Chapter 16

Mortread crouched low. He was perched at the tip of one of more minor spires that populated the Outlands, and he sat watching the wilddogs train. He wasn't alone. Next to him, Asamode sat there, looking at ease but dissatisfied. The air was dry and it reeked of wilddog musk and he was not at all shy with his attitude. The Outlands were not a pleasant place for anyone to train. They were after all ruthlessly hot during the daylight hours, cold in the nights and appallingly dry whatever the hour. It wasn't entirely a desert but it was a rather desolate wasteland nevertheless. In that, Mortread found himself in agreement with the One-Eyed Shai'tan.

Neither of them were at all certain how Rish'ut could have possibly grown used to the place, but Mortread still itched for the cooler lands to the south. If he had had his way, he would have preferred for the Shai'tan to have taken Pride Rock as their Citadel in the Pridelands. Commanding the ancestral seat of the Lion King's Power, instead of allowing it to crumble into a ruin would certainly have sent an imposing message to the others. But for all the Emperor's many qualities he could not be said to be a subtle ruler and the dark imposing spires of Golgorath looked appropriately ominous. Especially when they turned black in their own shade, eclipsing the sunlight. Looking for all the world like rotting fangs.

So, there he remained, thinking of the humid jungles of his homeland where trees towered so high into the sky that they were as mountains. The view the Outlands was much less impressive. He surveyed his minions train with each other, duelling in pairs or else fighting in lines against larger groups and attempting – and failing – to retain their formations. There were few intelligent commanders among them and those that did exist were hardly military geniuses. He would not say they were stupid but they were frustratingly single minded. Extremely linear thinkers, not given to the complexities of strategy and thinking multiple steps ahead of the foes. They had undeveloped tactics and possessed the same level of strategic thinking as a slow creeping rot. Which meant that they required a firm paw and rigid direction. They needed to be guided by the wiser, more powerful beings of the world. In that sense they made ideal servants to the Shai'tan. The other tiger present was not so charitable.

"Pathetic..." Asamode muttered. Mortread shifted and turned to face his college.

"You despise the wilddogs." It wasn't a question. Asamode laughed.

"I despite weakness. As should you. They are pathetic creatures. Inexperienced. Weak. Stupid. No ambition, no spine." Asamode said, smirking.

"Ambition is not a quality prized among our rank and file. And as for experience you may find they acquire it more readily when you cease executing any who mildly offend you. Everyone of the wilddogs under your command is as green and as fresh as grass. You even managed to squander the veteran Harrin picked out for you." Mortread said.

"I am exacting." Asamode retorted.

"You inspire them to fear their individuality." Mortread pointed out, without looking up.

"Perhaps. But that makes it fun. Keeps them on their toes." Asamode retorted, smirking. Mortread shook his head. Of all of his brethren, Asamode was the one he disliked the most. He was unnerving even to his fellow Shai'tan.

"Why are you even here, Asamode? It's not like you to drop in unannounced and I have never known you to watch the underlings train. The task is beneath you." Mortread asked, curiously. Asamode raised an eyebrow.

"I bring you a message from the Emperor. Princess Castella-Ra shall be pleased to learn that her father has finally decided to follow her advice after the latest intelligence from the Shadowlands. Lord Amun has been slain."

"What? Say that again!?" Mortread asked, in surprise. He was aghast.

"You heard me. Apparently, the hyenas of the Shadowlands pose more of a threat than we credited them with. Certainly more than the ones who ruled the Outlands. I wish the handful of renegades that infest our ranks were as surprisingly potent. The Emperor is displeased of course."

"How could this have happened? Why was I not informed?"

"We are not sure yet. And you are being informed. Now. By me." Asamode said. Mortread glowered.

"What does our Master command of me?" He asked him.

"The Emperor has ordered that the Shadowlands be left to their own for now. Our focus in now on the Prince of the Pridelands. Which is what he demands of you." He said. Asamode stared at him. Expecting him to move. He did not. "I should probably have mentioned that time is of the essence?" He said.

"How did a pack of rabid hyenas bring Amun down?" Mortread shook his head.

"Who cares? You should not concern yourself with such things. The fact is that they did. I wonder when they'll come for you. Killed by hyenas? Yes, I can see that happening quite easily." He taunted. Mortread scowled at that.

"Careful, Asamode! I am a Shai'tan the same as you, I am easily your equal -" Asamode howled with laughter, interrupting him.

"My equal? That's the best joke you've ever told! I didn't know you had a sense of humour."

"I am not laughing."

"A tiger in your position has need of a sense of humour. After all, you didn't join the Shai'tan out of respect for our master, nor even to grab hold of power; which I would respect. You followed us out of primal fear because you daren't do anything else. You are no different to the filthy dogs you lead so well! We all know that the only reason you were even offered a chance was because Castella was whispering in her father's ear, like she is now! If it weren't for the chaos, if he hadn't been fatigued from fighting Shan-Yi, he would never have listened! And if it weren't for Amun's death, he wouldn't be listening to her now." Asamode hissed. Asamode was baiting him. That was obvious. He didn't know why though. What possible reason could Asamode have for him to act impulsively? Nevertheless the comment riled him. He exhaled as calmly as he could.

"You only see what you want to see, Asamode and it blinds you." Mortread said, sounding unconcerned. If he didn't impress Asamode, so what? He was an arrogant fool, insane as well, even by the Shai'tan's standards.

"Blind? I am not so blind that I don't see the way you look at the Princess! And I can see how she looks back at you!" Asamode snapped.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mortread asked, going cold.

"It's a truly moving love story, really. Truly, one of my favourites. The Princess and her loyal Knight. But the thing is, Mortread, that you're not a hero. You're a killer who sold your loyalty for power, the same as the rest of us." He said. Mortread had frozen at his words, and was suddenly aware that there was silence. The wilddogs had stopped training and now listened, curious, as Asamode grinned slyly.

"Now I know there is nothing in that skull of yours... You've delivered your message. Leave. Now." Mortread said, scowling.

"Really? Such a shame. It really is a good story. And good stories have a terrible habit of spreading. Eventually, even the Emperor might hear of it. I don't think he likes stories." Asamode leaned in close. "You ought to be careful if you were hoping for a happy ending. The best love stories end in tragedies." He said quietly.

"I said, that if you have nothing else to say, you should take your sorry carcass out of here. Your stink is beginning to burn my nostrils. Go, before I rip out your tongue. You know that I would do it…" Mortread said, no longer caring. Asamode laughed.

"Now there is the fire of a true Shai'tan! No, there is nothing else, Mortread. Just a warning. Find Kiava. Find the rebellion. Do Something. Or the Emperor's patience will soon run out." Asamode said.

"Are those his words, or yours?" Mortread asked. Asamode smiled, but said nothing. He turned and stalked away, his tail swishing in the air. Mortread watched him leave, looking troubled. Then he turned to the dogs.

"Harrin." he called out. The commander snapped to attention next to him, leaving the training in a moment.

"Sire." He said.

"Fetch the Princess. Now."

"He said what!?" Castella gasped. Mortread nodded. Castella sank to her knees. "Well damn..." She said and began to swear under her breath. She shook her head. "I've always hated Asamode. He's an utter monster. The things I've heard he's done to tigresses... let alone others." She shuddered. Then she looked at Mortread, with concern. "Should we be worried? If he was implying that he knows about us…" She asked him.

"Asamode is a compulsive liar. Even if he talked, who would believe him? Besides, I don't think he was threatening me, he was trying to unnerve me for some reason." Mortread assured her, but he wasn't sure he believed the words even as he said them.

"Perhaps he fears you will become the most favoured of the Shai'tan, if you succeed, where other's failed?"

"Perhaps. But I have never taken him to be one much concerned with what others thought of him. Or me." He pointed out.

"That is true." She conceded.

"Never mind him. There is more: Amun is dead." Mortread said. Castella let out a gasp.

"What? How?"

"We don't know yet. Fighting the hyenas of the Shadowlands."

"A shame. I liked him. He could be a real bore but he was a pleasant enough tiger. I wished they'd' traded places." She said. "So my father has ordered you to find the Prince Kiava." She said. "My father's patience is not without its limit. According to Asamode we've reached it. We'll have to get moving. We've managed to comb through a large part of the Pridelands. We'll go to the remaining areas in full force, rather than sending scouts ahead."

"We?" Mortread asked.

"Of course. I am coming with you and watching your back." She declared.

"Oh no you are not! You're the Imperial Princess!"

"I am, aren't I? So how do you suppose you're going to stop me?" She asked him. Mortread shook his head violently.

"Fine. Ignoring that for the moment then." He said. "The Emperor has commanded me to find the Prince the Pridelands. And destroy the rebels finding him. What have our spies found?"

"Nothing yet. We'll need to hurry them along."

"I know. Leave that to me." He said. A plan was forming in his head.

Asamode made his way out Mortread's battalion's. It had been most amusing riling the youngest of the Shai'tan. With any luck, he'd be so incensed he'd get himself killed. But even if that were not the case, he could deal with Mortread whenever he wished. Leviath and Raeveal were more of an issue. He doubted he could kill both of them at the same time – but that said, Marsade had arranged for Leviath to assist with his own little project. He could pick them off at this leisure. In the meantime, he didn't want anyone actually hunting down Kiava just yet. Not when doing so would bring the Shai'tan together. He grinned. Speaking of loose ends to tie up…

"Muerte!" he called. Above him, he could see a vulture circling. He swooped down and landed before him. The vulture bowed. It was the same vulture who had delivered the message from Amun to the Emperor, one of a pawful of vultures they still had under their control. They needed more birds if they were going to reassert their control.

"My Lord." It simpered. Asamode stared at it.

"I have your orders. You were instructed to relay a message to Abyss from me, correct?"

"Aye. That is so." The messenger said. Asamode smiled.

"Good. I want you to tell Abyss, and his Commanders if need be, this: Under no circumstances is he to withdraw. He must fight the hyenas to the last creature. Any being who retreats from those lands, I shall personally execute as a traitor. Make sure he understands, that he is to defeat the hyenas there, or die trying. Am I understood?"

"But… I thought the Emperor…" He trailed off, seeing his expression. "I understand perfectly, my Lord." The vulture said and in a single swoosh of his wings, had lifted himself high into the air and was on his way. He circled around Golgorath, as if searching for something out of sight. Then without any fuss greater than a brief flicker of light, vanished through a gateway and Muerte was well upon his way. Creating gateways in the skies above the lands had been one of Marsade's more intelligent ideas.

Kiava was torn. He didn't know which of his friends to chase after when they stormed off. Zuri had demanded he leave her alone though, so he followed her advice, and instead left where they had been celebrating in order to follow Asante's path. The light that had ripped through them and damaged the surrounding rockface had vanished quickly, and didn't leave anything in the way of a trace, so he just picked a direction and hoped for the best. It wasn't his best idea. A few hyenas stared at him as he moved passed them. Mercifully, they didn't snap or growl at him, which was a promising. A few even gave him a nod of respect and moved out of his way, but it wasn't exactly what he was looking for. He wanted to ask if they had seen Asante.

"Any ideas?" he muttered to himself, and he moved through the rockface. Stories said that the Kings of the Past spoke to Simba and Kion when they were awake. In only saw them in his dreams, and he wasn't quite desperate enough to hunker down and have a quick nap. Not yet at any rate.

"Are you lost, your majesty?" A voice asked him.

"I'm fine, I'm just looking for – Gah!" Kiava jumped back when he turned around and saw a ruby serpent staring at him. He jolted with panic before he recognised him. "Wait, I know you. Hissis. Shenzi's friend, right?" He asked him. Hissis bobbed their head.

"We are acquaintances." The cold reptile conceded. "I have heard it said it is the custom of lion kings to mark the borders of their territory. Is that what you are doing now?" They asked him, cooly. Kiava paused.

"No, I'm just looking for Asante. Shenzi's daughter." He said.

"Ah, the Shaman. It was an unexpected thing for Asante's get to grow so close to the spirit world. I didn't not think it believable." Hissis said after a moment. "She passed through this way a short while ago. She seemed in quite a bit of distress." They hissed.

"I know. Just a fight." Kiava said.

"Mammals are always getting into fight. Getting into arguments. It is your warm blood, I think. You are enthralled to your passions as easily as any stare." They asked, looking at Kiava, carefully. Their gaze made him uncomfortable. There was nobody else around, and somehow Kiava knew that their bite was incredibly venomous. Shenzi trusted the snake, but she didn't seem to have told anyone else about the red snake and their whispers.

"Maybe." Kiava conceded. "Which way did she go?" He asked them. Hissis continued to focus on the Kiava. Slowly, they pointed with his tail down one of the ridges. Their tongue flickered in and out. Kiava shivered, but nodded in thanks. Kiava took a step forward, but then hesitated. "Are you going to be okay out here by yourself?" He asked him. "You're welcome to join the rest of us." The snake began to shake violently as if in seizure, and it took a moment for Kiava to realise that the serpent was chuckling.

"Oh yes. I can take care of myself, your majesty. I assure you."

Kiava moved on, and it was only after a few uncomfortable moments, that he realised he had forgotten to ask the snake what they was doing out here. He knew they were embedded within Abyss's snakes, but other than that, he knew very little about the snake. He resolved to ask Shenzi about it as soon as it was practical. He sniffed the air. Asante wasn't trying to cover her scent, which made finding her ever so much easier. Eventually he stumbled on a bit of broken spine, and cursed, tripping, and skidding down the last of the hilly terrain and landing not far from Asante. She looked up at his rather inelegant arrival.

"Kiava? What are you doing here?"

"Coming after you!" Kiava said. Asante sniffed.

"Not going after your lioness?"

"Zuri's her own lioness." Kiava said. "And she doesn't want to see me right now." He admitted.

"What makes you think I do?" She asked him, cautiously.

"You've not chased me off yet." Kiava countered. Asante sniffed, and nodded.

"Sorry." She said after a moment. "For losing it like that. You must think I'm a barbarian." She said.

"For getting into a fight with a friend? I think you're being silly."

"For nearly blowing her head clean off. For getting into that scrap in the first place." She said.

"I thought you said that hyenas liked sparring." Kiava reminded her. Asante grumbled, letting out a sigh. She didn't contradict him.

"Why did you come after me? I can take care of myself."

"I know." Kiava said, sitting down next to her. Asante stared at him for a moment, and blinked slowly. "I just wanted to check you were okay."

"I had to get out of there, once mother turned up." Asante admitted. "You might not care, but you can bet your pelt she does."

"She didn't seem too angry."

"Just wait. It'll be snide comments for the next moon about how she expected better from the Matriarch's daughter. Snapping the head off our new ally's favourite lioness is hardly peak diplomacy. I know she doesn't look it, but she's survived this long by being clever. Not savage. Says she picked it up when she was young. She doesn't think I can cut it." She told him.

"She didn't say anything like that."

"She didn't need to say it. Hang out with hyenas a bit more. You'll see what I mean." Asante said. "Nothing's ever good enough for her. She'll be dead soon. One way or the other. She wants me to rule after her. And hates the idea at the same time." She said, spitefully. Kiava paused, listening. He didn't get that impression from Shenzi at all. She hadn't been happy with seeing what Asante had done, but she was hardly in a fit of rage.

"That power that leaked out of you. That you used to help crush Amun. Is that like the Roar of the Elders? A hyena version?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"Ha. If only. What would you even call it? The Laugh of the Lunatics?" She asked him, snorting. "The Bark of the Barbarians? I can think of a few hyenas who would love that. Nah. It's not that. Mother's seen the Roar in action. No mark, see?" She said, showing him her shoulder. It was bare. "Few enough stories of Kion and his guard have leaked into the Shadowlands over the years. Mom even knows a few. Kion and Scar could do things with the Roar. All I can do with that is make some loud noises and a few bright lights, and knock a few people's heads together. I can do that with my jaws." She said. "I've no clue what it is. Just started happening one day. Not too long ago to be honest. Dad said it looked more like what he'd seen a monkey do once."

"He must be talking about Rafiki. He used to use his gifts to heal people. And to sense things." Kiava pondered. "Can you do that?"

"I wouldn't know where to begin." Asante told him. "How many wandering sages and healers do you think we get around here? If a hyena could do that sort of thing, someone would have declared themselves the first Witch-Queen of the Shadowlands by now." She told him,

"Maybe someone did, way back in the past." Kiava told her. "But I don't know if that's true. After all, you've got no plans for shamanic conquest, do you?" He teased her. Asante sniggered.

"Nah. I guess not." She said. "I just wish I could do more." She said. "So does my mother. I know I'm not her first choice, but even so… I'm jealous of you, Kiava. Everything you've done. Everything you've survived. I'm starting to think Ookai and Bruce have the right of it. You're going to be a real-life 'hero-king' of the Pridelands soon enough." She said. Kiava groaned.

"Oh, don't tell me he told you about that?" He said.

"Why not? I can see it."

"Because it makes me sound like I'm living out a story. Which would be nice, since the good guys always win in those sorts of things, but I'm just a kid and even I know life doesn't work like that."

"Eh. You need to listen to some more hyena stories." She told him. "Heroes get killed in them all the time. If they're lucky."

"That's a cheery thought." He said. She was deflecting and changing the subject though, and he noticed.

"Ha. Maybe not then. I'm still jealous. A little bit. I know you've been through a lot; I don't mean it like that. I just mean that in your place, I ain't so sure I'd have assassinated a Shai'tan before my mane was in." She told him. Kiava twinged slightly. He hoped that if people did tell stories of him, they wouldn't describe his defeat of Amun as an assassination.

"We've both made it this far." Kiava told her. "What makes you think your mother doesn't think you're ready?" He asked her. He didn't mean to pry, but he was curious.

"It was never meant to be me." She admitted after a while.

"What wasn't?"

"All of this. The Shadowpups. Being matriarch one day. I told you I'm not her first choice. I had a sister. Once." He said. Asante looked away. Kiava's eyebrows shot up. That was what Shenzi meant by going through this again. She'd been a mother before. When she was a younger hyena. Asante wasn't her firstborn.

"A sister?" Kiava asked in surprise. "Oh! Oh." He swallowed. "I don't know what that's like." He admitted.

"Nor do I. I never knew her." Asante said, candidly, and Kiava winced. "By the time she had me, Mother should have been too old. If she died without an heir, she'd have to pick a one and hope they were strong enough to win the civil war that would surely follow. Or just let the clan dissolve, let everything she had built since Scar fall away. The rest of the clan would end up split up and joining the rest of the clanless in the Outlands. Because you can bet Pride Rock the Striped and Black Clans would swoop in faster than a vulture. Then, like a miracle, I came along. Asante. Some people have said it means 'I give thanks.' I always thought Mom was saying 'Thank Fuck,' crisis averted."

"Asante!" Kion said, scandalised.

"You're welcome!" Asante said with a smirk, amused by his reaction. Hyenas were crude creatures. Then she trailed off. "She knows she is old. Most hyenas don't live that long. We certainly don't tend to die of old age. She wants to teach me everything she knows before her time comes. And I try it's just…" She let out a long sigh. "I shouldn't have said those things." She muttered.

"To Zuri? No. You shouldn't have." Kiava said, softly.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I was treating her like one of my packmates. That's how we talk to each other. And if anyone gets too pushy you show em who's boss, the old-fashioned way. Its push and pull. But she doesn't know that. How could she? She's not a hyena. Of course, she got pissed with me." Asante muttered. "Some Pack-Leader I am."

"Then just tell her that." Kiava suggested. "If you didn't mean that, why not tell her what you did mean, instead of waiting her to figure it out." He said. Asante sighed, closed her eyes, and exhaled.

"Tyrant's teeth…" She muttered. "Yeah." She stood up. Paused, and looked him dead in the eye. "You breathe a word of this…"

"You'll chew me into tiny pieces, I've got it. I've been picking up hyena ways here and there." Kiava nodded, and Asante sniffed. Then she followed him back to the others. There was no sign of Hissis when they passed where the red snake had been waiting.

Zuri was in a sour mood and even the hyenas got out her way. Timon wandered over at one point to see if she was okay and she'd managed to give a few frosty answers to his questions, but other than that she was still feeling irritable. She was seething, and didn't even have the concentration to look for Bruce or Ookai, and had lost all patience to ask a hyena where she might find them. The apes had been surprisingly accommodating with the hyenas but they did seem to achieve this by staying out of the way a lot of the time. Which was probably why, for the last few days, they had volunteered to go on scouting missions. Bruce's bulk wasn't especially stealthy but he could run surprisingly quickly even with both Ookai and Timon perched on either shoulder and more importantly could swing a punch that would crush boulders. She reminded herself to speak to them the next time she saw them, even if she was too angry to do so now. It would take her mind off Kiava, and Asante.

Kiava. She wished he had said something instead of staying out of the way. Sure, she hadn't given him much of a chance to do so, and Asante had been throwing blasts of wind around and then she had stormed off. But it would have been nice for him to have had her back. When Sarafina had questioned her skill, her value, he had been her staunchest defender. But now they needed to cozy up to the hyenas, that fervour seemed to have left him playing conciliator.

They had killed Amun. But despite that, she couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this entire alliance thing had been a bad idea. The hyenas were just so unlike anyone she had met. Kiava didn't seem bothered by their savagery or their strange ways of doing things. He'd even been happy to meet Shenzi, a hyena who he had told her has seen as much of the old Pridelands as Sarafina had!

They should have gone back south, back to rejoin the others. Rejoined Vitani. Her Mother.

Her thought caught on her mother. Did her mother think she was alive? Could she even begin to guess they had done since fleeing them? Or had she given them up as dead already? She couldn't blame her, but the thought made her throat tighten and swallowing became painful. If they had headed back, she could have seen her again. Not to mention Sara and Inti and Danyal. Perhaps Sarafina would have joined them as well! A proper lion Pride. That would have been something, a thousand times more useful than the mangy scrawny canines who said the kinds of things Asante said about her when they thought she wasn't listening! She growled to herself. But no. The bloody great kings of the past had told them to go to the hyenas. So they had, and found themselves here. She wondered if that was part of their design, or if the Kings of the past were staring from on high with incredulity and shock.

"Hey. Zuri." A familiar voice called to her. Zuri was no in the mood. She whirled around and growled and sure enough, there stood Asante. The hyena looked at her. Zuri grimaced.

"What do you want?" She snarled. Asante sighed.

"I… Uh…" She looked awkward. "I'm not very good at this. It doesn't come up much with hyenas. But… I wanted to say… I mean…" She caught herself. "I want to apologise. I shouldn't have goaded you like that. I didn't mean any of the things I said. I know I touched a nerve there." She said, looking guilty. Zuri blinked. She hadn't expected this.

"What are you talking about?" She asked carefully, wary of some kind of joke or trick. Asante shrugged.

"Kiava was right... I was being arrogant. Needlessly so. When we spar, we try to rile each other up. Say things we don't mean. It's not… I wasn't trying to…" She searched for the words. "We were celebrating. I got so caught up with it that I forgot for the moment that you're..." She trailed of.

"I am what? What am I? Huh?" Zuri asked, scowling.

"Not a hyena. Like you said. I shouldn't have said those things, but I shouldn't have doubled down when I realised you were so hurt by them. Or that you'd take it so personally. That's my fault. I'm sorry." She said. "I was stupid." She said. Zuri paused.

"Do you really mean it?" Zuri asked. Asante closed her eyes for a moment.

"Course I do. You're one of the best fighters I've ever seen. If you were a hyena I'd fight tooth and claw to have you in my pack. You're good, Zuri. Properly good."

"So why you'd say all that?"

"When you spar with your pack, the better you're doing the worse your sparring partner talks dung about you." Asante said by way of explanation. Zuri breathed out.

"I'm not an idiot, Asante." Zuri said. "I know you were just..." She grimaced. She didn't have the words for it. "I wasn't offended by you insulting my fighting skills, Asante."

"It was Kiava, wasn't it?" Asante guessed. "You were hurt by the idea that you weren't of any use to Kiava, weren't you? I should have realised. Zuri, I am sorry. No wonder you..." She didn't get to finish. Instead, Zuri growled.

"You sounded like our teacher back there. Back then we weren't looking for allies, we were just running for our lives. Now he's here and he's being a King and he's defeated one Shai'tan already. He's got other followers who like and trust him. Even Shenzi thinks he might manage it. He's ruling. He's good at it." Zuri asked, as much to herself as to Asante. "Honestly it kinda scares me. When it was the two of us, well it was frightening, but also it felt like when we were surviving it was because of us. Like I could actually do something to help. Now he has any number of soldiers to fight for him and a shaman to scout with."

"And you're thinking what use does he have for me?" Asante asked.

"I never said that!" Zuri snapped, angry. It made her sound jealous. Like she wanted him to fail. She didn't.

"You didn't." Asante stared at her. She sighed. "I am sorry, Zuri." Zuri looked at her for a moment. Then she shrugged.

"No." She sighed, and gave a growl. It would have been nice to just accept the apology, but she knew that wasn't fair. "I was just as bad. And I'm not so ignorant about hyenas that I'd never seen you fight before. I shouldn't have let such a little thing goad me into that. I was trying to hurt you and that was wrong. I lost control. And now Kiava is angry with me." She admitted quietly. Asante shook her head.

"Don't worry about that. I don't think he knows how to be angry with you. He's more concerned than anything. He's not angry with you." Asante assured her. Zuri smiled, relief running through her.

"No hard feelings?" Zuri said, feeling awful now she had the time to calm down, for all the things she had said and the things she had thought. Asante cracked a smile.

"Of course not." She said.

"I am sorry I was so... violent." Zuri said. Asante blinked, then looked down at the scratches that pepper her body, and touched a scrat that marked her face. All would heal after a few days. Some of bruising would take a little longer, but nothing was severe, Zuri was glad to see.

"You do remember who you're talking to, right? This? Don't mind it. I've had worse. And between you and me, I ordered the other shadowpups to tone down tonight's sparring since Kiava was watching. Didn't want to scare him off. We're tough. We're not as strong as lions, but we can take a heavy beating and get up again and we heal very quickly. This is nothing. Don't beat yourself up over it." She said. Zuri smirked and thought to how the fight had ended.

"Call it a draw?" She offered with a sly smile. Zuri had been winning, but then Asante had used her powers. Asante laughed a deep hyena laugh.

"Why not?" She said. She held out a paw and Zuri took it gratefully. "No hard feelings."

She smiled. Asante grinned. "And for the record? You fought like a hyena." The hyena said. There was a pause. "That's meant to be a compliment, Zuri." Asante added. Zuri relaxed. Of course it was.

We should get some rest." She said. Zuri glancing upwards. It was getting dark now.

"Did you settle everything? Or are you going for round two?" Kiava called out to them.

"Get over here." Zuri told him. Asante chuckled as Kiava stalked over to them, and sniggered when Zuri nuzzled him, making him blush. She took her cue to leave, and left Zuri and Kiava standing there.

"Oh. Zuri..." He looked sad "Look I-"

"Sshh." She hushed him. She bent down and nuzzled his cheek gently, silencing him at once.

"What's the matter?" he asked her. Zuri purred.

"Thank you. You were right. I was overreacting. Sorry for being such a fool."

"Hey. I told you. Pride Jester. You're allowed to be a fool." Kiava teased her. Zuri scowled at him. The inappropriate humour of the hyenas was rubbing off on him. She was trying to be sincere. There was a glint In his eye, but it faded when he saw her expression.

"What's the matter?" He asked quietly, seeing her face. She seemed upset. She sighed.

"I am sorry, Kiava. You were so angry... almost embarrassed..." She didn't get any further. Kiava had straightened himself.

"Hey. Forget all of that. Every moment of it. It was nothing. Really. Nothing. I was frustrated with the two of you. I would never be angry with you. I could never feel that about you." He said. Zuri's breath caught.

"I..."

"Zuri... I've told you before. You're irreplaceable. I never won't need you. I promise you."

"Do you mean that?" Zuri asked and Kiava suddenly became aware of how important this was to her and knew in that moment, precisely why she had attacked Asante with such anger and been so easily goaded from what should have been a childish boast. He leaned up and nuzzled her slightly. She breathed out as he came close.

"On my honour. Hell, on the Pridelands." He told her. "When I ran away from Vitani... I'm not sure I even expected to live that long, I just wanted to get away from my friends and family before they got caught in it. That didn't scare you. Somehow, we've ended up with more friends than we started with. None of this would have been possible without you, Zuri." He said slowly. "I never needed to prove myself to you or earn your trust. You gave it to me. I am sorry if I ever gave you reason to believe otherwise." He said. Zuri smiled.

"How is it that I can screw up and you end up apologising to me?" She commented.

"You don't regret sticking by me, do you?" he asked her. She hesitated and Kiava felt his heart stop.

"I miss my mother. I wish that sticking with you didn't mean leaving her. She probably thinks I am dead by now. Part of me wants to go home. What good is going home just to die there?" Zuri asked, candidly. Kiava nodded, grimly. "I don't regret my decisions. I regret having to make them, a tiny bit. But I wouldn't change what I did." She admitted. Kiava relaxed.

"We'll find a way, Zuri. You and I. I promise you that." He said firmly. Zuri smiled.

"I… believe you, Kiava." She said, leaned forward once more, licking his cheek leaving Kiava looking flustered.