[PRIVATE] A Rogue's Light

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga smiled at Imani, nodding his head as he found himself getting lost in those violet eyes of hers, as he always did. "Slept wonderfully, thank you...what about you?"

As he stood beside Imani, taking a few brief laps of water before sitting on the bank, his thoughts returning to his nervous desire to finally ask the ultimate question of her. Part of him wanted to say it right there, right now, but his nervousness kept it down. If I'm going to do this, he reminded himself, I'm going to do it right.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

She smiled. Always so considerate was that lion and she knew him well. "Like a cub, of course" she joked, putting her head back down to take a few more sips of the water before she looked back into his blue eyes. Although they were beautiful and clear like always, something was clouding them and it was something that worried her. He used to look like this when they first met and were first becoming friends, but she knew he wasn't like this without a reason.

"Are you okay?" She sounded, walking around him to inspect and see if he was in any physical pain.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga managed a weak smile as Imani asked him if he was alright...she always had been able to read him with exceptional ease. He had spent so long alone that he had never learned how to properly hide his emotions, and knew that she had seen something about him that showed his inner conflict and nervousness about his desire to finally propose to her.

He managed a couple of chuckles as she walked around him, obviously checking to see if his emotions were caused by any sort of pain. "I'm okay, Imani, no scratches, bumps or bruises." he decided to appease her by giving her part of the truth. "I just...I've got something on my mind, it's been bugging me for a while now."

He gave her another nuzzle, showing his appreciation for her care. "I promise I'll tell you all about it when I'm ready...if things go the way I hope they do, I might even be able to tell you by tonight. I just need a little more time to work things out, that's all."

Again, the desire to just come out and say reared itself, the urge stronger this time around...Imani always had that effect on him. but he once again beat it down. He was not going to screw this up...not for her.

[Skittakallista]

Auni awoke but didn't open his eyes, happy to just bask in the warmth of the peaceful, happy morning. It had been two months since the events that had brought them together and now they were a pride, if a very small one. It was still just him, Tanga, Imani, Ra and Mufalfa, but they regularly patrolled to check for rogues that could strengthen their pride. Auni always came on these patrols, his excuse being that he wanted to make a good impression on any new members, his real reason being that he wanted to see if any females turned up.

He was beginning to want a mate. Someone special. He was the only one that was single in the pride and, although he felt very valued, he did feel lonley when he saw Ra lick Mufalfa flirtatiously on the ear or when he saw Imani and Tanga curl up to each other to sleep. He sighed and opened his eyes.

Imani and Tanga were gone, the grass around where they were sleeping still warm and flat. Ra and Mufalfa were asleep but he knew better then to wake Ra. She was heavily pregnant and could be violent when woken from sleep. He could have woken Mufalfa but he looked so peaceful lying there he decided against it.

In the last two months he had built up strong friendships with all of them. Mufalfa came to him for advice for he still felt a little awkward around Tanga. No wonder, considering their history. He enjoyed Ra's company and her sarcastic humour. He even didn't mind her moodswings!

Imani was sweet to everyone, the little sister he never had. In their more cubbish moments they even playfighted, a thing Auni had never been able to do with his own siblings for fear of being seriously injured if he did with his brother and his sister just didn't like it. She brung him a cubhood he had missed and he loved her, like a sister, for it.

Tanga was his best friend. He had had friends when he was a cub but he had never felt so close, so safe in a friendship with snother lion. They talked with each other, discussed their fears and hopes. He didn't think there was a problem he had that hadn't been shared with Tanga. Although, Tanga had been a little... Distant. A little uncomfortable lately, as if he was having a massive internal debate. Auni was a little upset that he felt he couldn't tell him the problem, he was sure he would tell him in his own time.

He smiled. Life in the pride was wonderful. Near bliss. Near bliss. A mate now would make his life complete... But it didn't look asa though one was going to come around soon... He sighed again. I'm beginning to sound like Tanga with all this dramatic sighing! He thought, chuckling to himself. All the same... He flipped onto his back, sunning his creamy belly. One day Auni... Be patient.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

Little did the pride know that there was something approaching. Not just anything-- a lioness. A powerful one at that. This lioness, her name was Kioja, and she was one of the deadliest lionesses in the Pridelands. Though she was from the Pridelands, her heart belonged in the Outlands with her mother and father. She was a new adult, and she was pulled away from her parents as she was saved by a pride as her parents were being attacked by an older pride of lions and lionesses. The pride, which she has left, are now old enough to be her grandparents but she didn't care. Kioja was gone and she was not going back to them.

The female walked through the grasses, letting her dark brown tail slide across the ground, getting little bits in her nearly black tail tuff. Prey could definetly see her through the light grass, though her belly blended in well. Keeping her seafoam green eyes ahead of her, she spotted the waterhole. Though it was open and there wasn't a crowd, she spotted a male and female. Kioja figured it was a pair of mates, no doubt flirting and on cloud nine. The lioness let a roar escape her throat and she charged into the way, showing them she was the dominant one, bearing her unretractable claws and sharp yellow teeth.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga heard the roar. He could tell that it belonged to a lioness, but a strong, powerful one...and she appeared to be aggressive. Acting purely on instinct, he moved with a speed and agility he smaller frame blessed him with, standing tall directly in front of Imani as he moved her protectively behind him, roaring straight back at the newcomer.

The rest of the pride, Auni particularly, may have wanted to find some other rogues to help strengthen their budding pride...but there was no way Tanga was going to sit back and chat idly to a lioness that threatened his love...not unless he could convince her to calm down. His roar was nowhere near as powerful as the female's, but it carried enough defensive devotion to show that, if he was forced, he was willing to fight to the death to protect Imani...even if he did not want.

He decided he would try to talk to this lioness...see if he could get her to calm down a little. His tone remained defensive, but only a hint of fear showed despite her powerful frame. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked, managing, despite his defensiveness, to force some form of politeness into his tone. Despite the lioness' aggressive first impression, he was willing to give her a chance...if she was willing to take it.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

To his question, the lioness roared louder.

Imani, now behind the Tanga, held a defensive position while she peered into the seafoam eyes of the female in front of them both. Though she was a scary sounding lioness, she couldn't be too mean if she had beautiful eyes like those that looked like they were some of the finest work she had seen apart from her mother's violet eyes she was lucky to possess.

The creamy lioness crouched down and crawled under Tanga's body to the front of his legs where she looked through his front and up at the lioness who was still snarling and hadn't even seemed to notice her. "Excuse me" She asked, a fair amount of power in her voice. Kioja ceased to snarl and looked down, shocked to see a lioness of her age acting like a scared cub would. Though Imani was in the position of a fearful child, she had the face of a brave and bold adult, though her ears were layed back. "You're more than welcome to drink with us" she offered, her tail tapping on the ground to show she was welcoming.

Kioja stared down at her for a moment before she let her lips uncurl and drank the water soundlessly, Imani only staring from between Tanga's legs and smiling. "I'm Imani," she chirped in, Kioja looking up to her and then seeing her head look upwards to the protective male Imani loved, "and this is Tanga. What's your name?" Imani looked forward with a grin on her face and waited for the female's reply.

"...Kioja". Her voice was low, soothing, and cold at the same time. Almost like a voice a siren who called sailors to her would have, but she looked like she was only looking around for something to occupy herself.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga was amazed by Imani's actions...and even more amazed when she successfully managed to calm down the lioness before anything could come of the rather confrontational introduction. He looked down at Imani as she introduced them both, forcing himself to hold back a laugh at the way she had slipped underneath him, once again making herself, intentionally or not, look like an oversized cub...which was just another one of the things he loved about her. He gave her a quick nuzzle, whispering a quick "Thank you," to her, before looking back up at the lioness, trying to decide how best to proceed.

Despite her powerful and threatening introduction, Tanga decided to reserve judgement on her, and tried to start over. "Sorry about my earlier confrontation, Kioja," he said with a neutral, but polite tone. "But you appeared to be threatening Imani, and I'll do anything to protect her." He paused, letting his words sink in, before continuing. "Might I ask where you are from?"

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

Imani smiled up at him, still staying where she was and looking at Kioja who had finished drinking and looked back down at Imani. She was amazed to see an adult female get away with what she was doing right now, but since they were mates she figured it had to have been natural to love this certain childish quality about her. Especially this Tanga character, who seemed to do nothing but adore Imani.

At the male's question she glared him down and sat on her edge of the water, still staring at Imani who was now looking at a butterfly that was bouncing around in the air around her. She let out a small laugh, making Kioja snort a little before she got to her feet, walked around the water, and came up beside them. Imani was a small lioness compared to Kioja, who almost rivaled Tanga's size.

The female shot her head to look back down at Imani when the cubbish-lioness let out a weird sound of joy towards the butterfly, being the carefree character she was. Though many would find it cute from the adult, Kioja didn't even crack a smile from the blank expression on her face. "Where's your pride?" Kioja requested, eying Tanga for a moment before she looked around and spotted them a little ways away. It was Ra's coat that did the trick for the lioness's sharp eyes and she walked forwards towards them, not staying behind to ask if it was them.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga watched Kioja head towards the others, briefly considering following her, but decided against it. He could see that Auni was awake, and if Kioja got nasty, Mufalfa and Ra could be scary when they wanted to be. Kioja may be a powerful lioness, but Ra and Mufalfa...and Auni, too for that matter...were more than capable to taking care of themselves.

In the end, Imani's constant laughing as she watched the butterfly distracted him, as he smiled, moving so he was beside her, watching the butterfly himself as he, too started laughing, mostly at Imani's own carefree happiness.

The past two months had been a revelation for the normally quiet and sentimental lion, as Imani had slowly taught him to open up and show himself for who he was behind his quiet, shy surface. Around Imani, he found himself casting off that quiet exterior fairly often, and showing a slightly more playful, carefree side he had not exposed since he was a cub. He was still very quiet and sentimental...it was a part of who he was...but around Imani, he felt he was able to open up just a little more.

"So..." Tanga used the one word to draw Imani's attention, before continuing. "Got any plans for today, or are just going to torment the butterfly all morning?" he grinned at her, mixing it wit his light-hearted, joking tone to show he was in one of his happier, more playful moods, despite the internal conflict raging within him.