[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[Mike]

"Kind of you to say so." Shani said with a raised eyebrow as he left the den with Zina. They set off down Pride Rock and back in the direction of the private waterhole and the guest dens that dotted it's borders. Shani was a little unsure of Zina's demeanor. It was a very unexpected thing for her to have said to Kovu in those parting words, and Shani decided that it was easiest to make sense of this development by taking it as a mild insult, with Zina once again trying to get under his skin.

"And did you pick this up from your time with me so many years ago, or have you reevaluated since then? Maybe you've been staring into my soul with your magnificent Shaman Powers." Shani's voice left little doubt on the matter of his actual opinion of her shaman powers. While Zina had proven herself in the past, it was clear that Shani didn't see Zina's position as a shaman as a reason to accord her any respect above and beyond that which he gave any lioness. That is to say, very little, unless it suited him.

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Kovu watched the two lions depart with slight apprehension. Zina reminded Kovu somewhat of his own sister, and though he trusted and loved Vitani, he wasn't sure that he could deal with two of them, not to mention Shani and the others. Still, Kovu was reasonably pleased with his fist real judgment as King. He even told himself that Simba would have handled the situation in pretty much the same way. Now, mindful of the fact that his judgment was needed on the issue of Daxis's behavior the previous night, Kovu got up and made his way over to Kiara and Taraji who seemed to have just gotten through their first solid meal together.

"Hey there little one," Kovu said genially to Taraji. "good for you getting into the good old meat like the rest of us. I've got to go run a little errend, but I'll be back soon alright?" Kovu knew that Kiara would understand what he was talking about, and didn't see the need to trouble Taraji with any details on the matter of fights or punishments. "I'll be back as quick as I can love." Kovu said with a nuzzle.

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As Rahina made her careful and calculated way into position, Vitani did the same, though she kept a close eye on Rahina's progress so as not to lose the other lioness in the grass. Vitani had to admit that Rahina was doing a very good job of concealing her bulk. Before Vitani was fully in position she sensed that the herd had become uneasy, picking up on Rahina's scent and knowing that danger was nearby. Fortunately they were still completely unaware of which direction that danger would be coming from, as Vitani's own scent was blowing downwind away from her targets.

Vitani had just settled into a slight natural depression that should hide her from the eyes of the herd until the very last moment when the buffalo began to paw the ground nervously. She held her breath, observing every movement of the animals, waiting for the precise mixture of uncertainty and fear that would lead them to flee before Rahina's advance rather than turn their horns against her hunting partner en masse. The tension grew in Vitani's body, and she heard one buffalo call out in fear and anxiety. As the distress in that call rippled through the herd Vitani decided that the time was right. She caught Rahina's eye and nodded, not making any sudden moves that would lead the buffalo to pick up on her position. It was time to begin the hunt in earnest.

[Lodrill]

Taraji, still her muzzle, paws, forelegs and chest covered with the spilled blood, rolled on her paws and rushed to Kopa. "Can I come with you?" the small voice called out for him. She snuggled against his paw and smiled up to her foster father.

[hr][/hr]

Rahina also noticed that the wind has changed and the buffalos picked up her scent. As she got Vitanis signal she tensed up her muscles, pierced her claws deep into the ground and with a loud roar that rolled over the plains she jumped out of her hiding and dashed towards the buffalos. She hooked a few times to cut the angle even more down so that the buffalos could only flee into the direction of Vitani. The anxious buffalos reacted very fast and started to flee like Rahina has anticipated. Rahina had her claws retracted again as she ran after the herd. She was not used to running with them extracted. She kept her eyes on the two buffalos that she had spotted earlier. The limbing buffalo still was in the middle of the herd but the wounded young buffalo ran at the edge. It was slightly slower than the others and Rahina directed her steps near the location of the young buffalo while still keeping an eye on the herd to not let it break out.

The got to the point where Vitani was hiding and Rahina waited for Vitani to move. If the herd would slow down she would dash and jump on the back of the wounded buffalo. Else she would just try to chase the herd away from the position of Vitani to ensure her safety.

[KiarasMate]

Traveling alongside shani until they were clearly out of earshot from anyone within the vicinity of Pride Rock, Zina suddenly burst out into hysterics as she hugged her sides with her fore legs and fell to the ground, her raspy laughter filling the air as she struggled to speak to Shani in between fits of giggles.

”Oh…that’s too rich! Haha! The once GREAT Shani! Reduced down to taking orders from a younger male! Oh, it hurts! Too funny!”

Looking utterly amused by what she had just witnessed back at Pride Rock, the white furred lioness gazed up at Shani from where she was laying, tears visible in her eyes from just how hard she had been laughing. Wiping a fore paw across her eyes to clear her vision as she tried to compose herself a bit, Zina picked herself off of the grass and grinned toothily towards Shani, hearing his sarcastic comment which didn’t seem to have much effect upon her mood as she was enjoying herself way too much at Shani’s expense. Finally getting all of the laughter out of her system, the white furred Shaman addressed her old acquaintance in a mock genuine voice.

”Oh, need I prove myself to you somehow Shani? Go ahead, ask me whatever you’d like. I have nothing to hide, especially to the likes of you. You probably are wondering why I’d even choose to stay in a place like this and believe me, I typically would have opted to pass on such an offer, but knowing that you’re here and having the prospects of watching you squirm under the rule of your inferior, that being Kovu, I think I’ll stick around for as long as I can. At least, until things grow dull for me here. Now, be a dear and show me to my den Shani.”

Adopting a sly smile, as it was apparent now that she didn’t need to gain any favor on Shani’s behalf, as he himself obviously wasn’t in the best of graces in Kovu’s eyes, the crafty Shaman took full advantage of her new found digs as she continued to walk beside Shani as if she didn’t have a care in the world now.

=========

Smiling over at her mate and daughter, Kiara gave a nod to Kovu as she stated in an understanding manner.

”Of course Honey. Take your time and it would be nice if you and Cutie bonded today. Maybe having her with you will make it easier to deal with Daxis and I know she’ll be safe with you. Might want to clean her up a bit though.” Kiara stated, giving a lighthearted giggle from the way Taraji seemed to be magnetized to Kovu’s fore leg.

[Mike]

Vitani lay in wait, all but invisible to the panicking buffalo, and admired the way that Rahina aimed the entire herd towards her so that she could take her pick. Rahina probably expected her to go for a younger target, or maybe an older one instead, but Vitani was up for an even bigger challenge. The herd was almost upon her, thundering hoofs threatening to trample her if she stayed hidden much longer. She waited until the last possible moment then broke cover and dove headlong into the bulk of the herd itself. She twisted through the sea of animals like water running through blades of grass, her every nerve on fire. Her eyes darted back and forth, locking onto each approaching buffalo for a fraction of a second, just long enough for her to evaluate it as a target and get out of it's way.

When much of the herd had passed her by, Vitani made her move. She chose a large male, probably a veteran of many years on the Savannah. It's horns were mangled from some terrific battle, with one nearly completely torn off and the other slightly shortened. Vitani abandoned her evasive maneuvers and charged the animal head on, letting out a fierce roar. The veteran was quick, faltering only a moment before tucking it's chin down and charging back. As the buffalo slowed down in surprise though, Vitani abandoned her charge and swung around behind him, digging every last millimeter of her claws into the ground to turn almost on a dime. Before he recovered Vitani launched herself into the air and onto the animal's back. She sunk her claws into his shoulders and hindquarters and held on tenaciously as he tried to shake her off. She bit down on the back of his neck once, twice, and blood began to flow.

Most of the herd had escaped by now, leaving Vitani and the animal locked in deadly combat. Vitani couldn't inflict enough damage through the male's thick hide to bring it down quickly and was now counting on Rahina to join the attack. She bit down again, and knew that blood loss would weaken him. Now it was a contest of endurance, to see whether the animal could shake Vitani off before it lost the strength to continue.

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Kovu looked down at Taraji with a loving smile. It was so nice to know that his adopted cub wanted to spend time with him. He nodded at Kiara's suggestion, happy to respond to the little one's wish. "Okay, sounds good." Kovu said, feeling better about his little mission already. "You're right about the little wash though, come here you."

Kovu lay down and gently snatched Taraji up, depositing her in his arms, and his tongue extended to give a few good wipes wherever he noticed patches of spilled breakfast. "You're pretty tasty today Taraji," he said with laughter in his voice, "you need to eat meat more often!"

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"What a display." Shani said, continuing on when the lioness had spent herself on the ground. "You've gotten dust all in your fur. A lioness as white as you needs to stay off the ground or else look like she's been trapped in a sandstorm all day." In truth Zina's coat wasn't as bad as all that, but Shani needed something to say in response. Even so, Shani's mind was now again perfectly clear on Zina's behavior, and that was one good thing at least he noted to himself wryly, even if it cost a blow to his pride.

"You're right of course," he said, continuing on Zina's train of thought, "I should have wrung his neck the moment his boss stepped out for the day. I'm sure that would endear me to the rest of the pride and secure my place. At least we're clear on one thing though, Kovu is my inferior. It's nice to be thought of so highly."

[Lodrill]

Rahina watched Vitani jumping out of her hiding and targeting an old buffalo. Rahina did not really understand why she had chosen this animal. The old ones were not even close as tasty as the younger ones and harder to catch. But maybe she wanted to show off a bit. Rahina did not care. The herd slowed down slightly and she saw her chance. She dashed towards the young male with the wound that, inexperienced as he was, stopped to look for the old buffalo that got attacked. Rahina first slamed her claws into his legs while she passed him to slow his running speed down. Then she jumped atop of him, bit into his neck and let herself fall down to the side to bring him to fall. She succeed in that but a the same time she noticed in the corner of her eye that Vitani had some problems with her pray. The safety of the lioness was far more important as this catch and so she let off the young buffalo that limped away after the herd.

Rahina ran back to the place where Vitani was fighting with the old buffalo. She was a bit exhausted from all the running but still had enough energy for the fight. Carefully she approached the fighting animals and in a slit of a second where the horns moved to the side to strike Vitani Rahina found the neck in front of herself. She sank her sharp teeth into the meat in the neck. From her experience she knew that this would not harm the buffalo enough to bring it down. Vitanis struggling was the best example for that. Instead of trying to wear it out while riding the buffalo Rahina brought in her old hunting strategy.
Bring the pray to fall and then suffocate it.
Rahina needed three attempts where she was swinging back and forth from the throat of the buffalo. Then with one last swing she managed to bring it off balance. Well of cause the claws of her hind legs that pierced into the leg of the buffalo and ripped a big wound into it helped with that. The buffalo nearly crashed on Rahina but she managed to jump away in time.
Not enjoying the moment of the triumph she continued with her bloody work. The throat was too strong for closing it with her jaw. Rahina knew that also from her hunt with Kopa. There was only one way to bring a buffalo down.

Rahina rammed the claws of her fore paws into the head of the buffalo right behind the horns and her teeth sank deep into his cheeks while she closed her muzzle around the nostrils and muzzle of the buffalo. The weakest muscle of a buffalo where the muscles that were moving it's head to the side and it would not be able to stand up as long as she would hold the head of the buffalo linear to the ground or even face it to the sky.
Rahina put all her weight into the action. With the advantage of the moment of surprise that was still with Rahina she used her body to turn around the head. With a jold it faced towards the sky. Rahina could see the white in the eyes of the buffalo that knew that it was trapped. Rahina needed all her strenght and weight to keep the head in position and her muzzle closed over the nustrils to suffocate the buffalo. Her body lay cross over the throat of the buffalo and her hind legs pushed against the shoulders of the bigger animal to hold against it's tries to move it's head. A bit worried Rahina's eyes moved to Vitani. She could see her in the edge of her eye due she could not turn her head. With her muzzle cramped with the buffalo's she also could not ask if Vitani was okay. So Rahina just lay there feeling how the energy ran out of the body of the buffalo with any second and it's attempts to break free that got weaker every time.
Rahina was breathing hard through her own nostrils due this buffalo was strong and even caught at it's weak point and unable to move it's head it tried to strugle and free itself. But the movements of the hoofs that could not reach Rahina and the strenght of the head that tried to pull away became weaker and the actions of the buffalo wore it out even faster because it could not breath.

[KiarasMate]

Grinning deviously from what Shani had told her, Zina adopted her typical false attitude as she replied in a jezebel like manner.

”Aww, Shani actually cares about what I look like? Well, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when the day comes that I actually give a damn about what you think about me Shani. Besides, what do you care anyways, hmm? Not like I’m your type or nothing’ now am I? Come to think of it, I bet no lioness is your type, aye?” Zina stated in a joking fashion, although she had no prior knowledge to his interaction with Caine at this point.

Hearing Shani’s next comment, Zina couldn’t help but to smirk in an amused manner as she once more, addressed her company in a more civil tone as they continued along their way.

”Oh, don’t get me wrong Shani, I remember the power you once wielded. It’s just amazing to see you reduced to such a state now. I guess losing your entire pride really took its toll on you.” Figuring that she could at least have a bit of fun stirring up conflict between her old acquaintance and Kovu, Zina pushed the issue further as she recalled the memories of the short time she had spent in Shani’s pride. ”The last memory I have of you was when I came to treat your sick members for the last time and you still had me grovel at your paws before you’d even let me tend to them. You demanded such respect and now look at you. Nothing more than a patsy to a king whose not even your equal in any way, shape or form.

Falling silent to let her words sink in, Zina scanned Shani’s face for any signs of animosity that might arise from what she had stated, her tail flicking thoughtfully behind her as her ears twitched in a curious fashion, a clear indication that she was enjoying herself immensely as she waited for a response from the former king.

[Lodrill]

Taraji giggles as Kovu cleaned her. She put her head in her neck so that he could reach her throat better. She really enjoyed it to be bathed.

[Mike]

Vitani lay on the downed buffalo, fighting it’s weakening attempts to escape Rahina's powerful grip. Vitani admired the effectiveness of Rahina's use of the classic suffocation technique. Within moments the Buffalo stopped struggling and lay limp. Vitani sat atop the buffalo, breathing heavily for a moment as her adrenaline rush faded, and the thrill of the hunt left her lying exhausted on the dead animal. She finally extracted her claws from their place lodged deep in the hide and now relaxed muscle. She rolled off the animal and plopped to the ground, a satisfied grin prominent on her face.

"Was that a blast or what?" she said having mostly caught her breath, though she continued to lie on her back, savoring the moment of the kill. "Look at the size of that guy, not even Kovu will be able to complain. Good hunt Rahina, you still seem perfectly sharp, pregnancy or not. Let's take a minute then bring 'er back to Pride Rock." Vitani gave her paws and face a cursory cleaning, but left the details to be sorted out later, preferably after a meal at the waterhole.

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"Dream on." Shani said with exaggerated disdain. "I may no longer be a leader of a pride with a list of lionesses to choose from, but I still have a few laps around the pride before I come to you" Shani didn't really feel the need to mention his experiance with Cain the previous night. The relationship was still in it's infancy and these things were delicate.

"I can still command respect without necessarily being the leader of the pride." Shani continued, supremely unruffled. "It's not for nothing that I was made one of the scouts in Simba's absence. Before long you'll be right back to where you were before. I notice there was a conspicuous lack of grovelling in front of Kovu. That coupled with your placing him below me and I gather that you're not very impressed with our king. I can't say that you're alone in that."

Leaving this to be taken by Zina however she pleased, Shani nodded into the near distance where the dens surrounding the waterhole were now visible. "You'll be given the use of one of those for as long as Kovu sees fit to let you stay here." he said.

[KiarasMate]

”You could say that Shani. Zina stated as she flashed him a sly grin. ”I just don’t think he’ll make that great of a king, especially if it’s that easy to get into his good graces. Didn’t even have to break a sweat there.”

Pretending to look hurt by what Shani had stated about his lack of interest in herself, Zina poured on the false charm as she batted her eye lids at her old acquaintance before replying in a coy tone.

”Oh, so I suppose there’s someone else you have your eyes set on, aye Shani? I seriously pity that poor soul though. I’m actually surprised that you don’t have a horde of lionesses beckoning to your every whim now though. Don’t you miss those good old days, hmm? Sure, they were just following orders and SURE, none of them probably had any true feelings for you, but still, must be a drastic change of pace to be on the outside, looking in now, huh?”

Halting near the distant figure of The Private Waterhole and the dens that surrounded it, Zina couldn’t help but to let an amused laugh escape her muzzle as she stated in disbelief.

”You’re kidding me right? They offer posh dens to anyone who comes through their lands with a winning smile and a can do attitude? Oh, I’ve truly stumbled upon a gold mine here, haven’t I Shani?”

Glancing over at Shani, as if she was waiting for him to move again, Zina twitched her ears and gave her tail a quick flick before stating in a thoughtful voice.

”Well? Aren’t you going to accompany me while I pick out a den? Kovu did instruct, nay, ORDER you to show me to my den, right? Well, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me until I’m happily situated in my chosen den Shani, so let’s get a move on already.” Seemingly grinning from ear to ear, Zina added in as she started to make her way towards the specified location. ”You know, we’re not all that different Shani, you and I. We both know what the real world is like outside these pretend walls that these soft hearted lions have made for themselves. It takes more than what these lions have, to survive on our own and we both know that. We’re not like them, nor do we choose to be. Keep that in mind the next time when you’re bending over backwards to please that Kovu fellow.”

[Lodrill]

"Thank you Vitani." Rahina smiled towards Vitani. She took the time while she had to catch her breath with bathing her paws and claws throughly. Dispite being rough looking Rahina ever had paid a lot of attention to her body and keeping it clean. As her breath calmed down enough to head back to pride rock she raised to her paws.

"Well, should we get going? I think they are already waiting for us." with that Said Rahina sank her fangs into the neck of the buffalo and moved her body under the one leg of him so that the neck lay over her body. It was easier to drag it this way. Rahina waited for Vitani to get ready to carry the animal to pride rock.