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 Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:39 pm
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"You look the most like Mother from a distance." Kestven's words were blunt, his voice even. Being the bait for an ambush wasn't an enviable task, but it was a necessary one. They needed to be able to isolate this male and control the fallout if he was truly the one that made Sedare and Eione so uneasy. Not for the first time, he wished he'd been the one to find the group first. Being able to read them before Jani led them here would have been extremely helpful. As it was, he would prepare for the worst and assume they had nothing but ill intent.
---
"He's right. You're the most likely to fool him, at least for a minute." Arantza, on the other hand, would not have fooled anyone at all. For all that her coloring marked her as being of Mittere's blood, her sire's unsettling eyes and darker, more extensive pink coloring made her far too different to play at being Mother. She couldn't resist needling, though. "Are you saying you don't think you can handle them?"
mouselet I'll edit Kestven's cert in once I get it, lol. |
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:21 pm
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Aella snorted a laugh at the idea that Sedare could fool anybody into thinking she was mother, but they all had to admit she was the best they got.. at least she had the right body shape and basic markings. Arantza's eyes were a giveaway and Aella herself was too white..
"Of course we can," she answered Arantza's question even though it wasn't directed to her, "It'd be nice if we'd found one of the boys, though -- No offense, Kestven. You're tall but not exactly bulky.."
Kestven being a hybrid wasn't entirely obvious unless you knew what to look for, cheetahs weren't that much smaller than lions but they were built differently. She suspected physical intimidation would be a factor here, which is where they might be lacking if these lions were really something to worry about like this.. for skill, though, they had the Master Warrior. They would be fine. |
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:41 pm
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Grumbling at how she was overruled, Sedare finally acquiesced and stomped into the depths of the den. The shadows would almost certainly help, the lioness mused as she arranged herself in a pose she'd seen so many times in her life. It was almost like being a cub again - pretending to be like Mother.
A lump formed in the lioness' throat at the thought. Instead of pretend, she was playing this for real in a deadly game of deception. Sure, she had faith in her siblings, but they were out there and she was in here. Alone. Pretending to be like Mother.
Oh Goddess, she couldn't afford to cry. Not now.
"And this deep into the pride are two kinds of dens," Jani was saying, a bit more loudly than necessary, in order to warn her siblings of their guests' approach. Hopefully they'd be out of sight before it became a problem. "The first sort," the green lioness continued, "are for those who are so ill that even the normal motions of life have become difficult or even impossible. The second set are those of high-ranking pridemembers." Jani forbore to mention that Mittere had fit into both categories. She didn't trust Facio at all and refused to give him more information than she had to. Even so, she'd had to play tour guide in order to warn her siblings of their approach.
"Now this," the lioness said as she stepped into the clearing before the den, thankfully empty, "is my parents' den." Before everyone could rush the entrance, Jani held out a paw. "It's not very big inside, at least not when you have more than two adults." She thought about ordering, or even just advising, that Facio enter alone, but she didn't want to give things away. Not just yet.
Well, Mors could understand why the den was so deep in the pride if Mittere was ill. He wondered idly about Jani's birth mother. The way his cousin had spoken, it sounded like the other lioness was dead. It did happen, probably more often than not in this pride. Which then explained the den being here. Jani's mother had been ill then - whenever that was - and now Mittere was ill. But the den, which was apparently small, definitely did not look like a good place to raise seventeen children.
Mors hung back, not wanting to get between Facio and Mittere. He wasn't certain what would happen, but he could feel the storm waiting to unfold.
Facio had taken a couple steps towards the den when Jani stopped him with a gesture, warning about the close confines. He nodded sharply and glanced over his shoulder at his offspring.
"Wait here." There was no room for argument in his tone or his voice. This was what he had waited so many years for, and no one, not a single idiot child, was going to stand in his way.
The pink lion headed into the den.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sedare had been powdering her white fur with dust and dirt to better conceal its color when she heard the voices outside. Jani she knew well, of course. But then another voice, a stranger male's was heard.
"Wait here."
She knew that voice. She had never heard it before in her life, but the young lioness knew it, knew it belonged to the lion she'd seen in her dream. Her nightmare.
He was coming and he meant to kill her.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:09 pm
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A faint sour twist of the mouth was Kestven's only reaction to Aella's comment on his lack of bulk. As far as cheetons went, he was large, but he knew well enough that he would never out-size a male lion of even average bulk. He'd been trained to use other strengths.
"Places." He settled into concealment with almost unnatural stillness, alert for any indication that it was time to spring the trap. As they arrived, he frowned ever so slightly. Five, including the older male that led them. It was tempting to wonder about them, but he shoved that aside for now in favor of considering strategy. His curiosity took a distant second place to protecting his family.
---
Arantza snorted at the idea of finding one of the other boys, but refrained from comment. It was time to set the trap, and as they took their places the black-eyed lioness was struck by a terrible sense of foreboding. As capable as she knew all of her sisters were, she actually found herself worried for Sedare. Something was about to happen, and it didn't feel like anything good. From her concealment, her brow furrowed at the sight of the group approaching. There were striking similarities in marking and color to both her mother and her siblings. Just what, exactly, was going on here?
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:17 am
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Aella fell silent when Kestven ordered them to their places and Jani arrived with the strangers. She raised a brow and glanced to her siblings and back when the group arrived. Three of the five lions led by Jani were clearly relatives, the other two were just the wrong colors..
The eldest looked so much younger than mother, by virtue of his good health, that she was having trouble sorting it all out. Hearing his voice, looking at the purposeful way he walked.. she immediately worried for Sedare's safety. Should they have left her in there alone? She looked the most like mother but was the best fighter?
She held her breath, waiting for the signal.
Tisiphone was at war with herself while the group got their 'tour' of the Kitwana'antara. She stuck close to Alekto, her twin being the only one she could convince herself to feel close to even though she felt such a distance from them all at that moment. When they arrived at the den, she too hung back -- but she was distracted, looking around them. Something wasn't right.. either she was being paranoid or everybody else was being careless, too focused on what was happening before them. Facio was so close to .. whatever this was, of course he wasn't paying attention..
But while he headed into the den to face his sister, the others were left outside.
"Alekto," she murmured, stepping forward and trying to warn them without giving much away, "Mors.."
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:27 am
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The lion was tempted to take his time in approaching, to savor this moment at long last. It was fate, really, that saw his sister ill at this time. He recalled each and every humiliating defeat that she had not even deigned to grant proper gravity to. Now, she would finally know defeat.
"Sister, it's good to see you," Facio sang out as he paced deeper into the den. Now he could see a pile of pink fur curled up on the ground, resolving itself into a lioness who stared at him with those same challenging blue eyes-
But this was not Mittere!
The lion stood, momentarily aghast at the stranger before him. Kin, surely, in blood unlike Jani, but far too young, too unscarred, and with white fur beneath that dust!
This was too much. He wasn't going to lose, not after all these years.
"WHERE IS SHE!?" he roared, advancing on the lioness with claws outstretched, no longer caring about concealing his true intentions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was just as well that the stranger had frozen, for Sedare had done the same on first sight of him in person. It was, as she had known, the lion she had seen while sleeping. Older, yes, but the same male, and every bit as dangerous as she had dreamt him. Though the Warrior didn't like to admit it, she was scared of him.
Then the spell was broken by his roar and a clawed paw was descending towards her. Sedare didn't even have to think, for hadn't Mother trained her in just such a scenario? The lioness surged to her feet, dodging the blow as it fell and lunging for her enemy's throat with a roar of her own that just happened to leave her mouth open that she might fasten on to his jugular.
Regardless of what anyone else might see or know, Sedare knew that this lion had come to kill her Mother. Her Mittere. And she wasn't about to let him have any satisfaction for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mors was fidgeting as he watching his father disappear into the darkness of the den. He looked around at Jani, at his sisters, at Jani again, at the brush around the den that maybe was moving in more than the wind, maybe not, who knew? He didn't know what to expect, but something was going to happen.
The lion's head whipped around at the sound of Facio's roar from within the cave. The words "where is she" were barely intelligible, but Mors could make them out and his blue eyes widened as he turned to Jani. Before he could even ask her if it was a trap, a second roar echoed from within, distinctly female.
Was...was he supposed to attack? His cousin? The lion wasn't at all sure how he thought about that, but it seemed kind of wrong.
"What...what's happening?" he asked Jani.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The green lioness was tense as she waited with the cousins while Facio went to (unknowingly) confront Sedare. They all seemed to know something was up, even if no one lion had the full story of what was going on. Then she heard the roar from within.
"Now!" Jani cried to her siblings as she lowered her head and rammed it into Mors, knocking him to the ground. The poor boy seemed so bewildered, and less likely to attack, that she opted to get him out of the way instead of trying to disable him. She didn't know if he'd stay down - or peaceful - but she wanted to try. Since none of the girls had spoken or otherwise indicated they had hearts within them, she was willing to take a chance on Mors.
Once he was down, Jani gazed into the eyes so similar to her own and answered his question.
"Mother is dead."
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:21 pm
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Alekto had only grown more and more uneasy as they got further into the Kitwana'antara's borders. She'd kept her mask on, she'd kept quiet, but deep inside she was beginning to wonder if this was a suicide mission...and if Facio even cared anymore. He'd grown intent in a way she'd never known before, with...dare she say it...blind focus. A large family to outnumber them, the very real risk of a deadly disease should they be wounded, and none of it even gave their father pause. All of it to reach his sister. All of it...into a potential trap. A trap their father likely expected them to somehow hold off long enough to do what he intended. She stepped closer to Tisiphone, trying to catch her siblings' eyes in a silent "are we doing this?"
The moments stretched by interminably as Facio disappeared into the den. And then she heard an enraged roar, then another, and time snapped back into place. Alekto flattened her ears, snarling as she dropped into a defensive pose. Noting that Mors was already on the ground, she had to wonder if they stood any sort of chance at all.
---
"Now!" Kestven yowled, echoing Jani by mere moments as he leapt out of hiding. The leader was violent now, but the rest seemed to be hesitating. He wouldn't waste the time that offered them. "Detain them if they surrender, disable them if they fight!" he ordered, short clipped words coming in staccato bursts. Confident his siblings could carry that out, he darted into the den to provide Sedare with reinforcement.
---
There it was. While there had been some doubt as to the older male's intent, it all fell into place with a chilling certainty now. He'd meant to kill Mother, and he'd led an entire group here, right into pride lands, to do it. The b*****d!
Arantza growled as she sprang forth, tail lashing as she stalked towards the strangers. "You heard him. You've got a choice to make; you'd better make it fast. Because nobody is letting you leave if you tangle with us and get plagued." She used her unsettling eyes to full effect now, staring near-unblinking at each of them. Her claws flexed as she sized them up, choosing her targets should they decide to do this the hard way. |
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:08 am
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Adding to the sudden roars and shouted command was unintelligible cursing from Tisiphone when her warning went unheeded. She knew it, she knew they were being ambushed and nobody would listen.. when it came to her father, she knew heroics would be wasted on him so she was already building up to run away when suddenly more bodies came rushing out at them. Before she could turn, though, Jani struck Mors to the ground-- and he just let it happen.
Before Kestven could disappear into the den or Arantza could give a chance to surrender, Tisiphone was lunging for Jani, if only to give Mors a chance to get back on his feet.
Aella's attention was split between Sedare and the group Jani faced alone. When Jani and Kestven gave their signals, she jumped out of hiding and straight into action. She spotted what Tisiphone was preparing to do while everybody else was, apparently, distracted by the surprise and chit-chatting about what was going on. A quick glance to Kestven confirmed he was going to aid Sedare, so Aella kept her attention outside.
She met Tisiphone in the air, knocking her away from Jani and immediately getting tangled up with a very angry cousin. Aella was fiercely protective of her family, but the only one of this group who actually looked ready to kill was Facio. Even in the chaos, Aella had the sense to keep her claws sheathed and to shove a paw directly into her opponents face so her teeth couldn't get a hold of her. She knew she was not immune, despite her history suggesting otherwise. She just knew.
If either of them bled, she'd have to commit to killing this one.
Tisiphone yelped when Aella appeared out of nowhere and knocked her off course. All fear of being infected was immediately overridden by the instinct to survive. Her claws were out and her fangs were ready.. but a giant white paw to the face stifled her. Struggling against it, trying to fight back, she didn't even notice the steps Aella was taking to minimize the risk of infection.
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:55 pm
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Facio, if he was being honest with himself, wasn't anywhere near as skilled in combat as Mittere. His sister was a paragon of fighting skill, the only reason he had never been able to defeat her. He didn't look for that level of ability in anyone else.
Which was why, although he managed to dodge enough to stay alive, he could feel the young lioness' teeth graze his throat as they snapped together. The lion aimed another blow with his claws, but was distracted by the sound of footfalls behind him. A glance over his shoulder revealed blue, and Facio knew he was about to be flanked. Increasily eager to get out of this trap of a den, he lashed out at the lioness, hoping to dispose of one threat before she was reinforced.
"Where is she!?" he demanded again, voice beginning to rise in panic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sedare cursed mentally as the lion kept his throat out of her teeth by the smallest of margins. If only he'd been less fast, she could've ended this here and now. However, it seemed the precision she'd trained for might save her life and even win her the day. The male was really just flailing at her. With his claws, yes, but there wasn't any thought being put into placement or power. Which meant the Warrior was free to evade and block with a minimum of effort.
She could scent Kestven coming closer, which was good. The pink lion did outweigh her and he wasn't at all helpless. Let Mittere be remembered for taking on any and all opponents one-on-one; Sedare wasn't so proud that she would risk death and maiming if she didn't have to.
"She's dead, you idiot!" the lioness growled as she retailiated with her own claws. Streaks of red appeared on the invader's forelegs, chest, and cheek as Sedare hit her marks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mors was on the ground, staring at the chaos above him. Lions had appeared out of nowhere, ambushing himself and his sisters. One of them - not a lion actually - barked orders that didn't include the word "kill" and then one of the obvious cousins made her own threat, emphasizing the disease that everyone had been so careful to warn them about.
He saw Tisiphone moving to protect him, but she was knocked out of the air by a mostly white lioness with pink markings. Jani seemed to be watching the rest of the group at the moment, her blue gaze flitting from person to person and not at all resting on him.
Then Mors finally thought about what she'd said as she knocked him down.
Mittere was dead.
The lioness they'd been hunting was gone. Had been gone the entire time he'd been here. Had she even been alive on his last trip to this place? He had no way of knowing. He wasn't sure it even mattered anymore.
The male looked at the den entrance that his father had disappeared into. There were sounds of combat coming from within, meaning that someone had been lying in wait to trap Facio. But his father was tough, and Mors was reasonably certain he'd return.
But...what would happen now? If Mittere was dead, what would they do? It was obvious at this point that Facio had wanted to kill the lioness, although Mors had no idea why. He couldn't even be certain that these were really his cousins, that Mittere had been his aunt.
The lion remained on the ground, paralyzed by indecision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jani looked at her family and saw knots of fighting all over. The only peaceful place was the middle of the clearing where she stood over Mors, who was blinked dazedly. She clearly hadn't killed him, or drawn blood, which was all she really cared about for now. If blood was drawn, they'd either have to kill the invaders or somehow figure out how to live with them.
Glancing around again, she saw one of the purple lionesses extending her claws towards Aella. With one last look at Mors - still safely on the ground, the green lioness ran towards her younger sister, head down to ram her cousin.
Tisiphone might not appreciate that Aella's claws stayed in their sheaths, but Jani knew exactly what she was doing.
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 6:08 am
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:31 pm
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Keeping her face away from Tisiphone gave Aella an advantage in their fight, she saw Jani coming. She made one quick motion, using the paw in her opponent's face as well as the momentum of the fight against her to make sure it was the purple lioness who would be struck by green. Jani was no warrior but with a little help, she would certainly strike her target.
Aella felt claws digging into her belly as Tisiphone struggled to push her away and take control, and she let go at the last second. She would sacrifice control for some hope of not having to kill or keep any of these damned relatives because of her.
Tisiphone was snarling and snapping but there was nothing she could get her head to do. Every twist and turn she made, Aella's paw came with her and at no point was there any chance to lash out and bite it. She was losing track of her original purpose, forgot that Mors was stupidly sitting there, frozen.. her focus on him distracted her when a blur of green moved in her periphery, because there was a sudden blur of pink on the other side.
She didn't get a chance to react to either, though, as Aella somehow used her momentum against her and practically threw her in the way of Jani. Aella let go of her as Jani struck, leaving Tisiphone heaving on the ground, the wind knocked out of her.
Together, both lionesses struggled back to their feet. Aella was in better shaped and stood ready to act if the fight was to continue, her ears turned back to listen to Alekto and Arantza's struggle behind them. Tisiphone got to her feet quickly but immediately swayed. She could fight, but she couldn't win.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 6:01 pm
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Facio roared in pain as he was attacked by the youngsters who flanked him, blindly lashing out in every direction, sometimes blunting his claws against the stone walls, other times connecting with fur, less commonly with flesh, and mostly just shredding the air around him. His mind was elsewhere though, on the lioness' words.
"She's dead."
It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. Mittere had been felled...and not by him! Her life had been his, his alone to take! Just as he had taken those of their siblings! What kind of unjust god had permitted this blasphemy!?
He roared again, the sound filled with his anger and frustration, before charging directly at the lioness who wasn't, could never be Mittere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If she'd had the breath for it, Sedare would've thanked Kestven for his aid in distracting and wounding the lion between them. As it was, she was hard-pressed to fend off his increasingly wild attacks. Blood was everywhere: claws, fur, flesh, floor, even the walls and ceiling of the den. Then, through the spatters on her face, the lioness saw what might be her worst nightmare.
The pink lion was coming straight at her!
Almost instinctively, Sedare acted as her mother had taught her to. She moved off of his center line. As he began to pass her, she got her shoulder beneath him to flip him over onto his back. And then the finishing stroke--!
The Warrior realized, a fraction of a second too late, that she hadn't held back the way she had in training. Her claws were deep in the stranger's throat, and from the copious amounts of blood now splashing over her and all around the den she knew it was over.
He was dead.
At her claws.
Sedare stood and stared, forepaw still thrust into the ruin of his neck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mors slowly got to his feet, watching the battle around him. He could see that the cousins weren't using their claws, that they were batting and ramming his sisters around, but not drawing any blood. They were holding back. The lion couldn't pretend to understand their motivations, at least not without time to sit down and ponder them, but it was clear that if they fought at their best, he and his sisters would never leave here alive.
He was trying to figure out a way to share the revelation when his father's roar sounded from within the cave again. But, horribly and suddenly, the sound was cut off.
Mors took a couple tentative steps towards the den, hoping to not be attacked as he moved.
"Dad?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jani had sprawled over the purple lioness. Well, she wasn't a Warrior, she wasn't supposed to be involved in fights like this. The green female hastily worked to regain her feet, as did the cousin. The Huntress started to shake her head to clear it, but quickly thought better of the idea as it started a small, but unpleasant chain reaction within.
She surveyed the lioness she'd tackled. Good, it looked like her opponent was less steady on her feet. Not that Jani felt too great. Her head still seemed to be ringing in the silence...
...silence?
Jani stopped swaying by force of will and made herself stand still to listen and to look. The sounds of fighting within the den had stopped. Mors stood near the entrance now, and she heard his softly-spoken query. Then she turned her attention to the boy's sisters, wondering what they would do with this development.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 10:00 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 11:58 am
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Standing there, surrounded by cousins she never knew she had, living through the end of a conflict that was older than she was, Aella had never heard a silence so loud. And despite the deafening quiet, she still heard the faint sound of Kestven's voice.
Are you OK?
She opened her mouth to call out but she wasn't in charge, her job was keeping things out here under control and she was doing that. Kestven was clearly fine, he was still in charge.
Tisiphone froze in a tense position, keeping her head low as she caught her breath and the world stopped spinning. Everything had stopped. She heard Mors' voice and nothing else. She looked over to watch him approaching the den, wishing her voice would cooperate in telling him off for trying anything stupid.. but nothing came out.
There was absolutely no way Facio could be silenced and living. He had led them here for.. a fight. And now he was dead, so they all were.
She lifted her head, shifting her weight ever so slightly, wondering if she could make a run for it now. Tisiphone was ready to abandon everything at that very moment.
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