The night the captain Nils set out with his band of reavers, two lionesses had a difficult time falling asleep. The older of the two lionesses had a buttercup colored coat with a cloak of chocolate and eyes an unsettling shade of pale silver. The younger lioness was dark blue but for a few delicate markings in silvery blue around her ears, eyes, and forepaws and a soft belly coat of the same color. Like the other lioness, eyes were silver, but in a slightly darker shade. Their names were Kivi and Lyti, respectively, and sleep eluded them both as they worried and fretted about the outcomes of this viking with regard to one dark red lion with the mark of a flame over his left eye. His name was Brenning and it was his first viking.To Kivi, Brenning had been a friend since cubhood, and she loved him with the fierce, familiar love of a sister for a favorite brother. She remembered him as a heavy cub, often the butt of his more athletic brothers' bullying but never cowed by it. She knew him to be brave and earnest, but not much of a fighter, and she feared for him on this viking, which was sure to introduce him to a level of violence no amount of battle on the sparring grounds could have prepared him for. If anything were to happen to him, she who was the silver-eyed lioness of his past did not know what she would do.
To Lyti, Brenning was but a recent acquaintance, and she did not love him but she hoped that she could learn to do so in time. She knew him only as a sweet, somewhat bumbling lion who was not the dashing figure she had hoped her husband would be, but had been selected for her by her father, which made him acceptable. She had no idea what kind of a fighter he was, but she hoped that he would fare well on this viking, since it was his first and would set the standard for all future raids as well as establish their place in the pride hierarchy. If he did not come back with honor, or did not come back at all, she who was the silver-eyed lioness of his future did not know what she would do.
At last both lionesses found sleep, or perhaps it could more accurately be said that sleep found them, but neither slept very well, much to the irritation of those who slept nearby. In Kivi's case, these would be the other unwed lionesses who chose not to live with their parents and instead dwelt in a large communal den designated for exactly that sort of occupancy. In Lyti's case it was only her siblings and her parents who were disturbed. For both lionesses it was made clear that because they had woken everyone else with their thrashing, it was now their duty to bring something back to the den for the others to eat.
Upon leaving their dens the lionesses' paths were more or less identical, but Kivi's was higher up in the stronghold, speaking of elevation, at any rate, and that meant that she was technically following Lyti as the younger lioness walked about a dozen yards ahead of her. Kivi wondered if she ought to increase her pace to walk beside Lyti, or if she ought to call out to her, but she was not entirely certain that she wanted to do that. There was still a part of her that remained conflicted about her friend Brenning becoming engaged to this younger lioness that they knew so little about.
Lyti was basically unaware of the lioness walking behind her until she reached her destination. At that point a shifting of position and perspective forced her to look in Kivi's direction. In that moment Lyti realized that the older lioness must have been walking behind her for most of the journey, and that she had elected not to say anything to her. That was awkward. From the few conversations Lyti had had with her betrothed she knew that Kivi was very important to him, and that they had been friends for a very long time. It had not been spoken aloud, but Lyti understood that winning Kivi over would be a kindness to Brenning, who wanted the two lionesses to be friends.
Personally, Lyti doubted that Kivi wished to be friends with her, and for that matter, Lyti was not certain that she wished to be friends with Kivi. The buttercup lioness was old blood, but her parents were, well, wrong. She had been raised with two mothers and a hyena for a brother. It was not an association that would bring honor to anyone, and it was not a mindset that Lyti wanted her own cubs to believe was acceptable. Her parents were good, logical lions, but they had both been born into a pride of traditional thinkers who would have found such an upbringing anathema. No, Lyti thought, she would not befriend Kivi. Brenning would have to learn to live with that, and the fact that Lyti did not wish to have that lioness influencing their cubs.
Kivi saw Lyti notice her and knew that she could call out and greet her, but Lyti could have done the same and did not. So Lyti clearly did not wish to speak to her. Maybe because Kivi had not taken advantage of the time when she had been the only one of the two who was aware of the other's proximity. So now they had each made the decision to snub each other. Bren would be disappointed in her for not making more of an effort, but that was just too bad for him. He had gone and proposed to Lyti without involving her in any way. Kivi felt no obligation to become involved now. She was still feeling too hurt and sulky.
So, rather than speak to each other and foster goodwill, both lionesses consumed their breakfasts in silence and departed each in opposite directions without speaking a word.
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