What was he going to do? A goddess was living near his small pride and there was nothing he could do about it! Not only that, she was demanding part of his food supply as well as an offering of a skull each day! Durin's mood had only grown worse after Kujali had left his company in favor of another lion's. This was all her fault. She had apparently been his good luck and without her, the gods had forsaken him and had even sent one of their own to get rid of him should he not please her.
It had already been close to a week since Xiu Xiu had first made home near him and even now, he and his lionesses were feeling the burden. In fact, he had already heard whispers of another of his females possibly leaving his company at some point soon.
On the other hand, Nirav's day was going just fine. Though he had strayed from the Ela'wadiyi lands in favor of practicing his hunting skills, he was still close enough to retreat should he need to. He was already almost full grown and his mane was coming in nicely as some of the females in his home pride continued to point out only to cause him to shy away from embarrassment.
He stepped lightly over the grass before him, keeping his eyes peeled for any possible prey that may pass in his field of vision. Nirav was determined to prove himself a capable hunter some day! And maybe that day was today! Or maybe it wasn't, who knew for sure, really.
Durin frowned just at the thought of some of the words that Xiu Xiu had said to him, telling him that he was beneath her when his entire life, he had been above lionesses. Nothing had ever told him differently. Then suddenly Kujali attacks him, leaves him and then this goddess showed up. His steps were not as flighty as Nirav's were. The darker lion's steps were...malicious, stepping on small wild flowers on purpose, crushing grass, and nearly hitting a small mouse that managed to duck out of the way just in time. He was upset about his situation and he was going to let the world know.
Purple eyes scanned the horizon, lighting up as he saw another brown, maned figure standing in the distance. Another lion! Oh what fun they could possibly have together. Nirav's sheltered life had not taught him of the dangers of other lions out in the world, but only of the danger of the hairless monkeys from his parents' tales. He approached the other figure.
The darker of the two was not pleased when he saw another begin to approach him, another male by the looks of his mane. A low rumbling that could only be a growl began to form in Durin's throat as the adolescent approached, unaware of the danger he was possibly in.
"And just what are you doing here?" He snarled out, quickly closing distance between the two. "Well? Who are you?!" Durin was losing patience quickly as all he was met with was silence on Nirav's part of the conversation. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't say anything, obviously and this other male was far too large for him to possibly run from. The younger of the two did the only thing he could do; he wrote his name in the dirt in front of him. Nirav was scrawled in the earth before him, a proud smile on his face.
Durin was still less then pleased, but he at least read the name before smearing it back into non-existence. "Nirav huh? Can't just say it? Think you're too good for that? What are you, a god too? Think you're better then us?" By this point, the poor adolescent was more confused then anything about why he was being accused so suddenly of this. Violet eyes looked from side to side in an effort to think of a way to get out of the situation that was becoming more and more dangerous for him to be in every moment.
The larger male stepped forward, lips raised and teeth bared as he snarled back at the younger. Nirav stood there shaking his head from side to side, trying to deny that he was anything of the sort of deity. Never could he think himself anything so holy and to even be accused of being one was...well, horrible in his opinion.
Durin was still furious though at the thought of another of these gods encroaching on his land, even if in all truth, Nirav was not one. His own temper was blinding him from the truth and that was what caused him to suddenly lash out at the younger male. Luckily for Nirav though, he had always been light on his feet, especially due to his love of climbing what parts of the mountain range of his home he could reach. He dodged the attempted assault, though terrified now. This larger male meant him harm. He could no longer stay without risking his own life. There was nothing keeping him there, no food, no friend. He had merely been searching for a possible friend and found a male wishing him harm instead.
Nirav ran. He ran faster then he thought he could have in all his life all while Durin was on his trail who was roaring from confusion and frustration for the situation Xiu Xiu had put him in. The chase continued until Nirav was almost back to the border of the Ela'wadiyi lands. Finally the larger of the two gave up. With another roar of frustration, Durin turned and left, leaving the scared youth alone.
He was so confused, so very confused at what just happened. Was the outside world always so terrifying? He had met Talasi and she had not attacked him, so not everyone had to be as he did. No, he could not let one bad incident convince him the world was evil, but it was obvious that some in it were. With a hard swallow, Nirav continued back home, glancing over his should every now and then to check and make sure that Durin was not secretly stalking him.
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