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

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi looked over at Marini, smiling as she noticed Tanga was already sleeping, and leaning against Marini's side. "Yes," she said, turning her gaze back to watch Simba and Nala as she spoke, knowing how fast those two could disappear if your gaze was not focused. "I came here once before. It was before Mufasa became king, and before we had become mates. There had been an...incident, I won't go into details, but I had to get away for a while, just to calm myself down."

"I had initially only intended on staying here for a day or two, but this place fascinated me, and I ended up staying for close to a week. That, and I got lost in the tunnels behind us once. I think it was a whole day before I found my way out again. There are a few more tunnels in there, and they all go in different directions."

"I did try to explore the forest once, but a kind cheetah stopped me before I could venture in too deeply, warning me of a danger luking in the woods. When I saw the scars he was carrying, I did not think to disobey." She hoped her story would be sufficient to curb Marini's obvious curiosity for the place, even if she felt her odds were slim.

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Nala nodded, following Simba as she let her mind wander. Several times more she looked back at the forest, but she could feel Sarabi's gazing glaring at the back of her neck, and so she curbed her curiosity. If Simba did not want to go there, then she would not, either...and she would not push him to, either...although asking him from time to time was not out of the question.

Suddenly Nala spotted a landmark, and pointed it out to Simba. "Hey, what's that?" she asked, before turning and heading toward it, her curiosity getting the better of her.

In the end, the landmark turned out to be a collection of large rocks, arranged in a massive, piled-up formation, making a large maze of grassy crevices, tunnels and passages between the rocks. Pride Rock must have been at least a hundred times bigger than this rock formation, and the maze looked like it was far from confusing, but with all the nooks to explore, and rocks to climb, it looked like a fun spot.

"Hey, cool!" Nala gasped as she looked at the rock maze, trying to peek into a few of the pathways. "This looks interesting, don't you think?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini listened to the story carefully. She wondered what danger was the cheetah talking about. She thought what sort of a thing could be dangerous for cheetahs, besides lions or other cheetahs. "Do you have any idea what might be in there?"

Simba was snapped out of his thoughts when Nala noticed the large stone maze, it was somethine he's never seen before. "Wow, this looks cool!" he said, his more curious and mischievous side kicking in, "Do you think it's okay to go in there?" He really wanted to check out the place, even though he was a little apprehensive about doing so. But his curiousity was taking over as he told himself that if the place was dangerous, then Sarabi would have warned them.

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi shok her head, a frown forming on her muzzle as she remembered the cheetah she had met. "Whatever it was, it had nearly killed the cheetah, judging by his wounds." She shuddered at the memory of it. Although time had reduced them to scars, the series of wounds along the cheetah's back bad been massive. And he had lost part of his tail, along with an entire ear.

Sarabi shuddered once more, before returning to her conversation. "I would tell you exactly how bad it was, because even I feel sick at the mere memory of it. Needless to say, I'm amazed he had lived, and I definitely wound not want to cross whatever had given him that."

Deciding she wanted to change the subject, Sarabi gave a warm smile, nodding in Tanga's direction. "You seem quite happy to let Tanga get so close to you, I see. Just how much do you like him, exactly?"

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Nala grinned at Simba, happy his fun side was making a reappearance which had not been seen since Mufasa's death. "If it wasn't okay, Sarabi would have told us about it!" she said, her voice exasperated.

But before Simba could do anything more, Nala quickly tapped Simba on the shoulder, before sprinting off. "Tag! You're it!" she cried, sprinting off into the rocks. Looking for a good hiding spot, she darted between a few rocks, making random turns here and there, before climbing up one of the smaller ones, moving up and above the maze, hoping that Simba would not think of coming up here for a little while.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini thought about what Sarabi said. Whatever had given the cheetah those wounds, it didn't sound like something anyone would like to encounter. But she snapped out of those thoughts and blushed slightly as Sarabi asked about Tanga. "I don't really know..." she said and smiled down at the sleeping Tanga, "But he was willing to let the hyenas have him instead of me yesterday... That was so brave of him. I mean at first I only saw him as a good friend, but since he told me that he likes me... I see it in a total different way." she said, thinking Sarabi was probably understanding what she was talking about.

Simba was about to say something as Nala tapped his shoulder, starting a game of tag. It took him a short moment to understand that she just took a head start before he began running after her. He didn't noticed she climbed the rock, but since she was on top of it she wasn't moving or making any sound that gave her position away. He waited where he was, trying to pick her scent and waited for her to do something which will tell him where she was

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi's eyes widened as Marini told a brief version of the events of yesterday. "He actually tried to defend both of you from three hyenas?" she asked, looking at Tanga. He was such a small lion for his age, even if he was growing faster than the other three right now...where had he found that kind of courage. "Exactly what happened yesterday?" she asked, wanting to understand more of what happened. All she had seen was Marini pinned underneath Banzai, and Tanga cornered in the shallows of the waterhole, before she had attacked. Understanding Tanga's actions might help her understand a bit more of the relationship between the two of them.

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Nala sat for a moment, listening for any sign of Simba moving below her somewhere. Eventually her patience and curiosity got the better of her, and she moved off quietly, hopping from rock to rock, occasionally peeking down as she leapt over a crevice, trying to figure out where Simba was. While the maze was not overly large or confusing, finding someone inside it could present a challenge, particularly if they kept on moving.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini nodded and smiled as Sarabi asked about the hyenas. But she then thought for a moment trying to bring up exactly what happend that day. "Well... we were at the waterhole, it was when Tanga told me about his feelings and they just came out of no where." she said, smiling slightly as she said it and trying to think why did they come especially for her and Tanga, "We wanted to run but they had us cornered and they said they have to... you know." she said and sighed.

Simba heard Nala moving and realised the sound was coming from atop of the rocks that made the maze. He climbed the rock and looked for Nala, he noticed her, she seemed to be looking for him as well. She had her back turned so he moved as quietly as he could towards her, moving from one rock to another and trying not to trip as he did it. To his surprise, he managed to come close without her noticing him, he tapped her shoulder before he jumped down into the maze, hoping he might lose her if he ran randomly and took immediate turns, "Tag, you're it!" he said with laughter and ran off

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi looked at Marini as she paused, knowing Simba and Nala were more than distracted by the game they were playing in the rocks, which Sarabi knew to be perfectly safe. "And, Tanga actually tried to stop them?" she asked, a note of disbelief in her voice. She just had a hard time believing that small, shy, quiet Tanga would find the courage within him to stand up to three vicious hyenas, particularly ones that were fully intent on killing both him and Marini.

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Nala jumped as Simba got her, turning too late to tag back, but fast enough to see him disappear into the maze once more. "Why you little...I'm gonna get you good now!" she called after him, before stalking off, deliberately using her paw pads to remain silent.

She did not jump down after Simba, though, even though the temptation was excessive. Instead, she continued meandering around the tops of the rocks, keeping quiet as she searched for Simba down below, knowing he would have expected her to chase after him first thing.

Eventually, she found him wandering through the maze, obviously listening out for her. Remaining silent and stealthy, she hid above a spot he was about to pass, and waited for him to come directly below her, before pouncing down, landing directly in front of him, before jumping at him, knocking him onto his back and pinning him down. "Ha! Pinned ya!"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini looekd at Sarabi, who seemed a little surprised by what Tanga did. When he did so, even Marini was quite amazed herself that Tanga had found the courage to face the hyenas. "Yeah, he tried to stop them." She said to Sarabi

Simba just ran and laughed at Nala's reaction. He kept running around the maze, thinking that Nala was wondering around it as well trying to find it. When he looked back he didn't see her chasing him so he stopped, trying to hear where she might be, but he couldn't hear anything. He kept on walking, curious about where had his friend gone to when all of a sudden she landed right infront of him. Before he could do anything or try to run she leaped at him and pinned him onto his back. Like always. "Get off." he said, still lauhging, but Nala didn't seem to want to let him go.

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi looked at Marini in sheer amazement. This was a side of Tanga she had never heard of before. "But...when I arrived, you were stuck underneath one of them, and Tanga was cornered by the other two...what had happened?"

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Nala smirked down at Simba, but did not let him go. "Not until you..." but she stopped as her eyes locked onto Simba's, and a brief surge of emotion shot through her, something she had never felt before. In that moment, she felt closer to Simba then she ever had before...it was like she was starting to consider him more than a friend, and that he might actually be the one she would spend the rest of her life with.

Confused by the surge of emotion, Nala actually backed up a little, backing away from Simba as she turned away, a blush forming on her cheeks which she tried to hide. Could it be true? Could she really be falling in love with Simba, her best friend?

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini sighed, she remembered how she wanted to help Tanga, but she was completly frozen when she realised that those were the three hyenas that killed her mother right infront of her eyes. "Tanga offered himself if they let me go... but they didn't really plan on letting me go."

Simba sighed as Nala smirked. She always laughed when she pinned him, probably like every time they wrestled. He wanted to hear the rest of what she had to say but she stopepd all of a sudden. He stopped his struggling and tried to understand what was up with his friend when he noticed her eyes were staring deep into his. He felt a little wierd for a moment and was about to ask for the rest of her sentence when she got off him, to his surprise. "Nala, are you alright?" he asked, a little concerned