[PRIVATE] A Rogue's Light

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga watched as Imani delved deep into thought, wondering what she was thinking about. He was glad to note that the look on her face suggested she was thinking about something very pleasant, but before he could ask her about it, she snapped back to the world around them, and spoke to him.

Tanga nodded, but sighed heavily in his usual way. "Perhaps...but when the cubs were not with me, I don't think I ever felt more alone than when I was there. I was part of a pride...but I was completely ignored by all but the cubs. The only adults to ever talk to me were the king and queen, Simba and Nala...and even then, that was only to let me into the pride."

He then cocked his head to the side as he remembered something. "You know, the day I met you, I'd just left the Pridelands to explore a little, maybe find another pride that was a little more accepting...but I think, technically, I'm still part of this pride, despite having gone missing for two months now."

But he turned away from the Pridelands, facing Imani. "But it doesn't matter...I'm with you now, and I'm never going to let that change." He gave her a nuzzle across the cheek, before looking back at the group behind them. He again considered his theory on Imani's dark secret having something to do with Kamau, and briefly considered bringing it up. He eventually decided to reamin silent, however watched Kamau as he sat there, trying to get a read on what kind of lion he was.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

"Good", she looked up at him with no trace of a smile, "because if you leave, I'll never forgive you" she then smiled to show it was a joke. Tanga's eyes were on her brother, and she knew it. The way she could read his eyes showed her that he wanted to know about Kamau more and more, it seemed with every breath he took. And of course, cat's nature was that of a curious one and so it was only natural for her mate to feel that way about her brother. Here comes Kamau out of the blue with no reason to be here that she knew of, and he just sits there and is quiet. Like usual. Even Imani was wondering what on earth he was doing here but she knew it was probably not for her or her sister.

-----

"Your sister isn't going to be pleased when she hears you only came here to gather her and her small pride for..." Kioja paused and looked around her. The others were probably listening and could hear every word when she walked over to her leader and whispered in his ear, "the war". She eased away from him and sat herself down in his view. His face remained unchanged. Though she knew she was his co-leader and she was good at fighting and war, she couldn't help but have the knowledge of how the brain of a lion worked. And if this so-called 'past' of Kamau with his sister's were true, she predicted an upset Imani and an enraged Ra.

"So what will it be?" She looked him over.

[Skittakallista]

Auni sneaked away. His head was buzzing with all the information he had just taken in and his inability to express himself was enraging him slightly. He needed to cool off, to think. And he knew where to go.

He walked through the bushes that surrounded their waterhole. It wasn't very big, but it was quite beautiful, the water being clear blue and quite deep in places. Auni flopped down beside it, one paw dangling in the water. Water made him calm.

So that was why Imani had been so distressed by the memory of her brother, Kamau was it? He had abandoned her family, when her parents had been clse to death, it sounded like. Ra was strangely complacent about the whole thing, only noticing a little when Mufalfa insulted Imani, who she usually protected savagely. Maybe it as just her hormones. Mufalfa had gone back to being, not quite, but nearly as he had been before the incident two months ago. It was quite distressing.

He was also sure that Kioja was getting slightly annoyed by his staring but there was just something about her that made him stare. He couldn't help it.

He was getting overwhelmed... He glanced at the water. It was calm and clear. He stood up, took a few steps back, took a run up and jumped in.

The water immediatly calmed him, cleared his mind. Recent memories came up, making him smile, of he, Imani and Tanga splashing around, soaking each other, laughing hystericly. He jumped in the water so it rose and fell around him, the shapes it was making enthralling him. This was a feeling he lived for.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

{Sorry Naki, but you're not here to be Kamau so I'm taking over him for a while until you return so we can keep the RP going}

"I'm going to find the right moment to tell her" Kamau said in a hushed tone. Kioja studied him, but he obviously didn't want to be because of his looking away from her when he knew she was judging him. Kioja didn't judge people, but she had her moments like any other lioness.

"You're going to lose more family than you already have".

"Since when do you care, Kioja?" He challenged. The lioness, like Imani, was a skilled masker of her emotions and not a thing escaped her face. Her usual bored expression remained present and she remained focused on her pride leader's eyes. Those same eyes she had been with since she was born.

"I don't". Kamau studied her, copying what she did to him, but she gave him little chance to as she sat up and walked past him, in the opposite direction of the pride where she layed down and soaked up the sun.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga continued to watch Kamau and Kioja, still a little unsure of what to do. He was finding it difficult to read the lion, and equally difficult to read Kioja. Yet this was a lion that had hurt Imani in the past, and that left Tanga with a fierce desire to learn more, especially regarding his intentions with their group.

Giving Imani a brief lick across the cheek, Tanga stood. "I'll be right back," he said, before turning and walking down towards Kamau, who was now on his own since Kioja had wandered off to sunbathe for a moment. But what exactly was he going to say or do? This was the brother of his new mate, who he knew absolutely nothing about, except that history suggested he was not the kindest lion.

Even so, Tanga decided to try and learn something about Kamau, and so approached him cautiously, deciding to stick with his usual, polite self as he stopped near Kamau. "So...you're Kamau?" he said simply, before holding out a tentative paw. "My name is Tanga...it's nice to meet you."

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

Kamau turned his head from his pride mate to the male in front of him. He assumed it was Imani's mate since the look in his eyes was that of one who cared a deep amount for his youngest sister. Though he knew his sister would eventually get a mate, he just never expected it to happen because of her character and how withdrawn she was most of the time. Maybe time really did change her.

Upon the yellow lion introducing himself, Kamau looked down at Tanga straight in the eyes and sat there. Waiting for something to come out of his mouth. Finally when it did, and the name was revealed to him, his ears perked up and he looked interested in the male in front of him.

"I've heard about you," Kamau got to his feet and started to walk around Tanga, looking him over, "you're that cub Nala and Simba took in. Yeah, the one who had no one". It was all starting to come back to the older male as he views Tanga more and more with each step he took. Kamau's golden eyes were sizing him up and seeing how the little cub came out after all this time from his memory. "I remember you well, Tanga".

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga took a step back from Kamau as the larger, older male spoke. "You...you're from there as well?" he asked, taking another cautious step away from the larger lion. His presence was slightly imposing, and the way he was circling Tanga made the smaller lion rather nervous.

Tanga never wallowed in memories of his time in the Pridelands as an adolescent after his parents had died. He most he ever bothered to remember was that he had been almost completely alone there, and that only the younger cubs really paid any attention to him...even the fellow adolescents in the pride had ignored him.

Tanga snapped himself out of his lonely memories of that time of his life, so soon after the loss of his parents, and looked back at Kamau. "Sorry, but I don't remember you...I don't remember too much of my time there." His statement was true. Having been lost in the grief of his parents' deaths, not much of his time in the Pridelands had survived in his memories, most of it lost through the misery he had been in at the time. Almost all of his memories were from the laster months, as he had reached adulthood, and decided he needed to get away from the pride that obviously did not want him around...even if those cubs had.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

"Wouldn't expect you to" he replied. Feeling the insecurity of the younger, smaller male, Kamau walked off again and back to where he sat originally. The gold hues of Kamau looked Tanga over once more, "I was only there when Simba needed me to be there to watch his daughter". It was obvious that Kamau was a lot older than his twin siblings from the way he spoke.

Looking over to where Pride Rock was placed, he remembered the times where Kiara would have been killed if he didn't step in. Surely they must have all wondered how Kiara made it this far with those idiots watching over her. No, Kamau had the job of doing it, and it served him well as a rogue with his mate and large pride-- if he looked out for Kiara until she was old enough to be on her own, then he could have the larger pride in the Pridelands without there being any war. And Kamau had no reason to fight with the royals, so there was no problem when he was relieved of the duty of Kiara control.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga also looked over to Pride Rock with Kamau, feeling awkward. Now that they had met, Tanga was not sure what to say...this was the brother of his new mate, and a brother who Imani seemed to dislike because of some past betrayal.

In the end, his curiosity over that incident got the better of him, and he just had to ask. "What happened between you and your sisters? I'm just a little confused as to how you could be so distant towards each other."

Tanga, having been an only child, did not understand the complexities of a sibling relationship. Having seen his unborn sister only as a spirit, he simply believed that siblings would generally adore each other. Looking over at Imani once more, he waited for Kamau's reply, hoping the older male would explain more of the situation, since Imani seemed to be very tight-lipped about it.

[oXButterflyKissesXo]

Kamau's expression turned for the worst when Tanga asked what had happened. The male in front of him surely couldn't think that he could get away with it when he had just met the older male. And if Imani hadn't already told him, then there was obviously something he had to hold back about with the question. "I don't know how you operate around here," he walked into Tanga, making the younger one back up, "but you don't ask those kinds of questions before you know a lion extremely well".

"Kamau!" Imani roared in, wedging in front of her brother and mate to look up at Kamau in a defensive manner for the protection of Tanga. The dark gold male turned his body and started to walk away. "What do you think you're doing to Tanga?" She asked, getting ready to push him back once more if necessary.

Kamau looked up at Tanga from his sister, "ask her what happened, and I'm sure she'll feel the same about what happened to us all those years ago". Imani fell silent and her shoulders slumped before her brother nodded his head in a think-about-it manner and he walked off to where he saw Kioja dissapear to. Once he was gone, Imani turned her body around and looked up at Tanga. There was no hint of happiness, sensitivity, or love in her eyes. In fact, her eyes were narrowed and she looked at him while shaking her head in an upset way.

"It's none of your business," she hissed, resembling her sister in the tone of her voice. Before she walked past him she looked him straight in the eyes and glared, "back. Off." With that, she snorted lightly and briskly walked over to where Auni had walked away to. When he came into sight from her blare of temper, she backed up a little almost having stepped on his tail. "Oh, sorry Auni"