King

7 - Arrogance

Darkness protruded through the tight canals of the panther den, a crevasse that stretched through the centre of a cliff. Inside, was a line of lime green bioluminescent flowers that illuminated the black figures inside the cave. On the top ledge of one of the hundreds of overhanging platforms that connect one another via manipulated slopes and boulders, an abnormally large panther could be seen busy, deep in an uninterrupted slumber, when two other panthers hopped up the cavern.

"Lord Kifo, we have news." One whispered, careful as to not wake any other sleeping colleagues.

"Lord Kifo!" The other muttered, a bit louder than the last. As they tried one last time, the leader slowly stirred from his dream and groggily placed his behemoth paws beneath him, picking himself up.

"What is it?" He commanded, almost shouting from anger.

"We have news from the outer walls of Pamoja. The four panthers you sent for reconnaissance, to search for another way into the structure, they delivered a message."

"Well, tell me." Kifo muttered, still fuming from his twitched sleep. The two smaller panthers looked at one another, slightly hesitant, before one moved towards their leader.

"They have found no way in. The fortress is incredibly persistent. No other entrances could be found from any slits in rock around the walls of the place. It seems the only entrance is the one intended for defence."

Kifo grumbled, slowly stretching his back and each leg. "Just make an entrance, if there is no other, they will only focus on the one, which gives us the opportunity to misguide them."

Again, the panthers looked at each other. Then the other walked forward, "the thing is, Kifo, your recon panthers already tried that. They were incredibly intricate, but the walls are layered with several concordant rock formations, which makes breaking in without being noticed even more difficult."

Kifo grumbled again, then sighed. "We have a month to create an entrance large enough for our army to barge in, and that's long enough for you to do it without being noticed. If we start now, we'll have time on our hands even after it is finished. For now, however, start by finding out what part of the moronic home has the weakest walls, and start there."

The two panthers bowed their heads in thanks and ran down the cavern to the even darker exit. For some reason, the winds that blow into the cliff also bring lenticular clouds and keep them in the same position, bundled up in the same spot. Because of this, a large and thick layer of dark clouds hover above the mountain, keeping the place constantly dark and gloomy. Furthermore, no plants or shrubbery ever grew in the place, making for a boring and inhospitable habitat, but the smaller mammals that don't need food to survive, like bugs small mammals can still thrive in this environment giving the panthers some sort of nutrients. A small river had run through the habitat, below the cliff, but the waterline was so low it left the banks mostly dry and hardened, due to the increased abnormal temperature.

The dry season had still only just begun, and therefore it was getting hotter and hotter as the hours went by. Even without the help from sunlight, the low humidity of the panther habitat made the atmosphere feel increasingly empty and warm, without the hint of moisture. Now, a small stream, only flowing over the smallest of rocks and pebbles at the bottom of the valley ran, which is why it was so hard to drink.

Usually, the panthers were not as provocative and nasty as they were right now, but the lack of food and now lack of water made them agitated and constantly dim in the head. They were usually smart, one of the smarter kinds, like egrets or wolves, but right now they just wanted water, and a lot of it.

In the morning, things were tough. Kifo had not gotten enough sleep, which made him even more mad and unreliable. First thing, he commanded all his troops to run around the cliff five times to wake them up, and then followed up until noon with sparring. It was like this for hours and hours, until finally, the noon turned to dusk. All panthers, great and small, were exhausted, but not without reason. It was true that Kifo had foresaw the fact that the lion in Pamoja had been training his own army, meaning they were falling behind. Even if the leader's panthers were diligent and tough, there was always room to improve, if it meant braking their spirits, so be it.