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Morag frowned at the seeming contradiction in the Regent's words. The desert was their home and they would stay here... but they must move to find water? And South, as she had half-feared... The whole thing just smacked of a bad idea, of a proud pride pushed to something it had not done in, well, generations. But at the same time, what choice did they have? They couldn't just let the attack pass without retribution... and the pride would not survive without water.

"Are you leaving some of the pride here and some will go where the water is? Can we stretch the pride over such a distance?" She asked, her red eyes narrowed and calculating. She wasn't a soldier, wasn't a leader... but she had eyes and a mind, just like every other member of the pride, and questions that rose with this talk of taking water.

He frowned, curling his tail around his paws and sitting very neatly, which just proved Moto'spaki wasn't feeling very relaxed at the time. "We already have to journey far for water." He mused, so it didn't seem that different to him, taking water reserves from the south. He tried to think of what prides lay south of where they were, if there were any. The Pridelands?

He frowned. The water had to be near and plenty enough that the journey there and back didn't immediately make the drink pointless. Nonetheless, despite a few differences of opinion, the white firekin respected his regents pretty much. "I'll volunteer." He said, once Kidondo spoke of needing a force of lions.

The gray male frowned, because he would very much like to be more useful at this point. But his paw was, at least for the time being, rendered useless. He could hardly journey to water as it was, let alone go even further, and then defend it, if her must!

Yayuka sighed, settling down and listening to the others as he idly licked his paw, even though he'd been told not to do so very much.

"So," Kalama said loudly, because a thought had just occurred to her. "Wouldn't it be handy for us to send a spy or two over to the Nergui?" She actually thought of it because of the suspicion she was sure some of her comrades had that the Hongshan were actually, in some ways, spies. Especially this new group.

But she wouldn't bring that up right now, since No, or Kidondo, she couldn't quite place which, had already settled that they and the Hongshan were allies. If they were so sure, fine, let them.

No's tail twitched. It seemed unnecessary to repeat what her mate had just finished saying, but perhaps it needed some clarity. "We are not leaving the lands. Our water supplies are dwindling, but they hold. Holding, but not flourishing. They buckle under the weight of a large pride. And sharing between us all has put our defenses at a place I do not like it to be at."

"For there to be recovery, we must first have care. And if I can, I like to solve two problems of ours at once. The first, we need water. And the second, that we must be known. If the Nergui wish to start trouble with us, we will remind them what it means to anger the firekin." The black cat turned her head down towards her niece, Seide. "The military has been in discussion as to how to manage these two issues that we face."

"Our solution, then, is to expand. We are not moving the pride. But some of the military will travel abroad. The Motoujamii is no longer an island, alone in its desert. It has enemies that exist beyond our borders. We will send a force to secure emergency water sources in the south, and if they must, they will sweep aside any who oppose. These are key locations, not just for our own health, but the safety of our pride. When we control the water in the surrounding territory, we cripple an advantage our enemies can exploit."

"With a force existing outside of the pride proper, we will begin to retain water in our own reserves. Both groups flourish." She directed her attention to the rest of the crowd. "We are a group made up of many. Some of us, come from outside these lands. We know terrain, and we know their people."

"Our plan is to work in several week long shifts, rotating a patrol force down to the lower holdings. Think of it as additional guard posts, outside of the Motoujamii," she motioned towards Seide. "Most importantly, we are not removing our generals from the lands. Instead, there will be a new branch to organize these forces. All lions who wish to be apart of this effort, will report to our new Legate, Moto'Seide. She will organize you, and plan out which locations we will be securing first."

The black cat cracked a smile as one of the other voices broke through the crowd. "If only planting a spy was so easy. Assignments given to these sentinels will be determined by the legate. But if there exists a chance, and spying is what we require, it will be done," she straightened. "But while the nergui are content to treat their own as expendable, I do not. I will not launch suicide runs on the northern lands until our armies are recovered, and the southern entrance secured. Let the Nergui walk through the north desert if they wish. We did not choose our home casually. If they dare march, they will do so on unforgiving terrain, bereft of water. And we will be there waiting for them."

Ran had taken his sweet time responding to Kidondo's call. He moved at a slow pace, his face expressionless as he slunk to the back row before plopping himself down silently. How long he had been sitting there was a mystery since he snuck in quietly and blended in quickly with the rest of the crowd. Outside of his pale white face that was, but Ran was good at what he did and kept quiet, his violet eyes watching in amusement as various lions bickered back and forth.

Fools.

He thought many of them, particularly those that even began to question the regents that they would abandon the weak. They had chosen to ration the water equally because they cared about the pride as a whole and would never stoop so low as to leave the young and the weak defenseless. He nearly scoffed at the mere idea.

"The idea of sending spies is a plausible one but if they even for a moment suspect retaliation, getting a spy within their ranks will be highly difficult," he stated, speaking up for the first time since his arrival. Often the dark pelted lion preferred to sit back and watch, gather information as needed. He was a pair of eyes and ears more often than not, he didn't think that this time should really be any different.

"If we were to infiltrate the water resources from the south, we would do well to scout the area and learn what is possible before an attack," he paused a dark smile on his lips. "Charging forward openly could result in injuries otherwise avoidable."

The caracal's ears pricked as debate about the idea of spies was tossed about. He had no knowledge of their enemies, rarely wandering far from the safety that existed within a distance of the pride's main den area, but he wondered just how these strikingly colored felines could possibly manage to fit into another group of lions. His half-tail twitched behind him. He would keep his thoughts to himself, but it struck him that smaller predators, such as himself, or the few winged hunters circling on the thermals above, would do a much better job spying on their enemies. Who would suspect someone so small and 'inconsequential'? Unless their foes were wise to such things. He shuddered his sandy pelt at the thought of being outright killed on sight by strangers. Still, if the pride suffered and faltered, his own life would be in danger as well. It was a very sobering thought.

Kuza had fallen quiet again after she had spoken, listening, watching, waiting for a definitive decision or order. Making a note to speak to the legate after singling out the lioness in question, she glanced over at the black-pelted youngster who had also spoken up. He might have been young, but she couldn't fault his willingness. If he wasn't up to the task, she assumed the legate or even the general would forbid he attended the rota for the mission.

Having made up his mind as to his own course of action Souzan settled back down, letting his body relax as he sat on his rear once more, again listening and watching the meeting as it progressed. He was not here to speak, but to learn, and as was his nature, he liked to think things through in his own time rather than just agreeing to what everyone else said without considering it all. Not that he would argue or go against the pride, for after all, the decision made by the regents was usually the most sensible.

Thabiti stepped quietly behind the group, curious of the on-going discussion of the pride. To him, what they were up to matter little at the moment. Pain was slowly numbing his paws causing the large lion to sit frequently to rest. Ears swiveled to those who spoke.

"This land is our home. It is our stronghold."

"Nobody should strike against the Firekin without regretting it,"

"with it victory is certain to be ours."

"Can we stretch the pride over such a distance?"

"Wouldn't it be handy for us to send a spy or two over to the Nergui?"

"But while the nergui are content to treat their own as expendable, I do not. I will not launch suicide runs on the northern lands until our armies are recovered, and the southern entrance secured."

The black lion growled at the idea that they would send spies to the Nergui. It was suicide! It was just asking them to take hostages, to use them and take advantage at their weakness - should they have any. If they wanted to know more about the Nergui themselves, then they should ask the Hongshan. Even though they understood little about them themselves, they at least understood their daily routines.

"Don't go volunteering be spy half-assed..." he muttered under his breath with a scoff.

These firekin were strong, he will not deny that. But they were not fallible.

At the very top of a large rock formation, a yellow-eyed eagle was watching the fiery lions below with keen interest. Prey numbers had declined recently – most likely due to the water shortage, she assumed - and the large bird found herself drawn to the heated discussion and the dark lioness who had an air of command about her. There was talk of blood and war and while Aritz was not often interested in the affairs of the desert lions, she could guess that a grand feast was in her near future. Granted, the eagle would rather hunt her prey before eating it – she was no vulture! – but desperate times called for desperate measure and if a fight was going to happen, Ari was determined to take full advantage of it… even if it meant helping the big cats in order to win her prize. She doubted that there would be any need for her to get involved though, assuming the big burly lions were probably going to fill the sand with carcasses before long.