Fight 1: 5
Fight 2: 0
Break: 8
Wow, it was reasonably close this time. Haha. Fun stuff. Well, you guys chose break! Amadi steps in. Decision is final.
"Stop it!" Kovu yelled, stepping forward in an attempt to break up the fight that was about to unfold.
The two lions didn't pay attention to Kovu. It wasn't that thay were trying to disobay their king, they just were too angry at one another to hear him. Taj tensed his body and way about to leap at Ayo. Ayo sensed this and did the same thing; readying himself for Taj's first move.
Amadi couldn't believe this was happening. As Taj stepped forward, away from Amadi, he was able to slip past his angry mate to yell at them. "Stop it! Please!" he yelled, his ears back as he thought of what he could possibly do to make this stop. "Taj!"
Taj slightly snapped out of it, breaking from his eye-locking trance with Ayo to glance at Amadi. This was enough for Ayo. Ayo leapt into the air; teeth and claws clamping onto Taj. Taj let out a pain-stricken roar before beginning to swat angrily at Ayo to try to get him off.
"Ayo!" Amadi growled, running up to the two lion were stood up on their hind legs; Ayo clamped dangerously onto Taj's throat. "Ayo, stop!" he growled, beginning to swat and claw at Ayo.
Ayo's automatic reaction was to turn quickly and swat whatever was attacking him away. Unfortunately, from his anger, he hit very hard, and he realized too late that he had struck Amadi. This sent Amadi sprawling a few feet away, but defiantly stopped the fighting.
Taj gasped when he felt his neck released, and then stared wide eyed as he watched Ayo strike Amadi. Ayo was obviously stunned by what he did, standing there frozen. Kovu and Kiara darted to where Amadi was as he struggled to get to his feet.
"Amadi, are you alright?" Kaira asked, nuzzling her son to help him get to his feet.
Amadi shook his head to try to get to his senses. It had happened so fast that he really didn't know what knocked him down in the first place. As he came to his senses, he looked at Ayo as Taj came running up to him. Kovu cut Taj off and shook his head.
"Let him come to his senses… he was hit pretty hard." He said with a sigh, biting his lip slightly. He was trying his best to control his anger; not wanting to make a scene in front of the lionesses or Amadi. "Besides, I would like to talk to you and Ayo…"
Taj wanted to protest and stay with Amadi who looked pretty shaken. But he nodded to Kovu and walked into the den. Kovu then looked to Ayo. "Ayo, come with Taj and I please…" he said firmly, glaring at the lion who struck his son.
Ayo nodded and walked past Amadi who was just staring at him. He stopped at Amadi, looking at him with sad eyes. "Amadi…I…I am so sorry…" he stammered, ears low in submission.
Amadi stared at him then looked away; his ears were still ringing from the blow to his head. "Don't talk to me." He said in a bitter tone.
Ayo's ears drooped, but he nodded, and followed Kovu into the den. Ayo avoided the shocked and horrified looks from Dalia as he walked past. Darting to her brother, Dalia looked at the bits of fur missing where claws had grazed him. "What happened?!" She demanded, licking her brother's scrapes. "Why were they fighting?"
Amadi shook his head and looked down at the ground. "I don't want to talk about it right now." He mumbled slightly, avoiding her eye contact. He was angry, angry at Ayo, angry at Taj for being so defensive, and angry at himself for allowing this to happen.
Dalia didn't understand, but the look her mother gave her was enough to tell her to not press the issue.
…
In the den, Kovu was having a very firm word with the two males. "Now I don't know what brought on this fight, but I never want it to happen again!" He said, snarling slightly as he looked at them.
"Not to offend, Sir, but I was just defending Amadi." Taj said, his head hung humbly as he talked; shooting a quick glare at Ayo.
This got Kovu's attention. His head turned sharply to look at Ayo. "Protect Amadi from what?" He asked firmly, looking at Taj slightly before going back to the firm look at Ayo.
Ayo shook his head slightly, not wanting Taj to answer for him. "I guess it would be because…because I'm jealous." Taj mumbled, looking away from Kovu. "No offense, Sir… but you never let us be… and then when Taj comes around you were ok with it. I was upset. I want what Taj has… "
"You struck my son in your blind, jealous rage… You are with my daughter when you really don't want to be with her… I don't know what to do or what to say. You were always so trustworthy; or so I thought." Kovu said, shaking his head. "And Taj… You really need to learn to control that temper… I had temper issues before… With Amadi. I denied him a lot of things as a cub. Angry does nothing good. Pick your fights wisely. I'm glad you decided to defend my son, but a fight was not necessary… If you two hadn't fought you might have been able to work things out in a better way and my son might not have gotten hurt trying to stop you."
Both lions hung their heads low in shame, but there was still obvious tension. "I don't want this to happen again. Taj, I expect better from a future king of The Pride Lands. And Ayo…. Stay away from Amadi…. Because, though I am upset with Taj for fighting, if your pestering of Amadi becomes a regular thing I wont blame him. I do want to protect my children." He said, turning to leave. "And you'd better work out things with Dalia… Don't drag my daughter through your emotional confusion…"
And with that Kovu left, leaving the two lions together. Taj spoke first. "I will respect The Kings wishes and stay away from you. I will not prevent you from talking, I will try not to be so jealous, but I swear to the stars, if you pull another stunt like this not even a pride of lions could keep me off of you."
Ayo nodded, not looking at him. "I wont do it again… I'm sorry. I am just so angry… All the time. First it was jealousy… but not now. I've heard horror stories of Scar… I don't want to be that type of lion." He said with a sigh. "I hurt Amadi, and I'm hurting Dalia… I think it would be best if I left."
Taj said nothing. He wasn't going to lie and tell Ayo that he didn't want him to leave. He wanted him to leave so badly, and not just for personal reasons, but because Ayo was starting to be a real problem. "You should do what is right." Was all that Taj said before standing and walking out of the den to find Amadi.
Amadi was no longer at Pride Rock. Taj asked Kiara, and she said he wanted to go for a walk. Taj was pretty sure he knew where to find him, Amadi had a few favorite places in the Pride Lands, but which one he went to was dependant on his mood. Anger, sadness, confusion; Taj knew where to look.
…
Laying a few feet from the river was Amadi, head low against his paws as he sat in lay in the tall grass. He heard Taj approach him but said nothing.
"I knew I would find you here. You always come to the river when something troubles you." Taj said with a smile. But the smile faded when Amadi didn't answer. Rather than jumping right into the conversation about Ayo he brought something else up. "Why here? Why the river?"
Amadi sighed and looked at Taj. "When I was a cub I watched a herd of zebra get slaughtered by the crocodiles in this river… It disturbed me greatly back then, I never went near the river until a few months ago." Amadi explained with a sigh. "But now I come here when I need to realize how fragile things in life are…"
"Interesting… So, you feel that life is fragile right now?" Taj asked carefully, laying down next to him as he sighed.
"Well, ya… I'm not too upset that he hit me… I mean, were all lions, I can take it. what really bothered me what that he didn't know it was me… He was just so angry that he did it without even thinking about it." Amadi said with a long sigh, leaning up against Taj. "Mum says I should have let Daddy take care of it… But he had your throat… I couldn't let him just…you know…. And he wasn't stopping."
Taj's eye brows rose slightly, but he gave a soft smile and licked Amadi's face. "Thank you for the help, Amadi." He said with a smile. "That was very brave."
The compliment made Amadi perk up. "Ya, you know.. I don't think I've ever jumped into a fight willingly before." He said, managing a laugh.
"Yeah, look who's acting like a lion." He said with a proud smile, happy he was able to put a positive spin on the disastrous night. "Good job."
"Yea, maybe it wont be so easy to knock me down next time." Amadi said, laughing as he held his head up high.
Taj chuckled and pounced Amadi gently, just so he was half over Amadi, laying upon his chest carefully. "Hopefully there won't be a next time." He said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry I got so jealous. I should let you fight your own battles; you're not a cub anymore and your going to be king someday. But I had to stop him."
"I'm glad you did… I didn't want to hurt Ayo." He said with a playful chuckle. "I'd rather let you do it… I just got really angry when he pulled that cheep move."
Taj smiled and nodded slightly. "Well, it's over now. Let's try to start new, huh? A king can't hold a grudge, right?" Taj said with a smile. "I mean… Simba learnt that, right? When he let your dad into the pride."
Amadi nodded and happily snuggled with his head against Taj. "Alright." He said with a smile, yawning. "Lets stay here tonight… I can't remember the last time we slept outside of that den."
Taj nodded and licked his face softly. "Alright… Just like old times." He said with a laugh. He rolled onto his back so that Amadi could lie over his stomach. Then with a few gentle words, the two lions fell asleep.
…
Back at Pride Rock, Ayo had not gone bak inside the den since he left with Taj. He was sitting on the highest point of Pride Rock; looking over the dark blue horizon. He didn't know what to do… There were things that needed to happen, things that he was messing up. Amadi would be king, and he had the right to choose Taj over him. Besides, Ayo had his own pride to lead… And what about his family. Sighing, he made up his mind.
Walking into the den he sought out his mother and nuzzled her. She woke and gave him a bit of a look. She was disappointed with her son, but wasn't one to ignore the distressed look on her sons face. "What is it, darling?" She asked gently, yawning.
"I…I think it's time we returned home, mother." He said with a sad smile. "We've overstayed our welcome… and... And I don't want to cause anymore trouble. Besides, I think I'm ready to be King. I wasn't before, but now I am."
His mother nodded, seeming to understand her sons nervous jabbering. "Alright… Well… Will Dalia be coming with us, dear?" She asked very cautiously.
Ayo was silent for a moment but shook his head. "I'm done hurting her, mother." He murmured softly, hanging his head low. "I can't give her the love she wants… It's not fair for her. I can't expect her to be my queen."
Smiling, she stood up and licked her son's face. "That is probably a wise choice, Ayo." She said softly. "When should we leave."
"Now, if you don't mind gathering the lionesses… " Ayo said softly. "I don't want to deal with goodbyes. I would just like to leave."
"You are doing this so you don't have to say goodbye to Dalia, aren't you?" She asked with a bit of a disappointed look. "Now, my son… That is not very wise…."
"Mother please… I just want to go home." He said softly, looking away from his mother with ashamed eyes.
"Alright, Ayo. I will gather the lionesses…" Her mother said, walking through the den to wake up her pride. Slowly, they were all gathered and moved out of the den. Curious whispers were traveling through out the small group of lionesses. "We are going home, ladies… Tonight."
They all looked from her to Ayo. "Your leaving?" Asked a voice that came out from inside the den. It was Kovu, stepping forward to look at the lionesses to Ayo. "You still have another month until adult hood. Are you sure you want to leave so soon…and without saying goodbye?"
Ayo looked at Kovu with ashamed eyes. "I'm sorry, sir… But I don't think I belong here anymore…." He said softly, shaking his head slightly. "All I've caused is trouble in the past few months… And I want to make things right."
"What about my daughter?" Kovu asked, looking at him with disappointed eyes. "What should I tell her… She still doesn't know why you fought with Taj."
"I think it's best that I don't say goodbye to her." He said softly. "I will just make lies… Tell her that if she wants to know what happened that she should ask Amadi… I think he could give the best description of all this madness."
Kovu nodded and sighed slightly. "I can't say I respect your decision, but I understand why your doing it…" And with that he smiled at them. "Good luck on your journey… I hope our paths meet again."
Ayo nodded and they all bowed to Kovu. "Thank you for your hospitality." Ayo said before turning and walking off and away from Pride Rock, his pride following.
…
When Amadi and Taj came back the next morning they came back to a chaotic Pride Rock. The pride was all a whisper about the midnight leave of Ayo's pride, and Dalia was a complete mess. Kovu had given her the message from Ayo, telling her that Ayo wanted Amadi to explain it, and Kiara was trying her hardest to comfort her daughter. Dumaka sat with his mother, his mate near by.
Amadi walked in and went to his father. "Hey dad… What's going on?" Amadi asked curiously.
Kovu sighed and looked at him. "Ayo left last night with his pride." He said softly, looking to Dalia. "She's not taking it too well."
"He didn't take her with him?" Amadi asked, tilting his head curiously. "Wasn't that the plan."
"Well, Ayo said you would explain it to Dalia…" Kovu said. He smiled comfortingly when he saw Amadi's expressions. "I think he's right… If he wasn't brave enough too you're the next best, I think… "
"if I tell her the truth she'll hate me." Amadi said in a hushed tone. "She wouldn't understand… she would blame me… Couldn't you tell her."
"If you want me too I will… But you should be the one. Ayo asked, and Dalia might understand it more from you then Ayo or from me…" Kovu said with a serious look.
Amadi sighed softly… "Yea… I guess your right…" he said with a half hearted smile. He then walked up to Dalia. "Hey, sis…I think I need to talk to you."
She turned to Amadi with tearful eyes. "He's gone, Amadi! He left! He left me! I don't understand it." Dalia said, shaking her head with confusion. "Daddy said that you knew what happened. That Ayo told you to tell me what he couldn't… please… I need to know."
Amadi stared at his sister before sitting down and placing a paw on her shoulder. "This is going to be hard, lil sis." He said softly. Slowly, he went through the events that happened weeks before the fight, and then lead up to the fight and what it was about. "It's because of me…"
Dalia shook her head in disbelief. "But…But he told me that he was done with that. That he loved me… That he grew out of it." Dalia said, shaking her head slightly.
"Dalia… From I know and from what I have experienced it is something that…that you never really grow out of." Amadi said softly. "I swear I had nothing to do with this. I'm with Taj… I'm happy with Taj. But Ayo wasn't ok with that… That's what caused the fight…. He… He wanted me back. I told him to stop acting this way… I was done with him… but he wouldn't listen. Trust me when I say that I am so sorry. I never wanted this for you…"
Dalia didn't know what to say, but nodded slightly, staring at the ground in shock. "I… I need some space… Please.. Please just leave me alone." She said in a bitter tone, shaking her head again before getting up and walking into the den.
Amadi sighed, not really knowing what to say or do. Taj came up to him and licked him softly. "I think that is the best your going to get right now." He said softly.
Amadi nodded and sighed before going to the peek of Pride Rock to look over the horizon. He didn't know what to make of this situation. He felt bad for Dalia, but maybe this was for the best…
