Burying the Past [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii smiled at Dakari's assurance that they were not far from his special place. But as they continued walking, her energy continued to show itself off. While Kijamii was prancing around the grass, giggling all the way, she began to wonder exactly what surprise this Dakari had in store for her...he made it sound like a great place, and Kijamii was sure it was, but exactly what was it, and why was it so special that Dakari had to make it a surprise?

Knowing she would recieve no answers, Kijamii simply focused on following Dakari whilst continuing to inspect everything she saw. Part of her wanted to playfully pounce Dakari, and engage in a play-wrestle, like she so often used to with Tanga, but somehow, she doubted Dakari would like that. Despite this, her tail flicked mischievously behind her, and every few seconds she was forced to resist the urge to punce Dakari again. Tanga had not wrestled with her for quite some time...and she longed for another one.

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Tanga smiled, but paused when Lina's giggling fit died down. Hearing the sounds of someone approaching, he quickly turned away from Lina, simply staring at the wall in front of him, pretending to be lost in though...although he was hardly pretending, as recent memories washed over him, threatening to bring his good mood crashing down again.

But before that could become too serious, a pale-furred lioness jumped into view, her triumphant yell cut off suddenly when she saw only Tanga. The adolescent lion did not need to fake surprise at Marini's sudden appearance, but it was her showing up that surprised him...it was what she looked like. Tanga had fully expected this Rini to be another cub, but instead he was faced with an adolescent roughly his age, and in his own, completely private, embarassing opinion, a rather pretty one, too.

As the lioness apologised to him, Tanga struggled to form a coherent response. "Oh, uh...no, I...it's okay, don't worry about it, you didn't disturb me." In his surprise at meeting her, he almost completely forgot about Lina hiding behind him, and the game she was playing with the lioness in front of him...and did not notice her enter the den, getting closer.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari kept walking in the direction of the place, which was right by one of the waterholes. He kept glancing around at Kijamii every once in a few seconds to make sure she didn't ran off like another lioness would have already done. But she was still there, and Dakari grinned at the playful spirit she was showing, wishing to himself that he was more like that. He could see the waterhole now, "That's one of the waterholes by the way." They were exploring, might as well let her know where a waterhole was.

Once they were near the waterhole, Dakari could see the small cave he intended on showing Kijamii. It started with a tunnel, but at the end of it was a pretty small den, which could contain about 3-4 fully grown-up lions. But it was the inside of it which made it so special for him. The cave itself was at the bottom of a mountain, from its top, you could see water floating down. It was about half-way down the height of the mountain in which the water went out of sight, but were rather inside the mountain. "It's right in here." he said to Kijamii, waiting a moment for her to finish observing the area outside of the cave before walking into the tunnel.

The tunnel they now entered was enough for them both to walk through at the same time, so he waited for her to reach his side before he continued walking. The cave they were about to enter was around a 30 seconds walk through the tunnel, so Dakari took the rather akward moment and decided to start a talk. "So..." he said nervously, looking at the ground and then back at her. The weak sound of streaming water was now clear.

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Marini showed no attention to how nervous Tanga's tone sounded, unlike a few moments ago when he was talking to Lina and tried to ignore the fact that he was staring at her rather 'shocked'. Though it made her force back a slight blush, which she managed to bring under control. She instead walked a little closer, but she couldn't yet see Lina who was close to Tanga's back. "You're the one who arrived yesterday, with your sister, right?" She knew she was right, but she wanted to take Lina when she least expected to even be found

[AustralianChaos]

As the two approached the hillside, Kijamii spotted the cave, and noticed that they were heading straight for it. Trying to peer into it, but finding that the contents of the cave faded into inky blackness, Kijamii realised that she would have to wait...knowing asking about the contents of the cave was not going to get any answers. For the last few moments outside, she contented herself with investigating the lands immediately surrounding the cave, bounding this way and that, but stopping to pay attention as Dakari pointed out one of the waterholes, commiting it to memory.

As Dakari pointed out that his secret place was inside the cave, as she had now guessed, Kijamii finished her exploration, quickly heading inside the cave and walking alongside Dakari, hearing the faint sound of water, which made her ears perk up in curiosity. Before she could ask about the water, though, Dakari spoke up, nervously trying to start a conversation of some kind. Kijamii decided to put him out of his misery. "I like your little place so far, Dakari," she commented with a warm smile, before turning to face him as they walked. "Are you the only one who knows of it?" she asked.

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As Marini approached closer to Tanga, he suddenly realised he was staring at her, still stunned by her age and looks. Blushing furiously at being caught out like that, he turned away, using his half-formed mane to hide his burning cheeks as she once more spoke to him, asking a question Tanga was sure she must know the answer to.

To avoid seeming mean, though, he answered her politely anyway. "Yes, that's right. I, uhh...haven't really left this den since I arrived...I'm still trying to settle in." Tanga hated lying, but he hated mentioning the tragedy in his life even more...this lioness didn't need to hear his sob stories, anyway. "My name's Tanga, and my sister's Kijamii...but she isn't here right now. You, err...you're called 'Rini', right?" Realising that knowing her name before he even met her might seem suspicious to the lioness, he hastily tried to explain himself, whilst remembering that he had agreed with Lina to stop her from finding the cub here. "I, uhh...met Lina earlier, and she told me about you...she seems to think you're pretty nice."

Blushing even more furiously now, Tanga still refused to meet her gaze. "But, uhh...what brings you here, may I ask?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari was still blushing at the rather akward moment, even though Kijamii started a talk which should last untill they arrived. "Thanks... but we're not there yet." he said with a slight grin, "As far as I'm aware, no one else knows about this place. I found it about a week ago... I needed to get away from everything for a while." The sound of water kept getting louder as the two walked further down the tunnel. "You're the first one I'm showing this to." He added with a slightly genuine smile. He never thought of ever showing this place to anyone and keeping it his, but he was really eager on seeing her reaction to this.

After another second or two, he could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, and knew that they were just about there. The sound of streaming water now sounded as if they were standing next to a river. "Here we are." he said as he emerged from the tunnel and entered the small den. It wasn't big, and Dakari went straight to what he intended on showing Kijamii. By one of far side of the den, there was a small river, which came from the top. The hole which the water came from also allowed a few light beams to enter, making it possible to see despite the fact that they were deep inside a cave. "That's where the waterhole outside gets it's water from." he said with a smile, just in case Kijamii hadn't figured that out by herself. "I come here alot... The sound of the water is very relaxing."

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Marini was about to ask Tanga how he knew her name, but before she managed to he already covered up for that. She could tell that he was feeling shy and nervous next to her, but as long as Lina didn't figure that out and started teasing her about it, she didn't mind. "Marini." she said, letting Tanga know her full name, "My friends call me Rini." she wasn't sure whether she saw a blush formed on the lion's cheeks, but decided to at least have more fun in finding Lina. "I'm plying hide and seek with her right now. And I'm pretty sure that I just heard the two of you talking." She walked slightly closer for the effect

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii nodded as Dakari said she had yet to see everything...she had expected as much. But when Dakari mentioned that she was the first one he was showing this too, she could not help but smile, a light blush adorning her grey cheeks. "I'm touched, Dakari. But...why are you showing me, as a complete stranger? Surely you have someone else you could show...whoa!"

Her voice trailed off into an awed gasp as they entered the den itself. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the dazzling waterfall that entered the den from an opening at the top, which also let light filter in. As she breathed, Kijamii could literally feel the moisture in the air, and was mesmerised by the rippling light patterns on the walls of the den, caused by the reflecting light on the water. Soft green moss grew in small patches on the rocks, particularly right at the water's edge, and as Kijamii stepped over such patches, they felt soft, and very comfortable. And where the moss did not grow, the rock seemed to gleam from the fine film of moisture that covered everything.

As her eyes roamed around the den, Dakari explained the den, and how this was the source for the waterhole outside. As Dakari finished, Kijamii struggled to find something to say. In a very rare occurence for the energetic lioness, she was frozen in place, completely awed by the beauty of the hideout Dakari had found. "I...this is..." she stammered out, before finally turning to Dakari, her jaw still open in awe and wonder. "This place is beautiful, Dakari! I can see why you come here so often!" As the shock began to subside, Kijamii's energy came back, and she was soon padding around the small den, looking at every nook and cranny, trying to find out everything she could about this little piece of paradise...still unsure as to why Dakari would share such a wonderful secret with her.

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As Marini corrected him on her proper name, he instantly felt stupid for using her nickname when he didn't even know her. "Sorry, Marini...I'll remember that," he said softly, before Marini mentioned her hide-and-seek game with Lina. Remembering Lina's hiding place behind his small frame, and seeing Marini move slightly closer still, Tanga shuffled slightly, nervous at her approaching so close to him...no stranger had ever been this close to him before. "I, uhh...I'm sorry, but I was talking with Lina just before. She actually left just before you came along, and I have no idea where she went. I never realsied you two were playing, so I'll leave you in peace."

His polite suggestion to Marini that she did not need to stay was not only to try and stop her from finding Lina, but his own shyness coming out, trying to get her away from him before he said or did something stupid. His family had been his only companions, and strangers, aside from cubs, were generally a source of awkward nervousness to him.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari felt embarrased at her question, what exactly was he suppose to say in response to that? They barely knew eachother for a few minutes, he had no idea of anything that might make sense. Luckily, Kijamii stopped with the questions once she saw the waterfall. He wasn't surprised to see that kind of reaction, he was shocked by himself when he first saw the den they were now both at. Smiling slightly at her comments, Dakari went to the small river and drank a little. Unlike outside, the water in there were cold. "Yeah, it is beautiful." he said, looking around at her for a moment and grinning at how she began examining everything.

He bent over and drank some more, "Just be careful not to slip, the water's a little cold." he then stood back up and completly turned to her. "When I first came here I was so excited and I didn't really look at where I was going. I tripped and fell inside... not alot of fun. I mean, it would have probably been more pleasent if I intended on jumping inside." he laughed a little after saying what he did. He just found alot of things funny, even if those were painful events he went through.

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Marini took the fact that Tanga wasn't looking at her and rolled her eyes. When it came to lying, he wasn't very good. She suddenly remembered what happend to her parents, and felt like yelling at him for lying to her. But she quickly turned that option down, he was, after all just helping Lina with the hide and seek game. "It's fine, don't bother yourself over this. And you can call me Rini if you want to." she then realised that Lina was still hiding behind the adolescent. "Say, you're new here, and you've been here since you arrived last night. Why don't you help me find her? I can show you around a little." from seeing his actions a few moments ago, Marini expected him to become nervous again.

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii grinned as Dakari agreed with her assessment of it being beautiful, as she continued to observe everything. And sure, enough, as she wandered over towards the river, Dakari spoke up with a warning about the water being cold. She stopped briefly to listen as he explained how he fell, causing Kijamii to giggle as she imagined the lion falling into the river. "Sorry," she apologised half-heartedly through her giggles. "It's just that I can easily imagine such a situation...I've had plenty of accidents like that myself."

Turning back to the river, though, Kijamii decided to test Dakari's warning, and dipped a paw into the gentle river, yelping and pulling it back out at the cold contact. In her effort to back away from it, though, she briefly forgot about the moisture coating everything in the den, particularly by the riverside, and as such, slipped on the smooth, wet rock, her lower half landing squarely in the river, drenching her hind legs, tail and waist in the feezing water, causing her to yell as she grabbed at the rock with her claws, findign a patch of moss for grip and hurriedly hauling herself out of the water, yelping like a startled cub as she felt the cold right across her lower half.

The moment she was out of the water, she dashed away to a corner of the den, rapidly shaking herself off, shivering lightly as the sensation of the cold water spread from her back half to the rest of her body. "Well...so much for that advice, huh?" she said light-heartedly through her shivers, adding a weak laugh, trying to see the funny side of her mistake, although the feeling of the water, which was like heavy rain on a cold night, was doing everything it could to ruin her mood.

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Tanga could not help but feel a little ashamed as Marini spoke up again. By allowing him to use her shortened nickname, she seemed to be implying that she'd like him as a friend, but had not exactly been kind towards her yet. But before he could say anything, though, Marini, spoke up again, offering to show him around, and let him help her find Lina.

Her words had the effect of reminding Tanga of his argument with Kijamii earlier, and the reason he had yelled at her. He winced as he remember his treatment of his own sister, and the added memories of his parents just served to bring tears to his eyes, although he did his best to hide them from both Marini and Lina. "I, uhh...look Marini, I'm sorry if I've been a bit...off, towards you so far," he said quietly, briefly making eye contact to show his sincerity before turning away again, hoping she missed the impending tears. "I've...it's been a rough couple of weeks for us lately, and I...I'm not in the best mood today."

Tanga gave a shaky sigh, before placing his head on his paws, silently fighting to pull his emotions back under control. "If you're up for it, maybe I'll come with you another day, but right now...I don't really want to go anywhere..." he trailed off here, finding it harder to keep his emotions in check. He refused to break down, believing it was make him seem weak, and gave thought to the idea that letting it all out might just let him move on from the loss of his parents. He sighed once more, this one even more unstable than the last, and Tanga firmly shut his muzzle at that point, knowing another sound from him could become too much.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari didn't find Kijamii's giggling disturbing. Unlike others, her small laughs didn't sound like the teasing kind, and so he didn't mind. When she went to examine the water, Dakari sat down and waited for the part in which she agrees with him about the cold water. Apperanly the water were colder than Kijamii expected, causing her to eventually slip and fall inside. He didn't find this funny, but instead quickly walked up to the river, though the lioness already pulled herself out. He should have mentioned that the rocks by the river's surface were very smooth and easy to slip on. "Yeah, I should have warned you about that..."[/n] he said, not showing even a slight sign of a giggle because it wasn't really funny to see that happen to her.

He quickly thought of anything that he could do to help, but he didn't manage to come up with anything. He walked over to her side, still trying to think of what he could do when a crazy idea came to his mind. He wondered whther he could help warm her up a little, [b]"If you're cold... I can, ah..." but he was being an idiot again. "Or we should probably go outside, it's probably hotter by now."

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Marini then kind of lost interest in her hide and seek game, whatever Tanga was talking about, she could tell that he was being genuine with her. But after hearing the way he was talking slightly more 'happily' to Lina, Marini wondered whether the cub could find out what was bothering him. "Okay Tanga, I'll see you later then." She said and left the den, though she stayed out of view for a while to see whether Lina would figure out what was bothering him.

[AustralianChaos]

Still shivering, Kijamii listened as Dakari sheepishly said he should have warned her about the slippery rocks. before waving a paw dismisively at his apology. "It's fine, Dakari, really...it's my own stupid fault. I knew the rocks were slippery, but I forgot for that second." As she spoke, she could hear her own voice wavering with her shivering. Sheesh, that was some cold water! she thought to herself as she curled up in the corner of the den, trying to use her own body heat to warm herself back up, to no avail.

As Dakari approached her, Kijamii heard him speak up, but he never voice his idea for helping her, before simply suggesting that they head back outside. Uncurling, realising the move was useless, Kijamii cocked her head to one side, her look clearly showing she was not buying the change of subject. She had a hunch as to what Dakari had been about to suggest, but decided to hear it from him, first.

"I kind of like it in here, though," she said, the barest hint of a pleading whine in her voice. "What were you about to suggest, though? Because I'm freezing, but I don't want to leave. I'm not sure I could walk properly, anyway," she said, gesturing with a shaking paw at her equally shaking body. She was shivering that badly that just keeping her legs still for long enough to stand up was probably going to be hard. She knew she could walk if she really wanted to, but she did like it in here, and if Dakari had a better idea, she really wanted to stay. She did flash him a small smile, though, her green eyes sparkling cheekily, letting him know she had a very good idea what he had been about to suggest. "So...what was it? How can I get warm without leaving?"

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Tanga nodded slowly as Marini seemed to understand that he was having a rough time, saying a brief goodbye. "Yeah...see you around...Rini..." he said slowly as she left. The moment she was out of sight, he gave his trademark heavy sigh, settling his head back on his paws, staring at the wall of the den, even though he did not really see it, as his mind was swimming with images of a time he really wished he could forget, which made him hate himself for even thinking such a thing of a memory to do with his parents. Lost in these conflicting emotions, he almost completely forgot about Lina, still hiding, beside him.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari couldn't help but feel like an idiot when he saw her curl up in a useless attempt to warm herself. He immediatly grew nervous when Kijamii didn't show any will to leave, but rather urged him to continue what he was saying before and he felt his cheeks going red again. "I... ah..." he found it really hard to say anything all of a sudden, and the look she was giving him wasn't really helping. "You know how cubs always snuggle with one of their parents when they're cold..." he would have phrased it otherwise, but he remembered how he always lay by himself while the other cubs slept next to their parents. But he pushed the bad thoughts aside, his cheeks becoming even redder as he hoped Kijamii wouldn't yell at him

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Lina waited a few moments after Marini left, so to not alert her by making any pointless sound. Once it's been a few seconds Lina quickly hopped from her hiding place and onto the adolescent's back. "Victory!" she said with triumph, hopping up and down for a few seconds before going quiet and just laying herself down on Tanga's back. "That was great!" she said, letting go of the contained giggling fit she held while she was hiding.