Rowanmane talked with Jamar and Bouncefoot in great detail about this trinity he had though of while they shared his catch, and they fine tuned some things. After a short week of him and Bouncefoot scouting the expanse of the Savannah the found a suitable place for their pride to be stationed. Not far from the cave there was a natural dip in the ground, that if hollowed out a bit more and stricter would make a suitable camp.

          Months went by, and slowly the camp that Rowanmane envisioned came to light. The months were grueling but they helped Rowanmane restore some of his lost strength. Bouncefoot went out hunting twice a day and hardly ever came back empty pawed, which kept them decently fed.

The night after they had finished their task of carving out their camp from the dirt and clay Rowanmane took a walk to clear his mind. It was a cool night, but ghosts of his past still haunted him. He had learned that allowing them to overwhelm him would only bring him more pain, and a harsh lecture from whatever Lioness happened to be around apparently, but they still bothered him sometimes. "I wonder what your up to now Shenya. Mom's probably keeping you safe, but I wish I could just see you sometimes." He whispered as he passed by a small pond.

His reflection greeted him, and Rowanmane was surprised to see how different he looked. His pelt and mane were still the same, but he felt like he saw a new gleam in his eyes. A determined look almost. Perhaps like a king, Rowanmane thought. "Are you out here to mourn as well, stranger?" A voice burdened with loss asked from his right.

It came as a surprise to him to find a Lioness standing beside him. He hadn't been paying attention to his surrounds, he noted. Rowanmane realized how lucky he was that it was this Lioness instead of someone who would have taken advantage of his distractedness. He dipped his head, "No, I'm just dueling with my thoughts huntress. I believe that we all know that some are dreary, but not all." He answered.

The Lioness turned her gaze up to the sky above that was filled with the waxing crescent moon and accompanied by millions of tiny stars. "I'm sorry for disturbing you then. I just heard you mention someone like they were no longer with you, but I suppose it is in a different sense than I assumed." She apologized, and Rowanmane took a moment to take in her figure.

She appeared like she had seen hard days, for her dark golden pelt was somewhat unkept and he could faintly see her ribs. Her olive eyes acted as the true mirror to her soul, and they alluded to him that she had experienced pain and sorrow. He pieced the puzzle together easily enough, and tried to meet her olive gaze. "You have not disturbed me huntress, in fact I would not mind company." Rowanmane assured her with a kind smile.

The huntress was rightfully wary of the stranger, but her inner turmoil and anguish broke through her realm of caution and she settled down beside him. Rowanmane followed suit, and they spent some time simply observing the sky above. "I propose that we play a small game to get to know each other. It's a game of questions, you answer one and then you get to ask me one. We each hold the right to refuse to answer, and have a different one asked instead." He suggested after a time.

She considered him with some unknown criteria that he appeared to pass as her expression shifted, "What would I get from this litter game of yours?" She asked almost teasingly. It was as if she was experimenting what Rowanmane tolerated, which he found to be rather odd and somewhat worrisome from what he had already pieced together.

Rowanmane had already listed some nessecities that he wanted to try to give the Lioness before they parted ways. One of which was a good meal, and even as a mediocre hunter on his own he was sure that he could at least manage to capture some nocturnal creature. "A meal to enjoy while we play, all for you." He replied smoothly, and for a moment he wondered if he sounded like his brothers when they talked to lionesses. The thought alone made a chill run down his spine.

"A meal? Alright, if you can find me something to eat then I'll play." The huntress agreed, and gestured with her tail for him to get on with his hunt.

Rowanmane rose to his paws without another word and made his was into the heart of the Savannah. He was beginning to view it's grassy flatlands and rolling hills and it's heart, the thing where the lives of many of it's inhabitants were decided on in the spur of the moment. The small bodies of water that scattered it's landscape he saw as watering holes or places of rest and peace. No one was to kill any creatures resting there in his mind, unless they were and enemy of the Pride. Enemies would find no rest on his lands.

He turned his sights towards some sloping hills that would tire out any prey efficiently enough. He scented the air in the hopes of catching a whiff of antelope or a carcass that he could tear some chunks of meat from. It did not take long for Rowanmane to located an injured deer being hounded by hyena's.

The King strode confidently forward towards the ring of jesting creatures, and snarled quietly at their laughing yips and snarls as they darted forward to inflict more wounds to the terrified antelope. The antelope could hardly keep itself upright by this point, and Rowanmane found it the hyena's behavior to be disgusting.

He knew that hyenas had to hunt in a pack to attempt to take down larger animals, but he could see that they had a clear shot for the kill by now. Perhaps they hadn't noticed it, or maybe they were just playing around with their apparent dinner. Either way he wasn't going to stand for it. The antelope was clearly in pain and did not deserve this.

The hyena's had been alerted to his presence by his arrogant approach. There were around ten of them surrounding the antelope, and even for a lion those odds called for some caution. "Lookie everyone, we have a guest!" The giddiest hyena exclaimed.

          "Oooo I wonder if it's that new king that's in town! Hey! Mr. Lion! Do you rule the savannah now?" A rather plump one asked. Plumpy snorted as he spoke, and burst into a loud cackling laugh afterwards like what he said was the funniest thing.

          Rowanmane held his head high, "I am, and your treatment of this creature is horrid. They are going to sustain you with their life, yet your dragging it out like a game. I heard that hyena's were efficient hunters but now I have seen first paw that I heard wrong." He stated with a shake of his mane.

          The hyena's grew somewhat nervous as the King sounded disapproving, but they knew that they had numbers and felt somewhat insulted. "Hey now there's no need to be rude my man, we appreciate that this antelope's gonna be our dinner." The largest hyena reasoned. The other giggling hyenas nodded quickly to show that they agreed.

          However he shook his head, "I find that hard to believe. I'm going to give you two options. I am going to put this creature out of it's misery if you don't do it in these next few moments, and either you can clear out or you can take half of the kill and I the other. I do not care if you take the best pieces of meat, but decide." Rowanmane explained in a commanding tone.

          It took a few agonizing moments for the hyenas to fully grasp what the lion had said, and there was a wave of protests from the group. The largest one,  who appeared to be their leader, took on a defiant stance. Rowanmane cut off their leaders words before they even had a chance to emerge with a mighty roar. He unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth. All patience was gone from him. He was not going to tolerate this.

-:[Unknown Lioness]:-

She was pleasantly surprised when the lion returned with what appeared to be a rather fresh half eaten antelope carcass. The reddish brown furred male set it down and nudged it in front of her, "As promised." He said.

Her mouth watered at the sight, and her initial caution was thrown to the wind. She bit into the carcass and tore away a chunk with a satisfying tear. The meat went down easily and left her feeling refreshed and alive, this was fresh meat and it was good. The lion let out a chuckle, which prompted her to turn her attention to him briefly to find him looking up at the sky. "You looked like you could use a good meal, and I'm happy that I was able to provide you one." He explained dismissively. "Do you mind answering questions while you eat?" He asked.

She shook her head, "No. Go ahead and ask your first question." She replied.

It was refreshing to be in the male's company, she noted as she observed him mulling over possible questions. He appeared to be polite and caring, and hadn't lashed out at her for disturbing his quiet time. "Are you in there huntress?" The lion questioned, and she snapped out of her thoughts.

She blinked a few times and realized that she had zoned out whilst staring at him. She hurriedly dipped her head in an apologetic manner, but her waved it off with an easy flick of his tail. "What is your name, Lioness?" He asked.

Once again he surprised her with his forgiving nature, although she supposed that he could be playing her for a fool to lure her into a false sense of security for whatever means. This time she stopped herself before she sunk to far into her thoughts, "My name is Reya, stranger. Now what is yours?" Reya asked after eating more of her meal.

"I am Rowanmane, the King of the Pride of Trinity. We inhabit these plains currently." The lion answered easily, and with little hesitation.

These words sent Reya into a small panic, and she rose to her paws quickly. "You are a King? Well then I must be on my way. I am greatful that you have fed me and offered me company, but I do not wish to join your Pride." She hurriedly said with a small dip of her head, and turned to be on her way.

She let out a warning growl as Rowanmane went to block her path, but it died in her throat. Reya had been to occupied with filling her stomach once Rowanmane had returned to notice that fresh wounds marred his pelt, but now hat he stood directly in front of her.... "Why did you get yourself injured just to catch that for me?" She demanded.

Reya was filled with anger, fear, and confusion, and those emotions swirled around in her chest so much that she didn't know what to feel. Her olive eyes sought out his yellow ones, as if the answer possibly resides within them. "I want to help you Reya, that is all there is to it. I can't say that I will understand what happened to you, but I'm pretty sure something did. One of my pridemates helped me learn that I have to live with what is over and done and get over it because life will move on with or without me." Rowanmane explained.

It was then that she witnessed what she could only describe as raw emotion pour from Rowanmane. His whole body relaxed, his head lowered until he was practically bowing and his shoulders slackened. "I want to help you, because I would have died without someone to snap me back into reality. Without someone to listen to me and motivate me to reach the heights that I envision. I will not stop you from leaving, I do not have that right, but please...Don't bottle up your pain. That will only lead you to more sorrow. Find someone that you can trust and even if it's only little by little get all of that emotion off of your chest. Please." The King practically begged her.

His words hit their mark, and Reya faltered. Before her stood a supposed king that was now allowing himself to be vulnerable before her. He was allowing her to see the pained side of himself, as well as the tender side that had driven him to ask her to stay.

It was because of those things that led Reya to spill her story to the injured King, about her old Pride and her cubs. She told him how her King was selfish in his desires and feasted upon the best catches the huntresses made, even allowing some of it to rot when he didn't eat it all, and only allowing us to have the scraps. How her pride had many more submales than normal to help keep the lionesses in line. How under those circumstances her two cubs had starved to death because their mother could hardly produce enough milk for one let alone two cubs. They made it to solid foods, but that was worse.

Through all of it Rowanmane listened patiently to her woes, and offered her what she most needed. Reya finished up her meal and asked if Rowanmane would be fine heading back to his Pride alone. At the time the two had heard a distant roar, another lion possibly making their way onto the savannah, but they seemed to be far off. He'd be fine, he assured her and the lion would be found and dealt with sometime the next day on his patrol.

They parted ways, one feeling a bit lighter than they had felt in a long while, and the other feeling content with his accomplishments.

-:[Rowanmane]:-

Besides the faint stinging sensation from his wounds from the hyena's nothing really bothered him, if he didn't count how there was another Pride out there somewhere with a horrid King that he now knew of that is.

The faintest cry reached his ears, and a feeling rooted him to the spot. He stood anxiously waiting for another sign or sound that he had heard what he thought he heard.

"ROWANMANE!"

His instincts propelled him into motion even before he consciously processed the jarring cry. His name echoed in his ears as he pelted across the savannah on three legs in an attempt to move faster. He couldn't afford to be slowed by his right ankle, where his old Pride had inflicted permanent damage that affected his running speed.

Reya - the name flashed across his mind like a bullet. She had screamed his name as if she was overwhelmed and beyond desperate. He could hear her anguish and fear, and it drove him to be faster. Rowanmane had to be, because he had wanted her to trust him. He had wanted to help her with her burden, and he had to get there in time.

He just had to.

The coppery scent of blood filled him with dread as he approached, and he let out a loud roar to signify his arrival. Rowanmane pelted over a rise just in time to witness Reya throwing herself at a large grey lion that was covered in scars and had this hunger like no other gleaming in it's eyes. It snarled as it was forced to the side, which allowed a small cub to race towards two others. The one pelting for safety amongst the others was jet black with lighter leopard like markings, much like one of the female cubs. The third was a lighter blue with cheetah speckles dotting her fur.

          This lion was a a cannibal, and this realization horrified Rowanmane. With a fierce snarl he charged down the hill and rammed into the lion head on. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Reya with some blood trickling down her right shoulder, but it didn't seem to serious.

The two powerful beasts wrestled for control, both dealing out vicious blows that left the other reeling only to continue on fighting. Reya managed to strike the finishing blow after Rowanmane managed to hold him down long enough.

The grey lion slumped to the ground, dead, and Rowanmane was left panting heavily. His body ached, and he certainly felt unsteady on his paws. Reya was there to support him, and the trip back to the camp was a blur.

What he does remember, is that Reya is hella resourceful, and she and the cubs joined his pride.

          Only one of them knew their name, and that was the black pelted dark pelted Lioness cub, who was Ash. She was renamed Ashley due to the fact that she hated her name. The male became Dusk, and the last cub became Specklerain.

          Reya knew  that they were not a replacement for her lost cubs, but she would take care of them for as long as they needed.
___________________________

Lions and Lionesses':

^ Reya

^ Iida [Reya's Son]

^ Bridget [Reya's daughter]

^ Ashley

^ Dusk

^ Specklerain