“You and Obi are always together. You’re almost married already.”
It was amazing how quickly a few careless words could disrupt the usually undisturbed Nanu to her very core.
Marriage.
It’s not as if she’d never thought about it. Her parents provided a very good example for what the happy institution was supposed to be like and in the back of her mind Nanu did hope to find someone to spend the rest of her life with. But… binding contract was such a formal thing to do for a young lioness who disliked being constricted in any way. But then she thought about Obi. Yes, they had been spending a lot of time together and yes, she couldn’t deny she had the best fun when she was with him. It hadn’t taken her a long to figure out that she did, in fact, really like the easy going lion quite a bit. She felt possessive of him and his time even when she didn’t have to be and Nanu forgave him more easily than she did anyone else – even though Obi didn’t usually need forgiving as much as Nanu needed to curb her fiery temper. Did that mean she loved him? Yes, she was certain she did.
The young lioness sighed, pawing at the sandy ground absent-mindedly. Marriage. They’d have to go to the Scribes… never mind that, first she needed Obi to actually propose. Would he? The dark-eyed lion was so laid back she wasn’t even sure he had those thoughts in him. Well, she had no problems with proposing herself if her idiot started taking too long with it as Nanu wasn’t one to linger at the edge of a decision. She was the type to lunge forward and then deal with the consequences whatever they may be and so far she had to admit nothing too bad had ever come of it.
The lioness’ bright eyes widened suddenly. Wait… marriage… didn’t that mean… cubs? She couldn’t imagine herself as mother, not now. Not even on a close future, not really. Nanu felt her head growing heavier. Cubs… would she be expected to start popping out cubs as soon as she was married? Would she have a large litter like her mother’s? Did Obi even want cubs right after marrying? Arg, so many questions! She needed to get away and hunt. It seemed like it was her answer for every problem but it worked and at least she was being productive as she released all this unwarranted stress.
Honestly, Nanu thought as she made her way to the border, most of my friends and siblings aren’t even married yet. So why had their words caused such a turmoil in the patched lioness? Was it because she secretly hoped Obi would pop the question and become officially hers? She had always been a good judge of her own emotions and desire so she knew she did want everyone to know was Not Available. It was the part of relinquishing that absolute freedom she’d always had that bothered her a little. It made little sense, in a way, that she wanted Obi to commit to their relationship but still have doubts about her part. But Nanu had always been a little self-centered and the only difference was that now she was actually aware of it and tried to work on it... some times.
Silently, the young lioness weaved through the tall grasses, blue eyes darting in every direction until they locked in on a small target: a desert hare. It was a difficult prey for an inexperienced lioness but that was exactly what Nanu was looking for. She slid through a dune like a shadow before finally exploding into a sprint, quickly closing the distance between her and little critter. The hare saw the patched lioness and reacted in an instant, darting through the sand at what seemed to e the speed of light and Nanu gave chase, trying to predict each turn but not really managing to get close enough to give a precise blow. As expected, the little hare finally found a cluster of thorny bushes where it promptly hid itself and the lioness froze with somewhat of maniacal look in her eyes, panting and trembling as she regained her composure. In all honesty, she could reach the hare if she really wanted to but Nanu didn’t think it was worth it. It would take a much bigger reward to risk getting her paws and nose all scratched up and she was nowhere near hungry or invested enough to continue the hunt. She stood up straight and grinned down at the hidden creature.
“It’s your lucky day, little one.” She announced pompously, still grinning like an idiot. “Be more careful next time or you’ll get caught by someone who doesn’t mind a few scratches.” It seemed her competitive nature simply wouldn’t let her leave without first pointing out that despite the relative failure she could have gotten to the hare if she really believed it was worth it. The patched lioness stretched and shook from head to tail before finally turning away to leave, her breathing slowly returning to normal and thoughts of Obi and marriage and motherhood slowly slipping back into her mind. They still bothered Nanu but not as much as before and the young lioness sighed contently, enjoying the peace of mind that came with physical exertion.
She looked up at the blue sky and smiled. What would be, would be. For all she knew Obi wasn’t planning on proposing anytime soon and any kind of peer pressure she might be feeling had little effect on the confident girl. Life was good and it wouldn’t do well to get lost in every question or possibility the future brought her. She was young and happy and she lived in a great pride, had friends and a big family. And maybe Obi would one day be part of that big family of hers but it wasn’t certain and it wasn’t today. And today, the blue-eyed lioness thought to herself as made her way to the temples, was really all that Nanu wanted to worry about.
- Word Count: 1028 words
- FIN -
