A Change of Plans [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[TheWhistlerify]

Hearing her mother call for her, Uhuru started running towards her mother, but stopepd when she heard what Sarabi told Marini. "Don't lie! We were playing tag!" she yelled, though she was feeling quite satisfied to see to see Sarabi pinned underneath her brother's girlfriend, and she honestly didn't mind if Marini actually kill her, not after what she's done t Tanga a few times already.

---

Marini looked at Tanga, but it seemed like even he couldn't tell her to back off and let go of Sarabi. She could also see Simba, and that's when she became slightly apprehensive. She didn't expect him to be there, especially after Busara telling him to not move for at least a few days. But looking at Tanga again, she got an idea. "You think Tanga's after you both? Why don't we find out?" she asked sarcastically, not waiting for the former queen to answer, she looked at Tanga. "Well Tanga, What are you waiting for? Go ahead, kill her." she said, putting in the biggest act that she ever did. Once Tanga refused, maybe Sarabi would finally forgive him.

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi's eyes widened when Marini basically offerred her up to Tanga. "I can't believe you, Marini," she said, her voice dangerously low. "You're following him so blindly..."

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Tanga slowly came up to Marini's side, staring at her in complete shock. It took him a few seconds to realise what she was doing, and managed to very subtly wink at her, so that Sarabi didn't notice, letting his girlfriend know he knew what she was up to.

But when Sarabi made her slight against Marini, Tanga's patience ran out. Stalking up to Sarabi, who was still pinned under Marini, he gave his loudest roar to silence her, for a brief moment sounding like a lion several months older than him. Knowing he know had Sarabi's full attention, he leered down at her, surprised to find fear in her gaze...she truly though he was going to kill her.

Shoving his muzzle down so that their noses were almost touching, Tanga finally spoke. "Listen, Sarabi...I don't know what delusional world you're living in...but I am not your enemy!" he did not bother keeping his voice down, not realising that everyone could hear him...even Kali and Busara. "Ever since mum and dad left me in the Pridelands, I have looked up to you more than anyone else as a mother...and Simba as a big brother! I have done nothing, absolutely nothing, to even suggest I was planning to kill you. What happened with Simba yesterday was an accident...he can see it, why can't you?! And me and Uhuru were just playing! When I tackled her, I made sure I hit the ground first, so she wouldn't get hurt! I hate myself for hurting Simba like I did...why are you the only one who can't see it?!"

Sarabi made to open her mouth again, but Tanga could still see the lingering anger, and knew she was going to accuse him of more lies. Growling, he swiped at her, with his claws retracted so he did not draw blood, he could tell, though, when his paw struck her cheek, that it had stung. "That's for all the pain you put me through yesterday...but I will not kill you. As I said before, I am not the enemy here. Try and remember that before you divide us all, and give Scar his victory."

It was a side of Tanga no-one had ever seen before, except the black leopard that had nearly killed him. Tanga's shy, quiet nature meant he was very hard to anger...but Sarabi had succeeded in doing so, and was fast learning that Tanga's bad temper was not something you wanted to provoke out of him.

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Kali was about to call Uhuru again when the whole situation with Sarabi and Tanga began to play out, and she completely forgot about her daughter's disobedience as she watched the scene in amazement. By the time it was over, Kali was staring at her son in shock, hoping his outburst had been enough to bring Sarabi to her senses.

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Nala was similarly speechless as she watched the scene play out. She had not seen Tanga's fight with Ganya, and as such was completely stunned by his sudden mood swing. She had never seen the normally quiet lion this angry before...and now she knew that she never wanted to see him like that again...he was almost as scary as Sarabi.

[TheWhistlerify]

Busara stared as the events turned out in complete shock, having never seen his son behave like that left him proud to find the usually quiet adolescent behave in such a way, but even slightly taken aback. It took him a few seconds to realise what Marini had been doing in the first place, of course that Tanga wouldn't have killed Sarabi, Marini intended on showing that to her.

--

Marini was also slightly shocked by the sudden behaviour Tanga was showing. She had only witnessed the beginning of Tanga's fight with the leopard, and therefor this was the first ime she saw him act like that. But that didn't cause her any fear like it did to probably everyone else, she was feeling proud of her boyfriend. The quiet, shy and would-never-hurt-a-fly runt was acting like a lion of Busara's age. However, she didn't remove herself from Sarabi, as tough as Tanga seemed to be right at that moment, Sarabi was still bigger and probably tronger than him, and she wanted to make sure Sarabi came to her senses before letting her go.

--

Simba took it all in after a few more moments. He knew what Marini did, and couldn't deny that it was pretty smart. But he feared that Sarabi would only get angrier at his friend now, despiting the way he just yelled in front of his biological parents that she was the one who had been a real mother to him. He slowly limped towards his mother, and intended on trying to calm her down before taking her to her nook for a rest. If she would still be confused, he would try and help her come to her senses

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga gave Sarabi, who was still pinned under Marini, although making no attempt to struggle, one last, piercing glare, those normally calm blue eyes suddenly having a piercing, cracling effect to them that left Sarabi frozen to the spot...she had awoken the beast inside Tanga...and now she knew it.

"Just think about your actions lately, Sarabi. Think about how you've hurt not just me, but those I hold dear as well...when I'm upset, Marini's upset, and I can see Simba from here...he does not want to take sides, you're his mother, after all...don't force that on him."

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Sarabi silently watched as Tanga gave one last, quiet rant, before turning around and storming off towards the long grass he often went to when troubled, clearly in need of some quiet time to calm down.

But as Tanga left, the irrational, overprotective nature that had seized Sarabi over the past couple of days started to fade...and Sarabi, finally, started to reconnect with reality. She looked at all the faces watching their particularly public outburst, and as her mind shot back and forth, Sarabi's eyes slowly widened, as she realised just what she had done.

She had already lost her mate, and in the brief moment yesterday where Simba broke his paw...she had feared, for a split-second, that she might lose her son as well. Her mind could not cope with the thought of losing her mate and son like that, and so had resorted to borderline-psychotic overprotective means to keep him safe. In trying to save the last of her family, and her sanity, she had almost torn their small 'pride' apart.

In the end, her awakening mind would only let her whisper one, horrified phrase. "Oh, Great Kings Above..."

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Kali's gaze flickered between Tanga as he stormed off, clearly angry and upset, and Sarabi, who looked like she was, at long last, coming back to sanity. After a few moments, in which she noticed the look of horror on Sarabi's muzzle, she finally turned to Busara. "Dear, I think we should check on Tanga...he needs someone there to remind him that he's done the right thing...knowing him, he'll start second-guessing his actions the moment he's alone...and I want him to know he can count on more than just Marini to be there to support him."

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As Simba moved towards his mother, Nala came up beside him, allowing him to use her side to support himself better as they hobbled up to where Marini still had Sarabi pinned down. As they approached, Nala heard Sarabi's brief, whispered words, and turned to Simba, a slightly concerned expression on her face, know Simba must be feeling seriously conflicted right now. "I...I think she's realised what she's done, Simba..."

[TheWhistlerify]

Even Marini herself was still surprised by the new side of Tanga she was just seeing. Despite how close she and Tanga were, and the fact that Tanga's sudden outburst was only aimed at Sarabi, she never believed there was such personality hidden somewhere inside Tanga. She noticed Simba and Nala come closer, to her relief Simba didn't seem to be angry at her. She slowly got off Sarabi, deciding that Sarabi must have already got the message, unless she was completly insane. Again she saw Tanga bolt right off, and slowly began to follow him like she always did.

-----

Busara was observing the entire situation without saying anything, when he notice Tanga ran off to be on his own again. He hated to admit it, but Kali was right. They both had to let Tanga know that they were also willing to always support him, not only Marini. He was about to asnwer, and could already see Marini follow Tanga, but that didn't make him change his opinion. "Yeah, I think you're right. he said, and also began walking towards the tall grass, knowing that Kali would probably follow him.

-----

As Nala offered him her side for support, Simba took it and gently leaned against his girlfriend's side. "Thanks." he said quietly, giving her one quick thankful smile before turning his attention back to his mother. She seemed to finally realise what she had done was wrong, but Simba was still left confused by everything. "Yeah I... I think she did." he said and sighed, hoping that his mother really did understand. He looked at Marini as she left without saying anything, but he wasn't mad at her, since her idea seemed to have worked. He instead bent over to his mother, who was still laying down on the floor, and nudged her gently with his nose, "Mom?.. Mom are you alright? he asked, hoping that she really did realise what she had done, and wasn't just still afraid that Tanga could have killed her

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga stormed off quietly, fighting to bring his anger under control. He had come close...so close, to completely losing it back there, and he could still feel the rage boiling inside him, threatening to spill over at any moment. Increasing his pace from a stomping walk to a seift trot, Tanga quickly made his way to the long grass, only just managing to conceal himself inside the tall stalks before he snapped.

Unleashing a huge roar, Tanga unsheathed his claws and slashed mercilessly at the grass around him, the area of cut grass from his last rant yesterday widening significantly as he expelled all his pent-up emotions from Sarabi's treatment of him.

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Sarabi looked up as she heard a voice address her. Looking up, she found herself staring into the eyes of her son, who was looking down at her, obviously worried. "S...Simba?" she said softly, looking almost as if she was seeing her son for the first time. She then sighed heavily, looking out towards where Tanga had stormed off, and where Marini, Kali and Busara were currently heading. "That all actually happened..." she said, her voice heavy with horror and guilt as she realised that her actions were not part of some horrific nightmare. "Oh, Kings Above...what have I done?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini slowly walked in the direction Tanga left, not noticing Tanga's parents were right behind her. She hoped that everything will go back to normal, and didn't seen any reason to why wouldn't that happen. But she then heard Tanga's roar, and almost fell into thinking that it was either Busara, or Mufasa roaring, it didn't sound like Tanga. It scared her a little, and she didn't know whether approaching Tanga was a good idea, not untill he calmed down a little, so she stopped right where she was and stayed there, still not noticing Kali or Busara.

-----

Simba sighed, partially in relief and partially because he was still slightly worried. Sarabi did seem to have finally let go of her anger at Tanga, which was good. Simba nudged his mother again, this one upwards so that she would finally stand up. Yeah... But it's alright... he said, before remembering how Tanga stormed off. Sarabi might no longer have issues with him, but he might be angry at her now, it's like nothing's changed

[AustralianChaos]

Kali followed her mate, but stopped as she saw Marini near the tall grass, obviously hesitant. She had heard Tanga's roar as well, and had a hunch as to what Marini was hesitant about.

"Busara...hold on a moment," she called, before heading over to Marini. "Marini...are you okay?" she asked, her expression letting her know she guessed this was about Tanga, and that she was free to explain if she wanted to.

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It took Tanga a couple of minutes, but soon his frustration with Sarabi's previous actions faded away, and he just stood there, panting, in the patch of shorter, trimmed grass hidden away inside the patch of taller grass, almost like a safe haven for him from the horrors of the world outside.

His guilt over his violent anger started to surface, but he soon remembered the way Marini always used to comfort him, and he slowly forced the guilt back...he had run here deliberately so he could vent his anger...without harming anyone. He had done what he believed was right, and had managed to, aside from one slap without claws, avoid harming Sarabi. His anger was natural, and now that it had faded, he thought he could see her, and everyone else, again without risking blowing up on anyone.

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Sarabi threw Simba a skeptical look as her son said it was alright. "How is it alright? I hurt Tanga, accused him of attempting to murder you, and left you stuck in the middle...all because I tried too hard to protect you. Now I realise what I've done...but now Tanga's angry with me...I've split this group, Simba...all because of my own, stupid selfishness..."

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini just stood there for a minute or two, and began walking towards Tanga's location again when Kali talked to her, "Yeah, I'm fine. she said, throwing Kali a friendly smile before walking again, I just thought I'd give him a minute or two to calm down, that's all. It was true. Usually when she wanted to comfort Tanga, it was because he was afraid or worried. But now he was really angry with Sarabi, and seeing his anger only a few minutes ago brought Marini into deciding to give him a minute alone.

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Simba wasn't sure of what exactly to say. What was there to say? Sarabi was right, even if he hated admitting it. But now you've realised what you did was wrong." Simba said, more as an attempt to cheer himself up. "I'm sure Tanga would let go of his anger at some point. He knew what Tanga was like. And despite how angry his friend seemed to be at Sarabi, Simba still believed that he would eventually forgive her.

[AustralianChaos]

Kali nodded at Marini's comment. "Probably a good idea...I know Tanga's nice to pretty much everyone, but I know, from experience, that when someone's as angry as Tanga seems to be, trying to help him now will just make it worse...just give him a little more time."

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But in the end, Kali's words were almost pointless, because at that moment, Tanga emerged from the grass, walking towards the three. His head was bowed as the small traces of guilt washed over him. He had avoided seriously harming anyone, but the fact that he had lost his temper anyway was enough to make him feel slightly guilty.

As he looked up, he noticed the three of them there, and managed a forced half-smile at them. "You were coming to see me, weren't you?" he asked, even if he already knew the answer, this time managing a genuine, appreciative smile at Marini, before looking to all three of them in general. "How's Sarabi?" he asked as he sat down in front of them, taking a couple more deep breaths to ease the remaining tension in his body.

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Sarabi winced. "It wasn't just wrong, it was completely inexcusable. I had deluded myself into thinking I had done this for you, Simba...but now I know, I was doing this for myself. I've already lost Mufasa...I couldn't bear even the thought of losing you, too." Sarabi's voice was exceedingly gentle, as she gave her son a brief nuzzle. "But in my attempts to protect you, I'm sure I came very close to making you turn against me to protect your friends, who had not done anything wrong...I just hope that I can make it up to Tanga at some point."

She did not mention the possibility of Tanga eternally hating her. Not only was it something she knew would impact everyone's lives badly if it was true, but at the same time, Sarabi did believe that Tanga's forgiving nature would come through...even if she hated taking advantage of it.

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Through all of this, Nala just sat and watched, not wanting to interfere on what must have been a rather personal moment between mother and son. After a moment, she turned and quietly walked off, heading back to the ravine...and to Simba's nook. That way, she could rest and take in the morning's events, and Simba and Sarabi could continue in complete privacy.