An Unexpected Visitor
From the Great King Leonidas to the evil queen Senone, they all made a name for themselves that shall forever be sown into the fabric of history. And it was on this very day that my journey began, the day I got an opportunity to try out for the defenders of Nzuri.
"Dad!" I remembered calling out his name that morning, filled with the joy and excitement of what was about to come. "Is it true? Are the defenders coming to our pride today?" I ran after my dad, stuttering on every sentence, I can't remember if it was because I was nervous or not but man who could blame me? It was the Defenders of Nzuri after all. The Defenders of Nzuri were a team made of 5 of the savannah's greatest lions and lionesses, their job was to defend the lands from any form of danger or chaos. Unfortunately, my joy was short lived as my sister Artemis came crashing into me on her usual endeavors of sabotage.
What I thought was a bright, sunny and opportunity filled day, quickly turned bleak. This wasn't because she injured me or anything, it was just that back then I was a bit, well not just a bit but a really superstitious kid. Man, I believed that anything bad happening to me on my big day was reason enough to quit just to be safe, but today was different and I wasn't going to let that knock the wind out of me. I lifted my head up to see my sister on top of me and I hastily shoved her off, running back to my father who was having a good laugh at the scene.
"Sorry about that Apollo! I was just making my way over to talk to dad and I got spooked by a beetle, man I hate those things." My sister was a fast talker and sometimes she spoke very unnecessarily but I loved her nonetheless. I knew she just wanted to interrupt me and get dad's attention but I wouldn't have it. She had my father's orange flickering eyes and his bright colored tawny coat. She was believed to be the prodigy of the pride and the one most destined to become a Defender of Nzuri, but today I would show them, today I'd show them all.
"Artemis, Apollo, listen up!" My father exclaimed in his usual tone. It's not like he was shouting or anything but the guy was just naturally loud like damn. His voice was as deep as a trench and as loud as an elephant's rumbling and when he said my name instead of calling me son, I knew I was in for a warning. "Yes, the Defenders are making their way here today, but." The word but, why was there always a catch in everything? Why couldn't he just have said yes, the defenders were coming and left it at that. I was elated to hear the news but anytime I had guidelines to follow, I usually messed up and that was my biggest fear that day. "I'll need you two to be on your best behavior, no fighting, no arguing and please, the defenders are lions just like us, so try not to make them feel uneasy. Especially you Apollo."
Well, he'd just done it, he singled me out. That was enough of a warning to make me nervous for the entire day but I guessed if I wanted to be a defender of Nzuri I should act like one and stay calm under pressure. "No problem old man." I said that with a smile on my face and a paw on my head in a salute, sitting down with my eyes closed and my chin held high, the next thing I felt was a sudden impact on my stomach, then I was sent toppling over into some bushes. I rose my head grinning from ear to ear as I knew my father hated to be called old. He stood there with his paw in the same motion he'd sent me flying with, before chuckling and turning his back to us. "Just make sure to behave and we'll be all good. I don't need your mother on my back because you two made it look like you had no manners."
"You heard what dad said right? Be on your best behavior fanboy." My sister teased me. We were both around the same size but I was slightly bigger. She was the first to be born and I followed behind a minute or two later. We were twins and each nine months old, making us perfect for the defender tryouts. I was thinking of a comeback but by the time I had one she was already making her way over to the rest of the pride. "Fanboy, yeah right." I hurled insults at her in my head but in reality, I was a fanboy. The other young lions were separated from the pride and my sister was making her way to them. They were the next generation blessed by the so-called ancient spirit who restored the world and when they were training it wasn't wise to get caught in the middle.
Being born without a blessing was a disadvantage but I figured if I could make a name for myself as a powerless lion, I'd be as good as any other lion with a blessing, or even better. I sat there, watching them hurl flames at each other with every tail swing, and release a fury of flames with every roar. And my sister, well she took the cake. She was blessed with dual elements and believed to be blessed by King Leonidas himself. She was free to choose to participate in the defender tryouts or become Queen of the pride and I had to settle for anything she didn't want.
My attention on the group of young lions tussling with one another was suddenly disturbed by the flapping of wings. "Hello down there." Were the words I heard before looking up to a dark feathered silhouette coming down towards me eclipsed in the sunlight. I couldn't help but snort, holding back a laugh as the feathered figure landed next to me. It was my friend Ashvani. Ashvani was a martial eagle, with talons long and sharp enough to rip your face off and sow it back together. We'd been friends ever since my dad came across him as a stranded chick on the savannah and I guess he grew on me. "What's up Polo?" He had made a habit out of using that nickname and I don't know why but every time I heard the name it just made me grumble.
"What do you want Vani?" I said in a slightly disturbed tone now that he decided to start off like that. "Hey, hey don't get your tail in a knot. I'm just here to give you some good news. The Defenders are on their way here." I'd already known that they were on their way but my face couldn't help but light up, I looked at Ashvani, tilting my head and looking him straight in the eyes before bursting his bubble. "You're late Ashvani, I thought you were the fastest flier around." I rolled my eyes in mockery of him, turning tail and putting my attention back on my sister and her friends. They were playing free for all, which was basically the last lion standing. My sister blew through the defenses of the others like a gust of wind, every attempt to hit her was a failure and when she was finally cornered, a young male lion charged her, unleashing a vicious roar that was followed by a monstrous red glowing ball of flame. My sister was a pratty one but she was also a quick thinker, she extended her claws and sunk her paws into the dirt beneath her to stand her ground unleashing a literal electric roar, followed by a thunderous boom. Lightning busted through every flame coming her way and she used that opportunity to pounce on him, flooring the young male.
The adults of the pride were just as shocked as everyone else was, stopping what they were doing to look over to the group of adolescents, some of them were even woken from their sleep with the sound of Artemis' thunderous roar. "Well I'll be." My father walked over to the group, a smile on his face as he looked down to Artemis. "You just keep on surprising me. There's no doubt the defenders are going to choose you today. But you know, you could always change your mind and rule over our pride as the next queen." He winked and grinned, looking at the other young lions who backed off the moment he walked over, he nodded to show them that it was alright. I could tell how proud my father was of my sister and I was proud of her too, I really was but it was just that sometimes it sucked to be seen as a nobody compared to her.
"Hurts doesn't it?" Ashvani slapped me in the face with his left wing to get my attention after saying that. "What the hell Vani! What was that for?" I turned and growled at him, claws extended for a moment before I shook my head and took a deep breath, calming myself down. "It must hurt to be a second fiddle to your father huh?" What he said would've gotten under my skin if he didn't say it in such a serious tone. It was like he was trying to sympathize with me. "Don't worry Polo, I'm sure you can get into the defenders, you know why?" I rolled my eyes, waiting to hear whatever ridiculous notions he had in that bird brain of his. "You've got guts, and hard work always beats talent."
I sat down, dropping my head towards the ground and nodding. I knew he was right, hard work did beat glory but my sister was a hard worker too. Okay, I envied her, she excelled at everything and worked her butt off to get even better. She'd gone on her first hunt before me, she manifested her abilities and I didn't even get any. She was the apple of not just my father's eye, but the entire pride and there was nothing I could do about it.
"They're here!" One of the lions of the pride shouted. I couldn't believe it, out of the bushes and into our pride was the leader of the Defenders. He had a strong build, big enough to rival and perhaps even surpass my father's. His face, tough from battle and the possible endless terrors he'd seen throughout the years of being a Defender. His smile upon hearing his name was the most charming thing I'd ever seen, my legs almost started to fail on me and I could tell some of the others in the pride felt the same. It was Blaze the Bold, a lion said to be native to our very own Agni pride. The lionesses gathered around him, all bowing their heads as a sign of respect as he approached my father who stood tall and stared straight into his eyes.
It was like a clash of the titans; my father wasn't easily intimidated and that seemed to be clear to Blaze. The huge Lion fixed his posture to the point where he stood slightly taller than my dad, looking down on him in a manner that looked degrading and unimpressed. At first, I thought a battle was going to unfold right then and there, the tension was so high it was beginning to feel like each lions' elemental energy was bursting through the savannah in a ray of heat. The next thing I heard not only shocked me, but it was so unexpected I almost laughed under the impression that I was hearing things. Blaze's tough and cold demeanor suddenly broke into a smile as he said, "It's been a while big brother."