Under the Sun

[Kopa]

Kopa silently entered the tent where he and some others resided. He looked to see if the tent was empty. He listened for any sign of movement or breathing. "Is anyone in here?" he asked with a shaky tone. His nose was caught a scent that seemed lion, although after many other animals or humans came, he couldn't tell.


(Occ: I'm not sure if he will actually find anyone or not. That's up to any of you)

[Shani]

Shani listened quietly as Tug explained what he'd been up to. She let out a tiny hum of content at his consideration to let the rest of the medics sleep, though at the same time, she wished she could have helped out.
Almost as if Tug could sense that, he offered to let her help with the next step of making the medicine, which made the cub perk up, her tail curling in happiness,
"Okay! Let's go,"
She hopped to her paws and led the way to the medic tent, letting the scent of herbs and medicine guide her.

[Hikaru]

Hikaru flicked her eyes up to glance at Boso from under long lashes. She had caught the sound of disbelief and fear in the faun's voice, "Yes."

To Hikaru it was that simple. There had been more to planning the escape, and the logistics behind it. Hikaru falsifying records, arranging for her to be assigned to a supply route going by the border of Blackblood territory. It had been an involved process.

But the decision had been simple.

Before Hikaru could answer Boso on the 'how' of her escape, another faun suddenly poked his head in. This time Hikaru simply lowered her bowl to her lap, and cocked her head to watch the two cousins. Boso had called him Ferto. He seemed much more timid than her pseudo-waiter. 

Hikaru took a bite of her broth soaked bread, silently eating her meal while observing politely.

[Boso]

If only Boso could facepalm. Instead, the roe fawn sighed melodramatically. "Ferto, buddy, we've been through this: the humans that live here are Freedom Fighters - like us. They're here for the same reason we are. Also rude, much? She's like right there," he snapped. 

Boso knew better. He knew he should be a lot nicer to his baby cousin because it was the "right thing to do." Jasper was always getting on to him about how important it was to treat others the way he wanted to be treated and blah, blah, blah. All that mumbo jumbo. Jasper needed to get off his case!

"Anywaaay..." Boso turned back to Hikaru. "Why us? You could have gone to the Rogues."

[Nala]

Nala padded down the side of Priderock, paws falling heavy on the rocks that lead down to the tents that lay below their home. She paused at the bottom of the rock, teal eyes scanning over the lines of canvas tents and the different creatures that bobbed in and out of them.

Hesitating slightly, her gaze shifted to the light of the morning sun that warmed her fur. Taking a breath, she held her head high, walking forward with purpose. She was still queen, at least until Kiara came of age, she couldn't let her worries hold her back.
Striding through the tents, her eyes fell upon the current leader of the Freedom fighter army, as well as a few other animals, and the retreating form of her eldest son, who seemed to be in a sour mood. Letting out a small chuff in greeting, Nala walked up and sat down next to Jasper.
"Good morning, Jasper," she greeted, "everyone is starting to gather at the base of Priderock, whenever you're ready."

[Jasper]

The attitude from the young Prince almost had Jasper growling. His lips pressed into a thin line and he barely resisted retorting back, he may have been royalty but as far as rule went right now he was in charge, not the other way around. A loud breath was exhaled from the FF leader, the young transman scrubbing his hand roughly down his face to get his bearings about him once more. Patience was a virtue that seemed to be tested hourly here.

His fingers quickly ducked through his hair for a brief second before the presence of the queen warranted his immediate attention. "Queen Nala," He bowed his head ever so slightly as she moved to his side. At the notification of members starting to gather under the base of Priderock, he could feel his anxiety climb again. His hand went to his chest, fingers digging into his collarbone slightly. "Right, thank you." He dipped his head again before his face mimicked that of a slight grimace. Why were these things so stress inducing?

"Can you gather the rest up if possible? I'd like to have everyone there."

[Nala]

Nala peered at Jasper, watching his movements and picking up on what she had a feeling were human signs of worry. Dipping her head in response to his request, she got to her paws and prepared to go and gather the rest of the army, what few stragglers there were.

Before she walked away from Jasper, she gave his side a small tap with her tail,
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Simba wouldn't have made you his second in command if he didn't think you could handle things... if something ever happened."
Her voice cracked slightly toward the end of her sentence, but she ignored it and simply gave Jasper a smile before walking away to gather the other members.

[Hikaru]

There was the slightest twitch to Hikaru's lips. The cadet's equivalent of a smile. It was almost invisible, but it was there. She was a little amused at Boso, of all people, scolding another on rudeness. But... she also appreciated his defense of her. He could have easily ignored her, or the like. 

She finished off her meal and then set the bucket down off to the side.

"Mr. Manchas," she said it matter-of-factly as if saying 'water is wet'. The woman rarely spoke more than necessary, so that felt like a sufficient enough explanation. But then her eyes flicked over the young roe and the other one in the entryway. Perhaps she should explain more.

"Mr. Manchas, I had to bring him home. He is a part of the Freedom Fighters," Hikaru said, "And even if you all turned me away..."

There was a furrow to her brow, just as subtle as her previous smile, "I prefer the Freedom Fighter's reputation for mercy."

The Rogues weren't the ruthless beings the Blackblood's were. But she knew their reputation for doing what was necessary to achieve their goals. Hikaru wasn't sure if she wanted to be a part of that. After she left the Blackbloods... she had enough of mercilessness.

Ends do not justify the means.

[Copper]

Lions, lions, and more lions. Copper’s ears pulled even further back against his head as the forms of Kopa and Nala joined the slowly growing group gathered in the center of the camp. The former of the two had walked up to Copper and asked him something, but the hound didn’t have a chance to react before the big cat was turning away to focus his attention on something else. Lowering his head slightly, Copper stood up on somewhat crouched limbs as he heard Nala mention that a meeting was taking place at the base of Pride Rock. Without so much as a word, Copper crept away to go join the group mentioned above to wait for Jasper.

He may have dealt with large animals in the past(that bear certainly hadn’t been no tiny thing), but there was just something about the lions that unnerved him. And so, if he had a choice, he was going to be staying as far away from them as possible, as hard as that was going to be when he was part of an army that was run by them.

[Jasper]

He had not realized that his worry had been so strong that even Nala could tell he was struggling at the moment. He jerked visibly as Nala tapped him with her tail, cheeks becoming a rosy pink color in obvious embarrassment. "Ah- I'll be fine!" He reassured the lioness, his reassurance however quickly dropped at the mention of her late husband. Guilt felt heavy on his chest again, he should have done more to prevent the King's death but what could he do? They were outnumbered...

He shook his head. There was nothing he could have done no matter what he tired. The only thing he could do now was to do what he could. He swallowed down his nervousness and took a deep breath in. Right, it was time for the meeting. He moved away from his spot, heading for Pride Rock. The climb seemed to get easier each time he did it, but his knees still didn't really appreciate all the effort he had to put in. Once at the point of the rock, he gazed down towards his army. He didn't seem to realize how many members they were gathering. It was remarkable really.

He took a deep breath in before exhaling sharply. This would be a long one. He would go over the proceedings of what they had planned within the coming weeks. From the supply search in Australia to a training session that was due to be held later that very week. Things were about to get busy, and no one knew what damage would await them on the battlefield. Not even Jasper knew that.

Under the Sun is now Closed. Please do not reply.