Part 3: The Coming Twilight

[Kirsui]

"Kirsui, is there anything I can do to help with the spy dilemma? Onto said something about Pulsar and Inlasta..."

"Pulsar and Inlasta?"
The young Burja leader looked at Lorien with confused expression. What did those two have to do with their current situation? She mentally cursed that Onto had left so quickly and had not come to tell these things to her. She would have to remind him to report directly to her if he had important news, and these news indeed were important.

"Maybe I can help. Pulsar didn't seem to want to fight before, perhaps your buddies aggittated him enough to change his mind fpr a little duel."

Kirsui sighed and looked first at Arjuna and then at Lorien, and then again at Arjuna.
"Do what you wish Arjuna", she told the wanderer. "You are not from my pride, and so I will not say what you should and should not do in this situation."
She paused, then opened her mouth as if to add something but chose against it. She so much wanted to tell Arjuna how much his random teleportings annoyed her, she was jumpy enough as it was... BUT...! She had better things to worry about than showing him his place - though she thought that if he kept doing those teleportings he would most likely at some point annoy her over the point the annoyance would turn into anger.

And so, instead of letting Arjuna know what she was thinking, she turned to Lorien instead.
"You may go, Lor", she told her friend.
"If Pulsar and Inlasta are there, the chances of the spy escaping Burja lands is higher than if she was alone..."
She paused, thinking.
"If the spy does escape and will become unreachable, there is no need to remain at the border. We need all of us here if that happens, it will be only a matter of time before Sumai orders an attack."
She sighed.
"Do what you can to help the situation, Lor, and try to get everyone back here safely."

[magiccat]

As the orbs flew toward her Oreo gasped and acted as quickly as she could. However that wasn't quick enough and one of the urbs collided with the end of her tail. Her ducking method had gone wrong and now her tail was in excruciating pain. She raised her head once more and growled. "That isn't fair Pulsar. You still have your shield up." She very carefully called back the fiery protection she had given herself and glared at him.

It was then that she became aware of another pain. A small one in her wings. The Ligress looked up and saw that one of them, had been damanged by Pulsar's orbs. It was just barely managing to do it's job and keep her flying. Now it wouldn't take much to knock her out of the sky. What's the point? I was only sent to chase that spy. Not fight Pulsar. She glared at the lion and turned before she flew down she called to him. "Not part of my orders Pulsar." With that she let herself swoop down gently. She landed beside her brother with a thud and grinned up. She was lying in a heap on the floor.

"I don't think I'll be flying for a while"

Onto, who had been staring with horror, pounced on her and hugged his sister to him. "Never do that again!" He ordered getting off of her with joy. Oreo smiled and got to her feet. She winced as her wing and tail began to hurt fiercly. The two siblings began to walk back to the Burja den quietly...until....

"Why did you stay behind to fight Pulsar?"

"Onto don't lecture me."

"Oreo!"

[neo]

Neo se' he group of lions lyingunderthe tr since e enouter a mouth ago he manily hid anywhere h could but one day sick of hiding he went out to find the pride that took hm to this moment he walked up to the pride and bowed to what appered to be their leader

"h.hello may I join your pride"

(sorry for the random post I was away from rp)

[Dakota]

(OCC Small post for Kyto )

Moona lay there in the dark, too afraid to move any further, he had shouted for help but no one had come to his aid, he was once again..alone.

Using his front paws he unsheathed his small claws and dug them firmly in the the cold dank ground, trying to use them as leverage to pull himself towards the opening of the cave he had found himself in. Every movement jarred his small black body, making his hind leg feel as though someone was stomping on his limb trying to inflict more damage.

Another wave of nausea passed through him, and he could feel his stomach start to churn and the bile start to rise, he couldn't hold back any longer and lurched to the side, vomiting against the side of the cave, his body rolling in time with his heaving.
Moving away Moona lay there trying not to pass out from the dizzyness once again, all he wanted was someone to take away his misery, someone to find him and tell him all would be right once more.

[Zorayda]

Aquila was tired of waiting. She sprang lightly towards the entrance of the Feraga cave, spotting an elder lion who seemed to have the look of a leader. Standing about ten feet away with her shields up, she spoke.

"Are you the leader of this pride? Are you the leader of the Feraga?" The cerulean colored lioness made sure her pose was nonthreatening and humble, but she knew that she posed a great threat to herself being in this position. One of her...hundreds of them...

"Please, I mean no harm...I am an old native of this land--I have been here for many many years. You have not heard of me--I am mainly a water-dweller," she explained, flashing her tail-fin. "I only wish to speak peacefully with you."

Meanwhile, Reicheru's patience was wearing thin. Her head still bore the mark of her injury, but it didn't bother her anymore. She stood from her laying position and glanced at the rocks around her.

"GrrrraAAAAAHHHH!!" she suddenly roared in frustration, and in a moment of young stupidity, rammed the rock with her head.

A young gray lioness sprang about happily, making Reicheru smile. Ina, their leader, watched carefully to their left, while Sitama sat behind them, brooding about something as usual.

Family.... These lions were...

Reicheru came back to herself, gasping. What was that?

Who was Ina? Who was Sitama? Who was that gray lioness...? Were these her...

Was she seeing her memories flash before her?

[neo]

((when do I come in confused))

[KanuTGL]

OOC: Sorry it's short D:

IC:Sumai saw something moving towards the caves. At first, he hoped that it would be Mwezi, Asuka, or even Inlasta, returning with a report for him, but he quickly gathered that this certainly wasn't the case. This creature was a stranger and clearly one who controlled the forces of water. Troublesome... Sumai couldn't be beaten by water alone, but his fire charges would, naturally, have very little to no effect on a water-based attack. Therefore he needed to be extra careful with this one and immediately took on a defensive stance. In case the intruder would pose a threat against him he would have the upper hand, but still...

"Are you the leader of this pride? Are you the leader of the Feraga?"

Sumai's eyes narrowed, inspecting the stranger carefully. With the direction the wind was going he couldn't catch her scent but he couldn't recall seeing her in battle with the Burja. She bore no marks of said battle either, but she came from their direction... Could she be a Burja mediator? "Yes." was the general's short reply to her question.

"Please, I mean no harm...I am an old native of this land--I have been here for many many years. You have not heard of me--I am mainly a water-dweller. I only wish to speak peacefully with you."

"How can I know you're telling the truth?" said the old lion, still defensive and still not trusting. "I have no reason to believe anything any stranger says." She didn't seem like she could be much of a threat where she stood, and even Sumai was finding the constant chasing away of strangers tiring, but he had been trusted with these lands by Xena and he couldn't let her down. He couldn't... "Why are you here?"

[Zorayda]

The aqua colored merlioness blinked her violet eyes at the Feraga leader's questions.

"I am sorry, but there is no way for me to prove to you that I am not lying. You will, indeed probably smell your enemies' scents upon me, for I have visited them as well--but I do not live with them, nor do I have more of an interest in them than I do in your pride, or any other, for that matter."

She shifted her water shields closer to her as a comfort to herself. The old lion had glanced nervously at them...perhaps she had some power over him if he decided to attack her...

Aquila swung her strong tail back and forth nervously, her webbed paws prancing from one side to the other.

"As for my purpose here..." Aquila sighed, knowing that the lion would probably fight her verbally-- "I come to speak of a truce between prides. I have spoken to the other leaders, and that pride, too, is weary and battle-worn. I only wish for peace in this land once more...The creatures of the land and the land itself is precious to me--it has been around and has been the breeding ground for many lives throughout so many generations...I have lost count. I am quite old, though I may not look it," she ended, and felt the strange urge to try to take a breath even though she had no need for oxygen.

"Please...do not close your mind to peace. The other pride does not wish to fight any more than you do...both sides have lost lives...would it not be prudent to protect your people with peace? What happens if you lose someone else dear to you? Are you going to seek revenge until there's nothing of either pride left?"

Aquila's tone had sharpened somewhat with her questions, her eyes narrowed and her mind shrewd. "Answer me this: Why do you still fight?"

[Tamber]

Timbre continued his leaping trend as he second guessed himself. He had no clue where he was going or what his plans were. He considered skidding to a stop, turning east, and leaving these prides to their business. The blue cat had little to gain from all this. He didn't belong here.

But Timbre, normally quick to make decisions, found himself moving closer and closer to Feraga base. He could see the den ahead of him, and at his incredible speed, he was drawing nearer at an alarming rate.

He would have to stop eventually, so he began to put on the breaks. However, the amazing power of stopping was not yet mastered in Timbre's physique, as had been displayed when he rolled painfully to a halt earlier. Tim found himself struggling to stop each time he came back into contact with the earth. Each landing grew clumsier and louder, and the blue cat now crashed down noisily with each touchdown. He cursed fearfully and looked ahead of him, seeing the den drawing nearer and nearer. Timbre cried out in spurts, unsure of how to draw to a pause. Each landing was increasingly painful and difficult, but he slowed little. He couldn't just go limp and fall to a stop. It could kill him.

Timbre could feel himself losing control, his body flying about clumsily in the air. Before long he realized that it was too late, and he sent himself screaming and careening into the Feraga den, his face reflecting his terror and his legs flailing around him. He saw lions dash out of the way to protect themselves from ending up in Timbre's path. At last the blue cat crashed into a stony cage housing a smaller, yellow feline, and sent the stone pen flying in broken pieces all throughout the den. Even then Timbre bounced and rolled until bashing into a wall at the far end of the cavern, leaving the cage shattered and the small cat free.

The cave fell silent as the pieces of the prison came to a rest and Timbre at last lay still by the wall that finally stopped his uncontrollable motion. He could feel the places that would soon be bruised, bloodied, and eventually scarred. He ached and lay out of breath, closing his eyes and choosing not to move. Maybe if he pretended he was unconscious they would treat him more....nicely.

[Pulsar]

It had been a short time since Inlasta had gone underground and proceeded back to Feraga territory, but thankfully being underground, the lioness' earth powers allowed her to travel rather fast.
"We should be getting close to home..."
She spoke out in a low tone as she continued to move the rock around them in order to move through the soul.

"Hold on Mwezi, once we're back you'll be ok..."
The horned lioness looked down at her friend, injured and bleeding on the floor beside her. Inside the capsule was complete dark due to the fact there was no light source, however, Inlasta could sense Mwezi's body though the earth.

As they approached closer to the den, Inlasta suddenly felt a tremor on the ground above her and Mwezi, a strong intense force that lasted only a split second.
"What... was that?..."

Moment's later, they had reached the Den, although they were still underground.
With a gesture of her paw in an upward movement, the capsule rose up through the ground, then stopped suddenly. With another gesture, this time a forward one, the capsule advanced.

It was at that instant that the wall on the inside of the den began to warp as if sinking into itself. Suddenly a gap opened, revealing Mwezi and Inlasta, the ground beneath them bringing them out from the wall into the cave.

"Sumai? I've got Mwe-zi....."
Inlasta's sentence was cut short as she observed the wreck that lay before her, rock fragments and the like strewn over the ground.
The horned lioness let out a gasp as a sight caught her attention. the blue animal that had been at the fight where Pulsar was.
"H-he was at the...."
The lioness quickly raised a paw into the air, the ground around Timbre quickly creaking and morphing to form a cage similar to the one that had been made earlier to imprison the outsider.

"what's he doing here...."
Even Inlasta knew this was bad. If that blue male was here then who knows what other Burja could be here.
"I have to find Sumai..."
The black and white feline made yet another gesture with her paw and the ground below Mwezi broke off and started hovering.
"Oh! Asha"
Inlasta let out as she seen the pride healer standing in a corner looking at the wreckage and the cage that now held Timbre.
"Could you threat Mwezi please?"
The lioness asked as she brought the slab with Mwezi on it over and laid it on the ground.

With that Inlasta turned around and headed for the cave mouth to find Sumai, as she did she gave a look in the direction of the what looked to be unconscious if not dead Timbre lying on the ground.
She would have tried to deal with the blue cat but she needed to find Sumai and inform him of what had happened first.
"Sumai are you out he-re..."
Stopping in her tracks just at the cave mouth, Inlasta observed the pride leader, standing opposite some sort of, water thing.....
<Another Burja?...>
She also seen that the cage containing the outsider had been smashed and the outsider herself was also free.
<Oh dear.... this isn't good... I hope Pulsar's having better luck then we are...>

---

---

Pulsar floated on the spot as he observed the events following his attack. It had seemed that his energy orbs had been rather successful in doing some damage to the Burja creature. Among the many shot some had landed, although sadly the majority had missed.. still, the ones that had hit had done well.
The male was surprised that even one of his shots had hit, with such a stingy scatter shot like that, the Burja could have dodged them, but it had seemed that her aerobatics weren't exactly up to scratch.

As he observed the damage inflicted upon Oreo, Pulsar let out a light huff.
<I had been expecting more from her....>

"That isn't fair Pulsar. You still have your shield up."

The winged liger ended up snapping back at him after the attack. Pulsar didn't bother replying, he simply titled his head back slightly, shaking his head briefly to clear some of his mane out of his face.
<I wasn't aware we were engaging in a duel...>
He thought as a slight grin appeared on one side of his face.

It was at that moment in time that the male observed that his opponents flight abilities suddenly started weakening to the point it had seemed she was struggling to stay aloft.
<Well... seems that scatter shot was more lucky then I thought... I clipped her wing as well as her tail...>
As before he remained silent, no noise or sound came from the lion other then those cause by his wings gesturing to maintain his position in the sky.

"Not part of my orders Pulsar."

Oreo once again spoke out, her words this time seemed less aggressive then the first.
The quad-winged male watched as Oreo then swooped down toward the ground, his head turning to follow her flight. As she flew under him toward the ground, he gave a flap of his wings to turn the direction he had been facing so he could continue to observe her actions.
<Not part of her orders huh?...>
The grin disappeared from Pulsar's face. As if he was going to let the Burja off that easy.
<Sumai won't be happy that i'm defying orders... But I should be alright if this is the best the Burja have then I should be ok....>
The silence of his thoughts was broke by a momentary flap of his wings.
<I don't have any reserve energy left though.... Is it worth the risk?...>

It was then in that moment that another animal, presumedly another Burja, jumped and pounced on Oreo proceeding to give her... what looked to be a hug, before they both started walking toward the Burja den.
With a nod to himself after making his choice, Pulsar shifted his wings and immediately dropped into a swoop. Tucking them in slightly he dropped rapidly, but controlled enough for a good landing.

The male landed on the ground in front of the two Burja, his wings extending and sending out a hug cloud of dust in all directions as they flattened to the ground. The dust cloud was enough to conceal him from visible view even though he was only a few feet ahead of the two.
"Not your orders?"
His voice rang out from the cloud in a low tone. His yellow eyes flashing through the cloud as the orange light of the sun hit them.
"You've no choice... but to face me...."
His voice continued as his mane flashed next as it was lit up by the rays of the setting sun.
"If you intend on getting out of this alive..."
The dust around him settled to the ground as he stood up in an attention posture, his body facing sideways to Oreo and Onto. His wings tucking inward as his head turned to face them both, a determined look upon the male's face.
"... then you'll have to survive me...."

[magiccat]

"I told you once and I'll tell you again!"

"Onto I was trying to get rid of him. Since when have you told me what to do anyway?"

"Since you faced off a lion with wings that could have knocked you out of the sky"

"Onto for the last time... PULSAR!"

"Yes I know Pulsar is terrifying that's why-"

"No, Pulsar!" She turned her brothers head just in time to see the lion land and the huge cloud of dust go out in all directions. Onto sneezed as some went up his nose, Oreo was slightly more collected and glared at the cloud of dust.

As soon as it settled and Pulsar had finished talking a grin lit up Oreo's face. "Good, now we're on the ground I can deal with you" Onto turned to her and stared, horrified. He shook his head furiously and mouthed a silent 'no' to her. Oreo shot him a look that could have killed. They had no choice but to fight, did he really think she wanted to do this? Putting him in danger annoyed her and she wanted this over and done with.

Oreo growled but her growl was impossible to hear over the louder growl Onto had just released. Oreo smiled, the rant was coming.

"Do not speak to us like that. My sister and I must travel back to our pride to report. You are being foolish by doing such a thing as to threaten us in the territory of our pride. Despite being away from the group, we can easily delay you and get back to our den. So kindly step aside you oaf!" Onto's debating skills were coming through. "And another thing. I doubt you were ordered to specifically kill Oreo and myself. If you had you would have killed her and gotten your horned friend to save Mwezi right from the start. So what I want to know is, how fast can you get out of here"

Whilst Onto had been hard at work telling Pulsar off as if he was a young cub, Oreo had been concentrating. Now she felt ready. Her whole body tensed like a coiled spring ready to...well, spring up. The right moment, she needed the right moment. Then she would leap.

[Zorayda]

"BwwwwAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Reicheru leapt high into the air, green eyes wide and all of her claws extended, to avoid the blue equivalent of a cannon ball that had careened her way and crashed into her stony prison. The stone flew everywhere--pieces shattered and flew into her face, the dust causing her to blink and sneeze once she'd landed on the ground again. Her yellow fur was fluffled and bristled so high that she looked to be at least twice her normal size.

"ARE--YOU--***ED?!?" she screamed at the blue thing, but then she realized that it was lying quite still on the ground, covered in cuts and bleeding freely.

She only felt a small amount of pity, however--it HAD just almost crushed her. She walked over to it and poked it gently, then swatted at it with a paw. It was a blue male cat-thing, with a very strange-looking mane dominating its features. A swirly looking mark covered its back.

Actually, the male was...quite cute...

SWAPPPFF!!! Reicheru reached back a paw and swatted the male's nose. Hard. If that didn't wake it up... she didn't know what would.

---

Aquila's tense and poised stance was interrupted when a screaming thing flew past her and crashed into the cave behind the Feraga leader. She immediately caused her water to surround her and freeze into ice, creating a sufficient barrier to prevent herself from getting injured by the flying projectile.

"No!" Aquila yelled out loud--why did this have to happen NOW, when she was so close to speaking with their leader...? No wonder this lion didn't trust anyone--there were constant problems and newcomers bothering him!

Aquila craned her neck and saw that it was a small cat that had crashed. She didn't recall seeing it in the Burja den...was it an attack? An accident?

Then, a female lioness blocked her view of the cave. The lioness seemed to have...horns?

...What kind of pride was this, where all of the lions had gifts as she did?

Then her attention snapped back to the war-hardened leader, and she could feel her expression become pleading and desperate.

What would he say? What would this gruff lion do?

[KanuTGL]

OOC: Crummy post ahead. Bleh D:

IC: Sumai listened to the water-creature's words, but his stern expression or defensive stance did not change. With each word she seemed to grow bolder and the old lion couldn't help but find that interesting. Did she expect him to suddenly realize that she was right and roll belly-up in submission?

"Please...do not close your mind to peace. The other pride does not wish to fight any more than you do...both sides have lost lives...would it not be prudent to protect your people with peace? What happens if you lose someone else dear to you? Are you going to seek revenge until there's nothing of either pride left? Answer me this: Why do you still fight?"[/b]

The general's eyes narrowed. "Peace is a faraway dream. If getting it was as simple as you seem to think, do you not think that we would have achieved it already?" He snorted, then lowered his gaze slightly. "I have already lost what was dearest to me." His tone was cold and lacked any sort of emotion. He looked up again, determined as ever. "I intend to make sure that her death was not in vain. This land has been our home since ancient times and I will not give it up. They intruded! And caused so much..." Sumai hadn't intended to break off there, but something else, rather harshly, grabbed his attention; something very fast and very blue came racing towards them at incredible speed and had in the blink of an eye crashed straight into the solid rock that formed the Feraga den with a loud BANG!. "What in the name of..." the red lion whispered, as surprised he was as angered, and for a moment forgot about the watery lioness. In literally a second he stood outside the cave entrance and his fellow pridemembers seemed just as confused as he was. A small cloud of dust had been blown up by the impact and it was difficult to see what was going on inside... Sumai sparked a pair of small flames that hovered around eye-height and was about to step forth to investigate when Inlasta seemed to appear before him out of thin air. "Inlasta! What happened!?" It couldn't have been her causing this havoc, could it? It hadn't looked like her zooming by. It had rather looked like... "Oh, please, don't let it be him..."

[Lorien]

Asuka watched from the gap in the barrier as everything happened. Oh how she wished it were her battling instead of Pulsar. She wanted to see blood, and her eyes almost glazed over at her lust. She continued to watch as Inlasta came to the aid of Mwezi. She decided then that Pulsar could handle himself. He could fly, after all, a talent that many in the pride were jealous of.

As she turned, she muttered to herself, "I'd just kill them all if it were me, worthless Burja..." The tan lioness continued her march back to the Feraga den, grumbling beneath her breath. Her mind never stopped anymore. The headache she had given herself throbbed on and on, a dull pain now.

She saw the Feraga den come into view, but at the same time something caught her eye. She turned her head to the side just in time to watch as the blue lion failed to make a stop time and again and finally crash into her home. Asuka growled defensively. Could this be another of the Burja's tricks? As fast as she could, she darted toward the mouth of the den, a fire in her remaining eye.

As she reached the den, she glanced slightly at the strange merlion speaking with Sumai. She turned to her leader, nodding her head slightly. "Pulsar is at the border in battle with another winged Burja. I trust she will be dead soon, if she is not already." Asuka's teal-colored eye then turned its attention toward the inside of the den. The cage that had kept her acquaintance had been shattered and she saw the heap of a blue lion on the floor, Reicheru batting at him. She chuckled slightly at the yellow felines actions, but then her face turned stern again and she brought her attention back to her leader to see if there would be any orders for her to carry out.
______________________

Lorien listened intently to what Kirsui had to say, completely ignoring the electric-legged lion. She wanted to help her pridemates and now she had been given the orders to do so. Quickly, the grayish-brown lioness sprung into a run toward the border, dashing down the side of the den to get to the savannah ground. As she ran, her hair flopped up and down, every once in a while revealing her crystal blue eye. Her heart was pumping at the thought of a battle, though she was sure it was fear that was surging through her veins instead of adrenaline.

As the young lioness approached the border area, her legs burning from sprinting the entire way, she stopped cold in her tracks. The spy was gone, and there was that winged Feraga between herself and her pridemates Oreo and Onto.

This must be Pulsar...

Lorien's mind raced as to what she should do. She saw that Pulsar was in a offensive stance, ready to fight the other two. She couldn't let anything happen. She was supposed to bring them back safely! Suddenly, four copies of herself jumped from her being onto the ground beside her. If anything, she could serve as a distraction long enough for the liger twins to escape.

Lorien and her look-alikes quickly flanked Pulsar from behind. Her eyes quickly darted to Onto, who had finished speaking, quite harshly, to the yellow-maned lion. Then her eyes went stern, as did those of her copies, and she let out a growl. "Leave them alone, Feraga." The young cat's visible eye narrowed as she awaited what would happen next, her heart almost beating out of her chest.

[epppe]

Arjuna just watched as the grey lioness ran off to find her other two pride mates and save them from Pulsar. He continued to watch until she was out of sight, which didn't take long since she was sprinting. A small chuckle came from him, thinking how funny it was that it took her to get that far when he could do it in an instant.

"She seems a little excited doesn't she, hopefully she won't get herself hurt,"
He remarked to Kirsui.
"But I guess it's time for me to leave you alone for now so see ya."

After saying that, Arjuna began teleporting to where Lorien was heading to. It did not take long to catch up to her thanks to his ability. He was away from small group that surrounded Pulsar but close enough to hear what was they were saying. He examined Lorien's ability as close as he could from the distance and was kinda curious of what else she could do. wanting a closer look at the clones, Arjuna teleported by one of them.

"Awesome clones you got, they look so much like you."
Saying that, he tried to poke the clone only to realize that they were just images.
"Woah, I was not expecting them to be fake."
He turned himself to face the center of the circle where Pulsar was and greeted the yellow-maned lion.
"Hey Pulsar, what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?"
Trying to make himself look as calm as possible, Arjuna was ready for anything to happen and willing to help either side if needed.

[Pulsar]

"Good, now we're on the ground I can deal with you"

Pulsar stood there looking at Oreo as she made her remark to him, noting that her companion seemed rather reluctant to engage in any form of combat.

"Do not speak to us like that. My sister and I must travel back to our pride to report. You are being foolish by doing such a thing as to threaten us in the territory of our pride. Despite being away from the group, we can easily delay you and get back to our den. So kindly step aside you oaf!"

"And another thing. I doubt you were ordered to specifically kill Oreo and myself. If you had you would have killed her and gotten your horned friend to save Mwezi right from the start. So what I want to know is, how fast can you get out of here"

The male Burja had suddenly spoke out, though what he had to say wasn't much. In response to what was said to him, the quad-winged male widened his stance, stamping one paw on the ground, a grin playing on his face as he looked back at Onto. There was no way he was going to let them off that easy...
All the trouble they had caused the Feraga Pride, not to mention Pulsar himself only moments ago, no.... they weren't going to simply be let off that easy...

"You are correct my little friend...."
Pulsar began as his grin faded slowly.
"In fact, my original orders were not to engage Burja members at all...."
He paused briefly as he looked at each of them.
"However, I'm not going to let what you did to my friend go unanswered. Orders or not, you will pay for what you did to her..."
The lion's expression had slowly changed from a rather confident look to that of a more aggressive one.

At that moment the area around him started to light up gently as he began drawing in energy from the plants and vegetation in the area surrounding him.

He was preparing to make a move until four other lionesses he hadn't see before appeared, all of them looking identical to one another.
Finding himself suddenly surrounded, Pulsar shifted his stance to a defensive one, his energy shield which had been down, suddenly restored itself around him with a shimmering light as it did.
<More Burja?>
Pulsar thought as he scanned the four new lionesses over, a frown on his face as he thought about the new predicament he found himself in.
<They all... look alike... quadruplets? what are the chances of that?>
His yellow eyes scanned each one seeing if there was any difference in appearance at all but it was to no avail. They looked perfectly alike.
<DAMN.... I might have been able to take the other two on my own but fighting six Burja at a time is really pushing it.... although...>

The black and white male found himself is a position that was double-edged. On one hand he was on his own against six Burja, something which would prove to be a test for even the best of abilities. At the same time however, if he managed to come out of this victorious then the Burja would have six less on their side...
Was it worth the trade off?
<I could die in the process...>
Pulsar was certainly in over his head, he had let his feelings get the better of him.
<Heh.... I knew my cockiness would be the death of me one day, didn't think it'd be this soon though...>

"Leave them alone, Feraga."

One of the quadruplets suddenly growled out at him, making him shift his attention to her, his frown intensifying more. The only reason they could act as such to him was because they currently had the upper hand in this situation.

"I take orders from no Burja! Regardless of the situation!"
Pulsar snapped back at her, not really thinking about it and how she might react. After all it would only take one of them to start attacking him and the rest would no doubt jump into the fight also.
He was about to speak further to her when suddenly Arjuna had appeared out of nowhere.
The suddenness of the moment making Pulsar withdraw back ever so slightly and his aggressive expression being replaced for a brief moment with that of a look of sudden fright.
<Damn, I hate that lion....>
He thought to himself as he lowered his head and sighed for a moment, before looking back up.

All Pulsar could do was watch as Arjuna did what he normally seemed to do, that is, parade about and act as if he was untouchable.
<This guy really can get on one's nerves...>
But in a brief moment Arjuna suddenly completely redeemed himself, by touching one of the lioness look alikes, he had shown that they didn't seem to be real.
<Which means!>

Pulsar's gaze quickly shifted to the one who had last spoken to him. It was a guess that she must have been the main one, the others were no doubt just images or something similar to that Sumai copy he had seen earlier. For all he knew this lioness could have even been the one who had made the Sumai copy.
As he turned his gaze to her, an energy orb suddenly fluxed into existence from nowhere, the energy the male had been gathering now compacted into the orb.
"Gotcha!"
He spoke out as he grabbed the orb from the air and did a semi spin with his body to throw the orb, the orb itself darting out of his paw at the lioness.

He was now placing a lot on the assumption that the other three look alikes were nothing but images, copies of the one he was attacking. Not to mention he was counting on the orb hitting, if it did then it would hopefully level the playing field by injuring if not hopefully killing the lioness, thus taking the other three copies out of the picture, leaving just him and the other two Burja as before.
The Burja present would no doubt attack him now, so there was no turning back...

He didn't give much thought to Arjuna's standing in the whole thing, since if Arjuna was Burja then Pulsar has probably lost the fight already. All he could hope was that Arjuna was truly a wanderer, as he had said to Inlasta and Pulsar earlier. If he was then he probably wouldn't interfere with the fight... or would he?

---

---

After spotting Sumai outside beside some strange creature, Inlasta jogged over to him, arriving the same time as Asuka.
The lioness waited till her fellow pride member had been finished talking to their leader before she added in her own info.
Her crystals who had been following Asuka, now returned to orbiting just above Inlasta, if only for a brief moment. They were quick to then avert their attention to Aquila. They began hovering around her in random patterns as if looking the aquatic-feline over. Inlasta didn't say anything however, she after all had a more important matter to be concerned with, rather then worry about what her crystals are doing.


"S-Sir! I have Mwezi here with me..."
The horned lioness paused, feeling slightly belittled and intimidated by the stature of her leader.
"She's being taken care of, but she's badly hurt.... She said..."
She paused once more.
"She has some very important information for you I think, Sir..... Pulsar thinks that it's something pretty important, enough to have the Burja attack and pursue her, not to mention enough for Pulsar to stay behind to hinder them from giving pursuit..."

Inlasta's thoughts drifted back to the boarder, she wondered how her friend was faring. If he was still fighting, or had he already lost or won, maybe he had already retreated and was on his way back?

Inlasta couldn't prevent herself from looking over the strange animal that was in the presence of Sumai. The horned lioness sheepishly averted her gaze however when she thought the fishy lion like animal had looked back at her.

"Uhmm..."
She let out in a low tone as she looked at her paws.
"W-what do you want us to do sir?"
Managing to bring her gaze back up, she looked at Sumai hoping for him to have the answer to the situation.

[Kirsui]

"She seems a little excited doesn't she, hopefully she won't get herself hurt. But I guess it's time for me to leave you alone for now so see ya."

Kirsui cringed when Arjuna teleported out of sight again. It was becoming highly annoying, to be startled half to death each time he teleported back and forth, especially so since it was the time of war. Would be only a matter of time before Arjuna would teleport to them at the wrong moment and get the whole pride at his back before they would realize he was not a Feraga. She hoped with all her heart that the wanderer would not return again...

But judging from his former behaviour, she did not count much on that hope.

The long haired lioness shook her head and decided she would be much more safe from Arjuna's antics if she went deep inside the cave where the sun didn't even shine. And so she nodded a goodbye to the two guards begun to descend from the top of the hill towards the Den entrance. Oh how she wished that she could have taken a long, relaxing walk now...

But the young leader knew she could not do that. She had to wait for news from the border, and should the Feraga decide to attack at any moment, she needed to be there to arrange the pride should those news reach the Burja Den.

---

She felt warm. The warmth poked through her unconscious mind and poured strength into her body. And as her strength grew she became aware of who she was.

Mwezi's eyes shot open, her draconic pupils narrowing into slits at the sudden light invading her eyes, even if said light was dim. And then she saw who stood upon her, and she felt relieved.

Asha...

The dark cheelion tried to stand up, but her still exhausted body refused to work and she collapsed back to the ground. Her collapse caused dust to rise up on air, dust that had been on top of her body, and she had no idea how that got there. She coughed, wishing she could switch into mist and not care of breathing. But with her current energy level that was impossible.

She heard Asha whisper to her that she should rest and gather her strength, but she shook her head and tried to look for the cave exit. She needed to get out, under the open sky where she could lay under the stars and moon that she dearly wished were already up. They would return her energy back to normal in no time, but as long as she was inside...

On the brief moment Mwezi used to gather what ever strength she had she looked around. She had known already that she was in the Feraga Den, but what surprised her was the amount of... mess. There was this annoying lioness Inlasta had caged earlier, now free and screaming something at a very blue and very familiar feline.

Timbre...

The dark cheelion frowned. It seemed, from the amount of damage and dust inside the Den, that Timbre was the cause of all this mess. How he had done that, she did not know, and she did not care. She needed to get out, now!
"Someone..." she begun with a tired voice, stopping when she accidentally breathed in dust and had to cough it out.
"...get me... out... of here..."

[magiccat]

Onto glared harshly as Pulsar spoke. Idiot. He thought to himself. As he thought that Oreo suddenly twitched. A look of surprise crossed her face. What had just happened to her? For a moment Onto prepared to throw himself at Pulsar for harming his sister. However then she shook her head slowly and glared ahead. I agree he is an idiot.

Now Onto's eyes widened in surprise. What had just happened? He hadn't been thinking that. Where had it come from? As he was about to question Oreo he realised he had forgotten about the great big lion looming over them. So instead he began speaking again.

"What we did to your friend? On the contrary it was another member or our pride that attacked and harmed your friend. So you have no issue with us. I haven't even touched your friend, nor have I harmed you. So if you don't mind, GET LOST!" Onto nodded to finish his words and growled once more. He had assumed it was somebody else. He hadn't been there. However, then he spotted something else. Lorien. No, wait, four Loriens? Um...I think that's one of her abilities. I think at least...

Oreo twitched. There it was again. A thought that wasn't hers. Where was it coming from? However she had no time to tell Onto about it, four Loriens were now behind Pulsar. One of them was speaking.

Oreo smiled secretly. Yes, yes! We're going to get out of here! Then suddenly, Arjuna was there. Oreo thought nothing of this for a minute. He was simply there causing havoc again.

That was before he ruined Lorien's rescue attempt. Oreo cursed heavily under her breath as Onto threw a paw up to his forehead in annoyance. However she had no time to attack Arjuna, Pulsar threw an orb.

Both of them reached fast.

Oreo growled loudly and lifted her paw. A large fireball, appeared in front of it. Oreo raised the paw and flung it in Pulsar's direction. Sending the fireball flying toward him.

Onto called to Lorien, just incase she decided to go all 'rabbit in headlights' on them. "If I were in your position I would duck or use an ability!" He warned.

[kyto7878]

Moona tried to get up once more in the dark cave and yet another fail. He was too dizzy. He couldnt even see straight. "Ugh hello? is anyone there?" then moona passed out again and couldnt control it.

(Sorry so short)

[epppe]

Arjuna was surprised to see that Pulsar would attack so soon, but could understand since he was surrounded by three enemies. Since he couldn't tell if Pulsar was attacking the real one or not and he didn't want to see the gray-fur lioness get hurt so decided to step in to have a little fun. He teleported in front of Lorien and simply lifted his electric arm in the path of the ball of energy. Once the ball made contact with Arjuna's paw, it stopped and just rested in his paw.

Teleporting in front of the fireball the winged liger shot at Pulsar, Arjuna turned his 'armor' on a split second before the flame hit him. The fire had almost no effect on him while he stayed in the form, but didn't want to waste energy so he quickly turned it off.

Arjuna sat in between the black and white lion and the winged liger as if nothing happened with a smile on his face. He wondered who was angrier, the liger or Pulsar since he negated both of their attacks Quickly and easily. Holding the orb in his paw still, Arjuna started to fiddle with it by making it move around his arm as if it were a toy.

"I think you might of dropped this Pulsar?"
Arjuna asked the lion, stopping the motion of the ball so it rested in his paw again.
"Would you like it back or should I just toss it away?"

It looked as if Arjuna had all his attention focused on Pulsar, but he was listening to what was happening behind him. He wanted to be on his toes just in case the liger were to do something like attack him.

[Zorayda]

Aquila stood quietly nearby, watching the exchange between the horned lioness and the Feraga leader, all the while standing tensely and waiting either for an attack or a reply. She saw the horned lioness give her a once-over and watched her face.

It seemed that she, also, thought that Aquila was strange-looking.

Aquila did not overlook the fact that they had been keeping someone prisoner...a young lioness with a soft yellow fur color, bangs hanging down between her ears.

The fish-lioness was curious. "Why is it that you kept that lioness prisoner? Was she a Burja?"

Meanwhile, Reicheru had just realized that she was free. She guessed that she had the dumb blue lion to thank, but for now...

She focused all of her energy, the purple spiral glowing on her forehead. Her green eyes became glassy with concentration. Suddenly, is was as if a gust of wind or energy had expelled from her, moving all of the debris of her own cage suddenly outward, quick as bullets.

She hoped that this was enough of a distraction...

Reicheru ran... she shouldered through the ranks of lions and lionesses, slamming into a lioness with horns on the way by and barely missing running into the old cranky Sumai.

She ran and ran, her heart pounding in her ears. She sent a mind message... she sent it into the minds of every lion around. It was a high-pitched squealing, a noise that would certainly make someone want to cover their ears.

However, since the message was in their minds... they couldn't block it.

Reicheru ran so hard that she felt her soft paws begin to tear on the ragged debris under them. She had to get away.

Aquila wanted to ignore the escaping prisoner, seeing as it was none of her business, but the flying debris caused her to soldify her water-shields, turning them to solid ice. The next second, however, the high-pitched noise made her lose concentration. The ice instantly melted and turned to water, then rushed into the ground, lost.

Aquila fell to the ground, growling and trying to cover her ears, but to no avail.

It seemed that the young lioness was determined to get free.

[Lorien]

Lorien kept her fierce stance as she watched Pulsar turn on her and her look-a-likes. However, her mind was far from what her face looked like. Her mind was wracked in fear, her thoughts racing on what to do if the winged lion attacked. She knew that her powers were merely defensive, or at least the ones she allowed herself to use were. She thought back to the sight of the tan lioness lying motionless in the grassy battlefield, but quickly put it from her mind.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Arjuna appeared. Her head perked up and the look of ferocity left her. She cringed as the electric-armed lion touched one of her copies, completely rendering her plan useless. She now almost shook in fear. Lorien knew that her trick would anger Pulsar, and she quickly turned her attention to him.

She found herself almost face to face with a ball of energy moments later. The grayish lioness cowered down, turning on her intangibility, hoping that the ball would phase through her as any other object would in that state. However, as she uncovered her green eye from her paws, she saw Arjuna standing in front of her, the orb in his paw. She looked around her, and just as she thought, her copies had disappeared in her panic. It wasn't often that she could use her two abilities at the same time.

Now, all she could really do was wait and see what was going to happen next.
__________

As Asuka awaited a reply from Sumai, However, when she saw what was coming out of the back of the den at them at an alarming speed, the tan lioness ducked her head. Debris and rubble zoomed past, and she thanked the stars that none had hit her. Moments later, she watched as the young lioness Reicheru made her escape. She was about to stop the retreating lioness when a squealing sounded in her mind. She winced in pain, her headache pounding away fiercly.

However, Asuka quickly blocked the voice from her head with her own telepathic ability. She watched as the young lioness grew smaller as she headed closer and closer to the Burja territory. She growled slightly, but knew that it didn't really matter. It was one less thing to worry about, really.

Before the lioness got out of range, however, Asuka sent Reicheru a message of her own.

Be wary of returning, young one. Feraga might not be so accommodating the next time.

She didn't know why, but Asuka was almost saddened to see the yellow lioness leave. Perhaps she felt a sort of bond toward a fellow telepath.

[KanuTGL]

"Pulsar is at the border in battle with another winged Burja. I trust she will be dead soon, if she is not already."

Sumai winced. What!? So something had been wrong! Either way, what was happening right in front of them right now was more urgent and he just had to trust Pulsar to be able to handle the battle on his own. "I'm so sorry, my friend..." the general thought and turned his attention back to the situation he had at his paws.

"S-Sir! I have Mwezi here with me... She's being taken care of, but she's badly hurt.... She said... She has some very important information for you I think, Sir..... Pulsar thinks that it's something pretty important, enough to have the Burja attack and pursue her, not to mention enough for Pulsar to stay behind to hinder them from giving pursuit..."

Sumai raised an eyebrow. That sounded very important indeed. "I'm glad to hear she has returned. I trust Asha to take good care of her." Then upon realizing that the horned lioness might be acting nervous because of him, he forced a smile and touched her shoulder with a paw. "You've done well, Inlasta." He really did mean that, but right now he didn't have the time to give her the appreciation she deserved. "Chanua! Kangaja!" The two lionesses were at his side in an instant. They had also heard the crash. "I want you to investigate inside the den: find out who or what attacked us! If they need to be captured, call for Inlasta! She will cage them up." They nodded and went inside. Chanua and Kangaja were both strong and courageous. And Kangaja could create a force field to shield her and Chanua from any harm if need be...

Sumai glanced back towards the mer-lioness he had been talking to earlier and tried to decide whether she should be captured for later interrogation or if she was low enough a threat to be left alone for the time being. However, he didn't have time to decide this time either as another massive bang came from inside the den. A few pieces of gravel flying at an incredible speed and it was only luck that prevented one from piercing Sumai's left eye. "WHAT in the name of...!" he began, but got no further before the yellowish beige lioness they had caught earlier came charging out of the cave, crashing into Inlasta on the way. Sumai momentarily caught her gaze and saw the fear in her eyes before she darted off, surprisingly fast. "Stop he-- Aaaaagh!" With an agonizing roar Sumai fell to the ground, clutching his head. The screech was gonna kill him! This was the end!

[Kirsui]

As if being partly frozen in her mist form, fleeing then from the Burjas with her last bits of her energy had not been enough, now her mind was invaded by a screech she could not block out. Mwezi cringed and let out her own screech, tossing and turning violently on the dusty cave floor where she laid. She was quite sure she could have endured the mind-invading screech had she been able to shift into her mist form, but like before with her breathing problems, there was no energy left to do that task.

And so she had to take the torture - that was what she called it. She wished she had not woken up, if she was unconscious she would not hear this, right? Her mind felt like it would explode soon, and she seriously thought to take her own life if it would just end the pain.

But through her tortured mind a memory surfaced. She remembered Kirsui's face, and with her face she remembered why she had fled like she had, remembered why she had used her last bits of energy to return, why she had not given up when death had been close.

And with this memory she clenched her jaws tightly shut, biting her teeth together so that no more screams of agony would escape her. The screech was still painful, but she did not let the pain take control of her any more. She concentrated on her memory, her important news that she needed to deliver to Sumai. She could move her head now, and though each movement made her vision swirl, she still held her concentration on her memory firmly. She could see Asha at the ground, holding her head tightly. Other pride members were there too, and at the Den entrance she saw Sumai, and he too was holding his head like the rest of the pride.

Except Asuka. The cheelion's gaze focused on the lioness, and she realized Asuka was standing tall and unaffected by the mind-filling screech. And seeing her stand like that allowed Mwezi to turn over to her belly and rise to her feet. She almost collapsed back to the ground, both due to lack of energy and the screech in her mind. But her concentration on her important news held, and the cheelion took her first shaky steps out of the cave. She walked forward too slowly for her own liking, but in the end she reached her destination and got out of the cave.

She saw the first stars at the sky, and she laughed merrily, even though the pain in her mind. She laughed because she could feel her energy level begin to build up, and with her returning energy she knew she had survived the wild escape from Burja lands with her important news.

[magiccat]

Oreo growled as the lion stopped her fireball and Pulsars orb. She had been so close to thrashing the stupid lion. Then however, her concentration fled her as something very strange happened.

Sis! Testing, 1,2,3 Oreo shook her head and gasped, hearing the unfamiliar voice in her head. It took her a few seconds to place it.

ONTO! But how?! She saw her brother wobble a bit but he stood stable again within seconds.

Hmm, let me think. Magical. Powers. Twins. See the connection? A smirk was now on her brothers face and she was tempted to scream at him through her thoughts.

So we can hear each others thoughts and um...speak to each other using this? She immediately heard an echoing yes and tried hard not to laugh. Ok then... Normally people freaked out over this but Oreo was already strange enough, she was just a little stunned.

"Onto" She spoke, keeping a level head. "Go back to our den and explain that we have a Feraga on our territory" She growled, keeping her eyes fixed on Pulsar.

"And if me and Lorien don't return in about 10 minutes, send reinforcements" She growled. Onto seemed reluctant but turned to walk off. Inside his head he decided to leave off the reinforcements bit.

ONTO! I heard that! Growled a sharp voice. Onto winced and decided to stop thinking....

####

"I wasn't ordered to fight you. I won't fight you. However threatening my brother, goes way beyond my orders. It makes you my priority to deal with. When you landed just then, yeah, that was threatening my brother." She said, ignoring Arjuna between them.

"So, since Arjuna here doesn't want any conflict, why don't you, waddle over the border back into Feraga lands" She finished.

[kyto7878]

(Umm I cant really post right now?and so far no one has found me in the cave so....could someone cause im getting a bit tired of reposting cause so many post come that no one reads mine?)

[Pulsar]

(OOC: Would love to help you there Kyto but both my characters are currently disposed with other stuff)

<Damn it!....>
Pulsar cursed in his mind. Arjuna was starting to become a real pain. For a lion that had no apparent ties with either pride, he was doing a lot of meddling in their affairs.

"I think you might of dropped this Pulsar?"

The yellow maned lion just glared back, he wasn't going to justify that comment by replying.

"Would you like it back or should I just toss it away?"

<I wish this fool would mind his own business.....>
It was at that moment while staring at the orb in Arjuna's paw that Pulsar remembered something. Suddenly a slight grin appeared on his face as his aggressive expression faded to that of a more confident self assured one.

"Go back to our den and explain that we have a Feraga on our territory"

The winged lion turned his attention to Oreo as she spoke.
<huh... reinforcements? it'll take more then that....>
Pulsar relaxed, shifting his stance from a combative one to that of a more relaxed one. His eyes tracked Onto as the male left, no doubt heading back to their den to do as the other one had told him.
This moment of calm gave Pulsar the precious few moments he needed to plan his next move. He wasn't finished with the Burja, not by a long shot......

"I wasn't ordered to fight you. I won't fight you. However threatening my brother, goes way beyond my orders. It makes you my priority to deal with. When you landed just then, yeah, that was threatening my brother."

Oreo's comment made the male turn his attention back to her, his expression rather calm given the circumstance. For one that could barely fly properly with her own wings she had some level of self confidence in herself.... or perhaps it was the presence of Arjuna and her other Pride members that had given this Burja a spine, if only for a time.

"So, since Arjuna here doesn't want any conflict, why don't you, waddle over the border back into Feraga lands"

Pulsar laughed at Oreo's comment.
"Please.... Arjuna doesn't scare me.... In fact, you could say I owe him for interfering...."
An evil grin appeared on Pulsar face as his mane started to stand on end and sway. Slowly little bolts of electricity began running along his fur even shooting from him to the ground in his immediate vicinity.
While they had all been fooling around he had been using that time to draw energy from Arjuna's arm as he had done earlier when they were on the platform in the sky.
For all his annoyances, Arjuna made the perfect source for a being like Pulsar, a power source with no apparent end from which he could draw energy. The fact Arjuna's arm was already energy also made it far easier for energy to be drawn.

"I must thank you Arjuna, in getting involved in this you've ended up helping me out...."
Dozens of orbs began appearing in a large area around the group.
"Arjuna may not want a conflict..."
Pulsar said as he looked at Oreo.
"But even he can't be everywhere at once!"

Letting out a roar and stancing himself out, Pulsar launched all the orbs floating in the area towards the closest enemy to them.
Even with teleportation powers, Arjuna couldn't stop all of the orbs....

Sadly, Pulsar wasn't going to stick around to see what would happen.
In the brief moments of launching his attack, he compacted spare energy he had and forced it into a ball. With energy orb in hand he slammed it into the ground beneath him as he jumped up, the orb exploded releasing it's energy. Pulsar used his shield against the blast to launch himself skyward.

As he reached peak hight his wings shot out, gravity now kicking in he dropped into a glide and turned around, making his way back to Feraga territory.
"I best get back to Sumai.... he'll be wondering where I've been...."
The male spoke in a low tone to himself.
<That Arjuna has made himself an enemy today.... I best warn Sumai about him.... any ally of the Burja or one that would hinder our efforts against them is no ally of the Feraga...>

---

---

"I'm glad to hear she has returned. I trust Asha to take good care of her."

Inlasta slowly nodded at her leader as he replied to what she had said. She felt slightly uneasy, she was never really good with authority figures, she always felt like she never deserved to be talking to them. After all she was always so clumsy and the like when it came to doing her job and her powers.

"You've done well, Inlasta."

The lioness smiled faintly at Sumai as he placed a paw on her shoulder. She could feel herself blushing as he did and was thankful that her black fur hid the fact. Even so, being embarrased she found it hard to maintain eye contact and so looked away to the ground.
"Uhm... thank you si-"

"Chanua! Kangaja!"

"..-ir..."
Her faint reply had been cut out as Sumai had turned his attention to two other pride members as he issued them with orders.
This made the lioness feel even more embarrassed having been speaking to someone who didn't even notice though it was hardly his fault... she couldn't blame him, he was the leader and he had important stuff to do...

"I want you to investigate inside the den: find out who or what attacked us! If they need to be captured, -

Inlasta turned to look in the direction of the loud crashing noise she had just heard it had sounded like it was coming from the den area where she had caged that blue creature not moments before.

- call for Inlasta! She will cage them up."

She turned her head back to Sumai as he finished speaking, forcing her head to nod in acknowledgement.
It was at that moment that some debris shot past Inlasta barely missing the lioness. She managed to dodge it, but was unfortunately still hit by something, although it felt a lot bigger and less sturdier then a rock.
The force from the blow was enough to send the lioness to the ground, a small dust could rising as she hit the rocky barren ground.

Without saying a words she went to regain herself, that was until a sound so horrible suddenly shot through her ears.
"ARGH! GhNg"
The horned lioness fell back to the floor as she put both paws over her ears, but it did little to nothing to stop the sound which was unbearable.
"What is that noise!?"
She screamed out, why wasn't she able to block it out with her ears covered.
"make it stop!"

Forcing herself to her feet the lioness stomped one paw on the ground, and in the blink of an eye she seemed to be engulfed by the very earth itself, disappearing beneath the soil.
But even that didn't subdue the noise. Inlasta could do nothing but cringe in her bubble underground in hopes that the agonizing noise that defiled her ears would cease.

[epppe]

Arjuna wasn't paying attention to what everyone else was saying, he was too busy having random thoughts come up in his mind. He didn't put his focus back into the little scrabble until his name was said by Pulsar.

"Please.... Arjuna doesn't scare me.... In fact, you could say I owe him for interfering...."

"Was I supposed to scare you? Maybe next time, I'll try and say boo."

Letting out a laugh, Arjuna began to notice that some of his energy was being taken from him. He remembered that Pulsar did this before when they were on the platform. Then his mind wandered off to the view from up there and how cool it looked. The lion shook his head to get his mind back into proper thought.

Looking at what was going on with Pulsar, Arjuna was surprised that he could do that with such little energy from him. All the orbs that came almost out of thin air made Arjuna excited, maybe some real action was going to happen.

Jumping up a bit, he was ready to see what Pulsar was planning. The last comment that Pulsar said sounded like a challenge to Arjuna, but he wasn't expecting Pulsar to throw all the balls at once. Thinking quickly, Arjuna knew he couldn't try and catch all the balls separately. Suddenly, an idea went through his mind.

Teleporting to the closest ball of energy to him, Arjuna grabbed it with blue arm. Instead of absorbing it with his arm, he shot out a few small bolts of lightning to the next couple of balls closest to that one. More bolts came out of those and the pattern kept going until every single ball of energy was connected. With all of them like this, they were under his control now and all of them were motionless in front of Oreo. Arjuna just looked at the net of energy that he just made with a grin on his face.

He brought all the balls close to each other and merging them to form a bigger one. With that, he absorbed it back into his arm where it belonged.

"I swear that guy is like a leech, always stealing my energy. Atleast he put on a good show with it."
Arjuna said to the small group with his typical cheerful attitude.
"Maybe it's time for you guy's to stop playing around out here and go back to your little pride, your leader must be worried sick about you."

[Kirsui]

Back at the Burja Den, Kirsui was becoming restless. It was taking too long from her fellow pride members to return.. Something must have been holding them there, and right now the young leader would have given quite a lot to know what it was.

But she couldn't leave the Den. No... She had to sit there doing nothing else than wait. Oh how she hated waiting, especially because she had no idea what type of news she was expecting to hear.

Kir sighed and shook her head, idly playing with two small stones that she had picked up with her other front paw. She noticed that the stars had already appeared to the sky, and she was faintly aware of the fact that the night guards stepped in duty while the others went to sleep. She summoned a smile to her face when some of the tired guards passed her on their way inside the Den, and she said each one of them good night.

But even so her thoughts were elsewhere. She was worried, what was delaying Oreo, Onto and Lorien so much... She could only hope they would return soon.

---

The screech echoing in her mind was still quite painful, but it wasn't so bad now that she was regaining her strength from the night sky. In fact, Mwezi even managed to keep a smile on her face, following the retreating, yellow lioness with half closed eyes. She was getting further away, and at each moment she got further away from them, the screech seemed to grow less painful.

The dark cheelion managed to turn her gaze to look at her pride members. Asuka was still very much unaffected, but everyone else, including Sumai, seemed to be tortured by the screech. She shivered slightly and turned her gaze to the direction where the Burja lands were. She hoped that her pride would recover soon.. They were terribly weak in this situation, and though she didn't think any Burja would dare to come this far to the Feraga lands, she would not feel relaxed until her news would reach Sumai.

[Zorayda]

Success! The yellow lioness almost crowed with happiness when she learned that her mind tricks had worked, giving her the time she needed to escape from that awful place.

An image of the gray, gruff lioness suddenly appeared in her head as her voice filled Reicheru's head, warning her about coming back. Suddenly Reicheru thought that maybe being imprisoned with the fellow telepath hadn't been that bad after all.

No time to be sad now, Reicheru sighed. She slowed her running to a trot as she came upon a large river that ran right between the two lands, like a border. She took a long drink before leaping across a narrower strip of river, right towards the land of Burjas....

---

Aquila's head was absolutely killing her. The screeching had finally stopped with the escape of the yellow telepathic lioness, but the ringing in her ears felt as if it would be permanent. She saw around her that others had reacted the same way (except for a mean-looking gray lioness), huddling close to the ground with their paws over their ears.

"Who," Aquila bit out, the words sounding eight times louder than usual, "Was THAT?"