The Pride Days (IC): Hurt

Jali and Taru both spotted the crocodiles. "Here they come" said the king. Taru did not reply but awaited their arrival. The lionesses who were in on the plan lined up along the sides of the river facing the camp in case of any surprises...

"Keep an eye out for any of their reinforcements that might come up unexpectedly"

Gamba kept watching the crocodiles, but compared to how he had behaved earlier, he now seemed eerily calm. Even though his position made him seemed relaxed, he had the impression of a trap waiting to spring at a moment's notice. All it took was the right trigger. The crocodiles weren't posing any threat, so he had no reason to attack. However, if they threatened anyone, then Gamba would quickly punish them for it. However, if they were being honest in their deal, then he would be much happier. He didn't like to fight, not just to kill.

Jali stepped onto a large rock near the shore with two lionesses on both sides of the rock, so four in all. Taru stood behind the group. Jali spoke loudly at the approaching crocodiles. "Hello friends. Had any luck?" he said with a half-smile, half-smirk. He knew that something was up, but he also knew that a drought was part of the reason and the pride would need to get help soon. Either they would wait for water or they would have to move entirely...

"NOTHING, NOTHING YET." Gomek said, beating Gustave to the punch. The large crocodile held no dishonesty in his voice. "WE THOUGHT WE'D STAY HERE AND WAIT FOR MY MATE TOSHOW HERSELF BEARING NEWS. TO PROVE THAT WE WILL HOLD UP OUR END OF THE DEAL." Gomek continued.

While Gomek did the talking, Gustave eyed the sentries around. He was no fool. These lions didn't trust him, and he gave them points for that. He just couldn't believe they had the nerve to beg them for help, and then not trust them to hold up their end of the bargain.

Stupid, warm blooded, overgrown rats... All he and Gomek would have to do is turn and leave. They stood no chance against them in the water. Plus, they could just swim away. Let the drought handle them. When they came crawling back for forgiveness and beg to drink from his spring, he would use them simply as food for his fellow crocodiles.

Gustave held no respect for these mammals. He had shown it when they came to him before. He had no respect because they did things like this.

Warm bloods...

Jali nodded. "Very well" he said. "I will be in my den if anyone needs me." Jali then turned and walked up the hill and away, Taru replaced him on the rock and stood watching closely. "So, crocodiles" Taru began. "Have you as well noticed a sudden drop in water supply and a raise in heat levels?"

Jali nodded. "Very well" he said. "I will be in my den if anyone needs me." Jali then turned and walked up the hill and away, Taru replaced him on the rock and stood watching closely. "So, crocodiles" Taru began. "Have you as well noticed a sudden drop in water supply and a raise in heat levels?"
Taru swiftly flicked his tail around the rock in impatience and kept a very close eye on the crocodiles and it was quite obvious.

Gamba was listening in on the entire conversation, and for some reason, was vaguely annoyed by Taru's question. He knew it was just small talk, nothing harmful, but the simple fact was that the answer was quite obvious. The answer was so incredibly obvious, that he felt the question to be somewhat ridiculous. It made anyone who asked it look silly. Hot? Decrease in water? Of course, why do you think we're negotiating with these creatures that think nothing more of us than prey?! Gamba was, unfortunately, biased against crocodiles from the beginning. He never quite got over the last time he had battled one. At present, his lion and tiger halves were both vying for control of his behavior. He was unable to decide if he should be pacing, or holding still. In a way, the tiglon was driven half-crazy by his own heritage. Although he had the best of two worlds, he was typically a moody creature. You couldn't predict anything about how he would react.

Taru kept staring at the crocodiles, waiting for an answer. He would question them about both ridiculous things and things beyond their own minds to test them and find out what was going on. Most of the lions and lionesses that had worked with Taru in battle long enough knew his methods of interrogation and knew that all of the stupid things he does has great affects in the end. Kal walked up to Gamba.

"Hello, I believe you're Gamba. I'm Kal. I heard about you from Jali and Sira while you were gone. Welcome to the pride" he said with a grin. He eyed the group of lions and crocodiles by the edge of the narrow river. "This seems serious. Taru's pulling out his interrogation tricks"

Gustave simply looked at Jali for a second, before turning to Gomek for help in talking to the obviously half retarded lion. Gomek cocked his head, then blinked.


"NOPE. HAVEN'T NOTICED AT ALL. IT'S JUST APPROACHING THE DRY SEASON AND WE'RE HERE TO FIX YOUR WATER." Gustave answered sarcastically. Gomek shook his head at how pathetic this was. "LISTEN, MATE, WE AREN'T HERE TO MAKE SMALL TALK WITH YOU. ASK A QUESTION IF YOU DEEM IT IMPORTANT." Gomek said, hissing after that. "YOU'LL MAKE ME STUPID WITH YOUR STUPID."

Taru smiled and chuckled. "Am I that stupid?" he began to laugh. "You're the one falling for some of my tricks. Learn what's being said before you respond. Are you being asked something honestly or falsely? In this case, it was a ruse to see how you would respond and my expectations have been met greatly" he said narrowing his eyes.

"It's quite obvious we don't trust you" said Taru. "And we're not going to let down our guard until we know for sure you'll live up to your promises"

Gamba never took his eyes off of Taru and the crocodiles, but despite this, he was not ignoring Kal. "Dealing with crocodiles is never to be taken lightly." He said, his tail flicking, as the crocodiles responded to Taru with insults. "Any creature that that sees you as less than an equal, or has a reputation of devouring your kind, is not one that I would wish to deal with." He then sighed, "Admittedly, I do not trust them, because it only took a single first impression to ruin the way I see the entire species. It has nothing to deal with these crocodiles, and if they're being honest, then I will torture myself for days trying to force myself to believe it."

"I have faith that King Jali knows what he's doing... That really big one over there, its even fought and severely injured our king before. Do you know what happened the night Jali went to that camp and first encountered that gang of crocodiles?" Kal asked looking at Gamba. "Did Zanita tell you?"

"I GUESS I SHOULDN'T STAY. BEING AROUND SOMEONE THAT SOMEHOW FOOLED ME IN HIS OWN MIND ISN'T A GOOD IDEA." Gustave said, turning to Gomek, who sinply nodded. "YOUR WATER WILL BE RESTORED. WHEN, WELL, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW UNTIL IT HAPPENS. YOU MAMMALS WONDER WHY I HATE YOU ALL SO MUCH..." He finished with the last part being in a low and near inaudible grow, before turning around and high walking back to the water. Gomek watched him go, before he turned back to the lions. "CROCODILES ALWAYS LIVE UP TO THEIR PROMISES..." He said, before goin down to the water with Gustave, making preparations to leave.

Taru rolled his eyes. "Is that what you told Saber?" he shouted back. "You were in league with Saber, don't ever think we'll trust you easily after that!"

Taru then walked back up the slope, the lionesses remained until they were sure the crocodiles were gone. Kal kept looking over at the water, he was concerned.

Taru passed. "They think they're so smart" he uttered. Kal nodded.

Gamba nodded, but still did not meet Kal's eyes. "Zanita does not keep things from me. She was more than an adoptive parent, she was also a wise teacher. Jali's story is famed, not simply among the Ridge Pride lions, but among the Brushland clan, as well as numerous Jackals, who have shared his story. To escape the jaws of crocodiles, and be rescued by the hated scavengers of the land, is a legend that can be told for many generations. However, do not be fooled, for Zanita is far older than she appears. Her life, in itself, is a legend, which began with the mystery and dread that surrounded her birth." Gamba's voice took on an ancient tone, and he seemed to drift off, as though in deep thought.

Kal nodded. "Jali told most of us Zanita's story and he told us to respect her greatly. We cannot thank her enough for what she and her clan did for us and saved our king..."

Suddenly a scream emerged from behind Kal and Gamba. Two lionesses, Mira's sisters ran down from a dirt path.

"Kal! It's Mira! Some lions came and stole her! They carried her off into the woods!" one shouted. Kal's heard dropped. "What! Where did they go!" he quickly said leaping from the spot and joining the lions as they began running back up the trail screaming. Jali came out from the bushes.

"What's going on? I heard screaming" he said. "Mira's been kidnapped!" said one of the sisters.

Gamba shot to his feet, his muscles suddenly tensing. "Kidnapping!" The word was said with an incredible degree of revulsion. Why would lions want to kidnap members from a large pride? Especially when lions did not have powerful night vision that would aid in escape? There was little logic, aside from that it seemed a suspicious move, and the time it had been carried out was so that the lions would struggle to track it down. Gamba knew this was serious, and he was brand new, with little to no actual rank in the Pride, however, he had powerful night vision, and did even better at night than during the day. He saw no other choice for what he could do. He took a breath to steady his thoughts, and then said with a surprising amount of calm fury, "We can't panic. We have to go after them and rescue the lioness they kidnapped." He didn't feel comfortable using the name Mira, since he didn't know her. "I know I was just out on a diplomatic mission with Crocodiles, but that did not tire me. If you send someone to trail them, let me go, too." Gamba's eyes seemed to flicker with an inner flame, and it was easy to see that his posture was not the greatest indicator of how he reacted. He now met the other lion's eyes, aware of the urgency.

Jali's face urgently zipped from lion to lioness to tiglon. "Go!" he said to Gamba. He looked at Taru, the sisters, and all of the warriors around. "Go! Go! GO!" the king shouted. Lions and lionesses quickly ran up the dirt path and into the forest, going up the slope. Jali stayed behind trusting that Taru would get the job done.

Sira emerged from behind him. "Aren't you going?" she asked with tearful eyes.

"The kidnappers could still have their men around the camp. Taru's got it, I need to stay behind in case of any more incidents"

Sira nodded understanding now.

Gamba darted off into the woods, running as quickly as he could without risking his safety. Unlike the lions, who were crashing into things at odd intervals, he was able to effortlessly dodge trees and bushes. His night vision was sharper, and being part tiger, he was built for hunting in the woods. The moonlight, which lit the forest floor in a few patches, blended perfectly with the tawny and dark stripes on his pelt, and anyone who might have caught a glimpse of movement, and who had been aware that it was him, would have been able to see that heavily wooded areas was the natural habitat of his less familiar parent. Another ability that Gamba seldom had to demonstrate was also now in use. He was able to clear fallen longs and large boulders with single bounds, due to his jungle predator father having been made for killing things in the trees. However, he didn't think about this. Where did they take Mira?

"This way!" Taru shouted as he followed the sisters. They kept going strait until they came into a large clearing the opened out into a huge dried up pond and a meadow. The fresh scent of strange lions and a female filled the air. Kal scanned everywhere in the clearing. "She's around here somewhere" he said looking around. Her scent was here.

Gamba entered the clearing, but didn't say anything. Scent was something the lions couldn't mask, but they could run in circles and confuse the trail. What he really needed to do, was see if he could hear anything, or spot something. He started to walk slowly around the edge, scanning the woods, and listening as carefully as he could. A dark growl rose in his throat, at the thought of strange lions entering this clearing, and kidnapping an innocent lioness. Gamba knew a lioness was able to be even stronger than a male in battle, but against two lions, she wouldn't be able to fight back. It was also night time, so the heat of day would not affect males so easily. However, if they had been running, there was a chance that they would tire out much faster than their hostage. Think Gamba, think! You were raised by hyenas! They're experts at this kind of tracking! With this in mind, he started looking for something more distinct. Footprints, and anything the lions left behind in a hurry. Eventually, he thought he saw something. It looked like a branch over here was freshly broken, and not by a normal means. "Hey! I think I found a trail!" He called.

"ARE WE ACTUALLY GOING TO RESTORE THEIR WATER?" Gomek questioned as he swam next to Gustave. "OF COURSE, I CANT HAVE OUR CREDIBILITY GO DOWN CAN I? HOWEVER, THAT OVERGROWN RAT'S ARROGANCE HAS COST THEM THEIR WATER UNTIL THE END OF THE DRY SEASON, AND MADE THEM MY ENEMIES. I WONT BE DECLARING WAR ON THEM, DOING SO WOULD BE TO MUCH OF A PERSONAL ISSUE..." Gustave hissed the smaller crocodile. Gomek nodded, and continued swimming. "SO I TAKE IT WE SHOULD KILL THM IF THEY COME FOR WATER?" He questioned. Gustave laughed slightly. "OF COURSE. NO LION GETS A DRINK FROM OUR RIVER UNTIL THE END OF THE DRY SEASON. WHILE CROCODILES NEVER GO BACK ON A PROMISE, WE ALWAYS HOLD GRUDGES..." He said, before diving down below the waters surface. Gomek watched Gustave go, and pitied the lions. They would have to leave their traditional lands to find water.

He, for a split second, felt guilty for letting this happen.

But then it was gone.

Taru followed Gamba and the others followed him. They walked up another path until they found a meadow and then after walking across it found another clearing inside of a small patch of forest. They all stood in it try to track Mira down. Taru lifted his head from the grass.

"They're here" he said. A laughing came from the bushes and a large lion with a black mane came out followed by two more and after that another as well as Mira being pulled out by one of the lions.

"Who are you?" Taru growled. Kal stepped up next to him, with an outstretched arm Taru kept Kal back.

"I thought you would remember!" the leader shouted. Taru examined the body of the kidnapper again and then remembered something.

"Snake!" Taru shouted. Snake laughed terribly. "Hello there Taru, I see you're as dumbfounded as ever! I saw your conversation with those crocodiles!"

"Why have you kidnapped Mira?" Taru questioned.

"Mira as you know is expecting cubs. It is only reasonable that these cubs are rightfully mine! I was her mate before I was banished and I can tell you that this cub is probably biologically, my child!"

Kal growled. "That's ridiculous! You've been gone too long! I'm the only one that's been able to give it to her!"

Gamba knew that this was going to be a serious fight if the argument escalated. Mira was expecting cubs, and both of the lions thought that they were the biological father. Gamba hated issues that revolved around cubs, because it was adults squabbling over their young, who had nothing to say in their defense. He couldn't stand to see this kind of debate, because in their anger, both of the lions did not seem to be aware that their claims decided more than just the father. "Enough!" Gamba roared, making sure that his voice was loud enough to put a stop to all talking. He stomped one foot, and growled angrily, "I don't know the opinions of everyone else here, and a debate like this is likely not my business, but for the well-being of a lioness and her cubs, it is!" His eyes glinted, two points of light in the dark. "I was not raised by my father, because he was killed, and my mother was hunted down by her own pride because of me. I am not a pure bred lion, but how different is this debate now, from what happened to me? Look, you have taken a lioness against her will, by force, claiming her cubs to be yours, but do you think the most important issue is the cubs' father? What matters the most, is the safety and happiness of the cubs, and their mother. What kind of lion are you, if you trample the will of your mate underfoot, and overlook the fact that the cubs are yet to be born, and do not have the power to speak for themselves? Do you want them to grow up, with no future, because their father decided that he did not love them enough, to let them go?" Gamba suddenly found that his voice was not angry anymore, but a cooler note had dropped into it. "I do not want anyone to fight over this. Snake, I do not know you, or why you were banished, but I see that this does matter to you. Do you think that nobody but those who follow you understand the pain and loneliness of exile? I was exiled by every pride in Kenya, until the Ridge Pride gave me a place. I have spent 36, moons of my life, roaming and searching for a home. I will tell you this, if the cubs are truly yours, and if Mira was your mate, do you love them? If you do, then would you force them away from the Pride, and make them suffer for decisions they did not make? The cubs do not yet have a choice, and now, you are taking away the choice of their mother. Let them go, because they deserve the right to choose their fate."

Snake eyed Gamba without an expression. "I see the Ridge Pride has been adopting filthy abominations" Snake grinned. "It's more than just the cubs. I want my place back in Ridge Pride" said Snake.

"What?" Taru questioned. "You think kidnapping one of our people is going to get you a key back into the pride? You haven't changed a bit. You're still insane making ridiculous plans" said Taru. He looked over at Gamba. "Snake here was banished for murdering one of the lionesses and abusing Mira during her younger days."

"And if I may say something" Kal requested. "Say it, this involves you more than any of us" Taru accepted. Kal walked closer to the group. "Listen to what Gamba says Snake. He practically spoke for myself and honestly, a filthy creature like you deserves children not. Eventually you'll learn that what goes around comes around"

Snake rolled his eyes. "I killed five lionesses in the past few weeks, it's not like I'm afraid of the lot of you" he growled.