Scar's Mercenary (DGFone, GeminiGemelo, & Juliette)

[Carl]

The land before him was barren and desolate. Stoker hadn't seen another living thing, big or small, in over a day. His eyes squinted as he scanned the horizon for any sign of life- or shelter. The burning sun above seared into his fur and flesh. Then, he spotted it in the distance: a large rock, protruding up into the sky. It would offer some shelter from the sun at least, and if he was fortunate, a zebra or gazelle might be seeking refuge there as well. As he had no better prospects, the young male started forward, ignoring the cracks in the dry earth. This was a drought like none he'd ever seen.

As he drew nearer to the large rock, he noticed something close to it that caught his eye. No, it couldn't be, this had to be a mirage. It looked like a small waterhole. But that couldn't be. Could it? Could he really be so fortunate as to find shade and water so close together? But he was still a ways off, and could be mistaken. Not wanting to waste any energy, he continued on in his leisurely pace. If that was a waterhole, not an illusion, this would be a nice place to stay for a while. But... it looked like there were a lot of creatures here already, and from this distance, he couldn't be sure, but they looked like hyenas. Normally, a bunch of hyenas wouldn't alarm him, but there were so many of them, he decided to be cautious. He slowed his walk, keeping his eyes peeled as he approached the large rock and the waterhole (or mirage) nearby.

At the very least, he thought to himself, perhaps these hyenas- if they aren't mirages also- can tell me where to find some food, or water elsewhere.

---

"Man I'm starved," Banzai complained, pacing back and forth, "there has been less and less food ever since Scar took over. Wasn't the food supposed to be more plentiful for us?"

"Calm down. Scar meant for us to get our reward, but this drought scared off all the animals- and the lionesses are too lazy to go and find 'em. Hey, maybe we should spur them into motion. I'm famished, too, and they're all just laying around over there, look at them! They're not even trying to hunt," Shenzi suggested, cutting her eyes towards the lionesses. Sarabi was laying by the waterhole- what was left of it- doing nothing. Shouldn't she be leading the hunting party? Something had to be done, these lionesses were getting out of hand.

"Yeah, let's go. Somebody needs to make them do their job," Banzai agreed.

Shenzi stood up and started making her way towards the lioness, Banzai following her. "Come on, Ed," she said. His tongue lolling, the last member of the hyena trio nodded and trailed after his compatriots. As the three drew near to the former queen, she looked up, her face stern as always. She wasn't happy to see these buffoons.

"Hey, where's your hunting party?" Banzai demanded angriliy.

"There's nothing to hunt," Sarabi said flatly.

"Oh yeah? I bet there's lots of things to hunt. You just have to stop laying around and go look for it!" Shenzi snapped, "Now move it! We're hungry!"

"If you're so confident there's food out there, go find it yourselves! I'm not your slave, and I will not hunt for the likes of you," the weary lioness said defiantly.

"You've got some nerve. It's your job to do the hunting. How many times has Scar said it?" Shenzi asked, her eyes narrowing.

"And how many times have I said there's nothing left?" countered the tired lioness. The hyenas exchanged a look. This was getting them nowhere. Shenzi looked back at Sarabi, intending to tell her off, but the former queen had seen something, and her eyes were focused on the horizon, a look of surprise on her face. "Perhaps there is yet hope," she muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Shenzi asked, turning to look for herself. Approaching at a steady pace was a young lion with a muscular build. He looked tough and he was heading directly towards them. "A stranger... Come, on, we need to warn Scar," the hyena said, turning her back to the weary lioness and trotting towards Pride Rock, her followers at her heels.

[DGFone]

Sarafina was walking back with Nala from yet another failed hunt. With the herds all leaving the Pride Lands in search of greener pastures, it was hard to stay optimistic as more and more hunts ended in failure. It was especially hard on Nala, who around this time was supposed to be learning from Sarafina how to become a hunter and start joining in with the parties.

But now, with nothing to hunt, Sarafina felt that Nala was severely lacking in her skills, and there was nothing they were able to do about it. Still, she tried to remain optimistic. "Eventually, the herds will come back. It will rain sooner or later, and once the herds will return, you will be able to learn how to become a great hunter!" Nala didn't look very convinced, and Sarafina didn't blame her. She kept telling Nala how the herds will return for so long, even Sarafina didn't believe herself anymore. "This drought won't last forever. It can't."

They walked past Scar's trio of hyenas, and Sarafina glared at them to continue walking past her and Nala. Whatever the reason they were here, it was never good news to have the hyenas, especially this trio, come and visit. Sarafina looked at where they were walking away and frowned when she spotted Sarabi next to the drying waterhole. "Come Nala. Let's see what those three were up to this time."

The two of them walked over ad sat down next to Sarabi. Sarafina gave her friend a small smile as a greeting. "Another failed hunt, but nothing new..." She let out a sigh. "So what were Scar's muscle doing to you? Any news we should know about?"

[Gemini]

Nala sat on the ground next to her mother as she talked with her friend, a dejected expression on her face. Alas, it seemed as though there wasn't much to talk about - just the usual small talk, which had become more and more hopeless and depressing as of late. No matter what happened, and no matter what her mother said, she felt as though she had been cheated out of something. Something important to the pride and all of its members... the ability to hunt.

When she was young - back in the reign of Mufasa - she had always imagined herself as growing up to be a graceful and skillful huntress. Yet, on the rare occasions where there actually was prey for her to catch, her chances of coming back successfully were slim to nil. Something would always mess her up: whether the prey detected her, she was distracted, not quick enough, or just not focused enough, the query in question would always elude her capture. In fact, now that she thought about it... she'd only caught two prey animals during all of her training - both of which were young, naive, and already sickly. Never had she downed anything of real note, or done anything she could take pride in.

Though she knew it wasn't Sarafina's fault - or, indeed, the fault of any of the lionesses - she couldn't help but feel a little angry at her mother. She was supposed to teach her how to be a huntress... a good one. Her training was supposed to turn out like it had for all the older lionesses. She was supposed to have the same chance that they all had: to hunt on the fertile plains. Everything was supposed to be okay... but it wasn't.

It was this thought which caused Nala to slump there beside Sarabi, her face cross and sour. At this rate, she would never learn anything...

*****

Scar woke up to the less-than-pleasant sound of rushed hyena footsteps, causing him to impatiently pry his eyes open and extend his jaws in a lazed, leonine yawn. There was always something here... what could it be this time? He rubbed his head impatiently, waiting for that same greeting... which was so basal, hackneyed, predictable, stupid... He could think of a million other verbose names for it, but chose not to even bother. That was a migraine just waiting to happen.

"Boss, there's something happening! Look, quick!" (OOC: I hope you don't mind that I borrowed the hyenas real quick... I wasn't sure what else to do. I'll try to do as little with them as possible so you can add some dialogue to this scene :])

"Errrrr..." he sighed halfheartedly, reluctantly rising to his paws and shaking away the thick tendrils of sleep which still threatened to squeeze his eyelids shut and ignore them. "What is it now?"

"Scar, we saw a lion. A big one," Shenzi spoke up concernedly, her features betraying worry. Banzai paced back and forth quickly, while their final compatriot, Ed, only gibbered and pointed to where he perceived the offending lion to be.

The lion king only rolled his eyes. As much as he depended on and needed the hyenas, they were remarkably dull-witted and useless for everything but their thick muscles - alas, their biggest downfall, and the reason they weren't downright ruling the kingdom, was that they were stupid to a very blunt point. If even the smallest thing was thought to be awry, they immediately flocked to his cave and awoke him. Even if that meant arousing him at the darkest conceivable portion of the night to worriedly inform him that one of the crocodiles in the waterhole had disappeared, and could be out on a murdering spree... yes, their notably inferior minds had actually conjured that. This so-called "big lion" was probably a wayward, vagabond lioness. In fact, it could have been one of the hunting party. Sarabi had been mistaken for a rogue on several occasions already.

Pathetic.

"Hmm-hm-hm," he chuckled to himself, lips twisting into a wry smile, "alright, Shenzi, show me where this 'big lion' is. I want to have a word with him..."

"Uhhh, I wouldn't recommend th-"

"-Hush, Shenzi... Hush. I can handle this."

Lion and hyena exited the cave, curiosity leading them down the plain to see what exactly had happened...

[Carl]

(OOC: That's ok, you couldn't really have done much there without borrowing them.)

"They wanted me to hunt," Sarabi answered her friend, her eyes still focused on the lion that was drawing closer. He looked cautious, and powerful, and the former queen wondered if he could help them get out from the oppressive reign of Scar. "Look, Sarafina, do you see that lion drawing ever nearer? The hyenas scampered off to warn Scar. Is it too much to hope that he might be able to help us out of this?"

Without waiting for her friend to answer, she stood up and started approaching the lion. She wanted to talk to him. When he saw her coming, the lion stopped in his tracks- he was waiting for her. She noted his pitiful mane, and realized that he must be young, perhaps not even fully grown yet. However, he was broad and muscular, whereas Scar was thin and lithe. Young or not, this lion might be able to help them get rid of the foul hyenas at least, and possibly Scar himself. Speak of the devil, it was at that precise moment that Scar and his trio of numbskull minions exited the den on Pride Rock. There was little time, so Sarabi bounded the rest of the distance between herself and the stranger.

"Greetings, stranger, I am Sarabi, former queen of this land. Who are you? Why have you come here?" she asked quickly. There was no time for idle chit chat, she had to get right on to business.

"I am called Stoker," the male answered, looking the lioness up and down, taking in her desperate stance, that somehow still seemed to show a certain dignity. "I am a rogue who does favors in exchange for a suitable reward. I'm here because I happen to have found my way to this place in search of greener pastures... of which I see there are none nearby. Although, I do spy a waterhole. If it be permissible, I should like to take a quick drink."

"I would allow it if it were within my power to do so. But you see, our tyrannical king, Scar, says who can do what. He comes now, you will have to ask him permission when you speak with him. Stranger, I implore you-" started the aging lioness.

"So that 'Scar' fellow is the one I should be talking to? Excuse me, miss, if your king allows it, I will speak with you later; this is his land, so it is he I have business with," Stoker interrupted her, walking past her to meet Scar.

----

"You see, Scar, there he is!" Shenzi said as they descended the rock, "Just like we told you." Ed nodded in agreement, oblivious to the spittle that flew from his mouth as he did so. Banzai trailed along behind Shenzi as she moved closer to the lion king. "We were talking to Sarabi and she started staring in that direction, so I looked, and there he was!"

"Hey, look! Isn't that Sarabi walking over to him?" Banzai queried, his head tilted to the side, "What's she playing at?"

"You know, that is her! I bet she's gone to ask him for help, paint Scar as the bad guy!" the female agreed.

"It's not your fault there's a drought that scared the herds off, Scar," Banzai said to the king, trying to show his support, and by doing so, stay on Scar's good side. As usual, Ed just looked blank and confused, and kept following the others as they approached the strange lion.

[DGFone]

Sarafina looked at where Sarabi motioned, squinting as she tried to get a better view of the lion approaching them. For a long time, Sarafina and Sarabi were planning on finding some help to try and restore the Pride Lands, but with the hyenas around watching their every move, all they managed to do so far was complain and discuss a few ideas. The furthest they got was getting Nala to agree with them that something needed to be done. "I don't know. It might not be the best idea to just randomly ask him if he can help us, I mean, what if he's with Scar..."

She turned to where Sarabi was, but saw that Sarabi had already ran off towards the lion. "Sarabi, wait! That might not be a good idea!" But despite her call, Sarabi continued to run towards the lion, completely ignoring her. Sarafina sighed, not feeling like chasing after the ex-queen. She turned towards Nala, the only one left remaining at the water whole. "I hope Sarabi knows what she's doing. If someone loyal to Scar finds out what were planning... he could easily exile us."

From where they were, they were able to see as Sarabi caught up to the lion, but instead of what Sarafina expected to be a fairly long conversation, the lion barely stopped to even acknowledge Sarabi. Instead, it looked like he said something to her, only to almost right away start walking again past her. Feeling that something was wrong, Sarafina turned her head to where the lion was heading, wanting to find out what would cause him to ignore Sarabi. Her eyes widened when they fell on Scar and his trio of hyenas, all walking towards the lion, who was clearly walking towards them.

Immediately, Sarafina jumped onto her feet. "Come, Nala. We need to get to Sarabi before Scar does." If Scar was planning to do anything to Sarabi, he would think twice with Sarafina and Nala around. Hardly giving Nala any time to get up, Sarafina pushed her on, and the two of them ran over to Sarabi.

Sarafina glared at her friend slightly when they covered the last of the distance between them. "Why didn't you listen to me and wait?" She shook her head, knowing there was no point in answering it. "What did you say that made him walk away? What did he say?" She turned to where she can look at the lion and Scar, a pit forming in her stomach. It didn't look like this lion will help them in dealing with Scar. "Nala, stay close to us. Who knows what will happen now..."

If Scar had noticed them already, he didn't act like it, instead marching off with his hyenas towards the strange lion. Sarafina took it as good news: it meant that the stranger was of a higher priority than them, but she still didn't like how the lion didn't exactly stop to talk with Sarabi. "So who is this lion, anyways?"

[Gemini]

(OOC: Whoops, looks like someone posted while I was writing this... Oh well, it should still make sense within the continuity of what we're doing. Plus, I don't feel like re-writing it. XD)

"Shut up, shut up!"

Nala could just hear the strained and rather irritated voice of the king from beyond the crest of a gently-rolling hill as he addressed his three loyal compatriots. The hyenas, as always, immediately cowered under his wrath; though she should have been afraid herself - both of her unpredictable ruler and the large and potentially deadly rogue in front of them - her curiosity was immediately and profoundly piqued. She simply had to know what was happening. And so it was that she crouched down behind the shriveled remains of a bush and commenced eavesdropping...

"What is your business here?" Scar, in his usual manner, snapped rather condescendingly, not in the least bit afraid of the lion towering above him... at least, he didn't appear to be afraid. The old lion was adept at hiding his emotions: what was actually going on in his mind could only be guessed at.

The rogue spoke up in a low, rumbling purr - which, unfortunately, Nala could not quite understand without getting closer... which would have been dangerous. She wasn't supposed to eavesdrop... And her mother would simply not have her risking herself for so petty an endeavor.

Say, where was her mother, anyways? ... She must not have noticed her absence yet - both Sarabi and her friend had retreated off to talk a short distance away.

"And what do you hope to gain from that?" The soft, purring timbre of the king's voice again resurfaced, causing Nala's ears to prick with interest. She still could not hear the stranger, even as he presumably began to explain himself and elucidate on his enigmatic presence.

Well, the rogue's presence wasn't actually displeasant, now that she thought about it. Something about this lion innately soothed her, despite the fact that he could easily kill her if he chose to. His muscle mass was unprecedented: even Mufasa didn't have quite the set of muscles as this rogue boasted... which, of course, was saying a lot. And, as strange as it was to say, he wasn't half-bad to the eyes, either.

She continued studying the scene before her, gradually becoming more and more entranced and mesmerized by it all... so mesmerized was she, in fact, that she didn't notice the two eyes on her. The eyes of the rogue...

The two pairs of eyes met for but a moment, and, to her surprise, he didn't say anything about it. He only continued talking to Scar, whose back was facing her. As the seconds ticked by, she flashed him a smile... but he quickly looked away, refocusing on his discussion with the king. There was nothing she could do but continue to watch from the distance...

"Nala!"

No, no. Not anymore. For that was the moment when the hushed whisper of her mother butted into her reverie. She looked over her shoulder, her countenance assuming a pleading expression.

"Oh no, you don't. You're coming home now."

The lioness picked Nala up by the scruff, as if she were no more than a cub. As needless as it was to say, she felt incredibly patronized when she did that... but there was nothing she could do. She had to be content with watching the pair of figures as they faded into the distance. The rogue once again met her eyes, but that was all she saw as they retreated behind a rock and the two of them receded from her point of view completely.

It was odd, but there was a sort of prickling within her. Like this was a premonition of sorts. For she immediately knew that somehow, in some way, good or bad, this rogue was... important...

[DGFone]

Sarafina watched from a distance as Scar and his hyenas got closer and closer to the lion. Eventually, they met, and sure enough, they started talking. She sat down next to Sarabi, hoping that she might be able to hear something Scar would say, but they were too far away, and she didn't dare move any closer should they be discovered. "I'd hate to know what they are discussing now, but Scar isn't running the lion off, which is not good news for us..." She looked at her friend, feeling bad. "You had high hopes for him, didn't you? You really though that he could have helped us... but surely there will be another lion who will wander bye one day, and we will be able to ask for help then-" Sarafina stopped then and there, knowing how wrong she was. No lion in their right mind will go to the Pride Lands any more, not at the state they were in.

She thought about what they could do. "What if we used Zazu? We can ask Scar to let him out of the cage, such as to help us hunt or something, and use him to actually search for help, instead of us wasting our time waiting for it to come to us." The more she thought about it, the more Sarafina liked this idea. "What do you think, Sarabi? Nala?" She turned to see if her daughter agreed or not, and froze when Nala was nowhere to be seen.

"Nala? I told you to stay near me..." Sarafina's eyes wandered about the dead, dry grass, searching for any signs of the missing lioness.

"Nala!"

When she found Nala, Sarafina felt anger rise up in her. Not only was Nala not next to her and Sarabi, but she was right next to Scar and the lion, no doubtedly eavesdropping on them! As fast as she dared, Sarafina moved quietly towards her daughter. "Oh no you don't. You're coming home now."

Even though Nala was no longer a cub, Sarafina grabbed her by the scruff in the neck and dragged her away from Scar and the lion. Away from danger. Turing angrily towards Pride Rock, Sarafina began to half-drag Nala back with her.

Eventually, her mouth began to ache after carrying Nala, and Sarafina let go of the scruff. "What do you think you were doing, trying to spy on Scar?" She stared at Nala, wanting to get answers. "I told you to stay close to me and Sarabi. I told you! And you did what? You went off and nearly got discovered spying on Scar! The last thing we need is for him to know that we are doing! Not to mention, that by spying on him, you are giving Scar the perfect excuse to exile you, or even kill you!"

With her head, Sarafina motioned towards Pride Rock. "Go home. Now!"

[Carl]

"I was going to ask him for help, but he said he needed water, and needed to speak with the king of our land," Sarabi said when Sarafina asked her what had been said. She looked after the rogue for a few moments, "He's called Stoker. He's a mercenary." She only watched for a moment longer before leaving with her friend and taking a seat farther away.

"You had high hopes for him, didn't you? You really though that he could have helped us... but surely there will be another lion who will wander bye one day, and we will be able to ask for help then-" Sarafina stopped. "What if we used Zazu? We can ask Scar to let him out of the cage, such as to help us hunt or something, and use him to actually search for help, instead of us wasting our time waiting for it to come to us. What do you think, Sarabi? Nala?"

Sarabi started to answer her friend, but closed her mouth back when it became evident that Nala wasn't as near as they'd presumed. She watched as Sarafina hurried off and retrieved her daughter, at the same time disappointed in Nala and admiring her. Perhaps she had overheard something useful. She walked over to the two, and looked into Nala's eyes, trying to read her.

"Did you hear anything, Nala? Do you know what they're saying?" she asked.

---

Stoker stopped before the king, a small lion with a build that looked as though he were fragile. Surely this puny lion could not be a tyrant. There was no way he could be strong enough to stop a revolt, and therefore, that lioness must have been mad. They surely hadn't tried to overpower him, if they had, he'd be no more. Rather than get into it, as it was none of his business, he decided to get on to business.

"I'm called Stoker, Your Highness," he said, bowing his head a little, "I do favors in exchange for a worthy reward. I was passing through your land, and I noticed you have a water hole; I should like to take a drink. If it be possible, I should like also to stay for a time in the shelter of your rock, and perhaps, if there is any to spare, share of your pride's meals. Could we work something out perhaps?"

"We don't need another mouth to feed!" Banzai interjected, but Shenzi, noticing the look on Scar's face, shushed him.

"Come on Banzai, Ed. Let's leave the king to deal with this lion," she said.

"Yeah, alright," Banzai agreed and the trio skulked away, back to Pride Rock.

[Gemini]

"Finally..." the king of the land interjected almost silently as the trio of hyenas departed from his sight, before turning back to the lion before him and deigning to continue their conversation with a vague, apologetic gesticulation. "I apologize... the hyenas are not known for their intelligence, and do not speak on my behalf. Rather, I am interested in these... rewards... you speak of. Would you care to elucidate?"

Scar flicked his tail slightly, watching in confusion as the rogue's sight trailed off somewhere behind them... yet he continued to speak, respectfully and reservedly providing him with an answer, before their gazes finally met once again. Oddly enough, the king was pleased with what he saw... very pleased. At least someone in the midst of his god-forsaken kingdom was actually willing to show him his due respect. He put up with a lot, and this unlikely potential ally could be just what he needed. There was, however, one problem... as much as he hated to admit it, his dull-witted companions were right to some extent. The kingdom was wont for food at the moment - what little there was usually went to the hyenas in his attempt to settle a personal debt with them for their support - and there was little to be spared. For several moments, he pondered this annoying little snag in the way of a potential alliance... only to brush it off with a seemingly cavalier shrug of his bony shoulders.

He was sure that something could be worked out. He merely needed to pass a law, institute some new decree, promulgate a stature and pass stricter food rations. Alas, yes... this could work! Quite easily, in fact. Already his mind was set with the task of planning and tweaking the details, and it was not long before he addressed the rogue yet again.

"I am interested... for now. As long as you can do your job satisfactorily, I will allow you to stay here in my land. In the meantime, I will show you to Nala... who will lead you to the den in which you are to repose - I apologize, but due to safety reasons I cannot allow you to sleep amongst established members of our Pride."

Scar turned on his heel and proceeded to walk back to Pride Rock... after several seconds, however, he realized he was alone and abruptly turned to face the rogue, who was still standing there with seeming uncertainty.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come with me - I believe we have a deal..."

*****

"Okay, mom, I'm sorry! I was just curious... I'm not a cub anymore." (OOC: You know, when I wrote that last part, I thought of her as the cub Nala who was crying by Sarafina's leg when Scar said Mufasa was dead, instead of being much older... hence the scruff-of-the-neck thing. Reading back over it, I realized this, and the mental image of Sarafina carrying an adolescent lioness was, well, weird. XD)

Nala batted at the now-mussed fur on the nape of her neck, angrily attempting to smooth it out as her features hardened into a barely-contained, rebellious grimace. Indeed, these many moons of toil and hopelessness had worn on the tempers of all of them. Under normal circumstances, Sarafina would have provided her with an extraneous lecture on the inherent dangers and such, but now it was gratuitous. Nala knew better. They all knew better. But that didn't stop anything... things were rapidly spiraling downhill, and Sarafina was almost too confused and afraid to even reprimand her daughter further.

"Did you hear anything, Nala? Do you know what they're saying?" Sarabi spoke up silently, being the calmest out of all of them... as usual.

"No," Nala spoke quietly, looking down at the ground with a vaguely dejected and disappointed expression. "They were too far away. All I could hear was Scar asking him what he was doing here. I didn't hear the rogue, though I think... I think he may have seen me."

Sarafina's expression could almost be described as livid, but Sarabi only displayed a quiet expression of sympathy for the young and bold lioness. Indeed, the risks and implications of what she had done were great - and as much as they wanted to know what the rogue said and why he was there, they were not willing to risk the life or well-being of one of their most valuable potential assets. There would be other opportunities for gathering intelligence, and they were bound to figure out the rogue's presence eventually. They simply needed to be patient, to devise a way to think through all of this...

They were, of course, unaware of the fact that the foreign lion himself was approaching them at that very moment.

[DGFone]

Sarafina gawked at Sarabi, not believing her ears. "Sarabi! Don't... don't encourage Nala! The last thing I will have my daughter do is to go off and spy on everyone!" She turned her gaze back to Nala, making sure that Nala understood that what she did was wrong. And when Nala said that she might have been spotted, Sarafina nearly lost it. "You were seen? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" If the new lion will talk to Scar, it could easily mean that the king will become aware of their plans, and knowing him, she didn't want to find out what would happen if Scar found out.

Turning towards Sarabi, Sarafina completely forgot about sending Nala back to Pride Rock. "Well what are we supposed to do now? If Scar finds out... we can't let him find out! He'll kill us all if he does!" If things were better off, Sarafina would have calmly figured things out with her friend, but things were not better. Constant hunger and thirst had eliminated Sarafina's patience, and now all she could think of was what they should do, convinced that Scar was already getting informed that Nala was spying on him.

Worried, Sarafina reached out and brought Nala closer to her. "Should anything happen, stay with me. Alright, Nala? Stay with me should bad things happen." She looked at Sarabi again, hoping that the former queen would have some words of wisdom to calm them down. When Sarabi didn't say anything, Sarafina looked at where Scar was at last. She let out a gasp of terror when she spotted the new lion.

Heading straight for them.