"So, the prodigal son steps onto my lands, even after I made it clear that I never, ever wanted to see you again." Icarus said, making his way towards the younger lions. Kyabe had to admit that the older, shorter lion intimidated him, but he wouldn't let that show right now. "I see you haven't changed a bit." He responded, as Icarus began to circle him and Julia. "So here we are again. You once again doing as your mother before you did and disregarding my boundaries." Julia looked to Kyabe, who had simply narrowed those same brown eyes that the aforementioned mother also possessed. "You know, she was also your mother too." Kyabe responded, and Julia looked as though she mentally slammed into a boulder, for now she had context to Icarus' words. She could almost hear them being said as he thought back to that day.

~He is a lion from my birth Pride, and one whom I hope I never have to see again.~

If that were the case, Julia and David wondered how Icarus could hate his own brother as intensely as he did at this moment. "You… And Icarus… are…" Julia said, and Icarus stopped in front of Kyabe, so that they were face-to-face. "Yes, we are brothers. Half-brothers, rather, due to Tsara's selfishness and manipulations." Icarus more growled than stated, and to that a surprising event unfolded. Specifically, Kyabe's reaction was not one of defensiveness, but one of silent concession. "Well, I wouldn't have put it past her. Especially given what she brought upon us back home." Icarus raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And I take it that I'm supposed to feel sorry for what befell her and those not smart enough to see through her bullshit?" Although Icarus bared his teeth, Kyabe's expression softened for a different reason. "No, but perhaps you should applaud the lions who did, for it was they who made her pay the consequences." Kyabe said, a note of hurtful regret in his voice. Icarus, despite his anger, was able to see vulnerability in the young lion. More than that, he noticed that the young lion's eyes, so similar to Tsara's, were filling with tears.

"Dad would only ever say kind words about you, and he wished to have had a chance to resolve things with you on your terms, but he would never have the chance. That day… The day that they visited." Kyabe's voice broke as he said this, and though Julia's comforting embrace brought him back from a potential breakdown, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the tears would flow freely, and a part of him hoped Icarus would harden his heart and allow him to run away without having to relive the trauma of that day. But, however, it would be Lana's concern that would deny him that exit. "Kyabe… what happened to you?" She asked, and the softness and understanding in her tone of voice was such that Kyabe thought better of keeping it bottled up any longer.

"It was the day that… my sister and I had officially become yearlings. Our mother was an older lioness, sure, but she had her ways with males that would make most young lionesses jealous. Although she was with Dad and she made it clear that he was the alpha male of her Pride, this just meant that there was a target placed on his back. That is, more than usual out in the Wastelands. Really, I should have seen this coming given how my friends-" Kyabe stopped short, and corrected himself. It was clear that the word 'friends' was a strong term in that instance. "-My pridemates would constantly talk about how they couldn't wait to be adults and able to properly get her attention. Little did I know that other, older and more dangerous lions were thinking much the same things as my peers were. And, unlike my peers, these lions had no interest in romance, oh no. Although Dad's presence was enough to warn even these lions off for a while, it was only a matter of time before they made their moves." Kyabe had to take a deep breath before continuing.

As he was telling the story, Icarus felt his heart being touched, and he knew the feeling to be sympathy for his half-brother. Although a part of him didn't want to admit it (and he surely wasn't going to admit it now after all he'd said), he knew he shouldn't blame Kyabe for Tsara's actions. And if there was any part of him that was trying to suppress his empathy, the next words out of Kyabe's mouth silenced any cruelty the older, darker lion may have had within him.

"Dad and I were scavenging for food at the time, so our Pride was taken by surprise, but this wasn't to say that Mom and the rest of the lionesses didn't try to fend them off. In fact, that was probably what lead those two villains to commit the heinous acts that they did. For daring to defend themselves, and defend my mother from their depraved intentions, those two rogues murdered them all. Not even the cubs were spared their wrath; in fact, given the way some were killed and violated, I imagine those two rogues took the most fun with their deaths." Lana, Julia and Akato's faces said it all, especially when they heard the word 'violated'. 'Evil' isnt the word for what these lions are, Lana thought as Kyabe continued.

"By the time Dad and I had returned, the two rogues had just finished with my sister." He said, and here was where he had paused and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, the tears flowed freely despite his best efforts, as the memories of what exactly happened to Ijara forced their way back into his mind. "They knew that she was only a yearling. They were proud of what they did to her, and that the two of them were enough to intimidate a young girl into doing what they wanted. They bragged about killing her anyway, and for being naive enough to think they'd actually spare Mom or the others just because she submitted to them in her place. We only listened for so long before enough was enough and we attacked. We fought, and fought, and fought. I had forgotten how long we had fought for, but eventually we prevailed. Well, father prevailed while I did my best to keep up against two fully-grown males. This… was probably why they were able to escape in the end." Kyabe ended the story right there, unable to continue any further. After hearing this story, Icarus felt regret. Regret for projecting his hatred onto him just for having the temerity to be born out of betrayal. Regret for telling him to never show up on his lands, just because he was a reminder of Tsara.

But, more than any of that, regret for then reopening a wound for this young man by asking a question to sate his own personal need for closure. "There's one thing still bothering me. What… What became of your father? What happened to Guan?" To that, Kyabe seemed to harden his expression and bare his teeth, but he looked away from everyone as he spoke. "The day after Mom and the rest of our Pride was murdered, he abandoned me without so much as telling me where he was going. He said he was going out for an evening hunt, but that night was the last night I saw him. I don't even think he mourned my mother's death. But, even though he abandoned me when I needed him most, I do have his actions to thank for my decision to leave the Wastelands. I have him to thank for my resolution to never abandon my cubs or my mate, no matter what may happen!" Kyabe said with perhaps the same resolution that he had when he found himself all alone, as he nuzzled Julia. She returned the favor, and to all present it was a tender moment.

"Your… mate?" The voice that reiterated this wasn't from anyone present or in plain sight, until they looked over in the direction of the voice. Although there were three older lionesses present, the one in the center was the one who had spoken. And, seeing Julia nuzzle and hug Kyabe set this lioness's eyes alight with quite a few emotions.

To say Kuendesha was unhappy would be an understatement.