"No, I have to go back, I can't just leave her. I promised!" Shani said, prepared to run if they tried to make her stay.

Amara stood tall. "I said STAY" she said sternly. "You are too hurt and we cant carry you back if you collapse out there. You are far too new to Tara for her to be concerned about. We will be sending someone she is more comfortable with." She shook her head. "You better not disobey my order for you to stay" she said.

"You don't understand! She found what sh a believes to be her mother's bones. I-I'm sorry, she needs me." With that Shani backed out of the cave. Struggling to ignore the throbbing pain in her head and the way her paws felt like boulders, she made her way back to where Tara was. "Tara, the others are coming. Just hang in there." Shani knew she was going to be in huge trouble, but she felt a deep connection with Tara. Shani had watched her own mother be gored to death by a warthog and she felt like she was somehow a part of this, having scared Tara away after the hunt.

Amara raced after Shani. "If you dont start listening to this pride leaders then none of us will be happy to keep you here" she said sternly. "I gave you an order to keep you safe!" She stopped in front of Shani. "Tara doesnt do well with new lions. Now stand down and let someone else handle her. Ajihad and Chaos are better suited for this than some new lion. Especially after what I heard happened."

Chaos nodded, "I can do it." Because of the strong blood scent, he knew he could easily track the way. He wondered if they were wrong to not accept Nyasi's help. He hurried down the trail. Soon he came upon the scent of Tara. He paused because he smelled the faint scent of something dead. He hurried to Tara's side, and he realized that it was a lioness carcass. His eyes widened for a brief moment before he controlled himself. So that's what had happened to her mother. He wondered how close she would let him get. "Tara, are you okay? Do you want to go back to the cave now?" he asked her. He lowered himself so he could see her better. He wasn't sure if she would want to stay here and mourn for a moment or if she would prefer to be separated from the remains of her mother. He knew that words couldn't do anything, but he felt he needed to say something. "How can I help you Tara?" he wasn't sure if she needed sympathy. Someone to listen to. Someone to take her back to the den, but he wanted her to know that he was here to help her. He hadn't been expecting this gruesome scene with those bleached white bones shining out at them.

Ajihad hurried after the rest of them. He was confused by what was happening, but he figured it wouldn't hurt if he followed. He wasn't sure if Chaos was going for Chaos or because of Shani. He wasn't sure if he was going to help Amara or because of Tara. He decided that he would do what was needed. He stood up tall like a true king of the savannah. "Shani, listen to your dominants. We know the lions that we have been living with our entire lives, and we have been entrusted to care for the pride. The orders that we are giving are for the good of each one of you. Obey Amara. If you cannot live under authority, you don't belong in a pride." He basically repeated what Amara had said.

Shani looked at Amara. "It was my fault she came here. I am not leaving until she does. If honor and loyalty and wanting to right a wrong are the grounds for me being rejected by the pride, then so be it." Shani said meekly, meeting Amara's gaze.

Ajihad growled, because he had enough, "Don't you get it. You. Are. Doing. The. Wrong. Thing." he emphasized each word. "That is why we want you to go back, so we can deal with it the best way. You don't know Tara, but we've known her since she was born. How can you know what is best for her? What has she told you? The only way you could know more is if she has told you something, because we have experience. You are besmirching your honor, because when you joined you basically said that you would listen to us. While loyalty is admirable, you aren't being loyal to your leaders. You are stopping your leaders from taking care of the pride. Stop getting in our way. You aren't helping anyone, and you are only being a hinderance. Can you not get that through your thick skull, that you are only stopping our ability to help her? You are injured so we have to keep an eye on you. I saw you almost topple over and black out. We have to waste time and resources making sure you stay alive, when we could be helping Tara."

Amara growled. "That doesnt give you a right to disobey our orders" she said. "How can anyone trust you if you cant listen to us? You told us you couldnt held bring back the prey, then you run off without telling anyone where you were going! You could have been killed" she said. "Get back to the cave. We will get her. Too much going on around her, especially with a new lion, can cause her to run away again."

/

Tara backed up when she heard Chaos. She whipped around to face him, tears in her eyes. She ran into his chest, burying her face into his mane. The young lioness was shaking horribly as she looked back at the bones. "W-why did she leave? W-why did this have to happen" she asked as her voice shook. She wasnt sure what to think anymore. She had always felt like her mother abandoned her, not wanting her, but now, there had been a deeper reason.

Shani backed away. "I-I'm sorry. " She padded slowly back to the camp. Her head hanging low, she walked to the stream and sat down. She watched her reflection in the water. Why had everything gone so wrong? She had timed that leap perfectly with Zamri's voice counting down the seconds in her head. All she had wanted to do was prove her worth to the pride, to Zamri, to Aslan, to...herself. Where did she belong? What was her purpose? Angrily, she swiped her paw at her reflection splashing it and sending out large ripples.