The goliath male sat at a short distance away from the pride, allowing them to wake in their own time before the dawn. In time, he would hand out orders, if the Queen herself had not already done so. A hunt would be fantastic for the day--regardless of when the pride had last hunted, the Ukufa males required food, and lots of it. They would eat first at any kill, followed by the prides Queen, their huntresses and elder, and the lesser males would eat last.

He wanted them to remain in a weakened state. The least amount of food possible for them to eat, the less likely they were to be of any help in an active fight against the Ukufa males. Not that he believed there even was a chance of the pride winning an altercation, he would simply rather cover all of his sides and have backup plans. He didn't get to this position by being lazy and allowing things to simply exist as they did.

The metallic scent of blood was still strong in his nostrils, and he couldn't help the small smile that graced his features. He hadn't had much of a part in the killing of the cubs, but he had enjoyed watching his brother bathe in the blood. His brother had even left some of the bodies half-eaten around the territory for the huntresses to find, much to his delight. If they broke the spirits of the pride early, they would be easier to control. Easier to keep under their command.

His eyes danced across the pride, flitting across the Queen, Acantha, and her unholy offspring with one of the pride males. The Previous King was weaker than Kumar had originally thought if he had allowed his Queen to have cubs with a mere pride male, rather than himself. It was no wonder it had been so easy to steal away the pride from him, and send him off to his death.

Regardless of his opinions of the tiny creatures, they were fantastic bargaining chips. They kept not only the Queen in line, but her mate, Crixus. And if they could keep the leader of the pride wrapped around their paw, they held the pride in their grasp. Who was she to try and undermine them if it cost her cubs their lives?

"Gazini," the males voice rang out in response to the greeting, voice deep and baritone, not unlike his siblings. He was larger than his brother, if only by the tiniest bit. They were both massive creatures, truly sights to behold. The pride was more protected than it had ever been under their rule. "I believe a hunt today would be welcome. We will, obviously, eat first at the kill, and then our males. The Queen will eat after them, followed by her huntresses and elders. The lesser males will eat last."

Just as with all of his decisions, Kumar would explain his reasoning to his brother. Gazini handled much of the bloodshed, and he was the political leader. He handled the pride and the workings of the pride.

"Having the Queen eat after our males but before her lionesses will put an even clearer distinction of the power we hold, and the limited power she still holds. Having her eat alone will either pressure her to eat quickly, or not eat enough to save as much as she can for her huntresses. The lesser males eating last will keep them in the weakest state possible, beyond making sure they are constantly wounded."

Mind games, mind games, mind games.

They were his specialty.

"But enough of business talk," he said, turning his face towards his sibling, face pulled into a grin. "Any of the lionesses caught your eye yet, brother?" Kumar asked, a low chuckle coming from his chest. It was partially a genuine question, and partially a joke. If Gazini named a lioness, he would ensure that the Ukufa males knew not to try and court her.

There was something both horrifically depressing and terrifyingly furious that came with the dawn.

The lioness herself was angry and pained. Her cub, Vanna, had been killed by the new males, and it left fresh scars upon her heart to have such a fate befall her child. She had loved Vanna with her entire soul, had nurtured the three month old cub and had watched her daughter grow. Only for the lovely, innocent, precious life to be ripped away from her by the claws of a tyrant.

Was there anything to be said in the defence of the males? No; nothing could ever be said to defend them or fix what they had done. Did she fear them? Both yes and no. They were tyrants. They had injured their pride males, had killed the cubs, had shown how powerful they were--but would they harm the lionesses they had fought so hard to get? Was she loyal to them? No. Was she loyal to her Queen? Yes. Acantha was her ruler. Acantha was the female she would listen to, the one she would trust.

She knew her own anger was but a match compared to the blaze that must have been burning in Acantha's heart. Viyan was not an inherently angry creature, but the Queen was. Her temper was extremely well known, something that everyone knew to be wary of setting off. But, just as most also knew, the Queen was patient, stubborn, vindictive and manipulative. The issues of the pride might not be solved within days, but they would be solved eventually. She had faith that Acantha would make sure of it.

The huntress lifted her head when she was approached, the muscles in her body sagging in relief when she saw that it was simply Kijakazi, the Third Female. Well, previous Third Female. The Ukufa Kings had disbanded her role and made her a mere huntress.

She offered the other lioness a nod of greeting, but remained silent.

She didn't have the heart nor strength to talk.

The large male's dark and tawny-streaked mane whipped up and down as he shook himself out before landing back in its normal place. He stretched out his long, muscular legs and inhaled deeply, grimacing slightly at the smell of lions' blood. He hadn't wanted to kill cubs; that hadn't been the plan. Perhaps it had been Svarog's -- he was the darkest of them. Izem was probably the least... brutal.

Well, he was brutal in his own way. But he was fair. Malicious, but judicial. Ah, well. He was part of a brotherhood, and there had to be different strengths among them. Izem's was, perhaps, the calming force of the bunch.

He parted his maw in a wide, ferocious yawn and moved forward to where the two kings had stationed themselves. He sent an uninterested gaze circling the camp before landing his focus on Gazini and Kumar. He stretched out beneath them with a grunt of friendly acknowledgement and flexed his claws, leaving long gashes in the earth beneath them. His tail tip flicked amiably as he surveyed the area once more.

"As long as there isn't a hunting 'accident', a hunt sounds great. I sense, though, that the lionesses will be a little less keen on the idea of a hunt with the likes of us," he mused, the last three words coming out in a higher tone, mimicking -- an making a mockery of -- a female's. His nose crinkled up as he raised his pitch. "A hunt sounds nice regardless."

Oh, how he missed the freedom that came with just the Ukufa males in a hunt. Sure, taking over prides was fun, but now they had to watch their backs. The lionesses were outmatched, but a wayward buffalo could cause devastating effects on the coalition. Er, pride. Izem was, frankly, annoyed. He didn't want to play babysitter with a bunch of adults who should know better than to oppose stronger rulers. Did they not want protection? To be mighty? To be feared?

He'd heard something about admirers, as well, and he flicked his gaze to one of the lionesses who was nonchalantly easing herself down. Izem snorted softly and rolled his eyes. Well. Maybe they wouldn't have to worry about all the lionesses.

Adani || 3 || Lioness || Huntress || M: Those Posted (Ind), Open

Adani sat in the shadows under one of the few trees in the rocky outcropping of a camp. The sun's rays peaking through the leaves above her sent dapples across her spotted coat, providing a nice mixture of warmth and coolness. Her golden eyes roved the area before her with no hint of emotion to them. The time to grieve, at least for her, was passed, and she was more numb than anything. The smell of blood had long since become a matter of fact in her mind that it no longer registered.

She pushed herself to her paws and moved along the outsirts of the encampment, eyes set on a new boulder, a new perch, a ways off from the rest of the lionesses. Adani was half afraid that the Queen would get after her for being too callous. Too... prematurely okay? But Adani hadn't lost cubs, nor had she been too close to any of them. She'd always been a little bit aloof, and she intended to continue to be such.

Her hard eyes found three of the Ukufa males, the two kings and a warrior, but she looked away again with obvious disinterest. They could groom eachother's fur and swap gossip for all the world; she didn't care. She just wanted something to happen, something to do.

Izula was lounging not too far off, but the spotted huntress decided to leave the other be. She wasn't sure what reaction she would receive, coming up to the ambitious lioness. Adani instead laid her lithe, muscled frame across her chosen rock and proceeded to groom herself.

The apocalypse being at the pride's doorstep was no excuse for a raggedy female. These males liked power, and she wasn't about to look like she was fine being stepped on.