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

[ImaniFaith]

At first, Imani had been too preoccupied with the unseen stalkers to notice where she was standing; it was when she nearly tripped over a creature's yellowed collarbone that she realized what kind of place they had come into.

With mixed fascination and horror, she stared down at the bleached bones of a lion whose gender she couldn't ascertain. Surely, in such a barren place, starvation had done these lions in. If they had only known how close they had been to Grass Walls, she pondered, then perhaps they would have had the will to go on.

As Imani slowly moved among the animals' remains, another realization struck her. Tenga had said that his mother died of starvation. How must he be feeling right now?

Whirling around, she saw him standing mutely over the corpse of a young cub. Her heart dropped like lead.

"Let's go, Tenga." She suggested softly, "There's nothing we can do for them now."

How she wished that it were not true, she thought; and how she hoped that this would never happen to those she loved.

[Baya]

Memories of Tenga's cubhood went through his mind. All his hardships. All his pain. He could feel anger bubbling up inside over why. Why did he have to be born a rogue? Why did he have to have his mother torn from him by fate? When Imani called out to him however, his mind was set at ease again.

Tenga looked to her as she spoke, and nodded with a look of sadness. He gazed at the mother's bones that were near the cubs."It brings back memories. Memories that I have be suppressing for a very long time." Tenga murmured as he walked alongside her once more. He brought this upon himself wanting to explore what he did not know. Sometimes it was best not to venture for answers, as sometimes the answer might be too hard to handle.

Tenga heard cackling nearby as a sickening stench of rotting flesh swerved around his nostrils. Oh how he wished those lions were back instead of whatever this stench belonged to. From the shadows arrived five hungry looking Hyenas. The middle one seemed to be the largest in terms of size. It was a female, with her hair fashioned in a bangs like style.

"What is this my darlings? Dinner delivered straight to our door?" The Alpha female cooed as she stared at Tenga and Imani with a look of hunger. The hyena's around her cackled as they licked their lips.

"You two should've known better to invade upon our lands. Now, you'll join the rest of the lions that lived upon this land." The Alpha female growled as she began to approach Tenga and Imani.

Tenga took a defense stance in front of Imani. "Run Imani. Now. You'll get hurt." Tenga said quietly, with a blank expression on his face. Tenga knew his chances of leaving the fight without another body part torn from him was not very high, however he wasn't about to let those Hyenas do that to Imani in his place.

[ImaniFaith]

'Ah,' Imani thought, 'so this is why Mom hates exploring.' Already today, she and Tenga had been stalked by rogues; and now they were surrounded by mangy, hungry hyenas who had a taste for lions' flesh. Perhaps, if she survived this, she'd consider becoming more of a homebody from now on.

Again, Tenga was telling her to run-- and again, she had no intention of following his orders. "What do you think I am, " She muttered with a wry smirk, "a coward? I'm not going anywhere."

Briefly, she wondered what the numerical odds were of coming out of this alive. Her mind, not being mathmatically inclined, gave her the suggestion of 20-70. 'That can't be right....'

Suddenly, one of the hyenas decided it had waited for its meal long enough, and lunged for her throat. Imani leapt back, snarling, but the creature was not that easily deterred. With a cackle, it snapped its teeth, springing at her once more.

This was just like what Tenga was doing earlier, she realized; and this time, when the beast came for her, she wrenched around, swiping its face with her paw. It fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

Imani breathed a small sigh of relief. One down, four to go. The odds, whatever they were, were improving.

[Baya]

Tenga frowned as Imani refused to run. He hated to see her hurt, but it was her decision to stay and fight. All he could do know was make sure she wasn't over whelmed by two or more hyenas. The female hyena barked and quickly pounced on him, biting on his cheek and nose viciously.

Tenga saw a Hyena fall unconscious out the corner of his eyes, and his worry for Imani melted away. She could hold her own against a couple of these Hyenas, as she did well in training. Tenga managed to push the female Hyena off. She rolled across the dirt ground a few times before getting up and shaking her head with a snarl. She began to advance on Tenga again.

Tenga stood, a bit of blood dripping from his right cheek. The wound the hyena made wasn't deep enough to be added to Tenga's scar collection, however it was still painful.

"Not so pretty now are you rogue?" The female chuckled while she bared her yellowed teeth.

"And yet, I'm still far better looking than you." Tenga said in a bold way. This angered the female and she jumped at him again but Tenga used his feline reflexes and pawed her across the face, making her hit the ground hard. She was passed out as well.


The rogue turned his attention to his friend to make sure she was alright. He noticed that two hyenas were about to pounce on her, so he quickly jumped so that he was beside her. The hyena's growled and snapped several times, but when they looked over to see their leader was unconscious they began to back away into the shadows.

[ImaniFaith]

As the hyenas retreated, Imani smiled her thanks to Tenga. She wasn't certain she could have taken on two of those mangy things at the same time.

"Let's get out of here." She suggested again, this time with a dry grin, "I think I've had enough 'recreation' for one day."

She hoped Tenga would go back to the water hole with her, and perhaps talk a little more until is was time to go home. As she turned to ask him, however, she noticed the wound on his cheek. "Tenga, you're bleeding!"

When he kept his usual silence about the matter, Imani sighed. At least it didn't appear to be deep. "We'll have to wash it when we get back. It'll sting for a while, but you're probably used to this kind of stuff anyway, huh?"

The rogue merely nodded, loping along behind her as the blood dribbled over his face.

"I'm sorry, " Imani said at last, "If I had been paying more attention, I might have been able to help you before you got bit."

[Baya]

Tenga gazed at Imani, examining her for any injuries. Thank the great kings above she was not harmed. Though it took awhile for Tenga to realize he had been injured. He tried to lap up the blood on his own with his tongue, but couldn't reach the wound. He figured cleaning it out by the watering hole was a good plan.

Tenga walked alongside Imani, feeling his heart race from the fight. His mind however the entire fight was on keeping Imani out of harm, and he had accomplished that. It gave him a sense of pride to be able to defend his friend. Tenga's ear pricked as Imani began to speak her apology. "Don't apologize. It isn't your fault. In fact, I'm really proud of you. You held up against them. When I stopped worrying about you, I could concentrate on my own battle." Tenga said with a slight grin over at her.

The two eventually got out the land the same way they got in. It was a bit more difficult because Tenga was tired from the fight, but he managed his way to the top. He walked alongside Imani until they reached the watering hole, and submerged his bloodied face into the watering hole. When he lifted his head from the water, his mane was covering the front of his face and his eyes. "You are so lucky you are a female." Tenga murmured with a sigh.

[ImaniFaith]

In spite of the harrowing ordeal they'd just been through, Imani found herself laughing at the sight of Tenga's sopping wet mane. "Actually, " She chuckled, "when I was younger, I wanted to be a male. I thought you guys had all the fun."

Smiling wistfully, she gazed at her own reflection in the water. Her large brown eyes stared back at her, and in them, she saw the loneliness that she hated. "If I were a male, maybe I could have actually been useful to our pride."

The rogue seemed confused by her statement, frowning at her through his wet locks.

"Our king is dying, " She hurried to explain, "and his son was killed in a storm just a few weeks ago. Now, there's no one left to rule the pride, and the lionesses are terrified of a rogue taking over. If I'd been born a male, I could have taken the king's place and protected them... made everything right."

Tenga was watching her with the serious, austere expression she had become used to, and she felt her loneliness melt away. "But now, I'm glad I'm a female." She said to him, "You probably wouldn't have been friends with me otherwise, would you? Especially not after the way we met!"

[Baya]

Tenga raised an eyebrow at her statement, moving his wet mane from his face using his claws. "You look better as a female I think. Besides. Running a pride is a big job." Tenga replied quietly as he looked at his own reflection. The wound on his face was a light tone of pink now, as opposed to the red from earlier.

It would be horrible if a rogue took over this land. It would become a desolate as the place they had just come back from! Tenga shuddered at the idea, then looked to Imani again. "You know, I think you'd still make a great queen. It doesn't matter if you are a male or not. If you could get a decent male to be your mate, then you could rule with them as opposed to just finding a king. All you have to do, is convince the king to name you his heir." Tenga explained.

Tenga didn't plan on her choosing him or anything. He was just making a suggestion so she wouldn't feel so bad about not being a male. Tenga thought about how this land would be under Imani's rule! It could thrive if she played her cards right, as Tenga knew she would.

[ImaniFaith]

Hidden a distance away, yet still within earshot, Bahari felt his face begin to burn. Convince the king to name her his heir? And find a 'decent male' to be her mate? Ha! So the rogue was planning to take over her pride! It was a good thing he was meeting this lioness today-- if he did it any later, he might completely lose his chance! As it was, Zuzu had fouled up his original plan of action-- new lies had needed concocting, to make up for those that could no longer be used.

The only thing that gave him any hope now was the cloud of uncertainty in the lioness' eyes.

//

"That... is never going to happen." Imani smirked. "My pride barely knows I exist, and when they do pay attention to me, it's usually to tell me to be quiet. If I asked the king to make me his heir, they'd probably drive me away themselves."

Forcing a laugh, she shrugged, "Still, it was a good suggestion."

Tenga gave her his normal reply-- silence; and she found herself feeling slightly disappointed. A 'decent male' to be her mate, huh? She should have known not to get her hopes up. Tenga would befriend her for a while, sure, but then he would leave... and she'd be alone again.

Per usual.

[Baya]

Tenga raised his eyebrow at Imani again. "You doubt yourself too much Imani. You are just as good as any other candidate. What, do you want me to fight the king, beat him, then name you queen?" Tenga asked with a grin, knowing she wouldn't want that. Tenga thought for a moment before tapping his paw toes against the dirt.

"What if you made a good name for yourself within the pride? Brought back food? Solved some problems? Then I'm sure they'd see you in a brighter light." Tenga replied boldly. He looked to Imani, and how upset she had gotten. He sighed as he placed his head over hers gently. He wanted to comfort her, and he knew words didn't work as well as actions.

"I'll help you become Queen. I promise. I won't let any rogue take your land." Tenga reassured quietly.