Mkali rarely got upset. The young lioness was usually very calm and even careless, but when it came to her sister, as usual, things were different. Mkali thought nothing of the fact that her sister hadn't returned for a night, because they often did things without one another and Mkali knew that Adanna could take care of herself. What surprised her was when Adanna found Mkali, furious, and told her how she'd been tricked by a certain stupid male into something she regretted. Mkali hadn't said a word, she just sniffed her sister to get the male's scent, asked for a description and then stalked off. She was on the male's trail and she didn't think he was far off...
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Aro was busy laying about in the dirt where Adanna had left him. His wounds still burned from the night before’s fight and his face had swollen up from the dents she had left in his face. But it was all good, he liked the pain. Frankly he wanted more but he had to admit he wasn’t a god like his father and needed to rest his weary limbs. He’d catch up with her later; her scent was fairly recognizable- not to mention she still left a pretty heavy blood trail as she made her escape this morning. He twisted and rubbed his back on a rock quelling an itch, all too soon noticing that Swemoes his manned wolf was hanging above him eyes planted onto his.
“You know she’s going to come back and kill you for that.” He grumbled at the lion. “I’ve told you a thousand times to use your brain. Your not your father.” Aro turned over and grunted back to him, “Nah she ain’t going to kill me…she likes me too much…relax.” And he went back to covering himself in her scent that she had left all over the place.
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Mkali didn't have a hard time tracking down the male, the trail of blood was quite obvious and apparently the male her sister had met that night hadn't moved since then. To Mkali, who very much liked the scent of blood, it was like following a delicious road. It only disconcerted her that some of it was her sister's.
When she got close she began to hear voices... She hadn't anticipated there would be two of them, so she decided to play it safe and not sneak up on them. She had to see them first to see if she could take them or not. If it was two adult male lions, she highly doubted it. But one... maybe. She didn't fight often and was still young, but Mkali had a bloodthirsty nature and a natural talent for causing damage. If her sister was the brains of their duo, then she was the brawn.
Mkali stepped forward, inspecting the scene before her. The dark-colored male lion was lounging around, looked like, while a worried-looking wild dog stood over him. She tensed her muscles and waited for them to see her.
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Aro of course did not notice the other in the distance right away, but Swemoes did. He tensed and his ears flattened against his skull. This was not the same female from the night before; oh no this was somebody different- but very close to the same scent as earlier. “Aro…” He nudged the larger lion who ignored him. “Aro….AROSMTH…” He took a paw and swatted at the lions face. Aro turned to Swemoes and looked displeased. “HEY what’s the big idea? YOU don’t hit me.” He lifted a lip and growled at him. The dog did it again. “No idiot…we have company…can’t you SMELL it?” His tail had now curled under his rear. This scent was strong and terrifying. Aro then lifted up his nose and waffled it in. “Oh the pretty lioness from the night before is back.” He grinned and shot to his aching paws excited. Swemoes just took this opportunity to bolt. He had almost become lunch last night; he wasn’t going to test it again.
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As the wild dog ran, Mkali watched him but let him go. He wasn't the one she was after, anyway. Her focus was on the male lion, and if looks could kill her ice-blue eyes would be stabbing him. She snarled deep in her throat with the effort to speak in her normal cool, composed tones, but it didn't come naturally to her today.
“How DARE you,” she growled, her voice full of hate, “Are you the SCUM that tricked my sister?” She was almost completely sure it was him, but there was no need to make mistakes. The long moment she had to stand still and not attack him was so hard for her she thought she might explode. Every muscle I her body wanted to move and strike, and she was ready for it.
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He gulped and paused, he was mistaken; this was not Adanna- not that he knew her name. She didn’t bother to tell him. She only knew his because he boasted about it. Maybe this was why his father had thought him a clod. He rather wished Roth had been there to get him out of the mess his was currently making. His eyes darted about, and that damn Swemoes had run off too. Always in the heat of battle, coward. If he hadn’t been such good friends with the mutt he would have killed him for the idea of leaving him alone when he most needed him. Bah, he didn’t need the help of a manned wolf anyway! He was a big, strong, powerful lion! He looked at the female ahead.
“Sister?” He had to think about it for a few seconds. Adanna had a sister didn’t she? He was wondering who the other smell on her was. Oh well guess he was going to find out. Shame he had gotten wrecked last night; if she attacked him it was going to be close to the wire for him. “I didn’t trick her. She agreed to give me a one night stand. And I did my duty as a male and fulfilled her with all the pleasure I could give her.” He chuckled at that thought.
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Mkali might have tried to correct him if she had been her usual, level-headed self. That wasn't what her sister had told her, and her sister would never lie to her, she might have said. But now she couldn't even think in words, all she could do was roar with rage and lunge at him, claws outstretched and teeth bared, aiming for his body. She would do the most damage she possibly could as quickly as possible, because that was how she liked to do things. Her sister was a little more fond of torture than she was. Mkali just liked nice efficient kills.
Mkali was a black blur of motion. She had been ready to pounce before she spoke. Now she just hoped she could defend her sister's honor against this filthy male!
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Before he could even blink Adanna’s sister had been on him slashing and ripping his already wounded body apart. He liked the pain but he didn’t want to DIE. There was a difference in his book, and this sister meant business. He rolled over taking the blow to the side hitting the ground hard, maybe she would roll with him if he unbalanced her. “Dammit. If ya want what I gave her you got to leave me alive.” He snarled not understanding why SHE too was attacking him; other then the idea that she too wanted to be full of his cubs. On the ground he shot his back paws in her direction to kick her off. Bloody females, what the hell was wrong with them these days.
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Mkali was full of rage. She could barely even see in her fury, all she could process was her claws tearing through fur and skin and her teeth sinking into flesh. The warm burst of blood in her mouth was savored and enjoyed, but it didn't calm her. Then she roared again, this time in pain as he kicked her in the belly with both hindlegs and knocked the wind out of her. Gasping, she staggered back and almost sat down as she struggled to breathe for a moment through her bruised ribs, but with insane urgency she forced air down and slashed at him with her foreclaws, trying to rake his face with them. She wouldn't give up that easily! She'd make him pay, and maybe once she trudged home with his blood on her breath Adanna could feel avenged for how he took advantage of her! (or so Mkali thought!)
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He howled with rage and pain threw his gritted teeth. Why was her touch not turning him on the same way with Adanna? He snapped down at her paws clenching onto anything he could grab and use the other one to shield his face. He wasn’t a fighter, he didn’t have the strength of his father OR that of his mother. And his size was a joke being most of his body under the flesh was skin and bones. The boy had been more interested in watching life escape his victims then what they tasted like after they were dead. He actually felt FEAR for his life at that moment. “Woman…” He huffed threw fur and blood. “I don’t know WHAT is going threw yer mind…but it’s not MY fault if yer sister got cubs from all of this…SHE…ASKED…ME…TO…LAY…WITH…HER…” He panted and half growled out the words feeling his world spinning from the blood loss.
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Mkali howled again with true pain as he bit down on one of her forepaws. Her rage was making her clumsy, she thought to herself as this fact began to sink in. If she'd had a cooler head going into this fight, she might not have gotten so badly hurt. But then perhaps neither would this male have. She wanted to make him suffer!
His words finally hit her and gave her doubt. She was sure he might try to lie to get out of this fight, but he sounded so much like he was being honest. Was there some truth to what he was saying after all? And if there was, did it matter to her? After all, she loved her sister more than anything, and this male was nothing to her. If him dying made her sister happy, then she was glad to do it.
Mkali yanked away, trying to get her paw free of his teeth. THAT would hurt for a long time, and she'd probably limp a little until it healed! Clawing at his face had been a stupid move, she chided herself.
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As soon as she yanked her paw free from his mouth he brought both paws over his face and covered it, then curled up into a ball only exposing his back to her. He could feel the claws biting in over and over. And he could see his blood pooling around him. Was this what death felt like? His body gave a shutter and his mind flicked back to all the animals he had impaled. How had they died? A last twitch and then they laid limp? He tried to calm his mind like he did when torturing his victims. He then gave a twitch and lay perfectly still letting himself go limp. Oh he only hoped she would buy it. He couldn’t take anymore blood loss.
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Mkali stopped, panting, as she felt and then saw him go limp. So, it was over already? Maybe her sister had given him a better beating last night than she had thought! She paused for a moment to examine her own wounds, looking at herself from head to tail. She had scratches and bruises, but she hoped that if she could go home and clean them well they wouldn't leave scars. Her paw was the worst of it. She could see his teeth had punctured it and it was bleeding fairly badly. She ought to get back right away and tend to it.
She looked down again at the motionless body of the lion that disgraced her sister. She supposed she could leave him here... maybe the vultures would eat what was left of him? But then she had a better thought. Why go back and tell her sister it was finished when she could show her? Her sister would delight in maiming this mangled body and maybe it would lift her spirits. And besides that, Mkali was a little proud of her work. She wanted to show it off.
She bent slowly, grasping the male's scruff in her jaws but taking care not to be too rough. There was no chance of her being able to do something like tear his head off and take only it back as her trophy, so she'd have to settle for all of him. She started to drag him back towards the place she and her sister were camped, unaware that his heart was still beating...
