Mato had caught the scent of about 8 lionesses, and he knew that it wasn't the hunting party returning because he did not also smell any red meat or blood to accompany the smell of feminine flesh. More than anything, this scent wasn't anything familiar; not Lana and her friends, nor was it Sina or any of her pridemembers. These lionesses were either from the Riverlands to the east or the Rocklands to the south. More importantly, Blood's scent had returned to the Goldlands, and though Mato enjoyed the past week without having to worry about looking after Iago and his shenanigans, he realized that perhaps he shouldn't have taken his eyes off of him after all.
And when he had returned to Ivory Tower, he wanted to rip his own eyes out of his head. For what the offending organs presented him was the sight of the Pride's cubs, all of whom were newly killed and strewn about the den. Just when Mato wondered how this scene could possibly become any more gruesome, he spotted Chuma in the exact same spot where she had slept beside him the night before. Only, this time, her eyes were close in death as opposed to content dreaming. This scene was as close to a real-life nightmare that Mato would see in his dreams. More disturbingly, however, was the fact that Mato remembered visiting this kind of horror upon other Prides, whether as part of Miran's pride or as a rogue in the Wastelands with no care in the world besides himself and his pleasure. And now, at this very moment, seeing his mate ripped open and his unborn cubs splattered in front of her, he could now understand the horror he inflicted in his past life.
And, as he smelled the approaching scents of the outsiders, he felt the urges of that past life returning. The urge to murder any who dared to be in the same vicinity as he when he so much as was displeased with whatever was in front of him. For right now, the culprit himself dared to show up among these outsiders.
"Not gonna lie, I expected Chuma to put up more of a fight than she did. She actually thought she was bad enough raise her claws to me, and then try and fight all 10 of us when the others. But we all knew the old hoe was all talk." Mato didn't even care that that Iago was gloating about needing help to murder a pregnant lioness. Oh no, all he could think about was the fact that Iago murdered his mate and his unborn cubs, as well as the cubs of the Pride that he swore to protect. And with that thought the massive blonde lion leapt right at Iago. Unfortunately for him, Mato failed to pay heed to the fact that Othello and a pride of 8 lionesses were present and very loyal to the prodigal son. Their claws were physically proving this fact, and Iago smirked as Mato's eyes widened in abject agony.
"The wild dogs, they are not." Iago laughed cockily as Othello and Penda bit down on Mato's head while the other 7 lionesses clawed at his sides and back. Although Othello and the lionesses seemed like an inseparable, perfectly coordinated mercenary unit, the older lion fought as though he were indeed an invincible force of nature. His rage and grief for his dead family, as well as for the cubs strewn about the den, allowed him to absorb more and more damage as he returned any blows landed on him with twice the power as before. At one point, he seemed to be on the verge of winning, as he managed to temporarily disable some of the lionesses and had even seemed to knock Othello to the ground and appeared to go for the kill.
However, 'temporarily' was the key word here, because just as soon as the battle began to turn in his favor did Iago put his plan into action. Once the battle ensued, Iago managed to dodge and remain out of sight long enough to make his way to his 'secret weapon'. Or rather, his secret ally in the form of a monitor lizard. "Move. Now!" Iago ordered, and though that managed to give away his position and draw Mato's attention, this in fact played to the wispy lion's favor. As Mato only saw the murderer of his mate and cubs, he was unaware that a very poisonous assassin had crawled up behind him. That is, until the great lion felt a prick on his back, and then all of his limbs turn to stone and finally saw his vision blur considerably.
Iago's laugh seemed to taint the air, as Mato slowed down and eventually stopped in his tracks trying to catch his breath. "Oh, now you've gotten yourself in a predicament, haven't you?" Iago taunted, as he now felt it safe to make his attack. And what an attack it was, as the wisp of a lion mustered strength and skill that Mato hadn't thought him capable of. Othello, when he saw Iago actually knock Mato to the ground, raised his eyebrows. So he was paying attention to Dad's lessons after all. Othello thought as Iago was now skillfully wailing on Mato's weakened form. However, 'weakened' was a relative term here, as after a few swipes and slashes from the diminutive lion, Mato found a second strength to throw a powerful blow, hard enough to knock Iago to the ceiling of the den. However, when Iago landed and Mato was unable to follow up, Othello and Penda especially noted that Iago did not lose his courage. "Why don't you just die like the bitch you are already?" He said as he stood back up and jumped at Mato. Although Mato was weakened, he still had much more force and strength to bear than the wiry usurper did. Iago managed to bite down on Mato's throat, just as the bigger lion slammed his paw down on his head. But a nasty kick from the young man stopped Mato from going any further as Iago got back up and pounced right back into the fight. And what a fight it was.
Both males rolled right passed Iago's surprised followers, and as they did both combatants clawed, bit and roared at each other. Iago perched himself on the king's back, bit down on his head and hung on for dear life as the king rolled and put all of his weight on the surprisingly durable adversary. Although Iago's grip loosened just a bit, he did not let go until Mato managed to throw him off. However, it soon became clear that every move Mato made weakened him considerably, and it dawned on the blonde lion that he had no real hope of actually surviving this battle. But, as Iago actually managed to pin Mato down for just an instant, he made a decision as soon as he reversed the situation and pinned Iago down instead. "You will now apologize to every cub whose life you just took." Mato growled as he raised his clawed paw into the air, his claws gleaming from the midday sun as he prepared to end Iago's life.
Unfortunately for the angry king, the venom that Iago's reptilian ally delivered just two minutes before prevented his claws from ever reaching Blood's favored son.