Being Hunted (Dark Huntress & Malenga)

[Malenga]

Lesedi entered the circle of lions-- Malenga above everyone else, Moyo on his own closest to her, her father beside her, and then Amunet off on her own. Good, she thought, looking at Amunet with a curdled mouth expression. "What's going on?"

"Why are these lions engaged, Lesedi?" Malenga firmly questioned. Lesedi felt a drop in her stomach, and her head felt lighter than ever before. She looked wildly to the others, but mostly her father. Although Cetshwayo didn't seem too keen on helping her out with this, as he was just as questioning as Malenga was. "Lesedi," Lesedi flung her head back over to look at her mother, "answer my question."

"Because they want to be."

Malenga took a look at Amunet. "Is this true? Do you want to be betrothed to Moyo?" Moyo sucked in his breath, taking a few blinks thanks to the pressure he was feeling this situation. "Answer me honestly, Amunet."

~*~

Gzifa pursued his gaze for a while longer before she nodded her head, letting the mumble slip from her mind.

Once she noticed Changa was entering their space, she nodded to him. "Good morning, Changa." She continued to walk forward, then realizing she hadn't answered Kafele's question. "I personally like being in the pride. Mornings I'm usually with others, and then in the afternoons I get to sleep with the other lionesses, but in the evenings since I do night patrols, I can be on my own for a while and just enjoy the quiet. Not that I'm saying you being there last night was annoying at all." Gzifa smiled over at the rogue, intending for it to sound the way he was going to take it. "By the way," she nudged his side, "you're cute when you sleep." With a small laugh, she trotted down to the water hole.

[Dark Huntress]

"It's not that I believe being engaged to Moyo was a bad idea," she said slowly, carefully choosing her words as not to offend anyone,"I just believe it will ruin our friendship." She sighed, embarrassed. "And to some extent it has. It hurt me much more when he ran away this time."

She smooth the ground in front of her with a paw. "I doubt Moyo could love me, and I doubt I could respect my best friend. I also believe he is not ready to marry." She inclined her head towards Lesedi. "I do not mean to insult your judgement," she apologized with her eyes as well as her voice.

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"Thanks...?" Kafele blushed. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or just embarrassing. You're cute when your patrolling." He laughed. "So, who was the lioness? A friend?"

He was surprised to find they were already only a few feet from the waterhole. "Hey! Y'all wait up!" A familiar voice sounded from behind them. He looked over his shoulder to see the lioness that'd relieved Gzifa. "Yeah, that lioness."

[Malenga]

"So in other words, that's a 'no'." Lesedi could only take in a quick breath before she was stabbed with Malenga's cold eyes. The queen bore her grey-blue orbs into her daughter's red ones, though Lesedi's were bouncing everywhere except her mother's. "Why did you tell me they wanted to be married?" Lesedi let her head drop, keeping it there for moments. "Lesedi." Malenga's voice was a little more bold now, demanding the answer to her question.

"I thought they wanted to," Lesedi replied, quietly.

"You told your mother and I that you were sure they wanted to be together--"

"You said you asked them and they were happy to be betrothed." Lesedi looked from her father to her mother, feeling quite sheepish. She almost felt like Moyo, wanting to run away and not face her mistake. What was to become of her? "Do you not understand that you are playing with other lions' lives and happiness just for your own selfish game?" Malenga asked, walking towards the youngest daughter of hers.

"I wasn't trying to--!"

"Save it," Malenga roared, "I've heard enough of your excuses." The queen turned herself around, and began to walk towards the king who was looking quite uncomfortable. Probably because he didn't like to see his girls fighting, but also because he didn't want to face the fact that his daughter made a concious decision to do wrong. "Your princess title is stripped. You no longer have any right to the throne, seeing as how you think throwing orders around so easily is the only reason you want to be a princess." That meant the one to inherit the throne would either be her oldest sister, Sethunya, or her older brother, Badrani.

"That's not true! Mom, I--"

"My decision is final, Lesedi." Malenga turned herself around, looking the lioness straight in the eye.

Lesedi's mouth dropped, unsure of what was happening. She had to look at her father, wanting to take comfort in him but he didn't seem too willing to defend her. She shook her head in disbelief before she let out a frustrated cry, galloping off.

"Lesedi!" Jumoca called out, but he was soon stopped by Malenga blocking his way. "Your highness, please let me--"

"You are no longer her advisor, Jumoca. You may choose any other relationship with her," the queen told him. With that statement cleared and out of the way, she moved for the lion to pass her by. And so, he ran past them all, following Lesedi. Malenga watched him before she sauntered up to the two 'betrothed'. "You are released from your betrothal, Moyo and Amunet. I'm sorry for my daughter's poor decision."

Moyo nodded his head hesitantly, getting to his fours. "May I be excused, your majesty?"

Wayo nodded, his mate walking over to him whilst they walked away together, leaving Moyo and Amunet together. The blonde sighed and got to his paws, walking by his ex-mate. He didn't know why he felt so relieved and upset at the same time. Perhaps because he was so happy to have someone who was going to be with him no matter how much he misbehaved, now taken from him was like a huge slap in the face. Amunet didn't want him. She wanted Jumo, he figured. "See ya," the male bid her farewell, walking lazily to the mountains.

~*~

Gzifa snorted, disbelievingly. "Thank you, kindly," she replied with a whimsical wink. As they continued to walk, she turned her attention back to Kafele as he posed another question. Her stomach dropped a tad, but she continued to smile. "That would be Ny--" she was cut off by the sound of the very same lioness she was mentioning earlier. "Nyota." Gzifa laughed as she watched the lioness stream down the hill. "We were just talking about you." Getting in front of the two, placing herself in the middle, she looked to the two. "Kafele, this is Nyota. Nyota, this is Kafele."

[Dark Huntress]

Amunet's jaw dropped. "No," she said quietly. "No! That's not what I-I will marry Moyo! Don't do that!" She groaned. Lesedi was going to officially hate her forever. "Moyo...?" She asked quietly, everyone beginning to disperse,"Anyone? What have I done!"

She turned and began to trudge away, tail dragging. Couldn't she have been more content? Lesedi was not her favorite acquaintance, but she did seem to be a good leader, a good princess. She didn't deserve this. Amunet deserved Moyo more than Lesedi deserved this.

With a shaky sigh she angled towards Kafele, Gzifa, and Nyota, whom she'd just noticed were gathered. She sat down silently by them and waited for them to notice her. Kafele did so first, turning his emerald eyes on her, then back, back to Gzifa.

"That's wei-hey, Amunet?" Nyota inclined her head and continued,"anyway, that's weird. Why would possibly be talking about me when you obviously have more important things to talk about!" She winked slyly at Gzifa.

Kafele colored violently. "Um-uh-," he stuttered. "I'm thirsty!" he declared before turning and charging towards the waterhole, obviously embarrassed. Nyota gave Gzifa an innocent grin. "You know you love me!"

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Changa paced the already well-worn, dried grass and dirt. He frowned a little as he saw movement around the den, one advantage of being on lookout duty. His bright blue eyes narrowed as he spied a rusty coated lioness streaking away from the rest. "Lesedi...," he muttered.

He cast a look over his shoulder at what he was supposed to be watching. The lioness he cared about or, quite possibly, his hide. Being of a rash, decisive nature, the choice was easy, and he darted towards the princess.

"Lesedi!" He called when he neared her,"Lesedi." He panted as he slowed to her. He braced himself, expecting the usual abundance of hateful glances, evil punishments, and railing insults.

[Malenga]

Gzifa peered down at her friend beside her, smiling down at the lioness. "But of course," she replied. Gzifa didn't mind Nyota being forward jokingly with Kafele. She knew Nyota meant well anyway. She took one last look at Kafele with a little giggle to herself before she turned her attentions around towards the lioness behind her. "You seem troubled, Amunet," she commented. Gzifa picked herself up and turned herself completely around to the lioness behind her, now staring down at her peacefully, seated accordingly. "What happened?"

~*~

Lesedi came to a halt when she felt herself against the air of another. Looking down at the paws of another lion, she didn't take long to depict them as Changa's paws. Sucking in her breath and holding more tears back, Lesedi pulled her head away from him and rounded the male's body.

"I don't need this right now, Changa," the ex-princess cried, attempting to walk past the lion. She didn't want him to see her like this-- beaten and defeated. She wanted him to see her as the princess, not the bad cub of the royal family. More importantly, she wanted him to see her as someone who could handle herself. Where as right now, she looked quite foolish, being taken away from the throne all because she was so... jealous. Jealousy was what caused this, and she knew it. She was just too proud to admit it. And as a result, her mind was flooding with voices telling her she wasn't to blame; she was doing the right thing for herself and the pride; Amunet was to blame.

It will always be Amunet's fault, she grumbled to her thoughts.

[Dark Huntress]

"I-I," Amunet stuttered. Did she want to tell anyone? Could she? She sighed. "Nothing," she forced a smile,"nothing." She nodded towards the waterhole,"Should we save Kafele from drowning himself in his muddled thoughts.

He smiled a little as Nyota giggled. Nyota grinned and laid her chin playfully on Gzifa's back. "Yes. We should," she glanced at the back of Gzifa's orange head. "You have strange taste, Ziffy. Oh, well, shy is adorable." She grinned at Amunet and traipsed towards the waterhole, her tufted tail twitching.

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"Not now?! It's not time I suppose?!" Changa cried,"I-I." He looked down at his pale toes. He looked up, blue eyes meeting her fiery red ones. "I think it now is the time, because," he sighed at himself,"because I wanted to know what's wrong." He shrugged to feign casual feelings.

"Want to talk?" he asked. He swallowed then whistled innocently under his breath, flicking an ear back. He made a nervous clicking sound with his tongue. Waiting killed him, especially when it was this awkward.

[Malenga]

Gzifa looked down at Amunet for a while longer though she was sure the lioness didn't want any extra attention. Oh that Amunet, trying to force everyone to believe that she didn't wear her heart on her pelt. Quietly, Gzifa glazed her hazel hues over to the lion in front of the three lionesses, in the waterhole. As she felt the pressure of someone placing their head on her back, she turned her head around slowly and smile down to Nyota. Nodding her head, she looked back at Kafele. "That I do," she agreed.

She didn't mind though. She had no problem letting the lion know he had her attention, though she had a problem with herself being someone who probably wasn't the only lioness in his mind in the pride. To that, she heaved a heavy sigh of doubt but she continued to act as though she had no worries.

Getting up slowly as to not disrupt Nyota's head, she glided out from under the lioness' chin and slunk over to the white male. "My girls seem to believe you need some help from the waterhole," she said. She was so quiet in listening to his answer that she was sure he wasn't going to know what was coming next.

~*~

Lesedi continued to look at Changa, her eyes overflowing with tears as she stood perfectly still and watched him. She could tell he was uncomfortable, but she could only shake her head and crunch her eyes together even more.

"No! Just leave me alone! You don't care! Why would you?! You're perfectly happy being with Amunet or any other lioness who is too easy to say 'no' to you, right?! I don't care about you like you don't care about me, so just quit it with your fake feelings and cares about me. You're like all the other males out there."

She took another moment to look at him but she didn't want to hear what he had to say. She simply shook her head, trying to free the tears from her eyes before she darted off into the Savannah. Alone.

[Dark Huntress]

Kafele gave her a surprised look. "Is there some danger I'm unaware of? A crocodile lurking in the waterhole?" He grinned to ensure she noticed he was kidding with her. "Or perhaps I was choke on my own tongue." He laughed. "I think I know how it works."

"It must be nice, having friends that like to laugh," he beckoned towards Amunet and Nyota, mainly Nyota, who was watching them, pale turquoise eyes glinting with glee and amusement. "Am I, are we, a pair of exotic animals, or does she just like to stare? Quite frankly, it's tearing to creep me out."


Nyota grinned at them then frowned as Amunet took her tail between her teeth and pulled hard. "Ow!" she whined,"I was only watching!" She sounds like a cub! Amunet thought. She couldn't keep a smile from forming on her pretty face-Nyota's naivety and innocence amused her. It also endeared the young lioness you her.

"Give them some space," she said finally. "If they're lucky enough to enjoy eachother's company, let them be!"

Nyota shrugged. "Whatever. Where's Jumo? I'm up for a little morning flirting." She batted her eyes at Amunet before darting gracefully away, moving like a sandy shadow and leaving Amunet behind shaking her head.

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"Amunet?! She's like my-my sister! That's gross!" Changa called after her. "You're just going to run away?! Like Moyo?! Like a coward?! You're a princess, Lezzy, you should be running! You should be fighting and standing your ground and scaring the crap out of lions-like your mother!" He shook his head.

Gone. Apparently this was week for everyone to run away. He half-expected Moyo to go speeding by one way, Amunet another, and Jumo yet another, thought to be frank he didn't have a clue as to why Jumo would be running away. I confuse myself, he thought, agitated. No wonder she ran from me. This all reminded him too much of his parents. Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad! Couldn't wait to get away!

"You're wrong! You always have been! I do care!"

[Malenga]

Gzifa laughed at the male's comment, soon looking over to her friends. Sure enough, Kafele was correct; she was staring quite intently. But then she saw Amunet say something and they both began to pretend like they didn't want to know what was going on with Gzifa and Kafele.

"Well, she thinks you're quite handsome," commented Gzifa. She took a few more moments to stare down at the blonde lioness before looking back over at the white lion. "You're rather exotic looking, I agree. You don't see many white lions around here," she said. Meanwhile, I look like everyone else here. So what would he want with boring ol' me?, she pondered mentally.

~*~

Jumoca came to a stop, once he saw that the princess-- or rather, ex-princess-- was out of sight but certainly not out of his mind like she probably wanted. The large lion looked quizzically around him unsure of where she might have gone. Worse come to worse, she was out of the territory like a reckless Moyo once was. He breathed out a sigh of discomfort. No matter what the queen told him, he felt obligated to make sure she was safe and sound-- not as a royal advisor, but as her friend.

Making his way down to the waterhole, he hoped she was there. No, he thought once he laid eyes on Amunet, Nyota, Gzifa, and the rogue lion. He ran down to their level, and looked at Amunet. "Did Lesedi come by here?" he huffed. He tapped his tail on the ground, unsure if she was going to answer or not. He was hoping she would; he was quite impatient when it came to waiting for answers.

~*~

Faded words rang through Lesedi's mind as she listened to Changa yammer on about something she didn't pay attention to. All she could think about was how her mother hated her, her father hated her, and everyone else did too. She didn't care about Amunet hating her, but she found some sort of sensitive weakness in Moyo's feelings towards her. She didn't know how the male would treat her, now that she wasn't a princess. Come to think of it... how would anyone treat her?

She galloped down the hill, exiting Zawditu territory and bring bushes into her air once she flew past them. She soon slowed, trotting and then coming to a walk. Then she stopped, sitting on a yellow hill with nothing in front of her but the sky and the large valley. She knew now she was out of the territory her parents ruled. Did she feel okay about that?

"I can't go back..." she muttered. "No one wants me," she shook her head, "No one needs me. If I'm not to rule... what is my purpose in that pride?" Lesedi extended a depressed sigh, her heartbeat much louder now. Lesedi didn't notice through her own noise how something was making a noise behind her. She flicked her ear, only catching a small glimpse of something moving. The lioness stared for a while longer before she got back to her fours and trailed down the hill, getting away from anything that might be scouting her. Daddy probably sent others looking for me, she thought as she cantered away.

Little did Lesedi know, this was something that no one but a selfish mind sent. Far away from her home.

BANG!

Birds screamed, animals created their way past one another, and the sound stayed in the area for a while longer. Lesedi turned herself around, two holes looking directly at her attached to a long tube of shiny gray. Holding it was a strange animal. She had never seen it before. Making her heart race even more, she moved just as another shot was made.

~*~

The pride lifted their heads, the queen standing up. They couldn't see anything, but Malenga was sure something was out there. There it was again, that loud noise.

"Mom!" Sethunya called out, Malenga looking down at her oldest. "Humans! They're outside the territory!"

"Get Zaige and lead the pride out of here," the queen commanded, jumping off of the rock she was perched on. She flew past Cetshwayo.

"Malenga!" he called. "Where are you going?!"

"Lesedi's out there, I need to find her!" But Malenga was stopped by her son, Badrani. He looked down at her and pushed her shoulder back to his father. "Rani, move."

"Mom, go with the others. Last thing we need is the queen shot down."

Malenga rounded her son, but was soon caught by her tail. "Let go of me, this instant!"

"Lesedi knows the places she needs to go to hide from danger. She'll make her way back here and we can leave all together," Rani reasoned. He was hasty with his words, even though they were muffled by his mouth being with his mother's tail.

However, Malenga was not having. "I order you to let me go, Badrani."

"Malenga," Cetshwayo stood in front of the others, though Sethunya was bolting her way to the den to make sure Zaige was there to lead them out. "This pride needs you--"

"My daughter needs me--"

"So does this pride! Lesedi knows what to do in this situation, but you need to be a queen and lead them out of here safely. She can do this on her own," Cetshwayo jumped down to his mate, "Now, go." Malenga resisted, stubborn as usual. She pushed against her mate's nudges to her shoulder, attempting to elude his advances towards the pride. "I said, GO!" he bellowed. Giving her one final push, Malenga stared at him for a moment before she turned to the others and began to run past them. They followed accordingly, the king behind to make sure no one was left behind.

[Dark Huntress]

Before Kafele could answer the presence of Jumo interrupted him. The lion's body language clearly said he was desperate. "Do you think something's wrong?" he asked Gzifa, stepping towards the others.

"No, I haven't," Amunet gave Jumo a concerned glance. "You mean she didn't didn't stop?"

"Oh, there you are, Jumo!" Nyota exclaimed playfully, flicking him a flirty smile. She soon sobered as she marked his concern and the grave looks on both his and Amunet's faces.

"Is something wrong?" she asked slowly.

She turned a little as Kafele trotted up. She was sure Gzifa wouldn't be far behind. She was sticking to the white lion like 'stink to a warthog', as the saying went.

Before she could greet Kafele a loud, strange noise sounded and panic seemed to erupt from the dens behind her. "What is it?" she asked,"Is it an earthquake?"

Kafele answered: "It is humans."

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Changa hadn't bothered to follow Lesedi. He was sure it would've only earned him a bloody nose and hide. He turned rigid as a loud boom echoed through the dusty plains.

Lesedi, he thought. "Lesedi!" Another sound followed the first as he charged in the direction he'd seen her go. He skidded to a halt as he sighted her rusty-colored coat.

He froze, however, as he saw the human, an odd creature that stood erect and had strangely long legs. His features were small and unremarkable and his eyes were dark and beady. A loud growl rumbled in Changa's throat as he leapt at the man.

Another bang! erupted, much louder than the others, and something burned through Changa's right forearm. As the man backed up, fumbling with his strange, pointed metal objects that reeked of a strange scent, Changa slashed the mans arm, blood seeping onto the human's strangely colored coat.