A Change of Plans [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga got back to his feet slowly, watching Simba carefully for any sign that he was about to attack or pounce. Tanga knew that he had screwed up his initial pounce, but realised that it may work to his advantage in the end...his newfound strength still had not shown itself just yet, and Tanga planned on trying to catch Simba off-guard with it if he could.

"I'm gonna beat you this time, Simba!" he jeered light-heartedly, smirking with a measure of confidence at his friend as he watched and waited. Maybe...just maybe...he would be able to win his first wrestling match ever...

----------

Nala helped the still-sleepy Marini up to the top, taking it slowly so that the morning breeze could drift across them both, hopefully having the effect of waking Marini up a little.

When the two of them finally reached the peak of Pride Rock, Nala looked around, trying to find Simba and Tanga, finding them below her to the south-west, engaged in a wrestling match.

Nala giggled at the antics of the two boys, and watched with some interest, noting that Tanga seemed to have improved slightly since his last wrestling match. She waited until Marini also noticed the two fighting boys, before dropping the first tantilising hint at what she had lead Marini up here for. "Interesting..." she said, adopting a thoughtful tone. "Tanga was much more peaceful last night."

She glanced at Marini out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the young lioness to say something as they watched Simba and Tanga fight far below them.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba looked at Tanga get up and thought about what to do next. He remembered how Tanga 'over-leaped' a moment ago and thought that maybe he could use that momentum to flip him like Nala did. "Oh yeah? let's see you!" Simba taunted and waited for Tanga to make the next move.

Marini blinked at the sun and yawned again. She caught sight of Simba and Tanga wrestling some distance away from the private dens. She looked at Nala, her eyes still half closed with a confused expression on her face. "Really?" she asked and yawned, "do you follow him or something?" she asked and looked back at the sun before laying down on her side, yawning again

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga smirked at Simba, and prepared to pounce...but hesitated at the last second. He knew that Simba had caught onto his pouncing technique, and that if he tried it twice in a row, he would be too easy to counter.

He crouched low, looking for all intents and purposes like he was about to pounce directly at Simba. "You asked for it!" he shouted, before leaping at Simba, roaring cubbishly.

But the pounce was a fake designed to make Simba believe he was pouncing. Instead of leaping directly at Simba, he deliberately fell short, stopping right in front of Simba and ducked low, swiping a paw out, careful to keep his claws retracted, tripping Simba's legs out from under him.

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Nala giggled at Marini as she suggested that she stalked Tanga. She decided to drop the second hint now. "No...no I don't follow him. He just seemed so happy and peaceful when I saw him sleeping in your den just a few moments ago."

Nala grinned, loving the way she was drawing this out. If that doesn't get her attention, I don't know what will, she thought with amusement.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba fell for Tanga's little trick, but quickly got to his feet and pounced at Tanga. Tanga was quite small for his age, it always gave Simba, Nala and Marini an advantage when they wrestled with him. He landed on Tanga's back and pushed him onto the ground, but he knew that it was very hard to pin someone like that. It was more easy to pin someone by pushing him onto his back. Simba began trying to roll Tanga over, making sure he didn't un-sheath his claws while trying to do so.

Marini looekd at Nala confused, yawning again. "In my den?" she asked, a little more awake, "What do you mean? I never saw him there."

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga grunted as Simba pushed him face-first into the grass, and tried to roll him over. This was normally the point where his smaller size became his undoing, making it too easy for him to be pushed around. But his new muscle mass not only increased his strength, but also made him a bit heavier as well, making it that little bit harder for Simba to push him around.

But he was at a disadvantage, and he knew it. Knowing he had to do something, and fast, Tanga did what he hoped was the last thing Simba expected...he stood up. with Simba's weight on his back, his legs shook at handling the extra weight, but he somehow managed to stand up. "Ha!" he cried out. "How you like that?!"

Noticing a little slope near where they were wrestling, Tanga threw himself, and Simba, down it, hoping the tumble down would dislodge his rival from his back. But he could tell that his new abilities were so far not enough to overcome Simba...he need some other edge, some other way to turn the tables back in his favour.

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Nala smirked at Marini. Now we're getting somewhere, she thought as she decided to stop confusing Marini's sleepy mind and just come out and tell her. "Well, of course you didn't see him...you were already asleep when he came in, and he was gone when I woke you up, although he'd only just left."

"I'm surprised he didn't wake you up, though..." she said slowly, her grin widening as she decided she could not help herself, and just had to tease one, final time. "How's your shoulder?" she asked, knowing the rapid change of subject would probably throw the sleepy lioness as she pointed to her right shoulder...the same one Tanga had slept against.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba was lifted up, to his amazement. Tanga managed to stand up and carry Simba's extra weight as well. Simba didn't expect this, and before he did anything else, Tanga threw them both down a slope. Noticing Tanga was on his side when they both landed, he get back up and rolled him onto his back, then pinned him. "Wow..." he said looking at Tanga, still amazed by what he did. He then got off him. "You sure got me with that." he said with a grin as he offered his paw to help Tanga back up.

Marini looked at Nala, not knowing what to think exactly. Why did Tanga come while she was asleep? And without telling her? She looked back at Tanga and Simba's wrestling area. Did Tanga find her presence comforting, but was too shy to tell her about it? An idea came to her mind, she was going to see what exactly Tanga was feeling for her. But she then remembered Nala was still next to her. "My shoulder?" she asked her looking even more confused then before.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga grinned as he took Simba's paw, pulling himself back up on all fours, panting from the wrestle. "Yeah...still need to get better, though," he added, looking over his undersized body. "But I guess I'll never be the best wrestler. You've gotten good, too...you're faster than I remember," he complimented, before gesturing back towards the direction they had been walking. "Shall we get going, again?" he asked.

The wrestling had effectively done the job of distracting him from thoughts of Marini, leaving him with a smile on his muzzle as he acted as if nothing had happened that morning, although the thought still clung to the back of his mind, but waiting for something or someone to bring it up again.

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Nala giggled. "Yes, your shoulder, Rini...I'm just curious as to how it feels, that's all." She gave Marini a look that clearly told her not to ask questions, and to just humour her...that it was all part of what she was showing and telling her.

Besides, she was genuinely curious...not just about Marini's shoulder, but her entire right side...Tanga had been sleeping very close to her, after all.

[TheWhistlerify]

"Ha, same on this side. I'm afraid Nala will always remain the best out of the four of us." Simba grinned as Tanga got up, "So where are we going now?"

Marini looked at Nala confused, "I don't know." she said with a fake grin, "Why are you asking about my shoulder? How is it related to what you said a moment before?"

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga gestured to the next corner of Pride Rock they had yet to make it around. "Let's just keep going...maybe see if any of the adults are up yet," he said, before hopping on his way, a little spring in his step.

He may have lost the wrestling match...but he had proven, to himself as much as Simba, that he was getting stronger, and gave a rather smug sense of self-pride as he continued his usual path around Pride Rock, replaying the match in his head, looking for areas he could improve in...or possibly some weaknesses in Simba's fighting style he could exploit next time around.

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Nala sighed, realising that Marini was not going to catch on to what she was hinting at alone. She decided to finally end it, and tell her.

"Oh, no reason," she said with exaggerated vagueness. "I just thought, you know, you're shoulder might feel a little funny after having Tanga's head resting against it for several hours, that's all."

She once again fought to keep her face neutral, even if she was giggling internally, as she watched Marini, waiting to see hoe this latest sentence went down. And now the fun begins, she thought gleefully.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini's jaw almost dropped at what Nala said. She began thinking what was on Tanga's mind. She blushed slightly when she began to understand what was this all about and looked away from Nala, trying to hide it. She was going to make Tanga admit it, the fun way. "Ah... I guess it's okay." she said not looking at Nala and trying to hide her blushing