"Roars and Roses: The Wild Tale of Love"

Leo, the self-proclaimed "King of Every Single Thing," dwelt in the center of the African savannah beneath a golden sunset sky. Leo dominated the plains with pride—and a bit too much attitude—thanks to his enormous mane and loud voice.

No, he wasn't a nasty lion. He was a theatrical one, though.

He would yell, "Silence!" if a bird chirped too loudly. He would demand, "Bow!" if a gazelle met his eyes. Because it messed up his mane, he once attempted to postpone the rainy season. Leo was that type of lion, indeed.

But the day Luna entered his life, everything was different.

From the Eastern region came Luna, a lioness with a sardonic smile and a serene gaze. She was elegant, fierce, and possessed a wit that could have cut Leo's pride in half.

“I am Leo, the King of Roars and the Duke of Danger!” Leo yelled as he strode toward her on their first meeting.

Luna gave a blink. "And my name is Luna, the Not-Impressed Queen."

The other creatures let out a gasp.

In shame, Leo's mane fluffed up. "Pardon me? You dare to treat the King disrespectfully?

She gave a yawn. "I've seen more authoritative squirrels."

The war was on.

Leo used every possible tactic to win Luna over for weeks. He wrestled a crocodile (and got stuck in a tree), chased zebras in zigzag patterns, and even penned a poem called "Roar Me Maybe."

Luna, however, was unconvinced.

One evening, while they were sitting under a baobab tree, she finally exclaimed, "You're funny." "However, being loud does not equate to bravery."

Leo was struck harder by those comments than by any rival's claw. He started to think for the first time in his life as a prince.

Then the unimaginable occurred one rainy night. There was a wildfire in the arid grasslands. No lion could ever match the roar of the flames.

Panic broke out.

The animals ran. The birds ran away. The heat caused tree cracks.

A newborn elephant got stuck in a ditch in the midst of it all.

Leo was the first to notice.

"Run!" his instincts cried.

However, Luna's words—"Being loud isn't the same as being brave"—repeated in his head.

Leo rushed into the flames without thinking. He shouted, not in arrogance but in warning, even though his mane and claws were burning. Others were led away from danger by his speech. Just before the fire consumed the area, he used his claws to dig a trench and assisted the calf in climbing out.

Luna rushed to him when he came back, sweating and coated in ash.

"You succeeded," she muttered. "You showed courage."

Coughing and with watery eyes (from the smoke, he said), Leo gazed at her. "Have I... impressed you at last?"

Luna grinned. "A little."

Everything changed after that day.

Leo began to lead with compassion instead of yelling for attention. He couldn't help but have dramatic flare, but now he did it with passion.

Luna, too? She never left his side, always telling him when he was doing foolishly.

Leo attempted to name a waterfall after himself one afternoon.

"Leo Falls," he said.

Luna joked, "It'll fall harder than your ego."

They laughed, or at least Luna did. Leo pretended he wasn't harmed, laughed, and then pouted for an hour.

They became the most popular couple in the savannah. Their affection was genuine, unfiltered, and replete with amusing arguments.

At one point, they quarreled over who had captured a rabbit.

"You simply kept staring at it until it gave up!" Leo yelled.

"That's known as psychological hunting," Luna said with pride.

Years went by. The legend of the lions spread throughout the plains as the grass grew and cubs were born.

Leo laid his head next to Luna one evening while the stars were twinkling overhead and fireflies were dancing like little lanterns.

He said, "You know, I used to be the King of Roars."

"And now?" Luna nuzzled him and asked.

"I am now merely the monarch who roared excessively, fell in love, and eventually quieted down long enough to listen."

Luna laughed. "I can love a king like that."

Two souls, wild, wise, and beautifully strange, together forever, the lion and lioness fell asleep beneath the night sky, their love and laughter merging into the breeze.