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

[AustralianChaos]

Nala grinned, loving the sight of the two of them together like that. She knew that, if the two of them were snuggling that closely, that Marini had most likely gotten Tanga to expose his feelings. And if that had happened, then Nala knew that the two of them were almost certainly going out now.

The thought made her wonder about her feelings for Simba. The young prince had shown her a huge amount of care and compassion over these last few trying days, even through his own problems. But she still was not quite sure, and as such, did not speak of it.

Eventually Nala also became aware of Sarabi's absence. "Where's Sarabi?" she asked, looking at Simba, who looked as confused as she was. Since there was no sign of the former queen anywhere, she decided to see if Tanga or Marini knew...as long as they were awake.

She slowly approached her two friends, whispering softly. "Tanga? Rini? You guys awake?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba looked down at Tanga and Marini. They seemed so peaceful at each other's company. He looked at Nala, "I don't know. I can't see her anywhere." he said as Nala approached Marini and Tanga, checking if the two were asleep or not.

Upon hearing Nala's voice Marini stirred. Slowly opening her eyes she could feel Tanga was still sleeping close to her, causing her to purr slightly. She then noticed Simba and Nala infront of her. She brought one of her paws and rubbed her eyes, wanting to see whether she was awake and then looked back at them. "Nala, Simba! You made it!" she said, moving away from Tanga and walking over to her friends

[AustralianChaos]

Nala grinned, jumping forward and wrapping Marini up in a big hug. "Of course we made it! Although I probably wouldn't have without Simba," she added, giving Simba a significant look, telling him he would learn what her claws felt like if he dared mention her fear of water before she was ready to explain it.

She eventually pulled back, before grinning, nodding over at Tanga's still-sleeping form. "I see you two have already settled in here well!" she said slyly, completely forgetting about Sarabi for a brief moment. "So...what happened between you two over the past day, huh? Tell me everything!"

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Sarabi woke from her light nap as she heard voices coming from below her. Lifting her head from her paws and looking down, she saw that Simba and Nala had survived. Beaming at the sight of her son, she resisted the urge to call out to them, letting them have their moment to get re-aquainted before she imposed herself.

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Scar watched over the Pridelands, out towards where Sarafina had left with Simba, waiting for their return. What had confused him was the fact that, after informing the pride of Sarabi's death, he had seen no sign of Nala anywhere. Where had the little lioness run off too?

After debating for a brief moment, Scar dropped the subject, waiting patiently for Sarafina...she was taking longer than he had expected. Had Simba put up some resistance?

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba was busy looking for his mother, not paying any attention to the conversation his two friends were having.
Marini blushed slightly as Nala asked about them. "Well... we... ah..." she said, a little nervous, "you could say we're... going out." she said and threw a slight smile.

Sarafina decided that she waited long enough. She now had to go back, tell the pride about the hyenas, and then go to Scar to tell him that Nala saw her and ran away. She began walking back to Pride Rock. Even though she was pretty far she could see Scar was already looking for her

[AustralianChaos]

Nala gave a very girlish squeal. "I knew it!" she declared, bouncing around excitedly. "I knew you two would see sense after yesterday!"

She then saw Marini's nervousness, and calmed down, placing a paw on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Rini...I think you two will do great! Tanga's far too nice and polite to do anything stupid without meaning to. And I promise not to tease you about it...too much." She added the last two words with a grin.

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Tanga was roused from his nap by Nala's high-pitched squeal. Blinking as the sun hurt his rested eyes, he shuffled, before snapping awake when he realised Marini was no longer beside him. Still bleary-eyed, he turned to find not one, but three young leonines around him.

"What...?" he asked stupidly, before his slow brain clicked into gear. "Simba! Nala! You're here!" he cried, unsteadily getting to his feet and grinning at the two of them.

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Sarabi smiled as the four cubs interacted...but when she noticed Simba was looking around, she decided to show herself before he got too worried. "Hey!" she called, making sure her voice had plenty of carry. "Don't forget about me, now!"

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Scar continued his searches, finally spotting Sarafina returning. Getting to his feet, he slowly made his way down from Pride Rock, meeting her a short distance from their home. "Is it done?" he asked simply. "And where is your daughter?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini smiled back at Nala, "Oh really? I mean... thanks." she said as Tanga finally noticed Simba and Nala arrived. "Yes sleepy head," she siad and laughed, "They just got here."
Simba continued looking around, suddenly hearing his mother's voice from above them. "Mom, you're okay!" he said, relief overwhelming him and he didn't even ask how did she get up there.

Sarafina had to put an act of sadness as Scar approached her. "Yes, Simba's dead." she said with a quite sad tone, "But Nala... she saw... and she ran away, she didn't even want to listen to me." she making herself look sad for losing her daughter

[AustralianChaos]

Nala also looked up at where Sarabi was perched at the lookout...but she was much more easily distracted than Simba. "Sarabi! But...how did you get up there?" she asked, completely bewildered. The cliff was way too sheer to climb, and the lookout was too far below the top of the cliff for her to have jumped down. From her current angle, she could not see the cave behind the lookout, and she was left completely confused as to how Sarabi could possibly have found such a wonderful spot.

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Sarabi just smiled mysteriously as she stretched and stood. Without speaking a word, she turned and wandered back into the tunnel system, laughing quietly to herself as she made her down, eager to properly greet the two of them...particularly Simba.

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Tanga smiled as Sarabi stood and walked off, without a word to either Simba or Nala. "Don't worry," he said to them. "She'll be back in just a minute, and when she is, she'll explain everything."

The golden-furred lion then stuck a claw in her ear, scratching absently as he pretended that his ears were ringing. "So, what were saying while I slept that made Nala squeal like that?" he asked, genuinely curious.

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Scar did his best to put on a compassionate air as he placed a paw on Sarafina's shoulder. "Don't trouble yourself over this, Sarafina...Nala's curiosity got the better of her, and she will have to pay the price. Besides, surely you knew that she would never accept Simba's loss, regardless of whether she witnessed it or not, when you decided to help me."

"I'm sure that, with time, she'll come back...she'll struggle to survive on her own, and even if she doesn't, she'll want to come back eventually. Come on, we need to get to the Graveyard...my deal with the hyenas still stands, and with Simba's death, I will now be undisputed king!"

What Scar did not say, as he made his way towards the Graveyard, was that Scar was also looking for a queen to be by his side...a king needed his heirs, after all.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini looked at Tanga, "Oh, she asked about us." Marini said, deciding to see how will Tanga react, "So I told her." she added a sly smile for the effect

Sarafina was a little alerted as Scar place a paw on her shoulder, she hoped this wouldn't get to somewhere more far then that. But she couldn't let such a thing blow her cover. She pretended to have listened to Scar saying that Nala will come back eventually by nodding and following him without saying anything.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga saw Nala giggling as he felt his jaw drop. "You...you told them that we're...you know..." The one main reason he avoided actually saying it was because he was not sure if she had actually told them...or whether she was just toying with him to make him say it aloud instead.

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Nala decided she just had to join in on Marini's fun. "Oh, come on, Tanga," she groaned, pretending to sound disappointed. "Surely if you like her that much you can actually say it!" she gave a quick look to Marini to show that she was just joining in the fun, before turning back to Tanga.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini noticed Nala's hint. "Yeah." she said answering Tanga's question, "They know." she said, taking a step closer, "Is there a problem, sweety?" she said, dropping a slight seductive hint in the word 'sweety'