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Description
Midas and his group of males continued to trudge onward and was relieved to finally see the desert was finally coming to an end. They could see the grasslands coming into view and could feel their fatigue gradually melt away the closer they got to home. Midas had sent Moroola ahead of them to let the lionesses know that they would soon be arriving. Lakino however, was still limping a bit but stubbornly refused to admit defeat and pressed forward. Midas noticed that Lakino was slowing down once again and turned towards him to get him to stop. "Hey, lets rest for a bit. Your leg is clearly bothering you and I don't want it to worsen. We still have a bit of ways before we reach home." Lakino opened his mouth to argue but the sharp gazes from both Midas and Tibias was enough to have him consider otherwise. He let out a sigh of resignation before sitting down. "Alright, alright I'll rest a little geez. I just thought you'd be at least trying to rush home, especially because of Ruby's condition." Midas tilted his head in confusion and could feel his heart skip a beat, "Condition? What do you mean?" Tibias and Lakino both exchanged shock glances as they just realized they said something they shouldn't have. "Midas, I don't think that was our secret to tell you... We just assumed Ruby had told you already, my bad..." Lakino frantically tried to cover up to no avail. Clearly he had spiked Midas' interest. "Lakino please tell me, what is it? I have a right to know!" Midas practically begged, his eyes filled with worry. Lakino shook his head and tried to face away to avoid making eye contact with Midas. "No, I can't! Sorry Midas, but I'm more afraid of Ruby than I am of you!" The two went in circles before Tibias finally could no longer stand it and blurted, "Ruby is pregnant Midas! We thought she had already told you before we went on our trip!" Midas' ears perked up as he froze in place looking like a deer in the headlights. "She... is?" Midas rested back on his haunches looking almost as though he were about to faint. He stared blankly in front of him as he processed what he had just heard. "I can't believe it... I'm going to be a dad..!" A smile crept onto his lips and Tibias and Lakino let out a sigh. "We're sorry you had to find out through us, I'm sure Ruby was just trying to find the perfect time to tell you..." Tibias apologized but Midas shook his head, "Don't be. If anything, we need to hurry back now! I need to scold her for not telling me sooner!" Midas jokingly laughed but it was evident that he was more worried than before. "I can't believe she didn't tell me sooner! She probably knew I wouldn't have gone on this trip if I had known... that little minx!" Midas' thoughts raced as he began to quicken his pace and press onward. "Hey Midas, wait up!" Lakino and Tibias called from behind him but it was obvious Midas could no longer hear them as his mind filled with unease. He snapped out of it when Moroola had returned and appeared overhead squawking, "Midas! You need to hurry! The pride is under attack by Fang and his rogues!" The three males' jaws dropped in shock and Midas could feel his heart sink. "Come on, we need to get there as fast as possible! Fang won't even see us coming!"

Kunga's fur bristled up as she let out a warning roar. She bared her fangs as she tried to make herself look as intimidating as she could as she snarled, "What do you want, Fang is it?" Fang smiled smugly as he began to pace back and forth in front of her, "Oh not much, I just figured you might be hiding a friend of mine in there... I believe she's the queen of this pride now, Ruby? I only want to see her and finish off where we last were..." Kunga's eyes narrowed as she refused to budge. "I won't let you lay a single claw on her. Even if you do manage, Midas will be here any minute now. He'll have you wishing you never stepped foot in our territory." Fang let out a loud obnoxious laugh, "Your bluff was so good I almost fell for it. I know Midas isn't anywhere near here so just hand her over before things get messy." Kunga held her ground as she got into a defensive crouch. "Never." Fang scoffed, "You're going to regret that." In the blink of an eye, he had sprang and knocked Kunga onto her back, sinking his claws into her neck. Kunga however, determinedly fought back as she sank her teeth into his arm and raked her claws against his chest. Aleuri and Ruby just barely peeked out of the den just enough to see what was happening and stared on in horror. Ruby felt helpless as she weighed her options in her mind. She could either take this chance to try to escape, try to help Kunga or wait and see if Kunga would be able to fend Fang off. However, unfortunately for them, it was clear that Fang was much more stronger and younger than she was. Before Ruby could turn to Aleuri to discuss a plan, Aleuri bolted out of the den and cried out, "Fang please! Stop!" Fang had Kunga's neck gripped in between his jaws, seconds away from ending her life if he decided to clamp down. Kunga's eyes were wide with fear as Fang softly released his grip. He stared at Aleuri in shock, "Aleuri? What are you doing here?" Aleuri growled shakily, "Fang, let her go! If you care about me, you'll release her and leave Ruby alone!" Fang took a step back, his eyes narrowing to slits, "What's happened you? You've become soft. Can't you see? Taking over this pride is right in paw's reach right now!" Aleuri shook her head, "You're not playing fair and not only that but... I won't let you hurt Ruby. If you try, you'll have to go through me too!" Aleuri's voice sounded terrified yet it was evident she meant what she said as she unsheathed her claws. Fang could see Ruby poking her head out of the den and glanced from her to Aleuri back and forth. "You're both expecting... is that what this is about?" Aleuri glanced away to the side as she paused for a moment before sighing, "Fang, it matters little to me if you wanted cubs or not but hurting or even killing a cub, a being that had little fighting chance, is possibly the lowest thing a lion could do. If you ever do that, I could never forgive you." Fang stared at Aleuri for a long while, the gears in his mind clearly turning as he pondered his next move. He began to pace a bit back and forth before finally letting out a snarl of frustration. "Alright, I'm leaving this time. But don't think this is always gonna work on me, I'll be back real soon, trust me." Fang practically scurried out of the pride central, letting out a roar to let his clan know of his retreat. The remaining rogues retreated and Busara and Villa quickly sprinted to Ruby's den. "Busara! Villa! It's Kunga! She's badly hurt!" Ruby cried out as she rushed to Kunga's side, trying to help stop her bleeding. Kunga was sprawled out on her side unconscious from the loss of blood. Busara and Villa quickly got to work and Ruby buried her head into Kunga's fur. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this Kunga to protect me... You didn't deserve this..." Ruby broke into a sob as guilt washed over her. As soon as they had successfully covered her wounds, the two healers gently carried her back to their den to keep a further eye on her. As Ruby turned to access the damage done by the rogues, she noticed Aleuri stood besides her staring off into the distance where Fang had taken off. "You gonna be okay Aleuri? That was an awfully brave thing you did for us back there." Ruby gave her shoulder a gentle nudge and Aleuri half heartedly nodded. "Even though he refuses to realize it, he does still care about me in his own weird way..." As Ruby opened her mouth to further ask Aleuri about his feelings for her former mate, she was interrupted by a familiar distressed call coming from the other side of the pride base. "Ruby! Ruby! Where are you?" Her stomach filled with anxious butterflies as she realized that her mate had finally returned home.

Base by
Original Art: Disney

Part 7---> www.deviantart.com/truelightpo…

Description
Midas and his group of males continued to trudge onward and was relieved to finally see the desert was finally coming to an end. They could see the grasslands coming into view and could feel their fatigue gradually melt away the closer they got to home. Midas had sent Moroola ahead of them to let the lionesses know that they would soon be arriving. Lakino however, was still limping a bit but stubbornly refused to admit defeat and pressed forward. Midas noticed that Lakino was slowing down once again and turned towards him to get him to stop. "Hey, lets rest for a bit. Your leg is clearly bothering you and I don't want it to worsen. We still have a bit of ways before we reach home." Lakino opened his mouth to argue but the sharp gazes from both Midas and Tibias was enough to have him consider otherwise. He let out a sigh of resignation before sitting down. "Alright, alright I'll rest a little geez. I just thought you'd be at least trying to rush home, especially because of Ruby's condition." Midas tilted his head in confusion and could feel his heart skip a beat, "Condition? What do you mean?" Tibias and Lakino both exchanged shock glances as they just realized they said something they shouldn't have. "Midas, I don't think that was our secret to tell you... We just assumed Ruby had told you already, my bad..." Lakino frantically tried to cover up to no avail. Clearly he had spiked Midas' interest. "Lakino please tell me, what is it? I have a right to know!" Midas practically begged, his eyes filled with worry. Lakino shook his head and tried to face away to avoid making eye contact with Midas. "No, I can't! Sorry Midas, but I'm more afraid of Ruby than I am of you!" The two went in circles before Tibias finally could no longer stand it and blurted, "Ruby is pregnant Midas! We thought she had already told you before we went on our trip!" Midas' ears perked up as he froze in place looking like a deer in the headlights. "She... is?" Midas rested back on his haunches looking almost as though he were about to faint. He stared blankly in front of him as he processed what he had just heard. "I can't believe it... I'm going to be a dad..!" A smile crept onto his lips and Tibias and Lakino let out a sigh. "We're sorry you had to find out through us, I'm sure Ruby was just trying to find the perfect time to tell you..." Tibias apologized but Midas shook his head, "Don't be. If anything, we need to hurry back now! I need to scold her for not telling me sooner!" Midas jokingly laughed but it was evident that he was more worried than before. "I can't believe she didn't tell me sooner! She probably knew I wouldn't have gone on this trip if I had known... that little minx!" Midas' thoughts raced as he began to quicken his pace and press onward. "Hey Midas, wait up!" Lakino and Tibias called from behind him but it was obvious Midas could no longer hear them as his mind filled with unease. He snapped out of it when Moroola had returned and appeared overhead squawking, "Midas! You need to hurry! The pride is under attack by Fang and his rogues!" The three males' jaws dropped in shock and Midas could feel his heart sink. "Come on, we need to get there as fast as possible! Fang won't even see us coming!"

Kunga's fur bristled up as she let out a warning roar. She bared her fangs as she tried to make herself look as intimidating as she could as she snarled, "What do you want, Fang is it?" Fang smiled smugly as he began to pace back and forth in front of her, "Oh not much, I just figured you might be hiding a friend of mine in there... I believe she's the queen of this pride now, Ruby? I only want to see her and finish off where we last were..." Kunga's eyes narrowed as she refused to budge. "I won't let you lay a single claw on her. Even if you do manage, Midas will be here any minute now. He'll have you wishing you never stepped foot in our territory." Fang let out a loud obnoxious laugh, "Your bluff was so good I almost fell for it. I know Midas isn't anywhere near here so just hand her over before things get messy." Kunga held her ground as she got into a defensive crouch. "Never." Fang scoffed, "You're going to regret that." In the blink of an eye, he had sprang and knocked Kunga onto her back, sinking his claws into her neck. Kunga however, determinedly fought back as she sank her teeth into his arm and raked her claws against his chest. Aleuri and Ruby just barely peeked out of the den just enough to see what was happening and stared on in horror. Ruby felt helpless as she weighed her options in her mind. She could either take this chance to try to escape, try to help Kunga or wait and see if Kunga would be able to fend Fang off. However, unfortunately for them, it was clear that Fang was much more stronger and younger than she was. Before Ruby could turn to Aleuri to discuss a plan, Aleuri bolted out of the den and cried out, "Fang please! Stop!" Fang had Kunga's neck gripped in between his jaws, seconds away from ending her life if he decided to clamp down. Kunga's eyes were wide with fear as Fang softly released his grip. He stared at Aleuri in shock, "Aleuri? What are you doing here?" Aleuri growled shakily, "Fang, let her go! If you care about me, you'll release her and leave Ruby alone!" Fang took a step back, his eyes narrowing to slits, "What's happened you? You've become soft. Can't you see? Taking over this pride is right in paw's reach right now!" Aleuri shook her head, "You're not playing fair and not only that but... I won't let you hurt Ruby. If you try, you'll have to go through me too!" Aleuri's voice sounded terrified yet it was evident she meant what she said as she unsheathed her claws. Fang could see Ruby poking her head out of the den and glanced from her to Aleuri back and forth. "You're both expecting... is that what this is about?" Aleuri glanced away to the side as she paused for a moment before sighing, "Fang, it matters little to me if you wanted cubs or not but hurting or even killing a cub, a being that had little fighting chance, is possibly the lowest thing a lion could do. If you ever do that, I could never forgive you." Fang stared at Aleuri for a long while, the gears in his mind clearly turning as he pondered his next move. He began to pace a bit back and forth before finally letting out a snarl of frustration. "Alright, I'm leaving this time. But don't think this is always gonna work on me, I'll be back real soon, trust me." Fang practically scurried out of the pride central, letting out a roar to let his clan know of his retreat. The remaining rogues retreated and Busara and Villa quickly sprinted to Ruby's den. "Busara! Villa! It's Kunga! She's badly hurt!" Ruby cried out as she rushed to Kunga's side, trying to help stop her bleeding. Kunga was sprawled out on her side unconscious from the loss of blood. Busara and Villa quickly got to work and Ruby buried her head into Kunga's fur. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this Kunga to protect me... You didn't deserve this..." Ruby broke into a sob as guilt washed over her. As soon as they had successfully covered her wounds, the two healers gently carried her back to their den to keep a further eye on her. As Ruby turned to access the damage done by the rogues, she noticed Aleuri stood besides her staring off into the distance where Fang had taken off. "You gonna be okay Aleuri? That was an awfully brave thing you did for us back there." Ruby gave her shoulder a gentle nudge and Aleuri half heartedly nodded. "Even though he refuses to realize it, he does still care about me in his own weird way..." As Ruby opened her mouth to further ask Aleuri about his feelings for her former mate, she was interrupted by a familiar distressed call coming from the other side of the pride base. "Ruby! Ruby! Where are you?" Her stomach filled with anxious butterflies as she realized that her mate had finally returned home.

Base by
Original Art: Disney

Part 7---> www.deviantart.com/truelightpo…