(Private for TheWhistlerify)

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Nura smiled warmly at the male lion. "No problems" she responded softly; she gave Akina long lick on the cheek before beckoning to the den. "You heard Dakari. It'll be safe in there". Siri nuzzled her brother's leg, but both Siri and Akina weren't too keen in being cooped up in the den for ages.

However, they nodded and did as they were told; if it meant food, the cubs would probably do anything. Siri proposed a race. When they tumbled into the den, they both fought over who won. Finally, they concluded it was a draw. It was a wonder how they became friends in a matter of an hour, but then cubs were like that.

---

Mjuvi watched as she stood. He finally found that it was her leg that was the problem, and he admired her pain threshold and her resilience. He began to navigate slowly through the area, checking behind him every now and again. He felt bad, not being able to help her. He had to at least ask. "Are you sure you don't want to lean on me or something?" he asked, sounding a little impatient. He still didn't even know her name, and he hadn't exactly introduced himself.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari couldn't help but chuckle as Siri rubbed herself against his legs despite her clear annoyance at having to go inside. If anything, his little sister was cuter when she was grumpy. After watching the two cubs head inside, he looked at Nura. "Shall we?" He then felt a little embarrassed because of his choice of words and once again stared at the ground nervously. "I mean, er... Would you like to get going?"

Inside the den, Laini couldn't help but smile at the sight of Siri and Akina together. This was the first time her little sister had another cub to play with and, while Nura's daughter was a little smaller than she was, that didn't stop them from bonding very quickly. "You two look like you'll be best friends." she said with a smile, deciding she might as well bring their mood up even more if she could. It seemed to work. "I'm sure there are plenty of games you could play here until Dakari and Nura come back."

~~~

While Marini seemed to be calmer with keeping her distance away from the male in front of her, she shrunk a little when she heard the impatience in his voice. Perhaps it would be safer if she were to do as he said so to not make him angry? With some hesitation, she slowly nodded her head. "Um... O-okay..." She remained with her reluctant composure as Mjuvi slowly walked over to her, eventually arriving by her right side because he must have noticed that the limp was in her right leg.

After a short moment of simply staring at him, Marini finally overcame her apprehension and leaned against Mjuvi's side. He was a little larger than she was. The feeling of his soft fur against hers was nice and a little soothing, actually. Now that she was this close to him and nothing bad was happening, the young lioness seemed to become a little less tense. "T-thank you..." she said quietly and timidly as the two of them began making their way. With Mjuvi's support she had a much easier time moving around.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Nura shot a smile back at her cub; she could tell that Akina was slightly apprehensive about having her mother leave her for a while, but Siri's words of play soon made her forget. Her gaze travelled from her mother to Laini. "B-Best friends?" she asked, suddenly in awe. Siri nodded and grinned "Yeah! We can totally be best friends".

The two got into some sort of game of mini-tag with the space they had been provided, but then, Siri stopped. She looked around outside briefly from inside the den. "Hey, Laini. Where's Mjuvi?" He'd been a while and the cub wasn't worried, just curious.

---

Mjuvi noticed he must of made her weary with his impatient tone, so he felt a little bad as she lent against him. It was only when she this happened she noticed how pretty her eyes were. They were like his little sister's, but deeper and richer in colour. As they made better progress, he looked down at her and smiled a little. "It isn't too bad now, huh?" Soon, the waterhole was in sight. He guided her right towards the water's edge and stepped back slowly to give her time to adjust without support.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini continued to smile warmly as she watched the two cubs run about inside the den. When she was asked about her brother, she chuckled at Siri's curiosity. "I'm sure he's somewhere nearby." Yes, he's been gone for quite some time, but Laini was certain that he hadn't gone too far and that he would have called if he was in trouble. She noticed Akina become a little discouraged at the mention of his name and remembered his not too friendly approach when the cub and her mother had arrived earlier. "Don't worry, Akina." she said softly. "Deep inside Mjuvi's a big softie." she giggled, looking at Siri playfully. "Is he not?"

~~~

Marini walked along with Mjuvi in silence, her gaze fixed on the ground in front of their paws. She didn't want to trip and fall again. It hurt enough the first time around. Slightly raising her gaze to meet his when he spoke to her, she stared into his eyes for a brief moment. His smile was reassuring, in a way. "No..." she said shyly, once again looking ahead of them. When they reached the edge of the water she immediately began to drink. Having not drank for quite some time, she definitely was thirsty.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Siri smiled again, her giggling matching Laini's. "Yeah, Mjuvi secretly thinks I'm cute" she said, reflecting on yesterday. Akina's anxiety towards Mjuvi soon melted away, his own sisters couldn't be wrong about him. Akina and Siri soon resumed their game, taking it seriously for a while before messing around as cubs usually do.

---

Nura crouched in the grass beside Dakari. They had located a small group of zebra; at first she was anxious that one wouldn't be enough to feed everyone, but then she spotted a large male with a limp. If he didn't have the limp, he'd be a struggle to take down. "You see that one with the limp?" she asked Dakari, glancing at him briefly. "That's the one we'll bring down. I'm up for the chase if you want to make the kill" she stated.

---

Mjuvi watched her drink for a few moments. He didn't know what to do now. He had helped her, so that had eased his conscience, but if he just left her now it wouldn't feel right. He cleared his throat to attract her attention. "Um...uh..." he was unsure of how to approach this. He sat down slowly beside her. "I assume you must be hungry from the way you've been drinking-" Mjuvi stopped. He was about to invite her back to the den, but he remembered that they had already welcomed two newcomers. He hadn't forgotten about his hesitation to letting lions stay with them.

There was something about this young lioness though, other than the fact she needed help. He shook his head for a moment. If Dakari could let people stay, so could he. "I live with my siblings in this area. My brother is probably hunting as I speak. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you had some of the kill before you went on your way..." he explained, voice breaking up a little bit towards the end. "My name is Mjuvi, by the way" he stated with a small smile.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari didn't really have a preferrence for either chasing their target or killing it. However he did believe that Nura was a way better huntress than he was, which meant that she would be able to do the chasing part better. As for killing the zebra, it would be the simpler part for Dakari to perform in comparison to Nura's part. He was also slightly bigger than the lioness. "I'll take it down." he said with a slow nod. Despite the limp the zebra had, the young male was a little hesitant. He's never tackled something that big. But he was sure that Nura would eventually arrive and help him out in case he needed assistance. And, because of its limping, there was no chance the zebra would somehow outrun the lm.

~~~

Marini was so caught up in drinking that she only remembered Mjuvi was there when he cleared his throat and sat down next to her. She looked up at him, though with not as much concern and hesitation as when he'd spoken to her for the first time. "Really?" she asked with a small hint of surprise in her voice. She was in no condition to hunt even something small for herself. However, as she realized that going with him meant being around even more strangers, she began to stutter again. "Uh... I... I dunno..." Something about Mjuvi's smile gave her some confidence, though. He appeared to be insisting. "O-okay... I'm Marini..."

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Nura didn't say anything more. She moved away, stalking through the grass low to the ground. She knew Dakari would get into a proper position. As she neared the large zebra, the wind suddenly changed. The small herd looked up. Her cover had been blown. They began to run. She cursed and sprinted from her position and managed to shepherd the large male back towards Dakari. Despite his limp, he was still moving quickly.

---

Mjuvi gave her another smile as he lent to take a drink of water before sitting back up again. "Everyone will be fine with it" he reassured her. He smiled a little wider as she told him her name. He repeated her name in his head, Marini; it suited her. "It's nice to meet you, Marini". He stood up again and stretched out, wondering if she'd need him to lean on again for the way back.

[TheWhistlerify]

To Dakari's dismay, the zebra was still relatively fast despite its limp. This male was larger than the wildebeest he'd taken down yesterday with Laini's help, and the lion's confidence was slowly beginning to leave him. No. He had to not mess up for a change. This zebra would be a very large catch and if he screwed up they may have to hunt twice in order to have enough food for all of them. He couldn't fail.

With that in mind, Dakari waited for the zebra to come closer before sprinting from his hiding spot and pouncing, tackling it from the side as hard as he could. His claws extended, he held onto the zebra as they fell over in a heap. Their target soon regained its bearings and began to kick about randomly, trying to shake off its attacker. Because of the zebra's size and squirming, Dakari found himself having trouble setting his jaws on its throat, and the first thing he managed to bite into was one of the zebra's legs.

He had to let go eventually, though, because the zebra kept flailing its legs randomly, and when he did he had the misfortune of getting kicked right in the face. This knocked him straight off the zebra, but it couldn't stand back up due to the fact that Dakari had managed to bite hard into its leg.

~~~

Despite Mjuvi's attempt to reassure her about meeting his siblings, Marini was still quite reluctant to meet more strangers. But she was very hungry, and if Mjuvi was to be there with her there, it would be safe, right? "Um... It's nice meeting you too, Mjuvi..." she said quietly and with a small smile of her own. As the adolescent male stretched out she too got to her paws, unintentionally brushing her side against his as she rose to stand. Not noticing her cheeks turn a little red, she once again leaned against him for support.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Nura ran to catch up with Dakari and the flailing zebra. She heard the zebra's kick against Dakari's face and flinched. Realising the zebra wasn't going to get away, she approached Dakari's side and glanced over him. He looked okay. Her concern faded and she saw to the zebra problem.

Nura was soon able to keep the stallion still and go for the final bite around the throat, even if it had been more of as struggle than she expected it to be. When the large striped animal finally stopped squirming, she let go and started to pant. "Dakari" she called from where she was. "Are you ok?".

---

Mjuvi felt relieved when he saw Marini smile a little. When she brushed against him, his eyes widened a little. It had obviously been an accident, but he too felt his cheeks go red. He let out a rather awkward chuckle before supporting her body weight. "Well, I hope my brother has been successful on his hunt, otherwise this would have been in vain" he told her with a smile, beginning to walk back towards the den.

[TheWhistlerify]

It took Dakari a few seconds to regain his bearings, but he soon rolled onto his stomach and sat up. He carefully moved his jaw around a bit, checking and hoping to find that he hasn't broken anything. He didn't want to starve, obviously. Luckily, it didn't hurt too much to close and open his mouth, which was a relief. The lion rubbed his cheek, where the zebra had hit him, with his paw, wincing a little bit. Looking at his paw, he saw some blood smeared on it. The zebra's hoof must have scratched his cheek, but there was nothing to worry about because he hadn't broken any bone that was crucial to using his teeth.

"Yeah..." he said with a small sigh of relief as he noticed that Nura had managed to take down the zebra. For a moment back there he was worried that it was going to get away. "Nothing's broken." However, he did not know just how deep the gash on his cheek was. Well, it obviously still hurt quite a lot, having only been inflicted a few moments ago, but was it going to leave a scar? "Does it look bad?" he asked with a little bit of concern in his voice, looking at the lioness.

~-~

Marini once again kept her eyes fixed on where she was going as Mjuvi began to lead the way back towards the den he was sharing with his siblings. She wasn't really concerned about falling over thanks to the fact that he was helping her keep her balance, but she did feel a little awkward about possibly meeting his gaze for whatever reason. "Um..." she fell silent for a short moment. What was she going to say to that? "I... I hope so, too..." After all Mjuvi's brother was hunting for Mjuvi and the rest of their family, which meant that they would have nothing to eat either if he hasn't succeeded in catching anything. "Is it far?" she asked, referring to the den.