It was dusk. It was fast becoming Satu's favourite time of day. The sun was barely flickering over the horizon and the dark veil of night had begun to fall swiftly over the lands. The Pridelands certainly quietened down at this time. Cubs were put to bed by their mothers and nannies, and those who had been hunting during the day would not be long to bed either. Many were already fast asleep inside their dens.

Why did she choose to stay up a little later?

Silence. The air was still and this allowed the lioness to breathe freely. The lands were often so full of creatures that you could not walk for five minutes without an awkward encounter or some small talk. Although this certainly didn't bother the lioness, sometimes it was nice to have a little space. Satu had only just begun to make friends in her early adulthood, outside of her family that is. She found comfort in her imagination. She thought of all the fables she had heard lately, what had happened in the pride, her characters. She thought of Kale, and Ishiwa. They had not judged her, and they had been very friendly and helpful companions in aiding the growth of her confidence. Satu would no doubt see them again around the pride. Ishiwa had offered to listen to her stories before she tested them out on cubs. This she appreciated. She had ran a few ideas by Kale, but as a historian he found it hard to adjust to the concept of making lots of things up.

One reason she connected so well with him though, was because she did not just use her imagination. She was keen on legend and folklore, which interlinked itself sometimes spectacularly with history. He would need a little more convincing, she was sure. She was determined to see Ishiwa again. The pale lion made her feel so comfortable, and he was such a kind gentleman.

Her recent drive of wanting to become a storyteller had not waned. Rather, it had grown inside her. The seed of confidence that the support of her families and others had planted, was starting to grow and sprout other ideas, emotions and plans. Satu had always adored the role as she had followed Tai and listened so closely to her stories and roles, and Tai had tried to teach her how to be a good storyteller, but Satu had not necessarily assumed she would take on the role herself, even though she wanted to and hoped that she would. She supposed that since Tai's death, her confidence and her ability to believe in herself had unfortunately weakened. Would she let it continue to do so? Determination welled up inside her like an unstoppable force. Occasionally, doubt tried to dampen it, but she refused to let the negativity in.

What would Bibu do?

He was the character that she had created more recently. A fearful hare. She could picture him now. Chocolate brown all over except for one white foot and a big pink nose. She could see his amber eyes blinking slowly. She had created him perhaps out of her own fear. All personal creations could arguably be a reflection of one's thoughts and feelings. He was the messenger, not just to the children, but to herself. His lack of belief, confidence and his fear lead him to very dark places within the story. Some places had not even been fully formed by the imaginative lioness.

In the story, his fear and lack of confidence leads him to tell a lie. A lie that begins to unravel and snowball, becoming uncontrollable. There were often stories that taught cubs not to lie. Satu could remember hearing a few herself, when she was small. Perhaps Tai had told her a few.

This story she felt was a mixture. A warning not only to be honest but to not be so fearful as to neglect your own happiness. She hoped it would suggest and inspire belief in others hearts. Kale had asked her the other day, why she had chosen a hare. The answer was simple. They were quick, gentle and small. Sometimes they were forgotten about. People do not pay much attention to small, quiet things too often. They were easy to relate to, and difficult to understand at the same time. This meant it was easier to manipulate the narrative and make the character more believable.

She knew her stories were good. She knew she could tell them with emotion and with power. Satu knew so distinctly what was right and what was wrong, and this was the best medium for her to reinforce those values. The fear of rejection she had felt had been surprisingly fleeting.

Characters and stories were a way to evolve and escape ever since she had been young. Characters she had heard about in fables had taught her how to behave, how to treat others and valuable life lessons. Her parents too, had a great input on that, and thus she had begun to rely on these two things for guidance. She was often asked by people that she encountered, some of which had heard about her stories, if she liked adventure. Satu couldn't deny that she liked the idea of adventure. Great places existed in reality just as they did in her imagination. Temples, swamps, rivers. All of these things she had heard tales about, and although she wanted to adventure, she felt she was too close to her family and too tied to her home to leave. Stories were so convincing when they were retold and believable, but Satu hoped that imagination within fables could also be convincing and vivid in its own right.

The sun had truly withered behind the rocks now. All that lingered was the cool night air and the occasional hum of a flying insect. The deer spotted lioness took a deep breathe in and stretched her body across the ground. Her busy mind was always overrun, it was time for a moment of silence. Her brown eyes turned towards the sky and her thoughts melted away gently until she was left with a complete feeling of calm.

Satu laid there for a while, until she decided it was time to return to her den and sleep.