The moon was high and full; the air was soft, the grass drifting with the soft breeze. Kohaku's fur was glowing underneath the moon. She was picking at her daughter again, Rinj constantly bickering back.
"You didn't settle down, I sure don't!" the orange lioness shot back. Her mother was always quirky...so quick to help, but also to gossip and throw others under a rampaging wildebeest. This was one of those times where Rinj felt like she hated her mother, who in some ways was so opposite of her grandmother. Kohaku kept complaining about no grandcubs; her own litter had spread out, and she had no idea if there were little whelps around that she could better influence to her games. Rinj hadn't fallen too far from the tree herself, and they bickered about gossip, family, and how absolutely boring the Pridelands was. Still, neither one had ever bothered to try to leave, except for Kohaku's little tryst many years ago.
Somehow, on this full moon night, they had dared one another to finally leave. And so their bickered away as they reached the border, not realizing just how close their were stepping towards the territory of the hyenas.
---
The sounds were so annoying. Ruslam's head was aching with the sounds of bickering lions. It almost seemed to echo through the gentle air, the grass itching his paws as he inhaled the scent. He was used to the more assuring sounds of hyena chatter, of challenges and laughter. Not this...annoying sound that ripped at his heels.
"Yesss, you hear them, don't you?" Dath sneered, egging on the slave. In his hyena form, he felt short next to the lion, but he had to continue with the ruse when his son and Masuko's spy was watching him.
Jasi rolled her eyes. "We aren't here to snigger at the gossip of lioness', Bone Reader. We are here to asses if they've tried to push back into our rightful pack lands." Ruslam had quickly become a favourite slave when he showed loyalty to Masuko, but Jasi was starting to wonder if the red hyena had been whispering false promises to the slave; Dath kept taking him out everywhere with him. They had caught the male lion a female to mate with, but nothing had happened as of yet. Wasn't that what lions did? Breed more than hares? If the Pridelands was anything to go by, the female hyena assumed they'd have had 20 cubs by now. And yet, nothing. Was this the red hyena's doing?
Jehanum was keeping a close eye on his father, as well as the hyena that actually raised him. He knew he wasn't the sharpest male in the pack, but the dreams he continued to have the more he followed his father around haunted him. He was specifically requested for this mission, and the anxiety of uncertainty nipped at his heels as he watched Jasi and Dath bicker themselves. A simple mission was turning into a tense debate, one that he hoped wouldn't break out into a fight and reveal their position. "Quiet..." he attempted, though the attention was brought to Ruslam first.
"They come," the lion said. His voice was deep, and his words were short. The lionesses were drawing closer without even realizing it.
------
"I'm just saying...give it a whirl. You may like it!"
Rinj snapped at her mother's paw, mad. "Don't stand here and assume I've never laid with another!" Ugh, that was it! "I've been alive long enough to get places, mother. This is not a conversation I want to be having with you when we were supposed to be leaving this horrible place!"
Kohaku snorted. "Oh please. Like you were actually going to leave. At least I've done it before. Yes, I came back, but life here is just so easy compared to the rogue lands."
"I've always planned to leave!" Rinj cried. "You never wanted me to! Just wanted to keep me on a leash nearby, just in case I pop out some cubs so you could attempt to swipe them from me." Her anger was reaching a tipping point. This was a stupid idea, and even stupider that she thought she would ever really get along with her mother. Kohaku was never a very popular or social lioness, and the older Rinj got, the more she realized just how....not great her mother was. "Forget it. You can go out there yourself, then! I'll just go home, at least grandmother will probably treat me better than you will!"
Kohaku smirked, knowing that her daughter was going to give up. "Well, fi...." A rustling that sounded contrary to the soft breeze startled the white lioness. ".....what...?"
----
Ruslam was silent as could be; his training to become the ideal slave had come at a high cost to his personality, but he had developed hunting skills that may put some of the lead hunters of the Pridelands to shame. The bright moon was not helping him hide, but the dark coat he was blessed with helped to blend him in. The other two hyenas kept themselves back a few paces.
The youngest, Jehanum, was feeling his body vibrate with nerves. What were they doing? Why were they seemingly hunting these lions? This was far from the task of just assuring their border markers were fresh and accurate. This was...a hunt. But one slave against two? He was wondering what the hell his father was doing, next to the slave. Jasi kept quiet next to him, her eyes studying the situation before her. She had a strong suspicion of what was happening, and it was not blessed by the Alpha.
Dath sneered in Ruslam's ear. "Don't you hear them?" he whispered, attempting to bring up old memories into the slaves mind. "They want to willingly leave the Pridelands, while you were forced. There was no option for you, 'Prized Possession'." The hidden-god was nearly gleeful when he could sense Ruslam's muscles tensing, the breathing in the lion growing more shallow. Without even realizing it, Masuko had given Dath the key to creating what he craved for. He continued on, keeping Ruslam's attention towards the females, and not thinking about Masuko's spy behind them.
"These silly girls, throwing away what life they didn't realize was worth living. Nothing to fear, nothing to worry. Foolishly crossing the barrier, our barrier, into a life they don't understand." Dath was done, as he could see that Ruslam was near his breaking point.
The dark lion's mind turned inwards. He was barely an adolescent, his mane only beginning to grow in when somehow Masuko had captured him. His mother was just another lioness in the pridelands, his father a wandering rogue. Who would notice when a lion went missing, especially one with a dark coat? Though the Outlands had been dissolves years beforehand, Ruslam had noticed that there was a bias towards the darker coats at times. Against him. He knew his red eyes did him no favors, that dark coat that could cast a shadow against the golden coats of the sun-blessed lioness. No one had come to rescue him. Beaten, starved, tortured into submission. He had come to hate the Pridelands, to hate the golden rays of the sun. And here were two blessed into a life of ease, and they wanted to throw it all away. The anger he felt nearly made him sick, but he honed it into a feeling of numbness.
"Now. Let's begin to teach them real fear," Dath whispered in Ruslam's ear, the ghosting of wings escaping his back and brushing against all the grass. The sound was loud, and almost clashed against the soft rustling of the breeze. Everyone's eyes jumped to Ruslam.
---
Kohaku barely had a moment to glance over in the direction of the sound before she saw a large male lion coming her way.
Rinj barely saw even that, her mother's white form overtaking most of the view from her angle.
Jasi realized too late exactly what game Dath was playing, and instead jumped down on Jehanum to keep the younger male pinned to the ground. He was far too soft-hearted to watch what was coming.
Dath only laughed, his form flickering between his hyena and lion form as he gleefully waited for his work to commence.
----
Ruslam's force met with the white lioness' neck, and the cracking sound that happened was the only sound louder than Dath's laughing. It wasn't his first kill, and he knew it wouldn't be his last. The satisfying sound almost cleared the anger from his mind, but the fulfillment of his rage kept him focused on the task. She was a decent sized lioness, but the element of surprise, mixed with his strong jaw, was no match for a soft, lazy opponent. It was almost disappointing how quickly she died. He released her from his mouth, and her form crashed onto the soft grass, as silent as the wind. His red eyes met with the orange lioness' yellow one.
Rinj....didn't know what was going on. One moment she was fighting with her mother, another moment...her mother was dead, and a lion was clearly coming after her next. She was no fighter, and not even a remarkable hunter....what the hell was she supposed to do? Fear gripped at her heels, and she was unable to move. She noticed that there was....a hyena? No, more hyenas behind him. What the hell was going on??
Jasi leapt off of Jehanum and rushed the slave. "Stop this, you piece of s**t!" She slashed at Ruslam's face, swiveled around and jumped at Dath, who was still within his hyena form. "You! I will deal with you and your bullshit later."
She had a mess to clean up, and a situation to contain.
"Jehanum!" she barked at him to follow her. " Slave! Get the other girl. I don't care if you kill her now, but don't start leaving all these bodies on our border, you idiot." The anger that the pink-maned hyena kept her focused on the task, and that was to get all their asses home alive (except maybe Dath's). She inspected the body of the white lioness, cofnirming that she had died a quick and minimally bloody death. At least it would be easy enough to move. Jehanum shakily got to his feet, carefully avoiding any glances towards his father as he went to help Jasi. Dath was the only one keeping an eye on the slave and his prey.
Ruslam stepped towards the golden-coated lioness, watching as every step he took towards her seemingly pushed her into the earth. She was giving up without a fight, even though he clearly just killed her mother before her. Typical. His red eyes narrowed at her as she stared up at him in fear. Her eyes glanced over towards her mother, still not believing that she was dead. Dead! Dead....?
"M..m-Mother..." Rinj choked, feeling a conflicting wave of emotions overwhelm her. She had spent so many years almost hating her mother, but to have her suddenly killed was something that....Rinj couldn't process. This wasn't something that happened in her homelands. It didn't...she felt the pressure of the terrifying dark lion on her back, as he pushed her towards the hyenas. She crawled on her belly towards them, feeling like if she did anything against them, her own life would be forfeit.
Ruslam had to nearly push the idiot to Dath. It seemed like she forgot how to walk, within everything that had happened. Didn't they hunt? Didn't they realize that this was how each and every wildebeest felt when their own family was killed? If they believed in the Circle of Life, why was it such a shock when one of their own died? The Pridelands was full of soft-hearted, foolish lions.
"Help me move the body, slave," Jasi barked again. "Let's get it....not on our borders. As stupid as these lions are, I'm sure they'll figure something out soon enough. s**t, why did this have to happen tonight..." Jasi was going to get chewed out my Masuko for this bullshit, but at least she could chew out the slave and Jehanum before she dealt with the Alpha.
With Ruslam and Jasi occupied, Dath turned to their newest little slave. "Well well, I will say that this night turned out exceptionally well. Foolish little lions, like leading moths to the flames." His tail curled upward as he offered Rinj a toothy grin. "I'm sure you didn't expect your little night of adventure to turn out this way, did you?"
Jehanum had nearly buried himself into the grass when Jasi's attention was drawn back to the lion-slave. As much as Jasi had hoped to block his eyes from the actual murder that had taken place, they inadvertently pointed his eyes at his father the moment the white lioness died. And he had seen everything.
A lion. With wings. The same lion that haunted his dreams. That nearly looked exactly like his father.
And he was the only one to have seen that this night.
With a terrified lioness, a terrified young male hyena, and one exhausted and angry Jasi, she gathered up the little scout party to haul them home. Ruslam had to nearly drag the orange lioness back, but the pink-maned hyena realized that there was certainly something that had happened. Dath seemed...too happy, and Jehanum seemed more terrified than ever.
Bones within the earth, please let tomorrow be a better day, she swore to herself.
(tl;dr: hyena!Dath had Ruslam (ex-PL, MB slave) kill Kohaku and abduct Rinj as a witness. Jehanum, as Dath's hyena son, was the only one to see hyena!Dath lose his illusion and spy a flash of his true form.)