New Start to a New Life

(feb 11th. early morning, open to all (Subira introduction thread))

Subira walked nervously around the outland's camp. She had been accepted in sure, but that didn't calm her nerves, since she was unsure of how the soldiers here would welcome a pridelander into their midsts.
Taking a deep breath, she leveled her head and let out a sigh. She had to calm down, there was no reason to be nervous. She hadn't been killed on the way out here and had even been accepted into the ranks once her intentions had been stated.
Her tail twitched as she sat down and tried to collect her thoughts. She was here now, her past was behind her and she had no intention on going back.
Now she just had to prove it.

Haki recently returned from a brief hunting expedition.  Her and the four or five clanmates who accompanied her came back empty-handed.  Haki was a competent hunter, but the lands were sparse and no animal of real substance was nearby.  As much as the large hyena enjoyed the hunt, she had a more important job back at camp anyway -- keeping the clan in line.

As she drew deeper into the camp, her hunting party dispersed until she was walking by herself.  The fact that she walked with her neck down told she was disappointed that the hunt failed to turn up results.  In all probability, she was grumpy too.  A small insect that was stirred by her approach flew up, narrowly missing her face and making her ear twitch.  Haki lifted her head so she could better see where she was going.

Seeing the other animal ahead, Haki slowed until she came to a stop a fair distance away.  If she had to be honest, most lions looked the same to her, but Haki could typically tell the difference between one of Zira's followers and a Pridelander by sight.  If not by sight, Haki was definitely aware of the very faint Pridelander smell.  It was not lost on her that sometimes soldiers jumped ship.  She assumed was the case with this particular lioness.  So there was no reason to attack.

Needless to say, the hyena had some history with the Pridelanders but she wouldn't bring it up if she didn't have to.  Don't ask, don't tell and all that.  Haki stood where she was and watched the lioness passively.

Subira's ear twitched as she came out of her thoughts. She had the feeling of being watched. Turning her head to peer over her shoulder, she saw a hyena standing a few feet behind her, just staring at her. Subira turned to face the hyena and levelled her gaze with it's own. Her orange eyes showed little emotion as she sat and waited to see if the other would approach or not.
She saw no hostility in the way the hyena stood, though if she had to guess, the creature did look somewhat tired. Then again, she wasn't an expert on hyenas, so there was a chance she was wrong.
The former pridelander wasn't scared, if push came to shove, and the hyena did attack, she would have a good chance of winning a one on one fight, though she had no desire to engage in combat. Especially with members of the group she was now a part of.

Finally growing tired of simply sitting and waiting, Subi cleared her throat and gave a little tilt of her head
"may I help you?" she asked in a polite tone.

"You can help me by telling me who the hell are, and what you are doing in the Outlands, Pridelander," the massive male growled. He appeared as if out of thin air from the depths of the dark wastelands. "Speak now!" he roared. With the disappearance of his friend Chippy he had been in a foul mood as of late. Claudius shook his mane to rid it of dust and termites that had clung to it while he had been sleeping in the mound.

"Speak! Before I call Queen Zira!" he hissed.

Subira's ears flattened against her skull when a large male lion made his presence known. Despite his hostile tone and loud voice however, she didn't waver from her sitting position. She simply hardened her gaze and let out a mental sigh. She knew someone wouldn't take her presence well.
"there's no need to call upon the queen. I'm a new soldier here. I left the pridelands behind and I have no intent on going back." she answered in a calm tone.
"and I would appreciate if you could lower your voice sir, there's no need to shout, I assure you I can hear just fine." She refused to let herself be shouted at and pushed around if she could at all help it.

"There's no need to call upon the queen. I'm a new soldier here. I left the pridelands behind and I have no intent on going back."

Claudius frowned, but nodded his head in understanding, but he was still wary of this newcomer. After all, he had every right to be with what happened with Tojo, who he had later learned was a traitor, only there in an attempt to get the then captured lionesses back. Once he was ordered to kill one of the Pridelanders he didn't come back.

"And I would appreciate if you could lower your voice sir, there's no need to shout, I assure you I can hear just fine."

"Hmm, forgive me for my rudeness, then," Claudius purred. "I'm Claudius, a former champion of the Arena in Rome," he said, giving her a smirk.

Once it was clear that this other lion wasn't going to attack, Subira gave a small nod and a smile.
"A pleasure to meet you, former champion Claudius. I'm Subira... no fancy title to attach to my name I'm afraid." she introduced, her tail twitching in amusement.

In the back of her mind, she could only wonder how many more times she would have to assure that she wasn't an enemy. That she had truly left the pridelands for good.

"A pleasure to meet you, former champion Claudius. I'm Subira... no fancy title to attach to my name I'm afraid."

The massive lion's tail twitches as well as he stares at her. "Tell me, how are Simba's lionesses doing? I'm sure you heard of the outlanders kidnapping his hunting party one fine afternoon." He struts around her now. "What do you know of Simba, his soldiers? Anything of importance?" If this lioness was truly going to join their side then she would gladly spill the beans on what had been going on within the hero's camp. Claudius would get every single little detail he could manage and use it to the best of his ability.

Subira's ear twitched as she was asked questions about her former pride. Probably a test of loyalty, to see if she really had changed sides.
"To be honest I really don't know much. I left them a while back and had been living alone in the grasslands for weeks, so anything that has happened recently I'm afraid I know nothing about. As for Simba... when I left at least, he wasn't doing his job as king, and the pride wasn't happy about that."
She flicked her tail slightly in annoyance at the memory.

"Well ain't dat somethin'. Ain't y'all one of those pridelander lionesses? Hm?"

His eyes narrowed as he flashed his sharp teeth. The fox had just been strolling, unsure of where exactly to put himself in this outland. He wanted to ask to patrol the jail. Maybe that was good for him. He'd been looking for the queen of the outlands when he spotted the two lions on the edge of the outlands. His fur prickled as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Sure 'nuff, sure 'nuff! That's what I see at least. Whatchu' doin' here, lioness?" She looked plump. Perhaps if Claudius brought her down, he could share in the feast.

"Hmm, I'm sure you did," the male drawled, not impressed by her answer, one that could easily be used as a cover up for the real one. Before Claudius could get another word out, a fox arrived on scene hissing out the questions.

"Ain't y'all one of those pridelander lionesses? Hm?"

"Sure 'nuff, sure 'nuff! That's what I see at least. Whatchu' doin' here, lioness?"

"She is, I was just questioning her about what she knows, and she seems to want to join us," he stated, red eyes narrowing.

Subira's head swivelled around as a different voice reached her ears. An orange animal with a fluffy tail and pointy snout... a fox if she remembered correctly, had wandered up to them. She wasn't exactly comfortable with the look he was giving her, but kept a calm expression on her face never the less.

She could also tell Claudius wasn't happy with what she had told, clearly wanting more information. She let out a soft sigh, trying to think back to the recent days before she left the pride.
"the entire pride is starting to fall out, there's a lot of squabbling amongst it's members, and if I remember correctly even some of the army has started getting involved..."

She broke off, her ear twitching as she thought for a moment
"The pridelander's queen, Nala came back after disappearing for a while, and there are some that aren't to happy about that...."
She hoped the information she'd given would be enough to convince them, she really didn't know much about the army's goin on's so there wasn't much she could say on that front.

Haki had been watching in silence for a while, keeping a fair distance until then.  She was resenting having to come between the two lions who were talking.  She wasn't scared of them per say, but she didn't want to hear some bull about not being allowed to interrupt because of her species.  It might have been a silly thing to resent, but hyena hate from lions wasn't too uncommon.  Then again, it tended to go both ways so she couldn't pretend to play the victim card.

Regardless of the whole lion-hyena rivalry, Haki felt it was her responsibility as a loyal solider to investigate the former-pridelander herself.  If she was honest, she didn't trust the big lion or the fox to get results she'd be happy with.  At the very least, Haki had a question she wanted answered.  Dipping her head a bit as she began to move, the large hyena approached.

"There's one thing I wonder, if you don't mind me asking," Haki's tone was not hostile, but it was firm, "What do you hope to prove by coming here?  You must know you've walked into a wasteland -- far less bountiful than your Pride Lands.  What forced you take the risk?  You obviously don't view us Outlanders as lowly if you're willing to come to us.  Is that right?  Were you... unhappy where you were?"

The fox raised an eyebrow towards the lion, annoyed with his annoyance. He was a soldier just like him. He had the right to come and check out the newcomer as much as he did. He ran his tongue over his jagged fangs, exposing the deadly needles to not just the lioness but Claudius as well. He wasn’t some joke. He’d show them.

Haki approached before he could say anything, however. At her question he paused, scratching his chin with his paw. “She’s right,” he huffed, “There ain’t nothin’ out here in these ole’ outlands but some crocodiles, termites’n right nasty critters. A mouse or two maybe if yer lucky.”

He listened carefully to the girl’s words. “Crazy queen? Uprisin’? Hmmm.” He scratched his chin again. “So why you tellin’ us this now here?”

"unhappy is... one way to put it I suppose..." Subira cast her orange gaze towards the cracked red ground, ear flicking as she answered.
She knew that life out here was hard, but she was fed up with having to put up with all the chaos over in the pridelands, she had always been quiet and out of the way, not speaking up unless she had something to say. Having to deal with all the issues the pridelanders were having was just too much in the end.
"Honestly... I just got fed up with it all. I wanted something different, even if it's not the best conditions living wise."

Her gaze turned towards the fox, her tail swishing across the ground, brushing up dust.
"To prove that I'm not a spy, that I don't have ties with my old pride anymore. That's all in the past, and I'm putting it behind me."