Burying the Past [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[AustralianChaos]

Note: Yes, I know we had an RP before this...but I'm sad to say that it has died off, and is being replaced with this one, which has a larger OC focus.

Plot: After the death of their parents, two distraught siblings, Tanga and Kijamii, find their way into another pride...can anyone in there help the two of them move on from their loss...?

Characters:
Tanga: AC
Marini: TW
Kijamii: AC
Dakari: TW
Juhudi: AC
Lina: TW

==========

"Come on, Tang!" Kijamii whined, sounding like a cub despite being a short way into adulthood, two and a half years in the world. As she spoke, she nudged her sleeping brother, Tanga, causing her younger brother to groan and roll, turning his back on her whilst trying to get back to sleep. It was still fairly early in the morning, and since Tanga had missed the sunrise he sometimes liked to watch, he had no intention of waking up.

But Kijamii had other ideas, as she once more pushed Tanga's back with her nose, trying to get his attention. "Tanga, please!" she almost begged of her adolescent brother. "Come on, I want to explore this place...and you know I don't like going anywhere alone!" Having been allowed to stay with a small pride recently, Kijamii was raring to explore the lands this pride controlled...and possibly meet a few of the inhabitants. But with her strange abundance of energy that she always possessed every second she was awake, Kijamii knew she would get exceptionally bored very quickly if she were to explore all on her own. Her brother's company would help stave off that boredom.

But Tanga seemed to be in no mood to explore. "Please, Jamii, don't do this...not today..." Tanga's voice was muffled, since he refused to look at her still, and the slight slur to his words showed that he wanted to do nothing more than sleep, since he wasn't fully awake anyway.

Kijamii frowned at Tanga's behaviour, even if she knew exactly what was causing it. Despite trying to keep herself calm, she could not help but get angry at Tanga's moping. "It's never a good day for you Tanga! It has never been a good day to do anything but sulk for two whole weeks now!" Kijamii rarely shouted...and shouting at her brother was something she almost never did, but she had sick and tired of his sulking attitude...she knew he was not coping well, but he needed a wake up call. "Ever since they - "

"Don't say it!" Tanga suddenly snapped, rolling back over and standing up, his face twisted with emotional pain. "Just don't...I don't want to hear it..."

"Why not?" Kijamii suddenly said, her frustation over Tanga's behaviour finally breaking loose. "Why can't you bear to hear the words? Is it because you hate knowing what happened, and want to forget? Or are you in denial? Are you trying to make it as if never happened, so you can live in your own fantasy world where they're still there...where they'll just pop in here in two seconds, yelling 'surprise!' and telling you it was all a bad joke? Is that what you're trying to do, huh? Because..."

Kijamii never got to say what she wanted to next, as Tanga gave her a glare that she very rarely saw...and one that tended to silence her immediately. His blue eyes now had that spark in them that meant she had gotten him angry...very angry. He stomped right up to her muzzle, shoving his own right in front of hers, his whole body shaking his grief and fury...not a good combination.

"DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THAT!" he screamed, noticing, but not caring when his older sister actually shied away from him slightly. "You...you're my sister, and you actually have the nerve to..." In his anger, he struggled to form a sentence, and for a moment, Kijamii was actually worried that Tanga might even go so far as to strike her for her words.

But in the end, Tanga's grief over the incident Kijamii was referring to won out, and he turned away from her, his breathing starting to shake as he fought back tears. "Just go, Kijamii," he said, his voice showing just how close to sobbing he actually was. "I just...just get away from me..." Heaving a half-breath, half-sob, Tanga wandered further into the small cave he had picked out to be his home while with this new pride, laying down against the far wall and pointedly ignoring Kijamii, fighting to control his raging emotions as his older sister watched him for a few seconds, before turning and walking off, still going forward with her plans for exploring the place.

Why can't he realise that he needs to let go? she thought, looking back briefly as he wandered out into the grass. Why can't he just accept it, let it all out, and move on?

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari was resting and enjoying the sun at his usual spot in the grass. He was always napping there in the mornings, unless Juhudi or Lina decided that he had to play with them or something. He didn't mind that at all, he loved cubs and their playful spirits, but he enjoyed the early sun when it wasn't too hot. His mind wondered off to the two new members of the pride who arrived yesterday. As far as he understood the lioness and the younger adolescent were siblings, though for an unknown reason the younger male seemed to be distraught by somthing. He hadn't spoken a single word to any member of the pride when the two came, only the sister had a few words with the king and some other adults.

She seemed nice, and Dakari was unable to stop thinking about her ever since she and her brother arrived. The night when they came, she and her brother went to sleep in a smaller private den. He really wanted to get to know her, and would have said hello already, but he didn't want to interrupt the two in case they were still asleep.

He suddenly heard the noise of rustling grass coming from the direction the two were staying. He got up, and decided to say hello to which ever one of them that was. If it was the smaller brother, Dakari hoped he might be able to cheer him up somehow, since Dakari really liked jokes. If it was his sister, that would be a good chance to get to know her better. Out of excitement, he started to run, and when she came into view, he saw that he was about to ran straight into her. He quickly stopped his running, but the momentum he already had closed the short distance between them and he was now sitting right infront of her, his muzzle an inch away from hers. Her eyes were beautiful, but he quickly spoke up when he realised he was staring. "Oh, um..." He said, quickly moving away a little, hoping he hadn't scared her or made her mad. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to... uh... hey." He hoped his cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

-----

Lina was running, giggling all the way. She was in the middle of a hide and seek game with Marini and was looking for a hiding spot. Usually when she couldn't find Juhudi, she would play with Dakari, because he was acting really funny around cubs. Marini was really fun too, and she said that she wouldn't mind playing with her for a while. She noticed the small cave, and without thinking twice she went inside and lay down by the entrance. She didn't notice Tanga, because she was too busy on imaginaning the look on Marini's face once she lost.

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii stalked away from the cave, still too irritated with her younger brother to really bother watching where she was going. Tanga could show far more maturity than an adolescent lion sometimes, but other times, like now, he could behave like an upset cub, and Kijamii could not understand why he tried so hard to bury his feelings and hide them. If he just let it go, let himself cry it all out, he would feel better afterwards. She knew this because she had already done it, already grieved and vented her emotions.

She was so lost in her worried annoyance at her brother that she failed to notice the lion rapidly approaching her until he was right in front of him. As he skidded to a stop literally an inch from her, she shied back slightly. After a few moments during which she stared at him, surprised at his sudden appearance, he suddenly back off a bit, stammering a mix of an apology and greeting, looking exceptionally embarassed. Ignoring the embarassment, and completely missing the heat going to his cheeks, she gave him a forgiving smile...even if it was slightly forced. "It's alright, I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention myself," she said kindly, starting to pace, her tail twitching almost constantly, giving away the vast energy reserves she held. "I'm new here, and I've been meaning to explore this place...but my brother, he...well..."

She eventually trailed off, knowing that Tanga would kill her if she explained his situation to anyone. Deciding to put Tanga behind her for now, now that she appeared to have stumbled across a companion for the day, she gave the lion a more genuine smile. "Never mind, he'll deal with it on his own...anyway, as I said, I'm new here...maybe you could help show me around a little, as I want to have a look around? My name's Kijamii, by the way." She asked her questions in her usual, rapid-fire nature...her voice sometimes shoving the words out so fast that entire sentences sounded like one word. She was a naturally fast talker.

----------

Because of the battle to control his raging emotions, Tanga did not noticed Lina's entrance into the den he had picked out for a few moments. When he had calmed down enough to turn away from the den wall, he finally saw the cub sitting by the entrance, looking like she was hiding, her body tense, and she seemed to be holding back a massive giggling fit.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there," Tanga said apologetically, his voice still carrying the traces of the profound sadness he was trying to hide. "What are you doing here?" he asked, curious, not realising that the cub had not realised he was there, either.

[TheWhistlerify]

Even after he was done talking, Dakari couldn't help but stare at her glittering eyes. He was surprised that she actually talked to him, more that she didn't get angry at him for suddenly popping up in front of her like that. He never receieved alot of attention from a lioness of his age before, and the fact that she was being nice to him only caused him to blush deeper. He appeared to be right by thinking that the younger male was her brother, and he really did seem to be bothered by something. But he didn't ask, knowing that whatever was giving the lioness' brother a hard time might be something she wouldn't like to discuss.

His heart began racing when she asked him to show him around, even though it removed to burden of asking that by himself, he never expected that. "Uhh... of course, I'd love to! In fact I... ahh... there's this special place I came across about a week ago, it's really... beautiful." he barely managed to say the word beautiful, "Kijamii? That's a nice name. I'm Dakari."

---------

Lina was being as silent as she could, despite the quite giggles that escaped her muzzle. She nearly jumped when Tanga spoke, having not noticed him and being an easily scared cub didn't do her any good. But she calmed down when she noticed that it was only an adolescent. Being a cub and all, she didn't really notice the hint of sadness in his voice, nor had any idea what the adolescent had been through. "I'm playing hide and seek with Rini!" she said, forgetting hat she was in the middle of a game and walking over to Tanga with a smile on her face. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her natural cubbish curiousity kicking in.

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii's smile became more and more genuine as Dakari took up his offer, although the lion stumbled over his words rather frequently, and she could now clearly see the blush adorning his cheeks...he was obviously flustered, and Kijamii guessed she was the reason. She was not a vain lioness by any stretch of the imagination, but she could admit in all honesty, that, in some eyes, she was rather beautiful. She had attracted the attention of a couple of rogue males over her time, but all of them wanted her for her looks, and Kijamii very much doubt they were after an emotional relationship.

Giggling lightly at Dakari, Kijamii hopped around him excitedly at the prospect of exploring. "Dakairi...nice to meet you," she said happily, before turning her attention back to his proposed exploration plans. "This special place, huh? Well, what are we waiting for?" she cried, sounding for all the world like a cub who had just discovered some completely cool place, and wanted to tell all her friends about it. "Let's go!"

----------

Tanga could not help but smile weakly as the cub approached him, grinning the whole way, a playing sparkle in her eyes. Tanga had always liked cubs...whether it was because they reminded him of Kijamii, or for other reasons, he could never be sure, but the point was that, unlike Kijamii, their presence somehow always managed to cheer him up.

"Hide and seek, huh?" he repeated. "Sounds like good fun." And then the cub asked why he was here, and he sighed slightly. "I'm...new, here...and your king let me and my sister stay in this den for now." Smiling, he decided to focus his attention back on the game. "So, who's this Rini you're hiding from? And you know, if they come along, they'll be able to see you straight away," he added, before gesturing to the space between hima dn the far wall. "If you want, you can hide behind me...if Rini comes along, I'll try and make her forget to check."

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari couldn't believe that Kijamii was actually excited on exploring, and with him? Now that was something he didn't get alot (actaully didn't get at all). Most of his nervousness was at the fact that she even talked to him, but as they kept talking, he began feeling more comfortable at her presence. "Yeah, it's pretty... awesome, I guess." It was easier for him to speak than he could a few moments ago. But he was still slightly embarrased, and nearly pointed at the wrong direction "It's... no, this way."

----------

Lina was able to slightly notice that Tanga was troubled, but as she was offered a hiding place, she completly forgot about it and went for the offer. "Rini's my friend!" she said with excitement, before hopping over and crouching between Tanga and the inner wall. "She'll never find me now though!"

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii grinned as Dakari tried to get over his nervousness, noting that while he was getting more comfortable, he had almost forgotten the direction in which they had to go, which caused the grey lioness to giggle a little. "Relax, Dakari...I'm not in any rush, no matter how awesome this place sounds," she said rapidly, excited about the idea of being able to finally vent some energy...and maybe make a friend in the process. Tanga was a nice companion, and a great brother, but somedays he just could not keep up with her energy, and it was those times that she wished she had a friend with her.

As they began to wander towards Dakiri's hidden place, Kijamii showed Dakiri her truly energetic side, trotting this way and that, occasionally running a short way off if something caught her interest, only to come back two seconds later. As she came back to Dakari's side one time, she paused for a brief moment, realising her antics might be confusing the lion, particularly since she was a full-grown adult, and was acting like a young cub. "Sorry if I seem a little...energetic," she said, her voice still fast despite her attempts to control it a little. "It's just who I am...I can't help myself, I always have to be doing something!"

----------

Tanga managed another small smile as Lina dropped in behind him, effecting hiding herself from view...as long as no-one got too inquisitive if they came in. "A friend, huh?" he said, his smile fading slightly. "Good to know you have friends here..." he added wistfully, sighing at the thought that he, in his whole life, had never had 'friends'...only his parents and his sister.

As Lina claimed that she would never be found, Tanga merely grinned. "I'm sure she won't...and I'll try and point her the wrong way, if you like."

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari nodded slightly at Kijamii, glad that she wasn't teasing him for how nervous he was next to her. Last time he tried talk to a lioness, she laughed and left. Kijamii was special for even paying attention to him. The only friends he had so far were 2 cubs and an adolescent, it was nice to talk with someone his age for a change.

He slightly grinned at the grey lioness' energetic behaviour. "It's nothing you should bother yourself over." he tried not to think on the boring and rather harsh cubhood he had. "Wish I was like that... I didn't really have much of a fun cubhood..." he pushed the thoughts aside, that didn't matter now. He should focus on what ever was happening now, and that was finally getting a friend at his age.

------

Lina smiled at the adolescent and giggled, "Yeah, that would be awesome!" She always enjoyed winning hide and seek, the look on the losers faces when she sneaked up on them was priceless, especially Dakari's. But Marini was harder to fool with, "Just letting you know she can be very persistent, and she's not as stupid as Dakari can be." Her cubbish mind completly ignored the fact that Tanga only arrived yesterday and probably had no idea who Dakari was.

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii smiled as Dakari waved off her energetic behaviour as nothing...only for that smile to vanish at the lion's next words. "Oh?" was all she could respond with in the first moment, and then she slowly recovered. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..." she apologised, hoping she had not brought up memories that were too painful...she knew all too well how the wrong words could make someone, herself included, extremely depressed.

After a moment, she looked at Dakari once more, their gazes meeting as Kijamii tried to cheer him up. "If you want, Dakari...I can help make things more fun for you now. With my brother the way he is, and his stubborness, I doubt I'm going to get much fun out of him for weeks," she sighed as her words again reminded her of Tanga's depressed attitude of late, but he was stubbornly refusing help...all she could do was pray someone here knocked some sense into him.

Shaking herself out of her own thoughts, she jumped forward once more, gesturing for Dakari to lead the way. "But let's not think of our pasts right now...I believe you wanted to show me something!"

----------

Tanga smiled at Lina's words. "I'll keep that in mind...although my sister says I can be very stubborn, too," he said, his voice laced with light humour, which quickly turned into a sad sigh as he remember Kijamii...and how he had just treated her a minute ago. He would have to find her and apologise for his outburst, he knew...but not right now. He had a cub to hide. Because of this little emotional moment, he ended up completely missing the comment about Dakari.

Heaving another heavy sigh, something of a trademark for the adolescent, Tanga lowered his head onto his paws, watching the den entrance...waiting to see if this 'Rini' showed up...the cub was proving to be an effective distraction from his emotional thoughts, but his mind was slowly turning back onto those dark memories. He just hoped Rini would distract him for a little while.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari looked at Kijamii, finding alot of encouragement in her words and calm but energetic eyes. She was right, he didn't have to be down because of all that. And if others were teasing him, trying to be-friends with those again and again was a bad idea. "It's okay, you didn't know." he said, cheering up a little and again grinning at the energetic mood Kijamii was at. "Yeah, it's not too far now." during the little talk they were having, they've gone more than half of the way. It felt as if only a few seconds have passed, but apperantly it was only his imagination.

----

Lina smiled, but Tanga obviously had no idea how stubborn Marini could be. "We'll see how you do. If she ever gets here." But her giggling fit was quickly cut off when she heard someone coming near the cave.

Marini grinned, she could hear the cub and knew that she was inside. Who'd be laughing now? She jumped from her hiding place and stood at the entrance, "Ha, got you n..." She couldn't see Lina, but all she could see was an adolescent, and her being the only adolescent in her pride at the moment made her quickly recognise him from when he came with his sister last night. She was sure that she heard Lina, but decided to pretend not to, just so she could give the little cub a well placed -boo-. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here." she said, coming a few steps inside but stopping then. She had serious trust issues because of the way she lost her parents as a cub, it took her alot of time to give her trust to anyone. But she was there to find Lina, so she ignored her past for a moment.