Never Back Down

((March 5th A Battle Thread open for ALL Heroes and all Animal Villains! This is close to Pridelands Borders! This is a high risk battle thread, join with who you want but be cautious! It could end VERY badly for anyone! ))

It wasn't rage so much as it was pure adrenaline and annoyance. The outlanders survived on scraps and stagnant water, the fact that these so proclaimed heroes were better supplied in land quality alone was enough of a slap in the face. So not wanting to scrap, nor willing to anymore, the female had crossed over to dangerous lands. Land that were still technically within the nomadic range, but alarmingly close to the Pridelands. Not done entirely intentionally, it hadn't been something she avoided either. If a hero wanted to pick a beef with her, then Scruffy had no problem taking care of it.

And it seemed she would, as a hero did arrive but not how Scruffy had imagined. She wasn't timid and she wasn't smart it seemed, she left Scruffy with a prominent wrinkle in her maw and a bad taste on her tongue.

She was Afu.

Initially Scruffy had been amused when the foolish lioness had threatened to call for Simba. What an amusing notion, that this thing would hand deliver her ruler to his certain death, for if Simba stepped foot on the battlefield where Scruffy was concerned it would surely be his last. But the unrelenting whine of the female seemed to get on Scruffy's nerves in a different kind of way. It was these words that had triggered an interest in physical action.

"Scram, you mongrel!"

Followed by another thread to retrieve her precious king. A small grin tugged at the corner of Scruffy's maw, a ghost of the only thing that could be related to joy on the lioness. But just as soon as it had appeared it was gone, replaced with the rippling of her maw being pulled back to reveal rows of thick ivories, battle ready. And she was battle born. With the showing of her teeth came the rupture of a thunderous snarl; her battle cry and only warning besides the presence that was her very self.

Muscles contracted and pulled as she launched forth, tearing up the dirt and closing the distance quickly between herself and the foolish lioness. Afu had moved to turn and flee; whether to try and remain intact or actually alert Simba Scruffy cared not. Using her full weight Scruffy launched into the side of Afu, her pure size allowing her to reach over and hook around the pelvis of her new prey and pummel her into the ground. The weight of Scruffy's body was thrown against Afu's rib cage while Scruffy's grip upon her hindquarters ripped ruthlessly into flesh and threatened to test the limits of Afu's flexibility.

Rough stone like texture raked across one another as the massive bear hauled over the grass. The obsidian plates moved limply over pale silvery fur. Gruff snorts sounded from the slate jaws of the she-bear and she stared with determination. Armor wrapped snuggly around majority of her mass, aside from her muzzle and legs. Sohalia felt contained and she thought she needed some much needed air. Perhaps she could spar, the bear enjoyed fights. It hones your instincts; people are far too lazy nowadays. Dull.

Dimness of the light around them made it difficult to see who surrounded you. Worrying little, Sohalia craved a fight. Honorable, despite being an animal villain, she despised unnecessary death. Weakness and murder, her least favorite things. It disgusted her to see feeble creatures struggle to fight, pathetic. Sohalia was strong, and had no parallel; at least she hadn’t found one. Bjorne was also strong, and she respected him. Very few gain such things.

Impatience pricked at her nerves, two appeared already enraptured with the battle. She should issue a challenge. Rearing upwards, armor screeching from the sudden movement, she swung open massive jaws and roared heavily and deeply. Call any who dare to notice her. Sohalia claimed no enemies, unless you’re Mor’du. He was a disgrace to bears, a cannibal. Snorting, her blazing topaz eyes fixed forward. Nostrils flaring and attempting to scent, she would not be caught off guard, and if so. Stealth was cowardice and also foolish on the battlefield.

Malkia often liked to take long solitary walks in the Pridelands. It was a time when she could sift through her colossal memory and reflect on events as recent as that morning or as early as her calf-hood. She had often done this in the past, but had not needed to go very far from Pride Rock to do it. Now though, she had to trek several miles to be free from the bustle of the camp. Not that a few miles extra was anything to a hardened old warrior such as she of course. In fact, she liked seeing parts of the Pridelands she had not visited for season upon season. Seeing old sights, smelling familiar scents, and hearing familiar sounds.
But the sounds that were sounding through this part of the grasslands today were sounds that a younger version of herself would have not at all been familiar with.
Trunk swishing, her head whipped around, and although there was little light to see, she could just make out the pitiful form of a Pridelander lioness, being set upon by another of her species, who could only be described as monstrous. With the attacker's size, the scars littered across her body, and the ferocity with which she tore at the other female, Malkia had to admit that even she was scared. But she quickly realised what she was feeling was probably nothing compared to the poor lioness close to being ripped to shreds. And although she did not know her personally, Malkia would be dammed if she stood by while that monster had her. She was not sure if there were other animal villains around, but if there was, she would meet them all head-on. Old age could go to hell.
Changing course from her no longer peaceful walk, she began a shambling elephant run over to the scene, quaking the ground with both her thunderous footsteps and the deep rumble of fury resonating from her mouth. Her eyes narrowed as her head lowered, tusks thrust in front of her as she gradually picked up speed. And then she was finally upon Scruffy and her prey, and she curled up her trunk, hoisted her tusks into the air, and slightly raised both of her feet with an enormous trumpet.

A bigoted traditionalist, Afu Almazi adamantly believed in King Simba's catchphrase sisi ni moja, meaning "we are one." Although Simba can be a stick-in-the-mud traditionalist, only Afu managed to take "we are one" to a whole new level even he thought was too rigid. "Individuality must be vigorously discouraged to ensure the survival of the pride. A lioness 'being herself' must be made an example of in order to demoralize the young, oh-so-impressionable cubs," she nagged.

As Princess Kula's popularity among what Afu considered underdogs skyrocketed, she desperately considerably reminded her pridesisters that only a male can rule the Pride Lands efficiently because lions are better at fighting than lionesses. They're bigger, stronger, and a lot of the times, smarter than lionesses. "That's just how it is," Afu smugly quipped. "A lioness would not be able to defend the Pride Lands from danger! Lionesses only exist to get food and make cubs."

Only Simba and his legacy mattered in the grand scheme of things. The Outsiders must be shown zero mercy. They betrayed the one true king and must be held accountable at whatever the cost!

It grinned, seemingly unfazed by her threat to fetch the king himself! "Why you-you inSOlent beast!" a flustered Afu spluttered like walnuts in a garbage disposal, oblivious to the snarl that followed. "I'll have you know His Excellency, the King does not take kindly to-!"

Scruffy lunged.

Afu was all bark and no bite. Fur standing on end, she pivoted and retreated. She ran toward the Pride Lands, her stubby legs pumping as the ferocious Outsider pursued her. The latter sprang and Afu felt the Outlander's sharp, onyx claws graze her freshly-groomed, shiny pelt. Flecks of blood sprayed all over the grass beneath her dainty, yellow paws before the rest of Scruffy slammed into the base of Afu's spine with the velocity of a derailed freight train. 

"SAMBAAAA!!!"

Afu's spine snapped.

The blood rained down in spatters and dots, dribbling across her paws and painting her fur as well as Afu's. But the red liquid draining slowly from Afu's minor wounds wasn't the most alarming part. No, that came after with the fatal snap that followed. Afu's form was broken by the weight of Scruffy and the two cats tumbled into the ground with Afu no longer able to support, the smaller lioness being forced into the ground. With the satisfying snap came Scruffy's release, and she rolled off Afu and onto her feet.

Pillar like legs carried her around the crippled tan female as her neck arched forward and she allowed a series of snarls and spits seep forth. It had seemed although the worst had been done. Scruffy would be sending a hell of a message if she let the girl return home with a broken back, but unfortunately her brutality was a point that would be made easily. The point was that they had nothing to hunt. The point? Was that she was hungry.

"Tell me more" she nearly crooned, eyes squinting as she scrutinized Afu critically. "About how great your king is. Tell me about how he's done so much to keep you all from harms way, and tell me how appreciative you are while I feast on your blood." she growled.

The massive lioness closed the small step of a distance between her and Afu's newly crippled frame, still alive and squabbling but that was no qualm. She wouldn't even put the thing out of her misery to finish, the comfort of any hero not being of any kind of priority. Let alone one who so blatantly would try to tell her off.

Lowering he frame, Scruffy's jaws closed around the hind leg of the lioness and without a second thought she bit down and tore back. The chunk of flesh was warm, and the blood poured freely from the new gaping wound. It bathed the earth in blackness with glints of red in this dimly lit world and in a way that almost made it more alarming as the great beast fed upon the live form of the broken feline. Cannibalism was not beneath Scruffy. But the ground began to shudder and the noise it brought was like thunder. A great elephant was charging their way, and Scruffy's nose, already wrinkled, contorted with even more annoyance. She stood her ground, prowling over the form of Afu, who was her meal, and rumbling lowly in her throat. The elephant teetered upwards, and let loose like a horn as tusks were raised.

In response the lioness parted her jowls and let loose a shredding roar of her own. If this was an intimidation game, then Scruffy would play it. Scruffy was no idiot, and the size of this creature was not unrealized compared to her own. But the great feline had a cunning mind for the battlefield. Her ears pinned back against her skull, those crimson gems nearly glowing in this darkness.

"Oh good." Scruffy remarked, blood dripping thickly from her maw. She maneuvered over Afu, all the while still facing the great tusked animal, refusing to turn away. Stepping backwards over her, Scruffy put a paw on the lionesses back claws and all, putting weight on the breakage.

"If she is to survive, you'll need to be fast." the female suddenly bore a savage grin, shoving Afu harshly to send her body tumbling against the dust towards Malkia.

"So be quick." she grunted.

The ultimatum that Scruffy was setting here was clear. Be a prideful hero and fight, and risk Afu losing too much blood and possibly gaining injuries herself. Or be a smart hero, and reclaim the fallen soldier and give her the best chance of survival that she could. Her maw lowered, and she peered at the elephant passed her lowered brow that glowered darkly. Within her depths was a deep rumbling, her muscles tensed and ready to jump as her whipcord lashed out dangerously around her ankles.

Oh good, thought Malkia, as her hooves came crashing to the ground with a thunderous 'BOOM'. A challenge.


The lioness's refusal to retreat was impressive, to say the least. So too, was the furious, rippling roar that mingled in a horrible, clashing way with the elephant's bellow. Malkia's normally serene and wise eyes were narrowed into slits of fury, blood-red veins visible in their milky whites. These widened with horror however, when she noticed the blood splattering Scruffy's snarling muzzle. Fresh blood. Lion's blood.

Scruffy was eating her.

 Malkia felt as if she was going to be sick. She had always secretly been a little disturbed by hunting, and had stayed away while the lions feasted on a kill. She knew it was necessary, but that didn't mean she liked it. But cannibalism, cannibalism was a whole other level of detestable. Instead of causing her to back away or trumpet in alarm however, it only increased her (seemingly) righteous fury, and her head lowered more and her left foot pawed at the ground.
 She recognised the Pridelander lioness now, though she was right in thinking that she didn't know her personally. Afu was a very...vocal personality, and Malkia's only interactions with her had consisted mainly of disapproving glares or the odd retort, as they had drastically opposing views. She was still a Pridelander when it boiled down to it though, and Malkia was not about to let her be torn apart by this monster. Afu's situation already looked dire. Scruffy was right, she would have to act fast.
 
 She scrunched her eyes and raised her head as the lioness spoke to her, pacing up and down her fallen prey. Scruffy was being very clever indeed, and Malkia was torn between the instinct to protect the wounded lioness lying at her feet, and the instinct to pound Scruffy into a hole in the ground. 
 "You must take me for a doddering old fool," she said pompously, raising her head up and looking down at the Outlander as though she were something particularly disgusting stuck to her foot. "You expect me to think that you'll just let me walk away in peace once I've secured her?" She knew Scruffy would do no such thing. Without the use of her trunk, and with the burden of a casualty to look out for, Malkia would be at a disadvantage as big as herself if Scruffy were to pursue them. 
 Her eyes swivelled to the left and right for a moment, visibly trying to think up a solution for the apparent stale-mate they had reached. Eventually, Malkia turned her head almost defiantly away from Scruffy, and she let out two enormous trumpets in the direction of the hero camp. Distress signals. A desperate call for someone to come and save the fallen soldier while Malkia held the beast at bay (thinking privately to herself, that she was probably one of a few heroes who potentially could).
 Then slowly turning back, Malkia kept her brown eyes locked with Scruffy's red ones as she lifted one enormous foot over Afu. 

'BOOM'. It crashed to the ground, sending earth and grass flying and shielding the lioness's broken body from her attacker's view.
 If Scruffy wanted the lioness,
'BOOM.' The other, baobab-like leg followed suit. And Malkia was standing over Afu like a mother lioness over her cubs. Her trunk dangled down and her tusks were pointed upwards. The frown in her eyes reflected the curving growl on her spade of a mouth. A challenge.
 She could come and get her.

It was the smell of blood that led her in.

Technically associated with neither side in the war, not since Kovu's death, she had become a loner, a rogue, drifting from place to place. It wasn't that Kiara enjoyed being so thoroughly detached from everything and everyone - on the contrary, the young lioness ached for some companionship - but she felt stuck between two worlds, neither of which she belonged in. Scar and Zira had used her and lied to her for far too long to think about returning to them, especially now that their carefully-fashioned weapon had been broken, had realised how it was being used.

But she wouldn't go crawling to her father's army to beg forgiveness. Even if she believed what he said when they'd met, even if he truly wanted her back, even if somehow she would be welcomed back as a lost princess...

She couldn't. She'd turned her back on that life, on that facet of herself, long ago; it was no longer an option for her. And so, for the longest time, Kiara had been avoiding the traces of the war as she tried to sort out where that left her. Perhaps a miracle she'd survived so long, a single lone lioness, but she'd been smart and had kept low except when she needed to hunt.

Until now. She'd been venturing onto the grasslands, hoping to snag some easy prey - what little there was around anymore - when the sound of voices had caught her attention. She had paused, not wanting to tangle with any of her father's troops; but her senses had been clouded by the sudden smell of fresh blood, strong and coppery. A smell that had so many mixed memories for her, spun confusion through her mind, and pushed her forward - against all her better judgement - to see what was going on. Not even the earsplitting trumpeting detered her until she had at least crested the nearest rise, could see the scene with her own amber eyes.

And elephant, standing defensively over the shredded corpse of another lioness, facing down--

Kiara blinked, shaking herself out of the haze the overwhelming scent of blood had threatened to put her into, as she recognised the attacker. She had thought... Rumour had stated that Scruffy had died months ago; but this was certainly no dead lioness standing, seemingly taunting the massive beast.

The observer's expression betrayed uncertainty, and she knew she shouldn't stay. There had never been any love between her and Scruffy, and Kiara was almost certain the other would regard her as a traitor to Scar's cause. Scruffy was occupied now; but should her attention turn in this direction, the smaller feline knew she'd be in trouble. The Outlander was a massive tank of a lioness; and even if Kiara was significantly bigger than she'd been the last time they'd crossed paths, she still stood no chance of standing up to the other.

In her preoccupation, Kiara failed to immediately notice the bear, or any of the others who may have been drawn to the scene. Perhaps to her peril; looking like a mix-up of a Pridelander, with her golden fur and general appearance, and an Outlander, with her unkempt fur, surely neither side would see anything but an enemy if they looked upon her.

Gamba's teeth gleamed as he gave a sinister grin, one of pure evil. In his hand he held a homemade spear, a broken rib bone of a elephant. His brown eyes flickered with blood-lust as he looked over his targets. Finally he settles on the rogue lioness Kiara, with a low hoot of pleasure he hurled the crudely made spear at the lioness, aiming for her side. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty," he growled out, voice rough from the lack of water in the outlands.

Scruffy's ears flinched backwards upon the massive noise trumpeting from the great elephant. Annoyance flickered across her face briefly, but whether it was because of the obnoxious sounds or the words of the enormous beast remained undetermined. Whatever it was it didn't dampen her spirits for long as a chilling grin made itself present upon her scarred maw. An unnatural curl of her lips to reveal those blood stained ivories matched with the sharp glint in those crimson eyes. A rough tongue slipped forth and ran along the top of her maw which did little to clean the blood from her in the single fleeting motion.

"Clever." she rumbled in her throat. Although the tone she used suggested anything but that she was praising the elephant.

The broken lioness beneath the body was nothing more than an anchor now to keep the giant from barraging her way. Malkia was the only would who could possibly hope to lift the idiot without bringing too much further harm. So the trumpets calling for aid?

"How sweet, to ring the dinner bell for me." she chuckled, truly in her own notion of pleasure right now. As far as she could be anyways, but so came the reveal to the sarcastic praises of Malkia's intelligence. Who could expect anything else though, Malkia had done everything right that she possibly could with someone like Scruffy on the offense. She wasn't wrong in that as soon as she was occupied the horrid lioness would jump her but alternatively she'd prowl around them until any amount of guard had been dropped. Now all she had to do was wait for the 'help' to arrive and then she could go to town. And what would she do with such time?

Being a safe distance from the reach of the elephant gave Scruffy a moment to look around and lay eyes on the lioness who seemed to be watching a short ways away. A monkey seemed to be trying to goad her attention, but assessing that she did not know the lioness and did not look like the type of the outlands she was fair game. Another direction and she saw a bear, pale with dark sheets of rock shambling from its form. Turning her dark smirk on Malkia, she rasped out another chuckle.

"This is your call..." she reminded the elephant grimly. As of now it didn't look like anyone was really coming to the elephants aid. Although admittedly there was still time. This had just become a waiting game, and whether the elephant wanted to make it physical or play chatty was entirely up to her.

A less wiser ape would know when to back down, his little brother for example, would of ran right after the big cat promptly getting himself killed. Thankfully his brother was not here, for as sad as it was he was already dead and gone. Gamba's lips peeled back, showing his bared teeth, then he quickly changed it into a fearful smile that was given to Scruffy like all chimps did when they were scared or upset. Gamba turned to look at the large elephant and the lioness. From the look of her, the big cat was good as dead (if she wasn't dead already) with her broken back.

After her call for aid, Malkia did not take her eyes off of Scruffy. She knew the lioness could spring at any moment, and every tired old muscle in the large animal's body was tensed and ready to swipe her out of the air should she do so. But no such attack came, and instead Malkia felt a shiver run down her back as the lion licked her lips and grinned menacingly.
 Scruffy prasied her intelligence, but the "compliment" did not phase her. She had seen and dealt with every trick in the book and even used a few herself. It was clear this was going to be a battle of cunning intelligence versus wise experience. 
 Her opponent's next words however, were clearly sucessful in provoking a reaction from the beast, if that had been Scruffy's intent. 

 "How sweet, to ring the dinner bell for me."

 Immeadiatley the elephant's eyes narrowed with a frightening new surge of fury, and a deep rumble resonated from her mouth as she lifted one leg as though to charge. "If you lay one claw, on any of their heads, I swear I will-"
 But she stopped herself mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the pitiful form of Afu underneath her, which she had just been about to crush beneath her back feet. She backpedalled instantly, trying to keep up her battle-ready expression and not express the horror that she felt, and resumed her stance over the wounded lion as she watched to see what Scruffy would do next.
 The monstorous cat was distracted for a moment by the other combatants, which gave Malkia time to turn around and look in the other direction. Hidden from Scruffy's view, her expression immediatley fell to one of extreme concern and fear. Where were the other heroes? She was sure she had trumpeted loud enough to hear, would time have ran out for Afu by the time they arrived?
 And even if they weren't, Scruffy's chilling words had put a troublesome idea into Malkia's head. If the scarred feline was still around when the heroes came for the wounded, how much would Malkia be able to shield them from her? The cat was faster than the elephant by miles, it would not be difficult to zip around her, and she knew any heroes who came to rescue Afu would fall before the villain like wheat before the harvester. Malkia had quite literally sent her allies into belly of the beast.
 The only solution then, was to get rid of Scruffy before any of them arrived. The old elephant's gaze hardened as she turned back to face the killer lion. The inevitable showdown was nearing, and Malkia was eager to get it over with as soon as possible to clear the path for Afu's rescuers. 

 "This is your call..." Scruffy warned her.

 "As it is yours." Malkia retorted, and carefully stepping around Afu so that she was fully in front of the lioness this time, she began walking steadilly towards Scruffy. Swinging her trunk and flailing her ears, she lifted her feet and brought them crashing down to wherever Scruffy was standing. She was trying to push her away more than anything, giving her one last chance to retreat if she wanted.

A low, throaty growl left Laron's throat as the lab mix stalked across the battle field. At the moment, there were hardly any opponents to duke it out with. Brown eyes turned to look at Malkia and the body of a Pridelander lioness who was lying motionless behind the elephant's tree trunk legs. The dog took a step back hesitantly, knowing that she was one thing he wouldn't want to mess with. But then again, neither was Scruffy and he was on the same side as her at that! Lars watched as the scarred lioness went after another lioness with a frown on his face. There wouldn't be much left to fight if Scruffy kept mauling his opponents, which she was free to do of course. Not like he had anything to say about it. Or would.

Dante had been sitting and sharing stories with Bob, who he had just met not too long ago, when the faint sound of an elephant's trumpet made its way to the camp. Both the wolfdog and unicorn raised their heads, ears perked up and eyes alert. There was one animal that could have come from, and it was clearly a distress signal. The two traversed several hills away from the camp, staying close together as they did their best to silence their steps.

Bob surveyed the scene below, and took note of the elephant, who was indeed Malkia, standing over the broken body of a lioness. A scarred up lioness stood opposite her, although her attention was partly on a golden lioness who looked a little bit like Simba. He spotted an ape as well, who also seemed to be headed towards the golden lioness. Dante, however, was more focused on the brown lab mix who had just entered the fray.

"Laron." he growled, as he lowered his chest to the ground.

"Dante, don't! There's someone who's real injured, right down there under Malkia! Y'all can go after him another time." Bob said, trying to urge Dante away from Laron. But the silver wolfdog already had his sights set on the lab mix. He was a traitor to both him and Clopin, and for that, he had to pay.

The unicorn began to shuffle his hooves nervously, as he noticed that Dante still hadn't broken his focus on Laron. The wolfdog's growling had grown a little louder, and his fur was raised along his spine. For a moment, Bob thought he was looking at a wolf, not a dog. He began to move closer to Dante, intending to grab him by the tail before he could leap. The scarred up lioness was making Bob even more nervous, simply because of her sheer size. He had heard stories about her in the camp, and he was sure that if they weren't careful enough, both he and Dante could lose their lives.

"Dante!" Bob hissed. But it was too late. Dante had already made the leap, making a straight beeline for Laron. The unicorn broke into a gallop, trying to make the quick decision between grabbing Dante first, or helping Malkia with Afu.

Scruffy could have laughed at the elephants rages that she apparently seemed unable to fully reign in upon her taunts. So the old bird wasn't stupid, Scruffy wouldn't underestimate her as far as intelligence went, but she was interested to see that the great creature could be reached with words. Something that could either be used to advantage or bring her a bit of a tussle. The slick grin still tugged the corner of her jowls back, those blood stained teeth bared by the wrinkle in her nose pulling her lips back.

"Think it's a little late for that, don't you?" Scruffy reminded the elephant. A dark implication to the broken lioness that the giant was currently stepping around. The grin on the monsters face only seemed to grow by a fraction when Malkia stepped fully in front of Afu instead of standing over her like a shield. The lioness braced herself, full attention bore upon her new challenge that was no longer entirely a chat it seemed. She watched her rear back and naturally Scruffy leaped away from where she stood so the elephant crashed down onto earth.

Instead of standing idly in another spot though, Scruffy began trotting; a steady pace in no particular pattern without taking her red eyes off of Malkia. Right now she was well within range of speaking but she was careful to keep her distance due to the tusks and trunk. She wouldn't want to toil with her front as it was too much danger, but for now she remained within sight.

"Comin' to get me?" she chuckled dryly. It seemed no one wanted to intervene with the lioness and the elephant. Scruffy noted the voices, and the two new arrivals. One darted off in another direction while the other, a equine of some kind, remained undecided. "Looks although you won't be getting the help you thought you would. So where does that leave us. Keep chatting, while you try to drive me away? From the very thing I was bred to do?" Scruffy let that sit before she'd continue. In most cased Scruffy could rely on brute strength to bowl over her enemies and bludgeon them. This time wouldn't be the same, yet these were the cases that relied on her lifetime of training. When she did finally speak again, it betrayed to a more threatening tone.

"You know, while we're talking. I always pondered just how well your kind could see. All the way up there, big ears, but... Such small eyes?" she rumbled, acting although she were being methodical. Scruffy knew Malkia would be wiser to that sarcastic game though, and soon see the threat of where this was actually going. The feline began taking a few agile steps backwards, the fur on her massive frame bristling.

"I wonder how well those old eyes of yours can spy in this darkness. Let's find out..." she hissed with malice, before truly descending backwards. Further into the brush, Scruffy would begin her prowl, paw pads resting gently as she descended towards the outer rim of where she believed Malkia would truly be able to see. Jowls parted and allowed her tongue to taste the air, crimson eyes watching closely for any signs of reaction the old creature would give off.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty-"

Preoccupied as she was, watching in a kind of morbid fascination as Scruffy seemed to be bargaining with the elephant for the life of one of her father's lionesses, Kiara had been almost blind to an approach. Her first warning to the impending attack came from the growled words; her second, from the almost immediate flash of pain that stabbed through her left shoulder. The weapon hurled at her had only been crude; still, the sharp end of the bone had scored a hit, digging into the back of her shoulder-blade. A sound, a mixture of a growl and a sharp gasp, slipped Kiara's maw; she wouldn't roar out her pain for all to hear, but she was still very much aware of it.

She twisted around, yanked the weapon back out, thrust it to the ground. The motion tore the wound deeper; blood ran down the back of her foreleg, but she ignored it. Rather, turned to face her foe.

A monkey, teeth bared, challenging her. Her younger self, months back when she'd been a proud warrior lioness, would have scoffed at the thought of such a creature being able to best her; at present, Kiara's thought was more along the lines of at least this will be over quickly.

Because she had felt, if only for a briefest moment, Scruffy's eyes upon her. The big lioness might not be acting on that observation for now, but Kiara knew all too well what it meant for her if Scruffy was aware of her presence.

That her hours were numbered if she stayed here. Surely, once the Outlander was done with the elephant, she would turn her attention to the supposed traitor.

With a low snarl, Kiara charged the ape who had attacked her. She wasn't sure if she had intent to kill or not - not anymore, not after the harsh words Kovu's spirit had had for her - but she also had no intention of running off like she was afraid to fight. Yes, she wanted to get away before Scruffy's attention worked its way back around to her; but she was still a fighter deep down, and that part of her wasn't about to let Gamba's attack go unpunished.

Paws beat the ground as she bore down upon him; claws extended, Kiara leapt for the primate, with intent to bowl him over and flatten him with her greater mass.