Part 3:Family Matters

[Nakisisa]

"Yes AJ" upepo laughed watching more carefully where he was playing, "Come on" he said shouting to V and his other sibling.

[xscar10]

"Oh, I'll catch up." Said V, looking at Maji. Maji ran over to her brother.
---
"I think the tribe should be just ahead." Kadoo said, being carful not to step on Upepo.
---
"I don't think so." Iya said.
---
"If we slowly migrate around we shouldn't be seen." Jicho said.

[Nakisisa]

"Come on then" Nabu said his voice vissabily changing back to the millitary voice, heavily contrasting from how he had just been speaking, to add insult to injury Nabu vissabily tore himself away from Iya and moved away from her
---
Upepo started to laugh as Maji chased after him, "Cant catch me" he shouted back!

[xscar10]

Iya looked confused, but quickly shook it off. She started thinking back to when she was stilll on her misson.
---
Maji ran after her brother.
"Hey, I'm gonna get you." Maji said running after him.

She came up to her mother.
"Mommy, where are we going?" She asked.
---
"We are looking for you brother." Kadoo said.
---
"Oh, he's right there." Maji said.
---
"Your other brother." She said laughing.
---
"Oh, ok." Maji said.

[Nakisisa]

"Ohh no your not" Upepo laughed running slightly faster towards the main pride, "Come on slow poke!" he shouted back.

[xscar10]

Maji ran after Upepo, as she ran after him they came to the pride.
"Hey, Ron have you seen Metgo?" Asked Kadoo.
---
"There he is." He said.
---
She looked and saw he was crying.

[Nakisisa]

Upepo ran towards his brother, "Hey bro, what's wrong" he asked suddenly concerned
---
Nabu, Iya and Jicho crawled around the pride, not being noticed nabu looked for V, signaling to Jicho to take the lead, the time was near

[xscar10]

"G.. G.. Grandpa..." Metgo said, still crying.
---
Jicho moved into the swampland, seeing some cubs scamper around, but no V.
"Where is he? Nabu what do you think?" Jicho wispered.

[thegunner18]

A.J walked up to the crying cub. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened to your grandpa? No one is going to find out if you don't tell them." he said in a sympathetic voice.

[xscar10]

"He died." Metgo said.
---
"I was hoping he hadn't found out." Kadoo said.
---
"Grampa's dead?!" Maji said.

[Nakisisa]

Upepo was still playing when the news got out, at that he calmed down and started nuzzling his sister and brother. He didn't cry but didn't speak either
---
"Mother" nabu said quietly "Over there" he said pointing at V

[xscar10]

"I'm sorry children, I was hoping you wouldn't find out this way." Kadoo said.
---
"Good work Nabu." Jicho said as they snuck over to him.
---
V was walking up to the mounten area.
"*yawn* I hope I'm not gone too long, what am I saying, why should I care?" V said to himself.

"I will be right back, but why do I even care, I used to be on my own, and I should stay that way." V said.

[Nakisisa]

"Mother do you want to go first?" Nabu asked

[xscar10]

"Shure.*Deep breath*" Jicho walked up behind him.

"V?" She said.
---
V couldn't move he was stunned.
"Jicho?" He said.
---
Jicho smiled.
"Hello brother." She said.

[Nakisisa]

With their mission at it's making point Nabu gave Iya a quick nuzzle and took up a position close to his mothers side for when she called, Nabu was careful not to move the grass or make a sound, the mission was critical.

[xscar10]

"V, I have a question..." Jicho said.
---
"...Oh, yes, yes, anything..." V said.
---
"How did Mwiba become king?" Jicho asked.
---
"Ah, I see...*laugh* well you see..." V stopped; he saw Iya's tail in the bush.
*Growl*

[Nakisisa]

Nabu noticed the growl and sprang from where he was hiding, coming to his mothers side, ready to fight
---
Awia was going home to get some herbs for a potion, when he heard the growl and decided to see what was going on, he climbed up a tree downwind and obsevrved nabu going to his mothers side, Ohh fun he thought Nows the test he thought

[xscar10]

"Nabu! What are you doing here!?" V asked.
---
Iya walked out of the bush.
"We came with Jicho." Iya said.
---
"It's true." Jicho said.
---
V closed his eyes.
"I have somwhere to be." V said as he turned to walk away.

[Nakisisa]

"V... Please wait" nabu said sadly
---
Awia was suprised, the test had payed off

[xscar10]

"V... Please wait" V was surprised, it sounded almost as if he didn't want him dead.

"Wait? For what, I am not about to fall prey to you." V said.

[Nakisisa]

"V, if I came to kill you I would have done so already" he said with a flat tone, "Were here because we want to know," he sighed slightly looking at his mother for reassurance "How my father became king." he said with no real emotion present

[xscar10]

"You?... really?... *hmph* you think you know somone." He sai laughingly.

"Fine, you want to know? It's a little long so walk with me." He said.
---
Jicho and Iya walked one either side of him.
"Vary well." Iya said.

[thegunner18]

A.J closed his eyes and then took a deep breath and let It out, opening his eyes. He turned to Kadoo. "I'm sorry that they had to find out this way too." he walked over to her and nuzzled her. "Dont worry, they'll recover, they have strong hearts, and you know where they got that from? They got it from you."

[Nakisisa]

"Come on then" nabu said joining Iya and Jicho by V's side noticing in the distace a group of grieving lions, He presumed of AJ's body.
---
"You would make a good king" Upepo said suddenly to AJ, looking at his mother to reasure her.

[thegunner18]

A.J stopped and looked at Upepo in surprise. He then smiled at him. "Thanks, that means a lot to me, and to hear it from you makes it even better." he turned his head toward Kadoo again. "Youve raised your cubs really well on your own, sometimes I don't know how you could possibly do it." he said quietly to her, then laughed to himself.

[xscar10]

Kadoo nuzzled him back.
"I hope you're right." She said.
---
"but... but... it's how he died." Said Metgo.
---
As V walked towards the mounten's edge, he stopped to pick a flower.
"You see in our early life, Mwiba, Umeacha, and I all, were freinds, along with my brother... When there father was king everything was nice most of the time. Mwiba was be taught to be Umeacha's Visér.
When we were about tennagers, Mwiba was already predgudiced. One day the king accuired a strange illness, my brother went to inevstigate and found it was a poison. When they learned they, all blamed themselves. My brother went to see the king, and his shaman. He found somthing... He found the poison was deliberate. He went to search for the culprit, and found that the only possible culprit was Mwiba. Mwiba was going to be banished, but he realized somthing... He was not to blame, the shaman was.
First he killed my brother, the only one who could stand up for the shaman. He beseeched his people, to turn against the other big cats. Unfortunatly he was taught to persuade people through the years, he succeded in his misson, and was given 'emergency power'. During his crusades Umeacha learned the truth, and confronted Mwiba; he considered this an act of treason, and banished his brother, and fallowers. Mwiba then became king, who hunted down and killed my other sister, and parents during his crusades." V said walking away from the tribe.

"There is more if you want to hear it, but it trails off a little." He said

[Nakisisa]

Awia supressed a growl, not wanting to give away his position
---
"Please, tell us everything" Nabu said
---
Upepo turned from his mother, still comferting his elder brother and sister

[xscar10]

"After the main crusades he set off his 'elite' or as we called them 'the wawindaji'... They'd come and kill us one by one until we had been wiped out. We moved through the mountains to hide, and that is where I met Mke, the love of my life. Mwiba still has... or had the wawindaji. He no longer uses them unless to kill the great opponents. Mke, and I lived closely with the rest of our makeshift pride. Eventually we fell in love, we lived a happy life or as close as I could get to happy, we had cubs and stability came gradually. Until one day, I went off to fight as I always did serving Umeacha happily... but when I came back that same day, I was horrified to see the bloodied corpse of my beloved, along with a large portion of our pride. After that I was raising the cubs alone, and refused to fight, or even leave there side. Eventually someone was displeased by this, and in the middle of the night poisoned my cubs. I awoke to see my children in the last seconds of there life. They had suffered drastic seizures for half an hour before dying in my arms. I vowed to kill whoever was responsible for the death of my loved ones, two of them are gone, and I have yet to find my cubs' killer, or my wife's." V placed the flower on a rock surrounded by similar rocks that seemed to be organized together for some reason.

"Before his death Umeacha kept me up to date on what was happening, like movement in the east, Kadoo's addiction, the deadlands drought etc." V said.
---
Metgo raised his head.
"M...Mom's Friend v..V, he did it." Metgo said, still crying.
---
Kadoo was devastated.
"v... v... V! It was V! But... how... why..." Kadoo started to cry, but a half sadness, half anger cry.

[Nakisisa]

Nabu just looked at V, with saddened features, "V... I don't know what to say..." he said touching the male lions paw, "If this is why we are fighting" he turned to look at his mother hoping for her to nod her approval "Then who is your leader, we have a lot to discuss" he said nuzzling Iya sadly.
---
Well this makes things interesting Awia thought, getting a little too nosey

[xscar10]

"My leader, I have none, I have no family exept Jicho, the closest thing to a freind I had was, A.J. or Naki." V said.

"This is Mke's grave, and this.. is mine." V said.

V heard a faint growl.
"The echo of souls lost can be heard clearly here." He said.
---
Iya nuzzled Nabu.
"That is so sad..." She said.
---
Jicho cringed at the thought.