[Private] Love Will Tear Us Apart

[YFWE]

Somewhat perturbed at first due to Kito's insistence on rechecking her wounds instead of answering her question, Ari begrudgingly allowed the lion to lick her wounds again before he returned his gaze to her own. And though she was grateful for him for caring, she wanted him to get on with answering her. Who knew what condition Hiroshi was in by that point?

So she was internally delighted when Kito presented the deceased warthog to her, knowing that it would more than likely be enough to nurse Hiroshi back to full strength. Her mouth agape, she struggled to find the words of thanks that she knew she wanted to give to Kito, and as she was about to finally emit them, Kito spoke again, with his own apology.

Ari chuckled slightly at Kito as he pushed the the warthog toward her and began to leave. "Thanks, Kit. Not so bad yourself, I guess. I suppose all that practice with Lulu and the rest of the Pride paid off."

And as she watched him go, she could not help but think back to the kiss and what it meant... which, really, was nothing. And that was what Ari continued to tell herself. It meant nothing. Kito had to do it.

She swung the carcass onto her back and moved out of the den, looking once to see if Scar or any other possible detractors were watching before padding toward her own den, adjusting the warthog once so that it was far more comfortable to carry.

It was just a kiss,thought Ari as she walked. If he hadn't done it, Ari, you'd be in some serious trouble right now.

But had it been "just a kiss?" If it had been merely that, what was this feeling she was feeling now toward Kito? It was not love, nor even affection, for it was not the same feeling that she felt for Hiroshi. And yet... there was something there, and Ari honestly had no idea as to what it was.

She had to quell these feelings for the time being, however, when she reached the den. Relieved to see Hiroshi still inside and still breathing as she stepped inside the cave, Ari lowered the warthog off her back and onto the cold ground before stepping hesitantly toward Hiroshi. She prodded him gently with a paw, whispering into his ear, "Hiro... Hiro, wake up. We found food, Hiro."

------

Having walked the entire border of the Pride Lands without, as always, any sort of disturbance worthy of reporting, Kweli found himself nearing the waterhole, signifying that he was close to being back from his prowl. He had visited Rafiki, but only long enough to send greetings and to inform the shaman of Hiroshi's condition. He had told Rafiki that if Hiroshi needed the mandrill's assistance, he would be back that evening, but he prayed that it would not come to that. He trusted that Ari had been able to find something for Hiroshi herself, and was eager to return to the den following turning in his report to Scar so that he, too, could check on Hiroshi's condition.

As he had walked, though Hiroshi's well-being had remained in the back of his mind, his attention had returned, once again, to his premonition. Slowly, Kweli felt that he had begun to come to a decision as to what to do--whether he would act on his vision or would chalk it up to nothing more than a dream. He had a feeling, deep down, that he needed to act upon this and find his family.

But at the same time, it meant leaving the Pride Lands, and this was something that frightened him. He was safe there, despite the barren condition the lands were in. And further, he had no idea where to head if he did leave. For all he knew, he could be searching for the rest of his life. And yet, he felt as though they were worth it. Finding his mother, and Bashasha, and everyone else... that was worth it.

Kweli spied a figure sauntering toward him a small distance ahead and recognized it to be Kito. Sighing once, as he did not really feel like speaking to Kito at this point due to his general hostile nature, something in Kito's gaze told him that the lion had been searching for Kweli and had something important to tell him. Stopping and straightening up to greet his friend and hoping something had not gone wrong--particularly with Hiroshi--Kweli called out to the lion, trying to keep his tone as formal and friendly as possible.

"Afternoon, Kito! Everything alright?"

[KiarasMate]

As the two felines went their separate ways, Kito reflected over what had just happened with both Scar and Ari. Despite being polar opposites, it seemed as though Ari and his mindset were strikingly similar at this very moment. It was true, Kito had only done what he had to ensure Ari’s safety, but it puzzled him to no end on why he had even gone to such lengths for a lioness who barely paid him any mind most of the time. Yes, Ari was a friend and yes, Kito cared about her to some degree but to give up so much for her in such a split second? It made no sense to him and the more he thought about it, the more his own confusion ate away at him. Thankfully, Kweli’s familiar voice broke his train of thought as Kito’s eyes spied the smaller male, who was already on route to greet him. Forcing the thoughts about Ari into the back of his mind, Kito dawned an unusually pleasant looking smile at Kweli before responding to his friend in a reassuring voice.

”Just the lion I was looking for. Yes, everything’s fine, sort of. Um, I just needed to tell you that Scar’s in one of his tyrannical moods, so if I were you, I’d skip giving him your report. I’d rather not go into detail about what happened but I’ll tell you this much, you probably won’t want to cross paths with his majesty for a few suns at best. I’ll be sure to inform him about your patrol though if you’d like, seeing as I will probably have to speak with him later on, so if there’s anything important you need to relay to him, better get it off your chest now.”

Hoping that his statement would be enough to prevent Kweli from inquiring further into what had transpired, Kito took a seat in front of the smaller male as he waited for his friend’s reply. Finding himself tempted to ask Kweli for some advice on what he should do in regards to Ari, yet knowing how close Kweli was to Ari and Hiroshi compared to himself, Kito thought better of it as he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary alarm or suspicion within the smaller male. Biding his time as he sat and listened to Kweli’s report, Kito tried to come up with a plan to hopefully repair the bond he had potentially broken between himself and Scarr as the reality of what he had done started to sink in. He had taken something from his king and would surely pay some sort of price for doing so. There was no way Scar would let him off so easily, even if he did know something about Scar that no one else seemed to know, aside from several of the higher ranked hyenas.

==========

Laying in the field of flowers, utterly alone and heartbroken, Hiroshi wept into his paws, his head buried against his fore legs. Not understanding why Ari had not even acknowledged him and being unable to do anything about it, Hiroshi felt powerless as he sobbed until his tears ran dry. Merely staying still now, looking as though he were dead himself, Hiroshi’s nose slowly picked up the scent of death, which gradually began to fill his nostrils. Surprisingly however, the aroma was quite inviting as he felt his muzzle beginning to water. Struggling to open his eyes, as they felt as though they had been welded shut from the moisture from him crying, Hiroshi suddenly felt a warm breeze sweeping over him, bringing the dazed male back into a slightly more conscious state as a soothing voice gently entered his thoughts, causing the vivid panorama around him to dissolve into complete darkness.

It took Hiroshi a few minutes before one of his hazel eyes managed to crack open. Letting his vision settle as Ari’s caring stare came into focus, Hiroshi opened his muzzle to try and speak, resulting only in a barely audible noise to escape. Feeling parched and hungry beyond belief, Ari’s words took a while to register as Hiroshi stared blankly at her. Spotting her focus shifting slightly, Hiroshi followed her gaze until he caught sight of the slain warthog, which rested a mere several paws length away from where he was positioned. Much like the previous day, Hiroshi’s survival instincts naturally kicked in as the weakened lion struggled to move, his muscles already straining under the effort they were being put under. Starvation pushed him onwards though as he inched his way to where the heavenly looking meal sat.

Arriving alongside the warthog carcass, Hiroshi pried open his muzzle as his tongue weakly licked over the flesh of the deceased beast, his taste buds being coated with the enticing flavor of fresh flesh. Feeling too weak to bite through the hide of the slain creature however, Hiroshi simply gnawed at the kill, barely managing to slice off a small morsel of the delectable meat as he struggled to chew and swallow. It was clear that it would take him way too long and probably would exhaust him to the point of going unconscious once again if Ari didn’t step in to help. As hard as he tried, Hiroshi just didn’t have it in him to break off the protein he desperately needed.

[YFWE]

Listening to Kito's vague account of the day curiously, Kweli was about to question Kito further concerning what had happened to Scar, but knew that he probably would not get a straight answer--and since Kito seemed to be civil for that moment in time, he wanted to keep it that way. Taking in a small breath, the lion shrugged, his tone somewhat apathetic as he spoke.

"Okay, thanks, Kito. There's not much to say as always, though. I really don't think His Majesty has much to worry about in terms of external threats," he mused. "Just an ordinary day."

He glanced off toward the direction of their den, somewhat apprehensive and wanting to get there as soon as he possibly could. "Well, in that case, I think I'm going to go check on Hiroshi and see if I need to go get help from Rafiki. Would you like to come with me?"

------

As she watched Hiroshi's eyes finally flutter open, Ari found herself becoming quite elated, for it meant that her friend had still retained some form of consciousness and had not slipped into a sort of coma--or worse. She repeated herself, trying to coax Hiroshi out of sleep as she prodded the warthog before her. "C'mon, Hiro. Please eat; you said you would. Kito and I... we got this for you."

She watched Hiroshi inch forward with a pained expression upon his face--and this in turn etched a similar pained expression across her countenance. She hated to watch her friend suffer, she really did... she knew, however, that if he was able to eat this now, his strength would be at least somewhat--if not completely--revitalized. It was all a matter of getting him to eat. But he looked so weak already... had Kweli been wrong? Was he pretty much past the point of no return by then?

Ari began to panic internally, but was appeased briefly when Hiroshi found his way to the carcass and reached out his tongue to taste it. "Yeah... that's it... come on, Hiro, I know how much you like warthog..." she murmured, but felt her heart sink as her friend was only able to slice off a tiny sliver of meat before stopping, looking truly exhausted as he slowly chewed and swallowed what he had been able to tear off.

Feeling tears of worry beginning to form about her eyelids, Ari knew what she would have to try to do. Bending low to the warthog carcass, she began to tear into it, daring not to swallow as she stripped away pieces of meat from the body. Placing them down on the ground beside Hiroshi and making sure they were small cuts--at least smaller than the norm--she whispered to Hiroshi again between bites as she continued to provide Hiroshi with a pile of food by his side. "Don't give up on me, Hiro. You honestly don't know what I went through today to get this. I'll tell you all about it later but for now, you need to eat what I'm giving you. Please."

Hiroshi's progress still not good enough for her liking, Ari finally broke her cover as she shouted, "Hiro, Scar basically tried to rape me today!" She took in a deep breath, regretting having said such a thing, even though she would have told him eventually. She did not want to frighten or worry him or even cause him to choke... and yet, she simply had to get it out of her system. Now that it was out in the open, she could merely continue to pull off meat from the carcass and hope that her words would be inspiration enough for Hiroshi to continue to eat.

[KiarasMate]

Making a mental note of everything Kweli had to report in regards to his patrol, which wasn’t much thankfully, Kito nodded to confirm that he had understood everything that had been relayed to him. Spotting his friend beginning to make his way off towards the general direction to which their den resided at, Kito’s ears perked up as he heard Kweli’s offer. Swallowing hard, as he didn’t really want to have to confront Ari again after the days events, Kito reluctantly shook his head as he responded in a nonchalant voice, or as best of one as he could muster given the circumstance.

”Erm, that’s okay Kweli. I have to do something anyways, so you go on ahead. I’ll probably stop by later though, so you can let Hiro and Ari know that. You know, give them time to prepare for my awesomeness and all that.”

Letting a halfhearted smile etch its way over his muzzle, Kito turned to take his leave now. As much as he would rather have gone with Kweli, to be with his friends to whom were gradually becoming more important from his own outlook with the way things were shaping up to be, Kito knew what he had to do though. He had to find Scar and either confront him directly about what had taken place earlier or to grovel like mad and hope that all would be forgiven. Not really liking either scenario much, Kito sighed hopelessly to himself as he trudged off to find the illusive lion king, the thoughts of Ari returning to his mind as he did so.

==========

Watching through hazy vision as Ari attempted to ease his struggle against his own hunger and lack of energy, Hiroshi strained his ears to catch the words that were leaving Ari’s muzzle. While she was speaking clear enough to be understood, it took Hiroshi’s sluggish brain several minutes to actually comprehend what she was saying. Slowly but surely, Ari’s pleas reached him as he mouthed one of the smaller strands of meat that the golden furred lioness had thoughtfully severed off for him. Forcing his jaws to cooperate, Hiroshi chewed the savory meat until it was barely palpable before he swallowed. Repeating this process several more times over until he felt exhausted from what little effort he had put forth, it looked as though Hiroshi had surrendered to his body’s demands as he didn’t go in for another slice of the warthog.

It wasn’t until Ari’s second comment entered his thoughts, did Hiroshi truly understand what was going on. As her dreadful words sank in, it was as though Hiroshi himself had been struck directly in the heart, his body suddenly tensing up as the hackles on his neck stood fully erect, a genuine sign that he had understood what Ari had stated. Feeling a renewed sense to fight against his body, as he now knew that Ari needed him more than ever, Hiroshi valiantly started to down more of the pieces of protein that Ari placed next to him, his strength gradually increasing with each morsel he swallowed. . While he was far from being out of the woods yet as far as his health was concerned, Hiroshi’s progress was remarkable to say the least. Fueled by the need to live and to tell Ari how he truly felt about her, as well as to ensure that Scar would never lay a paw on her for as long as he himself was able to breathe, Hiroshi ingested as much meat as he possibly could before his stomach reached its capacity. Panting heavily by this point, his muzzle lightly stained crimson from the blood of the flesh he had just devoured, Hiroshi let the food settle in his stomach this time around, making sure not to overexert himself as not to have a repeat of earlier. Glancing up at Ari with a longing stare, Hiroshi finally managed to speak coherently as he addressed the worried lioness in a low, yet loving voice.

”Ari, I’m…I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I promise that it’ll never happen again. I won’t let anything happen to you, so long as I live! You are my everything! Without you, I’d have nothing…” Perhaps it was his weakened condition or insecurity at the time, but whatever the case may have been, Hiroshi found himself murmuring the four words he had wanted to say for the longest time now as his hazel eyes met with Ari’s. ”I love you Ari.”

[YFWE]

He had been expecting Kito to answer the way he had, especially given that the lion rarely visited their den these days, but Kweli was at least somewhat pleased to hear that his friend would perhaps stop by later in the day. After all, if Hiroshi's condition had worsened, they needed all the help and support they could get.

Kweli smiled warmly at the departing lion. "Alright, I'll tell them. See you later, then."

He turned and continued through the savanna, on the way to meet with Ari and Hiroshi--granted, of course, that Ari was there. Picking up the pace of his gait just in case something unfavorable had happened to Hiroshi since the morning, Kweli began to think about how long it would take to reach Rafiki from their den should problems arise.

He hoped that he would need not worry about such things in the end.

xXxXxXx

Ari breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Hiroshi's eating patterns pick up significantly--no doubt in part, she figured, to her most recent comments, given how the lion seemed to have found this newfound energy as soon as she had spoken the words concerning Scar's blatant disregard for her personal freedom. Smiling weakly to herself as she watched Hiroshi eat, having ceased tearing off small chunks of the meat given that there was a substantial pile already at her friend's paws, Ari could not help but think of the effort he was making to eat and wonder if it had to do merely with the fact that they were close friends... or if it meant something more, something Ari had hoped for for a while.

After a short time, Hiroshi appeared to have finished off as much of the meat as he could at that time, which pleased Ari given that there was still a decent amount of meat left. Granted, the entire animal might have been consumed if Hiroshi had been a bit less under the weather, but all the same, a meal was a meal. Ari stared down at Hiroshi with a relieved, caring look as he returned a glance. His hazel eyes were finally full of a bit of life again, something Ari had missed seeing.

She heard him speaking, albeit in a very low voice, and strained to listen to his apologies and his revelations... and Ari could not help but blush at his words, knowing that she felt the same. She expected him to go no further than this however, as was custom with Hiroshi, and planned on asking him to stop making her blush. But she was cut off by his final words... those four words.

Ari had wanted to hear these words for quite some time, perhaps ever since she had met Hiroshi, even though her cub mind had held a much more primitive concept of love than the notion she held now. At first she did not know what to say, nor even what to do, merely staring at Hiroshi, her muzzle agape as he stared back up at her, locking with her gaze.

Finally, all was pushed to the back of her mind--including her suggestive encounter with Scar and Kito alike--as she bent low to the ground, scampering over to her friend as she nuzzled him affectionately. "Oh my gawd, Hiro... you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that."

She draped a paw over his back as she laid beside him and, softly, gave the lion a loving lick on the cheek. "You're what I've wanted for a long time... for as long as I can remember... it's always been you, Hiro. Only you." Her tail intertwining with his, Ari leaned in to deliver another longing nudge against Hiroshi's mane, suddenly so happy after having had so much to dread that day.

"I love you too, Hiro. All that I am has been for you."

For a brief moment, Kweli and Kito's faces popped into her mind as Ari continued to nuzzle Hiroshi. She knew Kweli would be happy for them, and hoped Kito would be too. Oddly enough, however, when she thought of Kito, a strange feeling arose in the pit of her stomach--one starkly different than the feeling she construed as love as she became intimate with Hiroshi. Quickly shutting Kito's image out of her mind, she made a mental note to deal with that feeling later as she returned to reality. In that moment, all she needed to survive, all she needed to feel, was right there beside her.

[KiarasMate]

Smiling meekly up at Ari as he licked over his muzzle to rid himself of the feeling from having the warthog blood upon his face, Hiroshi remained where he was, still uncertain whether or not he should even try and move. Fortunately for the incapacitated male, Ari took the initiative as she quickly bounded over to his side and began to nuzzle him uncontrollably as she spoke. Hearing her words, Hiroshi’s own spirit seemed to lift slightly as he gently nuzzled her back, his nostrils filling with her comforting scent which reminded him of the dream he had experienced during his down time. Although this moment was supposed to be a happy one, and despite the amount of joy he was feeling within his very being, Hiroshi found himself at the brink of shedding tears as the thought of losing Ari, much like he had within his visions, insisted on badgering his thoughts. Refusing to fall apart in front of Ari, especially after she had done so much for him upon this day, Hiroshi forced himself to not cry as he spoke up softly in response to Ari’s mutual feelings towards him.

”I’ve loved you ever since I laid eyes on you when we were cubs Ari. From the day I met you, I prayed and hoped that one day, we’d be together, one day, we’d feel the same way towards each other. I’m just so happy you’re okay right now and I don’t ever want to lose you!”

Pressing his face into Ari’s chest, both to find solace in her company, as well as to try and mask the fact that his tears had reluctantly begun to dribble down his cheeks, Hiroshi purred deeply, which seemed to be quite the contrast to what his eyes were doing at this point. Feeling so confused, yet so utterly ecstatic at the same time, Hiroshi didn’t know what else to say. Fearing that if he spoke up now, Ari would notice that he was sobbing, not as if his tears falling against her chest fur wasn’t already a dead giveaway of this fact, but still, Hiroshi didn’t want to worry Ari anymore than he already had. Staying close to her for a few minutes, remaining relatively quiet, Hiroshi finally built up the courage to speak as he addressed his golden furred friend in a shaky voice.

”I’m so sorry that I let myself get to this point Ari. I really should have taken better care of myself. I was just so worried about you when you were gone on your solo hunt, that I just couldn’t bring myself to eat anything. I worried that something might have happened to you, or maybe you might have gotten hurt or worse! It was the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced and today, I dreamt that I lost you forever. I never want that to happen Ari. My life means nothing if you’re not a part of it. You keep me whole and you are the reason why I want to live! I will never let myself become weak ever again! I promise you that Ari. I just love you so much and I need you by my side forever.”

Glancing up at Ari with tears still in his hazel eyes, Hiroshi gently licked under Ari’s chin, as it was the highest part of her he could actually reach with his tongue, given his current position upon the den floor. As much as he wanted to kiss her, to feel her soft lips against his own, Hiroshi held back, as he didn’t want to overload Ari with his actions, nor did he himself even know if he was stable enough to sit up in order to even do so. Settling for the next best thing however, Hiroshi gently reached out his fore paws and took one of Ari’s delicate paws within his caring embrace before bringing it close to his muzzle and planting a soft, loving kiss upon the top of it to signify his true feelings towards the one and only lioness who had always been there for him and if time permitted, always would be.

[YFWE]

Ari could not prevent her own tears from falling as she listened to Hiroshi's uncharacteristically weak voice. It was breaking her heart to hear and see him in this condition, but the simple fact that he was improving slightly bettered her spirit--not to mention, of course, his declaration of love. Still unable to believe just yet that it had finally happened, that their love for each other was finally out in the open, Ari found that she could do nothing more than to simple remain where she was, nuzzling Hiroshi affectionately and enjoying simply being in close vicinity of her friend.

As he spoke some more, Ari felt upon her chest a distinct dampness, and knew right away that Hiroshi himself had begun to cry. Hoping that these were simply tears of happiness rather than sorrow, Ari clutched his paw in her own, attempting to soothe him as she stroked his paw toes with hers. After a few minutes of alternating silence and quiet declarations that Hiroshi tended to give to her, followed by a soft kiss on one of her paws, it had taken all of Ari's self control to not take matters further, as she was aware that Hiroshi's health was by no means favorable at that time.

"I don't care what you do, Hiroshi. I don't even care if you're so weak that you can never leave this den again. The simple fact of knowing that you're alive is enough for me. I do hope that you start eating more, though... I know that times are tough right now and there's not that much food to go around, but... I feel like we need each other right now, more than anything. And not just between you and me. Kweli... and Kito... as long as we have each other, as long as I have you... I know we'll get through this."

"...er, am I interrupting something?"

Ari's head swiveled, her gaze meeting Kweli's, who stood at the mouth of the cave, perhaps somewhat surprised at the scene that was before him. Wiping her tears from her face with her free paw, Ari sniffed once before speaking. "Hey, Kwel. No, everything's fine, come on in."

Kweli padded cautiously over to the duo, eying Hiroshi curiously. "He okay?" he asked Ari at first, but noting that Hiroshi seemed to have regained consciousness, bent over to glance at him a bit more closely. "Hey, buddy... you feeling better?"

Noticing how their paws rested atop each other and how their tails intertwined suggestively, Kweli had a good idea as to what had happened, but said nothing at first; if they had something to tell him, they would on their own time. Sitting back on his haunches, Kweli waited for Hiroshi's response, as Ari looked on lovingly.

[KiarasMate]

Keeping himself nice and close to Ari as he continued to rest his head against her warm body, Hiroshi listened to what his golden furred friend was saying, nodding slightly in the process as her words held much truth to them. They had already been through so much together and it was their undying bond of friendship that had seen them through the worst of times. Now, having finally told Ari his deepest feelings he held towards her, Hiroshi felt as though things were already beginning to look up. His health was improving, all be it extremely gradually and thanks to Ari herself, Ari was safe once again and more than anything, Hiroshi knew that he’d never lose her, no matter what the future held for them. Purring softly as he listened to Ari’s heart beating against her furry chest, Hiroshi’s attention was suddenly grabbed by another familiar voice that reached his ears. Pulling his head away from Ari’s frame and tilting it slightly, Hiroshi caught sight of Kweli, who was making his way over to where he and Ari were comfortably positioned at. Hearing his friend’s question, Hiroshi dawned a timid smile as he spoke up quietly.

”Oh yeah Kweli. Never better, why? Do I really look that bad?”

Chuckling lightheartedly as his sense of humor had seemed to at least come back to normal, Hiroshi decided that it was time to move himself back to his sleeping pelt, not as though laying against Ari wasn’t sufficient enough for him but the floor of the den was quite bothersome if one would lay upon it for too long. Moving slowly, making sure not to overexert himself, Hiroshi gingerly rose to all fours. Much to his own delight, he felt a lot more steady this time around, yet not wishing to press his luck anymore than he already had, Hiroshi simply did what was needed of him before laying himself back down upon the softness of his sleeping pelt. Patting his paw upon the empty side of the pelt, in the hopes of coaxing Ari to come and join him, which he hoped she would, Hiroshi glanced back over to Kweli as he addressed the smaller male in a friendly tone.

”So, seeing as I probably won’t be able to make it out to our usual spot, I might as well ask how your day went at least Kweli. You already probably know how mine went. Near death experience, Ari saving the day as always, you know, the same old routine.”

[YFWE]

Kweli grinned warmly at Hiroshi as he acknowledged him, giving the lion a light cuff on the forehead. "Good to see you still alive and kicking, then," he said before reclining lazily on the stone cold ground. Watching as Hiroshi got up and moved over to his own pelt, the lion noticed that the black-maned lion appeared to have much more energy than he had in the previous hours and days. Whatever Ari had done, Hiroshi was most certainly on the road to recovery. At the very least, he would not have to consult with Rafiki about any sort of life-saving incantations of perhaps any deathday arrangements. For the time being, all was well.

Accepting Hiroshi's invitation to join him on his pelt, Ari padded over eagerly, reassuming basically the same position that the two lions had been in before Hiroshi had decided to move, though this time the lion's head was not pressed against Ari's chest; rather, it was the other way around. Laying her head idly against her friend's chest, taking his paw in hers, Ari gazed up contently at Hiroshi's recounting of his day, blushing slightly at his mention of her, before turning to face Kweli to hear how his day had gone.

Kweli shrugged. "Same old routine here, too. Went on patrol, found nothing. Was heading back to give my report to Scar when I came across Kito. Said something had happened with His Majesty and that Kito would take care of passing on the message... said Scar's in a foul mood. I wonder why. Oh, and Kito'll be stopping by later, he said," he added.

Ari chuckled and glanced up at Hiroshi before returning her gaze to Kweli. "I think I'm part of the reason Scar's not doing so hot today... let's just say I was nosing around his stash of food to find something to bring back to Hiro and was caught in the act." Ari went on to explain to Kweli what had followed, from Scar's blatant disregard for her own personal feelings to Kito's intervention. She did not, however, go into extreme detail concerning what Kito had done. "He told Scar I was his mate," Ari explained. "Scar bought it. And then Kito gave me this warthog to bring back here... and, well, the rest is history." She looked up at Hiroshi lovingly, nuzzling him once under the neck, hoping he would not press her further on what had happened between she, Scar and Kito in the den.

[KiarasMate]

Keeping himself comfortably situated next to Ari, Hiroshi listened to Kweli as he gave a brief overview of how his own day had gone. Much as Hiroshi would have guessed, there didn’t seem to be anything gravely important that his friend had encountered, which didn’t surprise him in the least bit. If it wasn’t for Scar’s excessive paranoia, Hiroshi doubted that there would even be a need for a patrol over the lands, seeing as any rogue male would be extremely hard pressed to want to take over such a distraught looking piece of territory as The Pride Lands had become. Still, knowing how their king was and also knowing that Kweli didn’t seem to mind the job itself, Hiroshi never made mention of his own opinion about the subject, although he was almost certain that his friends saw it the same way he did. How could they not with the way things had turned out.

As Kweli finished speaking, Hiroshi nodded casually before Ari began speaking. Now that his head was no longer resting against Ari’s chest and that his own senses had vastly improved within the short amount of time that had passed, Hiroshi was now able to focus more upon his golden furred friend. As Ari went into slight detail about what happened at The Main Den, Hiroshi was quite taken aback from what Ari had said in regards to Kito’s actions. At least what she had now revealed to the both of them proved that Kito’s loyalty was no longer in question, or so it seemed to Hiroshi anyways. As Ari concluded her recap of the days events, Hiroshi finally got a word in edge wise as he spoke up in an astounded voice.

”Wow, it’s good that Kito was at the right place at the right time. Thankfully nothing serious happened Ari and hopefully Kito’s plan will work.”

Beginning to feel slightly guilty in the fact that Ari had risked so much just for his own well-being, Hiroshi couldn’t help but to lower his gaze downwards as he thought about what Ari had just stated and what could have potentially happened if Kito hadn’t have stepped in when he had. It was at this point, did Hiroshi take notice of Ari’s injured looking fore legs for the first time, as he had been too preoccupied with his own bodies qualms previously. Now that he had gathered himself a little more, his focus was a bit sharper. Letting out a disheartened sounding gasp, Hiroshi jerked his body in order to get a better look at his friend’s wounds, which proved to be a stupid mistake on his part as his sudden movement caused him to cringe slightly from having such a full belly still. Disregarding his own pain for the moment however, as Ari’s cuts took priority within his mindset, Hiroshi addressed the golden furred lioness in a worried tone.

”My gawd Ari. Did that bastard do this to you?” Hiroshi exclaimed, giving Ari’s injuries a light lick with his tongue before continuing. ”Does it hurt at all? Do you need to see Rafiki? Grr, I’ll kill that son of a bit…”

Biting his own tongue before his temper got the better of him, Hiroshi’s facial expression melted into that of sadness and regret as he gently wrapped his fore leg around Ari’s midsection, pulling her in close to him as best he could while still being quite weak. Continuing to fuss over Ari like an overbearing parent, Hiroshi nuzzled Ari tenderly as he sighed softly. It was his fault that Ari had suffered through such a traumatizing day and now she even had injuries to prove it. It made Hiroshi feel sicker than he already had, yet keeping a positive attitude, or at least trying to anyways, Hiroshi eventually calmed down and went back to relaxing himself next to his golden furred friend.

A short while had passed and it appeared as though the three friends were simply biding their time together within the comforts of their quaint abode. As the evening sky began to set in and dusk was upon the lands, another figure came into view as it slowly made its way towards the entrance of the cave to which the trio of felines were held up at. Arriving at the mouth of the den, the lone figure made its presence known as it spoke out in a winded voice.

”Hey guys, mind if I crash here tonight…”

The voice belonged to none other than Kito and by the looks of him, he had clearly been through some sort of rough confrontation. One of his eyes looked to be swollen, most likely from a forceful strike to the face. Tracing along the length of his side and haunches, there were visible claw marks that decorated his pelt, most appearing to have just grazed his fur, although several were skin deep and looked to be quite raw. The claw marks didn’t resemble that of feline claw marks, which indicated that whomever Kito had crossed paths with, wasn’t of the lion variety or so it would seem.

Slowly slumping his way into the den, Kito didn’t seem to be showing any signs of excruciating pain but it was obvious that his typical demeanor was no longer present. Flopping down in the corner of the den, as he didn’t have a sleeping pelt of his own in the den anymore from never staying there typically, Kito rested his head upon his fore paws, looking quite the defeated soul as his battered eye twitched sporadically. Noting the look of concern upon his friends faces, Kito managed a halfhearted smile as he rolled onto his side, revealing even more contusions that traced along his underbelly. Making quick eye contact with Ari for a split second, Kito had to look away as he held his breath, knowing what was going to happen next.