[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[KiarasMate]

Staying close to Rahina’s side, listening to what was asked of them, Kopa spoke up once more in response to Kovu’s inquiry.

”I’m sorry but she only told us that she had other matters to attend to. By the looks of her though and from the gazelle she was kind enough to bring my mate and I to eat, I’d assume she’s a part of the hunting team here, assuming you all have a hunting team?”

Having no prior experience to typical Pride life, Kopa was only going off the information he had acquired over the seasons. Fortunately for him, he was fairly accurate in his presumption. Nodding in response to Kopa’s remark, it was Kiara’s turn to speak on behalf of her family.

”You’d assume correctly Kopa, although she is the leader of the Hunting Party here to be more precise.”

Letting an amused chuckle escape his muzzle from the golden furred lioness’ comment, remembering that Kiara had mentioned that Nala was her mother, Kopa replied in a casual voice.

”My mistake Miss Kiara. Well, in regards to that meal you wished to share, I’m sure we could all have at the gazelle that your mother was kind enough to bring us,” Kopa stated, looking over at his beloved lioness as he continued. ”that is, if it’s okay with you my precious.” Kopa asked, leaning in to lovingly nuzzle Rahina, obviously not being ashamed to show his undying affection towards his one and only mate in life.

While Kopa waited for his mate to give the approval, Kiara’s mind was reflecting over something Kovu had stated moments ago. His joking comment about Kopa being Simba’s long lost son caused her to suddenly put two and two together. The stories she had been told of Kopa, the first born cub of her parents that mysteriously went missing. Debating amongst herself over this matter, Kiara remained quiet, a thoughtful look upon her muzzle as she continued to lightly stroke Taraji’s side with her fore paw to assist her mate in comforting the little cub from her scary ordeal.

[Lodrill]

Rahina smiled and responded to Kopa with her soft warm voice. "I would not mind dear. I guess this would at least make up a bit for scaring them." Rahina looked to the small cub that still seemed to be very scared of her. "Hey, you do not have to be so scared. I really will not harm you." Rahina smiled. She knew that with her big scar she looked pretty scary.

[hr][/hr]

Taraji finally calmed down. The caring love she received from Kovu and Kiara payed of and she snuggled up against Kiara. As Rahina raised her word towards her she crawled deep under Kiara so that she was completely out of sight of the strange lioness. She still was not used to these strangers.

[KiarasMate]

Knowing that his mate was going to agree to the invitation presented by Kovu, but still being relieved from hearing her say it herself, Kopa turned to face Kovu and Kiara as he exclaimed.

”Well, the gazelle is in our den but I don’t think it will be very comfortable with all four of us…” Kopa started to say, seemingly noticing Taraji for the first time as he corrected himself. ”excuse me, the five of us all crammed together, so let me go grab the meal.”

Bounding off to fetch the gazelle, Kopa spotted the distant look upon Kiara’s face, mirroring that of Nala’s. It was strange, but from the way the two had looked at him, it was as if he were a ghost of some distant past or something. Shrugging this fact off for the moment, Kopa hastily retrieved the gazelle and brought it outside, casually flopping the fallen creature between the two groups of felines as he spoke.

”Well, don’t be shy everyone.”

Feeling Taraji snuggling deep within the protective confines of her fore legs and under belly, Kiara lightly nudged her daughter as she spoke softly towards her.

”It’s okay Cutie. They won’t hurt you. Mommy and Daddy are here to protect you. Don’t be shy. Show them that adorable face of yours.”

Heeding his own words, Kopa had already begun to tear off a rather large chunk of the gazelle, which he lovingly placed next to his precious lioness before stating in response to what Kiara had mentioned to the little cub.

”So, that’s your cub Kovu and Kiara? She doesn’t exactly resemble either of you but I don’t mean anything negative by that. It’s just striking, is all.”

Continuing to try and coax Taraji out of hiding, Kiara stayed mute, allowing her mate to field the question posed by Kopa, who had torn off another chunk of the gazelle for himself, which he had already begun to feast upon.

[Mike]

"Just yesterday morning I was scouting in the outlands, where I found this little cub all alone. I brought her back to Pride Rock where Simba entrusted her care to Kiara and I. She's slept for the last day and a half, and I was getting worried about her, but she's finally come back to life. She's very shy of strangers. Isn't she lovely though?"

As he finished speaking, Kovu took his place at the meal. After a few bites something else occurred to him. He was intrigued by the history that Rahini and Kopa clearly had together. It would be nice to find out more about them.

"You know, we usually have dinner together as a pride in the evenings. You're welcome to join us. I imagine you'd have plenty of interesting stories to tell about your time alone in the jungle, and I'm sure the pride will make an accepting audience."


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

Meanwhile Vitani and Amanda had finished their trek back to Pride Rock. It had taken longer than usual because Vitani didn't want to exhaust the little cub at her side. Their journey was over now though, so Vitani walked her to the base of Pride Rock. She wasn't nearly ready to turn in for the day though, so she left Amanda there.

"All right Amanda, we've made it back. Try not to wander so far off, You'll miss dinner if we can't find you."

Vitani's calm manner and lighthearted voice took away any sting the words would have had on the cub, and with that, Vitani turned and set back out into the pridelands, not sure what she was going to do,but content to just wander for a time.

[KiarasMate]

Pausing in mid chew, Kopa took in what Kovu was telling them about the little cub. Hearing her not so pleasant past made the large male frown slightly as he could sympathize with her on that level. Speaking up once Kovu had finished talking about the red furred cub, Kopa directed his speech towards both Kovu and the young feline indirectly.

”Aww, again, I apologize for my previous comment then. I didn’t know you two weren’t her biological parents but that makes more sense now in regards to her looks, which I must agree with you Kovu, she is very sweet looking indeed. I actually can relate to her to some degree, as I can’t recall who my parents were and what happened to them.”

Hearing this statement being uttered from Kopa, Kiara’s mind raced faster as it felt as though the pieces to some mysterious puzzle were slowly coming together but for what reason, the golden furred princess was still unclear of.

”So, does she have a name or does everyone just get caught up in her adorableness to even ask?” Kopa asked in a humorous manner.

Once again, Kiara gently nudged Taraji to introduce herself to the strangers as she wanted her daughter to grow more accustom to meeting new faces and not being so shy. If she was going to stay in The Pride Lands, this was going to be a much needed skill for her in the future. Gently speaking to the apprehensive cub, Kiara leaned in to give Taraji a tender nuzzle as she murmured.

”Come on Cutie. Tell them your name. They’re friendly.”

Perking up his ears in response to what Kovu spoke of next, Kopa’s expression shifted into a more thoughtful and withdrawn appearance as the memories of what happened at their former oasis home flooded his thoughts once again. Knowing that the past few days weren’t pleasant by any means for the both of them, Kopa replied in a hesitant voice.

”Well, perhaps at a later time. The past few moons have been rather hard on my mate and I, so you will have to forgive us for wanting to keep our past to ourselves for the time being. Maybe we will join you and your fellow pride members just to get to know everyone and maybe we can discuss a few things about my mate and I but I just would like to avoid the unpleasantries if you don’t mind.”

Feeling his appetite slightly diminishing from the thoughts of the past, Kopa wolfed down the last bit of the gazelle he had taken for himself, leaving plenty for Kovu, Kiara and the little cub, as well as his special lioness if she wanted more. Taking a seat next to Rahina now, Kopa lightly maneuvered himself so that he was gently cradling his beloved mate, keeping his strong fore legs around her as he found solace in her company, helping him to forget about the previous days as he watched her eat with a smile etched upon his muzzle.

[Mike]

"Of course, I understand." Kovu replied easily. "Maybe you'd like to know a bit about us then if you're going to spend time here. I used to be part of a group of exiles who's goal was to take the pridelands for ourselves. Fortunately for all of us I met Kiara and we fell in love." Kovu flashed Kiara a loving smile before summing up the rest of his story. "We realized that the pridelands were big enough for everyone, and we've lived here in peace for some time now."

Seeing no sign of Taraji overcoming her instinct to hide from the new faces he decided to take the pressure off the little one and complete the introductions.

"Her name is Taraji. She told us herself just this morning. I'm sure she'll be feeling better in no time. All she needs is a few meals, and a lot of love from my wonderful mate and I. Fortunately food and care are in no short supply in the pridelands. I'm sure you'll find this to be the case as long as you're here."

[Lodrill]

Rahina nuzzled Kopa in return for the meat. She started to eat in her own very clean matter. Dispite her appearanc her eating maners were superb. She hardly got any blood on her muzzle and skillfully detatched small pieces and ate them. She was in a completely contrast to Kopa or Kovu who ate very fast any without bothering with the looks of it. It really looked like Rahina was enjoying every bit of her meal.

While eating she did not talk. She just looked to the cub from time to time.

As Kovu told his story her ears perked up. Something in this sounded very familiar. The prideland, exile... even the name of Kovu seamed to ring bells in her but she did not recall where she heart of it before.

[hr][/hr]

Taraji meanwhile made no move to step out of her safe hiding or even talk to the strangers. Kiara really tried to make her tell her name to the strangers but Taraji just shook her head and cuddled into Kiaras fur even more.

[KiarasMate]

Seeing that Taraji truly didn’t wish to confront the new strangers and understanding that too many new things in one day might have a negative effect upon the small cub, Kiara allowed their daughter to remain concealed safely underneath her, parting her fore legs a bit so at least she was still visible to Rahina and Kopa. Kiara stayed quiet as she listened intently to her mate, who delivered an abridged version of his past and how he had fallen in love with her, as she to him. This seemed to clear her mind of the previous thoughts about Kopa and her parents as she returned the loving gaze back to her mate before speaking to him softly.

”Can you break off some of the softer meat for Taraji please Honey? Seeing as my mom isn’t around, she’s going to have to eat a little solid foods again. Hopefully you can pick out something tender for her.”

Not feeling all that hungry herself, Kiara made no motion to eat any of the gazelle herself, merely remaining where she was as she observed the newcomers, adding in a quick comment of her own in regards to what Kovu had told them.

”Yes, much like my mate told you, we fell in love with each other pretty quickly and have been inseparable ever since. Times have been good for us here in The Pride Lands for a while now and I hope it will stay that way.”

Perking his ears up as the name of these lands was mentioned, Kopa once more, felt the strange tug of something familiar deep within his memory. Refusing to listen for the time being, he simply tried to focus upon what both Kovu and Kiara had said. It took a moment for him to reply as he watched his precious lioness eating.

”Taraji, huh? That’s a nice name. I’m sure you two have made excellent foster parents for her, since she seems to be quite attached to you both. As for your past Kovu, it sounds like you’ve lived quite a colorful life thus far. If there is one thing I can agree with you though, is that love truly does change things for the better. I know that I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my precious Hina. She means the world to me and I’d be completely broken if I ever lost her.”

Lightly stroking Rahina’s sides with his fore paws, trying not to disturb her as she ate but wanting to show just how much she meant to him, Kopa gazed back towards Kovu as he inquired.

”So, since I’m sure we’re going to meet everyone in the pride eventually, might we also be meeting your parents as well Kovu? From what we know already, your mate’s parents are the king and queen of these lands but I’m sure they didn’t have any problems with letting your parents live here as well? Not trying to pry into your personal life mind you, I just like to be prepared when I meet new people. Any information I can learn about them before paw always seems to help. Something I’ve learned from my precious Hina, along with many other things.”

[Mike]

Kovu laughed, slightly embarrassed by hearing Kopa's expectations of his parents.

"Oops, maybe I left out that little detail. My mother, Zira, was the one hard-headed lioness in the outsiders pride, and also happened to be the leader. She tried to continue fighting after her pride abandoned her, and she was drowned uuh," Kovu hesitated, but couldn't find a way to tell the story without mentioning Kiara's part in it. "She was drowned after Kiara knocked her into a flooded river." Kovu realized how this must sound, and then hastened to clarify the situation, feeling that he had to justify why Zira was killed. "It wasn't murder though, She was protecting her father. It was almost an accident, and none of it would have happened if my mother were half the lioness Kiara is. Zira gave me the scar over my eye, I suffered an unpleasant childhood at her hands. Like the Zazu, the majordomo says though, there's one in every family. My "one" was just a little bit more vicious than most."

Kovu chuckled wryly. "You really want to ask about my father after that? There's plenty of other lions in the pridelands to meet, and they're all still alive as a bonus."

Suddenly remembering the request Kiara had made, and feeling slightly awkward about his heritage, Kovu averted his eyes from the others for a moment and dug into the torso of their meal. His paw came out with a spongy and soft substance, probably lung or liver, though it was difficult to tell, everything being about the same shade of red. He deposited the prize in front of Kiara and Taraji, who was still determinedly planting her face in her adoptive mother's belly.

"There, see if she'll eat that. If not we'll be able to Find Nala later today. Taraji will just have to wait a little longer. Though I could give it to her if you want to have some food of your own."

[KingKivuli]

Back at the main waterhole Kivuli had laid down by the waters edge. He had waited, like Nala commanded. Now it was time to move. Time to face the king. Kivuli rose up and shook the dirt from his fur and tidied him self up. He then turned his head to face priderock, looking at it with his red weary eyes. He set off. Slowly at first but slowly building up speed