The Pride Days (IC): Hurt

Magpie looked up at Kyra, looking a bit thankful. She nodded, "thank you, Kyra. This means a lot to me." The sun was already beginning to set in the sky above, casting a fiery outline to Magir's thick soft fur. The group soon caught up with them, Ramla noting that she no longer heard Magir sniffling. She gave a thankful look somewhere near Kyra.

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Jali shook his head, looking out in the distance, but still seeming somewhat distracted. He looked back at Coglon. "I understand you're fascinated with your new abilities, but there is something very serious at hand. Your... acquaintance," Jali said looking over his shoulder briefly. "She is not to be trusted. I hope that you did not tell her anything important..."

Jali was silent awhile, before he spoke. "Coglon, our enemies are far more cunning than the average person. I would easily believe they are experts in faking emotions, expressions, and true selflessness. However I will trust your word on it. But if she is ever to leave that prison den, she must be with you. I will have it no other way, not until I can assess her trustworthiness myself." He looked at Coglon. "I appreciate your forgiving attitude, I respect that. I want more people with that attitude in this pride. However, with Kavis on the offensive I can hardly trust anyone that comes through those trees." Jali shook his head. "I will speak with her when I have the time, but I am very busy. I must go, and Coglon, please, just be careful. I trust your judgment, but we can never be too careful," and with that, Jali left.

Cyla poked her head out of the den and stretched her paws out with it. "Well, I can't blame him" she said, but seemed partly annoyed. She looked around at the pride as she stepped completely out of the den and was in silence for a while, observing it all. "I'll just wait for him to judge me then. You're alright with watching me aren't you? This isn't taking any time away from you?" She asked. Cyla's good attributes had been emphasized in the past few days, her bad ones suddenly fading out--though the still remained, and would need work in order to get them fixed. But she kept the positives out, trying to gaze solely at them instead. But it was rather hard when her old instincts would kick in, and she felt the need to do something others might view as horrid. She only hoped those bad pieces would soon be out to rest.

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A dark shape moved through dark plains. The skies above, bleak and dim as the border to Somalia approached. A creature with a blak-furred hide, great Kavis, stalked, almost weakly. His paws tired, he finally stumbled and simply lay, resting for just a moment. His eye suddenly flashed around rapidly, as if in some sort of seizure. He clearly was seeing something others could not. Then it all faded, his entire body now trembling, his ears low and an expression of pure and absolute despair. He gazed around the area, trying to take a grip onto reality, as he rose to his paws. Then all of a sudden his gaze fixed back to his emotionless state.

"Hey you!" a voice called from behind. He slowly looked over his shoulder and turning to see a Jackal standing behind him. The Jackal was male, having one of his ears badly clipped, fur mangled, and snaggletoothed. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Kavis did not reply for a while. His silence seemed to frighten the Jackal. Then, Kavis spoke. "Would you really like to know?" he asked. The Jackal looked somewhat puzzled, but then nodded. Kavis narrowed his eyes. "Little one, do you know what it's like to be the holder of life and death? To know that your decisions will either kill someone or make them stronger?"

The Jackal looked somewhat worried now. "Uh, no sir" he said, trying not to make eye contact. Kavis' eyes had clearly boiled into the creature long enough that the frightening aura had begun to sink in.

"What I am doing out here, is of that matter. My goal, I plan, for it to save those I love and kill those I hate. And I hate... many. I do not hate enough. I must hate more. Do you know that feeling, Jackal? Do you know what it's like to hate? Truly?"

"I... I guess" the Jackal said, now turning as to walk away.

"You run from what you cannot understand?" Kavis asked. He looked down at his massive paws. "This is something I see in others, and I hate. I hate." He glanced up, his eyes like darting flames, narrowed and evil. The Jackal nervously lowered his ears, stopping. Kavis continued. "After all, you should understand. You are ugly, and you have no family. And you fear that no female will ever take you. Your looks get in the way, and the cancer in your leg is only making it more difficult to hunt."

The Jackal looked at him, ears pricked and eyes wide. "How do you know all that?" he asked. Kavis cracked somewhat a smile.

"I am of Dalmaa."

The Jackal quickly, at the name, let out a yowl and ran off into the distance. Kavis snarled out, turning again and moving on. "Petty fool," he mumbled to himself. "Mother is proud, mother is proud. Make her even prouder Kavis, make her happy." He said to himself.

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The group settled, having now already passed the border into Somalia. The lands were bleak and eerie here. Nearly everything seemed dead. The skies were even sad, as enormous gray and black splotches filled it above. Bones were scattered, and the only life that seemed to be here were the vultures. The trees were all leafless and bare, that they died from lack of sunlight.

The group had settled in a groove that dipped a bit underground, hidden by a few dead bushes. They likely wouldn't be seen here, but it was a very cramped place to sleep. Var looked at Kyra, the amount of nervousness in his eyes was apparent. He gave her a lick to the ear, before he finally settled down to sleep.

Cyla nodded. "Very well then, I suppose that's fair. I don't think you'd be that bad, Coglon." Cyla gave a look of wonder to her eyes, wondering what the king would think of her. By this point, she spotted Jali walking over to Shadow.

Jali approached the Great Healer with a look of concern. "Shadow, we need your help in the medical den. Shebla is badly hurt, would you be so kind?" the King asked.

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"Kyra, Kyra, Kyra," a horrid voice whispered through he head, sounding much like the hiss of a snake. The scene lightened to a vision of the forest. "Come now, come with me," said a voice that was coming from another edge of the forest. Something was forcing Kyra to move forward, whether she liked it or not, her paws moved. Only when she looked down at them, they seemed to be standing perfectly still. Yet she was moving.

As she kept walking, she would notice horrid things grew thicker as she went along. She saw the dead bodies of lions she didn't know. She then saw the bodies of ones who she did. Var was impaled by many sharp tree branches, hanging from high above as blood dripped. Taru's head was severed from his body. Magir looked poisoned, as she lay pale with a pool of blood leaking from her mouth. Saber was shredded into so many pieces it he was almost wasn't recognizable. Large snakes were moving through the tree branches, millions of them, each with pairs of red eyes. They all seemed to be moving in the same direction as well. Spiders crawled around Kyra's paws just as several large vultures fell onto the branches to pick at Var's body.

Kyra was forced to keep walking, despite these. As she emerged out of the forest, before her was a very large field. It was barren, lonely, with no trees of bushes. Everything out here was gray. The grass seemed gray, the sky was a dark gray. The tree just in the distance was completely black. As she approached it, her vision slowly became bordered by a dark ring and at times she would see everything in shades of red. As she stopped before it, but not close to it, she would recognize it from her last dreams. The tree that grew on the very edge of the cliff, some of its malefic root hanging over. It's massive twisting limbs were so numerous and thick it blocked out all light, even if that was any light in the sky to shine down. One of the branches lowered miraculously. It appeared something was laying on the branch. It was Dalmaa, but he sunk most of his face behind some of the limb's twigs, allowing only his infuriated eyes to seep through. The only words he spoke were, "Your mind is hurt."

Kyra then was forced awake, the light of dawn searing over the sky. Var caught her before she could say anything. His eyes very worried. He made a gesture with his paw to be quiet while he pointed with his tail to the ground above the groove they were sleeping in. The scent of Kavis was fresh in the air, and his shadow was cast on the ground next to the groove as he stood on top of it.

Kavis sniffed around, smelling something of herbs, but disregarding it. He was distracted as it was. He finally began murmuring to himself. "Where are they..." he grumbled under his breath. "Make Mother proud... Make her proud. Don't disappoint her, do not disappoint" he whispered. "You are strong, you are Dalmaa" he growled. "Kill, kill. Mutilate. You must kill." Var had a frightened look as he tensed against Kyra. He could see Kavis' madness clear now, almost as if it was seeping through the ground and dripping onto them. Var knew Kyra was having trouble, he wanted it to stop. Placing a paw over his, he his his face into her shoulder, trying to transport whatever help he could and push it into her.

Kavis slashed the grass above, growling. "I know you're around here... Var... I can feel it. I know... Grrrrraauuhhh, Mother... Don't disappoint Mother. Not again. Not ever again," his voice cracked, as if with some sad memory, almost sounding like he would cry. Var was astonished to see even the slightest emotion come from Kavis, let alone something like this. It was obvious that Kavis wasn't just a psychopath, he was damaged to the very core of his personality. He was smart and clear-minded, and able to see the meaning of insanity and its identity within people, within his family. He was smart, very intelligent, but he was damaged down deep. Or at least, that's how this seemed.

"Not again, not again. You must not let Mother down. Mother knows what is best. Do not shed from that, Kavis..." he said, clawing deep into the ground. Ripping his claws from the dirt, he jumped forward. He landed on the very ground in front of them, everyone shocked with widened eyes. Though Scar and Magir were still both asleep. Everyone watched Kavis from behind, his tail slashing at the dead grass below. He stepped on several skeletons, crushing bones, having not even applied the slightest pressure to them. He gazed to the side, when Var thought surely he would see them. But Kavis turned and began walking away, soon out of sight and out of earshot.

Var very slowly let go of Kyra; it seemed that his pace was trying to help him grip back into reality. His heart was beating rapidly, his fur standing on end. He let out a large sigh of relief, but was still shaking.

Magir opened her eyes. "Yes," she said, standing up. She hadn't been sleeping, she was awake the entire time, laying low. She looked at the others. "Kavis was tormented by Aziza after she took him in. I know this, because I watched most of it. After I was captured by them, they forced me to do much of their hunting. Then they released me to all of you. I saw horrible things. His mind isn't right. He's incredibly intelligent. He could name every herb, rock, tree, and flower in the forest. But deep down he is... broke. And that's starting to show." She began to walk out of the groove, Taru getting up and following.

"We should get moving," Taru suggested.

Var looked at Kyra. "You alright? I know you've been having trouble with all of these dreams. I don't like to see you suffering."

Var nodded, "I know I can't do much, Kyra. But I'm always here to support you. I know you're going through problems, and it's only getting worse. But just remember I'm always here to comfort you," he said. He then pondered her last words and spoke on them. "I'll be there to make that choice. I'll do so in the right time."

The group began to move forward, walking through dead grass that embellished this new world of Somalia. They hugged the tree lines to escape the surveillance of the vultures high above. As bones passed their paws, Var gave a nervous look. They began setting in deeper. Ramla had been silent the entire time, having Taru help her. Then she spoke for the first time this morning.

"You had another dream last night, didn't you?" she said over her shoulder to Kyra.

Ramla gave a puzzled expression. She almost tripped over an unearthed root protruding from the ground, as Taru helped her prevent it. She went on. "It is impossible to determine Dalmaa's motives as a mortal, but my closest guess is that he is slowly revealing to you the prophecy he himself is writing. Somehow...." she said, venturing off in her thoughts. "Dalmaa may only be revealing this to you to drive you insane. He might have been kind to you before, but that was staged to cause you to feel sympathy for him. I have a feeling he purposely showed you those things to crush you and make you feel guilty for what you're about to do. He wants you to go mad. And I feel the thing he said was a proclamation that you have lost control."

Ramla nodded, staying quiet awhile. Her gaze taking the form of concern itself. "I could never be sure what his goal is, but he may be doing this simply to cause you to hate him. I'm not sure. Either he wants you to love him, or he wants you to hate him. But the prophecy he's writing is one we don't want to see happen, otherwise we'll question what goodness really is. Dalmaa may even want you to grow this feeling of opposition towards him. Though I feel he is hiding something very important from you, keeping you in the shadows where he feels he is superior to you. Dalmaa ultimately is steering you towards certain emotions, whatever they may be, because in some way, those emotions are harming you." Ramla looked directly at her, into her eyes, and flicked her tail. "You have the aura of a warrior, but maybe to wound Dalmaa we need the aura of a pacifist. Ultimately he is wounded by your emotions and state of mind. Kyra, show him you oppose him, but also show him you are above this feud."

"Kyra, I will say though, that I'm a bit worried for you. If you're gaining a counterpart to the Sight, you're going to experience nightmares almost every night of your life. They only get worse and worse and there's simply no way to get used to them. If you thought those were bad dreams... you're in for a rude awakening... I am tempted to ask Protheus for something else..."

Taru looked at Ramla. "And what is that?"

"For him to spare Kyra any further horror. I don't want her to live my life, because if Dalmaa gets any ideas, he'll take away her physical vision. I can't have that for her. Not Kyra."

"Ramla," Var spoke out. He knew it was the kind thing to do to protest Ramla's offer, but he cared about Kyra too much. Ramla looked somewhere near him and then back at Kyra. "Let me tell you a bit about my life, Kyra. I was born in Kenya, and my mother was a Seeress to Dust Pride. Of course I was obligated to follow in her footsteps, but at the time I was fascinated with spirits and nature and being offered the ability to see the unseen seemed like a prize few could win, a prize I would have so easily. So all it took was my mother's teachings and an initiation at a pond at midnight. A beautiful night. After I became anointed as a Seeress, I made plans for my journey to the Talon, to receive the Sight. I'd prepare for it all my life. And the thought of being blind was scary. I spent many days outside simply staring at random objects, trying to map them, memorize their shapes inside my head so I could have those visions forever. Unfortunately one of those visions became the death of my mother. A few days before I left for the journey she became infected with rabies. She attacked most of my friends and family in Dust Pride. Many of which joined her and became rabid monsters. That day was the first time I had ever seen a spirit. Dalmaa himself, sitting in the tree limbs, just peaking through the leaves to watch everything. And at that point in time, I merely mistook him for a black leopard--which was still odd anyways. But it wasn't until he deliberately turned into a shadow that slipped down the trunk of the tree and flew away did I realize he was a spirit."

Ramla took a deep breath. "I was delayed several days, mourning for my losses. And with half of the pride dead, there was a lot of talk that I was some sort of ill-omen or a witch. Much like Shebla's story. I was banished from my home. But I went on to the Talon anyways. When I received the Sight, one of the spirits helped walk me back to Kenya, but after that, left me alone. I wondered around for so long, starving out because I couldn't hunt and I didn't know where I was going. But on a lucky turn, Star's guards found me. Jali begged his father to take me in, since they had never had a Seeress before. And here I am today. Those shapes I had once tried to memorize having dissipated in my mind. I can only see faint shapes, I can only see enough to walk along a path. Terribly, I want my vision back. I want the spirits gone. Kyra, the prophecies might seem like a luxury now, but the things to come are sinister and evil. Dark spirits visit you every night, and fill your head with thousands of things that you can't tell whether they're real or fake. Their words will screw your mind up so bad you won't know truth from lies, good from bad, right from wrong. I felt lost forever... like I'd never be happy again."



Ranks nodded, twitching an ear. "Being optimistic will give you a lot of power in these times. Though, it is alright to mourn and to weep for our losses, as long as those feelings are now dwelled on for too long. That is what Dalmaa wants, for us to dwell on those feelings, constantly feeding off of them, not growing, and only becoming weak and malnourished. We are nothing without happiness." Ramla was quiet for a while, before she looked at Kyra urgently.

The group moved on, the rising scent of Moonrise Pride members grew thicker and thicker. But like all scents, there was a certain feeling to them. Much like a fear-scent, but oddly, more of a sad-scent or one in despair. Regardless, the group had to move under layers of dead bushes to avoid visual detection. Their scent was thoroughly masked by another later of herbs they applied along the way. Though now herbs were growing scarce. Var was clutching the Sodaki in his mouth, just as they stopped and poked their eyes out of the bushes. Ahead of them was a slope that went upwards and then just stopped. An enormous black tree stood there. The land beyond it simply dropped off an there was nothing else that Var could see around it. He assumed it was a cliff. But the tree looked very eerie. At this angle, the branches looked like winding snakes... No, one of the branches moved.

He spotted one of the Witchdoctors approaching, just as a long black snake slithered down, so long it nearly encircled the tree. It lurched forward and uttered something to her, but the group was out of earshot. As the hyena went away, the snake was somehow gone. Var could only make out branches anymore.

Then the bushes beside them rumbled as Kavis emerged. Var's heart jumped, not knowing Kavis had been so close. As the black-furred lion moved into the clearing, Var could still hear him. Zalika limped out from behind several dead bushes, obviously still under the weather since her fight with Gamba.

"Where is she?" Kavis asked.
"Subira?" asked Zalika. Kavis only nodded. Zalika's ear twitched. "They took her to the Underroots. Aziza's down there watching her." Kavis stormed passed her. Zalika called up again. "And Kavis!" The Dark King turned his head back at her. She seemed to smile, or what passed for a smile with such scarred lips. "Welcome home."

Kavis nodded and kept walking. Zalika moved away, through the bushes again. Cobwebs could still be seen along her flank as the wounds were mended. Var kept watching as Kavis approached the tree. He looked up at it and then quickly went down and vanished. He had gone into a large opening between two roots that led underground.

Var looked at Ramla. "I thought you said the tree kills upon touch!"

"That's what the legend said! Why? What happened?" she asked.

"Kavis just went under it! We need to get down there before he gets to my sister!" Var said, nervously, and trying to keep his voice low.

Ramla was hurriedly skimming through her mind. Var was silent, but his furs were standing on end as he sat and stared at the tree, worriedly. Ramla started again. "If we don't go in and stop him, he'll court Subira, and Dalmaa's wishes will become complete. Things will only go downhill and likely we'll all die. If we touch the tree, we may take the risk of dying anyways. So we might as well go on inside."

Var nodded. "I'll go first, just to be safe."

"Var..." Taru began. "Are you sure?"

Var nodded. "Yes, this is something I have to do," he said as he then pushed out of the bushes. He looked back at Kyra. "Kyra, no matter what happens, know that I love you." He then made his way forward until he was standing at the base of the tree. There was nobody around, to their luck. Var gulped, closing his eyes and breathing in.

He opened them.

He rushed down into the hole, down underground into the place where Kavis had gone. It was completely silent and all was still. Finally, Taru's head dropped, declaring him dead. Magir's eyes were easing tears out, as she hid her face in Taru's shoulder.

Then something happened. A shape came out from the roots. It was Var, his eyes watering with the tears of relief. He had to crack a smile as his mane brushed back with the wind. "Come on," he whisper-shouted over the clearing. "It's safe." He then went back down into the hole, stepping inside. He found himself in an enormous web of underground tunnels that turned and headed away from the cliff, going deeper and deeper and with a very sinister feeling in the air. There were a few inches of water in the floor of the tunnels. The only light that touched these caverns was from the same very strange rocks that had been found in the caverns under Jali's den. But these stones glowed dark red instead of green.