Here we are, don't turn away now

(Date is the 16th, open to myself, Sachel and 'Tani. There is some amount of risk if you choose step on toes here.)

As a child you would wait and watch from far away. But you always knew that you'd be the one that work while they all play. In youth, you'd lay awake at night and scheme, of all the things that you would change, but it was just a dream! 

Here we are, don't turn away now, we are the warriors that built this town. Here we are, don't turn away now, we are the warriors that built this town. From dust.

Although she often liked and appreciated the company of others, Leisa did like to spend some time alone, just to think out loud with no-one judging her. "Come to the Pridelands, where you can die from boredom." She muttered under her breath, annoyance evident in her tone. Out of all of the places she had stayed, the Heroes camp was her least favourite. For a few reasons, although there was really two main reasons. For one, she didn't like living in the same place as a traitor who dared calling himself a "King", two, the rows of tents made her feel trapped or like she had a ball and chain around her leg, although, she really didn't. So the Liger decided to leave the Camp and her Pride to explore the place, there was more than the Camp and the massive rock-formation in the Pridelands and Leisa was going to explore it. The female had already passed the Grasslands and was heading towards a small rock-looking structure. Upon closer exception, the structure was really just some small to medium-sized rocks piled on top of each other with a tree behind it and a small, shallow looking river. Leisa flopped down on her stomach and dangled one of her paws into the water, enjoying the cool liquid. She let out a small chuckle to herself, is it sad how this is the only place that's even a little bit interesting and intriguing? The Liger wondered, for a moment or two.

Will come, when you'll have to rise above the best, improve yourself. Your spirit never dies, farewell, I've gone, to take my throne 

above, don't weep for me, cause this will be the labor of my love.  

Here we are, don't turn away now, we are the warriors that built this town. Here we are, don't turn away now, we are the warriors that built this town, from dust.

"It probably is," Leisa answered her own question, to be honest, she didn't care if she was thought as weird by others, because of those dickheads and bitches at her previous Pride, who called her "weird" and "freak", it didn't really matter to her anymore. Besides, everyone had their own quirks, some just a little...Quirkier than others. "Sooner or later, revenge will come to them, that I promise myself." The Liger muttered, anger practically oozed out of her tone. Meadow green eyes stared at the water with hate, she could feel her temper being sparked up for the first time that day. However, she didn't want to take her anger out on the only interesting place in the Pridelands, in her opinion though, so Leisa got up and padded into the river. The cool water was like a lullaby to a crying baby, it was calm and soothing, it did exactly that. She smiled to herself, despite being a combination of two different breeds of felines, being in small pools and the latter made her feel a little bit closer to her mother and her heritage. Mostly due to the fact that Tigers did like water. Amber ears pricked up at the sound of nearby footsteps. Who would be wandering around here of all places? The Liger turned her head around to whoever had arrived.

"Hi."   

Vitani hadn't expected anyone else down here when she came here. Most of the time when Vitani came down here, there was nothing down here but the cold walls of the caverns and the dim light of the crystals. Ever since the darkness fell, Vitani had come here most often. After all, the crystals emitted some of the only natural light around here. And that, in one way or another, made Vitani feel more safe down here. It gave her some peace of mind that she could come here and think clearly. Especially that Kovu was buried somewhere so peaceful here.

So when she heard somebody talking to herself up above, Vitani had been surprised. The only person she had known to come down here was Kiara - and after their last meeting, Vitani was not raving to see her again. Kiara had refused to listen to reason - and Vitani wasn't going to start showing claws and teeth here. This was her quiet place, and she wasn't going to disturb the peace because of a feud she and Kiara still held above everything else.

Poking her head out heistantly, Vitani's blue orbs shoe against the darkness, and for a moment, Vitani didn't see anyone in the darkness. Confusion swarm in her gaze as she looked left and right, before finally a voice reached her ears. Spinning her head in the direction of the nearby river, Vitani finally noticed the lioness dipping herself into the river. Or... liger, judging by the stripes. Either way, Vitani didn't recognize her. And that could be a problem in a certain situation. A hero, or a villain? Who knew, really?

But maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Hello," Vitani said, an easy grin settling across her face as she finally revealed herself from the backside entrance to the caves, before taking a few steps towards the river. "Have you come out here for some peace, also?"

If the sun had been visible, Sachel would have guessed the day would have been a pretty one. While the land around him appeared to be slowly dying, it was still green and beautiful. The young lion wasn’t sure for just how much longer, but, at least for now, it was still a land of beauty. The fact that the rainy season was well underway did help the landscape in that fact. Small flowering buds were popping up everywhere and despite the lack of sun to nourish them they seemed to be growing fairly well, and that was something that Sachel could very much find himself enjoying.

After spending a few days lounging around Pride Rock, and meeting a few of ‘King’ Simba’s army, the young male had decided that it was high time for him to begin exploring his new home. So far, he’d ventured out past the Grasslands to the border of the Pridelands with the Outlands. Needless to say, Sachel found himself exceptionally glad that his Queen’s birthland was here instead of the barren terrain that made up the home of the Animal Villains.

During his brief time in the Grasslands, Sachel had stopped to hunt. A measly gazelle, but it was better than nothing. What he didn’t eat he had buried, making a note to return for it and take it back with him after he was done exploring.

Now, the male had ventured passed the Grasslands and to a small ravine that dipped down into a small river. Just beyond it was what appeared to be the entrance to a cave system, and despite stilling being quite a ways from it, Sachel could see that there was a very faint glow coming from within it. As he grew closer, pale colored ears picked up the sounds of voices, one of which he knew well. Padding up to the edge of the river, Sachel wasn’t at all surprised to spot the golden form of Leisa enjoying herself an afternoon swim. However, as he directed his gaze upward he found himself looking at a young lioness that he didn’t recognize. For a moment, he was content to simply watch the two females in silence, but he quickly decided that it was probably best that he made himself known.

“Afternoon, Ladies,” he spoke, his voice friendly in its greeting. “A beautiful place to be enjoying such a lovely day as this, hmm?”

"Hello, have you come out here for some peace, also?"

Meadow green eyes had been met with a friendly, yet unfamiliar sight. Vitani didn't seem like an enemy, that was good, Leisa supposed, she didn't want to hurt anyone here, but that wasn't exactly her choice to make, her temper had a mind of its own, despite what others said about trying to control it and keep it under wraps. Oh right, she hadn't answered the other female's question yet. "Nope, I was just exploring and I came across this place!" The Liger replied happily, a small smile appeared on her muzzle. As Vitani moved towards the River, in turn, Leisa moved a few steps towards her. The blonde female seemed nice enough, but who's side was she on? It was pretty obvious that she wasn't on Kula's, otherwise the amber female would've already recognised her and would know who Vitani was, so that crossed that option off the list, which only left two; Scar's or Simba's. But that didn't matter that much, the side she was on didn't mean anything, it was who the blonde female really and truly was that mattered. It was what separated and differentiate friend from enemy.  

Leisa opened her mouth and was about to ask the other female her name, but the words "hey, did you hear something?" escaped her mouth instead. It might have been an odd question depending on who you asked, but she had had heard something. Or someone. Weird, maybe I'm just hearing things today? Yeah, that's gotta be it. Leisa concluded to herself and gave an inward nod to herself in agreement. "So, what's your name anyway?" The Liger asked, she figured it was about time to know who she was talking to. I reckon it'll be something cool 'n' unique. Something you don't hear every day. She mused, before amber ears perked up, there it was again, the sound of footsteps. Nope, there's definitely someone walking here. Dark amber nose sniffed the air, just to make sure whoever was approaching was friend, not foe. Her small smile grew a little larger as she knew who was approaching and he definitely wasn't a foe.            

“Afternoon, Ladies, a beautiful place to be enjoying such a lovely day as this, hmm?”

The female turned her head around to face Sachel, one of the most gentle and peaceful lions she knew. "Hey Sachi! Nice to see you out here," She greeted her fellow Pridemember happily, although, ever since the sun, moon and stars had mysteriously disappeared, Leisa had no idea what time it was, it could've been midnight for all she knew.  "Yeah, it's an interesting and intriguing place. Wait, are those crystals?" Meadow green eyes had spotted the dimly-lit crystals and had gotten distracted from the conversation like a cub did. Shit, she had to cover up her mistake. "Sorry, I sometimes get distracted." Leisa let out a nervous giggle, while one of the voices in her head berated her for her mistake.   

"Well, it's one of the most interesting places you're going to get that's away from the noise." Vitani said, chuckling slightly as she jerked her head in the direction of Priderock, before a curious look came upon Vitani's face as she looked at Leisa. She was obviously new around here - that much was clear. Anyone who had been around for as long as the war was going on was bound to know about it. So... was this lioness part of Kula's pride? That left Vitani altogether a bit curious as blue eyes looked into Leisa's green eyes. But... Kula was right in some ways. Better than what Simba was. anyway. So, she couldn’t blame the lionesses for following Kula. Even if she was part of Scar’s pride… she was nice enough, it seemed. There was no need to judge her on where she came from. After all, Vitani could say nothing about her old origins.

But as Leisa asked her question, Vitani pricked her ears, swinging her head around to rip her gaze from Leisa and glance around for a moment. She had been right - there had been a sound. But from where, Vitani couldn’t currently pinpoint where the sound had come from. As Vitani opened her jaws to call out if anyone was there, before she was distracted once again by Leisa asking a question. Twisting her head to face the liger, a small but visible smirk crept up on her face, the sound almost all but forgotten. “Vitani. The name’s Vitani.” She said, letting herself grin, showing off her sharp incisors “How ‘bout you? What’s your name?”

“Afternoon, Ladies,” he spoke, his voice friendly in its greeting. “A beautiful place to be enjoying such a lovely day as this, hmm?”

Immediately, Vitani felt herself tense up, spinning around to see who was talking. It wasn’t hard to see where the voice had come from - another lion it seemed, and apparently, Leisa knew him. “Sachi?” She said, raising one eyebrow in amusement as she looked at the male. He seemed friendly… for now, anyways. At least there was nothing to worry about for the second… no hostility in the air, at least not yet. “Well, I’m not completely sure day is the right term really. Maybe evening is better?” Vitani suggested, turning her head upward to gaze at the starless night. It still unsettled her, somewhat, not being able to look at the great kings, but it’s not like she had a choice in the matter.

But as Leisa pointed out the crystals, her smile turned wry as she walked a few steps away to carefully raise one paw and rest it on one of the crystals. “Don’t worry about., these are after all some of the most interesting things you can find ‘round here, so I don’t really blame you for getting distracted.” Vitani said, tail twitching next to her, amusement once more taking over her face before grinning.

“I’m guessing you two aren’t from around here, are you?” Vitani said, once again the curiosity flickering in her eyes as she looked at the two of them. They didn’t have Outlander features for the most part… and she was sure she hadn’t seen them in the Pridelands pride. So, they must have been new from Kula's pride. It was the only thing that made sense in her mind. Either way, she wasn’t going to spoil a beautiful evening like this over talking about everyone’s side on the war. “This is one of the entrance’s to some caves that run beneath here…” Vitani said, tail flicking over to behind her, where the cavern’s entrance rested. “Inside, a bunch of crystals are growing there. I guess, considering the circumstances, they’re the only natural light we have left.” She said, a bittersweet smile on her face as she looked at the two for responses.

Sachel lowered himself into a sit at the water’s edge, his tail being pulled up to wrap neatly around his paws much like that of a house cat. The red furred tip flicked back and forth slightly as he offered a smile to Leisa as she greeted him. He couldn’t help but raise an amused brow at the nickname despite having long since grown used to. His dark green gaze was directed at Vitani as she gave an inquiry about the name. Sachel felt his face heat up and if it weren’t for his fur he’d no doubt have been red in the face. Pulling his ears back slightly, the young male let out a slightly embarrassed chuckle.

“Haha, Sachel. My name is Sachel. Sachi is just a fond nickname.” He said as he turned a slow gaze toward Leisa though there was no hostility in his emerald gaze. In all honesty, Sachel actually didn’t mind the nickname, in fact, the Mbala members weren’t even the first ones to call him that. His late mother had been the first, then after her untimely death it was Sachel’s father who had used the nickname. After Sachel and his father joined Mbala, the pride had just sort of adopted it as well. Not that Sachel minded in the least, he was happy to be close enough to his pride-mates to even be given a nickname. After all, much like with Bonnie and Clyde, Sachel had joined the pride after Kula’s take over and had joined while the pride was traveling to the Pridelands.

Sachel was drawn from his thoughts as Vitani spoke up about the time of day. Glancing upward into the endless inky black sky, he had to suppose that she was right. Though, it had become much harder to tell the time after the darkness had fell. “Yes, I guess evening would be a better time to place right now. The wind has changed, and it’s a little cooler, so I would say that by now the sun has begun to set.”

As the female liger became distracted by the light glow from the crystal cave, Sachel found himself directing his gaze toward the shining rock as well. “They are beautiful,” his voice was one of awe, and the expression on his face followed with the note in his tone. “I must say that I’ve never seen anything like them before.” He slowly rose to his feet and padded over to the crystal Vitani had placed her paw upon. He gave the stone a few sniffs before turning to look up at the blue-eyed lioness. “Do you know what causes them to glow like this?” he asked softly, his voice curious as he glanced back to Leisa trying to show that he had intended to ask for both of them.

When Vitani asked if they were from around the area, Sachel shook his head. “No, actually we’re part of the Mbala pride. We came here with our queen, Kula.” He said as he answered for both himself and Leisa. As Vitani turned to look down into the small entrance to the cave, Sachel stepped back to give her some space, from the look on her face it would appear that she’d need it.

“It would seem so… But I have faith that the light will return in time. Just have patience, for now it is all we can do.”

(OOC Post: I'm sorry that this is so late!) 

As Vitani chuckled a little and motioned her head towards Priderock, Leisa looked away from her and towards it. She had already seen some glimpses of it during the Mbala’s arrival and to be honest, it did get boring after a while. She turned her head back to Vitani, “I can see your point, the peace ‘n’ quiet here is nice ‘n’ all, but every now and then, it’s good to have a little noise.” The Liger mused, “Otherwise, how can you appreciate silence without noise? Or vice versa?” It was a rhetroical question, she didn’t expect Vitani or Sachel to answer it. Speaking of Sachel, Vitani was bound to notice him sooner or later, it was just a matter of time. But Leisa didn’t expect it to be so soon, as she pricked her ears up and swung her head to look around, the other female vaguely resembled one of those small, furry creatures that always seemed to be on watch. What were they called again? Meer-something? Meerpups? Meerdogs? Meerkats? Yeah, that’s it. The female was snapped out of her thoughts and back into reality when the lioness introduced herself. Vitani…Leisa had been right, it definetly was a cool and unique name. Oh right, she had yet to introduce herself. “I’m Leisa, though you can call me whatever.” The Liger didn’t mind nick-names for herself, as long as it wasn’t offensive or an insult. As the lioness conversed with the male, she turned her attention back to the crystals, they're so pretty and shiny, I wonder if they’re used for anything? Leisa wondered, unaware that Vitani padded a few steps and raised a paw to place it onto one of the crystals.

“Don’t worry about it, these are after all some of the most interesting things you can find ‘round here, so I don’t really blame you for getting distracted.” A soft smile of relief appeared on Leisa’s muzzle when Vitani said that, mostly because she didn’t care about her mistake. “I’m guessing you two aren’t from around here, are you?” To be honest, she didn’t want to be the one to answer the question, some it might’ve be viewed as selfish, but Leisa had her reasons, the most prominent one was that she didn’t want to ruin the mood with disscussion of what side of the war they were on. As Vitani flicked her tail over towards the entrance and told the two felines of the crystals growing inside, much like the male, she saw the blonde lioness’ bittersweet smile. Was she okay? Did the stars have some kind of tie to her like the Liger had or did she just miss looking up at them? The female was about to open her mouth and ask if she was okay, but the male incidently cut off her train of thought as he expressed his wonder and awe of the Crystals. Being the easily distracted feline she was, the Liger nodded in agreement. “Yeah, they are, Sachel.” The sight of him giving the shiny rock a few sniffs caused Leisa to giggle. It was a funny sight to watch, as she would’ve never pictured Sachel doing that. Good question, she mentally commented to herself after the male had asked his question. Maybe they glow because of some supernatural cause or for some realistic reason? Ehh, who knows?

As the creamy-furred male told the blonde lioness about their Pride, Leisa simply nodded. “Yeah, but he’s one of the new members.” She teased jokingly, an impish smirk on her muzzle. She turned her head around, so that she faced Sachel and stuck her tongue at him. It was out of friendly affection, not out of distaste or dislike. The male was too much of a nice guy for Leisa to dislike anyway. Seriously, who and what would ever hate Sachi? She wondered as he expressed that he had hope and faith for the light to come back. When he stepped back, Leisa padded forward. “Hey, are you okay? You seem a little sad.” She padded closer and tilted her head to the right. Silently, she placed it on Vitani's shoulder, it may have been a weird gesture, depending on who you asked, but it was one of Leisa's weird ways of cheering someone up.  

"Ah," Vitani said, twisting her her head from looking into the depths of the cave, instead focusing on Sachel and Leisa, addressing both Leisa's introduction, and Sachel's comment on his name. That made sense, then. "Nice to meet you both," Blue eyes flickering from Sachel to Leisa, Vitani briefly wondered how close htey were that they used nicknames like that, but they didn't seem to be that close... yet. Either way, they were easy to talk to, and for Vitani, that was a like a breath of fresh air had finally released from her chest that had been building up for way too long. Even if she didn't know them as well as they knew each other... Vitani felt at least a bit more comfortable than she usually did at camp. It was a start for her at least, and Vitani felt whatever tenseness had started to build up due to seeing the cave, slowly fade away, and Vitani felt herself even begin to smirk slightly at Sachel's comment about the time.

As the conversation moved back to the crystals though, Vitani turned her head back towards the crystal her paw still rested on. Picking her paw off the crystal, her smirk widened a bit as Sachel sniffed the rock, even letting out a friendly snicker as Leisa giggled. "Well, they only grow in and around the caves from what I've seen, so that's understandable. I honestly don't know what makes them glow like this." Vitani said, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "I just know that they've always been like that, as long as anyone can remember from what I've heard."

Vitani felt her ears twitch instinctively towards Sachel, curiosity now in her eyes as Sachel answered her question for himself and Leisa. Well, that made the most logical sense. "I guess I'm part of Simba's pride myself." Vitani said, giving a small frown as she thought about it. "But I don't really work with the actual pride. I'm mostly in the Camp - not in the den or anything. I don't really know much about the new pride, with me being seperate. Except that Kula is leading it." Vitani said, before realizing she didn't use Kula or Simba's titles. Considering that Sachel had called her Queen Kula, Vitani hoped that she hadn't accidentally offended either one of them, offering an apologetic gaze just in case.

Vitani felt herself flinch with surprise as Leisa placed her on her shoulder, and Vitani turned her head towards Leisa, confusion swarming her gaze for a second, before her frown disappeared, replaced by a sad little smile. She had gussed that one of them would notice it, and it seemed she had been correct. "Yeah, I'm fine." Vitani said, tilting her head to try to make her half-smile seem full. "It's just that... somebody I love is buried here. While I do like this place for the peacefulness it carries, it still reminds me of the pain sometimes. And since we don't even have the light of the stars... this is probably the closest place to his spirit at this moment." Vitani said, sighing slightly as she smile fell away, and immediately lowered her head, tail curling tightly around her body in guilt. Not of telling - but of possibly ruining a good moment finally.

Hopefulness that they might stray from this topic filled her eyes, as she looked at them both, putting on the same half-smile as before. "Would you guys like to explore? It's quite an extensive cave system down there, and without someone knowing which tunnel might be which, you could easily get lost."