A lone, nomadic lion receives the opportunity to be accepted into a lion tribe after a journey of wandering and exploring.

Wandering Lion

June wasn't sure how long he had been traveling but it must have been a pretty long time. The brown lion pauses to shield his eyes from the sun, trying to gaze at the horizon to monitor whether or not he is approaching some sort of civilization. Through the haze, the lion notices a small village on the horizon. Motivated to keep going, June resumes his traveling.

Halfway to the village, June begins to slow down. The lion is beginning to grow exhausted, but at the halfway point to his arrival, he receives a surprise - off to his left, another lion emerges from the tree line, demanding to know his reason for trespassing on his territory.

"My name is Boris Kalzak and I am chief of the Serengeti tribe. Just what do you think you're doing here??" Dressed in his wild tribal garb denoting his status and tribe, this majestic red-haired golden furred lion is not so pleased with this brown furred outsider appearing on his turf. In a panic, June attempts to flee. He doesn't want to be on the receiving end of a death sentence. The golden lion gives chase, but what happens next puts both lions on a complete pause of events.

"Stop right where you are! What do you think you're doing??" Emerging out of the nearby brush is a white lioness, and she seems annoyed at her peaceful day being disturbed by the commotion. But the golden lion is more annoyed at the trespassing lion in front of him rather than the annoyed white lioness confronting him.

June notices a basket of some sort that she is carrying. It is a simple brown leather basket, used for gathering supplies for food and other materials. What June also notices is the lioness’ facial expression - she is not too happy to hear and see the commotion close by.

“Chief Kalzak, what is the meaning of this??” Can't you see this one is unarmed??” The lioness hissed, annoyed.

“This does not concern you, Chieftess Aldwin; but if I must fill you in, this outsider happens to be wandering through my territory!” Boris hissed in return, equally annoyed.

“Chief Kalzak, you simply cannot accuse this nomad of trespassing when he is just passing through.” The white lioness sighed in annoyance. She turns to June and questions him, “Where are you from, mister?”

Rubbing his neck with a nervous smile, June mentions, “I am just a nomad, miss. I've been traveling for a while and looking for a place to stay until I start moving again.”

There is some silence from Amelia, prompting June to continue with his testimony. The brown lion further explains, “I’ve been a lone lion for quite a while and I'm just looking to settle down somewhere until I can start moving again.”

Amelia sets her basket down to the ground beside her while eyeing June cautiously. She dismisses Bruno with a wave of her hand and invites June to stay with her, grabbing her basket once again and placing it atop her head. With her right arm securing her basket, Amelia takes June's hand with her left while explaining, “You can stay with us for the time being. We will make sure your stay is as pleasant as the sun.”

June begins to breathe a sigh of relief while being led away by the lioness. He later apologizes, “Sorry for ruining your day, Miss. I'm just really lost right now.”

Amelia scoffs, “Oh please! You're not wasting anyone's time. You just happen to be in a bad spot and we're willing to help you out. My husband and I are happy to assist you in settling down until you get back on your feet.”

“Thank you. Honestly, it really means a lot to me.” June blushed.

“Don't mention it, dear. We're always happy to lend a helping hand!” Amelia assured him.

~~~~~

Reaching River tribe territory took no further time since June and Amelia last talked. And upon reaching River tribe territory, Amelia and June are greeted by the white lion chieftain, whom Amelia introduces to June.

“This is Juan Tivola, River tribe chieftain and a fine warrior in his own right. So he's your main go-to guy for concerns regarding matters within the village.” Amelia began her introduction when June notices something peculiar about the two white lions - particularly the diamond rings on their ring fingers. June is about to point this out to her when Amelia turns to June suddenly in realization and admits, “I’m sorry, I didn't get your name - my name is Amelia.”

June gestures to himself to answer her question and then points directly at Juan across from him, “I’m June, and that is Juan, correct?”

“Yes, you’re correct. You seem awfully infatuated with him all of a sudden.” Amelia observes June marching to meet her husband directly, despite the white lion towering over him by at least half a foot. But June brushes off the assumption and states, “Nope, that's not it. I’ve just never seen a white lion before. I have to say, they're more beautiful creatures than normal colored lions.”

This makes both Juan and Amelia blush in return at the comment and the two tribal chiefs stare at each other in wonder while June is hugging and rubbing against the white lion chieftain. Not that they didn't mind, though. They are different and attractive, though they stand out the most against their more normal-colored counterparts.

While June rubs his head against Juan, the white lion chief hugs June in return and rubs his own head against June in return, stepping away afterwards. He later invites June to his tent, “Come on in! Make yourself at home!”

~~~~~

“You guys sure have a pretty simple setup to your housing and land.” June takes notice of how basic the setup is, thinking the tent he is in is actual home. However, Juan chuckles and shakes his head, “This is the chief’s tent where we handle important matters both inside and outside the reserves. One leaves while the other stands guard.”

“I see. You two must work very well together for one to be on guard and one to be on standby.” June commented, drawing a blank look from Juan. The white lion reminds the brown lion, “June, we’re married. Of course we work well together! Teamwork is everything!”

“Teamwork means a lot in a civilization such as this. And you guys have it under control. For a pretty impressive territory, you two are pretty impressive rulers.” June observed, scratching his chin lightly.

“And we have the means to back it up too.” Amelia falls in between the two men to wrap an arm around Juan’s waist, scooting him closer to her. The two share a kiss while Juan directs an arm out to an available seat to his left. “Come, June! Make yourself comfy! We should have something to talk about regarding your stay here!”

June blushes while seating himself down on the spot, which turns out to be a mat. Both Juan and Amelia sit before June with Juan requesting the brown lion to start things off about him. “So June, tell us about yourself. How long do you plan on staying here?”

“Well for starters, I’m a loner.” June related, “And as far as my temporary stay, I’m only staying for a few days until I get back on my feet. However, I am a traveler, so I would like to immerse myself in archaeology and souvenirs.”

“Speaking of souvenirs,” Juan scratches his chin in thought and turns to his wife, inquiring of what they have that they can give to him, “Amelia, do you have that pottery you made?”

The female white lioness nods and jumps up to retreat outside. “I still got it! Gonna be right back!”

While Amelia runs outside of their tent, Juan motions for June to rise while he himself stands up, patting the shorter brown lion on the shoulders gently. The brown lion comments, “You're very tall, Juan! How big are you?”

“I’m 6’5 while my wife is 6’3. Why do you ask?” Juan queried.

June shakes his head, “Oh nothing in particular, although I am the shortest at 5’9. Man, I’m a midget.”

“You're a what?? What relevance does this have to do regarding tribal matters?” A big red question mark pops up above Juan's head where he gives the shorter lion an inquisitive stare. June elaborates, “A midget is a little person. So basically I’m a little lion. I'm surrounded by tall people!”

“So?” Not seeing any problem with June’s height difference, Juan remarks, “Least you’ll have more protection in case of attack. Plus, you’ll be able to be scooped up or be able to climb up more efficiently.”

“I suppose you have a point there.” June shrugged. “But still, it makes a big difference. Anywho, I would like to stay as a guest for a few days if you and your wife didn't mind.”

The white lion spreads his arms out in a welcoming fashion and hugs June firmly before raising up, reminding the brown lion, “Our tribe is always welcome to visitors! You may stay as a guest how long you see fit. Hope you enjoy your stay here!”

“This is not a resort - we do provide hospitality to traveling guests, though.” Amelia returns inside the tent, clutching a tray of 6 large containers. Cylindrical in shape, they appear to hold at least 12 oz of liquid, or anything that may seem fit to put in. They are white in color with a blue horizontal stripe wrapping around the middle. Presenting these as a gift to June, Amelia warns him on how to handle these, “Be careful, this is fragile. Any hard knocks to this and you already got yourself some cracks.”

June takes one of the containers and raises it up to inspect it. He has dealt with this stuff before. But he later asks the white lioness about how long she had these in storage. “How long have you had these? When did you make them?”

Amelia replies with a hum, “Mmmm, I made these about a week ago. Gotta spend some time letting the clay dry.”

June sets the container back down on the tray and complimentary remarks, “You certainly have some taste in design. These are not just souvenirs, they're keepsakes! Something like this can fetch a really good price! But since this is a gift, I want to thank you for it, Amelia! Your design is beautiful!”

“You are highly welcome, June. They're yours to keep. Now, let's get you set up, shall we?” Amelia smirked. Her tail swaying from side to side, the lioness turns her attention to her husband for her approval and the male white lion nods at her, “Let’s get him set up. We don't have all day.”

The lion trio are about to leave when a striped hyena suddenly enters their tent, a pensive expression on his face. Recognizing the striped hyena, Juan gawks, “B-bunny?? What are you doing here??”

Rubbing his hands nervously, Bunny whispers, “Bad news Chief Tivola - bandits in the territory. And they’ve been seeking you out in particular. I was returning from an expedition when I caught sight of two of them by those trees next to your farmland. I hid myself quickly to avoid detection and they later left. I couldn't make out what they were saying but it was something about revenge of some sort.”

“Bunny, call me ‘Juan’. You know neither I nor my wife are fans of formalities.” Juan reminded the striped hyena. Bunny bows apologetically in respect, followed by Juan assuming he has backup. “Were you alone or did you have a group with you?”

Placing both hands to his mouth, Bunny makes a whooping call out noise, immediately followed by two male spotted hyenas reluctantly and nervously entering the tent. They later relax upon Bunny signaling to them that they are in friendly territory. But then a female spotted hyena comes inside the tent, clearly looking pissed. Bunny introduces each of them to the lions, gesturing to each of them. “Kirby MacIntyre, Mabec Quentin, and last is my wife, La Stella Donello. We're all warriors of the Loren tribe nearby.”

“I suppose we can skip the introductions for now. We have to keep June safe here while dealing with these bandits!” Juan grumbled, annoyed. The white lion turns to his wife and commands, “Amelia - you, Bunny, and Kirby stay here with June. La Stella, Mabec, and I will head out to investigate.”

While Amelia pulls June behind her with Bunny and Kirby standing guard with her to protect June, Juan, La Stella, and Mabec rush out of the tent. While Amelia can only watch her husband leave to confront the threat, not only does she hope for a safe return but also the safety and well-being of everyone overall.

~~~~~

June belongs to  Thabz!

Boris Kalzak, Amelia Aldwin, Juan Tivola, Bunny Chang, Kirby MacIntyre, Mabec Quentin, and La Stella Donnello belong to me!