[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[KingKivuli]

(my bad for that lodrill and sinchei, ill pick it back up and recover)

The day had been long and so had the journey back to the outlands. With a carcass and a scared lioness, Anga moved at a slower than normal pace. By the time they reached the outlands everyone was at rest inside the main den. Anga didnt say much on the way, but overheard Makali talking with Laini Its best we all sleep out here and in the morning ill go in with Makali to explain the situation Anga said no more. He just placed the body on the ground and curled up next to it falling asleep

Morning came. So did the scorching heat that made the outlands so desolate. Anga woke to the heat, grumbling an moaning under his breath. The sleep was not the most comfortable with broken rock under him, nor was it a long rest as their journey home and the eraly rising sun left litte time. Anga paced over to Makali and Laini, nudging them both to wake them up Its time to get up we need to speak with Merementa. Makali would you come with me, Laini please stay here and have some food He said no more and began wandering into the den and waiting for Makali to follow

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Back in the pridelands a new day was rising. The clouds that brought the rain last night were clear and let the sun shine once again. The ground outside however was still damp, as Kivuli soon found out. He had gone to his own den. Mila was no where to be seen, Kivuli wondered for moment where she has gone but put it at the back of his mind, he was more focussed on the carcass. One of the legs was untouched. Kivuli promtly ripped it off and began hauling it to Daxis' den

Once back inside Kivuli threw the leg down hard to make an echo, hoping it would wake Daxis up. With a grin on his face and in a playful tone Kivuli spoke Wakey wakey sleepy head, you friend isnt going to find herself Kivuli stood at the entrance and waited for him to get up and eat so they could get on their way

[JaguarOne]

"Vitani?" Santiago's accented voice called out as he looked around the den, the black-maned feline doing his best to try to find his friend. It would seem that quite a bit has gone on since he left and, as a result, he'd need somebody to catch him back up with what he had missed. He wasn't looking for gossip or anything unsubstantiated, though. He preferred to act on facts and facts alone. Just the facts, ma'am... He thought to himself as he tried to spot his friend.

His crush rather.

While he and Vitani only appeared to be friends--and that's all they were to each other at the moment--the lion had a growing crush on the lioness. He wasn't sure if it was because of her tomboyish personality, tough disposition, or "I can take care of myself" attitude, but whatever the cause, Santiago found himself attracted to her.

Against the wall. Her usual spot.

"Vitani?" The lion whispered quietly as he gently nudged the lioness, trying to gently wake her up without irritating or angering her. If there's one thing he learned, it was not to anger Vitani.

[Mike]

Vitani was brought slowly back to consciousness by some unwelcome, if gentle, prods to her side. She grunted and started to open her eyes. "Really Kovu... Keep your fur on. I'll go hunting as soon as I-" As Vitani focused her eyes enough to see the lion in front of her she realized that it wasn't a hungry and impatient Kovu, but rather Santiago, the young former prince that she'd met the day before last. Her rant towards Kovu was cut off, and she shifted into a sitting position. Her sleepiness faded away to be replaced with curiosity and slight resentment.

"Santiago?" she asked, "You're up early. Where were you yesterday? I haven't seen you since the meeting two nights ago, but you didn't say you were leaving or anything." Now feeling much more aware of her surroundings, Vitani noticed that they were some of the first lions to wake up today. Apparently it was still quite early. Hopefully the heavy rainclouds of last night had dispersed, and Vitani saw that that was probably the case seeing as she saw light beginning to seep into the den through the entrance, and couldn't hear the patter of rain outside.

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Kovu woke up just the way he liked it; to the sound of Kiara's voice. Even as he shook off sleeps warm hold though, he heard something unusual in her voice. Low concern, or worry. Kovu wasn't too drowsy to hear what she'd said though, so he was soon quickly blinking the sleep out of his eyes to study Kiara's face. Her expression was troubled, and slightly pained. Kovu hoisted himself up into a reclining position. Little Taraji slumbered on at his side, and Kovu was careful not to disturb her any more than necessary.

"What's the matter?" he asked, loving concern clear in his voice. "Are you sick?"

[KiarasMate]

Remaining in a laying position as she didn’t want to give her body any more reason to revolt against her in her current state, Kiara managed a small smile as she spotted her beloved mate waking up now. Her warm expression was short lived however, as another wave of pain gripped the golden furred lioness, causing her to wince openly as she heard Kovu’s inquiry. Letting out a muffled sounding whimper of discomfort as she struggled to recompose herself enough to be able to address her mate’s question, Kiara rolled onto her back, hoping to relieve her belly of the weight she was putting upon it, preying that this would help in some way. Fortunately for the distraught feline, it did, as the pain slowly receded for the time being. Opening her eyes slowly, a few noticeable tears beginning to form in the corner of her orbs, Kiara spoke up in a low voice as not to alert anyone else of her strange condition.

”To be honest Honey, I feel like I swallowed the sun. My stomach burns so badly right now. Maybe it was something I ate yesterday? I don’t think that’s it though, because it doesn’t look as though anyone else is feeling the same way I am. I just don’t understand it. I felt fine last night before I went to sleep, but when I woke up this morning, I felt like I was going to throw up.”

Reaching out both of her fore paws, Kiara gently took hold of one of her mate’s large fore paws, pulling it in close to her cheek before giving it a soft nuzzle as if to try and comfort herself from the pain with Kovu’s touch. Staring up into her lover’s emerald orbs, Kiara flashed him a look that begged him for help, even though she knew that her mate wasn’t exactly skilled in the art of healing by any means. Still, Kovu was the only one she trusted at this point, seeing how both her parents weren’t present. Moving her muzzle over to Kovu’s paw, which she was still holding on to, Kiara licked over the back of his paw, knowing that he would take care of her no matter what might happen and this fact alone gave the golden furred lioness enough strength to work through the agony, at least, for a little while. Keeping her focus upon Kovu’s face, Kiara noted the hint of concern that was rapidly taking over her lover’s countenance. Hoping to try and calm him down before he jumped to any conclusions, Kiara addressed him in as reassuring of a voice as she could muster by this point.

”Don’t freak out Honey. You need to stay calm, at least, for Taraji’s sake.”

[JaguarOne]

Santiago couldn't help but let out a chuckle as Vitani accidentally accused him of being her brother. He couldn't help but smile as he thought about the bond between Kovu, the brother who probably couldn't hunt very well, and Vitani, the sister who provided most of the food. Allowing Vitani to sit up, the black-maned lion took a seat on his haunches and smiled, his emerald green eyes looking over the beautiful feline.

"I tend to do that. Leave without notice, I mean," The lion said as he shrugged his shoulders in indifference. "Usually I don't return. It was just me passing through... But there's something different about the Pride Lands. They feel... Like home." He looked around at the other lions and lionesses within the den, many of whom had almost immediately accepted him, unlike many prides of the past. The feline smiled warmly as his eyes reached Vitani once more.

[Mike]

"Don't worry." Kovu said, tenderly stroking Kiara's face, and wiping her tears away. "I'm here for you." He brought his forehead down to touch Kiara's, and just held the position to show his support. "Is it bad enough that you want Rafiki to take a look? I'm sure he could clear it up no problems. Or you could wait a little and see if it passes. That'd probably be torture for both of us though." Indeed, Kovu was already hurting with sympathetic pain seeing his mate in such obvious distress. If only there were something he could do, he'd be on it in an instant.

Unfortunately he couldn't come up with anything other than to stay by his mate's side, so that's what he did, hoping that his presence would at least distract her from the pain "Maybe it was some tainted water... I hope you weren't drinking from the Rhino's washing hole."

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"Well you're welcome to stay for now at least." Vitani said genially, "My brother'd have some explaining to do if he booted you of all people. And he's bad at explaining things to me that I don't want explained." That last she added with a tight little grin that showed off her teeth.

"You know, I'm glad you're back Santiago." she said with genuine feeling, "Things were a little crazy yesterday, and I'm running out of lions I can count on." Vitani grimaced slightly as she remembered Shani and Kivuli's childish antics, the trouble Kovu had with Daxis, and Zina's slightly-too-perfect demeanor. She remembered that she'd planned to talk to Shani, and had no intentions of giving that up, but maybe she could put that off a bit...

[JaguarOne]

"Naw, he never booted me. People don't boot me, really, I just move on on my own. When I realized the reason why my parents were killed I decided that I didn't want to stay around one pride for very long in the event that it happened again," The lion replied with a nod, doing his best to reassure Vitani that he had left on his own accord. "Kovu wouldn't have to explain anything. If I left for good, then it would have been on my own accord." He couldn't help but return the toothy grin that Vitani had given him, a small smirk crossing his face.

"Yeah, I was wondering if anything had happened since I left. I mean, life around here seems a bit fast-paced. Or I just moved in at the time that everybody seemed to become extremely active," The black-maned lion said with a nod, his eyebrow raising slightly as he noticed Vitani's grimace. The reaction caused by mentioning needing somebody to count on had definitely piqued the feline's interest, if nothing else. Little did he know that Daxis, Zina, Shani, and Kivuli had all caused trouble the day that he was gone.

[Lodrill]

Rahina giggled due Kopa tickled her and nuzzled him back. As he started to talk to the cub she nudged him and playfully scolded him. "Do you have to wake the cub up so early? It needs it's rest." In reality she was happy that the cub was not kicking right now and feared for Kopa to make the cub struggle again.
She ran her tongue over his cheek. "Good morning my dear. At the moment I feel great. I could even go out for a hunt or too." Rahina smirked. She knew that Kopa would protest against her going out for a hunt. But deep inside her she really wished she would be able to go out hunting. She was a lioness full of energy and needed her exercise as much as Kopa did. The had run a lot in their old home every day. Sitting around, dozing and doing nothing was okay for a day or two but Rahina ants in the pelt if she stood still for too long. It was okay for now because she just woke up and she loved to lie next to Kopa but she already knew that this day she would miss to run around.

As Rahina raised to her paws and did a big stretch she already felt her body being unusual heavy. Even if she wanted she would not be able to even walk much this day. The feeling from the last day still lingered inside her. Even after a good nights sleep she still had not recharged all the energy lost by the hunt. Also she felt a bit sick right after she had risen to her paws. Something was not feeling right inside her but she guessed this was just what Nala had told her. It will go away soon she hoped. At least she did not want to make Kopa worry. She forced herself to put on her usual smile and nuzzled Kopa's mane before he would notice that it was not natural. "How about we catch something to eat?" Rahina asked with her muzzle still in his mane.

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Laini did not sleep well. Her guilt about leaving Daxis behind had woken her up several times. She needed some time to know where she was every time but in the end she had managed to fall into a light and fitful sleep.

She took the offer of Anga directly and started to eat from the carcass. One reason was because she really was hungry, got offered a rare meal and knew that she would probably have a long way to run this day too. The reports of this cub the day before had filled Laini with nearly as much fear as Kovu. She knew that this small group was not the shelter she had been seeking for. Even more because they were still too close to the pride lands.
On the other hand she hoped that eating would bring her mind away from the prideland but she was proven wrong. With every bite she took she imagined Daxis not getting anything to eat. He was not allowed in the main den and had no one to fetch it for him...
Laini stoped eating before the was full. She ate more than she usually did but still she could have eaten more if the guilt would not have made her nearly to throw up. She felt guilty and started to freeze. She curled up near the carcass to save as much body temperature as possible but in her mind she already was playing with a lot of thoughts like going back or running away... now was still a chance but where should she go... due she did not find any answer and could not make up her mind if she should leave or go back to get Daxis she did not move until the other lions came back. It was too final for her to run away and leave Daxis behind. The guilt was still too for her to take this step even if it had been her intention from start on. Her guilty conscience began to move inside her and prevented her from moving an inch.

---

A few miles away in the den of Laini another lioness streched her perfect sand collored fur. The lioness who owned the den did not come and Sushaunna decided to stay a while longer. The sun showed her full beauty and the rays felt warm on her fur. She jumped outside and found a nice spot at the top of the entrance of the den where she could do a sun bath. Her fur did conceal her good in sand but here it made her stand out and visible in miles but Sushaunna did not think about that right now. She just enjoyed the morning sun before she would go for a hunt to fill her stomach.

[KiarasMate]

Hearing her mate’s humorous comment about how she might have become ill, Kiara couldn’t resist letting an amused sounding giggle to escape her muzzle lips, followed quickly there after by a moan of duress, her stomach not reacting in favor of her short fit of laughter. It was just like Kovu though, to try and lighten the mood of the situation, and for that, Kiara loved him dearly but it gradually became obvious that her belly pains weren’t going to disappear on their own. Clutching her lover’s paw a little tighter as she desperately focused her attention upon Kovu’s concerned looking face, Kiara did her best to reply while preventing herself from dry heaving again.

”I don’t want you to leave me though Honey. Rafiki’s tree is so far away and I don’t know if I could deal with his typical behavior in my current state. Don’t know which would be worse though. Putting up with him or this pain…”

Finally releasing her mate’s fore paw as she attempted to sit up, Kiara quickly decided against such movements as her actions were instantly met with more protest from her tummy. Flopping back down on her side as she curled herself up to try and ease her situation, the golden furred lioness wished she knew what had triggered her misfortunate condition. As certain as she was that it wasn’t from the food she had ingested the previous day, Kiara prayed to The Great King’s Above that she was right, as little Taraji had eaten the very same meal she had. Glancing over at her sleeping daughter, Kiara didn’t notice any signs coming from the slumbering cub that would indicate that she was feeling under the weather. Turning her gaze back to Kovu, Kiara waited for her beloved mate to think of what could be done to help her, as her own mind was beginning to slow due to the intensity of the pains that kept shooting through her midsection.

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Rolling his eyes in a false sense of annoyance from Rahina’s remark about feeling up for a hunt, even though he knew she was kidding, Kopa shook his head in a disbelieving manner as he watched his pregnant mate giving her attractive body an invigorating stretch, her rounded belly almost rubbing against the floor of the den from just how swollen it was with cub. Waiting for his precious lioness to properly wake herself in whatever ways were necessary, Kopa’s ears swiveled as he heard Rahina’s proposal that they should find something to eat. Letting a lighthearted chuckle leave his muzzle from knowing that his beloved mate was probably already starving from having to feed both herself and their unborn cub now and while he himself didn’t feel terribly hungry, Kopa was more than happy to oblige his lover’s request as he casually rose to all fours and spoke up in a pleasant tone.

”Now is this you talking Hina or our cub? You look as though you could eat an entire buffalo on your own.” Kopa stated, padding over to Rahina’s side before giving her an extremely soft pat on her bulging belly, whispering in a playful fashion as he did so. ”But then you’d get FAT!”

Sporting a cheeky looking smile, Kopa gave Rahina’s ear a tender nip, followed by a wet lick over her muzzle before he pranced out of their den, his tail swaying teasingly behind him as if to punctuate his joking statement. Exiting out into the still damp grass, Kopa took several deep breaths, letting the refreshing smelling atmosphere engage his senses before spotting Rahina coming out of the den at an unusually sluggish pace compared to how she normally moved. Turning about face to eye his mate carefully, a look of genuine concern now etching its way over his countenance, Kopa called over to the expecting lioness as he waited for her to catch up to where he was standing.

”You sure you’re alright my precious? If you don’t feel up to walking to The Main Den, you just let me know and I’ll go fetch you some breakfast.”

[SinChei]

Makali opened his eyes slowly and caughed when he took a deep breath from the dry air in the outlands. Laini was already up to eat something from the carcass. The cub did not feel good with meeting mrementa he never felt good with that but he did what Anga told him and followed him after stretching his tiny legs with a yawn.

Yes Anga i am right behind you

He followed him carefully and in a submissive manner when they entered merementa's den. Anga's big paws were a good place to hide himself of merementa's eyes.
As they enetered his den Makali just looked down and not at him. He tried to avoid any chance to provoke the cruel leader.

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Daxis sat up as he herd the something hitting the ground and rubbed his eyes until he could listen to the voice which was the worst he could listen to in the morning. Daxis started to look angry at him and opened his muzzle to get some word out of it.

Just shut up you know how much i hate you. And hearing your voice so eraly this morning is a torture for me so be quiet just... be... quiet...

He let out an annoyed sigh from his muzzle and walked to the leg kivuli dropped down to wake him. The red maned cub did not look at him once more and dug his teeth deep in the meat and started to eat from the bloody leg. His body and legs were hairless at some spots he bit himself and he looked looked like cub the termits loved to live on. His tiny mane was fuzzy and the naked spots made him look ugly in contrast to his fluffy and red mane hair before and his dirty but good looking dark brown fur.
He was thinking about Laini all the time everything he did made him think of her. What is she doing now... where is she... will we find her...