Runya had taken the route many times before. From the Aegnor to the Pridelands. But that day was different. That day, she was to be leading a new demon home. One she and Ringwe had cultivated themselves. She had a slight smile on her muzzle as she approached the little spot where she and her brother had always met the youngster, excitement running through her. The pride would have new blood, and there would be a new demon amongst his peers soon. It was just...amazing! Ah, she loved being Ran'ar'ma.

Teodan had slipped away from his mother with little to no announcement, no ceremony, making his way to the spot where Runya stood with a manner of pride in those beautiful blue eyes. Now an Adolescent nearing his adult years, the boy was fleshing out, his silver mane hanging about his face, "Runya." His tone was confident, almost flirty, "Almost thought you wouldn't show."

Runya snorted in amusement, then smirked. "Oh come now. With all the work Ringwe and I have put into you, there's no way I'd miss today." She chuckled. "You ready to go? Said your goodbyes and all that?" She didn't want him getting a case of cold paws on her. He was new blood, and the pride badly needed new blood.

Teodan's grin slipped over his face, dark, and yet somehow not. He was more than eager to see what was going to come of this, "Gods yes. I can't wait." His tail flicked back and forth, and within a moment, he trotted forwards and stepped, at last, over the Pridal boundaries, straight in front of a female who'd taught him how to be a Demon.

Runya couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "Come on, then, let's get you home. To where you can be the demon you're meant to be, and you'll get some respect for the darkness inside." Instead of ridiculed, or told he was wrong or not-normal somehow. He was perfectly normal, for a demon.

Te's tail flicked, a grin curving over his maw as she talked about being a demon. The dark voice in his head coiled in through his thoughts, lazily, reminding him that it was there as his paws carried him a few steps further, "Lead the way. I can't wait to see the new lands." He wanted to see EVERYTHING he could....Anything. To find out how to find one's demon. To meet the leaders of the Pride.

"You'll have to wait a bit, just warning. We're a good moonphase from the pridal lands, at least. But trust me...it'll be worth it. The hellgate is surrounded by wasteland, savanna, and jungle, and it's...magnificent. It sleeps, but inside, it still burns." She smirked. "You'll see that up close, trust me." He would get to finally meet his demon properly, reflecting as one did inside the great labyrinth of the hellgate.


He felt the excitement burning in his chest, a grin curving that maw as he shook silvery locks aside. His tail flicked back and forth, nodding, "A full moonphase's journey is nothing new to me, but I'm ready. I can't wait to see what lies there....at the heart of it all." He would kick a** and take names. Others would be in shock or awe, and the boy couldn't help but imagine all the amazing things that were going to come soon. "Let's get moving. I don't want to waste any more time."

Runya chuckled, her smirk growing into a grin. "You say it's nothing, but I can guarantee you that you've not traveled this far yet, oh student of mine." He'd never been more than a moon or two out of the pridelands of his birth. She began to move, her internal compass ever true towards 'home'. Towards the glorious hellgate. "What does it mean to you, right now, to be a demon?" She would quiz him and prod him the entire way back, to ensure he knew himself very, very well before his initiation.

Teodan seemed almost intent as their paws moved them further and further away from the lands they called home, "Right now? It means a sense of pride...of home....a place...I feel like I'm supposed to be. Moonlight and never letting anyone have control of me but myself and that voice....That....really weird voice I've heard since I was a little cub.." He shook his mane out of his eyes, offering her an awkward smile, "That's probably a stupid answer."

Runya shook her head. "Not a stupid one at all. It's very similar to the answers of many who find their way to us from outside the pridal lands." She frowned. "Those who are looked down on for their strength and cunning and the dark voice inside." She found them, she brought them home. Showed them the world they'd been longing for and opening their eyes. Teodan was no different. She'd just found him younger, and gotten a chance to teach him properly.

Teodan shifted on his paws as they kept moving, "There's something....Ever since I was little, I felt like I was never home...Like I was supposed to be somewhere else. The more you told me, Runya, the more sure I felt it was with the Demons....I've never been more sure of anything." His tail flicked back and forth, shaking out his pelt slightly. "I dunno. Dreams and stuff.

"You'll be home soon. This journey will pass quickly, and you'll not look back once we're there." As the Pridelands drew further behind them with each movement, each pawstep, she began to describe the lands of the pride in earnest to him. Where the dens were in relation to the hellgate. Where the best hunting was during which season. Where they tended to see rogues the most on the borders. She told him the story of the Antianeira and the Peponi-pya and the Mwako'bi'giza. With every step, she told him more and more the things she hadn't yet.

When they arrived, he would be as well trained as anyone who had been born in the pride. She'd make damn sure of it.

Each word, each description, made the young lion's heart beat faster, his ears attendant to every word that Runya told him. If he had his way, and he would, he would be as strong a lion as ever they'd seen. He'd make sure to do his mentor proud, and gods knew that he wanted to do that. Onwards to home....to the hellgate...To the Aegnor'hini.