Ezrasia stood at the border of the pride she had so recently called home. The land was deserted for the most part. She was sure there were a few pride members still hanging around. Her father, the leader of the pride, left as soon as he realized that his pride was about to fall to pieces. She scowled thinking of him. The old lion was weak, not being able to hold his pride together and just let it burn to the ground. If he had been smarter, he would have given the pride to her. It was her birthright after all.
“Daydreaming about how you would have been a better leader then pa?”
Ezra gave annoyed sigh as the dark male sat next to her, his bird on his shoulder.
Of course if Majanga had given the pride to her, she could expect her truce with Az to be over. She expected he attempt to kill her the moment she was declared queen.
“I didn't even have a chance to prove myself,” she said with a laugh. “I would have done so much more then he did. His pride will be forgotten, just another grain of sand in the desert.”
“We should get going. If we start searching now, we are bound to find some ex-pride members. They probably won't trust us, after what happened with Majanga. We will have to convince them to follow us, tell them that we are their best option for survival. Specifically I was thinking we could find Serael. She would be the perfect queen to my king.”Az said with a grin. Ezra rolled her eyes.
Serael was a lioness from who had caught both of attention when they arrived. A strong, stoic lioness who seemed to think that the two of them were not worth her time. Ezra didn't blame her, since their first introduction was just Az hitting on her, thinking he actually had a chance since he was the son of the pride ruler.
“If you tried to convince her like that I bet she would get the hell away from you as soon as she could. I get the feeling that she would rather be mates with anyone besides you.” Ezra responded. “If we run into her, just let me do the talking. Actually if you could just leave the moment you saw her I think that would be best.”
Az snorted.
“You just want to be alone with her so you could ask her to be with you.” He responded. Ezra just glared at him. “I would rather die then let that happen. If she was with you, then that would be a complete waste. Imagine if I had cubs with her. True fighting machine. Even Majanga would be proud of them. They would be absolute terrors.”
Of course all Az would think about was what his offspring would be like when thinking of Serael. It was one of his few similarities with Majanga. Their father was always thinking about how he could have strong offspring, not actually caring about the mother. Ezra doubted that Az had ever felt any true feelings toward Serael. He would never understand how it filled her heart up just watching Serael practicing, knowing nothing would ever happen between them.
“You could offer her the world and she would still turn you down. She's not like you or our family.” Ezra got up.
Az laughed. “If you say so. Father always believed everyone had a price and that others could be swayed as long as you offered the right thing.” He followed his sister. “But before I can even offer Serael the opportunity to be my queen, we need to figure out where my pride will be. The idea of living out in the rogue lands again makes me sick to my stomach. I deserve to live so much better. And Lord Azarias has a good ring to it. ”
“You are getting a head of yourself brother. Why should you be king, when I would be a much more fitting ruler. Every choice you make is made impulsively. The only reason your choices haven't lead to your death has been because I have watched your back.” She said, as they walked away from their sitting spot. “Anyways now isn't exactly the ideal time to be talking about who will rule. We don't even have a pride to rule over.”
Az shook his head.
“The problem is that you are going to get yourself worked up as we search for a place to call home. You will be constantly thinking that I am going to betray you at any moment just so there aren't any complications later.” He said with a smug look. “But if we decide here and now who the rightful king should be then things will be smooth going forward and we can work together in harmony.”
His words meant nothing to her. Talk of peace was nothing but lies that he would only expect to hold true if he was king. She knew him better than any of her other siblings. If she was chosen to rule, he would try to kill her.
“We can discuss it later then. Give us each sometime to think it over.” She decided.
“There is a stream not far from here. We can rest up there and then make our arguments.” Az said confidently. Ezra clenched her jaw, but nodded.
They traveled in silence to the stream, with Az walking as if he already won. Ezra stayed on edge though. Az would not become a king, she could not let that happen. He would only lead it to an unceremonious death.
The stream was quiet and peaceful. A beautiful spot to rest.
“Since you were born first why don't you start. Why would you be the better king.” Az said as he sat next to the water.
“Well, sweet little brother. After thinking on it, I decided that the reason I would be the superior ruler because I will do whatever it takes. Kill anyone who stands in my way, listen when I need to listen and give orders when I need to give orders.” She stepped closer to Az. “And I will show my commitment now.”
As he turned to react, Ezra struck him hard across the face. This very moment played over and over in her head. He stumbled back into the water.
“Ezra what-” He yelped as she struck at him again, not holding anything back. She tore at him with her claws and fangs. Az did what he could to defend himself, but he wasn't prepared. His attempts were useless as she attacked.
Her attacks only stopped once his body collapsed into the water, the blood running down the stream. Almost gently she put her paw on his throat, her claws barely touching his fur.
“I feel like I won this argument brother. So lets make sure everything goes smooth from here on out.” With that, Ezra cut deeply into Az's throat, just to make sure he wouldn't be getting up. “This was very beneficial for me Az. Helped me clear my thoughts and see the path to the future more clearly. I had planned to kill you once we found our new home, to properly celebrate, but doing it now was the best choice.”
Ezra got out of the stream and watched the blood float down stream.
Az's bird, Ourias had watched the whole thing. He was shocked. His master, the one who he swore loyalty to was now dead. He knew that he could be next.
“Bird, you are around here aren't you.” Ezra asked, still watching the blood go down stream. “Now that Az is dead, I believe it means you belong to me. From now on, I will be calling you Az, in memory of my poor brother. If you even think of running away, I can promise you that you will feel the full force of my wrath.
Ourias hesitated. Lions could only go so far. But right now he did not want to test Ezra. She had always scared him. He flew down from his spot and landed on a rock next to her. His head bowed. “I will serve you faithfully.” He said.
“Good. Now let's see if we can find our new home Az.”
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