Roar

by Natavia

  “We’re just talking,” I replied.

  “It’s late and you’re barely dressed,” he said.

  “It’s not like that,” Naji replied.

  “Muthafucka, who was talking to you?” Eze asked. Eze’s eyes glowed and the veins in his body swelled. He was ready to shift. Naji stood up and growled and Eze clutched his fist.

  “You’re overreacting. I came out here to wash off. I didn’t want to wake you,” I said.

  “Yeah, I bet. What is he doing here anyway?” Eze asked.

  “Question is, why are you here? Camden is on the other side, the side where you belong. We don’t want you here. Your dealings are with Tiban, not Y’kiki’s forest. Your kind can’t even last a second here without drying out,” Naji said.

  “Long as I don’t dry out while beating your punk ass,” Eze spat.

  “We won’t accept you here. We will never accept a saber, so you should leave. I guess you want to impregnate our queen and poison our breed. We won’t let that happen,” Naji said and Eze chuckled.

  “I think you’re in your feelings, bruh. The queen ain’t feeling the little prince. Y’all don’t scare me, and I come wherever I plant my seed at, muthafucka. You got a problem with me being here, do something about it. Better yet, call for your pride so they can see me snatching your head off your neck,” Eze spat.

  “Go home, Naji,” I said and he bowed his head before he disappeared into the bushes.

  “You got something you want to tell me because I haven’t been feeling him since I got here,” Eze said and I walked away.

  “Oh, you can’t say shit now, Sy’noba?” he asked, as he followed me into the temple.

  “Why are you acting like this? I think Naji is troubled and I wanted to talk to him about it. You don’t know what it’s like being in a pride. Imagine being in a cage and sometimes you forget who you are. I saw myself in him, that’s all,” I replied.

  “He’s a male, he’ll find a way. He doesn’t want your help, he wants to fuck you. Every male around can smell you and they know you’re going in heat soon. That vulnerable shit he was kicking to you is just a cover-up. I saw the way he was looking at you during your ceremony,” he said.

  “You can see his shit but you can’t see past Lynx’s games? I got this under control. You worry about Camden and Tiban. Y’kiki’s forest is my problem!” I yelled and his eyes glowed.

  “I guess being a queen means sticking up for your kind, no matter what, huh? I’m taking my black ass home. Fuck Y’kiki and the pride that lives in it,” he said.

  “Get the hell out!” I roared and he roared back at me ten times louder. Eze’s roar rang in my ears and knocked me into the wall. He rushed to help me up. I pushed him away from me.

  “I don’t want any beef with you, especially after what we just did. Honestly, I don’t trust the male lions here. The cats in Tiban are traditional, family-oriented, and respect one another. Naji is challenging me because he thinks a lion and saber shouldn’t be together. The next time he disrespects me, I’m gonna kill him,” he said. I looked into his eyes and saw he was telling the truth. Two dominant males would never get along unless one backed down. Neither one was going to do that, especially Eze.

  “I never thought you would have a temper,” I said.

  “I have never been challenged,” he replied and walked away.

  “Where are you going?” I called out to him.

  “Home, I’ll see you soon,” he replied.

  “WAIT!” I called out and he paused.

  “Be safe,” I said.

  “I will,” he replied and walked down the stone stairwell.

  I waited until Eze disappeared before I followed him. He was in his animal form, running fast through the jungle. I stayed in the trees, careful not to make a sound. His large animal toppled a few trees, heavy paws thumping against the ground. I followed Eze until he was out of Y’kiki’s forest. On my way back to the temple, I thought about Y’kiki. There was something she didn’t tell me but I couldn’t completely figure it out. The lions and the sabers had a troubling history and I had to get to the bottom of it.

  The villagers were sleeping peacefully in their tents when I made it back to the temple. The forest was quiet minus the serene sound from the waterfall. Ockbutu was sitting on a rock with his eyes closed, chanting.

  “You’re up early,” I said, and he opened his eyes.

  “I don’t sleep much. I can sleep when I die,” Ockbutu replied.

  “Why do you want to die?” I asked.

  “So my soul can create a new life,” he replied.

  “Is there history between the lions and sabers?” I asked.

  “Eze and Prince Naji doesn’t see eye-to-eye, eh? That’s to be expected,” he replied.

  “Naji doesn’t think lions and sabers should mate. We’re all cats,” I replied. Ockbutu used his stick to slide off the rock.

  “Sabers aren’t cats, Sy’noba. They are Smilodons, a species of their own. Cat-like traits but not closely related to us. Their roars are strong enough to make your brain pop and their climate is not like our climate. Their temper, wide structure, and capabilities are above ours. We took on their traits somehow, that’s why Tiban respects them. Although they are different, their kind was here first. We are on their land, not the other way around. The lions in Y’kiki’s forest don’t see it that way. Sabers don’t belong in the land of the cats is how they see it,” he said.

  “The sabers are so welcoming,” I replied.

  “Very welcoming, but vicious. You cross one saber, you cross them all. If I were you, I would talk to the prides in Y’kiki’s forest because if a war starts, we all will suffer. This is their world, we are just visitors. I thought you knew what he was,” Ockbutu said.

  “I knew he was different from the moment I laid eyes on him, I just never cared,” I replied.

  “The symbols in your temple are key. You will have to learn how to read them,” he said.

  “Let me guess, you won’t teach me,” I replied.

  “Nobody can teach you better than you can teach yourself,” he said.

  “Ughhhhhhh,” I grunted in frustration and Ockbutu laughed.

  Safari was in the temple praying when I walked in.

  “You’re up early,” I said.

  “I’ve come to help you get ready,” she replied.

  “I can do that myself,” I said.

  “Serving you is serving our god. It’s a must I help you,” she replied.

  “You can talk to me while I bathe. I want your company, not your service,” I replied.

  My room was clean and the bedding was changed. Any evidence of me and Eze’s lovemaking was gone.

  “One of the cheetahs came in and changed your bedding. So, tell me, how was it? Did it hurt? Split you in half?” she asked.

  “You heard us, too?” I replied.

  “We all did,” she replied. I blushed.

  “It hurt very bad at first, but after a while, it was amazing. My body was very familiar with his so it was a comfortable feeling for me. How far do the lions live from here?” I asked.

  “Not too far. You want to visit them?” she replied.

  “Yes, I actually do, and you should come with me,” I said.

  “Let me go change,” she replied and left the room.

  While I bathed, I thought about Eze. I couldn’t wait to see him again. The way he left wasn’t how I envisioned it. As I washed between my legs, a smile spread across my face followed by butterflies. A cheetah girl came into my room with a thin short dress for me to wear. Thinking of Eze, I asked her if she had anything longer.

  “No, long. I made for you,” she replied in broken English.

  “Thank you,” I said and she left the room.

  I got dressed after my bath. Safari walked into my room while I was tying the dress around my neck.

  “This is extremely short,” I fussed and she clapped her hands.

  “It enhances your structure. You have a huge ass,�
� she replied.

  “Eze would kill me if he saw this,” I said.

  “You’re in lovvveeeeeee,” she sang.

  “Whatever,” I said.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “Yup,” I replied, pulling the tight dress down.

  ************

  The pride village wasn’t too far from Y’kiki’s temple. They lived in a low grass area with small houses. The male lions who were the king of their pride lived in bigger houses.

  “All the males get along here?” I asked, looking around.

  “For the most part,” Safari replied.

  While I walked through the village, the villagers bowed their heads at me. The male lions stared at me like a piece of buffalo meat. Their eyes glowed and I heard their growls from arousal.

  I still don’t believe she’s the chosen one. Why else would she mate with a saber? someone thought.

  She doesn’t look old enough to hunt, another villager thought when I walked past.

  “Their thoughts about me are hideous,” I whispered to Safari.

  “You’re a threat because you have authority,” she whispered back.

  The door to the biggest house in the village opened. Tika stepped out along with four other women who all looked related.

  Maybe they’re her sisters, Safari thought.

  “What brings you by, Sy’noba?” Tika asked.

  “I’m just taking a walk through the forest to get familiar with the prides. Some didn’t attend the ceremony last night,” I said, seeing unfamiliar faces.

  “Many are still finding it hard to believe you’re the queen but no worry, soon they will see,” she said.

  I don’t like this bitch, Safari thought, clutching her daggers.

  “I see you brought an outsider into our home. This is the land of the lions,” Tika said.

  “This is the land of all cats, Tika. We live in separate villages but this whole land belongs to us. Nobody is any different,” I replied.

  “You brought a saber to Y’kiki’s forest. Once one comes, they’ll all come, then soon this place will be filled with them. For many years since Y’kiki’s disappearance, we’ve been living quietly in our homes. Naji told me your saber mate challenged him hours ago. We won’t tolerate that,” Tika said and her pride sisters agreed.

  I’m ready to slice her! Safari thought, grabbing her daggers. Tika’s pride sisters shifted into their cats and began circling around Safari, sizing her up.

  “Touch her and I’ll defend her,” I seethed.

  “Y’kiki would never,” Tika said.

  “You don’t know shit about Y’kiki. None of you do! Y’kiki will be disappointed if she knew how her kind worshipped her. She was for all cats, not just lions,” I replied.

  “We thought you came to protect us from the outsiders, help save our home; but you invited them in. The Y’kiki I prayed to was only for us!” Tika yelled.

  “Your prayers haven’t been answered because you’re praying to the wrong, god! Y’kiki protected this land from enemies who wanted to come here without peace. I have her spirit and I’m telling you that I’m for all species,” I replied. A large man came out of the house. He had to duck because he was very tall. His long beard stopped to his chest and his locs draped past his shoulders. He had scars covering his body from many battles and his eye was missing. His menacing eye roamed my body with pure lust. It didn’t take me long to realize he was Naji’s father, the king of the pride.

  “I smell a saber on you,” his raspy voice said.

  “My lover is a saber, that is true. I have nothing to hide,” I replied and he walked down the stone steps. He stood in front of me and inhaled the scent on my neck.

  “Respect the queen in your presence,” Safari gritted and he roared at her.

  “A saber threatened my son and you come here to tell us to be peaceful?” he asked me.

  “Eze was protecting his mate as you would for your wives,” I replied.

  “You see my eye? My body? A saber did this to me many years ago. They shouldn’t be here around our cubs and wives. We still believe in Y’kiki, we don’t believe in you,” he snarled. I wanted to drive my spear into his good eye but I thought better of it. For years, they didn’t have a queen to guard their land and protect them, so they drifted away from the tradition and created their own.

  “Go home to your temple and leave us be. Two hundred years, we’ve lived this way. Sometimes a tradition dies,” Tika said.

  “Fair enough,” I replied.

  Naji’s father went back into his house and Tika’s pride sisters shifted into their human form and followed him.

  “I had faith in you but you let us down,” Tika said before she went into the house and closed the door.

  “Maybe it was mistake coming here. They are too comfortable living this way,” I said to Safari.

  “Sometimes our enemies are our own kind. Tiban is your family, we still believe in Y’kiki. I’ve never seen her before but she lives in our hearts,” she said and I wiped a tear from my eye.

  “They will never accept me if I don’t pick a side. I should’ve stayed home and scrubbed floors,” I replied and walked away. On my way back to the temple, I locked eyes with a few female lions whose eyes pleaded with me. They wanted unity, too, but were too afraid to step up because of their lion’s pride.

  “They know where to come when they’re ready,” Safari said.

  “Who trained you?” I asked.

  “My father trained me but he was killed by a pride of lions. He worshipped Y’kiki so once a week he would travel to the Y’kiki forest just to pray to her. He ran into a pride and they killed him. My mother found him mauled to death. He could’ve survived if someone helped him but his wounds were too deep to heal on their own. For a long time, I resented lions but Ockbutu showed me the way and I began praying to Y’kiki for peace,” she replied sadly.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.

  “I was a little girl then, but now I know my father’s soul will give another chance. Our spirits don’t die,” she replied.

  “You’re a fierce cat,” I said and she blushed.

  “Thank you, but the two us together will be deadly,” she replied.

  Ockbutu was in the temple when we arrived. I didn’t want him to leave but it was time for them to return to Tiban.

  “How was it?” he asked.

  “It was awful, the lions hate the sabers,” I replied.

  “They hate all cats,” Safari chimed in.

  “You came here to protect us, so even if they don’t believe in Y’kiki anymore, your purpose will still be served. I’ll leave Tiban’s best warriors here with you because something tells me they’re not too pleased with a saber’s scent on you,” he replied.

  “I’m fine, Ockbutu, but I appreciate it,” I said and he snarled at me.

  “Being hard-headed can lead to a series of troubles but my warriors cannot return to Tiban so they shall stay here. They will build their own homes around you to protect you in this big temple. You are in good hands,” he said. We rubbed faces before I pulled his frail body into mine and hugged him.

  “You two cubs take care of each other and, remember, pray to your goddess before you do anything Safari asks you do,” Ockbutu joked.

  We walked him out of the temple where the people from Tiban waited for him. I hugged and rubbed faces with all of them before they disappeared into the jungle. Behind me were twenty-five warriors: leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and tigers.

  “There is no need to build homes. The temple is big enough for all of us,” I called out. They bowed their heads and took their belongings into the temple. Safari followed them to help with setting up. Before I walked into the temple, I smelled a familiar scent.

  “We will be here when you’re ready to live underneath Y’kiki’s beliefs but in the meantime, go home and serve your father!” I called out to Naji before I stepped inside the temple.

  Thinking about Eze and the rest of the li
ons who were afraid to leave their pride, I sat in front of the statue of Sekhmet and prayed to her. I was lost all over again.

  Eze

  The next day…

  I kicked the picture from the wall and slid out of the tunnel. My body was coated in dirt, sweat, and other debris from the jungle. I stopped once for water but ran the whole way home. It was night time when I arrived home; the time in the lost world was different. Two days was almost four days in the outer world. The double doors to the library wouldn’t budge. I remembered I told Quanir to board it up so Lynx wouldn’t discover the passage. With one swift punch, the door shattered and pieces of wood flew into my face.