Setting Sun [AustralianChaos and Zorayda]

[zorayda]

Nala slowed to a stop along with the other two cubs as her Mother came into view, a small golden form between her paws. Nala was briefly confused, wondering why Sarabi wasn't there to comfort her son, but her thoughts were interrupted when Sarafina spoke up. The cream cub flinched a little at the starting reprimand, but her mother was cut short when Simba looked up at the mention of Nala's name, suddenly barreling desperately into his friend.

Her breath rushed out of her lungs as he bull-rushed her, but she wrapped her paws around him as best she could all the same. Nala was suddenly frightened by Simba's sudden extreme change from his normal upbeat attitude and did not know how to handle it very well. She shot her mother a startled look over Simba's shoulder while rubbing comforting circles across his back, and froze at the sudden sight she'd overlooked before. The king was lying under a broken tree, his body obviously very battered and very still. His whiskers were askew and his limbs stuck out at strange angles, and his eyes were closed... Nala's pupils shrank to tiny pinpoints as she realized that she was looking at her best friend's dead father.

"Oh, oh Ahieu, Simba..." Tears burned in Nala's own aquamarine eyes and she squeezed them shut, making them fall onto Simba's fur. They embraced closely in comfort as they both sobbed into one another's fur, Nala out of grief for her fallen king and for Simba's sake, and Simba for the loss of his wise, kind father.

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Zorayda's jaw dropped open in horrified shock as her eyes immediately zeroed in on the king's body behind Sarafina. So, they hadn't been entirely successful, after all... She sniffed and took in a breath of air, winding up to cry tears of guilt and sadness. This wasn't supposed to happen... this wasn't supposed to happen at all. She and Tanga had tried their hardest to help, to save their friend, but who would have known that Mufasa would have been a casualty? Their kind, brave king, a wonderful lion, mate, and father... gone, forever.

Through her fogged mind, she registered the fact that Tanga was nearby, and she turned to see him on the ground and in the same state of affairs as she was. She shakily got to her feet, ignoring her own need to grieve for the moment to focus upon the task of helping her friend. She'd always been a 'doer' during any sort of crisis (though none were nearly as extreme as this one), always taking charge and handling whatever went wrong before collapsing under pressure when she was alone later. This was one of those times, and as she got closer to her friend, she lay down next to him. She didn't leap upon him unnecessarily, but let her sides touch his as a reminder that she was simply there. She sniffled and nuzzled him, knowing that he was probably feeling incredible guilt. Tanga had always been one to take burdens onto himself, and she knew that she was probably going to have to talk him out of it... if it was possible, this time...

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Sarabi began to hum a very soft song as she continued to stroke Mufasa's mane, her eyelids half-mast over her hollow maroon irises. It was a song she vaguely remembered her own mother singing to her when she was but a cub... a lullaby. Yes, Sarabi would sing her beloved to eternal sleep. He would make his way to the stars knowing that she was there to ease his passing... Moisture stung at the queen's eyes but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall, instead clenching her jaw so that her pointed fangs scraped together almost painfully.

Her ears perked up at the sound of Scar's voice, and she dropped her paw though the rest of her body stayed rigid. Her eyes opened to look directly into her brother-in-law's vivid green ones as she spoke, her deep, feminine voice raspy.

"Scar... what happened? Why is my mate... the lion king... why is he dead?" she asked, and her voice became less and less monotonously formal, more pleading.

[AustralianChaos]

Scar gave a heavy sigh as Sarabi pleaded with him for answers as to what had happened. He was briefly tempted to try and run with his old plan of laying the blame on Simba's shoulders, but quickly suppressed the thought, knowing most of the witnesses here would never believe it in a thousand years. "I'm afraid, Sarabi...that this was simply a tragic accident. Simba was simply in the wrong place in the wrong time, and Mufasa could never leave his son in there without doing something. I...I know that Mufasa's last actions saved Simba's life...that much, we can be thankful for," he said softly, still keeping an atmosphere of a grieving brother.

But then he looked up suddenly, as if he had just realised something, giving a small gasp. "Sarabi...the pride. Simba is too young to assume his place..." he trailed off, knowing it might be suspicious of him if he tried to impose himself on the throne. He knew it did not matter, though. With Mufasa dead, and Simba too young to be king just yet, Scar was the only royal male left...he was the only one that could assume the throne now. He had to fight hard to hide his small smile...while he basked in his rightful place at long last, he could come up with some way of disposing of Simba. For now, though, what he had would do.

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Simba just clung to Nala even tighter as he hugged him back, feeling her own tears fall on his shoulder. Why had this happened? His father said he would always be there...why was he gone, why was he taken away? "H-he...he was...t-trying to s-s-save me," he choked out in Nala's ear between sobs. "That s-stampede...i-it just..." he trailed off, sobbing incoherently again for another few moment, before finally whispering to his best friend, his sorrow and fear so evident even an infant could tell something was wrong. "I...I don't know w-what to d-do...anymore..."

He was just so lost, Mufasa had always been there...whenever Simba was hurt or upset, he was always there to comfort him. But now, Simba was struggling to accept the fact that he was gone...forever. "I-I want him back...it hurts...it hurts so much..." he choked, never letting go, never stopping his relentless sobs even as he started crying himself hoarse.

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Sarafina looked from one of the three group of grieving felines to the other, a little lost as she struggled with her own grief, trying to figure out who needed that extra support. Sarabi seemed like she was pulling through, and Scar's presence seemed to be helping her. Similarly, while Simba was, as expected, the hardest hit and most vocal in his grief, he seemed to be finding some security in the paws of her daughter. But when Sarafina turned to Tanga and Zorayda, she paused. Tanga looked almost as distraught as Simba, which, considering Tanga's lack of interaction with the king, was a bad sign...he was taking the death hard, overly so, and while Zorayda seemed like she was handling it better, Sarafina knew the signs of someone suppressing their grief.

Giving a small sigh, Sarafina wandered over to them, a few more tears slipping from her eyes. "Hey..." she said softly, "how are you two holding up?" she asked, looking to Tanga as his response was to bury his head deeper into his paws, almost like he was trying to hide from the world. She looked sadly at his back, gently placing a paw over it. "I know, Tanga..." she said, not really knowing what else to say as she looked at Zor, trying to determine her state of mind as well. They were all so young, to have seen death like this, Sarafina knew they would most likely be changed by this, Simba in particular.

[zorayda]

The queen's sides began to tremble as Scar spoke, the dark lion's voice laced with guilt and compassion. Surely he was feeling pain, too... but he was relatively calm. Perhaps he was holding in the emotion as Sarabi was, trying to stay strong in the face of tragedy. The tan lioness's jaw trembled at the mention of Mufasa dying to save Simba's life, grief and love surging in her heart once more for her deceased mate. He'd died a hero for his son... so, at least Simba had that to remember. A warm, caring father who would give his life--and did--for the ones he loved. A truly amazing individual he could always remember with warmth in his heart. It gave Sarabi small comfort and the ability to remain standing on her paws until she got a private moment at Pride Rock...

Sarabi's eyes snapped upwards in surprise at Scar's mention of the pride's lack of a leader. Sure, Sarabi was queen, but in the Pridelands, it was an unbreakable tradition to have a male lead the pride... She slowly turned her whole body towards her brother-in-law, her eyes narrowing and looking him up and down in scrutiny. He was small, to say the least... Scar had never been physically strong. He probably would need all the lionesses to help him take down any challenging rogues. But... he was smart, almost eerily so. As a cub, he found ways around his weaknesses, often using his silver tongue and sharp wit to get others on his side...

Sarabi sighed deeply, letting her body sag under a new weight. Her ears drooped as she looked down at her paws, mouth pulled back in a close-mouthed grimace. It wasn't like they had a choice... Scar would have to be their steward. A temporary king, in place of his brother until Simba was old enough to accept the throne. Giving him a grief-stricken look, she nodded slowly, as if to say that she knew what he was getting at and that she reluctantly accepted it.

The tan lioness opened her mouth to say something, but she had to close it, clear her throat, and try again before the words would come. "I should... have his... him... moved... so Rafiki may perform the..." her voice cut off at this, her throat closed up and her eyes burning with unfallen tears. Abruptly, she turned to walk slowly towards Sarafina so they could call down the others.

"Sarafina," she called in a half-monotonous, half-strangled tone. Her friend was trying to tend to four sobbing cubs--more innocence that was to be destroyed today. Sarabi flinched nearly imperceptably as she locked eyes with her long-time friend. She could see the tears and redness there, and the queen suddenly wished she could be home so she could let herself cry, too. "Will you help me lead the cubs back up the gorge? And... we must gather the hunting party, to carry him home..."

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Nala could do nothing but sob right along with Simba, her heart ripping in shreds with each of his words as he stammered them brokenly into her ear. She squeezed her eyes shut and just continued to hold him, murmuring meaningless comfort in an attempt to keep him from completely shutting down.

"I'm so sorry, Simba... I'm sorry..."

She pulled away from him a little to attempt to look him in the eyes, though in his hysterical state, it was hard to get him to let go even a bit. Her own eyes blurred so much that Simba's face was nothing more than a golden blur with two round, reddish-brown blobs that signified his eyes.

"Your dad... he saved you, Simba, so you know that he loved you a whole bunch," she said with a strong but trembling voice. "And... M-Mom always told me that all the kings become stars... so m-maybe... maybe he'll b-be there..." Nala tried desperately to comfort her friend with this knowledge that she'd dredged up in her mind. Perhaps it would make Simba hurt just a little less... she embraced him again, hiccuping softly into his shoulder. His fur was wet and cold where her tears had been just moments before, and they were joined by many more as she cried softly.

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Zor looked up when Sarafina walked to them, concern in her gaze as she regarded the two cubs. Zorayda didn't answer for a minute, but looked discreetly at Tanga as if to tell her that he needed help far more than she did, herself... though the brown cub's heart felt extremely heavy at the unfolding events of the day, she felt the worst for Tanga. A twinge of guilt colored her mind for feeling worse for him than even for Simba--a cub she didn't know as well, but who had suffered extreme loss all the same. Tanga was like... an irreplaceable part of her. When he hurt, she hurt, too. Simba had his family and Nala. Tanga had Zorayda. Her hollow, crystalline eyes lacked that certain spark she always seemed to have, the laughter suppressed for once, as she nuzzled Tanga's face again, this time gently wrapping a paw around his trembling frame.

[AustralianChaos]

Scar once again fought to keep his emotions in place as Sarabi slowly nodded, understanding what he had meant, and with obvious reluctance, admitting that he was the only candidate to take care of the throne while Simba grew up. His plan had still half-worked...Scar knew he was not king, merely a caretaker, and as such, he would not have complete free reign. A caretaker of the throne was only supposed to keep the pride functional until the real king was ready, and as such, any radical decisions or changes he made could be protested by the lionesses. He could not yet finalise his deal with the hyenas and bring them to Pride Rock, not until Simba was dead and he was able to assume full control of Pride Rock.

Scar once more nodded as Sarabi tried to explain her next move, once more putting forward a bleak, depressed look. "I'll watch the body, Sarabi...you go bring the lionesses," he said softly, deliberately letting a slight hitch of emotion enter his voice, making it appear his calm facade was simply a mask, that underneath, he was hurting from the death. Underneath, though, he was already starting to use the time away from the adults to assess the situation and plan, to find a way to make his temporary kingship permanent.

----------

As Nala tried to pull away, Simba tried to cling harder, but eventually Nala's insistence won out, Simba simply didn't have to mental or physical strength to fight her right now. But as she looked in his eyes and told him how heroic Mufasa had been, all it did was make Simba feel terrible guilt...if he hadn't been stuck in there in the first place, dad might have survived.

But when Nala taled about kings becoming stars, Simba looked up at her, remembering his father's story about the Kings of the Past just last night. He had said that the Great Kings of the Past look down on us, and watch over us, from the stars...and whenever a King dies, he too, takes his place with them, watching over the lands. Despite knowing that the stars presently were not out yet, Simba looked up, sniffling slightly as he seemed to search the reddening evening sky.

"Just remember, that those kings will always be there to guide you...and so will I..." Now Simba finally understood what his father had meant by that statement last night. Mufasa might be gone, but his dad was still there, up in the stars now, continuing to watch over him. The thought actually gave Simba a lot of comfort, and while he was still terribly shaken, the worst of his grief seemed to have eased off, now. he collapsed into Nala's shoulder once again as she embraced him another time, his sniffling much quieter and more controlled now, even if the tears still did not stop. "Th-thank you, Nala. I...I needed to hear that. You...you're an awesome friend, you know?" he said quietly, the first traces of his old personality starting to come back. Maybe...just maybe, he could pull through this tragedy now.

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Sarafina watched with some surprise as Zorayda gestured to the distraught Tanga, clearly indication her soothing words and comforting presence should be focused on him rather than her...she was clearly trying to be strong, and Sarafina knew that, while Sarabi was doing it, it was much worse for a cub to bottle up their emotions. She just prayed Zorayda would grieve properly later on as she crouched down beside Tanga. "It's okay, Tanga," she said, reasoning out the cause of his distraught state...she had heard rumours of Tanga's guilt-complex and tendency to blame himself when things went bad, and figured he was horrified that he could not alert them in time.

"You and Zorayda both did your best, I know it. No-one could have done anything to prevent this today, we all did our best. Tanga, your actions today, and Zorayda's, did not kill Mufasa...but you did manage to save Simba's life. I don't know what he would have done if he was left alone to that...you saved him, Tanga, so don't beat yourself up, please?"

Her words seemed to assure Tanga to some extent...the guilt was there for everyone to see, but he seemed comforted to know that no-one else was going to give him a hard time for it. He finally responded to Zorayda's gestured, nuzzling her back before burying his muzzle in the crook of her neck, his sobs reduced to hiccuping sniffles now. "I just...I just want to go back...to find a way to save him..." he whispered hoarsely, clearly desperate for some comfort from his best friend...the only real friend he had out here.

Sarafina looked up as Sarabi reappeared, though, nodding at her request to help her get the cubs away from the scene, and bring the lionesses to move Mufasa's body home again. "The cubs need a few more moments, Sarabi...after that, I'll guide them back up. Nsia can take them home." She looked back at the distraught cubs, noting that they finally seemed to be calming down. She didn't miss Simba's frequent glanced to the sky, and knew what he was thinking...maybe they could all pull through this. The cubs would end this day with their innocence crushed to dust and lost to the winds of time, but it seemed like they would move on.

[zorayda]

Sarabi nodded at Sarafina curtly, trotting off to begin speaking to the rest of the lionesses as her friend took care of the young ones. Sarabi had wanted to gather her son into her forelegs and lick his fur soothingly until he calmed, but as she watched Nala and Simba for a few moments, she knew that he was in good paws. He and his betrothed had always had this way of knowing what the other was thinking, to understand one another on a basic level. They were peers of the same age, so perhaps they'd be able to provide a different sort of outlet for one another than a mother did for a son. She let them be.

After climbing the rocks up the gorge, she approached the curious hunting party, who still couldn't see down into the canyon clearly because of the remaining clouds of dust. Sarabi cleared her throat and faced them all, taking a moment to look at all of their faces.

Obi had always lived up to her name, being a compassionate shoulder to cry on and a generous friend. She was a bit older than the others, and though she didn't have any cubs, she was a great cub-sitter. She was the one to say a small prayer before making a kill in the hunt, believing all lives needed to be respected.

Abeni, a miracle to her parents who were told that her mother could bear no cubs, was young but talented, a truly intelligent and fast huntress. She was sharp-tongued but always respectful to her elders, and grateful for what life gave her.

Kato, Obi's slightly younger sister, looked nearly exactly like her. But Kato was feisty and competitive, one of the stronger lionesses of the pride who always took life by the horns. She had two young cubs, one male and one female.

Nsia, Zorayda's mother and the last of six cubs born to her parents, was a wonderful storyteller. She could come up with a story for every situation to help with others' troubles.

Sarabi had to tell all of them that their wise, kind, amazing king was gone.

She took a deep breath... and told them.

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Nala smiled softly when Simba started to calm down slightly, pulling back to look into the sky. She sighed as his tear-filled eyes slowly filled back up with reason and that little mischievous sparkle he always seemed to have, even if it was extremely faint. She nodded at his compliment, her smile growing wider and her eyebrow quirking upwards as if to say, 'Oh yeah, I know it,' in that confident way of hers. She hummed softly as he collapsed back into her, noting that he seemed to sag in a way that suggested that he was becoming exhausted. Today had been a very long, tiring, tragic day--for all of them. Her smile sobered back into a thoughtful and sad frown at the thought.

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Zorayda's heart calmed slightly as Sarafina seemed to focus her attention upon Tanga, using words of comfort and reassurance that she knew she'd never be able to say the right way. She was immensely grateful for Nala's mother at the moment. She jumped a little when her best friend finally spoke through his tears, which had finally subsided to just quiet snuffling.

"I... I know, Tanga... I wish we could, too," she whispered softly, closing her eyes as one tiny tear slipped out. The spots under her right eye scrunched with her face as Tanga snuggled into her again. "But it's not our fault... it's not your fault. We did everything we could," she reassured him, her voice hoarse. She sounded as if she was telling herself all of this, as well as Tanga, trying to work through the guilt that ate away at her own heart as well as her friend's. The two of them would have this memory etched in their minds forever, now, but at least they had each other to remind them that none of it was their doing.

"It's like what Nala's mom said... Simba's okay, it could have been worse and we could have been playing somewhere else, and Simba would... he would have..." her voice trailed off at this. She didn't want to think about any more death today, even hypothetically. The little brown cub hugged her friend harder, only to look up when Sarabi's voice sounded somewhere above them. Zorayda's crystal-blue eyes flicked from her to Simba, wondering what the queen was thinking right now, and how she could still manage to look so... regal under all the grief she must have been feeling. Her ears flicked at her mother's name... her mother!

How could she forget that there was one adult who could help her and Tanga through their grief and guilt back at Pride Rock? Zorayda wouldn't have to be strong all the time, to have to take care of herself and her friend... it was a somewhat selfish thought, but as just a nine-month-old cub, it was simply necessary for her to have help with all of this burden upon her heart. A huge weight of relief came upon her and her sniffles nearly stopped as she allowed Tanga to continue crying into the front of her shoulder. Together, she and her mother could help the golden cub she called her best friend.

[AustralianChaos]

As Sarabi left to tell the rest of the lionesses the horrible news, Scar looked around, still trying to figure out what had gone so horribly wrong in his plan. He had put it together perfectly, and even managed to knock out that irritating major-domo, Zazu, that Mufasa insisted on having around, so he couldn't call for help, a feat he could always blame on some other random factor...most likely debris from the stampede, since Zazu actually didn't see him land the blow.

But Scar still wanted to know why the lionesses had arrived so fast, when he was sure he was the only witness to the attack. With Sarabi leaving, and Sarafina distracted trying to get the other cubs calmed down enough to leave the gorge behind, Scar went over to Simba, still stuck in Nala's grasp. Maybe the young prince, having been in the stampede, knew what had happened. "Simba..." he said softly, "Simba, I need you to be strong for me...what happened?" he asked, looking like a caring uncle, knowing Simba's trust of him would make him spill pretty much everything he knew in his grief.

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Simba, know calmed from heart-wrenching sobs to grief-striken sniffles, turned around at Scar's voice, finally letting his best friend go so he could cling to his uncle instead. "It...it was horrible, Scar. I-I was practicing my roar, just like you said...and they just came, all at once. I tried to run, but...I got stuck in them. Dad, he...he saved me, got me out of it, but...when he...he tried to escape up that cliff...he...h-he..."

With his sobs threatening to return in full force, he just buried his muzzle into Scar's leg, not really listening to the generic words of comfort Scar attempted to soothe him with. His father was gone, but still watching over him, and to Simba, that was all he could really think about right now. "I...I just want him back, Scar. This isn't fair..." he hiccuped sadly, before walking off slowly as Scar's nudging...the cubs needed to be taken home now.

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Sarafina watched as Tanga and Zorayda drew comfort from each other, almost a mirror image of Simba and Nala's situation until scar came in and intervened. Ignoring them for now, Sarafina continued to focus on the cubs. "Tanga? Zorayda? We need to leave...we need to get you back home to Pride Rock. Nsia's waiting up there to take you all home...come on..." she said softly, taking a couple fo steps, before pausing to wait for them to follow, knowing they were still battling through their grief.

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Tanga gave a shaky nod as Zorayda kept insisting this was not in any way his fault, explaining that their action saved Simba, when he would probably have been killed, or else lost his sanity to the grief. Somewhere, deep down, he knew all this was true, but his guilt still ate away at him all the same, demanding his attention.

As Sarafina called for them to follow her out of the gorge, Tanga took a few moments to suppress his sniffles, wiping his tear-blurred eyes with a paw, the lack of tears only removing the barrier that his just how bloodshot they were. He looked rather frightening, but then again, they probably all did. Looking to his best friend, he finally spoke up again. "Are...are you okay, Zor? We have to go...Sarafina's waiting for us," he said softly, hoping she was coping with this better than him. "Your mother's up there too," he said softly, knowing she would want to dive into Nsia's embrace as soon as physically possible.

[zorayda]

Sarabi came back to retrieve her son, her legs shaking with her withheld grief as the pride lionesses absorbed the information. Nsia had immediately gasped and run ahead of the queen to go to her daughter, while the others stayed where they were, restraining themselves from staring at their dead king out of respect. All of them had the same question: 'Who will lead us now?'

Some of them had the task of carrying Mufasa's body back to where Rafiki's tree was, so four of them stayed behind, grim and sad looks on their faces. Sarabi wanted very badly to stay by her mate's body and cry over him for days, but Simba needed her now... it was best that she allowed others to take care of such a task in place of her.

Sarabi's ears flattened as she approached Simba, watching him with shining eyes as he struggled to accept his father's death. She took a deep breath and placed a paw around him, leaning down to hug him gently.

"Come, Simba. Let's go home," she said softly.

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Nala watched Simba as Scar comforted him, glad that an older family member was taking care of him. She glanced at her mother and looked back at Simba, wondering whether she should leave the queen and her son alone for now or follow Sarafina. Making a final decision, she leaned over to hug her friend.

"I'm going with my mom, but I'll be home if you need me, okay?" she promised, and quickly bumped her head against his cheek. With that, Nala scampered to keep up with Sarafina and the other lionesses, hoping that everything would turn out to be okay.

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Zorayda gave Tanga a sad and tender look as he finally parted from her fluffy (and now wet) chest. Reaching out a paw, she wiped away a tear that he'd missed, sniffling away a few of her own. She nodded mutely at his question, his concern for her making her throat choke up too much for her to speak. Being reminded of Nsia only made her tremble and crave her mother's paws even more... she trudged quietly alongside Tanga and behind Sarafina, only to be stopped by her own mother who had frantically run down to comfort her daughter.

"Zorry? Are you okay? Oh, honey, I'm so sorry... and Tanga, too..." with that, the lioness gathered both the cubs into her paws and hugged them tightly. Tanga and Zorayda had become such close friends that Nsia often thought of Tanga as a second cub of her own. Now was one of those times, and so she nuzzled the two of them for a brief moment before urging them to keep going, to go home in comfort.

It was at that exact moment that Zorayda felt like wailing and crying forever, not caring who was there, and leaping into her mother's embrace like an infant. Her face puckered with the effort of keeping that urge at bay, walking with some difficulty in an attempt at keeping calm and collected like Sarabi was.