The splotchy green royal guard sprinted like she had the wind driving her on. Her silver pendant that denoted her status and rank bounced off her chest as she ran and it glinted again and again in the faint, gleaming starlight of the moonless night. Word traveled incredibly quickly throughout the entire pride as soon as Umepatwa's murdered body had been discovered. Up until tonight it had mostly been arguments and planting moon flowers. Maybe some scraps had sprung up but... no murders!! Mabichi found herself chilled to the bone. Now she too was on the hunt.
The lioness was frantically and haphazardly trying to comb the lands right outside the pride borders. That was the best place to look for him, right? She was not sure. Other royal guards were out looking for him too, and Dwyllodrus. Tyfu had gotten to them first, she was told. Apparently the patrol leader had watched the whole thing.
She just had to make sure Chunyue and Dwyllodrus would... well... disappear for a little bit. It seemed that Mabichi was the first to find the black and green b*****d.
"Chunyue!" she hissed at him through her teeth, putting on a last burst of speed to catch up with the lion who was actually moving rather slowly. He started at the voice and looked scared out of his wits, his brown eyes wide with fear. She slowed to match his pace once she was upon him.
"Where are you going to go?" She asked him not out of care for him, but concern for how bad things were about to become. The lion could only shrug at her in response. He was walking terribly slowly for someone who would likely be given the death penalty for his crime if any rebels had found him first. The royal guard glanced over her shoulder nervously. Protecting him was not part of her duties. Rather she was just going to see him off as quickly as possible so that things might cool down and him not be made an example of for the Rebels' cause.
Chunyue was not sure if he could even go any faster. He had sustained wounds in his fight, though none as serious as those that he had given Umepatwa. One leg had a gash that made him limp, that was certain, but he also dragged his feet as though he was being weighed down by the gravity of what he had done. His half-brother. He knew that now for certain. Shangyue had finally, albeit privately, accepted Chunyue and his siblings as his offspring. Granted, they were still bastards. But who would even want to be an heir in the pride at a time like this? Chunyue was rattled to his core. During the murder he had been able to suspend his feelings a little, there was maybe still some reasonable doubt to who his father was and therefore that he and Umepatwa may not have been related. The purple of his siblings was not uncommon within the pride, it did not have to be from Shangyue himself. And the moon marking that Umepatwa and Chunyue both had on their foreheads meant little to nothing. Also incredibly common in the pride that worshipped the moon as their god. But now, when it was too late, Chunyue had to accept that he had murdered his brother. Oh gods! Why!? Why had Tyfu and Shangyue made them do it?!
Mabichi searched Chunyue's face with her golden eyes but could not read into the inner monologue that was tearing him apart. She shoved him with her shoulder to try to prompt a more satisfying response from the male. She recoiled when she saw that there was now dark, sticky blood on her green fur. Her nose wrinkled in disgust but Chunyue did not seem to have noticed. Neither of them were sure if it was from Chunyue, Dwyllodrus or Umepatwa. It all smelled enough alike mixed on the lion's body. It was not evident if there was a wound where Mabichi had nudged him or not. He would have to clean himself up, she thought, shaking her head, but that could wait until later.
"Just lay low in the rogue lands for a while. Do not trust anyone besides another royal guard, your mother or your siblings." She was speaking very soft and low. Hopefully she had not been followed but in her desperation she had not been the most careful to leave no trail. Perhaps the frenzy of all the pride would cover up the tell tale signs that she had not. Her golden eyes scoured his black and white and red face again.
"Do you understand me?" She growled at him, but it was as though the lion was caught in some mist or haze. Almost as though despite walking side by side, they were on different planes. It was frustrating to the royal guard. Chunyue was not concerned with her feelings, though. If he was caught by the rebels, then so be it. It was probably the fate that he deserved. Mabichi just did not want things to become further complicated or escalated from how bad it was already. No wonder they had gotten Chunyue to do Shangyue and Tyfu's dirty work. He did not seem to be the most critical thinker. However, Mabichi knew Tyfu to be fearsome and cruel and attributed the lion following her orders so mindlessly to be part of being brought up by her.
"I do not care if your own brother or mother are murdered, do not come back. You would hardly do anyone any good in the condition that you are in." Her words were harsh but not untrue. Mabichi had heard of his uncertainty about which side he would be on during one of Umepatwa's speeches. Though he was loyal to the king tonight, could he really be trusted in the future? Or could he be mind washed by rebels?
"Do not come back Chunyue."
the end
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