[PRIVATE] A Rogue's Light

[Skittakallista]

Auni ran to Imani's side but wasn't sure what to do. If he tryed to fight Ra, he could infuriate her and she certainly wasn't herself. And if he just stood there she would kill Imani, for she was calling her traitor. And thten there was Tanga, trying to go one on one with his parents murderer, though Neru was also there too. Think yiu fool! He thought furiously. For once in your life use your mind and THINK!

"Ra." He said, meaning to distract her. "Ra! It's us! Your friends! Auni, Tanga, Imani, she's your sister! Come back to us Ra..." He put his paws on her chest and pushed her front off Imani, but gentally.

[VitanisMate]

Mufalfa looked at the spectacle around him. He looked at the scrawny coward. "I enjoyed it when I heard your parents' bones crack against my ferocious power!" He then saw Ra take on Imani but then saw Auni push her off. He said to Ra, "Remember that fool held down your parents while Imani killed them! Show him no mercy! Destroy him!"

Mufalfa then came to the scrawny coward and told him, "Come on kill me now but then you would be killing a father of a cub would you not?" He smiled trying to get Tanga to understand. "Ra and I had some tender moments." He laughed.

[Nakisisa]

"Get off me" Ra growled, biting at the lions neck, and slapping his face. "Leave me and the Murder alone" Ra growled, turning back to her sister. "Answer Me!" Ra shouted, "How does it feel?" She growled at her 'sister'

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga's gaze shifted to focus on Mufalfa. "You what?" Just when he thought this situation could not get any more complex, it did. If Mufalfa was telling the truth, then cubs were just beginning to grow inside Ra, with Mufalfa the father.

But the information did little more than fuel Tanga's already-powerful indecision. His desire for revenge was strong, but he did not have the brute strength to take on Mufalfa in a head-on fight...and as much as he was aware of the lion's murderous ways, the latest declaration had what Tanga was sure was Mufalfa's intentions; it forced him to back down. He had lost his parents far too early in his life, he would not do the same thing to Ra's unborn cubs.

On the other end, Imani was still trapped under Ra's paws, and the lioness was convinced that all three of them were murderers for some reason. And Tanga knew that in her new, brainwashed state, she believed Imani was mostly to blame for it.

The situation chased itself in circles in Tanga's head, and he was left unsure of what to do. "Ra...please," he pleaded. "Don't you remember this morning? Your sister's not a murderer...and none of us ever even knew your parents! Please remember the truth, please!" He did not want to do anything he would later regret, but Tanga knew that, if Ra did not calm down soon, he would be forced to hurt her. She was not herself, and he was sure that the old Ra would have wanted him to fight her to keep Imani from getting hurt.

[Nakisisa]

"Fools" Ra muttered, placing a claw on Imani's neck. "You have three seconds to back away, before I slit her throat" Ra growled. "1..." she said looking at her mate, seeing happiness on his face. "2..." she growled looking at Imani, seeing Fear on her face. "3..." He said looking at The Lions, unsure of the emotions on their faces. "So where do you stand?" Ra asked angily, pusshing on Imanis neck for emphesis.

[AustralianChaos]

As the countdown ended, Tanga snapped. He had spent this entire day trying to talk various lions out of fighting each other, and they weren't listening. And seeing Imani being threatened was the final straw. He knew he was probably making on of the stupidest decisions of his life, but Imani's look of helpless terror was too much...he had to act. Revenge did not matter any more, he had a friend, and he would protect her with his own life if he had to now.

Acting purely on adrenaline and instinct, Tanga's first strike was nothing more than simple swipe of his paw, knocking Ra's paw, currently poised over Imani's throat, safely away from the young lioness. The very instant Imani was not in immediate danger, he crouched back and pounced, tackling Ra and sending the two of them tumbling off of Imani. "Imani, go!" he yelled as he wrestled with Ra, praying his friends would take his cue and run for safety.

"Please, Ra," he pleaded, "Don't do this. You know the truth...I know you do! Somewhere, deep down, you still remember us. Please, Ra, I'm begging you...just come back to us." He was on the verge of another breakdown, being forced to fight his friend's own sister to save them all, but adrenaline kept his emotions in check. He had to stay together...he had to protect Imani.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

Imani let out a choked growl as she had herself on the ground under her sister who wasn't even present as far as the lioness was concerned. What was wrong with her sibling? She wasn't even acting like Ra did at all. Was she even Ra in the first place? As far as she was concerned, she could never kill a lion or lioness even it if were to save a life of herself or someone else, but she wasn't planning on killing Ra.

"Stop telling me my fate!" She roared, raising her paw up with her claws drawn out and smacked her paw across the lioness's cheek quick and strong. Sending 'Ra' off her, she got to her feet and pushed her over into a tree, making sure she was knocked out before she faced Mulfalfa. "You did this to her! YOU'RE FINISHED!" She screamed, lunging at the lion.

The cream lioness got to his face before he could move and slit her claws down in his eyes, taking away his sight in one eye. Lucky for her, and she staggered back with the others. What was she to do now? Was she to stay and await her fate, or was she to escape with the others and make sure they were alright for the time until they formulated a plan to get them out of this situation.

The younger sibling came back to her senses. And once she did, she layed her eyes on the scene in front of her, looking to Mulfalfa's loss of sight, Ra's unconcious body, and the others around her. The lioness backed away slowly, but eventually she turned foot and galloped away from the sights she had caused for the group. She just ran. She didn't pay attention to where she was going she just wanted to get out of there as fast as she could so she could at least gain back her true self and calm down from everything that seemed to be crashing into her all at once.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga had never noticed Imani lash out at Ra at the same time he did, and by the time he noticed Ra was unconscious once more, he turned just in time to see Imani's scream at Mufalfa, and her claws slash across the lion's eye.

Tanga wanted to move back by her side once again, but suddenly found himself slightly afraid of the creamy brown lioness. When she was angry, she was ferocious, and Tanga was afraid of approaching her, lest he accidentally set her off himself.

But then Tanga saw her expression change, and knew that she was going to run off again. knowing that Ra was unconscious, and Auni was most likely in mild shock at everything that had just transpired, Tanga realised that, once again, everything lay on his paws. As Imani ran off, Tanga launched himself at Mufalfa, shoving him off his feet to stop any plans he might have of chasing Imani himself dead in their tracks, before once more chasing after Imani...showing a rare stubbornness in his determination to follow his promise to Ra.

But was it just the promise? As Tanga followed Imani at a distance, he reflected on everything that had happened that day, and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. The promise simply was not enough to make him so protective of her, so willing to put his own safety on the line for her. He put together the various factors, and suddennly a strange question rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind.

Was Ra's vague suggestion true? Was he actually falling in love with Imani?

He quickly dismissed the idea. He had only just met Imani, how could he possibly be in love with her. She was a friend...a good friend...right? The questions and doubts chased each other around Tanga' mind, leaving him wondering how his life had gone from lonely and dull to clutterred and overwhelming in such a short space of time.

But even as he followed Imani, his questions were erased as he realised he was instinctively keeping his distance from her, trying to avoid being spotted. He was determined to watch over her, but at the same time, he was now afraid of her. She had shown a different side of herself in that fight just then, and he was afraid of that side of her turning on him...which he was certain would happen if she caught him.

So why was he following her again? Because, he realised, even if he wasn't in love with her, the fact remained that, with their friendship, and his promise to Ra, he knew that, one way or another, Imani was his life now. If he was forced to go back to a solitary life, he would be taking his own claws to his own throat, and rejoining his parents in whatever world lay beyond death.

Then the inevitable happened. So lost in his thoughts, Tanga was startled to his sense by a loud snap as he crush a twig under his paw. He instantly froze, knowing the loud noise must have carried to Imani's ears. But did he want to avoid her? Stepping on the twig may have been accidental, but there was a part of him that wanted Imani to notice him, even if it risked him becoming the latest victim of her fury.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

She heard the snap, and thinking it was either Mulfalfa or Ra, she hissed and turned her head, landing her angry and demonic eyes on the lion whom she didn't think would follow. "Tanga" she sighed out, her lip uncurling and her eyes going back to their cub-like nature. She turned her body around and looked at him. "Sorry about that. I thought you were...well, I thought you were Ra or Mulfalfa" she admitted.

The lioness kept her distance from the lion, unsure of why she didn't just go up to him. He was one of the only lions she felt safe with at the moment of her life where life was turning on her, seemingly. She just let him know with her eyes and half-hearted smile that she was not going to hurt him and she was happy to see him.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga flinched, almost running at the very sight of Imani in a firey rage. But when she spoke his name, she was much calmer, and Tanga actually heaved a very audible sigh of relief.

The two of them sat there, in a wierd, passive stand-off, as Tanga tried to figure out what he wanted to say, now that she knew he was there. "Uhh..." What! his mind raged at him. That's it?!? That's all you can come up with? His shyness was back in full force. "Look, uh...I'm...I'm sorry I attacked your sister, and for following you all the time, but..." What could he say that did not make him sound like an idiot? In the end, nothing came to mind, and he firmly shut his mouth, making sure he avoided saying anything stupid, by simply not saying anything at all.

He tried to convey to her that he was sorry for everything that he was doing, and that circumstance was giving him little choice. But the effect was ruined by a huge, gaping yawn, reminding him just how late it was.

After quickly looking around to ensure they neither Mufalfa or Ra had chased them down yet, he settled himself more comfortably on the grass, before finally flopping over on his side, letting out a heavy sigh. "By the stars, today's been wierd!" he exclaimed from the ground as he looked up at the stars, once again remembering the stories about the Kings of the Past. He rolled onto his back so he could observe them better, wondering if his parents were up there somewhere, looking down on him.

He frowned as the thought brought him little comfort. How would they feel about him now? How they be happy for how he had managed to live on without them...or would they be angry that he had lived while they had died and...for the second time today, been unable to avenge their deaths. "I miss you, guys," he whispered to the heavens, wondering if they could hear him. "I want you back."