Adolescent Ages 2

[Kirsui]

It was the moment before dawn when Scar found himself seated on top of the Pride Rock. He had slipped out of the caves a few minutes ago, feeling too restless to continue sleeping, and without a thought his feet had carried him here.

The lanky lion released a soft sigh and closed his eyes, calmly breathing in the cool morning air. The hyenas would no doubt awaken shortly, if they were not up already, and some of them were bound to come to him with complaints. He hated them, but they had been a necessary evil in his plans to take over the throne.

He flattened his ears and released a low growl as he pushed aside all thoughts of the hyenas. He would not ruin a perfectly good morning by thinking of them.

He took a deep, calming breath and exhaled slowly, opening his eyes just in time to see the sun's first rays peek over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, watching how the sunlight slowly painted the Pride Lands below with warm colours. It was one of those few things he still appreciated as much as he had when he had been a cub. With a rare, sligtly warm smile he recalled the awed feeling from the time when he and Mufasa had first been presented with this sight.

His smile faltered and then vanished when his thoughts trailed to his brother and the night when he had told the lionesses of the loss of their king and crown prince. None of them knew what he knew, none had any reason to doubt his word. And yet he worried. What if they somehow found out? What would they do then?

With a shake of his head Scar abandoned that trail of thought before his worries and doubts would overwhelm him. The hyenas were loyal to him. They would keep the lioneses at bay if they rebelled. And so, with his worries suppressed for now, the lanky lion turned his gaze from the rising sun to the land below as he awaited for the Pride Lands to awaken.

[Ruby_Fehu]

After another restless night Nala, now a respectable young lioness, found herself returning from the watering hole. Since King Scar had taken over the Pridelands you had to fight for what you wanted - what you needed. She raised her gaze to the sunrise and a shiver spread through her, Simba would have been getting trained the ways of a King by now maybe even courting his future Queen. She smiled sadly, imagining how her best friend would look now, probably like a smaller version of Mufasa. Shaking her fur out Nala started walking away from her safe spot.


As the lioness started back up to her home she caught sight of a scrawny lion sat near the edge. She growled under her breath before raising her head and nose skyward and stalking up the side of Pride Rock and towards the cave, ignoring Scar as she reached the top of the landmark.

[Zorayda]

The early morning sun poked its head over the horizon, waking many of the Pridelanders from slumber with its golden rays. But one lioness was awake far before the sun ever came up, the weight of the entire world upon her sturdy shoulders.

Sarabi, ex-queen of the Pridelands, watched the sun rise with a tired gaze. There were slight bags under her eyes, and lines in her face that did not exist before. The deaths of both her beloved mate and her adored little son made her a hollow body, walking around as if she was some sort of soulless banshee. Of course, Sarabi kept up her polite and regal appearances in the face of her pridemates, but even they could see the blankness in her maroon eyes. The only form of solace came, surprisingly, from Simba's best friend--Nala. Though Nala wasn't her own daughter, Sarabi had grown closer to the growing lioness in the bleak days since Mufasa's and Simba's deaths. The former monarch went out of her way to spend time and talk to Nala; she was the only connection she had to the memories of her dead cub. 

Sarabi's paws padded with surprising quietness up Pride Rock, even with the heaviness of her gait. She wasn't truly paying attention to where she was going, but instead went on auto-pilot, greeting pride lionesses as she did as queen. Many of the Pridelanders still called her as such, though she would always gently correct them. No need to anger their new king by challenging his title. Scar was, to put it politely, a dismal king. Though the approaching drought and lack of rain was no fault of his, Sarabi knew that as a good ruler, sometimes you had to migrate and find resources elsewhere. But Scar was strangely attached to Pride Rock, as if ruling it was his all-consuming goal... She shook her head sadly. Scar was always stubborn about such things, as logical as he could be. Sometimes he could logic his way into big trouble.

She came upon the pale form of teen Nala, who, to Sarabi's amusement, glanced at their king and turned her nose up at him to simply walk past. Sarabi knew she should probably reprimand the adolescent for acting disrespectfully to a monarch, but Scar honestly did not deserve much respect in the first place. He had not earned it yet. The matronly lioness followed Nala to her destination, giving her a smile that was slightly less hollow than the ones she'd given the rest of her pridemates.

"Hello, my dear," she greeted in her warm voice. "So, giving our king a proper greeting this morning, hm?" Sarabi teased, though even as Nala's green gaze locked upon her, her heart clenched at the little cub she still saw within, giving her best pleading grin side-by-side with Simba...

[OOC: Taro will come a bit later ^^]

[Leto]

Three days, for three days had been trekking through these dead lands, he had been told that it didn’t always used to be this desolate, though Leto was not very inclined to believe them. It usually took a number of factors before the land became this way, the cause wasn’t always inept rulers, and nature herself often had a hand in it. Dust stirred beneath his paws as he stopped on a shallow hill, marked by the skeleton of a decayed tree, a soft groan of discomfort escaped his pale maw.

The young soldier had come upon a small band of hyena’s about a day ago, who had demanded he’s turn back claiming these lands to be theirs, of course Leto wasn’t one to being told what to do, as far as he understood hyena’s didn’t rule lands; what had become a warning eventually ended in all-out attack, despite being young he had dispatched the first hyena quickly one well-aimed paw strike had broken its neck, the second one had been stupid enough not to relent and had been left in a ditch drowning in its own blood.

The third hyena finally wised up and ran off, back to where Leto didn’t care. “You draw much attention to yourself, and this is most unwise.” A calm yet heavily accented voice suddenly sounded from the gnarly crown of the dead tree, ice-blue eyes sought the source of the voice and found that staring down at him was a vulture; small of statue yet of all the creatures he had seen it seemed well-fed, a stark contrast to the lands around.

“If you don’t want to draw the attention of the King, killing his subjects is a bad idea.” The vulture crooned obviously referring to the dead hyena’s the young soldier had left his in wake, probably the reason why the vulture was well-fed to begin with, the bird silently confirmed it as an almost appreciative smile curved its stained beak. “Who rules these dead lands?” Leto’s brows narrowed as he shot a question at the vulture that spread its wings to stretch wary muscles. “King Scar the Magnificent, rules here.” the vulture replied, in Leto’s ears the title almost seemed a little ridiculous. His gaze returned to the scenery promptly ignoring the vulture, though the dusty haze he could see a peculiar rock formation, “Pride Rock.” He heard the vulture remark, “The King’s palace.”

The soldier scoffed, that place wouldn’t be considered any more than a larger outpost by the generals of his homeland. Stepping down from the hill Leto resumed his walk, heading towards the only hint of the green in the distance, a small grove of trees and the shimmers of what was no doubt a waterhole; glancing towards Pride Rock, at least now Leto knew one place he should avoid. Far above him he could hear the flapping of wings following his steps, seemed like he got a companion, or he was being tracked.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Nala started when she heard Sarabi's voice, the surprised expression turned to a rather coy one at being caught by someone she saw as a surrogate mother. She lowered her head and laughed nervously, "Sorry Sarabi." She mumbled before going over and nuzzling the older lioness affectionately. "But in all fairness he doesn't deserve anything. You should be the leader not him; if Simba-" But she trailed off as she felt her heart sink, but Simba wasn't here anymore, she reprimanded herself. "Sorry Sarabi." She repeated guiltily. "I didn't think." Nala sighed and lowered her tawny figure to the ground, pressing her chest against the dead grass. It hurt a little but she didn't care, she was far enough from Scar to be able to rest easy. "I was going to try and go out and hunt later. I was going to bring Jem along." Jem, was a lion the same age as her who had appeared in the Pride lands a few weeks after Simba's disappearence and the two had struck up a strong friendship. He was her shoulder to cry on - which she did a lot of - and she was the one he told all his worries too. "Would you care to join me? If we find anything we can eat first before giving it to Scar and the hyena's." She continued, looking up at the amber eyes of Sarabi.


Jem padded out of the cave, Scar had let him stay for reasons he didn't really understand, but he didn't complain, he had a home and the equivalent to a foster family, he'd even become close friends with Nala, he knew things that not even her mother or Sarabi knew. Sending his silvery gaze around the area he saw the slight forms of Sarabi and Nala a short distance away, with a hurried "Good morning." To Scar he headed down the side of Pride Rock and jogged over to the two lionesses, his small silvery mane standing out against the brown of the area. "Good morning Sarabi, good morning Nala." He greeted happily as he reached the pair. He heard Nala say to Sarabi in amusement, "Speak of the devil." before she turned and smiled at him in greeting.

[Kirsui]

((OOC: So, obviously the hyenas in this post are treated as NPCs for the time being, since no one is playing them. If anyone does want to, just let me know in the character sign up thread. If not, feel free to use them in your posts like any other NPC if you need to. :3 ))




Slight movement from below caught his attention, and instantly Scar's green eyes found Nala. She was returning from the waterhole, or so it seemed anyway for why else would she have been walking there alone. With a slightly bored expression the lion watched Nala as she approached the Pride Rock, and blinked lazily when she finally took notice of him.

Had she just growled?

Scoffing at the adolescent lioness' antics, the king turned his gaze away and yawned. With any luck the lionesses would head out hunting soon, and perhaps he could catch a bit more sleep before they returned.

"Hey Boss!"

Scar growled upon hearing the all too familiar greeting and turned to glance over his shoulder just in time to see Banzai, Shenzi and Ed approach him. Why those three always had to bother him together, he didn't know. However, he could not overlook what ever it was they wanted this time. Those three led the hyenas, and though he had no reason to believe they would stand up against him, it was much easier to control the rest of the hyenas with those three idiots in charge.

So, with a mildly annoyed sigh he prepared for his morning to be completely ruined with what he expected to be complaints about the lack of food.

"What is it?" he asked, turning his gaze away from them just as Jem padded out of the caves and hurried to meet Nala and Sarabi.

"One of the border patrols hasn't reported in", Shenzi told him. "They were supposed to get back last night."

Scar rolled his eyes, though the hyenas couldn't see it with his back turned to them. "Then send someone to find them."

The hyena trio left to send a larger group of their kin to investigate the missing patrol. For moment he considered if he should warn any possible hunting parties of possible intruders, but he hesitated. The lionesses would have enough worries bringing down their dinner. Worrying about non-existent intruders was not their job.

Still, if there were intruders, chances were the hunters might cross paths with them, and if not warned they might be too surprised to catch anything at all.

With a frustrated sigh the lanky lion got up on his feet and stretched. He gazed one more time at the Pride Lands below before turning his back on the view and heading down to where he had seen Nala, Sarabi and Jem. Sarabi, though no longer a queen, still had the respect of the pride, and he knew that the former queen would make sure the rest of the pride received the warning.

As he approached the trio he considered how he would explain the situation to them. With any luck it would be done quickly and without complaints from any of the three, and he could continue on his way to the waterhole for a quick drink.


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


Tefnut's small feet were dragging at each step, but she knew she couldn't stop walking now. She didn't exactly know how long it had been since she had left the relative safety of the jungle, but she was all too aware of her sore and way too dry throat. The heat of the desert had been relentless, and it was a miracle she was still walking at all.

But she couldn't give up. Her mother had told her to be strong, and she was determined to do exactly that.

Thinking of her mother threatened to bring tears to the young liard's eyes, and she used all of her remaining will to fight them back so that she would not lose all too precious water. With a deep breath, that made her cough when she was painfully reminded of her dry throat upon inhaling dust from the dry ground, the cub forced her feet to keep carrying her, though it was only a matter of time before she would stumble and fall, and not get up again.

[Zorayda]

Sarabi was about to reprimand Nala for what almost all of Scar's subjects were saying, about to tell the young lioness that their king was to be respected even if he was a poor one, when Simba's name came up and sent a physical stab of pain through her heart. Nala apologized, her ears lowered guiltily, but it was already done. The ex-queen found it extremely hard to swallow after her stunned silence and give Nala a small, forgiving smile.

"I-it's all right, dear. You didn't intend any bad, I know." The elder lioness nodded at the mention of Jem, hunting with them. "Ah, yes, your friend. You've become quite the huntress, haven't you, Nala?" Though Sarabi didn't lead the actual hunts anymore, due to her lack of quick reflexes like the younger lionesses, they still reported to her and gave her the low-down on prey and successes or failures in each hunt. Sarafina, Sarabi's best friend and Nala's mother, was one of their best huntresses--though Nala was soon to surpass her teacher. Sarabi's thoughts were interrupted when Jem himself showed up. His mane, though only partially grown, already was starting to look magnificent with its unique silvery sheen. The elder lioness allowed the two to greet each other, glad that Nala had a friend her age who could help fill the gap that Simba had left behind.

The moment was broken a moment later when Sarabi felt as though she was being watched. She quirked her ear backwards when she heard a small noise and looked back to see the silhouette of Scar, seeming to think about coming down to speak to them. Over the years, as Scar had changed his persona from "Taka" to "Scar", his face had become darkened more and more with thoughts of jealousy, hatred, and contempt, until he almost constantly wore a scowl anymore. Sarabi sighed, wishing she could go back and time and help to fix him before he became bitter. Perhaps then, he would have become a better king now, when he was needed by their pride... She waited patiently for him to come to them. It seemed as though he wanted to say something, though was thinking about how best to put it.

---

The golden-yellow tween lion smelled blood. 

His bright emerald eyes were wide with worry, nose flaring as he picked up the scent of dead hyena blood. Normally, this would have been something indicating that the Pridelanders had taken care of more invaders, but since King Scar's reign, hyena blood meant that their so-called 'protectors' had been attacked, warning them to an attack at Pride Rock. Taro's fur stood on end, the slight blackness of his incoming mane bristling on the back of his neck. He feared for his life, his body still cublike in physique though he was obviously in-between cubhood and adolescence. He gasped when he heard someone approach--a lion, a rogue! 

Taro froze in fear, though a low growl began to sound in his throat. The sound was undeveloped but indicative of his aggression nonetheless. He wondered briefly if he could escape the company of this newcomer in time to rush to Pride Rock, and in one brave moment he dashed to meet anyone possible in the pride to warn them, to safety. He panted with panic as he heard pawsteps behind him, hoping that the rogue wouldn't chase him.

[Leto]

Closing in on the waterhole Leto made his point to get to this place on the purpose of washing up, after all he had a wound to clean and the specks of the hyena blood that still caked his fur. He looked more messy than usual, if he was to chance upon this realm’s inhabitants showing up caked in blood would not be the best ways to set a good first impression.

The hyena’s had attacked him, and paid the price for it, the soldier did not wish war with the resident pride, in all honesty he didn’t care much for them, the sorry state of their land was not one that beckoned one to stay, one would much rather leave. As he closed in on the waterhole however the sound of a growl reached his ears, it was low and uncertain but clearly hinted at aggression; Leto himself stopped watching as a smaller lion obviously present at the waterhole dashed off as soon as it saw him.

It ran towards the large rock formation, the soldier however did not give chase, but he did reckoned he’d have some company soon so getting cleaned up was a more pressing concern. Submerging himself in the shallow waters he took to gently cleaning his fur free from blood, “You don’t seem concerned for your safety.” The familiar voice of the vulture from before sounded from the nearest tree, “I am no threat to them, the hyena’s attacked me… and they paid accordingly.” He answered plainly, voice slightly muffled as his tongue combed through his coat.

[Ruby_Fehu]

"All with help from you and mother. I need to try harder every time though. I don't want to disappoint the Pride." She replied to Sarabi, she was about to say something else when the older lioness turned her attention away from Nala and she followed her gaze, tensing a little as she noticed Scar walking down Pride Rock and out of instinct she stepped closer to Sarabi for safety. She may not show it often but the King did frighten her a little and she didn't like it. Not one bit. "Sire." She said slowly but loudly as a greeting, she may have shunned him before but right now for the benefit of Jem and Sarabi she forced herself to be polite. Nala glanced to Jem who was stood close to her his head raised and his ears pinned back, it was no secret that she knew he had feelings for her, even though they weren't mutual but knowing that she had two members of the Pride around her relaxed the young lioness a little bit. As she thought about this she smiled a little amused. Jem wasn't growling but the adolescent knew fine well that he wanted too and if she had it her own way she'd make sure to join in the growling.

[abyss]

Uketo looked around as the in the ruined land. Who would want to live here? He decided to rest a little rest for a little bit. After making sure there isn't lions or leopards around, he laid down. The cheetah started wondering about how his remaining siblings are doing. He haven't seen them ever since that event five months ago. It was all Mpi's fault. He growled when he thought of his older half brother. Mpiganaji, if I ever get my paws on you, you will pay.

 He sighed and looked around. Anyway, I better get leaving soon. I want don't want encounter with a lion.  He got up and was about to leave, when he scent the smell of blood. Not just blood, hyena blood. Debating whether to follow it to see what happened to not, he decided to follow it. He planned to make a distance from it when he found it, just in case. After a little while, he smelled a lion's scent. Eto stopped, thinking that maybe this isn't a good idea. He stared in the distant and saw a huge rock of some kind. He didn't noticed it before intil then.

[Kirsui]

"Sire."

Scar halted on his steps and his gaze flicked to Nala when she greeted him. For a moment he just watched her in silence, noticing how tense she seemed and coming to the conclusion that it was because of him. Resisting the urge to shake his head he allowed his gaze to wander away from Nala, taking note of how close Jem stood to her, and how calm Sarabi was.

In fact, now that he considered it, Sarabi always seemed calm.

Pushing aside his wandering thoughts, he focused his gaze on the former queen. "A border patrol has gone missing", he said calmly. "The hyenas are already investigating, and this could be simply a false alarm. Still, tell the hunters to be on a lookout for strangers."

Having said what he wanted, the king walked past the trio and headed down the path that would eventually take him to the waterhole.


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


After another coughing fit caused by the dust, Tefnut was even closer to the point of collapsing. Her feet trembled uncontrollably, and it was a small miracle she was still standing at all. She needed food and water, and she needed them soon.

Her ears twitched when she heard a splashing sound, and though her eyes widened with slight excitement she still wrote it off as her imagination and need for water playing tricks on her. But when the cub heard the sound again, she couldn't help the slightly relieved sob escaping her, and with renewed determination she began to make her way towards the sound. The tall, dry grass blades did nothing to help her though, and what little of her strength remained was fading quickly. Feeling dismayed she whimpered quietly and stumbled out of the tall grass.

The small liard's gaze glued to the glimmering waterhole in front of her, and she released a small, hopeful squeak. Unfortunately her feet were no longer able to hold her up, and she fell down on her belly. The dust from her fall made her cough again, and with her nose so close to the ground she had troubles reining her coughing fit in. Once she succeeded she opened her eyes to see if she could still somehow crawl to the water that was so close to her.

She froze, however, when she finally realized she was not alone at the waterhole. She stared frightfully at the much larger lion sitting in the water and cleaning himself from... blood? Her breathing hitched and she flattened her ears, but without any strength to run she could do nothing but wait for the lion's reaction.

[Leto]

The soldier finished cleaning his fur and now focused his attention of the flesh wound that marred his front paw a courtesy of hyena jaws, thankfully they hadn’t managed to clamp down hard otherwise Leto might have more to struggle with now than a mere flesh wound. However his first aid session was interrupted as the sound of approaching paw steps caught his attention. An ear swirled towards the sound before his gaze turned and landed on a small feline creature; Leto wasn’t fully grown despite being an older adolescent, yet this feline was so small that if it had been a lion it would’ve been nothing more than a cub.

Rising out of the waters Leto waded over to the shoreline shaking off some of the excess water, his eyes lay on the smaller feline but he did nothing, no sign of aggression no nothing. “I take it you’re far from home.” The young soldier remarked his tail giving a slight flicker of amusement her spotted coat was an indication to him that she was a forest dweller of some kind and the nearest forest were several days travel from here, but in all honesty the same could very well be said for him.

Leto moved over to the three in which the vulture was still perched, but now more occupied with preening it’s feathers than paying any attention to new arrival.

[Zorayda]

The pale, tawny lioness raised her head and kept her face passive as Scar informed her that there were missing sentries in a certain area of Pride Rock. This news was troublesome, though many lions would attack hyenas without provocation, seeing as the two species were nearly always fighting... but she tucked the information away in her head, concerned that a violent rogue could hurt or perhaps kill some of the huntresses. She gave the king a deep nod, and answered in a respectful but hollow voice.

"Thank you, I will be sure to be cautious, your Majesty."

They watched him leave, the conversation having gone quiet when Scar arrived. He wasn't quite hated, yet, but there was something unsettling about their new king... not to mention that as a lion he wasn't very well-liked by the pride. Add the fact that Mufasa and Simba, both loved and trusted by Pridelanders, were both gone in the blink of an eye to be replaced by a scrawny king... well, it didn't bode well for Scar. And that made Sarabi feel a little sorry for him. He turned away quietly to move to what was left of the shrinking waterhole for a drink, the trio watching him leave every pawstep of the way. 

The former queen let out a small sigh and was about to speak to Jem and Nala, when the pattering of more pawsteps sounded close by. She turned to see an older cub, golden-furred in color. The coloring made Sarabi's heart clench for a brief second, wild hope soaring in her soul that her long-lost son had come back, miraculously not dead, coming to greet his mother... but a second later, she saw the chocolate paws, incoming black mane, and green eyes; Taro, one of the Pride Rock cubs that Scar had spared to live here. Trying not to let her heartbreak show on her face, Sarabi waited for the tween-cub to catch his breath after skidding to a halt.

"...Q-queen... Sarabi... there's a... lion... it's a rogue... stranger..." he panted. Sarabi forgot her momentary lapse in sanity to perk her ears forward, frowning slightly with worry. Ignoring that Taro had called her 'queen', she looked at him and spoke in a firm voice.

"Where? Tell me where he was," she commanded of him, making the cub snap to attention.

"That way," he said, gesturing with a paw. Sarabi looked over at Jem and Nala. "You two, come with me. We'll gather a few pride huntresses and investigate this rogue," she told them. "Taro, come with us and show us the way." The golden lion tween nodded, breathing evening out. Together, the four of them immediately went to find a few lionesses and greet the rogue, whether he be good or evil.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Nala spoke to Tama and Sabini first whilst Jem spoke to Kula and Malka, both saying the same thing. "There is a rogue we need to go and see." Tama, Kula and Malka all agreed to join them immediately whilst Sabini took a bit of coaxing. Eventually she gave in and the group of six went to Sarabi's side. "Sarabi, I'll go tell Scar, you and Jem go on ahead I'll catch up." Before Sarabi could tell her 'no' Nala had turned and hurried out of the cave and towards the watering hole, until she eventually caught up with Scar who was not quite there yet. "King Scar." Nala panted going to his side. "There's a rogue, Sarabi, Jem and I have gathered a few Pride members but as King, I think it only right you should at least investigate. It could be who is killing the hyenas." She continued, keeping her voice surprisingly steady.


Jem looked after Nala with worry before turning to Sarabi, "We should go now. Before this rogue can get any closer to the Pride. I just hope Nala will be okay." He said with a slight frown whilst the four pridelanders him and Nala had managed to gather milled around behind him. "Do you think we have enough to go and see who this rogue is?" He asked carefully.

[Kirsui]

Tefnut watched the lion as he watched her, tensing slightly when he began to move out of the water and towards her. This was it then, was it? All those warnings about strangers that her mother had told her flashed through her mind in that instant, and she shrank away from the larger feline - as much as she could anyway without getting up on her feet.

But then the lion stopped and shook his fur clear of extra water, and did nothing but stare at her.

“I take it you’re far from home.”

The young liard blinked with confusion. He didn't sound aggressive, and indeed he was now moving away from her and towards a tree close to the waterhole.

For a moment Tefnut simply stared at the retreating lion, then the glimmer of the water's surface caught her attention once again. Coming to the conclusion that she was safe - for now - the cub decided there were far more pressing matters she had to attend to. Such as her thirst.

She tried to push herself up on her feet, but soon realized that she was too tired to stand up. Walking, obviously, was also out of question. For a moment she pondered if she should ask the stranger to help her, but she quickly abandoned that thought. He wasn't hostile right now, but that didn't mean she trusted him.

With a small, frustrated growl the liard began to pull herself forward, using the extended claws of her forepaws for extra grip on the dry ground. It was a tiresome task, perhaps even more so than walking. But the water was so close, and she was too stubborn to give up now after surviving the heat of the desert and the dead grasslands after that.

It was a slow process, but Tefnut did manage finally to crawl to the water's edge. With a pleased squeak she pulled herself to the shallow waters where she could lay down on her belly and even put down her head on her paws without any worries of drowning. Without wasting any more time she took her first big gulps of water, thoroughly enjoying how the dryness of her throat finally eased.


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


"King Scar."

Scar halted when Nala's voice reached his ears, and he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. It was rare that she voluntarily sought him out, and he was quite interested to hear what had caused this rare occasion.

"There's a rogue, Sarabi, Jem and I have gathered a few Pride members but as King, I think it only right you should at least investigate. It could be who is killing the hyenas."

His eyebrow rose further. Nala had not only sought him out, but was now telling him what he should do? And she was doing so with a much steadier voice than her usual behaviour around him would have suggested. Though he wasn't particularly keen on anyone telling him what to do, this certainly was an interesting development. And because he found it interesting, he chose not to reprimand the adolescent on how to speak to her superiors. For now, at least.

"Very well", he said with a small nod as he began to head back towards the Pride Rock. The hyenas couldn't have found their missing patrol this soon, and he doubted they would have informed pride of their findings instead of him. This, of course, made Scar slightly curious. "Who found the rogue?"

[shard]

(may i join? im not a good rper but im not gonna let that get in the way)

Shard, the white lion had been living in the pridelands for a fair amount of time now, his mane was beginning to grow, being the same color as his pelt. But Shards real problem was the new king... if his family tried to join while scar was in the grasp of the kingdom, Shard would have been killed. He began to stretch from from his sleep and then let out a adolecence roar, a loud one at that as it echoed throughout the pridelands that were... quite literally falling apart, of course Shards roar was unique and anyone one would recognize it from a mile away.


To be frankly honest, he was getting sick of the hyenas that yelled at him for just doing a morninng roar.


Shard slowly walked up the rocks to the enterence of "king" Scars cave to see what was going on today, most of the time he got into conversations with the Ex-Queen of whom he widely respected and Nala, the young lioness. Of course he saw the three lead hyenas so he gave them the "dont try to bite me you will regret doing so" look before bowing his head to the Ex-queen and Scar "Hello Sarabi, Nala. king.....Scar" Shard hesitated with the word King as he still had a grudge on Scar, ever since he became king that is and let the land reduse to nothing more then a bitter waste land. "Anything new going on? need help with anything...but please not patrolling i hate walking i the sun for long periods of time...." Shars sat down and let out a yawn.

[Kirsui]

((OOC: Right then! Lets get this RP moving again! x3 Once again, I'm treating the hyenas as NPCs. Sorry if the post seems to make the events jump around. I'm doing my best to remove all inactive characters as smoothly as possible. ^^))


For several minutes Tefnut drank from the waterhole. The dryness of her throat washed away, and she no longer felt the persistent urge to cough her insides out. The water felt wonderfully cool too, and when the young liard had regained enough of her strength she crawled the rest of the way into the water and completely submerged herself. It felt wonderful to get all the dust out of her fur, and as she slowly walked back to the shore she was happy that her fur wasn't dirty anymore and that her spots were once again visible.

With a happy smile she turned her head towards the tree and the stranger that she had just met, but much to her surprise, and slight disappointment, the lion was already gone. Her smile faltered and she hung her head. She had hoped that maybe the stranged would have been able to help her, but of course she should have know better.

With a small sigh the liard lifted her gaze and glanced at the waterhole. It would be nice to stay there, but now that her thirst had been satisfied she became aware of another craving that she would have to satisfy, and soon.

And so Tefnut shook the water out of her fur and began walking away, making a mental note to return to this place after she found something to eat.

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

Scar waited patiently for Nala's reply as the two walked. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had been uncharacteristically patient all morning. The hyenas hadn't managed to ruin his rather good mood, and if they couldn't do that he doubted anything would.

Unless, of course, this intruder was real.

He let out a frustrated sigh and pushed that thought aside when he and Nala reached the small group that Sarabi, Nala and Jem had collected. There were six of them, eight if himself and Nala were counted in. More than plenty to investigate one rogue.

"Boss! Hey, boss!"

The king turned and watched with a small frown when the hyena trio that had disturbed him this morning swiftly trotted to where the group of lions stood. It was Shenzi that had spoken, but then again it usually was her that spoke anyway.

"What is it?" he asked quietly and as calmly as he could. His annoyance from before threatened to return.

"One of the scouting parties found our missing border patrol, dead", the female hyena replied. "They followed the tracks that the rogue who killed them left behind. He stopped by the waterhole, but has since left the Pride Lands."

Scar snorted lightly. "Of course he has", he muttered with mild annoyance as he dismissed the hyenas. He then turned back to the group of lions. They would no longer be needed for investigation, but there was something else they could do. "Arrange a morning hunt."

With the quick command said, the lanky lion turned on his heels and headed back towards the waterhole where he had been heading in the first place before Nala had come to retrieve him. He needed that drink, and maybe, if he was lucky, the hunters would have brought down something by the time he was done.

[Mercy]

(OOC: I guess I'll just dive in then. I hope I can play Sarabi as well as Zorayda! X) )

         Sarabi turned worriedly to face Jem. "I would think this would be enough.." she said concerned, watching as his eyes trailed worriedly over Nala. She turned back to watch Scar and Nala and then flinched as she heard Scar arrange for a morning hunt. One of the things she missed most was hunting. She could keep up with the hunting party well enough, but she no longer had the strength to cling to prey. Her muscle strength had slowly declined and the lack of use had left them to atrophy. Not to mention a well-aimed kick from a zebra or a wildebeest would surely mean the end of her. She could not understand why Scar would arrange for a hunting party in the middle of a drought anyway. There was hardly any game left except for the occasional lost gazelle or wounded antelope. There were a few smaller animals to be found, birds, fish, rodents, but nothing that would feed an entire pride. Besides, how could the King think of such a thing as hunting when there was a rogue lion (if she guessed correctly, her memory was not as strong of late) near the watering hole? What happened if a couple of cubs went down to play and went missing? Would Scar be responsible for their fate?

         Sarabi took in a deep breath and looked at the shriveled blades of grass at the edge of Pride Rock. It wasn't right for her to criticize the King, but Mufasa would never have let the pride end up like this. Surviving on the smallest of prey and lapping from drying puddles, the waterhole was one of the only sources of fresh clean water left in their territory. The lions and lionesses in the pride were losing weight, and the cubs' eyes were starting to turn lackluster. It pained her to look and see her companions in such a state. It wouldn't be long before they were all skin and bone, fighting each other for the scraps that remained.

         Sarabi's eyes narrowed at the thought and she glared at the ground below her feet. She dared not face the King with such a glance. She sometimes wondered if he had fallen to madness, for any logical lion could see that the pride had to move to better surroundings. Whatever happened there was no way she would allow such a terrible event to occur. Mufasa's pride would not fall to ruins. She was strong, and he lived in her, with her. Simba did as well. Her little cub, if only.. Sarabi's eyes pricked with tears but she swallowed the lump in her throat. She would make them both proud. Eyes burning Sarabi made her way up to Nala's side and rumbled with subdued anger, "Scar. We must find this rogue. He could kill or injure our cubs, and he could take what little food we have left. We have hardly seen any prey in the last few moons and the herds seem to be leaving! We must not allow him to simply wander in and out of our territory whenever he pleases."

---

   Kumai lay under Pride Rock deep in the shadows, staring forlornly out at the hazy horizon. He spent most of his days sleeping, weak and wearied, dreaming of blissful days with his brother Songa. If only he and Songa hadn't gotten into that stupid argument they would still be together. Now, here he was, alone. He had come to Pride Rock and hardly been accepted by King Scar, who made sure he was kept at a distance from the lionesses and the cubs. He wished he could at least talk to the cubs, he loved to play with them and take them on adventures. Still, he was grateful to Scar, but was surprised he had even been allowed into the pride, since he was a large male. Kumai looked himself over. He was still large, but he seemed to be losing weight, and on his trimmer body the weight loss would soon be evident to even the slightest glance over. King Scar had also allowed other male lions to live in his Pride which surprised Kumai even more. It was all very peculiar here, and Kumai didn't even know half of the history of the Pride Lands.

   He had stumbled accidentally on a pale young lioness with beautiful eyes during her hunt and after pardoning himself to the point of embarrassment, introduced himself. She had accepted his apology, but seemed cautious which Kumai approved of. Rogues were of course something to be wary of, and he didn't mind being shown off a lion's or lioness's territory in the slightest. He would've made playful jokes and comments to her, if she hadn't looked so on edge. The lioness had then introduced herself as Nala, and told him how he had somehow managed to find himself deep in the Pride Lands. She offered to take him to King Scar after he told her how he was simply looking for a place to rest for awhile. And that had been that. The other lionesses seemed wary and guarded around him, but he suspected that they were starting to accept him as the days merged together and they greeted him making light conversation for a few minutes and then returning to their dens. He only hoped that he would soon have some friends and something to do. He had been in the Pride for a week and assured them he was no threat.

    Kumai placed his broad head on his large paws and sighed, staring out with half-lidded sorrowful eyes. If only Songa was here. He would know what to do. He was now stuck at Pride Rock, wasting away. He could only hope that Scar would eventually allow him to take part in some sort of Pride activity or event.

[Deleted]

"Why is it... that you guys ALWAYS want to run off... without breakfast?" asked Kula, as she struggled to keep up at the rear of the group. "Why were we going to find a rogue lion anyway? That isn't our job. It certainly isn't my job anyway. I start cub-sitting duty soon. What am I going to say? 'Oh, sorry, cubs. Fend for yourself today. I have a rogue to catch.' And we didn't even find him." She plopped down onto her rump, which thudded in the dust, and raised a forepaw. "And my feet hurt... WHY do I let you guys drag me into this?"
Of all the lions and lionesses in the pride, Kula was the exception to the rule: Where the others were getting thinner and thinner, since becoming a teen Kula had become quite chubby. She didn't make a good hunter, and since taking on the duty of cub-sitting (a job she was surprisingly good at), she had become, well, huge. It was a bit of a joke among the pride that she ate cubs - one which she didn't much like at all. Even sitting in the dirt she looked down, noticing how much her stomach protruded, and did her best to suck it in. Not that it helped much at all. She eventually let it out with a disdainful sigh. "Are you guys even listening?"

[Ruby_Fehu]

(Sorry it's short, I'm just trying to get where my characters are clearly established to you guys and myself )

Nala scowled a little and watched as Scar stalked off uttering the order to arrange a hunt. "Sarabi, can you do that for me please? I'll lead the hunt but I wish to speak to our King first." She rolled her eyes and padded away from the older lioness and over to Scar, "Is there anything you wish for us to try and catch, sire." Nala asked, her voice dripping with false sweetness, she began padding around him in a circle, watching him carefully and anticipating the answer. "We'll have to travel quite far though." She continue, she allowed her slender hips to sway side to side and her tail brush along Scar, he always went on about wanting to be treated like a proper King, isn't this what lionesses are supposed to do? Fawn over their leader. She glanced over towards Sarabi and Jem and felt a stab of guilt at Jem's expression - a cross between anger and shock. She gave him a half hearted smile when she was behind Scar so he wouldn't see. After circling him a couple of times she sat down in front of him and smiled at him, hoping he wouldn't guess that it was forced.

---

Jem stared at Nala before turning to Sarabi, "What is she doing?" He snarled under his breath, looking up at Sarabi as if hoping she would reassure him that Nala was just trying to be funny and pull a joke. "I can't stand this." He hissed as Nala nuzzled up against Scar, without another word he swung around and stalked off his head low, and his silvery mane falling in her eyes which he flicked away with a paw. He stalked up to Pride Rock and entered the cave, if Nala was going to be with Scar they'd need another hunter. His gaze fell on a young pride member who Jem knew to be name Aiyana, without a greeting he went up to her and said, "We're going hunting. We need another lioness, are you coming?" Aiyana frowned up at Jem before shrugging and following the young male.

[mane6]

{I Think I`ll Make Zira A Rouge At First If Thats Okay.}


The young rouge lioness padded through the dying foliage, her pelt clung to her sides, showing off her ribs, and her undeniable lust for food. Truthfully, she was a lanky lioness anyway, but she needed this food to keep her energy up if anything bad was to happen. Peh. Nothing bad would happen to her. Even If it did, she diden`t care. As long as she died away from that stupid family of hers, everything would be fine. Seeing a herd of zebra in the distance, she licked her lips, crouching in the grass, her red eyes glaring in the dullness of the land. Eventually, she lets out a roar and dashes for the herd, before leaping, claws outstretched and catching a zebra on its back. She grabs around its neck with her arms, and slashes her claws across. The zebra was bucking wildly, it managed to throw Zira from its back and run off a short distance, before collapsing. Its bleats for help echoed throughout the savanna.


With a concealed limp, the scrawny figure dashes towards the zebra, finishing its miserable existence. "It`s not as if you would`ve lived in this stupid land anyway you insolent creature." She hisses, before digging her claws into its stomach and eating it, she eventually looks up, blood dripping from her muzzle. Squinting her eyes ever so slightly, she spotted the sight of figures, well  a lot. Hyenas?  What the hell were hyenas doing here? And before she knew it, their annoying yips filled the air as they took away the kill, her kill. She knew not to interfere with the stupid mutts, but that was her food. Snarling angrily, the easily aggravated lioness attacks a hyena, biting its throat as it struggles against her.  A sick grin spreads across her maw, as a few other hyenas surround her. "Oh, what a fun game this`ll be." She says, lowering her form to the ground and digging her deep black claws into the soil.


As one hyena lunges at her she swipes it away, and as one leaps at her back at the same time, she kicks it with her left hind leg. These hyenas were like rag dolls, and she sure would love playing with them.  She, eventually after a while with cuts and brusies lining her pelt, the sadistic lioness grins once more. Looking at the various bodies of hyenas. She trots up to her prey, and drags it away, into a small, yet dying tree. This way, no mutts could get it. She digs in devouring the carcass, she was so very hungry. Licking the blood from her maw, she lies down on another branch, falling asleep in the tree, her brown tipped tail hanging over the edge of the branch.

[Moonbacon]

Aug 13, 2014 19:59:55 GMT mane6 said:

{I Think I`ll Mwonder A Rouge At First If Thats Okay.}


The young rouge lioness padded through the dying foliage, her pelt clung to her sides, showing off her ribs, and her undeniable lust for food. Truthfully, she was a lanky lioness anyway, but she needed this food to keep her energy up if anything bad was to happen. Peh. Nothing bad would happen to her. Even If it did, she diden`t care. As long as she died away from that stupid family of hers, everything would be fine. Seeing a herd of zebra in the distance, she licked her lips, crouching in the grass, her red eyes glaring in the dullness of the land. Eventually, she lets out a roar and dashes for the herd, before leaping, claws outstretched and catching a zebra on its back. She grabs around its neck with her arms, and slashes her claws across. The zebra was bucking wildly, it managed to throw Zira from its back and run off a short distance, before collapsing. Its bleats for help echoed throughout the savanna.


With a concealed limp, the scrawny figure dashes towards the zebra, finishing its miserable existence. "It`s not as if you would`ve lived in this stupid land anyway you insolent creature." She hisses, before digging her claws into its stomach and eating it, she eventually looks up, blood dripping from her muzzle. Squinting her eyes ever so slightly, she spotted the sight of figures, well  a lot. Hyenas?  What the hell were hyenas doing here? And before she knew it, their annoying yips filled the air as they took away the kill, her kill. She knew not to interfere with the stupid mutts, but that was her food. Snarling angrily, the easily aggravated lioness attacks a hyena, biting its throat as it struggles against her.  A sick grin spreads across her maw, as a few other hyenas surround her. "Oh, what a fun game this`ll be." She says, lowering her form to the ground and digging her deep black claws into the soil.


As one hyena lunges at her she swipes it away, and as one leaps at her back at the same time, she kicks it with her left hind leg. These hyenas were like rag dolls, and she sure would love playing with them.  She, eventually after a while with cuts and brusies lining her pelt, the sadistic lioness grins once more. Looking at the various bodies of hyenas. She trots up to her prey, and drags it away, into a small, yet dying tree. This way, no mutts could get it. She digs in devouring the carcass, she was so very hungry. Licking the blood from her maw, she lies down on another branch, falling asleep in the tree, her brown tipped tail hanging over the edge of the branch.

Mheetu and Artemis were playing tag together they had wandered quite a bit from pride rock they know its dangerous because of the hyenas and rogues but they didn't care they were having fun and that's all that matters well until they get hungry that is.

Artemis's spots were only just starting to fade away and her tail pluff was also starting to grow due to the little food thhe pride has she was quite small and thin she has been living off mixes and birds for a while now same goes for Mheetu. Mheetu's the younger half brother of Nala and Scars son mane was just starting to grow he has a small black fluff of hair on his head which ran down his neck.
Mheetu suddenly halted causing Artemis who was chasing him to slam onto his back causing both of them to fall over.
"What's wrong Mheetu?" Artemis asked curiously "umm i think we have a problem " he replied pointing at the dead hyenas that Zira killed, Artemis quickly looking around saw Zira with zebra kill on a dying tree curiosity got the best of her while Mheetu was investigating the dead hyenas she trotted up to Zira. She looked at the zebra that she killed feeling a bit hungry seeing the rogue lioness's tail hanging from the branch she did what any lion would do in the situation.
She ran up to it and started playfully swiping it with her paws she did however had to jump a bit to reach it not caring that she might be in big trouble for this.

[mane6]

Zira`s eyes opened suddendly, and her red eyes narrowed, she grabs the cub as she next jumps up and throws her down. "Don`t touch me you stupid cub." She hisses in pure hate, putting her paws over her kill and eating it despite being full. "If you want something to eat, eat those mutts carcasses. Mind you, you woulden`t want to eat your own kind would you now?" She grins, her maw covered in blood.


Stupid cub, where are her idiotic parents? They outta come and get her away from me before I slit her petty little throat.
She thinks, grinning insanely once more. She lies back down on the branch, lifting her tail up behind her so the little cub coulden`t get back up. She felt not a drop of remorse for the young one. It wasen`t her cub, so she diden`t care what happened. It could get killed by the hyenas for all she cared.


She then proceeded to drag her prey further up the tree, after getting up once more. She began to groom her dusty colored pelt, flicking her ears at the flys and swatting them with her tail. Now that measly morsel coulden`t reach her. She chuckled humorously. "Oh, how cubs stupidness works has slipped my mind." She cackles, stretching her fore paws. Although it was a limited amount of space, she was out of danger, and nothing could steal her kill. And if those cubs climbed the tree, she would swat them off like flys, hopefully killing them in the process, but you can`t wish for too much at a time.

[Kirsui]

((OOC: Sounds good to me, Mane. :3 And Ruby, I love that post of yours! XD Also, I find myself staring at Mane's signature when ever I get stuck on writing Scar. XDD))


"Scar. We must find this rogue. He could kill or injure our cubs, and he could take what little food we have left. We have hardly seen any prey in the last few moons and the herds seem to be leaving! We must not allow him to simply wander in and out of our territory whenever he pleases."

This time, Scar was unable to hold back his annoyance as a low growl escaped him. He glanced over his shoulder at the former queen, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"The rogue is gone", he said, his voice thick with anger. Had the lioness not heard what Shenzi had just said? "The hyenas followed his tracks, and according to them he has left the Pride Lands. However... As Nala so kindly reminded me earlier", he paused, glancing momentarily at the younger lioness, "as King, it is my duty to investigate. He stopped by the waterhole, and I will follow his tracks from there."

He glared at Sarabi for a while longer, then allowed his anger to subside a little. "You have your orders. Get to it."

Scar turned his head and no longer paid the group any more attention as he continued his way down towards the waterhole. He didn't get very far, however, when he picked up the sound of someone following him. He let out a frustrated sigh, thinking that Sarabi had been foolish enough to follow him after what he had just said.

"Is there anything you wish for us to try and catch, sire."

His eyes widened momentarily in surprise. This was the second time that Nala had sought him out on her own today. Earlier she had been calm and collected, and now she was asking him sweetly what he would like them to hunt. This was not like her, not at all. And yet, as the young lioness circled around him and even brushed her tail againts him, he couldn't help but feel... enticed?

The king forced that thought aside for now as Nala sat in front of him with a smile on her face. He was pretty sure she had never smiled at him before, and though her sudden change in behaviour made him curious of what had brought this on, he found himself unable to answer her with the annoyance he had felt just moments before.

Instead he smirked at her slightly. He didn't know what she was up to, but he too knew how to play this game. He walked closer to the young lioness with the small, amused smirk still on his face. When he spoke his voice was like honey.

"I will be happy with anything you bring, my dear."

He walked past her without another word, but allowed his tail to brush her much like she had done to him only moments ago. He would have loved to stay and see her reaction, but he loved a grand exit and he couldn't think of a way better than this. He continued his way towards the waterhole with an amused grin, and suddenly he was certain that the wonderful morning hadn't been ruined at all like he first had thought. If Nala continued this game she had started with him after this, he wouldn't have to order Zazu to entertain him for a very long time.

If not... Well, he could always ask the bird to sing.

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

Tefnut's nose twitched and she halted mid-step. She hadn't exactly heard anything out of place, nothing that would alert her anyway. Then again, she was still very young, and though she had been forced to get by on her own, she was by no means good at keeping a track of her surroundings.

But she recognized the scent of blood, and that was what had made her pause.

She didn't know whose blood it was, wasn't sure if it was from prey or a carnivore, but she reasoned that where there was blood there usually was food. She just hoped that if she would come face to face with a carcass, the hunter would no longer be present.

She wasn't prepared for what she found when she headed towards the scent of blood. She stumbled out of the tall grass and gasped at the sight in front of her. Hyenas were everywhere, but these ones were dead, and despite her age she was smart enough to realize that this was really, really bad. For one, hyenas lived in packs and if they weren't yet aware of this dead group they soon would be and she would be in trouble. Secondly, her chances weren't much better if whatever had killed these hyenas was still close.

"What's wrong Mheetu?"
"Umm i think we have a problem."

The young liard squeaked with fright at the two voices that had spoken out. She had darted back into the relative safety of the tall grass before she realized that the voices clearly belonged to someone around her own age. This made her pause once more, and with wide eyes she slowly crawled closer to the edge of the grass that hid her from sight and was greatly puzzled by what she saw.

A lion cub, perhaps slightly younger than her, was calmly examining the dead hyenas. Why he was out here on his own was beyond her, and why he was so calm with dead hyenas everywhere was an even bigger mystery. Curiously she sought out the source of the other voice, only this time she her eyes widened in horror at what she saw.

Another lion cub was playfully swiping at the tail of a sleeping lioness. Who was covered in blood. Hyena blood.

"NO! DON'T!"

She burst out of where she was hiding and ran towards the playing cub, hoping she would reach her before the lioness in the tree would awaken. But she was too late, and the lioness was already awake. She hissed down at the cub hatefully, then proceeded to drag her prey further up the tree. Tefnut sighed with releaf that the lioness didn't seem inclined on attacking the cub for now, but her releaf was soon over when she realized she had revealed her presence by leaving the safety of the tall grass. The gaze of her now wide eyes darted between the two cubs and the angry lioness, and she was seriously contemplating darting off if any of them would approach her.

[Moonbacon]

Artemis gave out a annoyed huff well so much for that she then quickly looked at Tefnut then Zira before quickly running towards the waterhole without a word she needed to tell Scar about this rogue now.
Hearing Tefnut yell Mheetu quickly looked around he saw Artemis run away and Tefnut looking at Zira under the tree he gasped and ran in front of Tenut standing tall "DONT HURT HER!" Hey yelled at Zira he knew he wouldn't stand a chance but he has to try at least.

-------

Artemis after tripping and face planting a few times she had finally reached the waterhole seeing Scar in the distance she ran up to him "SCAR! THERES A ROGUE LIONESS THAT KILLED A BUTCH OF HYENAS!" She yelled as she ran up in front of him panting a bit Artemis seemingly tries to impress Scar if she gets a chance since after all she looks nothing like the pride landers.

[Mercy]

Sarabi flicked her ears back at Scar's conceited words and managed to swallow her growl of anger. She nodded kindly to Nala and turned back to see Jem with a gathering of lionesses. Her eyes softened when she saw the young lion and she felt bad when she saw how upset he was over Nala's enticing behavior to Scar. She padded up to him on heavy paws and gave him a weak smile. "Try not to think about her behavior too much dear. You're one of her closest friends. I'm sure she doesn't care for him in that way." Jem's eyes widened in alarm and he stared at Sarabi stuttering as he murmured, "Oh! No.. I mean.." Sarabi laughed quietly. "It's okay, Jem." She winked tenderly at the young male to put him at ease and then turned to the rest of the lionesses.

"I know you are all ready to go out hunting now, but I think some of us should stay behind and watch the cubs. Most of the big game is on it's way out of the Pride Lands anyway so I don't think we will need many hunters, just a few strong ones." The former Queen rested her gaze on Kula and her eyes twinkled as she said, "Kula, if you want you may stay behind to get some breakfast. But it might do you good to get some fresh air!" She paused and then continued saying, "Nala will be leading the hunt as usual and will direct you on what exactly you should be looking for. Please, report back to me when you have returned. She tried to give the sullen hunting party a cheerful glance as she turned and left them to discuss their plans. If none of them would stay with the cubs she would look after them. Though she dearly missed her little prince, sometimes it helped her to treat the Pride's cubs as though they were her own. She enjoyed indulging them, but sometimes their little faces pained her. They seemed to fill, at least partially, the empty space in her heart, but it was not without a sweet sort of pain.

---

Kumai raised his head up as he heard lions and lionesses begin to mill around and talk at the edge of Pride Rock. It looked, from what he could see, as though they were garnering a hunting party together. Perhaps they would invite him to join? Kumai flexed his claws experimentally. Yep, still sharp. His mood lightened. It would be so nice to hunt again, and use his muscles. He would promise to take less than his share of the meal. He would go without food completely if it meant being allowed to socialize, even for a little bit. Kumai stood up and shook his golden mane. It was still soft and he tried to take good care of it. It was starting to lose some of it's sheen though from lack of food, it was still impressive however. He stretched his back and legs, then walked out from under the shadows of Pride Rock and made his way up the small sandy path where the hunting party was. He shyly padded up to the group and then paused, waiting to see if they would acknowledge him.

[Deleted]

Kula sighed. Sarabi meant well, but the mention of breakfast just reminded Kula that there wouldn't be any until - if - the hunt came back successful. Well, except for her own special supply, but that was all for herself. "The last time I went hunting it just made me more hungry," she said. "And anyway, I slow people down. I think I'll go look after the... uh..."
She looked up. Approaching them from across the savannah was a rogue lion. He had a golden mane and huge paws - much too big for his skinny frame. Quietly, to Sarabi she whispered, "Well dunk me in the waterhole and call me a hippo...", but her eyes never left the sight of the male. Then she snapped. "Ok: I'll go hunting. The cubs are all yours today," she said, and ran ahead of the rest as fast as her chubby legs would carry her.
"Hi! Erm... I mean, who are you, tresspasser?" she said, coming to a stop and bearing her teeth. It was unlikely to be intimidating, however, for she couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

[mane6]

"Oh how adorable, you`re all scared of me. In fact, im almost honored." She smirks, watching the cub run off, she chuckles. What are they going to do now? From what`ve I`ve heard, their king is weak and vulnerable. If he has no hyenas with him, well. It could work out or not. Meh. I won`t waste my time.
The lioness that had stepped out of the grass was in the way, just stood staring. "Did your parents tell you its rude to stare?" She glares down at the lioness, growling slightly, running her ivory claws across the bark of the tree, a few chips of wood curling on the side of the bark. Bored of her meal, she leaves it in the tree, taking a small chunk and eating it, before hopping down the tree, standing in front of the lioness. "Boo." She grins, before jogging off, padding around for something to do. With what she saw, she must`ve been lucky to catch that zebra, she had seen no other herds. And no other hyenas, well for now.

The giant rock in the distance caught her attention, bit she just turns away from it. She was going to lie elsewhere for a nap, but she coulden`t risk getting torn apart in her sleep. She soon comes across a watering hole, but a figure padding towards it, quickly, she tries to find somewhere to hide, seeng nowhere to take refuge, she crouches low in the grass, hopefully blended in enough to not be seen. But, who was that male? He had a dark black mane, and a scar running over his eye. She growls. He diden`t look fit to be a leader at all.

Looking over her shoulder, as she smelt blood, she had realized she haden`t have come far at all, and if the scrawny male scented the blood, he would find her straight away.
She remained still, biting onto her bottom lip. Her heart pounding against her chest.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Nala scoffed a little as she watched Scar saunter off before she return to Sarabi, Jem and the hunting party. Jem glared at Nala and turned his back on her, causing Nala to stare after him in surprise, after standing in a stunned silence for a few moments she narrowed her eyes and scowled a little, "We'll leave to hunt now, we'll have to journey quite far north to get any signs of life, but if we do separate to catch prey we must go in pairs to search. Jem, you and I will hunt together. Kula-" She was about to pair the slightly overweight lioness with Tama but didn't get chance because she'd ran off towards a male. Nala followed Kula, her greeting a little less friendly than Kula's, her greeting was the demand, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

[Kirsui]

"DONT HURT HER!"

Tefnut gasped with surprise when the male lion cub ran in front of her, clearly trying to protect her from the much larger lioness. If she hadn't been so frightened herself she might have thought it was cute, but right now her gaze was glued to the lioness that was now glaring down at both of them.

"Did your parents tell you its rude to stare?"

The young liard flinched when the lioness mentioned her parents. She had never seen her father, and her mother was dead. She watched with her ears flattened how the lioness then abandoned her meal in the tree after taking one last bite from it, then pounced back down and approached her and the other cub with a grin. Tefnut took an involuntary step back when the lioness attempted to scare her, and was greatly relieved when the larger feline left.

She looked at the other cub, smiling shyly at him. She had never really spoken with anyone of her own age since she had been the only one in her litter, but she knew how to be polite at least.

"Um, thanks", the young liard said, her shy smile still in place. "No one ever stood up for me like that. That was really brave. I'm Tefnut."

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

As Scar came closer to the waterhole, he noticed how the stench of hyenas became stronger, fresher. They had indeed patrolled here very recently, just as Shenzi had said. It would make it slightly more difficult for him to detect the rogue's scent, especially if the hyenas had trampled all over the trails.

"SCAR!"

The lanky male turned his gaze upon hearing his name, and, much to his surprise and mild displeasure, saw Artemis run towards him. Why the cub was out here on her own this early in the morning was beyond him. He would definitely have a word with whomever was on cubsitting duty once he got back to Pride Rock.

"THERES A ROGUE LIONESS THAT KILLED A BUTCH OF HYENAS!"

Scar watched the cub with a calm expression, but his thoughts were nothing but calm. First a border patrol had died because of a rogue male, and now a lioness also had taken down hyenas? This was simply unacceptable. He would not have rogues prancing around his lands like this.

But, before that, he had another problem. From what he recalled, Artemis rarely went exploring on her own. He suspected this was the matter now too, which meant that Mheetu also had to be nearby. While he thought very little of his weakling of a son, it was simply unacceptable that the cubs were wandering around like this without supervision. Yes... Whomever had been in cubsitting duty would definitely be punished after he had dealt with this situation.

Which, as he discovered as the wind changed, he would have to deal with soon. The gentle morning breeze brought with it the all too familiar metallic scent of blood, which meant that the dead hyenas and possibly the lioness that had killed them were not far.

"Go back to Pride Rock", he told Artemis with a tone that left no room for objection. "And stay there until I get back."

He stared down at Artemis for a while longer before he averted his gaze and began heading where the cub had ran from. The scent of blood was indeed getting stronger by each step he took, and he was certain he would soon reach the dead hyenas. He only hoped he could pick up the rogue lioness' scent soon so that he could call this investigation over and done with.