[PRIVATE] A Loner's Pride

[Nukascar101]

Wafu paused for a second not really expecting that tone from Chanya, he opened his mouth to say something like ask what was bothering her but he just decided she must just be tired.
"Well goodnight, and thank you Chanya. For everything" he said to her. Wafu then gave the back of Chanya's neck a quick nuzzle before turning around and making his way outside, even though it was raining he still felt more comfortable sleeping in a tree. Wafu walked up to the same tree as before and climbed onto the same branch where he lay down and with a yawn closed his eyes. In the tree he began thinking as his mind clashed as to whether any of this was a good idea. He could easily say no and not partake in Chanya's plan but at the same time he didn't want to betray one of his only friends and new found love.
"What am I supposed to do mom, you always said you didn't want me to turn out like dad but that's what'll happen if I go through with this" Wafu said looking up at the sky but no answer came, with a sigh Wafu put his head back down and memories flooded back.'Face it freak with him as a dad you were born a monster' a cub's voice said. 'You can't even bring your claws in that proves it eye freak' another cub's voice 'We don't wanna play tag with you, you might kill us' yet another one. Wafu just growled shaking the voices away as he closed his eyes and let sleep take over.

[Harvs]

Somewhere near the Pride Lands, Kasi had broken out of the jungle and was now in wide open plains. A sight which he had truly missed. Now if the rogues did find him, they wouldn't last two minutes in a foot race against him. Soon after freeing himself from the jungles limitations, he saw a small pond. Ripples set off from the raindrops echoed across the bed of water. Around the pond, several small trees struggled to withstand the gale forces of wind. Kasi didn't think much of this sight, until he realized that running all day had left his stomach empty and desiring a drink. Conserving as much strength as he could, he made his way over to the pond and started lapping up the nutritious liquid. Mmm... that hit the spot. he thought quietly. He'd been running all day from the group of rogues who wanted nothing more than to kill him and Ushujaa. It was a welcome break, and a small victory as he had not seen the rogues for about an hour. Maybe he didn't need Sius after all?

But then, something more occupied his mind. "Do either of you know a king Simba?" The words hung in Kasi's head, never once letting up. What could those rogues be wanting with Simba? They even settled for Ushujaa when he spoke up to them. If Kasi hadn't have injured the leader, who knows what they would have done to Ushujaa. But their troubles were only just beginning. Whatever those rogues wanted, it wouldn't be good for the Pride Lands. And no matter what it took, Kasi would defend his pride. With or without Sius. Which meant he couldn't trust anybody. As of now, he was a rogue with good intentions.

He lapped up the water as if it was his last lifeline. Now if only he could get a bite to eat. That would be heavenly. Suddenly, his ear perked up. Something came his way, his first instinct was that it was the group of rogues. They were coming this way. Quickly thinking, Kasi put his ear to the ground to see if he could pick up any more detail on who was approaching him. It was just two pairs of feet, it couldn't have been the rogues. It was just one animal. His second instinct told him "Food!" Without hesitation, he bolted back into the jungle with lightning fast speed. Hiding in the shadows of night, Kasi stayed motionless in flawless camouflage and waited his prey to turn the corner. Easy prey as always. Lets see if I can break my old record. He thought with a determined grin on his muzzle.

[perfect entry for Zera. =D]

[zorayda]

(Gah! I just wrote out a whole reply and the site ate it! >=| Dammit.)

Taro chose to ignore Sius's suggestion, knowing he probably looked foolish, but he didn't care. He couldn't deal with Sius, Zera, and Eeve right now. He couldn't look into Eeve's eyes and see the resentment or fear there that he'd created. He couldn't look at Zera and imagine Sius touching her and holding her. He just couldn't do it tonight. Perhaps in the morning... He rolled over, the mud coating his fur and the rain making his black mane droop and fall into his eyes. Yes, he'd fix it all when the sun came up...

---

When morning came, Eeve stretched her body out and opened her eyes, but when she had trouble opening her left one, the memories of the previous night all came crashing down on her. Her good mood was gone in an instant. She trudged outside to soak in the morning sun, also looking for her best friend. Ah, there he was... but why was he outside?! It had rained all night last night! Surely he didn't sleep out here...

"Taro? Why are you out here?" She called, trotting over to him on silent pawpads.

He turned his head to look at her groggily, having just woken up. He stood up on all fours and stretched, allowing his bones to pop into place.

"I...well..." He couldn't very well tell her that SHE was one of the reasons he'd slept out here, so he chose not to answer and instead looked at her guiltily. "That looks pretty bad. Does it hurt?" He asked gently, looking at her eye.

She touched it with a paw. "Yeah... it kinda does, still. I was gonna go clean it at the water hole and see if Dakari might be able to keep it from scarring too bad..."

Taro looked down and traced circles in the dirt with his paw. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Eeve, I never meant--"

He was interrupted when she suddenly threw herself on him in a huge hug. "It's okay. I forgave you the moment I saw your face after it happened," she said, smiling.

Taro let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and hugged her back. "Thank you..." he whispered, really and truly meaning it. If she'd wanted to, she could have held that guilt over his head until the day he died, with how badly he felt about it. But instead, she chose forgiveness. It was the mark of the loyalty and kindness that Eeve could present, and he was very grateful for it. "Um, let's go find Sius and ask him when we're leaving, okay?" He said, holding her out away from him.

She nodded. "Yeah. I need to talk to Dakari, anyway. Also... you're a mess." She wrinkled her nose at Taro's muddy fur and droopy mane, making him laugh as they walked.

The two of them trotted inside, Eeve stopping by the sleeping form of Dakari while Taro went to find Sius.

"Hey, uh, Dakari?" she said quietly, poking him. "I was wondering if you could help me..."

---

"Sius?" Taro stopped in front of the other lion, remaining a couple of paces away. "Hey, um, I was wondering when we were gonna go out to fight those rogues..."

He opened his chocolate-colored muzzle to say apologize to the lion, but then he realized that he'd be insincere, seeing as he didn't really feel sorry for going after Sius yet. Taro was still pretty jealous and angry of his relationship with Zera... but it was time to clear his mind for now and prepare for the task at hand. Something else bothered Taro, however...

"...Where's Zera? I thought... I thought she was with you," he said, not able to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari went to sleep earlier than the rest of his pride, and pretty much missed all the 'drama'. He had absolutely no idea on who loved who, who didn't love who and what happened with what because he slept the entire time. He was busy in his dream, which was probably the complete oppsite of the mood currently running around the pride. He didn't know that, but he was sleep-talking, "Yeah... I love you too..." he had no idea how silly he must have been looking in case anyone was looking at him. Suddenly he felt Eeve poke him, but somehow related it to his dream, "Stop, that tickles..." however Eeve poked him again, causing him to slowly open his eyes. He let out a sigh as he realised that it had been just a dream yet again. He mumbled to himself, "Dreams might come true." he then stretched and looked at up Eeve, but he didn't notice her gashes because he was a little sleepy. "Eeve? What..." he brought over his paw and covered a yawn, "What's up?" He hoped that he hadn't been talking in his sleep like he usually did.

[Harvs]

Little did Taro know, that Sius had seen that Zera left. And he didn't blame her. With all this drama going on, Sius didn't even want to stick around. Unfortunately, he had to since his brother's life was on the line. He couldn't help but feel the sorrow creeping through his heart. The first and only friend he'd ever known. She carried him back to his home, come to him in his time of need, stopped him from doing something stupid. You couldn't buy friendship like that. And now, she was gone.

Reluctantly, Sius lifted his head up and barely looked at Taro. "Did you think I was unaware of this?" He replied with a bit of resentment in his voice. Sius stood up and shook his crimson mane. After stretching his back, he turned to Taro with a certain look in his eye. A look that said "You're gonna regret saying that!" He started to approach Taro, but then changed his course to right beside Taro. "If she doesn't like it here, let her go. Nobody's stopping her." His words were halfhearted and filled with anger. He might not have loved her, but he certainly thought of her as a close friend. A close friend who had run away from him without so much as a goodbye. Some friend that is.

Realizing what he'd just said, Sius looked down at the ground and felt ashamed. It was an awkward feeling of self-pity and anger. A feeling he'd never felt before... and one he hoped he'd never feel again. He looked at Taro "We'll leave immediately. I'll go wake everyo-" He stopped mid sentence, when his mind blurted out IDEA! This could be the perfect chance to see how promising a king Taro would be. Still completely unaware of Taro's initial intentions to become a king, Sius turned once again to Taro and said. "On second thought... why don't you wake up everyone." Sius then leaned in a bit closer to Taro and added "With a roar."

He expected nothing less than a look of sheer bafflement. And his response was already prepared. "Just humor me, alright? And don't hold back." Taro was strong. He knew how to be kind, he'd unwillingly seen Taro in action, and there was a certain... regal appearance of Taro that he couldn't explain. His build, his mane, his voice... but his roar. It was the one thing that Sius needed to hear. The one thing that would complete the ensemble.

[XxRinaRoguexX]

It was probably the most counter productive thing for her to do when she took off from the pride when dawn was almost cracking through the trees and over the mountains of the home she had soon left. Though it was not a dramatic change in scenery when she walking along the boarders of the territory of Sius (which was farther than she had thought) she had recognized there were a number of differences including the fading smells of what she thought she was going to call a home for at least a little more remainder of her life. None the less, there she walked and walked, soon coming to the different parts of the wide ranges of animal inhabited Pridelands. Not just lions were up at this moment, but there were some herb devouring creatures who didn't pay her much attention while she slinked through the grasses. While blue eyes gazed over what she was coming to know as more of a home than she was situated in when she was with the pride. She came to a halt and looked over her shoulder, perhaps hoping a little that there was someone coming after her and not making themselves known until now? ...nope. Zera sighed out, not feeling like much of a rogue if she was depending on someone to come and find her to take her back. She even half wished it was Taro to bring her into his arms with his large and powerful paws to tell her he couldn't be without her. But that was the little girl who fantasized without boundaries in the back of her head so she trudged on while trying to remember what it was like to be a true rogue.

I have to get used to being this way. The way it used to be; alone, drama free, and independent. The lioness smiled when she thought of how things used to be but it was lost when she was interrupted with the thoughts of how she had bonded with some of the lions from the pride. Was this really a better option for her? Was it a better option for the rest of them? No doubt that it was the last one that she was most influenced by to make her way out, but even more for the first question that drove her further and further to where she was now. And soon enough she was where she couldn't recognize, looking around to somehow identify her location though she had no primary knowledge as to how she would even figure that out in the first place. "Now I know why I didn't leave that part of the Pridelands," she wrinkled her nose.

Sure enough though she kept walking and looked around further, turning a corner to a whole new path. This path...it would be one she would walk with a new frame of mind. She was going to keep on going and she was going to be the lioness she was once and was meant to be: a rogue. But before long, Zera's ears were peaked and she drifted her gaze from the lush road to the side of her, slightly in front, and kept her gazes on some moving plants. It felt larger than a warthog but smaller than a rhino and so she situated her blue hues harshly and flicked her tail back and forth. Half willing to spout out a sarcastic and attempting threatening comment, she kept her mouth closed in case she said something more than she should. Instead, she would wait and stare the who-knew-what down until it figured out it was better off coming out before she took a bite out of it.

[zorayda]

Taro watched as Sius’s face flickered with different emotions, and felt a pang of guilt for his comment. Perhaps he should have worded that better...

The red-maned lion’s biting words caused Taro to flinch inwardly, but on the outside, he remained strong and unmoving. Like a king would. Like he was supposed to. The brown-and-gold lion had always been taught to be strong, to stay regal and maintain dignity. How would his father feel now, after Taro had attacked someone and injured his best friend, a lioness, no less...? His ears drooped slightly in shame. Some pride he’d lead someday... He kept eye contact with Sius, unflinching at the accusatory glare, and didn’t move when the other lion came at him, though all of his instincts screamed at him to do so. Taro kept silent and allowed Sius to stand next to him.

After Sius’s next words, the black-maned lion’s heart seized with guilt and jealousy. The male standing next to him really did think the world of Zera, didn’t he? His anger and bitterness gave off the vibe in waves that struck Taro right in the face. His emerald eyes became hard and cold, withdrawing any emotion from his gaze as he met the other lion’s.

“You really do care about her, don’t you?” He asked gently. Taro looked at him through the awkward silence that followed, watching the other’s reaction and facial expression. Then Sius opted for a change in topic.

“Uh, what?” Taro’s eyes changed from unreadable to downright sceptical in a second, the emerald colors darkening. Roar? “Umm, okay...”

The golden lion’s voice wasn’t extremely deep—though it could be at times. It was more of a smooth tenor, a pleasant sound. He’d never really thought about it until now, now that he had to roar in front of everyone there... Would he sound all right to them? Self consciousness overtook his brain for a second. He never growled or roared often. It was impolite. But, putting aside his misgivings, he gave Sius one last confused look before taking in a deep breath and opening his mouth.

Taro’s teeth were startlingly sharp and white against his chocolate brown muzzle as the sound came through his vocal chords. It was strong and pure, not booming, but not quiet, either. The roar echoed throughout the den quite nicely, enough to get everyone up and raring to go as soon as they heard it. And as the sound reverberated through his chest and throat, Taro felt a thrill of pride and joy in doing it. Like being a lion was the best thing in the world right at that moment. He finally stopped, grinning and looking at the red-maned male next to him.

“How was that, Kemosabe?” He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

---

Eeve giggled at Dakari’s antics, waiting for him to awake and see that she wasn’t the lioness he was probably dreaming about.

“It’s Eeve, silly. I, uh, have a problem... Well, just look,” she said sadly, lowering her head so that Dakari could see the full extent of her injuries. “It was an accident that happened...last night,” she muttered, looking downcast. Her mandarin eyes locked onto Dakari’s, silently pleading for him to help her without asking too many questions. She didn’t think that her heart could handle it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari felt his cheek go red. Not for the reason most would think of, but because he was almost completely sure that he had been talking in his sleep while Eeve was there. "Uh... Could you not tell anyone about that?" he asked quietly, "That was a private moment between me and... Uh... I forgot. She has a different name every time." He was about to get up so that he could get a better look at the injuries Eeve was carrying when Taro's roar echoed through the rather small den, causing him to jump to his feet in an instant. "Oh, what the..." He looked at Taro and Sius, "Very funny." he said, letting out a small chuckle himself and then looking back at Eeve. He looked at Eeve's muddy form and then back at her, "Did you dip those wounds in mud?" he asked, frowning slightly at how sullied her gashes were. If they are left like that for too long, they might get infected. But it kind of hit him when Eeve said that it was from last night, "You should have at least cleaned it. You've seen what happened to Syira." That mud all over her was definitely not doing her wounds any good, "We should get it cleaned up first." He remembered the way he cleaned Syira's wound yesterday, but unlike Syira, Eeve was awake, so in his mind that was definitely not an option. "We should probably go to the waterhole and clean this up a bit before I tend it."

[zorayda]

"No, of course I wouldn't tell anyone," the tawny lioness snickered. "But it was pretty funny."

Eeve dipped her ears back at Dakari's admonishments.

"Heh, yeah, I didn't think of that..." she said sheepishly, ducking her head. She jumped, shrieking comically when Taro suddenly let out a loud roar.

"Eep! Taro, what the heck?!" She screeched, sticking her tongue out at him before turning back to Dakari. "Okay. I'll go with you then. Do you think you could keep these from scarring too badly?" She asked, worried. The gashes were pretty deep, but maybe Dakari had some magic solution to help fix the appearance of her face...

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari smirked, but then said, "Hey, I'm allowed to at least fantasize you know." At least she wasn't going to run around and tell everybody about that. He then slowly nodded at her and gestured at the waterhole. "Well, I can't really tell... I can't see because of all this mud." he knew that most injuries never leave scars, but he also couldn't tell whether Eeva will carry scars or not. What he was sure about was that taking care of a wound mostly avoided the area from ever scarring. "I don't think you will carry a scar... It will probably dissapear in a few days if we clean it properly." he then slowly walked outside of the cave, before slowly looking around at Eeve. Where were his manners? "After you." he said, waiting for her to catch up, "I think..."