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~Newborn cub dialogue~
"I don't care what you say. You have done me a great service, my dear, and I expect you to accept the gifts I want to bestow upon you in return." Kuzidiwa growled lowly at Vumbi while she curled around her two newborn sons. One was a common male, destined for death, while the second was an unexpected primal that had come about with absolutely no breeding effects. The king was obviously pleased, but now he wanted to make Vumbi his queen by "gratitude". She relentlessly refused him because she would be abandoning her sisters in the Pride Den while she lived luxuriously, though just as unloved, in the Royal Den.
"You can't be serious," she protested. "This is the result of luck, nothing more! My son may be king after you, but you can't deny his nature or mine!"
"I can and will deny anyone and anything I want to," growled Kuzidiwa. "None of you rank higher than myself. Even if you were queen, I would still be dominant compared to you. There is no escaping this pursuit, Vumbi. Take your place as my queen and raise our prince, or stay and suffer with your pathetic sisters. It matters little to me which, though you should know I have my preference."
"You disgust me!" Vumbi continued arguing at great length, though she knew that there was now a matter of security with her precious son safe in her paws. As long as the prince lived, Vumbi herself was practically untouchable by Kuzidiwa's cruelty. He would not dare harm her while she still needed to nurse the babe and bring him to strength.
One who eavesdropped on all of this was Isihe, who carefully snuck away after the birth of her baby brother. She was the only other broodmother next to Vumbi, but she wouldn't be guarding him. Still, she needed Vuka's help, in the body of Yenza, and when she returned to visit from Jugram's pride, then they would converse and get a new plan to Vumbi as well.
The immortal lions and lionesses knew that King Kuzidiwa wanted another monster, even worse, than himself as his heir. Vuka would have the skeptical sarcasm to ensure he indeed got his monster--and then he'd lose to him in mortal combat, if all their designs worked out.
~Cub dialogue~
Vuka sat on the edge of Kuzidiwa's territory, her Neutron eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the big albino primal. She didn't turn her head to look but flicked an ear to pick up the soft padding of Isihe as she approached from the left, slinking through the long grass. "Child."
"Vuka." The scarred two-tailed lioness dipped her head, voice low. "Msaliti grows. He takes on the colors of a gathering storm."
"Fitting, considering he's like an adopted nephew of mine at this stage." Vuka blinked, twitching her whiskers. "The storm will break. One day, he will be as big as Kuzidiwa. When that happens, we cannot take any chances. He'll need to attack right at two years of age, if we can help it. The sooner we help him achieve that goal, the sooner we may be welcomed back among our birth pride. Jugram will help to provide the battleground."
"Does Msaliti need to necessarily kill his father? He's bolder by the day, but he's not murderous. His father is trying to shape him into a terrifying beast, but between you, me and Vumbi, he's just growing bitter, not barbarous."
"Strength is easy to acquire but not to use," Vuka replied. "We may have reached him just in time. From me, he learned not to trust easily. From you, he learned to distance himself from his toxic family members. From his mother, he learned to protect his pride and borders from the very threats that his father is. Instead of roaming the world looking for trouble, he'll wait for it to come to him. Maybe he'll realize that a common lion is just as important and beautiful as a mutant."
"That is our hope," Isihe agreed. "Kuzidiwa thought he was so smart, naming him after the word for betrayer."
"Oh, he will be a betrayer," murmured Vuka. "Just not to us. Not the rest of his family." Her Neutron eyes seemed to glow with determination. "Only one male needs to live with the humiliation of that truth for the rest of his days. Kuzidiwa will break, not die, and he will have no choice in it."
The two lionesses remained together, whispering in the dark. By the time Isihe returned with "new toys" for the prince, they were arranged tastefully in his favorite zone. They were artifacts containing whispers, giving him a direct link to speak to Vuka from afar. This was how they would know when it was time for Prince Msaliti to begin his takeover.
~Adult dialogue~
Mjuvi and Vuka entered the territory first, slinking along through the dying grass as if they were hunting in the area they once knew. The Great Hunger had returned; with the new year, prey were leaving and dying in droves, and hyenas sprang up everywhere. Mjuvi and Sababu both knew how things would happen, but they needed to act as quickly as possible if the plan was to succeed.
That was why Hilbert joined in from the opposite direction, trotting around and roaring loudly to attract attention with his melodious voice. He was challenging Kuzidiwa, letting his roars ring for a long time, listening to their echo before starting again. The silver sabretooth would be an obvious target; the bigger primal male had never had an opportunity to tangle with a fellow mutant, let alone a familiar king that had been hidden for so long.
But just as Kuzidiwa came striding over the hill, answering with a harsh challenge of his own, Mjuvi's eyes slid over to her right. "Jugram," she whispered. A blossom-covered antler rose just high enough above the grass to see. "He's here."
"Stay calm," he replied. "Hilbert will tire him." They watched motionless as this proved true, to their relief; Kuzidiwa was so caught up in the rush for battle and blood that he spent too much energy running straight at Hilbert like a buffalo bull, and then the smaller primal sidestepped and swung gracefully, darting out of range of his claws and fangs. Moments later, a taunt came from the other sabretooth and Kuzidiwa exploded into curses and rage, striking with increased ferocity.
The first phase was now in motion. Mjuvi remained where she was to keep an eye on them while Jugram and Vuka both made their way to the raven nests where Msaliti would be resting.
Kuzidiwa's prized heir was three times the size of a common male lion and every bit as brutal and muscular as his father. But he maintained his mother's level-headedness, which accounted for how they were able to build a bond with him at all. Msaliti may have been unexpected in all ways for a primal heir, but he was not the monster his father was. Everything would either get better or worse because of him; some other son of his line would have to decide when to change that.
He rose to his paws and came to stare into Jugram's face when he approached. The Ferus sniffed at his muzzle, whiskers twitching. "Grandson," he said in a low purr, "it's time."
A flicker of emotion passed through Msaliti's vile eyes before he blinked, the edge of his lips peeling back to bare his great fangs. "Vengeance," he answered. "Justice. He killed my brothers."
"Not all of them," Vuka said quietly. She looked at Khishetani, rolling around on his back nearby, his primal fanged younger brother who was an unexpectedly strong source of positivity in the darkest of times.
"No, not all," Msaliti agreed. "He will harm no more cubs today. The last drop of blood is upon his claws. I will wipe it away with my own if I must."
"No, grandson," Jugram said. "This is your destiny. We will all do our part, but the prince will become king with his own strength. Then Kuzidiwa will not return to challenge you or anyone else."
"Where is he?" asked Msaliti.
"Hilbert has engaged him in a deadly dance," Vuka said. "He will keep it up, but we must hurry."
"No time to delay," Jugram agreed.
"Then let's go." Msaliti almost couldn't contain himself, trotting between Jugram and Vuka on the way back. His departure wasn't unnoticed by Khishetani, who sat upright and shook his head, yawning softly.
Hilbert was only panting slightly while Kuzidiwa was bellowing angrily, trampling grass, scarring rocks and crashing through logs. At one point the silver sabretooth jumped off a low tree and the larger primal burst right through it, accidently cracking himself on the forehead and causing a line of blood to ooze. It was a mild headache, but now he was starting to lose focus, making more mistakes.
Msaliti ran ahead of everyone and roared loudly, causing Kuzidiwa to spin around, confused. "Cub killer!" shouted his son, "it ends here!"
"Is this how you repay the kindness of letting you live, you ungrateful brat?" scoffed Kuzidiwa.
"You killed nearly every lioness you ever claimed," Msaliti screamed in rage. "You killed my brother! You killed every common cub of your line that you've got your paws on! I can still smell their blood on your breath!"
"Yes, and I'll add yours to it if you don't shut your mouth and get back in place!" threatened Kuzidiwa. "Use that brawn of yours that you inherited from me to--"
Kuzidiwa was suddenly overcome and interrupted by several roars all around. First Mjuvi pounced upon him, bowling him over from the left and causing them to roll and roar at each other. Then the other immortal lions, one by one, took up a position around him to bite or harass, dodging his blows and taking advantage of his weaknesses. Vuka ran straight at him, neutron eyes glowing blue. Her snarling face was met with a powerful paw that knocked her backwards and down. But when she got up, whirling back on him, the unexpected happened: the marks of his claws and the blood of her wound burned away with blue fire, forming flesh and fur again, and the eye that had been damaged regrew and regained its color.
She screamed, cursed, and flung herself at the king again. He could do nearly all the damage he wanted and they would heal just as quickly. It looked like a battle to last all of time.
Several times, Jugram, Hilbert or Msaliti ran into the fray as well, often while Kuzidiwa's back was turned on them. Hilbert got his throat caught at least once before Jugram slammed his head against Kuzidiwa's skull, cracking it further and letting a gush of blood flow out in response. When he released the silver sabretooth, Msaliti jumped, grabbed and rolled end over end with his father, growling and biting savagely. But he nearly lost one of his precious fangs when Kuzidiwa brought him down hard onto his muzzle, stunning his storm-colored heir.
Panting, Msaliti looked out of one eye and saw the blurry form of Khishetani running at Kuzidiwa desperately, yelling to attract his attention. "No!" roared the dark primal, seized by terror and anger at once.
Even Jugram and Hilbert didn't have time to stop it. The albino primal was upon Khishetani and sinking his deadly teeth through the mane that was still growing in. Two dark blots of blood boiled up out of the marks left by his fangs; the gray younger brother didn't even have the breath to scream, his windpipe slowly being crushed.
All of Msaliti's fear, fury and passion forged into one powerful, blind jump. He struck while his father's back was turned and landed in the one place he had to go: at the base of his spine before his mane. The resounding crack that followed as his spine was suddenly broken unevenly seemed louder than any roar someone had made, and then Kuzidiwa screamed, released his primal fanged son and bellowed in anguish as he struggled to crawl away from Msaliti and the other fighters.
"Someone help me!" demanded Msaliti. "He's bleeding!" The older primal licked at the blood coming from Khishetani's throat.
"Don't fret," Hilbert said kindly. "Here. Apply pressure." The silver sabretooth laid beside the primal fanged lion and carefully kept his paws against the wound, licking slowly to stem the loss. Khishetani's breathing was ragged, but he no longer looked in danger of immediate death. He had escaped that fate by mere inches.
Jugram, Mjuvi and Vuka all watched the slowly retreating figure of Kuzidiwa. Even from here, his desperate whimpers and curses could be heard. "What shall you do?" asked Jugram without turning to look at his grandsons.
"Leave him," Msaliti said in a tight voice. "He can live on the outskirts with a broken spine. Then he will die. But he will kill no more."
"A wise decision." Jugram nodded. Then he tilted his head, sniffing the wind. Some of the blossoms on his antlers got caught on the breeze, floating backwards. One of them landed upon Msaliti's forehead like a kiss. "They are coming."
As he said, the rest of the pride emerged, having heard the fighting. Realizing that their prince was now due to become king, they talked in hushed, excited voices while he prepared to take the throne. Vumbi came up to Jugram and rubbed her head against her father, purring like she used to as a little girl long ago. Jugram laid his head upon her back and watched his grandson with a gentle expression. There was true relief in everyone's eyes.
"We are not finished yet," Msaliti said. "The very land needs us. I will do my upmost to return a sense of order to us all. No more dead cubs. No more murdered lionesses. Not a night goes by with a torn throat. On my honor as the new king, I do swear this." He struck the ground with authority. His expression was angry, but it was a good promise; he would tear anyone who threatened it apart if he had to.
In this manner, with their wounds being licked by Msaliti's pride, the three primal kings bowed their heads, sitting in a circle, as they pledged to restore the balance of nature. The immortal lions and lionesses were welcomed back into the pride while a permanent meeting place was arranged in case this happened again in the future. Msaliti then stood before everyone and roared as loud as he could, listening for any challengers. None came.
Hilbert chuckled and patted the ground with his paws contentedly. Jugram watched his grandson with a relieved smile that spoke of the tension on everyone's shoulders finally released. The blossoms on his antlers caught in the wind and rose to the sky, joining the ravens that started to caw and announce the reign of the storm-colored king.
~~
One of Vumbi's only surviving cubs and her first primal son, "Msaliti" is the Swahili word for betrayer, which was earned as he neared adulthood and his nature was shaped and warped by his father's evil ways. Born originally as a chivalrous lion, he soon darkened in personality, becoming bitter, distrustful and skeptical about many things in life. He still believed in the power of family and in his role as protector, but he made it clear that any visitor, male or female, young or old, regardless of genetics or mutation (or lack of), was someone to confront with mild aggression.
The pride had been weakened by his father's warpath, and while Msaliti allowed the females and cubs to heal and regain strength, any males who lived in his pride constantly tested themselves against him. It was his way of ensuring he himself wasn't going to be overthrown while his back was turned. The betrayer fought against any possible betrayal of his own. Msaliti never forgave Kuzidiwa for the death of his common brother, and it was only Vuka's, Vumbi's and Isihe's consul that kept him from murdering his father out of rage and grief.
Upon being named king, Msaliti changed his name to "Isiphepho", the Zulu word for storm.
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