She was back.

And she meant business.

Striding into the Aikanaro'hini lands with confidence one would not expect of a rogue wandering into foreign territory, it was clear for anyone watching her that Nyonda was one of two things. She was a confident member of the pride returning home, chest puffed out with pride...or she was stupid. Two guesses which.

Anyone who knew Morifaer, one of the pride's patron Gods, would instantly recognize the familiar markings on the lionness. The black and red, the jagged facial markings, the broken grey stripes on her shoulder and hind...it was a tell-tale sign that the lionness was of the God's bloodline. And damn, was she proud of it. Nyonda was returning from another mission, another enemy of the Aikanaro'hini dealt with. She took her position as assasian very seriously, and thoroughly enjoyed it. She loved watching them beg for mercy under you claws. Loved the feeling of soft flesh ripping effortlessly under your sharp paws - it was a thrill like no other. And it was only made better when it was from her father's direct orders. Nyonda loved nothing more than to please her father.

Striding forwards, tail swinging behind her, the dark lionness journeyed towards the dens, for a rest.



"Does it work the same if you just...pop off the head, first?" a male voice asked.

"No," came a short reply, the female voice smooth and low. "always save the head for last, unless you're working with small birds."

There was a grunt of acknowledgement before there was silence again. But things weren't too silent for long before there were small squelching sounds along with tiny cracking noises--faint, little audible things that were barely loud enough to make the ears on a lion turn.

It was a hot, dry day, and if one walked just past the den area, far off through a dry patch of brambles and around a cliff-side area, one could see a male lion and his snake companion. They were Vito and Lilith of the demon pride. Born and raised, Vito was a strong male, set in his ways and not quick to tolerate those around him. Not one to call anyone his friend, he normally kept to himself, save the attention to his snake mentor. Lilith, on the other hand, was what a lioness once described as "a conniving b***h" and was never to be trusted. Despite this apparent fact, Vito and Lilith were never seperated. Together at all times, they were seemingly attached at the hip, so-to-speak. And on that day, like most days, Lilith was assisting her strange "friend" in the art of death and dissection.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves, in their own quiet way.

But neither of them expected to be interrupted by the sound of approaching paws...



Nyonda's feet were tired, her muscles sore. She'd been gone for over a week, tracking, stalking and finally killing her target, her prey. She'd managed to catch her own food in that time, enough to sustain her, but she hadn't been able to venture from her path in order to find a juicy waterbuck, for fear of loosing her target's scent. She'd had to make do with the hares that ran across her path - not the most filling of meals. It was all part of the job, of course, and Nyonda most certainly wasn't going to complain. But she was most definitely looking forwards to a good, hearty meal now she was home.

As she neared the dens, a shape stood out to her - a demon, she assumed, he was of the correct colour. Changing her course just a little, Nyonda instead approached him, taking a moment to decide on her approach before a charming smile broke out across her face, eyelids fluttering as she stopped just short of him, suddenly aware of the snake. Ugh, vile creatures - they were a meal, nothing more.

"Greetings - I am Azazel." She introduced herself with her demon name, to avoid any confusion as to whether she belonged here or not. Although, really, her coat should say enough. "I don't suppose you know whether the huntress' have made a kill recently?"



As soon as the scent of a lioness filled his nose, and the sound of paws against dry, cracked earth filled his ears, Vito raised his head up and looked over his shoulder. Lilith seemed to movie in unison with him, body coiling and face bending to the side to examine the heated aura of the approaching form.

Ah, a lioness, they thought. But who was she?

Vito's gold eyes observed for a moment, then they narrowed. It was a well-known fact that Vito generally did not like anyone. Really, anyone. It took a long, long time for him to get to a point of considerable tolerability towards someone, but it took even longer for him to begin regarding them as something like an actual "friend". Indeed, no one had ever gotten to that point with Vito, except Lilith, and even she was only on the "tolerate" level.

Maybe it was the early separation he had from his little sister that made him that way, or maybe it was the strange voice he began hearing long ago. Whatever the case, Vito was an anti-social grump who'd rather call you cursing names than take the time to know what your name was. And after that, he'd rather leave than ever see your face again.

"Who the hell are you?" the red-maned asked condesendingly, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. Obviously her name was Azazel--a demon name--which obviously meant she was, in fact, a demon lion. But that was beside the point. Vito had never seen her before, and he had been born and raised in the pride. And here was this stranger with demonic colors anda demonic name appearing out of thin air, asking him where to find a meal? Seriously, what the hell.



...How dare he.

How dare he speak so rudely to her! Did he not realize who she was? Was it not blindingly obvious from her coat, which was nearly identical to her father's, that she was to be respected in this pride? Not to mention she'd just given the brute her name! Was it deaf or something? Smile gone, instead her upper lip curled, almost as a warning, claws itching to rake across his face. That'd teach him, she was sure, but Nyonda wasn't one to start mindless brawls. She was far cleverer than that.

"Learn to show some respect, brute," she hissed softly, tail swinging behind her, clearly showing her annoyance, "I just stated my name, its only polite to do the same in return. Especially in the presence of Morifaer's daughter."



A low, cool-sounding hiss started out soft and began to grow in volume. Lilith's black eyes bored into the strange female's face and she lapped her tongue out, scenting the lioness, trying to learn more about her. She didn't appreciate anyone name-calling Vito. Vito was her punching bag--her meal to constrict and suffocate under her orders and presence. She didn't take kindly to anyone treating Vito badly, truthfully because she felt it was her job to do so, no one else's. He was her...pet project of sorts.

"Morifaer? The demon god?" Lilith inquired almost coyly with a smile, more reminding herself than asking a question. Hmm, things had taken an interesting turn. Lilith had never seen the god of demons herself, but she had heard of him--yessss, she had heard of him. The blue and orange snake had no desire to meet such a creature, nor did she desire to meet any gods, but Vito on the other hand--what would he think? She looked to him.

Vito gave the lioness a look up and down, perhaps examining her coat more closely once she explained her lineage. Then a surprising smirk crossed his maw.

"'Respect?'" he echoed, seeming to test the word on his lips. "Maybe you should've told me who you were in the first place." he suggested arrogantly. So, this was Morifaer's daughter--well, one of them...Vito had never met the god personally. Truth be told, Vito didn't even want to meet him. What need was there to? Perhaps the demon male was more Sparda-side than Morifaer-side.

After a moment of thought, Vito considered her statement on the etiquette of name-giving and turned to face the lioness completely instead of continuing to look over his shoulder. "I'm Vito," Then he motioned lazily with a red paw to his snake companion. "this is Lilith." Demon names were meant to be private.



The hiss drew her attention back to the snake, Nyonda narrowing her eyes. The snake seemed quite attached to the brute, hmm? Well, too bad, she wouldn't be having snake meat tonight. Glancing back up at Vito after having stared at the snake for a short while, Nyonda scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Of course the demon god, who else?" No-one else deserved a name as noble as Morifaer - it was a name strictly reserved for her father, Nyonda would be sure to make sure anyone else sharing the same name was soon dealt with. A small smirk twitched the corners of the lionness' maw upwards at the mere thought of it - no, perhaps she'd go hunting herself. She quite fancied making a kill, it had been days since she'd murdered her target.

The brute echoed her and she narrowed her eyes once more, almost daring him to continue. He did so regardless, and Nyonda concluded that he must be stupid. No other male in the pride would dare speak to her in such a way - she had the majority of them wrapped around her little finger. Males were so pathetic, the way they fawned over you if only you offered them what they were after. And really, they were all just after one thing.

A hiss escaped her maw, but the lionness otherwise ignored the comment. Vito? Lilith? They'd given her their common names, and on purpose no doubt. Another hiss escaped, Nyonda's patience waning as she awaited information on the hunt. It wasn't forth-coming, so she instead decided to take a different approach. "Well then, how about where the Demon God is? Do you know where he's currently situated?"



Wellllll, this female was quite prideful, wasn't she? So being the daughter of a god meant you were what, a princess? How strange. The snake was taught that it was survival of the fittest when it came to living--the strong survived, the weaker fell. What difference did it make who your parents were, no matter how powerful? But she kept her opinions to herself. I

Lilith watched the female carelessly, then moved her body lithely to coil around one of Vito's forelimbs. Her head bobbed out and then remained stiff as a branch, and there her gaze rested on the other female. Her tongue flicked in and out of the air, in and out, prying for something. If she picked up enough information about the lioness, perhaps a vision would come to her...

Vito felt his snake move against him, as if hugging his arm for comfort, and it visibly seemed to calm him as well as fill him with confidence. But his thought were on the demon female, Azazel. It was true that he was sort of...intrigued at the idea of one being the offspring of a god, especially one of the patron gods of the pride, but this was...hm. It made Vito wonder how he would've acted if his father had been a god.

...His father...

Eyes taking on a rather bitter glint suddenly, Vito tossed his mane in annoyance and wrinkled his nose. "How should I know? Go ask someone else, my lady." he said, adding a title quite mockingly. "Or would you rather I go ahead of you like your slave and seek him out myself?"



A stony silence seemed to fall over the small group, and Nyonda snorted softly. Well, this was useless. Completely and utterly useless. She really wished someone useful had been here, instead of this stupid brute and his disgusting over-sized worm. She continued to eye the snake, admittedly a tiny bit creeped by the tongue. If it was moving it's tongue in and out like that, didn't that mean it was getting ready to strike? She'd like to see it try to attack her - Nyonda didn't look like much.

But it was all part of the act.

If your enemy thought they had the upper hand, thought they were sure to win, they wouldn't try as hard. They'd let their guard down, and that was when you struck. Nyonda was a lot stronger than she looked, and had other skills hidden under her sleeves. There was a lot more to the lionness than there seemed, and she was proud of that. But it was still infuriating when brutes like this talked down to you. It was difficult, not to just lash out and slit their throats there and then.

But it was more fun to lull them into a false sense of security first. So she persevered.

Nyonda hissed at him softly - this wasn't getting her anyway. "Hold your tongue, brute," she snarled - a low, rolling sound. "Remember who you're talking to - if I wish it, you will be my slave."



Lilith was beginning to see things--bits and pieces. A large shape of a lion with enormous wings. She knew somehow that it was the lioness's father, the god of demons. A god...hm. How powerful was he? Somehow the snake didn't want to find out. She willed the visions away, and they faded somewhat.

Overall, the snippets of vision made Lilith a bit uneasy, and she coiled tighter around her lion counterpart and rested her chin against his fur. If things got out of hand with the situation, it was two against one, she thought. And Lilith was a fast strike. She blinked slowly, watching the lioness, listening to her snarling words directed right at Vito...

...Maybe Lilith would bite the female's neck while she slept...

Vito, meanwhile, was no longer amused. He had grown very tired of talk of gods and their "royal" offspring, and he wanted to get back to his dissection. The blood sang to his nose, but clouding it was the scent of the daughter of Morifaer. He was quite sick of it all. He didn't care what happened to the female, if she found her father, or if the high-ranking members made her their third King. He was no longer interested.

The lion made a sound in his chest half like a laugh, and half like a groan. "Yes, I remember." he said quickly, seeming to glaze over the subject like it didn't mean a thing. "And no, I don't think I'd want to be your slave." he added with feigned politeness. Then he looked her square in the eyes and said, "I'd probably die of boredom."

With that, the hunter turned with a flick of his tail and walked back to his neatly splayed-open jackal carcass, his snake rolling up across his back, her eyes still dead-set on the lioness behind them, giving Vito eyes on the back of his head.



What was that sound? It was disgusting, just as disgusting as the worm on his back, whom Nyonda was beginning to hate and hate with each passing moment. She wanted to lash out at this boy, teach him a lesson he must have had coming for a long, long while. But with that horrible thing on his back she was unable to make a move - snakes were venomous, and althoguh Nyonda was vengeful she most certainly wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to get into a fight she knew she couldn't win - the brute she could take anyday. But not whilst he had backup, in the form of that snake.

"You'd better watch your back, brute," Nyonda hissed softly - what was it his name had been? Vito. She'd be sure to remember it, when she talked to her father. "You won't be so cocky when faced with the wrath of a God."

She eyed the snake once more, contemplating the attack, before turning and marching off, a growl rumbling in her throat. Yes, she'd most definitely be hunting herself - she needed a way to expel the anger boiling inside of her right now.