[Closed] Kopa's Captivity

[Mike]

"Well that wasn't so bad, was it?" Shani said, as though mildly surprised. "And you sure took a liking to that little one. Can't see why myself, but that's your call." He spoke to Arria, this time keeping his voice low enough so the target of his remarks wouldn't hear them. Needling his pridemates without rhyme or reason was all very well, but Shani had no desire to stoop to abusing a cub that had done him no harm. He figured that if they each kept to themselves there would be no problem at all with sharing the Enclosure.

Shani's eyes followed Kopa as he wandered off towards Heshima. He couldn't say that he really approved of Kopa's choice in surrogate mothers, but after all the choices were rather limited. Heshima would at least make sure that Kopa's tail was never dirty, that his claws were always sharp, and that his meals were always spoon-fed to him. Whether that would make Kopa's life a worse hell than neglect could ever have done remained to be seen. His eyes wandered back over Tanga's large frame as he got set for some play-acting with his young cub. Shani felt a slight tug of attraction to the idea, but clamped down on it and retreated into his natural habitat of scorn and boredom.

[YFWE]

Heshima had taken the time lounging by herself in the sun's warm rays to catch a few minutes of rest, the weather seeming oh-so-inviting for such things, after all. She snapped back into consciousness as Kopa experienced his first meeting of personalities with Arria and Shani, and grinned slightly to herself. She was quite curious as to how Kopa might receive them, and vice versa. Perhaps she would ask the young cub later about it.

As it turned out, such a time presented itself rather quickly, as before she knew it, Kopa was padding toward her nearby spot while Tanga and Marini remained behind. Perking her ears up and lifting her head slightly, Heshima sent a warm grin in Kopa's direction as he approached. "Hello, dear. Nice of you to stop by!"

Listening intently to Kopa's query, Heshima shook her head incredulously. "Kopa dear, of course you can stay with me. You can talk with me anytime you want! I'm always up for some good company, especially new company. The old crowd can get a bit bland after a while, understand?"

Shifting her slender frame slightly, Heshima hesitantly draped an arm around Kopa and pulled him in close in a tight embrace. "Tanga and I just want to make sure you're having the best time you can in our little enclosure," purred Heshima. "And trust me, we're very glad you're here, Kopa. At least for the sake of my sanity! Though I love Marini dearly, as you've probably noticed, she can be quite the little attention-getter, bless the little one. She can wear us out rather quickly, though. A playmate like yourself might be just what both her and my mate and I need, if you think you wouldn't mind playing with her."

Heshima allowed time for Kopa to respond to this if he so chose before asking of him another question. "So, what did you think of Arria and Shani, our other pride members?" asked Heshima, her tail swishing idly against the grass beneath her,

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini observed the entire scene, knowing that Kopa won't have a hard time to settle in. However she snapped out of her thoughts as her dad mention his promise. Her huge smile kicking back in sshe leaped onto and began playfully biting his ear.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga took the time to observe Kopa as he wandered off toward Heshima, as his lazed away in the afternoon sun...one of her favourite pastimes. Tanga smiled as the new cub sat down beside his mate, speaking to her, although Tanga could not discern any words from this distance...nor was he really trying.

At this rate he's going to become our second cub, he thought with contented amusement. He was still a little unsure of how Heshima felt about the possibility of a second child...he had not brought the topic up...but Tanga knew that he himself absolutely loved cubs, as evidenced by his tendency to play with Marini whenever the oppourtunity presented itself.

And speaking of his little bundle of joy, Tanga grinned when Marini jumped on his neck, playfully biting at his ear, like she always did. Feeling his own sense of cubbish playfullness rising to the forefront of his emotional range, Tanga spun in circles while Marini hung on, deliberately making it more difficult for her to focus on his ear. "You seem to have gotten Kopa to settle in nicely!" he said, continuing to bounce around with Marini, smiling all the way. "I assume you like him?"

Tanga took off, bounding around the area of the enclosure surrounding the waterhole, and his den, with Marini still on his back the whole time, waiting for a response from his beloved daughter. "I'm sure you two will be good friends, and I'm happy you have another cub to play with now."

The enclosure pride was small, with him and Heshima the only mated couple present. Arria was the only other lioness, and neither Shani nor Grunge had really shown much interest in her...although Tanga had a sneaking suspicion that Shani might just be a little intrigued by the dreamy lioness. And then there was Arria herself, who seemed to spend so much time conversing with the clouds and chasing butterflies that she simply did not pay any interest into finding a mate.

As such, Marini had been the only cub in the enclosure for some time, and while she seemed fine with it, Tanga had already harboured a small hope that she would find a friend she could play with. While he did derive intense enjoyment from his play sessions with his daughter, it was exhausting...he just didn't have Marini's boundless energy. And while the circumstances under which Kopa had arrived at the enclosure were far less than favourable for the little cub, Tanga still hoped that he and Marini could become good friends.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini growled playfully, chewing on her dad's ear. That was usually the trigger the cause him to run and bounce around as she tried to hang onto him. She spent most of her time playing with her dad.
"Sure, I think we'll make great friends." she answered with her playful voice as her dad continued to bounce around, "Daddy, how big can hippos open their mouth?" she asked laughing slightly

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga laughed at Marini's question. "Oh, I can hardly remember, now! It's been so long since I've seen a..." he stopped, both vocally and physically suddenly realising a problem with Marini's question. "Wait...how do you know about hippos? And how..." He stopped as realisation hit him. "Kopa talked with you about all the animals outside the enclosure, didn't he?"

Tanga's playful nature had disappeared rather suddenly with this topic, as he sat down it the grass, keeping his upper body lowered to allow Marini to remain on his back...she always seemed to like hiding in his mane. Tanga had never really talked about the outside world...the lands beyond the strange cliffs surrounding their enclosure. Part of the reason was because he did not want to make Marini jealous of what she was missing out on...but part of it was also because he did not like dwelling on his time before he had been taken here.

His forepaw absently rubbed a small, round scar on his left hind leg, a memento from one of the strange, hairless creatures that watched over them, and a constant reminder of what he had lost coming here. Despite the fact that he had Heshima and Marini in his life now...and to a lesser extent Shani, Arria and even Grunge...he still missed his old family terribly, and whenever the memories of his cubhood came up, he wondered how his parents were faring now. Were they still alive? Did they miss him as much as he missed them? Had they moved on from losing him?

Tanga sighed, and realising that Marini was still waiting for an answer, decided to indulge her. "I honestly can't remember, sweetie...it's been so long since I've seen a hippo. I seem to remember their mouths being big enough to let several birds sit on their tongue without having to touch each other." He decided to go for the humourous approach to answering his daughter's question...it certainly sounded better than 'Their mouths are big enough to swallow you whole'.

But as Tanga's mind continued to wander in his past, he came to a sudden decision. Marini was getting older...and Kopa was going to make her very curious about the outside world before long. Yes, he thought. Yes, I think it's time she knew. "Hey, Rini," he asked, his voice gentle, but solemn. "You want to hear a really interesting story?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini was quite surprised by her father's reaction. He never wanted to talk about the outside of the enclosure or how did he get here. "Wow! this big?" she asked excitedly, but the excitement didn't last long as she saw her father's reaction. However she felt really interested in knowing more about what's outside of the enclosure. "Sure!" she answered smiling and cuddling into his mane

[KiarasMate]

Having absolutely no objections whatsoever to Heshima’s actions, Kopa instinctually cuddled as close as he possibly could against the cream colored lioness’ soft fur as he felt her gentle fore paw settling atop his small body, adding a much needed sense of security to the young cub’s being. Letting low, yet audible purrs leave his throat, Kopa was thankful to finally have a peaceful moment that required very little of him as far as expending energy went. Listening carefully to what Heshima was going on about in regards to her daughter, Kopa partially understood what she was saying, although not fully realizing the entire spectrum to which Marini’s behavior extended to, Kopa could only go by what the kind hearted lioness was telling him now, which did seem fairly accurate to what he had already witnessed from the interaction between Marini and her father. As Heshima inquired about whether or not the golden furred cub would be willing to become Marini’s playmate, Kopa immediately responded in a more than accepting voice as he nodded his head several times, his cheek rubbing against Heshima’s delicate fur in the process.

”Of course I will Heshima. She’s very nice and fun to be around. I’m sure we’ll be good friends, but what about when I go back to my home? Won’t she miss me then?” Kopa asked, still heavily under the impression that this would in fact, be the case one of these days and was still clueless to the true fate that awaited him.

While giving his company time to ponder over what he had inquired about, Kopa’s eyes started to close as the warmth from Heshima’s body was gradually relaxing the young male into a state of peaceful rest. Not feeling quite tired enough to fall asleep completely however, finding it difficult to focus upon what was being asked of him now, it took Kopa’s slowing mind a few minutes to decipher and formulate a reply to Heshima’s second question. Replaying the brief introductions in his mind between himself, Shani and Arria, the exhausted looking youngster eventually responded in a muffled tone, his head now somewhat buried amongst his own fore paws as well as Heshima’s soft pelt.

”They both seem nice mom. I really like Arria. She reminds me of one of my friends back in The Pride Lands where I used to live…”

Having unconsciously said what he had, yet not even realizing it himself due to his tired state of being, Kopa was finding it harder and harder to keep himself awake as the combined safety that Heshima’s body provided for him, along with the soothing sound of her angelic voice, insisted on coaxing him to give into sleep’s gentle grip. The only thing keeping the young cub awake now, was the growing feeling of hunger that swirled in Kopa’s stomach, made even more apparent by the noticeable rumbles that echoed from his empty belly. Remembering Marini’s statement about how the hairless animals were the ones who brought Tanga’s pride their food though and not wishing to chance an encounter with said creatures, Kopa did his utmost to hide the fact that he was hungry, curling his little body up tighter as if to try and silence the noises coming from his tummy. Hoping that Heshima wouldn’t catch wind of what he was trying to do however, Kopa found himself murmuring softly to the cream colored lioness indirectly as his mother’s caring face started to materialize in his mind, once again, overwhelming the curled up cub with nostalgia.

”I love you mom and I’m so sorry for running away…"

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga managed a small smile at Marini's reaction...he really had not expected anything else from his little daughter. "Alright, then..." He then proceeded to lie down completely, resting his head on his forepaws and giving Marini free reign to clambered over him however she pleased as he got stuck into the story of his past...a story he had only told in full to Heshima before now.

"As I've told you before, Rini...I did not come from this place in the beginning. When I was your age, I lived in lands far beyond these cliffs. In this land, the grass, the hills, and the trees stretched all the way to the horizon...the lands went so far you could not see the end of them...there were no cliffs to hold you in, no hairless creatures to take you away...we were free."

He smiled up at his daughter. "But at the same time, Rini, this freedom also came with danger. We shared the land with many animals. Some, like the antelope...we hunted for food, since there were no creatures to bring it to us. Others, like the hippos you love so much, were too big to hunt, but they were generally nice creatures, and left us alone. But there were some, like these mean things called hyenas, that would pick on us."

Tanga decided to move the story on. "But anyway, I grew up with my mum and dad in this pride, and I'd spend much of my time playing with my friends and chasing insects across the lands. but I had to be careful to stay close to home, and to never worry my mum and dad. You see, Rini, in here, these cliffs protect us from creatures that would try and...hurt us. But where I grew up, there were no cliffs, and there was nothing to protect us...we had to stay close to the pride."

"So I grew up there. I learned to hunt for food, and generally do my part to help our pride live happily and peacefully. But one day, when I was almost completely grown up, I did a very, very silly thing."

He decided to stop his story there for a moment...both to see how Marini had reacted to his story so far, and to steel his nerves for the next part. It was always hard for him to re-live this part of his life, and the only reason he did not grow depressed and teary-eyed from it was because he was able to remember everything he had gained inside the enclosure, a mate who he loved dearly...and a daughter whose life he cherished more than his own.

But he stole a sidewys glance over his shoulder, looking to Marini for a reaction, knowing she would be curious to know what silly thing he had done.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini listen carefully. Noticing her dad stop and look around at her. "What did you do?" she asked, trying to sound interested and not to sound dis-respectful at the same time, since she knew her dad didn't like talking about it.