Of Thieves and Innocents

[Feb 15th, open to all heroes but focused on the Mbala pride members. There IS some risk to this thread if you step on toes long enough, so be mindful.]

A lazy yawn escaped the lion-tiger's maw as he stretched his forelegs with ease, the strength of his muscular body making itself ´plain to the eye. These pridelands were far more uninteresting than he thought they'd be; Clyde was itching to grab Bonnie and go steal something with her. But, of course, the lion didn't make his thoughts known, instead settlig for resting his head back atop his forepaws, his pristine mane surely brushing Bonnie's side. The pair were, after all, rarely ever seen apart. Clyde loved his Belle like no other, and time away from her left a bitter taste on his tongue.

A deep rumble of obvious bordeom echoed within his ribcage as he turned his gaze to Bonnie, his pure white irises focused on her. His expression, to most, would seem stoic, but his Belle could probably read the barely detectable pout on his light muzzle. Clyde wanted to do something, dammit, anything but lay under a pitch black sky and wait. After all, patience had always been more of a Bonnie thing, whereas impulsiveness and action was more of his. Their differences only enhanced their teamwork, which wroked as a fine, delicate pocketwatch.

Clyde might have started humming to himself, had the rest of the pride (or most of it) not been present; to him, it was private and it was personal. He much prefered to keep his stoic side as the only thing everyone else knew about him. Well, almost anyone, anyways.

If Clyde wanted something to do, it probably didn't include Xerxes. All the same, Xerxes was going to do what he was going to do, and if that bothered Clyde then so be it. It just so happened that he was feeling just as antsy as the white eyed feline, and what better way to sate a boredom than together? Xerxes would chuckle to himself if it wasn't going to give his notions away. Bonnie and Clyde were laying not too far from himself. Bonnie, her familiar little self, with Clyde leaning into her.

Without warning Xerxes rolled over from his belly onto his back and right in front of Bonnie. He peered up at the lioness from his upside down vantage point and even lifted one of his large mitts to give the side of her face a gentle and playful tap.

"Hey Bonnie baby. Looking lovely as ever, in this fine forever night." he spoke poetically. Bonnie would probably appreciate his humor, Clyde however would not. And that's what Xerxes thrived on. He gave Clyde a sideways glance with those amethyst eyes that lit up even in this night, "How's it hangin, Tiger?"

The nic-name may have been in poor taste. But everyone here knew Clyde wasn't purely lion blood. Xerxes thought no less, but it might be enough to get under Clyde's fur even more. Following up this statement, he grinned. A big toothy shit face grin that would make any sensible man with a girlfriend pissed off. Because it was somehow charming too. The way his tufty black mane fell onto his face and spread around his neck, fanning out across Bonnie's paws because he'd just rolled that closely into her arms.

An adult, by all accounts except for his attitude; he was still much like a child. But a clever one. And that could be concerning.

“The sun is hiding,

And the world’s dividing,

Within disarray we play,”

Light and upbeat verses were sung in a voice that would lull the world, Pale paws fidgeted over the strands before her, toes bouncing with her beat. The mass beside her appeared quite bored and she kept her ear angled toward him. Rather than speaking to him, she allowed purrs to vibrate, tickling his ears ever so slightly. Bonnie was the purest of form of refined malevolence, a rabbit with venom, and explosives within a flower. The seductress of a lioness allowed her delicate paws to rub her Beau’s face ever so slightly, more verses dripping from her lips.

“We’re a pair, you and I,

Let us dance beneath this darkened sky,

And if the time would arise,

An unlucky fellow shall meet his demise,”

Words were far greater than any sound to be heard and the lioness knew this to be a fact. Despite her poems, the two were still quite bored and such things have been occurring recently. Bonnie would have preferred to be stealing or conning. The look Clyde had fixed her with induced a whine from her throat, her lip pursing at the jaded sag of his face. Eyes, the color a sapphire would yearn for, stared at his pale bone like irises. Inky abyssal fur swirled over her honeyed paws and Bonnie turned her shaded eyes toward the wearer of such fur. The slightest nudge across her cheek and she grinned, the familiar cheeky grin beamed at her from his ridiculous position. The slightest feel of recognition buzzed in her head, but she couldn’t quite place it. Words that were quite comical came from the adjacent male.

“Oh Xerxes,” silky and light she began, “Are you trying to upset my beau?” playful giggles toppled from her mouth, she wasn’t offended at all by Xerxes. With the looks Xerxes had flashed, Bonnie knew that Clyde might be getting ruffled. She must not allow a very large outburst to present itself; they need to keep a slightly low profile. Bonnie allowed her tail to lightly brush against the liger, shoulder also warming the area near them from the continued touch. Once she was finished with her beau, her eyes once more turned to the jester below her. Paw slowly and very delicately cupped his chin, toes grazing along her throat. It was almost affectionate, enduring, as if she was caressing a loved one. Bonnie meant not hinting at harming the male, nor was she annoyed by his antics.

“Now that two has become three, what shall we do?” perhaps rhyming randomly was intentional, but she addressed both males with interest.

Bonnie's voice had been so melodic, tickling his ears which such grace and gentleness, Clyde felt himself almost begin to hum with her words, but he'd stop himself every time. Her song, however, soothed the liger's anxiety a bit, her gorgeous blue eyes pushing a sense of calm and patience into his own being. His Belle always knew how to get him to stop being upset, that much was certain. Her touch, her rhymes, her breathing, they'd always given Clyde a sense that everything was alright, ever since they had met, back when everything was but okay.

Of course, good things very rarely last long.

Clyde didn't like Xerxes. Bonnie knew this. Clyde, however, tolerated the cream lion because his Belle seemed to have developed a liking to him. Which he didn't like either. It wasn't a matter of if he was going to snap at Xerxes, it was a matter of when. It wasn't the nickname, oh no; Clyde was a liger alright, but he was three times the lion Xerxes could ever aspire to be. It was the way he called Bonnie "baby" and talked sweet to her, even daring to touch her lightly, playfully, which got under Clyde's skin like a slithering, poisonous snake waiting to bite him right where it hurt, just to get a reaction out of the velvety feline. Clyde remained expressionless at Xerxes, before calmly replying "My patience, clearly." Clyde was blunt and honest, except, of course, when it came to admitting to crimes. But having a disdain for another lion was not yet a crime.

Trying and succeeding. He thought as he listened to his Belle's voice once again. She knew him like no other, but did she know? Was she aware that his dislike for Xerxes was based around disdain for the way he spoke to her, and on slight jealousy? Not because Clyde thought the other male was any better than him, oh no. It was simply the fact that Xerxes's affections rubbed him the wrong way. Could he be the lion that would finally make his Bonnie, his golden, sapphire-eyed beauty, doubt when se agreed with him, like she always had before without hesitation?

Two had become three, she said. He didn't like the sound of that words. The lion remained silent, though, and opted to let his eyes focus away from both his pridemates and focus on his own paws instead, letting out a silent breath of exasperation.

Bonnie's touch was sweet, and anything but alarming to Xerxes. This pair was new to Mbala, but they weren't about to slit his throat and make a run for it. The pro's of staying outweighed the cons of them making a quick murder and leaving, let alone the fact that Bonnie actually liked Xerxes. Clyde on the other hand. Xerxes turned his faze to the one of mixed blood with a grin as Bonnie spoke to him chidingly. When she finished though, he turned his wide purple gems back to her, his maw popping open in an over dramatized gasp.

"Who me?" he replied with defensive tones, "I have no idea what you're on about? Clyde?" He looked to the great velvety beast, "Do you have any idea what she's talking about? We're great pals, aren't we?"

This was entirely false. A straight up lie and absolutely presented with a grin because he knew it. And that's what amused Xerxes most. Clyde didn't even hide his distaste for the young lion who so often made his presence a thorn in his side. One of Xerxes many flaws being that he never knew when to quit, so of course he'd harass Clyde without mercy. And use Bonnie to do it.

Not out of any maliciousness, of course, but it was purely fun and game to someone like Xerxes. Not a mean bone in his body.

"Three can get up to all kinds of trouble." he rumbled with a chuckle. No doubt Clyde wouldn't like that.

Bonnie’s delicate lips formed into a mock frown, she of course wasn’t sad. Bonnie too her toes slowly from his chin, allowing the touch to linger before it departed from him completely. Being completely careful with each movement, she lifted from her position and hauled herself upon the shoulders of Clyde. Grinning widely she glided her cheek over the back of his head, chin lowering to rest atop his crown. With a lowest voice, uttered lightly so that only Clyde could hear.


“You are my beau, do not fret my sweet” she purred, the sound like that pluck of a harp.

With those words she fully pulled her body so she rested fully upon his back, her smaller frame easily fitting. Continuing to purr she allowed to toothy smile to pull tightly, “I’m sure you don’t, Xerxes dear”


With a little glint of her cerulean eyes, she then altered the choice of her gaze. In the distance, against the darkened sky was the large monument, the pride rock. Feral light shone and she raised her chin ever so slightly.

“Victims are needed,” the sentence was said lowly and she skimmed the gathered. This was Kula’s pride, they needed to search elsewhere for prey.


“To play,” she finished, dramatically hesitating. Gorgeous honey tail lashed in the darkness, claws gently kneading into the pale mane of her bear. She actually began to groom it into straighter lines, and almost forming it into a braid like appearance. Bonnie was fond of his mane and she tend to touch it often. 

With a slight roll of his ice-cold eyes, Clyde humored the pale lion; "Oh yes. Such great friends we are." He rumbled out, his tone as flat as it could be. The instant his eyes fell back on Xerxes, however, he regretted it; that was a shit-eating grin if he'd ever seen one. The liger flicked an ear in annoyance, focusing anywhere but the amethyst-eyed feline before him as to not to lose his mind. Xerxes would geet into all kinds of trouble alright. Every single type of trouble but the fun one, unless he liked getting his annoying face slapped. Clyde wasn't sure anymore; did Xerxes know he was biting more than he could chew? Was he a masochist, or simply an idiot? It was a mystery.

So lost he'd been in his hateful thoughts, the velvety feline hadn't noticed Bonnie, his partner in crime, shift, not until she was on top of him, at least. He could feel her ribcage rise and fall n time with her breaths, and it was somewhat relaxing, but not enough to soothe his annoyance. She pressed her cheek against his mess of a snowy mane, fluffying it up further, and then she delicatly rest her chin just above her head. Clyde was a very composed and stoic lion, but he purred out softly on pure instinct; it was short, however, for when he caught himself doing it, the liger cut it out. There was no getting affectionate with the little lion parasite sticking around.

"I'm not fretting." He replied, careless if Xerxes heard or not. His tone was grumpy, annoyed, but not angry. He was incapable of feeling anger because of Bonnie. Especially when she was assuring him he was his Bonnie. Not Xerxes's, not anyone's, but his alone. She finished climbing on top of him, and, admittedly, Clyde was at peace. He wouldn't dare move if it meant Bonnie would topple over and get hurt, which meant he couldn't hurt Xerxes in an annoyed impulse. Which was for the best if they wanted to keep a low profile.

She talked of victims, and, to Clyde's ears, that was music. Play, he thought. That was right. He was itching to find a brand new plaything. The thought of it alone would've made the hairs on his spine rise slightly, had Bonnie not be sitting atop him. However, before he could get riled up about it, his Belle was playing with his pristine locks, grooming them, and his body instantly eased down considerably. Another purr threatened to spill, but Clyde didn't let it. Composure, he reminded himself. Pride.

He'd purr for her like a bird's song when they were alone. For now, though, he enjoyed the touch in silence, only half-listening for Xerxes's annoying response.

"You annoying Romeo and Juliet again, Pretty Boy? It's lucky you're easy on the eyes because you've go no brains sometimes." With that line, another lioness appeared.

The small lioness had seen the small collection, including the two most recent additions to their pride, and decided to also join them before Xerxes got his tail ripped off by an irate Clyde. Not that she blamed the liger for wanting to, Xerxes could be very irritating when the mood took him...which was very often. She personally liked Xerxes, often the results of his annoying antics could be very amusing to watch but his problem was he never quite knew when to give it a rest. Better she stepped in now before things got too out of hand. She didn't have a problem with Clyde or Bonnie either but she would make sure they remembered that they were rogues no longer and fits of temper wouldn't be permitted in their pride.

Delaney flopped down beside the paler male, resting her head on her paws and giving the duo a smile. To be honest, she found the duo hard to stomach with for large periods of time simply because they seemed more interested in each other than anyone else and their overt displays of affection were somewhat sickening after a while. Still, she supposed, it must be a characteristic of all lovebirds and seeing as she hadn't a mate herself she wouldn't know. 

Cream tipped toes padded softly across the grasslands, as if they meant to sneak up on someone. The owner of said toes grumbled quietly to himself, mourning the fact that he couldn't bring all of his various gourds along when they moved from their old home to these...Pridelands. If there was one thing the lion hated, it was moving constantly. It wasn't that he wasn't used to it, oh no. It was the fact that he wanted to just find a place, and stay, for a long while. Living a nomadic life wasn't as glamorous as it was made out to be. He and his brothers knew that well.

His light green eyes caught sight of a small group of lions up ahead, basking as they would under sunlight, except there was none. All he could see, for miles on end, was darkness. Why would their queen bring them to such a dark place? But then again, being that him and his brothers were her lieutenants, he dared not question her actions. The young lion was painted with the deep crimson paint of a shaman, with various dots and lines across his pale gold forehead and cheeks. He carried no shaman stick with him, but he carried the mysterious and spiritual air of one.

As he came closer, he noticed the lions were indeed from his pride, as he had initially sensed. But being that Mekonnen was somewhat of a recluse he preferred to stay cooped up in his cave, surrounded by spells and the like, until a patient happened to stroll in for advice or medical care. But he never actually cared to speak to his pridemates aside from that. Sighing deeply, the male figured he might as well do so now, despite how rusty his social skills were. He approached them quietly, green eyes flashing.

"So this is what we do? Just lounge around like cubs, instead of hunting for food?" Mekonnen asked, as his gaze passed over the four of them. He rolled his golden shoulders into a shrug, as his tell-tale sarcasm kicked in. He gave them a toothy grin, and rolled his eyes. 

"But hey, that's none of my business."

"See? I told ya." Xerxes waved a paw dismissively as Clyde very flatly dealt out a solid sarcastic dollop about their friendship. Or lack of friendship. But the purple eyed male was hardly offended, and didn't look the least bit phased as Bonnie pulled away from him and curled herself around Clyde. The pair were tight, and to be perfectly honest Xerxes was only stepping on Clydes toes deliberately.

Speaking of which.

He tilted her head to look at the dark furred short lioness who just joined them. A small grin tugged at the corner of his maw and he cocked an eyebrow at the comment she dropped upon her arrival. Not entirely friendly, but someone like Xerxes would naturally have appreciated the sharpness of it. He truly didn't take offense to much.

"Aw DelDel." he cooed, physically prompting a slow and steady rumble in his chest. A gentle purr, "You say anymore sweet things about me and I might think you're smitten." he sighed, feigning a dreamy glazed look and batting his eyes. Still on his back, Xerxes curled his body to better see Mekonnen as he arrived. Maw pressed together and a small frown presented when scolded about the lack of hunting. And then came the familiar dose of humor.

"Oh you." Xerxes teased flatly.

"Keep dreamin', Pretty Boy. I pity the girl who has to deal with you as a mate. I think she'd have to be crazy." Delaney laughed in reply, nudging the cream lion playfully. She enjoyed teasing the younger lion and she truly didn't mean any of her barbs but she couldn't help it anyways. Besides, she was pretty uninterested in any romantic persuits at the moment. She had better things to do that go fawning over males like a lovestruck teenager.

"And for your information," Delaney turned to scowl at Mekonnen, the golden lion's comment mightn't have been intended to sound like complaining but it did to her and so she snapped back "I am just back from a hunt so stop scolding me like I'm some misbehaving cub. Besides, don't you have some voodoo stuff to do? Y'know, bones and blood and crap?"

The arrival of a third male was an unexpected one and Delaney internally groaned. Mekonnen was one of Kula's lieutenants, brother of Rashidi and Hasira and, in her opinion, the least interesting out of the lot of them. He barely ever surfaced from whatever strange magical stuff he seemed to do all cooped up alone in his den. It was both unnerving and suspicious but Delaney figured that it was better to just stay out of it altogether. She'd never put a great emphasis on shamans and their supposed abilities.

She gave Clyde and Bonnie a glance out of the corner of her eye, she didn't know if the duo knew who Mekonnen was and she didn't want a fight to break out amongst them. Delaney wondered if they had any interest in spirits and the stuff Mekonnen often spewed but if she had to guess then she would say that it was probably a no.

Pale golden toes continued to fidget with the ivory hued mane she was perched upon, she felt him calm ever so slightly by her touch and she rewarded him with a purr. Bonnie by no means controlled Clyde; she merely convinced him not to do things, however if he felt like doing something even she couldn’t stop her sweet beau. Bonnie didn’t even regard the steps she heard approaching them, they were light and diminutive, it sounded like a cub was approaching them.

“Well isn’t it the queen herself—“ the sentence was cut short as Bonnie realized her mistake, if any mistake at all. “Oh, that isn’t Kula. Sorry I thought you were someone that mattered” a playful and adorable giggle concluded the sentence, the words might have been considered rude and condescending but Bonnie’s lips remained pulled into a tight smile which betrayed whatever meaning the words held. A feral gleam in her eyes seemed detached from her actual smile and it gave an eerie feel.

“We’re giving nicknames? I have just the one. Little punaise,” French word rattled out like a hiss of a snake, exotic to the ears. It was rare for lions to speak French, whether Delaney knew the meaning or not, Clyde did. Bonnie pulled her body elegantly from the spine of the beast, petite frame stretching before she began to approach Delaney, jester like smile and the glinting light in her eyes. Whether Bonnie was actually offended by the dwarf of a lioness, known would really know and the permanent smile upon her lips never faltered. The tassel upon the tip of her tail flicked against Clyde’s ear, beckoning him, he was the only one who read Bonnie’s every movements accurately.

The slightest, barely noticeable wrinkle appeared upon the bridge of her muzzle when the squat lioness touched Xerxes, it sent a protective string to snap and her eyes narrowed dangerously but in a matter of seconds it was gone, even the most intuitive couldn’t have seen that, besides she wasn’t even facing her at that point. Heavy steps announced the arrival of a lion that words dripped dangerous toxins. The shaman of Mbala, and the lieutenant. Mekkonen. Expression softened at his appearance and even after his bitter comment of hunting, she didn’t even squint. Proving her knowledge of ranks, she dipped her skull in respect to the higher ranking lion, a small smirk that seemed different than her usual smile played on her lips. Bonnie seemed oddly friendlier with Meko, but that might be hard to point out, she was always friendly.

“Indeed, sir Mekkonen. There was a recent hunt; however it was a mere scrawny gazelle. Not nearly enough to feed our famished pride,” she was hinting to the food shortage, thanks to the brilliant king, Simba.

“It wouldn’t do any harm hunting again, but food is scarce,” after stating the obvious she then openly gawked at Delaney.

“Oh dear, little Punaise, mind your manners. You’re in the presence of the lieutenant, he has a right to scold us and worry about the food shortage, I am shocked” she shook her skull in disappointment then she grinned widely.

“Awe, poor ignorant, punaise. That voodoo and blood is what helps us when we’re hurt, I’m sure Kula wouldn’t like you disrespecting the higher ups, hm?” words seemed harsh, yet the held no stinging tone and remained light and happy, tail curling with the curve of her smile and her teal eyes shaded with innocence.

Another familiar face would join the coversation; Clyde would proceed to ignore most of her pointless chitchat. His ears did perk, however, when Delaney compared him and his Belle to Romeo and Juliet; ha, as if. Their romance was anything but tragic, and Clyde had never shown any signs of affection publically. Whatever feelings he had for Bonnie, he showed to her and her only, believing his affections to be something intimate and a thing which only she deserved to witness. He scoffed, but didn't comment further on it, letting his Belle knewad him into tranquility; until she stepped away, that was. If such a thing upset the liger in the slightest, he didn't show it. What he did show was a slight smirk at the french nickname Bonnie bestowed upon delaney. He appreciated her sense of humor, even if he didn't laugh out loud.

Velvet ear twitched slightly as Bonnie's tail flicked it, beckoning him to stand and trail behind her, not before shaking his mane slightly, returning it to its usual messy state. Another pridemember arrived to the scene, accusing them all of wasting time. Inwardly, Clyde rolled his eyes; outwardly, he made no comment on it, dipping his head in cue with Bonnie's as a sign of respect. Then, the male took a couple more steps forward so he stood next to his honey beauty, his height towering over hers significantly. It was, by no means, an open display of protecting, but it did serve as a reminder that messing with Bonnie was a bad idea. That was what Clyde believed, at least.

As Bonnie further teased the dwarf lioness, Clyde's eyebrows raised unnoticiably in amusement, his muscles at ease as he sat down on his haunches; he wasn't worried about Delaney making a move; he hardly thought the small thing even knew she was being poked fun at, and even then, it would be rare for a lioness who worried oh so much about fights taking place between pridemembers to attack one herself. Even if all that had been untrue, Delaney wasn't dumb enough to try to upset Bonnie, Clyde was sure.

Otherwise she'd be in for a treat of rude sarcasm from the otherwise silent liger.

Bored, bored, bored, bored. Why is everything here so boring already? We've only been her for four days, or nights. Honestly, who can really tell anymore? Leisa thought as she lifted her fluffy head off the ground and looked around her surroundings. She was separated from the Pride because of two reasons, one, her temper might come out and two, she was still wary of the concept of being in a Pride, despite having more or less accepted it. Meadow green eyes looked up at the blackened sky and let out a small sigh. When she was a cub, Leisa liked to look up at the stars and tried to figure out what they were with her dad, but now since everything was pitch black, the Liger didn't know what the hell she was looking at. Amber ears perked up at the sound of nearby voices, it was definitely her Pridemates having a conversation about something. However, the voice that spoke first was Delaney, that much was obvious.
"You annoying Romeo and Juliet again, Pretty Boy? It's lucky you're easy on the eyes because you've go no brains sometimes."

Since there was nothing else to do, the Liger got up and stretched, then silently padded towards the growing group, and sat down, however she stayed her distance, as per usual. Amber ears perked up at the sound of footsteps, soft ones albeit but footsteps none the less. "So this is what we do? Just lounge around like cubs, instead of hunting for food? But hey, that's none of my business." So a certain shaman and lieutenant had decided to come out and interact with his fellow Pride members today, instead of being inside his cave. This was going to be interesting to watch, especially added with Xerxes' antics, Delaney's sarcastic sense of humor, Clyde's stoicness and Bonnie's wit. Leisa was about to reply to his sarcastic question with an answer, however, Xerxes beat her to it.  

"Oh you." "Keep dreamin', Pretty Boy. I pity the girl who has to deal with you as a mate. I think she'd have to be crazy. And for your information, I am just back from a hunt so stop scolding me like I'm some misbehaving cub. Besides, don't you have some voodoo stuff to do? Y'know, bones and blood and crap?"

“Well isn’t it the queen herself—oh, that isn’t Kula. Sorry I thought you were someone that mattered. We’re giving nicknames? I have just the one. Little punaise, indeed, sir Mekkonen. There was a recent hunt; however it was a mere scrawny gazelle. Not nearly enough to feed our famished pride, it wouldn’t do any harm hunting again, but food is scarce. Oh dear, little Punaise, mind your manners. You’re in the presence of the lieutenant, he has a right to scold us and worry about the food shortage, I am shocked. Awe, poor ignorant, punaise. That voodoo and blood is what helps us when we’re hurt, I’m sure Kula wouldn’t like you disrespecting the higher ups, hm?” 

Ever since Delaney had insulted Mekonnen, the insults from Bonnie just came flying at her like a missile. To be honest, insulting each other wouldn't benefit any of the felines. If anything, it would be the opposite. Silently, the female got up and padded a little closer towards the group. "Look guys, I get that Delaney did insult Mekonnen, but maybe we should just stop with the insults and teasing and just relax? Or at least do something, other than sit here?" If they didn't notice her when she arrived, they definitely would have now. The Liger's tone wasn't stern, harsh or cold, like she was ordering someone around, it was simply suggestive and she certainly wasn't trying to make the others even more angry. Sure Leisa wasn't exactly what one would call or describe as "good" when it came to convincing others to stop having a verbal sparring match, Sachel was so much better at that than she was, that was true, but that didn't mean the Liger couldn't try.      

Delaney's ears flattened against her skull as she glared openly at Bonnie. She didn't need to know what Bonnie had called her meant but she knew an insult when she heard one and she hated being insulted especially if it involved her lack of height (which she was more than sure it was). The other lioness may be pretty and know a lot of pretty words but Delaney was not impressed by the golden female. Although Leisa was asking for peace and a cease to their argument, Delaney was reluctant to let Bonnie's slight slide so easily. If she were still a rogue, Delaney would have no problem beating a reprisal into Bonnie especially if she managed to catch her without that massive meat-shield of a mate.

What Delaney lacked in size, she more than made up for with a surprising amount of strength, her limbs thick and with ample muscle to back her up in any confrontation. She'd Bonnie back for her words eventually but she was more than comfortable to wait until an ample opportunity presented itself. 

"Just 'cause it helps us doesn't mean I have to be comfortable with it, Juliet." she drawled, rolling her emerald eyes at the other female. She may have insulted the higher-ranked lion but she had yet to see him do anything besides heal wounds with his supposed shamanistic abilities and what they all needed now was food. Mekonnen did have his uses but Delaney wasn't about to entertain him and his eccentric ways "I'd be more impressed if he managed to conjure up somethin' more than a scrawny gazelle or two. There's not enough food here and no amount of huntin' will change it. The best thing we could do is go poach somethin' off another territory but who knows how far we'd have to go to find anythin' decent or how long it'd take to get it back here. I hope Highness had better have a good plan for when she becomes queen because I think them'ins over the border there would have a better time catchin' food than us."

She jerked her head towards the Outlands as she spoke, indicating exactly who she was talking about. At this rate, the Pridelands would look just as barren and uninviting as the Outlands did. How much longer could this territory sustain them? A few months? A year at best? It would be better to just leave and find somewhere else to set up base while the land recovered but Delaney knew that there was no way Kula would go for that option unless it was absolutely necessary. Kula cared too much about her homeland for that to be a viable possibility.