[PRP] So in summary...

[Light Atago]

The queen- er, ex-queen, sat in these cursed lands. She was still not accustomed to thinking of herself as a commoner again- she had thought of herself that way when she was young, but it had been quite a while since she thought of herself as anything but royalty. Her face was blank, at best… Though, her eyes showed a tint of sorrow beyond what would be on a neutral expression. She couldn't believe that those she had trusted would… well, would betray their own pride like they had. Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought, and she wondered about the wellbeing of the pride populace. There was no way she could help them now- no way at all. Her thoughts were more and more on those in her pride, in her homelands.

While some may have tried to escape these lands after finding out their secret… Toi made no attempt. She knew the consequences, to leave would be to spread the disease beyond here. And to go home would be to bring ruin upon those she loved so dearly. Regardless of anything, she had always been a fair queen, and her people's wellbeing was always her number one priority- but now there was nothing she could do for them. In a way, she felt dead. She flicked a jagged ear at a fly before starting to shiver again… Today had been on and off, though it was getting worse at the moment. She went from sitting up to laying down, curling her tail to her nose in an attempt to keep up some warmth.

"This sucks," she said to herself flatly and quietly. No matter what happened at this point, she knew a few things for sure. Maybe it would help her overwhelmed mind if she tried to organize herself.

She wasn't going to ever go back to her homeland, firstly. Rather, she wouldn't leave this place. She was going to make this her new home, like it or not. (And at this point, it was certainly a not. Maybe… maybe it would grow on her, but she had her doubts. She would remain a commoner- a simple huntress. She wouldn't tell anyone of her lineage, her old title, or her old life. And it would take a little more doing for her to trust anyone… Though here, a lot of lions seemed pitiful enough to pose no threat at all. Still, after recent events, she couldn't help but hold everyone at a certain distance.

And… Well, she would have to eventually try to bury her guilts somehow. She doubted, though, that she ever would.  

[Uta]

The masked female was making her way quietly through the pride lands. She had just finished up her rounds near the heart of the pride, where most of the ill lions resided. It was where Nawiri'chiwa could often be found, dedicating a majority of her time with those who needed her comfort and care most. But that didn't mean she forgot about the new faces within the pride, or those that were well and still had their strength.

No, Nawiri'chiwa liked to include everyone in her attention. It wasn't easy, especially as the disease often wracked her own body, but until she breathed her last breath it was something she was always going to strive to do.

Equality amongst the prides members was something she yearned for each member to embrace. Perhaps it was because they were all in the same situation. The pride was small, on shaky ground, and they were often discriminated against due to their plague. Those who were sick were quarantined, and many families were broken early on. . . . There was much hardship to be found in these lands, so it was only together that they could make it work.

Red and blue eyes landed on a form not far off. It was a dark coated lioness, and for a moment Nawiri thought it might be her sister, Eva'raja. But such wasn't the case, as soon as she caught sight of small, vibrant, teal colored markings. It was . . . L'Etoile. No one else in the pride possessed such unusual colors, so she was one lioness that was very easy to remember.

She was curled up though, alone. Nawiri'chiwa didn't know much about the female, but she wasn't going to let unfamiliarity cause her to walk past without greeting. Slowly, so as not to fully disturb the female should she be asleep, the queen offered a small smile and greeting. "Hello there, L'Etoile. . . " She kept distance between them, and as the lioness was curled up she couldn't entirely see her face or read her expression.

If she was asleep, she could walk on past, and wouldn't wake her. If she were in no mood for company or a spot of conversation, again, Nawiri could easily back off. She didn't want to disturb her, but she also didn't want the female to think she wouldn't acknowledge her presence.
 

[Light Atago]

L'Etoile was still deep in thought, trying to organize herself and figure out what her next step should be... Would she always feel this bad? Certainly someone in the pride would figure something had happened, and that she had not abandoned them eternally out of her own free will?

She would probably, realistically, be thought of as a cowardly traitor, and certainly not someone worthy of the title she had held. Then again, maybe that was an accurate statement. She was about to draw in breath to heave a sigh when a somewhat familiar voice sounded behind her. It was soft, but to the dark lioness, that did not make it pleasant. She immediately recognized it as the queen's. She thought of ignoring it and feigning sleep for a moment- and she would have, if not for her training. To do so would be extremely rude, especially considering that she was now stuck here. Forever.

The mere thought of that word weighed so much.

So Toi uncurled herself and turned to face the lioness before her, a tiny smile on her muzzle. "Hello, your majesty," she said quietly, as softly as her smile. "How are you doing today, is there anything I can do for you?" she asked at first, to try to be of service. She was new to a new pride- whether she wanted to be there or not. That meant that she should attempt to be as useful as possible, especially since today she was feeling pretty good.  

[Uta]

((So sorry for the lag on this, hon! Zomg. I fail.))

Nawiri'chiwa bridged the distance between herself and the dark coated lioness, coming to rest not far from where the other lay. She honestly didn't know a lot about L'Etoile, though her circumstances for joining the pride had been a little hazy. Nawiri'chiwa invited all members who were willing to join, but she also understood that in some cases the joining process wasn't entirely voluntary. Circumstance had caused a few of their members to stay against their own desires, like Mittere.

But L'Etoile was still a mystery. Nawiri had no idea she was speaking to an ex pridal-leader herself, an ex-queen. It would break her heart to understand such knowledge, to know that their disease had kept someone from their rightful rank. Their pride was both a blessing an curse, but Nawiri'chiwa refused to believe that breaking it up, exterminating its sick members or snuffing out their lives prematurely was the way to go about it.

The sick deserved life even if it was full of pain or illness.

"Really, you can call me Nawiri. Such formality can be reserved for other times, more formal occasions, don't you think?" She smiled the dark coated female, settling down a few feet away. It was commonplace for the female to dismiss her title. She hated to be reminded that she ran the pride, that she was royalty, that she was the beloved queen. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her rank, she did her best to be the best, but sometimes she wished she could be looked on as just Nawiri. Not queen, not majesty, just . . . just Nawiri.

She knew it was unlikely many would actually abide by her encouragement, but she wouldn't quit. She was like them and stuck in the same predicament, she just had title, and was the one to come to when there were problems, issues, and uncertainties. Strip her rank away and she was just a regular lioness.

Dipping her head cordially at L'Etoile, she did gave a small shake of her head. "I was making my rounds, and spotted you. I'm sorry to impose and intrude, I just wanted to say hello and see how you've been adjusting to the pride. I hope you've been treated well and are doing well, too." She hadn't heard much from her counselors and advisors. Honestly, not much was known of the darker female.

"As inquiry of my state of being, I am well enough, thank you. Today is a better day." And it was the truth.