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Kara
The air was thick. My clothes clung to my skin because of the sweat. I tried not to show any sign of discomfort though because I didn’t want to appear weak in front of Axanar. He didn’t show any sign of fatigue at all. He was already awake when I rose, and he did not let up his pace. I realized that I had allowed myself to fall into languor during my time at home. A grim thought passed through my mind; that it was no wonder why the Night Fangs had been able to defeat us, because we had become lazy. We had become idle in the small paradise we had built for ourselves. Our way was not of war, and we had no monsters to challenge us like Axanar did. I suppose I could see why he was afraid of his pride becoming complacent and weak. What happened to my pride was an example of the dire results of a pride who had lost their way. I wondered now whether things would have been different if our Alpha had driven us to the warrior side of the world, if he had pushed us to train ourselves and hone our skills. I had always enjoyed the lazy freedom of the world, but now I realized that my life had lacked direction. I did not know where I belonged or what I was going to do, and I realized that mere existence was not enough for me. I needed a purpose.
For now, that purpose was revenge.
I pondered Axanar’s offer. The pragmatic part of me knew that I wasn’t going to be able to take on the Night Fangs by myself, not even with the skills I had learned in this place. Even if I tried to pick them off one by one, they would eventually learn of me and send all their savage warriors to tear me apart. Having an army by my side, especially one with such vaunted strength as the Orestes lions, would be a great boon.
But what would I be giving up?
Axanar would expect me to take him to other worlds, and there was no telling what awaited us in them. Then there was the idea of mating as well. I shuddered at the thought of being used as a breeding mare, as being seen as nothing more than a piece of flesh designed to make more lions. I wanted more from the world. I wanted intimacy and closeness. I didn’t want to feel alone, and if I was going to bring children into a world, then I wanted to bring them into a world that I knew was mine. It required more thought, but I wasn’t going to let Axanar bully me into it.
As we moved through the jungle, we mostly traveled in the form of lions as it was easier to slide through the winding paths and leap across creeks. We walked close together, keeping track of our scents. His was musky and rich, giving the air a hint of spice. His deafening roar seemed to have done much to drive other wildlife away as we did not come across any other predators. Since he saved me from the snake, I did make a habit of looking above my head, and I avoided death from above. The snakes had a habit of hanging down and waiting to strike, so I swiped and hissed at them, and they knew enough to recoil in the presence of a lion.
It was a reminder though that this jungle was dangerous, and it wasn’t only Gonshu that might kill me.
By night, we usually found a tree near a stream and slept in the branches, making sure it was clear of snakes of course. Axanar would often set up small traps that would either maim an animal or set off an alarm so we would wake if anything came into our proximity. I slept surprisingly soundly, never imagining that I would find a branch so comfortable. We had been traveling for a few days when I realized how much Axanar was enjoying this.
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” I remarked one night when we settled down for sleep. He grinned at me.
“As Alpha, I don’t get involved in the hunts as much as I used to. This offers me a rare opportunity to remember what it was like when I was young. To be out here is to be free, to be unburdened by the duties that weigh heavily on an Alpha’s shoulders.”
“It almost sounds like you don’t like it.”
“Of course, I like it. There is nothing I would rather do with my life. To be the Alpha of my pride is the most noble thing there has ever been, but sometimes, there are moments when I imagine what life would be like if I wasn’t Alpha, if I could simply roam the world and not have to think about the needs of the pride.”
“Is that why you are so adamant about walking between worlds, because you think it’s for the good of the pride?”
I noticed him nodding in the darkness. There was enough light that, as I looked up from my branch (he always took a branch above me), I could see the slight movements he made with his head and his hands as he spoke.
“If we stay here, we will become complacent. Without a challenge, we will idle and lose our sharp edge. It is why I am at least grateful for the presence of Gonshu and the other monsters. Their presence ensures that we remain vigilant, but even then, the years go by and people forget the terror the monsters can instill. I worry that, at some point, the tame world will become wild again and begin to fight back, and we will not have the strength to cope.”
I nodded, wondering whether that was the same reason why my pride had suffered the way it had.
“But aren’t you also worried that you might open up a world where there is a stronger enemy than you? What if there’s a world out there that comes to invade this place and swarms over you, an enemy that you can’t fight back?”
“Then that will show that we are no longer the strongest, and do not deserve to sit upon the throne of Orestes or to watch over the world. Eventually, there is always someone stronger, and when that happens, we must admit defeat. It is the way of progress, but fighting a stronger enemy also allows you to gain in strength and by defeating them, you become stronger yourself. It is the only way to grow. Challenge and adversity are the building blocks of life.”
“It sounds like you had a much different upbringing from me. My parents always tried to teach me that I’m not defined by my emotions, and that I don’t have to sink into my basic instincts. I think they were trying to tell me that I could be more than a lion.”
He let out a dry laugh. “There is nothing more than being a lion. It is phrases like these that worry me. It makes me feel as though you lost your way.”
“Maybe we just found another one,” I said, and since I didn’t wish to argue with him any longer, I decided to move the conversation along to something else that I was curious about. “Who was the Alpha before you?”
“My father,” he replied.
“Oh, so I guess, in your case, it did pass from father to son then. Or did you have to take part in a contest to determine that you were the strongest? Volkan mentioned something about a contest.”
“It was not a contest. Just a fight.”
“A fight? Who did you beat?”
“I beat the former Alpha,” he said. It took me a moment to realize what he was saying.
“Hang on a minute, are you telling me that you fought your Dad?”
“I did,” he said. His voice had grown quiet.
“But why? How? I mean, how could you do something like that?”
