Emrys watched as Gabedi left the lands, bloody but not injured to the point of death. He'd heal given time and hopefully find a new life for himself. Emrys lowered his head to lick a deep wound on his leg that the former Inselelo had managed to score, cleaning up some of the blood before looking towards the pride. A sense of satisfaction filled him as he turned to head in, but something made him pause. The wind shifted and sure enough, the smell of another lion reached his nose. He turned slowly, eyes narrowed, and spotted the large red lion that he had watched battle Gabedi twice lurking behind a large pile of rocks.

"Show yourself," he called out, his head held high, heart still pounding from the fight. He wasn't about to back down now, not after he had just secured himself a victory.

Tawa crouched behind the rocks with a snarl on his face. Damn it...he was trying not to be seen. He was still severely injured from the previous fights with the now former Inselelo, but that didn't mean he was ready to give up. He knew another lion would come in to take advantage of the weakened Gabedi and he needed to size up his future competition. He had been both surprised and delighted to watch the fight and see the grey male take the victory. This one was smaller than the brown lion had been and certainly wasn't a strong fighter by any means. It seemed he had won mostly because Gabedi had been tired from the fights with him.

Still, that didn't mean he should underestimate him. The grey lion was in a position of power now and Tawa had suffered a severe thrashing the second time around. He'd have some scars to show for it in a few months time, but for now they were fresh and still hurt. He stood after being called out, facing the new Inselelo with as mild an expression as he could manage.

Emrys snorted softly as the hulking lion finally made himself known. "Look at you. You're still a bloody mess," he jeered, ignoring the fact that he was one as well. "Go slink off to lick your wounds, red brother. You have no place here."

"I have as much place here as you," Tawa snapped, a low growl rumbling in his chest. He looked passed Emrys into the Bonelands, his heart aching for a moment. He knew this was where he was meant to be, but it wasn't fair that he had to wait. Previously he'd been too young to challenge the Inselelo and now he had failed. Third time was the charm, perhaps...but he'd have to wait again.

"Go on," Emrys said, not at all intimidated by the larger lion's bravado. A strong breeze would knock him onto his side, he was sure. "You're in no shape to make a stand for your honor."

"It's not my honor I want to make a stand for," Tawa returned, turning his gaze back to Emrys who smirked at him a bit. The red lion narrowed his eyes and snarled softly but didn't make any move to start forward. He knew he'd have to wait. Fighting like this would be a fool's errand. He'd bide his time, heal, and then challenge Emrys properly when the time came.

"Go on then," Emrys said again, waving a paw to try to get Tawa to leave. The large lion was starting to annoy him now that he wasn't doing as he was told. "Go back to the rogue lands to sulk."

"I'll be back," Tawa said, cutting Emrys off at the end of his sentence. The smaller lion paused in surprise, then began to laugh.

"Oh...you'll be back. I'm shaking in my fur," he said with a challenging grin. "We'll see about that. That lion did a good number on you....I'll be surprised if you don't die from hunger for not being able to hunt."

The suggestion was a real problem, but Tawa knew he'd find a way to survive. He had to survive. There was no way he'd have gone through all of this just to die of starvation waiting for his wounds to heal. He snarled again but did turn to go, knowing that staying here was pushing his luck to a point that he didn't want to test. Heal, rest, and come back in a few months time. She didn't even know he was here so she wouldn't be able to miss him. Hopefully Emrys wouldn't speak a word about him to the pride once he was in.

Emrys watched Tawa turn to go, a victorious smirk on his face. He fought off two lions today in his book, one physically and one verbally. Not too shabby in his opinion. "Perhaps you can the other fellow can join forces so you can hunt," he taunted as Tawa limped away. The red lion felt his shoulders tense but he kept going. It wasn't his time to fight Emrys, but it would come soon enough.

Satisfied that Tawa was beating a slow retreat, Emrys turned to face his new home. He took in a deep breath before starting forward, still bleeding but confident that the pride would welcome him. Gabedi had said something about his green coloration, but he didn't pay it any mind. The pride would see he was worthy through his actions, not his appearance.

Tawa turned after walking for a bit, spotting Emrys growing smaller in the distance. He sighed softly and hung his head in defeat. He hadn't been raised to be a loser, but he hadn't been raised a fool, either. He knew when to take defeat and learn from it, and today was one day that he would certainly learn from. He'd lick his wounds and come back stronger. Lifting his head, he set off in the direction of the cave he'd been living in for the past few months. It seemed he had some more practicing to do.

FIN
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