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Chapter 4

Kali woke to find Neema talking to Sikio at the far side of the opening. She lay for a while and watched. Whatever they were talking about, Sikio seemed enthusiastic. The queen gestured for Kali to come over when she saw that she was awake.

'I have decided to let Sikio come on a hunt with me. Ukuta is curious to see how well he does.'

'When do we leave?' Kali said.

'You won't be coming this time. We need to see how well he hunts without interference.'

Kali felt uncomfortable questioning her queen, but something felt a little off. 'Why would I interfere?'

'I remain sceptical of Sikio's hunting ability until I have seen it myself. We only have his word that he's been surviving on his own and his physique does not suggest a talented hunter. I'm sure you understand, given my position.'

'I know I am chubby, I do not mind you saying so.'

'I don't doubt that you will ease our concern today, Sikio.'

Kali nearly objected but thought better of it. She was not certain whether her concern was simply because of the nature of this new trial or whether she was worried that Sikio would somehow disappoint the queen and be forced to leave. In the end, she gave a sigh and said her goodbyes, and watched as they left the den with the other lionesses.

Rather than mope around the den all day, Kali opted to go on sentry duty with Utani and Duru. Duru was a bouncy and energetic lioness. She was lithe, compact yet powerful, and had the potential to be one of the best hunters in the pride. They usually worked the hunt together and Kali always enjoyed her company.

'So where did Sikio come from?' Duru said as they patrolled the sun-scorched savannah.

'He says that he came from beyond the desert to the south,' Utani said. 'I'm not sure I believe him. He does not exactly look the part. Has he said anything more to you?'

'Not really,' Kali said. 'Though he was supposed to show me some of his desert survival tricks today, that was before your mother took him out hunting.'

'Do you think he'll catch anything? He looks slow to me,' Duru said.

'He surprised me yesterday,' Kali said. 'We raced and he's quite fast.'

'So are you going to fuck him?'

Kali choked. 'I-'

'Duru!'

'What? You like him, right? I mean, he's not everyone's type but he is still attractive. He's pretty fat though.'

'He's not that fat! He's a bit well-fed, perhaps.'

'Assuming he is just a rogue, he must be a talented hunter I'll grant him that,' Duru said. 'Or else he has a pride just waiting on the sidelines for their chance to attack us.'

'I'm sure that's why Mother is taking him hunting,' Utani said.

'There is no pride waiting to attack us. Someone would spot them, and I don't believe Sikio is a liar,' Kali said. 'And he is still fast enough to catch things.'

'Even if he weren't, you don't need to be fast to catch most things, just quiet and good at hiding,' Duru said. 'Why do you like Sikio, anyway? What's wrong with Shamba?'

'Do we have to bring my brother into this?-'

'I don't know, I just don't find Shamba attractive.'

'But Sikio?' Duru said. 'Is it because he's heavier?'

'I think so. Is that strange?'

'I hope not,' Utani said. 'Or there's no hope for me.'

It hurt Kali to hear her friend's self-deprecating humour, but she had never heard another lion mention excess weight as an attractive feature.

'Older and sedentary lions get fat, and those aren't appealing traits to me personally,' Duru said. 'I can't speak for everyone though.'

'My grandfather was on the heavy side,' Utani said. 'And he was popular with the lionesses.'

'Then it must have gone out of fashion,' Duru said. 'Or something like that.'

'What do you both find attractive, then?' Kali said.

'I, uh-'

'Rippling muscles, a lush mane, and killer hunting skills!' Duru said. 'Shamba, in other words. Sorry, Utari.'

'You actually like Shamba? Sorry, Utari.'

'Guys-'

'He's perfect, and he's the heir to the pride, what's not to like?'

'Then why don't you tell him?' Kali said. 'It's not like the two of you aren't already mated.'

'He likes you, Kali. He's been chasing you forever, I didn't want to get between that.'

'There's nothing to get between. He is not my type at all and I've told him but he will not give up. You would be doing me a favour if nothing else.'

'Really? I always thought you were stringing him along.'

Kali huffed. 'Hardly. He's all yours, seriously.'

'Thanks, Kali!'

Later, when they arrived back from their patrol, Shamba met them. Kali nudged Duru and she tried to greet him, but it quickly became obvious that he had other things on his mind.

'Kali, I'm telling you, that rogue is bad news. They're dangerous, all of them, and this one gives me the creeps. He obviously has some sort of agenda and I don't want you caught in the middle of whatever he is scheming.'

'Really, and every time you prance on over here you don't have an agenda? Spare me, Shamba.'

'We're in the same pride, and you can always rely on your pride above all else. You can't trust this outsider who wants who knows what from you.'

'Your father trusts him-'

'My father tolerates him.'

'-and I trust him. I'm not yours to fawn over and protect. You need to leave me alone and let me live my life.'

'I will be kind and it will be my job to worry about you and the rest of the pride.'

'But you're not king, not yet, and our king has already made a judgement and you should respect that.'

'Do you know what he wants, why he's here?'

'I'm not stupid, Shamba, I know what he wants from me.'

'Ask him, Kali. Find out what he really wants. Something is not right with him, he isn't just a wandering rogue, I can promise you that. Press him and you'll learn something.'

'I plan to, but to satisfy my curiosity and not your latest obsession.'

'Thank you, Kali,' Shamba said. And mercifully he turned to leave. She was getting tired of his constant pestering. It was callous on her part, but she hoped that Duru would approach him and take his attention elsewhere, it would be a mercy. 'Shamba,' Kali said. 'Duru wants to speak to you.' He nodded, looked as if he was going to say something, but then left.

The afternoon heat soon became overpowering and the lions in the den found shade where they could. Kali was dozing under an acacia when Sikio and the huntresses returned, early than expected, dragging with them a gazelle. Neema came over and Kali said, 'looks like he did alright.'

'He did,' Neema said, low, 'but something strange happened. We were trying to find something worth hunting when, out of nowhere, Sikio had a gazelle. We were spread out but he was in-between us and none of us saw where it came from.'

'Could you have missed it?'

'You know us, Kali, we miss nothing. I swear it came from nowhere. I'll grant him this, he's faster than he looks. I'm still keeping an eye on him though.'

When Neema left Sikio trotted over, looking pleased with himself. 'I see you lived up to your promise,' Kali said.

Sikio settled down opposite Kali, his paunch spilling out onto the ground where he lay. 'You doubted me?'

'It would be naïve not to.'

'I suppose that is true.'

'Neema said something to me earlier that didn't make sense, that none of the lionesses spotted the gazelle that you caught. Where did it come from?'

Sikio shrugged. 'Everyone makes mistakes, I just had some luck this time.'

'Weren't you in the middle of the hunt? I know my pride well, I find it hard to believe that they all walked around the gazelle without seeing it.'

'I do not know what to tell you. It just happened and I was as surprised as anyone.'

This seemed evasive but Kali could not think what else could have happened, it was weird but it had hardly appeared from nowhere. Kali was becoming impatient with the mystery around him, she wanted answers. 'What're you doing here, really? I get that you crossed the desert and you're staying because you found us, but why did you leave your home and what do you want from us, from me?'

'I don't have a home,' he said. 'I have heard stories about members of your pride exploring the desert and I suppose my reasons were the same as theirs; I wanted to see if anything was out there, on the other side, and to find my place in the world. It just so happens that I found something. I am also looking for a mate, but I won't be so presumptuous as to say that I have found one.'

'What's out there, beyond the desert?' Kali imagined some mysterious land, shrouded in fog, with strange beasts roaming the land and weird birds flitting through the sky.

'Another world,' he said, 'different from this one. It has its beauty, in a way, and its problems.'

'And you don't think you've found a mate yet?'

'Well, like I said I would not want to be presumptuous,' he said. 'Tell me, have you heard of Kifi?'

'The god of Death?' Kali said. Everyone had heard about Kifi and her dealings with mortals in stories that went back more generations than anyone could count.

'The very same,' Sikio said. 'I know a story from across the desert about a lion who tried to save his pride by summoning Kifi.'

'We have stories about Kifi and how she visits those near death, but none where a lion tries to summon her. Usually, the lions in the stories try to make Kifi leave by tricking her.'

'Well, in this story the lion does not want to trick Kifi, he wants to make a deal. You see, there had been a great disaster. One day on a day like any other, much like today, dark clouds appeared on the horizon and the ground rumbled with thunder; rains followed soon after and the pride to which the lion belonged were thankful. However, there was a problem. It rained for an entire week, and then another, and then another. The great river burst its banks, flooding the meadows and lands beyond, and then the waters kept rising until no ground remained.

'The land was lost but the pride managed to survive by fleeing to higher ground. But those lands were flat and expansive, there was nowhere to escape the rising water and eventually the flood took the lions one and all. The lion was swept away but found a piece of driftwood which he floated on for miles and miles. Eventually, the driftwood settled on a large rock outcrop and he climbed out of the floodwaters to safety.

'He wept and he called out to the gods to bring his pride back and restore the world, but none answered. Then he remembered a story about Kifi, coming to reap the soul of a dying lioness, and her daughter who tricked Kifi into taking the life of a zebra instead. Kifi was like a god; she could perform miracles, though usually not of the sort desired from lions in the stories. She could be summoned in the final moments before death, so perhaps he could summon and trick her.

'There was an issue, however. The lion was soaked and exhausted, but recovering quickly; he was not going to die unless the floods swept over the high rocks he rested on. And there was the issue of how to trick Kifi. In the story, he knew the lion swapped their dying kin for another being, a life for a life. Yet there was no life to be found in the raging waters around him.

'Unable to face a life without his family and friends, alone in a world of water, he conceded that the only chance he had was to bargain with his own life. Knowing that there was only one way to summon Kifi, he climbed down the rocks and lowered himself into the water. He dived as deeply as he could go and turned to look up at the surface. Before long he was struggling to hold his breath, and then he inhaled water.

'His body struggled and then stilled, and beyond the surface of the water a face looked down at him, and then he was back on the rock. A thin lioness with brilliant white fur stood over him. "Your time has come," she said. "Come with me and struggle no more."

'The lion struggled to his feet and said, "I will only come with you if you spare my pride."

'" This is not a bargain worthy of my time," she said. "If you will not come with me your soul will be left to roam this world alone."

'To be left as a spectre to haunt what remained of the world would be a fate worse than death, but the lion could not allow his pride to be taken from this world. "Then I offer myself to you, to use as your agent as you see fit. I will do as you wish, go where you please, and do the work of all of the gods if need be. Please, spare my pride and these lands, and I will be yours."

'Kifi pondered this for a moment and said, "Your offer has worth. Very well, you will do the bidding of the gods for one hundred years. If you accept, you will never see your loved ones again, but I will restore these lands and your pride as you wish."

'The lion accepted, as either way, he would never see his loved ones again, but he knew they would be safe. Kifi nodded and the floodwaters subsided. The world now looked desolated and stripped bare, though he knew life would return soon.

'For one hundred years he walked the world as an agent of death, an agent of life, of the seasons, and of nature; he went where the gods needed him and did not complain, for he knew that his pride and their lands were saved. He learned the ways of the gods, the way their magic wove its way through the world, as well as their predilections and idiosyncrasies. He learned the ways of the world like no other.'

'Wow,' Kali said. She had never heard of a lion bargaining with Kifi in such a way. To serve the will of the gods was a noble sacrifice to make, after all, they were mostly malicious and self-serving in the stories that Kali knew; they could have made the lion do any infinite number cruel tasks. 'What happened to the lion after his one hundred years were up?'

'He was free to walk the world again as a mortal,' Sikio said. 'Though, by now he had learned to use some of the magic of the gods for himself, including the secret to cheating death. My mother belonged to a pride before she gave in to wanderlust, and she said that generations ago this same lion visited her pride to teach them the secrets of the world's magic, to help them through hard times.'

'What kind of magic?' Kali said.

'There is a spell that has had implications for my line,' he said, his eyes twinkling. 'Given to my grandfather. It involves appeasing the gods of food and the hunt. You see, having a lion or two around who have been thoroughly spoiled with food is seen by those gods, by the natural world itself, as a sort of offering. The reward is greater success in the hunt, and strength and health for the pride.'

'Wait,' she said. 'We have had one or two chubby lions in our pride before, we have some now in fact, and we have never been blessed by the gods, as far as I can tell.'

'This spell has to be undertaken by those who have already been chosen by the gods, and there are words to be spoken and conditions to follow.'

'How would you know if you are chosen by the gods?'

'Well, let me ask you something. You have shown a lot of interest in me, a lot more than your friends. Tell me, are you attracted to me, to this?' he said, patting his plump midsection.

She looked at his large, round belly; at the way the fat bulged in patches towards thighs, which were themselves well-padded, and she was, she knew it. 'I suppose I am, yes. Were you attracted to Utani because of her weight?'

'I was, yes. But clearly, I misjudged her, and you. But this is it, this is how you know you have the favour of those gods,' he said. 'I have a proposition of sorts. Would you consider gaining some weight, to see if you like it? I can not promise that this will give your pride any blessing from the gods, though it could be fun for us both.'

'Sikio, I'm not sure. Honestly, I'd love to but I'm a valuable part of the hunt. I need to stay in top form for the sake of my pride.' It was true, along with Duru and Bau, she was one of the pride's best hunters. Any excess weight would cause problems for her hunting skills and her pride.

'What if I took over your hunting duties for a while. I'm a pretty good hunter myself.'

Kali was not sure that this was a good idea, but the thought of gaining weight and becoming more like Sikio, more like Utani, stoked something inside of her. She supposed that Sikio had proven himself to Neema and the other lions, and they knew that he could pull his considerable weight out there. 'We could try, though I'm not sure what to tell Neema. Perhaps I could say that I'm taking a break for a few weeks and you're happy to take over. Though, I'm not sure what I'll do if I go back to hunting and I'm too heavy.'

'We can think about that when the time comes.'

'Okay, I'm in,' she said. 'But what do I need to do?'

'The trick is to avoid vigorous exercise, like hunting, and to eat at least daily-'

'Daily!' she said. 'Every single day, without breaks?' She couldn't even remember the last time she had eaten for two days in a row.

'-Yes, and perhaps we can work on your capacity, get you to eat more than you're normally comfortable with.'

Kali felt excited about this experiment and she genuinely couldn't wait to start. There was still some doubt in her mind but they could at least try. 'Eating day after day, I've never done that before. Where will we get the food?'

'Just leave that to me,' Sikio said with a grin. 'And think of how fat you could get, how big your belly will grow.'

Kali leaned forward and licked his muzzle. He licked back, and then they were kissing. Sikio moved his bulk forward and over her, and Kali rolled onto her back and Sikio moved on top of her, his weight pinning her down. His great belly squashed softly against her own. She put her paws on both sides of his face and ran them down through his mane and to the top of his belly, where she squeezed gently. 'You're so soft,' she said. 'And heavy!'

'I am,' he said, 'and you can be heavier.'

Then he was inside her, and she moaned as they moved together, his soft flesh jiggling as he made love to her.