Falling In Love With The King Of Beasts

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*****

ELIA

"Never ask!" he shuddered, swallowing his mouthful, his eyes wide. "It's a huge offence to an Anima if you imply that you can't tell what they are—it means that they aren't true to their tribe. Don't… definitely don't do that."

Elia swallowed. She'd come so close a couple of times! Why didn't anyone tell her this? "Okay, I believe you. So… how can I tell?"

Gahrye's brow furrowed, and he looked out over the market. "I'm so used to scenting I hadn't really thought about… okay… we all look a little bit different, though you'll have to be careful. The Equines—horses—we have long arms and legs, but thick bodies. The Avalines, the birds, are quite sharp in their feature and often have long noses—but for the Creator's sake, don't ever mention it," he added hastily.

She nodded. "That's what Candace is, correct?" 𝒇𝗿𝙚ℯ𝑤ℯ𝑏𝒏𝑜ѵe𝙡.c𝐨ｍ

Gahrye nodded, still scanning the tables. "The Lupines are wolves. They're usually quite muscular and they hold themselves like predators."

"Like they want to hurt you?"

"Yes. That sense of threat. You'll usually only get that from a wolf, or a really pissed off Lion. Occasionally a Amphiline—especially the serpents."

"Serp—you mean snakes?" she shuddered.

Gahrye rolled his eyes. "What is it with humans and snakes?" he muttered. "I've read about this. What difference is there between a Snake and a Goat?"

"Snakes are so… sinister. So shifty. You never even know they're there—"

"Well, that's certainly true. They're our best trackers. And if you want to identify them… um… their ears are usually quite small. And they move very gracefully."

Elia looked around the floor, but couldn't see anyone—until she remembered that first night. "The guy who talked to Reth in the circle… Seerus?"

"Yes, exactly."

Elia nodded, more pleased than she had a right to be that she'd picked it.

"There are Goats and sheep—they're hard to know since they're both herd animals and prey. Most sheep have curly hair unless their families married goats somewhere back in their line—but again, don't mention it. They're sensitive for some reason. You'll find both of them in the trades a lot. And the main difference you can see is in how they act. The Goats are ruder and will argue, or try to you haggle you on prices. Sheep just prefer to go about their business and expect you to go along with them."

Elia was lost. Had she met anyone that felt like that? She didn't think so. "I guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled."

Gahrye choked on his food. "Why would you peel your eyes?!" he spluttered when he could breathe again.

Elia groaned. "It's just a saying. It means, watch closely. Look for something."

Gahrye shuddered. "Humans are weird. For such weaklings, you use very graphic metaphors," he muttered.

Elia giggled. "I guess we do," she said.

They ate in the quiet for a minute before Elia remembered to thank him again for his help the day before. "I wish I'd known these things earlier—what you said about how they've been trying to help me, to teach me, I feel terrible. I never meant to ignore anyone. It's just so different!"

Gahrye nodded. "I could see you were struggling. I think if Reth hadn't been so busy, he would have shown you. But the Leonine are always so sure of themselves, they forget that others aren't," he said, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Elia frowned. "Leonine. The Lions. That's what Reth is. And there's more of them." She knew that. Reth had mentioned it. But she hadn't met anyone that she could be certain of.

"There's a lot more females than males, which I guess is normal for them," he said, nodding to a table three rows back that was full of women. "They're all leonine," he said. "And their pride has hierarchy from the very highest—which is Reth—all the way down to the newest cub. Can you tell which woman is dominant at that table?" he said, pointing with his knife.

Elia watched the women for a while. There were six of them at the table, from a young one about her age, all the way up to a woman with gray hair and wrinkles. Would it go by age? She remembered that they taught through behavior, and watched the women interact for a while.

"That young one in the middle," she said a minute later. "She seems to be doing all the talking."

Gahrye shook his head. "That's just a personality thing. Fadya is a chatterer," he said good-naturedly. "No, dominance isn't about how much attention you get, it's about who can give commands—and who has to listen when they're given. Try again."

Elia watched them a while longer and soon saw the woman at the head of the table who looked like she was in her forties—who'd barely spoken otherwise—indicate something on the table for the woman next to her, who immediately picked up the jug of juice from the center and poured for her.

As Elia watched, she began to see a dynamic between them all, where each woman kept her shoulders low, or her eyes when she looked at certain others, but raised her chin to others. All except that middle-aged woman at the head. She never dropped her eyes or her chin the entire time.

"It's the one at the head. She's… they all listen to her."

"That's right. Well done. You learn fast."

Elia shrugged. She'd always been a quick study. If someone would actually explain what she needed to learn, that was. "It's interesting," she said, still watching the women. "That woman isn't the biggest, or the strongest. I thought dominance was about beating others into submission?"

Gahrye chuckled. "Those Leonine are all strong, don't worry about that. They're muscular like the wolves, but… stronger. In a weird way. Very confident—even the quiet ones. And the females are… I mean, I'm no lion, so I won't pretend to understand it all, but somehow the females make most of the decisions. It's weird. I've watched a lioness cuff Reth around like he's a child when she thinks he needs to eat more, or get more sleep. And I've seen him ask them what he should do about things among the people—and do what they say. And yet, he just… rules. Everyone in the Pride listens when he speaks. It's very strange. He's so arrogant and sure of himself. Yet they often speak up—and not very pleasantly. I don't understand it. You'd need to have him explain it to you. All I know is, the women have a very important role in the pride. They make a lot of decisions. Especially about the home and their families, mating, that kind of thing."

Elia blushed and wondered if he'd heard the story about her interrupted mating. She suspected he had when Gahrye grinned back at her. But he didn't mention it, just continued his lesson. "…but rest assured, Elia, the truly dominant fight very little. They don't have to. Everyone else can tell they'll lose before they even start. So they don't have to fight much at all. It's only when someone else had a high opinion of themselves—or if they really are growing towards becoming dominant. At some point Reth will have a challenger. Then we'll see a fight for the ages."

Elia's anxiety must have shown on her face, because Gahrye raised a hand. "Don't worry! That is decades away. Reth is the strongest ruler we've had for generations—and his father held the throne for almost forty years. No, dominance isn't about his looks or even his strength, not really. It's more about intelligence and… attitude. Belief in yourself."

"He has plenty of that," Elia muttered.

Gahrye laughed.

By the end of the meal Elia's head was spinning. But she felt like she better understood who she was dealing with. And she already had a bunch of questions for the next time she had a chance to talk to Gahrye.

Now if she could just get Reth back and get this mating thing over, she might be able to start building a life among these people.

*****

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