[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[Mike]

Vitani nimby followed Simba Into the heart of the graveyard. She took in the gloomy atmosphere with interest. She knew the place existed, but had never visited. After all, it wasn't like the best hunting areas were here, and nobody had recommended it to her as a tourist destination. It was a less desolate place than the outlands due to the eye-catching skeletons that lay everywhere, but it had an even grimmer atmosphere for the same reason. Anyway, she supposed that it was indeed an important place to take a look at now and then. It was just the sort of place someone would go if they're desperate to hide.

Simba gave a brief description of their plans as they moved through the area, and Vitani was pleasantly startled to hear him offer to explain his past with the place. She figured it must be the subject that he and Nala sometimes touched on. After all, how many stories could a place like this hold?... Though on second thought, the mist seemed to ooze forgotten memories.

"No actually." she answered. "Though I must say I've noticed that the graveyard has a place in your thoughts on occasion. Would you tell me why?"

[KiarasMate]

Never being the type to pass down the chance to unfold a story, especially one that held so much detail and ties to his and his pride’s past, Simba graciously took up Vitani’s invitation for the tale.

”Well, to start with, this place didn’t always look this gloomy. In fact, it used to be one of the most pristine locations within our pride’s, well, at that time, it wasn’t our pride, but my great grandfather’s pride, but anyways, it used to be lush and very serene here. Herds of elephants used to roam here and called this place their own personal oasis. That is, until the day the earth literally opened up, spewing some insanely hot substance that was truly deadly to the touch, or so the story tells. The aftermath of the tragic event is what you see before you now Vitani. This place has never been the same since then. It’s almost as if death itself haunts this area and the souls of the fallen gather here to a life that is less than desirable.” Pausing for a moment, Simba thought about the next part of the story, hesitating slightly as he wasn’t too sure of how Vitani would take to what he had to say next. Risking this fact however, the king continued as the two wandered the murky path within the forsaken grounds. ”Perhaps that is why Scar found this place to be more to his likings. During the time when my father ruled, you could often times, find Scar here. At first, I never understood why that was, but after the whole ordeal with the first battle for The Pride Lands, to which I’m sure you’re very familiar with, I learned that Scar had allied with the hyenas, who also seemed to call this place home. That must be why he frequented this location so much. Seeing as I was a pretty gullible cub back then, I never pieced two and two together you see Vitani, but once Scar had gotten what was coming to him, the lionesses and I drove the hyenas out from this area and we keep a vigilant guard as to make sure they never return. Seems our efforts have been paying off, since there hasn’t been a hyena sighting within these cursed walls for many a moon now. I think the only area you can even see those spotted demons in is in The Outlands.”

Hoping he had not offended Vitani with what he had chosen to say to her, Simba remained quiet for a bit, allowing the slender lioness to toss in her own thoughts about what he had told her thus far.

[Mike]

Vitani listened to Simba's story with a keen interest, though looking around she suspected that he was exaggerating the past beauty of the place as storytellers often do. When Scar's name was mentioned she perked up her ears. She'd always assumed that Scar spent his time in the outlands when he wasn't in the pridelands. Vitani accepted that Scar was a traitor and murderer, but she nonetheless respected his memory as being a powerful ruler with a cunning intellect. After Simba had stopped talking and she spent a moment thinking about what was said she replied.

"Thanks for telling me the truth. I've had enough of people lying to me about the past. Being a great leader means more than giving the pride victory, it also depends on how you do it." She took a breath, then continued. "That's why I agree with you about Daxis; there's no sense in being unnecessarily cruel to him.

Vitani looked ahead, straining to see through the mist, but her vision was blocked by the many hills and mounds in the area. It wasn't often that she didn't know where she was going, but she gave a mental shrug and relaxed, trusting that Simba knew where he was going.

[KiarasMate]

Nodding in complete agreement to Vitani’s statement in regards to Daxis, Simba replied quaintly.

”Yes, every creature deserves a fair chance in my opinion. There also is a limit to how much leniency can be given though, so we’ll just have to see how Daxis turns out. I’m hoping for the best though. There must be a likable lion under his rough demeaner.”

Halting at a fork in the path to which the two were traveling down, Simba looked over at Vitani, who seemed to be a bit intimidated by her surroundings. Simba figured that this was natural, as being a lioness, knowing her surroundings was key and not having a good sense of what exactly was around, due to the heavy mist that blanketed the area, it would make any creature feel a bit uneasy if they weren’t adapted to the situation as Simba himself was by this point. Breaking the moment of silence, Simba spoke in a discerning voice.

”The path to our left here is the one I told you about Vitani. It will lead us back into The Grasslands. The path to our right leads a bit deeper into The Elephant Graveyard, though it is a bit unsafe to travel at times, due to the random irruptions of hot air that jet out from the ground. You really have to stay on your paws at all times if you go down that way. Trust me, those hot air blasts don’t feel all that great.”

Starting to make his way down the left path, Simba called over to his traveling companion, who appeared to be intrigued by the prospects of the right path.

”Maybe we can explore that path at a later time, but duty calls you know Vitani.”

Continuing down the beaten trail, Simba thought of another topic that might spark some interest in Vitani’s mind. Recalling the subject of Taraji, the little cub that Kovu had rescued, Simba’s mind filled with one thought in particular. Unsure if he should speak of his past memories or not, the king finally spoke up quietly.

”Say, has anyone in the pride told you about Kopa Vitani?” Simba asked curiously, having a certain idea that the ex-Outlander might not have heard of Kopa, seeing as it was a very touchy subject, one that was rarely brought up, especially in the presence of either Nala or himself.

[Mike]

Vitani grinned cynically when faced with the chouce between the two paths. One leading to danger and the unknown, one leading back into the light and life of the pridelands. This is just swimming in deeper meanings. Huh, if I give it a chance I'll probably drown. Vitani thought wryly. And so she simply treated it as a geographical question and followed Simba back towards the pridelands. As she did so, she was intrigued by Simba's mention of a name that was strange to her.

"That sounds like a lion's name. I wasn't aware you'd had to deal with anyone of that name. Was he a rogue? What happened to him?"

Simba seemed to be in an unusually nostalgic mood, maybe from taking on his old scouting duties or from the ghostly atmosphere of the place they had been traveling through. Vitani was pleased to take advantage of this, always liking to know more about her pride. She held the importance of history rather highly, something that may have rubbed off on her from Zira's constant telling and retelling of Scar's triumphs as King.

[KiarasMate]

Keeping his pace timed with that of Vitani’s, Simba let out an amused chuckle at her remark about Kopa. Shaking his head with a friendly smile, the king started to tell her the story that held so much meaning to both himself and his mate Nala.

”No no, Kopa wasn’t a rogue by any means. He was actually Nala and my first cub, before Kiara was even born.” Knowing that this statement would invoke a reaction out of Vitani, Simba paused briefly before he spoke up again. ”Yes, we had a son before Kiara, but there was an unfortunate day when he went missing. This was a few seasons after Scar’s reign came to an end and The Pride Lands were beginning to return to normal. Your mother Zira was still a member of my pride and this was before we had suspected anything of her plot to take over the lands in her mate’s honor. Kopa was going to be my heir as you might have already figured out by now Vitani, but there came a day when he just suddenly went missing. Nala and I questioned every single creature in The Pride Lands to his whereabouts but no one knew anything. It was later assumed that your mother had something to do with his strange disappearance, yet this was never proven for sure as of course your mother was never the type to admit such a thing, especially to me.”

Breaking in his story for a moment, knowing that his words could perhaps be taken the wrong way by the ex-Outlander, Simba quickly chimed in to clarify his previous statements.

”I don’t tell you this out of spite or anything Vitani. Quite the contrary in fact. I feel as though you have proven yourself to be a loyal member of my pride, there for, any stories that I share with you are only because I trust you that much. I also hold absolutely no hard feelings towards you or any of the other former Outlanders that were accepted into the pride. Despite how vile your mother’s actions were, no blame should be put upon your or your fellow lioness’ shoulders for her actions. In fact, if it wasn’t for standing up to your mother in that epic battle, things might not have turned out the way they did, so in a way, I’m indebted to you.”

Figuring that his words would resolve any conflicting issues his story might have installed into Vitani’s mind, Simba resumed his tale.

”We searched for many a moon, even traveling as far as to where I spent most of my adolescent years at in the near by jungles, but there was no sign of him. To this very day, both Nala and I keep the hopes that our son Kopa is still alive and well somewhere out there, but with each passing day, it gets harder and harder to convince myself of such things. I suppose I should just be grateful for the blessings I have in life though, what with having a healthy daughter and a well formed pride. The past and Kopa still seem to hold a permanent place in my memories though.”

Sighing thoughtfully, Simba picked up the pace a bit as the two had begun to leave the confines of the eary atmosphere of The Elephant graveyard and had started to emerge back into the more lush surroundings of The Grasslands.

[Lodrill]

Out Of Character
[quote]Due to the issue with the forum (see announcements) a few posts (a bit more than one site) were deleted.

I will just try to give a short overview to the situation they were in so that you can go on with the role play.

Taraji/Kovu/Kiara
The three of them are (still) in the den of Kovu and Kiara dozing and dreaming of butterflies and what ever.
There was nothing that was deleted from them.

Mila & Gumu
Both of them should also have no deleted posts. As far as I followed the plot Simba suggested that Mila shows Gumu the pride land and they were off to this.

Nala/Kopa/Rahina
Nala met Kopa and Rahina in the savanna of the pride lands. She offered them a place to rest and showed them the private water hole. After that Nala took her leave (and was not yet mentioned).
Rahina fell asleep with her sore paws in the water and her head on her beloved Kopa while Kopa is watching over her.

Laini/Amanda/Daxis
Laini and Amanda ran into each other while trying to circle around Daxis and woke him up with that. Laini showed a bit of fighting spirit while she tried to protect Amanda from the agressive Daxis. If not for Simbas intruding a fight might have broken out even if Laini already tried to leave the scene.

Daxis was assigned Lainis old small den to reflect on his actions. He is very upset about it but did not really dare to go up against the king.

Laini did also not like the idea to leave her small den (that was her place of peace) to Daxis. Even if Simba assigned her a better den near Kovus and Kiaras den she was sad and hurt by her being chased out of her home den. She left for the savanna to find a new place of peace and finally fell asleep in a field of high grass in the savanna at the edges of pride land. (She did not want to run away but to find a place that was not so crowded as the area of her new den.)

Amanda were with Simba and Vitani as Daxis and Laini left.

Simba/Vitani
After going on a scout duty at the pride lands (this part is mostly still there) the both of them stumbled into the fight between Daxis and Laini and Simba decided to finally punish Daxis and put him on trial.
The plot stopped with him being on the place near Lainis den with Vitani and Amanda after Daxis and Laini left with hanging heads.

Rafiki/Sarabi
There were no posts of them that got deleted.

Serafina/Lini
These characters left eh story. Please just consider them as never be played. (PM me for more information.)

So far it is as I remembered anything. If something important is missing please PM me and I will add it here (so that we do not have so much OOC). I hope this helps you all to get back into the plot. Soon Taraji will also wake up. So the main character will soon be in the middle of all the action as well.[/quote]

[KiarasMate]

Watching as both Laini and Daxis took their leave, Simba turned his attention to Vitani now that the situation had subsided as he spoke quietly to her.

”Thank you for the support Vitani. I really appreciate it. Can you make sure Amanda gets back to the main den okay? I’m going to find Gumu.”

Giving the remaining Pride Members a friendly smile, Simba made his way off towards The Grasslands where he figured Gumu might be. After a short while, the king found Gumu relaxing in the peaceful afternoon environment. Casually taking a seat next to him, Simba addressed him in a calm voice.

”Hey Gumu, I was thinking, you seem to be a well traveled lion, so perhaps you’d like to take up some scouting duties for me? Seeing as my son-in-law is going to have his paws full with taking care of that little cub Taraji, I will be needing a good scout to take his place and I couldn’t think of a better lion to ask than yourself.”

Showing a respectful smile to his fellow Pride Member, Simba awaited an answer from the beige maned lion as he relaxed along side him.

==========

Much like she had stated, Nala had moved off to attend to other matters. Feeling as though she needed to burn off some excess energy, the cream colored queen had decided to go on a solo hunt. She often did this whenever she felt restless and today had lead her towards the outskirts of The Pride Lands. Preparing herself for the thrill of the hunt, Nala’s keen instincts picked up the presence of another creature. Upon a quick scent of the air, Nala recognized the creature as being Laini. Scanning her surroundings, Nala spotted the young lioness, who seemed to be curled up in some of the tall grass nearby. Unsure if anything was wrong, Nala slowly approached as she spoke in a soft voice.

”Excuse me Laini, but is there something wrong?”

Nala knew that Laini tended to keep to herself but she typically didn’t see her this far out from their home, bringing an air of concern to the queen’s mind as she took a seat near where the young feline was laying, waiting quietly for a response.

=========

A short while had passed as Kopa lay next to his precious mate. His large fore paw lightly stroked down the length of his beloved lioness’ side as she slept peacefully. As the time wore on however, the blazing sun above the pair started to become a bit uncomfortable to Kopa. Being used to the lush and dense environment of their former oasis home, being directly exposed to the sun for a long period of time seemed to bother him. Feeling his mate’s body becoming exceptionally warm, Kopa decided to transfer the both of them to the den that Nala had so graciously offered. Gently maneuvering his body, Kopa easily shifted the dozing lioness onto his back, spotting her moving slightly as he did so, causing him to speak lovingly to her.

”It’s okay my precious Hina. Just moving you to the den so the sun doesn’t cook you.”

Within a minutes time, Kopa had entered the quaint den, taking a good look around as he spotted the sleeping pelt that was positioned near one of the back corners of the den. Gently making his way over towards it, Kopa ever so carefully, set his special mate down upon the soft pelt, giving her a tender nuzzle and lick before he made his way back towards the entrance of the den, settling down with half of his frame sticking in the den, and the other, outside as he kept a vigilant watch over his one and only lioness. This was how it always was. The pair always watched over each other, taking turns while one of them slept. This was a tactic that Kopa had learned from Rahina, along with many other useful traits that aided him in everyday life. As he relaxed now, watching the outside world with a curious stare, his mind drifted back to the fond memories that he held dear to him. The day he had met Rahina, the love that had formed between them and the unspeakable events that had befallen their previous lands.

[Lodrill]

Laini was woken up by the voice of Nala. All her peace was gone within a flash. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to the lioness who was just about to lie down.

"Erm... it is nothing sirious. Thanks for you concerns queen Nala."
Laini was a bit confused by this rare action by Nala. She was not even used to a high rank lioness even recognize her. But Nala even addressed her.

"I was just on the seek for some peaceful place since my den got occupied."

[hr][/hr]

Rahina did notice that Kopa picked her up. Being very proud she would have allowed noone to even think about carrying her. But Kopa was special. Also she was pretty much exhausted. After Kopa softly placed her inside the den she licked his snuggling head. "Thank you my dear."

The last thing Rahina saw was Kopa who placed himself at the entrance of the den. Rahina relaxed again. Even if she really would have liked it if Kopa would stay next to her she knew he was there and on guard. The rare occasions where Laini could sleep sound and deep without having to keep on guard was when Kopa was doing the guarding.
In the jungle it had been important for her to be on guard every time and she had tought that Kopa too.
This awareness saved the live of both of them just a few weeks ago. If Rahina had not been on guard that time and noticing the danger ahead they might not got away with that alive.
Rahina was sure that Kopa would wake her up as she did back then if he would sense any danger. Until then she could just relax and give in to her exhaustion.

She fell asleep very fast but even in sleep she emitted a relaxed purr that echoed through the den.

[hr][/hr]

Taraji woke up again. Her belly still was well fed from her drink before she fell asleep. Ahe felt the warm body of Kiara in her back and snuggled against it a bit more. The scent of Kiara and Kovu melted together but Taraji was used to both of the scents. She already started to love them. Her small muzzle emitted a very silend purr.

Taraji kept her eyes closed and just enjoyed the warmth of Kiaras body, the warm and relaxing scent of her foster parents and the ensuring feeling to finally have found a place that she maybe could call a home.

[Mike]

"My pleasure Simba." Vitani replied, bowing her head in respect. "I enjoyed our expedition, and I'd be happy to do it again anytime you need me." With that she watched Simba take his leave, hoping that her suggestion had not been too late. Simba had been exceptionally pleasant company, and it sure beat spending the day with Daxis. But as she knew, the King was a busy lion, and couldn't afford to spend each day on scouting trips. Perhaps she'd offer to accompany Gumu instead whenever Simba assigned him his duties.

In the meantime though, she had her instructions from Simba, and looked down at little Amanda. "Time to go home now little one." She said while moving off towards Pride Rock's distant shape. "That was pretty brave of you sticking up to Daxis. Why don't you tell me about it on the way home?"

--------------------------

Kovu had been sleeping lightly, not really needing such a long nap, but just there to comfort his new daughter. Even Taraji's little purr brought him into consciousness. He blinked groggily a few times, and then looked down to see his adopted daughter lying as though asleep, but a slight change in her breathing pattern told Kovu that she was now just relaxing, aparently comforted by their presence at her side.