Not Doing Their Job

Crystal gems blinked to Sabor once before giving a single nod in understanding. Without a sound besides the brush of grass softly swaying from her silver pelt she was off towards Zolita, the ebony female with the smaller lass. A steady trot, flexing her muscles that were honed mostly for agility and sharp movements and she'd closed the distance.

She cooed to a noticeable sound level, a tactic to gain the attention of the captured lady and Zolita herself. Zolita was practically frothing at the mouth with the adrenaline of the prize she held in her jowls.

"We don't need to throttle our pretty little things to persuade them my sister." she addressed Zolita mostly, not demeaning but spoken with a crooked smile at the corner of her maw.

"You will accompany me, won't you little bird?" and with a subtle shift of her gaze to the smaller lioness, her eyes were intently on hers. A very faint smile on her maw, but the way her brow was so raised, and relaxed, there was something chilling about the look in Bellatrix's gems.

Something that said if Sabini didn't take her gracious offer to stroll with her, she'd have no problem letting Zolita slice some fur for fun.

Trapped. Pinned. Controlled.

Eyes of fresh sage glistened as they twitched about, wide with fear. Like a cloud of bitter smog apprehension hung about Sabini's captured frame. Unable to cry out and call Vitani back to her aid with her muzzle pressed to the dirt and her neck held firm, the lioness could only watch helplessly as the grass stilled where the younger lioness had passed just a moment beforehand.

Then again, perhaps it would be lucky for Vitani to not notice her companion's fate and try to rescue her. At least then the past would not be entirely repeated... Tears dripped from Sabini's eyes unheeded, staining the dry dirt below as she attempted to shift and catch a glimpse of her captor. Pinned to the dirt with teeth about her neck... The feeling was all too reminiscent of the day of her cubs' conception. Breathing became a true hardship as Sabini's chest clenched. Heat washed over her like lava, melting her limbs and leaving her limp as a ragdoll as she began to pant and cry softly. Panic took over as helplessness took Sabini within it's suffocating embrace. The noises that left the female's maw were not that of an adult, but more like those of a frightened cub; high-pitched, breathy, and begging for mercy from those larger than herself.

A soothing noise softly murmured brought tear-filled eyes up to a new leonine form. From the pinned female's perspective it appeared as though the approaching lioness were wreathed in the very light of the sun - dawn struck at her back, throwing off a halo of silver light to blur the form of the approaching angel. Her eyes were stars, her fur the hue of moonlight upon the grass. To call the divine creature before her beautiful was to call an insect a meal - it was much too minuscule a label! The air within Sabini's throat stilled no longer from panic, but thievery. The breathe within was stolen as she gazed up upon a figure most wondrous. An aspect of the Great Spirit, the moon given feline form... The muscles of Sabini's face slackened with shock and awe; tears of fear turned to liquid tracks of wonder. Had the black cat killed her? Was this a messenger of the Great Spirit, come to take her from her mortal coil?

A trembling paw reached towards the apparition as if pleading for help - or confirmation that the mirage before her was indeed real.

"Hshshshshshush."

Zolita's noises were soothing, an attempt to purr in the girl's ear. She had no need for her to whimper, to whine. It just annoyed the ebony assassin something fierce. Her black head was about to descend down to whisper some more sociopathic words in the girl's ear when she heard the silken warm voice of the light lioness who accompanied them.

"We don't need to throttle our pretty little things to persuade them my sister. You will accompany me, won't you little bird?""

Zolita pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth as she watched the smaller lion look up at Bella as if she was a ghost. She turned back to Sabor and Rajah, mouth hanging slightly, trying to determine if she should rise. She lifted one claw from the lioness beneath her but kept her weight on the girl just in case she decided to get ancy. She raised an eyebrow.

"You best do as she says, pequeño (Little one)," She sneered, "Otherwise I'll be happy to take you out myself." She hissed, locking golden eyes on Bella. Not mistrusting the girl just on edge in case the little one made a run for it.

Bellatrix allowed a very small tug at the corner of her maw. This little lady wasn't going to be a problem at all, so she closed her eyes and tutted a few times in comfort. When she opened them, her gaze was trained on the golden orbs of the black feline holding Sabini captive.

"Come now." she released a a laugh that could be best described as musical.

"She's going to stay right beside me, isn't she?" and then crystals shifted to the small heap beneath Zolita, and she arched her neck forward, to lower her cranium so she could more comfortably look to the small lioness.

"What's your name, little bird?" she purred in a low voice.

Naanda could only stare in horror as her daughter took the swing that was meant for her, her limbs frozen in place. She had fully intended to take the blow herself if it meant her daughter went unharmed but now her daughter lay on the ground, bleeding from the claw marks that should have been her's to bear.

A furious snarl rippled across her features. If this tiger wished to fight then Naanda would give him one. She wasn't so old that she couldn't still fight.

Whilst the tiger was distracted by Kivivu's words, the beige lioness made her way to Kula's side. Her frown was apologetic, she hoped to never be the cause (directly or indirectly) of any pain her daughter suffered.

Forgive me, I didn't mean for that to happen.

--------

Vitani sprinted through the grassland keeping a fast but relaxed pace. She would need all her energy if she actually found a herd somewhere in the no-mans-land between the barren Outlands and the grasslands.

Coming to the ridge of a small hill, the young lioness stopped to survey the land. This was usually where Zira would take her lionesses if they intended on poaching. However, there were no herds here today and that made Vitani's gut twist uncomfortably.

Vitani turned to say something to her companion, the paler lioness who had followed her out into the grassland, but found that she was alone. Her brows furrowed in confusion, the other lioness had been just behind her. Where had she gone?

Glancing out over the savannah again and then back the way she had came, Vitani made her decision.

The golden lioness turned and sprinted back over the grasslands. Her sapphire eyes darted left and right to spot any sign of her former companion, the pale lioness couldn't have gotten too far in the short time they had been away from the main group.

Then she spotted Sabini, pinned under the weight of a sleek black feline whilst another white-furred lioness stood nearby. Vitani halted and crouched down into the grass. From Vitani's hidden vantage point, she could see that although the second cat was a lot smaller than the pale lioness, it was a lot more muscular. The two strangers also didn't seem to know that Vitani had returned, a point in the younger lioness's favor.

However, when she stood, she could see Sabini's eyes snap to her position. Vitani took off again, sprinting hard and fast to close the distance between Sabini and her captors. Her claws unsheathed and her muzzle twisted into a fierce-some snarl. Then, at the last second, Vitani leapt at the ebony cat holding Sabini with a feral growl.

Words from the black cat-creature holding her captive were meaningless as Sabini gazed up at the apparition before her. Each word was a droplet of water upon cracked earth, cool and refreshing to the senses. Dry air was gulped down in nervousness born not of fear, but of a deep quaking in the lioness' chest - a fluttering about her heart.

"Sa... Sabini, if it pleases your ladyship."

A rustling nearby dragged a fearful glance to flick to the grass - was that -? A guttural snarl was heard as the blue-eyed lioness she'd been trailing after broke from her cover to throw herself into the sociopath pinning her to the ground. Claws caught against her fur as Zolita was shoved back, and the female scrabbled to disengage herself and get out of the way of the now-tangling felines.

---


A soft growl was given as a warning to Naanda as she approached Sabor and the lioness pinned beneath her claws, but other than that initial warning the leopard spoke naught.

Kula stared at her mother for a moment, breath heavy. The tenacity was admirable, but she could see where this was going to lead soon enough. "Mother, please," She didn't bother to quiet her plea - Sabor would hear it anyways, being so close to both lionesses. "Let's just go along with them - I don't want you all getting hurt."

When the sudden attack had happened, Bella took immediate action. She leaped forward, bracing against Sabini's side, but lurching to a stop just in front of the smaller lioness. Carefully, she eyed the tangle of the two fighting cats, before darkly shifting her cranium down, staring past her furrowed brow up at them.

She wasn't about to throw herself into the fray to help Zolita out. Besides, if things went awry even further, she could easily say she didn't want to leave the little lioness free to run. So instead she took a careful step backwards, nudging Sabini's chest with her slender shoulder.

"This way." she urged softly. Once she spoke, it was as if she'd entirely moved on from the fierce snarling battle. A cool glance to Sabini to assess her mindset, and then a soft exhale through her nose.

"Wouldn't want you caught up in that mess, would we, chick-a-dee?" she lowered her head with a soft calming purr.