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A lion cub was lulled away from his family by a beautiful sunset. He was too distracted by the wondrous twilight to hear the footsteps of a mighty huntress. Before the cub could react, the huntress drove a spear through his side. For a moment the huntress savored the cub's suffering before disappearing into the darkness

It took many moons for the cub to heal. Despite his obvious disability, the cub developed an almost freighting resolve. He never forgot the taste of the huntress's spear. The cub grew strong and became fierce. Eventually his new found strength allowed him to win his own territory. He became the mightiest lion in all the plains. For many seasons life was good. The lion sired a cub of his own.

One day the lion wandered down a strangely familiar path and happened upon a familiar smell. There he observed the huntress from his youth taking a drink from a watering hole. The huntress's senses were quite sharp and she lifted her eyes to acknowledge the lion.

Now the lion had a tough decision. He could risk being wounded by the huntress to satisfy his desire for revenge, but if he was killed or unable to defend his territory from rivals, surly the new dominant male would slay his poor cub. On the other hand, his great lion pride roared for satisfaction. In the end, pride spoke louder than reason. The lion lunged and managed to sever the huntress's arm, spear and all. Now it was the huntress's turn to bleed. As the huntress's blood stained the ground a terrible sense of predatory indulgence filled the lion. He enjoyed watching the huntress in pain. Unable to control himself, he lunged again and again. When he finally got his blood rage under control, there was not much life left in the huntress.

As he stood over his dying foe he noticed something was not right. The huntress was smiling. Suddenly, the bloody form under him changed. Instead of a woman, the lion stood over a much older lion. The lion could finally see the huntress's true nature. When the lion gazed deep into the older lion's eyes, he saw the reflection of himself as a weak cub. The older lion had taken the form of a huntress and wounded him in order to make him strong. He would never have discovered the great determination he was capable of if he had never been wounded by her spear. Finally the lion understood.

The exact moment the huntress died, the lion blinked. When he opened his eyes, the lion was no longer a lion. He had become a huntress.

That dusk the lion, who was now a huntress, waited in the tall grass for his own cub to be lulled by the sunset.

Learn more about this author, Sophia Lux.
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