[PRP]The bringers of good news (Haja, Elea and Mapatano) FIN

[Basil Brett]

It was early afternoon and a light breeze tickled the grass the lionesses walked upon. Though not moving too quickly, there was a purpose in their stride.

Haja moved with a look of slight satisfaction, and she spoke animatedly. They had good news! For the first time in several days, the bright cheerful day seemed to reflect her mood, rather than contradict it. Even Maboya seemed more energetic, hovering nearby.

"I can't believe we managed to find a way out of the valley," the yellow lioness said, her eyes twinkling.
"Well, I can believe it. I'm just so happy that the trip was a success. We'll finally be able to get out and find everybody. I can't wait to tell everyone the good news."

She grinned at the other lioness. Despite all of the hardships they'd gone through, she was grateful for the friendship she'd found with Elea. It was one of the bright spots of the past few weeks.

Truthfully, Haja knew that things weren't over, and that little voice in her head kept trying to remind her so. She pushed that voice away for now, intent on celebrating the good news, even if it was just briefly.  

[Krysin]

Elea might have been able to retain a calm mood even after her discovery, if not for the fact that Haja seemed so elated by it. There was little doubt that it did have an effect on Elea, for the limp in her step seemed less, and there was even the tiniest hint of a smile on her face. The fact that her leg had barely gotten better did nothing to dampen Elea's mood. They had found a way out of the valley, and thus a way to find the other members of their pride. It was a great discovery, though Elea wasn't going to expect a hero's welcoming because of it. Even so, it was something to be proud of, something to be excited because of.

"It was fortunate that we did. I'm glad we decided to hunt so far out." It was definitely worth it, chasing after that herd of wildebeest so far out in the valley. If they had stayed closer to the den where Nyonda was resting, they wouldn't have came upon such a find. Elea didn't mind being away from the pride for a few days, anyways. Haja was talkative enough to make up for any possible loneliness Elea might have begun to feel. Being alone with Haja also gave her time to think to herself... and to consider her future possibilities. Being lead huntress was somehow out of the picture now, though she longed for it more than she longed for anything else. She still hadn't decided what she wanted to do, if not be lead huntress. What could she do, being so young, and so crippled?

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it any longer. No, it was time to be happy, and she wouldn't let anything ruin her mood. "I'm sure that we'll start to send scouting parties out to look for the other pride members, now that we have a way out. We'll all be back together again as one pride. I'm looking forward to it more than anything else."  

[Basil Brett]

Haja grinned, her blue eyes reflecting the backdrop of sky behind her.
"Me too! It's going to be a bit strange, though. You know, having things go back to normal. Or as close to normal as they can be."

Again, that trace of sadness and worry crossed her face. Could things really go back to being normal? The quake itself had been one thing, spreading all of them like seeds blown from a flower. The aftermath, however, with the rogues and the separation had been the real trial.

Even more unsettling was the thought that something big might have happened while they had been out hunting. What if?

No, this was no time for 'what ifs.' They had found the way out of the valley. They would be reunited with the rest of the pride. They could handle anything else thrown at them.

...

But Haja couldn't help be but the teensiest bit curious.
"So, do you think anything big has happened while we've been gone?"  

[Krysin]

Elea didn't have the same superstitions running amuck in her mind as Haja. No, she was too satisfied with being able to hunt (if only barely), and finding a way out of the valley to worry much about anything else. She was certain that their portion of the pride was well and fine, and that Nyonda was getting her proper rest. Really, nothing could have happened in the two or so days that they had been gone on their hunting trip. Things like trouble didn't start immediately like that, they took something akin to Machafuko's pace... which was as slow as a snail. "I think it will be good to have things go back to normal. We need a bit of stability after all we've gone through." She shrugged her shoulders, at least to the best of her abilities considering it was one of her front legs that had been hurt.

At Haja's question, Elea rolled her eyes in a clearly exasperated gesture. "I don't think anything big has happened while we were gone. We weren't even gone long enough for anything big to happen," she reassured Haja confidently. Really, she had no idea where Haja got these kind of ideas. Sure Haja was a bit talkative, but Elea hadn't though her mind actually ran as fast as her mouth did. But, she supposed that there were miracles, after all.

"You've got the most vivid imagination I've ever seen," she commented nonchalantly as she walked beside the golden lioness. Elea was definitely smaller, if only because of her younger age. But, Haja also had a wild, almost untameable look to her, while Elea sported a cultured, sophisticated look. Of course, the look didn't quite match the personality, but Elea liked the deceit, just a little bit. Elea was a dedicated lioness, one who would not back down from a problem, let alone a fight. She was strong-willed, and thick-headed. She liked to think with her brain, but most of the time thought with her heart instead. The cultured look definitely was a little deceiving.  

[wooga Paes]

A dark lion walked across the land.

Fortunately, it was a lion the two hadn't been spending the past weeks around, which was good, the lion would have been Kitisho, otherwise. No, this time it was just Mapatano.

A blood-covered, sore, aching Mapatano. "You really should rest. " Hisa insisted, hovering above him with her head tilted in concern. The largest wound was on his right shoulder, and he limped heavily there, occasionally stubling, in which case Hisa would dive slihtly but pick up once she was sue he was fine.

"No." He grumbled every time she insisted. Mapatano was too agitated to sit around, and likewise too agitated to spend time back with the others and the.. well, bodies. He'd hung around long enough to understand what the heck was happening. But still. Umoja has ran off to do.. whatever, probably look for his cubs.

Hisa screeched, suddenly, and wheeled up higher. The vultures had been slowly dimishing in number, but still Mapatano cringed as she got further away. Her head tilted this way and that, then she dove down. "Its Elea and Haja. " She glided down near his head. Haja was unmistakable, what with her golden pelt. And even then, Hisa's eyes could catch up on that rather easily, a great side of being a bird of prey.

Mapatano snorted. He was glad they were alive, though he'd known about Elea. He didn't know either of them particularly well, however. Still, they were members of the pride, and thats what mattered to him. "Elea's leg looks funny. " She commented, then got a bit higher, not enjoying keeping this pace. To stay aloft she couldn't go too slow, so she often made wide circles around Mapatano, who's pace was slower because of his injuries.

The lion shifted his direction slightly towards them, then towards the to of the hill that blocked his vision of them, raised his head to see the white and yellow blotches, before finally allowing his exhaustion to get the best of him and flopping on his side, ears folded back.  

[Basil Brett]

Haja cringed inwardly at Elea's words. She hadn't told the younger lioness about Ficha. Truthfully, she hadn't told anyone save Hisia. And of course Maboya knew as well. It had been somewhat difficult for the yellow lioness to keep the important fact a secret. However, strangely for her, it was also easy. For once, Haja could plainly see the possible consequences of that news getting out. Perhaps she was maturing. Or perhaps she just took enough time to think about the subject.

She was just about to reply something affirming of Elea's words when a flash of movement caught her eye. Barely a split second later came Maboya's piercing cry. He landed with a light thump on her back and immediately reported, knowing that even one moment's delay would have Haja wriggling about like a cub.

"A lion collapsed just over that hill," he said in his calm and even timbre.
"I'm fairly sure that it's Mapatano."

Haja's eyes widened. She didn't know the heir's cousin very well, but he was a part of their pride, and one they hadn't seen since the quake. Shooting a quick, somewhat apologetic look at Elea, she shot off like a rocket in the direction Mab had indicated.  

[Krysin]

Mapa... tano?

Elea's eyes widened at practically the same moment that Haja's had. Mapatano had been missing ever since the earth quake, and he had to have gotten into the valley some other way than the exit they had seen, because the exit had been in their sights for the past two days, and they saw nothing coming in and out of it. He definitely must have found some other way in... and maybe he knew where the other members of the pride were. It would be highly advantageous if he could bring them back to everyone else, so they could reunite some fragments of the pride. It would definitely boost morale... and the pride was definitely in need of some sort of boost.

"Uhh... Haja, wait!" Sure, Mapatano had collapsed, but that didn't mean he wouldn't die in the five seconds it took for Haja to wait for her crippled companion. The golden lioness had taken off with such speed that it made Elea envious. When her leg wasn't injured, Elea could have easily matched and surpassed those speeds. But now she moved at a snail's pace, her leg hindering her movements, slowing her down to an incredibly intolerable pace. If only she had that speed once again... if only her leg would heal, though by now she was beginning to doubt if it would. "Nadra, please fly ahead with them. I'll catch up in a second."

Nadra turned her head briefly to her bonded, and then with a little nod she flew off into the air, to fly alongside Maboya. "Catch up soon," she said in parting to Elea.

Needless to say, Elea did her best to move quickly, but by the time she had reached the peak of the hill, she was out of breath, and Haja had already been settled there for quite some time. "Mapatano... what happened to you?"  

[wooga Paes]

He'd seen in coming. Well, Haja was certainly hard to miss, her fur was so bright at first he wiced when she got up close. By the time they'd arrived, he'd recovered from his half-hearted little flop and was pulling himself up into a sitting position, though one of his shoulders quivered uncomfortably at the effort.

Though Haja had been there for a while, and he'd certainly regret holding her off for too long, he was stubborn enough to wait for Elea to arrive, not wanting to have to repeat himself. He made note to ignore Elea's question at first. He'd leave that for later.

"Where have you two been? " He grumbled, folding his ears back. "So you have no idea whats been up? " He raised his head slightly, and Hisa sat between his front paws, her feathers fluffing up slightly slightly at the sight of Nadra. Though she knew Nadra, and certainly didn't consider her a threat, after all that'd been going on she couldn't help but tense at the sight of a vulture. The red kite shook it off quickly, and gave the vulture an apologetic look, just in case she'd be offended.

"What happened to your leg? " Mapatano asked, eying Elea's leg for a few moments. It didn't look like it would heal, and he'd only just gotten to look at it. Shame. Elea had been a very, very good huntress.  

[Basil Brett]

Haja had of course wanted some sort of explanation right away, but she figured that it would be good manners to wait for Elea. And seeing as how Mapa wasn't on the verge of death, there was no real hurry to exchange words. So she sat and did her best not to seem to impatient.

Finally Elea caught up. Haja shot her another apologetic and rather sheepish look. She should have slowed to keep with Elea's pace. But now was no time for regret. She listened closely as the two other lions spoke.

She suppressed a wince at Mapa's question about Elea's leg. It was quite obvious that it had been injured. Did it really matter how? Then again, it probably mattered quite a bit to Elea, but it was still not very tactful.

Pulling herself back to the present, she puzzled over Mapa's other questions.
"Where have we been? What about you?! Where have you been?"

Of course that did nothing to answer the question, so she started again.
"Elea and I have been hunting the past few days and we saw the exit out of the valley. We're on our way back to tell Fi... Nyonda and Ukweli and the others."

Dang! She nearly slipped there. She prayed neither caught it. She had no reason not to trust both of them, but now really wasn't the time.

"And what do you mean 'what's been up?'"  

[Krysin]

Elea sat down, if only because she could feel her leg beginning to ache in its unnatural way. She really had been trying to use it too much this hunting trip. Some part of her must've thought that by trying to work the leg, when it fixed itself it would be useable. But she was facing the reprocussions of such an idea. Elea hardly dared to put the least amount of pressure on the limb, and even now her toes barely skimmed the tips of the blades of grass. "Yes, we've been hunting," and she knew how ridiculous that sounded. Haja wasn't well-known for her hunting skills, and Elea's leg held her back during a hunt. But, Haja knew to listen to Elea, and together they did manage to take something down. Her leg may be too injured for her to do much, but she could still use her brain, and had always been a good strategist.

"What has been up?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, not of him, but of what had happened with the pride since they were gone. She had never expected that anything could go on while they were off on such a short hunting trip. But, Mapatano's voice almost seemed careless, as if things had already reached some sort of a conclusion. Elea shifted anxiously, expertly keeping the wince off of her face when her paw pressed down against the earth a little too hard.

"It got hurt rescuing Nyonda's cubs," she explained, casting a quick glance to Haja, because she hadn't missed that little slip up... though in a few seconds she decided to dismiss Haja's error from her thoughts. "It'll get better," she reassured, though who she was reassuring, she had no clue. "But you still haven't answered me - what happened to you?" She wanted answers, and she wasn't going to sit back and hold a pleasant chit chat and tea party with Mapatano - she was going to get answers instead.  

[wooga Paes]

He lficked his ears at Haja, tilting his head. She'd started the name right then.. messed up? Ooh, right. He'd seen Ficha when they'd gathered to listen to Ukweli. Nyonda was dead, he knew it. In that back of his mind he held back a twinge of sadness-- she hadn't deserved it. He only jsut got why Haja swapped the names, though. Perhaps they'd been pretending Ficha was Nyonda.

He blinked at the comment of finding a way in and out of the valley. So he and Umoja spent days in a blasted maze of tunnels while they had a nice little entrance just sitting around? Ugh, great. He sighed, patting Hisa. He wouldn't comment on the leg further besides a nod. "Alright then. " He said, though was beginning to feel a little woozy. Curse you, blood loss! He'd have to tend to his wounds after this, if only for a bit.

"First off, you'll all be glad to know Umoja's back. We we're both stranded outside of the valley for a while, and found our way back due to a female and her seer-cub. " That had been a lucky coincidence. "He is not like other seers, but you will learn about this later. " He nodded slightly, not in the mood to explain how Ingi had a "map" in his head. "We found Dumu once we got back. " Well, Umoja did and he caught up later, but that needed not be said. "Machafuko had killed Kuruka. On Msiba's command. " He frowned at this, recalling the dead cub and sighing slightly.

"There was no time to lose. Me and Umoja Dumu with the lioness and her cub, then raced back. " He paused, looking at Haja. This was about the time she'd say something, and he wanted to catch his breath. He also should give them some time to sink the information in, because he didn't want to repeat himself at the more "important" part.  

[Basil Brett]

Haja was thinking so furiously you could practically hear the gears running in her head. So Umoja was alright and was also back! This was excellent news. And there was another seer-cub, also good news. Her face fell at the news about Kuruka. She hadn't known the small cub too well, but the loss was felt.

Strange how the death of someone you knew affected you. That biting pain of realization that you'd never see them again. Haja hated that feeling, so she quickly shook it away. Focus, she told herself.

So Msiba and Machafuko were indeed not to be trusted. If the evidence already presented hadn't convinced her of such, this sealed it. Why had this happened? Especially right after the quake? Why do hardships always seem to travel in groups?

But back to the present. Mapatano surely had more to say. She glanced back up at the lion, who was looking at her expectantly. Yes, normally she'd be repeating everything he said, trying to make sense of it. Right now, though, she just wanted to know everything that had happened. Only then would she be able to make sense of it.

So she stared back, raising her eyebrows.
"And?"  

[Krysin]

The look on her face hardened, but her anger was kept under firm control. She knew she didn't like Machafuko for a reason, and while she was gone he had killed a cub... Her mind flashed back to a recent memory, her brief confrontation with Machafuko. There had been blood on his mouth, but evevn so he had tried to weasel from her some of the kill as if he was starving... The implications made her shudder with self-loathing. Why hadn't her dislike turn into suspicion? If it had, would that poor cub still be alive? Her lip curled in digust, and it was hard to keep her thoughts off of her face now. She muttered low to herself, a few choice, insensitive words about Machafuko.

"This all happened without my knowing?" Her voice sounded pained, and it was just Elea to feel some sort of guilt for Kuruka's death. It was just like her, who strived to succeed in everything, to be disgusted with herself for being completely unaware of what was going on. If she hadn't been so self-absorbed in working up to being a great huntress again... Ugh! She couldn't stand to think about it any longer. She shook her head, trying to dispense with the thoughts. Elea had to hear the rest of the story - she had to know what was going on.

"Continue on, please," she urged Mapatano, silently asking him as well to not take any breaks. She had to hear it all before she started chiding herself for the things she could or could not have done. Elea suspected that the event was nearly done and over with, or else herself and Haja would likely go charging off to see what could be done. Mapatano would have told them if their help was needed... she had to stay still, she had to stay glued to the spot she now sat in. Elea couldn't go charging off! She had to hear what happened first.  

[wooga Paes]

The dark lions brows quirked in surprise. Even Haja had remained quiet. That was.. strange. He shook his had slightly, raising a paw to rub it and finding blood when he withdrew the paw. He must've hit his head when he'd rolled down that slope.

Though Mapatano wasn't to good at speaking empathetic words, his language usually reserved for witty or sarcastic comments, he didn't betray sadness in his eyes, and nodded slightly. The rest would perhaps be harder.

"Umoja and I left Dumu with the lioness and her seer-cub, and raced to find the interlopers. " He twitched his plumed tail, allowing it to curl half-way around his body before settling over a front paw. "We found them, Msiba and Machafuko, attacking Hifadhi. We were in time to stop them before they killed him. It seems he was protecting Kuruka's brother, Peke. " He ahdn't hung around afterwards to hear the whole story from everyone, mere bits and pieces. It perhaps had to do with Peke being a seer. Whatever it was, they were after him.

"That red lion was already there. I never caught his name. He was dead. " This was true; if Mapatano had caught Unyevu's name, he'd say it. The dark lion was not one to forget. He swallowed now, and looked away a bit. "Ukweli was there too... dying. " He paused a moment and looked down at Hisa, it was hard to imagine the pride without Ukweli. He'd never been close to the seer or anything, but he'd always been there. It was just odd to think of him as not-there. The same went for Nyonda. He left out the fact that Ukweli had been another of Machafuko's doings-- Elea seemed shaken enough about the cub thing, imagine the prides seer?

"We stopped them. Msiba ran off afterwards. Ukweli died soon afterwards, he couldn't hold on anymore. " He looked back at the two lionesses. "Before he passed, he spoke to us. Mchawi has also escaped, but the vultures are now gone. There are others of the pride, stranded, and we may send our bondbirds to find them, now. "

He paused. "As for Machafuko.. " He trailed off, looking down at Hisa once more before speaking again. "He's dead. I killed him. "

And he deserved it.  

[Basil Brett]

Haja blinked. It was the only thing she really could do. She felt as if her body had been frozen in stone. Wide eyes stared at Mapa, looking through him rather than at him.

How? How could this all have happened? So many deaths. Too many. One was too many. She even felt a twinge of remorse for Machafuko, as much as she disliked him. The shock of it was just overwhelming.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pressure in her shoulder. As usual, Maboya was the one to bring her back to reality. The eagle seemed to know that moment where Haja felt she was teetering on the edge of a cliff. He always seemed to pull her back.

Jolting, she cleared her throat several times before speaking.
"So the others are there, waiting for us?"

With words came the flow of rational thought. She was angry. Oh, was she angry. At Machafuko, at Msiba, at all of them. Those who took advantage of them in a time of crisis. But now was not the time for ranting. That could come later.

She shot a silent glance at Maboya and turned back to the lions, a hard look to her eyes. She waited for a reply.