[PRP] Often Go Awry (Umkhombo/Bangizwe)

[Meepfur]

Umkhombo was long past nervousness, past eagerness, past the fluttering stomach and racing heart he had once known going into battle; that young, excited, secretly frightened lion waiting to draw his first blood was gone. It seemed a lifetime ago, though it was not. He had started his long journey before his mane had even grown in, and was now a male entering the prime of his life: large and well-muscled (though lately underfed and tired, so tired), his dark coat marked with scars left by fang and claw. He had wanted them once, been proud beyond words when he earned them, but now they concerned him no more than his markings.

The scars on his heart were far deeper, but mercifully hidden from view. Only one-eyed Nesf saw them, because hers were much the same. They never spoke of it, neither wished to - neither could - but the understanding was there. The weariness was there, too, not only in him and in her, but in them all. Homeless, adrift, all scarred in their own way.

There was no cure for the last save time, but a home he could give them. He would. There was no room for doubt, for failure. Months of travel had finally brought them here, to the lands of his birth, and he would make them his. Theirs. They would be safe.

A falcon's shadow passed over him, and he looked to the familiar that led him onward. Tala had scouted ahead for him, locating his first target for him: Umholi Bangizwe, the older and larger of the Abaholi. He passed it off as wanting to get the most physically formidable out of the way first, but in truth some part of him held affection for Andhaka, though he doubted it was mutual. It was irrelevant. There was fighting to be done, and there would be time for thinking after, assuming that there was an after.

Umkhombo made no attempt to conceal his approach - there would be no ambush, no charge - striding openly toward whatever would be. "Bangizwe."

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

"What are you doing here?" The tone Bangizwe's question held was one of accusation, even a small layer of anger as his lips drew upward in a snarl while his gait picked up into a jog. It was a pointless question though. Just by how Umkhombo was carrying himself; head held high, the confidence in his stride, Bangizwe knew what this was. Something he had dreaded since his son had left, something he had been warned of time and time against by Simosihle, something he had already defended himself against multiple times, but always it had been against some unknown rogue trying to prove themselves greater than they thought.

This, this was a challenge, brought about by a son of a previous Umholi.

It had been a matter of time as far as the golden Umholi was concerned for one of Gakere's or Surtak's sons to come back seeking their sire's place in the pride. With seven sons, Gakere clearly beat Surtak in that respect, though the brown ex-Umholi had sired more dark children. Or at least so he had been told by the numerous lionesses who constantly compared him to his predecessors. Just the thought of how he was always compared and how he was constantly dismissed as an Umholi in whispers was enough to cause the muscled male's teeth to clench visibly.

With fiery eyes, he gave his one warning. "You know how this ends, whelp."

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

It was strange to see the golden lion after so long. Umkhombo remembered him as larger, but that was a youth's perspective distorted by distance. Now he could see that they were close in size, though Bangizwe clearly outweighed him. The Umholi had the benefit of a stable home and regular meals, while Khombo and his Muharip had long been a-wandering and scrounging. His frame was built to carry bulk, but it was a bulk he currently lacked. He would have to be careful not to allow himself to be pinned. There were tricks to freeing oneself from such a predicament, but all of his Namib-born opponents had been smaller than him.

"What I must," he answered resolutely, stifiling a faint voice of reluctance from the back of his mind. He had no quarrel with Bangizwe, save that the lion was in his way. The Qyrhyeshti needed a home, and they would have one.

"I do not." Khombo set his stance and waited for Bangizwe to make the first move, assessing rather than rushing...though he knew he did not have all day. Where there was one Umholi, there would soon be another.

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

With the strength needed of him, Bangizwe wasted no time in closing the gap between the two of them, his claws out, leaving scratches in the dry earth beneath him. They reached, striving for purchase while his mouth hung open with large fangs exposed and roars began to fill the air.

Had Umkhombo been this large when he had left? He could scarcely remember what the dark male had looked like when he had finally been pushed from the pride. He certainly seemed thinner though, as all those who challenged him were. It was a situation the Umholi knew all too well, the struggle of surviving another day, the days of no food, of the days of feeling himself wasting away. Those days were gone though, filled with good meals and good company now. Though meals were becoming fewer in number with the life-giving rains and plentiful herds gone. Still, at least he had weight on his side, but would out-weigh desperation.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

It was an impressive sight, he thought for a detached moment, a sight that had likely been cause for no few challengers to regret their choice to stand against the Umholi. There was the fleeting temptation of instinct to leap to meet him head-on in a test of strength, but this was not a wrestling match. No doubt some had learned the hard way that that was not the smartest way to fight a larger opponent.

Umkhombo feinted, pretending for a split second that he was just another fool. Claws skimmed shallow marks in his hide as he moved swiftly to strike hard from the side. With Bangizwe's roaring, his time had become limited. He needed to finish this quickly, before anyone else arrived on the scene.

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

That had been the Umholi's hope. Intimidation was one of the Abaholi's greatest assets. With size and weight on their side, most challengers turned away before they had even clashed with either of them. Of course that hope was swiftly dashed when Umkhombo proved himself more capable to hold his own. He was no longer the young thing that Bangizwe hardly remembered, instead he was now confident and worth his weight if the scars on him were any indicator to his prowess.

Bangizwe grunted as the younger male caught his side, causing the older lion to slide, losing his footing only momentarily before springing back to push his body up against Umkhombo's. Claws were no longer in his arsenal. He didn't need them yet. They were made for tearing and that would not win him this. If he could get him to the ground though...Of course he figured Umkhombo knew that was his plan. The darker male had watched the Umholi spar when he was younger, he knew how both of them fought. At least back then.

There was no more exchange of words between the two of them, only the sounds of two fathers fighting for their children's futures.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

This fight was strange for him in many ways, with very little resemblance to what he was used to. True one-on-one fights had been rare in the war between hawks and falcons, as very few chanced the desert alone, knowing the danger in doing so. Even if they squared off against different opponents, there was always someone else near, always the clash and chaos of battle. In comparison, this was eerily peaceful. Even the footing was different, firm ground that offered traction, no scraping gravel or shifting sand.

He no longer fought for freedom from debt, or for the blood-feud of his mate and her kin, but regardless of details, the most basic reason remained the same: survival. Umkhombo pushed back against the Umholi for a moment, digging in and bracing himself, but he knew he couldn't win such a test of strength. Taking a risk that would leave him exposed for crucial heartbeats, he threw himself to the side, hoping to use Bangizwe's force against him and gain an opening to do real damage.

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

The feel of the pushed against his was familiar, comfortable. Built up anger boiled to the surface as he struggled to come up with a way to secure his victory. Even if Andhaka did show, this was a battle between them and Bangizwe would not suffer to endure a victory won with the aid of the red Umholi. The sudden loss of the body, the weight, the pressure, was shocking to say the least. It leftBangizwe visibly unbalanced, his footing faltering greatly enough to lead him downward as he fell to his side.

With a loud snarl Bangizwe rolled off of his back and only his belly, but...he would not be fast enough to pull himself up before the damage was done. Even in this vulnerable position, he still managed to hold his dignity, locking eyes with those haunting pink ones that Umkhombo possessed.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

Umkhombo half-expected to feel the stinging burn of fresh wounds, but the familiar sensation didn't come. With the loss of the pressure he'd been pushing against, Bangizwe stumbled and fell. Two deceptions, one right after the other, and both successful. All this time, Khombo had been building up both the Abaholi in his mind, and yet here was one on the ground before him. How? Was it the difference in age - was Bangizwe that old? Was it their experiences, the difference between living through war and simply fending off challengers?

Half a moment to process it only, gaze glancing off the other's before he leapt upon him. Could this really be how giants fell?

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

Success. A raging snarl erupted from Bangizwe's mouth as he quickly sprung from the ground. While he joints ached from the movements and muscles burned greatly, Bangizwe ignored them as his back arched just slightly with the intent to connect with Umkhombo's chest. While his competitor's claws were sure to find purchase in his pelt and his blood was sure to spill, he would not simply roll over and accept his fate. That was not the Bangizwe the pride knew and not what he would become.

While it was clear to the Umholi that this challenger was in a league above others and that whatever the roguelands had done to him had forged him into a formidable foe, Bangizwe had spent his time learning how to read movements, to defend himself from not multiple foes good enough, but against one near perfectly.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

Full of tricks, and he'd fallen for one, seeing only the victory he wanted and nothing else. The solid bulk of Bangizwe rose up, catching him in the chest throwing askew his plans. Hell, his plans were far from the only thing askew! Now it was Umkhombo's own momentum that worked against him, flipping him over to land hard on his back. The wind gone from him in a rush, there were precious moments where he could do little more than gasp and think about how much he needed to right himself again.

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

The weight of the Umholi came crashing down behind his paws as they connected against Umkhombo's belly while amber eyes stared down at him. "You've lost." Bangizwe stated, his voice event. "Do you value your life enough to concede?" The question held a small hint of sympathy from Bangizwe, but it was clear he had no issue ripping open his stomach and letting the buzzards clean up.

The numerous stripes of red that stained his back burned brightly in his mind, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins prevented him from caring for the moment. There would be plenty of time to deal with hose later. Though Simosihle was sure to fuss over how it had been negligent of him to risk everything, even his life, on a hunch.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

Are you dead? Then we're not done.

Aribak's voice rang in his head as the memory of the purple lioness with her paws on his barely-maned throat, golden eyes furious, came to him unbidden. They had been practicing, and he had been losing badly, bruised and in pain, and had tried to yield. Rather than allow him respite, she had renewed her onslaught until he worried she might actually kill him, all to drive home a hard lesson: there was no room for mercy in war.

He wanted to keep fighting. His mind raced with possibilities. If he did this, if he did that, he could-

No. It wasn't worth it. Even if he could pull off a trick amd renew the fight, he had to assume that Andhaka was on his way by now. It was a lost cause, and he knew it. But surrendering was painful, with golden eyes haunting his mind...but those eyes were Khazine's, too, and he wanted to see them again.

"Yes," he finally snarled out, head falling back to thump against the dry ground. "Though I would have a moment of your time, if you would give it. To...explain."

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

"To explain? You come here, to my territory, fight me, and want to explain?!" Bangizwe's voice rose, carrying across the open plains, as one of his paws pushed downward while his claws came out to touch against Umkhombo's fur. "But fine, I'll amuse you. Talk." There were thousands of other words, other things he wanted to spit out at the dark male that laid so vulnerably beneath him. In some of those it resulted in the mauling of him as well. But Bangizwe, sweet, honorable Bangizwe had a weak heart and a curiosity that Umkhombo needed to sate now.

There a reason beyond just trying to take his spot as an Umholi. Did he not really want the position? There were dozens of possible scenarios of why Umkhombo would have challenged him, but truly none of them satisfied Bangizwe's curiosity.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

Umkhombo remained silent and still while Bangizwe railed, unflinching at the touch of claws. There was a distinct possibility that the Umholi would change his mind and gut him anyway, and there was little he could do about it. There was a certain peace that came with acknowledging it.

"There are a dozen lionesses not far from here," he began, choosing his words carefully. They would be few, as he was in no position to give a lengthy story. "They can tell you their full story themselves, but they followed me here in search of a better life. A home."

"I have lost, and I accept that. I will leave...but you should know to expect them. Whether you take them is, of course, your choice."

Quaji