"Hodari! Hodaaarrii!!"

The small cub shuffled by the swamp, placing two dirty paws on his eyes as if to rub them. And he would open them, showing dull blue oculars as he looked around, vision blurry. The male attempted to get up, but his arms were too weak, and he could only manage to slump back down into the mud once again, closing his eyes slowly as a bigger, perhaps a teen, figure started to run over to him. And it all went dark for the cub.

---

Nootau raced towards Hodari, panting heavily as he grabbed the cub by the scruff and made a run for it, water and mud dripping from the cub's pelt. The teen was suffering from a large gash on his ribcage, and it kept bleeding as he bolted through the marsh, sharp pangs occasionally getting to him. He was in so much pain, even the soft leaves rubbing up against him would sting his wound.

They reached a grassy area that hid them well, but also hid the potential dangers of other lions and snakes... and branches. Nootau suddenly struck a large, fallen branch that unfortunately got his wound on his rib, stabbing it, and the male yowled in pain. It yanked him back and Hodari flew from his jaws, still unconcious as he hit the ground nearby, Nootau writhing in pain on the ground, slowly starting to fade into a cold blackness where he could not be saved...

---

Hodari awakened suddenly, dull blue gaze bouncing around the area. It was evening now. How long was he asleep? The cub struggled to his paws but managed to anyway, scanning the vicinity once again. Wait.. how did he get here? Last he remembered, he was by the swamp, only for a few seconds before he was knocked out yet again by his own will. And then the thought of Nootau crossed his mind.

The cub whirled around and started to run back in the direction of the marsh, though didn't get far. Nootau was laying in front of him. And he was not breathing. Hodari's heart sank and his eyes welled up with tears as he bolted towards the body, immediately seeing the large gash on Nootau's ribcage, penetrated by a large branch that blindsided the male while he was running. The cub stumbled backward in shock as tears streamed down his face. He tried to remember what happened.

What is going on here?

"Ace! Ace! Wait for me, Ace!" The female cub whined as she pursued her older brother through the thickets. It was evening and because of her brother's dark coat, it was difficult to see him. She could only rely on the sounds of the bushes crunching beneath his paws to find him. The cubs' father, Tahib, would be furious if he found out that the cubs had ran off, especially when it was past sunset. Both cubs knew this and yet, Ace decided to run off in search for adventure.

Cajsa was starting to not recognize the land in front of them and she was growing even more worried, "Ace, I don't think this is part of the Pridelands. We should probably go back home. It's scary here." She complained, though she knew he wouldn't listen. Though he was sometimes reckless, he was stronger and wiser than her. He knew the risk he was taking and that he wouldn't let his kid sister get hurt on his watch.

Though it wasn't because Cajsa told him too, Ace stumbled to a haut and he picked up one of his paws. His paw pads were soaking wet and he could smell a horrible odor coming from the wet grass around them. The cubs seemed to have come across the beginnings of a marsh and Ace was unfamiliar with this land. Before he could react, another smell entered his nose. Blood. The fresh smell of blood disgusted Ace and yet, he wanted to find the cause of it, "Follow me and stay quiet, Cajsa." Ace ordered his sister before skidding off to find the blood's owner. Cajsa, who was too scared to return home alone, nodded her head and followed him silently.

The two eventually came across the dead lion's carcass and Ace jerked his head away, "It smells even worse up close!" He spat in disgust.

Cajsa stood next to her brother, who by comparison was much larger, and she frowned at the body, "He's got a branch in his chest. It must've fell on him during a storm. I feel bad for him and for his pride. They'll never know what happened to him." she cried, taking no notice to the orphan cub just yet.

Hodari was off nearby, seated by a small puddle of dirty water, scouting for food. He was starving, as you can tell by his malnourished frame, ribs protruding through his skin and fur. He hadn't eaten a solid meal in a long time, but was far too young and inexperienced to hunt either way. He was also too weak to run a whole lot, failing miserably at even trying to drink the liquid. Maybe it was just too dirty, that's all.

His ears perked upon hearing shuffling near Nootau's body, which was located behind the tall grass. And then the voices came.
Hodari attempted to keep himself hidden in case whoever was lurking about decided to come his way, and he crouched on the ground as the talking grew louder. But the tones of voices were rather... high. Like a cub's.

But after hearing them mention the body of Nootau, rather negatively, the small male wondered if they were going to do something about the body. And for some odd reason, he unnecessarily grew angry, and hot tears started to well up in his eyes once more. And suddenly, he sprung out of his hiding place, now looming over Nootau's head as he bared his yellow fangs at the other cubs.

"Leave him alone!"

Cajsa let out a yelp in surprise and she hopped back a few paces, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! We'll leave now, right Ace?" she peered over at her brother with desperate eyes, but he didn't budge. Instead, Ace's claws were unsheathed and his hackles rose. He was moving closer to the scrawny cub, but he didn't pounce nor growl, "Don't hurt him, Ace! Please! You're not that kind of a lion!" she pled, not daring to take a step forward.

Ace got so close to the orphan cub that he could feel his breath on his fur and he studied his physique for a moment. The other cub was nothing but skin and bones. Not an ounce of meat was plastered onto his body and his fur was messy. There would be no point in attacking him. Hell, he was so weak that Cajsa, the coward, could successfully beat him in a scramble.

"Calm down, kid. We don't want your friend over there. We just saw him laying here and we were curious," Ace began to circle the smaller cub, "Why are you so defensive all of a sudden? What can two cubs do to your dead friend? He's already dead, so there's nothing else we can do. Why don't you go back to your pride and tell your folks about your friend's death instead of moping about it? That's the right thing to do."

The young virile glared at the other male in front of him, who was bigger than him, and seemingly more impending. But Hodari did not reconsider his stance, even when the other lion began to size him up. He knew he was picking out his many flaws, such as his malnourished frame, smelly, unkempt fur, and dull gaze that turned from bright sky blue to dark melancholy. He peered down at the dirt, shuffling his paws upon hearing the other cub attempting to be the voice of reason in this situation, even though Hodari was not getting any strange vibes from the other male, especially such as that he was going to 'kill him'.

Then the other brute dare speak of Nootau in a negative way. His eyes shot up and he scoffed, rather menacingly. Before he could respond to that, this male threw in another statement, this one making Hodari a bit puzzled. He hadn't thought about it until now. Where exactly... was his pride? "My.. pride?" he paused, "I.. don't have a pride. I never did. All I had was Nootau, but now he's gone.." Hodari gestured his head over to the body, indicating that was the teen male's name. There was no sign of sympathy in his eyes, because he truthfully had no idea why he couldn't remember anything.

Cajsa was baffled. How could a lion live without a pride? The pride was everything a lion had and would live for. How could these two lions live on their own without the safety and comfort of a pride? It was completely unheard of for the female cub. After all of the things her father said about the pride, she couldn't believe that these two were all alone. Hearing the dead lion's name and connection to the cub made her upset and she took a few small steps forward, "I'm sorry about Nootau. I bet he was a very brave and great lion. But, I don't understand why you're all alone without a pride. My brother and I live in a pride and we're perfectly happy. What happened to your pride? Did they abandon you or did they die off?" She was standing in between the two male cubs and she used her paw to nudge Ace away, "Also, I'm sorry about my brother. He can be quite the lion sometimes."

Ace backed up a bit and sat down. He sheathed his claws and his hackles lowered back onto his skin. He was looking at the male cub with questionable eyes and he ignored his sister completely, "Why do you smell all gross and look like elephant dung? Is that what members of your pride consider to be clean?" He asked without an ounce of kid in his voice. He was a hundred percent serious with his question and that made Cajsa upset.