A nitetime adventure - Ufunuo/Ubele/Peke/Kuruka/Hifadhi -FIN

[Iris_virus]

-Curled up in a den not far away Kuruka slept peacefully at her brother's side, finding herself more and more drained each day. Whether it was less food, or the physical and emotional strain that each day brought, the cub had found the night to be a happy refuge from it all.

They'd been moved closer to the pride center when their mother had dissapeared, a tiny den of their own that left them secluded and yet still under the protection and watch of the remaining group members. Lucky thing though that they hadn't forced all the cubs to sleep together. Did the adults even know the explosive aggression in which Peke and Ufunuo shared? In these close proximeties, they'd probably figure it out soon enough.-  

[Nuxaz]

White...it was white. Peke's brows furrowed together as his gaze was fixed upon a white raven-like bird. Weren't ravens...black? The fact that this bird was not confused the young cub as he slowly tilted his head. Was it coming towards him? He didn't have the chance to figure it out because of the shadow. The dark shadow came from above the white bird engulfing it with the dark. Eyes widening he started forward his maw opening to call out to the bird, to rescue it somehow. Then...there was nothing.

Peke woke with a start to someone nudging him. "Go away..." He mumbled sleepily lifting a paw and waving it up and down wanting to go back to sleep to dream of that white raven-like bird. He wanted to see what would happen. Unfortunately he wasn't left alone. Grumbling he groggily opened his eyes blinking a few times as his vision adjusted. "What do you want?" He mumbled his paws pushing down on the ground as he tried to stand up.

He turned his head toward whomever it was that woke him squinting in the darkness. "Hifadhi?"  

[demonstration_evil]

Hifadhi felt riddled with guilt as he woke the children from their dreams. He didn't want to wake them so late... but they had to move, and they had to move fast so no one would see them leave.

Dumu though... Where was Dumu? Hifadhi would have cursed aloud had he not been aiming for stealth. So he smiled at the children, showing no nerves, "All of you, come with me... Quickly now, quickly. I'm going to take you out exploring... Come on now, we're going to search the boarder. But be quiet now, we don't want anyone to know where we're going. It's a game." He told them, smiling kindly as he nudged them all awake, one after the other.

"Do any of you know where Dumu is...? We don't want him to miss out on all the fun." Hifadhi said, glancing around again for the missing cub. Where was he? The stupid child... but he couldn't leave the others, and he had to leave immediatly. They wouldn't get another chance if things went wrong now.  

[Iris_virus]

"Mama?" -The whispered question sounded softly as Kuruka's mouth openned in a wide yawn. It was a habit, for it was only ever really mother that attempted the wake the little girl. However as she left the depths of slumber and her mind cleared, she softly looked to Peke, seeing if it were him.

The huge dark figure illicited a swift sucking in of her breath, and immediately she dug her frightened face into Peke's back until he was identified by her brother, and cautiously her eyes lifted once more, trying to adjust to the dark.

She was tired, confused, a little scared. But at the same time she was a good little girl, obedient and eager to please, so slowly she pushed herself up, streching her limbs out gently to shake the sleep out of them.

Her ears twitched at the word game, and strange as it might have sounded she was suddenly more excited then scared about the whole situation. Leaning down to try and convince her brother upward, she paused simply when Hifadhi's question sound, glancing about the den curiously. Dumu? He wouldn't have gone outside in the night on his own would he? But then.. if he hadn't gone out on his own... She kept silent her worries, eyes still dancing about as if she might find him hidden in the shadows if she just looked a little harder.-  

[demonstration_evil]

"It's an exploring game." Hifadhi explained, "We're going to go all the way to the edge of the pride tonight... it's what Ngao and I used to do when I trained her. Come on now, quickly, we don't want anyone else to wake up. It's a secret, between all of us, understand?" No sign of Dumu... and none of the other cubs seemed to know where he was either. No good... he didn't want to leave the cub behind, but he supposed he would have to trust Ukweli and Ngao to watch out for him. All the other cubs were awake... it was too late to turn back now.

"I know it's late... but that's half the fun. I'll teach you all how to dissapear in darkness... maybe we'll even find something nice to eat and suprise everyone, don't you think now?" They had to leave... so he turned and moved out, "Come on now, follow me."  

[demonstration_evil]

Hifadhi very nearly let out a sigh of relief when the cubs finally agreed to follow him. Good. Though he disliked decieving them... he was certain that he would be able to keep them occupied, possibly for days with his stories if he played his cards right. But he had no idea how long he would have to keep them away from the rest of the pride... and without Dumu... Gods, where was the boy? At a later -more convienient- date he would have to have a serious word with Ngao about putting in a night guard. If they ever had enough lions to spare to do that.

"If anyone sees Dumu... tell me. I don't want him to miss this..." Hifadhi said, keeping his words a whisper, "But I'm going to take you to an old training spot... It's where all of the great warriors of our pride have trained before you. A secret place, only Ngao and I know about. It's a long way away... But I bet you're all up for the challenge, aren't you?"

And he knew they would be. They were an engergetic bunch, and he was sure that they would rise to the occasion... anything to escape from the pride and get out and about.  

[Nuxaz]

A yawn rolled out of his maw as he felt his siser press her face against his back. He turned his head toward her lightly resting it upon hers until he felt her relax before he pulled away and let his gaze drift back to the older male. "Dumu? He mumbled sleepily. "Does it matter? He's probably going to the bathroom." He stated as he moved to stretch his limbs. Shaking his head he let his eyes drift over the rest of the cubs only half listening as they asked about the game.

Why would they be playing a game at night? It seemed so very odd to the cub but he figured he'd listen to the explanation before possibly throwing a fit about it. Disappear in darkness? Peke thought to himself suddenly liking the idea. It'd allow him to toy with others if he knew how to do that. It sounded like fun. "I'm in." He told the others with a nod even though he knew there wasn't much of a choice for him to decide. If the others went he was sure that he would have tagged along anyway even if it was just to tick Ufuno off.  

[Iris_virus]

((I'm SO sorry about dissapearing guys. crying I came home Monday to my DSL being down, and after f'ing with the cords/computer for a couple hours and found out it was the actual building that provides the service. They just finally now got their power or whatever fixed, so finally internet. ))

-Kuruka fell in line with the small troupe, feeling even more excited then frightened by the prospect of the trip when she picked up on the subtle approval of her brother. And the excitement of the night quickly dispatched any worries she might have had about Dumu.

Though it was brighter outside the den, the night still ate up the land around them. The moon and stars bathed dim light, showing off the grass, the rocks, the lakes in a brand new light. However the creavases split by the quake days ago seemed like frightening pits of darkness, and it was strange... and almost suffocating the way that darkness filled the horizon. Kuruka worried softly as she looked at the blackness in the distance, worried that it might eat them too, but somehow they never seemed to to touch it. Instead the moon enveloped them in a protective glow, helping lead their way to the unknown.

As usual the little lioness kept mostly silent, simply listening to the rest of the group, or letting her attention take careful heed of their surroundings. And while she'd started out the trip in front of Peke, for fear of being at the end of the line, as the night continued her tired paws and diverted attention were being to get the best of her. She'd fallen a few paces behind now, her eyes turning to catch her brother's backside every once in awhile, before they'd turn out once more.-