Hearts of the Abyss (Baya)

[Kina]

Kawar’s eerily pale green gaze wandered the dying lands, deftly moving through the tumbleweed that skirted Pride Rock. Dust clung to her dark pelt, as did fresh blood. It was her own from the looks of it, a shallow gash plainly visible where her left shoulder and neck connected. As if someone had barely caught the lithe lioness.

But the pride's main enforcer was ever on the alert as she strode towards the boarder, only pausing as she noticed someone's familiar approach. Her ear twitched as her gaze moved towards their apricot colored queen, offering Zira a faint, if reluctant nod in greeting. She raised her head once more when the freshly relieved queen stopped in front of her, although it was obvious she was heavy with milk still. "I assume you're out to another boarder patrol?" the older lioness asked, coolly tilting her head as she glanced over the young bastard heir.

Seeming to take some amusement from Scar's illegitimate daughter and the pink scars that traced through her dark, mud colored pelt. For one so young, she had already seen so much blood. And a good bit of it had been done on command. However, Kawar only gave the queen a small nod. "That is correct. If you will excuse me, ma'am," the lioness murmured, before stepping around Zira and moving off once more.

She angled on ear back as the mewling of her young half-brother sounded from the extra nest in the shade, before both flicked forward as she returned her attention to her ever present task. The first section of her patrol was uneventful, save for putting a gutsy hyena back in her place - sharply reminding it that she was not a meal.

But as the afternoon began to fade into evening, she couldn't help but notice a new scent. Masculine. Strange. Another rogue. The mud colored lioness stepped over the hyena that had dared try to take a bite out of her, leveling her green eyed gaze in the direction that the scent was strongest from. He may have been quiet, but she knew everyone's smell. He wasn't that sneaky.

[Baya]

The sun shone down upon the vast emptiness of the outlands, no mercy in each wave of heat that simmered in the air. No creature could survive here of all places, and if they could, it was a very drawl survival. The many almost red stone termite dens did not provide much sustinence, or defense against the beaming sun. The hardened and dry dirt provided no comfort to the limbs of any creature that crossed them.

So were the thoughts of a young lion and his family, anyway. He had just arrived from the desert, his mind racing with a huge variety of thoughts. One was regarding the rule of Scar over the pridelands, and the deteriorating living patterns over there. It was this that drew him, the true prince to the pride lands, out of hiding. It was this that made Mrithi return to his cubhood home.
From the time he was a young male, he remembered a great deal about the pridelands. After all, he had inherited his father’s great intellect and mental capacity. He also acquired his mother’s hauntingly wide patience and composure. The perfect diplomat he had become, and he used much of his rhetoric to save his own life on numerous occasions. It became less of a defense tactic, as it soon became a tool of entertainment.

Growing up, Mrithi could remember his father’s rejection. Back then, he felt it was an error with him. He felt like he was trash and needed to do something for Scar to make him smile, and proudly call him ‘son’. Now ? It was all different. With each passing day of his banishment in the desert, his hatred and loathing for his parents grew. Anything he was as a cub had dissolved into his manipulative, sadistic and imperialistic attitude as an adult. He felt little sympathy for any one out of his concern, leaving countless cubs and lionesses to die in the desert.

Though he loved to admit that much of his survival was his own doing, it would be a lie to say that it was. His mate helped him through a great deal of trouble, be it food, or even defense. She was loyal, loving and beautiful, at least to him. However, they did get in to regular disputes over rather petty matters. Even when they were angry with one another however, their love was strong. It was common for them to nuzzle and make up by the end of the day. How could someone so full of hate, love his mate so? It was simple. He directed all his hate to Scar.
Having left his mate and adolescent son to the barren waste land of the outlands, he took off for the pride lands. It was clear that much had changed indeed, from the dead flowers and plants, to the vast emptiness of the grazing fields. He knew that his father was no good with power, and was very amused at how horrible it had become here. The faint scent of a female lingered in the air, one that was just a bit familiar, but not so much that he could pin point it. It was getting stronger.

He quickly dropped to his cream colored belly, hiding in what remained of the grass. For awhile, there was nothing, but the female came in to view. His eyes locked with hers in the grass, and he instantly realized why he knew her scent. It was her eyes that also lead him on to realize this.

“So he had another, did he?” Mrithi mused as he lifted his body from the grass, a heavy smirk on his elonged muzzled.

[Kina]

Unlike the arrival who had seen such a stark change to his cubhood lands, Kawar on the other paw had known nothing but this. And justly so, taking an appropriate stance. Her oddly pale green eyes narrowed at the gray male's statement, muzzle twitching at the scorn in his tone. It wasn't the jibe at her lineage that led to her primitive aggression, but the fact that she had fought off two rogues just earlier in the same day. Her patience for them was growing thin.

"And whom might you speak of?" Kawar asked coolly, lightly flicking her tail as she looked the stranger over. But the emerging of the young lioness's claws suggested that she was not to be trifled with - as did the multitude of pink scars that were clearly visible across her forelegs and chest. She was, true, quite nice to look upon if one focused on her face and only that, but it was obvious that for one that was barely an adult, she knew her way about battle. Most of her scars were old, only sporting a single fresh injury.

But that injury was all but ignored at the moment.

[Baya]

Mrithi was already beginning to analyse her features. It was clear that she was an aggressive female, and one that bore many scars. This meant she played the role of some sort of guard or fighter to Scar himself. An entertaining prospect indeed. Especially since she clearly had his fur and eyes. It was fairly obvious they shared that tainted lineage. His smirk did not fade, and he chuckled quietly.

"Ah, so you want to play it off, like you don't know?" Mrithi asked with a look of amusement. If he wasn't careful, he could end up dead before dawn. He had to choose his words with haste and precision. He gazed into her eyes for a moment, his black mane being swayed only a bit by a passing and silent wind.

"Scar. Are you related to him?" Mrithi asked as he began to inch closer. Her eyes and scent gave it away to him, but he wanted to be sure. If she was indeed another illegitimate child of Scar, he could move her emotionally, or at least try to. Like some wet clay, he could mould her to his will with simple words and lies. It would be easy enough, he figured.

[Kina]

The lioness' eyes narrowed, her own amusement nigh apparent. And with the male ribbing at her, her patience was swiftly declining. A long day made worse still was hardly helping the rogue's chances. But she controlled herself. Acting on Zira's conditioning made her no better than their quick to anger queen. She slowly inhaled, her stare flat when he mentioned her father's name. "It would happen," she agreed tonelessly, dark tuft slowly twitching by her hocks.

Shifting her weight, now moving closer to him. "It would seem that you have a bit of history that's buried in the dust as well. One has to wonder," Kawar mused, watching him - her gaze like that of a hawk, yet not even wary. "Would you care to give me your name?"

[Baya]

"My name? Mrithi. To answer your question," he began closing his eyes and thinking for a moment. "There is alot to tell, but I think I'll let you in on it soon enough." he muttered. It was clear that she was his half sister, as his mother would never have another with Scar. Or would she? She already surprised him once with her lack of action at his banishment, perhaps she was far different than he perceived her. That was of little matter right now.

"Now I cannot have you going off and telling Scar of me being here. I was banished quite some time ago by Mufasa, and I feel that he would not like my return. I would like it to be... a pleasant surprise." Mrithi explained the smirk not fading. He then sat so he was close by her.

"Let me tell you something my dear. I am Scar's son, the true dark prince if you will. He would never have brought me up, because he thinks I died in the desert years ago. I survived, and I speak to you in the flesh. It is a great pleasure to meet another of his illegitimate kin." Mrithi murmured, wanting to see where her buttons were exactly. Was she like him, aiming to please her father more than anything? Well, the old him anyway. The new him just wanted to see Scar cower. "Since we share the same father, I'd assume, that makes us related doesn't it?"

[Kina]

The lioness continued to watch him even as he gave him her name, though his words suggested the he planned to be back. That simply would not do - not unless he knew something that truly interested her. "Perhaps you should consider your tale carefully. It wouldn't do to upset your plans, would it?" Kawar queried softly, arching a brow. The stranger's hesitation made it obvious he was dwelling on something, and it wasn't simply whether or not she would strike. Any other would've been watching her forelegs or shoulder should they have that concern.

She simply shifted when he mentioned the name Mufasa, a faceless story to her. "The King you mention has been dead since before my birth," the lioness stated plainly, not bothering to dress up the fact. Or give her own name yet. "The only pleasant surprise would be your pelt for the Queen." Her words were soft, as if testing his reaction. Her loyalty, if it could be called that, was a well enforced trait. Physically enforced. She herself was indifferent towards the current Royal Family.

His admission to being Scar's son succeeded in piquing her interest, however. "So it would seem," Kawar allowed, offering a small nod. "But it seems you have also been replaced - the fresh Prince suckles the Queen as we speak."

[Baya]

"The fresh prince?" Mrithi asked, a chuckle of amusement escaping his jaw. "That prince will be cast aside as an heir, as you will be a guard. If Scar had a single ounce of a back bone in him, he wouldn't have needed to hide his cubs, now would he?" Mrithi inquired, his ears flexed back. As much as what he heard disturbed him, he wasn't going to show it to this female. He would hold his composure, so he could see her own reaction. "As for Scar's queen, who I am assuming is Zira, there is little to fear from her." Mrithi added.

"If she truly wanted me dead, she would've ended my life as a cub. Such a bitter lioness." Mrithi said with a sigh as he rubbed his eyes for a moment. Oh the thought of yet another sibling was pressing on his mind now! When would Scar stop?

"Now tell me, what is going to happen? Are you going to kill your own brother, or run off and tell Scar of my presence? Or perhaps you will...look the other way so to speak." Mrithi pointed out with a grin as he gazed at the many scars she carried. What horrors must she have faced. That was the key.

"I would like to offer you an idea...and one that isn't too rash I'd like to say. How would you feel about not having to do what you do anymore? I can see you bare many scars...from rogues no doubt. Such arrogant brutes they are. I never liked them. Easy to fool though, that was the great part of being in the desert." he murmured as he began to circle her. He pushed his cheek against hers.

"What would you say, if I could end all of this suffering? Your big brother wants only the best for the pride lands. That is why Scar had me banished. I was not following in his paw prints."

[Kina]

The lioness' gaze remained calm, nearly emotionless as he spoke, carrying on with the bits and pieces of his tale. "Perhaps the Zira you knew. People change over time. And it has obviously been some time since your exile commenced," the mud colored lioness added, her voice ever soft. Ever composed. "She may be bitter, but she is also powerful. It is not the most amiable combination," Kawar said, one slender shoulder giving a half-shrug at her words.

She merely flicked her tail at his probing. "I find it odd, that you question a warrior's resolve. Press your luck, and you may end up with a reminder of who holds sway," Kawar continued, leveling her eerily pale green gaze with his own eyes. Her apparent half-brother may have been her senior by some years, but she had far too many years of combat experience tucked away in her lithe frame. That she would be able to best him in battle was a high probability.

Kawar simply arched a brow when he continued on, particularly at his mention of her scars. But keeping herself in check as he began to circle her, her dark claws brushing the hard dirt beneath them. "The origin of my scars means little to you, I suspect ... You do not even know my name, yet you call yourself my brother? Am I to believe that there is not another motive? I am not a naive cub, Mrithi," Kawar concluded quietly, casting the gray lion a sidelong glance. Expecting an explanation. Lest he face her claws.

[Baya]

"A naive cub? No no no no! You are far beyond that! That might be how Scar sees you, but not I. No, I see potential. I see the strength in your form, and composure. I will give you praise for the composure you hold around me, regardless of how your body language fails you. You want to kill me like any other rogue, do you not?" Mrithi asked with a sneer. He was pretty much digging his own grave, but this was his best chance. He had to talk his way out of this one like many other conflicts.

He stopped circling her and stood in front of her. "Tell me your name then, so your thoughts of my scheming can disappear. I am not looking to hurt any of you. Even my father, I have forgiven, and my mother I still praise. I simply want to better the pride lands. It won't be done if you just end my life, and hold Scar's reign. Listen to your big brother, I urge you. I have been out there my dear." Mrithi said with a cackle as he pointed in the direction of the border to the desert with his paw.

"Do you know what horrors I have faced? And how on earth did I leave there unscathed after so many years? Simple. I am far wiser than any creature there. I know that senseless violence like in the pride lands today is without point. I am too smart to let something like...this...go on." Mrithi growled as he looked around at the barren wasteland. He knew it was a huge trouble convincing this lioness to keep her big muzzle shut. He rolled his eyes.

"So unrefined. You may do as you please, sister. But, know that either way, I am not looking to hurt your pride or you for that matter. It has..." Mrithi hesitated. "hurt me to say the least that Scar had more illegitimate kin. It hurts me more than you can understand." Mrithi said with mock sorrow. Of course, it did affect him emotionally, but to the point of rage as opposed to sorrow. Playing this card might just get him off.