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[Mike]

Nala was slightly put off by what she considered to be a simple and silly question, but before she showed her surprise too badly she recalled that Kivuli had hardly spent any of his life in a pride. He would need quite a bit of remedial training.

"My expectations? Well I personally would hope that you become a pleasant pridemate and a loyal friend. As to the larger expectations of pride life in general, just remember that we are not rogues fighting over scraps of meat. A pride works together, and we share all that we have. If you make yourself useful, obeying Simba's instructions and defending your fellows from outsiders, you will find that we will show you kindness in turn, and you will be entitled to a share of the prey we capture. This relationship works both ways though, so be warned. If you don't pull your weight, or worse, if you work against us in any way, you will not share the food we eat, and you may be told to leave our land." Nala had spoken very seriously throughout her speech, but now her tone lightened. "But I'm sure it won't come to that" she continued, though privately she was not entirely convinced of the truth of her words. "Now if you'll excuse Vitani and I, I'm sure you'll want to rest after your long journey. There are streams and waterholes all over the pridelands as you will have seen on the way here. Feel free to make use of any of them as well.

Nodding to Kivuli, Nala began to turn away, beckoning to Vitani as she did so.

[CheetahCat]

Sirom was about to make his move towards the Pride Lands until Manyota fell over on her side in excruciating pain from unknown reasons at first. The young lion observed carefully and couldn't tell what was wrong with her until he heard those words of a cub was due. Confounded, Sirom had no idea what to do by this point and wondered if they should even move her to the den or not, it seemed like a bad idea to him and he figured it'll be best if she remained put. With the lioness's cries echoing in the Outlands, Sirom watched as Sykara kept nuzzling the poor lioness to help soothe those agonizing pains. The young lion took one step and leaned down to nuzzle Manyota numerous of times to help smooth this ordeal.

"Listen Manyota, you need to try and relax. I don't think we should move you at any point due to the big risk factor of harming your cub. Just take deep breaths and try your best to overcome this." Sirom's calm sounding tone rang out as he gave a small consoling lick over her pelt. He can easily tell that things weren't favoring them the slightest bit and if there were to be anymore delay, they risk of not finding out what's been going on in the Pride Lands or worse of all, another Pridelander may stumble upon them.

---

Simba listened to what Kovu had to say, taking aback from a strong emotion of words that were coming from the prince's muzzle. This surely didn't sound like Kovu at all and what surprised him the most is how intimidating he was becoming by every minute, making him feel uncomfortable. Simba wasn't quite sure what's causing these mood swings to cloud up Kovu's mind and he was sure going to get to the bottom of this, even if the outcome may turn bad. After all, Kovu is destined to follow in his paw prints to become king. With thoughts aside, the king took a deep breath and calmly spoke.

"Kovu, I'm not sure what's going on with you but everyone here at Pride Rock aren't going to approve with your attitude. What happened to your generous side? There has to be..." Simba's voice was cut short from a disrupt prince taking off towards the waterhole. Startled, Simba wasn't sure if he should follow Kovu or not. Maybe if he had some time alone like he wanted, things may get better in the future but Kovu's apprehensive nature wasn't going to be ignored. Shrugging this off for now, the king proceeded back to Pride Rock with a disappointed muzzle as his strong orange fore paws made contact with the rock's disheveled surface. His eyes scanned around for his beloved mate and the others. It didn't take long for him to spot them not too far off from where he was stationed. Mustering up most of his strength, Simba padded over to the group of lions and made his anticipated presence known by breaking their small silence.

"I apologize for arriving late, Kovu seems to have change in a way. His attitude is forgivable and I'm thinking he may need some time alone. There seems to be something personal bothering him but he isn't willing enough to tell me, regardless of my position. My assumption is, he will probably cool down after awhile. The only lion I think he'll confess to these unwanted actions is Vitani. Let us not worry about this for now, there's bigger problems we must address." Simba had spoken in a considerate voice, glancing over to Kivuli who had a questionable look on his muzzle. Regardless of Kivuli rejoining their growing Pride, Simba still had second thoughts about him.

"Kivuli, since we're allowing you to come back in our Pride with a lot of trust, I'm expecting you to follow orders from Nala and I. If we catch wind of any suspicious activity you arouse, there may be harsh punishment coming your way if those requirements are met. Remember, this is indeed a second chance we're giving you. Not following orders may lead you to sleep outside of our warm den, no food for the night and isolation. I expect the best from you too Kivuli, seeing how I'm going to give you a task." A serious sounding Simba finished, lowering his head down a bit.

"As much as we all like Kovu, I can't keep surveillance on him. This is where you're coming in Kivuli, I'd like you to keep a good watch on Kovu and report back to me if there's strange behavior going on with him." The king spoke softly and glanced over to Vitani who seemed to be in a much calmer state.

"I'm sorry for things to go how they did Vitani and you know we're all here for you. What I want you to do is get some rest and when you're in better health, keep a eye on the borders of the Pride Lands and Outlands. If you witness any account of Outlanders coming near our lands, please contact me immediately." Simba spoke in a soft caring tone, finally moving back up on all fours to pad over where his loving mate was sitting. He leaned in to nuzzle her pelt and give those attractive furry cheeks a thorough lick.

"Sweetie, you're going to stay with me." The king's loving tone rang out as he kept nuzzling the only lioness he deeply loved so much. With the set plans finished, Simba leaned back to take a deep breath, seeing how he was bit exhausted from what's been happening throughout the day. He was pretty convinced that everyone else felt the same.

[LilTiger]

Manyota did as she was told so. But soon, she felt more pains, the cub was closer.She soon had her cub. Oh I can't thank you too. Thank you so much! Then, she picked up the cub and went to her den. As she licked the newborn cub, she noticed it wasn't moving. Move.Come on....move. Atlest mew. Then, she figured it was stillborn. Oh no! Her scream echoed the outlands. She started to cry.

Why did you have to die?! She cradled the baby even though it was dead. She didn't like this, not at all. Her cub had died, she had to leave the outlands, and the worse part was that she was in a group that didn't like her. Manyota decided to wait to see if it wake up.
___________________________________________________________________
As Kovu said those words, he ran towards priderock, ready to attack Vitani. But then, he saw that grey lion again.Kovu then thought he should leave him alone. Then, Kovu remembered that Nala wanted to talk to him. But Kovu didn't want to talk to her anyway. As he looked at priderock. So rocky, who'd want to live here.

Kovu had gone mad. He soon left to the waterhole again. He waited for Vitani to come and get her drink, since she always went to get drinks every hour. As he waited, he was planning to push her in the water again and drown her. As he planned, he thought of his mother's teachings. Don't worry mother, I'll get her, I'll show you. As he waited, he was ready. Ready to hurt Vitani.

[Mike]

Nala padded up to Kivuli to share one last thought before she was called away by Simba."Stay close to Kovu. My mate's right, he needs to be watched. He's already put us in great danger, and we need your help to make sure he doesn't go any further. If you can do this for us you'll have won my respect and trust. I hope you don't let us down."

Nala held Kivuli's gaze solemnly for another moment, trying to impress the gravity of her words on him. Then she turned to the sound of Simba's voice.

"All right Simba, a nap in the sun does sound pretty good right now I admit." answered Nala, returning the affectionate nuzzle. "Vitani, You're coming with us I hope to take a short breather with before you set out again? You've had a rough morning. Pride Rock should be pleasantly warm by now, why don't we take our little break there?"

Nala turned from Kivuli's den towards Pride Rock, and waited for the other lions to follow suit.

[NightyByeSparrow]

As Sirom tried to nudge her too, Sykara realized she (glady, for her) wasn't alone in trying to help Manyota, and weakly grinned when Manyota took it to her "den". Until, her cry of despair reached Sykara's ears, killing her sense of joy for however long it had lasted in her. The newborn cub had been stillborn.

Sykara had seriously no ideas as to what to do in order to calm Manyota, and everyone else. Manyota would most likely be able to get past the hearts of Simba and Nala and easily have a home in the Pridelands, but if something happened, or a group of Pridelanders disagreed, what would it be next?

---

Vitani tried her very best to stay in close sight of Simba and Nala, for safety. Fear gripped the lioness for the first time since she had been in the Outlands; fear of Kovu's suddenly showing dark side getting worse, and actually drowning Vitani, or something like that.

She slowly went back unto the very ledge of Pride Rock, having a sense of security as her paws gripped unto the rock and she could, once again, survey the beautiful scenery around her. But as she noticed the height and a slight breeze coming directly behind her, Vitani edged back, as Kovu reared his way back into her mind.

"No worries about me, Simba," Vitani said not very assuredly, as her mouth streched into a large yawn.

"I'm pretty sure a new group of Outlanders are living back in the Elephant Graveyard now, though." She shuddered a little bit, from the chilly blast of the wind and how any lion would want to live in such a desolate, lifeless area.

Vitani slowly padded her way back into the den, and found herself in the same spot as where her day had started. She laid down, the fur of her paws making a temporary pillow for her head, and closed her eyes, until she had gotten so deep into her sleep that she could no longer hear the noises around her, or feel the ground beneath her.

[KingKivuli]

As Simba apprached Kivuli, the grey lion bowed to Simba. He then listened to his instructions closely. A name was mentioned. In fact two were. Kivuli needed his answer. Wait a second. Kovu? He was under strict trianing form Zira when I left. Vitani as well, i thought I recognised you. Kivuli was then focussed on Simba and Nala Does this mean the Outlanders have returned?

Kivuli then realized he had a job, and by the sounds of it a very trust worthy one at that. I shall do as you ask. Kivuli began walkign off, but then turned back breifly What level of force am I permitted to use should the situation arise? Kivuli waited for an answer to his question

[Mike]

Listening to Kivuli Nala was again reminded that Kivuli hadn't been in the pridelands for years, and he knew nothing about the recent history of the pride. As the group mad etheir way around to the front of Pride Rock Nala took the opportunity bring him back up to speed.

"After you left" Nala began in a brisk, matter-of-fact voice. "Zira trained her outsiders into something approaching an army, spearheaded by Kovu. The plan was to assassinate Simba and take the pridelands for themselves. Fortunately Kovu met our lovely daughter, who pulled him out of Zira's web of lies. The two of them stopped the fighting almost singlehandedly, and convinced the outsiders to desert Zira. She ended up being killed in the fighting. In short since you left Kovu and Vitani have grown up and realized that a pride is only as strong as it is united and as weak as it is divided." Nala paused and a shadow passed over her face. "Or at least I had thought that Kovu learned this..."

By this time they had climbed up onto the promontory of Pride Rock. Nala decided to leave the disturbing issue of how far Kivuli was to go to keep the rest of the pride safe to Simba, as was proper for such decisions. Instead she listened resignedly to Vitani's news which happened to answer Kivuli's question.

"Yes, there will always be exiles in the outlands... Though if they become organized they will be dangerous. We'll have to keep a close eye on them."

[LilTiger]

As Kovu madly waited for Vitani, he soon was thinking she wasn't coming. He was now angry. He wanted to attack her so bad. But then, something hit him again. He was normal again. Then, he wondered what was going on with him, he wanted to know. Soon, it seemed like he heard whisphers coming from his mother. "Kovu, Kivuli's is planning to attack Simba! Stop him! "I'm not listening to you!" "But you have to, or else the king will be killed.Please go stop him!" Kovu was now shocked, his dead mother was caring about Simba. "Okay but who's Kivuli?" 'That grey lion you saw, he's an outsider." Then, Kovu shook his head, and ran towards priderock.

[Nightstar75]

[OOC: Forgive me I was busy, so I wasn't replying]

Huyani sighed as she heard the lionesses crys. The cub of hers didn't make it into the world, but what would they do with her? Maybe the Pridelands would take her in, she wasn't sure if the lioness could, or would, travel with them after this. But who knew? At this rate, no one did, and she pondered at the ideas rushing through her head. She planted herself outside of what was the lionesses "den" and looked up at the darkening sky.

[CheetahCat]

With a small silence falling among the small pride of lions, Sirom kept his himself situated not too far from Manyota and watched her carefully, taking in her small whimpers when her newborn cub was delivered. A great sense of relief escaped his ebony muzzle lips, seeing how things were about to get back to normal for everyone else. The small allayment didn't last too long however as Manyota's cries were echoing through the Outlands. It was determined that something terrible happened to her newborn cub, stillborn being the cause of her bawling. At this point, everyone wasn't sure how to calm down Manyota's behavior and he too wasn't quite sure how to settle things. Death in a pride is a natural thing in life but stillborn cubbies barley happen out here in the Outlands seeing how most of them were born naturally and healthy. Sirom inhaled deeply and padded graciously towards where the weeping lioness's den was located, not daring to step inside to intrude her territory or worse, make her feel uncomfortable. Eying down at the ground, Sirom's soft caring voice broke through the bawling lioness's cries.

"Manyota? Are you okay? We can tell something terrible has happened with your cub and we're completely sorry for the cause. I know this isn't the best time to apologize on such matters... I just want you to know that you have our condolence..." Sirom's voice traveled through the den's interior as he took a seat on the soft but irregular surface. He wasn't sure if Manyota was going to come out of there or not and if she doesn't, he'd have to tell the others that they will be leaving without her. They couldn't waste anymore time loafing around here.

---

Simba glanced over to his mate and pasted another loving smile in her general direction. He always enjoyed spending time with the love of his life and whenever they can find time to relax together, it happened to be his favorite time of the day. There was nothing more he wanted in life to spend it with, other than his attractive lioness. The king's fuzzy orange ears perked up to listen on in a small conversation going on between Kivuli and his mate. Simba is convinced that their customary life was coming back to them slowly by little and most of the threat that has been going on around their Pride Lands were slowly disappearing. The only issue now they have to contend is Kovu's behavior. Just a mere thought of Kovu's personality averting into his more evil side made everyone feel uncomfortable, especially Vitani. The king's eyes gazed from his loving mate, over to Kivuli who was asking him a question in regards to the authority he may unleash on Kovu, depending how the prince may react. Apprehending this thought for awhile, Simba slowly came to a full stop when everyone reached Pride Rock's prominence. Staring off into the distance, the king's harmonious voice rang out in a response.

"Kivuli, if Kovu is willing to attack you and go further than any lion would, you may use lethal force to take him down. The only thing I don't want you to do is killing him, he's a vital Pride member and must be kept alive. I still don't know what's gotten into him but if things get out of paw, don't hesitate to make him go unconsciousness. That's how far you're permitted, do you understand?" Simba altered his strong, entrancing eyes over to Kivuli's, keeping a serious expression plastered across his furry orange face. The only thing they needed now is Kovu's presence to show up and hopefully come forward to these bizarre actions. A good explanation from the prince is what everyone wanted by this point and seeing how things may go physical, it seemed the only way they could accomplish this is to force Kovu to surrender with force.

Not wanting to think too much of Kovu's ludicrous nature, Simba glanced over to Vitani who was making her way into the den, probably going to take a nap to shake things out of her troubled mind. He couldn't blame her though and figured he'll let her rest and recollect herself, hoping for the best of her later on today. A small nap didn't sound too bad however as Simba let out an exhausted yawn, followed by a low cough. He was deeply drained by this point and once more fixated his attention on Kivuli.

"I'm expecting things to go well, Kivuli. If you experience any sort of problem, don't hesitate to run back here and alert me. Just remember that us Pridelanders will always have each others back, even in worse conditions." Simba's reassuring and soft caring voice flowed out from his tired muzzle lips. In mere moments, the king rose up on all fours and proceeded to step into Pride Rock until he caught a small glimpse of something or someone not too far off from where everyone was planted. Troubled by this, Simba immediately accelerated himself to Pride Rock's edge, leaning forward to try and get a better look of this mysterious object. It appeared to be a lion, not too far off and seemed to resemble a lot like Kovu. Could it be that Kovu has returned? Not waiting any longer, the king took a gander back to Kivuli.

"Kivuli! Quick, I need you to confront this lion over there! I believe it may be Kovu and he's making his way back over here at Pride Rock. I want you to try and bring him here peacefully. If he's willing to hold a fight, remember what I said. Okay? GO NOW!" Simba's demanding voice called out as he soon took a seat by Pride Rock's edge to watch Kovu or whoever this strange lion may be.