by Carl » July 2nd, 2013, 2:33 pm
"You got it."
Vitani motioned with her head and four lionesses from their half of the pride jumped up to follow herㅡ they were N'gora, Dikeledi, Masozi, and Sauda, all good fighters trained meticulously under Zira. All ruthless in battle, and loyal only to Vitani and Kovu. As the fivesome bounded away, their eyes caught every movement, registered what it was, and refocused on the task at hand.
N'gora bore a strong resemblance to Vitani, but they weren't related. N'gora was about the same age as Nuka would have been were he still with them, and had been only a cub when she'd come into Zira's care. Zira had thrown her into training with the others, as they had had to be strong for the things to come.
Dikeledi and Masozi were sisters, their names both meaning "tears." They had been teens when they'd happened upon Zira's land with their sick mother. Their mother's illness had worsened in the awful living conditions and she'd died not long after. The sisters had been "adopted" by Zira and were treated well briefly before being forced to train as well. Strength and skill were the most important things.
Sauda had been young in the time before the pride had been banished, borne to one of the other pridesisters. She had been training her whole life to reclaim their place in the Pridelands, and a part of her relished in the pain Simba and his ilk was going through because of his disease.
The four together were the best fighters Vitani had. They were the best in land, as yet no one had been able to defeat them. Their scarred bodies and mentalities from hard lives made them absolutely brutal in battle, swift and precise in the execution of their attacks.
In this new era after the prides had become one, they had little opportunity to actually shed any blood, aside from that of week prey animals, and seeing how much damage this rogue had done revitalized and invigorated the five. They reveled in the chance for real battle.
As they drew near to the elephant graveyard, Vitani held up a paw to slow her procession. The sqad slowed to a walk, their eyes and ears peeled in every direction, bodies tensed as they prepared for battle.
"There's no point in hiding," Vitani called as she stepped across the first bone into the graveyard, "We know you're here, and we will find you."
She strode ahead, unafraid, the other four loosely following at their own pace. No matter how good this rogue was, they were confident in their victory. Unlike the others who had come here just for a fight (and on her and Kovu's orders) Vitani was here for not only a fight, but because a part of her cared for Simba's prideㅡ it was crazy, ludicrous, but it was true, and she didn't want harm to come to them. She told herself it was simply because it would hurt Kovu should anything happen to them, but that wasn't entirely the case.
She looked around for the rogue as she walked, ready to do what was necessary to protect her new family, and to get a bit of thrill at the same time.