the regiment's history | valley of kings tales

Laius wasn't feeling very fond of the other lions in the Regiment that day. She was getting so tired of all the chatter and all the people. So as the sun was setting over the savannah, Lai chose to go on a walk, just to take a break from everything. The spring had arrived, and there were purple flowers under - paw. The colorful blooms were beautiful. As frustrated as she was about the world these days, she still managed to appreciate the flowers. She watched a bee fly past the lavender and a faint smile appeared on her face. Life was scary, sometimes terrifying, and awful, but it was also quite good. Laius forgot that sometimes.

As the elderly lion let her paws take her wherever they might go, she began to hear an odd sound coming from her left. It was a sound of someone crying, it seemed like - but that didn't make sense. Laius came out this way semi - regularly, and she had never seen anyone out and about at this time of day. Her eyes glanced around, scanning the long grass for whatever - or whoever - could be making that sound. After a short while of looking around, her gaze landed on a small, sad lion cub hiding out in amongst the flowers. Oh, dear. She had no intention of abandoning the poor thing, but she had never been very good at all the lovely, reassuring stuff. But she would have to do her best. Eh.

"You alright, kid?" the pale furred lion questioned as she made her approach, grass and flowers alike crunching beneath her thin paws. The cub jolted a bit in surprise (oops, Laius thought, only half apologetic) and turned to see who was there, eyes filled with tears.

"I don't know," the little lion said back, in such a sad and dejected voice that Laius couldn't help but gain a concerned frown on her face. Whatever had happened to the cub, it had apparently been quite bad. The tiny lion's tail swished nervously back and forth.

"Do you know what happened?" Laius asked next. She took a seat on the ground, between the grass and the flowers, and waited for a response.

It took a bit, but eventually the lion cub spoke again, in between sniffles. "I was with my family... and then I got lost. Do you know where they all went?"

"I don't, kid, but I can take you back somewhere safe and then ask around, if you like?" Lai did her best to be kind.

The lion cub's ears perked up at that. "Really? I think I'd like that." They peered hopefully up at the larger lion. "Can I ride on your back?"

Laius sighed. This certainly wasn't what she'd been hoping to have to do on her walk, but she figured she'd put up with it. "Fine. But you had better not tug at my mane."

"I won't," the little lion agreed, with an eager nod. Laius begrudgingly bent down and the tiny lion climbed up onto her back. True to their word, the lion didn't grab too tightly onto her fur. They just grabbed on enough that they wouldn't fall off.

Laius walked back the short distance to the Regiment's home base. As grass turned into stone beneath her paws, Brontes came out to meet her. "What's going on?" the commander asked.

"This kiddo here got lost. I figured we could keep an eye on them until their parents come back. Or, if they do," Lai explained. The cub got down off her shoulders and was immediately entranced by the houses built into the cliff-side. "Don't fall down, now," she added to the little lion.

"Well, we can certainly give them a home for the time being. I know our dear healer would love to have some new life in this place." Brontes was quite happy to agree, and Laius was happier that the cub wouldn't be her responsibility.

As Laius led the cub to the medic's den, she flashed the lion a smile. Things seemed like they'd be alright, and she was glad about that. As awful as the world could be... sometimes things went very, very well.

Perhaps later she'd pick some flowers for the cub. Just to try and be nice.