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Late into the night a shadowy figure appeared at the entrance of the jaw.

As Tasso he walked out into the moonlight his white mane appeared to glow from a distance. Turning around to make sure that nobody including his brothers had woken up, the large lion trotted off onto the now familiar path down into the heart of the canyon. He did his best to keep his foot fall as silent as possible, though his size often betrayed him.

This was the only time he found that he could truly be by himself. He didn't have to worry about the title Ligi around the commoners, and he didn't have to worry about his status as Indira's son around the other Ligi. He kept walking until he pasted the hunters dens, and far pasted into the mostly deserted parts of the pride. Prey was not to be found here, and he knew if he stayed within the right confines, he need not worry about the Ligi patrolling the boarders.

Finally he came to an opening where the trees parted, and the moon shined down. He settled himself into a worn patch of grass and curled up to admire the night's beauty. His eyes fell half-shut, letting everything blur.

The moment the sound met his ear, Tasso's immediately lifted his head and the fur on his back went up on end. Blinking a few times to refocus his eyes, he got up on all of his paws and began to scan the area in the direction the sound had come in. It was possible that it was just nothing, but his mother had taught him to keep his guard up until proven otherwise, and then some.

He quickly spotted a silhouette, only slightly outlined by the moonlight. His eyes grew wide as he saw her face.

It was.... Hajajaiee?

Or something like that. He had never talked to her before; only ever seeing her around the Shatkona, but knew that she was his servant. Nothing else.

"You can go tell Sahen I just came here for some fresh air." Tasso said with a low growl in his voice. He had came to the conclusion that she must have followed him to spy on him for her master, but he wouldn't let this lioness ruin his favorite spot so easily.

"Why are you here then?" Tasso's face went from looking defensive to a bit... skeptic. If she wasn't here by Sahen's orders, then why would she follow him out here and risk getting in trouble?

"And sneaking up on a Ligi isn't a very good idea, you could have gotten hurt." He thought someone her age would know better, but apparently not. "You should be more careful."

Tasso softened his stance and went back to laying down, but his face still read that he was unconvinced. Still, he wasn't Jabari and was more trusting of strangers than one of Indira's children should be. It just wasn't in his nature to be so suspicious of someone he knew nothing about, and he tried his hardest to not jump to any conclusions until she explained herself.

"Lonely huh?" He sighed, thinking about how life had been only such a short time ago. Tasso had never truly felt lonely until recently; so comfortable their lives were when him and his brothers lived happy and peacefully together with Mom.

"Maybe a little." He said in a rather somber tone. He still slept in th same den as his brothers, but with all the other Ligi there he felt more distant from them then he ever had.

"It's nice to get away though. Isn't the night beautiful?" He asked, so lost in his own thoughts to even realize what this lioness was hinting at.

Tasso's ears folded back when the lioness came closer, this was starting to get uncomfortable. She had started way in the bushes and now was only a few steps away from him. Was she trying to get close enough to attack him, or....?

"Actually, know what? I don't know about you, but I just got really cold." Tasso looked around a bit panicked, unsure of how to get himself away from her.

"Maybe it's time we get back to the jaw. Besides, I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble on account of me." He smiled nervously before standing up and taking a few quick steps back from her.

Tasso once again calmed himself down, though a bit taken aback by her abrupt question.

"No. I don't know much about anyone in the Jaw besides my brothers, to be perfectly honest." He didn't much care to know anything about any of his Ligi companions. He couldn't afford to suddenly relate to those monsters, to feel bad for even one of them. Tasso didn't want to make it any harder than it had to be when him and his brothers had to put the skill they learned while training to work.

The salves however, were a different story. Tasso was terrified to find out about how any of them ended up in their current positions. Slaves and regular pride members were both groups he had avoided since his encounter with a young Tama cub when he was younger. He couldn't forget how much she had resented him for his privileged life as Indira's son. The only time he ever attempted to talk to anyone who wasn't a Lord was if it was a pretty girl.

Tasso listened quietly as she told her story. It may have been the first time he had ever had such a candid conversation with anyone. Usually it was full of double talk and spoke in a whisper. Their location and the night sky seemed to act as a protection, and rid the two of any reserves about talking in fear of getting in trouble.

"Jahi He's the Sahen top Ligi, right?" He was a top Ligi, and she was the Shatkona's slave. This was starting to make sense now except for one thing.

"What about..." Tasso asked hesitantly. He had a feeling he knew where this story was going, and didn't want it to go any further. It was too late to turn back now though.

"What about your twin, Ihaj?"

He had been worried that's what she would say. Her twin was killed, by her own brothers doing none the less. Tasso had figured while Jahi didn't seem to dangerous around the Shatkona, that he must have done something pretty spectacular to have gotten on Sahen's good side. But to betray your own family? His heart began to race, unsure how to handle the news. Instead of getting outraged like usual and throwing a tantrum, Tasso found he had a morbid curiosity about the rest of the story.

"No wait!" He said quickly before going after her. "Why did he do it, why did he go to Shane?" He hoped that asking such a question wouldn't seem insensitive, but there was a sense of urgency in his voice as he asked. He didn't agree with his mom all the time, but Tasso had never doubted anything about her plans for them. Still, he was beginning to fear that they had played straight into Sahen's hand, giving him a way to slowly isolate them from each other.

Jabari was doing things Tas would have never though he was capable of; the tipping point being when he brought in a lioness from the boarder. He had no idea what was going on with Kay, and in fact the two hadn't spoke in private since they became Ligi.

He knew it was irrational for him to fear such a betray in his own family, but if there was just one slip... even Mom wouldn't be safe.