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Finally.

The young male struggled to hold down his prey, digging his claws deeply into it's hide and clinching his jaw down as tightly as he could manage. Parts of his royal blue mane began to stained with blood as the creature beneath him all but stopped struggling.

Easing the preys neck out of his mouth, Kafei looked up at a break in the canopy high above. With eyes shut and snout pointing straight up, it looked from a distance as though he was thanking the heavens for an answered prayer.

The meal wasn't for him, however. After meeting a huntress who was struggling to bring back any food, Kafei took it upon himself to help her. Yesterday the male followed her back home after presenting a catch to her, and discovered just how dire the need for food was in the lower ranks. That's when he decided that he would try to catch his own prey on top of helping Anju. After all, just because he was a Lord didn't mean he was going to lay around and do nothing, while the rest of the pride struggled to feed itself.

Kafei took a moment for himself, licking the blood off his white muzzle and mane. The male thought about some of the recent rumors swirling around the pride as of late, about the Shatkona having three heirs supposedly fall into his lap. There was also rumors of some new Ligi promotions as well.

Uck, that stupid tyrant had even managed to ruin his quiet time.

Grabbing hold of his prey once again, the Tama began to drag the carcass behind him to take it back home. Kafei tried to work quickly to to get it to the pride before one of them caught wind of of his catch. He had to hold onto it long enough to at least show Anju, thinking about how much it would impress her only drove the young male to push himself harder.

The further Kafei dragged his prize, the heavier it seemed to be getting. He couldn't help but wonder if Anju had ever caught something this large, and if she had did she return it to the dens by herself? She seemed so fragile at first glance, but she had been trained to hunt her whole life, and Kafei couldn't forget how the lioness left him in the dust in their race back to the dens on their first meeting. Even if the male had never actually seen her catch anything, it wouldn't be a surprise to find out she had more endurance than he had.

The Tama's jaw suddenly locked into it's prey again as an unfamiliar voice called out to him. His eyes darted until he spotted another male not too far away. The voice the other male used to "introduce" himself was not one of aggressiveness or intimidation, but surprisingly a friendly tone. He didnt' fit the usual Ligi profile, maybe he was simply a hunter on duty?

Feeling comfortable enough to let go of his prey, Kafei bowed his head to greet the stranger before answering his question.

"Thanks. I'm taking this catch back to the dens for those who need it." Kafei breathed heavily between words, getting a better look at the other male. He knew he had never met him before, but for some reason the white mane, spotted cream pelt, and blue eyes kept coming to mind, as if someone had mentioned something about a lion with those colors. Dragging that carcass without pacing himself had left the Tama dizzy and unable to remember why he would of been told to keep out for a lion of that discription.

"Say, if your not busy would you mind helping me carry this back for awhile? Not the whole way, but at this pace it's going to take forever." Kafei needed the help, but maybe he could get some information out of him with a little conversation on the way.

"Thank you good sir!" Kafei said enthusiastically, getting ready to once again grip his prey. As his teeth began to meet it's flesh the cream colored lion suggested taking a rest, which sounded like more than a good idea to Kafei. Building up some more strength for the rest of the trip to the dens, as well as using the time to fish for information or rumors.

"Well if your going to be so kind as to help me out, I owe you my name at the very least. I'm Kafei, a Tama Lord." Perhaps it wasn't very safe to give out your name to just any lion in these canyons, but he seemed very kind so far.

"It is heavy, but honestly this hunting thing isn't exactly my strong suit. My old pride had plenty of hunters and prey to feed everyone, so it wasn't a skill someone like me ever had to worry about using." He paused as if he was thinking, his red eyes suddenly narrow. "I saw what the elderly and children have for a meal here... it's pathetic, as I'm sure you know." He looked over at the other male who seemed rather well-fed, perhaps thing were not as bad as it seemed the other day. It was entirely possible he had only seen the worst of the worst- perhaps the slaves, but it didn't make it any better in his eyes. Most of the group had been cubs and older or sickly lionesses.

"It's just taking so long to get to the dens from where I killed it. I'm worried one of those dogs, those pathetic Ligi, will come and snatch it for themselves." It was a real concern for Kafei, but his strong words were also to prod at where this stranger's alliance lie."...Even if a Ligi tried to steal this catch between the two of us we could chase him off, right?" Kafei wasn't entirely confident about that, but it would say a lot about this lions character. He wanted to see if this male was willing to fight one of the Shatkona's lackeys.

The Tama's ears perked. Either the boy was about to cough up a hairball or Kafei had said something that hit a nerve. His suspicion was only further fueled by Kay's bizarre response; a pride member not worried about the Shatkona's Ligi? He would have gotten excited if the younger male had said it with some more confidence, but he instead stammered the words.

"Haha, really? Then I must be some sort of magnet for trouble then, I've run into quite a few in my brief time here." Kafei couldn't pin point it yet, but something was off. Kay seemed to be very physically fit, such an able bodied male stammering at the idea of running into a ligi?

"So Kay." Kafei's voice suddenly took on a very somber tone.

"Lived here your whole life I presume. Surely you've formed your own opinions about the Shatkona by now." It was very easy to gain the Tama's trust, but it was suddenly obvious this younger male was hiding something from him. Kafei got up circling his prey and consequently his friend at the same time. His gaze never leaving Kay's, Kafei planted himself next to him.

"What do you think about him? What about his Ligi?" The Tama crouched a bit, almost leaning forward while eagerly awaiting Kay's answer. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to react to such questions, but putting himself in such close proximity with the cream colored male, Kafei wasn't afraid to find out.

Kafei listened quietly as the lion spoke, finally cracking a smile when Kay mentioned his sharp tongue. Only for a moment his mind wandered back to his homelands, remembering the many times his mom would make such a comment.

"Of course it wouldn't be fair to any lion to simply judge them by their title." Kafei stood up and took a few steps before stopping in front of his catch; his white paw rested on it's inflating stomach. "They are unfortunately not entirely arbitrary in these troubled times. The damn things can also mean the difference between eating and not, even living or dying.

"You see Kay, despite my formal greeting I am actually not one to worry about titles beyond introduction. If I did, I wouldn't be out here dragging this carcas around. I will admit, I feel very privileged to be considered a member of the Tama house and Ashnai'le as a whole, after hearing about it from my parents all my life."

Kafei finally averted his gaze lowering his head and went quiet, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. He was put in a difficult position; he felt as though he had offended the other lion, and wasn't nearly as ashamed as he thought he should be. But why would Kay be offended by his line of questioning if he had nothing to hide? Was he afraid of the Ligi? Indifferent to them, and bothered that Kafei's opinions were so strong?

The Shatkona was a constant presence, his strong hold on the pride felt everywhere, especially through the Ligi. No one could afford to be apolitical. Kafei struggled to admit it even to himself, but he was mortally afraid of the Shatkona; afraid of what the tyrant might do if he ever found him out. Lying about his linage and sneaking around with an Atmaja lioness was incredibly risky. In a way, he could sympathize with his new acquaintance.

"For growing up in this pride, you're quite the contrast to what I've seen with the exception of a young Atmaja I met awhile back. I have a very good friend who's mother was a huntress and is still small for being an adult lioness."

"You must come from a rather privileged family. I'm going to guess your the son of either one of the head hunters or a Lord." Although taken a bit off track, Kafei hadn't forgotten his questions to Kayin, or their implications. Now that he'd appeased the young lion, he hoped to receive an answer.

Kafei quietly listened and grinned. He seemed satisfied by Kay's answer, and nodded in agreement as he rose to his feet. "Yes, I'm feeling a little better now. Thanks for waiting on me, lets get go-" With the rest, clarity had returned to his thoughts; suddenly all the pieces of information the Tama had been collecting were falling into place.

"Wait. You're one of The Mwanasheria's Sons? " It was all making sense now as he remembered the details of those rumors about new Ligi promotions. That's why Kay seemed so familiar when Kafei had first seen him. He had been given a vague description of several spotted brothers of first blood who had sworn their alliance to the Shatkona. Usually he wouldn't have jumped to conclusions without poking further, except for one detail the lion in front of him had just admitted: He was one of Indira's sons.

"Kay, I grew up in a pride full of lions that considered themselves actors, and I have never seen one so good at acting as you." Kafei let out a huff and his eyes grew big as he spoke.

"You played me for a fool, but a wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf. Or should I say Ligi."

Although he was furious, something wasn't adding up. All of the Ligi he had met would push their weight around until they got what they wanted, flaunting their title as though it was a badge of honor. Kay had been nothing like that. Usually Kafei was a decent judge of character, and the moment he had laid eyes on his younger friend any suspicions that he may have had bad intentions left his mind.

Kafei's mind was racing again. He wanted so bad for Kay to tell him that it was all a misunderstanding, but how could he? No matter how he tried to explain his way out of it, the bottom line was that he agreed to serve under Sahen and agreed to play by his twisted rules.

Perhaps this seemingly nice "character" he had been interacted with for the afternoon was after all, just a facade? As much as he wanted to blurt out further in anger, he squinted his eyes shut and tried to calm himself down. He would see what Kay had to say for himself before going on any futher.

Kafei studied the Ligi's reaction carefully, watching his body language.

"Atmaja tongued or otherwise, at least I can say I have never rolled over for that poor excuse of a Shatkona like you have." Kafei was well aware of how dangerous it was to speak out, especially in front of a Ligi. Many of the pride members he had met only spoke about Sahen in a whisper. But there was a method to his madness. He was still not entirely convinced this lions heart was in the title that he now held. If this had been all an act, Kafei was determined to flesh out Kay's true colors.

What the Ligi had said about not having any intentions of stealing his prey seemed true enough, if that was the case Kay would have already taken it from him when he found Kafei laying there fatigued.

"So now, why don't you have any interest in my prey? It's a big catch. I'm sure your precious Sahen would reward you generously if you presented it to him." Kafei carefully laid down his bait. He taunted the younger lion, but he made sure not to make any threats upon any Ligi or Sahen himself. He was walking a thin line as it was, and going further than taunting would be nothing short of life threatening.

"You have nothing to lose by taking it, but I can't imagine Sahen or your accomplices would be too pleased if they found out you let such an easy meal go."

(I am a terrible, terrible person for letting this one go for so long >>; I apologize. )

Kafei held his tongue for the first time in their conversation. He wasn't sure how much more he could get away with saying without risking things going bad. Even though Kay was still young, He looked just as able as any of the other Ligi Kafei had run into, and if he hit a nerve he could easily hurt him.

However, an opportunity had presented itself that Kafei couldn't pass up.

"Her you say?" This was a dangerous path to be treading on, to say the least. Even with the dangers of provoking a Ligi in the back of his mind, Kafei wanted to see just how far he could push.

"This huntress, does she know your a Ligi?" Although his tone came off as nonchalant, Kafei was admittedly terrified. So much that his legs felt like they were on the verge of quivering. He had no idea what kind of relationship Kay and this lioness had, but regardless there was a better chance than not if she was a huntress she didn't like Ligi. He hadn't been very upfront about his rank, and if he was afraid to tell a stranger he was Ligi, there was no way he would tell someone he seemed to at least be acquaintances with. At least that's what Kafei was betting everything on.