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

[AustralianChaos]

Ganya followed along with the others as they followed Zira toward Tanga and Marini's hideout, grumbling incoherently and flashing Sarafina nasty looks every now and again. She had scared them off, and while Ganya knew that this meant his home was his once more, he also knew that the lioness had ruined his chances at revenge. He really wanted to show Tanga and Marini what happened when you disturbed the peace of his home.

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Tanga turned to Marini as they continued to press on along the Pridelands southern border, heading further and further east. He wanted a further distraction, and had something he wanted to discuss, anyway. "I wonder what those lions are like...if they're still there?" he wondered aloud, smiling at Marini to let her know she was free to add her own speculation.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini was also thinking about how will this lions react to them, she was quite glad that Tanga brought the subject up, she felt like discussing it anyway. "I don't know, I hope they'll let us stay though." she said and sighed. If they were to walk all night and get there by dawn, they would be too tired to start looking for another place to rest at.

Zira and the group arrived at the mouth of the den. No one was there. She then motioned the group to spread around and look around the place. Sarafina ignored Ganya. She knew that Scar would probably punish her, but what ever he might do, she'll have to live with it, showing Ganya that Scar was right by saying she was a good fighter wasn't important. Zira in the meantime turned to Ganya as the group scattered around and left the two behind, "Where could they go to?" she asked, her patience running out, "What places here make good hideout spots?"

[AustralianChaos]

Ganya looked back at Zira as the group spread out, showing his annoyance. "The only real places they could be are this den, my forest, and those rocks over there," he pointed to the rock maze as he said the last part, noticing someone was already heading that way. "There's also a tunnel inside the den that leads to a lookout spot higher up the cliff."

He then walked off, heading into the den. "I'll check the lookout, it's very easy to get lost inside the tunnels in here. And don't worry...they won't have gone that way, the tunnels are too dark, you can't see anything. They would not have taken the risk of trying to find their way through there."

With that, Ganya made his way into the cave system, quickly making his way up the the ledge overlooking the land around his forest, noticing the lionesses and hyenas spreading out as they searched the place. But as before, there was nothing...no sign of the group that had been here just hours ago.

Once more releasing an angry yowl, Ganya made his way back down to where Zira was waiting, shaking his head to show her that they were not inside the cave...it seemed that Tanga, Marini, and their group were long gone.

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Tanga nodded. "Yeah...if they turn us down, i have no idea where we'd go." He quickly fell silent once again, still limping heavily, his wounds continuing to sting, Tanga knowing that he had a very long and painful night ahead of him.

[TheWhistlerify]

Zira shook her head angrilly, Scar was not going to like this one bit. The group was already gone by the time they got there, and at this time of the night, finding them wasn't a possibility.

Marini sighed, she hoped that the lions that lived there would not turn them down. At least so they could rest a little in case they were not wanted.

[AustralianChaos]

As their group reached the south-eastern sections of the Pridelands, a little under halfway through their trip, Tanga's wounds finally started to take their toll. His pace noticably slowed, and he decided that he had had enough once he started wincing with pain every step. "Sarabi," he called, causing her to turn around.

Sarabi saw Tanga's exhaustion, and nodded, before settling down on the ground. Tanga slowly clambered onto her back, his forepaws once more slipping around her neck as she stood back up, feeling Tanga's heavy breathing and realising that he had pushed himself a lot further than he should have. "You're exhausted, Tanga. Just rest...I'll carry you the rest of the way. And don't argue about it, either."

With those words, Sarabi set off once more, the adolescents following along behind as she turned the group northward, knowing that they were getting closer as the night wore slowly on...Sarabi knew that it must be well past misnight, but the fact that the eastern horizon was still dark confirmed that dawn was still some time away.

Tanga, meanwhile just settled in on Sarabi's back, glad for the chance to rest without slowing the group down. He felt guilt about having a chance to rest, while everyone else kept on walking, and as such fought to stay awake, determined to show at least some of the strength his friends were showing.

[TheWhistlerify]

Zira began pacing around, thinking about what to say to Scar when they came back and told him no one was here. He was NOT going to like it. They could even be inside the Pride Lands right now, but according to Ganya Tanga was badly injured, so they probably moved to a new hideout place.

Marini looked at Tanga, he was very exhausted. She hoped he wouldn't push it any further. She then turned to Sarabi, "Sarabi, if you get tired... then... I can replace you then." she said and smiled at her. At some point Sarabi would get tired from carrying Tanga, even though he was a little smaller then lions his age, he was still some weight.

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi smiled back at Marini, but shook. "No, Marini...you may have grown a lot, and you may bigger than Tanga, but carrying another lion on your back is not pleasant...it can damage your back if they're too heavy as well. I don't need two of you hurt at the same time."

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Tanga smiled at Sarabi's comment, before nodding in agreement. The thought of resting on Marini's back brought a smile to his face, considering how close he was to her, but he would not risk her well-being over it. "I feel bad enough that I'm resting while you all have to keep walking," he said, looking at Simba and Nala as well, smiling at how close they seemed to be to each other...too close for simple friends.

Grinning at them, he addressed both of them at once as he spoke. "So...you two seem pretty cozy. What did I miss while I was stuck in the jungle, hmm?"

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Ganya's tail flicked angrily, before he once again turned his temper on Sarafina. "What happened, huh? You said they trusted you! If they're so trusting, then why'd they run off...and leave you behind?" he was still extremely suspicious of her, and had the feeling that there was something going on that no-one was aware of...something to do with Sarafina.

[TheWhistlerify]

Sarafina turned to him, but kept the serious look she had, "Tanga and Marini did, Nala didn't." she said, noticing that non of the lionesses from Pride Rock had returned yet, "Have you forgotten that she saw me kill the prince? He was a best friend."

Marini just sighed. She couldn't force Tanga onto her back. But she then turned her gaze to Simba and Nala and smirked as she noticed they were a little closer then they used to be in the past few months.
Simba then looked at Tanga and Marini, who seemed to have noticed him and Nala. Was it this obvious? He blushed slightly and hoped they didn't notice it because it was dark, but he had no idea what to say. He didn't know if Nala felt like letting them know, he looked at her with a helpless look

[AustralianChaos]

Ganya growled as Sarafina explained the problem. "Great," was all he ended up saying. "Just perfect!"

He then turned to Zira, having had enough of Sarafina's incompetence. "Well...now what do we do?"

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Nala also blushed slightly as she turned to Simba, who was looking helplessly at her. "They seem to know, Simba...should we tell them?" she asked, although she paused. "Wait...where, exactly, do we stand?" she asked, too quietly for anyone else to hear but Simba.

[TheWhistlerify]

Zira sighed, "There's not alot we can do." she said as she noticed the gorup was gathering back, no one seemed to have found anything. I guess you will be going back to your home now. We will get going as well."

Simba was about to say something in return but then Nala posed her second question. He thought about it for a moment; where did they really stand? "I... don't know." he said with a tone as quiet as hers. They only found about each other's feelings a few hours ago, he had no idea what to say to this question