[Private] Love Will Tear Us Apart

[KiarasMate]

[KiarasMate]

As the last remaining traces of dusk were quickly being enveloped by the endless night sky, down below, situated in the tall grass of The Pride Lands, Hiroshi and his three friends laid side by side together as the stars slowly began to dot the black canvace above. Taking a glance over to his left, his hazle eyes traveling from the golden furred lioness known as Ari, over to his best friend Kito, who seemed content with flicking a few blades of grass at the adolescent lioness next to him, and finally over to Kweli before returning his stare up to the heavens above. Waiting for a moment as a light passing breeze whisked through his tawny fur, Hiroshi finally spoke up as his voice broke the silence that had come over the small group, beginning yet another one of their nightly routines as the young adolescent male started to go over what his day had been like, his voice masking a bit of excitement as he did so.

”I guess I’m first tonight, aye? Okay, well you all know that His Royal Highness has kept me pretty busy with helping out those slobbering spotted nusenses of his, right? You know, helping with this and that and basically being his little servant as Kito likes to so quaintly put it. Well, it actually paid off for me today but I’ll get to that later. First, I suppose I owe you an apology Ari.” Hiroshi stated, cocking his head to the left so that he could meet with Ari’s amber eyes before he continued. ”I know I promised that I’d hang out with you today but right when I woke up, I was summoned to the Main Den and I didn’t have a chance to even let you know. I didn’t even see Nafsi on my way there either, so I couldn’t deliver a message to you through her either and for that, I’m truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me though. Trust me, the surprise I have in store for you, Kito and Kwelie will surely make up for my epic fail today, I promise.”

Lightly placing his left fore paw over Ari’s now to signify that he was finished speaking, Hiroshi looked over and gave a friendly smile to his golden furred friend, indicating that she now had the floor to speak. Keeping his fore paw over hers, lightly entangling his paw toes around Ari”˜s, as was their usual ritual to show their bond towards one another, Hiroshi fell silent as he waited to hear what Ari had been up to upon this day, his fuzzy ears twitching from the light winds that continued to pass over the band of friends as it vanished within the semi-lush lands around them.

[YFWE]

Ari shuddered at Hiroshi's light touch and returned his grin with a small smile of her own. She laid her head back against the cool grass, feeling the light breeze wash over her as she, continuing to smile, began to speak.

"I was a bit upset with you at first, Hiro, but I got over it--it isn't the first time you've stood me up anyway," she added with a wink."So I went out hunting with the lionesses today. Well, I mean, I didn't actually do much at mother's insistence, but I did observe--gonna have to follow in their footsteps one day, after all, right? Was pretty lazy otherwise... laid out at the Waterhole for a while. Kweli came out there too and we talked for a little bit. I'm not gonna lie, it was a really, REALLY boring day all in all. Perhaps if someone," Ari shot a smug look at Hiroshi, "hadn't stood me up, I'd have more to say. But some of us just think we're hot stuff saving the pride from hyenas and doing menial work for the King, eh?" She gave Hiroshi's side a light nudge with her paw.

Turning over onto her side for a brief moment, Ari raised her left paw and brought it down hard Kito's chest. "Your turn," she said shortly to the lion, grinning smugly.

[KiarasMate]

Hiroshi grinned sheepishly from the way Ari was playfully badgering him, letting a light chuckle escape his muzzle as he shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion before commenting upon what his golden furred friend had stated, his voice sounding slightly apologetic with a tad bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure.

”Well, it’s a thankless job Ari, but someone’s gotta do it, besides, you probably would have had less fun if I actually had shown up, seeing as I was just planning on dragging you out to The Elephant Graveyard for a bit of exploration. I know how much that place creeps you out and all.”

Flashing Ari another casual smile, Hiroshi fell silent once more, giving Kito the chance to speak now as he watched Ari’s fore paw come down upon his best friend’s chest with a thud, causing himself to wince slightly as he knew how strong Ari was, even for being a lioness and even being on the receiving end of her playful hits were still enough to make even the toughest of males react.

Letting an over exaggerated cough leave his muzzle from feeling Ari’s paw upon his chest, Kito shot the young lioness a sardonic smirk as his fore paw quickly pushed her paw off of him. Fixing up his chest fur as if he were utterly disgusted from the golden furred feline’s mere touch, Kito cleared his throat before speaking up in a rather loud tone with his muzzle facing to the right, just to annoy Ari a bit more.

”THANK YOU ARI! Gawd, aren’t you supposed to hit like a lioness though? Sometimes I wonder about you…Anyways, can’t say that my day was all that bad, aside from Fila complaining about how the herds seem to be moving on or something, I honestly wasn’t listening to half the things she was saying. You’d think she would have enough ears to blab to with all her hunting party members, but no, talking her son’s ear off is just more appealing to her. I swear, she gets enjoyment out of it somehow.”

It was typical behavior of Kito to address his mother by her first name and while Hiroshi never questioned this fact, it always did come off as being a bit disrespectful towards Fila herself. This really wasn’t any of Hiroshi’s business though and it seemed as long as both Fila and Kito were comfortable with it, he had no place to say anything to begin with. Glancing over at Ari, as he knew his next statement would probably evoke a reaction out of her, Kito continued in a confident tone.

”Well, after Fila left to do the days hunt, I hung out with some of the lionesses by The Sunning Rocks. Seems like ever since His Majesty took over, there’s just not enough good looking males to go around. I guess I just fit the bill for them since they all just couldn’t get enough of me. They hung on my every word and gave me that look.” Grinning deviously at Ari, Kito stated. ”You know, the one you give to Hiro all the time Ari.”

Laughing and raising his fore paw that had been plucking the grass he had been flicking at Ari moments ago, his paw toes lightly coated with the dirt from below, Kito amusingly smeared some of the earth from his paw over Ari’s cheek before turning to face Kweli as he addressed him in a lackluster voice.

”Your turn Kweli. Dazzle us with your daily do’s. Clearly your day must have been horrible if you had to spend your day with that tomcat of a lioness Ari, although you never seem to really have too much to do regardless, right?”

[YFWE]

Ari opened her muzzle in protest but, shaking her head, a grin spreading across her muzzle. Sometimes she would just let Kito win a battle or two... it kept him cocky and therefore gave her more opportunities to take him down a few notches when the opportunity presented itself. Besides, Ari thought, he was probably lying about those lionesses anyway.

Kweli, too, ignored Kito's rather biting comment, as he so often did. The four lions were certainly friends, that much was certain, but occasionally Kito could be a bit callous toward Kweli, whether he truly meant to be or not. Kweli was used to it by now and, as he was glad merely to be included in this little gang, said nothing to get a rise out of Kito and jeopardize his place in the group. He was content with where he was, Kito and all, and Ari had always been an outlet he could talk to, and vice versa.

In fact, that day itself had been another day in which Ari and Kweli had had a good heart-to-heart talk. Kito was most certainly right in that Ari and Hiroshi seemed to be developing some sort of "thing" for each other. They had been spending more time together as of late. That afternoon, Ari had asked Kweli's advice on how to approach Hiroshi, how to tell him how she really felt about him. Not that she was betrothing herself at such an age already to him, but Ari did see a lot in Hiroshi and told Kweli that she could certainly see herself becoming mated to him.

Kweli wasn't completely sure how to respond. Not that he didn't want it to happen--he was happy for them, most definitely. He had resigned himself much earlier to the fact that Ari would never see something in him anyway, and was far more content with just being her friend. What worried him was how it might affect their friendship, especially if Hiroshi and Ari got into an argument and stopped talking. They were a tight-knit bunch, and Kweli never wanted to see anything happen that would break that. His advice to her was to play everything out as she had been, just going on the long walks and having the long talks and all that getting-to-know-you stuff. If things were still that way when they all grew up, then it was time to say something. Kweli could certainly tell that Ari cared deeply for him and the feelings were mutual from Hiroshi's side. It simply wasn't time yet.

He would not mention that conversation, though. Ari had sworn him to secrecy anyway, and even if she had not, Hiroshi and/or Kito's reactions could be interesting--and perhaps not in a good way. He did not want to risk anything. So he would leave that part out.

After a long pause, he spoke: "Nothing much. Talked with Ari for a bit, like she said. Walked around for a bit before that. Found Zazu, too. He seems really cut up and down right now about everything... which I can understand, I suppose. Of course, maybe he's always been like that; I haven't known him for that long."

Kweli gave a tiny shrug. "That's all. I'm not very exciting anyway. You guys live far more exciting lives than me." He raised his head. "So hey, Hiro. You mentioned something about your work with the King paying off today? What did you mean by that, care to tell?"

[KiarasMate]

Listening intently to what Kweli was saying and hearing the question being posed to him now, Hiroshi was about to speak up, when Kito interrupted, as was typical nature whenever he found reason to add in his two cents on whatever had been stated, this time, being in regards to Zazu.

”Oh my gawd, I can’t stand that flying buzzard! His voice just makes your ears want to bleed doesn’t it? I mean, I’d much rather put up with Fila’s or even Ari’s complaining over having to listen to that feathery freak.”

Unable to resist a lighthearted chuckle from what Kito had stated, as it was true to some degree that Zazu’s manner of speaking and personality did take a bit of getting use to, although having been born into The Pride Lands unlike his three friends, Hiro himself had grown accustom to the ways of the hornbill. Shrugging off Kito’s momentary interruption, Hiroshi addressed Kweli’s inquiry now as he rolled onto all fours, the grass below his paws lightly crunching from how dry it was as he did so.

”Well, how about I show you all instead of just telling you. It’ll be easier that way and it’ll at least give us something else to do tonight.”

Beginning to take a few steps in the general direction towards Pride Rock, Hiroshi paused and turned to wait for his fellow felines to follow him, meeting with Ari’s stare for a split second, causing another warm smile to etch its way upon his muzzle as he stood there.

Following suit, Kito lazily rose to his paws, advertently making sure to trap Ari’s tail underneath one of his hind paws as he stood up and stretched, waiting for his golden furred antagonist to move so he could savor her reaction to having her tail immobilized by his weight. Giving what little mane he had, a thorough shake, Kito piped up in a curious fashion.

”Well, this must be something big if you’re actually forcing us to walk somewhere Hiro. At least it’s a change of pace from just laying around all night. I was already getting nauseous from having to lay next to Ari so long anyways, so let’s go already!”

[YFWE]

Ari began to rise onto all fours, rearing to pounce on Kito for his latest comment. She felt the slight pressure on her tail and immediately knew what Kito had done... he had pulled this stunt two nights prior as well. He would not be winning this particular battle. Without a word, she aimed a well-placed kick at the hindleg that held her tail. Her tail was released almost immediately. "Tsk tsk," Ari shook her head, trying to suppress a smile. "Just not strong enough, I reckon. How does it feel to be outsmarted again by a female?" she asked mockingly, patting Kito on the back as she romped forward to join Hiroshi.

"Nice try, mate," said Kweli as he passed Kito, laughing to himself.

[KiarasMate]

Kito’s words were quickly silenced as he felt a sharp kick to his hind leg that had Ari’s tail trapped, immediately causing the startled male to pull back as he gingerly lifted his limb in a feign display of injury, taking Ari’s response in stride as he jokingly sneered at her, calling back over to her as she made her way over to where Hiroshi was waiting.

”Such a violent little lioness you are Ari. For Hiro’s sake, if you two end up becoming mates, I’ll have to pray for his safety cause with the way you act, he’d probably end up getting something broken on your behalf.”

Hearing Kweli’s comment as he passed by him, Kito scowled as he mumbled under his breath and started to advance towards where the trio were now standing, limping in a playful fashion from Ari’s previous kick. Arriving alongside his friends, Kito waited patiently for Hiroshi to lead the way as he gave Ari’s tail a swift swat with his fore paw to keep himself entertained in the mean time.

Now that his friends were ready to depart, Hiroshi took lead once more as he made his way through The Grasslands at a leisurely pace, enjoying the cool night atmosphere that had fallen over the seemingly tranquil lands. Most of the rest of the pride had already turned in and it wasn’t anything out of the usual for the band of friends to be out and about this late at night. Slowing his pace slightly so he could walk side by side with Ari, Hiroshi lowered his voice to a softer pitch as he spoke to the young lioness, his warm smile still very apparent upon his muzzle.

”Thanks for accepting my apology tonight Ari. You know I really did want to spend the day with you, didn’t you? How about we plan to do something special together tomorrow, sound good?”

Falling back slightly to give Hiroshi and Ari a bit of room to talk to one another in relative privacy, Kito found himself walking next to Kweli. The two had never really grown as close as he had to Hiroshi or Ari even for that matter, but knowing that Kweli was a good friend to both his other companions, Kito did his best to tolerate the smaller male. Feeling the need to at least say something to him now, Kito spoke up in an inquisitive fashion, his eyes still averted forward to keep a close eye on Hiroshi and Ari.

”So, not that I really care but what did you and Ari talk about while you two were together today? Anything interesting at all? I’m not asking for juicy details mind you, since I really don’t want to know what runs through that twisted mind of hers but you two seem to get along quite well, right?”

[YFWE]

Kweli narrowed his gaze as Kito spoke to him. He was not used to the lion addressing him casually and if he could be completely honest, the few times that he did, it was usually because he wanted something. And as Kito finished what he had to say, Kweli felt internally that the lion's claim of not actually caring did not exactly go along with what he was asking. But he certainly could not ignore the question.

"Well yeah, of course we get along well. We are all friends after all, aren't we?" said Kweli. "We really didn't talk about anything that important, though. I mean, nothing that you'd be interested in or don't know already. We talked about the state of the Pride Lands. I reckon things used to be a lot better here, judging by the way most of the older lionesses act. We talked about the herds... like your mom mentioned, they seem to be moving on... I wonder why. Anyway, a couple other tiny things here and there but nothing, you know, that interesting." He cocked his head at Kito. "...out of curiosity, why do you wanna know, anyway?"

Ari, meanwhile, could not help but hear Kito and Kweli's hushed whispers and, while unable to note what they were saying, certainly did wonder what it was they were talking about, as it was not every day the two lions actually conversed one on one. Her attention quickly snapped back to Hiroshi, who was looking at her expectantly after having posed the question of the two of them hanging out the next day.

She would of course say yes. That, after all, had been the subject of her talk with Kweli--she wanted to get more in touch with Hiroshi, even more so than she was now. She deep down wanted him to know that she cared immensely for him and even, just maybe, could see herself becoming mated to him someday. Kweli had convinced her that now was not the time, and she planned on following this advice. And yet, still she wished she could hint at it to Hiroshi. Perhaps this could be the chance. And if not--well, as Kweli had told her, the time would certainly come soon enough. And she had no intentions on giving that up. On the outside, she might have seemed like a tomboyish lioness who cared nothing about relationships and the opposite sex--and for the most part, this had been true--but even she knew that she would have to find a mate eventually.

Ari gave Hiroshi a playful nudge. "I suppose I can let it slide, like I said. As long as you don't let all this working for the King go to your head, hm? And as for that something special you mentioned... I think I could do that. Have anything in mind?" she asked.

[KiarasMate]

”Of course we’re all friends Kweli, don’t be stupid now.” Kito replied in as a believable tone as he could muster.

Listening to the details of what Kweli and Ari had discussed, perking his ears as if to seem more interested than he truly was, Kito waited until Kweli was finished speaking before he was about to comment back, when Kweli posed a question to him. Taking a moment to come up with a comprehensive response, Kito finally answered as he casually shrugged his shoulders and spoke in a carefree tone.

”Well, I was just trying to find something for us to talk about Kweli. I know we don’t chat much and we don’t exactly seem to have much common ground between us but I figure that being friends is a two way street, so just trying to play my part. I don’t expect us to become as close of friends as say, Hiro and myself are, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t try, right?”

Figuring that his response was satisfactory enough to at least sway the conversation away from the fact that he was in fact, curious to what had been on Ari’s mind as of late, Kito would never openly admit this to anyone as he did find Ari to be quite the opposite of what he looked for in the opposite gender however, there was still something about her that intrigued him to no end. Refusing to think that he even had any such feelings towards her though, Kito simply suppressed his feelings and acted as if nothing was different whatsoever. Grinning to himself, Kito did what came naturally and quickly turned the tables back upon Kweli as he asked in a sincere tone.

”Do you like Ari or something Kweli? You two do hang out a lot together after all. Maybe there’s something between you two?”

Feeling Ari’s light nudge, causing a low purr to escape his muzzle from her soft touch, Hiroshi felt his cheeks beginning to warm up slightly as he had to look away from her briefly so she wouldn’t notice his embarrassment. Staying quiet for a second before answering back to the golden furred lioness next to him, Hiroshi spoke in a gentle voice as he continued to walk slowly through the tall grass.

”You know, I was thinking that maybe we could take a nice walk together. There’s somewhere I wanted to take you too for the longest time now, but I just never felt comfortable actually doing it. I don’t want you to get your hopes up or something though Ari, so don’t think it’s anything too special, but let’s focus on one surprise at a time now, shall we?”

With this said, Hiroshi came to a stop in front of a small den opening, motioning his head in the general direction of the cave to which the friends had halted at. Looking proudly, Hiroshi’s tawny frame disappeared as he entered the den with no hesitation, poking his head back outside as he stated in an inviting tone.

”Well, come on in, don’t look so confused. This is the surprise I was talking about.”

Moving back inside the quaint den, Hiroshi made his way towards the back of the cave, giving plenty of room for his three feline friends to join him in the comfortable looking abode. Waiting till they were all together once again, Hiroshi stated in a pleased fashion.

”So, what do you all think? You are now standing in our, yes I said OUR new den.”