Be Born With Good Destiny

[XxRinaRoguexX]

This fanfiction shall also be posted on my DeviantArt page, http://www.oxbutterflykissesxo.deviantart.com. I will also have pictures drawn by myself up there about the characters, and some events that won't be written in the fanfiction/edited for alternate uses. As well, characters from my older account (oXButterflyKissesXo) will come into this fanfiction. Thank you, and hope you enjoy : )
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PART I (Chapter 1)

A proud rare orange colored cub reared her head out of the den, exposing those black ears of hers to the sun that could light no part of them and her fur to gain the citrus look to it. And as her eyes set sights on the small pride of the Naborhi territory, where she spotted the small party of cubs and their sitters. Eagerly and restlessly, the little girl hopped down from the large formation of rocks and down to where she was in sight of the others. And they knew her with one name: "Rika!"

At the sound of her name, she raced forward spotting the main cub sitters Ife, Kayode, and Kashore. And the looks she received from the aging lioness twins, Chenzi and Hakika, made her mission across the grass and to the split pride even more wanted. Once the cub had made her way over to the bodies of the sitters, she found herself sprawled out on the long and large build of the male Kayode. "Be careful Rika, you know how Kayode gets" warned Ife. The cub knew how things worked though; as long as his half-sister Kashore was there, there wasn't a thing he could do to Rika that Kashore couldn't punish him for. He was indeed the embodiment of a tempermental kitty, but she always got away with being the cheeky annoyance she did so well. Sure enough, a bellow that acted like an earthquake to Rika shifted her paws around on the furry surface she sat on and she looked down to see the angry face of Kayode through his long bangs and puffy ashed mane.

"Morning, Kayode!" The male merely rolled over onto his stomach so Rika couldn't place herself there any longer and gave her time to move out from under him, which she did and hopped to Chenzi. Chenzi laughed lightly as she took on the cub to her back and allowed Rika's pelt to clash with her rustic brown whilst Hakika took it upon herself to clean the backside of the orange female. "Hakika, stop it!" She laughed.

Sure enough at the sound of Rika's voice, a brown cub emerged from the clutches of bathing to peer up with big green eyes at her best friend. Rika's celestial eyes peered down from the height she was at with her 'grandmother' and smiled to match the one of the female cub. "Having fun up there?" The lionesses laughed at Jasira's charming sarcasm through her young age and how she used her facial expressions to mimic what could be called the 'Kovu face', which Rika would smirk and peer down at her best friend back.

"You bet!" But the talks were short when Rika jumped down and landed on the dark brown female she knew well, beginning the series of random play fights for the day. It left the others to watch and marvel at the rough housing they had gotten into so early in their years, not even being taught by their parents. Ife continued to lick the cub she was bathing while Hakika and Chenzi aided their old bodies with each other since there were spots the old girls couldn't reach. Meanwhile Kayode remained slumbering and Kashore on look out in case something was on the prowl other than the lionesses and their hunting party for the morning breakfast. So far nothing had been showing up for their luck, and it was about to change thanks to the early catch and great teamwork of the females of the pride.

A series of loud roars echoed through the lands, being rebuttaled by the fellow pride mates at the den greeting their females back. Males erected from the den or long areas of grass and soon enough made their own presences known to welcome their mates and friends back. The lionesses whom mothered the cubs in Rika's little group made their way over to check on their babies, knowing already that they were in good paws but coming to greet them after some hard work and time away from their blood. And it wasn't too long before Jasira recognized her parents from the bunch and strode off to them leaving Rika to the sights of the sitters, who smiled down at her. But it wasn't long before a howl of a roar came from a similarly orange toned female stepped out of the bunch and landed her brown eyes on her baby girl, just as no time was wasted before Rika's blue eyes spotted her mother, Vasha, and she smiled. "Mommy!" The older female watched Rika speed off to the touch of her mother, embracing the other and smiling. The short-lived reunion was cut in two with the sound of their leader's roar, and the sight of him. King Tendai, and his mate, Queen Zuri came into the middle of the reunited families after their morning hunt and made themselves known.

No one bowed as they were always instructed not to but simply gazed lovingly upon the two leaders of the Naborhi pride, appearing before them all for an important announcement that they could all assume was of high respect since there was a slight smile on their king's face and the queen looked at the cubs with affectionate eyes and a caring smile. "My sisters, and brothers. Great news has come from our sister pride, the Obagan pride," the air was even more silent than it was before at the mention of their partner pride, "King Duna shall be paying us a visit and with him, come our cousins". Not that Tendai had anything else important to say before the lions and lionesses started to roar with cheer and happiness at being able to see their sister pride again, but Tendai broke the cries to speak of more. "Upon the evening fall over the lands, they shall be here. So let us all work together to make this a pleasant welcoming for the pride that has worked so closely with us for a number of years". They were spoken of so highly amongst the pride members of the Naborhi, but to the cubs who were just learning of their elders they knew almost nothing of how much the Obagan and Naborhi were so closely intertwined. It would be something they would learn when they were older and as they were to blossom into Naborhi adults.

There were no other words needing to be said as they all dispersed into their own pockets of family members in order to go off and aid in the preparation of the Obagan arrival. Once most of the pride members were gone with the cubs and the sitters were relieved of their duties for the time being, Rika turned to look up at her mother. "Mommy, let's play" Rika looked up from her mother's paws like she hadn't heard a thing the leader had said, and she hadn't seen the lionesses make their ways off with their cubs to prepare them as well as help other arrangements.

"Rika, didn't you hear Tendai? We've gotta go help".

The cub's face grew sour, "but that seems boring".

Vasha snorted with laughter at her little daughter's blissful personality, acting like there wasn't a care in the world. And there really wasn't when you were a cub, but Rika was going to have to learn sooner or later that there were things you had to do when you were an adult and she would have to live up to the expectations when she was older as well. "Why don't you find one of your friends to play with?" With a smile and a lick to the head, Vasha strode forwards to leave her cub to herself, only turning her head to look down at her bright daughter, "love you".

Rika simply sat in the tall grass with her back paws out to her sides and front legs in front of her, a frown firmly planted on her face. "Love you too" grumbled the cub, getting to her paws and looking around. There was barely any kind of life around her now that the others had left with their parents or anything lion which made her feel tinier compared to the world. That was, until she spotted the teenage friend of hers, Reth. "Reth! Reth! Reth! Hey, Reth!" the chirping cub bounced around to get to her target of dark brown fur, and immature crimson mane until his eyes looked down to see her approach. "Come on and play with me!" She stanced a playful pose of tail high in the air and her stomach to the ground, a smirk on her face brimming with excitement of the play fighting they usually had.

"Are you stupid?" Well that was unexpected. "If I ever hope to be anywhere in this pride, I've gotta help Tendai out with getting ready for the arrival of the Obagan lions" but by then he had already had an attack of orange set on him by Rika, as she pawed his legs like the cub she was and and nipped at his chest, the male's face showing annoyance with the little girl who took it upon herself to annoy him when she had the chance. In her mind, he was a younger version of Kayode. "Come on Rika, quit it" Reth couldn't bring himself to push her off of him so he used his words as his force making the cub look up at him before she backed away from his legs. He was about to take off before he heaved in a sigh and looked into those large blue eyes of hers, "later tonight, okay? I promise". That promise to the cub seemed like the best thing she had heard all day and her day wasn't that long seeing as how she had woken up in the afternoon, played around for a while and then was left to play on her own. But she could always count on her best friend Reth to make her feel like someone in the pride. With a nod of her head and genuine smile from the teen male, he strode forward and away from the cub. Rika still found it amazing that she could some day be the size of some of the adults that were in her pride, and the size of Reth was only half of what he was going to be when he was full grown. She would be able to get through the grasses as easily as he could without having to hop all the time and not have to worry about bumping into an unwanted something or someone thanks to her height at this age.

SNAP. Rika's body launched from the ground faster than she had ever made any kind of motion off the ground and it was sending her heart at the same rate she wanted to dart off and find her mother. But something inside the little lionesses head was telling her that she should look to see what was coming up to her and so she did...

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART II (Chapter 2)

It wasn't long before after the snap that alarmed the cub up into the air and then back down to the earth with her claws dove into the ground that she saw a cub rear its head. It was a light but cold shade of brown with bright green eyes that seemed to hold confusion in them. "Uh, hi" the timid cub said to Rika. Compared to the little heap of fluff that was that male cub, Rika would easily look like she could beat him to a pulp; not so much that he was smaller than Rika, but the way he was holding himself together to make himself look smaller than he actually was was more compromising than his tiny voice and lack of confidence in his eyes.

Any other cub would probably have challenged the intruder to a battle but Rika wasn't in the mood to lose a potential friend who could offer her some play time. So with a smile and a wagging tail to show her welcoming posture she looked down at the male, "hi! I'm Rika, what's your name?"

That little boost of attention and welcome from Rika seemed to perk the male up, as he returned to his full height (which was no larger than Rika), his ears returned from being pinned to his head, and his face sprouted a new smile that was actually pretty nice to look at. "I'm Auzhane" answered the male, blinking sheepishly. As soon as the introductions were finished, Rika wasted no time to pounce on the little guy and start the giggle fest. The cubs wrestled in the grass, but there wasn't much of a competition as they both knew the female was winning.

"Auzhane, come on" a female voice called out from a distance causing both cubs to perk their heads and ears up to spot a lioness, probably his mother, calling out for him to come.

"Coming mama!" The brown cub slipped out from under his new friends which caused her to fall with a light thump on the ground and snort out the dust from getting into her nose, "I gotta go, sorry!" With that, Auzhane rushed off to the female who walked with him to another direction, leaving Rika alone without even giving her time to even take in a breath or even say a farewell. That cub wasn't from her pride, so she didn't know if she would see that Auzhane again.

Was the world playing jokes with her? There was no way that anything could be as boring as this! Simply walking around with nothing to do and no one to play with was like torture for Rika. All because of the stupid Naborhi pride being so close with the Obagan members, there was this huge fuss over a simple act of them coming over to the Naborhi territory. Rika couldn't see the deal in it; they came all the time for casual days of laying around and talking with their cousins. Adults were weird...

None the less, the cub took it upon herself to find something meaningful to do. That would grow increasingly difficult since she saw not even a bug skipping along the surface of the grasses. What a lazy afternoon this was, but she wasn't the one who was making it that way. But when she heard some form of noise coming from the den, she took an assumption that the Obagan pride had come and when she turned her attentions to the direction, she was proven correct as an assortment of colored lions and lionesses made their way to the den site with the Naborhi pride members smiling and beaming with happiness at the sight of their cousins. Was Rika really willing to take after her pride in the celebration? Yeah right! They weren't looking, so this was the perfect opportunity for Rika to explore around...where she had been told not to go. A smirk and devilish look crossed over her expression as she turned foot and stampeded her way through the lands, cutting through the trails and around the bends until the territory line of her pride was no longer in scent range.

It wasn't as different as Rika had thought; same looking trees, same tasting water, and same annoying grass taller than her! "This stinks" cursed the cub, but to her excitement she had landed her eyes on patches of grass that seemed too good to be true as her height looked like she could tower over it! Without a second thought she hurried over it and took advantage of showing off her blue orbs to the world ahead of her and a smile brimming her lips but the smile faded when she felt something watching her. Was it a mistake to come out of the tall grasses after all? This something watching her was not a good feeling as far as she couldn't see anything which was starting to make her feel uneasy about being in the shorter grasses this time around. How could such a victory become such a defeat? But her eyes managed to surface over the fear and she peered around despite her better judgement, finally spotting something moving around in the grass not too far ahead of her.

Brown...with a shorter, yet fuzzier mane? A lion? Certainly not from where she was from...

"Hello?" Rika questioned edging closer to the sight, when finally she spotted the dark eyes of the form. Her heart raced and her ears folded back when she came to the conclusion of what the 'something' was that was watching her...she had heard about them before, and she had learned that they were dangerous. A wild cry came from the animal and it rushed forward, bolting Rika into panic mode and she scurried away as fast as she could. "Help! Mommy, help! DADDY!"

"Rika, get down!" A roar vocalized through the air when a shadow passed overhead of the cub's body and numerous roars and snarls were heard before the painful screams of something...or someone, came into hearing.

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART III (Chapter 3)

Her father's voice sang through her ears and at the same time they were pierced with a loud roar of rush terrifying horror towards the human. It was too late for Rika to duck as her head was plunged into the ground thanks to the impact of the slight swipe of her father's back feet to her head. All she could hear through the grass were roars, screams, battle cries, the ripping of skin, and the splashes of blood to the ground. Was it really skin being ripped, and who's was it? She would soon find out when she lifted her head up to see the lion standing fiercely...over his kill. Blood accented his coat well (better than she would admit though), and it showed up too much to the cub. Bezz'i turned his head to look down at Rika and walked over slowly, "did he hurt you?" A large paw came to cradle the little girl to his leg before she looked to his chest and saw blood.

"Your chest, you're bleeding!" Rika exclaimed, not unfamiliar to the smell and feel of the red.

"I'm fine" he replied, stroking his daughter's back to soothe her fears as well as her soiled fur and looked at the pride den, where the lions who watched over the cub Rika were probably lazing about like they seemed to have today. It wasn't too fine of a day for them, where he would have a stern word with them about his daughter and how she had found her way around their eyes and into danger, perhaps maybe even sentencing her to death death if Bezz'i hadn't been there to save her like he always did.

Suddenly, a second cry was heard and they turned their heads to spot another one of those two-legged creatures. And it was making its way over to the already injured Bezz'i, its eyes wild and open to the sight of an orange lion cub. "Get going!" Bezz'i ordered his daughter's leave but she was to have nothing of it, as she shot forward to dart through the grass and taking a firm hit to the creature, causing them both to fall. "Rika!" The cub didn't listen to her father as much as she was listening to the sounds of the opponent of hers who was trying to cause the same harm to her as its companion did to her father-- maybe even worse than what was dealt to her father. Though she was young and not developed as the others in the pride, she growled and snarled as best she could, but never once let out a single roar.

"Rika!" A female voice was heard but to Rika only a dash of dim orange was seen in the corner of her eyes, before it became more clear that it was her mother who was crusading through the grass as a pulse would through a vein with a fierce look on her face. "Don't you dare touch my daughter!" The remark was followed with a ear ringing holler hurled across them and their match, all the way back to the pride where no doubt the others were able to hear and come for back up. Finally, there was another sentenced death from the intruder, leaving both Vasha and Bezz'i drenched in sweat and soaked in blood much different than their own.

It was only after the whole ordeal that they were joined by the prides of Naborhi and Obagan. What a way to be welcomed to their second home: a battle being won by their sister pride over some other force, and the battle field written with their story in fresh death.

Young Reth was the first to notice something was amiss and he instantly could sense the feeling in the young RIka of uncertainty, which brought him to pick her up in his mouth to bring her over his side of the pride, leaving the parents breathing out their tag-team victory slowly across from them. When Rika was nestled underneath her best friend and pride-brother, there was a moment to speak for the youthful male, "Vasha, what happened?" The sister pride knew best how to make things sound like they were much worse than they really were in Reth's opinion but this scene painted a vivid picture and to answer, Bezz'i only brought his paw to his mouth and swiped the back so the blood from his mouth was slightly dried.

The anger came back into his eyes as they were when he was going after the prey, "that human came after my daughter. Someone should have been watching her better" he directed his furious cobalts to the cub-sitting party over in the corner where they were trying not to be noticed and now even more aware that they could be in trouble than they were when Rika was missing, the worst being thought until it finally came to a boil.

But finally it was Rika's turn to speak up and so she did coming out from under Reth's body and looking to Bezz'i, "it's not their fault; I got away on my own so I could look around". The entire prides' eyes were on her now as she spoke with the voice of a lioness well over her age and the courage of their great King

"Rika," her mother's voice chirped in to break the throat-wrenching silence that she knew full well was like a shattered piece glass being teased with weight on it, "you know better". Tendai looked down at their orange cub and then back at his second hand training to see how he would handle the situation. All the while, Reth was baffled by the whole thing and trying to figure out he would explain to the little cub that she wasn't allowed to be so rebellious so young when it came to safety.

Something in Rika's eyes brought them back to Bezz'i and her mind finally continued her rampage of adult content, "what were they, daddy?" He assumed she was talking about the human, though Bezz'i would offer to his daughter no knowledge of his own on the subject, making the cub direct her questions to her mother, "mommy?" She too said nothing and stood the united front with her mate. The more Rika got no answer and the more her eyes took in the sight of the two dead bodies lightly elevated from the earth thanks to the strong grass, her mind went from wondering to racing. One was larger than the other, and one was slimmer. The one who appeared to be a female had a large mane of curly black locks whilst the male who was of a larger demeanour had no mane on his head at all.

"Humans" Duna, the King of the Obagan lions, started but stopped momentarily upon recieving eyes from the King of the Naborhi pride. None the less, Duna felt the need to go on and explain to her the true terror that they could wreak on the human race if they were not careful as they were around the presence of carnivores such as lions, "they come in groups like us, and are just as dangerous if we are not prepared for them". Duna reflected on his lost eye and then back down at the cub, "you must promise that you will never care for them, nor treat them as you would any of your brothers or sisters". He was referring to her pride-brothers, and pride-sisters, as she was an only child.

"They seem like my brothers and sisters to me" Rika spoke up to the large elder, but it shocked not only the leader of their sister pride. What led her to such a conclusion? Just a few moments ago she was asking about them and what they were and now she was making the decision that they were just like them? How? "They hide in the grass like we would when our mothers hunt". She had seen Zuri and her cubs together when they were learning as well as her own lessons with Vasha, so she could only assume.

"Rika...what are you talking about?" Reth questioned.

Her head whipped backwards and then back up at Duna and then past where the dead body of that 'human' species with her bold blues. The pride was too quick to follow, "those humans right there. Aren't they like us?" Duna ceased his questioning expression to her and turned around with a snarl and arched back. The others followed and looked around for the same thing that Rika had spoken of, but there was nothing to be seen. A full sized human would have easily stuck out in this light colored grassland by now or made some form of noise, so there was nothing to see...but the scents on the wind were enough to make the others start to reach anxiety. Were they being hunted? No...

Rika walked forward past her uncle Duna and parents to where she had been looking all this time. Through the grass making small noises with every step she took, the steps finally stopped and she peered down at the alive bodies of two humans. They were dark skinned much like Reth's pelt and they had little spikes of manes growing from their heads, but not much so that was pretty good indication that they were young. Though their eyes were wide and they were huddled together with shaking bodies as though it was winter, they seemed calmer when the young cub was in front of them as opposed to Duna or Vasha, who were much larger and confident. All the orange girl did was sit down and look back at her pride members, her orange mother staring in disbelief. "Rika," Tendai was lost for words, "come back to us now" a light order that the cub wasn't going to take though she knew better than to disobey two times in one day. Reth's eyes were centered on his pride-sister.

"Why?"

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART IV (Chapter 4)

"They aren't going to hurt us".

"Not now maybe, but when you're older and so are they...they'll come after you like all the others for your coat..." Duna spoke with saliva dripping down his mouth like he was ready to take a bite out of their small bodies. The cub didn't think anything of it. All she did was look at them in the eye and study them as they were nothing she had ever seen before, and they did the same for her. A smile grew over her lips and she looked to who looked like the oldest of the two though they looked similar in too many ways, "I'll name him 'Odion'" which meant 'oldest of twins', then she turned her head to the younger one, "and I'll name you 'Montsho'" which meant 'black' or 'dark'. Duna seemed irritated by this odd gesture of peace from the oldest cub of the Naborhi pride and he made his opinion known with a low bellow of a growl, making the children bundle up together once more and close their eyes tight.

"They aren't your pets! Don't name them because they are about to suffer the same fate as their wretched parents!" Duna bounded forward, but before he could get there the smaller frame of a lioness flashed in front of the cub and to the side of Vasha. The two lioness formed the barrier around Rika and the two boys.

It was none other than a tag-team of protection from Vasha and queen Zuri, who was now looking up at the king to their sister pride, "they are mere children whom have been led here by the senselessness of their elder who has not learned better. Why punish them for a crime they did not commit?" For such an adult conversation Rika had no clue as to what was being said, but she was imagining that the queen was on her side the way she was standing over her and stopping Duna from advancing to the terrified creatures. Duna was not one to argue with the other queen who governed their partnership in the Pridelands but he could oppose it with his words still.

"You are allowing this blood shed to continue by letting them into your own pride" scorned the larger male opposed to the idea of the smaller framed queen of the Naborhi pride. Vasha could have slapped the male in front of her for such crude words in front of a child, but Zuri didn't seem to mind him and his words so harshly spoken though it sent her mind into wonder making her think that sometimes she was too kind of a mother to her own children and the ones she sensed needing help. The difference though between him being the King and another lion in the pride was immensely different and so there was no competition for her to dethrone him or even tell him off as she knew it would do no good. Vasha was losing her temper though, and Zuri stood a stern but kind front.

"Or maybe I'm prolonging it. Maybe even ending it but Duna, I can't turn my back on a child when they are abandoned" she spoke of her cub Neobi when she quickly stole a glance from that beautiful baby boy of hers and then back up to Duna. Everyone knew the story of their queen and where she had come from under circumstances they were unable to understand due to lack of the sight beyond their tight-knit family. "Surely you understand that much, ovie Duna" she used the African term for 'king' in a sarcastic manner implying that he should know better than to act so rashly as a leader to so many others. With that and a few moments of silence from everyone including the addressed king, he took back the persona of his leadership role and strode his way off to where his own pride was nested for the night. Left with only their siblings and mates, Zuri turned herself around to the cub and the children and lent them a smile until she walked over to the African males. To her eyes, they couldn't resist as they finally placed their hands on her gray fur and brushed it lightly, waiting for something to happen. Rika looked to her queen and heard her say, "you saved lives today, Rika" from Zuri's soft and kind voice, only bringing the cub to feel accomplished and happy with herself to nuzzle her loving and motherly queen in appreciation of her words and kindness. There was also no doubt that the two twin boys were thankful to the lioness as well.
Now it didn't matter who was opposed to it as long as Zuri was happy and allowing it. It was probably for the first time that a pair of humans, brothers none the less, were let into a pride of killers much as they would grow up to be. With Rika being the same size as them and still growing much as they were predicted to do, there would be no sense in thinking that they would stay as small as they were now and that they would either be a wonderful asset to the pride or a harmful inkling of destroyers in the making. When they started walking back to the pride's den, Rika caught the glance of Reth who was giving her a look undescribable for the better probably. And so with their new additions to the pride, they strode back quietly as there was really nothing that no one could think of to lift the confusion and uprising fear in their hearts.

Rika was feeling the heat of her parents' eyes blazing down at their little cub already, but she tried her best to ignore it so she didn't have to talk to them about it. Nor would she have to be scorned if they were to tell her that she did a bad thing today. But when she looked up at her mother, Vasha simply shook her head with a sigh and that same caring look on her face mixed with a you-know-you're-getting-it-from-your-dad-when-we-get-home expression, leading her to mirror her head to the brown male that was Bezz'i, who didn't look at her nor his mate. She trudged forward to him lightly rubbing herself on his legs as much as she could without tripping the two of them and keeping up with his pace, her little legs trotting along with trouble as his long and thick legs strode forward slowly and yet still quicker than the normal pace. "Daddy, I love you".

"I love you too, Rika" he plainly replied, not even looking down at her. He always looked at her with their matching eyes peering into the others, but tonight was different...too different for her liking.

"Bezz'i" Vasha tried to talk him down from his inward temper tantrum but all he did was flash her a look before she sighed and looked over to the twin boys who were following behind Zuri a ways away from where they walked in the back.

Rika's temper was growing thin of her father and though she was clouded as to whether or not there was a reason to be angry with his attitude, there was a need for her to speak her mind just as her mother freely did all the time. "If you have something to say to me, just say it and quit acting like a baby". That seemed to catch his attention as his feet glued to the ground and peered downwards at the courageous daughter of his who was eyeing him with a stern look plastered across her face and a determined look in her eye. Vasha was going to stay out of it so that she could give her daughter a taste of adult life. Lesson one: adult conversation. "If you're upset about Odion and Montsho, you're going to have to deal with it. Because Zuri seems to really love them and I do too".

"You're too young to understand what love is--"

"I seem to love a whole lot more than you can, and its apparent from today that you don't love me, or support me".

"Rika" Vasha had to finally voice her utter shock for the cub's language skills and lack of respect to her father. She had never seen her daughter this way with Bezz'i before, and she couldn't imagine how shocked he was to have been hearing this with his own two ears.

There was silence in the group of three for a while before Rika's shoulders dropped slowly and her face was overcome with doubt to the fact that she said something like that to her own blood. It was slowly starting to set in that she had spoken to her father like she would an enemy and that was something no cub should ever see their parent as, and it was for that reason that she was truly sorry that she didn't hold her tongue. All that was left to do now was to hope he didn't take it the wrong way and she would still be able to prove herself as a good daughter to him. To her relief, he sighed out and walked forward to mimic the same behavior as before with his young cub and soothed the back of his daughter out, smiling down at her. "It's alright Rika, I just want to protect you".

"I know" she smiled.

But happiness for the cub was short-lived, "I'll take care of those boys" his tone was deadly, as were his eyes when he gazed off of her orange fur and over to the two boys who walked beside the queen of the Naborhi pride. Rika held in a growl before she shot away from him.

"JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE, YOU IDIOT! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO HATEFUL ALL THE TIME?!" Screamed the little girl, which was apparently a little louder than she thought so she had drawn the gazes of others to her before she could even finish her sentence. This was such a day, and when she saw the look return to Bezz'i's face, she was sure that it was going to be probably one of the worst days she was going to experience in her entire life. Bezz'i stood there and stared his daughter down before looking to Vasha and then shaking his head while turning his body away to make his way off and away from the two family members of his. Though she wanted to chase after him, the cub was too proud and much too stubborn to admit she was feeling weak without her father with her. If only she could draw strength from herself from within like her mother, but she wasn't as confident as that and it was more complicated to the brain of the small girl compared to the others. She couldn't even look her mother in the eye as she knew all she would get was scorn much harsher than before. The only thing that would make this day better was if it were over quicker.

(Next post will be a time lapse into Rika's life ahead into the future where she's older. : ))

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART V (Chapter 5)

Now in his teen years, Montsho could find himself better capable of running faster and able to dodge things easier. But that didn't mean he was able to get away from his number one predator: Jasira. The male scurried through the tall grasses he once struggled with and whilst he panted, attempted to conceal his body with some kind of camouflage which appeared to be only a few slim trees. The teenage boy jumped forward for his last stride behind the trees and attempted to keep his breathing at a good level before he listened hard for any kind of signal that Jasira was right by him. Over the years, he had become more in tune with the lion race including being able to know the smells of each lioness and lion who cared for him in his pride. Including the ones of the Obagan pride whom was not too pleased to have him there with their comrades. Sure enough, there was Jasira trying to scope him out with her sensitive nose and green eyes scanning over the field to see if there was movement from her prey. A smirk came over her lips as she made her way to the longest and tallest parts of the grass before she could make herself comfortable and wait for her toy to come to her. Montsho kept his position, unsure of where she was or if the lioness was even there or not anymore but he took the risk of revealing himself by poking his head out of the barrier of the trees to peer around. "Got'cha, dude!" Jasira's voice rung through Montsho's body and sent him flying into the air before he landed and started to run the opposite direction of her, but Jasira was now hot on his trail and probably not at her full speed.

"Rika, help!" Montsho screamed, turning his running pattern into different formations of zig-zagging, circling-- anything to throw the meat eater off his trail. But nothing was working, as Jasira had already tracked him down by now and was going for the kill too quick for the human to grasp. Or at least she was before there was a sudden roar shot through the grasslands and Rika tackled Jasira mid-running and they toppled each other over onto the ground. While Rika and Jasira groaned and lightly rolled each other over to see who would come out on top, Montsho breathed out and tried to remind his heart that there was no danger with either of the lionesses in front of him. "Thank you, Rika".

"What's going on?" A second voice asked, appearing only to be his older brother Odion. They both were strapping young men as compared to when they were first found by Rika and her pride, and had grown even more experienced than they were once when they had first been accepted into the pride. It showed in their bodies of the obstacles they had faced and the exercise they had gotten through, as they sported scars on various regions of their bodies and muscles to bulk themselves up to oppose any animal they could face as threats. "Let me guess, Jasira was kicking your hiney again, eh?" Odion spoke as though he had never been in a fight and lost before, but he was the twin with more scars to tell stories of both his victories and losses.

"No!" Montsho looked up at his older brother, but didn't seem to even believe his own words. It showed in his voice that he was still in shock from the chase that Jasira had put him up to, making Odion obnoxiously laugh.

"You're such a baby" Odion said between laughs for his brother, catching Rika's attention away from her play wrestling with her best friend.

The lioness got to her paws and walked over to the older brother, "so you think you're hot stuff then huh?" She only had to headbutt him in the stomach lightly for him to fall over and she could easily sit on him without crushing him of course.

Odion's hands were pushed up against Rika's bright orange pelt before she looked down at him with the same triumphant smirk that he was giving his younger brother. Oh how she loved how the tables had turned. "Rika, get off! You weigh a lot".

"No thanks. This is kinda fun" she laughed to herself, continuing to laugh at the African male's puny attempts to push her off as Montsho smiled over at Rika's efforts and soon at the playful and caring nudge of Jasira's head to his shoulder. The younger twin wrapped his arms around the dark brown lionesses neck and felt the smooth vibrations of her throat purring against his skin. "Now you know how your brother feels, hot shot". Jasira and Montsho looked over to the Rika-Odion duo that was apparently clear that Rika was winning, and smirked and the once so smug Odion struggling to stand up no thanks to the weight of Rika's young adult body. All of the pride cubs were grown up into young adults now, and were more experienced in life than they were back then-- with the pride and themselves, knowing the skills that their parents did and ready to pass them on to their own young. But for now, they were pleased to have fun and served as pride members with their strength. Same went to the two male humans that were part of the pride since Rika had saved them from death.

Jasira and Montsho turned their hears to peer up to a fully grown Reth walking in on the scene quietly when he spotted Rika and her antics, Montsho knowing full well that Reth wasn't all together fine with the two humans being there in the pride, but he was getting there. It was better than the progress that some of the others were making. Reth's amber orbs focused in on Rika alone and quickly, silently pulsed through the grass to take her off of the human man and onto the ground, placing his own weight onto her. Rika's laughter was sprung before she completely toppled over thanks to her other best friend, who was no longer so much larger than her as he was when she was a cub, and started to growl playfully with him. Odion rose to his feet and dusted off the bits of Savannah remains that Rika's paws brought to him when she was playing with him instead and simply watched the large beasts enjoy each others' presences.

But the fun was cut short when there was a roar spread through the air to perk the ears of the lions, and catch the sights of the twin boys to look back at the pride's den. Reth rose up with Rika still on his back but she slowly slid off to his entertainment and looked over to the lioness and two males, "we are needed" and started in his pace of walking. He was referring to the humans lightly, and more telling the lionesses of the small group that they needed to leave to go to the den and make sure that they were to hear what Tendai and Zuri were to say. Odion took the first steps to start the domino effect between the group, Jasira getting up next, then Rika beside Montsho who looked to his side and saw that they weren't the only ones who strayed away from the den. There, a fully grown Auzhane and his best friend Tayri walked back. Tayri was prancing back where as Auzhane steadily walked through with his hazel eyes focused on the path ahead she had cleared for him.

Though as focused as he was, he turned his head when he saw the orange lioness and changed the way he walked so he could stride over to her, leaving Tayri looking over at him to see her best friend was walking to Rika. Rika's blue orbs looked over her shoulder and she smiled when she saw the same from Auzhane. The cub she once knew was now a strapping young male lion, a little older than her age. "You should have told me you were going to be out here" he got straight to the point before he received a smirk and eyebrow raise from the citrus lioness who continued to walk which brought the male to come up beside her and look downwards. "We could have spent some time together".

Rika only shrugged whilst she walked, "never thought to ask you" she replied. Montsho snorted in laughter when he heard her reply to the lion, to which she looked up at the teenage boy and lightly whipped his behind with her long tail. "I will next time, how about that?"

"Tonight?" Auzhane waited for her reply while they walked, walking closer to her so he could occupy her tail with his own when it came down from teaching Montsho a lesson. His answer from the lioness was another shrug and smirk. "I'll take that as a 'maybe' then".

"Better than a 'no' isn't it?"

"Tons better" it brought a smile to Rika's mouth as well as the oddly colored male next to her. Auzhane was brown from the start that she had seen him as when they were cubs, but he sprouted a blonde mane and snow white belly and muzzle, with unusually vibrant hazel eyes. He was quite the looker, and Rika didn't find other things to look at when he was around...but the same went for that best friend lioness of his. Speak of the lioness, there she strode over to look over at them both.

"Oh, hi Rika. Didn't see you there" she stuck close to Auzhane, practically touching him but Rika did her best to ignore it.

"No problem. We were just heading back to the den anyways". Montsho looked down at his lioness friend who seemed to have a different state of mood when Tayri walked in on the scene, where she could be described as a little edgier and less care free, like usual. The young human waited for her eyes to catch his before he gave her a warning look to make sure she didn't lose her temper, which she soon did and took a breath to calm herself down. She was well aware that Tayri liked Auzhane more than a best friend, but there was no sense in getting angry about it. Though she was hot headed, she knew best that if she was feeling this way about Tayri only getting simple friendly gestures from Auzhane, Tayri must have been driven up a tree with the attention that the male gave to Rika. That, alone, was enough to calm her down but not retaliate with any kind of affectionate manner out of the ordinary. "Come on" she smiled at the two of them, and quickened her pace with Montsho breaking into a run. Auzhane followed pursuit at the same speed which Tayri had no other choice but to follow if she didn't want to be left behind.

[xLilacVixenx]

I am utterly amazed no one has said anything about this. It's an amazing piece of art! Unfortunately I don't have much to say on it since I only read half of the first chapter, but while scrolling through this page, I glanced at the end of a chapter and it's got me hooked right there! Now I need to read the other chapters to see what happens...

As I said, amazing work and I look forward to reading more from you.

[XxRinaRoguexX]

[quote="xLilacVixenx"]I am utterly amazed no one has said anything about this. It's an amazing piece of art! Unfortunately I don't have much to say on it since I only read half of the first chapter, but while scrolling through this page, I glanced at the end of a chapter and it's got me hooked right there! Now I need to read the other chapters to see what happens...

As I said, amazing work and I look forward to reading more from you. [/quote]
Thanks Vixie <3 I would really appreciate it if you would let me know what you think when you finish reading and also how you think I could improve. But you're not held to it ;3 Thanks hun [//snuggles]

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART VI (Chapter 6)

Rika hadn't noticed that there was such a viewing to her king and queen, but she was guessing that the lions and lionesses she hadn't seen were from the other prides around the lands that she had just never met yet. Though she was a young adult, she had never come to meet them yet? The small chatter was cut short when everyone looked up to see Tendai, without Zuri this time, and Duna. She could tell something was wrong...Tendai's face was as sour as Duna's was, and he wasn't showing any signs of breaking it any time soon. The lioness shifted on her paws which Odion noticed and rubbed his hand on the orange female's back to try and soothe her down, while Montsho looked down at the uneasy predator beside him. Not that he was afraid she would direct any kind of violence towards him, but he knew she didn't like feeling the way she was at the moment-- and it was all sprouted from Tendai's misshapen happy-go-lucky demeanor. Finally her eyes were settled on Zuri, who was looking just as Rika was. "Though I know we are not all in the same pride, nor are we all friends and comrades, we are issuing a fair warning to all of you". So that was why she hadn't seen some of these lions before...they weren't friends of the pride, or they weren't inside the circle. Tendai grimaced as his next words came to mind, "we are at a battle for our lives, as the humans are hunting us once again". Rika shot her head back with a whimper. She knew full well that Odion and Montsho were humans, but they were incapable of killing anyone as far as she knew of them. "Lions and lionesses have already suffered the loss of some of their pride members, and I extend my deepest condolences to you for the death of loved ones".

Everyone could tell who he was talking about as the ones who were grieving the losses of ones who were killed bowed their heads and set their ears back in sorrow. All Rika could do was stare at them hoping they would look over at her so she could attempt and give them an apologetic look, but she could never know what they were going through; no one she loved had died. Yet. Duna stepped up to the tip of the den's rock and looked over the crowd, "we must be on high alert watching the backs of those who we love or despise. No matter what...we can't lose to the humans". Just as Rika feared what happened next Duna's eye grazed away from in front of him to seek out the two human boys in the Naborhi pride and take in a breath to make a predicted remark, "not everyone can be trusted. Even in your own prides" he spoke with malice and took everyone by surprise by what he had said-- but Odion wasn't feeling up to letting it pass.

"What's that supposed to mean, Duna?" His voice was raspy, as well as defensive, only leaving Rika to sink her teeth into her lip in hopes that there would be no fighting between Duna and her friend.

"Exactly what I told everyone, human," he turned his body to match the direction of his head, "you can't be trusted. You and your brother". Though the African male had no way of roaring like lion, he found the way to let loose a mighty yell at Duna's answer and glare up at the beast.

"How dare--"

"Brother, please!" Montsho squealed, coming in front of his older brother and rested his hands on the forearms of his twin. With the touch of his brother, Odion's eyes burnt out from his temper and he stared down at Montsho's endless dark orbs in pleas for his older brother to cease his rage towards the angry male lion above him. Everyone knew Duna was being protective, but he had the worst way of doing it. "Don't..."

Odion looked down at his brother, and then found his eyes down to Rika's as she peered back up at him as if she were acting the same as Montsho for Odion to cool his temper. She mouthed to him "he's not worth it", before she massaged his leg with her forehead to calm him down. Reth, who was not far away, looked at his best friend and then at the two humans. Rika then paused and quietly as she could she whispered, "prove to him what you have to me". While Duna waited for something to happen and Odion to make a move to prove his point of never being able to trust a human, the oldest twin placed his hand on Montsho's shoulder and Rika's head to cup her cheek then peered up at Duna. The dominant lion on the rock over them was enough to let the others know that he wasn't going to take anything from what he was speaking against, but Odion had signaled that he was better than what Duna's words portrayed his race as.

Tendai finally took the step forward to renew the balance of power in the territory as his own looking out to the other lions and lionesses, as Duna stepped down and made his way off the back of the rock all together. Rika's eyes followed after her 'uncle' and she released herself from the male's grasp heading over to where Duna was going. She bounded past the groups of large felines all gathered around coming to wonder to herself why they weren't at Priderock for this announcement, but her thoughts were drowned out when she remembered what she had to do. Soon enough from her pace and pathway, she found Duna sitting in the back of the Naborhi den. "Uncle Duna?" She stepped lightly forward to produce dust under her paws while the male turned his head to the left to avoid having to move his entire body to view who was speaking with him through his blind eye.

"Hello, Rika" he blankly smiled but that didn't worry Rika as much as it did when she remembered the rage that was in his eyes while he looked down at Odion and Montsho. "Can I do something for you?"

She stopped and viewed him fully, "what you said about the humans...you know its not true. Odion nor Montsho has ever even touched a lion without its consent".

"Not all humans are raised in a pride like the twins are, Rika. Why can't you understand that?" Duna rose to his paws and looked down at her. His mane was certainly a dominating factor in why he was so scary and no one challenged him, but Rika knew he wouldn't strike her.

"Because I know we're better than to believe that if one human acts carelessly then all the others will too" she was trying to keep her temper at bay, but it was slowly starting to hoist anchor with every moment she thought back to the speech he gave down to her friends. If it had not been for Rika in that moment all those years ago, she wouldn't have gotten to know a species so beautiful as humans. And she couldn't have possibly met two better brothers than Montsho and Odion, but she had hardly met any humans at all. She couldn't quite talk the way she did without him thinking she was insane or just a little girl with still too many dreams in her head.

Rika looked at him but heaved a sigh when she knew nothing was getting through to the old lion. But he wasn't about to let it go, "I came back to the den one day...and there was a human there. He had killed Lesedi and would have killed my cubs if I had gotten there later than I did" he turned his body back around to look down at the ground and away from Rika's sight, but the young female wasn't about to let it go when it got to this point. Lesedi was the queen of the Obagan lions, but she had only seen her once or twice as a cub. After a few months, Duna never brought her up nor brought his mate around any longer. She could remember a few things about Lesedi: she was beautiful, she was quick with her tongue, and she knew how to bring out the best in the old man Duna was.

"Do Juwayria and Jengo know what happened?" Juwayria was his daughter and the oldest, while Jengo was his son and the younger sibling. The silence and hunch of Duna's shoulders signaled that he couldn't answer that question as well as he thought he could.

"They know of her death, just not the right story of how she died" Duna replied. Before he had the chance to say anything else, a flash of orange was brought into his sight and Rika rubbed herself across his neck in an affectionate and sorrowful manner. "Thank you" he whispered.

"I'm sorry Duna...I can't imagine how you must feel" she muttered back, feeling truly and deeply terrible for the outcome of both a great lioness and a rough-around-the-edges but still amazing lion. She unlocked herself from the strands of his dark mane to look into his ruby orb unmarked by a battle scar, "uncle Duna, I beg you...just give Montsho and Odion a chance. Spend time with them and you'll see, that...that they only want what's best for their pride" she smiled up at him and waited for him to say something. "Do it for Lesedi," she fluttered her lashes in a cubbish manner before she smiled a toothy grin, "do it for your niece Rika?" She of course wasn't a blood relative to Duna, but with the prides being as close as they were, the lions were intertwined by such a strong bond that it was as close to blood as they were getting so they had no problem referring to the Obagan members as 'sister', 'brother', and in Duna's case, 'uncle'. It was the same for the Obagan lions to the Naborhi pride, and Duna was a sucker for the cub-like lioness.

Duna sighed out before he glared down at the ground and his paws, "only because you're too cute" he grumbled. Though it was against his will and want, it was good enough for Rika just so he could give them a fair chance at being part of the pride. More or less, being judged the right way.

"Thank you, uncle! I love you" she smiled while nuzzling her head under his chin as he let out a snort above his smile.

"Love you too..." he got to his paws and walked back to the den where he was sure that Rika was soon to follow. But before she was to go along with him, she felt there was someone else there with them as well. And as she turned her head to gaze upon who had joined them, she smiled lightly before looking back to her disappearing uncle.

"He came around, eh?"

"Yup" she smiled.

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART VII (Chapter 7)

Rika's eyes looked over to her best male friend, seeing Reth walk over to her from the other side of dry patches of the Pridelands separated by a small dodgy line of long grasses. Before he completely left, Rika's eyes darted back happily to Duna who was walking over to the two boys that he sought to go against from the first moment those several years ago. She felt more accomplished than she could describe while she watched Duna speak to Montsho and Odion. The lioness could easily tell he was being genuine with his request to get to know them better as the two brothers were very in tune with each other; Montsho was an excellent judge of character and Odion could easily back his brother up with the brute strength if need be. Reth's light gold orbs looked in the same direction as his best friend's were but they soon drifted down to the lioness beside him and he eyed her delighted expression. It must have been contagious since he was having a hard time not smirking down at her. "I really hope they get along...I really really do" she spoke her mind out loud for the male to hear, as he met her eyes when she looked up at him looking for something encouraging. Though Reth was seen as a very hard headed individual, he was one of the best listeners that there could ever be.

"If what you see in those two guys is something you think he'd love about them, I see no reason for Duna not to favor them as well" Reth replied down to his best friend and smiled lightly. He wasn't also one for the smiles, but with Rika it brought out the best in him. Plus, it didn't hurt that he was rewarded for his words with a smile and light nudge on his side from the female he spoke with in such high regards. She rose her eyebrow when he saw the glint in his eyes when he peered down at her, being taller than her for her entire time of knowing him, but she kept it out of her mind especially when he tried to mock her with it. "Rika--"

"Rika! Rika, Rika!" A voice came from over the hills where the moment both the lions were having was interrupted with the voice of Rika's other best friend. She rose from her position on the ground to her four paws and looked, slowly guiding her head downward when Jasira came closer, and waited for her to reason with her as to why there was a cause for such commotion. "You've gotta come, quick!"

Rika's eyebrow rose with Reth's really unsure if they were supposed to be concerned or just questioning what she found so urgent to place it in her words and make sure that Rika knew it. "Wait, what's happening? Are you okay?'" Rika asked, leaning down to Jasira to make sure there was a closeness to them before she revealed what was going on with herself-- if that was even the case. But Jasira's eyes were more revealing to Rika that there was something else that called for this dramatic uproar, which the orange lioness kept her eyes on the lioness before her.

"I'm fine, it's Auzhane!" Jasira looked to see Reth furrow his brows and then look at Rika, who was now dropping her jaw and closing up the closeness between them with swift movements to where Jasira had just come from. "Him...him and Tayri". It was apparent in just more than her face that there was something not right about what was going on with the two of them, so Rika mimiced the same expression to her features with a sour glare ahead of her before she sped off to let Jasira and Reth follow close to the lioness leading the way to her unknown path back to the sight. It was far enough for her to though when she picked up full speed only to stop a short distance away from where she stood with Reth to spot what Jasira must have been looking at. Before her, Auzhane sat with Tayri close to him and nuzzling under his chin. They were so intertwined...too intertwined for Rika's liking as she was openly admitting with her face. But what could she really do? Wasn't like she was with Auzhane or anything, so there was nothing she could do but choose to watch in her own horror or walk away to wonder what they were to do later on after nuzzling...

That apparently wasn't an option since both Jasira and Reth rushed down, roars erupting into the situation where Tayri launched herself away from the male who was equally surprised. "What's the big idea--" Tayri started, but she was silenced when the darker colored lioness snarled a warning for her to know that if she spoke anymore, she would be punished. Rika watched her female best friend take over the dominance that Tayri tried to own, but Jasira had her own agenda. Meanwhile Reth looked down over Auzhane who wasn't posing much of a control issue over who was stronger as Auzhane didn't want to cause any more drama than there already was.

"Reth, what are you doing?"

Reth silenced the question with a growl before walking into the male to invade space saved apparently only for Tayri, but Auzhane tried to seperate himself from it with someone like Reth imposing such a hasty violence. "You're a piece of work, you know that?" Auzhane shot his head up to say something but was silenced when Reth snapped his jaw down on Auzhane's ear momentarily.

"Reth!" The orange lioness in the sidelines took the struggle of males into her own paws and raced down to separate the destructive and angry lion off of Auzhane, who was looking quite thankful that Rika was there for the moment she got him off of Auzhane. "Stop it, enough" she firmly set her head into his mane to push him back, which he obliged but kept his furious and cold hues tangled with Auzhane's questioning and shocked ones. "Reth" she set his name back in the air to break him of the gaze he locked in with Auzhane and looked down at her cerulean orbs. He took them off Rika to give one last look to Auzhane and then back down at her, lowering his head for her to easily be able to look straight in the eyes with him.

"Rika, what's this...all about?" Auzhane was confused and it showed, making her tilt her head while she looked at Reth to remember how stupid the lion she grew up with could be sometimes. It certainly didn't help in this kind of situation with her own temper crusading from mild to hot and the fact that she knew Reth was going to go after Auzhane soon afterward wasn't helpful. "Did I do something wron--"

"No...," she turned her head to peer over to Jasira and then back over at Reth before her eyes blinked softly and looked down at the ground, "they're just being stupid". She didn't mean it to sound...well, mean, but to Reth and Jasira who could easily be angered by anything said to them by that one lioness, they perked their ears and studied Rika's form. While her eyes remained out of sight and everyone assuming she couldn't see anything while she peered down and blinded by her eyelids, she jerked her ears back and forth to hear what was going on while she sorted herself out. Along the lines of determining that she was feeling confused with mixed emotions, she felt the presence of Tayri shift closer to Auzhane. It couldn't have been seen coming, but Rika's jaw snapped open and she whirled around to face Tayri with a glare on her face and a vibrato roar mildly dripping from her mouth. Tayri only hesitated for a moment before starting to make her way over to Auzhane once more. Rika realized what she was doing was the same as what her best friends were doing for her as well which brought her to...laughter. "But not as stupid as me" she looked into Auzhane's hazels before turning around with a sad smile.

"Rika--" Jasira started but she had to halt when the orange lioness bolted from the situation to let her friends deal with it as they may, only causing her to erase all motions and thoughts of destroying Tayri where she stood to making sure the lioness she knew too well wasn't being as she was predicted to be.

"Rika, hold on!" Auzhane started to advance but Reth's body intercepted the motion. "Move" Auzhane was firm with his order.

"Make me" that was quite the challenge...Reth wasn't a cub, nor was he a small adult. He stood as the barrier between the male advancing after Rika's race against her own temper and Jasira's eager path after her.

[[Sorry it was so short this time; I'm going to take a very much needed cat nap =3= Hope you enjoyed, lovely reader]

[XxRinaRoguexX]

PART VIII (Chapter 8)

"Rika! Rika, please wait! I only wanted to--" Jasira chased after her long-legged best friend only to have her speeding away faster when she felt Jasira was getting too close. All the chocolate lioness could do was slow herself down and let the red lioness make her way off. Jasira should have figured at this point all that Rika would want was some time alone from the way she didn't even say anything back to her best female friend and so that was just what she would get. Rika sped off down the lines of the Pridelands, aware that all the Outlanders would be able to see her if they were along the boarder of the lines between her home and the endless blackness but she didn't care while her legs pumped her forward and nothing screaming for her to look back.

She felt her legs starting to hurt and ache for some rest, but as much as they hurt Rika ignored them and she pushed forward. Nothing could have been worse than what she was feeling in her chest and stomach, but her chest was only feeling that kind of pain from the fact that she was overworking her body more than it was used to and her stomach was just thinking back to the scene she saw with Tayri and Auzhane. But she slowed down, and with the change in speed, felt her mind slowly start to come clearly back to thinking. She shouldn't have been so angry with what she had seen...no she wasn't so much as angry as she was upset. She was sure that Auzhane was after her and only her, but she was proven wrong when she saw Tayri taking him into her grasp. Not like Auzhane didn't have the chance to get out of her grip but he chose to stay there. As to why he wanted that was beyond what she even wanted to think about, so all she could really do was beat herself up over how she was so slow on the uptake that he was that kind of guy. "He doesn't even seem like that kind of guy either," she thought out loud, "but then again, I don't seem like the kind who would be so upset over a guy who isn't even my mate making moves on another lioness". Rika's throat felt dry and tight, while the back of her eyes were stinging lightly. Her heart was still pumping from the work out and her mind was still racing with the past scene that was experienced. I sure hope Reth hasn't done anything to Auzhane..., she thought.

"Rika?" A familiar voice came through the endless thinking she was putting herself through when two humans came into view with a male close to them. She alerted herself to shaking off the sadness clearly on her face and plastering a smile on there instead. When she saw it was Montsho and Odion with Duna coming behind them, she perked her ears in interest to know what they were doing here. "Are you okay?"

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We were coming back from playing with Duna and we saw you fly past us a little ways away and we were worried" Odion replied, his hand on Duna's back. This was a relief for her to see that Duna was so close, and even allowing them to touch him-- even in his face there was no signal of clear grief or anger from being with the twins. Montsho walked over to the lioness where he firmly placed his head on hers to represent loving lion language to welcome her and express care, where Rika happily but lightly pushed back with her ears pinned back. "What happened, Rika?" If she was alone with the two of them, she would have told them that there was something up but since she had already worked to get Duna to be able to be in the same area with the twins, she was hesitant to even reply before she smiled up at them all.

"Yeah, of course I am. I was just...," she looked at Duna, "getting some exercise". Seeing his smile, she did the same back to him and the young men who expressed concern for her. That's right, I have friends. Uncle Duna, Montsho and Odion....Jasira, Reth...why am I so upset? Why would I have to feel like this when I have so many great friends and family around me?, she asked herself while looking over the bodies of those who were proving to be so close and delighted in her 'happiness'. "So, what did you guys do exactly?"

Montsho's face lit up at the question like he was never concerned over Rika but she didn't take offence to it as he played the younger brother role up well, "Duna took us around the Pridelands and showed us all the different animals, and places!" Duna looked pleased with himself when Montsho showed so much enthusiasm in the lion's affection being so short-coming in the beginning but now it seemed like they were the perfect trio. She saw Odion start to scratch under Duna's chin which brought the large beast to purr without any care in the world, making Montsho come over and start to rub the male's mane. Yep, Duna was a pretty affectionate kitty when you got on his good side, and Rika was blissful about them being so close now as opposed to last time.

Rika smiled over before getting to her four paws to leave them, "that's awesome, you three. I'm so glad for you".

"You wanna come hang out for a bit, Rika?" Odion questioned, and was obviously still not convinced she was feeling as good as she usually was. But Rika only sucked in a breath before shaking her head lightly and smiling up Odion with a thanks-but-no-thanks twinkle in her eyes and then she strode off.