Kijamii had to stifle a laugh when Dakari explained his idea. It wasn't the idea itself that was funny, more the way he phrased it, causing her to remember Tanga as an infant, snuggling up to his mother's side, and sometimes her own, even though she had only been an early adolescent at the time. Pulling her laughter under control, she turned to Dakari. "Sorry, but the way you said that reminded me of my brother. When he was just a baby, I was about a year old, and he always used to snuggle with me when mum wasn't...around..."
Her face and voice fast grew sad at the mention of her recently deceased parents, but again, she was fast to recover, turning her shivering frame back to Dakari. "In any case, I can see what you're trying to say, and I don't mind," she said happily, patting the space right next to her, inviting him over. "Come on, don't be shy, I don't bite...well, not hard, at least, and even then, that's only when I'm wrestling," she added with a laugh, still smiling brilliantly at Dakari, although the effect was ruined slightly by her chattering fangs.
As she waited for Dakari to come over, she looked back at the river. "Geez...how does that water get so cold? I've been this bad before, and I got stuck out in the rain in the middle of the night at winter once." Shivering once more, she starting using her paws to bub her body, trying to warm herself up. She knew this would not hurt her curious nature in any way, but it was still an unpleasant experience.
----------
As Lina jumped up and shouted victory, Tanga was only able to manage a half-hearted smile at her, before grunting lightly as she leapt on his back, hopping around in obvious glee. "Yeah..." he sighed, any mood for playing with Lina long gone with the memories of his parents that kept popping every time pretty much anything was mentioned. That was why he wanted to forget...because they seemed to haunt his every waking moment, his every though, and it was slowly tearing him apart.
"Marini seems really nice," he commented vaguely, deciding he had to say something. "I usually don't lie to other lions like that...I didn't like it...but I guess I promised. And you never told me she was my age, I thought she was another cub like you!" he added, twisting his head back to get a vague look at Lina, although his mane did a good job of trying to block his view.