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If there was one sight no one in the the Mwezi'Johari ever wanted to see, it was Baba'nyota standing outside your den and asking you, very quietly and very seriously, to come with him. Even Yareha was not foolish enough to try anything around the big one-eyed lion and so he'd told the kids (though as adolescents they were hardly kids anymore) to stay in the den and get some sleep.

He couldn't have said he was surprised by this turn of events. He only hoped that it wasn't a horrible surprise for his son and daughters when they woke up tomorrow morning and he wasn't there.

They walked in silence, white lion behind starry blue, the moonlight reflecting off both Yareha's fur and the stars on Baba'nyota's pelt. And where they passed, he could hear the conversation dying off. The Head Guard wasn't taking a circuitous rout, no they were clearly headed for the center of the pride, and even if they didn't pass many, there were still a lot of lions on the way.

At last they came to the royal dens. The Head Guard took his place and Yareha stood alone, facing the pride's ruling class. Completely alone, he realized, not even Latitare was here. The white lion wondered idly where the spy had gone to when he looked up, on a hunch. Between the gathering of lions and the gibbous moon a lone speck circled.

Yareha stood steady as Thoth deigned to speak to him at last. Of course, for form's sake, the King had to bring up the fact that this was not the first time he'd been in trouble. And the white lion had few doubts as to where this was going.

So when he was invited to speak, the first thing Yareha did was to stay silent, to bite back the scathing retort that came to mind first. He doubted there was anything he could do to save himself by this time, but it behooved him to not make this any harder on himself than it was going to be. When he could finally control his voice the white lion answered.

"Yes."

Yareha's eyes widened slightly in surprise before they narrowed again in pain. He knew that Latitare had been there to spy on him, indeed, the bird had admitted it himself ages ago, but despite that they'd still formed a kind of friendship.

To be reminded of where the eagle's ultimate loyalty lay was like claws squeezing his heart. The white lion shut his eyes briefly as the speck above them descended. He did not trust himself to speak now, nor did anyone seem to expect him to.

It was hard to watch Yareha respond to the mention of Latitare and his part in what was happening now. The king and queen had few doubts that their spy would be found out and the secret discovered but for the most part everything had been simple enough. Thoth wasn't lying when he said they had been able to overlook his general behavior but even Latitare knew where the line was. The bird's loyalty, even after getting to know Yareha, was not unnoticed or unappreciated.

"Latitare," he greeted the eagle, his voice softer but his eyes stayed on Yareha, "Could you please remind us what you've seen lately from Yareha?"

Knowing Latitare was assigned to spy on him wasn't nearly as cruel as hearing his own words, spoken in confidence to one whom he knew wouldn't repeat them to any Mwezi, thrown back in his face. Yes, they were unhappy words, yes they were spiteful. And in this pride, seditious and dangerous.

But hearing the eagle give voice to them was the cruelest part of all.

Yareha wanted to close his own eyes, hide himself from the stern gazes of the King, Queen, Shaman and Head Guard, but that would be cowardly. So even though his eyes burned and his heart ached, he stared them all straight in the eye.

Slate blue eyes narrowed at the mention of Mazin and Yareha's subsequent attack on his cousin. Why did everyone insist on misconstruing that singular event? He couldn't, wouldn't deny that he hated the class system but he had never taken advantage of it and the attack had been totally unrelated. He considered remaining stoically silent, but he couldn't let that single inaccuracy stand.

"I can only deny one thing you've said," the white lion replied. "I did not 'take advantage' of the class structure to attack Mazin - I would have done so even if he had been the King and accepted the responsibility for that action." Indeed, he'd been so jealous of his cousin for winning the lioness he'd loved, he hadn't been able to think straight. The fact that Mazin was a slave had completely slipped his mind at the time.

Not that this admission was likely to endear anyone here to him. Yareha simply wanted to set the record straight.

Thoth's eyes narrowed in return when he argued. They had very different perceptions on how that had played out, then, whether or not Yareha realized how the position of each player in that particular incident affected the final outcome. His expression clearly said he was not going to argue with him about this.

"Whether or not you intended to take advantage of the system is irrelevant to the part it was allowed to play in the outcome," he said, pausing only a few seconds before continuing, "Your presence is no longer welcome here, you are a danger to the physical and spiritual well-being of all of those around you. You will be escorted to the borders by Baba'nyota and you will not come back."

The king would not say it but it was implicit that there would be worse consequences than banishment should the bold lion dare to return to the Mwezi'Johari.