The Journey

[Amani]

"Okay." Amani ran as fast as he could to the tree then back the other directionhe ame from to the starting point, going as high as a medium-fast speed.

[Deleted]

"Thanks!" Uschi said, and knelt down to eat. "You all have a thing about hiding your food under leaves, don't you? Hey... what's your name?"

[Lionel]

"It's Zoto. And yea, we do things like that. hiding stuff." Zoto said.

"I can feel, that you can do better. Why are all lions better in fighting than in agility?!"The lioness said to Amani.

[Amani]

"I don't know. What's wrong with that?" Amani replied to the lioness curiously.

[Deleted]

"Would you like to eat with me, Zoto?" Uschi said as she tore open the animal's flesh.

[Lionel]

"no, thatnk's. I'm full."He said.

[Deleted]

Uschi ate as much as she usually did, which was too much, before going to find a place to rest in the shade. "So... What's your story?" She asked the lion. "Have you lived here all your life?"

[Lionel]

"Yes. I don't quite actualy remmeber there beeing a diffrent king than Wingu."He said, and looked around.

[Deleted]

"Oh... That's weird," Uschi said. "Didn't he recently take his throne back? That wasn't that long ago."

[Lionel]

"What?!" Zoto was surprised. Suddently a lioness ran to Uschi and whispered: " Don't talk about that. And why? Ask to Wingu."

[Deleted]

"Uhh, who are you?" Uschi asked the lioness. She looked between her and the young male in confusion, and whispered to her, "Is there some sort of conspiracy?"

[Lionel]

"Zoto! Go to the Tree." The lioness said, and the lion runneed away.
"Uschi. This is nothing you should worry about. If anyone hears about his, you could be in big trbule."

[Deleted]

"About what? What did I do?" Uschi was getting worried now. "You tell me not to worry, then say I could be in big trouble? I don't understand."

[Lionel]

"I think you have lsot track of time. it's been 2 and a half years since he reclaimed his throne. This here lion was born a long time after that. You don't have to worry about telling anyone what happen. We have history lessons, told by Wingu himself." The lion started smiling.
"Everyone likes them, so no spoilers. " She started laughing and ran away.
Nzuri came to Uschi.
"You know, she's not lying. Noone here likes spoilers."

[Artemys]

(I'd love to join this forum if it's still active Do you mind if I jump in?)

[Lionel]

(I don't know where uUschi and Amani went, so jump in!)

[Artemys]

(Kay!)

"Are we there yet? My feet ache... and I'm hungry" Bree complained as she followed the elderly lioness. The growing cub was scuffing her paws along the ground. She had a frown upon her face and her pale golden coat reflected the sun. Her light brown eyes wandered around the landscape and she sighed deeply. There was a whole world to explore in front of her and she couldn't go anywhere because she had to follow the grumpy elderly lioness.

"No, I'll tell you when we've arrived. And stop dragging your self across the plains, that's not proper behaviour of a young lioness." Asha responded, being honest Asha wasn't sure how far she could make it herself. She might've been able to do so in her youth as a young hunter, but now she was older and age had taken it's toll on her. But she had to keep going, the little lioness wasn't going to last forever, so she needed to find water and shelter before nightfall.

"But I don't want to go any further." Bree complained, tired of having to walk all day with nothing to amuse herself with. "Can't we go exploring instead?" She suggested.

"No, I might let you go once we've found food, water and shelter." Asha replied strictly. The cub reminded her of herself sometimes, her impatience and strong will as well as the short attention span.

"But you can't hunt. You're too old." Bree said in a whiny voice. Asha stopped and turned to raise a brow at her.

"So I suppose you're going to catch our food then?" Asha questioned the cub, to which Bree fell silent. Asha took the silence as her response and carried onwards. Growing increasingly worried about the lack of food and resources in general.

[Lionel]

THe wind picked up and the young lioness daamned it. It could blow her cover in the long grass. She noticed tow lionesses walking, one old and one slightly younger than herself. They didn't seem to be a threat, but a guards job is to guard. She moved lower than grass, untill she reached an another lioness, whispering something to her, and watching, how a chain reaction trough the lands started. Moments later, King Wingu knew about the visitors and sent a welcoming party.

It wasn't long before a welcoming party was ready. Two adult lions, one with black mane other - brown, two young lionnesses and an adult one came towards Asha and Bree.

[Artemys]

Asha stopped in her tracks, slightly wary of the company, if a fight were to break out, she was too old to defend herself and Bree was too young. She stepped in front of Bree.

"Stay behind me little one and do exactly as I say." Asha whispered to the cub who at first disobediently stood in front of Asha, her teeth bared and she let loose a small growl. Asha rolled her eyes at the lioness and pushed her behind her where she was out of the way. Bree grumbled a bit but didn't move in front. It wasn't fair, she never got any action.

"Who goes there?" Demanded Asha as the party approached. She took up a defensive stance, but could feel already that her body wasn't apt for a fight. At the least, she could waste time whilst Bree ran. If the worst came to the worst, Asha knew that she would take Bree's life herself. The young lioness deserved that much mercy at least. The thought sickened her, but Asha knew that sacrifice was indeed necessary at times for the greater good.

[Deleted]

(I'm still here! Sorry, just was getting a little bored. I'm going to pretend we skipped ahead in time a bit).

Uschi had really enjoyed her stay at Wingu's pride so far. Despite the war she felt very safe, and was making a valuable contribution now that the rest of her pride was using her traps to help defend the lands and catch prey. Most of the time she simply ate and slept and chatted with her newfound friends. Every day became much like the other.

Today, though, something new had happened: there were new people on the borders. Uschi and her friend made their way over to join the welcoming committee. Uschi arrived late as usual. Eating and sleeping had done nothing for her figure (Wingu seemed worried by her increasing broadness, but Uschi reassured him it was quite normal for someone of her stature), and so she moved everywhere at an "elegantly slow" pace.

When she saw the older lioness standing defensively in front of the cub, her heart went out to her. She knew she was meant to wait for the guards, but when the lioness challenged them she replied, "This is Wingu's pride. Don't worry: nobody here will hurt you."
She shuffled forwards, though her friend tried to stop her. Standing in front of the "welcoming committee," she looked down at the cub and said softly, "Hello, little one." Then she looked to the lioness. "Are you hurt, or hungry? I'm Uschi. I catch most of the food around here." She winked. "We have plenty to share. D you need a place to stay?"
Her friend, Sembila, hissed at her from the welcoming committee. Uschi knew she was stepping above her station, but she wasn't about to let these two stand there looking afraid any longer.

[Artemys]

Asha relaxed slightly, it felt good to relax and she was thankful that nothing drastic came from this pride. Asha still kept Bree behind her, wanting to make sure the cub was in no danger. The group didn't seem to pause a problem nor a threat for Asha, so she walked forwards slowly. Her old age meant that she could not walk so fast any more and her back dipped heavily, showing her old age. Though she still held her head high as she would when she was a young lioness. She wasn't ashamed of who she was any more, and she could proudly say that she had lived most of her life well.

"We would welcome food or water," Asha said to the lioness "We have travelled long hours and we have been unlucky in our journey in terms of finding resources." Her voice was strong despite her appearance. She had a soft smile though and her wise eyes twinkled as she spoke.

Bree, at this stage no longer having the patience to stand behind the elder, poked her head from around her leg and bounded forwards happily to the group. Asha was about to protest, but Bree had already run past her and was taking in the appearance of the other lionesses. One seemed unhappy, and so Bree avoided her. The cub didn't have much common sense but she had been in trouble often enough to know when to avoid someone with such a look upon her face. Instead, she went up to the lioness who had spoken to them.

"How do you catch the food?" She asked curiously, the other lionesses, including Asha, looked like they could walk faster than she could run. At her question, Asha sent a glare at the cub. Had it been Asha who had asked that question when she was young, she would have gotten a clip around the ear.

"Be polite! A young lioness should know better than to speak in such a way to your hosts." Asha scolded the cub. Her soft smile had grown into a frown as she looked disapprovingly at the cub. Even though Asha was generally harmless, she could still give a scary glare when she wanted to.

[Deleted]

"It's alright," Uschi said, smiling at the little cub. "Most of us hunt. Some of us - like me - use traps to catch our pre-" she stopped, having nearly bumped into one of the soldiers who stood in front of her, blocking her path. "Really?" she said to him. "Do they look like any threat to you?"

"We don't know who they are, Uschi," he said. "We could be harbouring criminals. They could be more trouble than they're worth."

"Well I accept FULL responsibility," Uschi said, then pushed past him. There were advantages to being as big as she was. "Walk this way. We keep our spare food hidden under some leaves," she said, leading them into a crop of trees. Most of the welcoming party had dispersed, though a couple of soldiers lingered around as Uschi brushed back some leaves, revealing leftovers from last night's meal. "This is all yours. We have other caches."

Uschi's friend, the skinny tan lioness, shook her head and said in a squeaky voice, "Wingu won't like this..."

[Artemys]

Asha followed the lioness cautiously, giving a few looks at the less friendly members of the party. The elderly lioness padded towards the food, as fast as her aged body would allow her to do so, which was faster than she had expected but she presumed it was the sight of food that drove her body to move slightly faster. She began to look for Bree, when the cub bounced up in front of her and immediately began to tuck in. She ate the meal sloppily and chewed loudly on the pieces of meat she tore off. In any other circumstance, Asha would've told Bree to mind her manners, though at this stage she was more focused on the lions around them so hardly noticed the young lioness' appalling manners.

When Bree had finished and her stomach was as full as it was going to get she gave a loud burp to signify she was done. To which she recieved a look from Asha, but funnily enough no comment regarding her terrible manners. The cub looked to the elder as she began to eat only after Bree had finished. The cub had a feeling that it was due to the fact that Asha mistrusted the strangers, though she couldn't understand why. They had been given food and the fat lioness was really helpful as well. It was probably something to do with her age, for a wise advisor, the elderly lioness didn't always seem as intelligent as she was made out to be. Bree however, wasn't cautious at all and she sat beside Asha, looking up and down the lionesses.

"Who's Wingu?" She finally asked to break the silence. She paused a moment before continuing "And who are you? I'm Bree. Where are we? Are there other cubs here?" She felt she could go on for hours but decided in the end that she wanted all her questions answered so she would give them that to start with.

[Amani]

(I'm still here too I was the last to reply on the test scene, so I was waiting. I was wondering if we are continuing that or moving on.)

[Lionel]

(Movin' on, you got a spy position. That lioness made you run.)

[Deleted]

"Wingu's the king," Uschi said, then looked puzzled. "Or the leader of this pride anyway. His friends don't go around calling him "your highness" or anything. He's not like that. He's really nice. A little bossy sometimes, but I suppose that's what kings do.
"And yes: there are cubs. Wingu has cubs about your age."
"And my name's Uschi," she said. The lie came easily now. "What are your names? And where are you from?" She turned her attention to the old lioness. "What are you doing wandering across the wilderness together? Is there anything Wingu should know?"

"Finally, a sensible question," the tan lioness said.

[Artemys]

"I am Asha and this is Bree, we're from the Pridelands but we're a long way from home n-" Asha said, easing slightly having a name from the lioness. It really didn't make much difference but sometimes it's the small things that make more of a difference.

"So do we get to meet this Wingu or what?" Bree interrupted Asha, deciding they ought to focus on how fun his cubs ought to be. Her train of thought was cut off by Asha stepping in front of Bree once more, silencing her nonsensical chatter.

"I was teaching the young lioness here how to hunt, only it seemed Bree had a better idea and ran off to explore. I caught up with her eventually. Unfortunately though, we were caught in a storm and lost our way. I managed to find some very vague tracks and so I headed in the general direction of the tracks to get to here." Asha explained how they had arrived. If young Miss Bree had not decided to follow bones and old relics of the past and instead had focused on her hunting lesson, neither of them would have ended up in this mess.

[Amani]

(Alright. Thanks, Wingu.)

It has been a while since Amani's test. He was satisfied with his position. Although, he had heeded what that lioness said about agility. He decided it wouldn't hurt to hone it. He casually went for a run and attempted to use the land as obstacles courses and tracks throughout the days since. Today, he was in the middle of it when he saw the welcoming party gather. He went over to see what was going on.

[Artemys]

Asha watched warily as a male approached them, he didn't appear to be a threat but Asha stood all the same as he approached, over Bree. She nodded in acknowledgement to the other, perhaps this was Wingu? The question buzzed around her mind, before the elder grew tired and put the question aside.

[Lionel]

Wingu was walking arund, untill he saw the welcoming party arrive. He walked down, greeted Amani and then turned to the visitors.
"Good day. I am Wingu, Lord of Plain lands, The One that Strikes fear in To the Mountain Peakers and so on. From where are you, why are you here and mostly, WHO are you?"
He wasn't in a good mood, so he sounded a little angry, but not too much.