Nothing in the Universe

Chapter 1: Happily Ever After?

Laval's golden-amber eyes cracked open, still warm and sleepy. He rubbed his crusty eyes and ran a hand through his mussed-up mane.

What happened last night? He'd crashed pretty hard -- did Longtooth and/or Lo-Katar bring him home?

He felt so warm and comfortable. Had Lo-Katar given him extra blankets (or at least the thicker ones)?

Rubbing his eyes, Laval's senses cleared in a moment as he took in his surroundings.

His own room. In the Lion Temple palace. What in the name of Cavora was he doing in the palace of all places?

His thoughts raced for a moment before he officially processed what happened.

The ball. The Thunderan attack. Leonitarus' revelation. His cover being blown. Leonitarus' arrest. Being reunited with his real father. Saying goodbye to.....

"Lion-O," Laval whispered as if the Lion he'd known for his whole life would materialize in front of him. Good Cavora, it hadn't been 24 hours and Laval missed him. It was like half his life was gone and he didn't know why.

He sat up, surveying the room again. The room that the king has shown him to last night. Apparently, it had been his room when he was a little cub. Lagr--Dad had said that, with the exception of the bed, nothing in Laval's room had been changed since he dreamed that Laval would come back.

Was he sure Laval's new life wasn't a dream?

Laval swung his legs off the bed, feet padding across the stone floor and rugs until he reached the windows.

The early morning wind kissed Laval's muzzle as the dawn broke, orange and pink fading into blue. Laval loved sunrises because they always represented promise. Hope for a better day.

He closed his eyes, soaking it in. The air was sweet with blossoms and crisp with fruit growing somewhere in the Gorilla Forest. Back in the Outlands, the air felt stale and dry, with the only smells consisting of whatever could drift in from over the mountains.

A shudder ran down Laval's spine. He hoped he'd never have to go back to the Outlands again. Never.

Well, no sense in delaying anything. Time to start the day.

He approached the wardrobe and pulled it open, gently taking out the articles of clothing.One armored kilt with dark blue trim. One sleeveless light blue shirt with a strap across the front. A slightly fancier belt. One navy blue cape. A gold harness. Two knee-pads with a golden Lion symbol. His crown sat on his nightstand.

Shrugging, Laval pulled on the clothing, taking great care to see to it his shirt was tucked in properly and the harness plates as level as a ruler. Leonitarus despised it when nothing was extremely neat and tidy, this applying to clothing as well.

He paused open reaching for his crown. He knew he'd need it, but the idea of the gold headpiece just didn't feel right. Yet.

He took his blue crown, the one he wore as Levi, and shoved it into his disheveled mane. After careful examination of his outfit, he made a diagnosis.

Adequate. The same word Leonitarus would use when he examined Laval's outfit in the morning. Never "amazing" or "perfect" or even a "nicely done". It was always "adequate" or "close enough" or "it'll do". Unlike Lion-O, who got nothing but "perfect" and "exceptional".

"Why can't you ever be like your brother? Lion-O at least knows what he's doing. He's one in a million. You, on the other hand, are just one of a million."

Laval shook his head to remove the patronizing thought. As he quickly straightened his fiery locks, he caught sight of the workout dummy next to him. He shyly smiled. "Uh, hi? I mean, I guess you're my personal dummy if I need to take out some rage and just want to punch something a lot." A smile blossomed at his lips. "Guess I'll call you Sir Punch-a-Lot, if that's okay."