[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[SinChei]

Daxis entered right behind Gumu and saw the meat. He went to it and took the biggest piece of meat he could
find and layed down very rough and very loud then he began to eat it.

((sry for the short post))

[Mike]

Vitani ate quickly, hardly tasting the meal. The act of destroying her food though, the rest of her emotions were calmed. She was embarrassed by her behavior. Now she just wanted to be alone, not wanting to have to explain her behavior. She was the first to finish her meal and left the carcass to find an isolated corner of the den where most of the lionesses usually slept.

Kovu glanced after her, but soon forgot about his sister's odd moods. Vitani could take care of herself. Gumu approached the meal next and began to eat. Kovu overheard snatches of Simba's conversation with Nala, enough to determine that Sibma found Gumu and invited him to join the pride. Kovu sized the strange lion up, noting his powerful build and startling bright color that was visible even in the dim night's light that filtered into the den. Taking a short break from his meal, Kovu spoke.

"I'm Kovu, I think your name is Gumu? Welcome to the pride. Who have you met so far?"

[KiarasMate]

Feeling the need to return to her adopted daughter’s side as soon as possible, Kiara’s meal was rushed to say the least as the famished princess downed a good helping of the delicious buffalo meat, still upholding her dainty feeding habits as not to embarrass herself in front of the new members of the pride. After a short while and with her belly filled, Kiara stepped back from the carcass, licking her muzzle clean in satisfaction before leaning in to whisper to her mate, who was still savoring his supper.

”I’m going to take Cutie back to our den Honey. I think she’ll be more comfortable there if she wakes up, since there won’t be so many new faces around and I don’t want her to get spooked like last time. Just meet me when you’re done eating.”

Giving her mate’s saturated muzzle a loving lick, Kiara smiled happily at him before she turned her attention to Gumu and Daxis before speaking once more.

”It was very nice to meet you Daxis, and you too Gumu.” Kiara stated, giving Gumu a rather prolonged stare and smile before she moved off, giving her father a tender nuzzle before making her way back to her mother’s side, gently picking up the slumbering cub by her nape and silently took her leave.

It was a bit chilly outside now that the sun had retreated below the horizon. The stars seemed to sparkle in the dark canvas of the nights sky as Kiara made her way back to where her and her mate’s den was located, not too far from the main den of Pride Rock. Being as careful as she could as not to disturb her daughter’s sleep, Kiara moved along until she was safely tucked into the familiar surroundings of her den. She was pleased that they had recently tidied up the place, as there was plenty of room to relax now. Taking up a leisurely spot on the soft sleeping pelt that she and Kovu typically slept upon, the caring princess set her adorable daughter down as she made herself comfortable, snuggling in nice and close to her cherished cub, feeling the combination of both being stuffed from meat and exhausted from a long day, starting to register now as she closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep, murmuring softly to her daughter as she did so.

”Good night my sweet little cub. Hopefully you’ll be able to tell me your name soon and hopefully we’ll have a great future together. I will do my best to raise you just as good as my mom and dad raised me. With your father’s help of course too.”

==========

Watching her daughter depart and being freed from cub sitting duties now, Nala decided that she would take her fair share of the meal now. Moving in, the cream colored queen took up a spot next to Gumu, giving him a friendly smile before she started eating. At around the same time, Simba had reached his limits on what his stomach could handle, moving away from the remaining meat as he lazily flopped himself upon the den floor, letting out a satisfied belch that seemed to rock the cavern itself. Placing a paw over his muzzle with a sheepish grin, the king politely excused himself before resting his head down upon his fore paws. Blushing from her mate’s antics, Nala continued to enjoy her dinner as her eyes drifted over to where Vitani had gone off to. For the short time that Vitani, Kovu and the other Outlanders had been accepted into the Pride, it was Nala that seemed to befriend each and every one of them, as was her typical friendly nature. Sensing that something was bothering her fellow lioness and seeing as she was content with eating now, she stepped away from the buffalo and made her way over to where Vitani was laying, taking a seat as she spoke quietly to her, trying to keep her voice as low as possible to keep their conversation private.

”Something on your mind Tani? You seem a bit tense. Care to talk about it?”

[Faolcho]

Gumu was swallowing down a chunk of meat whilst spotting Daxis, it made him choke a bit. He coughed mildly and continued stuffing his muzzle.
He lunged his tongue over his entire face a couple of times, he had a small grin written all over, more of a smirk though.

He heard an unfamiliar voice next to him, it was Kovu. They seemed to be complete opposites, black and white, yin and yang, hell and heaven, hot and cold.
Gumu turned his head towards the sound with a piece of meat dangling out of his mouth, it was rather bloody.

His eyebrows were raised as he noticed the poor condition of his appearance, and cleaned himself swiftly so that his first impression wasn't completely ruined.

"Well met, Kovu." He launched his tongue once more. "Thank you for the warm welcome, this pride seems to have a friendly heart." He stared at the sealing of the cave momentarily. "I have met your king, his daughter, a cub called Amanda, one named Vitani and a foreign lion just like me, Daxis. Although, I would not say just like me.. He is an unruly cub that needs to be disciplined."

He gave Kiara a polite nod as she left, the king's daughter part still rang through his head.

"You are an outlander, am I correct?"

After saying that, he had trouble with holding in a yawn, his eyes were halfly closed, his throat was a bit bigger than normal and his lips were pursed together in a battle against sleep.

[Mike]

Kovu took a moment to return the loving lick before his mate left for their den before answering Gumu. He was pleased by the lion's formal nature. Not that he didn't enjoy the relaxed system of the pridelanders, but he occasionally longed for the more disciplined structure of the outsiders in such matters as the hierarchy of the pride.

"Well don't get into disciplining him yourself my friend, Simba always gets the first crack at that kind of problem. New lions usually adapt to our pride fairly quickly though; I know I did. You guessed that I was an outsider, you're right, but I'm a pridelander these days. It's not a hard lifestyle to adapt to really, sleep around all day, stretch your legs now and then to do a tour of the lands, then chow down on the best the pridelands have to offer us."


He saw Gumu struggle against a yawn and grinned lopsidedly

"And best of all, settle down in a cozy warm den each night. You look like you're just about ready for that now."

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

"I wish you wouldn't call me that. Vitani grumbled at Nala, then immediately felt sorry for snapping. It was a sign of affection Vitani knew, and she appreciated Nala's support as she got accustomed to the pride, so she'd never really commented on Nala's use of her nickname. "Sorry," She muttered, taking a deep breath and feeling even stupider. She felt like a cub that got told she wasn't allowed any desert, and then spent hours sulking in her den. Everything she did seemed to make the rest of the pride think she was on the edge of losing it. "It's really nothing allright? I just need time to calm down and forget about it. I'll be fine in the morning."

Vitani got up and started to move to another corner of the den, then she stopped and turned back to Nala. "Uh, thanks Nala." she said awkwardly.

[KiarasMate]

Nala’s ears flattened slightly from the response she was treated to by Vitani however, she didn’t let her fellow lioness’ words get to her as she knew how snappy some of her Pride Members could be at times, especially for lionesses. There were only two things in Nala’s mind that she knew of that tended to set lionesses off without warning. One being a heat cycle and the other being relationship troubles, whether it be sibling, mate or pride related. Seeing as it was late already though, Nala figured it best not to push the matter further as she merely nodded and murmured quietly in response to Vitani’s departing words.

”Mmmhmm.”

Feeling warn out from the day’s hunt and from having a full belly, Nala decided to turn in for the night as well, making her way over to her mate and whispering sweet nothings into his ear, causing the relaxing king to blush slightly before she took her leave and took up her favorite spot where she and her beloved mate usually dozed att. It didn’t take long for the cream colored feline to slip off to dreamland as her eyes closed and her breathing became relaxed and steady.

Wanting to join his precious lioness in sleeps enticing grip, yet not wishing to leave both Daxis and Gumu unattended to around Amanda who still was near the den entrance, Simba remained vigilant while he watched the two new males feasting upon the buffalo. Despite the fact that Kovu was still present, Simba felt obligated to at least keep watch over the new comers until they would call it a night as well. Simba hoped that Vitani had shown Daxis to where his den might be as he had instructed her to do earlier but figuring that there was no harm in asking, Simba spoke up towards the young male, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his meal while giving Gumu odd looks.

”So, did Vitani show you to where you will be staying at Daxis? I know it’s not much of a den, but if your behavior improves, I might be able to find you a more suitable den but that will all depend on your actions in the next few moons, so please try and be civil, especially around Gumu.”

Giving the young male a friendly smile in a small attempt to try and convince him that he wasn’t entirely despised, Simba returned to his task of keeping watch over the remaining members of his pride who hadn’t given in to the gentle tug of sleep yet, also keeping a watch out for Mila’s return and perhaps Laini if she would find the courage to finally join the rest of the pride in a meal, instead of picking scraps after everyone else had left the meal, much like he had witnessed her do on many occasions. It seemed odd to Simba, as even though she was one of the lower ranked members of his pride, he still tried to make her feel welcome as best he could. Being a bit uneducated to her past however, Simba had still kept a close watch over her, perhaps leading to the way she felt around him.

[Faolcho]

Gumu nodded his head at what Kovu was saying, he was too tired to actually understand and make decent sentances.
He battled ferociously against sleep, such an epic battle, bards would sing it for centuries to come! Around this time, he couldn't help but to yawn and let his eyes close from time to time. He decided he would only make things worse if he continued the conversation.

He nodded his head at the outlander's last words and talked in a more worn out way.

"Fair enough, we all need a good night's rest in order to function properly."

Gumu picked up several words from Simba's conversation with Daxis, but not enough to actually understand anything, although, he did hear his very own name being mentioned alongside other incomprehensible murmurs.
He waited for a while before speaking, with his muzzle slightly open and his eyes halfly closed.

"Good night."

The southlander made a gesture of goodbye to the awake lions, and woggled off to the private waterhole. He rolled out his tongue to accept the now very cool water, so cool his eyes were wide open for a second.

The den Simba showed to him was quite dark, so he couldn't really see anything at this time, and due his condition, he didn't investigate the cave this time, and ploffed himself near the hide where he found the fat rat earlier.

Sleepy time..

[Mike]

By the time Gumu had exited the den Kovu had finished his meal. Only Simba, Daxis, and Amanda were still up and about. Kovu decided it was time to take his leave and rejoin his mate in their den. He bade Simba goodnight during a pause in his conversation with Daxis, and nodded politely to Daxis. Then he left through the mouth of the den. The cool night air refreshed him, and the whispering of the grasses in the wind lulled him into a drowsy state. He took a moment to flop down on his back and gaze at the stars, picking out patterns that he and Kiara had seen so many times before. For a moment he lay there, and almost fell asleep, but being reminded of Kiara by the stars, he got up and made his drowsy way to their den.

Kiara and the little cub were snuggled together, and Kovu made his way to Kiara's side. He gently lay down next to her, and snuggled his body close against hers. Hoping he hadn't disturbed his mate Kovu closed his eyes, and started to drift off...

[SinChei]

Daxis looked kind of angry in Simbas face after he finished his meal and raised. He didnt want to make the king mad but he was annoyed of Simba who disturbed Daxis. and Daxis spoke in a angry Voice.

Pa this isnt a den its a ridiculously affront

He turned around and went out of the den and went towards his little hole. He entered the little cave and layed down
and he thought how it would be if he was able to sleep in the main den. But after a fw minutes he fell asleep

[KiarasMate]

Giving Gumu a polite farewell gesture, followed closely by Kovu and then Daxis with a bit of arrogance notable in his tone, Simba was relieved that he was now free to join his mate in sleep, knowing that Amanda would probably take up a place next to Vitani as she typically did. Rising to his paws now, Simba spoke softly to the young cub before he headed off.

”Have a good night little Amanda. Sweet dreams.”

Making his way over to where Nala was fast asleep at, Simba curled his body around his precious mate and nuzzled her affectionately before the king’s eyes closed and he was soon after, tucked in sleeps loving embrace.