think. Umeme had decided once and for all to betray her after all. And the funny thing was, she wasn't even any good at it! As if fighting with the strength of only half a lion, the enemy-turned-ally-turned-enemy-again that was Umeme was disappointing even in her betrayal. Vitani of course realized how Umeme's fighting with some more able-bodied opponents than the aging Nala Vitani herself had faced would have taken at least some sort toll, but it in no way was an excuse for the pathetic performance Umeme was putting up now. As if she didn't even want to stand and fight a decent fight, a fight fitting Vitani's skill and standing.
The fact she was actually disappointyena 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 once and for all to betray her after all. And the funny thing was, she wasn't even any good at it! As if fighting with the strength of only half a lion, the enemy-turned-ally-turned-enemy-again that was Umeme was disappointing even in her betrayal. Vitani of course realized how Umeme's fighting with some more able-bodied opponents than the aging Nala Vitani herself had faced would have taken at least some sort ed of easily winning a duel, oddly enough, didn't strike Vitani as particularly strange. It's an Outlander thing, you know.

“Is that it? Is that all you've got?” snarled Vitani, as she easily evaded a half-hearted attempt Umeme made at lashing out. In a lightning response, the Queen grabbed her opponents paws with both hers, dug her claws deep in her flesh, and made a violent pull that sent a surprised Umeme suddenly flying forwards. She came to an abrupt stop, however, as her nose made contact with Vitani's forehead. Immediately after the perfectly executed head-butt, the younger lioness bounced back limply, leaving behind a splash of the blood that now spurted out of her nose on Vitani's chest.
Unable to get up again, Umeme just lay on the ground gasping for air. Vitani Casually strode closer, eventually standing over the groggy lioness. She bent down, then moved her head close to Umeme's ear. The lioness' fur gently rustled along with the rhythm of Vitani's heavy breathing as she exhaled. From the corned of her eye she could just see Dakly rushing by, but she didn't pay much attention to him. Her interest, as well as her vision, was now limited only to Umeme.

“You disappoint me, Umeme,” whispered the Queen, sounding surprisingly sad “I still had great hopes for you, even after all you'd done. I really had. But you betrayed me yet again... and for what? In your betrayal, you couldn't even succeed in giving me a decent fight...”

Umeme tried moving her head up, and that took her a fair amount of trouble; anyone else in her condition would have already already fainted long ago. Yet she still kept her eyes open, no matter how fuzzy her vision, and her head upright, no matter how much the world seemed to spin around her. Suddenly, her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, yet no sound could be heard. Vitani only saw her teeth moving up and down, teeth now red of Umeme's own blood.

“What's that?” frowned Vitani, her voice now again laden with scepsis, distrust and disdain.

“Be... hind... you!” muttered Umeme again.
Vitani had only half heard what the lioness had said, but the sudden change of look in Umeme's eyes went a long way to fill in the gaps. In a reflex that was only fitting of the term 'catlike', Vitani abruptly turned around, one paw already lift up high to try and block whatever it was that headed her way. But that wasn't nearly enough to prepare her for a one-hundred fifty pound lioness crashing into her, even for a lioness as able as Vitani. For a moment there, her physical prowess was temporarily overcome by the surprise strike. It finally gave Nala, whom had obviously executed the attack, the upper hand in her now resumed fight with Vitani, if only for a short wile. But that short moment was all Nala needed.
As soon as Nala had pounded on Vitani, both of them had tripped backwards onto the unfortunate Umeme. It would have been comical if it hadn't been dead serious. With Umeme below her, forcing her back in an awkward and painful twist, Vitani suddenly found it awfully hard to combat Nala, now above her in a vantage position. All her previous smugness and self-assuredness had disappeared in mere moments. Now it was Vitani who found herself fighting for her life, or so she thougr />

“Is that it? Is that all you've got?” snarled Vitani, as she easily evaded a half-hearted attempt Umeme made at lashing out. In a lightning response, the Queen grabbed her opponents paws with both hers, dug her claws deep in her flesh, and made a violent pull that sent a surprised Umeme suddenly flying forwards. She came to an abrupt stop, however, as her nose made contact with Vitani's forehead. Immediately after the perfectly executed head-butt, the younger lioness bounced back limply, leaving behind a splash of the blood that now spurted out of her nose on Vitani's chest.
Unable to get up again, Umeme just lay on the ground gasping for air. Vitani Casually strode closer, eventually standing over the groggy lioness. She bent down, then moved her head close to Umeme's ear. The lioness' fur gently rustled along with the rhythm of Vitani's heavy breathing as she exhaled. From the corned of her eye she could just see Dakly rushing by, but she didn't pay much attention to him. Her interest, as well as her vision, was now limited only to Umeme.

“You disappoint me, Umeme,” whispered the Queen, sounding surprisingly sad “I still had great hopes for you, even after all you'd done. I really had. But you betrayed me yet again... and for what? In your betrayal, you couldn't even succeed in giving me a decent fight...”

Umeme tried moving her head up, and that took her a fair amount of trouble; anyone else in her condition would have already already fainted long ago. Yet she still kept her eyes open, no matter how fuzzy her vision, and her head upright, no matter how much the world seemed to spin around her. Suddenly, her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, yet no sound could be heard. Vitani only saw her teeth moving up and down, teeth now red of Umeme's own blood.

“What's that?” frowned Vitani, her voice now again laden with scepsis, distrust and disdain.

“Be... hind... you!” muttered Umeme again.
Vitani had only half heard what the lioness had said, but the sudden change of look in Umeme's eyes went a long way to fill in the gaps. In a reflex that was only fitting of the term 'catlike', Vitani abruptly turned around, one paw already lift up high to try and block whatever it was that headed her way. But that wasn't nearly enough to prepare her for a one-hundred fifty pound lioness crashing into her, even for a lioness as able as Vitani. For a moment there, her physical prowess was temporarily overcome by the surprise strike. It finally gave