Dissension (Julie Skywalker and Dark Huntress)

[Dark Huntress]

"No, Chika just reminded me that my mother might be sunning." She grinned,"Wouldnt want to run into her and her another lecture on 'how to be completely proper'!" Her voice adopted a nasally, stuckup tone. After a moment she though better of what she'd just done.

"Sorry," she said, knowing how much of a gentleman Obi was and acknowledging the fact that he might not think kindly of her mocking,"I'm just tired of getting yelle at." She shrugged and watched a butterfly flit by. She flicked an ear back as it passed over her head.

"So...," she began, attempting to change the subject to a slightly less awkward one. She suddenly remembered glimpsing Sethunya. "Hey!" she exclaimed suddenly,"maybe we could go find Bao and Themba and maybe they'll have some cool ideas of what to do!" Without waiting for an answer, she bounded off, tail tuft waving through the air in erratic designs.

*£*

Chika turned over onto Zaire, his large paw sliding off her back. She squirmed and rested her chin and forepaws on his fluffy, dark mane. An ear flicked a little and she shifted her claws in and out of their natural sheaths before raising her head and tossing her tuft out of her eyes. She grinned savagely a little before tugging on one of Zaire's ears. His flicked in annoyance and he rolled over, pulling his ear out of her gentle grasp.

"What?" He grumbled without opening his eyes. Chika smiled a little and snuggled up against his side, purring loudly, her side reverberating with the loud noise. Zaire laid his paw back over her and nuzzled his nose so that it laid against the stone and his hot breath ruffled Chika's fur. He groaned a little, a little annoyed at being thusly disturbed. Women! So wanting! he thought, though not really Frelin it because she'd wanted him.

[Carl]

Obi groaned and looked after her. So much for his walk. After standing exasperated for a moment, glancing in the direction of his walk and then back after the hyper lioness, he sighed and began running after her. He found it somewhat tiresome to chase after her like this, but for some reason he always did. He caught up to her, noting she was going at slightly the wrong angle to get to the place where his sister and the foreigner might be.

"You know, they're probably at the baobab tree. Which is more this way," he said, turning at a bit of angle and speeding up, kicking up dust after him. He wanted to stick his tongue out at her, but that would be too childish, nevermind the fact that he'd likely bite it off on accident while running like this.

Having gained a significant lead, Obi slowed, not a lot, just enough that Xhosa wouldn't have to try particularly hard to pass him again. He preferred if he could keep an eye on her, rather than leaving her in the dust. Not that she couldn't pass him at his previous speed, just that now she wouldn't have to work so hard to get the lead again.

---

Wanting to avoid remaining in this awkward state for much longer, Themba began to sprint. Puzzled, as she saw no need to hurry, Bao followed suit. The two lionesses were making good time, with Pride Rock getting slightly bigger all the time, when suddenly the princess caught sight of her brother and his little 'girlfriend' coming towards them at a run not far ahead.

"Whattaya know, looks like they're coming to find us too," she called over to the gray lioness, who nodded in agreement.

"They musta got bored with whatever it was they were doing," Bao shouted back. Themba figured the same. Either way, those two were saving her a lot of embarrassment, so she was glad to see them. Many times she was annoyed when they showed up, but in those instances they were usually interrupting an interesting lesson from Sethunya. Not today. Today they were just helping her.

As the two pairs got close, they skidded to a halt.

"What a coincidence you two would be all the way out here," Themba said to her brother and Xhosa, "We were just coming to look for you."

---

Nnamdi had been laying with his queen trying to puzzle out exactly what Sethunya's message had meant. His head was beginning to hurt just thinking about her riddles. "A storm of changeㅡ fueled by dissension and hunger. It means that whatever happens the Circle of Life will come full circle, I'm afraid. There's more than one kind of hunger, Your Majesty." What did all of that mean? If it wasn't literal hunger, it couldn't be the hyenas or the cheetahs. But where else could "a storm of change" come from? What was he missing? With a groan, he rose on his paws and began pacing nearby, trying to do so quietly so as not to disturb his mate.

She noticed anyway. "What's the matter Nnamdi?" she asked. He stopped and looked over at her.

"It's something Sethunya told me earlier," he replied, walking back over to her and taking a seat next to her. She sat up and rubbed against him.

"What did she say?"

He sighed and relayed the old lioness's words to his mate. Her brow furrowed as she pondered it.

"What does it mean?" she asked finally.

"That's just itㅡ I don't know."

[Dark Huntress]

Xhosa laughed breathlessly as she skidded to a halt next to Obi. "That's so weird!" she panted, referring to the odd, mutual goal. "It was kinda getting boring so we thought you two might have some ideas of what to do!" She flipped her tuft out of her multi-colored eyes and gave the two girls a smile, feeling a little embarrassed in her rather unorganized state.

She giggled quietly, as she always did when flustered and stirred a small cloud of dust up with a paw, waiting for their answer. She noticed Themba seemed particularly happy to see them, an odd fact, and both of the girls seemed a little more awkward than usually.

I wonder the significance, she pondered to herself silently.

*£*

Chika stretched and yawned, her long, reddish tongue unfurling. She sat up and tilted he head to the side, scratching her ear. She shook herself and stretched again. She cast a lethargic glance around her at the lionesses and the few lions slumbering.

She sighed before slowing easing herself off of her rock. She strolled towards the waterhole, but froze as voices surprised her. The voices were low, lions', and there were only two or three individual ones. She cast a curious glance around the corner of the rock where the speakers were concealed.

Ashante was there as was a lion she'd seen at the meeting. Their suspicious expressions and secretive tones made her back away, not wishing to hear what they were speaking about. What I don't know won't kill me, she reasoned and got her drink. She hurried back to Zaire's side and snuggled up against him, feeling safe.

[Carl]

"I don't have any ideas of what to do," Themba said, "but I'm sure the four of us can think of something."

"Yeah, we just got bored after Sethunya left, she told us a cool legend and then said she needed to talk to the king," Bao chimed in. Obi flopped to the ground and began pawing at a root, like a cub would.

"I was going to go for a walk," he said, pausing to gnaw on the root for a minute, "but then Xhosa said we should come find you guys and took off. So here we are."

Watching him, and remembering their cubhood days, Themba grinned at her brother and pounced on him, catching a mouthful of his red mane. He rolled, throwing her off, and stood up, cutting his eyes at her. He and his sister hadn't wrestled in a long timeㅡ years in fact. Ever since she'd become old enough to tag along with Sethunya, she'd become the legend-keeper's apprentice, for lack of a better word, and had seemed to grow out of playing like cubs. Feeling nostalgic, the male dropped his forelegs to the ground in a playful stance. The princess growled playfully at him, crouching until the grass tickled her belly.

Obi lunged, but Themba was agile enough to leap out of the way. She jumped at his rear end, but he moved, so she snapped her jaws shut on his tail. He snarled and batted the top of her head, once, twice, three times. She let go of his tail, rolled onto her back, and kicked him in the underbelly, just shy of a tender location. Realizing how closely he'd come to being injured, the prince stood and began dusting himself off with a paw as he cleared his throat.

"Ahem... how silly we must have looked," he said almost quietly. Themba snorted, rising on her paws and shaking the dirt and a few rogue blades of grass out of her own fur.

"Yeah, you wouldn't wanna look silly in front of the two potential future queens of Pride Rock," she retorted haughtily. Her lazy attempt to get the dust out of her fur left her looking roguish and boyish, in fact, she looked like an enlarged male cub after a day of playing. Bao padded over to her and brushed some of the remaining bits of grass from the princess's fur.

"No, that's not itㅡ" Obi started.

"I'm sure it isn't," Themba grunted, shoving the gray lioness away from her. "I'm going for a drink." With that, she began padding off towards the waterhole.

"Hey, Themba!" the prince called, trotting after her. Bao looked over at Xhosa, shrugged and trailed after the young royals.

[Dark Huntress]

Xhosa shrugged in response and came up alongside of Bao. "Siblings, huh?" She giggled, feeling rather cubbish herself, Obi and herself's wrestle earlier having put her in a playful mood. Gesturing for Bao not to give her away, she crept up behind the prince and pounced. Before he could react, however, she leapt up and darted off, not eager to be caught and hoping she was fast enough to escape. She threw a look over her shoulder with an accompanying laugh as she streaked through the grass. Without a second thought, she flattened herself against the ground and her ears against her head, seeming to disappear. She stifled an anticipating laugh as she lay in wait for her crush. Hope he can't see me, she thought, smiling. Sure, she was a little immature, but she still had loads of fun being so. She twitched her tai land crept forward, staying low and being quiet. She tried not to have a fit of laughter as she snuck up behind Obi.

"Boo!" she exclaimed loudly, grinning from ear to ear.

*£*

"You have to tell someone."

"No!" Chika protested against Zaire,"I can't betray my cause!" She gave him a stubborn look, eyes burning.

"Even if it means they are going to kill someone?" Chika flinched at Zaire's words. This was why she hated prides: she felt a duty to everyone. Before she was only dutied to Chenziri, and then Zaire and Adanya, and, eventually, Xhosa. Now she felt like every lion in this pride was special and important, partly because they were, and she hated it. She hated being attached, Zaire being her special exception. She sighed.

"No. I won't let it go that far," she said finally. "What should I do?" She lived Zaire for he was the one lion in the world that could give her advice that was right. She trusted his judgement.

"Follow him. Next time, listen in. If it's not important, discard it, but, if it is important, tell someone."

"Who?"

Zaire sat thinking for a moment. "Sethunya", he answered slowly. "She will keep your affiliation a secret if you ask it, I'm sure." He smiled tenderly. "I love you."

Chika gave him a small smile and nuzzled him. "I love you too", she mumbled. She sighed shakily. "What if Ashante finds out? What would he do?" She swallowed unconsciencely.

"Nothing. I'd eat him."

Chika giggled and rolled over playfully. She playfully swatted his ear with a paw. "You would, woul you?" she laughed. He chuckled in response and gave her a wide grin which displayed his vast array of formidable teeth.

[Carl]

For a moment, Obi wasn't sure if he should continue after his sister and try to find out what was eating her, or if he should play with Xhosa. He wanted to go and play with her, but he felt like it was his duty to see to someone who was possibly in distress first. He and Themba had sometimes been able to talk things out before, whenever he tried, and he was hoping to take care of it now. It would be much nicer to hang out with Xhosa though. He sighed. A good king would see to the troubled lioness first, and if he wanted to make a good king when that title fell on him, then he had to act like one now.

In the time he'd been pondering, Themba had gotten pretty far ahead of the other three. Unsure of Xhosa's and Bao's locations behind him, Obi started trotting forward again, saying in a firm voice over his shoulder to the two of them, "I'm gonna talk to her. You two have fun." With that he picked up his pace a bit, trying to catch up to his sister. He was already starting to regret his decision, but what else could he do?

Taking the hint, Bao bounded over toward Xhosa, prepared to wrestle with her instead of following her friend. The gray lioness crouched down in the grass, forcing a playful smile though she'd rather be checking on Themba, as that kind of behavior was unusual for her.

---

Sethunya sat alone at the very top of Pride Rock, far above the den and the other lions below. The dusky sky was beginning to reveal a few little speckles of starlight. The old lioness gazed up at the Great Kings, wondering over the predicament at hand. Where was the threat coming from? What was she missing?

"Are you up there, too?" she asked quietly, "You weren't a king, but if only kings are up there then where is everyone else?"

The few visible stars were silent, as always. Sethunya sighed.

"If you can hear me, wherever you are, I need your guidance. What is it I'm missing? If you could just give me a sign... I've always asked so much of you, and I wouldn't ask any more if I had anywhere else to turn. My pride is in danger and I don't know from where. Please, just help me one more time..." she pleaded, still speaking quietly.

Still, the gently sparkling sky offered no answer.

The old lioness remained sitting there, alone as she was, feeling the loneliness more than usually. It was silly to ask for guidance from her lost mate like this, she'd always been the one who had more of a head for these things, after all. But when you miss someone, it doesn't matter if they can really help or not, their presence would be enough to soothe, at least. Their absence, on the other hand, could make everything seems hopeless.

A lone tear streaking down Sethunya's face, she breathed three little words, "I miss you."

[Dark Huntress]

Xhosa grinned back at Bao, baring her teeth in a sharp smile. She bowed and flicked her multi-colored eyes about as she hoped Obi wouldn't be too long. She like Bao, but the lioness wasn't the most naturally playful lioness ever to grace the face of the planet, Obi was much more fun. She sighed a little, feeling selfish. She hoped Themba was okay and not too upset, only being a girl like she herself was prone to do.

Xhosa glanced up at Bao, marking her distracted demeanor. With a gleeful smile, she pounced on the middle of the foreigner's ashen back, then scampered away, snickering. She stopped, however, as she observed Bao's rather sluggish manner.

"Hey," she said, walking towards Bao, the golden grass parting on each side with a swishing sound. "We can go see what's bothering Themba. I know playing around isn't exactly 'your thing'."

She gave the lioness, whom she hoped was her friend, a hopeful smile and trotted off towards Obi and Themba, who were disappearing into the distance, without waiting for an answer. With kitten playfulness, she swatted a stray piece of grass then hissed and arched her back as it swung back at her, slapping her in the face. She giggled a little; she'd probably looked ridiculous! She continued on her way, sometimes zigzagging through the golden sea, or pretending she was stalking prey. She exhaled, Bao probably thought she was the immature lioness to exist.

Maybe I am, she shrugged. Who cares? It's still fun! She turned to face Bao. "Coming?"

*£*

Ashante narrowed his eyes at the lion in front of him, ears backing against his head. "Who was listening?" he hissed at the idiot.

"That one, kinda weird colored lioness. Cheek, chick, something like that."

Ashante resisted the urge to slap a paw over his eyes. "Chika," he whispered quietly, trying not to yell. "Chika. What did she hear?[/b]"

"I don't know," the sandy lioness shrugged. Ashante leapt at his, teeth flashing, and pinned him to the ground, placing a paw firmly on the lion's neck.

"I keep you around to know. Otherwise-" he scratched a claw down the side of the Morton's face-"you wouldn't be here!" He eased himself off of his victim and sat back on his haunches. "Leave."

"Yes-yes, sir!"

Ashante groaned as the lion saluted then scurried off. This is going to fail! he thought despairingly. Perhaps Chika won't tell, but if she does. He chuckled evilly, digging his claws into the ground as if it were the perfidious lioness.

[Carl]

"I think you misunderstand me," the gray lioness said, in almost a drawl, "Just because I rarely playㅡ" Here she paused and crouched to the ground, stalking swiftly through the grass. As she drew near Xhosa, she rolled onto her back and came up beneath the other lioness, wrapping her arms around the other girl's stomach, finally finishing her sentence, "ㅡdoesn't mean it's not my thing."

She pulled the other lioness toward the ground, trying to knock her down. She was sure they could entertain themselves for a while. That was the best thing anyway; something must have caused the princess's unusual behavior, and having the two of them around, based on Themba's earlier comment, would do the opposite of help. One or both of them had clearly set her off, so it was best if Obi dealt with it. Besides, she hadn't acted like a cub in a while, and this was sorta fun.

Playfully, she began to gnaw on the back of one of Xhosa's forelegs, hoping to knock her off balance. She had rarely done anything with this lioness, so it wasn't really a surprise that she didn't seem to know her well. There was plenty of time for them to better get to know one another, however, if they wished to do so.

---

Themba was sitting on the rock over the waterhole when Obi caught up to her. She was obviously skulking, and Obi knew what he'd done hadn't caused all this. He knew his sister better than that. He climbed up onto the rock beside her, remaining silent for a moment. His eyes looked over the slowly darkening horizon, then up into the stars. Themba's steadily remained on the gently rippling water beneath them.

"You know, I didn't mean to upset you," he said, despite knowing it hadn't been his actions that had upset her. She sighed.

"It's not that. I just don't know. I feel... sad today," the princess replied, looking at her reflection.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" the lioness practically shouted, flopping down onto the rock roughly, nearly knocking the wind out of herself. Her front paws dangled over the edge of the rock, hanging above the water as she stared huffily into it.

"Hey, it's okay..." Obi mumbled, trying to figure out how to get to the root of the problem.

"I just... what am I supposed to do if I'm lonely? You get your choice of two fine girls for a mate, but what do I get?" Themba said quietly.

"Hey, sis..." he didn't know what to tell her. The only lions who were really around were already taken, or were her relatives. She didn't really have any options at all. "You'll find someone, a rogue, or or a male from another pride, Dad was going to find you a betrothed at one point, right?"

"He decided against it. Besides I don't want some male from another pride," she muttered.

"Oh," Obi said, as a realization came to him, "You like someone here."

"What? No! Shhh... you don't know what you're talking about!" the princess snarled defensively, jumping to her paws and rounding on him as she did so. Obi chuckled, causing her to make a frowny face.

"You do. It's okay, sis. Just tell him, whoever he is, how you feel. I know none of the males here are really available, but I'm sure he'll let you down nicely and you can move on," he told her wisely. Themba sighed looking down.

"Yeah..."

"It'll be fine. Maybe you should turn in for the night? I'll keep an eye on those other two."

The princess nodded and hopped off the rock, returning to Pride Rock. She was sure her brother meant for her to talk to whoever it was he thought she was crushing on, but she knew she wouldn't be doing that. The two of them could never be together, so what did it matter if she told? She sighed and kept trotting towards the den.

[Dark Huntress]

Xhosa giggled with glee and pulled herself away from Bao's strong grasp, the dry grass stalks aiding her escape. She spun, happiness written all over her cute, furry face. "So you do know how to have fun!" she exclaimed, grinning wildly.

She darted forward and brought a paw gently down on Bao. "Tag!" she cried before dashing off. She scampered through the camouflaging grass. She smothered a snickered as she pulled herself through the small spaces of a stony formation then held her breath and waited for her recently-discovered playmate.

*£*

Chika gliding off of her rock, a sharply contrasted shadow. She swept herself gracefully down the path towards the waterhole then paused, brows raised, as an unmistakable squeal sounded and a figure bearing a striking resemblance to her niece streaked through the golden sea.

Chika chuckled a little and shook her head before continuing on her way. She stopped again as she sighted Obi then angled towards the young lion.

"What's up?" she asked as she neared him, rather hoping he wouldn't think her the 'nosy, annoying aunt'. She wasn't much older than Xhosa, maybe a winter. Chenziri had been a much older brother.

"Is Xhosa being an erratic fur ball?" She smiled as she used her especial nickname for her only niece. Xhosa called her 'her moody, cynical old lady friend' and she returned the favor, though, in some ways, much more mildly.

Chika planted herself by Obi to await his answer. He was, she supposed rather handsome, too young for her, but she could see why Xhosa would like him. He was also obviously funny as Xhosa was always laughing when with him.

Like it takes a lot to make Xhosa 'Ms. Giggles'. Chika snorted to herself, humored. That girl would laugh at a lion's dying gasp!

[Carl]

Bao chuckled at the young lioness prancing about like a cub. At their age, most of this was done with, but that girl was always running and bouncing and giggling. The ashy lioness shook her head and took off in pursuit of Xhosa, using her nose as well as her eyes. As she was approaching a rock formation, she noticed Obi coming towards them, alone, but he was joined by Chika. She wondered how things had gone with Themba, but returned her eyes to the task at hand and catching Xhosa. She inhaled, her nose telling her she was close.

On a whim, she leapt at the formation, reaching forward with a paw and making little playful noises as she did so. She reached inside the small spaces, pawing around until her paw landed on something that felt oddly like a tail. She tugged on it a few times, shouting "tag!" However, as she tugged again, it came loose, and she found she held a snake in her paws. With a gasp, she loosened her grip on the creature just as it lunged at her. She threw her paws up in front of her face and took a bite to the right forepaw. She hissed, biting down on the snake until it let go, and then throwing it away into the grass somewhere. She watched the grass swaying as it disappeared then sniffed the air for Xhosa to continue their game.

As she placed her paw back on the earth, pain shot through it. Immediately the gray lioness picked it back up and examined the bite. It looked kinda bad for a paw wound. She'd need to rest it soon. For a moment she contemplated whether or not to keep looking for the other girl. Finally she called out to her.

"Hey, Xhosa, I just got bitten by a snake on my paw. I think I need to go back to Pride Rock.. but Obi's nearby with your aunt," she called as she began limping back towards their den.

☩ ☩ ☩

"Isn't she always?" Obi replied to Chika's question, "We were all playing together, but I had to talk to my sister about something, so we left her with Bao. Looks like they're having fun."

He smiled at the older lioness and turned his attention back to the grasslands. All that could be seen out there was the moving of the grass, especially since it was getting darker and the two lionesses out there were crouched down. The foreigner was so dark in coloration she could practically disappear in the night anyway, but in the grass there was no trace of either of them if they didn't want to be seen.

"She's a handful, Xhosa is. Do you think she'll settle down any with age? A queen needs to be able to stifle her giggling sometimes at least," he said, to further the conversation.

☩ ☩ ☩

"Sethunya, I need help," the princess said as she approached the old lioness at the very peak of Pride Rock.

"What is it child?" the creamy old lioness asked.

"I... have a problem that has to do with... erm... mates, and... feelings..." Themba mumbled. The old lioness cocked her head and turned her eyes toward the younger one.

"What makes you think I know any better than you in this?" Sethunya asked.

"Well, I know you had a mate before, so you must know something of it, and you're the wisest person I know, so where else would I turn?"

"Speak child."

And so, Themba told the aging lioness everything that she couldn't tell her brother, that she couldn't tell anyone. When she was done, Sethunya looked up to the stars, her eyes misty as she thought about her own mate whom she'd lost.

"You and I are not that different young princess. What you feel is normal. Just because you think you cannot have this person doesn't mean you truly can't. Let me tell you about my mate and I..."