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

[AustralianChaos]

Nala giggled as Simba's tongue tickled her, before snuggling deeper into his mane, sighing in complete contentment. "Sounds like a brilliant plan," she said softly. "I love these moments...just the two of us, without a care in the world."

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Kali also looked up as Marini greeted them all. "Morning, Marini...Tanga's apparantly on a run, so you have to wait for him."

As Kali sat there, she thought about what Busara had said bout his private talk with Tanga...she had not talked to Tanga about it, but had guessed the subject. She could see how close her son and this young lioness were, and figured that had been the subject of their conversation.

But in the last week, Kali had done a few things to interact a little more with her son, and was now curious about this lioness that seemed to have snared his heart. "Marini...mind if I talk with you for a little bit?" she asked, getting to her paws to indicated that they would talk somewhere a little quieter.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba smiled as Nala described the moment they were having, "Yeah..." he said dreamily, "Me too..."

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As Kali mentioned Tanga going to a run, Marini guessed that he'll be back in a matter of minutes. She was a little surprised when Kali asked whether she could talk to her and even taken back slightly. But she decided not to it since Kali seemed to have accepted Tanga back into her familly's lives. "Sure, I guess." she said, slowly walking towards where Kali was pointing at.

[AustralianChaos]

Nala smiled up at Simba, before sighing, purring as she relaxed in his embrace, amazed at how happy she felt with his warm presence near her like this.

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Kali noticed that Marini was a little taken aback. "Don't worry...I just want to get to know you, that's all," she said. She took Marini off to a secluded ledge that hid them from view, and kept them out of earshot as long as they did not shout.

Once Marini followed her, Kali sat down, smiling. "So...you've been here a week, now...how has it been?" she asked.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini's attempts to hide her nervousness failed sicne Kali noticed she was slightly apprehensive about this. She followed Kali quietly, wandering whether they could get along well. She sat herself down infront of Kali, forcing a friendly smile as the lioness spoke, "It's a really beautiful place." she said, looking around them to emphasize her point, "How did you find this place?" she asked, forgetting to consider that the question might be too personal now that Tanga was back in her life, but her curiousity got the better of her.

[AustralianChaos]

Kali grimaced slightly as Marini's question brought up memories of her abandonment of Tanga, but she forced them back, the smile fast returning. "To be honest, it was just blind luck. When we...left...we intended on travelling a long way from the Pridelands. But we came across this place, and I guess we just decided it was good enough that we decided to stay." She chuckled slightly as memories of their early months here washed over her. "It was a good thing we decided to stay, too, for not long after that I realised I was pregnant with Uhuru, and I never would have been able to wander the plains for long while carrying a cub in my belly."

"But yes, it is a beautiful place, and we consider ourselves very lucky to have found it. Kings Above know we...or at least I...don't deserve such an easy, happy life...not after what I did to Tanga..." Pulling herself from that thought train, not wanting to make the atmosphere between them tense, Kali opted for a slight change of subject. "Speaking of Tanga, one of the big reasons I pulled you aside is because, even though I left him behind, he's still my son, and I've seen how the two of you interact. You seem to have made a really big impression on him." She smiled to let Marini know she had nothing to worry about, that she was free to talk about her relationship with Tanga without fear of repurcussion. Kali knew that she had long ago discarded any right she had to even try and control any aspect of Tanga's life...but she did want to get an idea of just how close the two of them were. Since Busara had already talked to Tanga, she thought it only made sense to have a talk with Marini, instead.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini slightly regretted asking that when she noticed Kali grimace slightly, but she couldn't take what she said back, so she sat quietly and listened to the lioness as she spoke.

Marini didn't know how to exactly respond to the lioness when she spoke of her and Tanga. "We..." she began nervously, "We were close friends since the day I came to Pride Rock." she said and fell quiet, not sure of how and if to tell Kali everything that they went through together

[AustralianChaos]

Kali smirked at Marini as she nervously avoided raising the full depth of their relationship. "I'm glad he found such a good friend...but from what I've seen, the two of you are far more than just friends," she said, emphasising the last two words. "The two of you seem to barely leave each other, even for a second...and I saw you two that night under we slept outside...that wasn't the first time you've slept together like that, is it?"

As the last words left her mouth, Kali's happy smile vanished, as her thoughts starting jumping to conclusions as to just how close Tanga and Marini had gotten. Tanga was her son after all, and the two of them were now well into their adolescence...their hormones would be coming to life by now. Despite the fact that she was happy the two of them had grown so close, Kali could not help but fervently pray that had not gotten to that stage in their relationship yet.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini smiled back at Kali, "You're right, we're not 'just friends'." she said, We're together for over four months already, I think." she said, before noticing Kali's thoughtful expression. "Everything alright Kali?" she asked, slightly concernd that her happy smile dissapeared all of a sudden

[AustralianChaos]

Kali looked up, part of her thankful Marini had caught on to her worries, so she could get some answers, part of her hating the fact that she was about to ask Marini what was going to be a very personal question. "Sort of," she answered vaguely. "Listen, Marini, please don't take offence if this is too personal for you, but just how close have you and Tanga gotten? I can tell that you love each other...anyone can tell, really. But...you're both close to adulthood now, and I can't help but worry about just how far you've taken things is all..." she trailed off, hoping Marini had caught on...she did not want to have to spell it out for the young lioness, it was awkward enough, already, especially since it was her son that was with the lioness in front of her.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini was slightly confused at Kali's words, and it took her a few moments to understand what Kali was worried about. "Oh..." she said, rubbing her head nervously, "No, not that far." Marini knew that she and Tanga weren't official mates yet, and that Tanga was too gentle and would never dare to get THAT close before that happend, or without at least talking to her about it first