[Closed] Kopa's Captivity

[AustralianChaos]

Planning Thread found here.

Backstory: When Zira drives Simba's young son, Kopa, away from the Pridelands, he is found near-death and taken to a strange human enclosure...where he meets up with a pride of lions living within the enclosure...

Characters:
Kopa: KiarasMate
Tanga: AustralianChaos
Heshima: YFWE
Marini: The Whistlerify
Shani: Mike
Grunge: SnowyCheetah
Arria: BlitzRogue
**Unnamed**: Nakisisa (will be updated when character profile is completed)

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Tanga was woken from his half-sleep by the strange whirring and grinding sound that by now was part of his everyday life in this strange, grey-walled land. Stretching and yawning, he slowly got to his feet as padded lazily down from his favourite place in the land he ruled over...a small hill that rose up against one of the strange walls of his land, a hill that, while small, still gave him an almost completely unobstructed view of the lands, from one side of the large enclosure to the other.

But Tanga grew puzzled as he made his way towards the nearby source of the sound...a gateway in the wall, used by the strange, furless monkeys that roamed the lands outside his domain to access this place from time to time...and to give them their twice-daily food supply.

It was the last point that had Tanga confused, as he looked up to the sky, guageing the time of day. They've already given us the morning meals, he thought, and it's too early for the evening meal...so what are they doing?

As Tanga neared the gateway, he moved a little more cautiously, knowing that, on a rare occasion, the creatures would capture one of his pride and take them away for a time; anywhere between a couple of hours to a few days, and then bring them back...Tanga himself had been taken away on a couple of occasions.

But when he reached the gateway, it had already closed, and there was a small, still body lying a short distance in front of it. Tanga quickly realised that it could not have been their latest meal...one small animal was not enough to feed his enitre pride, despite it being rather small in itself.

It was only when Tanga reached the creature's side that he realised what it was: It was a lion cub...and it was still alive, if unconscious.

Tanga looked up at the gateway in front of him, frowning. On the odd occasional the creatures would bring in another lion, and without fail, at least in the few months Tanga had been leader of the pride, Tanga would bring them in...they had nowhere else they could go, anyway, even if they wanted to. but it had been some time since the last addition had arrived, and Tanga had begun to suspect that there would be no more 'additions' to his pride, aside from the cubs the current members produced and raised.

Tanga took a quick moment to inspect the young cub. Judging by the general physicality...along with the tuft of a brown mane hanging over the cub's forehead, an odd trait for such a young cub, it was definitely a male. The golden fur shone in the midday sunlight, with the usual paler undertones on the belly and muzzle.

But before Tanga could do much else, two things happened. The young cub began to stir, causing Tanga to take a startled step backward, just in time for a sound behind to make him turn around. He did not immediately see anything, and as such turned back to the young cub before him, giving his shoulder a small nudge in an attempt to help him wake up.

"You awake, kid?" he asked softly, hoping that the cub would not be too startled by his relocation...adapting to life in the enclosure was always a little difficult.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini woke up a few moments after her dad. She was mostly used to him not being in the den already when she woke up. She would mostly run off leaving her mother worried when she woke up after her, but she decided to look for her dad. She loved playing with her dad and annoy him, he was almost never angry with her.

Walking outside of the den Marini looked at the sun which was already by the center of the sky, it wasn't often she woke up late and missed the morning meal. Strtching her back legs a little she began running up a hill to try and find her daddy. She was always happy, a playful smile always filling her face.

Standing up the hill she could see her dad by the far gateway. She turned and began running off to her dad. While runing along one of the walls she noticed one of them creatures who used to bring them the food supply twice a day. She didn't really know what they were, she never came into close contact with any of them. Whenever they took someone from the pride away for a short period of time, it didn't concern her much, she was used to it already. But she didn't feel like being taken away from her parents, even for the shortest amount of time.

Approaching her dad closely, not seeing the un-conscious cub laying down infront of him, she ran quietly and jumped onto his back, laughing slightly as she sat down on his mane. "Daddy!" she said smiling, still not noticing the cub who was just brought in.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga jumped as a weight landed deftly on his back, before the happy cry he knew all too well told him who it was jumping him. "Hey, Rini!" he laughed, jumping around a bit for his daughter's amusement, before dropping onto his belly so his leg's weren't carrying the new weight, even if Marini wasn't the biggest lioness around.

"Does your mother know you're up?" he asked, looking up at his black mane, where he could feel Marini sitting, and flashed a smile that clearly said: Don't bother lying, I already know the answer.

Despite his certainty that his mate had no idea their daughter had run off again, Tanga could not help but smile. His daughter had always been, from the moment she could walk, a free spirit. She went her own way, without any regard for how worried her parents would be for her when she went missing again. But, in a way, Tanga understood...and with the walls surrounding his land, Tanga was never truly fearful for his daughter's safety.

"So," he said, looking up at his mane once more, where his daughter was still hiding. "What adventures have you got planned today, hmm?"

[TheWhistlerify]

"I didn't plan anything." Marin said, still smiling. What she mostly did was run off in the sealed up lands and worry her parents, but she began getting tired of doing the same things all the time, she would always be out untill it was time for the evening meal, then she would try to run off as they parents told her to go to bed.

It was always quite the same every day. But still she was happy with her life. "Daddy..." she said cuddling in his mane, "play with me.", still not noticing Kopa who opened his eyes

[KiarasMate]

Run, just keep on running! Kopa had thought to himself as he had fled from The Pride Lands with the sounds of zira’s voice ringing mockingly in his ears.

Driven by pure fright and having no other option, this is precisely what the young cub had done. Kopa had ran in no particular direction as his only goal was to escape from the torment of Zira and her constant threats. Being extremely young and impressionable, the crafty lioness had easily manipulated the young cub’s mind and had forced him to flee from the place he had once called home. Having no idea where he was going or whether or not he’d ever find his way back to his family or Pride Rock, Kopa had ran until his body gave in to utter exhaustion, rendering the poor defenseless cub unconscious and alone in a very unforgiving land.

Several times over since he had blacked out, Kopa imagined many different things, from the unrelenting tone of Zira’s hateful voice, to his parents mournful cry in his absence. Among these thoughts however, strange visions of creatures he had never even encountered before, drifted through his thoughts. These hairless beings, who spoke a language that was vastly beyond recognition for the young lion cub, seemed to be overly curious about him for some reason or another. Their touch felt foreign, yet still gentle in a way and their scent was peculiar to say the least.

As the familiar feeling of earth beneath his body reached him, the collage of images from his memory started to dissipate as the young male’s eyes slowly parted, meeting with the bright sunlight for the first time in weeks it seemed. As Kopa’s vision steadied itself, the youngster quickly began to take in his current surroundings. It felt as though everything he had just imagined was merely a dream and maybe perhaps it was. Everything seemed normal once again, as the panorama around him appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary at first glance. Tilting his head to one side, Kopa seemingly caught sight of the lion who had moments ago, coaxed him into consciousness, or so it appeared to Kopa. Still taking in everything as a whole however, Kopa’s body refused to react properly, even after hearing the unknown male’s inquiry. Staring blankly at him with innocent looking eyes, Kopa struggled to compose himself as reality gradually began to set in.

It wasn’t until the appearance of another lion cub, who had clambered atop the much larger male in question, came into view, did Kopa’s natural instincts finally kick in. Scrambling to his tiny paws, Kopa attempted to back up in order to distance himself from the two foreigners. His efforts were quickly diminished though as the hatch that he had formally been deposited into where he was at through, now blocked his only escape. Beginning to feel panic setting in, Kopa’s eyes darted from side to side, looking for any opportunity to flee. He dared not take his eyes off the intimidating male in front of him though as he met with the black maned lion’s blue orbs. Finding only one other solution to his woes, Kopa did the only thing he could think of as his small body collapsed to the ground before curling itself into as tight of a defensive ball as was possible. Still unable to vocalize any words, the only sounds that emanated from the distraught cub’s muzzle were muffled whimpers as his body visibly trembled from just how scared he truly was.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga smiled up at his daughter, and was just about to agree to his daughter's request when he saw the young cub before him move. He turned to face to young cub as he clambered to his feet with remarkable speed, before backing up against the gateway he had just come through.

Tanga sighed as he took in the cub's behaviour, including the trembling body, the wide eyes and the ear flattened against his head. He was absolutely terrified, and Tanga did not blame him in the slightest. He remembered how scared he had been when he had first arrived here, and he had reached maturity by that time as well.

But when the cub curled himself up into a small ball against the cold metal of the gateway, Tanga knew he had to do something. This cub was far more frightened than any other new lion he had seen before. Remembering his daughter, he quickly, but gently, rolled his head so that she was forced to hop off. "Stay here," he commanded, his tone suddenly serious. He normally did not act like this with his daughter, but he was the leader of this enclosure, and as such, he had responsibilities. He had to make sure this cub learned to fit in.

Turning away from Marini, hoping that, for once, she listened. Tanga turned back to the curled-up ball fo fur in front of him, his heart tearing itself to shreds when he heard to cub's whimpers. He always loved cubs, and seeing one in such distress was hard for him. "Shh," he whispered softly, putting as much calm and friendliness into his voice as he could possibly manage. "It's okay...I'm not going to hurt you...no-one's going to hurt you."

He quickly decided that the best way to help the cub would be to divert his attention away from his sudden change of location. "My name is Tanga," he said, keeping his friendly, peaceful tone. "What is your name?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini suddeny noticed the terrified cub infront of her. She decided to take her father's serious tone and listen to him this time, it wasn't often he talked to her this way. Looking at the scared cub she began wondering, where was he from, when was he brought in, and who was he. She walked a little towards them, but kept her distance as her father told her to.

[YFWE]

She's run off again, the sleek, cream-colored adult lioness thought as she yawned and rose to all fours for the first time that morning. She had had a pleasant sleep, as she most often did. Her mate, Tanga, was often an early riser, waking long before her, but only occasionally was the couple's young daughter, Marini, gone when she awoke.

Heshima did not mind much, though. She never really had. After all, their daughter was such a mischievous soul; attempting to contain her beyond reasonable bounds was certainly out of the question. That and, of course, they had little to fear where they resided. Heshima blinked, glancing up at the glaring morning sun while yawning again. It was a warm day, though not unfathomably hot. The perfect sort of day in their lands. Heshima was glad. She enjoyed these days. Not much to do but to lay in the sun, its rays bouncing vibrantly off her bright fur, as she reclined beside her mate and talked of whatever came to their minds.

It was a simple existence in which Heshima and the pride she lived as a part of resided. Far more easygoing than her past life, not that she despised her past. But this, this was the rest and relaxation that some only dreamed of. Some called it heaven. Others, intangible. Heshima simply called it home.

Heshima walked off from her cozy sleeping spot, stretching her slender limbs soundly as she shook off the previous night's sleep. Thoughts of her daughter popping back into her mind once more, she decided to head off to find her mate Tanga. Perhaps he had seen her. Perhaps Marini was there with him then. Either way, it was a casual gait that she took as she strode toward the other end of the enclosure, still blinking sleep out of her eyes.

The gateway was nearby. Lions of their pride often congregated there, perhaps in wait for food or perhaps other additions to their enclosure. Some of the strange-looking monkey-like creatures that Heshima knew to surround their enclosure occasionally came in through these gates. Perhaps this had been another one of those times.

And sure enough, it seemed like it had been at first. Or, at least, something was going on at the gateway. Heshima instantly recognized Tanga sitting, his back to her, facing the gate, his head cocked downward slightly. Marini stood nearby; Heshima could see her tail whipping back in forth as if in anticipation. Wonder what's the matter, Heshima thought as she neared her immediate family. Finally near enough for them to hear her voice if she chose to use it, Heshima called out softly.

"There you two are. I was wondering where you got off t--"

Heshima paused mid-phrase. She was shocked to find that there, sitting in front of Tanga was a small lion cub. It was small enough that it had been blocked from Heshima's view by Tanga when she had first approached.

The lioness blinked. A new lion cub had been added to their pride. This was most certainly not a problem; in fact, it had been so long since any new additions had been made to their enclosure that Heshima almost welcomed it. Still, this moment was full of much debate in the mind of Heshima as she stalked up to the scene and took a seat beside Tanga. Where had the cub come from? What was his story? Why was he here? Was he going to be a good cub? They had gotten lucky before with outsiders being quite pleasant and altogether good creatures. She hoped that this would be no different.

"Hello there, sweetie," whispered Heshima, trying to match the reassuring tone that she had heard Tanga give. "Don't be shy, now. We're your friends now." She added a reassuring, gentle look to her countenance at this, hoping to soothe the quaking cub, who seemed quite frightened by the situation he had been put in.

[KiarasMate]

Maintaining his defensive position, Kopa’s ears twitched sporadically as the strange male’s voice once more, filtered into his hearing. As kind of a tone as it was, the traumatized cub couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with him as he continued to whimper pathetically. While the black maned lion’s words were reassuring in the fact that he didn’t seem aggressive, Kopa’s past experiences with Zira clearly had left a bitter taste in his muzzle and trust wasn’t something that would come easily for the young male. Staying mute for several minutes longer, Kopa finally built up enough courage to peek out from below one of his fore paws that were currently shielding his face from the others. Glancing upwards towards the large male who was apparently known as Tanga, Kopa studied his facial features and posture to try and gauge what exactly this unfamiliar lion might have planned regarding himself. Recalling his father’s words however, that it was rude to ignore ones elders, regardless of the given situation, Kopa’s small muzzle eventually managed to formulate a response as the shaken cub spoke up in a timid voice.

”M…My name? My name is…Kopa Sir….”

Having fielded his company’s question, Kopa hastily returned himself back to curling his body up once more. In the back of his mind, the young lion prayed that this was all just a dream and at any moment, he’d wake up, surrounded by the loving faces of his mother and father. Little did Kopa know that the lands he once knew, were miles and miles away and the prospects of returning there were obsolete. Still, refusing to come to terms with what his own eyes were showing him, Kopa tried in vein to cast away the reality he had been given as he waited to hear what Tanga might say next, or better yet, if he would wake up from what was turning out to be quite an unwanted dream, turned all too real.

Much to Kopa’s surprise, another voice gradually became audible, causing the defensive cub to once again, open his eyes. Much to Kopa’s disappointment however, the view in front of him remained exactly the same as it had been previously. The only new addition to the sight in front of him now was yet another foreign face in the form of a cream colored lioness. Her voice seemed just as kind as Tanga’s had been, yet the fact that even more strangers were surrounding him now only added to the duress Kopa was already being put under. Beginning to realize though, that escape was out of the question and that he was thoroughly awake and not dreaming, the golden furred cub reluctantly uncurled his body as he stared up at the two large felines in front of him, as well as the younger looking cub who paced about in the background.

[AustralianChaos]

Kopa... Tanga forced his memory to hang onto the name as he tried to figure out how to get this terrified cub to calm down a little. Under normal circumstances, he would have requested not to be called sir...he might be the pride's leader, but he hated flashing titles around. But he gave the cub the leeway he really needed, and continued to focus on how to get him to calm down.

Then another voice sounded behind him, and Tanga turned around, smiling as he saw his mate, Heshima, approaching them. As she sat down by his side and also tried to comfort young Kopa, he gaves his love a quick nuzzle against her neck, silently greeting her.

But as he turned back to Kopa, his smile faltered. The cub had finally pulled himself from the tight ball he had formed until now, but that allowed Tanga to see the fear and uncertainty in his eyes, at levels beyond what any cub should have to endure. He was taking his relocation very hard.

Once again, he decided one of the first things he could do was to give out names, as a sign of trust. "It's nice to meet you, Kopa," he said, keeping his tone friendly and reassuring as he gestured a paw to his mate. "This is Heshima," and then he gestured to his daughter, taking the time to give her a small nod, giving her permission to come a little closer. "And this is Marini. We all live here." He decided it was probably best not to mention the rest of his pride just yet...that might scare Kopa even more. He also decided that asking where the cub came from was a bad move, considering how badly he was taking his relocation. No need to remind him of what he's lost, he thought.

"Are you hurt?" he finally asked. "Is there anything you need?" Tanga sat back, hoping the offer of assistance would help Kopa understand that there was nothing to fear here. The one thing Tanga did dread, however, was having to, at some point, tell the cub that this would be his new home, no matter what he wanted.