[Private] Kiarasmate and Kivuli

[Baya]

"I ain't touching THAT. Desert fever isn't contagious but that cub is filthy." Nuka said as he itched his side now with a grunt of frustration. Ayari was delusional at this point, but that gave him some confidence. He didn't care how tough that other cub was or how big the scruffy male was. He was just glaring at the two.

"You don't smell too good from where I'm standing either!" Ayari said as he staggered again, his eyes barely open anymore. His eyelids were drooping, and he was close to blacking out. Nuka growled slightly.

"I could always just end his misery right here. Maybe if I kill this brat, mother might see me in a new light." Nuka growled as he walked towards the cub. At that point however Ayari's eyes closed and he fell over blacking out. Nuka snorted as he quickly walked over to where the cub lay, and poked his body. He was flaming hot.

"Wow. Really high fever." Nuka murmured. "Maybe if we save his sorry hide, mother can find a use for him." Nuka pointed out, and a grin spread on his face. If this cub grew up to be a great warrior of some sort then he would get all the glory of finding him in the first place! Nuka quickly grabbed the cub by the scruff in his mouth and began to run towards the termite den. His eyes twitched from the bites of termites, but he kept running pretty sure that Vitani was following close after.

[KiarasMate]

Taking another look back over her shoulder as she had already begun to make her way back to the looming termite mound to which The Outlanders called home, Vitani noticed that Nuka had picked up the new arrival and was rapidly approaching to where she was. Adopting a cheeky grin, Vitani waited for her older brother to catch up to her before she resumed where she had left off previously, verbally tormenting her brother who wouldn’t be able to retaliate with a mouth full of cub.

”Aww, look at you Nuka. Such a caring lioness you are.”

Snickering deviously, Vitani bounded ahead of her brother, looking forward to what she knew was sure to happen once the two of them arrived back home. Being the first to reach the entrance to the distasteful looking abode, Vitani made absolute certain not to make any unnecessary noise as she disappeared into the heart of the termite mound.

Letting her eyes adjust to the dim environment around her now, Vitani spotted her mother, who was deep in conversation with the other Outland lionesses, her younger half brother caught in the middle of the huddle of furry bodies. Waiting for Nuka to show his face and almost relishing in her own revelry, Vitani whispered in a mocking voice to Nuka.

”Well, there she is. Go and interrupt her.”

Backing off a few paces, jus to separate herself from the soon to be guilty party, Vitani took a seat near one of the decaying walls of their unsavory quarters, waiting for the sparks to fly as she looked from her older brother, then to her mother and back again, a gleeful smile plastered upon her little muzzle.

[Baya]

Nuka whimpered slightly, really not wanting to interrupt his mother of all people. The last thing he needed was another excuse for his mother to hate his guts. He put the cub to the floor, and began itching himself some more really waiting for the conversation to finish. Though it was a long ways away from being over so Nuka finally cleared his throat, taking small steps towards his mother.

"Mother? Mooooother?" Nuka said in a very high pitched tone. "Mother? Momma...Momma...Momma..." Nuka kept on saying, knowing that eventually he'd get her attention.

Meanwhile Ayari had been cooling down slightly since he was taken out of the sun. He felt the cold stone of the den floor, and also the tickling feeling of having termites walking over his paws. He wasn't exactly awake at this point, just resting.

[KiarasMate]

Being quite wrapped up in talking strategy with her fellow lionesses, Nuka’s pleas went unnoticed until his voice reached the point to which Zira herself couldn’t filter him out from her own voice, resulting in her to turn around and glare suspiciously at her oldest of kin as she addressed him in a bothersome voice.

”Yes Nuka, what is it? Can’t you see that I’m busy here?”

Observing from a far, even Vitani herself found her eyes drifting away from the scene in front of her, secretly avoiding the chance encounter with her mother’s stare, less she be on the receiving end of the verbal scolding that her older brother was now enduring. Momentarily distracted by the young male cub’s subtle movement, Vitani found her gaze settled upon him once more as she continued to ease drop over her mother and brother’s conversation, just waiting for Nuka to try and pit the blame of the situation upon her, which she knew would probably happen.

[Baya]

"Well you see mother, I was patrolling the outlands like you told me to, and watching over Vitani, when I came across that little cub." Nuka said pointing with his paw towards the unconscious Ayari. "I wanted to kill him, and Vitani begged me not to, so I brought him here to see what YOU wanted to do with the brat." Nuka said, lying through his teeth like a snake. He scratched his chin, waiting for his mother's response and reaction.

Ayari stirred slightly in his sleep and crushed a termite under his paw in annoyance. They were disrupting the only rest he got in days!

[KiarasMate]

Vitani was about to speak up in her own defense but catching sight of her mother’s cold stare, she fell silent before any words could leave her muzzle. Without even a second glance to Nuka, Zira made her way past her kin until she stood, towering above the bundle of fur that lay pathetically upon the ground. Taking a moment to inspect the cub, Zira turned to face Nuka as she addressed him in a irritated fashion.

”He better not be carrying some disease Nuka and I would have expected you to use your better judgment rather than to be swayed by your younger sister’s pleas.”

Turning her focus back to the young cub, zira roughly pawed the lifeless looking cub as she spoke down upon him in a firm voice.

”On your paws Cub. I want you to state your name and where you came from and I strongly advise you to tell the truth, as your life depends on your next words, so choose them wisely.”

Ejecting her razor sharp claws to show that she meant what she had said, Zira waited for a response from the weakened male as she noticed Vitani’s look of concern out of the corner of her eye.

[Baya]

Ayari woke up with a start, his blue eyes wide open. He looked up to the scary lioness towering over him. He gulped as she issued a death threat, something he was quite familiar with. "M-My name is Ayari. I-I come from lands very far from here. I'm sorry if I intruded on your lands. I'll make my way out now." Ayari said stepping back slowly. Nuka quickly blocked the young cubs path.

"You won't go anywhere unless my mother orders you to do so." Nuka growled. Ayari didn't like what position he was in. He was being threatened on two fronts. Oh how he wished his father would bound in, and save him right now! That thought made him remember how lonely he was, and how he had not much to live for. His fear left him, and he glared at Nuka. He turned to Zira.

"I'm a rogue. I have no where to go. I just happened to pass by your lands..." He said in a more confident tone. Nuka snorted, and then burst out in hysterics.

"You? A ROGUE? Don't flatter yourself! Aha!" Nuka said in between his laughs.

[KiarasMate]

Zira listened to Ayari’s weak voice, although she felt no remorse towards the lone cub’s situation however, his sudden change in attitude did spark her curiosity as she lowered her fore paw and brought one of her talon like claws to rest gently against the small cub’s jugular before she replied in a judgmental tone.

”I’ll admit it Rogue Ayari, you have character. Tell me though, why should I spare your life, hmm? It’s clear that you did trespass upon my lands and unless you can give me a justified reason on why I shouldn’t slit your throat right here and now, I’d do so right away.” Zira stated, tickling the jagged point of her claw a bit harder against the young cub’s neckline.

Knowing full well that the mere act of infanticide wouldn’t be below her mother’s morals, Vitani felt compelled to speak up on behalf of Ayari, who seemed to be still weighing the situation within his own mind, or so Vitani could perceive from the look in his eyes. Unable to find the right words to say however, Vitani found herself lost in the young male’s gaze. For a split second, she saw her own reflection within his stare, causing her to speak up without thinking.

”Mother, don’t kill him. He could, help us, um, take over The Pride Lands. If he was strong enough to last this long on his own, just think what you could mold him into.”

Quickly biting her tongue as she knew that speaking out of turn was a sure fire way to evoke the more unpleasant side of her mother, Vitani swallowed hard as she scanned Zira’s facial expression for any signs of malice. Fortunately for the youngster, her words had actually registered properly within Zira’s twisted mind. Slowly retracting her claw from against Ayari’s throat, Zira gazed down upon the young male, as if to contemplate whether or not her own daughter’s words held any validity to them. Making direct eye contact with Ayari, Zira’s cold stare seemed to pierce the young cub’s very being as she inquired in a commanding voice.

”Well, if it isn’t your lucky day now Ayari. Perhaps my little Vitani has a point. You have managed to scrape by this long and maybe there just might be a use for you after all. So, what say you? Care to pledge your allegiance to myself and The Outlanders, or would you rather take my previous invitation for a one way ticket to the afterlife?”

[Baya]

Ayari was confused as to why the mean girl cub he met earlier saved his neck, but he was also very thankful of that. He looked up at Zira fearfully, knowing that this would end his life as a rogue. "Y-Yes. I'll be yours to command." Ayari said quietly, with a sort of shaky tone. Nuka looked bewildered at what Vitani and Zira had just said.

"Join us!? This runt of a cub? He couldn't even last in the sun out there, for all we know he COULD just be a pride lander that wandered away and is lying now to save his neck!" Nuka said, not liking the idea of having another pupil for Zira to give all her attention to.

"I'm not a pride lander! I told you I'm a rogue! That's the title everyone called me by!" Ayari said bitterly towards Nuka. For a young cub, he sure had alot of bottled up angst.

"Wait, what have these pride landers done to you?" Ayari asked Zira wearily.

[KiarasMate]

A low growl emanated from Zira’s throat as she shot Nuka an icy cold stare, signaling for him to hold his tongue or face further actions. Placing a fore paw atop Ayari’s small frame, roughly maneuvering him so that the young cub was facing towards her oldest of kin, Zira snapped back in response.

”That would be just like those soft hearted Pridelanders to lose track of one of their own, but take a good long look at this cub Nuka and ask yourself if you still believe that he is one of those spineless fools! Even if he was, he’s in our paws now.”

Lowering her face down to Ayari’s level now, cupping her fore paw around the helpless cub’s muzzle, Zira sneered as she hissed through bared teeth.

”And you will not ask such questions, nor will you address me unless you are spoken to first! Is that understood Cub?”

Watching the events unfolding before her, Vitani knew when it was time to take her own leave. Letting whatever fate that was going to befall upon Ayari happen, the young lioness trotted off as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Making her way over to her makeshift bed, which was nothing more than a well positioned rib cage of some deceased creature with a few hide pelts covering the more jagged parts, Vitani hopped onto her little safe haven as she watched the proceedings from afar now, her gaze drifting back towards Ayari once again, who seemed to have been granted his own free will now as Zira had returned to the small group of lionesses and was already deeply immersed in her future plans to seek revenge upon those who had scorned her.