[Random Melody]

Bunga blinked at Atazi silently as she explained - Well, not really explained - about Lucifer. His head tilted, a frown tugging at his lips. "I don't understand.." He mumbled. What was so bad about Lucifer? And how did Kion know him? What was going on here? He just didn't know. He wanted to know. But so far his attempts at getting answers had only raised more questions. It annoyed Bunga to an extent, but Atazi's cold gaze kept him from asking any more questions.

Kiara stared at Atazi silently, eyebrows furrowing. So this... Lucifer was bad. Apparently very bad. Was he the reason Kion didn't like tigers, perhaps? But maybe it wasn't just the case of not liking them. Kion seemed scared. Kiara sighed, making a mental note to find out all she could about this tiger. She probably wouldn't get anything out of Kion. Maybe Claire. Her eyes flickered toward the other lioness cub, staring at her silently for a moment and managing to catch her gaze briefly, a clear question in her eyes, before she looked away again.

Kion just shook his head, his head lowering until his muzzle touched his paws. His tail flicked side to side, his gaze fixed ahead uncertainly, before his eyes trailed up to Claire's face. His head tilted toward Atazi when she spoke, suggesting a walk, and Kion's gaze snapped back to her. "No." He mumbled simply, ears flattening. He didn't want to leave Pride Rock. And he didn't really want to leave Claire. She wouldn't comfort him and she wouldn't press against him and tell him everything was okay, everything was going to be okay now, but just having her there in front of him was enough. It was the simple reminder that he wasn't alone in this, that Claire had been through just as much as him. And while she wasn't broken like he was, she certainly wasn't whole. And she was suffering through this as well, just in a different way. Glancing toward Bunga and Kiara, Kion took in a slow, deep breath and managed to pull himself together. The mask returned. The fear, uncertainty and shock left his gaze, and his mouth snapped shut, jaws locking together as he pushed himself back up. His shoulder remained stiff, but his fur slowly began to flatten, and his ears pricked up just faintly. His amber gaze flickered back up to Claire. He went silent, meeting her gaze, before speaking up. "So what about you?"

Claire's purple gaze didn't waver, or move from Kion's. Her tail tip flicked toward Kiara for a second as Atazi explained who Lucifer was, and her gaze finally moved, casting the Princess a look that told her she'd explain everything later. Then she turned her gaze back to Kion just in time to see him pulling himself together. She saw the effort it took to force that mask back up, to force all the emotion away, and she did nothing but stare. She wasn't going to reassure him. She wasn't like that, she didn't do the soft, mushy moments. But she silently encouraged him, her gaze sharp and fiery, pushing him to stand up, to summon what strength he had, to keep fighting. Because somebody had to. Claire gave a short, small nod to the golden cub when Kion finally managed to pull himself together completely. She had to admit he was strong. Sure he was broken, but there was a small spark of fire there. A will to fight. Claire's eyes flickered faintly, an unreadable emotion crossing her face when Kion spoke. "What about me?" She returned the question, giving a one-shouldered shrug as her ears flicked, tail lashing back and forth, brushing lightly against the ground. Her nose twitched, whiskers quivering faintly as she continued, "I don't know. Guess it's time to see what life's like beyond the Sabers."

Kion nodded slowly, tail flicking, a thoughtful look crossing his face as he stared at Claire. He saw the fear in her eyes that she wasn't trying to hide. Claire didn't do that, Claire didn't hide her emotions. That was more of a weakness to her than showing them, Kion knew. "If you want," Kion said carefully, glancing briefly toward Kiara for a second before looking at Claire again, "I'm sure my family wouldn't mind... But if you want, there's always a place for you here."

"I appreciate that." Claire muttered simply, holding his gaze intently. The offer was kind, but Claire doubted she'd take it. Her place wasn't with a Pride. But then again, she didn't have a place anymore. She was nothing now. Nothing but a leaf blowing in the wind and she didn't know where she would land - And she didn't know if she wanted to land anywhere else. It was weird, how much she'd relied on what she'd done, being a slave, working for Lucifer, for the Sabers, but now, without it, Claire felt like she had no purpose. Like she'd done all she could. And yet she felt like she hadn't done enough. Like she should be doing something... Else. And that scared her more than anything. Claire didn't like change. She liked what she already knew. But, what she knew... Was gone.