"Ljena!" The white lion cried his friend's name in desperation, shocking himself into wakefulness. Pale purple eyes blinked as he looked around, seeing the familiar confines of his den and...the inevitable presence of Onwa'ohuru, curled up beside him, now stirring. Some days Matumaini really didn't understand why she had attached herself to him. There was absolutely nothing sexual about it, Onwa just insisted that they were friends, almost as close as brother and sister, and that because he'd had the bad luck to not be born under the Eye of the Great Lion, she'd stick by him to share her (meager) protection with him. Because, as a Slave, he needed it.
Oh sure, there had been another young Slave who had vanished, and not too long ago, but it was far more likely she'd just run away. He didn't see a reason for it, but who was going to argue with a kid?
Well, Ljena was about the age Annunziu had been. And now he was terrified because he'd dreamed something horrible had happened to her.
"...Matumaini?" Onwa called out her not-brother's name, brow furrowed. The white and red male wasn't usually this hard to get a hold of, even when it had been his yell that had shocked her awake. He seemed to be thinking on something very hard, so the lioness nudged him.
"Onwa? I uh...sorry. I just...bad dream. I thought something happened to Ljena." It was silly and stupid, really. He shouldn't be bothering anyone with this. Just a bad dream. So why was his heart pounding and not calming down?
"Then let's go find her," Onwa'ohuru suggested reasonably. She didn't know what had prompted 'Maini's dream, but if there was anything the black lioness had learned from her mother, it was that she should always pursue what felt right. And helping her friend deal with his nightmare was definitely the right thing to do.
"I...all right," the lion agreed, heaving himself to his feet.
The lioness followed where he led, regardless of the conventions some might hold between Huntress and Slave. It was disturbing that he hadn't tried to argue against her very hard, and Onwa was worried about her friends. Both 'Maini...and Ljena. Something stunk about this...she wondered if Matumaini even smelled it.
Bah, of course he did. He was worried about Ljena too, wasn't he?
After looking in all the normal places they'd find Ljena, day or night, the two had come up with nothing, not even a white or gold hair from her pelt. Beginning to panic, they widened their search area to the pride borders and beyond. Ljena was fascinated by the lights in the sky, and it wasn't hard to suppose she'd gone further than she should've to watch them in private. Finally, they stumbled onto a spot that jarred 'Maini, as it was right out of his dream.
"Here...I think? There's something about this place," the white lion told his shadowy friend, starting to paw around until she slapped the offending limb away.
"Definitely here," Onwa'ohuru argreed, nose wrinkled against the stench in place. It had the same awful smell she'd noticed when 'Maini first woke up yelling Ljena's name, so she'd bet her tail they'd found something here. Or they would have, if her poor idiot Slave friend hadn't utterly mucked up the tracks.
The young Huntress spent long moments examining the ground. Whatever had happened, someone had taken effort to muddle everything up. Finally, she managed to put together an incomplete set of tracks generally heading off in a single direction.
"That way," she told Matumaini. "At least, that's what I think the tracks say. I wish this scent wasn't so concentrated or I'd just follow that!"
The white lion blinked in confusion. Scent? It smelled completely normal to him...but then again, he'd heard that Onwa was noted to have a sensitive nose. Maybe his was just dull in comparison.
"Uh...okay. Lead the way?" he suggested. The lioness nodded curtly and 'Maini had to run a few paces just to catch up.
Tesak and Zazvor had not been happy at all to be shown up by some passing lioness. First she'd come up on them all unexpectedly. Then she'd proven that she'd overheard their arguing about the best way to acquire a Seer for Graos Oma. Then she'd had the gall to go over to the nearest pride and bring back an almost perfect little Seer. The young lioness' markings weren't the best, but it was her power that they valued far more. And Aibu had done all of that without even a hint of aid from the Nergui.
So the lion and the hyena were out here to prove they didn't actually need the lioness' help to please the god. And Graos Oma was with them! For here was another lion, this one with better markings! Now if only he was a Seer, then Zazvor would be so pleased...
A quick movement from Tesak stalled his hasty movement and Zazvor murmered a thanks as he realized what the hyena had already seen - a second lion as dark as the first was light. Double the opportunity! The Nergui shadowed their prey, listening as hard as they could. It seemed almost too much that both of these were Seers as well...yet how much clearer could Graos Oma make his will? They would capture both.
It was almost too easy. Neither of the lions were prepared for an attack, nor were they trained to fight. The male flailed helplessly, screaming as Zazvor struck him with weight and claws. The female tried to fight back, but Tesak was too fast and nimble for her to compensate. Before long, both were captives of the Nergui.
Aibu was less than pleased when the boys returned triumphantly, but what could a mere lioness do to thwart Nergui? The two new captives huddled together with the third. If they were friends, so much the better. It would make it easier to manipulate all three at a single stroke.