This unshakable feeling... (Open)

[Nami]

Zora few across the dusty ground, the once bright stars that shone above her were now covered by the thick clouds. They choked the cool summers night, capturing the warm air from the sun when it was still in the sky. Zora was driven by some feeling. A feeling she could not shake. She has been sleeping soundly when suddenly she shot up out of her black dreamless sleep. "Go to the boarder." Her mind screamed,"Go to the boarder!" So now she was on her way to the boarder. Her heart pounding out of her chest. Zora was normally a lion who followed her feelings. Her instincts had yet to fail her so why would this time be any different? She just hoped her could get to the boarder in time-- but in time for what?
When Zora finally broke free from her thoughts, she found herself at the boarder. Breathing heavy and inches from the river that separated the highlands from the foul lowlands. The land was as dismal as the night sky. The smell of blood from previous battles still hung heavy in the air. The feeling of despair, loss and misery clung to Zora's heart like sweat to an elephant. The feeling had left her, leaving Zora confused and angry for coming all this way for nothing. But the once urge to go to the boarder had now been replaced with the sensation of someone watching her... and whoever that creature was...

...they were close.

[Nala]

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Two of the younger Pridelanders were feeling adventurous tonight and as such ventured towards the borders of their territory and ultimately out of it as everyone was settling down to rest. Still, they knew better than to visit the Shadowlands. Instead they wanted to visit the Highlands at this time in particular knowing its constant foggy state and the darkness would provide excellent cover and it did. This hardly meant that they were safe...

Back in the Pridelands

Being a huntress by nature, Nala was a light sleeper and always had been ever since she was a cub. It worked in her favor whenever Simba attempted to sneak out during those early hours in the morning as the late King Mufasa and his Queen Sarabi lay asleep. As usual she was always there to catch him because there was no way he was allowed to have all of the fun without her. Even when they got into trouble, which became so routine with the two, it was worth it.

The current Queen of the Pridelands was asleep beside her King in the den atop Pride Rock; the calm of the night resonating throughout the den. Her ears twitched momentarily hearing movement from one of the other lioness--or perhaps it was even Kovu--but a quick glance in the direction through half closed eyes revealed neither to be true. Someone had most likely shifted in an attempt to be more comfortable, but now that she was awake she needed to visit the waterhole for a drink.

[Nami]

Zora snarled, hoping she would scare off whoever was around her. She knew it was a predator, because if it was pray it would've been seen by now. Whatever this creature was it could pose as a threat. Zora's senses were all on high alter. Her ears forward, she crouched a bit lower than usual. The shadows that once surrounded her were beginning to fade, making the already dark night even darker. Suddenly Zora heard something shuffle behind her. Zora roared whirling around she saw a small dark figure standing very still, as if knowing it had been spotted and was pretending to be a shadow. Zora crouched low her tail swishing ever so slightly, her eyes huge, capturing as much light as possible. Then using her long and powerful back legs, she launched herself into the air, landing on top of the small creature. Zora places her paws on either side of the creature pinning it to the ground as it let out a shriek of terror. It almost sounded like a small lion cub's voice. As Zora's eyes widened, she saw that it was a small lion cub. But this cub was defiantly far from home. It looked nothing like the cubs that are born into the Highlands. It's legs were too short, it paws too soft for even a cub of this age. This cub's paws should be firm and rough from all the climbing on sharp hills and rocks that made up many parts of the Highlands.
Zora released the small cub and caught more movement out of the corner of her eye. "Another cub?" Zora thought. She backed a ways off to give the little one some space. "Now," Zora began, "What are you two doing so far some home?"

Attachments:

[Jiraa]

It had been awhile since Jiraa had been out of the dens at night. The sweltering heat that once choked the breath out of the Highlands inhabitants was now replaced by thick clouds and rain, a welcome relief to the drought that had been only a few weeks ago. Tonight, it was cooler, and the red lioness had decided to leave her resting place to wander her home.

It had been many weeks since she last happened upon the border. She briefly remembered her last visit, a trip to the falls; she and her pride had encountered a Lowlands lioness in the pouring rain and surprisingly no one suffered any injuries. As she walked the line that separated her home from her enemies, a familiar scent caught her nose. One of her hunters was nearby. Jiraa, being a lioness who tended to stay by herself, debated on whether or not she should greet her sister. She decided that as lead huntress, it was her duty to make conversation with her pridemate, if only to strengthen their bond.

Making her way towards the scent, she established that it was Zora, a dark brown lioness around her age, who was near, as well as two unfamiliar lions. Jiraa's eyes immediately narrowed. Who was trespassing on her homelands? If there was one thing that made the lioness's fur stand on end, it was strange foreigners. A low growl rumbled in her throat as she unsheathed her claws, quickening her pace. Zora could be in trouble.

When she arrived on the scene, she easily spotted her pride sister in the retreating fog, but no other lions. She turned her head in confusion, trying to spot the intruders and see who the lioness was talking to. As she got closer, her muscles relaxed and her heartbeat slowed. Standing in front of Zora were two unfamiliar cubs. They posed no threat to the Highlands. Slowing into a trot until she reached Zora's side, she greeted the trio. "Zora." Turning to the cubs, she tilted her head. "And what do we have here?[/color]"[/size]

[Nami]

Zora had been focusing so intently at the new cubs, that she hadn't even noticed that Jiraa was coming to meet her. Zora almost felt embarrassed at jumping a little when she had come up behind her. Zora nodded toward Jiraa and quickly regained her composure. "I found these two wondering the border."
Zora smiled a little at the cubs who were looking carefully at the both of them. "They looked to be from the pride lands." The dark blue eyed lioness looked around the boarder. She was confused on why any cub would want to come here. She guessed the ignorance of the cubs was stronger than she thought.

[Nala]

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Location: Highlands

The cubs were thoroughly enjoying this new location. From it's mountainous terrain that made each jump exciting, to the heavy fog and darkness that made attempting to sneak up on each other fun. If only they could show their mom what they considered to be the 'coolest discovery' yet. Knowing they would get in trouble for sneaking away from the Pridelands in the first place, each swore the other to secrecy while venturing deeper. With some time to spare before dawn judging from the moon's place in the sky, they figured they at least had enough time to explore this new territory a while longer before heading back. Or so they thought...

One second they were practicing their hunting skills using each other as prey and then one of them became that for a brief moment. The cub stared up at the large lioness with wide terrified eyes while trembling and then her sister was emerging to apparently defend her. Both knew they wouldn't stand a chance however, but it was the only thing they could think of to do. Surprisingly the mature lioness backed off and both cubs moved closer to each other. Her question was heard, but rather than answer it, they had their own. "A-are you...g-going to...k-kill...us?" The red lioness that approached afterward only terrified them further. And as they were now realizing what a mistake wondering off had been, their mom was now realizing that they were missing.

Location: Pridelands

Frantic paws made their way out of the den and to the waterhole to see if they were there. Seeing Nala there instead, after a shaky bow she started crying. It was obvious that something was wrong. "What happened? Tell me." At first there was some hesitation as she didn't want to anger her queen and friend, but eventually she told her.

Nala knew first hand what it was like to lose a child; there wouldn't be a repeat here. Not tonight and definitely not those cubs. Realizing what was happening a monkey that saw and heard the cubs as they took off, informed the two lionesses of their possible whereabouts. Not wanting to waste any more time they both took off to the Highlands with the Pridelands' strongest huntress leading the way.

Please be alright...

[Nami]

At hearing the question Zora couldn't help but laugh, "No, no. We're not going to kill you. But you're lucky we found you instead of someone else." She looked down at the little cubs. A pang of sympathy came shot through Zora's heart. She wondered if their mother knew they were gone. Or if they had a mother to go home too. But strangely enough, Zora hadn't noticed that the feeling of being watched hadn't decreased. Instead--the feeling felt stronger than ever.
The young huntress looked around, as if expecting to see some dark creature staring at them. But there was no animal in sight. She dismissed the feeling. If there way anyone out there Jiraa would hear them. She was the best huntress around after all. Zora loved to hunt but found herself not always keeping her emotions under control. She often found herself angry during the hunt. The emotions she kept down in the past, would bubble up when she attacked her pray. She had to keep calm and keep her head clear. Falling from her train of thought Zora looked down at the cubs and said, "Best we get you little ones home. How do you feel about that Jiraa?"

[Jiraa]

Jiraa almost chuckled at the cubs terrified expressions. The Highlanders were no cub killers. She looked at the young lionesses and wondered where exactly they were from. She had never strayed far from the Highlands, so she could not place their scent. She went by Zora's word that the two were Prideland cubs. "Yes, you're more than lucky. You two are a far way from home; lions are not the only predators roaming the savannah.[/color]"

She gave a stern look from one sister to the other, green eyes flashing, trying to get her point across. "I'm surprised the hyenas in the Elephant Graveyard didn't catch you, or some lone leopard or a pack of wild dogs. All of them would jump at the chance to kill lone lion cubs, no matter which pride they came from. Do you two understand that?[/color]" Without waiting for a response, the huntress looked towards Zora. "Yes, let's take them back. The last thing we need is an angry mother on our backs, considering our own pride is few in number as of late. Let's set out now so we'll have them back just before sunrise.[/color]" She looked at the sky, gaging how much time they had before the sun appeared to warm the earth. She wanted to get them back before their mother realized they were missing; hopefully it would save the two young travelers from too harsh of a punishment via their parents.[/size]

[Nami]

At hearing the answer, the young lioness nodded. But before she could take a step in the right direction a rain drop plopped on the tip of her nose. Zora stepped back and shook the rain drop off. That got a small giggle out of the cubs and Zora gave them a smile. A crack of lighting followed by a rumble of thunder that flew across the sky. Zora lifted her head, even though she loved the rain, she really wasn't interested in bring these cubs all the way back to Pride Rock and back in the rain. Being around all these lions was also making her feel antsy. Being a part of a small pride she wasn't used to being around so many lions at one time. Ignoring that building of rain on her dark coat, she planted her feet in the direction of Pride Rock. She tried to look as if this rout wasn't natural but Zora found herself wondering in and out of the Highlands. Every so often she would go as far as the outskirts of the opposite side of the Pride Lands. Zora wanted to learn more about the world around her but deep down a small bit of her hoped that she'd learn more about her father. A roar of thunder echoed in the hill of the Highlands and this snapped Zora back into focus. "Come on cubs, let's get you back home to your mommy."

[Nala]

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Location: Highlands

The two cubs looked at each other, both of their faces reflecting mild confusion. While they weren't taught about each pride that surrounded them and really only knew about how scary and dangerous those in the Shadowlands were, they almost expected all to be similar in some way. Yet, her they were and the lioness that initially greeted them was laughing? Even the red colored one that approached, and it wasn't the 'scary' kind of laughter either.

They relaxed somewhat knowing that they weren't going to kill them, but listening to Jiraa, both couldn't help lowering their heads like they would whenever their mom scolded them. Finally when she was finished they looked at each other with a small sigh and then at the two lionesses before replying with a soft respectful, "Yes, ma'am." The lightning and thunder that practically implied a storm was imminent, motivated them to keep up as they started to head home.

At the same time...

Their mom and Nala were approaching at hunting speeds, their fur already soaked as the rain started in the Pridelands and was slowly making its way across the Savannah. Having only crossed the borders into the Highlands seconds ago, both lionesses could smell the cubs and two other scents. Sure enough after doing a quick scan of the area, they saw them. Their mom's roar sounded first, but it was Nala's that was the loudest as she jumped to land in front of them; her ears were flat and canines bared. The cubs' mom had a similar posture, but the concern was evident on her face.

"Those cubs are from my pride. Return them to us." As calmly as she attempted to speak those words, she was still growling. She didn't know these two lionesses and at the moment had to assume that they were a threat to the cubs' safety.

[Jiraa]

Jiraa's ears had only just perked as two unfamiliar calls resonated within her homelands. In seconds, a flash of pale fur was in front of them, followed by another menacing body. Out of instinct, Jiraa's muscles tensed, her claws unsheathed once more, and her mouth formed into a snarl. Looking at the two intruders, her eyes narrowed. She did not deal well with outsiders, especially those who posed a threat to her or her pride. As Nala spoke, a growl began to rumble in her throat. Until she registered what the foreign lioness was saying. Though still tense, Jiraa's claws disappeared into her paws and she closed her mouth. But a frown and a glare still remained present.

"I assure you, that was our intention before you trespassed. We were just about to take them home. They've already been chastised, so you don't have to worry about that,[/color]" she said, as calm and respectfully as she could.

It was hard for her to manage. In normal circumstances with a normal lioness, Jiraa would have snapped and threatened to rip the throats out of them. But she recognized the lioness who spoke as Nala, Queen of the Pridelands from the last gathering of the prides, where Maliki had chosen her as one of his representatives. She was a powerful and highly respected lioness, but Jiraa's own pride and stubborn ways made it impossible for her to completely erase all malice from her tone. After all, Nala and her companion, whom Jiraa assumed was the cubs' mother, were trespassing and they had taken threatening stances before she had. Though given the situation, Jiraa could not fault them. Had she had cubs, she probably would have done the same.[/size]

[Nami]

Zora smelled the lionesses before she saw them. But in the having rain, the earth was giving off it's own stronger smell. Zora leaped forward at the sight of the two lionesses, she snarled. But when she heard what Nala had to say she cursed herself for acting to defensively. Although, she hated when lions would easily walk in and out of their territory without question. She understood that both the lionesses were here for the cubs but knowing that they had gotten into the territory with any trouble worried Zora. She didn't like having unwelcome visitors even if it was the queen of the Pride Lands. The thought of the Pride Lands brought back some bitter memories. A vision of a young lionesses eager to learn about her father, flashed in front of Zora's eyes. "As Jiraa said, we have no intention of hurting the cubs. We were about to bring them home to you all. So if you would do just that we'd appreciate it." Zora couldn't help the rude tone in her voice. She hated being challenged. Especially on her own turf. She had always been a lioness that was quick to get angry. Thankfully most lions in her pride knew that, so they had more patience with her. And Zora was extremely grateful for it.

[Nala]

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Nala was growling even louder seeing Jiraa's defensive posture and she could tell simply by looking at her that both were skilled huntresses. That meant that both were ready to fight right there if they had to. Then she spoke and her posture changed towards the Pridelander...They weren't planning to hurt them?

The cubs were running over to their mom, obviously excited to see her, but both lowered their heads once they were directly before her because they knew they were in trouble. To their surprise she licked and nuzzled them affectionately. It hardly meant that a scolding wouldn't follow, but at the moment she was relieved to see them alive and well and from what the red lioness said, they already received an earful regarding their actions already.

When Zora spoke and echoed her pride sister's words, Nala finally started to relax. The cubs laughter behind her now that they were reunited with their mom helped to make that easier. Now that she wasn't in attack mode, the queen knew that an apology was in order. Not only was she trespassing, but here she was challenging them in their territory.

"Apparently, I owe you both an apology. On behalf of my Pride cubs and myself and their mother. For our trespassing, I am truly sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused you. The established laws of the various prides is something I don't take lightly and respect fully." Her words were genuine and said with the utmost respect. Whether they accepted her apology or not remained to be seen.

[Nami]

When the dark brown lioness began to see that all the other lionesses were relaxing Zora did as well. But she didn't let her guard down until she heard Nala's apology. Zora felted a bit ashamed, she should have been more understanding of where the lionesses were coming from. Swallowing her pride, Zora responded, "The apology you have offered is accepted." Zora glanced to see if there was any change in Jiraa's expression. "I also would like to apologize for acting so rude to a lionesses who just was trying to find her cubs. I wish you a safe journey home." Zora tried to make her smile and words as sincere as possible. Zora nodded her head in a bow and backed a few feet away. She looked down at the cubs and gave them a quick wink. Even though Zora wasn't a big fan of being around many other lions, she felt her night had been spent well. Although--the feeling of being watched had finally left her. Maybe whatever had been there, if there had been anything, had left her range of notice.

[Jiraa]

Jiraa nodded as Nala spoke, waiting for her to finish before she replied, nodding. "We accept your Highness. I understand why you were so defensive. Cubs are a priceless treasure that must be cherished and protected. The future of all our prides lies within their paws." She meant the words, for she knew that the Highlands would have been lost without Maliki, as he had been Kubwa's only son. But the future of their pride was now bleak once more; if Maliki did not settle down soon and have cubs, there would be no heir and no pride. She smiled at the two cubs as they reunited with their mother, whose face was now wrought with relief.

"As Zora as said, we offer our own apologies and wish you a safe journey, and I personally thank you for respecting the laws of our lands, your Highness. Your reputation preceeds you; you are as kind and strong as they say." Taking a step forward, she bowed her head in respect, pausing a moment before lifting her crown again. She was surprised to see that Maliki had not made his way to the border yet; hearing the roars of foreign females was a sure fire way to attract the attention of the hormone driven male and occasional diplomatic situations were his job, not hers. She was no queen, just a skilled huntress, and she did not have much experience in such formalities. The last thing Jiraa wanted was to embarrass her homelands.