Narakera - -_Wish of Tevarae_-
&
Hakuna'jina - Das Tor


The little black cub had wandered off. She was a Juve now, and saw less and less of a problem of exploring beyond her boundaries. Today, the dark cub had made her way to the edge of the Pride, looking at the lands beyond the Aikanaro'hini's borders. Narakera, granddaughter of Kusimamia'Utulivu, had found her little paws itching to go beyond that invisible line, to see what more lay beyond the dens and the world she knew. Green eyes were longing, and she paced along the line, as though it were an actual wall. The little one whined softly, and sat down, wishing there were something to do. She longed for an adventure...something more than just...demons and her mum who was so intent on fighting...


Hakuna kept finding herself drawn to the darkness that seemed to cling to the lands like a second skin. Flashes of memory kept popping up when she was there. Black fur, a yellow tail tuft, and happy cub laughter. Dark blue fur and orange-amber eyes and a tempered strength of will. Red and black fur and odd-colored eyes...The goddess shook her head, sighing as she began to pace along the border marked by scent, wings tucked at her sides. This place...it was so familiar...

And then she spotted the cub. Blinking, a ear flicked. "And what're ya doin' out here, little one? Where's yer mom?"


She had wings! That was the first thing that the little one noticed, when Hakuna trotted over to her! Wings....A goddess? That was so COOL! Those green eyes lit up and she ran to the female's paws, purring deep in her throat, "Hi! I'm Narakera! My mama's teaching right now. She teaches the big lions that fight. I'm 'sploring!" She was obviously still young, and as she trotted back and forth in front of her, it was obvious that this little cub couldn't stay in one place. "I wanna go out there, but I'm not 'llowed yet. I wanna but I'm too little." She plopped back down on her butt again, and stared up at her, "You have wings."


Hakuna blinked in confusion, one paw lifting into the air as she tried to determine how to act. "Uhm...hello. I am Hakuna'jina. And you shouldn't be alone." Something about a cub being alone in the area they were in was...alarming. "You are too young, yes. It's not wise to go out into the lands beyond prides unless you are strong enough to handle it. There are those who would see a cub such as yourself and snap you in two."


"I wanna wander one day." She purred, her tail flicking back and forth. Those greens looked out, "Nice t' meet you, Hakuna'jina!" The name sounded...familiar, but she couldn't place it. "My mama's taught me how t' fight, but I don't like fighting. I don't wanna be a Tirma'eth. I wanna go an' see everything!" It was obvious where the little one's heart lay.


"Well that day is not today, cub." Little ones, so eager to grow up too fast. Always too fast...The word 'Tirma'eth' caught her ear, tugged some part of her, tugged at the memory of a silver-maned lion, a bright-eyed black lioness full of laughter, a dark lion full of chaos then quiet wisdom and remorse...and the golden lioness.

"Want to wander, hm? See everything. Well there are some things you may see that you won't like, either. Creatures that may best you, or want to kill you. Sickness, heartbreak...a great many things."


The little one sighed heavily, trotting towards the femme, and moving around the bigger lioness, until she was comfortable, "That's okay! I'm okay with waiting. This is as far as I usually go. Mama will find me eventually, or my sisters. Mama had alllll girls! It's kind of cool!" Her tail flicked back and forth and she bounced back and forth, eager to learn more, "Whats it like out there in the big world? Is there more demons? Is there more lions? Are they different?"


Hakuna was glad the little one didn't wander too far. And she had the strangest feeling that she'd once been one of the reasons it had been a bad idea for cubs to wander away from their parents. A flash of white and blue in her mind, and scars...so many scars...

"Demons? I...suppose." That word. She knew the word. Suddenly, the conversation she'd had with Nully a while ago CLICKED. And suddenly, what was inside Nullpunkt MADE SENSE. "Yes. Yes there are. And every demon is different. Some are quiet. Some loud. Some are nameless. Some have more than one name." Yes, yes...she had good news to give the troubled lioness when she next checked in with her!


The little one's head tipped to the side, her tail flicking back and forth, "Uh huh! That's what mama told me. That all the demons are different, and when I'm a liiiiittle bigger, I'm gonna get to go find my Demon like she found hers. That the names are all secret-like." It was obvious the little one was now bursting with excitement from the elder teling her that she knew about demons! "Mama's a Sinta'hare! She teaches all the demons how to be good fighters, but mostly the Tirma'eth and the Tirma'ath!" She wanted to tell the Goddess all about her life!


Hakuna nodded. "That's right. Names like that...they're power." She didn't know EXACTLY where all this was coming from. Just that it was from BEFORE her wings. "You only share them with those very, very close to you, like a mate. Otherwise, you may give others too much power over you and your demon." What was it about this place and this child that seemed to be making everything click? "Sometimes, though, you may know of your demon before you're of age. And when you come of age...it's simply a formality." She chuckled. "And sometimes...well, sometimes, your demon might not be very forthcoming with their name."

Like hers had been. All those seasons ago...


The little one nodded, "Okay!" With that, her tail flickered, and she nuzzled up against Hakuna with a big smile, "I like you! You're really ni-"

"Narakera!" A soft voice raised over the hills, and the little one's eyes turned, to where a red blob was slowly moving closer. It slowly began to form a red and black blob, to a lioness, with a golden tail, a short, fluffy mane, and mismatched eyes, "Nara." Siochana gave her daughter a scolding look, having not yet caught sight of the Goddess near her cub, solely focused on the little wanderer. Her maw turned into a frown, "I've told you not to wander." The red and black gaze turned up, and she was about to tell the lioness she was sorry...when she froze a few feet back. No....There was no way, "....Grandmother...?"


Hakuna looked offset again, torn between the familiarity of having a cub near her (especially considering the little ones she was raising for Nully) and the strangeness of having a child who knew words so alienly familiar to her nuzzling up. And then the lioness showed up.

Hakuna felt like she'd been hit with a ton of bricks. She'd seen the coloration before. The markings. The odd eyes. The sounds of a fight rushed through her head, disjointed screams and yells and her head felt like it would split in two. The goddess made a pained sound, confusion and realization both on her face as she backpedaled away...and then took to the skies with a beat of her wings.


Siochana's eyes were broken as he cub ran back to her. That...was her Grandmother wasn't it? The markings were almost the same...but...the wings. Had Hakuna been taken to the Gods? Truly? The femme's heart was aching, her eyes watering as the pained sound came from her. Where was she going? Back to the God's world? She prayed that her grandmother would be back soon. Perhaps...she could talk to her fathers about this. Aisling had barely known anything about Hakuna. Gently taking the cub beneath a paw, she headded off for the den, worrying. Had she been seeing things?

"Mommy, when will Hakuna'jina be back? I liked her!"

"...I don't know, my darling one....Soon I hope.." So she hadn't....."Let us go see your grandparents....