[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[SinChei]

Daxis was confused about the varriantly behavior of the other cub but shook his head when he remembered kopa.
Yes hi sorry i forgot to introduce myself... well you allow me to play with you daughter? its so boring here without someone to play
He thought it was Kopas daughter cause how could he know she was a outlander. Daxs still didnt know what a outlander was.
Everything there was new for him even though the nice work in a pride.His old pride was rude and violent everytime daxis did something wrong his father or mother bet him. Thats why he had this Cross-Scar on his eye.
He looked with his eyes at kopa and waited for a reply and maybe a statement for Amlmasis weird behavior.

[KiarasMate]

Kopa looked down at Daxis with a friendly expression on his muzzle as he introduced himself as well.

”It’s nice to meet you Daxis. I don’t mind if you play with Almasi but she’s not my daughter. Me and my mate, Rahina, are just looking after her.”

Glancing back up towards where Almasi had gone, seeing her next to Vitani now, Kopa directed his next response more towards the older lioness as he stated.

”Well, I was told that food could be found in the main den, so I’d assume that’s where we’d look, right?”

Looking over his shoulder to Shani, Kopa offered the male a gracious smile as if to thank him for his help in locating Almasi while he waited for a confirmation from Vitani.

[Lodrill]

"O...k..a...y..." Taraji whispered and looked a bit more relaxed up to Kiara now that all the others weren't around anymore. But she still did not leave the side of Kiara and walked close to her paws or under the belly of Kiara.

The small cub's stomach started to growl silently. She had her last meal the last day so it was no surprise.

[hr][/hr]

Rahina nodded to show that she had understood what Nala was planing. Silently she merged with the grass. She still did not extract her claws. It was not only that she did not want them to dull but also running was very uncomfortable with extracted claws. But Nala said anyways just to extract them at the moment of going after the prey. Rahina planned to use her old tactics in a new way. Normally she waited atop a tree until the prey came beneath her. She anticipated where they may go and climbed on a tree there. Here Nala would spook them to her so it was nearly the same with only one difference. Rahina was not on a tree.

The big lioness moved with her belly close to the ground. The grass did nearly not move at all by her motion so it was very hard to track where she was. Rahina moved to the position Nala had told her about and waited. Through the edge of the high grass she was hiding in she saw the wildbeasts.
Now she had to make a choice how to attack them. Normally she waited until they came close enough for one jump and then jumped and killed in one shot. Quick and efficient. With other lionesses she might be able to do so here too but it would be hard to get one of the beast on the edge of the herd. Normally she caught those preys due if she happened to get into the herd she might get injured. This was at least something the buffalos taught her.

Ready to jump Rahina extracted her claws. For jumping she ever used them and so she felt comfortable with the situation. Not one noise came from her now. She waited without moving. Like a figurine with no live. Even her breath was so smooth that is did not even move the grass in front of her. She was a patient and skilled huntress. She had waited in this stance atop a tree for hours already until she had found the right time to attack. But Rahina daubt she would have to wait so long here. She just observed the wildbeasts and waited for Nala's move.

[KingKivuli]

Thank you Kiara, take care, I may see you later Kivuli looked down at the small cub, Taraji. He gave her a warm gentle smile, trying to make her feel safe. Without wasting anothet second Kivuli made his way back up to the main den yet again to check on Mila. Kivuli knew Kiara was right. Simba and Nala would most likely be taken care of her, however Kivuli wanted to make sure of that himself. There was something about Mila that was irrisistable to Kivuli

The accent up was quick and harmless. Kivuli made his way into the main den. Not many were around. There was still a few lioness slumbering and so was Simba. Kivuli was playing a dangerous game by goign towards Mila in such close proximaty. He didnt care. Instead Kivuli walked over and gave her a small lick on the cheek before layign down next to her and waited for Mila waking up

[JaguarOne]

It had been a long journey, but Santiago had finally made it to the Pride Lands about a year or two after becoming a wandering rogue when his mate Malawi slipped and fell to her death while the two were exploring a mysterious cave. Any and all evidence of what happened in that cave would surely clear the lion's name if one thought that Malawi had wrongfully died, but that didn't erase the guilt that the lion felt from the tragedy. He should have been the leader and not the follower while they were exploring the cave. Maybe if he had been up front, he could have realized the ground was too weak in time to do prevent Malawi from falling. The guilt still ate at him and would probably do so for a while, but eventually he would be able to fall in love again. Until then, though, he feared getting too close to somebody should something similar happen.

Looking around at his surroundings, the black-maned lion spotted a water hole not too far from where he was standing, a lone tree next to it. He slowly made his way towards the water hole, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for potential threats that could come in the form of a territorial lion. He'd had to deal with one once and, luckily, managed to get away without having to put up much of a fight. That wasn't to say that he couldn't fight though, he had just preferred not to at the time.

Once he reached the water hole, the lion leaned forward and allowed his rough tongue to lap at the water, drawing it into his muzzle as he drank. The cool temperature of the water quickly refreshed the parched lion and helped him to cool off after spending most of the hot day wandering about. He was careful to keep his guard up as he sensed that another lion or lioness was in the area, but it seemed quiet around the water hole.

Too quiet...

[KiarasMate]

Receiving the okay from Rahina, Nala nodded to her fellow lioness as her mood and focus shifted, preparing herself for the hunt, her body seemingly melting into the tall grass as the cream colored queen silently skulked away, leaving Rahina to situate herself. Moving like a well trained killing machine, Nala’s eyes never ventured from the prey in front of her as she slowly made a wide circle around the clueless herd, taking her sweet time as every little calculated movement brought her one step closer to where she wanted to be.

Time seemed to slow down as the stealthy queen inched her way towards the wildebeest, pausing frequently to survey the herd as well as Rahina, who Nala could just barely make out from the far distance she was to the dark furred lioness now. Waiting for all movement to cease from Rahina, signaling to Nala that she was ready this way, the cream colored queen readied herself, her muscles tensing up as her sharp claws silently ejected. Waiting for just the right moment, Nala sprang into action. Like a flash of lightning, she charged the herd, causing mass confusion and chaos to ensue as the startled beasts turned and hightailed it straight towards Rahina’s position.

Making sure to keep the herd separated to some degree, so that Rahina would have a better chance of spotting the weakest prey, Nala weaved in and out, driving the larger creatures to the outskirts of the herd, singling out the smaller creatures within. Despite carrying cubs, Nala’s performance remained sharp as every planned action seemed to be going off without a hitch. It was all up to Rahina now as Nala continued to give chase to the fleeing herd, all the while, she kept an eye out for Rahina’s location, just in case her fellow lioness might need her help to make the kill, although Nala highly doubted this. While Rahina didn’t look like the fastest lioness, her strength was clearly visible from her body build. As long as she would be able to ambush one of the wildebeest, Nala had no doubt in her mind that her pride wouldn’t go hungry tonight.

==========

Like clockwork, Simba finally started to awaken as the blaring light from outside the main den began to interrupt his slumber. Slowly opening his eyes, the first sight that greeted him was that of Kivuli, laying especially close to Mila, who seemed to still be sleeping. Having had a decent rest however, this fact didn’t bother him as much as it might have otherwise, although Simba still made it a point to inquire about Kivuli’s presence as the lazy king slowly rose to his paws and made his way over towards the grey furred male, speaking to him in a civil tone.

”Morning Kivuli. I see you have your priorities in order this day, huh? She’s doing fine though, so you don’t need to worry about her. Mila’s strong, as you must know by now.”

Just to show that he wasn’t against Kivuli’s caring nature towards his adopted daughter, Simba did his best to ensure the grey furred male of this fact as he started to make his way past the younger couple, calling back to Kivuli as he did so.

”Mila’s lucky to have someone who is as caring for her as you are Kivuli. You’re a good friend to her.”

Exiting the den now, Simba was surprised to see the group of felines who had clustered at the base of Pride Rock. Stretching out his frame, the polite king greeted everyone in turn.

”Good morning Kopa, Shani, Vitani, Daxis and…um,” Simba’s voice trailed off slightly as his eyes fell upon Almasi.

Having no idea where this new lioness came from, nor her name to even address her by, Simba’s puzzled gaze was a dead giveaway to the question he didn’t even have to ask as his eyes drifted back towards Vitani, figuring that out of the group, she would be the best member to fill him in on this new turn of events.

[SinChei]

Daxis looked quickly to Simba as he hear his low and powerful voice. He looked and down on the ground and not in his face just as Laini did it the day before. The red maned cub didnt want to make the things wrong again so he did everthing Laini did when the king was around. Then he remembered he didnt tell Laini where he was gone. And this gnaws at one's conscience. He would go to The golden furred Lioness but at first he wanted to introduce the new cub.
Well my king this is Almasi and ... He couldn't remember Kopas name and pointed on him this Lion said he would take care of her. At last he looked on the ground in front of Simbas Paws again and added.
Oh and can i go now please i didn't say Laini where i am i dont want that she is scared about me

[Lodrill]

Rahina waited very patiently until the herd was running nearly over her. The first wildebeest already passed her as one of them nearly ran over her. In the las moment she extracted her paws and her hind legs catapulted her upwards like a coil spring. Her open muzzle hit the troat of the wildebeest from below and her yaw presst hard to close the throat and suffocate the prey. Normally she broke the neck of her prey but that was because she jumped on them from above.
Rahina had to improvise. She knew from earlier hunts what to do if she could not break the neck. With her claws she cut deep wounds into the forelegs of the wildebeest so that it stumbled forward. Rahina did miscalculate this a bit. Coming from below and not from above this resulted the prey directly falling over the lioness. Only a very quick and agile jump to the side saved the lioness from being crushed. The wildebeest did not even have a chance to make an noise. It crashed to the ground with a riped throat and the eyes staring into empty space. While the wildebeest died Rahina's jump to the side make her crash into another wildebeest. Instinctively she striked the legs of the creature with her paws so that the wildebeest stumbled as well and fell down but dispite being injured it was still alive. The other wildebeest still ran over her even if a few were spooked by the sudden attack and evaded her others pressed forward from behind. Rahina reached the fallen wildebeest just before it was able to get up. Her muzzle closed over its nostril and her fangs dig deep into the maw of the wildebeest while her fangs tried to rip the throat. But she did not only want to kill the wildebeest for prey but also she held it so that it was like a shield for her. Her last chance against the rolling wave of wildebeests. They went around or jumped over their fallen companion while Rahina took advantage of this shield. Before the herd passed her the body of her second prey relaxed as the wildebeest had been suffocated.
Rahina released it from her yaw and as the last animal of the herd passed her she looked after it with a beeding heart and the blood driping down her fangs. She licked the blood away and started to also lick away the blood on her paws and claws. It was an old habit of her to clean her killer tools right after she caught the prey.

Even if she was proud to get two kills even if the second one only was by luck she still knew that she had been in a big danger. It could also have been her being crushed down there. Not that she wasn't prepared for this all the time she went after the prey. It had been worst with the baffolos back then with Kopa... but she also recognized that her body was slightly slower than it was normally. If this was from the fact she was pregnant or because of her long journey with Kopa and the lack of every days hunts... she did not know. But she had to make sure to come back into shape.

[LionPrincess]

Almasi looked terrified as the king approched them "this is it, i will have to leave" she tought to herself as she quickly ran to Kopa and cowered under him, then she heared the mighty king speek and ask who she was, before she had a chance to say anything Daxis introduced her, she then came out frome under Kopa and adressed the king " as Daxis said, i am Almasi, my mother was killed by hyenas and i have been living in the outlands, i was weak and Rahina found me at the borders of your lands, she brought me back here and Queen Nala said that i could stay the night but i would have to wait for you to say if i can stay here or not, whatever your decicion i dont mind but i would love to stay in these amazing lands and to be a part of this pride" the cub told him in words that you wouldnt expect from a cub, almasi has a lot of knowledge for a cub of her age, she has been thew alot and her expirences have aged her greatly

[Mike]

As it turned out, Vitani wasn't needed to help find the cub after all. She stayed quiet to give the others a little privacy as they were reunited. She was certainly surprised that Daxis was accompanying her, but then, their ages weren't so different. She hadn't seen Daxis for several days.

Vitani noticed Shani taking a breath to answer Kopa's inquiry about the food, probably to mention sheepishly that he'd polished off the rest of the leftover food the night before, but he held off with this explanation as Simba arrived outside, it seemed that he'd just woken up. Simba approached them casually and greeted them all in turn. When his gaze fell upon Alamsi however, he looked to Vitani with the question in his eyes. Vitani was ready to answer, but Daxis of all people beat her to it.

"I've only just met her myself." Vitani added once the two were finished. "It seems like Kopa and Rahina are taking care of her for the time being, and it also looks like she's found a friend in Daxis. Thank goodness for that." She said in a clear half-mumble. She was relieved that she would no longer be called upon to watch over the irritating young cub, and never had much of a problem expressing her feelings.

-------------

Shani nodded a returned greeting to Simba, but beyond this he kept quiet. There wasn't much to say, and the precise identity of the little cub didn't really interest him. His gaze wandered from Simba to Kopa to the pridelands spread out beneath the group. He might not have anything to say, but he'd keep his ears open.