Kiv'mauti was a small lioness, and slight in frame to boot. She was born into the pridelands, but despite the pride being home to giants, she somehow wound up the runt of the litter. To make matters worse, she was the only cub to have survived, as her littermates had all eventually succumbed to sickness and death. Her parents had never let her forget that fact, as they had aptly named her so. Death's Shadow. Though they'd raised her in the traditions of the pridelands, they had never been all that close as a family, and Kiv'mauti believed they still harbored the pain of losing her siblings too deeply to fully commit to accepting her. It was all the same she supposed, as she was now grown and on her own in the pridelands, with little to no contact with 'family'. The night was young, a bright moon hung in dark, star filled sky, and the dark pelted Kiv'mauti quietly moved along the border of the pridelands. She was a scout for the pride, and her black pelt helped her to blend into her surroundings. She enjoyed the alone time, the silence, the cool evening air. It helped soothe the hollowness she felt on the inside.
Like most nights the air had a quiet chill, and her bright blue eyes scanned the horizon for any signs of trouble. She was carefully in how she moved. Each step taken slowly and deliberately. For though the pridelands was arguably the safest territory in the realm, with guards constantly patrolling the borders night and day, she was such a small thing. And small things were easily broken. One misstep would easily give away her position to any rogues in the area, and though she was reasonably certain she'd be able to sound the alarm to alert the nearest guard in time, there was always that lingering doubt in the back of her mind. What if. What if she stumbled upon that one rogue that caught her off guard. What then? It was a chilling thought.
As she continued slowly on her route around the border, blue eyes scanning her surroundings, she failed to see the danger that lurked just under paw. She almost saw the dark scaled serpent too late for her to react, but luckily, she just barely missed stepping on and getting bitten by the large snake. Unfortunately, she could not help but utter a small yelp in surprise that carried on the wind, as she danced away from the snake's den and out of danger of its strikes. Quietly, and under her breath, she cursed herself for making such a noise.
Unbeknowst to the dark beauty that scouted ahead, a shadow prowled silently out of sight, just far enough to keep her within his gaze without getting too close as to alert her. Siyo'Jini was a large lion, though by no means was he pridelander big, as those lions were giants amongst most. It wouldn't be wise to pick a fight so close to the pridelanders border, but he for whatever reason couldn't pry his attention away from this lone lioness, no doubt a pridelander herself. He told himself he was simply looking for any vulnerabilities in their border guard and routine, but deep down something else nagged at him. It clawed and bit in the very depths of his soul and simply would not allow him to quietly slink away as he had planned to do many paces ago. The feeling lingered, burned, and all but forbade him from turning away from the little shadow of a lioness. It was absolutely maddening and madness all at once. As a member of the outlands, he knew he was risking a great deal to be this close to the pridelands, but his warlord Muuaji had bid him to search for chinks in the prideland's armor. The time was drawing near when something was to be done, and Siyo'Jini was more than ready to sink his teeth into the lush lands and abundant resources of the spoiled pridelanders. Spoiled. Yes. That's what he had always believed them to be. Even her. This captivating, maddening, little lioness. What troubles could she possibly have endured in this lush kingdom. He doubted she'd ever had to scrap or scrape for week's rotten leftovers because there was simply nothing else to eat.
So why then, could he not shake these damned feelings? A silent snarl plastered itself across his maw as his lips twitched to expose deadly fangs. This was stupid. How could he possibly approach her? With a small shake of his mane, he managed to tear his emerald eyes from her slender figure and still his paws. He'd gone far enough, the night was now fully upon him, and he needed to return to his pride to report his findings to the warlord.
It took several moments longer for Siyo'Jini to tear himself away from the dark lioness' path, but he managed to silently turn and stalk away for several paces. Then he heard her yelp, such a small, delicate sound, and the blood in his veins turned to ice. Had she seen him? Quickly his lowered his body into a crouching position as he glanced over his shoulder back in her direction, just in time to see her dance away from some unknown assailant in the dark. For a long moment he did not move, watching to make sure it wasn't him she had spotted in the darkness. Knowing, and hoping, that he wouldn't have to silence her in case she had.
