[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[KingKivuli]

Kivuli was just about to speak again when Kovu came up and order Kivuli off. He obeyed, standing up off Daxis on the opposite side to Kovu to limit his escape chances. Once Kovu was done ranting Kivuli had his say on the matter Kovu I know you the substitute leader here, but you placed Daxis in my care, at least give me enough damn trust to do it on my own without you looking over our shoulders. Its clear whatever is going on, is of great importance to him so I say whys top him

Kivuli looked down to Daxis and spoke in a calm manner Whatever it is you are doing, I will help you ok? It does not matter if its rain in the evening, or sunrise in the morning, we will work together, but under my ruling Kivuli then bent over and helped pull the cub to his feet

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During the small stampede Anga had dashed straight for the centre of the herd. Before the Zebra knew what was happening, on of them was down. The rest suddenly realised and started running away. Once they had cleared the area Anga began looking for Makali. The rain didn't help too much, reducing visibility a little bit. However Makali soon showed up in sight, and Anga promptly walked over

Makali what are you looking at? Did you get a kill? The was no response, so he kept walking over, till Anga saw what Makali did. A beautiful lioness laying on the floor not moving. Instantly Anga check to see if she was still alive. Thankfully she was, the only problem is what to do with her next. Anga was torn. Part of him wanted to run and leave while another wanted to help. At this point he didnt know hat to do

[KiarasMate]

Kopa had been waiting patiently for Rahina’s return as he had been lounging within the comfort of their quaint little den. Due to the constant pitter-patter from the rain outside, it made it near impossible to hear or see much of anything outside the dry confines to which he was currently cooped up within, however Kopa didn’t have to wait all that long before his beloved mate materialized out of the gloomy atmosphere, followed closely by Vitani, to whom Kopa was only partially familiar to. Rising to all fours as the two wet lionesses entered the abode, Kopa performed a polite bow before addressing Vitani in a respectful tone, as he had already learned that she was the brother of Kovu from his time spent within The Pride Lands thus far.

”Good evening Vitani. It’s nice to finally meet you directly. Please don’t let me get in the way between you and Rahina. If you two need to talk, go right ahead and do so.”

Feeling a tad uncertain on what exactly he should do next, Kopa toyed with the option of perhaps stepping outside the den to give the two lionesses a bit of privacy however, knowing that Rahina would probably forbid him from standing out in the rain on her behalf, Kopa thought better of this and decided to stay put. Seeing how his mate’s pelt was rather damp looking, Kopa’s more nurturing side showed as he moved in close to Rahina, pressing his warm body against hers in the hopes of making her feel a little more comfortable. Hoping not to be a bother, yet still wanting to dry out his precious lioness’ fur as best he could, Kopa tentatively began licking over Rahina’s back and sides to try and rid her of the rain water that still clung to her pelt. Not meaning to look as though he had any underlying motives for doing what he was, it probably still came off as looking as though he were trying to get on Rahina’s good side as he worked to dry her fur.

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Now that Vitani had left and she was free to do whatever suited her, zina took the opportunity to go foraging for herbs, despite the sudden downpour that had gripped the lands. Wandering through the rain was nothing out of the ordinary for Zina and she actually quite enjoyed the feeling of the rain water splattering against her snow white pelt. It was a soothing feeling in a way and knowing that some herbs only showed themselves during such weather, Zina hoped she would come across some useful material as she left The Private Waterhole, making sure to stay clear of Shani’s den as not to give Vitani any further inclinations about her and his relations, even though the former Outlander was no longer in sight. Zina made another mental note to speak with Shani in greater detail about what had transpired between her and Vitani, but for now, the crafty Shaman had other, more important matters to attend to.

Meandering through the soaked Grasslands, Zina’s travel conveniently brought her to where Kovu, Kivuli and another younger looking male to whom Zina herself was unfamiliar with, were currently stationed at. Slowing her pace as the distant figures of the three males came into focus, Zina hesitated on whether or not she should even get herself involved with whatever was happening between the trio. From the looks of things, it didn’t seem as though there was anything particularly wrong with the given situation, although not being able to overhear what was being spoken by the small group due to the rain fall around her, Zina played it safe and kept herself a fair distance away from the others. Figuring that the best thing to do right now, was to observe from afar, Zina casually acted as though she were looking through the vegetation around her, just to make it seem as though she wasn’t ease dropping upon the scene in front of her, even though that was her intention.

[SinChei]

Daxis was still pinned by kivuli and growled deeply in anger he stopped him his muzzle was wide open and he bared his tiny but razor sharp teeth. His darkbrown fur was soaked of water and some drips of water wept down his long fangs. The red maned cub knew this was his last chance this day to find Laini. Everything arounf Daxis was quiet he just herd the heavy rain falling down on the ground. Daxis haven't even noticed that he was on all his 4 paws and crying again looking towards kivuli with kovu in his back. It was a nicer offer Kivuli made him but he couldn't accept it. He promised Laini to tell no one of her plans of running away. He just could wait for the next day to begin and also then kivuli could follow him. For a short time the dark furred cub was thinking about leaving the pride but thoughts of Laini blocked this thoughts out. fortunally it as still raining heavily and his tears disappeared between the raindrops. His forarms were pulsating in Guilt and despair again if kovu and kivuli would not been around he would bite them or scratch them with his claws to abort the pulsating and the pain in his heart. But La.... he paused and could not say her name in front of both males YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING! Daxis turned around and started running along his den. The rain washed every last scent of Laini out of his fur. He was running in the darkest corner in his den and hoped kivuli would sleep in another one. Kivuli was the only Lion Daxis was afraid of. His red eyes were glowing in daxis mind and blocked the thoughts of laini he couldn't get his eyes out of his mind until he felt his forlegs pulsating again. Now he had the chance and turned his back to the entrance. He dug his teeth slowly into his pulsating forarms and groaned quietly. The pain made him feel better he punished himself for loosing Laini. He thought everything was his fault. Slowly the warm and red liuquid ran down his leg and blocked his affliction out. His whole body warmed up as he dug his claws in the same leg.
But the last thoughts of Laini did not want to go out of his mind.

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Makali got up on his paws when he herd angas voice but still looking towards the lioness who was laying in the wet grass. He turned his head to the bigger male and spotted blood on angas muzzle and relaxed. At least Anga killed an Animal what means merementa would not be so angry at all. Now knowing that Anga was watching him the rare furred cub went towards the lioness and poked her head with one of his tiny paws. Even if her fur was soaked of water her fur was beautiful. Makali remembered when his mother made his fur smooth like silk. It had been a long time until he was as clean as Laini. But his memorys were fading away when he noticed the big difference between this lioness and his mother, this lioness was very small and kind of weak and his mother was strong and big. Anga what shall we do? Makali sat down in front of lainis muzzle hoping she would be ok.

[Lodrill]

Laini had her eyes closed until Makali poked her. She opened her ocean blue eyes looked into the eyes of the cub before her mind followed the things that happened. She jumped backwards in a shock of having someone standing right in front of her so suddenly and looked around. She saw another lion in the direction the cub was looking at. A lion she never had seen before just like this cub. There was no guarantee that these strangers would not attack her due they even invaded the pride lands. Also they hunted without the approval of the king... so maybe they were rogues. Laini shivered from fear and the cold water in her pelt. She looked from the cub to the other lion and back and then slowly walked in a long bow around both of them ready to flee at any time.

[Mike]

Kovu hadn't been able to interject as Kivuli rudely ignored him to talk to Daxis, but as Daxis retreated into his den the two males were alone, and Kovu could say what had been on the tip of his tongue throughout the exchange.

"The whole reason you have this job, Kivuli, is that I don't trust you!" he shouted, almost losing his composure in the face of Kivuli's blunt, and pigheaded, and infuriating conviction in himself and in violence as his tool. "You showed up out of nowhere wanting to beat Simba to a pulp and take his place, you've been in more scuffles than a rhino with an attitude problem, and you don't seem to have a shred of respect for my position here. Well let me tell you something. I've earned my place in the pridelands just as thoroughly as you've earned your place as a misanthropic, friendless, blood crazed warrior beyond them! And if you don't respect that fact then maybe you'd be better off leaving my world and my family, and going back to yours!"

Kovu's speech had been rising in both pitch and volume throughout the tirade. The strain of his first day dealing with Kivuli and with Daxis and Laini earlier on were beginning to tell on him, and he was fed up with his pridemembers making life difficult for him. Now he dropped his head for a moment, and with a monumental effort he dragged together what was left of his self-control. "Look, I didn't mean all of that." Kovu said, being as truthful as he could. "Maybe this was a bad idea. Get through the night with him and I'll try to come up with something tomorrow."

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Vitani nodded informally to Kopa, not being too concerned with bowing all over the place, even in a first introduction. "Nah, it's not that kind of talk. We were just going to yak about the finer points of hunting or something." Vitani followed Rahina into the body of the den, and made herself comfortable.

"Rahina's sure picked up a few tricks." She said. "She used a nifty suffocation technique to finish off our prey this morning. Classic, sure, but you have to learn it from somewhere. I can't see you as being the student type though Rahina. Too independent, unless you're with Kopa of course." Vitani watched indulgently as Kopa and Rahina cuddled. She was used to such behavior from Kovu and Kiara, though she often teased Kovu about afterward. She got the feeling though that Kopa wouldn't receive this kind of mockery very well.

[KiarasMate]

Resuming his efforts to get Rahina’s pelt as dry as possible, Kopa casually listened to Vitani’s reassuring voice. He was glad that the matters that needed to be discussed between his beloved mate and her hunting partner weren’t of grave importance and the fact that Vitani didn’t seem to mind him being around eased Kopa’s thoughts indefinitely. Hearing Vitani’s comments about Rahina’s hunting skills, Kopa couldn’t help himself as he chimed in once the lioness in front of him had finished talking. Kopa never passed up an opportunity to feed his precious lioness’ ego, as he himself felt as though she deserved all the praise in the world for how amazing she truly was in his eyes.

”Hina’s the best hunter I know Vitani, no disrespect towards yourself of course though. Back in our oasis home, my precious Hina could catch anything, whether it be a simple warthog or a full blown buffalo. If it wasn’t for her flawless hunting abilities, I know I probably would have starved to death, even though Hina did try and teach me how to hunt on several occasions. I’m just not really cut out for that sort of thing I guess. Much too clumsy on the paws you see.”

Flashing Vitani an innocent smile, Kopa continued to lick through Rahina’s fur until the majority of the rain water had been removed from her pelt, leaving it as dry as could be, all be it a little damp from his own saliva. Satisfied with his efforts, Kopa gave his beloved mate a gentle nuzzle before moving back over to their sleeping pelt, leaving Vitani and Rahina alone for the most part so they could finish speaking to one another. Although he would have loved to stay by Rahina’s side for the remainder of the conversation, Kopa didn’t want to risk getting on his mate’s bad side from constantly fussing over her the way he had been lately due to her pregnancy. Hoping that giving Rahina a little bit of space to let her deal with whatever needed to be taken care of now would prove to show her that he still trusted her judgment on how far she could push her own body’s limits given her situation, Kopa retired himself back to resting his head upon his fore paws as he watched the two lionesses conversing in front of him, his eyelids beginning to droop ever so slightly from how late it was becoming. Refusing to fall asleep until Rahina was safely by his side once more however, Kopa stayed quiet as he waited for the business at paw to be concluded with.

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As she stood with her eyes averted down to the wet ground below her, Zina internally praised herself on making such a crucially correct choice as her swiveling ears picked up the sound of Kovu’s voice, which gradually cut through the heavy night air. From what she could pick up upon, the stand-in king was giving Kivuli an ear full and despite the short time she had been introduced to the grey furred male herself, Zina couldn’t help but to wonder just how much of what Kovu was saying, was true. While this thought intrigued the white furred lioness, another, more seemingly beneficial thought, popped into Zina’s mind as the echoing of Kovu’s voice slowly started to fade. Realizing that she’d have to work quickly if she were going to take advantage of the circumstances, Zina bid a hasty retreat as she made her way back towards the direction of Pride Rock, making sure to take as far of a trip around where Kovu, Kivuli and the still foreign male were positioned at.

Keeping as low of a profile as she could, which was thankfully easier to do under the cover of the torrential rain that was still beating upon the lands around her, Zina found a spot where she knew Kovu would most definitely pass by on his way back to The Main Den, which Zina figured would be his final stop for the night. Looking for a place to wait that wouldn’t make her appear as though she was intentionally waiting for him, Zina found a semi-dry spot just under one of the overhanging ledges that jutted out from Pride Rock itself. Giving her fur a quick shake to try and dry herself off a tad bit, Zina patted her herb pouch around her neck, just to make sure that no rain water had managed to seep into it. Pleased in the fact that none had, The white furred Shaman stayed put as she awaited Kovu’s presence, her yellow eyes remaining fixated upon the path in front of her, ensuring that she wouldn’t miss the king’s return.

[KingKivuli]

Kivuli gave chase to Daxis, leaving Kovu in the dust once again. Daxis was Kivuli's only chance to stay in the pride, and even if the cub did not realize it Kivuli was most likely his. As Kivuli dashed back to the den, mud and water coated his fur as it was kicked up with each lengthy stride back home. The journey didnt take too long. Kivuli arrived back at the cave to see Daxis hiding in the corner, clawing his own paw. Kivuli calmly walked over, and sat next to the cub. The warmth the cave provided was a welcome comfort to Kivuli and his drenched fur. He took the young lions paw gently off the bleeding leg and began to lick the wounds to clear them.

Once done Kivuli looked down and spoke in as calm a tone as possible There are two ways to deal with a loss. Blame yourself or get out there and try and do something. Trust me when I say the second option is always better, at least then you know you tried your best. Kivuli smiles and ruffled Daxis' mane Whatever it is your looking for we will both go looking tomorrow when the weather is better, i promise He then left the cubs side and went over the door to lay down, watching the entrance

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Anga watched as the young lioness looked confused and scared at the pair of males. He knew this could end bad if it went wrong. Anga needed to act fast so not to cause a scene. Woah take it easy were are not going to hurt you. We are just here to get some food for our pride. If you wish to go back to yours, be my guest and I hope you don't speak of us. Or if you really want you can come back with us and ill make sure you get a fair share of the meal Anga stood and waited for a response. He hoped she woudl coem with them. A female presence may help calm Merementa, but the wise lion would have to make sure his friend didnt have his way with her

[Lodrill]

Rahina gigled at Kopa's words but stopped as he left her side. A moment she threw a sad look after him but soon she turned to Vitani and smiled again. She did not like to show weaknesses and even less she wanted to call Kopa back. She was a bit sad that he left her side due his warm body had been the right thing after the exhausting walk in the rain. Rahina wondered herself why she was so exhausted from all this. Maybe the pregnancy got her and she really overdid it this day. Rahina thought a moment about telling Vitani about it but then Kopa would hear it also and she did not want to make him worry. Also Vitani told her just a moment ago that she had no experiences with being pregnant. Rahina wished for Nala to be here. She trusted the old lioness already and for Rahina she was like a big sister or mother who could tell her about this new situation.

Rahina shook off this thoughts and answered Vitani's question with her usual warm and soft voice.

"Oh, I had to learn it the hard way." she laughed and her black eyes were sparkling. "As a cub I had to teach myself all the basics of fighting and hunting and caring for myself. I had to care for myself alone until Kopa came for most of my life. This technic is one of the tricks I had to learn to survive in the jungle. It took me a fair amount of time until I mastered it though. But alone in the jungle there was only to learn quickly or die. But in the end destiny rewarded me with the most handsome and caring lion I could ever wish for." Rahina giggled and threw a melting glance towards Kopa.

"But I have to admit that I have to get used to hunting in a group. As long as I can think back I always hunted alone. In my cubhood when I had to get the food for all the other cubs in the jungle noone ever helped me. And there had been no adults so it was me who had to catch enough for all the others too. It was hard at the start and I did bring them small prey or grubs but soon I learned to catch enough for everyone to be satisfied." Rahina thought back to the times she had been a cub. It had been a very hard time. Her wound had not been fully healed but she had to hunt and bring in food. It had been the price for being accepted in the small pride of just cubs. Even if they never really liked her she soon had been strong and good enough to at least gain the respect of a good fighter and huntress. Then the rogues had come and killed all the other cubs and she had luckily survived. Saved by one of her secret passages that she had found.

"What is the training here in this land like? You normally hunt in bigger groups, aren't you? I will try to learn to cooperate better in the next days so that you can use me for the hunting party." even though Rahina said this she was starting to wonder if she really could keep this promise. She felt really exhausted right now and she knew she had overdone it this morning. Even the walk with Kopa had exhausted her more than it should have been normal and even now while she was resting she hardly got energy back but felt the energy running out of her body. She felt something moving in her belly. Without thinking she caressed her stomach to ease the pressing feeling a bit. Her cub seemed to be active at the moment. Maybe this was why she felt a bit exhausted.

---

Laini looked at the stranger a bit longer while she was thinking. She did not want to go back to Kovu and even if this strange lions seemed to be dangerous themself Laini did not feel that frightened from them than from Kovu. She could not return. That was what she thought. She left the pride land. It was not her affair if a pride would try to settle within this lands. That they seemed to be so easygoing here also showed that her picture of Kovu as being unable to lead this land was not that wrong.

Laini did not really want to stay so close to Kovu but considering the hard rain and the opportunity to get something to eat without having to hunt was very tempting. Laini knew that she was a terrible huntress or rather noone ever taught her how to hunt so she did know nothing about it. SHe was lucky to get some food for free.

"O...o..okay...." her soft and silent voice nearly was blown off by the rain soaked wind. This lion did not look that bad on the second look. At least he was being friendly and not threatening her.

[Mike]

Rahina's fatigue was far from broadcasted. In fact she hid it remarkably well, but Vitani had spent her entire life around outlanders that had to force themselves to be strong even in the face of hunger and deplorable hunting conditions. Vitani had even been able to pick up when Zira was putting on a false show of strength, though her mother seldom had to resort to such trickery. Vitani could see the energy flowing out of Rahina by the minute, and knew that she'd have to recharge soon. It was slighty disconcerting to see the powerfully built lioness strained from a quick morning hunt and a day's relaxation, and Vitani resolved never to have a cub. Or at least, she amended, never while she was part of the hunting party.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Rahina." Vitani said in a cautionary tone of voice. "You did well this morning, but I don't think I'll be bringing you along with the rest of the hunting party until you're pregnancy has passed. It's a demanding job, and you'll have to be at your best before you can learn to hunt with us. The hunting party is only as strong as it's weakest member after all. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you in the coming days. You should get to know the rest of the pride. Even a mate like Kopa can't fill every waking hour for days on end." she added with a wink in his direction. "I won't take any more of your time."

Truth be told, Vitani was feeling slightly uncomfortable with the couple. She knew that she wouldn't want to be seen in a state as vulnerable as Rahina's if she were in her position, and as much as Kopa looked like Simba, he was quite frankly a pale shadow of Simba's power, authority, and assurance.

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Kovu spat some rainwater that had made it into his mouth on the ground with undue vehemence, and resolved to let Kivuli know that he wasn't to turn his back on him the next time they met. his mood suiting the weather, Kovu plodded sulkily across the pridelands, feeling the ground become squishy under his paws as the rain turned the prideland dirt and dust to thick mud under his paws. He wondered where he had gone wrong in his day that seemed to have started out so brightly. It had been a long day, and Kovu was frankly spent, if not physically at least mentally. He found himself grumbling to himself about Daxis, Kivuli, and even Simba for leaving him alone in this predicament with no support.

[KiarasMate]

Laying like a sphinx, Kopa casually listened to the exchange of words being passed between Rahina and Vitani, his ears swiveling every now and then to pick up upon every little detail that was being spoken. Adopting a fond smile from the flattering comment that left his beloved mate’s muzzle in regards to him, Kopa purred quietly as his gaze shifted from lioness to lioness. Feeling his smile growing larger internally as he heard Vitani’s remark about Rahina’s future plans with The Hunting Party, Kopa couldn’t help but to feel slightly relieved himself, knowing that his mate would at least be able to relax for the rest of her pregnancy. This was just yet another benefit of pride life and one that Kopa was most thankful for given his mate’s current predicament. Sensing that the two feline’s conversation was coming to its conclusion, yet still not wanting to interrupt the proceedings in front of him, Kopa stayed put while he continued to wait for Vitani to actually take her leave as the anxious male anticipated being able to have more quality alone time with his one and only love in life. Clearly, having to share Rahina’s attention with others was still something Kopa was adjusting to, yet knowing how helpful Vitani had been thus far and seeing how Rahina herself seemed to show the utmost respect towards her, Kopa kept his manners about him as he laid where he was and waited for his precious mate to join him once again.

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Carefully slipping her herb pouch from around her neck, Zina silently began to rummage through its contents, her yellow orbs focusing upon one small clump of mixed herbs in particular. Gently pinching two of her paw toes around the odd concoction, the crafty Shaman gingerly removed a very small amount of the substance from her pouch before hastily bundling it back up and re-securing it back around her neck. Holding the precious formula in between her paw digits, the white furred lioness stared hopelessly through the pouring rain, looking for the first signs of movement. Fortunately for Zina, she didn’t have to wait long before a dark figure began to emerge off in the distance.

Squinting her eyes to try and decipher just who she had spotted, Zina smirked thoughtfully to herself as her suspicions were quickly confirmed. It was indeed, Kovu who she had sighted. Quickly going over her roughly thought out plan over again in her mind, the white furred lioness knew that she would have to act swiftly and precisely if everything were to work out just right. Taking a deep breath, Zina darted out from where she was sitting moments ago, the herbs still being clenched in her paw toes as best they could be. Coming at Kovu from an angle so that he would obviously be blindsided by her, Zina braced herself for impact as she calculated her movements accordingly. Seizing the chance, Zina lowered her head as if to look as though she weren’t paying attention to where she was going as her smaller body collided directly into Kovu’s, causing the two felines to momentarily stumble before collapsing into a pile together upon the wet grass below.

Letting out a surprised sounding gasp, Zina quickly picked herself up from atop Kovu’s body, her fore paw brushing through his mane in the process. Keeping her eyes fixated upon his every movement, Zina silently cursed herself as she noticed that her paw had missed it’s target. Instead of planting the herbs closer to Kovu’s cheek like she had planned, the small mixture had all but disappeared into the male’s thick mane. Having no time to correct her mistake though and needing to apologize for her seemingly innocent looking actions, zina fell back into her usual facade as she fussed over Kovu while exclaiming in an apologetic voice.

”Oh, I’m so sorry King Kovu. I wasn’t looking where I was going. I just got caught up in the sudden rain while I was out looking for herbs and was in such a hurry to get back to my den. I hope I didn’t hurt you and I’m terribly sorry once again.”

Performing a quaint bow to Kovu, seeing that he wasn’t phased or upset from her clumsy actions, Zina hurriedly took her leave as if she were being true to her word and wanted to get back to her den as quickly as possible to escape from the rain. Once she was out of earshot from Kovu, Zina openly cursed to herself as she knew she had failed in her attempt. Having planned to apply the chosen herb mixture on or around Kovu’s muzzle, knowing that the male’s natural instinct would be to lick away the rain water from his face and knowing that he had fallen in the grass due to his collision with the white furred Shaman, this would mask any doubt that might cross Kovu’s mind if he were to discover the concoction upon his fur, as it simply looked like any bit of foliage to the untrained eye.

Having her plan to get Kovu sick so she could be called upon to cure his ailment, a plot she had used many times to gain favor with various pride leaders, foiled now, Zina figured that she would have to try another method to get into this pride’s good graces, or so it seemed for the time being. There was no way Kovu would ingest the herbs now and even though the mixture was probably still present within his mane, there was no chance of him actually licking over it himself. Arriving back at her den, Zina hastily gave her snow white pelt a thorough shaking before retiring herself to the dry confines of her small abode for the rest of the night.