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Things had been well in the prides lands, if one didn't look to the skies or tried to ignore the broken earth nearby. Ska chose to think of the food in their bellies, and the comfort home provided. His place as Consort to the Queen afforded him the luxury of being oblivious, even if by choice. Still the back of his mind scratched away at his feigned ignorance.. and did so even more now that he had come to suspect some things about his Queen.

Had life been so well that she gained some weight, had he too? Ska hadn't been around a pregnant lioness and so he couldn't be sure of the signs. Rumors hadn't started up, but Ashiki had done well to stay out of sight recently. He felt unsure about the whole situation, but when a bird approached with a summons he assumed he might be enlightened soon.

Dropping what he had been doing, which hadn't been much, he didn't hesitate to make his way to the Queens side. The scene was beautiful, every bit as beautiful as the lioness that had graced it with her presence. It was also ideal for private chatting.

"My Queen."

He aproached slowly and gave a slow bow, lowering himself as much as he could manage. "You look beautiful." He remarked, a charming smile pulling at his lips. Ska took the moment to glance over her and his eyes eventually settled on her growing belly before returning to her eyes. He spoke nothing, choosing to wait and see what this might be about. Raising from the bow he slid smoothly into a seated position.

The smile he wore was one solely for her. These moments shared between him and his Queen were fleeting at times and so he grew to value every second of their private time together. Though it hadn't been love at first sight.. it had certainly grown into something unique all it's own. Ska would wholy admit to loving his Queen, he was certainly one of the most devoted. "Only with you." He finally remarked on her comment, it was true, since joining the pride his eyes had never wandered - nor would they, if he had his way.

He sensed the hesitation and grew worried, but that worry was brief as he watched the cogs turn. His youth hindered him as he waited, almost impatiently, for the reason she had called him here. Most certainly to do with..

"So it's true." His smile grew until it spread from nearly ear to ear. "Katiti is sure? What am I saying, of course she is." He shook a small amount beneath his pelt, more like vibrating. Excitement rolled through him and he did everything in his power to stay put and not leap at the lioness.

"I am." Or at least as ready as he would be. Ska absent mindedly raised his head in pride. "I am definitely ready." He didn't allow himself a moment to think about it or he would be reminded that his first time raising a litter.. would be in the eyes of an entire pride. Fortunately he would have Ashiki, their Mother would know how to handle the pressure that came with that.

"Are you ready to be a Mother again?" His smile shrunk, but not for having lost excitement, more so to loving gaze. His tail smacked the ground behind him lightly as he considered their suddenly crowded future.

Oblivious to the snake that crawled her way inside of the pride's borders, Ashiki basked in the attention from her mate. For the first time in a very long time she felt like a young lioness, as she had only before there was a crown thrust upon her head and a lifetime of responsibility she had never expected, and though she knew it was fleeting, she still wanted to relish it for just a few moments.

"Yes and no," she said with a smile on her lips, "I don't think any mother is prepared for what they are going to face but this time should be easier. I am here, home, and safe with my pride. And you."

The Queen pushed herself up easily to her feet and leveled a playful gaze on his tawny face - she was still small enough to hold grace close to herself. Soon, she knew, even standing was going to be an unpleasant chore. For now she just wanted to remember their little bubble of peace and pride and the look in his eyes as he let the news settle over him at last. As she stepped forward to him a little laugh bubbled in her throat, lost only as she buried her face into his dark mane and leaned her weight into him affectionately.

"I should face the pride before they begin to worry though," her words were barely a whisper, scarcely loud enough to be heard over his muffling neck fur, "I'm sure whispers will start soon if I keep hiding."

They were both equally oblivious, the moment was too perfect.

"That's fair." He mused to himself about the possible hurdles they might have to overcome. Especially she, as the mother, just recovering from birth would be a struggle some weren't meant to come through. Horror stories started to bubble up into the back of his mind.

He shoved them aside, nothing would happen.

They were easier to forget when she laughed.. the beautiful sound took over every other surrounding him. Ska found himself momentarily forgetting they were out in the public still, perhaps away from public eye, but certainly not protected by their den. His guard fell slightly as he witnessed his mate, his Queen, stand before him and approach him to press her head into his mane. These moments were so few and far between, not that she wasn't affectionate... there were just so many things to do. Feeling her weight pressed against him he sighed.

His head rested against hers now, his eyes facing the bushes at the border of their clearing. What was that.. Another rustle had his heart beating wildly in his chest and her words were lost on him.

Something was in the bushes.

There was no time to react before a blur of green was freed from the debris those bushes held and a swing of familiar braids leaped and fell with the motions. The Stormborn are here. Fear settled in his gut - they usually only came through to do one thing.. pillaging, murder, and more. His Queen, still pressed to him, was his priority and that became even more apparent when the green lion - Ull - launched himself.

The Queen could not have said what warned her first that something was amiss - was it the stiffness in Ska's form or the flutter of motion at the corner of her eye? By the time the battlecry bellowed from Ull's chest, she was already turning. Her eyes landed upon the intruder's body as the male took form and sprung at her, soaring through the air in a slow motion collide that had her gut rolling in fear. She was a warrior Queen, all claws and bite, but even she knew that she did not have enough youth or power on her side to prevent his blow from landing. So, instead, she did the only thing that she could in that moment: she turned away to protect her belly.

Searing pain stung at her shoulder and raked down her chest as his weight collided into hers. It made her legs threaten to buckle and a pained roar rip from her throat, raw and unrestrained as her thoughts turned to mush beneath the claws and teeth that flayed her fur. In wild desperation she kicked out and away, trying to both propel herself behind Ska and land any form of blow that might at least knock the wind from her assailant.

At her feet she could see the red spatters in the sand, the dripping blood that poured in rivulets down her fur, but she could not stop to fear for herself yet. Away, she just need to get.. away..

The scene seemed to freeze before his very eyes as a few things happened in succession. From the bushes tore not one, but two individuals and from their side Delphi.

It wasn't until the curtling sound from his Queen that he realized the full impact of what was going on, but fortunately for him, his body seemed to recognize the signs far sooner. The young Ska would have been frozen with fear, but now he was older and about to become a father. His pride was in peril, he had to act.

Acting wasn't something he ended up having to do as the situation fell into his lap. He witnessed the attack on the Queen in what was almost like slow motion, a slow motion that couldn't be interrupted - he just wasn't quick enough. Ashiki, for her part, reacted beautifully to the flurry of claws and teeth at her throat. Ska couldn't very well push the Queen to the ground, no, it would negate the amount of effort she put in to swinging her belly behind him.

Blood.. how much is too much..

Olive green eyes looked to the ground surrounding his paws, blood pooled between his toes and stained his unsheathed claws. The blood of his Queen, the blood of his mate. His question was posed silently and he felt a sudden rush of emotions he didn't know even existed in a single being. Perhaps they were what made up a father.

Rage seared through him like a fire, hot and burning, even his flesh tingled, fur standing on end as he let loose a roar to deafen the amount of anger he felt. This roar was likely to be heard by most of those nearby in the pride. His immediate anguish of the situation laced in each undertone, mixed with a need to have his Queen survive. There was no time for words as he used his body wait to support the Queen's move to get behind him. His body suddenly became the point of attack and his flesh took the brunt of the next assault.

Ull felt his claws sink into the flesh of his enemy with the grace of his first kill during a hunt in his youth. The sigh of claws connecting and splitting apart that flesh was enough to sate any lions urges, Ull included. He kept at it for as long as he could and even had the chance to taste the coppery blood, even if his teeth never saw the chance to sink in. With how fast everything had happened he wasn't even sure of what damage he had inflicted, but the moment passed quickly it seemed and though he felt the change of flesh, all he saw was red.

His momentum was lost and his footing was spotty, what was this terrain. Suddenly time slowed and his drive was halted briefly as though he'd hit a wall - which essentially he had. In the sudden freeze frame he hoisted himself up and back away from the pair he had intended to not just harm, kill.

"That Outlands b***h is carrying your cubs." Finally finding his footing and making sense of what had just happened. The Queen had sacrificed her throat for what she carried in her expanded gut. "Ha! Lucky for you, you found someone just as vile as yourself to produce vermin with." Ull was talking out his a** while he spoke - he didn't know the Queen by any means, but saw the way the words struck Ska who still stood looking proud and protective of that filth.

Ska felt the words, more than hearing them. The assault on his body had been minimal in comparison to his Queen. The flesh of his puffed out chest was torn, but not damaged beyond healing. He knew that, and knew that the fight wasn't near over - The Stormborn would be here soon. He wasn't a fool to think only the Outlands would be listening, but he wasn't aware of who else might be out there either..

"You just don't know a true treasure when you see one. Did they only send the scum of the Stormborn on this particular viking?" He raised his head and beamed proudly. This was his home, whether he was born in the Stormborn or not - now was his chance to prove that above all else. Ull didn't react right away, but chose to stay low to the ground while he recovered from his initial attack. If he was going to be called scum, then why fight with even an ounce of honor? When his legs were prepared, even if they fully weren't, he launched himself again - this time right for Ska.

In silence Ska launched himself as well, not daring to bring the fight back to his Queen. Fear sparked instantly as he left her side, what if there were other attackers. He was already set into motion though..

Delphi.

The name of the lioness that had joined them rang through again. Ska wasn't alone in this fight. He had others from the pride and so he didn't slow himself at all. The two connected in a flurry of claws, and jaws. The grinding of teeth coming into contact as they fought was evident, but faded quickly in favor of growling and half committed to roars. The ferocity didn't seem to fail on either side. Ska finally was able to remove his paw from the fight enough to get in a firm smack to his opponents head. A sense of satisfaction flooded him as he felt the tear of flesh in his attempt to harm the lion.

Ull shoved against his attacker and roared his sudden pain to the world as he slammed to his rump and was temporarily blinded by a sudden rush of blood. "You ripped my damned ear off!" He let loose another guttural sound and was up again to begin the assault over.

As Ska left her to beat back the attacker, Ashiki felt her legs weakening beneath her and did her best to fall as gently as she could in a heap atop the red stone and clay. Dimly, she was aware of the scent of her own blood and the streak of white hot pain that pulsed from her torn shoulder to just beneath her ear. How deep was it? How much damage? She felt sick and her ears were ringing.

Beneath her the blood was pooling and as she lay there, sticky with the residue, she realized that she needed it to stop if she had any hope of surviving this. Dimly, she recalled something her daughter had once told her and, with a grimace and the last ounce of energy she had left, she pressed her paw into the red-stained clay and scooped it up. It was pliant this close to a water source, her blood aside, and as the clash of claws rang above and behind her she lathered it over top of the stinging wound in sloppy desperation.

Would it save her? Would anything this far from home?


Unfortunately for Calypso, Delphi was not so hot blooded as her half sister or her father, and the words that fell from her jowls did little more than make her want to laugh - or spit in her face, perhaps.

"You're desperate," she hissed, tinging it with amusement just to taunt her further, and hoped that it made the black b***h come unhinged. A wild lion might be more viscous but they were also more sloppy; Delphi knew enough by now between her father and uncle, from her teacher, to know that she could stay calculated even in the heat and panic of this moment.

By the time the traitorous wretch launched at the apprentice she was ready and rose onto her hind legs to meet the crash of her body. She put her weight onto her good leg and absorbed the impact with knowing, using the opportunity to swipe at Calypso's exposed underbelly. There was a sting of claws as Calypso connected with her dark pelt but even they were distant beneath her own fury; her jowls snapped at her sister's face, aiming for anything squishy and weak that she could dig her anger into.


Overhead, unseen, a black figure was barreling through the air; there was not much a raven could do to interfere with a fight but he cried, loud and bellowing, as he beat his wings as fast as they would carry him. Again and again and again he sounded his alarm until at last, in the distance, he heard an answer - beyond it, more faintly, another. The flock was rousing, Katiti would know, the pride would come.

Content with the response, he rose high and dove back in the direction he had come, frantically calling to a group of red lions that crested a nearby dune on his trail.

"The Queen, the queen has fallen, the queen.." He rose high again and circled back, crying as he drew all the attention upon himself and, ultimately, in the direction of the battle.

From the viewpoint of the dune the scene was a mess - without knowing which lions belonged where it was nigh impossible to tell who was who. Only one thing was certain: a pregnant lioness, presumably this queen, had collapsed. A male drew his breath and barreled a roar that ricocheted between the redstone cliffs - it rang true with its warning before he was diving forward like a bullet, not for a moment doubting the rest of the red lions would keep up with his charge (if they did not surpass him before).

Reinforcements, however unlikely, had arrived.

Would it be enough?