Mkhai sat in the dark, rain pelting him from all directions. The wind was tumultuous, but it always seemed to be here. It was as if these lands could not be tamed, and yet the Myrsky Syntynyt thrived here. The weather seemed to harden the lions here. He had witnessed many out and about despite the terrible turn in the weather. Mkhai himself would have seeked out shelter if the dark skies and rain flurries did not help him to think. It blocked out all unneccesary noise, allowed him to concentrate on the task at hand.

He had arrived at a decision on how to leave a mark on this pride, but now he was at a crossroads on how to approach the subject. The Warlord's daughter seemed approachable, and he could probably sway her with charm and the promise of strength alone. She was an interesting creature by her own right, but Makuu was yet untested. The daughter was young, her strength in her bloodline true and unchallenged. She was a suitable choice based on that alone, but he wanted to see all that she was. If he chose her, she had to be capable of raising his cubs to be the best warriors, fine tuned to a cause and purpose that Mkhai helped to choose for them.

Raising his cubs would be no easy task, and it was cubs he wanted now. Mkhai had no outward desire to be a father, but he knew it was the best way to revitalize old bloodlines within the pride. If his past life had indeed sowed their seed here, it had dwindled to a point of being unrecognizable. The Myrsky Syntynyt were capable lions, but they could be so much more with god's blood flowing through their veins.

His bloodline was a gift, however, bestowed only to the best. He would not settle for some simmering weakling of a thrall, as he had seen so many males in this pride do. Mkhai would not risk his genes on a moment of pleasure. The great lion turned his head, watching with disdain as a small lioness darted past him onto her next duties. Only the weak were subjugated, and Mkhai would not waste his time on them. Breeding with the thralls only introduced weak bloodlines into the pride.

No, the mother of his cubs had to be the strongest. Unquestionably there was only one he should seek out, and it wasn't Makuu herself. It was her mother, the current Warleader who possessed sway over the pride's future. That was a lioness more than fitting to carry his cubs, but approaching her over Makuu would prove to be far greater a challenge. It was why he had originally dismissed it. Sitting in the rain, however, made him question his decision.

If he would give the Stormborn the gift of his god's blood, why should he be the one to settle for what was arguably second best? Why even settle for one over the other? Mkhai was no coward - there was no reason not to go to the source of the pride's strength and empower it with his own. Zjarri'fol was a striking lioness, and in her strength there was great beauty. She could drawn in any lion, but he could give her all the reasons to choose him over others. None else that would approach her could claim even an ounce of the power that he had.

Zjarri'fol was not a lioness that could be swayed by romanticism or clever words. Impressing her was tricky and easy at the same time. Revealing himself would be easiest, but he still wanted to cling to the disguise he had in the pride. If he could convince her to keep his secret, that would be another story, but Mkhai would be going out on a limb in trusting her. If he had to come back with a different form, he would be severely unhappy with it. Holding up his one disguise was enough of a challenge for the god of warriors. He was too true to himself, too haughty.

Mkhai acted as if he were a god when he was pretending to be nothing more than a mere mortal. He could never conceal the great fount of power hidden buried within him.

The large lion rose onto his feet, facing into the wind and rain in silence for a few long minutes. The task ahead of him was daunting, and for the first time Mkhai did not know quite how to go about achieving what he wanted. It was perhaps too ambitious to want both females to carry his cubs, but he saw no reason why he should not claim both if he could. No other females presented to him had nearly the same potential, and he refused to settle for less than what Zjarri and Makuu could give him.

He had the suspicion that it would be even trickier wanting both to have his cubs, but he refused to beat around the bush in this situation. Mkhai would not sneak around one lionesses' back to achieve his goals with another. There was no reason to hide his intentions, and so he would not. He just hoped at least one or both would consent to the idea, because now that he had seen the best, he refused to settle for less.

There was no time like the present, and Mkhai found himself moving forward with purpose. His goal was to seek out Zjarri'fol first, no matter where she was or how preoccupied she may be. If he wanted to start making a change in the pride, it was best done now rather than later. Cubs would be tedious to raise and train, but if done right they would be formidable warriors, carrying the best of his blood - the first of his blood.

He wondered how far he would get before someone stopped him from seeing Zjarri'fol. In fact, he got pretty far, finding his way to the mouth of her den, imposing figure standing stark against the dark behind him. "Warlord Zjarri'fol, I have need to speak with you."