Iirte wasn't sure when, exactly, they'd started. All she knew was that as of late her dreams had been plagued with a strange figure. A lion with a mane white as snow and glorious wings set ablaze with fire. The lion moved through her dreams, weaving in and out of her memories of her home with large paws that left prints in sand and ash alike. Sometimes she would see herself approach him; other times he would approach her. But she would always wake long before a word could be spoken, sand clinging to her mussed fur and Ista curled up against her hip.
Tonight was no different. The dreams that had been plaguing her for weeks had finally reached something akin to a crescendo. This time, he did not appear in her memories, but in her current home. He stood on the very borders of the pride, simply waiting for her, and she watched herself approach him. His jaws parted, and he spoke a name she'd thought she'd never hear again.
"Zamsa."
She awoke with a startled gasp, claws digging into the sands below her and eyes darting around her den. She was alone, save for the small form of Ista curled daintily against her chest. She watched as the jackal's brow creased for a moment before smoothing out as her heart settled into a more normal rhythm. She sighed and leaned down to nuzzle her companion, gently smoothing the fur of her forehead down with her tongue.
"Stay here, Ista. I need to go check something."
The jackal hardly stirred as she got to her paws and quietly slipped out of her den, moving through the heart of the pride with a practiced ease. She had to check the borders, had to make sure the dream had been just that - a dream.
It was this urge that led her to the borders of the pride, her paws taking a path that had become second nature to her over the past two years. She was careful to avoid any prying eyes; it was not wise for her to be out here alone at this hour of the night. Even so, she wanted no distractions.
The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon by the time she arrived at the borders, setting the desert sands aglow with fiery oranges and reds and yellows.
Just as she was about to give up and turn back, she saw him standing there, his back silhouetted against the rising sun. Her breath caught in her throat as her paws led her over to him against her will, and she stood before him in silence for a long while. Finally, he broke the silence just as he had in her dream.
"Zamsa."
He stopped, the corners of his mouth pulling down in a frown before he shook his head.
"No, not Zamsa. You haven't answered to that in years, have you?"
A smile pulled at her lips, and she indulged in it, shaking her own head.
"No, I haven't. Not since I left my home. I am Iirte Aasa now."
The lion across from her hummed softly, the noise rumbling low in his throat as he observed her with brilliant golden eyes. He leaned down - and he was so much larger than her or any lion she'd even seen, including the large males of her new home - and smoothed his tongue over her forehead, brushing away the golden jewelry that dangled there along with the shock of white that was her mane tuft.
"Iirte then. It has been so long since I last saw you."
She pulled back to look the stranger in the eyes, trying to ignore the nagging sense of familiarity that lingered over him. The spots over his eyes, the stripe of black fur on his bottom jaw, the saddle of dark fur that streaked along his back just above the joints of the flaming wings folded at his sides; it was all so familiar and pulled at something buried deep within her that she didn't quite understand.
"Who are you?"
He chuckled at the soft question, shaking his head and folding his hind legs beneath him as he sat down in the sands.
"Just like Chaaya not to tell you. What that lioness was so afraid I will never know…"
"What-"
"I'm your father, Iirte."
She fell silent, heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to deny it, say that the large lion before her was lying through his teeth. But she knew deep down that he was telling the truth. The resemblance between them was uncanny, and she'd never truly held any resemblance to her mother's mate. She'd always suspected, but the lion had welcomed her as his own regardless.
She wanted to ask the lion before her so many questions, but none wanted to find their way past her lips. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, one question managed to force its way to the forefront, slipping out of her mouth in a soft whisper.
"What are you?"
The chuckle from earlier turned into a full blown laugh that shook the lion's shoulders and mane.
"I am a lion, just like you. But unlike you, I am a lion possessed of some form of divinity. Those who believe determination to be something worth having find themselves under my guiding paw, much as you have always been."
Her brow creased softly before realization dawned on her, and suddenly she found the dreams make all too much sense. This lion - no, her father - was a god. She had heard tales of them in her travels, powerful winged lions who ruled over aspects of their world, whose mortal children often could see things that had been, were, or were going to be in visions both waking and asleep.
She could hardly believe the reality she was faced with, and nearly jumped when the god reached forward to nuzzle her cheek.
"Iirte, I have watched over you from afar for quite some time. But I believe it is finally time for me to stop watching. You have grown into a fine young lioness, and have made your place in this world. Your life has no room for me."
She made a soft noise in the back of her throat, returning the nuzzle and fighting back the tears that wanted to spill over her cheeks. She'd only just met him and he was already leaving her.
"Will I ever see you again?"
He purred softly, lifting a paw to pull her forward into an embrace, his head curling around the back of her neck. She buried her face in his mane, breathing in the foreign yet familiar scent that clung to him and allowing the tears that wanted to come to be caught by his mane.
"Someday. I will visit you when I can, dearest. But you do not need me so close. You haven't needed me for a long time."
She nodded as he pulled back, and returned the smile he sent her way. It was a strange feeling, parting with a father she'd never truly known and yet feeling as though he'd been there her entire life. And as he spread his wings and rose into the skies, she allowed a part of herself to fly with him.
She would be just fine.
She had a home here, and a family in the form of a small jackal curled up back in her den.
