[PRP] Troublemakers (Cubaggedon)

[Krysin]

Two cubs were far too close to the border for any parent's liking, let alone their own. But, Msako was not the type of cub to let her parents hold her back from an adventure. She had developed an independent streak, encouraged only from living in a den with a majority of male siblings. She could scrap with the best of them, and possessed an unbreakable can-do attitude.

Which was why she was just at the border of the Pridelands, playing with the possibility of stepping out of the invisible boundary. The only thing holding her back now was her companion, a dark female cub she had only just met. Msako lived by a pond popularized by its shallow but constant waters. It was a rather scenic area that her parents lived near, and a lot of cubs happened to come that way to play and tumble through the waters. It was a good place to make friends, and perhaps Msako needed a voice of reason.

Kore was just terrible at that job. The dark cub trailed after Kore with a pleading tone to her voice, "Msako, we need to go back. Your dad's going to wonder where we went, and my mom's going to be worried sick about me!" The younger female tripped over a small rock, and tumbled forward into Msako's back legs.

Msako yelped, turning quickly to eye her tag-along with disappointment. "Go back, then, you didn't have to come with me. Ain't my fault that you followed me." Msako scrunched up her nose, and then with a mighty 'huff' turned back around to continue on her mission. She was going to see what was on the other side of the border.

"I don't know the way back, though! Please?" Kore righted herself, and after seeing how far ahead her friend was, she hurried along to keep pace with her.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

They weren't the only little paws wandering the borders, gnawing on a bone his mother had allowed him to take from the remains of their kill to play with Machafuko'kai was thoroughly enjoying toying with the grim remains before he heard the voices in the distance. Other cubs?
Out here? Pfft, probably from that pride mother had mentioned...

She wouldn't have minded if he toyed around with them...would she? Bah, of course she wouldn't have minded!

Lurking as best he could in the grass, the dark pelted little male scrambled and dragged his belly along the ground as he tailed the pair of girls, oh this would be easy. Granted it wasn't so easy with his sister, but these were two silly pridal cubs.

When the time was right and they were completely unsuspecting he pounced out with his loudest yell in lieu of a roar that had yet to form in his young body.

"RAWR!"

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Kore screamed, a shamefully high-pitched wail that would have gotten the attention of any adult in the area. The dark cub jumped what could have been an entire foot into the air, and would have been quite the feat of strength if it wasn't born out of fear. She hadn't even turned to see who it was that had snuck up on them, and instead made her way behind her older companion. "I don't wanna die!" she cried plaintively, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Giant, wet drops were already falling down her cheeks.

On the other hand, Msako would have never admitted to screaming. She was far too cool for that. It was entirely plausible that Kore's own screeching had drowned out Msako's short yelp of surprise. The gold female turned to face imminent danger, ears pinned back with her little white teeth showing. She had puffed up, trying to make herself bigger than she actually was. While Kore clearly was the type to hide from danger, Msako was the type to face it head-on.

When she saw who it was that had snuck up on them, her confidence in her ability to handle some stupid boy cub rose. It was just a boy. Silly, stupid, obnoxious. Msako had four brothers, she could handle any boy. "Knock it off, stupid! You're not funny." She stomped her front two feet down onto the ground, shoulders squared to him. "Who are you to think you can sneak around tryin' to scare others?"

Enter Msako, champion of justice! ...and her scared sidekick, Kore.

"Can't we just go home?"

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

The scream was enough to get him rolling slightly on his haunches with laughter as he watched the two girls before the golden one decided to stand up for the pathetic darker pelted one, the response of golden one was more interesting however as he squared his own shoulders to match off with her, puffing out his chest and stomping his own paws as he flipped his small scrap start of a mane and began to circle the pair.

"I'm Machafuko'kai, son of Dathcharu'kai, the God of Chaos." Oh the boastful tone was strong with this little scrapper, head held high and grinning to himself as he eye'd the pair. Both the cowering little female and the bold gold pelted one.
"It's in my blood to be chaotic and spread mischief and discourse, what about you two? Huh?"

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"What?" Msako was momentarily confused straight out of her righteous anger. She was, after all, raised in the Pridelands. Gods didn't exist! That was the stupid belief of outsiders. "Your name's a mouthful," she told him disapprovingly. Whatever. He could claim to be the son of some imaginary creature, Msako could still take him on. She stood her ground, acting as a protective shield for Kore to hide behind. Her friend could only so far dare to peek around Msako's gold body at the stranger.

"I am Msako. Daughter of Shujaa and Jamii'binti. My name is not a mouthful, and I ain't the child of a make-believe being." She stomped her front legs for dramatic effect, trying to prove that she was a force to be reckoned with. Msako could definitely take him on!

"No, they're real!" Kore squeaked with an awe-inspired gasp. Her fear had dissipated in favor of curiosity. "Gods could be real," she continued with less confidence than her original outburst had inspired. She was a bit of a dreamer, and though it was... kind of cool to be the child of a god.

She sat up, though she still tried to keep herself between Msako and Machafuko'kai. Whenever the strange cub moved around back towards her, she would scramble to keep Msako between them. While she was curious, she didn't want to mess with the cub of such a nasty sounding god! "I'm... Kore, daughter of Thea. That's it, I guess?"

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Macha's head was still held high till Msako implied that Gods weren't real and stared at the golden cub like she had an extra head poking out of her back, as well as glare at her indignantly as he got right up in her face with a snort. A snort puffing in her face as he glared at her.

"My dad ain't made up! My mom told me I have older siblings by him and when I get older I'll get to see things and be special, unlike you and your plain name." He grinned at her before blinking as Kore spoke and arched a brow, at least this one seemed smarter and puffed out his chest a bit at the little look she gave him. Good, this is what he deserved.

"What kinda lion doesn't believe in the Gods anyway? My mom says there's a lotta Gods."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Msako wouldn't allow herself to be bullied by some punk cub! She stepped up to him, ignoring the breath hot on her face, and glared back at him with red colored eyes. Her mouth was fixed in a hard frown. Machafuko'kai wasn't that much larger than herself, and no one had ever intimidated her before. It was hard to be afraid of someone who claimed to be the child of something that didn't exist.

"Well, where is he then? Where is your almighty father-god-thing? I don't see him, so you've got no proof that you even have a dad." From what she figured, he was all talk and no bite. The only reason he claimed to be from some super cool god's bloodline is because he had no merit himself to use. Even if Kore fed into this stupid story, it didn't make it any more real.

Kore was slowly coming back out of her shell, though she clearly did not trust the male cub. Msako was better off handling him than Kore was, and so she remained shy behind her friend. Her voice was soft, though not necessarily quiet. She wanted to be heard, she just didn't want to get into a fight. "The Pridelands don't believe in Gods. We're supposed to believe in the Circle of Life. That the world has a balance to it, and that we take from the world, but also in the end give to it."

She kind of hoped Gods were real, she'd really like to see one herself. They sounded mysterious and fascinating, like a really good story that was just waiting to be told.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Again Macha's eyes rolled and he groaned as he sat himself down infront of the two other cubs with the same frown on his face,
this idiot golden cub and her friend really had no idea. Silly pride cubs, he shook his head slightly in disappointment.

"Gods don't stay around with cubs they have with mortals, they have too much work to do." He looked up at the sky and made a gesture with his paw. "Like making the rain, or rainbows, or looking over wars or taking mortals to the afterlife when they die."

When Kore spoke up again, Macha wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Circle of Life? What a load, but I guess I understand the balance thing, that's why chaos is so important after all."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"That sounds made up," Msako answered disapprovingly. While Macha had taken a seat, Msako had chosen to remain standing. She wasn't going to give up any ground to this cub, and she certainly wasn't going to let him think that she was getting comfortable around him. She had to be strong, not just for herself, but for Kore here too. After all, her friend apparently couldn't even navigate the way back home.

"Why even have cubs if you aren't going to raise them? What's the point of you when your god dad has so many more important things to do?" The gold lion cub arched a challenging brow at Macha, daring him to come up with a reasonable explanation for why his dad didn't hang around him.

Little did she know it was a bit of a sensitive spot for Kore, who had no idea who her own father was. Her mother never really talked about him, and Kore never had any reason to miss having him around. But, with all this talk about fathers, even godly ones a that, made her uncomfortable. Pensively, she took a seat beside Msako, gold eyes looking over to Macha with that same curiosity though dampened by thought.

"Chaos doesn't sound like it balances anything, though. It sounds very... not balancing." She was more willing to listen to Macha's ideals, while Msako was more ready to challenge them. "I wish I could meet one, though, a god? Then I'd know they were real. Do you think my dad is a god? I've never met him, and if you say they have important stuff to do... mine could be doing that, right?"

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

That one hurt. Blinking briefly at Msako he stood up with a snarl, granted pretty ineffective given he was just a cub like her - but his anger was apparent as he went nose to nose with this stupid golden cub.

"What's the point of you? Sounds like your pride has enough stupid lions that don't believe in gods and they go and produce another stupid cub to go with it." His rumbling anger was briefly interrupted as Kore did a great job to distract him, even if he was still irritated and he huffed in irritation as he looked to the darker female.

"Well how would you have anything good? You gotta have good and bad things to have balance, trees struck by lightning become logs filled with grubs for other animals to eat, battlegrounds become fertilized ground for grass so herds can eat and we can hunt, every bad thing had a good counterpoint, that's why chaos is important."

At her implication that her father could be a god he eye'd her up and down and huffed thoughtfully. "I dunno...then again Gods usually have funny markings, my mom said my dad had these flames on his paws...maybe your dad's a moon God or a sky God what with the moon on your forehead so definitely important work, somebody's gotta move the moon."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Msako was ready for his anger, and she would not allow herself to be snuck up on or taken by surprise again. She growled a threat at him, the sound high-pitched and soft in her throat. But, she wouldn't be cowed by his anger, even as her friend cowered a little bit at their spat. "I am a symbol of the love between my mom and my dad. I am a part of the circle of life, there is purpose to me. If your dad is so important and has very big things to do, why would he waste time making a stupid cub like you that can't do anything but sneak up on girls?"

"Stop it, Msako! We don't have to fight!" Kore's voice momentarily snapped Msako out from the anger-fueled path she was heading down. The gold lion cub snorted and turned away from Macha pointedly, dismissively.

"He's the one who started it, spouting nonsense," Msako grumbled.

"But, it makes sense, doesn't it, if gods play into the circle of life? The circle of life is about balance." Kore wasn't sure she could convince Msako to believe in gods without showing one to her, but Kore had never seen one herself. But, she was also a cub who didn't necessarily need to see a god to believe in them. She wanted something magical and mystical to be out there in the world.

"Besides, it'd be cool to have a moon god as my dad..." she added softly, cowed by the other two cubs' anger.

"Your dad's not a god, Kore. He's just not around." Msako told her friend with an impatient frown. Why her friend was feeding into this idea of gods was beyond her, but they were Pridelanders. They weren't supposed to believe in gods!

Lightning Shadow X

I lol cause Kore's great-grandfather is the God of the Moon. >> GOOD GUESS MACHA

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Macha was so SO ready to give this stupid golden cub a smack for her insolence, but he wasn't about to be punished by some idiot pride lions for smacking an equally stupid cub. Ears pinned to his head with a grumble. "Purpose of being another corpse in the ground." He muttered to himself grimly before looking to Kore as she spoke.

"See? She's smart, can you explain have of what goes on in the world without the Gods? Like who takes you away when you die? Who takes care of the birds or the fishes? Who helps change? Maybe even your mom and dad had help from a fertility god...though they definitely didn't have any blessing from a god of intelligence given how you turned out." He snorted in amusement.

"Besides my dad ain't around and I know he's a God, so maybe hers is, you can't exactly prove her dad isn't a God."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"I heard that!" Msako snapped. She turned back to face the impudent snot-nosed brat of a cub, ready to start their fight back up again. It was Kore who managed to calm the gold cub, nudging her dark head against Msako's shoulders to snap her back away from her anger.

"You don't need gods for any of that. It's just the way the world is. When you die you're dead, the birds and the fishes can take care of themselves! There's no need for gods, so why should they exist? They don't. You're just spouting more nonsense because you don't want to be proven wrong." Msako taunted the other cub, ears facing forward, brows arched high upon her forehead and her eyes glinting with mischief. There was no mistaking the smug smirk upon her face. "You haven't even proven your dad exists, let alone that he's a god."

Kore, quiet and pensive, realized that she needed to step in before the two started another fight. They were going around in circles, neither proving each other right or proving each other wrong! If she let them be, they'd probably bicker until their parents found them... and then bicker some more. "Look, I'm okay with whomever my dad is, I guess. Can't we agree that gods fit into the circle of life?" she asked her friend plaintively.

Msako's eyes cut back towards Kore, and grumbling, she answered the dark cub softly. "I suppose, if they existed, if Macha could prove they existed, they'd fit into the circle of life. But he hasn't, you know. You can't go believin' what everyone says, Kore!"

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Macha hissed at the implication that he might've been wrong, but Kore's attempt to mediate at the dark pelted male's tail flicked back and forth in agitation before staring at her incredulously.

"Ofcourse my dad exists, if he didn't where would I have come from? Stupid!" He huffed, but he wasn't going to insult her further, or he was going to try his best to but this Msako was so irritating. Atleast Kore was bareable and he grumbled a half assed acceptance that maybe the Gods fit into the circle of life. Maybe.

At Msako's words he rolled his eyes. "Like if people say Gods aren't real? For all you saying that I can't prove they exist, you can't exactly disprove it can you?"

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"You're stupid! I just meant that as a 'god' he doesn't exist. You probably have a boring, old dad who does nothing but lounge around all day." Msako stuck her pink tongue out from between her teeth at Macha. She could find nothing redeemable about this cub. He spouted nonsense, liked to sneak up on other lions, and was generally unpleasant. How Kore was even tolerating him was something she couldn't begin to fathom.

"Well, until you show me a god, you can't prove they exist either," she countered fiercely. "So, go on, fetch me a god! Prove to me they're real and that you're not some idiot spouting ridiculous ideas."

At least, they had somewhat come to terms with each other. Kore watched the two lion cubs through wary golden eyes, worried that if she said the wrong thing it would just spark another argument between them. But, at Msako's dare to show her a god, Kore couldn't help but perk up. For the first time she approached Macha, wide-eyed and curious. "I would like to meet a god too! Can you find one and bring one to us?"

"If it's real," Msako chirped up snidely behind Kore.

"How about if you prove gods are real, we'll both apologize for not believing?" Kore offered tentatively.

Lightning Shadow X