Vitani having the guts to return, on things getting violent or on Vitani's unlikely new allies. Well, that last one wasn't entirely true... Nala knew her history; on the hyena account Vitani certainly lived up to her father's legacy. And it was turning out to be her demise, Nala feared.
As the pain from her wounded paw swirled up throughout her entire body, becoming ever more crippling, she cursed herself for having underestimated Vitani. Struggling with her wounds, her heavy, soaked fur and her eternal enemy Shenzi, she could not help but let anger get a grip over her at the prospect of losing her best – if not only – chance for a righteous comeback because of a combination of hubris and that heap of mangy poachers. She wasn't about to let that happen, not on her watch. Not why she had even the least bit of life in her. She'd die before she'd see another Scar rule the Pridelands, and she'd be taking a lot of others with her if she were. Nala had turned from the triumphant Queen she had been only moments before to a desperate rogue, to whom all means were viable to get where she wanted.
And the first obstacle she'd have to take was Shenzi. The hyena had been able to surprise Nala, and had gotten a shot at on of her paws. Her miscalculation in terms of speed and terrain had pushed them both into the Border River, however, where Nala's crippled paw was somehow compensated by the lion's superior skills when it came to moving in the watter. Nala exploited this by immediately pulling the hyena deeper into the river after first exchanging some obligatory niceties. Surprised by Nala's swift response and clarity of mind, Shenzi found herself without answer to Nala's sudden leap forward, which pushed them even farther away from the shore. Suddenly, she felt no more ground under her paws, went under, and could only resurface by devoting the entirety of her already diminished strength to keeping her head above water. Although Nala faced similar problems, she had needed not even half the effort her enemy had to put forth, if only because of having anticipated the need for a swim. Nala drew a long breath, then lunged in towards Shenzi and was able to wrestle her teeth around on of her opponent's paws, drawing her under.
Not having had any momentum to fill her lungs with air, Shenzi immediately panicked as she went under. Instantly, her body forced her to forget about the struggle that went on on the river's bank, to forget about the lioness she was battling and even give up whatever cover she might have had. The only thing that mattered now was getting her muzzle above the river's surface and breathe, anything else would mean the one of the most gruesome of deaths: drowning. Or so her struggling body told her, blocking out any sound of reason coming from her mind. And so, with only the thought of breathing fresh air propelling her, Shenzi stretched out her entire body, stretched out her neck, elevated her head and pushed with all her might to reach the surface. And, ont-size: small;">

In a way, Umeme's turnarounds in the last few days had kind of been modeled after the pride's behavior over the years: Supporting Nala, even when suffering under illegitimate ruler, then seemingly turning around to the enemy only to, in the end, when push comes to shove, still stand up for the only true Queen in the lands...
However, now was not the time to revel in that feel-good experience, or to just even stop to think about it. Now, 't was all about keeping her head above water and momentarily refrain from drowning outright, literally: by some unlikely chain of events, Nala found herself fighting for her life with a hyena she'd already supposed dead whilst up to her neck in the Border River's murky water.
She hadn't counted on that; this definitely wasn't what she had had in mind when trying to re-establish Pridelander rule to the Pridelands. She hadn't counted on Vitani having the guts to return, on things getting violent or on Vitani's unlikely new allies. Well, that last one wasn't entirely true... Nala knew her history; on the hyena account Vitani certainly lived up to her father's legacy. And it was turning out to be her demise, Nala feared.
As the pain from her wounded paw swirled up throughout her entire body, becoming ever more crippling, she cursed herself for having underestimated Vitani. Struggling with her wounds, her heavy, soaked fur and her eternal enemy Shenzi, she could not help but let anger get a grip over her at the prospect of losing her best – if not only – chance for a righteous comeback because of a combination of hubris and that heap of mangy poachers. She wasn't about to let that happen, not on her watch. Not why she had even the least bit of life in her. She'd die before she'd see another Scar rule the Pridelands, and she'd be taking a lot of others with her if she were. Nala had turned from the triumphant Queen she had been only moments before to a desperate rogue, to whom all means were viable to get where she wanted.
And the first obstacle she'd have to take was Shenzi. The hyena had been able to surprise Nala, and had gotten a shot at on of her paws. Her miscalculation in terms of speed and terrain had pushed them both into the Border River, however, where Nala's crippled paw was somehow compensated by the lion's superior skills when it came to moving in the watter. Nala exploited this by immediately pulling the hyena deeper into the river after first exchanging some obligatory niceties. Surprised by Nala's swift response and clarity of mind, Shenzi found herself without answer to Nala's sudden leap forward, which pushed them even farther away from the shore. Suddenly, she felt no more ground under her paws, went under, and could only resurface by devoting the entirety of her already diminished strength to keeping her head above water. Although Nala faced similar problems, she had needed not even half the effort her enemy had to put forth, if only because of having anticipated the need for a swim. Nala drew a long breath, then lunged in towards Shenzi and was able to wrestle her teeth around on of her opponent's paws, drawing her under.
Not having had any momentum to fill her lungs with air, Shenzi immediately panicked as she went under. Instantly, her body forced her to forget about the struggle that went on on the river's bank, to forget about the lioness she was battling and even give up whatever cover she might have had. The only thing that mattered now was getting her muzzle above the river's surface and breathe, anything else would mean the one of the most gruesome of deaths: drowning. Or so her struggling body told her, blocking out any sound by a stroke of luck it seemed, it worked: her head suddenly popped out from beneath the river's surface amidst bursts of water violently sweeping hence and forth because of her struggle.
However, as relieved as the hyena instinctively might have been at first, greedily sucking in the much craved air with her mouth wide open, she was know right where and how Nala wanted her. With a swiftness that could only be explained by the burning hate she held against her foe, and seemingly unhindered by her wounds, Nala released the enemy's paw from her jaws, surged upward, and mercilessly bit down upon Shenzi's neck, which had been painfully exposed in the hyena's desperate effort to stretch out and break the surface to draw breath.
And even though Nala, who sank down with Shenzi again, now held the least air in her lungs, victory would be hers: it had not been her intention to choke, or even drown her opponent, regardless of what the hyena might have thought. As she wrapped her paws firmly around Shenzi's upper body and shoulders, almost in slow motion because of the natural resistance one faces when moving underwater, Nala sealed the old Matriarch's fate. Their eerie graceful underwater dance came to a terrible , strung out finale finale as Nala pulled with all her might to try and break her opponent. Shenzi tried her best to resist, but fatigue and old age had already taken too much of a tole on her weary body. In this last duel of strength, or maybe of the wills, between the two old rivals, it seemed Nala would be the ultimate victor: slowly but surely, Shenzi's powerful neck started to succumb before Nala's onslaught.
In this final confrontation below the Border River's surface, Nala won. All strength flowed from Shenzi's body as her neck finally broke. Upon sensing she had at last decided this seemingly eternal feud in her own favor, Nala felt for a moment victorious, releasing her opponent from her jaws, yet still holding her tight in her paws. Just maybe, hanging motionless underwater for an instant, pressed against her, Nala finally felt some sort of respect for the foe that had antagonized her so.
But even now, Nala wasted little time lingering. She quickly let go of Shenzi and made a break for the riverbank, emerging from the water again halfway there. With renewed vigor brought on by her hard-fought victory, Nala sped forward towards the still battling Vitani and Umeme, who fought only yards away. Fueled by adrenaline and an unleashed blood-lust, Nala sealed out all perception, save for the vision of the struggle between Umeme and Vitani in front of her. She did not feel the blistering pain shooting up from her mangled paw, nor the distress calls of a body pushed way beyond it's limit. She did not see a horrified Dakly plunging into the river somewhere beside her, or the battle around her that slowly came to a grinding halt. She did not hear the emerging cries of disbelief slowly rolling down the hill. She did not see the lone racing figure that made its way towards them, approaching fast over the hill as Nala went in for the kill.

*

What a disappointment this had turned out to be, Vitani couldn't help but think. Umeme had decided