[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[NightmareMoon]

Mila was awoken by the sound of her mothers soothing voice. She had no energy to speak however, and she felt her mother carry her and elegantly place her on her sleeping pelt. Still having not much energy from her lack of sleep, she listened to Nala's last words before falling silent, waiting for a reply from her.

Mila opened her eyed slowly only to see her gorgeous mother giving her a caring smile, and felt her paw caressing her delicate head in a motherly fashion. Mila recalled the previous events that occurred before she basically collapsed. Kivuli was forbidden to see her, Mila had disintegrated her relationship with Vitani and Simba had to deal with it all, and her lack of words. The realization of this hit her hard, and now that she was somewhat awake, miniature tears formed in her blue eyes, and slowly trickled down her delicate tannish fur, staining it a bit with water streaks.

"Not really.." She said quietly, laughing a bit to keep her from bawling. She laid her head down on her pelt, and let her mother caress her head more as she waited for a response from the cream colored queen.

[Lodrill]

Thinking about Daxis who she chased out of her old den on mistake Laini had fallen asleep. She was outside of her old den. She did not want to go in. She knew how Daxis felt. It was horrible to be chased out of a den. Even more if one had nowhere else to go.

As Laini woke up it was midday. The sun was burning hot and Laini decided to take a drink if there were not to much animals around the waterhole.

She nearly reached the waterhole as she noticed something red next to a tree. Being a really curious lioness she had to look what that was. It seemed not to be anything dangerous else Laini would have faced in the other direction directly.
It was Daxis, unconscious and alone. Laini still felt bad about how she chased him out. Not that it had been her intention but... she felt really sorry for Daxis. She needed to make up for it and in this situation it was clear to Laini that she had to wake him up first. Daxis did not react to her poking. She tried it with calling his name over and over again but he still did not react. She needed cold water to sprinkle into his face but the waterhole was still a few hundred steps away.
Laini sighed and tried to drag Daxis to the waterhole. He was pretty heavy for such a young lion and Laini was not very strong. She managed to heft him half on her back but she nearly collapsed under his wight. Laini felt very uncomfortable but she still had to make up for her harsh words earlier. "Why is everything I do wrong?..." Laini quarreled with herself in thoughts.
It took a long time for the lioness to bring Daxis to the waterhole. She had to stop several times and as she finally reached the cold water she was totally exhausted. Fortunately for her there was no other creature around here at this time. Maybe it was to hot to come out here.

Laini needed several minutes to get Daxis of her back. She looked back. A clear path had build in the grass from where she had come created by Daxis body that hauled over the ground by her.
Laini collapsed totally out of energy next to the young lion. She just got her paw into the cold water and first licked of the cold refreshing liquid from her paw. Then she diped it in again and sprinkled something into the face of Daxis.

[hr][/hr]

Taraji's eyes were sparkling as she tried to discribe her foster mother what she had experienced.

"You know... you know... I was walking... erm.. ride on Kovu and... we met this funny but a bit scary animal... I think he called it a Rafiki... and then he give me some fruits... they were very sweet... but I don't want to eat them anytime... I like milk better... and then... and then... we returned to the big rock here and... and I rided on his back again and... and then I meeted you and we have gone to... to... erm..." Taraji did not remember the name of Nala anymore and had a funny look in her face as she tried to remember. "... erm this mother lioness... erm..." she still did not get the name and she was so excited about telling her story that she tried to hard to remember and therefore got everything but not the name.

[KiarasMate]

Hearing Mila’s soft voice, yet also seeing the tears that were forming in her blue eyes, Nala knew that there were conflicting issues to be dealt with. Being a very understanding lioness however, the cream colored queen knew how to approach such matters as she spoke calmly and comfortingly to Mila, keeping a reassuring fore paw atop the younger lioness’s head as she did so.

”Well, unless those are tears of joy Hun, I think there might be something on your mind. You know you can tell me anything, right? I’m always here for you Hun and I would feel bad if I knew that there was something bothering you that perhaps I could help you out with.”

Laying herself down next to Mila now, Nala gave Mila a tender nuzzle to try and coax her into revealing her true feelings, yet still remaining casual as to indicate that it was okay if she didn’t want to discuss her feelings with her if she didn’t feel comfortable enough to.

==========

Kiara listened to her adopted daughter telling her about the eventful day that she had had with Kovu. Smiling and swooning over just how adorable her daughter was, Kiara laughed from the way the little cub tried her best to explain the various locations and pride members that she had met, politely correcting her daughter’s speech at times, just to help her learn the proper way of speaking, as she still was quite young.

”Oh, so Daddy took you to meet Rafiki, hmm? He is a funny character, isn’t he Cutie? He’s very smart though and you’ll learn that if you ever have any problems growing up in life, that he’s the one to turn to, that is, if Daddy and I can’t answer your questions of course. That mommy lioness is named Nala Cutie. She’s actually my mommy too.”

Thinking about the fruits that Rafiki might have given to Taraji and not really knowing how a young cub would take to such a meal, Kiara continued to lightly lick over her daughter’s tummy with love and care as she spoke again.

”Does your tummy feel okay Taraji? You must have eaten a lot today. Maybe you should take a nap Cutie, unless you feel like doing something else?” Kiara asked inquisitively, a warm smile etched upon her golden muzzle as she met with her daughter’s sparkling, crystal eyes, seeing the pure happiness that was very apparent within the young cub, making her feel like the proudest parent if there ever could be one.

[Lodrill]

Taraji yawned. Actually she was quite tired because of all the energy she spend with running and the big meal she received.
"But... only if..." Taraji yawned again but her eyes were focused in a demanding look to Kiara. "If you stay here with me." The look in her crystal eyes showed how much she wanted to be with Kiara and how big her fear of Kiara going away "again" was.

Kiara was her substitude mother and so Taraji wanted to be with her all the time. All the month she spend alone in the open savanna without anyone to care about, dreams of her mother and this then still strange place and her wish to be with her mother again seemed to have left Taraji behind her age. Even if she was a bit over five month old her clingy behaviour was more like a three or four month old cub. (As well as her size fit a cub of this age more than a five month old cub.) Dispite she was still very childish she also was extra cute and it was hard to resist her big crystal eyes if she asked for something.

Taraji yawned again and snuggled against the belly of Kiara. Her eyes were still focused on Kiaras face searching for the (positive) anwer to her question.

[KingKivuli]

By this time Kivuli had finally made it to the waterhole to pick his den. The bleeding had settled but his paw still hurt like crazy. As he walked, Mila caught his sight. She was with Nala. He wanted to go and comfort her, but orders were orders and Kivuli could not be bothred with the trouble right now.

There were a few dens to choose from. Thy all seemed pretty nice. In the end Kivuli settled for a large size cave with plenty of space. Lookin round he observed the roof to one side seemed weaker than the rest. The floor below seemed to slope slightly to the wall. If Kivuli could break through the roof somehow and create a small dam structure, when it rained,Kiuli would be blessed with his own private water source.

The roof wasnt to high. Kivuli could jump and hit it. There were also roots for old trees that had since died. They could give great leverage to make the hole, adn the rubble would make a good dam mixed with leaves and branches. Opposite to where Kivuli planned his water source there was a small raised area, like the den in Priderock. All in all a good choice, even though the others might think of him as crazy for trying to break his roof

[KiarasMate]

Seeing the longing look in her daughter’s eyes, Kiara couldn’t help but to give into her demand. She didn’t have any other plans regardless and spending time with her cute little cub was exactly what she had wanted to do in the first place. Despite the absence of her beloved mate, things were picture perfect once again as Kiara leaned down to lovingly nuzzle Taraji as she replied in a soothing voice.

”Of course I’ll stay with you Cutie. If I had my way, I’d never leave your side.”

Curling herself around the small frame of her daughter, being sure to leave her enough room to move freely about, Kiara rested her head upon her fore paws as she rested alongside her adorable cub. Not feeling too tired herself though, Kiara remained awake as several thoughts bounced around in her mind. The words her mate had whispered to her before he had departed still echoed there. Upon a simple glance, Kivuli didn’t look as though he was the type to start trouble but Kiara was always more inclined to listen to her mate as she had complete faith in his judgment. She made it a mental note to keep clear of him, at least when she was with Taraji as she would never risk the safety of her precious little cub no matter what.

[SinChei]

At first Daxis just heard a Voice in his dreams called his name. The next feeling he had was a refreshing cold in his face. He tried to open his eyes. He saw a paw which sprinkled water in his face he turned his head and couldnt believe who was the owner of the Paw.
He looked in Lainis face .... she to transported him to the waterwhole alone. Daxis didnt know what he should say in this moment.
After watching her daxis crawled nearer to the water and lap up some water. This cold refreshing feeling was exactly that what daxis needed.
The cub saw in the water and spoke low and friendly.
"Wow Laini that was amazing you saved my Life ... tell me what i can do to for you to"
Casually Daxis tried to crawl close to her. He already felt her silky fur. For a short time he thought he layed next to his mother.

[Mike]

Vitani had left the pridelands behind some time ago. She wandered now through mostly uninhabited areas. She hadn’t returned to her old home in the outlands, choosing instead to forge a new path where neither pridelanders now outlanders had lived. She found herself in an uneven, rocky area that, instead of tall grasses and the occasional large tree, supported only small shrubs that grew in cracks in the broken rock. There were fewer animals here as well, and certainly no herds could survive by grazing.

She didn’t know why she had chosen this particular direction to travel. It wasn’t so much that she was hoping to find something than she was trying to get out from under the oppressive atmosphere of the pridelands. It wasn’t the weather that bothered her though, it was the lions there. Adjusting to life in a new pride Vitani found that between deciding what needed to be done and doing it was ugly task of getting just about everyone in the pride to at least accept it.

If it had been up to her, Vitani would have given Daxis a beating to remember when he first insulted her pride, but her respect for Simba’s authority held her back. Time and time again the situation repeated itself. Almost an entire day was wasted babysitting the egomaniac Daxis, and her suggestion of a small hunting party had been completely shot down and forgotten just moments after it had been made. Too often punishment was not given or decisions were not made because of Simba’s unwillingness to risk getting it wrong. The result in Vitani’s mind was a pride that bent over backwards to let its members run wild. Vitani’s own part in the system had been a combination of advisor and enforcer, but neither of her roles resulted in any real progress that she could see.

Vitani had grown tired of accommodating strangers, and even fellow pride members. The constant need to be tolerant had built up a sort of reservoir of resentment that grew until she needed to escape from it for a while. Traveling alone, without the demands of her fellows allowed Vitani to look out for herself and act with impunity for the first time since she had been an outlander. In the outlands Zira didn’t really care what happened as long as the pride was made stronger as a result. It seemed to Vittani that this kind of results-based philosophy was sorely needed in the pridelands. Here, without concern for how her actions would affect anyone else it was like stepping out from under a cloud of relationships into a ruthlessly direct beam of light. For as long as she stayed here, Vitani could truly do as she pleased.

[NightmareMoon]

Completely trusting of her mother, Mila decided that to tell the story to Nala would be better for her. Her mind suddenly flew through the recent memories of meeting Kivuli, talking the entire night, and the slight infatuation Mila had towards the male and the incident by the waterhole.

"...but it's just no fair mom! Simba wouldn't even listen to Kivuli even though he was telling the truth... it was my fault and he took the blame..." She said, whilst weeping a bit.

After a brief pause, Mila's eyes darted towards her mothers, desperately seeking for guidance on her situation. She figured Nala would understand her problem and know what to do to solve such a thing or help Mila herself.

"I don't see the problem with him! To make matters worse, I probably hurt Vitani's feelings in my sudden rage, and disappointed Daddy too.." She continued.

"What can I do?" Mila asked her mother, her tone expressing how desperate she was and her concern.

[KiarasMate]

Hearing the despair in Mila’s tone of voice, Nala could tell that this matter was very serious. Laying close to the younger lioness, Nala hung on every word Mila spoke, taking it all in as she thought of how best to answer Mila’s inquiry. She knew that her mate had had his reasons for doing what he did, although she also knew that his decisions could sometimes be a bit too conclusive at times. Opting to try and ease Mila’s stress for the moment though, Nala spoke in her usual, gentle voice.

”I know that Simba’s judgment towards others can seem a bit harsh at times Hun, but you do understand that he’s only looking out for your safety. Given, sometimes he doesn’t quite think things through very well before he makes his choices, but he always has your best interest at heart Mila and I know he’d be a wreck if anything should happen to you, as would I Hun. Things might not seem fair now, but you know how Simba is. Just give him time to get to know Kivuli and he’ll ease up on the both of you, I’m sure of it. Remember how it was when Kovu joined, don’t you? Well, I believe that Kivuli does have a good heart Hun and your father will see that in due time too. Just be patient with him and don’t disobey his word. As long as Kivuli behaves himself, Simba will come around in the end. He always does Mila.”

Moving in to give Mila a gentle nuzzle, Nala lightly brushed the remaining tears away from Mila’s face with her fore paw before she stood up, adorning a warm smile as she stated in a playful tone.

”So, what do you find so interesting about Kivuli anyways Hun?”