Life was hard, Medli had decided, and there were many days where she wished she was still a cub, still innocent to the world and carefree of it's troubles.
Her attempts at finding the mystery mate from her visions when she was young was... challenging, and to be frank, there was a part of her that wished dearly that she hadn't known about them at all. Her heart was telling her that Brio was the one she wanted, but after so many moons of searching, it was hard to let go of her dream.
And she could tell that it frustrated him to no end. While the male was mild-mannered and generally too soft to show his frustrations, she had known him long enough to know that he was growing tired of her pining. His snappish mood of late was sign enough of that.
Then, to make matters even worse, her sister... her dear sister... had chosen to leave the pride.
Medli was surprised that she'd been given the okay to do so in the first place. Slaves weren't really allowed out without a Guard, given their lack of protection by the Great Lion, and to be given permission to leave entirely... She wasn't sure how she felt about it.
It was true that the moon had been rather unfair when they were born. They had been among the cubs unlucky enough to be born while the moon was gone, and while there were some that were unhappy over it, Medli herself had never really cared. She had the love of her pride, her best friend and family - what did she care if she needed a little more protecting than others?
Itla had not had that train of thought though. Her sister had made it clear lately that she wanted out, she wanted to journey somewhere else and see the world with fresh eyes. So she had gone to the slave leaders and requested to leave. It wasn't unheard of for slaves to be allowed such, but regardless, Medli hadn't been expecting them to oblige to her request.
She had been proven wrong.
The lioness let out a sigh, unhappiness clear on her face as she padded silently beside her sister. The guard padding near them was giving them enough space to talk amongst themselves, something she was grateful for. The striped male was a friend of Brio's, if she remembered correctly, and he was generally fairly open to allowing slaves a measure of privacy, despite being so close to the border. She hoped he didn't get in trouble for it though....
Turning back to the purple lioness beside her, Medli finally allowed herself to speak.
"Are you really sure about this, Itla?"
Identical red eyes glanced back at her, before she let out a snort and looked away. Trust sweet little Medli to try one last ditch effort to talk her out of this. Her peach-colored sister didn't have any desire to see the outside world like she did... not that she blamed her. While she didn't inherit such strong visions as her sister (in fact, it was rare for the dark lioness to have any kind of vision), she could tell when someone was in love. Frankly, she was sure the whole pride could, including the object of her affection. Medli was the only one holding back.
Shaking her head, Itla responded back strongly, "Yes." There was no hesitation in the answer. This was something she wanted to do.
"I need to be out there, Medli. I need to see what there is to see." She had a wistful look on her face as she said that, making her features softer than they'd normally be. "My destiny isn't here."
Medli looked down at the ground, a sad look growing on her face, so she jolted to a pause when Itla stopped to face her. Her gaze went up to her sister's face as a purple-toed paw nudged her head back up. The two stared at each other for a moment, and then she sighed again.
"How do you know that? How can you possibly know that."
Itla let out a flat chuckle, knowing that she was referring to her lack of visions over the decision. "Call it a gut feeling, I guess. Sometimes, you don't need to see it to know it's true."
Her nose scrunched at that, an unbelieving look on her face, but she drooped again, "I guess..." Truly, she envied her for her confidence.
Itla gave her a long look, studying her hard, and then shook her head. "... Medli, if there's anything I'd like you to remember of me when I'm gone, it's this: Trust in your instincts more. Visions aren't going to show you your whole future. You need to take charge of it, live the life you want to live."
She leaned forward, bumping her forehead against the lighter lioness', "Stop holding yourself back, and go to him."
It was barely a whisper, yet the words left a ringing in Medli's ears. She must have had a surprised look on her face, as her sister simply laughed and pulled away. Looking down at her feet, she took a moment to think as she trailed after her.
The silence between them was thoughtful, and with it, the travel was quick. Soon enough, they were approaching the border, and with ears pulled back, Medli took one more look at her sister.
A tentative smile grew on her face, "You think he'd have me?"
Itla chuckled again, almost exasperated at the other female. "Yes. Absolutely yes." Then, curling head neck around her sister's, she gave her one last nuzzle against her shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, Medli."
With one last nod at the guard near them, Itla turned and walked off into the night.
"You too... Goodbye, Itla."
She watched her until the dark lioness disappeared from sight, almost wishing she'd turn back around and come home with her, but it wasn't to be. Instead, the guard cleared his throat and gestured back the way they'd came. There was nothing for them here anymore.
Medli looked up at the night sky, trying to see if maybe the Great Lion would listen to her prayers tonight. They may not be favored but... maybe just once....
'Please keep her safe.'