Meaning and Purpose [Closed to Julie_Skywalker]

[Carl]

"No we are not," Vitani answered harshly, "He owes me his life and I can use his power."

"Baya, in a relationship?" Dikeledi, who along with N'gora had yet to leave, barked a laugh, "You really are quite a fool. As if he'd ever allow himself to care that much for another."

That's when Shuuja had come over and mentioned that she was worried about Baya and asked what had happened. Vitani felt a twinge of regret over her rash actions, a twinge that grew when Shwari answered for her. He acted as if he owned the place, and Vitani was tiring of him quickly. She snapped when he said that bit about her being 'his mistress' and that she was going to keep him in check.

"No that is NOT what I told him!" she roared, striking the male roughly across the face and spraying some of his blood even as Shuuja fled. "SHUUJA!" she called after the retreating form of Baya's adoptive daughter. A cub she'd come to see as almost a daughter as well. The youngster either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her, either way Vitani rounded on Shwari again, her eyes burning.

"You. Do not know. How. To. LISTEN. YOU are BENEATH her. You will NOT talk down to her, and you will NOT speak ill of me or Baya or anyone else here," she snarled, slashing him again, "You are at the BOTTOM, remember? You keep messing up and bragging and I'll let Baya tear into you in a heartbeat, do you understand me? You are either and idiot or an enemy, and either way, we don't need your kind. Shape up or die."

She slashed him a third time, then turned to N'gora.

"Fetch my brother."

"You got it boss," the other lioness said gruffly before sprinting away. Next Vitani cut her eyes towards Dikeledi.

"Go rendezvous with the hunting party and check in with them. But don't bring this carrion dog any food back, he goes hungry tonight," she ordered.

"As you wish," the remaining lioness said before scampering off into the grasses. Vitani turned her steely gaze back to the newcomer.

"What goes on between the rest of us pride members is none of your concern, and you will do best to keep your nose out of it and know your place," she spat.

---

"Kovu, your highness," N'gora said, her tone obviously carrying a hint of sarcasm, as she approached the false king where he sat discussing something with Rafiki. The tawny lioness trotted up to the duo, noting the way their eyes studied her. She had to make sure to do this delicately. How much should she reveal? Should she say what the issue was? Should she go into any detail? Did she even want to? Wouldn't the surprised look on Kovu's face be more rewarding?

Yes, it would be. She felt almost like grinning, but she kept her face stoic and kept her voice that way as well. She reported to him matter-of-factly.

"Vitani requests your presence," she said flatly, "There is an issue you should be made aware of."

[Baya]

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[Carl]

"He promised to repay us if we spared his life, and honestly I never intended to bring him here, he just barged right in," Vitani snarled in response to her brother, then carried on in a low hiss so that only he would hear, "I don't trust him or like him any more than you do. He's up to something, and I think he's trying to turn Baya and Shuuja on us by the way he keeps talking to and of them, despite numerous warnings from me. I think he could be working for Mrithi."

She had finally voiced a suspicion she'd had for a while now and so she continued voicing these thoughts to Kovu, "He's a senseless flatterer, and he's either completely stupid or he's up to something, and I suspect the latter. He was roaming alone in your lands and when I addressed him he took everything I said as acceptance of him, and welcoming, even when it wasn't, and just started walking this way. Then he taunted Baya and came in here acting like he owns the place and is spouting lies to Shuuja and to Baya. Potentially hurtful lies that could cost us."

She cut her eyes sharply at the rogue and continued in a low tone, "I know you don't care for Baya, or Shuuja, or me and my elite for that matter, but we need them all and we need them all to be unified. Simply being here already has Baya on edge because he has to follow the rules and whatnotㅡ add in this buffoon's yapping and it could cost you some of the weaker lionesses. While you and I don't see eye-to-eye, I do not want innocents to be hurt or killed because of this pompous and presumptuous lying newcomer."

---

Sauda and Masozi lay crouched in the grass, the target within range. As the target cautiously sipped some water from the small pool they lie in wait. And when she slowly rose, glancing from side to side, her ears perked, her eyes wide and nostrils flared, they ducked lower to the sand, rocks biting into their bellies as they evaded detection, keeping downwind. The target stepped nervously forward, and then began to trot at a brisk pace away from the area.

Silently, the two lionesses followed suit, their eyes never leaving the creamy-brown fur before them. The target stopped sporadically and looked back, looking for pursuers, and she seemed oblivious to the two Outlanders hugging the earth. They had been doing this for a while, their attention fully on the beast before them for hours, patiently stalking it. It had been a long day, and the sun was getting higher, nearing its zenith, when a disturbance erupted from the grass, startling both the lionesses and their prey.

"You guys!"

The two jumped in alarm, as did their target, and turned about to see Dikeledi racing towards them. It must be something important, Sauda surmised by the other girl's looks and thoughtless jeopardizing of their mission. Masozi eagerly flew to her sister, demanding to know what was transpiring.

And Ghinjo, she strolled over as well, her eyes wide and heart racing.

"Y-you two were following me?" she stammered. Realizing this could be bad, very bad, Sauda decided to play dumb and stuttered a meek answer.

"We got separated from the hunting party and got a bit lost," she murmured, "When we saw you, we thought the prey must be this way."

"Nevermind any of that you three," Dikeledi barked, "There's a rogue back at Pride Rock and he's being awfully problematic. I don't know why Vitani hadn't killed him already... anyway I was sent to check on the hunting party and see why you all haven't returned..."

"Wait, what?!" Sauda demanded, anger welling in her for some reason, "This can't be good!" Without another word, she sprinted away through the grasses back towards Pride Rock. Another rogue could potentially help her slip a wedge between Baya and Vitani, but she didn't want to do it at the cost of either of their lives, and with another male involved, knowing Baya, someone would die, and likely multiple someones. She needed to see what was going on and try to mend things with Baya and Vitani if they were still sore with each other before this newcomer caused any permanent damage. She had to stop for a moment and remind herself that all of this was speculation, and that she knew nothing of the situation. Perhaps the rogue was this Mrithi that they were supposed to be killing, or maybe he was that other rogue they'd encountered recently. There was no reason to assume he was starting a mutiny. Still, she couldn't help but fear the worst, and ran on.

[Baya]

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[Carl]

"I'll see to it that he dies," she whispered back to her brother before turning around and grinning at the newcomer.

"Alright, we've decided you should apologize for your slander, to me, and to the ones you lied to," she said to him in a light tone, "That should make up for your actions. Come along, N'gora and I will escort you to them so you can say sorry. And don't worry, if they don't accept your apology, we'll make sure you get out of their alive."

N'gora was suspicious, but she trusted Vitani and so she said nothing and just went around to the rogue's side and just behind him a little to lead him in the right direction should he try to wander off somewhere. Vitani turned and began leading the way up Pride Rock and towards the den she guessed Baya was using. She knew he wouldn't be happy to see her, especially not since this rogue was in tow, but she was hoping that this would make it up to him.

---

As Sauda drew near to Pride Rock, she could make out the forms of what had to be Vitani and N'gora near a male, no, two males, but one was clearly Kovu, and the other was too light in colour to be Baya. So it was true. She stopped in her tracks for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do. Why was this guy still alive if he was causing Kovu problems as well as Vitani? By rights he should be toast by now. None of this was adding up, but before she could decide how to react to it, the hunting party caught up to her, all of them, and her pridesisters were nearest to her.

"Sauda, help us bring in the catch. Those two need some more help," Dikeledi told her, gesturing towards a couple of the Pridelanders. With a sigh, she nodded and went over to help, still wondering what was going on. She cut her eyes over at Ghinjo, who was carrying a tiny waterfowl in her maw and nothing more. That lioness had been up to something besides hunting today, and if it hadn't been for this new rogue, they might have found out what. They'd have to be more careful for a little while now to throw off her suspicion of them.

[Baya]

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[Carl]

Vitani carefully positioned herself in the mouth of the den, blocking it off and nodded for N'gora to cover the other side. When her subordinate had stepped into position, the lioness looked across the newcomer at Baya. She was a little disappointed in him for thinking she'd do such a thing, but she recalled that he didn't even consider her to be his friend and tried to ignore that and the feelings it stirred up inside of her.

"No," she said, "You've got it all wrong. This guy's been lying since I found him, and he's been very presumptuous and pompous. I brought him here as a sort of a gift to you. You get to do the honors."

Her tail swished and her eyes narrowed, and next to her, N'gora grinned a cruel smile. She'd expected her leader to have something up her sleeve, and was pleased with the direction this had gone. Thinking about it, she couldn't believe that this oaf had fallen for the whole "we think you should just apologize," ruse anyway. He must think they were all stupid or something. Well, he was learning the hard way that he'd misjudged them.

"He lied flat out to both you and to Shuuja, so I thought it was only fitting that you be the one to give him his reward," Vitani added darkly before any other words had been uttered. She hoped he appreciated this gesture, and that he understood how foolish he'd been today. She wasn't some floozy who enjoyed taking in lost males who'd disrespect her. She wasn't a fool, or a coward, she wasn't shallow. If he didn't understand that by now, or by the end of this day, then she knew he wasn't worth it, and she'd just have to be rid of him. It pained her to think it, but she couldn't keep around someone who wanted to do nothing but beat her to pulp each day. Not if she was getting nothing out of it.

[Baya]

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[Carl]

The scruffy lioness was taken aback. She didn't move, and her anger hadn't all abated, but she allowed herself to calm down a bit. That had not been a good idea on her part, and it could have ended disastrously. Vitani sighed and bumped her forehead against his gently.

"I'm sorry, too," she admitted quietly, "I should have killed that rogue when I found him out there, but I wanted to use him to annoy you and Kovu, so I let him live, and that almost ruined everything."

She stepped away from him and padded into the back of the den, looking down, feeling ashamed and foolish. She went on after only a brief pause, "I could have gotten so many of both our prides killed, could have pitted us all against each other in little factions, broken the fragile bonds we have. All of them."

She looked back up at him with pleading eyes and said gruffly, "You know I'm not one to beg, and so I won't, but I hope you can forgive me. You do mean something to me. Er, I mean, you're more than just brawn and a good sparring partner, you know?"

She stopped, feeling flushed and embarrassed and cast her eyes back at the stone floor beneath her paws. She shifted her toes and played with a loose pebble before clearing her throat and letting out a bit of a nervous laugh. Yes, they had both acted fools, but what if he didn't forgive her? What if he was angry with her? Would she be able to seriously wound him if she had to? In this moment, she wasn't sure, and she wasn't comfortable in a situation like this one. She normally felt so in control, and powerful, but now she felt like a naive adolescent, acting on whims, in fact, in this moment, she felt exactly like the lioness Kovu saw her as. She hadn't thought that through at all, and she wondered how she had ever come to be in charge of anything. Were her followers more naive than she even? Was this simply a momentary lapse in judgment?

---

The whole pride was aware of what was going on by now. A stranger had infiltrated their lands, and had been slaughtered by Baya on the grounds of him being a liar and a potential spy. Ghinjo was curious, could it have been one of Mrithi's lions? After all, when she'd last checked in with Mrithi the previous day he had mentioned that he would be sending in another spy soon. The lioness wasn't concerned for herself, she'd been a accepted into this pride before having aligned with Mrithi, and wasn't likely to be suspected, though Vitani's lionesses were apparently suspicious of her. That wasn't especially worrisome for her as Kovu, and the other lionesses, didn't much care for Vitani or her troop.

In the midst of the commotion and uproar, she managed to slink away in the direction the body had been taken. It was a fair distance through the grassland until she reached the discarded carcass. She looked down at him almost emotionlessly, but with a hint of disgust seeing the sorry state he was in. She recognized this brutish male from Mrithi's crew, that was for sure, but his name eluded her. She sighed. What a sad end for a powerful lion.

Without lingering a moment longer, she glanced around to make sure she wasn't being followed, then dropped and slunk away through the grasses to go report back to Mrithi. She slipped into his camp as silently as possible and made her way to the place where he was, not bothering to make sure he wasn't busy.

"Mrithi, I have something to report at once. Your male spy was killed by the demon," she said flatly in a low tone.

[Baya]

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