The King of Grass Walls [Private: ImaniFaith and Amadeus]

[ImaniFaith]

Bahari moaned slightly, massaging his forehead as he regarded the grinning creature before him. "Of course we're not going to attack the rogue, you idiot! What do you take me for-- a simpleton?"

The scrawny lion put down the skull he had been toying with, and Bahari irritably punted it to the far side of the den, where it smacked against the wall and chipped. Why, why couldn't Zuzu deduce things on his own? Why must he always have to explain himself?!

"The girl, Zuzu!" He spoke slowly, drawing each word out so that it might better stick in the numbskull's tiny brain, "The... girl. But it has to be done carefully, and, if possible, without any violence."

This time, he didn't even wait for his companion to ask the question he knew would come, "After all, Zuzu, she's barely met this rogue, and she's more than a little nervous around him." His lips stretched into a serpantine smile, "Seeds of doubt can be easily planted...."

//

The sun dawned in a rich cascade of fiery orange and brilliant gold over the flaxen fields of Grass Walls. Surprisingly, Imani had woken up in time to see it come up over the horizon. After the tongue-lashing she'd gotten from her family (particularly one certain member...) the night before, she had been told that any future 'exploring exhibitions' were to be carried out in the morning or early afternoon. Thus, she would have to train herself to be an early riser.

As she made her way to her now only semi-secret water hole, a flutter of nervous anticipation stirred in her stomach. She prayed that the rogue hadn't taken off in the night; she had been looking forward to another lesson....

But, no! There he was, lying down by the shallow pool. Surprisingly, he didn't so much as flinch at the sound of her approach. For a moment, she feared the worst; but the smell of blood and death was not in the air. He was simply... sleeping.

A small chuckle escaped Imani, only to be replaced by a frown. She would have to wake Tenga up if she wanted to get any time in with him-- but would that be right? After all, he may not have been asleep long; or he might think she was sneaking up on him and attack her.

After a second's thought, she decided to at least try. If he didn't stir after she spoke to him, she would simply wait near the water hole until her time was up. He would probably come to on his own before then; at least, she hoped so.

Keeping her distance, she gently called, "Tenga? It's me... Imani."

[Baya]

Zuzu was extremely confused. How would they use the girl to get to the rogue? "Seeds of doubt? Will they grow into a tree of doubt and give us food! Sounds great!" Zuzu said with a look of awe on his face. He really didn't get what Bahari was after in this land. He was just told where they were going and not why. It actually didn't matter to Zuzu as he would do anything his boss asked him to do. His ears perked slightly as he sat up straight.

"You want to tell me how we going to uh...plant the seeds of doubt?" Zuzu asked with a confused expression on his face.

//

Tenga was having a great dream where he was in a land of great size and fertility. The grass was green and golden, animals were grazing and a pride was happily living near a large den. Though that dream quickly turned into a nightmare as the grass withered and died, the lionesses began to get sick and the animals left the land for greener pastures. Tenga was just a spectator to all this, and he wasn't sure what this was supposed to mean. It was when he heard a voice echoing around him did the land scape turn to pure darkness and he awoke.

"I-Imani?" Tenga muttered sleepily as he raised his head, his eyes still closed. Her soft voice was like none he had ever heard so it was quite easy to figure out that it wasn't just a trick of another rogue. Tenga opened his teal eyes slowly and looked to see Imani standing a bit ways far from him. A really good idea considering he would've taken a nudge or a nip as a sign of attack and lashed back.

"It's a bit early princess." Tenga said looking at the sun as it barely broke the horizon. He stretched with a loud yawn and looked to Imani. "You look well rested. I'm guessing the night was kind to you?" Tenga asked quietly. He wondered if she'd even want to learn how to fight today. He'd have to ask her before hand.

"So, feeling like learning how to fight today princess?" Tenga asked quietly, with no real expression as he walked alongside Imani.

[ImaniFaith]

"Why, by befriending her ourselves, of course!" Bahari answered gaily, then raised a brow, "And by 'ourselves', I mean, 'myself'. I have the sneaking suspicion that diplomacy is not your forte. Also, no, " He sighed, "I am not going to explain to you what 'diplomacy' means. Figure it out."

Sitting back on his haunches, Bahari pondered a while, "But when and how should I go about it? She's almost as skittish as the rest of her pride-- though certainly less xenophobic. After all, she gave the rogue the benefit of the doubt." Glancing to Zuzu, he smirked bitterly, "I would ask, 'Any ideas?', but I doubt I'd get an intelligible reply. No...." Pausing, he pursed his lips in frustration, "It seems as though I'll have to wait-- and watch-- for the perfect time."

//

Learn to fight. Imani had expecting something like that to come up in their lessons, but not so soon. Surprised as she was, she was also pleased. She had been wondering about how Tenga fought well enough to survive as long as he had on his own.

However, fully aware of her inherent clumsiness and lack of muscle, she found herself nervously smiling, "I would love to, but I'll warn you, I'm not very strong." When he merely looked her over with his imperceptible gaze, she added, "I'm sure you already knew that anyway, though."

The sun had fully risen over the horizon, and Imani breathed in the sweet morning air. It was still slightly cool, but the searing heat would come soon enough. Good thing they were starting so early. "But for what it's worth, I'll do my best."

[Baya]

Zuzu frowned slightly but nodded regardless. He had no clue what Bahari was going to do by befriending the enemy! Also, Zuzu was curious as to what made this lioness special over the others that Bahari would want to target her. As Zuzu pondered that he picked up the animal skull again and laid down on his back, throwing it in the air, and catching it between his paws over and over again. "Don't you think we'll need more help then just a weak little lioness? Do you like her or something Bahari?" Zuzu asked as he looked over to his boss.

//

Tenga looked to Imani as they walked for a bit then quickly looked forward when she looked back over at him. He was sure she caught him staring at her. That was not creepy at all (Sarcasm). "You are probably stronger then most rogue lionesses out there. You have some muscle, and a decent looking form. Don't be so quick to put yourself down." Tenga muttered quietly as he walked ahead. He didn't know where he would take her for training. Somewhere with soft ground most likely so that if she fell, she wouldn't hurt herself.

Tenga thought about it for a moment, and his eyes widened slightly as he realized what he said sounded a bit more intimate of a compliment. Though what was done was done. He couldn't say he takes it back because then he'd just offend her. He remained silent, sighing to himself at his stupidity. "O-Ok we can train here." Tenga said as he felt a soft patch of dirt below him. He looked around and noticed that the grass here was more "alive" then the other patches.

"Now, lets begin. First, I want you to pounce on me with all your strength and try to keep me down. Don't feel embarrassed if you can't do it, because I'm very experienced" Tenga said in a proud manner. He didn't know what to expect from the lioness since the first time she pounced on him he could not defend himself. Tenga also hoped he'd have the heart to repel her should she almost succeed because he had grown just a bit attached to her already.

[ImaniFaith]

A shudder ran through Barahi's stomach like ice water, and he whirled on his companion with a wide-eyed gape of shock and revulsion. How could Zuzu be so...? "Like her?" He croaked, "Like her? Are you out of your mind?!"

He thought about it for a second, "Don't answer that."

The scraggly lion continued to look at him in what, for Zuzu, approximated to an almost calculated fashion. It was more than a tad unsettling, "Zuzu, I, " How should he put this? "I don't like her. Or anyone. In any way. I don't even like you, but I'm sure you knew that already."

He thought about that for a second, also, "Or, perhaps not. The point is, she is not the enemy, she is merely aiding him. This 'Imani' is a crucial lifeline to her pride-- if we befriend her, we may possibly be able to befried them, which will make it much easier to get at their ailing-- and heirless-- king."

Another quaking feeling shook his stomach, and this time, he was far less surprised, "But let's speak of these things later, after we've eaten."

Smirking, he motioned for the small rogue to follow, "We'll need to be in top form when we meet her this evening."

//

Again, Imani was caught off-gaurd by Tenga's words-- this time, by the compliment: '--a decent looking form.' Still, she knew she should take it from whence it came. He was only talking about how her body would hold up in a battle... right?

She watched as he took his place on the grass, and wondered how she would ever go about pinning him. It comforted her a bit to know that he didn't expect her to get it right on the first try; she was sure she wouldn't.

'Alright,' She took a deep breath and crouched, 'here goes.'

Leaping, Imani landed atop Tenga with all her weight and pinned his front and back legs with her own. She had thought it to be a good move, but already she could feel his muscles moving beneath her as he began to rise. Sure enough, she slid off.

"Oops." She grinned sheepishly, embarrassed despite what he'd said, "Guess I'm not as strong as you thought, huh?"

[Baya]

Zuzu sighed as he took the verbal lashing from Bahari like he always did. Zuzu knew that deep down Bahari was only horrible to everyone because that was how he was treated as a rogue. Zuzu had the benefit of having Bahari as a teacher from a younger age so he really couldn't hate every like Bahari does. Though the reason Zuzu was not too offended about what Bahari had said was simply because if Bahari really hated him so much, why did he keep Zuzu around?

Zuzu chuckled as he continued to play with the skull. "So you are gonna meet her, plant the seed of doubt, and wait for stuff to happen? That doesn't seem like a very good plan." Zuzu murmured. Then another thought finally occurred to him. "Bahari, what are you after anyways?" Zuzu said as he missed the catch of the skull and it hit his forehead. Zuzu groaned slightly and rubbed the spot the skull hit with his paws.

//

Tenga was a bit surprised by her force, but not because he thought she was weak. The true reason for his surprise was that she had an easy opening to use to her advantage but she didn't take it. He would have to work with this girl alot before she could defend herself against other rogues.

Tenga pushed her off gently, looking to her with that same bold stare. "You have potential and strength. All you need now is the teachings and you could defend yourself against just about any rogue. The first mistake you made was going for a direct pin down. Try to trick your opponent before pouncing." Tenga said as he quickly hinted to her that he was going to pounce from the left, but instead he quickly pounced on her from the right.

Tenga looked down at her surprised face and couldn't help but grin. "Also, don't go for the throat because you won't always be accurate enough to hit them. Swipe their nose, their eyes or their ears. If you do that, the rogue might just give up and walk away." Tenga explained.

He stared into her eyes for a moment then got off her to let her try this time. "Now don't hold back on me. Pretend I'm a heartless mindless vicious rogue. Pretend that I was about to eat your cubs. Show me how you'd react to that." Tenga said as he set the scenario and waited for her to act it out. Though he couldn't help but think he wouldn't be able to hold off the lioness. Not because he was weak, but because he couldn't bear to strike if he she struck him.

[ImaniFaith]

"What am I after, Zuzu?" Bahari paused in the opening of the den, "How can you ask me that? I am after what any other self-respecting rogue is after-- a pride of my own!"

Frowing, he turned to leave... after all, breakfast was entirely overdue. Another thought weighed him down, however, and rooted him to the spot.

"...I always make light of your faults, " he muttered at last, "but what have I to say, really? I, who has never been able to prove myself to anyone... who am so weak that I must resort to lying and cheating to get what I want."

Glancing behind him, he saw that Zuzu was watching him just a bit too earnestly. He forced a laugh, "But that's all about to change! I'll turn that little brat against her new friend and become her friend in his stead. And as soon as she leads me close enough to that sorry excuse for a king, I'll take him out-- and take his pride!"

'And finally, ' He wanted to add, 'finally I will have that which I have craved for years...a kingdom of my own.'

//

Imani knew she could be fierce; the problem was, to be so, she also had to be very, very angry. Angry enough to turn on one of her own kind. This had happened only a paw-full of times, usually when her mother or a cub in the pride had been threatened or picked on. Once, even, when she herself was being ridiculed; but the strength and darkness of such anger had always left her feeling tainted afterward, as though she had crossed a line she should have avoided altogether.

Still, for the sake of the lesson, she closed her eyes to the fact that Tenga was, at least in her own mind, a friend. She had a vivid imagination, and used it to picture him poised over her own nonexistant cub, ready to snatch it in his great fangs. Surprisingly, she first felt a sense of overwhelming rage, followed almost immediately by a cold void of detatchment.

Opening her eyes, she focused on the rogue, and suddenly, he was just that-- a rogue. Still holding the image of the frightened cub in her mind, she felt fire burn through the icy void, and, roaring, she leapt toward him.

He dodged her once; she feigned left, then right-- and then, she saw the opening and pounced. This time, the lion was still able to avoid being pinned, but as she whirled again to face him, Imani brought her paw around in a hard 'SMACK' against his scarred cheek.

Time stopped. Her blood froze.

The image of the cub and the heartless rogue was stripped instantly away, and Imani saw her new friend, Tenga, alone... and she saw what she had done.

She had hit him. She had actually hit Tenga.

The part of her that was proud of her minor success was quickly drowned out by the horror of hurting him. "Tenga--" she gasped, "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

[Baya]

Zuzu listened intently at what his boss was looking for. Though his answer was a little displeasing. He just wanted a pride, and it was upsetting to see Bahari to talk about all his faults. Zuzu wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch, but he knew enough about self confidence to say that this was about alot more then just obtaining a pride for Bahari. The lion looked dumbly at his boss whilst he spoke the rest of his little soliloquy.

"Boss. How will you make her turn against that Tenga without him noticing huh? If he finds out what you did, he'll kill ya! That scar on his face was really ugly, and he's missing an ear! I'd hate to think what he did to the rogue that damaged him like that." Zuzu whimpered slightly.

Zuzu looked down for a moment with a bit of uncertainty on his face. Would Bahari let him stay in the pride if he ever got it? Or would he be banished for being as foolish as he was? Zuzu didn't want to ask Bahari yet. He wanted to help him first, and whatever happens happens. Zuzu figured he owed it to Bahari considering Bahari had helped him survive the harsh desert.

//

Tenga stared at her with caution as prepared to enter round two with the lioness. Now he gave her the motivation necessary to get a serious fight out of her. He crouched slightly and pounced on her attempting to pin her once more, but to his surprise she maneuvered out of the way and back handed him across the face. Tenga felt his mind go blank for a moment and his entire face go numb. He wasn't mad that she had hit him in the face, considering that was what the lesson was about. Damage.

The pain came when feeling came back to the rogue's face. She had definitely bruised his face. It was pulsing and aching just a bit as felt his jaw with his paw. Though the reason Tenga got angry a few moments after was not because she inflicted pain upon him. "Why did you stop? Continue! Keep fighting!" Tenga said sternly. He didn't like raising his voice at his friend, but he did it so she may learn. The last thing he wanted was to see her in harms way.

"Do you think a rogue would have mercy for you? For your cubs? For your mother, or your mate? They wouldn't stop after dealing one severe blow! They'd keep going! Let the lack of mercy be mutual!" Tenga said with a slight leer at his student and friend. Though he took a few deep breaths to calm down.

It wasn't like it was her fault that she stopped after striking him. She wasn't used to fighting under his conditions. The closest she got to a real fight could've been with other friends in her pride, for fun.

"I'm sorry for lashing out at you like that. I just don't want you to feel sorry for your opponent. Though I am proud. You did very well to maneuver on your first lesson." Tenga murmured quietly. He felt just a bit more respect for her, and a bit more admiration. She was surprising him more and more everyday.

[ImaniFaith]

Bahari raised a brow. For once, Zuzu had a legitimate concern. "We'll have to do it gradually, of course...." he said slowly, "Make it look as though it's her idea to abandon him-- and hers alone."

Zuzu was right, though... shockingly. Bahari would have to be extremely careful in his dealings with the young lioness, for it seemed as though the rogue had taken a liking to her. A small smirk twitched the corners of his mouth. For such a strong and battle-scarred creature, he certainly had a soft spot for the female persuasion. This was where Bahari had the upper hand-- or paw, rather. "And if that doesn't work, we'll simply eliminate her, and frame him for it. Either way, though, I'll need to intoduce myself to her pride... and run the risk of his anger."

His companion continued to stare at him, and finally Bahari's patience dissolved completely. He stalked over to the tiny rogue and snatched the skull from his paws, throwing it out of the den, "Get up, Zuzu! I've explained enough to you for now! It's time to hunt-- unless you want us to starve?"

As the lion clambered to its feet behind him, he muttered, "Don't worry, my simple-minded friend. All will be revealed soon enough... when I set the plan in motion."

//

"I wouldn't feel sorry for my opponent." The words came out before she even thought about them, and Imani blinked in surprise. It was true, though; she knew instinctively that it was. "I felt sorry for hurting you."

She didn't dare speak aloud what she had experienced only seconds before, however. She rarely gave herself over to the total power rage provided; for though it had proven useful, it also made her realize that she was really only a few small steps away from becoming something she did not want to be.

If a rogue had indeed been attacking her cub, she was certain she would have gone all the way-- to the death. But even with the most vivid imagination possible, she could not make Tenga into such an enemy. "And... don't worry about it."

Truthfully, Imani was startled that he had apologized to her in the first place. She was beginning to feel more at ease with him, and almost smiled to think that she had believed him to be so horrible when they'd met. Still, she knew he was someone she wouldn't want to run afoul with, and she pitied anyone who ever had.

Cautiously, she walked up beside him and sat down, "Thank you again, Tenga, for training me. I promised I'd do my best, and I will... but I don't like hurting you, even if it is part of the lesson. You're my teacher, I know; but you're also my friend."

[Baya]

Tenga looked to her as she she spoke, his teal eyes sparkling with slight curiosity. She really considered him a friend? Something Tenga had denied having all his life? It was clear now that he wouldn't leave this land because it held the only thing dear to him. His one and only friend, Imani.

Tenga smiled a bit as she thanked him for the training. "You don't need to thank me. I'm training you so you can survive. I don't want to see you die. I've felt too much pain like that already." Tenga murmured as his eyes narrowed slightly.

The rogue stretched a bit, and looked to Imani. "So, what else do you want to do? It's not good to cramp all your day full of training. Recreation is what'll divide a strong pride lioness from a rogue." Tenga explained. He figured they could go on a bit of a walk through the land. He began to walk, and expected her to follow. He wanted to get to know Imani better.

"So, do you have a mother and father?" Tenga asked. He would explain to her his situation after she explained to him her's. However, Tenga wasn't really expecting a straight answer if she was an orphan.