Welcome to Gaia! ::

Cubs, cubs, cubs, Jua'johari thought frantically to himself. He knew where they were supposed to be--with their mother--but he also knew at least one was missing. Kitoko--where was Kitoko?!

The air was lit with an anguished din--screams, cries of pain and sorrow, the whistling of the stars as they fell from the sky, crashing into the ground or cruelly hitting their targets. But not his cub, not any of his cubs. No, he had to find him, he had to find him--

There!

"KITOKO!" Jua shouted at the top of his lungs. His son was like a white snowball in the grass, hiding in plain sight from the chaos around him. He looked petrified. Jua launched himself into a mad dash towards his cub, dodging other lions and falling stars along the way. He had nearly reached his son when a star shot right across his path, stopping the male in his tracks. As he skidded to a halt, he toppled into another running lion and tripped hard, falling forward on his chin and earning himself a nasty scrape. He roused himself to his feet as best he could, shook off the stun, and hobbled towards his son the rest of the way. He collapsed over the cub, shielding him. "It's ok," he hushed above the screams, "it's ok, I've got you."



Unfortunately for Ushindi, the lion that Jua had run into had been him. His round body somersaulted and slid on a wet patch of long grass. He groaned with frustration and pain as he rolled to his stomach. He shook his mane out of his eyes and tried to glare at whoever had hit him, but saw it was a father and cub. Ushindi swallowed, reminded of what was going on. He got to his feet, slipping and nearly falling again. The grass was wet with blood. Ushindi blanched and stared around for the source, but found none.

"Dalila...?" he called above the noise. And then more urgently, "DALILA!"

"YEAH!" came the impatient response. Dalila was standing in cover of trees, ducking at every possible sound. She was scared out of her wits. The flying, black monster was bad enough, but now the stars were falling?! Was it the end of times? Was she going to die? Was everyone going to die? Was this the end of the Pridelands--of life itself? But no, Dalila planned to live as long as possible. Damn her loyalty, though--she couldn't run off without making sure her friends were safe. She turned her emotions off towards the bodies collapsing to death around her. She had to. She had to feel nothing right now. The pain could come later. If she lived. If any of them lived...

"Hurry UP, you big idiot! THIS WAY," she roared at the fat oaf of a lion. She took off running as soon as he began to run after her.


[[OOC: I just decided that Mawingu and Njozi are not here atm. Maybe they will show up later, dun dun dun...]]

There was no time.

Kiasi could not stop to look for Shaji as she realized he had fallen behind her because she knew every second that she wasted on his safety was a second she would not get to ensure that of her children, or her grandchildren, this family that they had built up together over so many years. She was not as nimble as she once was but still she dove forward, leaping sidelong as meteors crashed within feet of her and grimacing as splatters of rock and dust ricocheted off of her tawny pelt.

There was no time; not to worry for herself, not to worry for the lions that dropped down like flies around her, not to care for the beast in the sky.

When she saw them at last a wave of relief swept over her - only to be replaced with horror as her a spattering of rock pelted her youngest son.

"Kayode!"

Her voice broke free of her jowls without a thought and she pushed herself, harder and faster, ignoring the way debris jabbed at the bottom of her pads.

Adannaya, for all that she played at being her mother's daughter, at knowing all the answers and being in control of every situation, simply stood there slack jawed and horrified as rocks began raining down upon them and the adults - the ones that were meant to protect them - fell crashing down beneath them. Her muscles were locked in place and her bones were rigid with fear as she tried to think of what to do - how did they dodge these? Where did they run?

In front of her, her brother was pelted with a rock and she gasped, only to stare with horror as he ripped it free and a jet of blood poured down his dark fur. Her mouth gaped, made to form his name, but instead heard her mother's voice shouting it -

"Mom?"

She whirled to the sound of the older female, daring for a moment to hold hope in her heart. Only, above her, a large, flaming chunk of metal and rock was whizzing right down at her and the only soul who even seemed aware was that very same lioness she had hoped, somehow, was coming to save her.

"No," Kiasi screamed, casting a puzzled look across her daughters face. With one, last desperate leap she shoved the smaller female out of the way and sent her sprawling in a tumble across the ground. The meteor fell where she had been standing, crashing into Kiasi's back and filling her ears with a sickening, wet snap. She collapsed in a heap upon the ground with a ragged gasp of breath and looked up to find a pair of worried, golden eyes staring back down at her.

"Asili", she whispered, ignoring the way blood was bubbling over her jowls, "do not let her.. see. Run." Her dark blue eyes were brimming with tears as she realized these were the last moments she would have with her children, with her grandchildren, with anyone. "Run," she insisted, using every last ounce of command that was left to her.

The dark male opened his mouth to protest, to say that they would save her, but he knew his grandmother never made the wrong choice. If she wanted them to run without her then it meant.. that she couldn't. He leaned forward as he heard Adannaya scrambling to her feet and pressed a last, gentle nuzzle against her forehead.

"Go with the stars," he mumbled before turning and leveling his best imitation of his grandmother's stern look upon his young aunt and uncle. The meteors were still crashing, the lands were still unsafe..

"We have to move," he howled, planting himself in front of Kiasi's weakening form, "Kayode, Adannaya, for the border! Go!"

Adannaya stared at him, trying to look past him, trying to see - mother? Where was father? A sickening, hopeless feeling swelled within her gut but her eyes met Asili's and she knew..

Go.

"Kayode," she howled, butting her head into his unharmed shoulder to get his attention. "We have to go!"

Asili moved forward, herding them, and Adannaya did not wait any longer - she bolted.

Kiasi watched as the girl ran for her life, watching the way her teal puff swayed as she went, the only bit of her children that reminded her of her love. She turned, coughing blood as she did, and let her eyes land on her Shaji as he hobbled, slower and slower, in her direction. With every bit of strength left to her, she drug herself forward on her belly in a vain attempt to meet him halfway one last time.

The meteors fell around her but her midnight eyes rested only on him, for eternity.

"Ormarr, where is she?"

Fear and panic had settled deep into Solsti's bones as she pressed her pale hide back against the stone at the base of pride rock. Above her, rocks were hurtling down and around them lion after lion was falling to the earth in huddles. Some were getting up, others were at least stirring, but some -

"Solsssti, look at me," a slender, green head filled her vision and blocked her wide-eyed stare at a male that had fallen short some few feet ahead of her. "We will find her and then we will run."

Solsti's heart was drumming a mile a minute against her ribs but the weight of her scaled friend as he curled tightly around her neck to anchor himself was a bit of a relief. A very little bit. With a deep breath, she took a few steps forward and risked stepping away from the rock monolith. Perhaps it was safe, maybe the safest spot to be right now, but she could not live with herself if she did not find Equi first.

"Equi," she cried, loud and bellowing over the sound of plummeting stones and screaming pride landers, "Equi!"

She turned in place, her bright, golden eyes blown wide with worry - and then she heard her. The white dragoness turned and there she was, barreling across the land with Ormarr's matching brother strung across her shoulders. She picked a paw up, made to leap forward, only to have a chunk of meteor plummet down against the earth right in front of her feet. For a wonder, it was only a spray of dust and dirt that greeted her, but it left her shaken enough that she did not waste anymore time running for her other half.

"Equi, where do we go?"

"HE'S DEAD!"

Dhahabu finally snapped out of his daze and tore his gaze away from his dead uncle, the lingering adolescents, the more successful rescuers and the general chaos around him.. filled with adrenaline, he was barely aware of a growing feeling of pain in his legs and the blur in his eyes as he began to run. Uncles Uzuzi and Kituwe were the only close family he had seen around before this, now Uzuzi was dead and Kituwe was nowhere to be seen so Dhahabu was on his own.

So he ran, and he didn't stop until he found shelter from the stars.

Natia was doing her best to comfort her sister. Fear was flooding into her own mind, but she was somehow keeping herself more focused when she only let herself think about Kore. "We won't die. We will survive this, Kore. Mother will be waiting for us, its all right..." She was telling Kore this, but trying to force herself to believe it as well. They'd wake up near their familial den, and share another day of being companions and competitors in the story of their lives.

Everything happened so fast. Someone was here to evacuate them. Then the sky was falling...and their hero had died before they could even do anything. Kore's scream echoed in her head, over and over. "He's dead! He's dead! He's dead....!"

"Kore, Kore," Natia cried, doing her own nuzzling to comfort her sister and herself in this moment of fear. "Let's run somewhere safe," she breathed, feeling her eyes cloud over from the tears. This wasn't fair; this wasn't hwo life was supposed to go! This was supposed to be a fun, pretty evening watching the stars and sharing flirtatious looks with stupid boys. Not...watching adults die all around her. "Let's go with them, Kore!" As soon as she realized that another adult had come to help, and was more than likely going to perish from her wounds, with how Kayode was reacting. "Safer together," she whispered, pushing Kore to move with the group to the border.

For a brief moment there was no screaming to be heard, the sound of rocks pounding against the earth was silent; the stillness was akin to death - total, infallible and overwhelming. Her young mind could not compute what has unraveling before her eyes - her brain had short circuited and her pupils were blown wide as for the first time in her short life, mortality was morbidly painted before her. How was this happening? Why, was this happening? There would be much speculation over the next few days she was sure, there would be a lot of talk, a lot of grief. If any of them survived this…

Golden eyes finally found her other half and despite the chaos it was hard to keep a relieved smile off of her face. She was okay- Thud. When a rock landed just before her sister, Equi’s heart stopped beating in her chest; only to start again when the dust had cleared and it became apparent that Solsti had not been hit. She was dirty a little scratched up, but still whole. The gasp she had made was audible, her legs were shaking, tears threatening to fall from her eyes at the wave of horror settled in her stomach.

The darker girl was shaking; violently shaking. Her companion’s grip was tighter than it had ever been before, the pressure around her chest reminding her to breath; did this mean, he was afraid too? The thought was all that was keeping her standing. That everyone else was just as terrified as she was. From their terror she found some bravery, some form of courage. She had to.

The dragoness stepped forward the last few steps to greet her sister, her forehead resting against the others females to offer some comfort. The girls breathing was heavy; but from terror instead of exhaustion. For a split second, she thought she had lost her and it had drained the blood from her skin. Touching her made everything right with the world once more, despite the chaos that still danced around them and threatened oblivion.

She heard the King call; urging everyone to return to Pride Rock. However being trapped, surrounded by stone - she did not want to return to the darkness. As long as she could see the sky they could run, as long as they could run they could escape. “It does not matter.” She shook head head - it was hard to believe anywhere would be safe. For a moment her brows furrowed, well she did know one place. Somewhere that she was not meant to know about; a place that she wasn't really allowed to venture.

“Oh, no. Not again. You promised me, girl.” Giftigg; who had an uncanny ability to follow his mistresses trail of thought, hissed in disapproval. But with the body count rising, his objection was only half hearted. Golden eyes glanced down at him for a second and Equi sighed.

“Towards the river.” She finally uttered, defeated.

"Are you okay Otea?" The green male asked as some of the commotion started to die down a little bit, though it was still a nightmare with all the things that were going on. Dead bodies laid rampant and he wasn't sure he wanted her to see any of this. It was terrible and it made his heart sink.



Maahes let out a growl of pain and looked over to see a decent sized chunk of burned out flesh streaking down one of his legs. Feeling was beginning to come back to the area as he was able to move the limb but it hurt like hell. "Yea, I'll be okay, quickly, to the overpass." He said hoping to usher the female towards the rocky over face that might give them some sort of cover from the falling debris. Bodies lay everywhere and he knew that some of them were those he likely knew and he did his best to think of those who were alive currently and needed help.

Argy watched in horror as the male near him was struck and he moved over towards him quickly. Giving him a look over he knew there wasn't anything that he could do for him at the moment and quickly looked around for Diora, where was she? But a familiar body laid upon the ground not far away and his stomach flipped. It was Kimara, and Diora was doing her darnedest to get to her. "Are you okay? I'll try and do what I can to treat your wound but one of our healers would be better suited but she looks busy......" Please don't let Kimara be dead, he didn't want to have to tell her mate she had died.




Kimara's world was nothing but a black void of nothing. Void of all feeling and emotion, like she was suspended in simple animation, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Diora finally got free from underneath Areo's weight and ran over to Kimara, she looked okay, aside from a few scratches here and there that were hardly bleeding. But she was unconscious, possibly from the force of the concussion. Nesrin was pretty much useless as one of his front paws was pretty bloody from being sliced open so he wasn't going to be able to lift her at all. "We're going to need help." Diora gave a look around, "Areo, get her to cover please!." She said as the black and orange male managed to shake the debris from his eyes. Moving quickly over towards where Diora was she helped get Kimara upon his back and he quickly took her with the help of Nesrin over towards the overpass.

- - - -



Kitoko was still in shock as blood, dirt and bodies seemed to fly around him. Maybe this was a nightmare? Some sort of a sick dream, but he knew it wasn't true. His heart was racing a million miles a second and a voice cut through the air, one that he knew. Wide eye'd he turned a frightened face towards his father as he was embraced in his warmth and he started to cry.



"Dad? DAD!" The large form of his father was on top of him and he finally got free from his father's grasp to make sure he was okay but grimaced as part of his face was severely damaged from one of the smaller meteors scraping across his face. Argo wasn't sure what to do so he did his best to get his stumbling father to his feet and lead him to safety. "What... What happened? Are you okay?" Prometheus's speech was a little off given the damage to his jaw but otherwise he seemed coherent enough. "It'll be okay dad, I promise everything will be okay." He wasn't sure his father would survive the wounds to his face but he was going to do what he could to make sure he would.

Kanoro - hit by broken shard
Soren/Otea - Miss


Kanoro ignored those around him. He needed to get out of here. Chaos soon erupted when the god dropped a dead lioness right in the center of the gathering. His eyes widened as he was quick to scamper. Not soon after the dead lioness, rocks began to rain from the sky. The smaller brown lion was quick to move away, but not enough to avoid being hit by a broken shard. He landed to the ground with an oomph, only notating the small pulsating pain, before quick to continue out.

---

By the time Hari had told her to stay behind him, Otea couldn't move. What was going on in her perfect pride?

Death was upon them. Figures were dying left and right of her. She was unsure how many had fallen, by Otea found herself huddled closer to the council member, shaking, finding herself rooted to the spot. She could not move, no matter how hard she willed herself.

When it seemed the commotion was dying down, the light lioness opened her eyes, refusing to look around at the aftermath. "What....?" Was all the petite lioness could muster, her eyes finally floating to the deceased.

Her heart broke when her eyes spotted familiar beings. Her mother and her father lay, not moving, not too far from her. She let out a small gasp as she felt her legs go weak underneath her. She fell to the ground slowly. She may not have been injured by debris, but her heart was injured knowing her family and friends were dead before her.

---

Soren had managed to escape unharmed from the fallout. He was quick to move away from the scene. It was only when he was further out that he turned around to eye the scene around him. A frown was on maw.

What a coward he was to turn and run. Sure others had done the same, but that didn't make it right in the pale lion's book.

He took a step towards the fallen. He needed to help.