Part 1 - Let the journey begin... [Finished]

[magiccat]

Cat was pleased to be going with the group. She would have killled herself if they'd left and not helped the animals who had watched her.

As her mother spoke she remained very silent, she turned her head slightly to watch Sefu run off. It was then she realised the little encounter had slowed them down. "Well if you want to help mum we had better get going. That mean old lion could be anywhere. Oops sorry!" She said, realising her comment may have upset the snow leopard and cub. The possibility of the other cub being taken away was probably present enough without her adding to it.

Cat turned and faced the direction Sefu had set off in, a confident expression was on her face. Even if they kept talking Cat would run after Sefu. She had to help.

Her head turned slightly to look up at the adults and she nodded her head toward the directon she was facing. "We should go now"

[cheezeegriff]

"We should go now"

Kali lowered her head next to Cat's.
"You're staying with me, little one,"
she said sternly.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight again. Not until you prove you can look after yourself."
Then she looked at the fluffy white cat.
"I will look after the cubs. You follow Sefu, and slow your kidnapper down for the rest of us."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Figgy listened to what Kali said. The thought of leaving Cat, let alone little Sanura, with the monster of a lioness, was crueller than any punishment he could dish out. Clearing his throat tentatively, he said,
"Err... I'm the slowest, I'm sure... maybe I should look after the cu-"

"Nonsense!"
Kali spat, but behind the facade, Figgy noticed a twinge of panic that Kali quickly wiped away.
"You may be the kitten's father, but I'm not leaving my daughter again. Not for anything,"
she said, eyes flickering.
"We'll both look after the cubs. You after your daughter and me after mine."

"Err..."
Figgy looked at Karensha. He doubted he'd like to leave Sanura behind, but perhaps...
"Maybe you should run ahead and help Sefu,"
he said, stepping closer to Karensha and licking her cheek, before glancing at the striped cub on her back and putting on a big, cheesy smile.
"Sanura, would you like to walk with... erm... Daddy?"

[Deleted]

Sanura sat there on the snow leopards back listening to all the talk going on around while every now and again looked back at where she had come running from , where she had last seen Meri.

Hearing Figgy talk to her, the tiger cub leant down closer to him
"Sanura, would you like to walk with... erm... Daddy?"
Her eyes widened and she just stared at him. "daddy?", and the looked past Figgy to where the other cub was with her grumpy mother.

"I want you and Karensha to stay together, things happen when one of you aren't here"
Looking over to the Lioness again, the tiger cub frowned.
"And I don't like her, she shouts and pulls funny faces and shes just...just not nice."

[Kirsui]

Rondea had changed running into fast paced walk. He was breathing easier now when the surrounding areas finally begun to look familiar to him. The trees that normally would have brown trunks were now green when other plants clung to them, vines were hanging low from the branches, and plants in the ground had huge leaves. The air was moist, and small water droplets formed at every surface possible.

The soil was soft, and because of all the moisture in the air it was very wet and gave in easily. The gold furred lion thanked his large paws that enabled him to walk on the ground without sinking into it all too much. He knew that had Meri been walking on her own, she would have sunk to the ground and soon her back would have been the only white thing left in her.

Meri had stopped squirming. She was completely silent, and because Rondea was carrying her he couldn't take a look at her face and see if she had fallen asleep or not. After listening her calm breathing for a moment he decided she must have been asleep, and he concentrated on the surroundings again.

He was wrong though. The young lioness was awake. She kept her eyes closed, what point was there to keep them open when she wouldn't have been able to see anyway? She did her best to keep her breathing calm and even, and with every breath she scented the air, taking in the changing scents and trying to gather where she was being moved. She detected the air was more moist now than before, and she could smell the soil stronger here than before. Birds were chirping, and there was a lot of them. Here and there she could detect a monkey screech at something, and a few times she even could hear how something - most likely a half eaten fruit - hit the ground.

Rondea stopped when he reached a wide, slow flowing river. The river wasn't too deep for him, the water would reach his belly on the deepest parts in the middle, but the water was deep and gave a false idea of the river being much deeper than it was. Without hesitation the tall lion walked into the murky water, and to his slight surprise he felt how Meri tensed when she heard the water splashing as he walked in it.
<So she was not as much asleep as I thought...>

Upon reaching the other side his fur was completely wet downwards from his belly. He glanced around momentarily, and then gently placed Meri on the ground. She curled into a ball, just as he had expected her to do. She would not dare to run away, not with blind eyes on an area she did not know.

Rondea shook himself to get the extra water out, and then after quickly looking back over the river to where he had come from he lifted his head up and roared. Meri flinched at the ground on the sudden loud noise, but for now he did not care. The roar echoed in the jungle, and he was sure anyone nearby would hear it. Nodding with satisfaction he sat down, placing his other front paw next to Meri so that she felt his touch and knew she wasn't alone.

Then he locked his gaze at the opposite side of the river. His tail flicked lazily from side to side, but otherwise he did not move at all while he waited.

[Dakota]

Karensha stood there impatiently, watching Sefu run off on his own, wasn't a good idea, but it seemed he wasn't waiting around for anyone to try and persaude him otherwise.

Turning her attention back she caught everyones words and ideas. Trying not to smile when Figgy mentioned 'daddy', she kept her face impassive.
In one way she knew they were going to be held back by the cubs and Figgy slowing them down, but she wasn't leaving anyone behind, it seemed she had to give some trust to Sefu that he would do the right thing by Meri and them all.

"I can see your logic Figgy that you stay behind with Sanura and cat"
Tilting her head slightly karensha gave the lioness standing there a once over glance.
"and her., but I'm not seperating us anymore, we will stay together and travel as fast as we can, with small breaks to catch our breaths."
Bringing her head back so she was along side his, the snow leopard gave his cheek a quick rub.
" But thankyou Figgy, for being caring and wanting to take care of the cubs by yourself."

Looking at the four of them gathered around her.
"Well times a wasting, lets get moving"

[cheezeegriff]

Figgy listened to all Karensha had to say, but at the end he stepped forward so he could speak in a low voice.

"You know, if you want us to work, you're going to have to trust me at some stage,"
he said, and winked at her.
"So why not trust me now? Look at the way this lion stands over Cat. Look at the way she protects her. Nothing would come within a hundred yards of her and live if she thought it was going to hurt her cub, and in that way Sanura and I are safe as well. Go on: go save Meri. She needs you more than we do at the moment."
He stepped back, and spoke in a louder voice so everyone could hear, grinning from ear to ear,
"Of course, if you can't bear to leave the sight of me, the amazing Figgy, well... I can hardly hold that against you."

"Good grief,"
Kali mumbled, but Figgy only grinned.

[epppe]

Sefu continued to run, following Rondea's tracks and wondering how much farther the lion was. The last thing he wanted was to lose the tracks so he kept running without taking a break. He noticed that the scenery around him was starting to change with more plant life everywhere and moisture everywhere. This area was someplace Sefu would not enjoy staying with the constant noise of other animals and almost no where to relax since almost everything was moist or covered in mud.

Every step he took in the mud kept slowing him down since his paws would sink down. He tried to find things that were solid to stand on. The good thing about the mud was that the paw prints of Rondea stood out more and were easier to spot out.

Wondering whether or not he was getting closer, Sefu got his answer when he heard the roar of Rondea. He couldn't tell exactly how far Rondea was but atleast he knew the he was on the right path. a small laugh came out of him, finding it funny how arrogant enough Rondea is that he had to roar. This only made Sefu want to find Rondea even more just to bring his confidence down a bit.

After what seemed like forever of running, Sefu heard a river not too far ahead and figured he could take a break there. Pushing through the last bush that was in his way to the river, he was surprised to see that Rondea was on the other side of the river. He was confused as to why Rondea was sitting there waiting, but was glad to see that the cub was by him.

Sefu started to pace back and forth by the river thinking of whether or not to cross it. If he were to cross it, he would be soaked which would slow him down giving Rondea a big enough advantage that Sefu determine not to cross when he's waiting on the other side. He decided to use this moment to rest and maybe wait for the others to catch up. He sat down, tired from the running, and just looked back at Rondea with a grin on his face.

[magiccat]

Cat sighed angrily and sat down as they all began discussing again. What kind of animals were they? She overheard Sanura talking about her mother and giggled slightly. However time was wasting.

"So as Sefu has left to stop that mean lion I think that we should all...FOLLOW HIM ALREADY!" She said loudly, before trotting back to sit in front of her mum. She looked up at her and smiled slightly.

"I meant we should all go. Not just me" Cat stood up and trotted to the bushes. She sat in front of them and smiled at the group.

"Come on! Adventure and a heroic rescue awaits!" She said proudly, hoping one of them would move.

[Dakota]

Karensha hesitated, she knew what Figgy said was true, but could she really leave Sanura behind, she had made that mistake already and look what had happened to Meri.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she was torn in knowing what she should do and actually doing it. Leaning in closer, she hated the fact that, that lioness could hear what she was saying.
"Figgy, I'm not only scared for Sanura but for you as well, I know you are a great provider, but what about fighting,.. and how do you know that..she.. would come and save you."
Pulling her lips away from his ear she heard his words.
"Go on. go save Meri. She needs you more than we do at the moment."

Karensha knew he was right, and she couldn't wait any longer. Reaching around she lifted the tigercub from her back and placed her on the ground in front of Figgy. Trying to keep a tear from slipping the snow leopard crouched down to speak softly to her.
"Sanura, you know how much I care about you , but I have to go and try to find Meri and bring her back to us and I can't let Sefu go by himself, Rondea is bigger and smarter and I'm not sure what he'll do to keep Meri with him."
Glancing back up at Figgy, she tried to smile for him, trying to place her complete faith in him as well.
"Sanura, I'm leaving you with Figgy, he'll protect you and maybe seeing you are a big girl, will look after him for me as well, so then together, I know what a smart ferocious pair you will make."

Nuzzling her gently, she then brushed her cheek against Figgy's warm fur, back and forth a few times, and then sighing made herself step back.
"I'm placing my trust in you Figgy... please take care and remember for now, Sanura.. you are all she has."

Raising her head and holding it proudly, she kept her emotions in check and moved back further, then stopping Karensha turned to where the Lioness and her cub were standing.
" I will go ahead and find Sefu, then we will wait for you all to catch up with us...BUT.. if anything, and I mean anything happens to my family and Sanura and Figgy aren't delivered in one piece unharmed, You will rue the day you ever came into contact with me. I may be smaller than you, but it hasn't stopped me before taking revenge on those who have betrayed me, so take it as a warning if you like but.. I'm sure you would like to see your cub grow up, and not having her body finished off by the hyenas, after I have paid her a visit."

The snow leopard turned quickly away so no one could see the remorse on her face, for saying such a horrible thing, but she needed something to use, so that the lioness would indeed take care of the ones she loved.

[cheezeegriff]

"Come on! Adventure and a heroic rescue awaits!"

Kali nearly died when she heard her daughter's words.
"WHAT did I just tell you about daydreaming, Cat?"
she said.
"Both feet on the ground. There's no space for heroism in a survivor's heart. Heroes are only remembered for a good reason: they die."
She walked over and grabbed Cat's ear between her short fingers, pulling her away from the bushes that provided a potential avenue for escape. When she got back to where she had been sitting before, Kali was surprised to find that she had come face to face with the white cat, who said,

" I will go ahead and find Sefu, then we will wait for you all to catch up with us...BUT.. if anything, and I mean anything happens to my family and Sanura and Figgy aren't delivered in one piece unharmed, You will rue the day you ever came into contact with me. I may be smaller than you, but it hasn't stopped me before taking revenge on those who have betrayed me, so take it as a warning if you like but.. I'm sure you would like to see your cub grow up, and not having her body finished off by the hyenas, after I have paid her a visit."

Kali's eye twitched as Karensha hurried away, off between the trees. It took a moment for her mind to join the dots - and then a moment longer, as she made sure what she THOUGHT she heard and what the white cat had said were the same thing - but it all clicked, something in her brain snapped.
"YOU LITTLE WITCH!"
Kali roared and, dropping her cub, bolted after the fluffy white cat.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Figgy watched, horrified, as the large and tough-looking lioness charged after his little furball. He hoped Karensha could run... and he hoped she could keep running too; enough to wear some of that blood-letting rage out of the lioness' eyes, or he imagined he'd be finding bits of fluff lying along the forest trail down which they ran.

It was eerily silent once they had bolted out of sight - the only sound coming from a distant, lonely sparrow, and the occasional leaf dropping to the forest floor.
"Uhhh..."
he said, then turned to look at Cat with a big wide grin.
"Want a ride on uncle Figgy?"

[magiccat]

Cat winced as she realised her stupid mistake. She cowered as her mother walked over to her. Please don't harm me, please don't harm me. Her chanting somehow became audible and she was saying it loudly when her mother released her ear. As soon as she heard her mother say that somebody was a little witch she cried out and hid behind her paws. Then she heard the sound of running paws and all was quiet.

Cat didn't dare to come out from her position and continued shaking behind her paws. When she heard the lion speak to her she glanced up and bit her lip. Slowly she got to her feet and suddenly became aware that she was crying. She sucked in a deep breath and stood still for a moment. Finally she slowly walked over to the lion and cub.

"No thank you sir. My mum will scream at me. She told me to walk so I will be swift and fast when I'm an adult." She stared at the ground and winced as a few more tears dripped down. She raised a paw and wiped her eyes as best she could.

Cat breathed heavily through her mouth and then looked up. She smiled weakly and spoke again. "I'm sorry about my mum. Really, really sorry. I'm sorry she delayed you going after Meri as well."

Cat knew she was clearly upset so hoped the journey wouldn't be over too fast. She needed to calm herself before facing her mother.

[Deleted]

Sanura sat on Figgy's back watching as the snow leopard ran into the jungle. Biting down on her bottom lip as she felt it tremble, she had promised to be brave and look after Figgy, so she wouldn't cry, she just hoped nothing would happen to her friend, it was bad enough meri was missing, they had never been apart before.

Moving up a little on the lions neck , the tiger cub hung over the top of his head and was looking upside down at him.
" It's you and me Mr Figgy.. and I don't think there's any more room up here on your back, her grumpy mum said she had to walk, so she better."

Sanura nearly fell off Figgy as she saw the lioness chase after karensha, but used her back paws to push against his ears to hold her still.
"WHATS she doing, why is she she screamng and chasing after Karensha...Figggggyyyy ?"

[Kirsui]

Rondea hadn't moved at all while he had waited. Meri had been silent as well and she simply seemed to have chosen to hide her face completely from prying eyes. Rondea's first movement happened after several minutes of waiting when Sefu appeared to the opposite side of the river. Rondea was impressed at how quickly the other male had reached him, but then again he himself had not been walking too fast at the end of his "escape" with Meri.

Even over the wide river the tall lion could see Sefu grin at him while regaining his strength. Rondea chuckled, tilting his head slightly forward so that his mane partly hid his eyes, and then he answered to the grin with an amused smirk. At least the other male was wise enough not to cross the river, not with him having the upper hand... His smirk widened into a full grin, it would be priceless to see what the group would do once they would arrive.

[Dakota]

Karensha moved quickly away from the group in case she gave in, and returned. Her paws hit the ground as she advanced further into the jungle, but for some reason her ears twitched, she was picking up noise coming at her from behind .

What, it can't be Figgy and the others, none of them could move that fast, what if it's Rondea,he could be hiding and picking us all off one by one, I haven't seen nor heard Sefu yet

Slowing down, then coming to a stop, the snow leopard push against a slim looking branch that was overhanging the track. Putting all her weight behind it, she kept bending and pushing it backwards as far as she dared go.

Trying to stay out of sight, hoping her white body and fluffy purple mane wouldn't give her away too quickly, she waited hearing the thump of paws hit the ground with forcefullness. Panting slightly from the exhertion of holding back her weapon, karensha waited as long as she could and then let her front paws drop away and watched as the branch flew towards who or whatever was nearly upon her.

Hearing a loud thump, karenhsa didn't wait to see what the outcome would be, she turned and ran forwards once again looking graceful as she jumped over obstacles and around anything that came towards her.
Slowing down , she quickly looked over her shoulder pleased that nothing was appearing behind her, giving a smile of satisfaction, she thought Figgy would have been quite pleased with her little show of combat. Turning slowly she moved once more paw at a time. She could hear water running through, and as Karensha peered through a bush, there was Sefu stretched out on the ground,and alone by the looks.

What's he doing just lying there, he was meant to be tracking Meri and Rondea, it's not rest time for goodness sake.

About to push her way to where the lion was, something made her hesitate. Moving slightly to her right, she bit back a gasp as her eyes widened and she saw who was waiting on the other side of the river, a smirk plastered all over his muzzle.

[cheezeegriff]

(I wrote this yesterday so I'm uploading it now, with a very brief edit to account for Karensha's ingenuity)

"No thank you sir. My mum will scream at me. She told me to walk so I will be swift and fast when I'm an adult.... I'm sorry about my mum. Really, really sorry. I'm sorry she delayed you going after Meri as well."

Figgy's heart went out to the brave little cub. If his own mother had been Kali, Figgy was sure he wouldn't be half as brave. As he opened his mouth to reply though, Sanura screamed,

"WHATS she doing, why is she she screamng and chasing after Karensha...Figggggyyyy ?"

Figgy's eyes went crosseyed looking at the little cub on his head, and he said,
"Err... well. That's what happens when you threaten a mother's cub, Sanura,"
then he quickly glanced at the cub in question.
"Not that she meant it, of course! But boy I hope Karensha can run fast..."
He bit his lower lip, looking off between the trees, before picking his belly off the ground and waddling along like a four-legged duck.
"Anyway, let's get a-marching. Don't want to fall too far behind..."

As the forest slid slowly by at a snail's pace though, he became a little more concerned. What's happening to me? It's like I've got my feed caught in mud or something.

YOU'RE FAT, FIGGY.

Ptht. Fat is a relative term.
He glanced sideways at Cat, making sure she was coming along. She certainly looked miserable... though her brave little smile made his heart leap with pity. Screwing his face up thoughtfully, he said after a moment,
"You know... I wouldn't worry too much about your mother, Cat. I mean she's mean and vicious and terrible and all that, but everything I've heard her say to you has been because she cares about you."

THOUGH SHE HAS AN ODD WAY OF SHOWING IT.

"Shh. When'd you come back anyway?"
Figgy hissed, but then looked again at Cat.
"Why don't we think of doing something that'll make her happy with you? What are you really really good at? And come on: come ride on my back in the mean time."
He waddled sideways and whispered,
"If she catches us, I'll say I insisted, because it was safer."
He winked.


\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Kali charged off through the jungle, only a single thought in her head: that she would rid the world of this threat to her cub and all would be well again. She'd lost sight of the fur ball as soon as she took off through the trees, though Kali could still smell her. Such a strange smell, but mingled in it was fear. Fear of what? Fear of her?
It was only after a few minutes that she realised: she'd left Cat behind with that blob of a lion. The thought broke her stride and she slowed for a moment, considering. Should she go back? What if predators came? Hyenas?
Hyenas in the woods? Hah. Besides, if anything hungry comes along, why would they bother with the cubs when they could eat the fat one?
Determination renewed, Kali sped off through the trees. It didn't take her long to find the little fluff ball hiding behind a tree, her huge, white, unmissable tail poking out the other side. Kali let out a growl of glee and charged...
... then faintly wondered why the world was lying on its side, just before everything went black.

[Deleted]

Sanura froze in place on top of Figgy as he asked the other cub to climb up on his back, she wasn't sure she wanted her up here, Figgy was her fat friend, not this, new kid.

Lifting up his ear once more, she blew into it to get his attention.
"I'm sure she can walk just fine, her mum said he had to, and you saw how angry she gets, right now she could even be hurting karensha. So can we please walk a little bit faster Mr Figgy"

The tiger cub looked sideways at the one called cat, who was walking along withy her nose sniffing the air. Sanura still wasn't sure, that she had plans to take Meri's place, but it just wasn't going to happen.

[magiccat]

Cat was silent as Figgy spoke, well she thought it was his name anyway. She'd heard them talk to the other cub so she had managed to find out that she was called Sanura.

That information came in handy as the cub spoke. She liked having names for people who hated her. "She's right I'll walk. Mum's mad enough with me for being up in the clouds..."

She wrinkled her nose as she remembered Figgy's question. "I'm best at making up stories...but she hates me doing that. She doesn't like stories." Cat replied, frowning as she mention the 'not liking stories'. How could anybody hate stories? They were amazing...and you could do anything with stories. All you could do in fights was bite and scratch.

"I don't think I'm much good at anything else so like Sanura said, we should speed up." Cat said, nodding her head. "We need to make sure my meanie of a mum didn't hurt Karensha and then we have to rescue Meri." Cat said with a final nod.

[Dakota]

Tasting blood in her mouth, Karensha realised she was biting down hard on her inner cheek to stop herself from screaming out loud at Rondea, from her hiding place. The snow leopards eyes darted left and right trying to see if she could see Meri anywhere, but found she was having no luck. all there was, was him.. with that expression spread all over his face.

She was in two minds, should she stroll out acting all casual and just walk over to where Sefu was, or should she stay hidden behind these bushes, so she could wait and observe. her mind was racing all over the place, all she wanted to do was get across that river and attack, but in doing so she knew without a doubt that her life would be lost straight away. The lions size and strength would take care of that little detail, with just one hit from his massive paw. Sighing and letting her head take over the ruling from her heart, karensha stayed where she was.

She couldn't hear anything from behind her, which meant Figgy and the rest were still making there way, suddenly something came into her mind, making her blink rapidly, as she looked once again to the other side of the river.
If Rondea is over there and it looks like he has been for a while... who was it that got close to me, and got caught in my little trap.

Tilting her slim neck a little, she worked out a kink, then let her purple fur fall back down to rest while she was working on how she could let Sefu know she was here and he wasn't alone, yet not allow anyone else the same perspective. Looking down at her paws, her eyes fell on a couple of small pebbles.
well it looks like they will have to do, and I'd better time it good when I see Rondea move his attention away for a moment, or else who knows what will happen

Karensha stood there, with a few more minutes passing, till she saw her opportunity, his head had turned slightly to look at something to his right. Bringing her front right paw back, she took aim and kicked as hard as she dared, straight towards Sefu's rump, holding her breath as she waited to see what would happen.

[epppe]

Sefu was trying to think of what else he could to do but only came up with what he was already doing, waiting for the others to arrive. He wondered how long it was going to take for the group to get to the area, it would have to be awhile with Figgy. The waiting was boring to Sefu and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep and rested his head on the ground.

Before he could even shut his eyes, Sefu felt a rock suddenly hit him from behind. He looked over to see what would have caused a rock to hit him, but tried to make it look like he was trying to pop his neck. He saw only Karensha barely visible in the bushes doing what she usually does, being a pain in the butt to him. He wondered how far back Figgy and the lioness was considering they should have all been together like Figgy planned. The fact that Karensha was stayed hidden instead made Sefu glad, even if it was pointless since if they decide to attack she will have to cross the river exposing herself. Turning his neck the other way now, he heard a small crack that loosened up his neck a bit.

Looking back at Rondea, Sefu wanted to know why he went after that cub and not the other.
"So Ronda or whatever your name is, What did you do with the cub and why were you after her?"
He hoped that the tall lion would answer the question so Sefu could quit trying to figure out the answers, but also hoped the questions would keep him there and not decide to leave. This would give time for the rest of the group to catch. Once the rest reach him, then maybe they can figure something out and get the cub back.

[cheezeegriff]

Figgy increased his pace at Sanura's whispering about Karensha, though he still wasn't going fast by anyone's standards.

"Now now, be nice, Sanura,"
he whispered.
"I don't give rides to mean little girls you know."

He looked sideways at Cat, then frowned with compassion when the little lioness said she wasn't good at anything else besides making up stories.

"Hah. You should come home to my hunting dog pack! There's nothing they like more than a good story. Old Kizzeshmog is a great storyteller, renown in all the packs across the savanna. He doesn't even need to hunt anymore because people come far and wide, bearing gifts of gazelle and rabbit and boar, just to hear one of his tales of the old days, when hunting dogs were the kings of africa!"
He said quickly, trying not to lose his breath.
"I bet it means you have a good imagination... and a good imagination means you're clever. I bet there's plenty of other things you could do, if you wanted to."
He winked at her.
"When we have Meri back safe and sound, how about I tell you how to set vine traps, and you can tell us all a story or two? If your mum complains I can tell her I asked for the story as payment for dinner, eh? I'm sure she would let you tell a story if it meant her tummy was full!"
Just then they rounded a bend in the trees, and saw the subject of their little chat sprawled over the forest floor. Her eyes were tightly shut, but in the way she fell her teeth were bared, and she looked even more vicious than normal.

NOT EVEN CUTE WHEN SHE SLEEPS.

"Uh-oh..."
Figgy said, coming to a stop. He looked down at Cat, worried for her if her mother was injured - or dead? - but too afraid of the big cat to approach her himself.

[Deleted]

"Now now, be nice, Sanura, I don't give rides to mean little girls you know."

The tiger cub blinked quickly and moved away from his head and pushed herself down further on his hairy back, and slid off, dropping to the ground uncomfortably and rolled onto her side.
Shaking her head, she rose to her paws, and gave her whole body a shake as well, and then slowly trailed after Mr Figgy and the other one.
I don't care,... he can give her a ride now, I'll walk, he's the big fat meany.. not me, I was here first, and then she came barging in with her stupid noisy mother.

As she walked along, Sanura played a little game of seeing how far she could kick small pebbles along in front of her, smirking to herself as she saw alot of them hit Figgy's back legs.

[Dakota]

Karensha stayed hidden where she was, nothing was going to be gained by her showing her face. After kicking the stones in the direction of Sefu, she allowed herself a small smile of satiusfaction when watching the lions face, she knew he had felt them connect wth his rump.
' hmm so he has got some nous afterall, he's not just some lazy sod sleeping away his days, it looks like he has some cunning in that body of his after all'

Moving her body a little getting more comfortable, she daren't lower herself to the ground in case any of the bush she was hiding in shook and gave herself away to Rondea on the other side of the river, so the snow leopard remained sitting, where she could see both of them in her vision.
Karensha was about to look behind her, to see if she could see any sight of Figgy and the cubs, but hearing Sefu say 'Rondea', her eyes widened, and her ears twitched, trying to hear what was being said.

[Kirsui]

"So Ronda or whatever your name is, What did you do with the cub and why were you after her?"

The tall lion chuckled, allowing an amused smile to appear to his face.
"Meri is fine", he told Sefu over the river.
"In fact..."
He gently took a hold of Meri with his other front paw and lifted her on air for Sefu to see. The young lioness did nothing, she simply hung motionless in Rondea's grasp. This didn't worry the older lion, he could still feel and hear her breathing, and so he lowered her to the ground again.

Rondea returned his attention to Sefu at the other side of the river. He was quite sure the other male was playing time, but on the other hand so was he.
"As for why I was after her... Has she not shared her story with your group..?"
This time he did not smile as he spoke. He had a more serious look on his face than he had ever had while he had been with this group.
"On the other hand, I would not be surprised... You see, her mother was from my pride, and so she too is from my pride."
He paused.
"That is a sad story... Her mother became insane, and in her insanity she attacked the cubs of our pride. Meri is the only one left..."

The tall lion's ears twitched and he paused again. A small grin appeared to his muzzle.
"I have found her...", he said quietly so that those on the other side of the river would not hear.
"Come out, and take her home."

After a moment of silence on Rondea's side of the river, a figure moved out of the vegetation behind him and approached him. When it came to light it turned out to be a young, chocolate brown lioness. She held her head lower than Rondea, and her gaze was locked at the ground. She looked sad, even though when she finally saw Meri a slight hint of joy mixed into her sadness. She then glanced at the other side of the river for the first time with her large, blue eyes, and she was startled slightly when she saw Sefu.

Rondea was quick to remind her why he had called her here though, and once he had repeated his order - this time a bit more firmly - the chocolate brown lioness took a hold of Meri by the scruff of her neck and swiftly disappeared back to the vegetation behind Rondea. The tall lion remained where he was though, now with a smirk on his face. He was so curious to see what they would do now that Meri was out of their sight.



((OOC: "temporary" character swap! Meri will not be played for a while, and in her place Suklaa will appear. :3))

[magiccat]

Cat looked back at Sanura and sighed. "Sanura, you can ride on Figgy. He's your friend. I don't want to intrude. I just want to repay your friends for not eating me." She said with a slight smile. "If you want, I'll stay as far away from you as possible. I don't min- MUM!"

The cub stopped in her tracks and stared down at the lioness. Not lying on her side. Her first reaction was fear and worry. However she slowly shook her head. "Um...One of us has to get her up." She offered weakly.

"However, the three of us need to get to Meri." She said. Then Cat fell into silence, she'd let Figgy decide what they did."

[cheezeegriff]

Figgy bit his lip, and looked into the trees anxiously. Karensha was out there alone for all he knew - who could tell if she'd met up with Sefu? - but then he looked down at the injured Kali and Cat's expectant little face....

Great. She's leaving it up to me, isn't she?

YOU'RE THE MOST RESPONSIBLE ADULT AROUND, UNFORTUNATELY.

Figgy groaned, then with a grunt he marched over to Kali, peering down at her as if she might leap up and bite his face at any moment - which she indeed might.

"We need some water... or something. Err..."

I DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, FIGGY.

He rolled his eyes heavenwards. Then what do you suggest?

No answer was forthcoming from the mysterious voice inside his head, so Figgy looked down again at Kali. After making sure Sanura was standing far enough back, he reached out tentatively and shook the large lioness by her muscular shoulder.
"Hey... Mrs Lioness?"
When she groaned, and her eyes began to open, Figgy stood well back.


\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Cat... cat..."
she heard herself saying, but couldn't work out why exactly, or where she was. All she knew was that she had lost her, she had lost her daughter in the forest and she was nowhere to be found. Guilt filled her stomach with bile; she had failed as a mother yet again. What kind of a survivor was she, if she couldn't raise a daughter?
"Oh Cat, oh Soujoy, oh Mettra... I'm so sorry."
Slowly the nightmare began to fade, and replacing it was a splitting pain in her nose and head. She winced, not wanting to wake up but opening her eyes to the forest, and her little daughter standing before her.
"Cat!"
Without a pause for thought she swept her daughter into her paws, placing her nose upon her Cat's neck and kissing her as she hugged her tight.
"Don't run away again. Don't run away. You're alive, you're alive, you're all right,"
she sobbed, her pain forgotten in light of this wonderous joy, and for a moment the outside world retreated again, leaving her alone with her daughter in bliss.

[Deleted]

Sanura was getting unhappier by the minute, she didn't want these new ones coming with them, she just wanted Karensha and Meri back again.

Seeing the other two come to a stop the tiger cub peered around Mr Figgys big hairy fat bottom, to see what was wrong. Tilting her head this way and that, it seemed no matter which way, the lioness looked just the same, strange. Watching as Figgy took the plunge and prodded at her, Sanura wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she wasn't expecting cats mother to jump up and start carrying on all lovey dovey, especially as all she had done so far was be mean and tell off the other cub.

Looking around she saw her chance, quietly she moved around to the left and slipepd past them all, while their eyes were all on each other, and she broke into a run.
I know Karensha is up here somewhere, and so is Sefu... I just know it.

Faster she went not looking where she was going, until at last she heard water running and pushed her way through a bush. Digging her paws in she bought herself to a stop, something wasn't right, all she could see was Sefu lying on the ground staring at something. Sanura followed his gaze, cringing when she saw who was there, it was him, the one who took Meri, her friend away from them all.

[Dakota]

Karensha still stood there silently, she had craned her head as far as she could without actually showing herself and giving away her position, but alas she couldnt catch any of the words being said.
Usually she felt proud of being a small, sleek snow leopard, but now, right now, what would she give to be a larger, stronger feline, one that could make it easily to the other side and rip Rondea's throat out with one swipe from large sharp claws, enough that he would never hurt Meri ever again, and he would disapear off the face of the earth, what pleasure that would be.

From behind her karensha heard the padding of small paws coming faster.
' Blast it has to be Sanura or the other cub, it can't be Figgy, you can hear him a mile off... I have to stop whoever it is, they can't run out there for Rondea to see'.
Trying as best as she could, the snow leopard dug her lcaws into the ground and pushed herself back, and rolled back on the ground, just as she saw orange and black stripes start to run past her. Throwing out a paw, she tried to reach the cub, but missed by a fraction, and then saw her come to halt just as sudden. Inching forward on her stomach towards her, she reached Sanura just as she saw a tremor go up the cubs spine and heard a little gasp. Scared she was going to shout out, Karensha reached for the cubs head, placing her paw over the opened mouth and at the same time whisper by her ear.
"Sanura, its only me Karensha, don't move, don't do anything that might let Rondea see both of us, now slowly lets move back."

Relaxing a little, she still kept her eyes on the lion over on the other side of the river, he wasn't to be be trusted at all, he was now the enemy.
She was about to make another shuffle backwards when her eyes opened wide in surprise, a young lioness had stepped out of the shadows and it looked like Rondea was giving her orders, but for what.Puzzled now, Karensha stared harder than ever waiting to see what was going to happen, when the brown lioness bent down into the grass as if picking something up. When she stepped back, Meri was plain to see to them all, she was being held by the scruff of her neck and the lioness retreated the way she had come.

Karensha pulled Sanura in close to her chest and just held her while a soft mewing escaped from her muzzle, her heart was in pain, how could they get her back with their mottley crew, while it seemed Rondea had a pride at his beck and call.

[epppe]

Sefu was glad to see that the cub was fine for now, or atleast alive. Hearing how Meri was from the same pride as Rondea was something unexpected to him, but he didn't care. All he knew was that the cub belonged with Karensha, Figgy and Sanura. Seeing another lioness appear from the bushes behind Rondea and take Meri made Sefu irritated since it took awhile to chase the tall lion down, now he has to go after her to.

Sefu suddenly heard something come running through the bushes behind. He knew it couldn't be Figgy since the would have been more noise. Not wanting to draw attention to what was behind, Sefu continued to watch the lion on the other side of the lion.

Lowering his head to let out a sigh, Sefu lifted his head back up to see Rondea still smiling. He couldn't wait to wipe the smile off his face, but for now all he could was still wait like he's been doing.
"I just get done chasing after you, now I have to chase someone else too. You're not going to make this easy are you?"
The lion said with a sarcastic friendly tone in his voice. He was curious as to why Rondea was waiting by the river still. Was there a purpose or was he just there to gloat over what he did.
"Why is the cub so special that you have to chase after her for awhile? Couldn't you have just made more cubs, or did all lionesses find you that repulsive in your pride."
Sefu wanted to see if he could make Rondea angry, atleast enough to make him do something regrettable.

[Deleted]

Sanura stared across the river it's him, it's him, he took Meri. She could feel her heart thudding away in her chest, she started to tremble and could feel her eyes start to sting and water.
what do I do, where is everyone, why is Sefu just lying there, why doesn't he go and bring Meri back, why?

Just as she was about to give a roar, she felt something come across her mouth and pull her backwards, all there was from her muzzle was a small gurgle. She couldn't move she was being held tight and whoever it was, was soft and warm. Opening one eye slowly all she could see was white skin and purple fur floating around.
"KARENSHA"

[cheezeegriff]

It took a moment - a moment spent in bliss, her world retreated to nothing but her and her daughter - but after that moment had passed, the happy little place collapsed as the weight of the world beared down with an,

"Ahem."

Kali almost felt her heart turn hard as stone again, and she raised her head to see the fat lion flinch backwards. He said,

"I... err... I'm thinking we should probably get going, seeing as we're meant to saving Meri and all. Not that I want to disturb this wonderful display of family affection! You know we hunting dogs never thought lions loved their kids as much as we-"

Kali frowned. The fat lion's big stupid grin, on either side of his big stupid nose was annoying her to no end. She snapped,
"Shut your face, furry blob,"
and the fat lion took a step backwards as Kali rose to her feet with a groan.
"My head hurts,"
she said as she pushed Cat away gently.
"What happened?"

"I don't know,"
the fat lion said.
"We were just walking through the forest, following you and Karensha when..."
he looked around, something akin to panic registering in his eyes.
"Sanura!"
he squealed, spinning around completely before putting his nose to the ground and bolting into the bush.

Kali hissed. She looked down at her daughter, and smirked.
"Come. Let's see what trouble this travelling circus of yours will find next."