[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[Panda-chan]

"Oh." Amanda plopped down in front of Kiara to watch the snoozing cub. She wanted to be there when it woke up. If it woke up. Amanda shuddered and forced the morbid thought away. She had never seen anything dying before, and she didn't want this to be the first time. In truth, Amanda was very excited about the arrival of this strange rust-colored little cub. Somehow she had the feeling they would become great friends once it was healed enough. Simba's pride was large, but no one there was Amanda's age. Everyone was much older; in fact, Amanda was the only cub in the entire pride. Mila was a great companion, but she had adult duties to take care of. Without a friend to play with, Amanda passed the time by chasing gophers and hornbills, but even they got dull after a while. What Amanda really needed was a lion cub her age who could talk to her and follow her through mudholes, abandoned caves, and empty treetrunks.
Amanda sighed wearily. She wasn't used to sitting still for so long. She was ready to run off and play with the little cub right now. "Uh... Kiara, how long till she wakes up?" she asked stiffly, her shoulders sagging. Amanda looked down on her paws, lay down on the ground, and rolled over onto her back. She giggled up at the ceiling of the cave above her. She'd never seen it from this angle before. "Hey Kiara, do you think Cutie and me will be great friends?" she asked, still gazing wonderingly at the ceiling.

[KiarasMate]

Simba gave a chuckle from Gumu's enthusiasm, listening to what was asked of him before he replied in his typical casual tone.

"Well, I want you to take a few moons to get situated here in the pride. I never like to work my new members right away, but once you feel as though you're comfortable around everyone here, I will probably have you accompany my son-in-law Kovu, on his scouting runs, seeing as you seem like you're a well traveled lion Gumu. I'm sure your knowledge about the various lands beyond our borders will come in handy and you seem as though you're built for such a task, so I hope that is okay with you. The only other job that I can think of, would be hunting but I think our lionesses have that field thoroughly covered."

Simba's pace slowed now, as the two felines had gradually reached their desired destination. Standing before the two felines lay the Private Waterhole, which was small, but still held enough crystal clear water to keep the pride hydrated throughout the seasons. A couple of smooth, flat surfaced rocks surrounded the pristine local, layored with the lush, green grass that blanketed the ground around the waterhole. Taking his time, Simba poked his head into each of the various dens that the two creatures passed as they walked, trying to find the most suitable one for his new Pride Member. After a moment of searching and comparing, Simba stopped at a quaint looking den, already furnished with a nice looking sleeping pelt, which was sprawled out in the middle. Turning to meet Gumu's gaze, Simba addressed the younger male in a hospitible manner.

"I think this den is free Gumu. It's probably the best one available as of right now. This is what we call, The Private Waterhole," Simba stated, giving a quick nod to the sparkling pool to which he was referring to. "most of the higher ranking members of the pride take their drinks here, seeing as it's away from the typical hussle and bussle of the main waterhole further out. You are more than welcome to use this waterhole for now though. These dens are reserved for guests of my pride, as well as those creatures who might be potential permanent members. Like I said though Gumu, every new creature is closely watched for the first few moons, just to make sure that they aren't here to cause any trouble. Once you have proven yourself to be a worthy member though, you will be assigned a much better den that's a bit closer to Pride Rock. I hope this will meet your standards for now though."

Stepping aside to allow the beige maned lion to inspect his new abode if he chose to, Simba figured that this new lion would be fine on his own now. Speaking up once more to Gumu, the king politely took his leave.

"Well, I think you can handle things from here Gumu. I will let you get comfortable with your new den and like I said, you're free to wander around my lands and get to know everyone. Just remember what I told you. I'm going to head back to the main den now though. I'm sure the hunting party will be back soon, and that means a fresh meal."

Simba sported a friendly smile as he gave a departing nod towards Gumu, turning to head back towards Pride Rock, pausing momentarily as he called back over his shoulder.

"Oh, there is another new male to our pride Gumu. His name is Daxis and he'll be taking one of these dens near yours. Um, he's a bit young and a bit arrogant, so just don't pay him much mind. He'll be lucky if he doesn't get thrown out into the Outlands with his behavior, but I'm hoping he'll change soon. We'll see though. Just a fair warning."

With this said, Simba left the golden brown furred lion to his own accord, making his way back to Pride Rock at a leisurely pace.

==========

Kiara smiled happily from the way Amanda was reacting to the thought of a new cub to play with. Hearing the young cub's question, Kiara sighed softly and shrugged before responding.

"I'm not too sure about that Amanda. She was awake earlier but didn't say anything. I think she's still a bit too weak to talk but hopefully a good night's rest will give her enough energy to speak and maybe even move about on her own. We'll see though Sweetie."

Kiara giggled at the way Amanda was amusing herself with the roof of the den, making the golden furred princess reflect upon her cub-hood days. The way the beige furred cub seemed to be just so care free was refreshing to Kiara, as it made her feel young again too. Perking her ears up as she heard Amanda's second inquiry, Kiara nodded and replied in a certain voice.

"Oh, I'm sure you and Cutie here will get along perfectly Amanda. I know it must be hard for you to find others to play with but I'm sure you two will have tons of fun once Cutie here wakes up and gets a little stronger. Just be sure that you two don't get into any trouble now." Kiara exclaimed, flashing the young cub a playful smile as to let her know that she was merely joking with her.

[Panda-chan]

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure." Amanda said, rolling onto her stomach. She grinned up at Kiara. "I'll show her all the really cool places that I've found around the Pridelands. Like this huge meerkat hideout I saw a few days ago that was full of slimy bugs and lizards. And yesterday a baboon showed me how to swing from branch to branch using only my tail. I wasn't very good at it and I fell down and scratched my paw on a thorn. But a nice old giraffe came and made it all better using these special herbal leaves that he liked to eat. I tried some but it tasted horrible. I think giraffes are really neat because they have such long necks so they can see everything from miles around. I want to ride one some day but I'm afraid it might sound rude. Maybe me and Cutie can go ask that nice giraffe once she's all better. I hope it's soon because I can't wait." Amanda finished, hopping from one paw to the other.

[KiarasMate]

Kiara's giggles increased as she listened to Amanda speak of her various adventures within the Pride lands, making the older lioness wish that her feisty youthfulness was still as active as her younger pride member's. Although she had had quite the many adventures herself when she too was a cub, Kiara missed those days of unmitigated freedom that seemed to be only possessed by cubs. Once the beige furred cub had finished speaking, Kiara nodded and smiled before speaking.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you two will go exploring all over the Pride Lands together. Swinging from branches with your tail? Sounds like fun to me Amanda. Just make sure you don't hurt yourself even more though, cause you know my dad would have a fit if anything happened to you Sweetie." the caring princess stated, as she reached out a fore paw and gave the young cub a loving caress. "Ahh, you do Amanda? Do you wish you had a neck that long too?" Kiara asked jokingly. "Now that's something I've never thought of doing. Riding on a giraffe's back. I think it would be more fun to slide down their neck though."

Kiara giggled wildly from her own thoughts of even picturing herself sliding down the neck of such a tall creature. Turning her gaze to Mila, Kiara spoke in between giggles.

"Can you picture that Mila? Would be like the world's best slide. Bet you'd favor the branch swinging though, huh?" Kiara stated, lightheartedly poking fun at Mila's extraordenary tail.

[SinChei]

Daxis felt a gently poke in his side and he looked smiling to Vitani and yawned. Vitani was the only lion on priderock Daxis trusted and everytime when he heared her voice he felt relaxed and happy. After his yawn Daxis spoke.

A nap on the best spots of priderock. sounds great. Ok i follow you

He walked directly next to her and smiled again when Vitani didn't look to him.

[Faolcho]

Gumu nodded his head slowly whilst making grunting sounds to confirm what Simba was saying, but when he reached the fresh water hole and his in-his-eyes-5-star-den, he was utterly bedazzled.

"This is going to be my recovery hole?" He silently muttered in amazement and disbelief when he sticked out his head to inspect his new home.

He turned his head slightly when the king continued to speak about an arrogant newcomer, Gumu thought he could teach the boy some discipline, he'd surely need it by the looks of it. The Southlander made a gesture of gratitude towards the feline, by bowing his head once more.

He watched Simba make way to his destination, and then, rapidly turned his head towards the den, inspecting every inch. He saw something moving underneath the hide.. Gumu tried to sneak as silent as he could.. it stopped. He grabbed the pelt with his claws and threw it aside, leaving a rather large frightened rat infront of him. Blondie raised his eyebrows inquisitivly while staring at the rat, it was fat, incredibly fat, too fat, surely for a rat.

"What in Ubazazi's name let they lay around here? Fat rats? Unbelievable, even the rats are well fed." He semi whispered.

He launched his claws towards the critter, but sadly, despite it's weight, it ran off, leaving Gumu with a sigh.

The blue eyed lion steadily walked, almost marched, towards the waterhole, and let his tongue roll out to accept the most precious gift of nature, water.

[Panda-chan]

Amanda's eyes widened in amazement as Kiara told her about how she could slide down the neck of a giraffe. "You think maybe he'd let us?" she asked excitedly. Now that Kiara had mentioned it, sliding down the neck of a giraffe sounded much more fun than swinging through tree branches. The longest thing Amanda had ever slid down was the length of a dead tree leaning against a boulder, and that hadn't been half as fun as this was beginning to sound. Amanda pictured herself with Cutie, both taking turns riding down the giraffe's long straight neck. She giggled to herself at the thought. "I wish I were an elephant because then I could make a really twisted slide with my trunk and anyone could ride on my back." she said dreamily, laying down on her back again. Anything could be more exciting than being the only small lion cub in the whole pride.

[KiarasMate]

Kiara did her best to restrain the fits of laughter that wanted to burst forth from her muzzle upon hearing Amanda's excitement about sliding down a giraffe's neck. The playful princess had only mentioned it more as a joke, but seeing as the beige furred cub had taken it to heart, she wasn't about to step on her prospects of having so much fun, so the golden furred lioness simply nodded and spoke encouragingly.

"Hey, you flash him that adorable smile of yours Amanda and he'll have no choice but to say yess."

Kiara grinned at the young cub, knowing full well that she had picked up her signature trait of getting what she wanted with a single look from her, as the crafty princess had used this tactic countless times upon her father and most recently, her mate Kovu whenever she needed, or more so, wanted, anything in particular. Setting aside the urge to relieve herself, which still plagued her, Kiara watched Amanda with a loving stare, hoping in the back of her mind that this new cub she was caring for, would get along with Amanda, as the two cubs seemed to be destine to play with one another. For the time being though, Kiara just waited patiently for either her newly adopted daughter to stirr, or for Mila or her mate to relieve her of cub-sitting duties so she could answer nature's call before she burst.

[Mike]

Kovu covered the final distance to his home at a tired jog. He was a strong lion, but he'd already run nearly full speed to the outlands and back, then covered the entire area of the pridelands a moment later. This he'd done at high speed as well so he could return quickly. He was just about ready for a nap. Simba was making his way to Pride Rock as well, he was on the other side of the rock where Kovu didn't see him. Kovu struggled up the path that lead to the den, then staggered inside, and collapsed next to Kiara.

"Whiew, no more scouting for me today I hope. Hi 'manda." Kovu rolled onto his back and noticed the little cub he'd saved. He hastily lowered his voice. "And how's the little one doing? Has she woken up yet?"

From Kiara's attitude when he entered the den Kovu expected good news. She had been practically overflowing with bubbly laughter, and she looked so cute because of it.

-------------------- a few moments later

Vitani walked the rest of the way to Pride Rock without speaking. She figured Daxis was the strong-silent type, which suited her just fine. As she looked around the lands Vitani saw a thick heat shimmer in most directions. It sure was roasting hot. Vitani had been used to extreme temperatures in the outlands. Without much water or plant life around, the days were scorching and the nights were frozen. The heat didn't bother her too much, though she had to admit to herself that she'd gotten used to a better life in the pridelands.

She stopped at the bottom of Pride Rock, having noticed Simba a little farther ahead. She hoped that Daxis wouldn't see him and start another tiresome confrontation. She wondered if he could even have the energy for it in this heat.

[Panda-chan]

Amanda laughed at Kiara's remark. "Sure thing, I'll remember to do that." she joked, still lying down on her back. She started twisting around and clawing at the air as though she were fighting some strange invisible beast. Just then, Kovu walked in. "Hi Kovu." she replied to his greeting. Amanda stood up and tried to shake off the loose dirt that was clinging to her fur. She pointed to the small red cub. "Her name's Cutie, and when she wakes up, she and I will be best friends." she explained to him proudly.