Night was rarely quiet in the grasslands surrounding the Heart. Moonless but still the flickering orange of the fires shed light on the grasses, the occasional flash of a set of eyes a mere hint of the creatures hiding where a full grown horse might. Chattering could be heard from all over, animals without the need to hibernate through Frostfall because of the warmth provided, and stranger noises still beyond those.

But they all quieted when the cackling started. It was low and distant at first, a warning of what would come, and it grew quickly. They raced over the grass, streaking figures of black smoke drawn to the light of the fire - their raucous laughter echoing through the flat landscape and down into the caves below.

They had a prize.

In one dripping mouth was carried an egg, a solid rich tan, muffling the laughter of its bearer. It hadn’t been easy to snatch away this egg, the other two they had sought had been dropped and smashed in the process. The displeasure of the loss was displayed by the smoking teeth and claw marks on the two smaller hyenas, the wounds billowing a deep red smoke. But at least they had this prize, this one small feast to celebrate the slaying of the lions in their den. The yellow eyes of the leader flashed in the firelight as she laid it down on the earth, nudging it roughly with her muzzle before laughing with her brothers.

In the light of the Heart they were incorporeal, nothing but shimmering figures as they danced around the prize to the sound of their malicious laughter.

She found herself in a strange land far south of the only somewhat familiar lands of the Edge.  The grasses were quiet, only lightly buffeted by the cold wind, and the whole land was cast in a strange glow as if the sun was trying to break back through the horizon many hours premature.
 
It was only then that she heard them.  It hadn’t stood out as unusual to her at first because the sound was familiar.  But that was exactly why it didn’t belong.  The eerie laughter snaked through the grasses, and Tsavo whirled instinctively, seeking the source. 
 
They were unlike anything the lioness had ever seen – not the hyenas from the plains – but creatures draped in shadows.  The only thing that seemed corporal was the egg held in the jaws of one of the creatures, its shell unmistakably solid and smooth.  No, she thought, though she wasn’t sure what inspired such a response.  However part of her knew that these creatures simply could not be allowed to keep the egg.  Before she could rationalize, she was moving.
 
She lowered her skull and charged the beasts, overcome by fury and an instinct she could only assume was something akin to a maternal impulse.  The rage thrummed through her veins, pouring life into her muscles, until everything seemed to explode in a shower of fury.  And then she was flying, detached from her body in all by spirit, tethered to the earth by anger and instinct alone.  In an instant, bones shifted and rearranged and her voice from her throat emerged a predatory growl.  She staggered, uncertain and dazed, and struggled to get her bearings.
 
Where she had once had hooves she now had great paws with claws.  Her equine body was now leonine; her flat teeth replaced with sharp canines.  Her vision had improved dramatically, and even in the low light cast by the strange underground glow, she could see every move the shadow creatures made in the low light.
 
The lioness had become her namesake.
 
She lashed out at the shadow beasts with unblemished claws - wondering if they would find purchase or pass through the shadow.  She focused her attention on the one holding the egg, doing her best to startle (or maul) the creature hoping that it would surrender its prize.

The horses that populated this land were of little consequence to the hyenas as they continued their celebration - and their debate about how they would split up the egg. They had been quarrelling amongst themselves when they noticed her - the mare. What was she to them? Nothing but an earth-bound beast. They ignored her cries of fury, returning to their game as they tried to snatch the egg away from each other and growl their arguments over who got the first bite. That is, they ignore her until she shifted. A lion. A ripple of fear passed through the hyena pack, their shadowy forms billowing in uncertainty before the leader snapped them to attention.

They had fought other lionesses tonight and they had won, what was one more? The two smaller hyenas moved towards her as she had stumbled around dazed after the transformation, their laughter growing cruel as they danced about. What a pitiful predator! The lions were not kings here…

Their goading did not last long. The lioness struck, and though they were made of shadow they were not invincible. Red smoke marked the areas she struck with her massive claws, raking along their smoke-skin and causing howls of pain. These two ran off with no more fight in them - shrieking as they streaked back over the grass to find somewhere they could lick their wounds.

Infuriated by the loss of the upper-hand the greater numbers gave them, the larger hyena swirled around the egg - moving it roughly to and fro as she teased the lioness. Did she know what was hidden in the egg? That it was one of her own.

This hyena snapped back at the lioness, forgetting her prize, the laughter dead and snarls coming in its place as she tries to think her way out of this corner. A swipe to her face with the lioness’s claws was what finally determined her actions. With a roar of anger and pain, she abandoned the fight followed her pack - streaking black and red smoke behind her as she fled. Leaving behind the brown egg, warmed by the glow of the Heart.

This body was strange, but it responded as if it was always hers.  She was always meant to be this way – to fight with teeth and claws.  It was a graceful dance between predator and scavenger though in this case predator had become rescuer.
 
She didn’t know what she was rescuing, had no idea of the implications of her actions, she just knew that she must act.  She whirled, she struck, she pounced – she ravished in the things that this body was capable of that she could never dream of accomplishing in he equine form.  Snarls flowed freely from her throat coming as natural as any words ever have. 
 
The dance doesn’t last long.  Two fled, and the egg was dropped. Only one remained. Blue eyes narrowed, Tsavo growled her distaste before swiping at the face of the creature now that the egg was out of harms way. The hyena fled – ever a coward – to join its brethren in shame.  The lioness stood protectively over the abandoned egg, panting.  The fight had been exhausting, yet she never felt more alive than she did at this moment. 
 
Was this the attraction of this Helovia?  This magic?  This physical expression of her inner potential? 
 
Before her musings could take her any further, she remembered the egg.  She sat (another strange sensation) next to the abandoned egg, wondering what to do with the thing next.  Gently, she turned it over, examining to see if the hyenas had managed to damage it at all.  She breathed a small sigh of relief when she could not make out any imperfections in the shell.  Relief was short lived, however, when the egg gave a jolt and a great fracture split the whole face of the egg nearly in two.
 
No, she gasped, thinking that she’d freed the egg for nothing.  But then it rocked again, unaided this time. 
 
Oh, she breathed, realizing that it wasn’t broken it was hatching.  After only a few moments a paw emerged from the smooth shell, quickly followed by a second.  When the hatchling righted itself there was, scattered among bits of broken eggshell and wearing one particularly large piece of eggshell as a sort of hat, a tiny lion.  A lioness.
 
Like her. 
 
Tsavo gently brushed off the errant piece of shell and was surprised to find that when she made contact with the little thing, pleasure blossomed in her own stomach.  And it wasn’t the only thing.  With a little squeak, the newborn lion made its way unsteadily to its feet and looked expectantly up at Tsavo – the little one’s big yellow eyes meeting Tsavo’s blue ones.
 
“Well then.  Lets get you fed.” she said to the little one, soothingly.