Calhoun Lionray: The Cub II

Sometimes I don't understand him, like how can he be so sure that there wasn't anything before. There was something before me, before him and there will be something after us. The element of Light is up there, so it is possible to be up in the sky and never come down to earth. I know that he thinks I heard about God from some lost foreigners in the city, but I have actually thought about this before and when I heard, I understood I am not the only one.

I don't want to start a discussion with Paine because he will insist on his opinion and will try to change mine, but this time, I believe I am right. I bet, he is now thinking how foolish is mine idea about God, so we are both silent.

"Anyways, our father's siblings aren't here as well, they have their own kingdoms!" Paine says and I partly understand what he meant.

"You don't know about your aunt, no one has seen her in ages!" Maybe he has a clue, which leads him to this conclusion?

"That's because she was so smart not to come back!" Am I the only one, or it seemed like he changed the subject? He definitely has a clue.

"You can't say things like this!" He always manages to say the opposite, what he thinks or believes in, because I know he will come back, if he leaves and so does he, but something made him say that it is stupid to come back.

"Maybe it is time to let somebody else rule!" He knows that I know, so he changed the subject again, but not in the right direction again.

"You will not change destiny!"

"I will, I am leaving tonight!" What did he just say?

I look at him, but he doesn't look back. "Alone?"

"I just offered you! You turned me down! Then, yes, alone!"

"What will you say to father, mother, Lord Tau..."

"Why would I need to do that! You think they care about me ... or us? When was the last time mother came to see you, or father, or Amir?" He explodes, walking around constantly.

I get his point and I also don't want to make things worse, but mother talked to me yesterday and he asked the question, so, "Yesterday?" Now he stops and looks at me like I am a brainless creature, which doesn't understand rhetorical questions, so he is speechless and at the time he wants to say something, I see Amir coming towards us.

"I heard my name! What are you talking about, my brothers!"

Paine leans in and quietly whisper to me. "I will leave with the sunrise! If you decide to come, I will wait for you at the Golden West gates!"

I don't manage to say anything back because Amir is already next to us, but we keep eye contact for a second, so he understands that I will think about that.

"So, are you both excited about father's decision?" Amir looks at us with excitement.

"What decision, no one has told us what this is about?"

"He is sending one of us away to rule the Karhu Kingdom!"

"Wait, what?" I look at Amir and then at Paine because I think it is impossible. "Karhu is the Kingdom of bears, how?"

"Father's brother needs someone to rule after him, so he asks for one of us, but whoever it is, will need to forget the family here and become a Bearanger!"

I suddenly realize it will be Paine, because of what he told me about earlier. "That's why Lord Tau told you that thing about acting opposite, oh I feel sorry for you!"

"No, it is not final, it was one of the suggestions, the father will decide, who!" Amir quickly interrupts me, because he believes it will be him, he wants it to be him, he would be ready to do anything to get that place, I know him too well.

But Paine looks taken aback. "Oh, I hope it is not me!"

"Why? It will be a great opportunity for the one, gift from father, you should be grateful, but anyways I hope he will choose me!" Now he said it.

Paine looks at me and I know he is thinking the same as me, so he starts to speak slowly to get my agreement. "Perhaps, if you want it so badly, you should go for it. We will stand back, right Calhoun?"

"Yes, of course, we will not stand in your way brother!"

"Thank you, my brothers, I knew I could rely on you!" He is as happy as the little boy who finally got his lollipop.

"That's what family for!" I just add quickly, but Amir has already turned around and is going inside, looks like it was the only reason he came here.

"I will get back to Royal Hall, and I will make sure that someone will get you when father has made a decision."

We both look at each other, trying to find words about this situation.

"It has never happened before! I would say it even sound suspicious!"

Actually, I agree with Paine, it is suspicious, but I don't understand him, he is the one who wants to see the world. "But this is an opportunity to see the world, I don't understand you!"

"How it is different? A lion in the cage made for lions or in the cage made for bears?"

"New cage?"

"Yes, it would take some time, years perhaps, till I get to know all the kingdom, but then I will be bored again!"

As always, I get him, I wish I had so brave to go out there in the world. "So, are you really leaving?"

"I have thought about this for some time! And I know it is the right path for me, I need to follow my heart!"

"Ah brother, but never forget about us, and I hope you will come back one day!" I got a little emotional.

"So, you are not coming with me?" I gave him hope, but now he understands I am not coming.

"I can't"

"In case, parents start to worry, remind them that I will always be their son and I didn't choose this way, because of them! And yes, I am planning to come back!" He knows, I know that they will ask questions, and we also both know this is happening partly because of them.

"But you just said that she was smart that she didn't come back!"

"In her case, everyone hated her, even her own mother!"

"Am I the only one, who doesn't know anything about her?"

"You speak with lions! I speak with people!"

"And?"

"It is a long story, if you have agreed, I would tell you!"

"Don't leave me in the dark! I need to know what I am dealing with!"

"But she is not here!"

"You know, I might meet her one day!"

"If you don't go outside the city's walls, you won't!"

"Sometimes you are annoying!"

"That's who I am! But, fine, she tried to kill everyone to get the throne, but luckily, she poisoned just one of them, her father, the rest of them survived, somehow! So she left, otherwise, she would be in prison!"

"Wow, lions truly are smart animals!"

"What, no, did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, and I also heard, what Scar told me, that lions were scared of her! But actually, they were..."

"... warning them about her! Someone in the city also said this!"

"Maybe she will come after Ari Kingdom one day!"

"Who knows, so better to leave now!"

"But if the father tells you to go, then will you leave?"

"But we already agreed, that Amir will go!"

"But the father doesn't know about this agreement and I believe he will not change his thoughts just because of our opinion!"

"I will leave anyway! But I still can't put puzzle pieces together! Bearanger asks for Lionray to rule the Bears?"

"Remember, he was born as a lion!"

We are looking far across the city and we can't see the end of it, but we can both feel that something is not right.