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It was done. The Shatkona's grandchildren knew the truth about their heritage. Sahen had suddenly gone from having no heirs, to a handful of them. It was impossible to go anywhere within the Ashnai'le pride lands without hearing some excited murmurs about the news. Sahen had not selected any of Amira's children, specifically, to follow in his footsteps- but there was hope amongst the pride's people that whoever he chose would grow up to be a better, far more merciful King (or Queen).

Indira wasn't holding her breath.

Sahen was young and clever and virile still. There was no telling what might happen between now and his death, if he were permitted to live long enough to see old age. The children might change. He was good to them, although he'd had their Aunt Fila chased out of the pride, and Indira saw the grip that he longed to hold over their hearts. The girl, at least, seemed in his thrall. Sahen favoured her.

The green lioness sat in the deepest, most secret part of The Right Eye; surrounded by all of her sons. They were almost adults now, impressive in their intelligence and their physical prowess. Indira had trained them well, and groomed them diligently from the moment the Goddess of Fertility had entrusted them to her, so that they might help deliver Ashnai'le from the cruelty and malice of it's current ruler.

"My sons," she addressed them all, and nodded her head at each of them in turn. There was a hole in the cavern above, from which a great beam of sunlight penetrated the darkness and illuminated their faces. "It is time for you to do that which I have prepared you for since birth. I have provided you with all of the stones that you need, but it is up to you to cast them."

Indira waited a heartbeat, let her words sink in, and then continued;

"You are to become Ligi."

[a note : the boys have grown to adults now, but this RP takes place at the end of their adolescence.]

Kayin sat with his mother and his brothers, his soft sky blue eyes fixed loyally upon her. He too had heard the rumors about Sahen's new heirs, but he'd tried to avoid them for the most part. The idea unsettled him a bit, for all it felt a bit mean of him. What if they were as frightening as their grandfather was? Kayin's circle of friends was small, perhaps pitifully so, but he was content enough with it as it was. His family, Kafele and...maybe, just maybe, Iaeratu too. But his mother had always had his unwavering devotion. He would do anything she asked, and he'd do it to the very best of his ability, trying over and over again if need be to succeed without a word of complaint.

Until now.

"No!" he choked, his eyes widening and his ears flattening anxiously back against his skull. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. His mother...Indira...she would never...she couldn't mean... "I...I mean, I'm sorry," Kay scrambled to compose himself properly, though she had to understand how it could come as such a shock. "I just...I don't understand...why?"

How could she ask such a thing of them? After all she'd done to train them, to prepare them...and now...Ligi?

"Giving us to him?" Jabari repeated quietly. "As a peace offering. Yes, of course. I truly feel like a peace offering, don't you, Kayin?" he drawled, not mad at the decision, but disliking how she put it.

"We are, of course, faithful to you, Mother," he added, bowing his head slightly, as if to cover up his faux pas, but still letting it stay said. "If you wish for us to become Ligi, perhaps it is because we will not... abuse the position as the others have?"

He had to put a good spin on it for his brothers' sakes. Especially Kayin's. "By becoming a Ligi, we can save those that don't deserve their harsh treatment, simply by doing our jobs."

Tasso was uncharacteristically quiet as his brother Kay struggled to gain composure. Jabari was his usual calculating self, even helping his mother justify what she was asking them to do.

Creeping out of the light, hints of his white mane and his sky blue eyes were the only indication that he was even present. The conversation going on around him became mutters as Tasso got lost in his own thoughts. He had heard about the infamous Ligi of the pride and knew they were bad, but couldn't help but feel ignorant to their role beyond that. If he had to become a Ligi, would he have to do bad things too?

"What is Sahen going to expect us to do, mother?" Tasso finally spoke up, but there was a hint of hesitation in his voice, a far cry from his usually brash remarks. He wasn't going to resist something his mother had asked of him, but so far everything had been so vaguely defined. Sahen and the Ligi are not good, they do terrible things. The other pride members were not in very good condition because of them. He was half afraid to find out the answer about the specifics of his soon to be duties, but he wasn't a cub anymore and knew his life in the pride outside of the safety zone of his mother was fast approaching.