It had been several days since he'd seen or had contact with Siyo'Jini, but to be honest Thunzi wasn't surprised. When he'd heard that Siyo had found Kiv'mauti out in the roguelands, and that she'd been injured, he'd expected as much. He'd expected it, and yet Thunzi was still left with his paws full trying to run the pride and to be there as much as possible for Moya and their young cubs. It was exhausting, to say the least, and more than a little irritating. But he understood. It was Kiv'mauti. How could he not understand? When they were younger, and the Tani'Ajiri a mere flicker of an idea in their young minds, it was just him and Siyo out making a name for themselves. Until they had stumbled upon Kiv'mauti, a lonely young lioness with more than a few bumps and bruises to sport of her own. She had become their unofficial third and had helped complete contracts in her own way. Thunzi stopped his pacing that he had been doing atop the meeting rock. He was starting to get a few stares from the mercenaries on the sparring grounds and he could only flick his tail in irritation in response. Her return had him curious, and more than a little worried. He remembered that years ago she had gone off to check on her family or something, but the details escaped him. He had been preoccupied in his youth with thoughts of making a name for themselves as mercenaries and hadn't spent enough attention to what she had said he supposed. Foolish, he thought. Even back then, when they were still on the cusp of adulthood, Siyo'Jini had had a thing for her, and clearly, he still did.
Siyo had spent the past several days next to Kiv's side, making sure she was able to rest while gently trying to get information about those who pursued her. It was a lengthy process, as she tired easily and Siyo had to hold his temper in check. The more he learned about the years he'd missed out on, and the more she revealed about all she had endured in his absence, the angrier he got with himself and those responsible. For as long as he drew breath, he would make sure no one ever harmed his Kiv'mauti ever again. She had gone back to sleep not long ago, and Jua'kali had returned in time to watch over her, which meant Siyo'Jini was on a mission to find his fellow leader and hammer out a plan. He hated to leave her in the state she was in, but the longer they delayed the more likely it was that her pursuers would come sniffing around Tani'Ajiri lands for her. And that was a complication that Siyo'Jini would prefer to avoid.
He knew where Thunzi was most likely to be, as that's where the leopard spent most of his time. The meeting rock, where the pride hammered out contracts with interested parties. As Siyo'Jini approached he spotted the lone figure of a leopard pacing atop the stone formation and relief washed through him. It would have been stranger to see Thunzi not on those rocks, but he was thankful all the same to not having to go looking for him. "Thunzi!" Siyo called, grabbing the leopard's attention.
Ah. Finally. Thunzi twisted mid-step to fully face Siyo'Jini as the large, black lion approached the meeting rock. "Took you long enough," Thunzi huffed, his silver eyes glaring down at Siyo'Jini. He didn't mean to be so cross, but he was exhausted and ready to spend some time with his mate and cubs. He had already spent precious little with them, as he had been needing to take care of pride affairs and duties.
Siyo'Jini wasn't the keenest when it came to empathy or how others might be feeling, and he considered it a waste of time to beat around the bush long enough to find out. So instead, he opted for bluntness. "We don't have time for this," he growled as he leapt up to and made his way to the top of the meeting rock where Thunzi stood. There was enough room to comfortably seat several large bodies, so Siyo was not deterred. "We have trouble," he warned as he settled onto his haunches. He could see the intense look Thunzi was giving him, the flash of anger, and the tensing of muscles as the leopard considered attacking him; but Siyo'Jini paid it no mind. Either Thunzi would or would not bring them to blows. It didn't matter.
Ultimately, it wasn't worth it to rip Siyo'Jini to pieces. It would only belay the inevitable. With Kiv'mauti's return she had brought trouble to the pride, to his mate and cubs. He had already been briefed by Jua'kali several days before. "At least act concerned," Thunzi snarled as he raised his lips at the great black lion, deadly fangs exposed. The former assassin still had some tricks even Siyo'Jini had yet to see. "We should have been talking about this days ago. Instead, you've shirked your duties to play healer and rekindle an old flame," Thunzi sneered, frustration clear in his tone.
The look that crossed Siyo'Jini's features could be described as none other than dangerous. His eyes narrowed to near slits as his lips raised into full blown snarl. "Is that what you think I've been doing?" His voice was deceptively calm, as deadly claws slid from their sheathes. "She can barely move, much less speak for long periods of time. I've been trying to get as much information as possible," the great lion rumbled, the sound reverberating deep in his chest. In fact, he had been uncharacteristically patient with her, but perhaps Thunzi was right. "Would you rather I had interrogated her? Maybe smacked her around a little bit when it was too painful for her to remember?" Venom dripped from his tone, and he shook with the effort to keep his temper under control. To keep from lunging at Thunzi and feeling his claws slice through flesh. No. He was frustrated, but this anger and this desire to kill was meant for others more deserving of their fate.
He'd heavily considered taking the first strike at Siyo, but the lion's words sank in like a rock in his gut. "Of course not," he spat, a surprising amount of hurt in his voice. He'd also considered Kiv a friend, and he couldn't possibly imagine treating her like that. Thunzi snarled as he turned away to begin pacing again, trying to stoke his temper. They were both tired, and both worried, it seemed. "Fine, fair point," Thunzi conceded, though he didn't like it. He still felt as though they should have talked about this as soon as possible, instead of waiting so long to discuss it. "What are we going to do about it?" he grumbled, silver eyes cast towards their border as he stopped his pacing to look at the horizon. He'd like to get ahead of this before it came knocking at their borders and threatened their loved ones.
Siyo'Jini took several long breaths to settle his anger, so he didn't misdirect it at his friend. They were both frustrated, he reminded himself. "As far as I've been able to gather, there's around half a dozen of them. And they've been tracking her for weeks, so they're not likely to give up without a fight," Siyo spoke, his voice a fair bit calmer now that he and Thunzi weren't at each other's throats. "It'd be best to catch them before they cross into our territory."
"Agreed," Thunzi said readily, not wanting to put Moya or the cubs at risk. Even at their full fighting force this would be tricky, as they would not want to leave the territory completely unprotected and defenseless. If their enemies were worth even a lick of salt, they would have already scouted the area and known the pride's weak points. And from what Siyo and Jua said about Kiv, she was as good as dead if they caught her. "I'll need some time to think of a plan," he sighed, rubbing at his temples with a raised paw. "Until then, I'm going to spend the night with my mate and my cubs. You can take over until I return." There was no room for negotiation as he turned to take his leave.
Siyo blinked hard as Thunzi left him with those words. He'd almost forgotten that the leopard had a family now. It was so... strange to think about. It left Siyo realizing that there was more at play here than he had previously considered. For as much as he wanted to return to Kiv's side, he understood that he owed Thunzi this night of peace with his small family. It had Siyo feeling profoundly lonely as he settled in to watch the lands of the Tani'Ajiri from atop the meeting rock.
((Word Count: 1,494))