A/N:

EDIT: In case any of you were wondering, the title of this fic is a coincidence. xD I didn't know what a Truth or Dare fic was until after I started writing. Oh well, too late to change it… at least in my opinion. :p

Welcome, readers. Or, if you have read my stuff before, welcome back. This is one of two new fics I was talking about on Chapter 3 of Trampled, if any of you are reading that. The basic plot of this story, as well as character names, were suggested to me by BellaVision. The rest is my own, I suppose.

On with the story.

The day in the desert was hot… unbearably so. No wind wavered through the grass, and the sun shone, unhindered by clouds, through the bright, bleak sky. There was no birdsong, no cheerful atmosphere surrounding the flat and barren landscape. It was weather that fitted perfectly with the hopeless mood that hung about in the air. Maybe it would change, someday… but for now, it was the sort of weather that Tula was all too familiar with.

There was no moisture for a considerable distance in all directions, save for her tears, dripping quietly into the patchy, dried earth as she padded along, one pale brown paw in front of the other as she panted for breath. She picked up her pace even more, her small cub dangling delicately from her mouth, blissfully unaware of her true despair. But it was her cub. Hers… and Ranu's.

Tula was only a young mother. She had so much left to learn; so much more time that should have rightfully been spent with that same smiling, innocent cub. But all those plans were gone now, as they had no chance of ever happening. It wasn't fair, but most of her life hadn't been. Such was life, and she shouldn't have expected any different.

The lioness slowed down, and then stopped. She was exhausted; her trek through the dusty, completely unremarkable plains had physically and emotionally taxed her. It wasn't as though she'd never had to walk alone before: Tula was a rogue, through and through. But as she lied down on her side to give her cub a bath, she wavered. This would be, most likely, one of the last times they would spend together. Either that or the cub would die here, in this wasteland, having no survival skills to call her own and no real claws or teeth to serve as weapons. The cub's last hope… was her. She nestled the cub in between her paws, leaning down and licking her fur gently; her brush-like tongue easily cleared away the thick layer of dust that had somehow drifted onto her small body from the rare gusts of wind. The cub whimpered and giggled slightly in delight, smiling and batting at her mother's nose playfully. She's already so kind, so like her father… Tula looked down and grinned slightly in spite of herself, nudging her cub slightly in return, before resuming her bath, and beginning to think.

Tula had learned not to trust others at a young age. Her mother had repeatedly forewarned her about this, emphasizing the point by pounding it into her head, day after day after day... The story about how, after her father had died, a new king had taken over the pride she'd belonged to and kicked her out, just days before she was to give birth. Tula had, thusly, spent her whole life here, without a single being, other than her mother, to comfort her, to protect her, to caress her, or any of those other things that she knew were necessary to a young cub as it grows older. Years later, her mother had tried to rejoin the same pride, a new king having taken over, but it was too late. Her friends had forgotten about her. Abandoned her. They were quickly rejected. Their only fate was to forever live in this depressing waste, and the tough lioness that had served as Tula's mother had died soon afterwards, from unknown causes.

But that didn't mean that the young lioness's daughter was beyond saving. Seeing as how she had no other choice, maybe a pride would accept a wayward cub. She was young enough, and her mother could already tell that she would grow up to be strong and able to adapt to change. But Tula would never, could never join. Being a rogue her whole life had made her so used to the solitary lifestyle she called her own that she simply could not live in a group; that's just how she was, how her mother had taught her to be… She would never be able to trust them as well as a pride member should. Her being there would only endanger them, seeing as how bad luck always followed her. Literally. Because somewhere between here and her old home, he was following her.

The mother wanted to stay with her cub. Every maternal instinct she had told her to stay, to stay and to protect the new life which she was now scooping back up into her jaws.

But Tula didn't have long at all.

The lioness was dehydrated and dangerously hungry, and that other rogue male… he was after her for sure. Witnesses would not be tolerated by such a hateful being as that, and he would certainly kill the cub if he got half the chance. She had to get her daughter to safety, and soon, unless she wanted her to die already and at such a young age.

Tula's blue-green eyes vainly searched the sky for her mate, as if looking for some sort of help from above. Tears welled up in her eyes once again, running down her cheeks and displaying themselves as dark patches of wetness on her matted fur. He was up there now… now that he had been killed by that rogue.

The only male she had ever trusted had been murdered. Just when she thought maybe she had a chance at a family, or even a pride. A happy ending to be spent with others, to prove her mother wrong. But her mother was never wrong. Life had dealt her a bad hand, and so nothing had ever really gone the way it should have. There were no happy endings. Nor was there hope… except for the one ray of sunlight, that one precious being whose small, delicate form she now held in her mouth.

Tula ran now, unsure of where she was going; only knowing that she had to get there quickly. To the west, perhaps, towards the setting sun, which now cast long shadows to her rear. The night was going to be long and cold, but she would not be able to rest. The lioness had been on the run for two days now, and she could feel the effects intensely; the wired sense of adrenaline and energy that desperately coursed through her body made her feel as though her heart would explode at any second, a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. But after she found a pride, she wouldn't run anymore…

A faint whiff of air drifted by her finely-tuned nose, her acute sense of smell detecting the scent of lions. And lots of them. This was her first, and possibly last, opportunity. Wanting to get there before nightfall, Tula gripped her cub more tightly than ever and bolted towards the source of the odor. It seemed like a rather odd place for a group of sweaty, smelly lions to gather at. But, nevertheless, she flew towards it at speed, the dried remains of the grassy carpet which once coated the savanna bending and folding under her quick and forceful footfalls. Unfortunately for her, however, lions weren't the only life here.

A flock of black birds, hiding in the grass in front of her, flew towards the sky at her approach, startled and afraid of the predator which had unknowingly come their way. The lioness tossed her head to the side, closing her eyes for a moment in order to avoid the array of flapping, fluttering wings and the shower of feathers that rained down before her. The birds cawed loudly at her, and she growled, irritated with their sudden appearance in her face and the raucous noise they created.

Spitting and hacking feathers out of her mouth desperately, she failed to notice the large herd of gazelles quietly standing in the flat, grassy expanse in front of her, until it was too late. Startled at the sight of both her and the flock of birds, the prey animals instinctively fled the scene, kicking up dust as their sharp hooves carried them away from her and over the grassland. Tula tried to slow down, but the animals were already in motion, and she simply couldn't stop fast enough. As the momentum carried her past a rock near where the gazelles had started from, she finally was able to stop and stand still, watching with hunger and confusion as they pranced away, already soon to be out of her line of sight.

It was then that she made a mistake. Momentarily forgetting about the lions, she watched them leap off into the distance, somewhat angry that she had unknowingly scared off a potential meal. It was too late. Such was life, she supposed, even if it was unfair… She hadn't eaten in days. Curse those birds.

Everything she had been taught, all her life, told her never to let her guard down, even for a moment. But the lioness's slowly degrading, vaguely shaking form hadn't quite thought through anything.

She didn't do anything until she heard an audible snarl to her left, pressing her into action as she whirled around on the source, ready to defend herself and her cub.

"Who do you think you are, running up on those gazelle like that?"

A tan lion viciously quarried, teeth bared into a growl, which was clearly threatening. Tula immediately felt distaste for this stranger and his odd, condescending way of speaking to her. He appeared to be significantly younger than her, little more than a cub at best, and certainly not old or experienced enough to be questioning her with such brash confidence. Nonetheless, she had no idea just how many lions were here. The lioness had no other choice but to appear as non-threatening as possible. After all, any one of these lions might just be a future family to her daughter. She couldn't risk starting a bloodbath.

She set her cub under her body, protectively nestling her behind her front paws, never taking her eyes off the foreign lion for a moment. Tula cleared her throat harshly, trying not to strain her rarely-used vocal cords as she spoke. Her words came out as little more than a harsh, chafing rasp, the clear voice she had had as a cub having continuously been worn down by the sand and dust she always seemed to be in contact with.

"I… didn't see them," she spoke confidently, unafraid as she maintained eye contact with the lion, who only glared back in silent, growing rage. "I'm sorry to interrupt your hunt; I needed help, and thought maybe you could—"

"—forget it," the tan lion snapped back simply, hatefully, as he slowly lowered himself into a crouching position. Tula immediately recognized it as a fighting stance. She wanted to take a few steps back, but didn't, because of her cub who hid fearfully behind her strong, pillar-like legs. She looked around, and finally recognized the rest of this nomadic pride; the forms of at least a dozen lionesses were quietly gathered nearby, as well as those of a few cubs who had hidden farther back beyond the grass and rocks, trying their best not to interfere with what would have been a hunt, had it not been for Tula. They all nodded their heads silently, though she could tell that not all of them really agreed with him. A few looked at her and the cub, sympathy etched across their faces. But they still continued that pained, mournful nod, not daring to dissent against the will of their young, strong, and vital leader.

Some of them appeared old and decrepit; others, young and healthy. She pointedly noticed that he was the only male lion, and probably the leader of the pride. The younger lionesses had to be… his mates.

Tula picked her daughter up once more, feeling uncomfortable about remaining here any longer. There was no negotiating, nothing that could change his mind. That much she knew immediately. She wanted to cry. To get to her knees and beg. But she knew better than that. Respectfully nodding her head, she controlled herself perfectly, hiding the tears and the fury, and replacing them with an unreadable, apathetic expression, just like she had done her whole life.

But she had let her guard down once more, something that, under normal circumstances, she never would have done.

A hunt, ruined… Well, I'll show them. What will happen to them if they ever do what this… rogue… just did… Because they're lionesses. My lionesses. They need to be controlled; they need to know their place.

The tan lion turned, a little too innocently, pretending to walk away from Tula, who calmed slightly at his retreating footsteps… But before she knew it, he was on top of her, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he unsheathed his claws, letting them dig into her flesh. She grimaced, but refused to give him the satisfaction of crying out in pain, or for help. Being angrier than anything, she snarled at him, her raspy voice sounding all the more threatening as she desperately held her cub in her paws, out of reach of his claws and teeth, in case he dared to law a paw on her…

"Get off me now, or I'll rip you apart!"

None of the lionesses moved or even stirred, just watching… broken, solemn, and shockingly indifferent to what happened to their ruler. They didn't move away to help either of them, even as the lion began to smack her forcefully in the face, as Tula tried to contain the shots of pain that flowed through her body.

"I'd like to see you try…" he muttered defiantly, insensitive to the pain he knew he was causing her, despite her best efforts to conceal it, "… and I'll make you wish you were dead… Now, what to do with that cub..."

A twisted, sadistic grin spread across his maw, but it didn't last for long. A shot of adrenaline flowed through her as she freed herself from his grasp, letting her fighting instincts kick in as he vainly attacked her. Before she even knew what had happened, the same lion lied before her, dead, her daughter whimpering slightly in fear as she sat on the ground, looking up helplessly at her mother.

The other lionesses did nothing but stare at the corpse with empty, hollow eyes. Tula saw no reason to stay, being extremely distrustful of the pride she had just encountered and aware of the urgency with which she had to find a new one. The lioness began to limp away, her walking ability slightly limited now due to a thick, bloody gash on her leg, which the lion was able to give her before she killed him. She only hoped that she didn't leave a blood trail which the rogue could find, though she would only need to remain alive for a few more hours, or at least long enough to find a pride.

The sun had set by now, a full moon lighting her way and penetrating through the thick mask of shadows that ruled the land every passing night. Tula made her way north, glancing at the shining, faintly glimmering valley in front of her, vaguely remembering a story of a land her mother had once told her about, which lay to the north. She could see what looked like a vague change in the landscape, which, to her, was a faint ray of hope in itself. The lioness had never been this far away from the desert before, and had never thought this land to even exist…

But the Pridelands did exist.

If you would oh-so-kindly review, please, I would be most grateful, as always. Your opinions are graciously accepted. ;)

See you next chapter/story/whatever I publish next.

Twin out.