Shadowed Paths

[[Ugh titles. Also lemme know if the whole cub thing sounds realistic to you. I can edit it, I just sorta ran with the idea.]]

Khepri laid on her side in the shade of one of the spindly trees out in the forest near Pride Rock. She had become accustomed to this place recently, when she had been stuck as a cub sitter while was Korofi out supposedly gathering information and Scar was getting annoyed with his troublesome children. They seemed to keep running off left and right under the other lioness’s care, and the king had decided Khepri would intimidate them into staying out of trouble. The coffee-colored lioness was somewhat proud to know that no cub had escaped under her watch. Probably because she didn’t actually care if they got lost and fell off a cliff or drowned or something, so this theme of escaping for parental attention meant nothing around Khepri, who made her feelings clear from the beginning. She gave them freer reign then the others too, so both parties were happy -- Khepri didn’t have to appear like she gave a crap, and the cubs could do what they wanted so long as she could see them and were free to get into as much trouble as they wanted so long as they could get themselves out of it.

But luckily, today, the little annoyances were off somewhere else, and no one had given the lioness a task, so she decided to lounge on her grass carpet, the dozen of little scars marring her pelt blending with the shifting shade. She hated lazing about, usually, her attitude generally much more driven to get all the information she could. To keep her ear and nose out for any sign of the lion she needed to sink her teeth into. She hated being kept from furthering her self-appointed mission. But Khepri could also appreciate the need to nap. When everything else was getting far too annoying for her tastes, and she needed to rejuvenate herself to tackle her problems head on, she could find time to relax... sometimes. Even now though, her tail twitched and she felt the familiar itch to go do something. Hunt, interrogate, investigate -- anything. Waiting for others orders was simply not something she enjoyed, even if such a skill was a familiar one. Her old pride’s hierarchy was far more strict than this one, far more militant than familial. Orders were orders, and you followed orders or got a chunk of your skin torn out. It’d happened before.

So instead of napping, Khepri laid out in the shade, plotting. And daydreaming. Remembering the big lion who had destroyed her life and picturing him roaring in pain, begging her for mercy. The same mercy he had shown her and her mother. Vengeance would be sweet.

Her visions where interrupted by a familiar clicking of claws. She recognized Korofi’s scent as easily as his gate, but didn’t bother to open her eyes. When he seemed to be approaching rather than passing, Khepri let out an aggravated sigh. “What do you want, Korofi?” She asked sourly, tail flicked once as she tried to replay her dreams behind her eyelids. “Did you screw up another hunt?”

The Pridelander cubs avoided the strange young rogue whenever he was in their father's kingdom, since they had all been taught that most grown lions (apart from their father) were not to be trusted. In Korofi's case, this advice was especially true. He didn't care for cubs at all. They were too... needy. In any case, Scar had never asked him to watch his unruly offspring, for good reason. Korofi did not typically come to Pride Rock himself, but with business to attend to, he had come that day to speak to Scar. Private words were exchanged before Korofi was on the move again, this time in search of someone else: the only lioness around that Scar would lend to Korofi's scheming, and probably the only one that would even care to participate.

Korofi had known the striped lioness Khepri for about half a year, and though both of the rogues were wild and unpredictable, the two had a certain understanding between them. They shared a general disregard for lives that were not their own, and despite some tension that may have existed during previous encounters, it was safer to have one ally on the savanna than another enemy. He found the lioness lazing nearby in the forest shade, and she called him out before she had even seen him.

"Don't look so excited to see me now, Khepri. There's no need." He gave a short laugh in response to the female's inquiries about screwing up a hunt, his mind turning back to the young russet rogue he had just terrorized out in the neutral territories. She had escaped him, and it was even more frustrating than a ruined hunt, but Korofi was trying to convince himself that his failed attempts at gaining the upper paw with the unknown lioness were not his fault entirely. "Something like that."

Not caring to get into the details of his previous activities, he quickly changed the subject to one of greater importance. "We've been given a new task, so come on. Unless you'd rather stay here with the kiddies and babysit some more?" He cast a teasing glance in his acquaintance's direction before turning away from her, not wasting a moment to try to explain what exactly their new task was. They were too close to the pride, and there was no telling who could be listening. Korofi was cautious, knowing full well that the information he carried could very easily start wars throughout the area... Not that he would entirely mind that.

“Oh but it’s always such a pleasure when you grace my presence. My day is instantly brightened,” Khepri drawled lazily. Perhaps if Khepri has understood the concept of friendship in contrast to the more distant ally, she may have called the light colored male her friend. An annoying, trouble-making, good-for-nothing one, but maybe a friend regardless. However neither large cat was looking for such sentimental things, both instead driven by a more gruesome agenda, so such concepts were disregarded. But the lioness had to admit (though never out loud if she could help it) that of the entire savannah, Korofi was probably the only one she could turn to in her hour of need. Which was a frightening thought, and simply encouraged Khepri to never put herself in a situation where she needed anything else besides her wits, claws, and teeth. Their first meeting had proven that Korofi could not always get his job done successfully, at least in Khepri’s eyes, as he had completely ruined one of her hunts -- just for laughs, probably. Even though the male had redeemed himself as they tagged teamed then to fill their bellies, Khepri still questioned his adeptness. But it was always fun to blame him whenever something went wrong.

His admission about a ruined hunt of some kind only reaffirmed her beliefs and she snorted a laugh. “Another slip through your claws, Koro? You poor thing.” She noticed his swift switch of topic, and was about to inquire further until he brought up the subject of a new task. Her eyes snapped open and shot to the lion in time to catch his teasing glance and she growled in response, a bit embarrassed. “Of course not!” Her talents were being wasted as a babysitter, so she couldn’t help but completely perk up at the mention of another, hopefully far better-suited, task. “At least none of the brats have wandered off under my watch. That’s more than most of the pride can say.” She huffed indignantly.

Khepri leapt to her paws and caught up with the lion quickly, aware that whatever information he was carrying was most likely too sensitive to be explained right there, but her pace was quick with impatience. Her murky blue eyes looked Korofi over with a raised eyebrow as they walked. “Where have you been? You look as if you walked straight out of a sandstorm.” Her voice was distasteful, but a teasing smirk graced her maw in return. As their paws carried them farther from Pride Rock and curious lions, Khepri lowered her voice and leaned closer to Korofi. “So what’s this new mission? It’s not around the gorge again, is it?” Her claws extended then retracted in anticipation, the lioness glad to be up and active again.

Korofi realized that Khepri was being facetious when she spoke of brightened days, and he offered a low, rumbling chuckle in response. The pair had a strange history, but he sincerely doubted that the lioness was ever really thrilled when Korofi made his random appearances. Life had gotten gradually easier as the two young rogues had aged, so the necessity to hunt as a team was not the same as it had been when they first met months ago. With maturity came better hunting abilities, and the two saw less of each other, but the drought that affected the Pridelands had similarly withered the neutral territories both normally called home. Now the two visited the Pridelands with some frequency. Korofi saw the lioness as being naturally weaker, despite the fact that Khepri was stronger than most, and far more cunning than average. Circumstances brought them together more frequently, and their tentative alliance had been accepted by Scar.

"You're lucky to have me around so that no lion tries to make a mother out of you, for your sake and for the sake of leonine kind. We don't need more of you running around the savanna." To emphasis his point, Korofi pretended to shudder at the very thought of a litter of miniate Khepris running about, yelling at each other and fighting amongst themselves. Despite coming of age, Korofi had never have the slightest interest in Khepri as anything more than a hunting partner when times were particularly rough.

But now had come an opportunity, and he would have to come up with a good reason to get Khepri on board, but the male rogue was good at manipulating when necessary. This often didn't work on Khepri, for she was too smart for the likes of him, but he would try anyway. He dismissed her inquiries about his recent whereabouts with a snort, unwilling to reveal the details of his first mission, which had been a failure in Scar's eyes, but not Korofi's. He couldn't help the gleeful smile that appeared when he thought of his brief time spent in the desert, and the lioness who would never forget the cruel young rogue. "I've been around." Korofi wasn't one for proper grooming, neverminding his rough appearance or the grains of sand of dirt that stuck to his pale coat.

Finally getting to the point, his pace slowed so that the two were walking shoulder-to-shoulder, and his voice was low. "You enjoy traveling, don't you? We've been given a prime opportunity to see the sights, meet new lions..." Of course, he knew Khepri probably had no desire to meet anyone new, but he threw it out there regardless. "Scar is interested to know what his neighbors are up to, and he would like us to find out. Both of us, as a unit." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in, since it was probably unexpected. "As it turns out, most prides don't take kindly to random, ugly lions like myself showing up in the territory. We figure it'll be more believable, more... trustworthy if there are two of us."

Khepri shoved him roughly in the shoulder and scoffed at his comment about her theoretical cubs. “As if I need your help to keep my body my own, that’s a good one, Koro.” She laughed sarcastically, but knew the lion had a stubbornly narrow view of males and females that wasn’t worth arguing. She had tried to convince him before, but Korofi was stuck in his ways and at the very least still knew what Khepri was capable of, the trouble came when they related it to one another. She’d given up arguing such a topic, but looked up in mock thought about more little Khepri’s running around. “I don’t know, I think they’d be a good addition to the world. Help root out the stupidity of the gene pool.” She grinned, but rolled her eyes regardless. He was right. Her having cubs was rather laughable. As if she could actually put up with such nuisances, being forced into a weakened state for weeks, and then have to stick around them constantly until they were old enough for her to kick out. No, that was not in her plans. Cubs would slow her down, regardless of if they could improve the population or not.

“Though I’m sure you’ve been quite busy convincing others to be mothers in one way or another, hm?” The lioness asked with a raise eyebrow. While they hadn’t seen much of each other since they were able to hunt on their own, they still checked in now and then and continued their tentative alliance for whatever they needed no and then -- and throughout those times Khepri had noticed Korofi’s sudden interest in the female population. And she knew enough about him to know he chased after what he wanted, and she wouldn’t doubt sating his own desire was now on that list whilst he was out supposedly spying for Scar. She noticed his dismissal of her previous comments and wondered if it wasn’t about just that.

Once he finally got to the point, Khepri’s demeanor turned serious once more, listening intently. At his comment of traveling Khepri gave a small, impatient growl, not caring about such things. “Quit beating around the bush.” She fell silent once more, waiting for him to finish, mulling over his words. A unit? For a moment, Khepri was about to brush off this entire thing, uninterested in helping out Scar for whatever paranoid reasons he had, and unsure she wanted to hang around the rogue for such a long period of time. But she held her tongue to fully consider the opportunity. While “seeing the sights” and “meeting new lions” were very low on her list of things to do, getting out to other lands wouldn’t be a bad idea. And perhaps even meeting new lions would work in her favour. The more places she went, the more creatures she talked to, the more likely it was she would find something about the lion she was hunting. Yes, this could certainly work in her favour. And Korofi and Scar were right, traveling as a unit would be both more effective and safer. Though Khepri was loathe to admit it, traveling on her own as a young lioness certainly came with its dangers that, while she could handle them, were more troublesome than maintaining her solitary nature and self-pride.

While she had continued to walk, her stride was slow. Finally, the lioness nodded slowly. “I think we can make this work, in everyone’s favours. And besides,” She cast him a smirk, “You’ll both be in a bind if I don’t agree. So, where are we headed first?”

He could only imagine the hapless male that would try to seduce Khepri one of these days, and the massive amount of blood he would lose in the process. His mind again tried to conjure up the image of Khepri with a pawful of cubs, each with a personality as big as Pride Rock... But Korofi knew Khepri would never allow such a thing to happen, and he certainly wasn't going to try anything with her. When it came to feminine lionesses, Khepri was definitely lacking, from her denial of the pride lifestyle to her temper, which Korofi knew all too well. The subject of cubs was quickly abandoned. Neither of the two had the vaguest parental instinct, so the need to procreate was trivial.

Then again, what full grown lion didn't think about spreading his seed? It was only natural, and Khepri easily guessed at what Korofi had been up to in the desert. He merely grinned in reply, a knowing glance exchanged. Now he began to wonder what a savanna full of little Korofis would be like... Would they inherit their father's murderous streak, his bouts of rage and depression, even if they never met the lion? Or would their mother's positive influence make them soft, weak as his brother had been? Maybe the mother would simply kill the entire litter the moment they made their appearance in the world. Korofi was mildly curious to know what the outcome of his misdeeds would be, but was thoroughly against the idea of taking part in parenting any helpless offspring. "Who ever said I need to convince?"

When finally Korofi explained his meeting with Scar, it took Khepri a long, lingering moment to consider. For a split second, he wondered if she would say no, but she soon agreed to take part in the traveler scheme. If you don't agree, Korofi thought to himself with a smirk, Scar and I would force you to. Khepri was not one to be pushed around, but she was still a lioness, after all, and thus inherently weak. "I'm feel generous today, so I'll let you decide. Would you like to see the mountain trees or jungle vines?" Both the Coldlands and the Lowlands were about equal distance away

"I'm told in the jungle, there is no king, only a queen," he added with a scornful sneer. The very idea was outrageous to Korofi, given his harsh judgement of the opposite sex, and he offered a robust laugh along with his comment. If he had any desire at all to rule a pride, he would just march into the Lowlands and take the kingdom, by force. Korofi had never had any aspirations to become king though, and enjoyed his liberty far more than the promise of a pride full of lionesses to do with as he pleased. It was a wonder Scar didn't try to claim the territory as his own, but its borders were too distant from the Pridelands to do the dark king any good.

Khepri rolled her eyes at the male’s comment, her assumptions of his activities confirmed. “Oh come on, you might think yourself the best thing since wildebeests, but have you actually seen yourself? I’d bet my biggest kill that no one would ever let you anywhere near their hindquarters willingly. You’ll always have to convince, whether it’s physical or verbal is the only question.” Some part of her, she supposed, was concerned for the lioness population on a whole with Korofi skulking about, but what, or rather, who he did and how he did it was of little true concern of the rogue. Though she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t disgusted at his unrelenting search for sex and methods of getting them, as she herself had been on the receiving end of a lustful rogue in the past. In any other situation, Khepri probably would’ve turned her claw against Korofi for just that fact, but as it was, he had proved useful before his sudden obsession with females came about, and the lioness was left on some strange middle ground. But she had decided he was more use to her alive. And besides, Khepri was far from one who heroically took on difficulties and sacrificed for the better of lion kind -- no, far from that. In her mind, the world deserved a taste of the life given to her. And if lionesses were stupid or weak enough to fall under Korofi (as she remembered her own attacker as being far larger, far more intimidating) then they probably deserved whatever trouble it caused.

”How kind of you,” Khepri drawled, but considered the offer regardless. Lowlands or Coldlands? She had briefly seen both, but never really looked into either. At his comment and scornful laugh at the state of hte Lowlands, Khepri’s attention was caught. Only a queen? That was a strange idea, one she naturally rebelled against due to her upbringing. Even if lands had lost a king, some male almost immediately would step up to take his place. But after the initial shock of such a situation, Khepri found the idea rather appealing. Lionesses, running their own pride? Strange, to say the least. Perhaps even suicidal. But interesting. Definitely worth further thought and investigation, in the future. Of course, she didn’t let this on to Korofi, knowing his very low opinion of females. And she had to admit, most lionesses she had run into only proved his point. But perhaps the Lowlands were filled with more worthy females. As it was, she knew the risk of letting Korofi run about in a land with no king, and while it wouldn’t bother her usually, Khepri wanted to think further on the issue -- perhaps these lionesses could be of use to her, and if Korofi screwed up somehow, her chances of further investigation or trust building would be ruined.

”Really,” the lioness said instead, with a somewhat distasteful look on her maw. “That’s rather... suicidal. I’m surprised they’ve lasted this long.” She offered an uncaring shrug and instead turned her head towards the mountains. “I say we save that for later, I’ve been wanting to go somewhere colder anyway. I’ve heard the king there is very young, and very gullible.” Khepri turned her tracks towards the Coldlands, wondering what they would be like, deep in Coldlander territory. “You know I’ve never seen snow up close,” she said, somewhat idly, while working through her mind how she could use this all to her advantage. Then she cast Korofi another glance, “What cover are we going with, anyway?”

Korofi attempted to feign a look of hurt pride when Khepri suggested he was as ugly as he knew himself to be, in a rare moment of playfulness. "I'll have you know, she thought I looked great, for being a poor, lonesome rogue," he said as his pretend look of sadness grew more intense, like he was on the verge of tears, because his circumstances were just so sad and lonely. Now he looked as miserable as a lion could. It was just that easy to pretend, and it seemed few lionesses could resist a sad lion who needed help. It amazed Korofi how trusting so many he had encountered could be. In his mind, it was an obvious flaw, another sign of weakness that was inherent for the weaker gender.

The two continued to walk out further as Khepri debated their destination inwardly. Korofi never asked what exactly she was thinking, what considerations she had taken before choosing the mountain territory, he just accepted her decision with a nod. "I've never seen snow either," he said quietly, but this was not true. Korofi had been born in a mountain pride himself -- a cold, miserable place that he did not remember with any sense of fondness. As a cub, he had blended in with the snow a little easier, but his dark, shaggy mane now made it impossible to lurk in that landscape without being seen in a heart beat. Never willing to discuss his past or the lands he had come from, it was simply easier to lie than let Khepri in on his dark secrets.

"Let's say we are brother and sister. That way, the king can think he can have you, if he would want such a vile little creature." Just listening to the devious pair, it would not be hard to imagine them as siblings, from the taunting to the tempers that often swelled when one said something the other didn't care to hear. "It'll be easier for the king to talk to you, of course." The lies that filled his head flowed naturally, and he began to piece together a scenario that would be not only believable, but pitiful. A sympathetic lion was easy to manipulate. "We come from a traveling pride, and our parents have just been killed. I was cast out, and you... You just couldn't bear the thought of living without me, so you followed, in search of a nice pride to settle down with." There was no reason the story wouldn't be believable, especially if the king of the Coldlands was as young and naive as Khepri imagined him to be. Korofi's gait had picked up in his excitement. It would be fun to meddle in the business of the other prides, and the lioness was the perfect accessory. There was only one that Korofi found capable of working with. Khepri could lie as fluidly as the male rogue, but could she appear vulnerable, when the situation called for it?

Khepri couldn’t help but laugh at the comment of what the lioness he had pursued thought of him. “If that’s so she’s a foolish lioness who deserved whatever you did to her.” Her voiced held more amusement than malice, though her laugh was cut short at his sudden pained look. She watched with a raised eyebrow as he looked worse and worse, like some hyena pup who got dunked in a pond and then laughed at. “Poor and lonesome indeed, no doubt miserable and abused too.” She finally said with an amused smirk, rolling her eyes. Korofi was a good actor, if a little over the top at times, but Khepri was sure he could find ways to tug at lionesses heartstrings, so long as he targeted the right ones and kept hold of his lust. She had much the same problem when it came to anger. Once something transpired to cause Khepri to reach her boiling point, the mission was as good as failed. But generally the two could manage the other’s weaknesses before they got too far out of hand, another reason teaming up seemed to be best for things like this.

Korofi simply nodded at her choice, but repeated her experience (or lack there of) of snow. But the lioness noticed his softer voice, and wondered what he wasn’t telling her, but didn’t find enough reason to pry. At some point in their time together, the two had come to some silent understanding that secrets were kept from both, lies spewed both ways, but that it didn’t matter. Nor did either care overly much, certainly not beyond normal extents, despite the two were the closest thing either had to a friend. Khepri just assumed he would share any information important to their mission, so she simply nodded and listened to his proposed cover story. She rolled her eyes at the “vile little creature” comment, but couldn’t say it was untrue. She doubted anyone would want her for anything above sating their own desires, and since her last run in with a lion who thought just that, her reaction to another attempt would probably be too much trouble. She wasn’t ignorant to her image or personality, and the lioness simply assumed life as someones “beloved mate” would never happen, even if she wanted it -- which was the last thing on her list anyway.

Still, she rolled her eyes and let out a short growl. “You mean how that lionesses ‘wanted’ you?” But he was right, siblings would be easy to pull off and she would do best on the approach of the king, as lions especially were more cautious of fellow males. The rest of his story seemed fine too, but she scoffed at not being able to live without him. Oh, he would enjoy this. But appearing more submissive would be required, and while Khepri wasn’t fond of that particular idea, if it helped her get what she wanted, she would do it. “You certainly fit the part of an exiled rogue.”

While Korofi’s stride quickened, Khepri changed hers to work through this “submissive” nature she would have to pull off; her head lowered and her chin angled down in drastic change to her usual upright pose. Her shoulders drooped and stride slowed but lengthened with a somewhat dragging gait -- their parents were dead, and the poor girl was still grieving. “Not to mention I’m starving, brother dear,” though she purposefully added the moniker with overdramatic flare, the comment overall was sober -- she made her voice softer and a bit higher than it’s usual tone. Food was scarce regardless, so it wasn’t a completely lie. This would no doubt be difficult for the confidence, self-righteous lioness, but she would do it if it helped her quest for vengeance.

Unlike many lions, Korofi didn't care to see the desert again, even if it meant never knowing whether he had fathered any brats there. Frankly, he didn't care either way. Let the lioness deal with it. His chest swelled at the supposed insult about looking the part of a rogue. "I wouldn't have it any other way! Pride life is impossibly dull, I would go mad." Here, he flashed a wide, bright grin, and a wink that could only be described as maniacal. His entire visage seemed to suggest lunacy, from his sharp, twisted grin to narrowed eyes. Even his dual colored mane suggested the two sides of Korofi that he presented, when forced to interact with others: either he was utterly insincere, a skilled liar and manipulator, or he was his real self. Crude. Cruel. Blunt and wild. No king would ever accept the lion into his pride, no matter how sad the sob story, and returning to his natal pride was impossible. He had commited the worst crime ever seen in the region before departing into the night, with no intentions to ever go back.

Life was a desperate struggle for every vagabond, and for Korofi, it was undeniably a dog-eat-dog world. Eat or be eaten, it was a simple philosophy that he had no problem living to the fullest extent, no matter the cost. Some lions lived a peaceful existence, others craved action and violence as much as they desired a kill. Despite his rough appearance, Korofi's pale pelt remained remarkably free of visible scars or injuries. He wasn't the type to start fights, and most of the others he encountered had no desire to pick one with him. Smart enough to avoid the places that would lead to trouble, that was how it worked when one was on their own: clever lions could prolong their lives for a while, but ultimately, all met the same end, whether it was by claw or by nature's merciless influence.

Every lion was destined to die, some sooner than others, and Korofi was willing to do whatever it took to ensure he saw another sunrise. Whatever it would take, Korofi intended to keep himself as long as he was able. He knew this scheme was a risky one, but with Khepri in the picture, he would at least not be the most vulnerable target. As Khepri's pace slowly mutated to fit the part of the hungry, grieving damsel in distress, the lion gave a satisfied laugh. "That's better." He kept a few steps ahead of his female counterpart, leading the way towards where the mountains touched the clouds. Feasibly, they could be there before dawn the next day, if they traveled through the night.



[[This is a good ending, unless you want to add anything!]]

[[Nope looks good to me! I'm going to see if I can't catch up on everything now XD ]]