[Private] Kiarasmate and Kivuli

[Baya]

"She could try and have my hide! I'd rather die then be betrayed in the end anyway." Ayari snapped. He quickly calmed down as he looked to Mara. She knew the pain of losing family, so Ayari figured if anyone would understand what he was going through it would be her. He didn't want to get on her bad side so he quickly shut up.He felt his eyes begin to tear up. Where was all this angst coming from? All because of what that stupid mongoose said! He didn't even know Ayari! How could he pass such simple judgment!

[KiarasMate]

A bit taken aback by Ayari’s emotional outburst, as it was quite out of character from him, or at least, of what Mara knew of him anyways. Looking quite perplexed as she noticed the look upon Ayari’s face, the tawny lioness figured that if she was going to get to the bottom of things, she might as well probe deeper into why the younger male was acting the way he was all of a sudden. Speaking to him in a low tone, Mara addressed Ayari.

”Seems like you got a lot on your mind Runt. Let’s go outside and talk about it. The last thing I want to see is you getting chewed out by Zira for having such a bad attitude, so if I can help in some way or another, I will but you have to open up to me. C’mon.”

Turning to make her way out of the termite mound so she and Ayari could hold a conversation in private, Mara’s stare met with Vitani’s momentarily before the tawny furred lioness made her way past her and out into the late afternoon environment, taking a seat a few paces away from the entranceway as she awaited Ayari’s presence.

Watching Mara leave and being a bit uncertain of what exactly was going on, but knowing that her friend was in no mood to discuss matters with her, Vitani opted to speak to the only other present member of her mother’s horde to which she could confide in, at least, to some degree anyways. Padding quietly over to where Nuka was seated, Vitani addressed her older brother in a hushed voice.

”What’s going on Nuka? What business does Mara have with Ayari? He’s not exactly in the best of moods you know.”

[Baya]

Ayari followed after Mara, not liking being regarded to as a runt. Though he pushed the insult aside and swallowed his pride. He figured he should obey Mara as she knew what was best. Ayari made short eye contact with Vitani as he passed by her, and remorse flooded over him for acting so rudely towards his friend. Though it was no time for remorse, he had to talk with Mara. Ayari sat in front of Mara looking down. He watched the sand shift slightly with a small breeze, sending shivers down Ayari's spine. He didn't like the feeling he was getting at all.

"So what do you want me to say? Aren't all of you outlanders this savage? I'd think you'd like how I'm acting." Ayari said with a frown.


Nuka watched as Vitani walked up to him, and he snorted. "That brat is gonna get an earful from Mara. His attitude has been acting up and neither Mara or I like it. I'm hoping to see him come back with a few slash marks. That would put him in his damn place." Nuka said with a snicker. His snickering ceased as he looked to Vitani. "I'm curious, was it a spat between you and him that made him so angry?"

[KiarasMate]

Waiting for Ayari to situate himself, Mara’s ears flicked as she heard what the distraught male had to say, causing her to shake her head slightly as she responded in an unusually kind tone towards him.

”That may be Ayari, but much like my deceased sister once stated, we need to focus our aggression upon the enemy, not upon ourselves. It took me a while to learn that lesson and perhaps I learned it too late, but that brings me to my reasons for dragging you out here.”

Moving in a bit closer to Ayari, her eyes meeting with his, Mara took a moment to try and peer into Ayari’s being before she spoke up again.

”You look as though you’ve just found out something rather life altering. That look in your eyes. I’ve seen it before. When Masa and my mother died. I know that look all too well Ayari. So, what was it?”

==========

Vitani glared at Nuka, wrinkling her nose from his reply as she sighed dejectedly and retorted in a hostile voice.

”You’d like that if it was, wouldn’t you Nuka! You’ve never liked Ayari, that fact was clear from the start. I thought you would have changed though Nuka. You have Mara and you’ve been happy. I’m happy about that fact. I just thought you would want the same for me too. Ayari’s friendship does mean a lot to me and it makes me happy, but obviously, you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

Flashing her older brother a cold gaze, Vitani made her way over to where she and Ayari typically rested at, seeing as her old bed of bones had been destroyed during a rather intense play session that she and Ayari had had a few seasons back, not to mention that she was much too big to even sleep on such a structure anymore. Flopping herself down upon the floor and looking quite the disheveled wreck, Vitani thought about how Ayari had acted, but even more so, about how she had reacted towards him. Guilt slowly started to sink in as she started to realize that she, in fact, didn’t know everything about her friend’s past and maybe there was some memories that he had never shared with her. Ones that could have dire consequences upon their friendship or even worse, the future itself.

[Baya]

Ayari sighed and watched the grains of sand settle onto his paws. He could hear what Mara was saying, and it was obvious she already knew his pain. If he would share what he felt with anyone, it was with Mara. "My parents were killed when I was a young cub. This creepy little senile Mongoose came up to me today and reminded me of that dark memory and what made it worse was...he told me that my parents would be horrified at what I had become." Ayari said quietly. He probably sounded really stupid, listening to a senile old mongoose, but the sad truth was he even thought the same thing. His parents wouldn't be at all proud of their son being able to kill another without any second thought. It made Ayari sick to his stomach that he was in this pride now.

"I don't like how I feel about what he said...because it's all true. I hate what I'm becoming. Zira's going to chase me off anyways in the end and I'll never see Vitani again after that! What's the point of me even being here?" Ayari said as he looked down.

~ Back at the den ~

Nuka chuckled and shook his head. "Mother was right all along! She always is! She's set a new record!" Nuka said as he laughed and rolled on his back. Nuka could tell Vitani was alot closer to Ayari then she'd like to be. It was forbidden to have such ties to others in the outlands but Vitani and Ayari managed to build a strong bond with one another. Nuka's smile faded and he looked at how bad she looked like she was feeling. His brotherly instincts were kicking in and he hated that. He got up and walked over to Vitani. "You really care about him, don't you Tani?" Nuka asked with a confused expression.

[KiarasMate]

”Then why don’t you just leave.” Mara openly stated as she rolled her eyes at Ayari. ”Do you think that Zira would care if you just up and left? If you haven’t noticed by now, there’s pretty much only one lion that she even gives a damn about and news flash, it’s not you.”

Watching Ayari’s reaction to what she had just said, just so she could pick her next words accordingly, Mara resumed speaking as she did her best to explain her reasoning’s for what she had stated.

”Look, if you think this life isn’t the one that was meant for you, then do something about it. You can’t expect things to just fall into place every time for you Ayari. If life were that easy, there would be no reason for any of us to fight. There would be no conflict in the lands and quite frankly, life would be boring as hell. It’s these little moments, the ones when you realize that there’s more to life than what is in front of you, that really define who we are. If you don’t seize opportunity when it comes around, you’re going to end up grasping at a future that may not even be.”

Once more, gauging Ayari’s facial expression to what she had just stated, Mara sighed quietly as she spoke up one last time.

”It probably sounds like I’m trying to get rid of you Ayari, but what else would be keeping you here if you felt so damn miserable? I could probably take a guess at it, but you should have learned by now that growing too attached to someone will only hurt you in the end. If there’s anything that I know is true, it’s that fact!”

==========

Vitani had absolutely no expectations of her brother even being understanding towards her current feelings and his remark after she had finished speaking, quickly confirmed her thoughts indefinitely. Biting her tongue at this point, as the only things that would have left her muzzle, had she responded to Nuka’s comment, would have been less than appropriate, Vitani stayed mute as she watched her brother making his way over to her now, causing Vitani to roll onto her side so that her back was the only thing visible in his view. Hearing his next comment, Vitani scowled as she muttered in a barely audible voice.

”Bite me Nuka. You don’t care! Even if I did, you know the rules about that sort of thing, so it doesn’t matter now, does it? You wouldn’t understand my feelings anyways.”

Covering her eyes with her fore paws, not because she was crying, but more so, to try and escape from reality for the time being, Vitani curled herself into a ball, trying to shut out the world around her as her mind continued to swell with the thoughts of what had happened this day, although she kept an attentive ear out for any response that her older brother might bestow upon her, not as if she was expecting his reply to even hold any significance to her current situation.

[Baya]

Ayari listened to every single word Mara said, and frankly he was slightly offended. It really did sound like she didn't want him around but that was normal with these outlanders. They were just rogues with a more civilized attitude. Ayari didn't know what to say for awhile but then the only possible answer hit him. He knew what he had to do, and Mara helped him realize that he could not stay somewhere he did not belong. He cared alot about Vitani, maybe even loved her but he couldn't stay in this hellish place and become a mindless warrior. He could not bring Vitani with him either because as a rogue he'd have to expect her to die in the deserts at the paws of enemies. He had to go without a word. The less pain Vitani felt out of this, the easier she'd get over him, Ayari thought. "Hey Mara. Thanks for all your help. I know I've been in your way since I was little and I can't really apologize for that. I really have to go. Please tell Vitani I went for a walk to cool off and after a day or two tell her I was killed by...by...rogues or something." Ayari said quietly as his paws pressed deep into the sand. He just about shattered his own heart, but he knew it must be done. He turned and began to walk away from Mara, from the termite den and from belonging to Zira's pride.

Nuka sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Oh come on Tani. Mom's not here and I won't tell anyways. Well I wouldn't need to tell her, you two were always in each other's space and mother already knew you had affection for each other. She was planning on killing Ayari and blaming the pridelanders so you'd have the motivation you needed." Nuka murmured, not at all lying. It was the one of the sick plans in Zira's war strategy. Nuka looked down for a moment. "You are right Tani. I really don't like him. You have feelings for him though and it isn't my place to interfere. Do whatever you want...I won't report it to mother." Nuka stated, hating to see his sister so upset. He figured her love for Ayari was what eased down the pain of Kopa's loss.

[KiarasMate]

I’m afraid I can’t do that Ayari. Mara stated in a serious tone. ”United, we fight our enemy, but divided, we fight our own personal battles. Do what you have to but your actions rest solely upon your shoulders alone.”

Watching as Ayari picked himself up and began to slink away, Mara had a momentary laps of judgment as she almost found herself wanting to go after him to try and reason further with him, but to no avail as she resisted her better instincts and stayed put, merely calling after him in a genuine voice.

”You’re probably the only one out of the entire lot of us, that actually knows what fate has lined up for you Ayari. Just make sure you don’t take that for granted.”

Giving a respectful salute to Ayari, who had already become a mere spec amongst the dying lands contrasted against him, Mara turned around and made her way into the termite mound without even a second glance back. Upon entering the den, she avoided all eye contact as she once more, situated herself in her typical spot, as if nothing had happened.

==========

Vitani’s eyes shot open at the news that Nuka had revealed to her, a look of utter disbelief plastered upon her face as she turned to look her older brother square in the eyes as she exclaimed.

”…You were never going to tell me this, were you Nuka! You were just going to sit idly by and watch me suffer the same way I did with Kopa! Vitani’s voice started to tremble at this point as her tone shifted to a much more menacing pitch. ”I hate you! I hate you Nuka! Kovu’s more of a brother to me than you’ll ever be! In fact, I only have one brother! To me, you’re nothing now!”

With that said, Vitani darted past Nuka, straight out of the termite mound as she retreated to her favorite thinking spot that she had frequented many times before this, a place not too far from the termite mound itself, yet far enough away where she could be alone with her thoughts.

[Baya]

Ayari looked down as he began to walk away. The last thing he wanted was to face Vitani, and tell her what he wanted to do. He knew she had already lost Kopa and that probably traumatized her already. When Ayari looked up, his eyes widened as he saw something he could not believe. Walking ahead of him were a lioness, and a lion. They were his parents! Ayari quickly trotted to try and catch up but every time he almost did they just got farther away. He began to run at a fast pace and finally Ayari's parents sat down in the golden sand, with the moon shining down on the grains. Ayari stopped as well. "M-Mom? Dad?" Ayari asked as he looked to them. The lion turned his head and smiled. As he did that, him and the lioness began to fade.

Ayari wondered what he had seen, and he soon realized he was probably just being delusional. He looked behind him, and there was nothing but sand. He had done it. He had run away from his home, his friend, and was looking to a future of wandering the lands.

[OOC: I think the flash back should end here lol]

[KiarasMate]

[agreed. ^^]

Vitani woke with a jolt as her eyes shot open, a bit disoriented from her night’s rest. The vivid memories slowly fading from view as she looked around wildly to gain her Barings. Spotting Ayari, who was still sleeping rather peacefully, Vitani gradually began to calm down as she took in several deep breaths before silently rising to her paws. It was clear that her dreams had had some unforeseen impact upon her as she quietly slipped out of the little makeshift den that she and Ayari had spent the night at, quickly making her way up Pride Rock and disappearing within the main den, taking notice of both Schwari and Zina, who were curled up against each other atop the promontory.

Once inside, Vitani used the small amount of early morning light that crept into the den, to locate her slumbering brother, before she made her way over to him and nudged him awake with a fore paw, speaking to him in a low whisper.

”Kovu, can we talk please? I need some brotherly advice.”

Forcing a smile as not to look as though there was anything seriously wrong, Vitani waited for Kovu to stir before she spoke up once more, motioning towards the entranceway of the den as she did so.

”Mind taking a walk with me so we can chat in private? I’m really sorry to wake you so early, but you’re probably the only one I can talk to about this.”

==========

Feeling the first warm rays of dawn lightly caressing upon her pelt, Zina’s eyes slowly opened as she tilted her head, catching sight of a furry grey face, bringing a fond smile to her muzzle as she carefully shifted herself so that she was now facing where Schwari was laying. The pair had enjoyed a very peaceful night of star gazing and friendly conversation and as much as Zina wouldn’t openly admit it, it had been one of the most memorable nights of her life thus far. Taking this opportunity while Schwari was still asleep, Zina built up enough courage to reach out a fore paw as she gently ran her paw toes through the grey furred male’s thick mane, admiring just how regal he appeared to look in the early morning light.

Not wanting Schwari to witness her newly found boldness however, Zina retracted her paw after a few moments before she let out a tired yawn and hopped to her paws. Giving a much needed stretch to her exhausted frame, the white furred Shaman looked down at her slumbering friend, trying to think of a nice way to rouse him that wouldn’t involve her having to give him the wrong impression. Unable to really come up with any clever method however, Zina opted to simply wait for Schwari to awaken as she sat idly by, a friendly expression etched upon her face as she waited.

==========

Deep within the dark confines of The Elephant Graveyard, Xepher was already up and about, eager to get the day’s events underway. Having the prospects of action looming on the horizon with Guza’s second attempt at a Fire Decoy and most likely, another confrontation with The Pridelanders and more importantly, Husudu, Xepher could barely contain himself as he paced around the unsightly lands, spotting Kiburi, who seemed to just be waking up herself, bringing a devious smirk to his muzzle as he bounded up to her and addressed his aunt in a rather obscene manner.

”Morning Aunty Kiburi. Up for a morning kiss?” Xepher stated, puckering up his muzzle lips in an exaggerated fashion.