1,042 words


Vilhelmas sighed, disgusted by the situation he was in. The betrayal he had felt when his owner and friend, Eldahildr, had gone off reaving without him and continued to do so, stung badly… but then she had lain with a lion that wasn’t him and had bore his cubs. Cubs he was now forced to take care of as she looked after her duties.

He, a mere thrall, had no choice but to comply. Of course, their relationship wasn’t as simple as master and thrall, it never had been, but eyes around the pride were always watching him, waiting for him to slip up and do something un-thrall-like, which could get him reported to some authority or lion with a grudge and he didn’t want to think about what would happen next.

So here he was, walking in the darkness, followed by a young cub who couldn’t sleep because of the constant hunger that gnawed at his insides. Vilhelmas was hungry too, but he kept it to himself and fought on, used to hardships and discomfort. But this cub wouldn’t stop whining, refused to sleep… so he hoped a walk in the dark would eventually encourage him to sleep.

“Where are we going?” Geirr’dido asked once again. The cub was darkly coloured, like his mother, but with wing-like markings on his back that could only have come from his father. Vilhelmas growled at the sight. He had noticed Eldahildr’s friendship with Ali’dido, the cub’s father, but he hadn’t expected… this. Not to mention Ali’dido had been a terrible reaver before he’d run off to gods know where.

“We’re going for a walk,” Vilhelmas replied simply, not even looking at the cub. The cub followed behind him, head low. He felt sick and hungry and weak, so he didn’t understand why the thrall wanted him to walk. He barely had the energy to move one foot in front of the other, but the pain in his belly stopped him from curling up and entering a restful sleep. The cub felt like crying, so Geirr’dido sniffled, then wiped a paw across his face. Crying was weak, though. He wouldn’t cry in front of Vilhelmas, his mother, or his siblings. He had to be brave and strong.

Right now, though, he felt tiny. Tiny and unwanted and unloved. His mother left him and his siblings with Vilhelmas and he didn’t seem to care for them at all. And, where was his father? His father didn’t care at all for him, either. If he did, would he have run off? He was also too young and too small to hunt, or go exploring… even if he had wanted to. He was so hungry, all of the time. Why was he so hungry?

Another sniffle escaped him, but Vilhelmas ignored him. The thrall kept walking until they reached the cliffs, then he sat down at the edge, too close for Geirr’dido’s liking. Was the older male going to reach out and throw him if he got too close? He shook a little as he sat down too, farther away from the edge and a good length from Vilhelmas.

They stared out at the sky and the water below for a while. Stars reflected in the ocean as it lapped at the rocks, slowly but surely grinding them down and turning them into sand. Then, other lights appeared. At first, they thought they were just fireflies, blinking to each other and flying through the air. But the lights were too big, and they were still, floating in place despite the wind. It was like they were watching them back.

Geirr’dido let out a squeak. “I’m scared!” he cried out, then made himself small. He curled into himself and to his own horror, he started to cry uncontrollably. Big, wet tears ran down his cheeks and splashed onto the ground.

Vilhelmas was shocked by the cub’s sudden burst of emotion, and even more shocked by how his heart ached at the sight. He shouldn’t have cared. They were not his cubs, his blood. He hadn’t cared about these cubs before. Sure, he took care of them as best as he could, making sure they were clean and safe and fed, even if the food didn’t fill their belly. Yet… seeing the little one crying, trying to become one with the ground around him, made him want to reach out and make it stop.

He tore his gaze away, determined to stare into the sky until the dots of light burned into his mind. But the crying pierced through him, right into his heart. He couldn’t just sit by while the cub suffered. He just couldn’t.

With another sigh, Vilhelmas gently approached the sobbing cub and pulled him into his chest. Geirr’dido tensed, not prepared for the affection. Or was Vilhelmas going to toss him off the cliff after all…? His cried harder.

“Shh, young one… I know you are hungry and in pain, but I am here. The lights won’t hurt you,” Vilhelmas spoke calmly, drawing the cub closer with a paw. “It’s all right to be scared and upset.”

Geirr’dido cried until his sobs turned into hiccups. As the time passed, the lights had vanished again, one by one, as quickly as they had appeared. Finally, Geirr’dido raised his head looked up and Vilhelmas. Their eyes met, and Vilhelmas gave him a gentle smile.

It… was wrong of him to take his frustrations out on the cubs. They couldn’t help that they existed, or that they were hungry, or that their mother was busy. They needed someone to watch them and to teach them what they needed to grow up, and Vilhelmas was the best shot they had. It would take him time to forgive Eldahildr, and he would never approve of Ali’dido, but little Geirr’dido had made him realize that he did care about the cubs, despite their origins. Perhaps blood only mattered so much.

Vilhelmas used his paw to ruffle Geirr’s baby fluff until he drew a tiny smile from the young lion. “Do you feel better now? Shall we go home?”

After a pause, Geirr’dido gave a little nod. Vilhelmas gently picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carried him back home.