Six Feet Under

(The fifth of October, open to everyone in the outlands PLUS Nuka's followers. If you haven't read "You Can't Escape Your Genes" skim it, it will tell you what's going on. Cody, Kiara and his daughters have been spared so if they're there, they should be beside Nuka/Scar and Zira.)

Nuka was a shell of a former king. His form, which had once stood proud and tall, was now hunched and submissive. His mane had already started to thin, his mouth grow thirsty with the lack of moisture in the air. His ears were pinned back and his golden orbs were wide and broken. His eyebrows rose as he tried to seem less ashamed and hurt than he actually was. One would notice his claws raise to his skin again, scratching as if he was back in his teen years. Nuka was broken and everyone could see it.

His mouth hung half open as he sat next to Scar. Cody, Kiara, Kuzimu and Nia had been spared his father’s cruel punishment but the others, including Dotty weren’t so lucky. He stared sympathetically at his former subjects. He saw hate blaring wilder than the heat. It was justified, wasn’t it? Nuka was going to be the cause of their deaths.

The spared ones stood at the mouth of the gaping hole. The pit was dug deeply, far down so nobody, not even the strongest, could jump out. Claws probably wouldn’t even work against the side of the lowered ground. Nuka swallowed what little saliva he could produce in his dry throat.

His subjects were doomed and there was nothing he could say about it.

”But my loyal troops need food and as I stated before, I'm in no position to deny them a good meal. Do you understand what I'm saying, Nuka?”

Food. They’d become food if they didn’t survive. He could see Danielle’s dirty looks, Two-Tone cowering behind the hyenas which flanked her. He was useless and he could feel them shouting it even if they stayed silent. He’d roared for them on the battlefield and in Nottingham and they’d come running.

Right into the claws of death.

Nuka stared at his father, head lowered, mane blowing in the stale wind. His injured mother, her smile full of sick sweet venom, flanked her mate, pressing her head against his ebony chest. Nuka swallowed again and turned back to his troops.

Their moment of doom would arrive shortly.

Green eyes were wide with fear by that point. Toulouse hadn't known what was going on, only that Nuka had wanted them to come with him. What ended up happening, much to his dismay, was them being led right back into the Outlands they had escaped from so long ago. Hyenas flanked the young cat much like they did Two-Tone, and Toulouse wished more than ever that he could be beside the pudgy dalmatian. Why? Well, she needed his help. She'd only just gotten her leg back and he figured she would need assistance in learning to use it again. Maybe, if they made it through whatever was about to happen, he would be able to help her. For the moment, though, he could only stand and wonder what would happen to them.

If we survive. He thought bitterly. Toulouse was no fool; he knew well enough that Scar and Zira must have resented them because of their decision to break away from the Outlands. Whatever would befall them surely wouldn't have been a good thing. He didn't like the look of the hole they stood before. Green eyes grew a touch wider and he tried to peer inside of it, but he couldn't see much of anything. What were they supposed to do standing in front of a hole? He couldn't tell, and the notion that their fate might have been tied to that hole made him uneasy.

"Karus, it's your turn to guard the prisoners," Captain Tsarr reminded the buck. "Chinook and Tuk should be joining you shortly."

Karus swallowed the rest of his dinner and dipped his antlers politely though inwardly he was snarling. Earlier, Scar's son, Nuka, resigned, thus ending the civil war between the Outlanders. Nuka, his daughters, Shani, and an adolescent Man were placed under something called 'house arrest'. But they weren't the prisoners Tsarr mentioned. It was Nuka's followers. They were to be tossed into a pit about forty fox-lengths deep, the fresh-kill depository, as punishment for their treachery-something Karus did not approve of. It was bad enough to watch his African cousins' bodies being thrown into the stockpile on a regular basis; gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, hartebeest, and even tsessebe were slaughtered by the dozen. This wasn't any better. Most of Nuka's followers were already dehydrated and malnourished because Scar cut their rations. Scar said he will release them in five days, but Karus wasn't sure any of them could make it past one day, let alone five! Scar's 'justice' went against nature and to go against nature meant extinction.

But Karus was in no position to say no. Tsarr was a decent fellow by jaguar standards. However, both Outlanders knew if Karus stepped out of line, Tsarr would not hesitate to put the stag down. Karus usually had no love for predators like Tsarr, but the jaguar had a mate and two cubs to take care of. Like Karus, Tsarr had his responsibilities.

Speaking of which, Tsarr's daughter, Lune, trotted over to them. "Daddy," Lune mewed. She pointed at Nuka's subordinates with a forepaw. "Are they gonna be our dinner?"

"Sí, Lune," Tsarr laughed. "Why don't you go pick out a puppy? It should be ready for eating by tonight."

"Hotdog!" Lune shrieked happily.

Karus shuddered. He didn't like where this conversation was going and he had a job to do. So the stag turned around and galloped toward the prisoners adjacent to the depository. Scar was coming and everything needed to be perfect.

Blue orbs were narrowed dangerously as she looked around. No. She wouldn't go down. She would fight if that was the case. She was tired of running, tired of feeling weak. Just sick of it all. No one was going to make her look like a fool. The tension in the air was high and it felt like death was looming over them all. If death was her fate, then the white haired kitten would go down fighting.

The hole below them felt like a one way ticket to the abyss, at least to Marie. A familiar flash of orange came to her eyes. Toulouse. What would become of them? What of her brothers? Would they all be taken away? 'I won't allow it. No. I already lost mother and father. I refuse to loose my brothers as well.'

Bellatrix was a distinct contract against the rest of the group in the pit in more than one way. For one? Her pale complexion and striking image made her look nearly exotic. And then her behavior. She remained calm, keeping a cool head and examined the deer closely that were watching over their little prison pit. Bellatrix was silently gathering information.

A few times the lioness had resorted to a pace of sorts between her fellow prisoners, but if it was anything further than to pump her blood a little, she didn't let it show.

She'd looked up at Nuka only once. It'd been a sharp and surprisingly long stare. Though what wasn't surprising was how chilling and threatening it had come off as. Looked like she'd played her cards a little bit awry, and it was clear that she wasn't pleased with Nuka in the least. Her maw wrinkled for a mere moment at the bridge of her nose, but then she broke her gaze, turning to look elsewhere and instantly wearing a calmer facial.

He'd get his if there was anything she could do about it. He'd made a mistake by handing her over with the rest of them as far as she was concerned.

Blue gems landed on a small orange tufty feline. The lioness slipped passed a small squeeze between a few larger troops to advance towards him. He'd been the one who 'allowed' her into Nuka's side after she'd easily enough persuaded him.

"We'll be fine." she stated, nearly monotone with a surprisingly cryptic voice. A noticeable change from her usual cooing. Bellatrix stood over him, before craning her neck and peering at the edge of the pit again. "Don't you worry your little head." she purred, sounding like this was all a minor annoyance more than anything.

"Nuka, why are you doing this?" There was fear in the human boy's voice as he stood near the former king; fear and more than a little accusation as he stared down at his allies and friends. The other two young lions he had come into contact with on brief occasions weren't present, but the kittens and puppies he'd become friendly with were, along with a lot of the other troops who he'd seen but not personally encountered. Being marched to their death. If he wasn't seeing it with his own eyes, Cody would never have believed that animals would behave so cruelly to one another. Predator and prey was one thing, but whatever Nuka's father had planned here was more sadistic than anything Cody would have expected to see in nature.

He felt awful, having to stand here and just watch as whatever horrible fate befell the rest of Nuka's army; but it had been made abundently clear to him that his presence was little more than a barely tolerated insult, and that the Outlanders would be more than happy to tear him limb from limb if he put so much as one toe out of line. Cody would risk a lot of things to help animals, but even he could tell that nothing he could do now would hold the slightest chance for success. But if all Scar had planned was to leave the rest of Nuka's troops down the big pit to starve, Cody figured he could at least sneak back later and throw food down to them; so long as he remained alive now, of course.

---

This was all wrong. It couldn't be happening. He was Nuka's brother; even if this was real, the lion at least wouldn't have sold him out along with the rest of his troops.

Would he?

Berlioz cast a desperate glance in the scruffy lion's direction. It was only a slight consolation to see that at least Oliver wasn't standing smirking at Nuka's side, although since the tabby didn't appear to be amongst the crowd either - at least so far as he could see - Berlioz harboured no doubts that Marie's asshole of a boyfriend was mixed up in this arrangement somehow. Oliver always seemed to be two steps ahead of everyone else; this was probably some twisted game on his part.

Either that, or they really were all doomed. Berlioz thought he prefered the first option.

Giving up on trying to catch Nuka's eye, Berlioz looked away from the lion, staring at his paws instead. The kitten - who was fast growing into an adolescent cat - was trying to appear brave, but numerous hints in his body languaged betrayed, to anyone who knew him well enough, that Berlioz was terrified. Glancing around out of the corner of his eye, Berlioz picked out the forms of Toulouse, Marie, Danielle between the hyenas surrounding them all - though there was no sign of Shani anywhere - and slowly began to sidle towards the nearest of these familiar figures; who, as chance would have it, just happened to be Marie.

Not even a tail twitched as the masses were herded past Sabor, contained by a wall of humped backs and harsh giggles. Small felines and canines alike trailed along, heads low and murmuring with discomfort. Sabor had never seen anything similar to what she witnessed now... She simply couldn't understand this. Hunting yes, hunting was simple. Fighting for territory was simple. Those were matters of survival. But this? This was senseless cruelty. Who did it benefit? The only thing Scar truly gained from all this was the sadistic satisfaction of witnessing the sight.

She'd left her jungle for this? To watch prey be thrown into a pit? Sabor tore her gaze away, disgusted. She was dying to know how Scar planned on retrieving the dead from a hole that none could jump out of - he'd promised to feed his troops with this 'bountiful feast', but he'd yet to say how.

Shaking her head slightly the leopardess turned from the column of animals - then paused. A monument of silver fur, a graceful head above the hyena clan, had caught her attention. Bellatrix. Of course, Sabor thought with a languid blink, she came from Nuka's clan to ours - of course she'd be with them now. That had to be amended, and amended immediately. There was no doubt in Sabor's mind that the lioness would survive the ordeal, but why put her through such a useless charade when she belonged with her own kind? Sabor turned to circle around the pit at a light trot, her short legs pumping to carry her across the cracked earth. The sight of her progeny at Tsarr's side didn't draw a soft growl from her throat, but their words certainly did.

"No, Lune." Sabor's voice was stern as she passed the pair, sidestepping to avoid trodding too close to the edge of the pit. "I shall take you out to hunt this evening - I'll not have your digestion ruined by those creatures." With an agitated flick of her tail the cub's mother continued past. "Leave them to those too weak to catch their own prey."

As she approached the leopardess dipped her head slightly, circling around to rest just off Zira's hind. The crown of Sabor's head only just barely reached the chin of her lion monarchs. "Pardon, Highnesses. There has been a slight mix-up amongst the animals. That lioness there, with the pelt of the moon and the eyes of the sky," The cloud-colored bulb of Sabor's chin inclined towards the mentioned female. "Is not under the command of your son. She is of my force, and played a fair part in acquiring your... 'gift' the day before yesterday." Sabor's emerald gaze slid sideways towards the dark king, her small smile bordering a smirk. "She was unable to join us in presenting our gift to you, but perhaps you would like to thank her personally?"

Lune opened her mouth to protest. "But-!"

"Listen to your mother, Lune," Tsarr said firmly. Tsarr did think Sabor was being a bit ridiculous. Food was food. It didn't matter how it was obtained or where it came from. As far as he was concerned, beggars can't be choosers. Predators like Sabor and perhaps even Lune can afford to be a little more picky (though Tsarr couldn't quite comprehend how anyone could turn down meat regardless of its orgin), but jaguars like Tsarr and his family valued everything they caught. Tsarr was hoping to teach Lune the value of food. But he dared not to voice his concerns aloud. In order to keep Lune, he needed to play by Sabor's rules. Plus, Zolita may beat him for his recklessness.

"Yes, Mamma," Lune said unenthusiastically. She really wanted a puppy.

"Now run along," Tsarr said gently. "Scar's going to be here soo-"

A not-so-distant roar interrupted the jaguar and brought silence to the Outlands. Scar was coming!

Tsarr dashed off. Lune whimpered slightly and hid behind Sabor's leg. Karus and Raksha stood by the prisoners, making sure none of them tried to make a run for it. Everyone stood in silence as Scar climbed to the tallest termite mound to deliver his speech. Just as anticipated, Scar spoke.

"I suppose you sorry lot are wondering why you're here," Scar roared loud enough for everyone to hear. "You may thank your liberator, Nuka, for that! Apparently, my son bit off more than he could chew; maintaining the slipshod town Nottingham and looking after a bunch of infantiles was too much for him to handle. You see, Nuka implored me to take his sorry hide back and in exchange for his pardon, he gave me your lives. So without further ado, I regretfully inform you Nuka abstained his crown. He is no longer your king. I am. Since you all made it quite clear you preferred an alternative lifestyle, I decided that the Outlands wasn't the best place for you. And unfortunately, we both know no one in their right mind would take in a bunch of sorry Outlanders. You lot have no place to go. No one wants you. No one needs you. It's time to take out the trash. Because your erroneous deeds can't be corrected, I sentence you to death. Every male, female, and cub involved shall be buried alive. May the great kings have mercy on your souls. Carry out the sentence, boys."

Scar hopped off his soapbox and addressed his son, who sat adjacent to his daughters-Scar's grandchildren. "Why so melancholy, Nuka?" he purred. "You did the right thi-"

"Pardon, Highnesses. There has been a slight mix-up amongst the animals. That lioness there, with the pelt of the moon and the eyes of the sky," Sabor interrupted. Scar arched an eyebrow, but said nothing and allowed Sabor to continue without objection. "Is not under the command of your son. She is of my force, and played a fair part in acquiring your...'gift' the day before yesterday. She was unable to join us in presenting our gift to you, but perhaps you would like to thank her personally?"

“A valid point,” Scar purred. “Very well. You have my permission to release her.”

Dotty stood horrorstruck amidst her fellow prisoners. She knew Scar could be and often was merciless to anyone who dared defy him...but this...this was beyond even Scar's twisted mind. 

This had the markings of Zira all over it, Dotty could feel it in her bones. What fun it would be for her to watch as Nuka's followers were buried alive and left to either dig themselves out or perish. She could just imagine the sick glee that the queen would take from that.

Then her gaze went to her girls, huddled beside Nuka's legs and clearly terrified. At least they weren't going to suffer this fate but theirs was not much better. They were out here with Zira, the monster who had murdered Mauko.

"Mama..." she could hear Nia whimperring "Daddy! Don't let him hurt Mama! Tell the nasty lion not to hurt Mama!"

Her heart shattered just a little more but she wouldn't break. Not now. Not in front of her daughters. She could be brave for them.

Dotty gave Nuka a hard stare then. She made sure that he met her eyes so he knew. If she was destined by the Great Kings to die this day then he had better protect their girls with his life. Zira would come for them, Dotty was sure that she would, and when she did then Nuka was the only one who could stop them from following Mauko to the grave. 

Then her eyes went to Bellatrix. She was going to live too it seemed. So she wasn't on their side at all. Dotty felt a bitterness creep through her chest and she lowered her head to look at her paws. Duped again. She wouldn't say anything but she hoped that if Bellatrix had even the smallest ounce of love for her that she would watch over her cubs if the worst should happen.

(I'mma throw Buster in here as well, but until I make his account I'll just be using whoever I've got in here for his posts right now.)

Cole black hooves slowly trotted toward where a rather large pit had been dug, when he'd first come here and seen it he hadn't known what it was or why it was there. Now though he knew, and he didn't like the idea at all. It appeared as though the followers of Scar's son, Nuka, were to be thrown in and buried alive. He doubted any of them would survive it, but there might one or two that would surprise him and make it.

Sunset irises looked among the animals, dogs, cats, lions, and even some deer were gathered in a tight huddle at the huge opening. No doubt some if pushed just the slightest they'd fall in and possibly to their deaths. Giving his head a light shake the brown buck placed himself next to a fellow deer, Karus. It seemed he as well as some of the other deer were to be these prisoner's guards.

"I hope I ain't the only one who's against this." He said hushedly to any of the other guards who'd care to listen, "I know that they'd done wrong but ya'd think there be another way ta punish'em." After that he fell silent, he'd been told when ordered to come here that Chinook would be guarding along side him as well. He didn't see the small male, but he made a mental note to keep an eye out for him. Only the great spirits knew how he felt about all this.

---

A slight smirked played with the Doberman mix's mouth as he slowly walked forward. He had to admit the idea of this whole thing was appalling but at the same time he just had to come and watch the show. Deep brown eyes scanned over the gathered animals, and he wondered briefly what must be going through their minds. His eyes scanned over the forms of some kittens and puppies, but once his eyes landed on a black and white spotted form he stopped dead in his tracks.

Two-Tone.

He growled inwardly at himself, he should of known she'd be among them this was Nuka's army after all so why wouldn't she be. He turned his eyes to Scar with a glare before turning them back to the young female. He picked up his pace so that he was trotting and pushed through a few hyenas to try and get close to her, but he was still a good distance from her. He thought of calling out to her, but then he thought better of it, if she noticed him then they might talk but for now he realized he had to make it seem like he was just trying for a closer look at the punishment that was to befall them.

Bellatrix watched Sabor advance to Scar with a cool look in her eye, but there was a flash of knowing. She watched their lips, their every expression. Yeah. She'd be fine, as she suspected. In any case, since she was assured safety, there was another concern on her mind. Sharp blue eyes shifted to a darker pelt. Dotty. She seemed borderline insane at this point to Bella's cool head. She expected as much, Dotty had a particular closeness to her cubs. Something Bellatrix knew about, but she would never fully understand.

The pale lioness shouldered her way over to Dotty, before nearly lunging at her. Not in an attack, but there was a sense of control, threatening dominance. Female grabbed her as best she could, hoping to grasp with her claws at the back of her neck. Not overly aggressive, but firm enough to force Dotty to look back into her cold eyes with her own striking amber ones.

Bella assessed the emotion in her depths, before deciding what to say.

"They will be fine." Bellatrix promised her. She sounded sincere. Really sincere. But truthfully, it was for selfish reasons that they would be protected to what Bellatrix could offer. Manipulative reasons.

"Brace yourself wisely, my love..." the pale female cooed, "Keep your chin up. Don't let anyone know you're scared. Don't let them see anxiousness." Bellatrix advised firmly, gesturing with a curt tip of her maw in the direction of Dotty's children.

"Weak..." she whispered softly into Dotty's ear, "They don't want to see you weak... Tell them it's okay... even if you know it's not..."

Her words rolled off her tongue delicately, weaving a soft enchantment with binding effects.

And then she withdrew from her close contact with the other female, standing directly facing her, a curt nod and turning away. By the time she'd finish speaking hurriedly to Dotty, Bellatrix imagined Sabor would have retrieved her from the crowd of these lesser folks.

Two-Tone wasn't stupid.

Indecisive yes but the girl couldn't claim stupid to her name. Eyes on the female narrowed in hatred. She'd come to Nuka for healing and what had she gotten? A death sentence anyway. "And JUST when I got my leg back," she mumbled. But her emerald orbs whipped to the side, slender maw parting at the sight of a black and brown mutt she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"BUSTER!" She gasped and tried to run forward, only to be met with a snarling hyena. "Buster! I'm so happy to see you! Of course I'm also FURIOUS at you! What the hell were you thinking not coming after me you big handsome brute?!"

"Two-Tone SHUT UP!" Danielle said, letting out a snarl to Nuka before she pushed herself next to Berlioz. She pressed her nose against his black-gray fur. "Berlioz, I'm scared," she said firmly, "Really scared. I can't make that fall. I'm not a cat."

It was true. They were all going to die.

Suddenly, Berlioz' throat felt very dry. He could feel his heart hammering a panicked rhythm within his chest as the inevitable moment of death approached. Somehow, it made things infinitely worse to know that his siblings were going to suffer this fate along with him; that the last remnants of Mama's family would be swept away without any legacy of their own. At least if one of them was going to survive, there would be someone left to keep the memories of Mama and Mr O'Malley alive. As it was...

He was jarred from this line of thought by the feeling of something cold and wet nestling against the fur of his now-bare neck; something that turned out to be Danielle's nose. The dark feline turned to regard the canine who was now just about the only person outside of his birth siblings who he trusted in light of Nuka's betrayal. She didn't sound as utterly terrified as he felt, but he knew she had to be; he was sure she would never have admitted it otherwise. Maybe even more so; and as she explained, Berlioz realised why. If they were just going to be thrown into the pit and left, then he - in fact, most of the felines - would likely survive long enough to come up with something. But dogs didn't have a reputation for always landing on their feet the way cats did.

If the fall didn't kill her, Danielle would still probably be paralysed for the rest of her life, however short that may be. Even in the face of certainty that they were all doomed anyway, the prospect horrified Berlioz. He raised a paw, placed it on her shoulder in a would-be reassuring gesture they both knew was empty. What could he do? He was too small to be able to do much to break her fall.

"I'm scared too," he confided in a small voice, not caring who else heard anymore. He doubted any of them would live long enough for it to matter. "I want you to survive." Himself and his siblings too, if possible, but especially Danielle; Berlioz wasn't sure what exactly anyone would call the feelings he held towards the spaniel, and he didn't know how he'd come to care so deeply for a dog, of all animals, but he did know that the prospect of watching her die, even if he were to follow shortly after, filled him with dread.

"Being scared isn't going to keep us alive." Marie muttered darkly as she glanced around at the hyneas. Who were they kidding, why should they have ever trusted Nuka, what good did he ever do?! The only thing that Marie could think of was that he didn't rat her out when she was a tiger. That was it. It was big, but it wasn't worth this.

If they all got out of this, the white kitten was never going to forgive the king's son. That mangy good-for nothing was all he was. Her fur bristled in anticipation, buried alive, that seemed a bit extreme. She wondered what Mama or Thomas would have done in this situation. Remained calm? Talked through it calmly? Something else?

Shaking her head, Marie tried to clear the thought of talking to these monsters as an option. No. That was not going to happen. If they were going to survive then they had to fight. "Fighting back is the only way to take us seriously."

Banzai watched from above. Narrowing his orbs, he growled. Now this was not right. Sure, he was a hyena. He was suppose to like this. But, something was changing. Something......weird. All the hyena could hear was a large mixture of voices, nothing distinct.He came closer, hanging close to the Doberman mix.