[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[SinChei]

Daxis didn't move any muscle and haven't realised anything until kovu asked laini again. But then as Kovu said he would find another lioness to look after him daxis gaze became more sad and he felt like someone punched him hard in his stomach. The red maned cub didn't understand why Laini did this. He watched kovu leaving and wanted to go away from laini too but she went in his way and looked deep in his ice Blue eyes. Listzening to Lainis words and slightely shivering because of his situation daxis started slowly to cry He was mad about Lainis answer and sad about the fact she would leave him. Daxis went away crying didn't look once more back to laini. It is ok why would you want me ,..... neither my parents wanted me.... or anyone else.... its ok..... He layed down against the wall and put his paws upon his head.

[Lodrill]

Laini watched Daxis run away but she did not follow him. She was too afraid herself and also she thought that this was the best for Daxis too.

"I am sorry." she whispered. "It is not that I don't want you but... I just can't teach you anymore and I... well I am leaving and if you want to stay here..." Laini did not find the words. "You see I can't stay here... anymore. It has nothing to do with you but..." Laini did look into the direction where Kovu went. "Well just do me one favor okay? Tell noone that I left. I think I will go to my den first but maybe I will not stay there. I just can't stay while this... this..." Laini sighed. She did not want to bring her fear and hate of Kovu and Vitani towards this innocent lion. She knew that she was not right because Simba already had forgiven them. All had. Only Laini still could not forget it and she never would. Not that she would not want to if she could but... it was just too much of a trauma she received that day when Vitani killed her mother.

"Take care Daxis. I hope you will find a stronger lioness. One who can care for you and would be a better... mother for you than I ever could. And I hope for you to find your place in the pride. If you believe you will find it. I am so sorry that I am so weak. Well... goodby. May the old kings watch over you."

With this last words Laini turned around and ran. She did not look back. In the last sentences tears had filled her eyes. She did not want to admit it but she had got attached to Daxis as well as he did to her. Daxis had been the first lion she openly talked to and now it was for her as if she would lose someone important again. While the tears were overflowing in her eyes her paws gave all they had and soon pride rock was far behind her.
With burning paws she reached her den. Still crying and with a wild beating heart. She settled down on the cold surface. In her mind she still remembered the first time she met Daxis... the time he lay between her forepaws. They were precious memories like the ones she had of her own cubhood when her mother still was alive.
For the first time she did not even care about cleaning her paws and herself before sleeping. She cried herself into sleep. Just one night rest. Tomorrow she would maybe on her way past the borders of the prideland.
There were very few happy memories she had bound to this land. A few of her mother, a few of Serafina and the newest memories of Daxis. She would miss those times. She knew she would. But she also knew that she would not be able to live any longer at pride rock. She had been on the edge to break down the past days even if the days with Daxis had been nice. She had felt that she was unable to cope with this situation. She was to fragile herself. Also the changes in the pride surfaced her old and restless slumbering fear of the outlanders. Deep inside she could never forgive them. She could never live with them. And that was the reason she had to leave. Even if she would die - and this was very possible due she never really went hunting - it would be better than living in fear and just dragging her live along rotting in old memories of the past. A new life would beginn. And if it would be short then maybe she would finally be together with her mother again.

Laini was still young. She would turn two years after the moon had risen five times after this night. It was time for her to come in heat the first time soon too. She had not seen much from live other than fear and grudges. Maybe this trip would show her the real meaning of live. But maybe not. Only the great kings may know.

With a lot of confusing thoughts and memories about the nice times with her mother, with Serafina and with Daxis she cried herself to sleep and the dreams continued with these memories.

Her last dream within the pride lands?

[SinChei]

Daxis listened to Lainis words and had to cry more for every word escaped lainis muzzle. Her voice was shaking more and more and at the end axis could hear her crying that broke his heart and he wanted to look at her and smiled a bit with tears in his eyes but as he saw that she was gone daxis rushed out of the den but couldnt see anything of her she was gone and only daxis knew where she was. He started to cry in the fact he maybe would never see her again and never could tell her that she was more then his mother father or anyone for him. His brown fur on his face was soaked of the tears and his eyes were red from the crying. Daxis thought about following her but he could not remember the way. Even if it would rain this night daxis layed down out of the den. Maybe Laini would come back daxis didn't really believe in it but he could still hope. Daxis lost the most important lioness and felt guilty. He was mad of himself and bit hard in his foreleg and did it two times more . The red maned cub was so mad of himself that he felt better after biting himself. Daxis dug his teeth in his foreleg a last time and kept them in his foreleg and fell crying asleep. Soon the tears on the ground were red from the blood of his foreleg.

[KingKivuli]

Kivuli's joy of laughter was cut short when Shani entered his den. He stopped laughing, rolling round and stood up to face the intruder. Kivuli took note of Shani's jokey voice but if there was one thing that really ruffles Kivuli's fur, and that is other lions coming into his private space. He walked over into Shani's face Shani is it? You got some nerve inviting yourself into my den, lets take this outside

Kivuli left the den, and Mila, walking to the waters edge. Observing his surrounding he saw the day was moving along nicely, the weather good and a calm breeze was blowing, sending gentle ripples over the water. Kivuli also noted Kovu's presence in one of the nearby dens. Part of Kivuli wanted him over here another wanted the wanna be king to just stay away. He turned back round and called into the cave

Hurry up Shani before I lose my patience! Kivuli waited for the exiled king to join him before speaking again I dont know how things are run where your from, but no one comes into my den uninvited, especially lions that I hardly know, you got that?

---------------------------------------------

Merementa's party was still battling through the tough undergrowth of the jungle. For a good few more minutes the trekked on, until they were rewarded with the feel of decaying land beneath their paws. This beaten track led them to the a small hill over looking the outlands. It was dead. No movement, no wind, no water, nothing but dry dust to greet them. Merementa stood at the edge of the hill with Anga at his side

So these are the deadlands you spoke of? And Kivuli is just beyond them? He inquired Yes, I thought this place would be good to set up base, its quiet and out the way. If a pride exists up there, they wont see us coming Anga replied to his master Hmph, it will do. Lets get moving The pack made their way downhill and followed the scent of Makali to the small den MAKALI!!! GET OUT HERE!!!! yelled Merementa

[SinChei]

Makali had to concentrate very hard to stay awake he didn't want to get beaten again. He played with his forepaws while waiting for merementa and the others. makalis parents didn't like it when he was playing even if he did it just with his paws or with the tail of his father or mother. they were saying it doesn't make him stronger just merementa angrier of him. It was like a shock when he heard his masters strong voice which let him shiver hard. The strong cry made him jump up and stopped playing. The rare furred cub ran out and layed obedient down in front of merementa. Yes master merementa I'm here. I hope this cave is enough for us. Makali could be happy if he would allow him to sleep inside.

[KiarasMate]

Watching closely as Rahina sprawled herself out upon the den floor, his eyes traveling along the full length of her attractive body, Kopa waited till she was comfortably situated before he moved in closer to where she was laying. Taking a seat near her upper half to begin with, Kopa gave his fore paws a quick rub and a gentle blow from his muzzle, just to clear off any dirt from them, as well as to warm them up slightly, before lightly placing them upon his beloved lioness’ shoulders. Making sure to be nice and gentle with his movements, Kopa brushed his paws along the length of Rahina’s neck and chest, curling his paw toes with every loving ministration, applying a light amount of pressure to try and ease her muscles as he spoke softly down to her, his eyes locking with her alluring onyx orbs.

”Let me know if I’m pushing too hard my precious. I know your favorite spots but I don’t know how you’re feeling right now, with our cub in your belly and all.”

Smiling happily down at Rahina, Kopa’s paws moved upwards, giving his beloved mate a loving scratch behind her cute looking ears before the large male shifted his position now. Rising to all fours, Kopa carefully stepped over his precious lioness, having one fore leg and one hind leg on either side of her muscular frame, his upper half now hovering over his mate’s rounded tummy. Leaning his head down, Kopa gave Rahina’s belly a soft nuzzle and a few affectionate licks before carefully placing one of his fore paws along her exposed underside. Having to keep three of his paws upon the ground in order to maintain his current stance, Kopa worked diligently as his fore paw lovingly massaged Rahina’s stomach, slowly traveling its way down to her hind quarters, resulting in him having to take a few steps forward in order to reach the rest of her body, ending with his hind paws being on either side of his mate’s head, his tail still swaying thoughtfully behind him as his tail tuft tickled her nosepad on occasion.

==========

Lost in her own sea of thoughts, Zina was quickly snapped out of her stupor as she picked up the sounds of loud voices coming from not too far off from where she was laying. Altering her position so she could see just what was going on, the white furred Shaman’s yellow eyes fixated upon an interesting sight. It seemed that Shani had gotten himself into a bit of trouble as it appeared that a much larger male with captivating grey fur was calling him out for some reason or another. Looking quite intrigued by what was going on, mainly in the fact that Zina herself found an unusual amount of pleasure in the misfortune of others, especially when those others were males.

As the confrontation picked up steam, Zina hurriedly sat up, just in case things would turn ugly and she would have to make a break for it, although by the way things were going down, this didn’t seem like it would be a problem however, never being the type to drop her guard, Zina still stayed on edge as she continued to observe the situation, her eyes scanning the new male with an inquisitive intent. His body build was much larger than the typical males she had encountered and even with all her travels abroad, seeing a specimen such as this was rare for her, sparking her curiosity as she tilted her head to try and get a better view of the rest of his features. Noting his fiery red orbs and the way he stood, an air of both arrogance yet mystique about him, Zina couldn’t help herself as she licked over her muzzle lips in a hungry fashion, her tail flicking methodically behind her as she eagerly waited to see what would happen next.

[Mike]

"You're very protective of borrowed property." Shani said, choosing to be amused rather than offended by Kivuli's agression. He padded along after the other lion at a leisurely pace, taking his own time in leaving the den. "Afraid that Simba will punish you if you don't return it in tip-top shape? Anyway, as the pridelands' scout in Simba's absence I've got to be able to roam the lands freely. Speaking of which, you're avoiding the question."

Shani enjoyed poking fun at Kivuli's aggressive and serious front. Especially having caught him in such an unguarded care-free situation. Shani was past the point of looking for blackmail, with devious plans for the future, but his natural curiosity and general interest took the place of these darker motives.

---------------

Kovu made his way back to Pride Rock, keeping an eye on Taraji of course. He played along with Taraji's game, smiling at the little cub's excitement to be outside again. He knew that Taraji would have questions about what had happened in the den, and he waited patiently for her to ask them.

When finally Taraji asked what Laini had done, Kovu answered as calmly and naturally as he could. The answer was sensitive and he didn't want to upset Taraji or make her worry about either his or Kiara's devotion to her. "Not every lioness is made to be a mommy Taraji." Kovu said gently as they continued on. "You're lucky because your mom and I love you and will always take care of you, but Laini decided that She can't do it anymore."

[Lodrill]

Rahina giggled and relaxed as he started touching her. She started to emit a soft purr and closed her eyes enjoying Kopas threatment.
Kopas carefully rubbig paws felt nice and relaxing. Rahina sneezed as his tuft was tickling her nose. She lay her head to the side to avoid being tickled by him again.

It was so relaxing that Rahina soon was breathing slowly and in a smooth interval what was indicating that she was doozing off. But still she was emitting a soft purr that was vibrating in her stomach.

---

Taraji still tried to look up while running and her voice made clear that she started to be exhausted from running. "And this is why the lion not allowed in this mean den... erm man den... erm... anymore?"
Taraji had only followed the conversation of Kovu and the other lions with half her concentration due she had not understood anything and it had been very booring for her. But now she wanted to know everything about it. She was a girl alright and as such very curious.

[Mike]

Kovu smiled at Taraji's slightly out of breath question. He chose to snag the little cub gently by the nape of her neck and deposit her softly on his upper back before answering. "Up you come little one." he said brightly. Once again Kovu was torn between telling Taraji the truth and softening the impact of rather brutal news. He thought for a moment without answering, staring up at the sun and thinking about his own childhood. He thought about Zira's ways of raising himself and Vitani, and recalled with a shudder how one-sided and horrific some of the stories she had told them. Kovu decided that the best thing he could to for Taraji was to be as straight and honest as was possible.

"Daxis has been having a hard time in the pridelands." Kovu said with a voice that oscillated between grave and gentle. "He's still young and he needs to learn the rules. Last night he hurt another lion, and even though he's new we need to make sure he's not dangerous to anyone else any more. Part of that is making sure that he's not in the main den where the other lions live."

Kovu continued off towards the main den at a faster pace now that Taraji was on his back and wasn't in danger of being left behind. He was eager to see Kiara again and get her advice on what the best course of action for Daxis might be. He also considered whether or not he had done the right thing by telling Taraji what he had. He'd know more after her reaction.

[Lodrill]

Taraji did not understand it all and she snuggled into the mane of Kopa to think about it. Her voice was very faint due it was muffled by the mane as she asked again.

"So this Daxis... is dangeous?" her voice was shaking a bit. She could not speak the word dangerous correctly yet she knew exactly what it meant.

As if she was a bit frightened of Daxis ex post facto she shivered and snuggled deep into the mane of Kopa as if to hide inside. The shy cub was still very easy to dazzle.
Taraji was happy to be atop of Kopa at this moment. Here she felt safe. Also it was warm and she already got attached to the scent of Kopas mane. He was like the father Taraji never have had. Kiara also was so much like her mother that Taraji started to confuse her with her mother sometimes.

---

Rahina really had fallen into a light slumber. It was showing her absolute trust towards her mate that she was able to fall asleep in this vulnerable position. Rahina ever had been a very cautious lioness.
The only lion that put her at ease and made her sleep without being on guard all the time or relax from time to time was her precious Kopa.