The First Battle

[Mystic]

Mystic stared in shock at the deep, bleeding gashes in Shere Khan's face. She hadn't expected to hit him very well, let alone leave that much of a mark. Icy hues flickered to her own paws, claws still unsheathed and now covered in crimson blood, a stark contrast against her white fur.

Her gaze moved back to her opponent, ears pinned back at the look in his eyes, and the tone of voice as he growled at her. A look of fear flashed across her face, and for a moment, her fight or flight response stalled, leaving her rooted to the spot. When Shere Khan lunged at her however, something in her mind kicked in, and she quickly tried to scramble out of the way of the oncoming threat.
Mystic had only been trying to protect her owner, and now she was in a fight that she wasn't sure how to handle. She only hoped she'd get out of it alive.

[Kopa]

Kopa barely managed to dodged and the force that she had flung the spell made him fall on his back. He tried to get up but seemed to struggle.

[Shenzi]

In the shade of the brown scrubs, dark blotches stirred. Shenzi had been lying low, waiting for the opportune moment to rush in and claim glory for herself. The hyena, as far as she was aware, was doing a masterful job of getting up close undetected. It looked like there were two clusters of fighting going on. Though Shenzi did consider volunteering herself to even the odds for Shere Khan, fighting cats in broad daylight wasn’t her style; she’d much rather mess with them in the dead of night. Turning her powerful head away from the tiger, she mused;

Maybe next time, stripes.

Instead, she kept a close watch on her king and his steed. Since she had a vendetta with the Freedom Fighters in particular, she honed in on them. Though she considered digging her teeth into the young lion, she didn’t fancy getting caught in the crosshairs of a sorceress. The dog, Copper, however, was right at her level. Her dark lips pulled up into a lopsided grin; she was going to have fun with him.

Her amber eyes and ashy face poked from the brush as she wolf-whistled.

“Here boy,” she called.

The hyena clicked her tongue, hoping to taunt Copper into going after her.

[Kula]

The fight was off to a good start at least, or so it seemed. Mystic had managed to draw first blood, and while the orange male looked to be ready to kill Kula was sure that he could be adequately handled.

On the other paw... A flash of red fur drew the green eye of the Outsider princess, pulling her attention away. A familiar shade, a very particular shade. The shade of her half-brother's mane. It clung now not to the neck of Simba however, but a lion similar in size to herself. Not many lions had a mane like that, and Kula had it the authority of her own fangs that the most well-known of them now slept with the stars. The most obvious of assumptions to make then was that it was one of Simba's sons gracing the battlefield before her. Attacking her overseer no less!!

What a convenient excuse. Mystic would have to fend for herself for a few moments - with a cackle Kula spun about to launch herself into a run, tackling Kopa about the middle.

[Hikaru]

In the brief moments it took for Hikaru to back track for some room to breathe and recover, Kopa was now being flanked by two enemies. He had gotten outnumbered saving Hikaru from Nasira's magical clutches, but she refused to let him stay that way.

Hikaru's eyes flashed between Kula and Nasira and she calculated as quick as she could-

Her weighted throwing knife flicked through the air like a streak of silver, aimed at the arm Nasira brandished in her attack against Kopa. The woman was the more immediate threat. Kopa would have better luck fighting against the other lion than Nasira.

"I'm your target," she called out firmly, drawing Nasira's attention back to her. Hikaru decided to switch tactics. The woman's spell power was too dangerous long range. Time to increase their proximity.

Another dagger was pulled from her thigh holster so that Hikaru was once again wielding one in each hand, and then she dashed in close to Nasira once more. Her knives flashed in rapid streaks as she slashed at Nasira's vital points, hoping to overwhelm her before she could retaliate with her magic.

[Nasira]

Kopa did not get back up. Nasira glowered at the young lion as he struggled to get back on his paws, her temper rising. The traitor's soul would have been hers had that damnable prince not intervened. And it was so obvious whose son he was; the bright red mane gave it away. Simba had already been taken care of, but it would be an added bonus if the legion ended the Pride Lands dynasty. The blue sky was speckled with circling buzzards, vultures and crows, the rocky terrain writhing with dark wings as they unceremoniously tore at the dead, fighting and screeching. Nasira would have been content to slit Kopa's stomach open for the ravenous avians, but her dagger was still wedged deep in Aladdin's shoulder, and Kula seemed more than happy to take out the trash. After all, it was Kula who had ultimately sent Simba to a darker world, so Nasira had been content to leave the ghazi warrior to it. 

The willowy necromancer had swiveled just in time to see Hikaru's arm arch back. Nasira panicked and quickly moved to the right, but the window to dodge completely had closed just as soon as it had opened. The throwing knife spun wildly before it nicked her left tricep. Pain soared through her. Nasira cried out and staggered a bit as ruby red blood dripped down her arm like a leaky faucet. Her right hand clutched the wound as if to stifle it, but the thick blood slipped through her fingers and fell in fat drops on the dusty ground. Behind her, the throwing knife had wedged itself in the trunk of an eucalyptus tree, a piece of torn leather dangling from the blade like a leaf about to fall. Nasira exhaled. A little farther to the right, and it would not have been the tree the knife hung from.

"I'm your target."

Nasira growled. Oh that was absolutely rich. Thinking fast, she used her magic to yank Hikaru's throwing knife from the eucalyptus tree. It levitated down to the holster that once held the dagger she lost and slipped right in.

Hikaru surged forward at once, her knives a blur. Nasira was forced to let go of her dominant arm so that she could use it to block, her right palm now as red as Kopa's mane. The sudden movement stretched the slash on her arm, but Nasira endured it. The clash of metal sent tremors through them both each time they struck, and they tore at one another like wolves. Nasira took a gash along her thigh that made her left leg buckle, but she stood her ground. She tried to strike Hikaru's head open with her staff, and flames exploded from her right hand.

[Kopa]

Kopa sighed in relief as the attention Nasira had on him diverted to Hikaru. But his attention returned when he spotted a lion, Kula, coming right towards him. He could feel her claws hit his middle and he fell over with a grunt. He growled and tried throwing her off, hoping it would work.

[Hikaru]

Hikaru's attacks were swift and she had Nasira on the defensive and it looked as though she might defeat the necromancer-

Then her vision doubled, a chill consumed her, and she stumbled.

Hikaru felt as if she were there, but not there at the same time. Her body strangely disconnected from her. She couldn't breath. She couldn't feel. What was happening to her? Her numb hands dropped the daggers when they couldn't feel.

Then a bright starburst of pain knocked Hikaru back into her body, and to the ground. She gasped, suddenly able to breath again, body trembling and blood spilling down her face from the gash in her skull. Hikaru had no time to relish in her recovery. Nasira blasted her with flames.

Hikaru turned away, the flames washing over her hooded coat, barely protecting her from the initial heat. She tumbled away, trying to not only retreat from Nasira, but also put out the flames that still licked at her coat.

[Kula]

"Oh little boy, little boy!!" Kula's cries were like that of a harpy, cackling and mad as she struggled atop the male. Her smacks were forceful but more whack than claw, aim untrue and meant more to simply disorient Kopa rather than truly injure. Kula as a lioness was much more prone to playing with her meals as it were, and Kopa was just one big juicy bit of fun.

Leaping atop him Kula went to sink her claws into his shoulders; positioning herself on top of him in a crouch she was to try and slam him into the ground, hitting his head repeatedly against the firm soil in an attempt to scramble his senses.

"Where's your daddy, little boy? Why'd he leave you all alone!!"

[Kopa]

Kopa growled and made a kick to her jaw. How dare she! Kopa felt pain course through him though as her claws penetrated his fur. He felt his and back hit the ground multiple times. He spoke with fury in his tone, but also depression, "Dead" he said softly. Dead, he said again in his mind.