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

[AustralianChaos]

Nala gave Simba and equally confused look as Tanga lead the three of them deeper into the cave, back the way they had come. "Did you come in here from that side, Simba?" she asked, pointing back at the opposite entrance Simba had been hiding near. "Is that why I didn't see you?"

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Sarabi took all this in, surprised at their offer. She decided to get a proper reading on the situation before making any calls. "Exactly how much did Tanga tell you?" she asked, before offering them a small smile. "I don't mind him telling, I just want to know how much you know first."

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba then looked at where Tanga was leading them to before catching sight of the entrance Nala came from, "Yeah I came from that side." he said. Now only Marini and Uhuru were left to find. Tanga would probably find Marini, but he saw her take off with Uhuru. And the way he know RIni, she was going to make sure that finding Uhuru would be difficult.

Busara sighed, "Everything about Scar." he said, but decided to expand his answer, "He told me that you're all hiding in exile, that you and Simba are considered dead back in the Pridelands and about Sarafina." he then sighed again, "If there's any way we could help..."

[AustralianChaos]

As Tanga lead Nala and Simba back out onto the hillside, he was at a loss for where Marini and Uhuru could have gone. Wandering around the hillside, he searched several more places with no luck...Marini always had been good at this game.

But as he wandered, circling back towards where the adults were, he noticed the clump of bushes. It was right at the foot of the hill, which was why he had not noticed it previously. But as he looked at it, he noticed it would do a good job of concealing someone...and it was technically still within his rules. With that, he decided to inspect it, his eyes narrowing. I swear, Marini, if you're in there...

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Kali looked over at his mate, before adding in her own side of things. "Look, I'm sure you've done a great job raising them...it can't be easy raising four of their age on your own. But I think we can help add to that. But before then, I have one more question: Are you returning to the Pridelands at all? The way Scar has treated you suggests he can't be a good king, and the Pridelands must be sufferring under his rule."

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Sarabi sighed as Kali posed her question. She had seen on their various hunting forays into the Pridelands that the land was slowly but surely going to ruin. The hyenas seemed to be destroying everything they came across, and Sarabi had been helpless to watch with the other as their beloved home was surely but slowly dying. It was still hospitable for the most part...but Sarabi could tell that, if the grass kept disappearing at the rate it was, the herds they hunted would be ready to move on by the time Simba was old and strong enough to take the throne. Their wait for Simba to grow up had become a race, and Sarabi realised that they were in desperate need of help.

"Yes, Kali...once Simba is strong enough, we intend on returning to Pride Rock and challenging Scar, and his hyenas, for Pride Rock. But he is still growing up, so all we've been able to do is survive...and wait."

[TheWhistlerify]

Uhuru heard Tanga approaching, peeking at Marini and noticing that she also heard him, she returned into her bush and didn't move or make a sound.

----

Busara then took a glance at the direction of the Pridelands. He began fearing that by the time Simba was old enough, there wouldn't be much of a home for them to return to. But Simba was still too young, all he and his mate could do was help them how ever they could when the time to challenge Scar arrived. "How do you plan on taking him down?" he asked all of a sudden, "I'm sure the lionesses would help you once they found out that Simba ia alive... but with all those hyenas..." he then sighed, "Hyenas everywhere... Even getting to Pride Rock itself would be difficult." There were many hyenas in the Pridelands. Getting to Scar wasn't going to be easy.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga approached the bushes, but could not see or hear anything, the brush was thick stuff. Undaunted, however, he wnadered into it, being slow and methodical in an attempt to avoid hurting his wounds. But no matter how hard he tried, it was too thick, and the touch of the wiry branches caused him to wince on several occasions as he pushed through. But just as he was about to give up on this rather uncomfortable adventure, he turned around...and found himself face to face with Marini! "Whoa! There you are!"

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Kali also thought on it. "I think we can both help in ways. Scar has a lot of hyenas with him, and that gives him the confidence of numbers...but I know that hyenas are generally rather weak and stupid, and even the weakest of lions can generally take on three of them and come out on top. But I was raised in my younger years to be a warrior, and know a lot about fighting. If I was able to train them up, within a few months I could have all of them strong enough that, together, an entire hyena pack would be very hard-pressed to take them down. Simba would probably be able to take on Scar with little trouble."

"And my mate has learned a fair bit in healing from Rafiki, I'm sure that knowledge would be very useful to have...if Busara is up to sharing his secrets. So we teach all of you, including you, Sarabi, how to fight beyond what a normal warrior lion is taught, and various healing skills...I think we could get Simba ready to take in Scar in about...four or five months, maybe."

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Sarabi took all this in, deep in thought. She had expected a wait of six to seven months before Simba would be old and strong enough to challenge...but Kali was offering to cut that down by two months...and have not only Simba, but all of them far, far stronger than Sarabi had predicted. This was exactly the break she had been looking. But, as always when it came to such situations, she knew that there had to be a catch of some kind. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Not to seem rude, but what do you get out of helping us?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini heard Tanga coming closer, but he didn't seem to have noticed her. She smirked and tried to hold back a lod laughter when she thought he was never going to notice her. But then he turned around and noticed her. She looked at him for a moment before an idea came to her mind. "Took you some time." she said, trying to make it sound as if Uhuru was never with her, "I guess I won?"

---

Busara sighed, it was probably the hardest part of offering Sarabi their help. "Well... we've been hoping that... once everything is over... we could... come back to Pride Rock with you." he said and tried to guess how will Sarabi react. "But... even if the answer is no... we will still help."

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga grinned at Marini, completely falling for her little game as he shook his head. "Not quite, Rini...in fact, little Uhuru's the winner this time...if we can ever find her."

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Sarabi just stared at Kali and Busara. "Ah..." was all she ended up saying. after they had left the Pridelands, leaving Tanga behind, there had been a lot of resentment towards the two from the rest of the pride...even Sarabi had been rather disgusted that two parents could willingly abandon their child. but time had reduced that resentment, and Sarabi thought about their offer.

"When the two of you left, many of the pride, myself included, thought you had done a terrible thing in leaving Tanga like that. There is still quite a bit of ill feelings towards you from some of the lionesses. They are going to be hard pressed to forgive you...as am I."

But she sighed. "Right now, I cannot make this decision. If you agree to help, I will observe the two of you over the next couple of months, and see if you are fit to return to the pride. But another thing you must know is that, one way or another, you will be returning to the Pridelands with Simba as the king...ultimately it will be his decision, not mine. Once I have completed my observations, I will leave the final decision down to him."

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini grinned back, a little surprised that Tanga actually fell for it. "Oh, I'm sure she'll come back once she's bored." she said and took another step towards him, "So... now what do we do?"
Uhuru in the meantime went outside of the bushes and began going around them. She won already, so she didn't mind revealing herself, but she wanted to sneak up on him.

----

Busara sighed. He tried not to think about it, but when they both left, probably the entire pride hated them for it. Hopefully they would be allowed back, and if not... They could still live here. "Okay." he said and shook his head. "So... I guess... ah... now what?"

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga sat down amongst the bushes, looking to each of his three companions in turn. "I don't know...where could Uhuru have possibly hidden? I mean, let's face it, she knows this place better than all of us. She's probably found some brilliant hiding spot that we'll never think of in a million years."

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Kali decided to answer this one. "Thank you for giving us this chance, Sarabi, and we'll try not to disappoint. But I think, when the cubs are done with their game, that we'll have to tell them. The faster we get them into their training, the sooner you can stop Scar's mad ways."

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini's grinned widened as she spotted thel ittle cub approach from behind Tanga, but she kept her gaze on him so he wouldn't notice.
Uhuru then pounced at her brother's back leg, "I win!" she said and laughed before running and climbing on Marini's back, who gave Tanga a cheeky look telling him all he needed to know.

Busara nodded at this, "Yeah, you're right." he said and looked at the hill, but he couldn't see them anywhere since they were all behind the bushes. "They'll probably be back soon."