To say that Atesh took his duties seriously would be an understatement. Always, the young lion seemed to be on the prowl, watching the borders from afar as he patrolled the sandy desert he called home. He was a restless one, Atesh, and never above violence to defend that which he believed to belong to the Firekin by right, and always, it seemed, he was spoiling for a reason to show that he was a soldier of the Motoujamii-Simo, the son of the general, even!
When he had been young, his father had done more than his share in teaching Atesh tactics and strategies, and how to use his weight to his advantage, and his opponents' as well. All in preparation for the day the cub would decide to be a soldier - as they had all forseen, and as, indeed, he had done. There had been no mistaking it, even way back when, that Atesh was headed for that path. His father had seen it almost from the very moment he had been born. The black lion's unusually bright, almost overzealous eyes and the way he had held himself, and even shoved his siblings back in their search for food had spelled it out, and even then, Azarax had known - Atesh was one who would need careful education to shape him into the kind of force that the Firekin needed.
Because there was a dark, almost primal instinct to fight lurking within the black lion, ready to explode at the slightest trigger; it was undiscriminating, and any trigger, good or bad, could have set it off at any moment.
And all his life, Atesh had been taught the ways of the Firekin, and thoroughly versed in their history, and today - today, he had become the soldier that Azarax had always hoped he would be, proud of his heritage and eager to fight tooth and nail to protect the pride. And he was more than proud, even, to be who he was.
Now, the dark lion padded into the shade of an oasis, and dipped his head down to lap at the cool water. It was a fine day, as days always were in the desert, and as Atesh gazed into the reflection of the water at the vast expanse of sky stretched overhead, he felt a sudden contentment well up in his chest. Yea. It was good to be here, home.
