[Random Melody]

"Mm." Lilliana just stared silently, watching the lioness with silent interest. Her paws shifted slightly, tail curling up beside her and her head tilting at Atazi, watching the lioness eat. Her whiskers quivered faintly when Atazi told her she was about Sari's age, and her eyes sparked with curiosity. "Who's Sari?" She asked politely, ears flicking faintly. Her gaze shifted toward the entrance to the cave, then her eyes drifted around, ears flicking, wondering where her mother was. And her father. And her siblings. Then she just shrugged and turned her attention right back to Atazi, eyebrows raising as the lioness introduced herself. She tilted her head again. "I am Lilliana."


##


Kion didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say, he just watched as Claire came closer. His mouth was suddenly dry. Why was Claire here? Why wasn't she in the desert? His mind spun, coming up with multiple answers to these questions and he didn't know if he liked any of those. Claire wouldn't have left the Sabers. Not on her own accord. Not while Lucifer was still living. The cub silently left Bunga's side to make his way down the slope, meeting Claire halfway. Neither cub spoke as Kion reached her. They'd both grown alot since they'd seen eachother, but one thing that hadn't changed was that they were both literally the same height. Kion simply reached forward to touch his nose to Claire's in a warm greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"I have news. Maybe good, maybe bad, I'll let you decide." Claire replied calmly, touching her nose to his before pulling back. She seemed to relax, alot less wary with Kion around. Her purple eyes stayed fixed intently on his face, before she looked toward Kiara, who was watching and listening quietly, then toward Bunga, who was making his way over to them. Claire raised an eyebrow silently at the honey badger before moving her intense gaze back to Kion's face, tail twitching silently. And for a while, they just stared at eachother, as if in silent conversation, before Claire took a deep breath and spoke up. "Master Lucifer is dead."

Kion's expression shifted instantly. He reeled back, stumbling over his paws to back away, and Claire took a few steps after him, bracing herself to help if he lost his balance. Kion managed to stay upright, however, claws sinking into the ground for support. The words slowly sunk in, and his ears folded back against his head, tensing up, his wide eyes meeting Claire's. He didn't know how to feel. He knew he should feel some type of relief. He should feel free. But he didn't. If anything he only felt more chained down. Unable to speak, Kion just stared at Claire, who gazed back with sympathetic, yet cold eyes. Kion didn't know what to say. What to feel. He was just... Frozen. Dead. Dead. He thought, mind whirling violently. He felt dizzy. And sick. He's dead.

"Kion," Bunga said worriedly, looking up at the cub. He didn't get a response, and looked over at Kiara helplessly, then Claire. This was the second time that day they were hearing of Lucifer. What on earth was going on?