had love for her. Nkemdilim wasn't so lucky despite how much she yearned to have love given to her by even one of the males she'd been given to.

"Love is such a painful thing," she whispered, trying to make Nkemdilim feel better. She felt a closeness with this lioness, one who shared similar heartache to her own. She fell silent after speaking those words, a silence that lasted until the lionesses parted ways later in the day.