Part 2: Dawn of Revenge

[Kirsui]

((OOC: I was hoping that some others would reply before I do, but oh well... I'll write something up to geet it going. =3 ))

"Ohh but i would have been soooo disappointed if you actually had stepped aside..."

Auri's eyes narrowed at Xena's words. He quickly glanced at Ebun from his eyecorner. His fellow guard seemed to be concentrating on something...
Auri had a feeling that he'd never make it back to the Burja Den when Xena would attack. His only hope was to secure that Ebun would get there to alarm Ina. What were her abilities again...?
Auri turned his eyes back to Xena,only to hear her throw in some guesses of their weights.
"Oh, shut up, Xena..." the adolescent male snapped. At this point, he couldn't care less what he let out of his mouth.
"I know you didn't come here to chit-chat with us. So why don't you just get into what you came here for!"

Suddenly, the gold maned adolescent gathered his power over winds and threw a massive blow of air on the black Feraga leader. The wind raged, throwing dust and small stones on air. Auri looked momentarily at Ebun, as if saying "warn others". Then he dashed forward, to have his most likely last battle. The wind was still blowing as Auri used his increased speed and strength to reach Xena quickly. He pounced, his extented claws searching for Xena's face and throat.

[Cova]

"I know you didn't come here to chit-chat with us. So why don't you just get into what you came here for!" These words Bringing Xena to full guard as The male seemed to be thinking hard, suddenly a Large gust of Wind Caught her in the face, making her eyes Narrow as all her Fur was blown backwards, clearly sh was right in thinking he had Control of the Elements, Her claws sinking into the ground as she felt herself slide a little, a small rock catching her cheek as it cut her and she looked to one side to try and allow her to see what was coming....Only succeeding to see just as her vision was filled With the Leaping Male. Her eyes wide as she tried to Leap up to grab his outstretched paws but she was off timing. He collided into her sending her backwards, one paw against her Muzzle as the other Landed on her throat.

An almighty crash sounding as she ended up underneath Him with the wind still blowing, aware of a very painful sharp sting under her chin. Coughing as she Cryed out and Dug both sets of claws into his side as hard as she could, feeling his flesh being cut as she thrashed around viciously on the floor and threw him onto his side. Quickly rolling away and staggering to her feet..Blinking hard as the pain was severe, Now summoning on her powers to cloak her from view as she staggered the other direction and Landed against a rock, standing there as the rock held her up....a steady Drip of blood running down her chest and dabbing the dusty floor as her throat had a puncture wound. Xena tried to stay calm but realized she was in trouble, her breaths getting harder and harder as she panted, not moving from beside the rock in hope she could gain some time to try focus. How had this happened!? she couldn't go down like this...

[KanuTGL]

Ebun glanced around her anxiously, biting her lip, waiting for her powers to come to her. Auri would never be able to beat the Feraga leader, so their only hope right now was to sound the alarm and find Ina. It wouldn't be long now... only another minute or so... "Oh, please, let me...!" she thought, as if praying to some higher force that they'd let her through. Auri had done well so far, but the black lioness was out of sight again, and that, if anything, meant trouble.

------------------------------

Sumai had been close, too close, to shouting a "Nooo!" when he saw his commander get struck down by the unknown Burja male. His whole body went into attack position, every single muscle in his body tense, but he did not know yet if they should run to help. Xena had not called for it, had she?

A moment of dead silence fell over the place; one dared not even breathe... The black lioness had gone invisible again and the general was afraid to go to her aid, in case it'd blow her cover. What a tricky situation this was... The old lion frowned and watched the two, now rather jittery, guards by the den...

That settled it.

"You two, come with me..." Sumai murmured, nodding at a pair of lionesses, and began to move slowly out of the thicket. "You will help our leader. Just follow my orders, is that clear?" They nodded, not daring to do anything else. "I just hope she's not wounded... I don't know how much Asha can do now..." The healer had used up a lot of her power, he didn't know how much more she was able to take. The trio stopped by the edge of the foliage and Sumai looked carefully at the male lion guard. He apparently had wind as his power... That was good. That brown lioness he didn't know much of, but it looked like she was up to something, alright. "Listen," he said, "I will open this offensive, and you will charge at my command. I will be by your side." Then he leaned back in his characteristic way to rest on his hindlegs and began charging a ball of fire between his front paws.

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Almost there, aaalmost there... Ebun was just about to release her powers when she noticed a huge, and growing, flying object coming towards them. Her eyes widened in fear, and she realized she couldn't move! Her power bound her to the ground, and before it was unleashed it wouldn't let her go. "Auri!" she cried, the panic and desperation in her voice obvious, and the only way out was to teleport herself out of there, now! The massive fireball came right towards her, and forces clashed with a bang in flashes of red and green before the ball of flames continued on its own path, leaving behind a patch of scorched, black rock.

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"Come, warriors! Charge!"

The general's roar cut sharply through the silence and echoed against the rocks, then the sound of paws thundering against the groud followed. More than the two Sumai had selected had obviously followed. Now if these Burja lions had hurt their leader, they would pay...

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Satoba had stayed outside the caves, resting in the last warming rays of what he knew was the afternoon sun. The air around him felt heavy and bleak, however, which could only mean that a storm was coming... But other things stirred the air too. It felt like something else but heavy rain was looming above them too, but wha... He didn't even have time to finish his thought before a loud, ear-cutting bang interrupted the quiet afternoon. The young feline got to his paws and tried to figure out what it could have been, but he heard other pridemembers stirr around him, worried voices and even frightened cries. Something was going on.

"Get Ina! Get Ina!" the voice of Ebun shouted, and it was a voice filled of pain, one desperately trying to deliver a message before it would finally be cut off forever. A slight smell of burnt flesh also made its way to Satoba's sensitive nose. It made him shiver.

"They're attacking! Feraga's den! They're att...ack...ing..."

Satoba was at that moment very happy he could not see, because the sight of the lioness' now limp body would surely have made him throw up in disgust, but Ina had to be found, so much was clear. "Ina!" he cried. "Ina! Feraga's trying to reclaim their den!"

[Kirsui]

((OOC: I wished someone else had replied before me, but oh well.. *shrug*))


Auri couldn't see properly in the enormous wind he had created. Xena had vanished, possibly using her invisibility. The golden male let his wind die up, allowing him to see properly again. Xena was nowhere to be seen, and on the ground...

Blood?

Auri startled a little at the blood on his extended claws, but had no time to wonder that more when he suddenly heard Ebun's shout. The male's head turned, only to see Ebun staring at a fire ball, going right towards her.
"EBUN!"
In shock, he stared as the fire ball continued it's way right through the spot where Ebun had been. He had no idea if Ebun had succeeded in getting away, and anger filled his mind. He growled, his eyes searhing for the cause of that fire ball.

And his gaze fell on the Feraga pride, and the general of them.

"Come, warriors! Charge!"

Auri let out a roar when Sumai ordered the Feraga to attack. He forgot about Xena, forgot about guarding the entrance of the Feraga Den. All he had in his mind was revenge, revenge of what he thought had happened to Ebun.

Auri commanded the winds to blow on the Feraga lions. In his rage, he had forgotten the large wounds on his side, left there by Xena's claws. He did not notice the pain, did not notice how his control over the blowing wind begun to weaken as he lost more and more blood. All he noticed was Sumai, and he wanted to kill that lion. He collected his energy, sent the wind raging towards the Feraga general.

And as he did so, he collapsed to the ground, vision turning black in his eyes. The wind had taken the remaining energy, and Auri's consciousness begun to fade away.
"Sorry, Ina..." he muttered, words unclear as he coughed up blood.
And after that, he never moved again.


((OOC: Auri's dead, and I shall continue RPing normally))

[Deleted]

Ina sat down in the lush green grass, giving herself a minute or two to relax. Her ears flickered as a butterfly flew past and off into the distance. The lioness's eyes were fixed on the creature as it flew away from her, but her head suddenly turned to face the opposite direction when she heard her name being called. She saw Satoba running her way and she lept up off the ground and sprinted towards him.

"Satoba! What's wrong?"

[Cova]

Xena Watched on from behind blurry eyes as she was relieved finally. The sight and sounds of the rest of her pride leaping in to intervene was a welcome sight. Still she stood with her side against the rock and took in the sight of The Lioness Zapping away...perhaps invisible to?.....no..no the fireball that Her General summoned went right through where she had stood...some sort of teleporting clearly...and if she had any sense she would end up only back at her home Den...

All this running through her head as she simply watched on to the sight of a dying Lion, she knew the deep wounds she had inflicted on the male and could only smirk as he fell down from exhaustion, coughing slightly herself as her throat pained her terribly...Now as the male lay limp on the floor, she dropped her Cloak and took a step away from the rock, coughing again and falling down half way, only just catching herself as she staggered to one side and landed her other side up against a similar rock. Her breaths gaining more and more of a wheeze as closed her eyes and growled. How stupid had she been!....she was better than this...

"Sumai..."

She croaked out, her chest fur matted with red blotches.

[KanuTGL]

"Ina!"
At the sound of his leader's voice, Satoba came to a quick halt, slowing down from his, already slow, flowing trot faster than usual. That was a sure sign of that he was afraid. "Ina!" the young male cried, "E-Ebun..." only saying her name now sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. "She said that... that Fe..." He tried to gather himself. "Feraga are attacking! They're trying to reclaim their grounds! A-and Ebun... Ebun..." He swallowed, another word wouldn't go over his lips. Warm tears were already trickling down his cheeks in steady little streams; Satoba didn't bother trying to blink them away, he couldn't see anyway, so they wouldn't blur his field of vision...

"Y-you have to come! Quickly!" Ina's glistening blue glow was right above him, and it gave him some comfort to sense that it was there. The grey young feline had always looked up to the leader, and he always felt safe around her. Safety was something few other animals could deliver him in this dangerous world that was dependant on light and vision.

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Sumai growled, picking up his pace, as he saw the enemy male approach. If something, anything, had happened to Xena... A strong gust of wind hit the running warriors and Sumai yawed to the side, slowing down somewhat. Wind, hm? Perfect. He was just about to yell "Stop!" when he felt the winds suddenly lull, and, sort of confused, the general looked for the golden male who controlled these winds. It took the red lion a few seconds to find him, and when he did, he discovered that the enemy was already defeated. Sumai gradually slowed down, and the pride with him, to a walk. By the time they had reached the body, Auri was long gone. The general exmamined the carcass. This was Xena's work... "Hmm..." Sumai suddenly gasped and whipped around, his body stiff and nervous; Xena!

He scanned the area with a worried expression on his otherwise so stern face. It was an expression that was near never seen on him, and it shouldn't be there. Sumai knew Xena wouldn't be defeated so easily, so... why was he so worried? But where was she then... Suddenly the red lion winced, having spotted something. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could run over there as quickly as possible, alone, but they had to officially reclaim their home too, so the others had to come. The general straightened up and tried to keep his voice steady. "Follow me now! We will reclaim our home, and defend it against those vermin! Come!" He broke into an uneven gallop, knowing he had to hold a pace everyone could keep up to, but it was hard...

Half an eternity later they finally reached the rocks that formed their den, but Sumai steered clear of them and headed towards a shadowed area next to caves, not able to hold the mask any longer. "Xena!" he yelled upon seeing the, now rather miserable-looking, black lioness. No... no! "Xena!" The general had intended another yell, but it became only a whisper. "My leader, are you alright?" He stopped at Xena's side, kneeling down. His face wore the definition of fear. Clearly she was not alright, the spots of crimson red on her chest told him so if anything, but he couldn't think of anything else to say... "By Stash, let her be alright...!" was the only phrase that ran through the old lion'smind right now. "Let her be alright!"

[Deleted]

Ina looked at Satoba, her ears falttened against her head. She had never seen him like this before. It was quite shocking, really.

"Satoba. Calm down!"

The white furred lioness flicked her long hair tuft out of her eyes so she could see the lion as he spoke. Not that it really mattered, since he couldn't see her. Ina's eyes grew wider as the male started to speak.

"E-Ebun... She said that... that Fe... Feraga are attacking! They're trying to reclaim their grounds! A-and Ebun... Ebun... Y-you have to come! Quickly!"

"Ebun?"

The leader replied before starting to trot off quickly in the direction Satoba had come from.

"Where are we going?"

[Kirsui]

Kirsui's ears perked up slightly as she begun to awake from her sleep. All these sudden voices... What was the meaning of this? The creamy lioness' eyes opened slightly. Not too much, so that it would seem that she was still asleep if not looked closely. Other thing hiding her awakening was her hair that was now flowing down to her face.

She saw that young male who was blind.. Satoba? He seemed to be in a hurry. Kir was close enough to the entrance and could see when he reached Ina. The name Ebun said nothing to Kirsui, but then again she had been a member of Burja only for a short time...

Finally, Kir gave up in trying to hide her awakening and lifted her head up, shaking the hair away from her face. The sleep had returned her energy almost completely, and it could be clearly seen from her shining eyes. She rose up, ignoring the gazes of some other Burjas, and headed after Ina and Satoba. She held her head lower than Ina, to show respect towards her new leader. She wanted to ask what was going on, but thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. She was a new member, after all...

So, for now, she would just follow. Perhaps she'd see what was going on soon.

[Cova]

'Boom...Boom' was the sound that Deafened Xena's ears...'Boom......Boom' The sound of her her own heartbeat...'Boom...............Boom' Her vision Flashing up with things she could never understand...What was she seeing, what trickery was this?.... Her right eye, suddenly so painful as it went red, shutting it tight as she would never understand what was happening to her, every slow palpitation of her heart sending more precious life fluid on a path to trickle down her neck and with the sight of Sumai running up to her, she was sure that this was it.

However willing her mind might have been, her body was not...Wanting to not be seen in such a state, she went to stand up properly, but succeeded in only collapsing forward and into her general, her muzzle landing square on his shoulder as all but one of her paws gave way. 'Boom..........................Boom'

"i........i......give......you......our proud heritage............LEAD THEM"

She croaked with a whisper into the ear of Sumai before her last paw surcame to her Formidable weight, Her muzzle falling short of Sumai's shoulder and landed before his paws, One last sight of the leader she had chosen to take her place gave her a final fulfillment of happiness, the smallest of smiles curling up her muzzle to which faded as soon as her good eye gave up and slowly closed...'Boom....................'

((OOC> That was hard to do... but as i take leave of Xena i to go with her, long live Tlkgo))

[Lorien]

Lorien had been right behind Ina as they left the den to leave Kirsui to rest, yet she didn't follow her any further. Seeing how she was a bit tired herself, she hopped up onto her favorite rock and began to doze off. She saw a few of the other pride members scatter the entrance of the den before she drifted off into a sleep...

The grey feline awoke to screaming voices. As Lorien jolted up, a stench came to her nostrils that made her cringe. She had no idea what the smell was, or could be...she was too young to recognize the smell of burning flesh. With wide eyes, she watched in horror as she soon learned where the smell was coming from. She took a step back on her perch of a rock, losing her footing a bit but regaining it. Ebun lay before her, before the Burja den, burnt and yelling for Ina. Lorien didn't know what to do...she wanted to help, but she was so afraid.

She hated herself for her lack of courage as she watched Satoba, the blind one, race off in search of their leader. She soon watched as Kirsui came from the den, seemingly following after Satoba, but didn't say anything. She was ashamed and afraid of what was going on. Feraga was attacking again? How much longer was this going to last? And with Sitama not there to lead the fight, would they even stand a chance to the Feraga pride?

Without knowing it, Lorien found herself sobbing. Her eyes were pinned on the mangled body of Ebun. She had known that lioness all of her life, and now she was dead because of this war. Even though the gruesome sight, along with the stench, would turn any stomach, hers was unchanged. The only feeling of sickness was brought about by her own self doubt and discouragement. Without even knowing it, Lorien found herself walking toward the corpse of her fallen pride member, stopping only feet away. She couldn't smell it anymore. She almost couldn't feel. All she could do was stare at the body, as if in a trance, and think of how she wished it was her who had the same courage as Ebun.

OOC: I think it's been a year since I've posted in this one...and it's like, my favorite! Bad Lorien.

[Katari]

OOC: Wow. Just...wow. I have really neglected this RP, and I'm sorry for that. Here's an attempt at catching up:

IC:


"Arrogant, am I?" Chaza said in response to Fire's claim. He nodded, slowly, thoughtfully. "Perhaps." He watched the other male carefully; Fire seemed to empathize with parts of what he said, but on the whole, he was not convinced, and that meant that, as always, nothing could be taken for granted. Especially not young males who thought they could play with fire.

These doubts of Fire's would have to be resolved, and with much care. "Still," he said, his head dipping slightly, "I've heard that the best counsel often comes from the unlikeliest of places. And you admit that some of what I say is true." Some. "You don't know me, true, but what is that to me? After all," -- he nodded toward the battle that was soon to be joined -- "you do know Xena. And look where that has gotten you. On the verge of a war that you don't want, and that you and your pride might not return from."

And just like that, it happened. What, exactly, had happened, Chaza wasn't sure of at first. But then he saw Xena, apparently under vicious attack from one of the sentries she had confronted. A young male, by the looks of him. Chaza sneered. "There, you see, Fire? She's bitten off a bit too much to chew." He still couldn't hold back a wince at the punishment Xena was taking...but, then, why should he offer any help?

Sumai and his warriors came into view next, charging towards the den and the aroused lions of the Burja pride, charging to take back their home. How, uh, "heroic." Xena was down, and, apparently, out. He saw Sumai standing beside her, but couldn't summon his powers quickly enough to catch the last words. His loss.

And now it would begin again. The killing, the mayhem, the blood -- was that Lorien walking amongst the corpses? -- and the death. A death that Chaza could only hope to avoid, and did so, one day at a time. For now, though, he -- it was Lorien; poor girl, she was walking into a deathtrap, and might not even know -- watched Fire out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see what action the young male would take.

One day at a time. And, it was becoming painfully obvious, one war at a time. Some things he would just have to endure.

[Deleted]

Zalira stood up as she saw Xena in the distance, collapsing to the ground. She let out a gasp of shock and horror. How could Xena just collapse? Xena was practically invincible. Well, she had been.

"F..F..Fire.."

The cream furred lioness said as she took a couple of steps forward.

"What are we going to do? Will we be allowed back in the pride? If Xena really is.. [i}gone{/i]..."

She said that last word looking back over at the great leader she once knew.

".. Then who will the new leader be? Will they allow us to return to the pride? Will they blame us for everything?"

The questions just kept coming and coming out of her mouth. The lioness walked around, pacing from side to side. Then all of a sudden she just stopped speaking and landed on the ground with a thud. She lay there, head on her paws, staring at the green grass infront of them. She let out a sigh as she flicked the blade of grass around with her claw.

"What will we do.."

[KanuTGL]

"I........I......give......you......our proud heritage............LEAD THEM!"

Sumai tried to catch the black lioness' body as her single paw surrendered to the weight of its own bearer and she fell to the ground, crashing down on the grass with a muffled thud. Thinking back on it, the general could never understand how he could have acted in the relatively calm way he did through that scene, despite it being the possibly most traumatic and worst moment of his life. "Xena...!" he breathed, terrified, slowly realizing that this was indeed it. The last expression on his leader's face was an odd one of happiness. The general managed to return the smile, though barely, as Xena's glowing green eyes closed for the very last time. Her body let out one final sigh, and... she was gone.

Gone.

That single fact struck him harder than any fang or claw could have ever done, and it felt like someone had robbed him of his breath too. Sumai's legs suddenly gave in and he flopped down beside the black lioness' body, wrapping his front paws around her, somewhat mangled, neck and pulled her close.

This wasn't happening. This. Wasn't. Happening. No... NO! The Feraga leader suddenly found himself sobbing, and the wet tears were flooding down his face wether he liked it or not. Xena... she couldn't be gone... she couldn't! Such a thing wasn't possible! No! The old lion hugged the body of the lioness tighter, still not believing what had just happened. It just... couldn't be. He refused to believe it. "Xena..." Sumai whispered between his own muffled wails of agony. "Milady... You can't be gone... You can't..." The general threw his head back and roared; a roar of pain and grief, but it hid already a promise of revenge.

"They won't get away with this..." the lion growled and leaned his forehead against the black lioness' shoulder. Like this he stayed for a whole minute or more; without moving, without caring if anyone else approached. It was just too much to take in. The sky was darkening, the storm clouds rolling in. A low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance and a flash of lighting revealed the thorny far away mountains. It would be a rough night. Sumai decided that it was time to get up. The storm was coming this way, and it would be merciless. The leader drew a deep breath and finally released himself from the lioness' body. His own already red fur was soaked in blood, but he had no intention of washing it off right now; there was more important business to take care of... He was leader. Xena had appointed him of this, and it was his sworn duty to carry out her orders... no matter what... Sumai's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he slowly got up, wiping the remaining tears off his face with a bloody paw.

They would pay for this...


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"Where are we going?"

"Th-this way!" Satoba cried and turned around, intending to go back towards the spot he knew Ebun, or her remains, would be. This was serious and he knew it. There would be a battle. Somewhere. Maybe not tonight, but somewhere, sometime... The air was thick and still. A storm was coming, and it would roll in sometime during the night... It would strike hard... The young feline led Ina to where Ebun had fallen, but stopped a few paces behind his leader, since he couldn't bear the horrid stench. "Th-there..." he stuttered. "Over there." He probably wouldn't have had to say that, however, since it was obvious enough where the smell came from. Satoba could only pray for that there would be no battle following this... Though that was hoping in vain.

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Sumai slowly made his way back against his pride and his home. He saw their surprised and frightened faces as he approached, but the new leader didn't care. He stopped at a well visible point where he could be seen by all. His face had returned to the stern expression it usually bore, but there was something new there now too. Something that told of a wild fury, and a glint in his eyes that spoke of a desire of revenge.

"Xena..." he began, they probably all knew but it had to be said anyway... "has fallen." Sumai paused, to let them contemplate the words. "She appointed me your new leader, and I intend to carry out her wish." he continued, solemnly and without emotion. "Those Burja characters will pay for what they've done..." That spark of anger again. The firey red lion turned around and looked out over his lands. "The storm is coming..." he mumbled. "We will rest here tonight, in our home where we have more right than anyone else to be. Let them come to us." Burja would come to them, he was convinced of it. "You, you, you and you" he added, nodding at four members of his pride that didn't look exhausted, "you're on guard duty tonight. Take shifts, rest when you're not on look-out. Let me know immediately if anything moves out there."

And that was all. Sumai walked through the gathered pride, past everyone, and climbed the caves, lieing down at his usual spot on the highest rock. Once there he let out a heavy sigh. Of relief? Maybe. The old lion looked down at his paws. They were still stained with crimson red blood.

What was this task he had been given?

[Fire]

(Buh-buh-buh.. o.o.. *Is awe-struck by awesomeness of post*..)

Fire had been observing everything from where he was, the battle.. the dying.. everything... it was literally a war zone out there. But after several minutes, it all seemed too quiet. He leaned down to Zalira and gave her a light nuzzle to the top of her head. "Everything will work out in the end, Zalira."

His ears perked when he heard Sumai speak and then walked over for a closer. The words that played over in his head from what Chaza had spoken to him. True that he had stopped speaking to him, but you could tell in his eyes that he wasn't exactly ignoring it, either. When he had heard that Sumai was the new leader of the pride, he was a tad disappointed and a bit worried too. Sumai was a loyal follower of Xena... But it showed its true colours when Sumai had said that they will get revenge on them.. That was the last thing that they needed..

He slowly walked over to Sumai while motioning Zalira to come in hopes that she would, walking over to Sumai and avoiding stares from other members of the pride. He bowed his head slightly to him and then looked in his eyes. "Sumai... You need not to take revenge on them..."

[Deleted]

Zalira looked up at Fire as he walked off.

"You know what, Fire."

The lioness stood up and looked at the male infront of her.

"I'm sick of this. I'm sick of fighting, when there is really no real reason to be fighting. I think it's best i don't return to the pride."

The lioness turned around and started to walk away.

"Goodbye Fire."

========

Ina looked where Satoba was motioning. She didn't want to go any closer, the stench was already bad enough.

"How dare they..."

The white lioness turned around and looked at Satoba.

"There is nothing more we can do around here. Let's head back.."

[Kirsui]

Kirsui finally saw what was causing the nervousness in the Den. As Ina and Satoba stopped, the creamy lioness stopped too, her ears flattening right back against her neck, her eyes wide of shock.

There was... a dead lioness.

Kir found herself unable to move her gaze away from the sight. She had no idea who the lioness was, having been member of this pride for just so little time... And even if she had known, she doubted she would've recognized the lioness anyway. The skin... Everything was burnt in her. She barely noticed the horrible smell as she took in the sight, something she wished she had not seen.

She noticed how Lorien made her way to the dead lioness. Kir's eyes were now shining slightly of tears that now appeared at the sight of Lorien being so sad. She took a careful step closer to her first friend from the Burja Pride, ignoring the horrible stench.
"Lorien...?"
She stopped right beside the grey lioness, lowering her head in attempt to see her face. At the process, her hair flowed down, however, and she had to shake it away from her eyes.

And suddenly, she realized she didn't know what to say. She had never been good at comforting others, even though she had gotten that comfort when she had been down. She bit her lower lip momentarily, trying to avoid gazing at the corpse in front of them.
"Lorien... I'm so sorry..."
Carefully, she nuzzled Lorien's shoulder, as if telling that the grey lioness wouldn't have to be alone. Her ears picked up Ina's words as she spoke, and the creamy lioness knew the Burja Leader was right... There was nothing they could do here anymore.

Kirsui waited for a moment before speaking again, trying to keep her ovice as calm as possible. She nuzzled Lorien's shoulder again before speaking out.
"We should go back too..."

[Lorien]

Lorien's mind was still numb to the world around her. Her eyes stared upon the body of Ebun, and she didn't even hear as Kirsui approached her. There were dark grey trails racing down her cheeks where her tears had travelled in rows. Only when she felt the slight nuzzle of Kirsui at her shoulder did she turn her head and take in the reality of what was going on around her. She remembered faintly the lioness's voice before she had snapped back, and a slight smile played upon her tear-stained face. The smile wasn't a happy one, however. It was appriciative, but had a deep sorrow behind it.

She had been thinking about her life before the war. She had grown up happy, without a care in the world. The youngest in the pride, she had a plethora of others to look up to. Now, Sitama, one of the strongest willed members of the pride was gone, along with Ebun and countless others. She found that she herself was lucky to even be here. Although she didn't know it, she was slowly beginning to lose the innocence that once set around her like an aura. She was seeing death first-hand. She knew what betrayal felt like...she understood pain. She wasn't a cub anymore. Throughout the past excursions, Lorien had grown into an adult. She knew how the world worked now.

As Kirsui spoke about going back, all the grey lioness could do was nod her head in agreement. Slowly, she rose to her feet, giving one last glance to Ebun, and began walking back to where Ina and Satoba where standing, watching. She didn't know what to say to her leader. A part of her wanted to let it all out, realease the pain she had felt recently, but the other half of her wanted to keep it bottled away for no one to know. She was ashamed of her feelings of betrayal, ashamed of her trusting nature. If she hadn't been so trusting of some, she wouldn't feel the way that she did, but that was the way it played out, so she would have to just deal with it.

[KanuTGL]

OOC: Woha, my posts are long these days... Hope you don't mind xP

IC:Sumai had heard Fire's approach, and already guessed what was on the young lion's mind.

"Sumai... You need not to take revenge on them..."

The newly appointed leader did not move, didn't shift his gaze from his own large, now, beige and red paws. A gentle evening breeze swept by, carrying with it the scents of many things: the cool grass, the fresh smell of bark and leaves from the trees, the faint scent of dew was already in the air, somewhere far away were the Burja pride... but the scent that stood out above the others tonight was certainly the stench of blood. It lay on top of all the other smells like a thick veil, causing many lions' noses to wrinkle in disgust. Not Sumai's.

"Nobody wished for this to happen." the old lion said, his voice without emotion and almost as if he had not heard the other male. "But now that it's happened it cannot be undone. Some things are not for us to control. This is one of those things. They killed her, Fire." Sumai's eyes narrowed, and on 'killed' he turned around to face the young lion, before looking back out on the horizon. "And I cannot let such a deed go unpunished." The last sentence he hissed out as if the ones it was directed to were too disgusting to speak of out loud. Had the old lion's mind been clearer, he, too, would easily have been able to understand what a prolonged war would lead to, but not now. He would never forgive them for Xena's death. Never... If Fire and the rest of the pride hadn't been near, Sumai would probably have broken down crying again, but... now that he investigated further, the tears he thought, and feared, were still lurking behind his eyelids were not there. Only coldness. A chill. It was the cold promise he had made Xena... To avenge her, no matter what.
And why not get rid of the whole Burja pack while they were at it?

------------------------------

Satoba swallowed again, he was sure the stench kept getting worse and the smell stung his sensitive nose like tiny needles. Ina announced that there was nothing left to do here, and that they were returning. He nodded and followed his leader in silent designation, head low and tail almost touching the ground as it dragged behind him. How he wished right now that he was somewhere else... This could only lead to one thing: death.

Once they had covered enough ground to make the smell of the former Ebun seem less smothering and it was easier to breathe, the young male padded up to ina's side. "Wh-what are we going to do?" he said, his words no more than a whisper; obviously the shock of a pridemember's death had struck him harder than one first would've thought. Not having been able to save her was what got him the hardest. As the pride's Healer, he had always done everything in his power to help, and there had been very few cases where he had not been able to live up to his expectations. Satoba felt guillty for what had happened to Ebun, even if he had had nothing to do with her death and could have done nothing to aid her... "Will you..." he swallowed again, glancing with blind eyes against Ina's blue glow "return the assault?"

[Fire]

Fire just listened and nodded at what the old lion was saying. He was starting to understand why Sumai was this way towards the death of Xena. He had been so loyal and idolized the lioness to the point where he would literally be her slave until the day he died. In some sense form what Fire had seen, it almost was that way. But, as he heard the lion speak, his eyes was narrowing as well. It was going to start all over again. The war.. The fighting..

"They have been punished enough, Sumai... If you have not noticed, you and I are not the only ones that are suffering in this war. Our pride is beaten, bruised, bloody, and emotionally, the same way.. I can only bet that they also have had their share of loss and battle wounds as well. We've had deaths, they most likely have had death too, Sumai.. It would be unwise to attack them.. We will be thought of as cruel and bloodthirsty animals who care only about winning and nothing else. True, you might want to be that kind of pride in war for motivation purposes... But it is never a good reputation to hold in a general sense..."

Fire was slowly standing to gaze over at Sumai to make sure that he saw Sumai's eyes as he spoke in a solemn tone. "I didn't want Xena to die this way, either.. Even though she is incredibly hard-headed, her head was rock-solid on her shoulders. Sumai, if you lead us into battle, you have a high risk of getting everyone here either killed or captured.. You'll be just like her... and not in the good way..."

He then stood up with his chest out slightly. "Let her go..."

[Katari]

OOC: Man, this felt good. Chaza is now out of this thread, waiting for Part III to begin.

IC:


Chaza had watched, had waited. Nothing. So far, no one had spoken to him, or even noticed him. That, he reflected, was probably for the better -- what was out of sight, in times like these, especially, was out of mind, and that was where he preferred to stay, at least for now, and considering the state of mind that both prides were in. Let them fight one another; it would leave them weakened and nursing their wounds, as it always had.

He turned, pondering his next move: a crucial one, to be certain, and, hopefully, one that none of them would expect. His survival depended on that chance, and that, of course, was most important to him, the only thing that truly mattered at this point. Walking slowly, deliberately, he allowed himself only a brief glance over his shoulder to assure himself that no one had seen. If Fire noticed him, he might alert the others...certainly, Sumai would have done so.

He spared a passing thought for Xena. A deadly opponent, though more vicious than clever. Not one he'd ever count among his friends. But she had saved him. That one thought stood out amongst all the hatred and mistrust. She had saved him from a certain death. But to what ultimate end, he would never know. It didn't matter, anyhow.

Chaza's mind turned to Lorien. He would be better off not thinking of Lorien. That was just another complication, one he couldn't afford. As much as he hated to leave her alone -- and she was alone, though she might not have realized it yet -- it would have been too risky to go back for her, and it was what she had chosen, so he'd leave it that way. She had a lovely smile....Yes, it would be much better not to think of Lorien.

As he began to put distance between himself and the prides, and their war, he smiled bitterly. It had happened again. Not for the first time, and almost certainly not for the last, but it had happened again. Chaza was walking away, to an unknown destination, and an uncertain fate, but he was walking, leaving it behind. For now. But he knew, felt it in the inner parts of his being, his very soul.

He would be back, someday.

And heaven help anyone who stood in his path.

[KanuTGL]

OOC: My final post in Part II, at last!

IC:Sumai listened, remaining quiet, to what Fire said. Deep down he knew that the younger male was right; no one needed this war. But the old lion's rage and terror over Xena's death and his own stubborness kept him from seeing it now... This day was still too close in his memory...

The general, and leader, let Fire finish, then took a deep breath, as if preparing for what he was going to say. "Last time I checked, Sumai and not Fire was the leader of this pride." As if he wouldn't know what was best for his own family and members... "Burja is a threat against us. If we don't eliminate this threat, they might do it to us first, and that would only lead to more pain and suffering for us all." Sumai spoke without looking at the red-maned lion next to him; he kept his gaze coldly focused on the distant dark horizon, where, if you had a good enough sight or walked for long enough, Burja's territory could be found. "Xena would not have left her pride at risk, I cannot let her down by doing nothing now." The red lion glanced quickly at Fire before turning back to the distance again. "Burja brutally assaulted us once, they can do it again. And when that happens, I want my pride to be prepared, so we can fight back and show them what we're made of. A Feraga lion stands proud and doesn't back down. We can't let that... pack bring us down." The red lion paused for a moment, then stretched out his front legs and got himself into a more comfortable position on the cold stone. "Go and get some rest now. We all need it after today..." Before the younger male could protest, Sumai looked up at him with eyes that very cleary stated 'End of discussion'.
"Good night, Fire."

Once the red-maned lion had left, the old general made a deep sigh and looked up to the sky. No stars and no moon tonight. Only darkness. Where was the hope? Sumai gazed out over the lands, his lands, even though one could barely discern anything in the night but hazy contoures and sillhouettes of trees and cliffs. This land... His land. This land which he would defend until his last breath, because that's what Xena would have don-- no, it was what she did. The general sighed again. It was a heavy weight he carried on his shoulders now... How would he tackle this? Commanding was easy, but leading? It was something he had never done before, and can you really teach an old dog new tricks...?

Sumai's voice had been oddly emotionalless when he spoke tonight, but undeneath the façade hid still a boiling anger and aching grief over this evening's events... That was a scar that wouldn't heal as easily as the one he had on his back; a mark he got after that bloody rock that bloody Chaza had thrown at him that day not too long ago... Yet it felt like years since the black lion had showed up. What had happened to them? And what would happen now? "Only time will tell, I suppose..." Sumai mumbled and finally rested his tired head on the still bloodstained paws. He sighed yet again and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. "Those guards would better do their jobs tonight..." was the last thing that went through his mind as the old lion fell into a deep slumber, a rest he would come to appreciate and need for the times to come.

[Kirsui]

OOC:
All right, ending part 2 now. See ya all in "Part 3: The Coming Twilight.



btw, good post Kanu.