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Thankfully Kiuma's voice boomed out and echoed through the silence of the pride, for Ta could hear it below where she stood, and he felt chills run down his spine. Looking down towards his paws, he yerned to be next to Kami, and yet knew at the same time had she deemed him needed, she would have come to him.

Instead, he waited with perked ears, praying that all creatures this night would stay strong and keep faith. For tonight, it grew apparent that paradise was not all that it seemed. With that bitter thought in mind, he lowered his head and let out a soft shift of a sigh.


Mastema has surprisingly said nothing, as if for once he took the hint and kept his emotion in check. However nothing would stop the blow that occured when he heard his grandpa had passed on. At first, he didn't understand, and merely looked around, but soon enough his innocent mind put two and two together, and tears flooded his wide, green eyes.

"Dead..." He whispered with a soft voice, "Grampa wont wake up...he wont ..." Unable to go on, he just thought of all the things he wouldn't do anymore, and how he would never see the older lion again. Swallowing a large lump in his throat, he finally looked up with a watery gaze and eyed those around him.

First he looked to his mother, the reagle flame that rose above the people. Than his eyes found Kamilika, the aunt he liked a lot because she was so pure like him. His eyes took in her tears, and than he followed her gaze to Sarabi, where he found his own tears suddenly falling.

Unable to voice the question, he just stared at the queen, and wondered if she too would fall asleep to never wake up like the king had. Suddenly, death was too real for the innocent youth afraid of harming any sort of creature. But this was not enjoyable, this was heartbreaking, and he suddenly was lost in silence, watching.

Blank red eyes rose as a familiar golden form came to a stop before the old lioness. It made her heart ache to see her daughter, the one so much like her lost mate. A tiny flicker of the old light came to those eyes as she offered Kamilika a small smile, giving comfort when she had none for herself.

"What happened is not your fault, Kamilika." She said softly, her voice broken and rough from her grief. Stepping forward slowly, she lowered her head and shrugged boney shoulders so the necklace she wore slipped down and off. Wooden beads clicked agains the stone when it landed and the old queen took the strand in her mouth, raising her head again. With a gentle motion, she slipped the old necklace over her daughter's head and let it go to settle against the strong, young shoulders. How long has she carried that necklace, as she had carried the weight of guiding, protecting, governing the pride? Though the weight of that was gone, the new weight of her advanced years settled on her, and she slumped in exhaustion as they pulled her down. She'd done so much in her long life... yet the darkness that loomed before her seemed to make them pale, till they seemed small and insignificant.

A stray breeze ruffled Sarabi's cream fur, though it couldn't move the ring that circled her neck, fur that had learned to grow around the necklace she'd worn. When she spoke, it was tiredly, slowly. "Our time has passed. It is time for the next generation to step up and take it's rightful place. It is all part of the Circle of Life, Kamilika..."

Her voice raised one final time before she turned to leave. There was nothing now but to wait to join her love and king... And she couldn't bear seeing so many eyes turned to her for support and comfort, looking for her guidance. That was her daughter's role now.... She bowed low before the golden figure.

"Long life and wise rule, Kamilika, Queen of the Pridelands."

Nunda was sitting atop a rock near the large rock formation, as well, watching the various animals gather and travel in large groups. It was rather exciting for the adult; he'd never -seen- so many species of birds, herbivores, and carnivores gathered in one area!

There was a sense of pride instilled in him as he looked up in awe at Pride Rock. So many kings had walked up that monolith, proclaiming births, deaths, and coronations. What little royal blood he had in him gave Nunda even more pride; his father was a prince, which meant he was sort of a prince, right? Although, he wasn't quite sure if any females had thought of him that way..

All of a sudden, Nunda was lying on the ground. Where did all the animals go? He sat up, looking around to see who -dared- to shove him off, just as he was watching a cheetah stalk a lone gazelle!

Green eyes caught the pelt of Kibela, and he huffed, standing in front of her. "What was that for?!" he said, feeling full of hot air. "I was watching a rather exciting hunt, and here you go, shoving me off my seat as if I was nothing more than a bag of bones!" It was rather difficult for the male to keep his eyes locked on hers; she was.. well... he couldn't describe it. Almost like a... like a flower? But not just any flower. A flower with black petals and leaves, yet it's pollen was a brilliant red. Of course, he didn't -really- think of her as a flower, but since biology was his hobby, she was something as rare and fragile as a flower in his eyes.

Nunda simply gave a 'hmph' and muttered something about teenagers under his breath, before he wandered up the rock formation to sit on another rock, watching the herds grow smaller. However, he got a fantastic view of the rest of the Pridelands, which made him grin a bit.

After a few minutes of sitting and watching, Nunda squirmed a bit; something was irritating his backside. He then jumped up, having felt something pinch his behind. "OH!" he exclaimed in surprise, and ended up leaping down the rocky hill, before losing his footing and rolling down the hill, before landing in the grass and dirt, quit dizzy and aching in pain.

Standing up quickly, Nunda looked up at the rock in silent awe, completely ignoring Kibela. "Only one thing could've caused such a bite..!" he whispered excitedly, and scrambled up the hill, ignoring the pain in his right forearm.

Leaping just in front of the rock, Nunda's eyes widened. Sitting on the rock, clicking it's jaws, was a small beetle. But it was no ordinary beetle: it had massive mandibles, a blue shell that glittered slightly, and large, transparent wings. "Beautiful..!" he exclaimed, out of breath.