[Closed] Kopa's Captivity

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga slowly took in Kopa's short tale about the Pridelands, having to stop himself from heaving a heavy sigh at Kopa's mention of his parents. A prince! Tanga thought. A pride has just lost their prince! Now Tanga really felt sorry for Kopa. He had spent his life as an heir what sounded like a grand pride, and now...now he was going to be stuck here for the rest of his life...

Tanga pulled himself out of his thoughts as Kopa questioned him about the lack of animals, managing a smile at the question. The cub had good observation skills. For there were no other animals in the enclosure, aside from their pride. The occasional antelope or other animal was brought in as food, but it was always dead, so the pride never got a chance to hunt. Tanga tried to keep his skills sharp by joining his daughter in a playful game of tag, but he had been on hunts before he had been brought here, and knew that nothing anyone did in here could relate to same thrill one got as they caught their prey.

Tanga offered Kopa another small smile, trying to use the constant friendly gesture to help Kopa get used to this new place a little faster. "That's a good question, Kopa. And the answer is that there are no zebra, wilebeest, antelope...or any other animal here in this land. It is just my family, and our pride. Our food is brought to us by some strange creatures twice a day."

He quickly shifted topic back to his mention of his pride, knowing this would probably unsettle Kopa a little. "And before you ask, yes, there are more of us here. There are not too many more, but you do not have to meet them just yet if you don't want to."

It was at this point that Tanga, having not been aware of anything else aside from Kopa, completely missing Heshima's short departure, noticed his daughter trotting along right beside him, her eyes brimming with curiosity as she unashamedly eavesdropped on their conversation. He smiled down at his daughter, knowing that he was going to need to talk to her about giving Kopa his space soon. But not right now...he'd get Kopa settled in a bit first, and then talk to Marini.

But he could not resist giving his daughter one little figurative dig in the ribs...she just brought out that fun-loving, distinctly cubbish side of him. "Aren't you glad you had no adventures planned now, Rini?" he asked jokingly.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini was listening carefully, trying to learn as much as she could from the conversation. It was definate that the cub was used to living outside of the enclosure. But she felt like he'd get used to it at some point.

It was then when her dad digged his muzzle onto her ribs, "Daddy!" she laughed slightly as she jumped on him. Aren't you glad you had no adventures planned now, Rini? her father asked her, but she didn't quite understand. "You said you'd play with me..." she said cuddling in his mane

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga laughed as Marini nuzzled his mane, causing him to give her that loving look he reserved especially for her, nuzzling her back softly. "I know, sweetie...but Kopa is new here, and we have to look after him first."

But even as the words left Tanga's mouth, inspiration hit, and he suddenly had a plan that was a sure-fire way of not only helping Kopa ease into his new life, for today at least...but also keeping Marini in check until he could talk to her about taking it easy around Kopa.

He stopped walking for a moment so he could lean down to his daughter's face, whispering so only she could hear. "I'll tell you what: you behave yourself until we get Kopa settled back in our den for the day, and I'll play with you for the rest of the afternoon." He gave her a playful wink to emphasis that he would keep his side of the bargain...as long as she kept hers. "That means you leave Kopa alone unless he wants to talk to you...he's had a bad day. Deal?"

Despite the fact that he was outwardly calm, inside he was having a laughing fit. His daughter may be an unstoppable, adventurous pawfull, but he loved her no-worries approach to life, and just plain loved her in general...she was his daughter, after all.

[TheWhistlerify]

"Okay daddy, I'll keep quiet." she said giving he smile telling him he better not forget what he promised

[KiarasMate]

Hanging on every word that left Tanga’s muzzle, Kopa hoped that his question would be answered in a way he would at least be able to understand. Sadly, this wasn’t the case though as Tanga’s response merely added to the bewildered cub's confusion. Unable to comprehend how food was brought to Tanga and his pride if there weren’t any animals around to hunt, Kopa had to simply assume that maybe the black maned male was referring to his hunting party, as that was the only thing Kopa himself could relate to. The hunting party back in The Pride Lands, which had been headed up by his loving mother Nala, had always brought down plenty of prey to keep everyone’s bellies full, yet prey was always in sight and so Kopa found himself yet again, at a loss to how things worked within his so called temporary home. Being as respectful as he was though, Kopa offered Tanga a small nod before speaking up in an appreciative tone.

”Oh, I see. Well, I don’t really understand how that works Sir but I trust you.”

Tanga’s next comment wasn’t exactly something Kopa wanted to hear either, but again, finding himself with very little say in the matter, Kopa knew that he would have to meet the rest of the black maned lion’s pride eventually. Perhaps they were all as friendly as Tanga and Heshima had been though and keeping a positive outlook upon things was Kopa’s best bet. Fortunately, Kopa’s train of thought was sidetracked as he spotted Marini, who had wandered next to her father and was now vying for his attention. Feeling as though he might be interrupting something if he stayed where he was, Kopa purposefully slowed his pace so that he was now walking alongside the cream colored lioness who he remembered as being named Heshima. Hoping that she wouldn’t mind him walking next to her, Kopa managed to adopt a small smile as he briefly met with her emerald eyes while looking up at Heshima. Even though she was a total stranger still to him, Kopa could sense a somewhat familiar vibe that seemed to radiate from her. Maybe it was just the fact that she reminded him of his mother to some degree, or perhaps just in the way that she smiled back at him, bringing a sense of calmness to wash over him, all be it slightly. Feeling as though he needed to say something to her, yet not knowing exactly what he should say, Kopa timidly spoke up as he avoided looking at Marini and Tanga sharing a special moment together, as it started to bring out his bottled up emotions.

”Thank you for letting me stay with you and your pride Miss Heshima.”

[BlitzRogue]

On the other side of the enclosure, Arria had made herself comfortable on a smooth boulder, enjoying the peaceful sun-bathed afternoon; she was busying herself with the task of inspecting each and every cloud that passed over her. She was reclining in a completely recumbent position: flat on her back, face to the sky.

"I could swear I've seen you somewhere before..." she mumbled absentmindedly to herself, pointing vaguely with a paw at a singular cloud moving slowly across her field of vision, lavender eyes scanning along with it.

The day was like any other, but that was perfectly fine with Arria. She had nothing against change, per se, but she was content with things the way they were. The light-brown furred lioness had no way of knowing though that today was going to be ever-so slightly different than most other days she had been through these past years. Not far away, close enough she'd be able to hear some of the commotion were she not pouring all her attention into the clouds, the pride was just accepting a new member.

It may have been for the best however, for had she any idea, she might have given the poor youngster a heart attack. Being as dulled to reality as she often was, Arria was not one known for her tact. Quite the opposite, really. About as likely to tackle the new pride member in a mix of hugging and licking as she is to simply sit down a few feet away and say "hello".

Predictable as a bat's flight pattern.

"Why can't I float around like a cloud..?"

[Mike]

"Maybe when I'm done pulling my mane-hairs out one at a time I'll be bored enough to talk to a cub." Shani said cuttingly. "Until then Grunge will have to satisfy it. Let's hope he doesn't bleed all over the dear little thing." Still, Shani raised his head and blinked blearily at the sunny land for a moment before his eyes adjusted. He saw Heshima already turning to rejoin her mate and the leader of the Enclosure. It looked like not one, but two little hairballs were trailing in Tanga's wake. Shani spent a moment in sincere prayer to the Kings that the newcomer would bond with Tanga's son and leave Shani himself alone.

Turning away from the group that was slowly wandering farther away, Shani spoke again to the ever uncommunicative Grunge. "What about you? Are you going to say hi?" Shani asked with apparent disinterest, "Who knows, maybe Hishima will be grateful if you behave yourself, and a grateful lioness can be quite something." Shani's little innuendo sounded serious, but he knew Hishima better than that. She was a stubbornly proud lioness, and in Shani's opinion her position as Tanga's mate had overinflated her ego and made herself think that she was better than lions like himself and Grunge. Never mind the fact that if they'd met under real circumstances she'd be either running or fighting for her life.

[YFWE]

Glancing back over her shoulder, Heshima was utterly unsurprised to find that both Shani and Grunge had made little to no effort to follow her to greet their new addition. That was just like them; though most in the pride had taken their new home in stride, Shani at least had never seemed quite satisfied with his surroundings, both the setting and those that lived with him. Heshima sighed. Sometimes there was nothing one could do about these things, no matter how she tried. No matter. They would have to meet Kopa eventually, and likewise.

As Heshima watched Marini converse with her father, as innocent as a young cub could be, she vaguely noticed Kopa falling back slightly, until he was almost neck and neck with her. Swiveling her head to face him, Heshima smiled warmly at the young cub, about to greet him and perhaps ask him what he thought of the enclosure that was to be his new home. But before she could act, Kopa's own tiny voice wafted toward her, a thankful, civil and almost apologetic tone in his voice.

Heshima grinned again. "You're very welcome, Kopa. And please, just call me Heshima, or Hes if you'd like. No need for the 'miss.' Just because I'm Tanga's mate doesn't mean I hold myself any higher than you," she said with a wink, hoping this would further soothe Kopa and perhaps cause him to become less formal and more eased when speaking with them.

After walking a bit further, Heshima turned to Kopa again. "So, Kopa, dear. What do you think of our pride and our land? It's not much, I know, especially compared to the wild. But do you like it alright? Is there anything we can do to make it better for you? If so, just tell us. We'll be glad to help!"

[SnowyCheetah]

Grunge, a very depressed lion since suddenly finding himself in the artificial enclosure, being found by humans after nearly being killed by his deceptive mate, spent most of his time alone trying to avoid the strange lions he was trapped with. He knew their names and little more; most of what he knew was about his former home in the Outlands. That knowledge was stored safely away in his mind and he took naps during which he re-lived and explored those memories in his dreams. He only spoke when absolutely necessary, or on the rare occasion that he was in a positive mood. He despised nothing more than being interrupted from his solitary thoughts and activities, and opened his eyes with a quiet growl of frustration as he was summoned. Hardly in a mood for socializing, the grumpy lion rose to his paws, stretched, and moved to the other end of the enclosure. Assuming everyone was at Kopa's end, gawking over whatever they'd found, he figured he would be left alone. Little did he realize that the other lions were already on the move again.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga returned his daughter's smile, while also giving her another gentle cuddle, before turn his head the other way, to where Kopa had been. "So, I..." his voice, along with his thought train, slammed to a halt when he found the little cub his vanished during his quick moment with Marini.

He looked around, smiling when he spotted Kopa hanging back with Heshima, his mate quietly talking with the little cub. He slipped back to his mate's side slowly, knowing Marini, in her curiosity, would be right behind him, giving his mate another gentle nuzzle on the shoulder. Some days, he still had trouble believing that this wonderful lioness loved him as much as he loved her. It seemed almost surreal, and yet, now that he had it, he probably could not have things any other way.

He looked at Kopa, and was surprised to note that he seemed a little less tense in Heshima's presence. Giving the young cub another warm smile, he turned back to his mate. "Well, you seem to have everything under control," he said light-heartedly, grinning at his mate. Despite his position as pride leader, Tanga had a huge soft side, one that he was generally not afraid to show, particularly around his family.