[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[KiarasMate]

Kiara swooned over the young cub as she returned the affectionate gaze to her newly adopted daughter, picking up the faint, yet noticeable purrs that emitted from the small feline's muzzle, all be it low and raspy sounding due to the lack of fluids that the young cub had taken in. Reaching a fore paw down, Kiara picked up the toppled turtle shell, frowning as she saw that none of the clear water had been salvaged from her clumsy actions. Sighing softly, Kiara spoke once more to Mila.

"Looks like Cutie here is still thirsty Mila. Do you think you could make a second run to get some more water for me please? You can go to the Private Waterhole just behind Pride Rock, since it will save you a bit of running. I'm sorry for asking you to do me so many favors, but I just don't want to leave Cutie's side. I think I've grown too attached to her already." Kiara stated, giggling softly as she set down the empty turtle shell so that Mila could take possession of it if she so chose to.

The young princess hoped that Mila knew of the Private Waterhole, which her father specifically reserved for the use from only the top members of the pride, as well as visiting guests to the Pride Lands or the occasional creature who was offered a temporary place to stay, seeing as there were a few vvacant dens there that Simba always kept open for such an occasion. Returning her focus back to her beloved bundle of joy, Kiara spoke quietly to the thirsty young cub in a motherly tone.

"Hang on Cutie. Mila here, that nice lioness over there," Kiara spoke, giving Mila a nod with her head to indicate to the small cub to whom she was speaking of. "is going to get you more water because I have clumsy paws."

Smiling happily at the adorable infant, Kiara leaned down and gently began to bathe the small cub's face, cleaning off the small amounts of antelope juices that adorned her tiny, furry muzzle. Deep down, Kiara felt the bonds between her and this new addition to her family, growing stronger by the second. She hoped that her father would never make this poor creature have to go out on her own one of these days and she hoped that her mate Kovu would feel the same way towards her precious little daughter as she did now.

[Mike]

Vitani took Simba's comment as a compliment, and took the initiative in speaking up, seeing as she had been the first to meet the new lion. As she spoke she kept one eye on Daxis, noting his changes in behavior.

"I don't really know what to think about him. He's obviously young, and still learning how to treat someone like the leader of the pridelanders. He's pretty unpredictable, and he clearly doesn't treat cubs with much respect! On the other hadn, you've accepted way more troubled lions before him. We turned out alright didn't we? Maybe all he really needs is a home and someone to teach him his manners. If you don't accept him I don't think he'll go get himself killed, he'll more likely lurk around the edges of your land, and that wouldn't be safe for anyone he catches alone. Anyway, what can he do? we're a pride, and he's one young lion. If he tries anything nasty we won't have any problem throwing him straight back out."

Vitani stopped speaking. She hoped her arguments had had an effect on Simba.

[KiarasMate]

Simba took Vitani's words to heart as he listened to what his fellow Pride Member was saying to him. She made some very valid points and seeing as there seemed to be no direct harm in letting the ornary, young male stay, at least for a short while, Simba nodded slowly as Vitani finished speaking. Breaking away from the small group, Simba returned his attention to Daxis as he addressed the adolescent in a strict tone.

"Okay Daxis. We've decided to let you stay here in The Pride Lands for the time being. You will be assigned one of the dens near the Private Waterhole and your actions for the next few days will be closely watched, so I advise you to be on your best behavior." Turning his gaze back towards Vitani, Simba continued to speak. "Vitani here will show you to your den and explain to you the basic rules of our lands. If at anytime, you are found to be disobeying any of said rules, your punishment will be swift and final. I do not tollerate misbehavior in my pride, because we all are a very close family here and we look out for one another. If you want to find a place within our ranks, you will have to earn our trust. Keep this in mind and hold that tongue of yours. It will get you in trouble if I find out that you've done anything to any of my Pride Members Daxis."

Giving the young male one last glance, Simba moved in close to Vitani, whispering to her in a murmured pitch.

"Keep a close eye on him Vitani and tell me if he acts up at all. We're doing him a huge favor here and he better be grateful for it."

Turning his attention to Kovu now, Simba spoke in a more casual tone now.

"Seeing how this day has turned out Kovu, could you do me a favor and give a quick scout of the Pride Lands. I just want to be sure that there are no more strangers within our midst. This day has become quite the eventful one I must say, but you know that our pride's safety always comes first. After that, you might want to check up on your mate. Knowing my daughter, she's probably already fallen head over paws for that cub you found."

Simba flashed Kovu a friendly smile as he took a seat next to Amanda, not wishing to leave the young cub's side until Daxis was out of sight. The regal king waited patiently for his fellow Pride Members to depart as he smiled down at the beige colored cub with a warm stare.

[Lodrill]

The young cub closed the eyes as Kiara bathed her face. It was clear visible that she liked the threatment. Also the purring grew a very tiny bit stronger. I sounded very dry though.

Taraji felt a bit happy. Even if her belly still was grumbling for food and water she felt a lot better than before. She did not catch all the talks about Mila and that she would get some more water. Taraji just had listened to the soft voice of Kiara without listening to the words she said. Taraji began to get sleepy again. Even though the strong tongue of Kiara still kept her in the world of the awake lions she felt her body cry out for more sleep again. It was a very confusing feeling. The nice bath of her face, the warm body of the kind lioness, her stomach calling out for more food and water and her body calling for sleep. But this was a feeling of life. Taraji felt that she had survived and she also felt like she would go on living like her mother had told her. Kiara gave her the ensurance that she would be cared about and would not have to go out wandering in the desert again. Taraji relaxed and snoozed off very quickly. Like the voice of Kiara last time, this time her tongue led Taraji to a wonderful dream. And most of the dream was about her mother and about this new strange and yet so familiar lioness.

[Mike]

"I'm on it Simba." Kovu said without hesitation. He headed off at a brisk pace.

-----------

Vitani nodded, pleased with the king's judgement. She matched Simba's tone and responded.

"Good idea. You're right about his needing looking after." Then she spoke up, calling to Daxis.

"You heard Simba, and he's your new king so you better listen to him" Vitani said in a carefully cheerful voice. She didn't want to appear unwelcoming. She waited for him to join her before moving off.

Vitani had some mixed feelings about Daxis. He was a handsome young thing, and the scar on his face was strangely attractive to her. If only he were a bit easier to get along with. Vitani knew she'd be seeing a lot of the lion for a while.

[Panda-chan]

Amanda acended slowly and painfully up the side of Pride Rock, panting and wheezing as she struggled to climb up the steep slope. When she finally reached the top, she paused to catch her breath. Usually she didn't find it so difficult to get to the top, but today she was especially tired after running around for more than an hour.
Soon Amanda stopped panting and walked inside the cave. She was starving. Maybe the lionesses had some leftover gazelle for her to eat. What she saw inside was not at all what she had expected. Mila was sitting close to Kiara, who had a very small cub in her paws. She was bathing the cub's face with motherly affection. Nearby was an empty turtle shell. Amanda froze, unsure of how to react. Yet another cub had found its way into their pride. This one looked more dead than alive. It lay there almost lifeless, and Amanda could even see some of its bones sticking out. It was obviously starving.
After a while, Amanda padded quietly further into the cave so as not to disturb the sleeping cub. "Mila, who is that?" she asked softly, glancing once again at Kiara and the tiny cub.

[KiarasMate]

Upon spotting Amanda making her way back up the slope of Pride Rock, Simba felt as though he was no longer needed where he was now. Deciding to have a look around his lands as well, Simba took off in the opposite direction to which Kovu had headed mere moments before. As he walked, the king's eyes scanned every inch of his territory, looking for any signs of abnormalities within the lush scenery that lay before his gaze. Traveling at a moderate pace, Simba's eyes meandered towards a large tree in the distance. Squinting his eyes as he slowed his pace, the observant ruler thought he spotted slight movement coming from the darkened shadow that the massive tree provided. Hesitating slightly, Simba called out in a firm, yet friendly tone.

"Pardon me, but do I know you?" the king asked as he gradually approached the unknown figure, who seemed to be relaxing quite peacefully next to the base of the tree.

==========

Feeling the steady pace of the young cub's breathing beginning to settle now, Kiara could tell that sleep had once more, enveloped the exhausted infant securely within its gentle grip. Smiling in sheer bliss, Kiara picked up her gentle humming once more as she lightly nuzzled the dozing cub while day dreaming of what her future might hold with this new addition to the pride. As the caring princess' eyes scanned the sleeping youngster, she took key note of the strange birthmark upon the young cub's forehead. This foreign symbol intrigued the young lioness to no end as she lovingly stared at her adopted daughter's adorable face as she slept. It wasn't until the small voice belonging to Amanda, entered her thoughts and brought the dreamy lioness back to reality as she looked over and gave a warm smile towards the curious cub. Not wanting to speak up for her fellow lioness, Kiara remained quiet as she gently cradled the young cub close to her warm, furry chest, giving her as much support with her fore legs and paws as she could, gazing up at Mila as she too waited for a reply from her fellow Pride Member.

[NightmareMoon]

Mila had been daydreaming again, when a cub voice broke her from her state. It was Amanda, a cub that she knew fairly well and adored.

"This is a cub that was found in poor condition not too long ago. We're not sure where she came from or how she got here, but Kiara has been taking care of her." Mila said softly, putting a smile on her muzzle and keeping it there as she spoke.

Mila turned back towards Kiara and was a bit embarrassed that she had not heard what she said. "What did you say? I'm sorry.. I didn't hear you.. I was kinda out there." She said, chuckling a bit at herself.

[KiarasMate]

Kiara joined in the laughter as she returned Mila's friendly smile and spoke in a comical tone.

"And I thought I was dreamy here with Cutie in my paws. I think you might be wanting a cub too, huh Mila?" Kiara stated, sighing happily as she snuggled in nice and close to her snoozing adopted daughter, speaking in a casual voice in response to Mila's previous inquiry.

"Hmm? Oh, I just asked if you could get me some more water here for Cutie, since my clumsy paws dropped the water you had brought before, but seeing as she's off in dreamland, much like you and I were it seems, there's no rush now for that. Maybe I'll have Kovu do it for me when he decides to get his butt back here."

Turning her warm stare towards Amanda now, Kiara addressed the beige furred cub.

"Yes, like Mila just said Amanda, I'm taking care of this cub and am going to help her get nice and better. Maybe you two can play together once she gets a bit more strength back. Does that sound like fun Amanda?"

Kiara's smile seemed to increase with every passing second that her eyes stayed glued upon the small, inquisitive cub. All the lionesses within the pride had taken a general liking to Amanda and she was by far, the most popular cub in the tight knit group. Still, with the lack of other cubs for Amanda to interact with, Kiara felt a bit sympathetic towards her for this fact however, she hoped that this new cub would get along well with her once she had recovered enough that was.

[SinChei]

Daxis felt better as he hear he finally found a nice home but he had to force himself to thank Simba and spoke low and looked on the ground

"Thank you" He changed his voice and spoke the words hardly"king Simba"

As he went to Vitani and made clear Simba didnt look a him he made hisself taller again and joined Vitani to go to his new den. And he said proud.

Ok then show me my new den.

Daxis looked one time back to Simba and wanted tto snarl in his direction but he didn't dare to do it and looked forward again and started to follow Vitani