As it was; Challenger had communed with the spirit of Dysfunctional.
The white lioness had not died as such, but ascended. Her murder, however, had been just that. Unexpected, swift and brutal. She had fought to her last breath against the two assailants even as they taunted her with the mangled bodies of her own children. They had consumed her children and set her body adrift in the river, and that had also, in turn been eaten by the river dwellers. But Dys had not been fully lost, as her mortal body failed, she returned to her original form. One that was almost free from harm, a demi-goddess, in the Astral Plains; she was immortal, no longer able to die from age alone, but injuries, such as gained from celestial or unholy fire, or decapitation, would fell her, for good.

Challenger had left their *den that dawn, the sun had risen slowly as she departed, trudging in the direction Dys had shown her. Her love had given her another chance to find a family, in the form of her half-sister and the son of another Deity. He was known only as Shark and had formed his own pride, south-east of their original location, many miles away. But he was willing to accept her into his ranks. Her half sister, Jamocha, was there as well, with her own son, a young teen, Banjoko.
There were three other lionesses within the pride, all unrelated but close to the desert border. One had left their pride, sick of the sparse life of the desert and the other had fled and lost her cubs as she was pursued. The thirds' story was foggy as best, but all had found shelter in Sharks' territory and grew to tolerate and respect him. These were the **lands she was headed for.

The journey was long, two months she spent on the move, passing through territories, hunting and scavenging as needed before she arrived at the basic ***location.
Here was where she rested for days, hunting the smaller game that made itself known to the water and keeping an eye out for signs of lions, but the lions she did find were not the ones she was looking for.
With her strength recovered, Challenger wandered further East, skirting territories with care this time; having gathered information of a huge, dark-pelted male with a meagre pride, that was holding the lands across the [1]river. That was whom she would be looking for.
Challenger moved at speed, running through the night where she could or had too, but settling for a fast jog otherwise. She moved from dusk till dawn every time, hunting only when she stopped to sleep for the entirety of the day. It was an efficient speed and she all but sprinted as soon as she saw the dips in the land that marked the river.

The Pride that occupied the Western side had been hostile, but the males especially, but when she had slid down the river bank, they had stopped their pursuit almost immediately and Challenger went for broke, splashing through the shallowest parts of the river. Her heart swelled with fondness as a familiar shape burst through the foliage alongside a huge male and another female female.
The other pride had stopped their pursuit but not quick enough for these three new felines, who charged through the shallows Chai had just breached and set upon the rivalling lions with ferocious smacks and bites meant to seriously maim.

By the time Chai had scrambled up the bank and into the foliage, the others were joining her and she could not help but smile giddily into the pale pink eyes of her half sister, Mocha.
Her gaze switched to the massive male who had a small but kind smile on his face, piercing blue, almost white eyes looked down upon her with no judgement and a quiet hospitality; and when he spoke, the earth seemed to listen.

"Challenger LeFey, I presume? Welcome home."

Locations / Key:

• - southern tip of Iona National Park ** - Etosha National Park *** - Natukanaoka Pan [1] - Ekuma River

previous: Loss of Wife
Shark, Mandela & Jamocha all (c) myself.
multiple references used bc lions run like bosses
[ originally submitted 25th January 2020 ]