Rings of Gold

A challenge to an alpha

The pack had just settled down around the elevated platform when one of the cubs who were closest to the stair suddenly said, “who’s that?” and point to the bottom of the stair, where Shara was climbing up to join them. The pack stared at her and it questioning glances were thrown around the group. Their pack contained all the cubs of the town. And most importantly, Karaz was the only lion who had been born in the town in recent years. This made the strange lioness who appeared into more than an oddity. She was lean and muscled in a way that no other females were, and she was dirty, her clothes torn, and she seemed to have traveled from far away. Karaz stared at her and the moment their eyes met; he felt a sensation he had only felt when he met his father’s gaze… The female clearly had sphinx blood in her! Karaz stretched himself as tall as he could, but it was obvious that the female was taller than him.

The lioness walked straight into the circle of cubs, and she stopped just a short distance from Karaz. “Hi, my name is Shara…” she said and looked around at the kids that stared. “I… came to town just a few days ago… and I would like to join this pack”. She smiled and seemed relaxed. Karaz could not shake the feeling that there was something wrong about the lioness in front of him. Despite being so calm, he could sense that there was a hint of nervousness in her speech. He did not like the idea of another lion in the pack as that could potentially lead to a rival that could make the rest of the pack question his authority, but his father would approve if he would see that Karaz pack finally had a worthy female in it. Accepting the new female was dangerous, but it could prove to finally give him some approval! “Oh, I can bet you want to join us” he chuckled and grinned “You would benefit greatly from running with us, considering your… well…” he made a gesture towards her clothes before saying “but why should I accept you into my pack? What do you offer?”. Shara did not like the implication about her clothes, and she gave out a low growl before saying “and what gives you the right to decide if I can join or not?” she looked around the pack and an audible gasp could be heard through the rest of the pack. Even if Shara was new in town, her words constituted a clear challenge to Karaz rule.

The young male snarled at Shara, which brought her eyes back to him almost instantly as he snarled. Shara stretched a bit and her eyes narrowed, but Karaz stated “I am the alpha here and I make the rules here…” with the raw confidence of someone who was used to never be questioned. Shara grinned wide enough for her sharp teeth to glimmer for a moment before she moved closer to him and showing just how much taller she was “…and just why would I follow your lead? I mean… you’re… so…” she began and seemed to search for words for a moment before grinning and making a gesture with her thumb and index finger, indicating that something was rather small. “…small…”.

Karaz desperately wanted to bite back, but the larger female was almost looming over him now as she had moved closer while speaking. The giggles from the other younglings made it clear that the biting remark about his size had hit home with the pack. Shara let him stew for a moment before saying “but by all means, if you don’t want me to join your pack you are free to think so, but I’m joining regardless”. She had quite clearly challenged him but seeing her up close and the fact that she seemed so confident made it dangerous to try to put her in her place physically. Knowing full well that a loss would take away his position, it was better to save face for the moment. “…you seem like quite a feisty female” he began before he shrugged, making quite a show of appearing to not be intimidated by her words or size. “…and seeing how a lioness would make a fine addition, you are welcome. I just needed to make sure that you weren’t jesting about wanting to join”. Shara seemed slightly surprised by his response and nodded in approval. “But you will have to prove your value to the pack in the coming days…” he turned to the rest of the cubs “…but for now I’m hungry. Let us go get something to eat”. The rest of the pack stood up and Karaz took the lead, heading down the stairs towards the market.

During all this time, as Shara entered the circle and talked to Karaz, Xelia had been staring at the lioness with an expression that had gone from intrigue to sheer disgust. She had noticed the lioness golden piercings and it was clear that she was the child of someone who once had been of both great wealth and power. She could feel the strange sensation of Sejd in the air around Shara and when Shara blatantly disregarded Karaz, she Xelia instantly began to dislike the lioness. Tishii leaned closer and whispered, “Just who does she think she is?” to Xelia as Karaz clearly saved face. “I’m not sure, but it’s not very clever to challenge Karaz, regardless of being a lioness or not. Karaz father could utterly destroy her…” she trailed of as she realized that she wasn’t entirely sure that Karaz’s father would strike down the female if she challenged his son. It was common knowledge that the son and father was not on the best terms and that the father more than once had called Karaz weak in public. Despite this, it was utterly against everything Xelia and Tishii had been taught to challenge the alpha only moments after joining the pack and as they began to head down from the platform to find something to eat, they both noticed that Shara choose to walk on the outskirt of the pack, but at a pace that matched Karaz and in such a way that it was clear that she viewed herself his equal or even superior. It did not take long for her to notice that Karaz was throwing glances at Shara, judging and trying to understand the lioness. It did not take long for Xelia to realize that Shara might, given time, become the favored female of the pack. The unofficial title had so far belonged to Xelia and to Tishii, who were clearly the strongest females of the pack, but the lioness could overthrow all that.

The pack spread out and sat down at the high end of the channel that led the great river through Shakthep. The channel had been built by Karaz great grandfather and was one of the most wonderful works that the city had done over the last two centuries. The river had previously been untamed, and floods always threatened the buildings located at the bank. This had ceased with the building of the great channel and riverboats could now dock directly at the streets. This had improved the trade and safety of the city, which had made a bustling market grow up around the channel. Food from all over the empire could be found along channel and one did not have to go far to find something to fit any taste.

The food had been collected by Karaz whose name was enough to pay for the food and by Tishii, who had spent the silver coin Karaz gave her to provide food for those who were not favored by the alpha. It was a simple gesture, but a gesture that earned Tishii respect among all members of the pack. Xelia had a moment of hesitation as Shara approached the alpha but felt a wave of relief as the lioness opted to not make a fuzz about the food and gracefully accepted the piece of meat and bread that Karaz handed to her. Xelia could see the hunger in the female’s eyes and as the lioness sat down, she had to struggle to not devour the food in a hurry. Xelia bowed slightly as she received food from Karaz, something that made Karaz smile and nod in respect.

Xelia sat down beside Tishii who had handed out the last of the food and sat down at the edge of the water. Her blue scales made her stand out from the rest of the pack and she grinned at her friend. “Did you see their expression as I gave them food? I hope I win more often” she chuckled, and her tail moved from side to side. Not everyone in the pack had the luxury of a solid meal every day, so everyone appreciated the gift that Tishii had given them. Xelia wondered if she would be as generous as her friend, but her pondering was interrupted as a Tishii poked her side, forcing a giggle out of her. “Now I hope you are not thinking that you would not do the same. You would, but maybe with a more… superior look on your face”. The green lizard stuck out her tongue at Tishii and pretended to be offended. “I would not!” she hissed playfully, and they both laughed until Xelia noticed that Shara kept her eyes on the two lizards. “What?” she exclaimed, which made Shara look away and again focus on her food.

Once she had finished her food, Xelia noted that it must have taken a considerable amount of willpower for Shara to keep her food for as long as she did. She looked famished and as Xelia glanced at her, she could still feel the powerful Sejd that surrounded the lioness which meant that she had been trained by someone. The golden piercings revealed that she belonged to some shamanistic order, but Xelia did not know of any order that had trained a lioness. She leaned closer to Tishii and whispered, “Do you know of any lioness that has been trained in this town?”. Tishii glanced at Shara before shaking her head and replying “No, I do not… she might be from a distant town?”. Xelia nodded and was just about to whisper something else when Karaz stood up from the bench where he was seated.

The pack fell silent as he walked into the center of the group and everyone focused on the young lion male, who clearly enjoyed the attention. “I hope everyone is full?” he began and looked around to make sure that everyone had eaten. Some of the younger cubs stuffed the remaining food in their mouths, but to Xelia’s annoyance, Shara kept eating her food at a slow and disrespectful pace. Karaz watched her for a moment and his eyes narrowed. “When you are finished, we will hunt” he proclaimed, and all the males of the pack grew excited and every single one of them stood up. The only other lizard male hissed, and his markings flushed and became brighter. He was the oldest of the cubs, barely allowed to stay with the pack as his mother was searching for an apprenticeship for him.

Shara finished her meal after a few minutes and she stood up, ready to follow the pack. As they moved through the market, they were all searching after one of the large scraplings that lived in the alleyways and sewers of the city. Scraplings were small animals that moved on all four legs, had a thick and fluffy tail coupled with large eyes that glowed in the dark. They ate whatever they could find, and they were considered a pest that the city wanted to eradicate.  Some scraplings grew to impressive sizes and they were usually the target of the pack’s hunts. If the pack was unable to find a scrapling, the hunt was considered a failure, which usually lead to some rearrangements in the status of the various members of the pack. Once, during a long streak of boredom and bad luck, Karaz had hired a young rabbit woman to act as prey for a staged hunt. This was considered the greatest hunt that the pack had ever experienced and the female rabbit had been their prize for two days before Karaz had her returned. Despite the humiliation of acting like prey, the rabbit had been paid good money and had enjoyed herself as it had prevented others from hiring her for the days. Xelia had heard a rumor that Karaz had planned to keep her around for a week, but his father had apparently gotten wind of what he had done and had her returned. She would fervently deny ever hearing anything like that if questioned though.

If the pack found a scrapling that had ventured to far into the street, the hunt began and the one who managed to capture or kill the scrapling was rewarded great honor and status in the pack. The animal was awarded to the killer who could turn it in for the reward that the city offered for each scrapling killed. It was a small sum and only the poor thought it worth it, so it was common courtesy to let the poorest of the pack have the animal. The females of the pack usually stood aside, but Xelia knew that Tishii would participate, and Xelia would join in if Tishii asked her to.

Shara was slightly confused as what game they were playing as they moved through the city. She followed the rest of the pack around under Karaz leadership as the day went on. They passed through the channel district before heading back through the alleyways into the market.

More than once they found a potential scrapling that they could chase, but all of them either fled back into their hiding holes or there were to many people around so the scraplings managed to get away in the throng of people.

The shadows slowly lengthened as the afternoon neared its end before one of the younger anubites suddenly caught sight of a scrapling that seemed distracted by some trash that had been piled up against the curb. Its hiding hole was obvious, and it was too far from it to be able to rush to safety easily. Shara’s eyes focused on the small critter and her instincts, honed by days spent hunting in the badlands, tuned in on the surroundings and the rest of the pack. Karaz held up his hand as a signal for the pack to stop and the scrapling remained in the pile, digging after any scrap of food it could find. The pack fanned out, not wanting to scare the scrapling back to its hiding place and one of the smaller males managed to cover the critter’s hiding hole. The others spread out in a semicircle, ready to give chase at a moment’s notice when Karaz gave the signal.

When Karaz gave the signal, the entire pack moved as one, except for Shara and Xiela. The green lizardess had decided that she would stay behind and play the role of the favored female who would reward the killer when they returned. Shara, not used to the signals, acted a split second after the rest of the pack and picked up speed quickly. The scrapling fled the moment it noticed the danger, but it quickly discovered that its hiding place had been blocked, so it ran for the streets and the pack followed. Shara, having advanced to the front of the pack felt herself getting lost in the adrenaline rush from the chase. She was a lion after all and she could feel her heart pump with increased intensity, kept at the edge of the pack at first until she understood that they were to chase down the small critter, at which point her lion instincts took over and she went in for the kill.

Tishii had rested since the race, so as she felt the rush of blood and adrenaline, she was sure she would catch it as she was the fastest in the pack. The critter easily avoided the two anubites who were close to it and Tishii grinned as she closed the distance. Much to her surprise, she was suddenly passed by a feline form and her first thought was that Karaz had managed to pass her, but just a moment later she realized it was Shara. Shara’s sleek body and quick movements made it easy for her to swift her direction when the scrapling tried to dodge her attack and she slammed it against the ground with her claws. A strange crunching sound was heard as she broke the animals back and she kept her balance as her feet slid against the ground, making her turn around and face the rest of the pack. Her first instinct was to protect her kill and she snarled against the closest pack member, Tishii. The lizardess stopped and ended up just a few steps from Shara, who’s eyes glowed with golden power as the air sparkled with tension. The seconds stretched into infinity as Tishii wondered if Shara was going to attack her, but then Shara smiled and licked her fangs. “Does this mean I win?” she asked as she held up the lifeless body of the scrapling, her expression teasing and cocky. Tishii’s heart was still racing from the snarl and threat that Shara had presented just a moment ago and she stared at the lioness as the rest of the pack caught up.

A soft murmur passed through the group as the pack tried to decide what to do. Karaz arrived not at the head of the main part of the pack, and he seemed rather surprised that Shara had managed to catch the scrapling. His eyes darkened for a moment as he knew it meant that he would have to afford her some more respect and that it solidified her place in the pack, but there was not much he could do. Despite all that however, he found himself somewhat intrigued by the female lioness now that she had proven strong of both will and body. He headed up to her and smiled “I see we have a winner” he said with a playful voice. “I must say I did not expect you to catch it on the first hunt, but you have proven that lions are superior hunters”. As Shara had not expect the young male to be gracious about her victory, she was at loss for words for a moment. “The kill is yours to do with as you wish. You can either turn it over to one of the poorer members of the pack or keep it for the reward”. Shara’s eyes narrowed and she quickly said, “I’ll keep it for the reward”. Karaz eyes widened just enough for Shara to notice, and he began saying “Surely you would share it with someone less fortunate…?” before Shara cut him off “No” and she made sure to tie the scrapling to her belt. Another soft murmur went through the pack, and it was only interrupted by the temple bells. They signaled the end of the day and the beginning of the evening, which meant that the pack had to break up for the night and return to their homes. The pack began dispersing almost immediately and Karaz looked at Shara with a confused expression before he shrugged and said “I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow. The governor’s office is where you can get the reward”.  He then turned away and began moving home at a quick pace, careful not to run but still move as fast as he could. His father did not like when he was late, and he had no plans to make his father angry again.

Xelia and Tishii left the pack in the same direction as Karaz, and they left Shara behind them. As soon as they were alone, Xelia looked at Tishii “That lioness could learn some manners”. Tishii nodded and could feel her heart slowing down “She scared me for real when she growled. I thought she would attack me. Do you think she’s feral?”. They had both heard tales of people who had gotten stuck in the wilderness for too long and become more like animals then people. Xelia shook her head “No, I think she just believes herself to be more important than she is… she’s a threat to the pack structure”. She shook her head and sighed “But we will deal with that later…” before changing the subject and talking about what the future would hold for them both.

Shara returned to her hideout behind the boxes after having turned in the scrapling. It was a small amount of money, but at least enough to make sure she would not go hungry tomorrow. She had hoped that the pack would have some place to sleep, but she had to be careful to be accepted before she tried to intrude on someone’s home. She took a quick look around the alleyway and grabbed a dirty blanket that she found half buried. It smelled strange but it would do for the moment as protection and before she fell asleep, she prayed to the spirits that they would let her stay with the pack long enough for her to find a new path.