Your Job is Not to Question Why...

[Kai]

All traces of amusement quickly left Tunza's face as he realized this tactic had apparently pushed his brother too far. What was he so angry for? It was just a game! A training exercise! It looked like he was truly attempting to kill her.

"Byron! Stop!" he called, running over. His pace was slow however, as he had not recovered from sprinting to Zengea. He wasn't sure what he'd do when he got there, but he had to do something.

Zengea, however, made no move. Not yet, at least. She was confident that Mahiri could handle this, and it could turn out be very useful practice for both of them. It was possible that it could take a dangerous turn, but Tunza was being too hasty. She would know if she needed to make it stop, but now was not the time.

[Narifia]

Byron took a massive swipe at Mahiri's face. Maneuvering quickly, Mahiri not only avoided the swipe but managed to catch his retreating paw and clamp down. Holding on to his paw with her jaws she jerked his foreleg back and forth furiously. Byron roared in pain and reared up on his hind legs to swipe at her with his free fore paw. Before he executed the swipe, Mahiri let go of him and took advantage of his upright position to headbutt him hard in the abdomen.

Byron toppled over her, winded by the force of her headbutt, and in his momentary state of shock Mahiri seized the chance to end the fight. She flung the limp lion off of her and pounced, grabbing a hold of his thickly-maned throat in her teeth and holding on for life. She maintained a firm grip, but unlike Byron, Mahiri was not blinded by fury or anger. She was calm and had a steady control over her emotions; firmly though she held him, she did not intend to kill or further injure him, despite how much contempt she felt over the brazen and arrogant jerk's little temper tantrum.

But the fight was not yet over. Byron recovered enough of his breath to retaliate, and with a devastating kick of his kind legs he ripped open a gash in Mahiri's flank, pushing her somewhat away from him. Mahiri snarled through the pain, but it only made her grip tighter. Bryon pushed himself to his feet and shook his head vigorously, trying to dislodge the steadfast lioness, but her grip wouldn't falter. He swiped at her with a fore paw, her shoulder easily exposed while she held him so stubbornly, and dealt another harsh blow, but still she remained attached.

Byron began to back away, dragging the stubborn and stiff-legged Mahiri along with him. He continued to shake his head and slash and bite at her, trying in vain to knock her off, but the more abuse she took the tighter her grip became. Byron's rage ebbed away into panic as he realized that nothing he did was stopping her, and as her grip tightened, he found it more difficult to breathe. Then he noticed Tunza, and his panic-stricken eyes pleaded for his brother's help. It was now Byron's turn to believe that he was in danger of being killed.

[Kai]

When Tunza actually arrived he realized he didn't know what exactly to do, as he didn't want to attack either of them. Mahiri had turned it around quite quickly, and now Byron looked like he was in trouble. Things were happening so fast he couldn't think.

"S-stop!" He said, putting a paw on each as if trying to push them both away from eachother. Suddenly, Zengea was beside him, rolling her eyes a little at her youngest son's rather ineffective means of stopping a battle.

"That's enough." Zengea commanded the two fighters in a firm voice. She wasn't loud, she had no need to be. All the assassins-in-training knew well enough that when Zengea spoke, you listened. Which is why she said no more, she just watched and expected them to follow the order so that she could say what she wished about the incident.

[Narifia]

At Zengea's command, Mahiri obeyed and released Byron from her grip. The dark-furred lion gasped for air and stumbled backwards, but managed to maintain his balance in front of his mother and teacher. He shot a hateful glance at Mahiri, but recoiled when he saw the eerily calm yet dominating gaze that met his in her eyes. There was a message underlying that calm gaze; "I am your equal, and never let yourself forget it."

Byron let a contemptuous puff of a growl escape, attempting to mask the nervousness he felt under Mahiri's cold gaze. It only made him hate her all the more. He broke eye contact and turned to face his mother, still breathing shakily. Blood dripped from the wound on his neck. He had sustained far less damage than Mahiri, but still seemed quite a bit more shaken.

Mahiri had already drawn herself up into her dignified, formal stance. As usual, she remained disciplined and in control, not allowing even the faintest of shivers at the pain of her wounds as she stood rigidly, awaiting Zengea's speech. Blood poured from her numerous gashes and cuts as she watched Zengea expectantly. Not to be outdone, Byron forced himself up into a more dignified position as well.

[Kai]

"It appears that I may have somewhat neglected training the mind in favor of training the body as of late. Byron, your rage gave you tunnel vision and that is a big contributor as to why Mahiri was able to turn the tables on you. The Ghost Lion is a mind reader, all he needs is to look into your eyes. Do you think for a second that he is going to miss your prideful nature? Do you understand how easily that can be manipulated? Do you know what happens to a fighter that loses his head like that in the middle of a serious fight, Byron?" She asked, then looked at all three of them. "Do any of you think that a lion who murdered his own mate, the lioness he was supposed to love and protect, in cold blood, and turned his back on his closest friends leaving them to pay for his wrongdoing, will let you get away with even the smallest mistake?" She sighed, although she was tough on them she did care about them, and they needed this kind of knowledge to succeed.

Tunza was worried about both of his fellow students, he could smell them bleeding. But he knew interrupting was not likely to get him what he wanted, he would just have to wait for Zengea to finish. At which point he was relieved to hear:

"Now both of you go find Masikitiko." She concluded.

[Narifia]

At the mention of her mother's brutal, cold-blooded murder, a brief flash of hatred flickered in Mahiri's eyes. She didn't need to be reminded of what she was fighting for, but nevertheless Zengea's words had only served to fuel her contempt for Byron even further.

Zengea and Mahiri were both taking this seriously, as they both had a true purpose in exacting revenge on the monster that had taken so much from them. Although Mahiri felt that her right to take down the specter was absolute, she could never deny Zengea's feelings and right to avenge her own cubs, whose fates still remained unknown. But in spite of all that they stood for, Byron spat in the face of their resolve with his arrogance and his bullheaded pursuit of glory. He wasn't fighting for any noble cause; he was fighting for himself. And Tunza could care less about vengeance or glory, and just wasn't cut out to be a warrior at all. They were both a shame to Zengea and a waste of her time and skills. It made Mahiri sick with haste; it meant all the more that she needed to prepare Hamali and Nyota as quickly as possible. Byron and Tunza had no right to face the Ghost Lion, and Mahiri was going to see to it that the lions who truly had the right to face him would.

At Zengea's dismissal, Mahiri nodded once in a saluting manner and began to pad obediently off to find the pride's wise old healer, Masikitiko, with the unflattering thoughts of Byron still floating about in her head. Byron was still bitter from Zengea's lecture as turned to follow, skulking behind Mahiri and glaring daggers at her backside as if he could kill her with the mere power of his gaze. 'She doesn't belong here,' he thought hatefully at her backside, 'Having to resort to cheating little tricks to win at a cub's game... she's the one who won't last long in a real fight with the Ghost Lion!'

Despite the obvious tension between the two of them, they walked in silence until they finally reached Masikitiko.

Continued On: The Blind Healing the Blinded.[/b][/size]