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((Mapa-Mach log, complete))
Picking the adversary hadn't been a hard choice. It hadn't really been a choice at all, Mapatano could have hurtled into either Msiba or Machafuko. Why he'd gone with Machafuko? Umoja had gotten to Msiba first. Perhaps best for him, Msiba was larger, healthier than thescrawny-looking Machafuko. But now wasn't the time to ponde ron these facts. Hifadhi was under attack, and he had caught the glimpse of white that could be Peke.
But Mapatano's mind was a blank now, and everything seemed to go by slower. He remembered running just behind Msiba, he remembered sighting the enemy attacking the old captain, Hifadhi. He also remembered speeding up upon sight, and a reddish blur told him Hisa wasn't far off.
But the next thing was getting closer and closer, and finally the black lion launched himself at the brown with a snarl, front paws outstretched to give the lion a blunt, thick blow to the ribs and force him away from Hifadhi.
The blow sent him tumbling as well, however, and after rolling over Machafuko, the black lion rolled back onto his belly, eyes slightly wide before he furrowed his brows again, baring his teeth. No, now he wouldn't speak.
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Machafuko had noticed Mapatano coming at him, but he hadn't had the time to dodge the blow, only to prepare himself for what would definitely be a blow. He tumbled onto his side and away from Hifadhi, not bothering to say a word himself. The brown lion was quick to pull himself back up to his paws and launch at Mapatano. He realized, too, that there was a second lion for Msiba. He knew that neither of them would be recieving help from the other, and that was just fine by him. Overconfident from the two recent maulings he'd done, Machafuko raised a front paw to land a blow on his dark adversary's face. If he'd managed it, maybe he could land a bite on Mapa...
Mtalia cawed in midair, immediately ignoring Hifadhi's bonded and made a move to intercept the kite that came with Mapatano. She made one powerful swoop in its direction, hoping to just knock it off balance. For the time being, that would suffice.
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Ever a quick-thinker, Mapatano gave a quick glance around, calculating what he could do for a larger advantage besides the fact that Machafuko was a scrawny male. Mapatano himself was a fairly healthy one, but in a fight you could never be too sure.
He saw his advantage; a slope. It may have been caused by the earthquake. Either way, it was pretty steep and he was sure there were upturned rocks. It'd be risky for himself.. he'd just have to be careful. And it was yards away, he'd have to lure Machafuko over.
He was forced out of his thoughts for a second as he was struck at, and pulled his head away, though he felt paws skim his ears, Mapatano shot forward, out of reach before turning on him, swinging out with his paws and making sure the other lion was between himself and the gorge. Swiping, and lunging, he intended to push Machafuko closer and closer. Hopefully, Mtalia wouldn't notice in time to give her lion a warning.
Hisa didn't miss the large bird as it came at here, and with a shrill shriek shedodged away by simply stopping mid flight, folding her wings against her to dive just beneath Mtalia. Now Mtalia was behind her, though, so she could no longer affort to slow down.
She cast a glance at Mapatano, however, and was quick to see his plan. So she turned away, making sharp zigzagging turns to distract the lammergeier.
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The brown male was completely oblivious to the landscape, to the cliff, as was his bonded. He dodged the dark lion's swipes by leaping to one side or another and slightly backwards, staying just out of reach. He let a smug smirk form on his muzzle, here he thought he was being clever and painfully irritating to Mapa, little did he know he was only satisfying the male's wishes. When he learned Mapatano's pattern of swipes, Machafuko waited for a pause, an opening and he lunged, if he hit his paws would be on each shoulder and he'd be in a perfect position to make a good bite to Mapa's chest or throat. It'd leave him on two paws, and more or less vertical, but it was something he was willing to risk, especially because he was so unaware of his surroundings.
Mtalia followed the darting kite, for fear of the thing making a sneak attack on her bonded, she'd never hear the end of it if she let Hisa get at him. Mtalia darted, but realized far too late what Mapa was doing. By the time she would've cawed, he would be already tumbling, she could see it now. "Heads up!" Was all she had time to say, but it seemed to be drowned out in the snarls of the fight, her bonded didn't react at all.
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Mapatano held back a smile, and instead, frowned and put up a bit of an act for the male. He forrwed his brows and swiped blindly as if frustrated, keeping himself from giving away his tactic. However, Machafuko rined it, and Mapatano saw the lion's legs preparing for a lunge. He glanced at the slope-- it was still a ways off.. but close enough. They just had to bounce once, and he'd have to go down too. The lion ducked as if to brace himself, then shot upwards to meet Machafuko in the air, crashing into him then instinctively making a grab to pin, but before anything happen, they hit the floor, and after a small roll, they were going over the slope...
Hisa saw Mapatano fall, with Machafuko. She'd hoped Mapatano would throw Machafuko off then go more carefully himself, but it didn't seem the case. Then she glanced at her puruser, who seemed to have been distracted by the attack, and winced as she picture the lammergeier foiling her bonded's plan.
But this gave he renough ime to slip out of sight, and soon the kite had risen higher and higher whie Mtalia wasn't looking, to circle swiftly above the two lions, keen eyes not letting her miss any detail of what was going on.
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Machafuko tumbled down the slope, the dark lion on top of him. It didn't help that... he greatly resembled Kitisho; he'd just realized that. But the good news was... this, in fact, wasn't that gigantic lion in their party. Still, the psychological effect on him was there, and it would give his opponent the upper hand. the brown lion managed to actually land on his belly, legs compressed as much as they would go. His shoulders took the shock of the impact, he felt the weight of Ktis-- Mapatano on his back. Damn it, why did they have to look so similar? And why on earth did they have to get in the way all the time??
He almost felt sick at the bottom, all of the rolling had upset his stomach, but Mach knew that it was do or die for his siblings right now, he couldn't afford to be sick. He pushed upwards swiftly, and with each of his legs, used what force he could muster in tossing Mapatano off of his back. Right now he didn't care where the lion landed, just as long as it was away from him. He could feel, though, in that action, that his hind leg hurt. Not only hurt, it killed. He had to bite his tongue to hold back a moan of pain, he wouldn't give Mapa the pleasure of hearing it. Still, the weakness would be sure to show through in this fight, he knew it. There was no hiding it, it hurt like heck to put weight on. He ignored the pain and swiveled towards the dark lion, pacing sideways to form a circle while he planned what he would do next. He tried to hide the pain, but it was hard, and the slightest limp shone through. "You're such an annoyance, just like the rest of your pride. Like ants, insignificant yet annoying." Mach said, teeth showing. He typically didn't care much for words, but... He just had to complain, as always.
Mtalia had flown down the cliff, leaving Hisa to his own devices for the moment and followed her bonded down the cliff, a panicked expression on her face. She was more than glad to see Machafuko getting back up, she was impressed with him. For once in his life, he was being useful, a rare sight. Mtalia... felt something of pride in the scrawny earth-toned lion. She didn't rest for long, though. Mtalia knew what her job was in a fight, make sure the other's bonded stays out of the lion picture. That was what the lammergeier was best at. And as soon as she saw Machafuko was ok, she turned herself back to where Hisa had last been, golden eyes piercing.
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Mapatano was furious.
There was no denying it, and even as he tumbled down the slope with his opponent, he made an effor to kick and claw as much as he could, granted in his positon it wasn't so great. Not exactly unexpected, he was rather winded when he reached the bottom as well, and didn't fight much as he was swung off the lions back, landing feet away. still, he was quick on his paws, body low to the ground and mane ruffled out in every direction, teeth bare and claws unseathed. Machafuko, sadly, had been quick on his feet, though Mapatano did catch how gingerly he seemed to step on that injure dleg. Good, he thought bitterly. Better for me. He ignored the brown lions words, not bothering a reply He didn't need any. This lion had invaded his home, along with the others. Sure, the mastermind was up there with Umoja.. but this one was just as bad. This one had killed a cub. This one would probably be more than willing to kill onc emore. Machafuko, his name. Mapatano had always been good with names. He was a smart lion in general.
"Worthless scum. " He snarled under his breath, standing to join in on the pace, keeping himself from getting closer to Machafuko, but still not staying far either. He wasn't afraid of this lion. Mapatano was a healthy thing, and while not extraordinarilly big, he was far fromscrawny. Scrawny just so happened to be what this lion was.
As for Mtalia, it might take her a few moments more to find the red kite. Hisa was quick to follow them down the slope, and though now that Machafuko's paws were free and she didn't dare dive down to him, the kite circled in the air, eying the two lions for a moment. She too wanted to make the rogue hurt, and if she were a bit angrier she'd be diving down right now to claw his little eyes out. But no, sh was a red kite. Perhaps Mfalme would've handles it.. but Hisa couldn't. Red kites weren't small birds, but for their size, they were fairly weak.
And then she rememberd the lammergeier. Snapping her attention away from the duo below, Hisa began to scan the skies, lookin g for any sign. Perhaps Mapatano wasn't the only one in trouble now.
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Machafuko ignored the sneer from Mapatano, he'd heard many in his lifetime, especially... earlier. At any rate, it bounced off of him like water off of a duck's back. Mach had learned to tune such sneers out, thick as he was. He paced along, trying to close the distance but Mapa kept it even. Irritated, Machafuko decided he'd make a move first. He suddenly stopped the pacing and leapt at the stranger, teeth and claws unsheathed and ready to attack. He, however, hadn't counted on the pain in his back paw. It made his leap shorter than intended, but if he was lucky he'd land a blow, either somewhat decent or just a light scratch, on Mapa's head. If he was unlucky, but he hit him, it would simply ruffle his mane. Machafuko could only watch his paw descend and hope that it hit something solid.
Mtalia had been lucky, she hadn't been spotted by Hisa yet... Her gaze lingered for a few more moments at the top of the slope before she decided to scan the rest of the area. If the Red kite hadn't come down from there by now... It was likely that she'd beaten Mtalia down here. Her golden-greenish eyes scanned the sky level to her, and that just below her, but she could see nothing until she looked up. Yes, it had taken her a long while to find Hisa, but she'd still been found. With a few powerful strokes of her huge wings, the Vulture brought herself up to Hisa's level, waiting for the other to make a move. She conserved her energy until it was needed... Perhaps a trait she'd picked up from her bonded.
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Mapatano ducked, stepping quickly to the side, and though he was sure that whack he'd felt on his back was the lios paw, he had bigger thigns to dwell on. Without much reaction, he launched forward before the lions form paws hi the ground, aiming to headbutt what seemed to be an already injured leg, adrenaline making him ignore the light trickle of blood going down his spine. The blow hadn't been strong enough to slow him down. If he did connect, perhaps he'd even worsen the situation on the invaders leg, even though he would end up beneath the lion either way. It wasn't so bad; not much to bite on on his back, and Mapatano was heavier than Machafuko.
Hisa's eyes were quick to catch the lammergeier once in movement, and though kites were known for their lazy glide across the skies, it was clear Hisa managed to be quite quick. In moments she'd dodged away from the larger bird, he wings flapping irraticaly to make sharp turns. The lammergeier was behind her now; it might as well be a game of tag. And what she wanted to do was lose the bird.
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Machafuko realized what was happening far too late to do anything about it. He was in midair, and he had only began to squirm in an attempt to move out of the way, but it was futile. He had been too slow to react, perhaps if he'd hunted more his reaction time would be better. As it was... Mapatano directly conncected with Machafuko's injured legs as the dark lion had intended. The lion let out a noise that could only be interpreted as a shriek as pain jolted through his entire leg, and halfway up his spine. He could've sworn he'd felt something crack on the impact, but he had no time to investigate the wound. The male had never felt such pain in his life. He landed on Mapatano, feeling something give way in his back leg before he released all pressure off of it. He had little choice but to lift it off of the ground, but he hadn't managed to compensate for it, what with the black lion making for uneven ground beneath his three feet. Machafuko stumbled off, flailing a clawed paw at Mapa for balance, not so much for a blow. He stood himself up, shakily. That Damned Elea, this must be her revenge on him for whatever it was... Her and her stupid injured paw, yes, this was al her fault!. Machafuko had taken quite a while just to get himself standing again, there was little time for him to return a blow, he was more than certain that Mapatano would be up and hitting by now, Mach braced himself for whatever could come at him. Well, as much as he could for a lion with three legs.
Mtalia was circling around, determined not to let Hisa get, and stay, behind her. Her attention was completely focused until she heard the bellow from below. She took a glance, sure in her mind that it would be the darker of the two lions in pain, but she was sorely mistaken. Machafuko was stumbling beneath her, leg hanging above the ground pitifully. "MACHA!" She cried, swooping a bit lower, but not much. She knew that now was not the time to get in his way, nor was it the time to abandon her duties.
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Mapatano smiled to himself as his blow was affective, though felt a little silly once he had a lion "standing" on top of him. He huffed, and felt a bit of relief as Machafuko stumbles off, losing his balance for just long enough for the lion himself to get back on his feet, before turning once more and propelling himself forwad with his hing paws, claws out and maw open in a sort of tackle, ready to knock the brown and green lion down and claw at anything he coul reach. He wanted some hurt. With a snarl, the dakr lion aimed to bite as the lighter ones shoulders, using his front paws to lash out at the others legs.
Hisa's attention was drawn away momentarily by the shirek that wasn't her bondeds, but this was the break she needed. As Mtalia gre sidetrackted by Machafuko, even for that small moment, she swerved around with ease, recolecting into a more silent flight, typical to a kite before lashing out at the lammergeier, which was now lower than her, with her talons. She couldn't do much damage herself, a red kite couldn't even tear a sheep open by itself, but hopefully she'd clip the larger avian's wings a bit. And like one who boucned off stepping stones on a river, soon the red kite was off again, swercving into a wide arc to flee the lammergeier. Now Mtalia's objective was just like Hisa's. The red kite knew whatit felt like to want to dive in and help her bonded, and Mapatano could not afford a bird this powerful going for him when he was busy with a lion.
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If lions could be so, Machafuko would have appeared very much intoxicated. His typically-slicked-back mane hung in disarray in front of his face as he watched carefully the other's movements. "Keep your job up," Mach spat quickly before he was struck again to Mtalia. It was all he had time to utter. Mach had just barely gotten his balance, but as he had predicted he was being attacked again. Mapatano had hit his shoulder, Macha could feel the teeth sink in and he shrieked again in agony. No, not from the fangs. The brute impact had forced him to to put force on that dreaded leg. He could feel it now, the bone had been sheered, it crumbled even more at the weight. The lion didn't even bother staying upright, the pain caused his vision to go to static. He couldn't even hear properly, it was like the roaring of one hundred lions in his head. He'd never known such pain. He himself crumbled like his bone, flopping to the ground still crying out. The added tripping of his front paws didn't help. "DAMN YOU!" Mach cried out in a high voice, as if it would help the pain. He curled up on his side before Mapatano could possibly do anything, he'd twisted in midair so that when he hit, he fell into that position. The lion started aiming his front paw at his back one, to hold it in place, or just to touch it. His shoulder was bleeding profusely, but he still put one front paw up to attempt to hold off his attacker, claws out in an attempt to draw blood if they made contact. If he hadn't fallen down that ledge. If he hadn't fallen, all would be well.
Mtalia turned back to her own battle too late. She felt a jolt just as she was turning to face her own opponent, a jolt on her wing. She saw some spotted feathers, her own, fall down to the ground below and she lost some amount of altitude. Thoroughly angered, however, at this lack of pity, the lammergeier turned back to the kite, gaining altitude again. Slower than usual, but still going up. Her wing ached, but it couldn't be half the pain that Machafuko was going through. Not even close, she could tell from the second shriek and moans coming from below, she knew they belonged to Mach. But she would do as she was told, she would keep her job up. It was rare that she had to be urged into doing work. She had every intention of divebombing the kite. If only she could get that high up in time. One hit to Hisa from her would probably be enough to knock her out of commission, at the very least. Though, she knew it wouldn't be easy. What Mtalia had in strength, Hisa had in agility and speed. Perhaps things would be somewhat evened out.
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Mapatano was pleased at how this was going, though he erhaps wouldn't be so pleased when it was over and adrenaline wore out. In all the tumbling down the slope and the rolling around with a lion with claws, he'd managed a few injuries himself. One of them was pretty bad, he'd hit a rockwith a shoulder. But Mapatano's mind was focused on the other lion, itwas likely the only thing wthat would get him out of it wa sperhaps a shriek from Hisa.
He paused in his assult of the lion, panting and glaring at him. He deserved more, but still.. Mapatano wouldn't kill him. No, not like this. How far was the stretch? He could only imagine Kuruka's death, and it was rather similar to this, in his mind. Pacing around the othe rmale, the dark lion inwardly willed Machafuko to get up, to strike back, even though he was certainly ready to counter anything that came at him... Until, in fact.. Hisa shrieked.
No, she hadn't been struck. It was more of a battle-cry, if anyhting. Hisa had turned around in mid air, heading straight towards the lammergeier in a dive. The idea had not been, in fact, to distract Mapatano, she hadn't even thought of it. Her bonded was close to the filthy rogue and he wasn't paying attention. All Mapatano could do was watch as Hisa, his Hisa got close and closer to that enormous buzzard and cringe. This left him open to attack as well.
If only he'd realized Hisa knew what she was doing. It was a simple game of chicken. Perhaps not simple, but thats what it was. Once she got close enough to see the lammergeier prepare for a strike, all Hisa had to do was stretch out a wing. Just one wing, and her direction changed drastically, swerving quickly away and ahrdly modifying her speed to dive, instead of towards Mtalia,away from her, but so clsoe and so fast it'd hopefully take the "beast" a while before she recovered, and just buy Hisa(and Mapatano) more time.
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Had Mapa noticed the sudden stop of Mach's cries? Had he noticed that they'd turned into very quiet moans? No...? Good, because Machafuko had noticed the sudden cease of Mapa's assault. Perfect. Machafuko had eaten the pain, ignored Mtalia completely and took a swipe at Mapatano with the front leg diagonal to his wounded back. He reached out with his fangs, too, and aimed to sink them in. Anywhere, he didn't care, but whatever they would hit would be torn from the male's body, he would make sure of that. The only things that would release his jaws from Mapatano's body would be the flesh coming off or his own death, his last act would be sinking his jaws in, if need be.
After all, this wasn't only gravity's fault, this was Mapa's. His leg was hurt as bad as it was because of that bloody black lion. He'd done the move surprisingly quietly, he himself was surprised at the stealth he managed with only three functioning legs. And Machafuko held grudges like none other. Once his weight was being supported by his head, he used his other front paw, weight entirely on his jaws and that other back paw, the functioning one. He reached, grappled for some resistance, he silently pleaded to feel that squelching feeling of blood spilling from a wound like it did from his shoulder. Tears were welling in his eye, though, from the pain that still lingered in his leg. He would not let go. Think of... what would happen should he lose? What would happen to Msiba? Mchawi? How long would they last if Mapatano joined the fray up there? For his family, for his sister and brother, would Machafuko fight on, would he swallow the pain.
As high as Mtalia's work ethic was, she wasn't exactly... the best fighter. It had been a mistake for her to have switched from offense to defense in her rage. She was not best at that, only at defense. So when she was dive-bombed, Mtalia did just as predicted, she prepared to counterstrike, talons extended she prepared to intercept. Never in her wildest dreams would the lammergeier have predicted the kite would swerve away last minute.
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Mapatano yelped as he suddenly felt teeth sink in to his shoulderblande, and rolled to the side as if to avoid it. Sadly, he didn't make the situation much better, as now he'd managed to drag the stubborn lion closer to him, and with a simple trip, Machafuko soon found himself in a spot of advantage; on Mapatano's back with his teeth in the lions shoulder. With a groan, Mapatano tried to hake the other off, leaping over there and running over there, occasionally rearing on his hind paws to whack; but sadly, he just couldn't reach that spot too well. "Get off! " He snarled, continuing his raging and striking at blinds. He had to think of something. But with a bite on his shoulder, and a lion still attached to said bite like a stubborn snake, thinking was hard.
That is, until he saw a rock. With a snarl, he ran towards it. It wasn't a big rock, butit was a rock. It was among its own little gorup of rocks, as there usually were with steep slopes like this. Rearing up one last time, Mapatano didn't try to land on his feet again. Insetad, he toppled over, aiming to crush the lion on his shoulders agaisnt the rocks. He jsut homes Machafuko wouldn't cach up in time-- if he let go, Mapatano would be the one throwing himself full force onto the pile.
Hisa hadn't seen Mapatano just yet, too intent on enforcing the distance between herself and Mtalia. She was all tooaware of the damge the lammergeier could do. Still, soon enough she saw it, and for a moment her wings locked against her body, like a subconscious dive. Mapatano was in trouble!! She caught herself soon enough, just in time and swerved upwards once more, while keeping herself turning to avoid Mtalia. And hopefully to keep her distracted.
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Machafuko got dizzier and dizzier. The shaking, the running, the rearing... He was just a limp body clinging by the fangs to his foe. If Mapa stood still, he could stare straight up at the sky, and his mane was in such a state of disarray.... Machafuko had little periphreal vision. He had no idea what Mapatano's intentions were, to him it was just another attempt to shake the lion loose. That was, until he saw the rearing, and the flop. He was crushed, realizing far too late what was happening... If one could say he realized at all. He didn't fully, he had no idea that the rocks were there, he thought he was just going to get flopped on... Until he felt something pierce his side. Between the ribs, a rock went deep. Another into his head, right near his ear, more all along his body. The slam had been more than effective, and the rocks had been pointier than Mapa had realized. Sharp enough to pierce right into Machafuko. Everything in this fight, from his side, was realized just a tad too late.
His breath left his lungs suddenly, he released his grip at any and all points immediately, Machafuko could feel the extent of the damage done by the attack. He could feel it in his bones, in his soul, in his lungs. It would be a shorter list where he didn't feel it. He gasped for air to replace the breath he lost, only to get not enough. Enough to let him live, but not enough for pleasure. Each moment took an eternity, his eyes wouldn't focus, his ears would barely hear, and his breathing was only just that- he couldn't smell anything from it. The male gasped for a few long moments before he saw something before him. "... Mtalia?" he questioned weakly. His blood had started dripping down the slope, staining the dirt below it crimson. He was still alive. How was he still alive?
The lammergeier had been paying some amount of attention to the battle below, and she quickly picked out what had just happened. Mach was surely dead, there was no other option for him. With nothing but a gasp of disbelief, the vulture swooped down. Not in attack, but in panic, in pain as if a stake had been driven through her heart. Mapatano? Didn't matter. Hisa? Didn't matter. Just when... Just when they were getting along. Just when they were growing accustomed to one another, just when they were picking up one another's mannerisms... This. She was surprised to see him gasping, how could he have survived?
"Yeah, lazy-bum," she said softly, the bird clearly upset, though she was doing all she could to hide it.
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As soon as he felt his shoulder released, Mapatano scrambled away, gasping for air. Machafuko may have bene the one his by the stones, but the impact had been enough to wind Mapatano, and themad runing around before hand didn't help the situation at all. He got further more, before stumbling onto his back, then standing up quickly, as if still expecting some sor tof attack to his person. But then he saw Machafuko there, among the rocks, and for a moment, a tiny fraction of a moment, he felt bad. He felt horrible, even. Mapatano wasn't a killer, and with the rush dying out, he couldn't help but stare, awestruck as the lammergeier came to her dying companion; he hardly noticed as Hisa landed beside him. Soon, tohugh, the hate return. He didn't think it was fully deserved, but.. he didn't regret it. He'd leave them be, for their last moments. And though his gaze softened a bit at the strange looking buzzard, he turned away, making a slow, pathetic pace back up the slope, slipping a few times.
Hisa lingered longer. Unlike Mapatano, her coldness took more time to sink in. She could picture her lion, the dark one that was just turning away from the scene being crushed into the rocks,.. it could have been him. Hisa could hardly immagine what the lammergeier who she'd been trying to shake off was feeling right now. She still loathed them, she stll think they deserved pain but.. it was different when it actually happened. Shooting the duo one more slightly empatehtic look, she joined Mapatano, slowly gliding with him.
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To the pair, they hardly even noticed Mapatano or Hisa. They were just in the background. "Mtalia." his voice was raspy, weak. "I'm not going to make it, Mtalia..." he said, oddly resigned. He wouldn't talk to her, but... She was the only one present at his death. His bloody, slow death. The realization would never sink in, there wouldn't be enough time. It seemed... so far off, death, all of a few moments ago. His shattered leg was like just a memory, just like the rocks penetrating his flesh, sucking out his life.
He continued, voice now cracking, "Find Mchawi... Find her, tell her to run, get out..." he coughed, blood sputtering, leaking out of his mouth. If his death could give her the chance to flee, wonderful. "... forget the one, it's not worth it... tell her to be happy..." The truth of the matter was that neither he nor Mtalia knew where she was, but Mtalia nodded anyway. He finally managed to pull himself together, there were things he needed to say, even if those he needed to speak with weren't near. "Tell her... Tell her I love her. I don't know what I would've done without her..." It was something... He hadn't said since he was a cub. He couldn't really remember, his thoughts were too scattered, too blurred to remember. His past... was crumbling away. It was painfully insignificant, and yet... his words drew on those lost memories. Whenever he needed someone, his brother and sister had always been there, they were all he had in this world. Until recently, when Mtalia was added into the mix. Annoying as she was, he had been growing fond of her, but no longer. "And Msiba, tell him that I'm sorry... I failed..." this was followed by more coughs, more spurts of blood.
"Mtalia... I'm glad you're here with me..." his eyes closed, but his breathing continued, weak and fading. The Lammergeier could only stand in silence, clacking her beak now and then when it seemed appropriate. It was all she could manage. Where would she go? She couldn't go back to life before Machafuko... That wasn't an option. Where could she go?
"Sorry Elea... I guess I won't have the chance to taste your blood..." he said, face contorting slightly to a bit of a maniacal glare. It had been something he'd intended on doing before he left these lands, but he knew now that he wouldn't get the chance. Even in death, Mach's grudges stuck out along with those he valued...
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At his last words, despite making an effort not to listen, Mapatano still kept an ear pricked backwards, which only helped to make him feel a bit worse. This lion had in fact had feelings, he had loved his siblings and he had wanted to please them. But then.. he'd had to ruin it. Though Mapatano had been willing to let him spend his las tmoments with Mtalia, something any lion in his pride he was sure would love to do.. the comment on Elea's murder had tainte dit. She ahdn't ben killed yet, but just the thought that he'd ruin something like this.. Mapatano stopped in his tracks, a low growl taking over him. Hisa noticed her friend tense, and swooped around him as if to say 'let it go', but Mapatano was too riled up.
"Enough. "
it was over moments later with a bite to the throat, Mapatano had made sure to be uick, and the black lion once again started the trek back up the slope, though he did glance at Mtalia. He had wondered if she'd react to finishing Machafuko off, but somehow he'd found it unlikely. He was ending her friends pain.
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Machafuko's eyes remained shut, he hadn't heard Mapa coming at him, Mtalia had to even wonder if Mach felt the force that ended his life once and for all. He had been starting another coughing fit when the swift bite was delivered. Ignorance is bliss, and bliss was what Machafuko had lived for, it seemd. Mtalia barely had the time to look away, she couldn't watch it.
Not only did she not know what to do from now, but... She had just grown close to the lion who layed broken before her very eyes. She stared at Mach for a few moments, then back to Mapatano, a blank look over her face. She managed to catch his gaze just before he turned completely back. She was glad he had ended it quickly, yes, but perhaps Machafuko had had more to say. Or perhaps he would've layed sputtering for hours before he gave up the ghost. Only the cruel gods knew. Regardless, that lion was the exact reason Macha was dead before her. Looking from her bonded... ex-bonded to Mapatano, Mtalia would remain for a little while, lost. Confused. Dazed. She had forgotten the promises she made to him, to find Mchawi, Msiba. She couldn't do it. Not only did she fear what they might do to her upon receiving news of their brother's death, but she just... couldn't muster the energy to go. It wasn't too long until, finally, the lammergeier lifted her head, assumed a more upright position and scooped air under her wings, soaring away. A single, salty tear landed on Machafuko's cheek before she did so.
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