Burying the Past [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina just rolled her eyes and shook her head when Juhudi didn't say anything, and instead focused on looking towards where Kijamii was running. Soon enough the rain began pouring hard, and Lina found herself laughing even harder. That didn't last forever though, since she soon found herself freezing as she realised that being out in the rain was a very bad idea. She was already regretting the desicion of not telling her friends about the approaching storm.

Dakari was still running without even looking to see where Kijamii was or doing anything that could distract him or get him out of the mood. He only noticed that they were right in the middle of the storm when the rain began puring furiously, soaking him completly. He soon heard Juhudi's cry, but as he turned his attention back to where they were, the rain was already pouring in such amounts that he could barely see anything. Luckily, he did manage to see Kijamii, who also stopped running and he went over to her, "We should hurry! The den can't be far now!" he yelled, barely managing to hear himself over the noise of rain and thunderclaps, but he hoped that Kijamii got the message. He gently took Juhudi and instead of carrying the cub on his back, he decided to carry him by the scruff. That way he wouldn't have to worry about the cub falling off all of a sudden. He looked at Kijamii once more, this time gesturing with his head and telling her to follow him.

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Unlike Tanga's shyness, Marini found his apologetic behaviour not as cute as his shy one. "No, it's okay, I'm not upset at you." she said reassuringly, before noticing that the black maned adolescent had come to a stop. As far as she could understand, they were still in the middle of the tunnel. The lightning outside every once in a while were weaker in such a deeper part of the cave, but it still helped her see a little. Now that they weren't walking, Marini's mind again shifted to her still wet fur, "Hey, do you mind if... I'm still a little cold..."

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii saw Dakari come up to her as the storm worsened. She didn't quite catch everything he said through the noise the downpour was making, but his message was clear enough...he would guide them to shelter. She nodded, before following Dakari at a much slower pace than their earlier race. She was briefly tempted to carry Lina like Dakari was doing to Juhudi, but decided against it...she was not Lina's mother, merely a new aquaintance...and she figured the little cub would hopefully be gaining a little warmth from her body heat while she was on her back. She did keep her pace steady, though, trying to lower the chances of the little cub falling off as followed Dakari, the unfamiliar territory mixing with the heavy haze to leave her completely lost...she was relying on Dakari to get her out of the storm now.

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Juhudi, for his part, made no protest when Dakari picked him up by the scruff of his neck...he just wanted to get out of the rain fast, as he was shivering uncontrollably by now. "P-please, D-D-Dakari...h-hurry..." he stammered through chattering teeth. He needed to get out of this rain, fast...he refused to admit it...but he was scared.

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Tanga gave Marini a brief look as she said she wasn't mad. "You...you're not?" he asked...his nervous shyness returning slightly...only to come back in full force when Marini asked if he could help warm her up again. "W-what?" he stammered, his blush getting even brighter...if that was even possible...his cheeks felt like they were on fire now. "You...are you sure?" he asked nervously, even as he took a shy, nervous step towards her.

[TheWhistlerify]

Once he was sure that Kijamii understood to follow him, Dakari turned his attention back to getting them to his den. He simply continued walking in the direction he was running a moment ago, while they were still racing. He could barely understand what Juhudi was trying to tell him, but he did realise that the cub was freezing. Cubs were smaller than grown up lions, and they could freeze faster than them. Also their young age and size caused them to panic in such situations, and Dakari understood that he had to hurry. He knew that Kijamii would know what to do, so he brought up his pace and started running. They should be able to get there in about a minute if they went this fast.

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Marini, unlike previous time, did notice Tanga's cheeks going red as a thunderbolt appeared outside just a few moments after she posed her question. He was blushing, deeply, and this time she noticed it, causing her to giggle a little. She noticed him take a small, hesitant step towards her and took a small step herself, "You wouldn't mind, would you?" she asked with a rather more shy tone as she felt nervousness come to her too for some reason. At some point, they were both standing an inch for each other, and seeing that Tanga was rather frozen, she giggled again before asking once more, "Well... Uh... Can I?"

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii simply kept up with Dakari as best she could, but as she trailed behind, she could not help but worry for the cubs. She could tell Juhudi was freezing cold, and by the shivering she could feel coming from Lina, she little lioness was, too. She herself was starting to feel the effects of the torrential downpour...she just hoped Dakari's den was not too much farther. If they stayed out much longer, they would risk getting ill from the exposure. "Hang on, Lina," she said in what she hoped was a comforting and reassuring voice. "It can't be far now..."

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Tanga leaned away from Marini slightly, dragging his gaze away from hers as he realised just how close they were to one another...almost muzzle to muzzle, which was exceptionally awkward for him. "I...uhh..." he stuttered, trying to get his whirling thoughts under control. Her mixed emotions were confusing him, as Marini seemed both shy and amused at the same time, judging by her constant giggling. Was this all some kind of joke?

In the end, though, he decided it didn't matter...either way, he was humiliated beyond comprehension already. "Alright, if you're sure," he said softly, sitting down once more. "Lie down...I'll see what I can do..."

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari had been leading them for almost a full minute now, and the den should be visible any moment now, that of course if he was leading them the right way. He could tell that Juhudi was freezing, and hoped that he didn't screw it up by getting confused and taking the wrong direction. Luckily and to his relief, he could see the den a few moments after a few moments. He knew that Kijamii would understand that, and so he made one last push and ran past the waterhole into the tunnel. Once he and Juhudi were under solid rock, he immediately lay Juhudi down and placed himself between the cub and the entrance, while keeping the cub close and trying to warm him up.

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Marini for an unknown reason felt her cheeks going red as Tanga sat down and waited for her to lie down. She walked over and lay down by his side, the cold cave floor only making her feel colder and shiver harder. She noticed that he was being hesitant, "Don't be shy." she said, this time using a reassuring tone as she gave the male a slight, shy smile. She wondered whether he was cold as much as she was.

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii breathed a sigh of relief as the entrance came into view, Dakari running into it, obviously getting Juhudi out of the cold as fast as possible as she also picked up her pace, determined to get Lina inside and warmed up as fast as possible...she was not going to let these cubs get ill, not if she could help it.

The moment she was inside, she placed Lina down on the rock, before moving away from the others so she could shake her soaking wet fur out, getting rid of most of the water, before returning to the others, noting with some sadness that Juhudi was shivering uncontrollably, looking both cold and frightened. Hoping to help warm everyone up, she slowly and gently guided Lina and Juhudi so that they were right next to Dakari, before lying down beside them, making sure they were all huddled close, letting their collective body heat start warming them all up.

After a few moments, though, she looked back outside, fighting down her own shivering so she could speak without stuttering. "Where did that storm come from?" she asked. "One moment, the sun was out, the next, we were drowning out there...that was weird..."

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Tanga hesitated once Marini had settled down beside him, still not sure if was gettig too close to Marini. He had to admit to himself that she was very pretty, and had been kind to him so far...he definitely liked her, and that was what was troubling him about this whole thing.

But when Marini told him not to be shy, he slowly and hesitant lay down beside her, shuffling as close as he could without actually letting their sides touch. He too was affected by the cold cave floor, and did best to hide his slight shivering and the shaky breathing now overcoming him as he set one of his forepaws back to work, placing it between Marini's shoulderblades, rubbing in slow, soft motions, only putting enough pressure into his movements to warm her up...hoping he was not making her uncomfortable...he had no experience doing this, as his attempt at it before had been an impulse decision. "How's this?" he asked as he tried to focus on his job of massaging the adolescent lioness' upper back, trying to keep his thoughts of his crush on Marini, and his own cold discomfort, in the back of his mind.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina was freezing that bad that it made her feel like she couldn't move even if she tried. As the entrance came into view, she was relieved, though it didn't make her feel any better. She immediatly felt better once she was inside, the rain was no longer pouring on her and the wind had a weaker affect. She didn't show any protest as the older lioness placed her down close to Dakari, and she instinctly crawled closer to him and cuddled up against both him and Juhudi. She was already feeling better, but she was still cold and scared from what was going on outside a few feet away from them.

As Kijamii also put Lina next to Juhudi, Dakari made sure that the other cub was cuddled up close to him, even though he doubted that they would resist the warmth after being outside in the rain, and considering the fact that they both loved his mane so much. Once the two cubs were cuddled up to one another, Dakari did his best to cover them both from the wind and tried to warm them up by gently placing his paw next to them and keeping them close. Once he calmed down and was sure that he was going everything he could to warm the cubs up, he finally answered Kijamii, "I don't know..." he said, shivering a little himself, "I guess we must have not noticed it approaching"

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Marini smiled slightly as Tanga finally overcame his shyness and lay down by her side. She did frown slightly as the adolescent again started to rub her back with his paw. "Tanga, please... Don't bother yourself, I'm not as cold as before..." she said, as she moved his paw off and away from her back, "That's not what I meant, actually..." she then cuddled up to him, completely ignoring his shyness and deciding that Tanga should also be warmed up somehow, whether it made him extremely nervous or not. "You seem to be a little cold yourself" She did feel like she owed him for helping her before, and so wanted to make sure that he was feeling warm enough, "Does that help?"

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii nodded slowly, shivering lightly as she looked out at the raging storm, shuffling closer to the three others, desperately in need of warmth herself. She hesitated for a brief moment, before moving to Dakari's side, letting their sides touch as she rested her head on his shoulder, her shivers easing a little. "So cold..." she whispered, moving her body even closer, the only thing stopping her from cuddling up to him completely being Juhudi and Lina, as she needed to give them enough room to breathe...although she hoped the added closeness of her body would help them warm up even faster.

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Juhudi, for his part, did absolutely nothing but huddle closer to Lina and Dakari, desperately taking in the warmth their fur provided, even if the rain and wind were doing everything to undo that warmth. But Dakari's protective position between them and the storm, and Kijamii's added presence a few moments later, helped a lot, and Juhudi could feel his shivers...and his fear...slowly ebbing away. "Y-you...you alright, Lina?" he finally asked once he was warm enough to get his voice working again.

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Tanga was confused as Marini said not to bother with his gentle attempt to warm her up. But when she said explained a little further, and cuddled close to his body, he froze, his whole body stiffening up for a moment in nervous tension. But when she suggested he must be cold as well, he managed to relax a little, letting her snuggle close, sighing lightly as he felt her body heat starting to warm him up. He still refused to admit just how cold he had, but he smiled at her through the gloom. "Thank you...that helps a lot," he said, hoping he didn't sound as nervous and awkward as he felt. He felt he was not anywhere near ready to reveal his crush on her...although knowing his shyness, Tanga had to admit to himself that he would probably never be ready.

[TheWhistlerify]

Dakari was trying to ignore his own shivers and instead focused on warming the cubs. He couldn't help but feel sad by looking at their shaking little forms. He loved cubs so much, and seeing them like that made was annoying. He continued his attempts at warming them up even more untill he felt Kijami cuddled to him a little and rewsted her head on his shoulder, while making sure that she was giving the cubs enough space, it caused him to blush a little. He really wanted to somehow help her get warmer, but he couldn't do so untill he was sure that the cubs were no longer cold. "You... are you alright?" he knew that the question was pointless and stupid, since he could easily tell that Kijamii was really cold, but he still wanted to show her that he cared.

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Lina was soon drawing alot of warmth and comfort from being cuddled up to Juhudi and Dakari. Dakari's place between them and the outside of the cave sure did a good job in hiding the little cubs from the wind. She was no longer shivering after a few more moments, even if she was still feeling a little cold. She did smile at Juhudi as he conveyed some caring about her. They could sometimes really 'hate' eachother, but they were best friends. "I'm okay now." she said with a slight smile, "And you?" she guessed that, like her, Juhudi was probably warm enough by now, but she still thought that it would be rude if she didn't ask.

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Marini found the contact very warming, even if the only thing they were was placing their sides one close to the others. She then remembered their talk earlier in the grass, and how he told her that he was there if she wanted to talk. She never told anybody what happened, Dakari was the only one who knew something, but all he knew was from what he had seen when he found her. "Listen, Tanga... I've been thinking..." she didn't know how to start exactly, "Remember what you said before, back in the tall grass... You know, that if I wanted to talk... Well, I've never told this to anyone, you know... How I ended up here..." she however soon felt like what she was doing was a bad idea, "Ugh... Never mind, let's forget that I just said that."

[AustralianChaos]

Kijamii turned and looked at Dakari as he asked her if she was alright. She could tell he already knew she was cold beyond belief, but she appreciated his care. "I...I'll be okay, in a bit," she said, still shivering slightly. "Just a little cold, that's all." She then looked at him, noticing that, while he was putting on a brave face, she could see he was just as uncomfortable as she was. "What about you? You must be freezing, too," she said, frowning in worry for him...he was a good friend, she didn't want to see him suffer like this...nor the cubs. But she was at least helping the cubs, though not really doing much to help Dakari.

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Juhudi nodded slightly as Lina spoke, already feeling a bit better. "I'm okay...I think," he said, his continued shivering still displaying a hint of uncertainty, but that was fading fast...it would not be long before he was somewhat comfortable again. "I just...nothing," he finally said, unwilling to admit, even to Lina, that the storm, and the cold, had combined to thoroughly scare him...he always tried to put on a brave face, always tried to be the bigger lion, and did not want to ruin that, even to Lina.

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Tanga turned to face Marini as she spoke up, nodding as he recalled what he had told her, smiling encouragingly. But then Marini lost her nerve, and his smile faded a little. She had come so close...so very close to pulling the weight of her past off her shoulders, and she had backed down at the last possible moment.

Slowly, Tanga let his gaze lock with hers. "Marini...I know it can be hard to talk about these things...believe me, I do...but, no matter how hard it is, or how bad it seems, you'll feel better if you do. I won't ask you to talk about it if you really don't want...but please, just try. I'm right here, and I'm listening." He hoped he had said the right thing...he knew that the wrong words here would just make her angry, and with the storm and the confined space, there was really nowhere he could go to escape from her anger.