Characters: Kuhasa, Bazazi
Setting: Post-migration, a little while after the pride has settled in.
Word Count: 1389

Bazazi was no stranger to signs of a pride, he knew he had made it to where he was aiming. The Ithambo’hlabathi had a reputation and he was eager to see if it was true.. the closer he got, the more he heard that supported the rumours. Ever the crafty negotiator, he was able to get quite a bit of information out of the pride’s neighbouring fauna and had made himself a plan. He spent some time lurking on the outskirts of the pride’s territory, knowing he would be seen eventually.. and when caught, he wasted no time in issuing a challenge to one of the resident subordinates.

After what seemed like an eternity of dark and digging, Bazazi would finally live a free and easy life. All he had to do was chase away one of the lions already living in the Bonelands, and he was ready for fight for it. Looking for an easy ride and not actually wanting much responsibility, he had absolutely no interest in attempting to displace the Abaholi.. but one of the Inselele? That would do.

Kuhasa was the unfortunate lion to answer the challenge. It wasn’t his first but it wasn’t going to be easy, it never was. He’d never really been much of a hunter, relying on ambush tactics and the help of Zahif.. but this wasn’t something he could rely on his old friend for. He was sure Zahif would gladly help intimidate the challenger but they were nowhere near the water and even after everything, Kuhasa felt it was cheating.

The challenger was dark. He had markings on his face that were almost as hard to see as those on Umkhombo. His fur was dark but his mane was pure white and Kuhasa was surprised to feel the same kind of disapproval usually directed at him and his mane. He was truly at home here, he wasn’t in any position to stay forever but he would fight as hard as it could to stay as long as he could.

“Your mane isn’t going to be very popular around here,” Kuhasa remarked, standing opposite his challenger.

“So what?” asked Bazazi with a smirk, “It won’t keep me out, so I don’t care.”

Well, trash-talking was a bust already. It wasn’t Kuhasa’s strong suit anyway. That meant all there was to do was fight it out. The pale lion was standing tall and steady despite his lame foot, refusing to show any weakness too early on. He was significantly rounder than the prisoner-turned-rogue, who was lean and muscular from his time in the Ravine.. but that wasn’t going to deter Kuhasa. And Bazazi had no interest in playing mind games over that, he was more envious than anything.

“So, how does this work?” Bazazi asked, slowly beginning to pace around the Inselelo, “Do I have to kill you or am I supposed to give you a chance to concede?”

Kuhasa didn’t move, knowing it could give away his weakness, and instead focused on watching carefully as Bazazi moved.

“That depends,” he answered, narrowing his eyes, “Do you want a chance to concede, or do I have to kill you?”

No points for creativity, Bazazi thought, but certainly no less intimidating than his asking. He valued his own life significantly more than he valued this stranger’s life, even a hard go at it like back home hadn’t been worth giving up on it.. a shot at something like this was tempting, but ultimately not worth dying for. The Inselelo didn’t need to know that, though.

“We’ll just have to see, then,” he said, “Won’t we?”

With that, Bazazi lunged forward, finally ready to get this show on the road. Kuhasa was quick to duck but not quick enough to miss all of the darker lion’s limbs, getting a decent kick in the face from Bazazi’s back legs. There was no time for him to retaliate, though, before Bazazi was back around and on top of him.

A decent dodge, though minimally successful.. and not fast enough to counter. Things seemed to be going his way already, Bazazi thought. He extended his claws and put all of his weight down onto Kuhasa, searching for a solid grip as they went lower and lower to the ground. He realized too late what was happening and there was a roar beneath him as he was thrown off Kuhasa.

Kuhasa bared his teeth and willed his bad leg to steady but it was no good. His leg was shaking but he wasn’t out yet. Unfortunately, neither was his challenger. Bazazi was already slowing down but he was back on his feet, shaking himself off. He wasn’t going to get anywhere just fending off attacks so he took his chance and moved forward, putting all of his weight into it as he reared up. Bazazi reacted quickly and reared up to meet him, realizing immediately that the pale lion’s weight was putting him at a significant advantage like this.

With a snarl, Bazazi ducked down and out of the hold, letting Kuhasa’s claws tear through his fur without concern-- and noting that one side didn’t have the strength to leave marks. Without Bazazi’s bulk to hold him up now, momentum brought Kuhasa right back down and, unfortunately, he landed heavily on his front legs. Moving into the weak side, Bazazi had no trouble getting out of the way as Kuhasa fell and wasted no time aiming his claws at the larger lion’s face.

His good leg was the only thing keeping him upright when he landed but a set of claws to the face finally put Kuhasa off balance. Thankfully, Bazazi had missed his eyes but he’d be surprised if he wasn’t bleeding now. This challenger was doing better than any of the others had and Kuhasa was in serious trouble now. He always knew he would never make the cut for a permanent resident, especially since he had no interest in being celibate.. but he still had come to think of this as his home. And he was losing it now, in this fight with this stranger.

From there, the end of the fight was a blur. Before he hit the ground, Kuhasa reached out to try to knock Bazazi’s legs out from under him but he was dodged- and then very suddenly he was pinned down. The challenger was over top of him, one dark paw at his throat, another on his bad leg and an infuriatingly smug grin on his face.

“Do you concede?” Bazazi asked, winded and visibly shaking but holding his own. He knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer, his muscles were not from this kind of workout.. but he was counting on Kuhasa not being able to get back up. Shaking or not, he was putting significant weight on a vital part of the Inselelo and putting pressure on an old wound, it seemed.

Kuhasa made an attempt to free his legs so he could keep fighting, pushing through the pain from his foreleg.. but this only prompted Bazazi to put more pressure on his throat. The more he struggled, the faster his vision started to go gray and the more certain he was. He’d lost, this was it. So he stopped fighting.

Bazazi waited a few seconds after Kuhasa went limp before hopping off of the former Inselelo (and none too gently) and looming over him curiously. He was relieved he didn’t have to kill him after all, but the unfocused look in Kuhasa’s eyes suggested he had fought a little longer than he should have. Bazazi was the clear winner, even breathing heavily and desperately wishing for the opportunity to relax.. but this wasn’t over until the defeated Inselelo left.

It took longer than he would have liked, but Kuhasa was soon able to sit himself up. His body ached, marks on his face stung, his bad leg was killing him.. and everything still felt a little fuzzy from the lack of oxygen but he was OK. In the end, it looked like the challenger wasn’t going to kill him, even if he was going to stare him down until he walked away. It took another moment but Kuhasa got to his feet and turned away from Bazazi, limping wordlessly away from him and the pride.

Fin.