"May the spirits have mercy on your soul."

[Curiosity]

[Rated PG-13 for scenes of violence.]

Characters Involved:

Kasim, male cougar
Paoro, female elder cougar, shamaness
Ayashe, female cougar, matron
Chesmu, male cougar, deposed chieftain
Yuma, male adol. cougar, chieftain pro tem
Nayeli, female adol. cougar, chosen
Kein, male adol. cougar
Tohopka, male adol. cougar (spoofed)

=== Sprawling Mesa ===

As much as he didn't want to leave, as much as he wanted to stay where he was, he knew that he would eventually have to. He couldn't stay at the den forever. It's been about a day since Kasim had went back to the den expecting to enjoy some time alone with his mate... but instead he found her bloodied and mangled body. To say that the cougar was feeling terrible would be the biggest understatement ever made. It felt as though his heart had been ripped out, thrown on the ground, cut into tiny little pieces, and spit upon. He got no sleep that night, too busy crying his eyes out, begging the body to wake up, then crying some more. When the sun finally came up, he knew he had to tell someone, /anyone/ who would listen to him... and then maybe go back. And so we find Kasim now, walking along ever so slowly with his head hung low and going wherever his paws may take him. His eyes are puffy and red, evident as to how much he was crying at the all to painful reality. His mate was gone.

It seems as though the aging shamaness has returned to her homelands just in time to serve a very important role. With the tribe in shambles, and seemingly more to come on the way, order desperately needs to be restored before Paoro can rest. Even so, the cougaress is attempting to find some of that rest now, but it isn't long before the sharp tang of blood-smell reaches her nose, her green eyes opening to seek out the source and seeing an old, familiar face approaching the mesa...though not with a very friendly look on said face. And when the shamaness sees the blood covering Kasim's paws and muzzle in addition to that horrified face, she's up on her feet in a matter of seconds, alert, despite her stiff joints. "Kasim? What happened?"

When Kasim hears his name called out, he slowly raises his head up, showing some more blood under his chin and on his belly. Maul's blood. It was... everywhere in the den. The picture of his mate's slashed and bloodied body will most likely haunt the cougar for the rest of his life. It takes a moment for him to actually recognize the cougaress before him, but the voice is one that he wont ever forget. Paoro. "It's Maul. She's... she's..." A lump forms in his throat as his eyes start to tear up again, threatening to overtake him. His breathing gets heavy as the next word dwells on his mind. By saying it, he's also confirming to himself something he just doesn't want to believe... but he has to. Taking in a deep breath, the tears start to fall as finishes his sentence. "...Dead."

Paoro feels as though all the breath runs out of her lungs as soon as Kasim mentions Maulisho's name - she doesn't need to hear the actual word to figure out what's gone wrong. Not with all that blood. "No..." The shamaness has to brace herself, feeling as though she might just fall over in a faint if she's not careful to keep all four paws planted. "...what happened to her?" A hunt gone wrong? A misjudged leap? She can't even imagine the other very real possibility...even if a part of her feels it.

Kasim may not know exactly what happened to his mate, but he knows who caused it. The scent of the killer was all too present in the den... and on Maul. "Chesmu," he finally breathes out, trying to get a grip on himself. "I found her... b-body yesterday. His scent was everywhere. She was c-covered with blood and," this is what sickens him most, "... and I think he raped her." As angry as Kasim wants to be, now isn't the time to do it. There will be a time later, but he just can't make himself feel angry right now. He's too sad to do so.

Paoro's pale green eyes seem to flicker when the former chieftain's name is mentioned, the shamaness visibly withdrawing back as though having something disgusting presented right in front of her nose, an involuntary grimace spreading across her maw. She can't believe it. She can't believe -him-. She can't believe her own poor judgement. She can't believe Maulisho's dead. The shamaness seems to fade away from reality for a brief moment, her head swimming with all the torrents of emotions rushing through it. She can't even speak at the moment. When she finally opens her maw again, it's to let loose a bloodcurdling scream, eyes shut tight, the only way she's currently able to express her feelings for the time being.
At the Sprawling Mesa, Paoro screams.

Kasim only closes his eyes when Paoro lets out her earsplitting scream, not seeming to care about the ringing in his ears. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he says suddenly. "We were supposed to have a week to ourselves, just the two of us... alone. We were... supposed to have cubs together." But now all of that is gone. Sweept away with the wind. More tears start to flow down his face as that painful realization sets in. "I'll... never get to see her again."

When Paoro's eyes open again, her breathing is heavy, ribs expanding with each deep inhale -- but it's not from her age. No, this is from her anger. The normally mild-mannered shamaness is clearly displeased -- Maulisho may not have been blood family, but she was a sister of the heart nonetheless...and the fact that her murderer was not just some random rogue, but the former chieftain of their tribe, and one she -handpicked herself-...no, the elderly cougaress is not about to take a day to mourn for her loss. That can come -after- vengeance has been taken. "Kasim...this is a wrong that cannot be righted, and cannot be forgiven. We will mourn Maulisho's wrongful death very soon, but I cannot allow this transgression to go unpunished. Yet I am not the strong matron I once was. Will you help me?"

There are advantages to letting the direction of the wind dictate which way one blows -- a heightened awareness, brought to Ayashe's nose on the breeze, is one of them. The Amaranth Matron has already heard of Maulisho's death, but it is Paoro's scream that confirms her worst fears and makes real the rumours brought to her earlier this morning by the territory's resident magpie flock. She approaches from the North, her fur covered in brambles and her lips stained pink with the blood of her last kill, moving with the feline grace characteristic to her kind despite the limp that has come to define her these past few months. She says nothing, not at first, but when Paoro speaks she makes her presence known with a loud but throaty chuff.

Kasim knows that Paoro is right. There will be a time for mourning and sadness but now it's time for some action to be taken. They've all given Chesmu more than one chance to turn things around and he ruined every one of them. Now the anger starts to slowly set in. "Of course I will Paoro. Anything to avenge Maul." It's Chesmu's fault that his plans for the future are ruined. It's Chesmu's fault that his week of happiness is gone. It's Chesmu's fault that he'll most likely never be a father now. The tears gradually stop falling and his legs stop shaking. The sudden chuff causes Kasim to look over at Ayashe, but since he has no idea who it is he remains quiet for now, the anger slowly starting to raise in him. It's all Chesmu's fault.

Paoro glances over at her daughter when she arrives, her hard gaze softening slightly when she looks upon her eldest. "Ayashe..." She turns towards the matron, squaring her shoulders as she seeks assistance as well, and from the very mate of the male she seeks to execute. "I am sorry to have to ask you this, and even before I can greet my own child properly after my long absence. But Chesmu has disgraced our lands by spilling the blood of our Sister, Maulisho. You carry my blood, and so you know that this mortal crime must be met with an equal consequence, even if the murderer was once our Chieftain. He will be given no more chances to redeem himself. Lead us proudly, Matron Ayashe." With the male's strong scent, not to mention the easily-detected smell of blood no doubt covering him, it shouldn't be too hard to track him down.

"I will go alone," Ayashe says, and unlike her mother there is nothing soft about the expression of her face or the tone of her now hoarse and gravelly voice. "Chesmu is my mate, and my responsibility -- I spared his life when I should have taken it, and now once again someone else has paid the price for my err of judgement. You are old, Mother, but you are not dying. I have only a few days before my body is as still and as cold as Maulisho's. Let me retain what little honor I have left. Should I fail," and she suspects she will, "let Kasim be charged with the task."

Paoro is unnerved to hear her beloved daughter speaking so frankly about her impending death, but this is no time for tears. Not yet. That will come later, and the heavens will shed tears of ice in sympathy with the mourning tribe once all is said and done. But for now - Amaranth's matron and the recently widowed have a blood debt to repay. Ayashe may be fighting alone, but Paoro cannot be made to stay behind. She nods to Ayashe, signaling for her and Kasim to move. It is time.

=== Jagged Cliffs ===

With every step they take closer to the former Chieftain, the anger inside of Kasim increases. Any hint of sadness is gone, put off for later, only wanting to focus on what is about to happen. He walks side by side with Ayashe, almost speed walking. He wants to get this going as quickly as possible. "Hey, Ayashe," he suddenly says, but doesn't stop walking. "I understand why you want to do this... but I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of Chesmu and I can already tell that you seem hurt." Or at least, he heard that she implied it. "Maybe... maybe you should stay back and let me take him." Chesmu has already caused enough grief and, as angry as Kasim may be, he still has enough sense in him to look out for others.

Chesmu is enjoying a meal he had caught himself. Before even starting on his meal, he seemed to get a thrill out of absolutely mutilating the poor animal. The feel of claws tearing flesh apart seemed extremely satisfying to the lost cougar. This husk, this cougar that was once Chesmu. With a twitch of an eye, he continues eating the destroyed hare.

Ayashe responds to Kasim with, of all things, a low chuckle. "I am not only hurt," she murmurs, "I am dying. The Hunter Man put one of his rocks in me when I surprised him by the stone formations. It was not his fault -- he acted out of fear, not malice, and carried with him only the skins of small game." She falls quiet when she catches sight of Chesmu, a frown curling at the corners of her muzzle. "No, Kasim. This is something I //must// do."

The aging shamaness follows behind the pair of wronged mountain lions, more there for moral support and back-up than actual physical confrontation. Though Paoro would not be opposed to laying several striking paws on the male, provided the opportunity. He may have broken Maulisho's body, but he will not break the tribe's collective pride.

Despite everything that's about to surly happen, Kasim gives Ayashe a small smile. He knows that she must know that she will most likely die if she fights Chesmu, but she's also trying to go out proudly. It takes guts to do that and Kasim can certainly admire that. He's about to say something back to her when he suddenly catches sight of Chesmu and, in an instant, the smile is gone. Instead, he's baring his teeth with his ears back, claws fully extended and lets out a low growl. If it wasn't for Ayashe, he would already be charging right at Chesmu. He'll hang back though and let Ayashe do her thing, but when it's time for him to jump in, there will be no holding him back.

Chesmu takes another bite of the delicious meat of the butchered hare. He is unaware that he is being approached by his former tribemates. If he were, he's probably greet them in the same way he had greeted his mate when she evicted him. But as it is, the former Chieftain and former Chesmu just continues to consume his meal, his eye continuing to twitch.

Ayashe does not stop to say her good byes. A Matron shows no weakness in front of her enemies, and so cannot show any tenderness in front of her mother. If Chesmu knew what she had planned, he might not turn and fight -- he may turn and run. That isn't a chance she can afford to take. She continues toward her mate, saying nothing, not because she has nothing to say -- but because she has not the strength to say it. She needs all her body has left to give for what she is about to do.

Chesmu finally stops his eating. He turns to see Ayashe walking towards him, then notices the others. His eye twitches. But Chesmu doesn't actually say anything. Could possibly be that his madness has progressed so far that he has forgotten how to speak. He just starts waking toward Ayashe, a low, deliberate speed, his blood-streaked muzzle cracked into a malevolent grin.

As soon as Chesmu begins to move toward her, Ayashe's steady stride quickens to a brisk trot before transitioning to a full-out charge. She isn't as big as the other cougar, and with her injury she doesn't stand much of a chance against him in a long, drawn-out confrontation. Just as well, she doesn't intend on dragging this out any further than Chesmu himself already has. Her ears laid flat against her skull, upper lip curled back into a furious snarl, she launches herself at him with a guttural cry. She has one chance to make this right, and one chance only.

Chesmu had not expected Ayashe to start out by attacking him like this. As such, his guard was almost completely down as he is bowled over by Ayashe's pounce. Chesmu howls, an eerie animal howl. As he rolls himself back onto his feet, he snarls and runs straight at Ayashe and throws a fast blow at her head.

Dodging, it seems, is not part of Ayashe's plan. She absorbs the blow to the side of her face, shreds of flesh from her ear and cheek peeling away beneath Chesmu's claws. Thick rivulets of blood stream down her throat and chest, but rather than slow her down her injuries appear to solidify her resolve and give her even more power as she surges forward and clamps her jaws down on Chesmu's shoulder, using all her weight to push him across the gravel, toward the edge of the cliffs.

Chesmu howls like an animal again. He pushes back against Ayashe, soon he sinks his own teeth into her. It seems he's not even concerned about any damage he is taking, almost as if he's not worried about self-preservation. Eyetwitch... growl.

Ayashe, in spite of her newfound vigor, isn't strong enough to move Chesmu's bulk any further than she already has. With a low grunt of pain, she abruptly releases him and pulls away, leaving him with a mouthful of fur, skin and muscle clenched in his teeth. She lowers her head and backtracks several steps, suddenly on the defensive, before starting to move around Chesmu, edging closer to the drop herself.

Chesmu chews and swallows what he got of Ayashe. He grins then and runs after Ayashe, ready to deal a lot more damage. His eyes betray him, showing nothing there but sheer madness, revealing no Chesmu there. Just this creature that must be stopped.

The rocks are loose here. Ayashe can feel them shifting beneath her paws, the sound of splitting stone like birdsong in her ears. The ledge will support her weight, but not Chesmu's. "What are you waiting for?" she snarls. "Come and finish me!"

Paoro's eyes widen as she realizes what her daughter is planning to do. But she resists the maternal urge to rush forward and attempt to save her, knowing that the matron has made her final decision for herself, and that she must stand her own ground. Kasim is likely resisting his own urge - but that of leaping after the murderer of his mate himself. The shamaness nonetheless looks pained as she watches the inevitable unfold.

Finally, with a leap, Chesmu reaches out two clawed paws to slice into Ayashe, intending to overtake her and finish her off. Kill! Eyetwitch.

Chesmu's claws find their mark, but as he comes down on Ayashe the ledge beneath them gives out under their combined weight. Where there was once rock there is now only air, and the chasm below opens its maw to swallow them both. When both Matron and Chieftain are gone, the sound of boulders settling at the bottom of the cliffs can be heard, the smaller pieces of broken stone tinkling against the larger ones with a quiet sense of finality...

=== Below the Jagged Cliffs ===

During this entire fight, Kasim has never left his fighting stance just incase he needed to jump in at any moment. If it hadn't been for Ayashe telling him that she had to do what she did, he'd already be fighting the former Chieftain instead of taking this backseat. However when Ayashe possitions herself right on the cliff edge, Kasim's eyes shoot wide open at the realization of what she's doing. Without any hesitaion, he says "Come on Paoro," quietly so as not to tip Chesmu off before he turns right around and starts running. All it takes is the sound of the cliff cumbling away to confirm what he thought and makes him push himself faster. He has to get to the bottom of the mountain as fast as he can so Chesmu can't run away... if he survived that is.

Paoro can't leave just yet. No, she has to make sure it happens before she can abandon her watch over Ayashe. But as soon as the pair of pumas are launched over the edge of the cliff, the remaining cougaress wastes no time in making her way down the winding path of the mountain in order to reach the ground level far below -- though the aging shamaness takes considerably more time to end up at the place where Chesmu and Ayashe landed than Kasim does. Ayashe is...clearly dead. But there's no time to mourn - the dead can wait. For now, there is a sentence that has to be carried out. Paoro lingers behind, her eyes on Kasim as he approaches the injured Chesmu.

It is with an ear-splitting howl that Chesmu discovers, the hard way, that his leg is broken. Chesmu pulls himself out from the rocks, delicately walking. He can't run, not on three legs. Chesmu knows he's in no shape to fight, and yet he lacks in a need for self-preservation. He hobbles, strenuously, away from the cliffside, snarling bestially. Ayashe is dead. Eyetwitch. And it cost him a healthy leg and possibly an edge in any fight he has. Chesmu is retreating, but not out of any concern for his life but merely for the fact he cannot do much damage as he is.

Even at full speed it takes a few moments for Kasim to finally reach the bottom of the mountain where the two cougars fell. The first thing he can see is the small pile of rocks that were once attatched to the top of the mountain and, on closer inspection, Ayashe's body laying lifelessly on the ground. Although he hardly knew the /former/ Matron, just seeing her body laying there fills the cougar with even more anger than he already had. That's two cougars hurt by Chesmu's paws. Speaking of the former Chieftain, Kasim notices that he isn't there. He must have survived. Looking around in a hurry, he soon finds Chesmu limping away from the scene of the crime. Where does he think he's going?! Letting out a loud and angry growl, Kasim starts to charge as fast as he can towards the former Chieftan and, once he's in range, launches himself at him, attempting to pin him on the ground. This is it. Time to avenge his fallen mate and Ayashe. It's time for Chesmu to die.

Paoro pads in closer as Kasim leaps towards the fallen - both physically and metaphorically - chieftain, only watching for now, but ready to step in and assist if necessary. Though, with Chesmu's physical state, she doubts it. Even so, she'll make sure she adds some emotional insult to injury equivalent to the horrors he subjected Maulisho to before she died. Stepping up close enough so that he can hear her, but not so close that she's at risk of getting caught up in the action, the shamaness stares down at the crawling Chesmu like a pitiful prey creature vainly trying to escape its pursuer. "I gave you so many chances, Chesmu...so many opportunities to prove yourself to me. And you have failed, and even worse, at the price of two beloved Sisters. You are a pathetic excuse for what was once a leader, and as a result of your actions, you have been sentenced to death. Your body will be left out for the vultures to pick at, and your memory will be banished from the history of the Amaranth. May the spirits have mercy on your soul."

The howling of his father, echoing down the mountainside, has drawn Yuma to the area. The brawny adolescent's paws pound the earth as he runs through the snowy terrain. Panting hard, his breath mists the air in front of his muzzle. Those sounds can only mean trouble... but what sort of trouble, the male has no clue. With all of the insanity that's been going on lately, it could be nearly anything. Yuma bursts out of the bushes just in time to see Kasim spring on his father. The young male skids to an abrupt halt, the scent of blood already causing his muzzle to wrinkle, whiskers bunching as his lips peel back. Not prey blood... /cougar/ blood. His eyes quickly sweep the surroundings, noticing the familiar figure of his grandmother, Paoro, standing near the two grown males. He has not yet seen the body of his mother, lying limp amid the nearby rocks.

Chesmu snarls as Kasim pounces him and rolls him over. Snarling and fighting and kicking as best he can. Chesmu snaps at Kasim's neck. He's not going to let them execute him! Eyetwitch. Chesmu still says nothing. Kasim is *one* of them, oh yes! Like Mauliso, turned against him! Eyetwitch.

Had Kein known that he would be leading Nayeli to the execution of her father, or the completed execution of her father, he might have done something differently. He might have asked her to wait or decided to rest somewhere along the way. He can't know, no more than he can know anything in his current state, but he has no desire to hurt her. Even now, he might decide to turn around, but he has not yet identified any of the cougars in the area. He has not yet seen Chesmu, or even Yuma, but he caught a glimpse of Paoro and Kasim, and though he is following after them, his pace is no faster than it has been ever since he escaped that awful scent at the cave, which may be the only kind thing he could do for Nayeli right now, though he doesn't realize it. It may prevent her from seeing her father at the moment that he is killed. The sounds are yet too far away to encourage him to walk any faster, if even those could break through the haze that finding his mother dead has left him in.

And had Nayeli known that she would be going to see her father at all, let alone his execution, she might have tried persuading Kein to take a different course of action. And has she known that she would find her mother, dead, she would have gone from their slow walk to a sprint. But their lack of awareness of what's been going on leaves them at the same pace they've kept since leaving the birthing cave. Seeing two distant felines sprinting up ahead causes her to give a concerned look toward her friend; shouldn't they be picking up the pace to catch up to whoever that was? Adult cougars don't just run around here for the fun of it when there's a recent death. Something must be happening!

Kasim wastes no time in completly pinning Chesmu to the ground, slapping his face down with his claws fully extended when he tries to snap up at him. All the anger and sadness he had felt before is all channled down into the cougar below him, wanting to make him suffer as much as possible. "How could you?!" Kasim yells down at him, sinking his claws as deep as he can get them into any piece of Chesmu flesh he can find. "How could you do such a thing?!!!!" Ripping a clawed paw out of Chesmu's body, Kasim raises it high then brings it down hard, making sure to swipe all his claws along the former Chieftan's face. He has no intention of making this a quick and easy thing, but rather wanting to cause Chesmu as much pain as possible. He deserves no less.

Once, Yuma would have leapt immediately to his father's defense, without pausing to question the motives of his attackers. However... he knows now that his father is different. Somehow he has /changed/. Witnessing the earlier encounter with Ayashe, when she decreed that his father was banished from Amaranth, left Yuma with no doubt that Chesmu is no longer the cougar he used to be. He turns his head when his mind finally registers the words 'sentenced to death,' looking away from the mad cougar, and that is when he sees Ayashe's body. "No." The word is more of a grunt, as if the breath has just been knocked out of him. Slowly he moves toward his mother's broken body, turning his back on the scene. If Chesmu did this... then he is already dead to his son, before Kasim even lands the killing blow.

In Chesmu's final moment, though sill gripped with madness... he finally speaks again... his last clarity, his last words after he howls in pain after Kasim rakes him. He looks over to Yuma... then sees Nayeli and Kein. Tears come to his eyes... mixed with hhis blood... "Yuma... Nayeli..." Chesmu sniffs. His eye doesn't twicth. "...I love you... but... this is s-something I deserve..." Chesmu begins weeping. "Tell your sister I love them, too... and that I'm sorry." Chesmu looks up at Kasim. "I cannot offer you any explanation. I hate myself... and all I can say that... this is what I want. Even if I were not m-mad... living with the knowledge I destroyed..." Chesmu starts to cry. "...I destroyed Maulisho... Sh-she used to mean everything to me..." Chesmu takes a deep rasping breath. "Before you do what you must... I need you... t-to do something for me... a l-last request."

The young cougar Tohopka hears the commotion from a distance. Watching Nayeli and Kein from a distance run toward the reviene, whom he has only briefly met, and the noises coming from the way, makes him wonder what is going on as he starts to pad foward, chasing the other two toward the ravine. He begins to hear Chesmu's broken voice as he nears, causing him to run frantically. He nearly barrels over as he slides to a stop, staring down, a few rocks tumbling as his foot paws nearly slide in.

Finally, the sounds reach Kein's ears... But he just can't bring himself to move any faster than he is. Even without seeing the look from Nayeli, which he doesn't, he tells himself he ought to pick up the pace, that he ought to at least walk faster even if he feels like he can't run, but... He /can't/. It's as though his body isn't sure how. It still gets them there fast enough. Too fast. And, when Kein can clearly see what is going on, can hear every word, he just stops. There is still anger there, and pain, and sorrow, but he doesn't act on any of it. It's just there, and for so long as Kasim has this under control, that is doubtlessly how it will remain, though, slowly, the idea that he's glad to see his tormentor, his mother's murderer, put to death forms in his mind.

It's a slowly unfolding nightmare. As Nayeli identifies the felines in front of her, one-by-one, she feels herself slowing to a halt. Paoro, the cougaress they were looking for. Kasim, viciously attacking another cougar. And when she hears that particular cougar's voice, she knows that it's her father, and he's about to die. There is no other reason Kasim would be attacking him, if not to execute justice for the murder of his mate. And with Paoro, just standing there and watching... there is no way that her father is going to survive this.

Nayeli's eyes also notice another male, staring down at.. is that another body? Wait.. no. It can't be. The look on Yuma's face, and the way he's moving toward the body.. Though she can't identify it for sure, there's no doubt in Nayeli's mind that she's looking at her mother's body. And Yuma's approach to it is not of one rushing to offer help. It's the numb approach of one walking toward a corpse. She's now completely still, standing and staring at the surreal scene in front of her. It's slowly dawning on her that she's about to lose both parents at the same time.

The sudden sorrow filled talk surprises Kasim for a moment, causing him to stop his paw half way in the air from coming down upon Chesmu's face again. However when Chesmu asks him for a 'last request' or whatever, the cougar lets out an angry growl. "Why should listen to you? Why should I bother giving you a last request?!" he asks furiously, slamming a calwed paw down across Chesmu's face again. "YOU KILLED MY MATE DAMNIT!!!!" Kasim's eyes start to tear up as he rakes his claws across Chesmu's cheek another time... then another. If it wasn't for the /tiny/ amout of him that pittied the cougar under him and that was at the same time curious to what Chesmu wants, he wouldn't stop his clawing. However, it's exactly those reasons that cause Kasim to stop and give Chesmu the chance to speak. As angry and hate filled as he is now, the sorrow in Chesmu's voice just got to that tiny part in him that pitties him. He says nothing, still growling angrily on top of Chesmu but giving him the chance to say what he what he wants to.

Paoro steps forward when Kasim briefly delays his fatal blows, staring down at the disgraced chieftain. "Make your last request, Chesmu. But as you did not grant Maulisho her last request for life, I too will make no promises that it will be granted." Her maw is twisted into a disgusted sneer, her pale green eyes glaring down at the bloodied male in barely subdued hatred.

Staring down at the body of his mother, Yuma is not in any state to recieve Chesmu's last few words of sanity. His heart has already grown hard. He does not look back toward his father, or even acknowledge the fact that Chesmu spoke. 'I love you' is a lie and 'I'm sorry' does nothing to fix the irreparable damage his father has caused, to his tribe and especially his own blood. If Kasim was not already acting as Chesmu's executioner, Yuma would accept that role with much less reluctance than he felt when assuming the position of Chieftain. Barely aware of what's happening around him, the adolescent lowers his head, gently nuzzling his mother's face... unmindful of the blood, or the lack of warmth beneath the red-stained fur. He is saying goodbye.

Chesmu yowls in pain again, but doesn't beg for mercy or forgiveness. Breaking through the madness, Chesmu knowh he is beying mercy, beyond forgiveness. He honestly believes this is all he deserves. "Do not forgive me... do not be merciful... But I do not wish to be... hated... M-my brother... Tohopka." Chesmu says. "When he found me... he was finally happy. I...I...I want him to have the chance for a place in the tribe... so he can have family and not be alone..." Chesmu weeps still. "...H-he must not be punished for the terrible things I have done... they are my crimes alone... my own sins." Chesmu takes a halting breath. He looks at Kein. "And y-your son... Kein, th-though he was born from another father... he *is* your son, Kasim, along with Pelutho..." Chesmu coughs now, his injuries now severe. "...Help him any way you can... a Chieftain is nothing... *nothing,* I say... without the support of his family... and he'll need you as much as he would need my daughter or his brother. Promise me, Kasim... that you'll..." Chesmu lays back. "That you'll... be more of a father than I was... and that... you'll also look after my children."

( Tohopka watches the sight of his brother, the one person who he has truly trusted and who truly made him happy in this past month, who has completely changed his life around -- he hasn't even seen Chesmu's anger or madness, the last time he had spoken to him was during a brief lapse of sanity. He watches the scene unfold from the top of the cliffs, unable to comprehend. And finally begins to frantically make his way down, around the sloping side of the mountain, small pebbles chasing him as his footpads pry them from the ground. A few moments later he, at the bottoms of the cliffs, he takes a few moments to stare at the scene, before he resumes running toward the group of cougars. "C..Chesmu...! Why..." he cries, clearly sobbing. )

Chaotic is indeed the correct word to describe what's happening. Nayeli can't decide if she should rush to her dying father's side, or rush to her mother's body, or rush to Yuma to comfort him? What about Kein? And what about Paoro or Kasim? And then Chesmu's brother, rushing forward. Nayeli isn't even sure what /she's/ thinking or feeling. Shock. Grief. Anger. Depression. No.. it's more of a collective numbness. Everything at once. She can't seem to make herself move forward at all, and so remains standing where she is, listening to her father's words as though from an infinite distance. Kein.. needing Kasim? Chesmu's implication of her friend replacing her brother is slowly comprehended, though she's not sure how to respond to such a request. Her /father/ is /dying/! Right there! And her mother is /dead/! /Dead/!

"Nothing will happen to your brother or your kids or mine, I can promise you that." It's hard for him not to feel at least a tiny bit sorry for him. A /tiny/ bit. In fact, it's more of a pitying than anything else. "But I could have had more kids if it wasn't for you. Ones who didn't come from another father but from me!" The anger within him starts to flair up even more, his eyes tearing up but refusing to let even one tear drop. He has always thought of Kein and Pelutho as sons but knew that it was never really the truth. He had been so close to having cubs with Maul, ones that could actually call him 'Daddy' without it being a lie. That thought alone had brought so much happiness to Kasim... but now that's all impossible. "We had such a happy future together, and you just had to go ahead and RUIN ALL OF IT!!!" he yells loudly so that all in the area can hear him, digging his claws further into the former Chieftain. "Goodbye Chesmu!" Wasting no more time, Kasim opens his mouth up wide and quickly clamps his jaws around Chesmu's neck and bites down as hard as he can. He doesn't care anymore if it is a slow or fast death, he just wants Chesmu gone from this life so that he can't hurt anyone else like he hurt him.

Several moments pass before Yuma lifts his head again. All the warmth and kindness has gone out of the good-natured adolescent's eyes... leaving no emotion at all, just an empty void. The feelings of grief, pain and disbelief are too intense for him to bear, so his mind shuts them out entirely. Better to be numb than endure such terrible anguish. He turns his head, his eyes -- which look murky yellow-green now, rather than verdant gold -- returning to the pair of adult males. Most of his father's body is obscured by Kasim's, but Yuma can clearly see Kasim deliver a fatal bite. This time, he does not look away.

Chesmu winces as Kasim closes on his neck, looking up to the sky. He says nothing, does nothing. He is happy. He is dying, which Chesmu knows is the right thing to do. He barely chokes out. "Th-thank you... Kasim." Soon, The small cougar lost in a sea of madness is gone, as is that terrible madness. To different places for both of them. Chesmu may finally have peace.

Paoro watches Chesmu die with a stone cold, stoic expression on her maw, feeling nothing. If she were to let any of her emotions filter through right now, she'd be lost in a flood of many, and she can't afford that right now. "It is done. The murderer has paid for his sins." The shamaness turns to Nayeli and Kein, observing them both in turn with a deep sadness hidden behind those paled eyes...but she can't bring herself to speak, to 'welcome' them back to this tragic scene, to tell Nayeli of her duty to step in as the new matron of Amaranth. No, the tribe will remain broken for a little while longer, but at least the cancer eating away at its core has been cut out, and they can mourn in peace before beginning the necessary reparations.

Tohopka reaches the circle of cougars. He doesn't even see Ayashe's corpse buried in the rubble. His watery eyes are staring at Chesmu, battered and bloodied, laying below Kasim, before to his horror Kasim yells out and buries his muzzle deep into his brother's throat. He skids to a hault just before Chesmu's body and stared blankly. He hears some final words escaping his mouth, but can't hear them. "Why? Stop it! What.. what are you doing.. Chesmu," he sobs deeply, pawing at the body as it is finally drained of its life. He leaps on top of it and tries to shove Kasim's maw away, buring his own blood stained muzzle into the gnarred body, soaking it deeply. He then turns to Kasim, and then stares at the other cougars, shocked, appalled, distraught. "W..why...?"

Does Kein feel anything when Kasim finally ends it? Does he feel what he /should/? There is relief in him, and he can tell himself that they won't have to worry about Chesmu anymore, that the worst is over... But even if that's true, the entire ordeal is far from over. He's not sure that anything will ever be right, as it should be, since he still feels every bit as lost as he did when he first realized his mother was dead, slaughtered by Chesmu. Even so, he has his next step now. The step that allows him to keep moving forward, keep from just lying down and not moving for who knows how long. His next step is to be here for Nayeli. He knows that she has just gone through a terrible loss, that of her mother, if not her father. So he can wait, and be here for her when she needs him. /That/, he can do. He remains standing, but his gaze shifts from Kasim and Chesmu's body to Nayeli, even as Tohopka rushes into the area and tries to shove Kasim away from the dead male.

Nayeli is still just as motionless now that her father is dead. Will she ever be able to move again? In the span of only a few minutes, her world has turned upside down. It was partially on its way upon her discovery of Maulisho's body, but she never would have dared imagine that this nightmare would include /both/ of /her/ parents ending up dead as well. Should she feel angry or upset that Kasim's jaws were responsible for killing her father? And how did her mother die? Did her father go so far as to attack his own mate? Nayeli feels a little weak, as if she's going to collapse--probably not a bad idea. She wants to go to sleep and never wake up. Or even better, she wants to wake up from /this/. If only it were that easy. She just watches dumbly as Chesmu's brother races over to the dead male. But too late.

Kasim keeps his jaws clenched around Chesmu's neck for a few moments even after his body stops moving and he can no long hear any breathing. After a long minute, he finally releases his hold on the neck, staring down at Chesmu's lifeless body. Somehow, it just doesn't feel like it's enough. No matter how much he feels like he /had/ to kill Chesmu, it doesn't make any easier one simple fact. His mate is gone and isn't coming back. No matter how much he may have hurt Chesmu, it won't ever bring back Maul. A small tear finally rolls down his face as he gets off of Chesmu, not saying anything to Tohopka. Hopefully Paoro or someone else will take care of it, but right now Kasim just isn't in the mood for talking.

Yuma continues to stare at his father after his body gone still, and Kasim has finally released him. The yearling's expression is unreadable. At last he rises to his paws, moving with agonizing slowness, as if his paws have turned to lead... along with the rest of his brawny body. He glances at Tohopka, but without sympathy. Right now he is incapable of comforting another, even his own uncle. Yuma's gaze sweeps the rest of his family before he turns and walks slowly away from the other cougars, departing without a backward glance.

( Tohopka would have problably ignored any explainations anyway, had them freely been given, as he turns back to the body lifeless and gives it a few more prods with his nose, disbelieving. His breathing becomes shallower, the realization that Chesmu is... is... he turns to look away. Just for a moment. He has to. But he can't. Until his gaze levels with Kasim. He takes a few steps away, stepping around the body. He doesn't say anything. He simply looks at him in fear and grief. His head turns again to the others. He looks almost ready to run away. )

At least Kein did not have to /see/ his mother. When he finally looks at Nayeli, it does a little to bring him out of his own haze. Not much, but enough that he can move so that he is directly beside her, that he can brush against her lightly. The concern that she might turn away from him, or push him away, never registers. If she doesn't want him nearby... Well, he'll deal with that then, try to find his next step then, but if she needs him for anything, he wants to make sure she knows that he is here. No, more than just here. Here for /her/.

It was entirely one thing to be gone with Kein and not living with her parents anymore. Separated, yes, but only to a certain extent. There was always the possibility of returning. Seeing them again. Talking to them again. Even living with them again. But now.. this is an entirely different situation. A different reality now, of sorts. The word 'orphan' comes to mind, and it's not a comforting thought. During their last conversations, her father had been abundantly clear about the fact that she's /not/ an adult yet. And now, to not have her parents at /all/? It's going to be a long and difficult journey to recover from this. And with the sudden and unexpected brush against her from Kein, light as though it may be, it seems to snap her out of the frozen and numb state she was in. Her head turns to look at Kein, eyes filled with nothing but despair and devastation, and then she turns to run off, not in the direction of her departing brother, but not in the direction of the birthing cave either. She doesn't know yet where she'll go to grieve, or even /how/ to grieve over something of this magnitude... but she can't stay here. The images of her dead mother and dead father are already far too vivid in her mind to want to remain any longer.

Paoro finally braces herself enough to slowly pad forward to Ayashe's battered body, unable to blink away the tears that immediately well up in her eyes at the sight. "Oh, gods..." she manages to murmur before choking back a sob, a forepaw reaching out to gently touch some of the red-stained fur on her body -- but the artificial, dyed stains, not the blood-soaked ones. "Sleep well, my little one." And then the shamaness is done. She can't stay any longer. Her head hanging low, she slinks off around the corner of the cliff, seeking isolation, a lone place to mourn the passing of her eldest daughter, and the violation of sister Maulisho. Even in her advanced age, she feels so far from the spirits right now.

Kasim looks around slowly as everyone starts to go off in their own seperate directions, a small feeling of guilt coming upon him when he sees Nayeli run off, suddenly realizing that she now has no parents. And even though he absolutly /had/ to kill Chesmu, it still hurts to see her run off like that. He then slowly makes his way over to Ayashe's body, staring down at it for a moment before murmuring softly to it, "What you did was very brave Ayashe. Thank you." With his respects paid, Kasim turns around to look at Tohopka, suddenly feeling crestfallen. "Tohopka," he says sadly to the cougar. "I'm really sorry you had to see that. If you... want to talk about it later with me... all you need to do is come and find me. Just not right now... I can't." As tears start to well up in his eyes once again, he looks instead over to Kein, staring into his eyes. However instead of saying anything, he simply gives the teen a nod of his head before he looks away and slowly starts to leave the scene. Where he goes is anyone's guess, even his. Maybe back to the den or a place he can be alone... he doesn't really care. All he wants is his mate back, even though he knows it will never happen. A tear falls down his face. Maul...

Though he hadn't be expecting it, Nayeli's sudden departure does not surprise Kein. There may be absolutely nothing that would surprise him, right now, with everything that has happened. His mother is gone. Kasim is leaving. Nayeli has just run away. There is nothing left for him, since something tells him running after Nayeli is not a good idea. She needs to be alone... And even though he wants her with him, so he probably needs to be alone too. He waits, as much to give the others time to gain some distance as because it just takes him that long to tell himself that he can't stay here, that he has to find someplace else, before turning to leave.

( Tohopka looks blankly at Kasim. His tense muscles almost ready to run, anywhere, gradually relax as his tears well. He buries his muzzle again into the bloodied corpse, still warm, nuzzling it over and over as he sobs. Why did this happen? How could this happen? No one is willing to explain anything to him. He hugs his brother and lets his blood soak gently into his paws and maw, grieving, as he hears the others slowly, one by one, walk away. )