[FIN] YOU DID WHAT!? (Orion, Halili, Uchanjaa)

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The slave dens finally loomed in Uchanjaa's weary sight. He was half-supporting his son-in-law, having successfully argued that they should take a circuitous route from the ambush site just in case. Orion was not in the best shape after taking out Tyfu (and Great Lion, now there was an achievement to brag about) and the brown lion was also not at his physical peak after trading blows with Shor'ame.

At this point, they were both liberally coated with blood, some of it theirs, a bit of it Shor'ame's, a lot of it Tyfu's. But while it had been worthwhile to take a longer route back, there'd been no time to spare to clean any of it off, unless if it obscured vision.

It had been a long time since Uchanjaa had been here, the den Orion shared with his daughter Halili. He hadn't been a welcome guest since Shangyue had stolen the throne. It remained to be seen whether or not that state of affairs would continue.

"Perhaps you should go in first," he observed aloud.  

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The lioness hadn't been back long from her own responsibilities and had been dozing off, wondering when she'd be able to have another litter. Then she heard Orion's voice and smiled. Perhaps tonight they'd make a start.

"Hmm? Yes, of course, love," she answered, heading for the entrance where her mate stood.

Only to stop still in shock at the sight which greeted her. It was hard to see in the scanty moonlight, harder still to see in the darkness of the den, but the scent was unmistakable when combined with the strange markings that Orion had never born before. Blood. He was covered with it. So was the lion behind him - she recognized her father, but rejected the thought with the habit of two years of ignoring him and focused on her mate.

"What on earth happened to you, Orion!? Are you in pain? Do we need someone who knows healing?"

Uchanjaa stood behind the black male, watching. He was glad to see that however much she hated him, she was more concerned about Orion's wellbeing than his presence. Of course, that might change, but for the time being, he wanted to ensure that everyone in his family was okay.

Not to mention that with his bulk blocking the entrance to the den, the inevitable high volumed discussion hopefully wouldn't be heard too far away.  

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Halili's heart filled with love and relief that Orion was still alive as he leaned against her. She nuzzled him and started determinedly licking the blood from his fur while he spoke. It wasn't totally unheard of for slaves of all ranks to be sent off on a job with no instructions until they arrived. She barely even gave notice to Tyfu's presence.

Until his next words.

The lioness froze and took a step back to better look her mate in the eye before her gaze drifted over his shoulder to the brown lion in question.

"My father is quite obviously still alive," she stated neutrally, looking from one male to the other.

Uchanjaa nodded, stepping deeper into the den so that he wouldn't have to speak up to be heard by daughter and son-in-law. His pale eyes were sad as he watched Halili closely before beginning to speak.

"It was a well-planned ambush, which should come as no surprise," he told her. "And it almost certainly would have succeeded...if Orion hadn't betrayed the group and defended me."  

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Halili listened, eyes flitting from one lion to the other. She wasn't surprised to hear that Orion would have disregarded his orders and switched sides to protect Uchanjaa - first and foremost, she could absolutely not imagine her kind mate condoning murder of any sort, except perhaps Shangyue's. And she was aware that he had quietly disapproved of her refusal to speak with Uchanjaa, though he hadn't brought it up.

"So...now you two are going to tell me that we need to evacuate the den before Tyfu shows up looking for your hides?" the lioness asked in a tone of voice that any one of her children would recognize as Mom-is-about-to-beat-your-tail-if-you-don't-'fess-up-now.

The brown lion winced inwardly. Halili must've learned that tone from her mother. She'd changed in the past two years, and Uchanjaa wondered if his wide-eyed, upbeat young daughter was gone forever into this hardened, bitter, mother.

"Not...exactly..." he began, trailing off. It was Orion's doing, Orion should be the one to tell his mate.

Or maybe Uchanjaa just didn't want Halili to bite his head off. This was the first time she'd come even close to talking to him in so long...  

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"YOU DID WHAT!?" The reply burst out of Halili before she could even begin to think about what she'd just heard. Her father had, unsurprisingly, failed to contribute anything of real meaning to the conversation. Leaving Orion to drop the boulder on her. And Great Lion above, what a boulder.

Tyfu was...dead? And Orion had killed her? Was that even possible? Common rummor said the black lioness never lost a fight, not even when using only words for weapons. So how in the world could Orion have slain her?

"Explain. Now," she demanded with narrowed eyes, taking a step closer to her mate in order to glare at him better.

Uchanjaa winced as Halili's voice echoed and ricocheted through the small den at high volume. It was, frankly the reaction he'd expected. But, he wasn't going to leave his son-in-law to flounder completely in the face of the lioness' anger.

"Tyfu attacked him as soon as he turned," the Guard informed his daughter. "And Orion fought back while I faced off against the other two. It was one on one, and he killed her."  

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Her father was trying to explain the physics of what happened, Orion was trying to explain why he'd done it, and Halili was going to shred them both. Her claws were already sliding out, to scratch furrows in the den's earthen floor. She didn't like excuses. From anybody.

"You killed Tyfu!" she shouted again. "You killed the King's right paw lioness just as things are erupting into open warfare and now you're trying to apologize to me!?" the lioness ranted. "You do realize that she was one of the most important loyalists and the mother of the King's oldest children? That your lofty-minded Rebels may not appreciate that you have, in their eyes, sunk to the King's level by actually killing someone who had no direct bearing on the monarchy?"

Halili paused to take a breath and to survey the males before her, regaining her composure.

"You are destroying everything I worked for at the coronation!" she screamed at her mate.

The Guard had to give credit where credit was due - Halili had mentioned several key points (and potential problems) arising from Tyfu's death. Especially the one where not a one of them was absolutely certain how the rebels as a whole would react to the black lioness' death. Some would surely be rejoicing.

Others might see this as a setback.

Who knew? Uchanjaa might have been an obvious Rebel, but it was for that very reason why he hadn't actually joined the group that was actively working against Shangyue.  

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"And you couldn't just knock her unconscious?" Halili yelled back as Orion defended himself. Great Lion, he was a Royal Guard, he was supposed to have training in this sort of thing! The lioness herself didn't have such training, but Uchanjaa had been known to drop hints and advice here and there. A Guard's combat training was supposed to ensure that they kept all the choices in a battle in their own hands. That is to say, that they chose whether or not their opponent died.

Though her mate's next statement was totally true, Shangyue had been manipulating them. How else would Orion have ended up as a Royal Guard, especially right after she'd turned down the honor? But as for not going along with any of it, there Halili could not agree. She refused to allow the pride to return to a state where Slaves were little more than intelligent property that might produce higher class cubs.

Her mouth was open to protest when the black lion spoke up again. Halili swallowed her initial response and some (but not nearly all) of her anger.

"Fine. Neither of us wanted the honor, and I know it was forced on you," she admitted in a more normal tone at a reasonable volume, almost quiet after her previous screaming.

The older lion let his breath out in a quiet sigh of relief as the two stopped shouting at each other. Whatever else happened, at least he was (finally) convinced he'd done good in helping Orion get home okay. The matter of what the black lion and his mate would do next was far from settled, but Uchanjaa was certain that his presence would be unnecessary.

In the meantime, old Unyezi would almost certainly want to know what his grandson had been up to this night. Now seemed as good a time as any to let him know.  

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The lioness noted that her father had slipped out, unsurprisingly. She wanted to have words with him, but decided she was better off ignoring him. Halili was grateful he'd helped Orion back - her mate did not look to be in great shape, though part of that was almost certainly the shock of what he'd done - but that did not at all mean she'd forgiven him. Still, Uchanjaa was an issue for another night. Right now she had a mate to deal with.

"And where would we go if we left?" she asked Orion bitterly. "I may grant that you killed her in self-defense, but I refuse to be labelled a rebel by running away." Halili knew it was inevitable that her mate's actions would reflect upon her, but the lioness was not yet ready to turn her back on the King.