[ORP-Inqina] A Lesson In Caution [Done; Cubs/Juveniles]

[Zosie]

Kinga frowned as the juvenile Badriya mouthed at her and her eyebrows remained furrowed - until it happened.

A strange grey shaped appeared and sent Kinga flying with a heavy kick. She gasped and as she began to right herself with sore ribs, she witnessed the horror of what happened. Badriya's eye was pierced by the creatures teeth and Kinga's stomach was in her mouth. Halfway between a scream and a sob, she began to call loudly for Ulaka, until it became a wail as big as her lungs could manage - until they felt like they were on fire. "In the t-trees! The trees!"

The cub had no idea what to do, and blinked up at the tree with shock and sickness. She knew lions were not built to climb trees, and as much as she wanted to protect Badriya, they needed help.

Kodoa heard the screams, then he heard one he recognized, and he stood paralyzed with fear. Kinga? What had happened? Was it the elephant? The chocolate male could see the tips of his ears, and he noticed they had not moved, so there was no charge. Maybe it was something else. However, he could not see anything else happening or the other cubs and this scared him the most of all. He did as Ulaka said, and stayed trembling by the old tree. The air suddenly felt thin around him and he prayed that nothing too bad had happened. The panic in his sister voice however, was anything than reassuring, and tears began to swim in his eyes, looking to the other cubs frantically.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

Khanyo hadn't bothered straying from the path Ulaka walked, and hadn't paid much mind to those who wandered off. Perhaps he should have, for one of the screams he recognized as his sister's. The hair along his spine stood on end, and the heavy male swung his head around to look in the direction of the haunting cry. He didn't notice what they had been heading towards, having had his attention caught by the zebra, and now worried. His lips pulled back into a firm frown as he heeded Ulaka's warning to stay there, though his intense gaze remained in the direction she headed.

The scream caught the lanky youngster off guard, though he did not immediately realize who it belonged to. He might said something to Khanyo about it, but his partner's look concerned him. Curiosity and worry made him want to follow after Ulaka, but one glance at some of the other cubs kept him grounded. His mother had told him to look out for the younger ones, and well... he supposed he should do that. Neze moved to stand next to Kodoa having noticed the cub's terror. "She'll find out what's happened", he said evenly, attempting to hide the distress that might have snuck its way into his voice. Khanyo's reaction in particular had Neze's hair stand on end.  

[Annchen]

Kokumo could still see some of the elephant over the trees, but her attention was shifting to the mass of flamingos. It was hard to pick up words and sentences among the many shrill bird voices, but it was fun to try. At least until that blood curdling scream put her fur on end. Her first instinct was to run back towards the scream, but Ulaka's words stopped her in her tracks. Right... Running towards a scream might not be the smartest thing to do. She watched the adult move and eventually disappear from view.

"It'll be okay," she said to Kodoa, but she didn't sound sure at all. She positioned herself so that the smaller cubs were standing between her and Neze. For better or for worse she and her siblings were the oldest ones here right now. She was no longer curious about what the flamingos could be talking about, she just wished they'd shut up. Especially since she was pretty sure she'd heard the word 'death' tossed around among the pink birds. She resisted the impulse to yell at them that no one was dying.  

[Quaji]

IC

Umoya quickly grabbed Kinga and ushered the other cubs away from where Badriya has been grabbed. As soon as the cubs, she also called for Ulaka with a low roar. The cubs, the other lioness, waited for the two to return. They did now. Keeping watch of the cubs, they spent their night out, away from the pride, just as the Inqina was meant to do. Quietly, Umoya taught them about the stars, the animals who woke at twilight and moved during the night. There was one incident with a snake and Ukame, but no one got hurt.

The sun rose and there was still no Ulaka and Badriya. Not wanting to keep the cubs from their mothers, Umoya and the older children circled around the cubs. With one in her mouth, the lioness headed home, without the other pride-sister and Badriya. Eventually though, the two did return, but it was only Surtak that seemed to be spoken to about what happened. Sure there were whispers now about if Ulaka had killed the leopard or Badriya had been eaten and Ulaka had torn her out of the leopard's belly, but one except the Abaholi actually knew the true story about what happened that day.

OOC

Lethrossen did give me permission to use her Umoya in this to officially end the Inqina. This post is made simply for closure for the RP so that your character(s) may officially have this experience. I'm unsure about how the direction of this was supposed to go, so I thought it best to avoid the issue as both Kaelyndra and Hopefully are no longer around and I could not continue the Inqina in any other direction but this.

tl;dr Umoya took the kids away, they spent the night under the stars, taught them about stuff, and then went home. Rumors fly about what happened, but only the Abaholi are officially told.