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

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi looked up Simba and Nala entered the den. She saw Nala head straight for the comfort of Sarafina's embrace, a troubled look on her face. The reason for the troubled look was obvious when she saw Simba's face. He barely seemed to be aware of where he was, completely lost in his thoughts and looking like he had seen a ghost.

As Simba approached her, Sarabi pulled her son in close, giving him a give nuzzle, not realising what her son had discovered just minutes ago. "Don't worry, Simba," she said consolingly. "Tanga and Marini will be fine...you'll see."

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Tanga felt his mouth lift in an involuntary smile as Marini accepted and settled into his embrace, but said nothing as he slowly drifted off to sleep, purring all the way.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba was just about to tell her about what he and Nala had discovered moments ago, but his eyes caught sight of Scar inside the den. Trying not to burst into anger, he remained in his mother's embrace. "I know they will..." he said, even thought that wasn't the reason for how troubled he was. "...I just need some time to get used to living without having them around."

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi noticed that Simba had been about to say something, but appeared to second-guess it when he laid eyes on Scar. This caused Sarabi to frown. Does he suspect something, too? she asked herself.

But with Scar in the den, she could not say anything without risking being overheard. knowing that Simba must be thinking the same way as he spoke, she gave her son a reassuring smile, before letting him out of her embrace to make himself comfortable for the night. "I'm proud of you, Simba," she whispered. "You've handled everything so well this past month...you'll make a great king when the time comes around."

With those words, she slowly closed her eyes, and soon start drifting off to sleep, her mind filled with suspicions of what Scar was up to...although none of them ever came close to the shocking, horrible truth that Simba and Nala knew.

((Jump to the next day?))

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba smiled slightly and lay down where he was. He knew he'd have to be careful now that he knew the truth about Scar. He would be most likely not to be with him alone anymore, even though he wanted him to just dissapear. He drifted off to sleep as well, hoping everything will turn out eventually

(( Okay ))

[AustralianChaos]

Scar woke up early the next morning...just after sunrise. Stretching, and quietly moving out of the den, sitting at the mouth of the den as he thought on the last day.

He had finally managed to get the meddling Tanga and Marini out of his fur, but Simba, Nala, Sarabi and Sarafina had violently opposed the move, and the rest of the pride were not too sure about the treason of the two young adolescents, either. But they had accepted it, and now there was nothing standing in the way of him and a permanent place as king of Pride Rock...except for Simba.

But Scar was worried about this stage in the plan. This was meant to be the point in which the hyenas laid low, and avoided attracting trouble, making it appear to the pride that Tanga and Marini's disapprearance had slowed the hyenas raids into the Pridelands...and confirmed his story of them conspiring with the crude creatures. But Scar knew that the hyena's thick heads would struggle to see the importance of this, and he was weighing up the possibility of a quick trip the Graveyard to remind them, in no uncertain terms, what they were supposed to do.

In the end, he decided that it was for the best if he made a quick trip down the hyena pack's homeland, and headed off towards the north as the sky faded from purple to crimson, and the world slowly began to wake up.

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Sarabi also slipped out of the den silently, making sure Simba was still fast asleep, only stalling long enough to wake Sarafina and tell her she was leaving to follow Scar and find out where he kept going on his frequent, unannounced 'patrols'.

Making sure to stay a reasonable distance away from Scar, and to remain downwind of him whenever possible, she moved silently as she stalked him towards the north. Her mind threw up doubts, telling her Scar was just making a dawn patrol of the border between the Pridelands the the Graveyard, but she shrugged it off as she continued to follow her brother-in-law, hoping that her stealthy eavesdropping would produce results.

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Nala came to the waking world not long after Sarabi left, stretching and yawning, before turning to her mother. "Morning mum...could I talk to you outside the den for a moment?" she asked, her sleepy mind quickly remembering last night's talk with Simba, and what it had revealed.

She knew both Sarabi and her mother needed to informed right away, but since she could see no sign of wither Scar or Sarabi nearby, she decided she would just tell her mother for now...the adults needed to know this is quickly as possible, so they stop Scar before he tried something else...most likely an attempt to end Simba's life.

[TheWhistlerify]

Sarafina woke up to her daughter's request, wondering what was her daughter wanting to talk about in such an early part of the day. "Of course you can." she said, stretching and getting up. She noticed Sarabi and Scar were not in the den, and knew Sarabi was following him like they've agreed. She just hoped Sarabi will return un-harmed. She walked outside of the den to see what Nala wanted to talk about.

Marini woke up, first a little scared of not recognising the den she lived in the past month, but that faded away when she looked around and saw Tanga still cuddled close to her. She began purring slightly, feeling really warm in Tanga's embrace. Her throat was dry, but she decided to wait for Tanga to get up. She lay her head by his, knowing that he would freak out if he woke up to not find her inside their new den.

[AustralianChaos]

Nala followed her mother outside the main den, before guiding her to one of the private dens...Marini's old one, coincidentally, so it would harder for them to be overheard. "Before I begin...where's Sarabi? She needs to hear this, too. It's about Simba and Scar, and it's really important that she hears this right away."

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As Tanga returned to the waking world, he was confused for a moment as he realised that his paw was draped over something warm and soft, and that same object was resting against his belly as well. He knew he always liked to sleep next to Marini secretly when he could, but he wouldn't dare get this close...

Then the memories of the past day came back to him, and he snapped his eyes open, finding Marini was already awake, and purring in his embrace. given the circumstances they were currently in, exiled from their home and with no-one but each other for company and protection, Tanga amazed himself by ending up with the most brilliant smile he had ever pulled appearing on his face as he also started purring once more, finding himself not wanting to move despite the fact that he was both hungry and thirsty. If it weren't for the fact that he would have to attend to his body's basic need for survival, he could probably have contented himself with lying there for days on end.

"Hey, Rini," he said groggily, reluctantly removing his paw from her back as he covered an expansive yawn. "How long have you been up?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Sarafina sighed, "She probably woke up earlier then we did because I can't find her." She then caught up to what Nala had said, "What is it? Is something wrong?" she asked her daughter

Marini looked around at Tanga and smiled. "A few minutes." she said purring, her tone sounds as if she didn't want either of them to move. Then, without noticing she leaned towards him and began to nuzzle him. Even though she surprised herself, she didn't stop. "So how was your sleep?"

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga openly grinned as Marini nuzzled him, himself returning the affection more than willingly...it reminded him that he no longer needed to hide his crush from her, since she was returning the feelings he felt.

"I don't think I've ever slept so soundly since my parents abandoned me," he replied with completely honesty, before squirming slightly as he felt a series of tingles going up his right foreleg, which was numb from being trapped under Marini's body all night.

"My foreleg's numb, though," he said with casual indifference, as if it did not matter in the slightest. To him, it did not matter at all. He would happily endure the limb remaining numb, if it meant Marini would stay by his side for just a little while longer. "What about you? You sleep well?"

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Nala nodded solemnly, knowing her mother would tell Sarabi as soon as she could once she knew. "When Simba stayed back last night, we figured out why Scar exiled Tanga and Marini...and what he's up to."

She took in a deep breath, and said the fateful words, knowing she could never take them back once she did. "Scar's been planning on killing Simba and taking the kingship for himself. He killed Mufasa, too."

[TheWhistlerify]

Sarafina looked at Nala, complerely shocked by what she just heard. She didn't feel like telling her about her and Sarabi's suspicion, but she knew that they might be right about this. She always told Nala about how jealous Scar was of his brother being the heir for the throne. "Are you sure about this?" she asked her, her tone serious, "What brought you to thinking that way?"

Marini continued to nuzzle Tanga. "I don't think I slept so well since my mother died." she admitted. "So what are we going to do today?" she asked, even though she felt like staying by Tanga's side all the time