Username: Kitten-Girl-500
Lion name: Vera
Lion gender: Female
Pride: Summitfall PridePride status: Captain of Defense
Prompt: This was the night she had been waiting for.
Vera stood at the end of the tunnel, peering out into the light beyond. Earth to her sides and behind her prevented her from being jumped on. Sniffing the air, she glanced around, flexing her claws. If she had predicted their moves correctly, enemy forces should be coming in right about--
Lions emerged out of the darkness, wearing square-plated armor. The lion in front curled his scar-battered lip. "Where is my daughter?" he hissed.
Vera's hackles raised, and she had to plant her legs into the ground to keep them from shaking. Every fiber of her being itched to turn and run.
But that would ruin the entire operation.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember you making an appointment." Vera kept her head level and her voice smooth. "You're going to have to take it up with my boss."
The leader let out a roar and charged toward her, claws outstretched. Vera held her ground, leveling her antlers at him.
Yowls and shrieks exploded around her as her guardsmen launched themselves out of her hiding places. Vera met the leader head-on, catching his blow on her antlers and tossing his paw to the side. She knew that as she battled this fearsome lion, her other patrol was circling around and attacking the enemy patrol from behind.
He slashed at her flank, opening scratches in her orange pelt. Vera growled and was about to throw herself at him when she heard the sounds of a scuffle further back in the tunnel. Seeing that she was distracted, the lion padded closer, teeth bared.
"Azure!" she shouted, glancing at one of her lions on the outskirts of the fight. He instantly perked up at the sound of his name and barreled toward them, knocking the enemy leader off his paws.
Vera whipped around and tore down the tunnel, attention diverted to the matter at hand. That patrol was just a setback; her real mission was just ahead, and should be turning the corner...
Vera almost ran head-on into the lioness. The other lioness bared her teeth. "Vera."
"Mei. What do you think you're doing?"
The blind lioness let out a hiss. "How did you know?"
"I didn't expect you to call in extra help, but I did think you'd be making a run for it." Vera kept her antlers lowered, ready to stop Mei if she so much as twitched a muscle. "Once you learn to read the signs of a moonfolk ready to escape, it's easy to tell when they're going to do it."
She shoved the blind moonfolk back toward the fortress with a nudge of her muzzle. A growl rumbled in Mei's throat, but she allowed herself to be pushed back out into the fortress.
No one was getting out tonight, not on Vera's watch.
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