[Private] Kiarasmate and Kivuli

[Baya]

Ayari thought over the events of the past few days as sleep tugged at his eyelids. As much as he wanted to keep thinking, he was tired and needed his rest. Whatever Maju had planned, Ayari was intent on being prepared. He wasn't going to lose any more of his friends to the heartless tyrant.

Ayari looked to Vitani feeling his heart sink. He'd rather be skinned alive by Maju himself then let Vitani go through any sort of harm in the process of battle. Ayari began to close his eyes to clear his thoughts. He did not even like thinking about such things.


Shwari watched as everyone began to fall asleep one by one. He didn't know what it was that Siri said that warped him so out of tune. All he knew was that he was never struck so emotionally in his entire life.

~ Back At The Graveyard ~

Tume looked to his cousin with a glare. "There isn't a word for how much I loathe him. He denied being my father as I was born too early. He didn't stick around to see if anything could be done to save me. He didn't even name me, in case I survived. I guess the irony is that this worm has grown fangs and is now a serpent." Tume growled as he smashed the skull of a small animal under his mighty paw.

"A little upsetting that I have to wait to do it." Tume said as he closed his eyes for a moment. Flashes of memories went through his mind regarding his training. All his sparring with Xepher. All his prolonged work in the desert. All of the starvation, dehydration and humiliation he went through to get to where he was. "Now you should probably lay off bothering mother. She is in no mood recently, and at one time or another I'm afraid she'll actually lash out at you. Also, it would be wonderful if you kept your comments regarding my mother to yourself." Tume said with a shudder as he began to walk towards his sleeping area, which was more isolated from everyone.

[KiarasMate]

Spotting Ayari looking over at her out of the corner of her eye, Vitani shifted her head upon her fore paws so that she could gaze back at her old friend. Working a small smile upon her muzzle and seeing that Ayari looked to be as exhausted from the days events as she herself felt, Vitani stayed quiet, only mouthing the words I love you to her old friend before closing her eyes and giving in to her own body’s need for sleep.

Seeing how most of the pride had fallen silent, aside from the rhythmic breathing from each member, Zina built up enough courage to move as she silently rose to her paws and made her way over to where Schwari was laying, her newly acquired herb pouch making the only noise as it rubbed against her neck fur as she walked. Arriving by Schwari’s side, the white furred Shaman took a deep breath and laid herself next to Schwari, more so, so the two of them could speak to one another without having to use raised voices, but also to secretly quell her urge to be close to him once again. Trying her best to make the situation look innocent at best however, Zina spoke in a hushed tone to the younger of the two brothers.

”Crazy day, huh?”

Unable to get past a simple opening statement, finding her body trembling slightly, either from being nervous or uncertain of her own actions, as the whole, being nice to males thing, was still quite new to her, Zina stayed quiet as she waited for Schwari to acknowledge her presence, her yellow orbs darting around aimlessly, not wanting to lock direct eye contact with the grey furred male once he would see her.

==========

Lowering his ears slightly, Xepher quickly apologized to Tume as he was the only member of the rag tag bunch that even held any importance in Xepher’s mind.

”Sorry Tume. Just trying’ to lighten the mood a bit. I know you’ve had a lot on your plate as of late to think about but I’ll keep my comments to myself.”

Giving a respectful nod to his litter mate, Xepher watched Tume wandering off, calling after him in a friendly voice.

”See you at first light Tume.”

Turning to head in the opposite direction, Xepher made his way to an empty spot where he could crash for the night. On his way there, the sassy male passed by Kiburi, who seemed to be getting ready to call it a night as well. Meeting with her gaze momentarily, Xepher grinned sheepishly at her as he walked by, flagging his tail in an obscene manner as he passed his aunt before finding his place to settle down at. Flopping himself down upon the rough ground, letting out an overly exaggerated yawn, Xepher called over to Kiburi before he closed his eyes.

”Night Aunty Kiburi. I’ll see you in your dreams.”

Snickering once more to himself, Xepher fell silent as he dozed off for the night.

[Baya]

"Yeah, it has been a crazy day. Crazier then any I've had before." Shwari said quietly. "I really am sorry that your friend died. If only he went with a hunting partner, perhaps things would not have turned out as they did." Shwari whispered noticing that she wasn't so hesitant of getting near him like she used to. That brought him at least some sort of joy, making him flick the air with his tail. "You going to collect some herbs tomorrow?" Shwari inquired. He was hoping the answer was yes so at least he could spend some more time with her, even if they found ten more dead friends along the way.

~ Back At The Elephant Graveyard ~

Kiburi's eyes followed Xepher as the male made his way to his sleeping spot. Kiburi chuckled at his comment. "If you are in my dream, then it is a nightmare." Kiburi said with a small hiss of contained laughter. The lioness closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

Tume laid down on his back, gazing up at the gloomy and starry sky. He looked at the various dark clouds pass by and he visored his face from the moons strong white light. Many mornings he woke up screaming or gasping for air because almost every night he had nightmares. The nightmares consisted of memories of the pain he had endured, repeating over and over again. Those nightmares reinforced his hate for his father even more.

What Tume feared the most, was actually becoming his father. Tume didn't believe himself to be evil like his father. He believed himself to be a victim of bad circumstance. Even though his heart was stone there were moments of time where he felt things like pity, disgust, and perhaps happiness once or twice. On that thought Tume felt his eyes begin to close. "Into another hell I go..." Tume murmured to himself.

[KiarasMate]

Sighing softly, Zina nodded as she replied in a low tone.

”Well, there’s nothing we can do about that now. I doubt Kivuli would have even been the type to ask anyone to accompany him anyways, so maybe he was just asking for trouble.” Shaking her head from her own comment however, Zina continued. ”As hard as I was on Kivuli when he was around, I still thought of him as a friend. Obviously not as much as Siri and Ayari, since I didn’t know him as long as either of them had, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care that he’s gone. It’s just…different for me, is all.”

Relieved to hear Schwari’s question, Zina abandoned the current topic as she managed a smile and nodded before responding in a somewhat sarcastic voice.

”Of course. Who else is going to tend to the wounds of these soft hearted felines. You know as well as I do Schwari that most of these lionesses probably have never had to fight for anything in their lives, so we’re bound to have casualties on our end. My job is to make sure that they are as few as possible and I can’t do that without my precious herbs, now can I?”

Flashing a keen grin to the grey furred male, Zina pretended to look interested as she spoke in a curious voice to Schwari.

”Why do you ask, hmm? You wanna tag along or something? Kovu did say that we shouldn’t go out alone, so I suppose if I HAVE to be with anyone outside of Siri, it might as well be you Schwari.”

Keeping a hint of jest in her tone of voice, just so that Schwari wouldn’t think too ill of her, Zina looked around the den before she reluctantly rose to her paws and addressed Schwari one last time.

”Suppose I should get some sleep too. How about we head out at first light, kay?”

Slowly making her way back over to the empty spot in the corner of the main den, looking back over her shoulder as she left, silently kicking herself for not being able to at least stay near the rather attractive male longer than she had, Zina sighed dejectedly to herself as she rested once more upon the den floor. One day, she’d find the courage to let a male into her fortress of confined feelings, but now wasn’t the day, although she hoped that when the day would come, the male in question would be Schwari. Closing her eyes after situating herself comfortably, Zina joined her fellow felines in sleep’s grip as thoughts of both times past and things to come, played out in her dreams.

[Baya]

When morning arrived Tume opened his eyes, surprised that he didn't have a nightmare this time. He quickly stood up and stretched with a grunt. He then began to make his way where he expected his cousin to be sleeping. Perhaps they could get some food in the pridelands while they did their duty today. Tume walked towards the sleeping Xepher and began to shake him awake. Tume really hoped he didn't have to do anything extra to wake his cousin up today.

~ Pridelands ~

Shwari woke up first out of all the pridelanders, which was a little strange considering he was the first to go sleep. He stretched in his boundary and then looked to Zina. His heart skipped a beat, and he smiled looking down now. Before, he just wanted to gain her acceptance and be her friend. Now that he had that, he didn't understand what was making him want to get closer and closer to her. He didn't want to wake her up and disrupt her rest so he sat down and just waited, observing some things in the den.

[KiarasMate]

As usual, Vitani was up bright and early at the crack of dawn. Giving her tired frame a quick, but thorough stretch, the former Outlander rolled over towards where Ayari was still sleeping peacefully, giving her old friend a soft nuzzle before she rose to her paws and went about her own business. Making a quick round through the den, Vitani stirred several of the sleeping lionesses as she prepared to take them out into The Grasslands to get the days lesson underway, trying her best not to make too much noise, as everyone else was still sleeping calmly, aside from Schwari, who Vitani noticed out of the corner of her eye. Offering the grey furred male a polite smile, Vitani moved outside, followed closely by the half dozen or so lionesses that she had chosen to instruct.

Despite Vitani’s best efforts however, the noise and motion of moving bodies was enough to bring Zina into a half way conscious state as one of her yellow orbs flickered open, taking in the scene before her, causing a irritated grumble to escape her muzzle as she opened her other eye just in time to see the last remaining lionesses exiting the den. Letting out an exhausted yawn, the white furred Shaman took a look around to gauge who was still present. Upon doing so, her stare fell upon Schwari, making her smile inadvertently as she slowly rose to her paws and gave her slender form a much needed stretch. Noticing that her fur was quite the disaster zone from the previous nights sleep, but feeling Schwari’s eyes upon her, Zina tentatively began to groom herself as her gaze met with his briefly. Forcing a dimwitted smile, Zina spoke in a hushed voice as she addressed Schwari in a nonchalant tone.

”Yeah, I look like a mess when I wake up, so what.”

Running her tongue through her snow white pelt, her fur seemingly glistening from the combined sunlight and saliva that worked in unison to bring her pelt to a more presentable look. Once satisfied with her work, Zina rose to her paws once more and made her way over to where Schwari was seated, speaking once more to him in a carefree manner.

”I’m going to answer the call of nature, then we’ll go herb collecting, Okay?”

Only pausing for a moment to hear his reply, Zina padded silently out of the main den before she picked up speed and dashed off to find a secluded area to take care of her body’s needs, passing by the small group of lionesses that were already being be raided by Vitani’s shrill instructions. Once she had finished doing what was needed, Zina started to make her way back towards the main den, this time at a slightly slower pace as her body seemed to be quite the distraction for some reason or another. Quietly mumbling to herself as she climbed the slope leading to the main den, Zina took a quick glance around before poking her head back inside and calling over to Schwari.

”Okay, c’mon, let’s get a move on. You remember the deal right? You stay in front or alongside me at all times, got it?”

==========

Fortunately for Tume, Xepher was never the hardest sleeper of the bunch, so it didn’t take much effort to rouse him. Noticing the time of day and who had woken him, Xepher quickly hopped to his paws, greeting his friend in a respectful manner as he spoke.

”Mornin’ Tume. Guess we should get going already, huh?”

Waiting for a reply from Tume, Xepher’s emerald eyes scanned around the gloomy environment of The Elephant Graveyard, spotting Kiburi, who was still snoozing soundly a few paces off. Turning his focus back to Tume, Xepher spoke up once more as he gave his body a quick stretch.

”Well, I’m ready when you are Tume. Lead the way buddy.”

Unable to resist himself, as the pair made their way past the rest of the sleeping members of Maju’s horde, Xepher made absolute sure that his hind paw connected ever so lightly against the sleeping Kiburi’s hind quarters, running dangerously close to her tail base before his weight pressed down upon her curled tail.

[Baya]

Shwari waited until she was done grooming herself. When she left he chuckled quietly to himself over what she said. He stretched a bit, and looked to his brother who was still sleeping. He then looked to Ayari and Vitani. Ayari looked like he was a bit troubled in his sleep, and that made Shwari wonder what was on the lion's mind. It must've been hard for Ayari to denounce his friend, and have to finally try kill him. On that thought, his ear twitched as he heard Zina enter back into the den. His eyes gazed over at her in a tired manner and he stood.

"Yeah I'm ready to go. Maybe I can get a bite to eat while we are out..." Shwari murmured as he quickly walked in front of Zina, remembering the golden rule she had.

Moments after Shwari and Zina left, Husudu, Ayari and several other lionesses awoke. Husudu frowned as he looked at the empty sleeping space of his brother. "Peh. Always off with that shaman now." Husudu said with a snort as he looked to Ayari. Ayari chuckled slightly as he was still half asleep.

"You are jealouuuus." Ayari sang with a grin. Husudu forced a laugh. "Ha! Me? Jealous of him? If he wants to go off with that Shaman all the time so be it. It saves me the problems that come with Shwari...ungrateful little pest." Husudu murmured, the last part barely audible. Ayari smirked.

"You are jealous of your little brother for finding someone. I think it's kind of nice that Zina and him have connected a little bit. Zina was usually so distrusting of males that she made sure that none came within a certain distance. Now she's off herb collecting with Shwari." Ayari pointed out. "I think coming to the pridelands was the best thing for all of us..." Ayari said quietly.

~ Elephant Graveyard ~

Tume did not seem to be in a mood for chuckles today. He was intent on completing his objective, and not failing his mother. All these plans would finally lead up to the downfall of Maju, and Tume was waiting for that day eagerly. Tume made his way quickly across the elephant graveyard, alongside his cousin until they reached the border to the pride lands. There was no guards, but lots of rocks in the way. "This isn't a good angle to attack from..." Tume said quietly as he looked at the passing clouds. This land was very peaceful, and it made his stomach twist in remorse for what must be done.

[KiarasMate]

Waiting until Schwari had taken lead, Zina followed the grey furred male into The Grasslands, keeping a timed pace so that she always remained either by his side or having him a few paws length ahead of her. Zina’s gate was a bit awkward as she tried her best to keep her tail lowered, her natural body’s course of action clearly showing as the nervous lioness did her best to act casual as she spoke.

”So, you mentioned something about food, huh? How about we head to the waterhole and see what sort of breakfast we can scrounge up.”

Knowing that there was a much more important reason for wanting to head to the waterhole than mere sustenance, Zina barely waited for Schwari to acknowledge her suggestion before she subtly altered their direction towards the local watering hole, still keeping her strides timed with Schwari’s. As soon as the pair arrived near the local, Zina spoke in a lower voice, as not to scare off the few grazing animals that had already taken notice of their presence.

”If you’re expecting me to help out with filling your belly Schwari, I hate to disappoint you but I’m no huntress. You’d be better off catching your own breakfast.”

With that said, Zina slowly backed off until she was far enough away from the grey furred male for comfort, before the white furred Shaman turned and started to make her way around the bank of the waterhole, obviously intent on finding something as her head stayed low to the ground as her eyes searched frantically for a particular herb.

==========

Following closely behind his friend, Xepher listened keenly to what Tume stated, perking up his ears from the last words he spoke, causing Xepher to retort in a perplexed fashion.

”Attack? Woah, getting a bit ahead of yourself now aren’t you Tume. Aunty Kiburi just told us to scout out these lands. Not to go start ripping heads off. I know you’re just as eager for some action as I am but pace yourself buddy.”

Speeding up slightly so he was walking alongside his friend now, Xepher took a quick glance around The Pride Lands, taking in the nice scenery before turning his focus back to Tume and addressing him in a carefree tone.

”Seriously though, what’s the point of us going out to scout Tume? We already know we can take these lions, don’t we? Didn’t we prove that fact to her yesterday when we took out that male? It was so freakin’ easy!”

Recalling the pain that they had inflicted, started to bring out Xepher’s darker side as a devious laugh left his muzzle as he started to mock the dying words of their victim.

”Siri…I love you…GAHHH!!!!”

Swiping his paw at the grass below him, causing several of the blades to go flying, Xepher turned back to Tume as he stated in a cold voice.

”That’s why you don’t fall in love. It’ll get you killed in the end.”

Smirking coyly at his friend, Xepher fell quiet to allow Tume to get a word in edge wise, which often was the case whenever the two were assigned a task to do together. Perhaps Xepher enjoyed the sound of his voice a bit too much or maybe it was just the fact that he did everything in his powers to make Tume see him as more than just his litter mate. Always wanting to gain the respect of his idle in life, Xepher knew the ins and outs of how his friend worked and did his utmost to appeal to them.

[Baya]

Shwari noticed how uncomfortable she looked as they walked, and stopped near the watering hole without a word. He looked at his reflection for a bit, and tilted his head. He touched a patch of fur under his muzzle. That wasn't there before. He was now sharing more looks with his brother than before with the short fur goatee. "Odd..." Shwari murmured as he dunked his entire head into the water to cool his face off. He lifted his head out from the water. He then looked to Zina for a moment, and then chuckled. The chuckle turned into hysterical laughter. "You look so serious! It looks like you are glaring at worms or something!" Shwari said as he fell onto his back laughing.

~ Tume and Xepher ~

"Love blinds you from what's really there. It can make the strongest lion, the weakest little kitten. I really didn't like the idea of killing that lion yesterday, but he attacked me first. No choice. Perhaps I should've let him live because he'd be dying with his love rather then all alone." Tume murmured looked down at the rocks. "I am not evil you know. I am a victim of coincidence. When all this is done, I'm not going to be a tyrant." Tume said quietly as he walked alongside Xepher.

[KiarasMate]

Turning to face Schwari momentarily, her eyes narrowing in an irritated manner, the imbalance of hormones in her body clearly showed as she bared her teeth and hissed at the hysterical grey furred male.

”Yeah, laugh it up stupid.”

Turning her attention back to the task at paw, Zina continued further down the bank of the waterhole until her nose picked up the unmistakable scent she was looking for. Moving in closer, the white furred Shaman took a deep breath, only to pull her head back hurriedly from the repugnant aroma that wafted past her nostrils.

Bingo! Zina thought to herself as she quickly ejected a claw and rapidly snipped off one of the brownish looking reeds, taking it into her muzzle as she bit off a small piece of the horrid tasting plant.

Chewing with a completely disgusted expression etched upon her face, Zina forced herself to swallow the vile tasting herb before carefully slipping off her herb pouch and neatly depositing the remaining amount of the reed inside of it. Turning back to Schwari now as she readjusted the pouch back around her neck and feeling the medicine beginning to take effect already, Zina spoke in a somewhat apologetic voice to him as she made her way over to where Schwari was situated at.

”Sorry for snapping at you. It’s just that…um, well, never mind. Lioness business and all that…c’mon, let’s see what we can do about getting something to eat now, okay?”

Managing a timid smile, Zina waited for Schwari to take lead again, her tail seemingly coming to life now as her stance resorted back to a more normal appearance.

==========

Sighing dejectedly and nodding to Tume, Xepher replied in a reluctant voice.

”Yeah yeah, I know Buddy. Do what you have to, then turn over a new leaf. I get it. We don’t want to end up like Maju, that’s for sure, but where is the line drawn between what is expected of us to do and what comes naturally.”

Walking alongside his friend, noticing that they had made their way into the heart of The Pride Lands already, Xepher’s short attention span shifted to that of the job at paw. Noticing that there was no sign of any of the resident felines, aside from a very faint scent that didn’t go undetected by Xepher’s sharp sense of smell, Xepher turned to Tume as he stated in a sly manner.

”Seems like they might be onto us already Tume. Haven’t seen a single lion out and about yet. Not like when we first came here. Maybe they’ve wised up to us. I do however…smell something nice…don’t you Friend?”