secrets, locked away

"You cubs want to see another cool trick?"

Ciarra is where she feels most comfortable - surrounded by a group of excited cubs, showing off her magic to them like the performer she is. The young lions, excited by the prospect of watching a darkness elemental in action, cheer her on, and she's so very happy to oblige. Closing her eyes for one dramatic moment, she feels the shadows around her climb up her small form, covering her in the darkness and momentarily obscuring her from view. She uses this moment to squeeze through a gap in the cubs surrounding her and lets the magic go once she's gotten behind them. "Over here!"

They turn around one at a time and all at once, and the gasps are everything she could ever want. She brings the wisps of shadow around one paw, watches the tendrils float along, and grins as there are more sounds of awe from her small crowd.

This is everything she's ever wanted to be.

- - - -

later that night, when the moon has risen once more and her audience has left, Ciarra lets the shadows turn her invisible to the world once more, and she sneaks away to her favorite spot. A quiet grove of trees, with starlight high above and - most importantly - no other lions around to interrupt her thoughts.

How long is she going to be able to keep up this lie? Surely she only has so much time before a psychic or telepathy or maybe even a life lion gets too close and everyone finds out she's been hiding the truth from them all. Ciarra has spent far too many sleepless nights dreaming up every possible scenario and the ways she could get out of it all. On some sudden impulse she turns her head around, aqua eyes looking for the scar that's the source of all this untruth.

It's fainter than it used to be.

Ciarra frowns. Perhaps, if she pretends that it's bothering her less (which it is, the dull ache, ever-present, has been hurting a lot less lately) they'll make her go back out into the field. But then she thinks -

This is the Pride. These are kind lions.

The silver lioness looks up at the stars between the trees and sighs. She could have just said that she didn't think she could go out on these crazy missions anymore, couldn't she? But instead, here she is, isolated from her people not physically, but through the thoughts in her own head.

Maybe if she lets the lie fade away with time... she can continue her fairly quiet life without ever getting into trouble.

And wouldn't that be nice?