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Listening had always come easy to Sanele, and she didn't miss a thing. A verbal thing, that is. She had overlooked the hyena until Matifa mentioned it. She need not look at it; Ulaka was 100% right. Hyenas were liars, wretched scavengers, and she too felt the gnarly little beast would enjoy their untimely demise.

Baboons were not any better, and Sanele hadn't made the mistake of thinking they were choosing sides. Her eyes went wide from the very start of the assault. Ulaka was one of the pride members she had never found time to get more familiar with on a personal level -- but she had heard things. Not all the reviews were completely positive, but then again, everyone was critic. She understood what it was like to have people gossip about you. (Nevermind gossip about her was well-deserved, prompted by her over-the-top stories and white lies.)

And, no matter how she acted, Ulaka was as good as her own flesh and blood. A pride member was a pride member.

Sanele tromped into the mud beside her. "Are you alright?" She didn't have time for an answer. Another stone was hurled their way. Without hesitation, Sanele jumped in front of her and took the brunt of the hit.

When she told the story later, the stone would be twice the size it actually was and one of many.

I do not have a Bonelands lion!


Katavi lay flat on her side, panting under the scorching sun. The heat was undeniably miserable, and the dry weather made her mouth dry. She tasted the air: lions! The small lioness leaped to her feet; albeit with a little struggle: her leg injury was debilitating, and would never heal. She limped curiously towards the group, peering through some bushes. Hopefully the stench of lions and other creatures in these lands would cover her scent... but then, it happened. She saw the baboons just as they began to attack, and by then it was too late. The rush of rocks fell, and Katavi let out a shriek as she scrambled out of the way.

Katavi hissed as a rock went flying by one ear, then struck her right on the nose. She yelped comically, rubbing at her nose with a paw. Katavi fixed her blue eyes ahead of her, growling under her breath, "barbarian monkeys..."

She emerged into the muddy clearing, careful to dodge the stones this time. She peered around, looking for a lioness who could explain what was going on, but everyone seemed to be in a giant frenzy. She looked to her left; a rock hit another lioness, and Katavi jumped forward to confront Ulaka.

"What on earth is going on?" She shouted above the roar of crying baboons.

Matifa ducked when the shower of rocks began and hustled her way over towards Su. A few smaller ones struck her on the back, but she may have gotten through it without a bruise. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one of Dina's cubs hiding under her sister.

"Is he alright?" she called out. It seemed to be a common phrase. But, while a stone might bruise an adult, it could do some serious damage to the cubs.

Ulaka was busy swinging her head around. It had started to bleed. She'd been kicked by a prey beast before, but never in the nose.

"Yeah," she managed, though her eyes had begun to water. "I think. Stings like you wouldn't believe."

Ducking as another rock hurtled her way, Ulaka found herself suddenly confronted by a yelling lioness and another member of her pride. "I think we picked the wrong darn water source!" she answered. By now, she was back on her feet and backpedaling.

-- Unfortunately for her, mud didn't throw very well, and so the good-natured dirt-flinging Mhisani had tried ended up squarely smacking her in the back of the head. She let out a growl of alarm and sped up her movement until she'd bumped into someone else.

There was a brief delay in the attack as the babboons began to gather more rocks, but it was clear it would be short-lived. Or so it seemed until they stopped and turned their backs. They hurled their rocks on the water, instead, while hissing and yowling and stomping their feet. What should have been a log turned into the mouth of a crocodile. And it was not pleased.

"Is that?" Since the rocks had momentarily ceased, Matifa braved raising her head. One of the youngest baboons was busy safely scooping up a handful of water while his parents aided in the rock-toss. "They've made this side of the lake safe. If we can just get to the water. . ."

"--then we'd be torn to shreds by monkeys. Look at those teeth!" Ulaka protested. There was no way she was going anywhere near those dirt-throwing beasts. Savages.

While the baboons were distracted, the gathered lions and hyena had a chance to plot their next move.

-

Vote for our next move by bolding your characters IC decision:
arrow Try and reason with the baboons
arrow We can take them! Attack
arrow Try our luck with the crocodiles at a different spot on the bank
arrow Forget this! Let's find a new water source.

[OOC Note: Feel free to take your time to post! Tallies will not be taken until this evening to give everyone a chance! If you've just come across the RP, please feel free to join us. The more we have, the better!

Also, all characters can vote, regardless of age or species. ]

((Lawl, Mhisani's RP font is bolded... So I'll UNbold her vote xd ; ))

When she saw where the mud had landed, Mhisani cringed. "Sorry about that, Ulaka! It was meant for the baboons!" She finished cleaning the mud off her paws, before looking around at the cubs. So far, all accounted for... She then noticed the baboons change their attention from the lions to a crocodile. Water wasn't so safe after all... She frowned, nose wrinkling in displeasure. "I think we need to find another water source... This one's not safe, either from crocodiles OR apes!" She wasn't really sure which she'd rather face... Though frankly, she didn't want to face either. Both prospects were full of teeth and potential death... And she wasn't into being dead.

OOC - Hari's font is bolded, so I italicized her decision. c:

While loving and friendly with her pridemates, Hari would ferociously protect them from danger if she could; however, in this case, she believed the most logical thing to do was back off and find another place to quench their thirst. They may have been able to scare off the baboons, but add crocodiles into the mix and there were just too many things to watch out for. Hari was not a coward, but she wasn't stupid either.

After seeing that Sanele and Ulaka could handle themselves, Hari spun around. Racing away from the banks across the mud, her paws skidded on the brown sludge and she almost fell, recovering but nearly colliding with two lionesses. She heard one suggest leaving the water hole, and turning to face them she recognized Nyeusi and Hadharani.

"I agree, Nyeusi. We'd have to fight to get the water, and it's not unlikely that we would fail. If that did happen, we'd be forced to travel when we're exhausted and possibly injured. It's just not worth it. We should leave while we're still in decent shape and find somewhere more peaceful to rest."

Tegan had lagged a bit behind the main group to watch the rear so she was just catching up when the baboon rock attack had happened. Her tail flicked in agitation as she looked around at the ones that had been hit. "Normally I would be all for going after the nasty monkey's in a little revenge but it seems everyone is preferring to leave." She turned her head to glare towards the baboons.

EDIT: I'm a Bonelands newbie!!



Rimma was passing by when she saw the confrontation between lionesses and baboons. Well that wasn't right! Granted, there were quite a lot of baboons, but they were lionesses! Predators! Regardless, it seemed to her that the primates were being highly territorial and not at all kindly to the felines. It ran counter to her last exposure to a primate, in which the single individual had been a beloved pet of sorts, apparently near-family to the leopards that sheltered it. This... this was a different affair entirely.

She padded up to the group, keeping her distance in case the lionesses were as unfriendly as the baboons. "I'll help you run them off, if you want," she offered, ears pinned faintly as she gazed defiantly at the primates. "They shouldn't stand between you and what you need. We are stronger than they. Rocks are no match for teeth and claws." She bared and flexed her own weapons, hissing faintly at the rude monkeys.