Will didn't seem to notice what had happened with Bastet, but the other lionesses gave her very strange looks, and the white one flicked her ear as she stared back at Bastet, slightly perplexed.

Will furrowed his brows as Bastet suggested he share with her first. "Well," he said slowly. "I'm not the Ìyánífá, and the orishas are known for being cryptic in their messages to mortals. I can't communicate directly with them, but from what's been told to me, it started when the omens began appearing. They have been warning of the rise of a . . . well, I guess a tyrant of kinds. Or an evil king. But we can't assume we know who they're referring to. There's more to it. Something about a lioness. Something about a war, or a battle. And something about that old violet tree."

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"I see... " The piebald trailed off slightly, as though deep in thought before continuing " The Ancient Ones are also very cryptic when they communicate with us through the Oracle. Most prophecies are hard to decipher. Personally, if I was a godly spirit of some kind, I would keep it simple for mortal lions." She gave William a playful smile.

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Will simply chuckled, obviously not going to push Bastet anymore about the prophecies she was referring to. He slowed a bit as they reached a bend in the small spring, where the back of a lion was visible. He was draped in pale cloth and purple flowers, and obviously hadn't noticed them yet. "There he is," said Will. He didn't seem to be scared of the lion - in fact, he looked sorry. Maybe for the lion, maybe for himself, or maybe for something else.

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Bastet did her best to straighten herself once they approached Monarch. Once again she took her regal stance, as a diplomat should have. She took a mental note on Will's approach to his leader, and kept in mind to comfort him after they were done here. She stood still, her eyes focused on Monarch's back, waiting for either him or William to make the first move.

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Will started forward towards Monarch, but the slight rustling seemed to alert Monarch, who perked up his ears. He swung his head around slowly in their direction. His eyes were covered in cream-colored cloth, but he turned his head slightly in Bastet's direction as though he could see her. Despite his regal stance, his voice when he spoke was low, almost a whisper. "I thought I told them to take their problems to you." He seemed under the impression that Bastet was one of his own lionesses. Will nodded but didn't move to explain any further.

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Something turned in Bastet's stomach, and her eyes glowed for just a second as Monarch turned his head. She knew he was staring at her, but didn't move an inch despite feeling the stench of death again which made her want to throw up. Instead she kept her stance, lowering her head in a respectful bow.

"Monarch of the Veldt" She said, without lifting her head "I am Bastet, a representitive of the pride of The Peaceful Spring. My leaders have sent me here, for they have heard of omens and strange occurances plaguing your pride and we would like to extend a helping paw. My King would be interested in forming an alliance, since he is certain both of our prides would benefit from it, due to the mutual protection it could bring."

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As Monarch turned to look at Bastet, his skin seemed to sag with age, and he made no move as she bowed her head respectfully. He continued looking at her as she spoke, as still as a statue. Even the breeze didn't seem to touch his mane. After she finished talking, he was silent for a few beats. Then he said to her, "You were told of omens? By whom?" Will shifted uncomfortably, but still without any obvious fear.

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"I witnessed them myself." Bastet said, her voice calm, although inside she felt the urge to run " We are a neighbouring pride, and many of our pride members saw certain strange occurances while patrolling our borders. That's how we learned of them. Some of us had rather unpleasant experiences with omens as well." What she was saying was true to some extend. Seeing Will's reaction and the way Monarch spoke to him, she didn't want to get him and Horizon Red in trouble. She kept her head bowed low, her eyes closed to conceal their glow, which somehow didn't want to fade.

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Monarch seemed to believe her, and he pried no further. As she spoke the words "unpleasant experiences," he tilted his head slightly. "Unpleasant experiences," he echoed, as though the words were unfamiliar to him. "Unpleasant experiences," he said again, and now there was almost a note of mirth to his voice. "And you wish our prides to help one another run these dark omens off?"

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Bastet could smell the death from Monarch. One of the curses of her unexplained gift was being able to tell when someone was meddling with something they shouldn't be. She contemplated if she could help the leader of this pride but pushed the thought away, for now at least. She didn't know how deep the infection if you could call it like that, went, and risking her own life while she was expecting was not an option. Maybe later.

"I don't think the omens are the problem. Rather it's what they could bring that's worrying. My leaders are afraid they might have something to do with the prophecies that were sent through our previous Oracle. If that's the case then your pride could suffer as well. We are not sure what type of apocalypse the Oracle spoke of, but I can assure you the damage it could cause would be catastrophic to both our prides." She said, keeping her voice as calm as she could, still not lifting her head. At least not entirely. She wasn't really bowing her head anymore, but she still kept it low and her eyes closed.

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Will was watching Bastet intently, seeing the glow in her eyes, and he seemed to have a spark of hope in his eyes. He couldn't smell the reek of death or see the emptiness echoing in Monarch, but he had known him long enough to know there was something very, very wrong.

Monarch continued to listen quietly, almost listlessly, like he was beginning to lose interest in the conversation. "My pride could suffer," he said thoughtfully. "From some Apocalypse that's coming." He didn't sound surprised at all. "Lions are always afraid of what they don't understand he said quietly. Then he turned slightly to look at Will, who looked away. "You want to change the course of things, Will? You wish to fight? That is your talent, isn't it?" Will looked vaguely embarrassed. "My pride can do what it pleases," Monarch said to Bastet. "They can learn to survive without turning to me for every decision."

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To say Bastet was stunned would be an understatement. She never saw a king who didn't care about what would happen to his own pride. Then again, she had a feeling Monarch wasn't entirely in his right mind. Something must be done about this. She felt sudden anger swelling up inside of her.

His response both to her and to Will made her finally lift her head. The moment she opened her eyes, it was as if time has stopped for all three lions. The air became heavy around them, chilling them to the core and keeping them in place. However, William did not feel the same spine-chilling terror as Monarch should've. Bastet's glowing eyes, like two suns, stared right into his, burning into his soul. It felt like claws ripping through his chest, making every breath in that very moment a struggle. He couldn't turn away or make any move or sound, no matter how hard he would try.

"You wish for Hell to accept you, Monarch?" Bastet's voice rang inside the leader's ears, although her mouth did not open. It seemed as though another voice was speaking through her, or rather with her. "Very well, just know this. Demons always lie. The apocalypse is upon us, and I know what it will bring. Once a king betrays his pride, he is forever cursed in history and by the gods that may be. Make your choices wisely Monarch of the Veldt. The old violet tree awaits..."

The air became light again, as the glow from Bastet's eyes slowly faded. They were the only thing about her appearance that could betray her exhaustion. She knew Monarch would be frozen in place with shock for at least another minute or two, so she swiftly walked up to Will and gently put a paw on his shoulder.
"Come with me," She told him in a whisper, her voice hoarse, yet she smiled weakly at him "I would like to say goodbye to someone before I go."

Without waiting for his answer, she turned her head for the last time toward Monarch. Knowing that he wouldn't remember much from her "episode" has put her somewhat at ease. Most lions didn't remember much from those occurrences when they came out of their state of shock, but she knew the words got stuck in their brains for a very long time, despite the image of the lion who said it fading within seconds. Will would remember though, so she would have to be careful about this. A sudden cramp in her stomach made her wince sightly. She turned around, flicking her tail at Will to follow her, and began walking back to the place from which they left.

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Monarch was still, as he always was. Still as stone, but this time, even with his eyes not visible, it was clear that his mind wasn't wandering, that he had nothing in it except the words Bastet was speaking to him. His stillness was more than shock: it was like an enemy he hadn't thought he would see again had come forth to wreak havoc, and the only thing he could do was to sit still. Even so, though, even with the terror gnawing its way through him, there was something cold and hard inside that kept him from taking her words as the warning they were meant to be.

Will's reaction was very different. There was a look of stark astonishment on his face as he watched Bastet's eyes pulsed with the light of a sun. He seemed half-way between running between the two, and backpedaling as fast as he could, and as a result did neither. He had seen his own pride's Ìyánífá possessed in a way similar to Bastet now, but never in such an unprecedented way, and never with as much fury.

As the echo of her words faded away, Monarch still made no move. Will watched her with wide eyes, waiting for her next move. He didn't dare ask what any of it had meant, not now, anyway, in front of Monarch. He eyed his king warily, but still Monarch didn't move, so Will let himself relax slightly. As Bastet placed a paw on Will's shoulder, he started slightly. He simply nodded numbly as she told him to come with her, and followed quite silently, looking as though he was still searching for the right words to say after what had just happened. He glanced back at Monarch a moment before they turned and the king was obscured from their vision.

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Bastet moved forward, trying her best not to let Will see how much pain she was in right now, and how scared she was. Her cramps got worse, and she tried to conceal the fact that she was panting. What was going on? Was it time already? Or was something happening with her child?

She didn't utter a word throughout their journey until they found themselves back with the lionesses of the pride.

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Will didn't notice at first, but as they walked he saw signs of pain on Bastet's face. Could it be that whatever had happened was causing her physical pain? He moved a bit closer to her, feeling protective despite the fact that she had proven in no uncertain terms that she was far from powerless. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, finally speaking.

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