[Private] Kiarasmate and Kivuli

[Baya]

"It won't matter. He already knows that I would never come back to his pride, unless my brother is with me. We have to be extra sneaky so we are not spotted, just in case we find them. If we are spotted it's best that we run, because if Maju get's a hold of us we will die." Husudu muttered.

[center]~ Zina and Shwari ~[/center]

"I'd never hand you over to Maju. Not even my brother would and if he tried, I wouldn't let him." Shwari said, shocked that he was even asked this sort of question. Shwari was pretty sure that he made it clear that he despised Maju for all the suffering he caused, and wanted to fight against him. Shwari's eyes narrowed as he stopped speaking and he sniffed the air.

"Blood. I smell blood..." Shwari murmured as he began to follow the scent.

[KiarasMate]

Nodding in a silent agreement to what Husudu had stated, Vitani stayed low to the ground as she whispered to her scouting partner.

”Understood. Let’s head towards The Elephant Graveyard then. From what I’ve heard of that place and seen of it, it’s the perfect location for filthy creatures to call home.

Taking one last glance over at the abandoned termite mounds, Vitani stalked off, making sure to use every bit of cover that she possibly could as the two felines worked their way around the perimeter of The Pride Lands. As they neared the steep slope leading down into the dreary looking abode, Vitani froze as her ears picked up very faint sounds emanating from within the gloomy looking environment. Signaling a fore paw for Husudu to halt, Vitani spoke in a very muffled voice to him once more.

”Sounds like we might have come across something. It could just be some random hyenas though. They are known to often frequent this location, but should we go investigate?”

==========

Frowning slightly that her words hadn’t come across the right way towards Schwari, Zina bit her tongue as she mumbled under her breath.

”No sense of humor…”

The white furred lioness was about to speak up again, when Schwari’s words caught her attention, causing the shaman to scent the air, easily picking up the atrocious stench to which the grey furred male made mention of. Curling her nose in disgust, as she had always been quite impartial to the smell of blood, Zina quickly followed behind Schwari as the scent grew stronger. Narrowing her eyes, zina couldn’t help but state.

”You think this is wise of us Schwari? Couldn’t this just be one of Maju’s tricks?”

[Baya]

Husudu nodded. " I see. I've dealt with hyenas...this is not the scent of hyenas. It is as I had feared. Maju has taken camp near the pride lands. This means that there wouldn't be long pauses between his assaults..." Husudu whispered to Vitani. "This puts us in a very bad position..." Husudu said quietly.


[center]~ Shwari, and Zina ~[/center]

Shwari noticed that with each step he took, the land became harder and less grass was growing from it. He turned around a rock, where the scent of blood was coming from and gasped. There laying down, barely breathing was the bloody mess that was Kivuli. "K-Kivuli!" Shwari said in horror, as he quickly walked towards the male. Kivuli had been slashed along his sides, and severely bruised along his neck and shoulders.

"I-It took me...ever..every ounce of strength I had...I-I barely got away." Kivuli coughed. He couldn't move at all. All his muscles, all his bones, all his flesh hurt.

[KiarasMate]

Thoroughly understanding that they were in quite a compromising position now, Vitani stayed on guard as she whispered in response to what Husudu had stated.

”So, you know Maju better than I do. What should we do now? In my mind, there’s only two options. Go back and inform my brother of Maju’s presence, gather our forces and try and rid ourselves of this problem once and for all, or we hang back and see what Maju’s next move will be. Either way, we’re in trouble here.”

Keeping a watchful eye in front of her, Vitani slowly started to back up, making sure not to make a single sound, in fear of alerting Maju or any of his forces, to their presence. Waiting for Husudu’s reply, vitani couldn’t help but to feel a bit uneasy.

==========

It didn’t take the pair of felines very long to discover the source of the awful smell. Looking on in horror, Zina saw that it was Kivuli who had been severely injured. Forgetting her typical animosity towards him, Zina spoke in a worried voice as she approached, barely able to keep her gaze upon the battered frame of her fellow rogue.

”Who the hell did this to you Kivuli and what were you doing out on your own?”

Silently cursing herself for being so low on herbs at such a crucial moment, Zina felt helpless as she stood next to Kivuli, watching as his open wounds were attracting flies. Shivering from his grotesque appearance, Zina had to look away momentarily while she waited for a response.

[Baya]

"I don't know Maju better than you do. Only rumors, and some experience with his battle tactics. He is nothing more then a mindless brute. He puts the lives of his soldiers on the line...which is very fun for me." Husudu said grinning darkly as he turned. "We should get back to pride rock, and tell Kovu what is to come. We must make preparations..." Husudu chuckled. "For war..." He finished. On that note Husudu got silent, and began to walk back towards the pride lands. He looked back to make sure Vitani was following, and to make sure they weren't being followed by any of Maju's lions.


[center]~ With Kivuli ~[/center]

Kivuli looked up to Zina as she arrived, and chuckled then coughed. "Look at the irony. Only time you don't have your herbs, I'm in dire need of them." Kivuli said with a twisted smirk. Blood made it's way slowly down his wounds, into a small puddle that was forming on the hard ground. Shwari advanced on Kivuli, with a look of pity on his face.

"Let me hel-"

Kivuli roared at Shwari, and Shwari stepped back slightly. "Leave me be! If you take me to pride rock, I am going to die regardless. Best that at least...the others don't see me like this." Kivuli said quietly. "Zina. I want you to tell Siri, that you found me dead. Do not tell her what condition I was in...or...anything regarding my battle." Kivuli coughed, as he was drawing his last breaths. "Also...Tell Ayari. I am sorry...." Kivuli said as his eyes slowly closed, and his last breath of life left him.

[KiarasMate]

Taking one last glance at The Elephant Graveyard, Vitani turned to follow Husudu. Hearing his words and the tone in his voice, the former Outlander felt a chill run down her spine. It wasn’t because of Husudu’s seemingly positive attitude towards the upcoming war that was sure to be waged, but more so, from the fact that he reminded her a lot like herself back during the battle for The Pride Lands with her mother’s former pride. The look in his eyes told her everything and deep down, her own darker nature was slowly pushing its way back to the surface. Keeping quiet for the most part as they walked back to Pride Rock, Vitani thought about what the future held for her, her pride and more importantly, Ayari. Now that they knew where Maju and his gang were, this meant that Ayari’s time of choice was now going to be upon him. Would he choose to fight his former friend to the death, or would he try to talk sense into him. Whatever the case might be, Vitani knew that she’d stand by his side no matter what.

As the two felines returned back to the majestic structure, Vitani was the first to enter the main den as she called out for her brother.

”Kovu, we’re back and we need to talk.”

Waiting for her brother to arrive, Vitani stood next to Husudu, ready to deliver their report once everyone was ready.

==========

Zina was at a loss for words as she could only helplessly watch on as her fellow rogue passed away. Even though she argued constantly with Kivuli, Zina still considered him a part of her life and now that he was gone, the white furred Shaman found herself an emotional wreck as a single tear dribbled down her cheek. Moving in close, forgetting about the horrid looking image that lay in front of her, Zina bowed her head as she gently placed a fore paw atop Kivuli’s lifeless body, murmuring softly under her breath as she did so.

”I’m…I’m sorry Kivuli. I’m sorry for everything. Siri is going to be heartbroken. She loved you, even though she would never say it. You died an honorable death though, and may your soul find eternal rest…my friend.”

Trying to hold back more tears from escaping her eyes, Zina looked away from Schwari as she snarled angrily, ejecting her claws and raking them through the dirt below her in a violent fashion as she let a frustrated roar bellow out from her chest. Looking over at Schwari now, Zina spoke in a disheartening tone.

”I failed Schwari. I couldn’t save him. A Shaman is nothing without their herbs! If I had that legendary flower…if only…I did…” Zina stated as another tear managed to escape down her face as she continued. ”Siri is never going to forgive me for this. How can I tell her that the only lion she ever grew to love, is gone, and me, the stupid Shaman that I am, couldn’t save her own friend’s life…”

Turning away from the scene in front of her, Zina started to sob as she took a seat, not wanting to go back to Pride Rock and face her only friend in life, with the news she would have to tell her.

[Baya]

Husudu looked to Vitani curiously, thinking about what might be going through her mind. He frowned slightly as he continued to walk alongside the lioness, mind racing with the anticipation for war. They were now making their way towards pride rock, and Husudu was still only thinking whether he would be in the front lines or not. He knew his brother would be completely against the war altogether, but that wouldn't stop Husudu from killing some of the enemy anyways.

When Husudu and Vitani reached Kovu, the king looked to them waiting for the results of the scouting. "So...What happened?" Kovu asked quietly. Husudu snorted.

"I'll let the lady explain." Husudu said with a devilish smirk. He then sat down, listening intently.

[center]~ At Kivuli's corpse ~[/center]

Shwari looked sadly from the dead rogue, to the now sobbing Zina. He looked down for a moment, listening to her sorrowful sobs not knowing what he should do. He sighed as he walked up beside Zina. "It isn't your fault. He would've died regardless Zina. Half his blood was already in a puddle on the floor, you can't expect to have saved him, even with that legendary herb." Shwari said, trying to comfort her. "You can't sit here, and feel sorry for something that isn't your fault. I know the pain of loss is great, but those with an iron will come through it alright." Shwari said quietly, wiping off some of her tears with his forepaw.

[KiarasMate]

Taking her cue from Husudu, Vitani spilled all the details of their report to her brother as she responded in a concerned voice.

”Maju and his gang have taken residence within The Elephant Graveyard. They are closer than we even could have suspected. It’s no wonder they were able to start that fire yesterday so easily. We need to act and act swiftly Kovu, before something bad happens.”

Looking around the den, Vitani couldn’t spot any sign of Ayari. Turning back to Kovu, she inquired curiously.

”have you seen Ayari Kovu? I need to talk to him about this situation.”

==========

Feeling utterly heartbroken and quite unstable, Zina barely was able to rise to her paws as she felt Schwari’s paw wiping some of the tears away from her face. Typically, the touch from any male would have driven her to cringing but there was something different this time around. Schwari’s touch actually felt reassuring and made the white furred Shaman feel as though there was still a bit of hope left in the world. Sadly gathering herself together, Zina took one last mournful glance back at Kivuli’s lifeless form before she started to make her way back towards Pride Rock, head held down and without saying a word.

Upon reaching Pride Rock, Zina could feel her nerves beginning to crack as she reached the main den and called out, not knowing exactly where either Ayari or Siri would be but having no time, nor energy to look for either of them, this proved to be her only option.

”Ayari, Siri, something terrible has happened.”

[Baya]

Kovu was slightly troubled by the news, however he didn't look it. He was deep in thought about what to do when Vitani asked where Ayari was. "He's in an abandoned den, only a bit north of here. He said he needed somewhere to think and be alone." Kovu explained. Kiara sighed from where she was laying down.

"He is very troubled Vitani. I don't know what it was, but after you left he looked as if he was in pain." Kiara murmured quietly. At that point all the lionesses turned to Zina's cracking tone through the den. Siri quickly reacted trotting up to Zina.

"What happened Zina?" Siri asked with a look of horror on her face. It was as if she already knew what Zina was going to say. Shwari walked up beside Zina, sighing quietly.

"Zina...Let me. You go lie down, and try to clear your thoughts." Shwari said quietly. Siri looked to Shwari, with great confusion. "Siri...I'm afraid...Kivuli has been murdered." Shwari said slowly. Siri paused for a moment, with no expression and it finally set in. Siri's eyes glistened with tears as she looked to Shwari. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I-It's Ayari's fault...It's all his fault!" Siri broke down finally, into sobs. Several lionesses tried to get close to Siri to comfort her but she only snarled, pawing them away. "I don't want your pity! Leave me be! Let me mourn!" Siri sobbed, falling into a helpless pile.

"Ugh get a hold of yourself you mindless tool!" Husudu snarled.

[KiarasMate]

Upon hearing where Ayari had gone off to, Vitani turned tail and left before anyone could stop her. She had to inform Ayari about Maju’s location, as well as to make sure that he was safe, as the Pride Lands were no longer peaceful for those on their own. Passing by both Zina and Schwari as she zipped out of the den, Vitani knew exactly which den her brother spoke of, as she knew the lands like the back of her paw. It didn’t take her very long to reach the desired destination as she poked her head inside, spotting her old friend, who seemed very lost in thought. Remembering his words from the previous night, the former Outlander silently moved inside as she took a seat next to him, speaking softly as she did so.

”I know you said you needed time to think things over Ayari and I respect that, but we’ve learned the location of Maju’s forces and it seems like we’re on the verge of war. I need you to set aside your feelings for me and focus on the greater good here Ayari. The safety of our pride is more important than a single individual. That doesn’t mean that our feelings for one another just will disappear though, cause you know I care deeply about you, don’t you Ayari?”

Vitani lightly placed her fore paw atop Ayari’s as she looked over at him with a loving stare as she waited for a response from him.

==========

Zina wasn’t sure what to do. She appreciated the fact that Schwari broke the news to Siri, saving herself the uncomfortable situation that she was fearing however, she wasn’t about to just leave and be alone with her thoughts at a time like this. Siri was her only friend in life and she would stay by her side through thick and thin. Moving in close, a bit uncertain about how Siri might react to her presence after seeing the few lionesses who tried to comfort her, getting shooed away, Zina spoke in a mournful voice to her friend as she tried her best to console her.

”I’m so sorry Siri. I know how you felt about Kivuli and believe me, if I could turn back time and erase the events we’ve all been put through, I would. We need to stay strong though, or more of us will fall at the paws of Maju and his heartless allies. I need you…”

Zina’s voice was cut short from Husudu’s uncaring comment, causing the white furred lioness to whirl about, flashing the older male a wicked stare as she hissed.

Shut your face! Just because you don’t have feelings for others, doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t either!”[/b]

Holding her tongue before she said something she’d regret, as she still tried to hold up her promise that she had made to Schwari the previous night, Zina turned back to Siri as she lay next to her friend, gently placing a fore leg around her as she cradled her comfortingly.