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She sat alone amongst the rich red cliffside, looking out across the lands that were her home. The Outlands had dispersed a while ago, forced to because of nature. Groups splintered off, some had even abandoned their ancestorial territory for greener pastures. They were the meek and the weak, and perhaps it was for the best that they were all gone now. It was only her in this moment, and she was at peace with that. Katiti'manina had come to these lands as a young lioness barely out of her youth. She had held such convinction in her own visions that led her here that she saw no choice but to stay.

Her visions were never wrong.

But, it made her smile to remember how obnoxious and naive she was back then. She had talked with swagger when she had nothing to back it up with. An impudent, terrible young creature - that was what Kat had been. Looking back, she almost pitied Niruzu for getting wrapped up in her games. But, again, her visions did not lie. It was merely fate, and once that vision's sight had been fulfilled Kat had happily moved on with her life. But she had been terrible. A spoiled Pridelander forced to adapt to the harshness of the Outlands because she whole heartedly believed that she was meant to be there. That, and she could not picture herself returning to the Pridelands, even back then in her youth.

Too stubborn, too impulsive.

Time had tempered her, molded her into a far more cunning creature. There were hints of her past, the confidence, the absolute convinction and belief in herself. Only now did she have the age and wisdom to back up whatever smug nonsense poured from her lips.
Blue eyes looked out over the horizon. Soon.

It felt right. The herds had returned, the land, while not altogether prosperous, was recovering from the tragedy that struck it. A pride could be supported, not just the few lone lions that had decided to linger. Only some had dared to remain, to keep watch over the territory and simply wait. Wait, wait, and wait for the time to be right. Kat was not a patient creature by nature, but she had some things to keep her entertained.

For an Outlander, she always appeared too well-off. She was adorned with jewelry, beautiful golds, reds, and blues to accent her coat. When she was younger, there was an occassion or two where someone would snatch her treasures from her. In time, that stopped. Kat made it so. Her visions seemed to expand to suit her will. A dangerous power gifted to the wrong lioness. In her youth, it had been fine-tuned to find treasure or trinkets that she would fancy. It would never tell her where exactly, but they were vivid enough to give her a good idea. Now, presently, she saw quite a lot. None would steal from her again.

Kat was here now, in the old dens of the Outlands, waiting for her Queen's return.

It would be soon.

She knew.

It had been years.

Ashiki wasn't just exaggerating either. Once she left the cliffs and sands of her home to lead her pride through their trek in the rogue lands, she had found herself purpose after purpose to commit herself to in an attempt to distract herself. She could not lose her lands but neither could she lose the faith her lions had in Scar's bloodline. With that knowlege, she refused to return to the Outlands until it was permanently. There could be no false hopes if she meant to lead them clear and true.

Over time, the group split into other groups, members joined or left their cause. It built trust and loyalty between those steadfast souls who never lost their way and, too, it showed the exiled Queen just who deserved her favor the most. Without a doubt, first among them was her eldest friend: Katiti, her seer, and her only eyes in her home.
They had only communicated by bird in the long time it had taken for the lands to rebuild themselves to their former glory but Katiti had always known where to send their messengers and Ashiki had always been glad of them. When the last one came, intercepting her outside of the lands claimed by the Stormborn, she had almost been in utter disbelief. The timing had been so unusual that had the feathered companion spoken Katiti's name, she might have thought it a joke. Luckily for the bird, he seemed to know that.

It felt like weeks between that moment and now as they passed the top of a crest and saw the great spires of the termite mounds finally come into view. Weeks, months, years. Every bit of their traveling and learning had been worth it up until this point - tonight they would sleep beneath the stars of their ancestors on the lands that they had taken for them. Tonight.

Around her the small pack of lions that had been with her directly moved forward. She stopped and let her eyes raise to the cliffs, to the figure she knew would be awaiting her arrival. With a smile that seemed almost unusual for the tough Queen, she bowed her head deeply in a greeting that could be seen even from a distance.

They had come home.

They were here. Kat had only been given a small notice of their arrival by the bird she had used as her messenger. The avian had landed beside her, waiting for the small trinket it knew would be its prize for its cooperation. Kat could part with the small treasures, after all, she had quite the collection now. She pushed a small pebble that glistened underneath the sun's harsh light towards the bird, and then watched as the prize was appraised and eventually taken. The bird flew off, and Kat turned her attention down to the land below her.

Her queen stood at the head of the group, a lioness older than Kat herself and magnificently weathered by time and loss. Undeniable was Ashiki's power, granted to her by a bloodline as old as the Pridelands. Kat should have been conflicted by joining the Outlands, but it had only taken her some time to realize that this was where she belonged. Her family in the Pridelands would just have to do without her.

The red lioness rose to her feet and turned back into one of the many caves within the pridal territory. Being here for so long, she knew them well, and followed the dark twists and turns until she was on ground level. It would be rude, after all, not to greet her queen after such a long absence from her presence. Kat had acted as another watchful eye. There were others who defended the territory, but Kat merely observed. She read the landscape, watched as life returned to areas that had been scarred by the massive earthquake.

"My queen," she purred to her leader and lowered her head and bowed down to her shoulders in a respectful greeting. "Welcome home." Kat turned then, back to Ashiki to lead the worn group into the depths of the heart of the pride. "Scion of Taka, how did your travels fare?" Ashiki had many titles, and had earned every last one of them. Kat could have used them all at once, but it became tiring on one's tongue.

The Queen held her pleased smile as Kat emerged from the lower tier of tunnels and made her way directly toward the approaching group. There were few lions in the world that Ashiki held in such high esteems as she did her Eye and it showed in her genuine fondness at the sight of the fiery lioness. As the dusky pelted lioness came to a stop, those that were travelling with fell short of her regal stance to let her remain at the head of their troupe. She inclined her head just-so in response to Kat's sweeping, respectful bow.

"Thank you, My Eye, for watching over everything for so long in my absence." Her true eyes swept out and away from Katiti, taking in the sight of the lands she knew so well. Little had changed but even she could see the life was back - birds lingered in the distance where they had been absent before and the smell of beasts carried on the warm breeze that tossed the sands at her paws. The ever watchful vizier had not been wrong to call them back to the lands, not that Ashiki had ever doubted the summons for even a moment. It was a long space of breath before the Queen brought her gaze back to the other female, wondering at the formality of her asking such questions.
"Ah, it was long and testing, Kat, but I am sure you know that already, hm?" The smile was still in place on her maw and a chuckle drew itself forward before Ashiki glanced over her shoulder with a pointed gaze. Behind her, four lions stood closer to her than any others - three males and a female. Their colors were unmistakable, marking them like a stamp for who they must have been. Without a spoken word, one of the males stepped forward and stopped next to Ashiki while the others continued to inspect their surroundings.

"Kethiwe has already met Ebbe and Shetani but, being that the task I assigned to you left you bound here, I am afraid you have not yet had the opportunity to meet The Crown Prince."

The male, as orange as the clay at their feet with eyes as piercing as his mother's, dipped his head politely to the elder lioness. He was young and strong with his ancestor's blood written plain upon his hide. One day he would be King but for now he was simply his mother's heir, Katiti's equal at best, though with much left to learn from those that ruled the lands of his heritage.

"It is an honor to meet the last of my mother's Viziers, Katiti."

"Of course," Kat answered wryly. While she had no direct control over her visions, they were undeniably influenced by her own desires. When she wanted to see Ashiki, she would. Kat had easily kept vague tabs on the group - at least enough to know that they were surviving. That was all she needed to know, though she doubted that anything - or one, could come along and best Ashiki.

Her eyes cast back over the group of loyal followers, settling on four of the younger adults. Apparently, her visions could not see everything, but that was the unfortunate nature of her abilities. She couldn't help the curious arch of her brow as she looked over the princes and princess. They bore the markings of their mother, their ancestry clear upon the color of their pelts. Proud inheritors of Taka's bloodline, these ones would turn out to be. They could be nothing less - they were Ashiki's own.
Curiosity gave way to amusement. She had to wonder which male actually bested Ashiki, or rather which male Ashiki herself bested. It mattered little. Taka's bloodline always seemed to run strong through the generations, and here that was the only bloodline that mattered. "I see that the travels were at least interesting," Kat chuckled, carrying on as if Ashiki had never left. As a younger lioness, her tongue easily got her into trouble. In her more mature years... it got her into trouble less often.

"Hello, young prince," Kat greeted. There was no flourish of titles, no praise for him beyond the fact that he was Ashiki's heir. All of that would come in time when he earned them and stepped up to claim the throne. His mother was unlikely to leave the throne empty any time soon, so he had plenty of time to make a name for himself before he became King. "This must be the first time you and your siblings have been so deep into the lands. I am sure that someone will show you around."

Not Kat, though. She had more important things to do with her time. She had some catching up to do with Ashiki, when everyone got settled in.

"How are the other Viziers?" Kat cared little for the other two - not because she disliked them, but her attention and loyalty was almost strictly reserved for Ashiki. Kat was very civil with them, she'd point out. On a rare occassion they were even amusing for her to play with. "Being left here meant I had no one to really bicker with, and it's been awfully disappointing. Just the birds, really, and you know how they are."

For what is was worth, Kethiwe seemed fairly unphased by Kat's relative uninterest in his existence. He had been his mother's right paw while they were traveling but it had always been abundantly clear to him that he was not yet worthy of the respect due to those that were his elder, those that carried the weight of ruling upon their shoulders. It had been a hard lesson to learn but he had, no matter the amount of times he put his foot in his mouth first.

"It is the first time," he admitted, offering a small, diplomatic smile. "I have never seen the termite mounds so closely, we've never even crossed the rivers before now. Mother has told me a thousand stories it almost feels surreal." It was a polite, quaint story, and at last he dipped his head. "Thank you for watching over it for us."

Ashiki seemed pleased with the response, letting her eyes slip from her eldest son to the lioness that had been more instrumental than any other Vizier could honestly claim to have ever been. In the back of her mind she knew the female deserved more than simple praise - it would come to her in due time, Ashiki did not forget loyalty. Before she answered her Eye, however, her gaze slid past Keth and landed on her other children.

"Lead the others into the tunnels to get settled, Azzan should be here somewhere. Tell him his Aunt would like to see him."

The group began to slip politely around the remaining trio without a question, some of them all too eager to reintegrate into their beloved home while others looked upon it with as much wonder as Ashiki's children did. Keth stayed behind, knowing he would have been directly dismissed had she intended such.

"Ebbe is as he has always been," she offered with a knowing smirk, though something else lingered in her eyes as this topic was broached. "You probably know, my dear seer, but Shetani has assumed her mother's position because the old spitfire has passed. I was lucky that she left me such a capable daughter."

"They are magnificent structures," Kat answered the Crown Prince with an amused grin. When she was a young lioness, she had waltzed into the lands for no other reason than because she was convinced it was her destiny. What shape the lands were and who or what they harbored mattered nothing to her back then. Belief in her sight had been a powerful manipulator, and it had taken her some years to actually appreciate the beauty of these lands. "How good of you to appreciate it for what it is - it took me a long time to see beyond myself and to the lands around me."

She always seemed to address her seer abilities vaguely, though it was well known that she was a powerful seer. But, it was best to leave a bit of suspense when it came to her abilities. Kat would never cease to be amused at those who doubted her sight, or put too much faith into it.

"Maybe your return will manage to bring a smile onto his dull face," Kat spoke as the group was dismissed towards the caverns. Azzan had not been unpleasant company, when she saw him. But, he wasn't a very sociable lion, and Kat had grown rather bored trying to make him amusing. "Though I suppose I appreciate the protection he offered our borders." The male had been patrolling so much that even if she wanted to socialize, he was far enough away from her to deter the idea.

The conversation turned somber, but Kat had expected them to come to this topic eventually. "I suspected, when I could not see her, and when I saw her travelling companions. But, nothing is ever quite certain with the sight." The last time she had seen Shetani, the lioness had been much younger. Time in the rogue lands likely honed her abilities and shapened her into a fitting successor to her mother's role. If only her children had stuck around...
Kat had chased most of them away, not intentionally of course, but she had never been the best of mothers. She was too focused on herself to worry about raising cubs the way they probably deserved to be raised. Calypso had been the last to go, too tired of waiting for the pride to reband, too tired of following her mother's whims. Too weak. If she had cubs again, she'd have to do better.

"I am sure Shetani will bring honor to her mother's name. I am glad you did not have to worry over a replacement. We could not have expected travelling outside of the pride to be easy for all those who attempted it." It was sad to hear that Shetani's mother had passed - they would have to do something to properly respect her death.

Ashiki laughed at Kat's tease over her nephew, so unexpected that Kethiwe seemed almost surprised to hear it out of his mother's mouth. There were few lions left in the Outlands that had known her before she assumed her role as the Queen, even fewer still that knew her before she had yet been an adult, and that meant that Katiti was a rare friend. Their relationship had been one built before Ashiki had ever realized what duty fate left to her though not before Kat knew it herself.

"I doubt that very much. At least not once he meets Kethiwe."

What amused Ashiki did not seem so much to amuse her son - the mere mention of it made him frown slightly and the eyes that matched hers so much slipped away from the pair of lionesses and out to the dens that the last of their travelling group was slipping into. The returning members seemed relieved, at last, while the unbranded followed in their wake with a mix of awe and uncertainty. Not for the first time, he wished he could simply join his siblings and take comfort in their existence. Never before had his role weighed so heavily upon his shoulders.

"Speaking of Ebbe and Shetani," Ashiki spoke again to fill the silence as her son opted not to participate in the conversation any longer, watching him sidelong with a gaze that weighed out every shift of his demeanor, "I think it is high time that we summon the rest of them home, don't you?"

"What I would not give to be a spider on the wall during that meeting," Kat spoke with a playful smirk. Kethiwe was undeniably the heir to these lands, and for a long time that role had been unsettling... vague. Azzan had been the closest relative within the lands, and had a fair chance of inheriting the throne if Ashiki had no children. She could not tell if the male had even wanted to rule the pride, but surely by now it was almost expected. Kat would have loved to be able to witness the look on his face when his entire world changed.

But, she supposed some things could be left private. There was no need to watch Azzan lick his wounds.

"Of course," Kat agreed. The red lioness tilted her head up to the sky, looking to see if any of her little messengers were floating about up there. She would have to entice them down so that they could send word to the remnants of the pride that now was the time to return home. "I do think it is about time we had all of your Viziers in one spot to conduct our duties properly. Leave it to me, I will have word sent that our Queen welcomes them home."

It was time to bring everyone home and rebuild the pride. With the Queen and her Heir, it was guaranteed that the Outlands would thrive. Kat had seen nothing else in her visions but prosperity. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my Queen, I will attend to that business while you settle in. If you have need of me, I will know." Her gaze shifted to the Crown Prince, appraising him for a final moment. What she thought of him was still unclear, but respect was given purely due to his bloodline and the fact that he was Ashiki's own son. Ashiki had never led her astray. "Farewell, young Prince."

She turned back towards the cave system to begin the process of summoning back the rest of the pride.

Ashiki dipped her head in a silent, respectful farewell and watched as her vizier left her to perform her duties without a second thought. It felt good to be home, safe in the comfort of her lands, less wary of the threats of the Southlands. The first threads of tensions began to unwind themselves from between her shoulder blades at the sight of her Eye dwindling into the distance.

"It is an odd thing to get accustomed to," she heard Kethiwe, beside her, whose eyes were watching the seer disappear into the distance as well. Ashiki glanced up at him, puzzling over his face.

"Commanding? You will get used to that, with time." A frown pulled at her maw as he shook his head, sending his handsome, dark mane tossing around his cheeks. She knew he was the spitting image of his grandfather except for those dots that spread across the line of his back. It still struck her oddly from time to time, especially now as they finally stood in the lands of her forefathers. Scar's heir was walking on this soil for the first time.

"No," he answered honestly, "well, not just that anyway. I meant her, specifically. She is so sure of her visions.."

Ashiki laughed again, then. She knew what he meant even if he never finished the sentence. Once upon a time she had also found Katiti's faith in her own sight hard to believe but time and time again she had proven why she was so confident. Ashiki never questioned it now. Most of their older members did not, either.

"Ah, my dear heart, you will grow used to that too." Alone with her heir for the first time in many moons, she smiled up at him with a fondness only reserved for her children and gently nudged his shoulder with the crown of her head before she fell into step. "Come along, let us wait for your cousin at my den."