The remnants of grass crunched underneath Masuko's paws. The dry season was gaining ground, and the alpha mentally took note to be careful of their water supply. This was the shorter of the drier seasons, but the alpha had been around long enough to never make assumptions about the weather. It was as fickle as she could be, and the last thing she would do was fail her pack. Not when their strength was finally stable.

The strange hyena named Dath lingered around here and there, and the alpha had her own concerns that he was developing his own plans. She had noticed that Chora had appeared to take something of an interest in him, even if it was for her own interests. Masuko still had no blood heir of her own, but at the moment she didn't much care to persue it. If Chora ended up with decent offspring, Masuko may even just let one of them challenge her for the spot. The strong were the ones who survived, especially when lingering within the ever-growing graveyard. The bone keepers had been doing a stellar job, perhaps even too well, and the collection of bones continued to pile high near the dens and elephant skulls.

The crunching sound had become like a white noise, and Masuko continued to wander her thoughts as she walked, until the crunch stopped. Glancing downwards, she realized that she had arrived at her destination. That strange hyena's current den. It was a decent size, somewhat trashed, and she noticed that his adolescent kids he randomly brought in one day were missing. Perhaps they had decided to strike out on their own and not depend on their father's den for protection anymore.

"Dath," Masuko called out; a demand to see him.

A grunt. Gold eyes fluttered open, and the god remembered where he was. Dath did not always need sleep, nor food, but spending nearly his entire life in the company of mortals had changed him. For the worse, if you asked him. This was why he was working on a plan, as slow as it may be; to delight in the fear that only a god could enforce.

Yet, for the moment, he was tired. He had never bothered to raise any of his offspring before, let alone even be near them. He didn't do much raising at all, just shared a den with them and tossed some scraps their way when they looked a bit too hungry. But somehow it was still draining, and Dath swore to himself he would never bother with it again. He groaned as he pushed himself up, his hyena form not allowing him to growl as he would have liked. Hyenas were so strange, with such strange bodies...but their culture was far more fascinating than most of the lion prides he had crossed paths with.

"Yes?" he mumbled, finally up on all fours and approaching the alpha. Masuko was an extremely interesting female, and at times Dath wished she wasn't just a hyena. Still, she at least offered interesting discussions and he fed her hatred of lions.

"I'm not a fool," she started, her jaws snapping at him. "I've seen you around my sister. She smells different; the same smell pregnancy brings." Chora wasn't showing much yet, but it was apparent enough when Masuko's own adopted daughter had been pregnant. The body changed more than the alpha had realized until then, and after Jasi's first litter Masuko was more keen on watching all the females in the pack. New blood was best, especially pups she could assert her position to.

Dath rolled his eyes; he knew that Masuko may take a swipe at him, but she wouldn't try to kill him. He had proven himself too useful to her with his tips on the Pridelands to get rid of him. "And? She is an adult; she made her decision." Chora was power-hungry in her own way; so much like her sister, and yet Chora still decided to respect Masuko's position as alpha. "I know you want strength bred into the next generation; why would you apparently want to deny that?" Dath challenged her, the glint in his eyes openly admiting that he wouldn't mind a tussle with her.

The rage within her flared for a moment, nearly blinding her. How dare this blood-drenched ex-rogue fling insults at her, as if she was jealous of Chora! The truth was that Masuko felt a little hurt, as if she had been left out of the discussion that lead to this decision. It was a selfish one, and she drove her frustration about it towards Dath. Her throat rumbled in anger, but seeing that glint in his eyes soothed her nerves. This b*****d just wanted a fight, and Masuko wasn't sure if she wanted to give it to him. It was that same look in his eyes that unnerves her on a good day, like he possessed knowledge that would terrify Masuko.

The fur along her neck flattened out as she willed herself calm, back into control. "Fine. But if I hear that you did anything towards her that she did not agree with, your tail will be the first thing I rip off. I promise it would only be the start of what I would do to you." Chora was her right-hand partner, and Masuko had to make it clear that she would never tolerate anything wrong towards the pale hyena.

Dath smirked, a small chuckled escaping his throat. "You can ask her all the details," he tossed at her. "I am sure if you insisted, Chora would tell you anything you wanted to know." That last line was a bit of a lie, and they both knew it. Dath was just enjoying watcing Masuko squirm, as much as she resisted doing anything outwardly. The alpha was skilled at hiding her emotions, but Dath was relentless in his teasing and knew it was wearing away at her defenses. The tension was almost palpable.

"Well, if you're quite done harassing me, I would like to go back to sleep," he yawned, "unless you'd care to join me?" He let that question hang in the air, glancing over his shoulder towards the alpha.

"Get bent," Masuko snarled, deciding then and there that this p***k deserved a mark of her irritation. She finally lunched at him, gnashing at his shoulder and using her considerable weight (though he was awfully large for a hyena) to shove him into get den. "Don't wake up again, a*****e!"

Knowing that at least she was able to remind the idiot that she was the one in charge, the alpha left, intent on finding Jasi and going hunting to soothe some of her anger.