mention tardy. The last thing he had seen was, after a fierce struggle, both Shenzi and Nala going under, coming up again and then going under once more. From the looks of it, Shenzi had been in a tight spot, barely able to catch her breath. It was thus no surprise Dakly panicked the moment he saw Nala surfacing without his aunt. What made him even more scared was that Nala just made a break for the shore, which signaled she was apparently done with the business she had to take care of in the river.

“Aunt!” Dakly immediately screamed, after which he rushed into the water. The mud that sucked his paws in made that a surprisingly hard thing to do, frustrating him to no end, since he was still convinced that now every second mattered. Meanwhile, Nala had already gotten out of the water a few yards away from Dakly, but the two didn't seem to notice each other, nor the fact that the battle was starting to subside because of an unknown figure's appearance over the hilltop.
Before long, Dakly was finally in the deeper end of the river, and since Shenzi still hadn't surfaced, he immediately dove down around where he estimated the fight between his aunt and Nala had occurred. Because of all the stirred up mud, it was nearly impossible too see anything underwater – Dakly saw nor found anything at first. But pushed forth by fear, anger and the love for his aunt, he persisted and went down for a second time after drawing breath again. And then a third time. And in some macabre way, the third time was the charm: as Dakly was blindly scouring the bottom of the river, he suddenly hit a heavy, still somehow what warm object. Then he felt the paws, the tail and the head. This was definitely a hyena, which somehow what reassured Dakly. But she wasn't moving. The cold river's water now seemed to chill even Dakly's heart, as the horrible truth began to sink in, against all the fading hopes he still held.
With the tiny ounce of strength he had left after all the endeavors of the day, Dakly managed to grab his aunt by the scruff with his teeth, to try and pull her out of the water. That wasn't exactly easy pie, yet Dakly did still somehow manage to keep his head above water as he pulled forth Shenzi. The most frustrating thing about the trip, apart from ice how Tanabi's intervention cut the already subsiding battle on the shore short.
The moment his paws touched land again, Dakly managed to put 'em down as firmly as he could, as to draw Shenzi onto the shore . He slipped once as he dragged his aunt out of the watter, causing them to both get smeared with mud. As soon as he thought he had gotten Shenzi far enough, Dakly instinctively wanted to shout out for help. His soar throat, however, combined with all the muddy water he had involuntarily had to swallow, made sure his shouts died in a long coughing seizure. Realizing he would be on his own for the seconds to come, Dakly himself turned back to his aunt's body which lay motionless, save for her back-paws that still gently waved along with the river's stream. He quickly dropped down next to her, carefully placing one paw over her chest while sliding another one under her neck.

“No, please no... Help us! Someone, please...” Dakly shouted out, his voice dying down as he noticed how limp Shenzi's head hung over his paw. Now more carefully supporting her, he gently licked some of the mud off her face.

“Someone, please help my aunt...” His whisper, however died in the thunderous roar that suddenly engulfed the entire Border River valley. The hyenas that had already gathered near Dakly and Shenzi all simultaneously looked up, along with pretty much all others in the valley, lion and hyena alike.

Headed by a comparatively imposing Jino, a golden wave swept down the hills to the east, its sudden appearance so intimidating most combatants on the eastern edge of the battlefield instinctively ran backward and braced themselves for impact. Because of that, Tanabi, who still held Vitani tight, suddenly found himself at the outer edge of the crowd as the newcomers stormed forward. Before long, the entire formation slowed down when they saw Tanabi, to eventually halt and form a wedge, Jino at the tip, in front of Tanabi. The King, however, didn't even look up, he had no interest for anything but Vitani right now. Jino was a bit uncomfortable with that, as he didn't understand what was going on right away, although he did think the way Tanabi lay with his paws wrapped around Vitani was a bit awkward in this kind of setting.

“Uh... Sire?” Jino tried, yet Tanabi didn't respond. And that's when Jino noticed Vitani was hardly moving at all. Before he got the chance to say anything else awkward, though, Spotty came to his side. She quickly noticed Vitani as well. At first, dismayed by the sight of a bloodied Viani, she backed away again, only to approach the fallen Queen again moments later.

“”Oh no... no... V-Vitani? My Queen?” stuttered the young lioness, her mind instantly reverting back to her days as an Outlander. Vitani, however, didn't respond, and seeing as how Tanabi held the lioness in a firm embrace, Spotty didn't dare approach any further so she wouldn't startle the grieving King. But because her instinct told her that Vitani needed her pretense, she skulked closer nonetheless.
Yakta, disturbed by Spotty sudden outcry, quickly elbowed his way from the back of the newly arrived Green Pride towards the front. As soon as he lay eyes upon Tanabi and Vitani, however, he too froze. His mouth opened for a moment, but ipped once as he dragged his aunt out of the watter, causing them to both get smeared with mud. As soon as he thought he had gotten Shenzi far enough, Dakly instinctively wanted to shout out for help. His soar throat, however, combined with all the muddy water he had involuntarily had to swallow, made sure his shouts died in a long coughing seizure. Realizing he would be on his own for the seconds to come, Dakly himself turned back to his aunt's body which lay motionless, save for her back-paws that still gently waved along with the river's stream. He quickly dropped down next to her, carefully placing one paw over her chest while sliding another one under her neck.

“No, please no... Help us! Someone, please...” Dakly shouted out, his voice dying down as he noticed how limp Shenzi's head hung over his paw. Now more carefully supporting her, he gently licked some of the mud off her face.

“Someone, please help my aunt...” His whisper, however died in the thunderous roar that suddenly engulfed the entire Border River valley. The hyenas that had already gathered near Dakly and Shenzi all simultaneously looked up, along with pretty much all others in the valley, lion and hyena alike.

Headed by a comparatively imposing Jino, a golden wave swept down the hills to the east, its sudden appearance so intimidating most combatants on the eastern edge of the battlefield instinctively ran backward and braced themselves for impact. Because of that, Tanabi, who still held Vitani tight, suddenly found himself at the outer edge of the crowd as the newcomers stormed forward. Before long, the entire formation slowed down when they saw Tanabi, to eventually halt and form a wedge, Jino at the tip, in front of Tanabi. The King, however, didn't even look up, he had no interest for anything but Vitani right now. Jino was a bit uncomfortable with that, as he didn't understand what was going on right away, although he did think the way Tanabi lay with his paws wrapped around Vitani was a bit awkward in this kind of setting.

“Uh... Sire?” Jino tried, yet Tanabi didn't respond. And that's when Jino noticed Vitani was hardly moving at all. Before he got the chance to say anything else awkward, though, Spotty came to his side. She quickly noticed Vitani as well. At first, dismayed by the sight of a bloodied Viani, she backed away again, only to approach the fallen Queen again moments later.

“”Oh no... no... V-Vitani? My Queen?” stuttered the young lioness, her mind instantly reverting back to her days as an Outlander. Vitani, however, didn't respond, and seeing as how Tanabi held the lioness in a firm embrace, Spotty didn't dare approach any further so she wouldn't startle the grieving King. But because her instinct told her that Vitani needed her no sound could be heard. He shuffled closer.

“Sis?” he carefully whispered.
Meanwhile, Maitha and Kucha had also somehow managed to crawl near. Both lionesses had taken serious beatings, Kucha still bleeding from the head, while Maitha had to limp forward on three legs, the fourth one being to badly damaged to stand on. But even they were still conscious enough to realize what was happening, although they didn't have the energy to do anything but stare in horror. In the background, most lionesses that had sided with Nala in the previous battle now started coming closer too, save for Nala herself, who tried staying in the background whilst making herself as small as possible. The hyenas, in turn, started gathering around Dakly and Shenzi.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Vitani opened her eyes again, making Tanabi draw his head back a bit, as if shocked. The look in Vitani's eyes, however, was anything but clear, as she seemed to almost stare out in the distance. With ample effort, she opened her mouth again.

“Tanabi, I knew you'd come for me again...” she silently whispered, “I'm sorry I made such a mess of things while you were gone...”

Taken aback by those remarks, Tanabi could but stare whilst tears welled up in his eyes. Meanwhile, Vitani turned her head an crossed looks with all lions gathered around her.

“Hey, you're all here, great to see you...” the Queen mumbled somehow what incoherently. As Tanabi kept holding on to her, he could feel how she kept getting