Secrets of the Past [AustralianChaos & KiarasMate]

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga faltered in his walk slightly as Singa took on a more objectional, defensive tone with him, clearly his suggestion that he could look for a den if she didn't like sleeping outdoors had hit a nerve of some kind. He was about to apologise when she smiled at him again, before offering to find a spot for them herself. A little confused, Tanga just nodded, internally cursing himself for accidentally offending her, as he believed he had done by trying to be too polite, too considerate.

As such, when she started scouting out a place to stay for the night, Tanga kept his head down, his mouth shut, and just meekly followed along behind her. He only looked up when Singa spoke again, suggesting a nearly cluster of acacia trees as a good resting place, Tanga looking around even as Singa found a place near the southern edge of the trees and settling down in the grass. It seemed like a good enough spot...if the weather unexpectedly turned foul then the trees would provide some cover.

But then Tanga caught the scent of cheetahs, and sure enough, when he looked more closely, he spotted a group of the creatures resting in the trees themselves, a couple of them watching him with wary curiosity. He gave the creatures a respectful nod, silently communicating that he wasn't here to cause trouble and would leave them in peace, before making his way over to Singa, settling down nearby, but far enough that she had plenty of personal space. He was genuinely curious as to her choice of sleeping place, particularly near the cheetahs, but did not speak up this time, not wanting to her offend her again.

Instead, he just listened as Singa spoke up about his words earlier, nodding at her declaration that his views had been one of the reasons she had left her old pride. He was surprised, however, when she mentioned a mate. How come she had never mentioned this before? The answer came as Singa spoke on, Tanga noticing the slight quaver in her voice as she pushed on...clearly something had happened to him, whether he had been killed, or something else, Tanga wasn't sure. But it was clear that Singa was still struggling with whatever had happened, as he spoke up quietly. "I won't ask what happened to him, Singa...it's not my place to ask something so personal. But...if you ever want to talk about it, or anything else, I'll always lend an ear," he said gently, conveniently ignoring all the signs Singa was giving off as she attempted to bottle them up. He knew that she'd rather not be pried about her feelings right now, Tanga knew from his experiences dealing with his family's deaths. He just hoped that one day, she would talk about it. He knew he was being hypocritical, having never talked much about his family, himself, but it didn't change the basic fact that dealing with loss was always easier when there was someone else to help share and ease the pain.

[KiarasMate]

”Perhaps one day I will Tanga-Mwokozi, but not now.” Singa stated softly, her voice barely detectable as her muzzle had sunk in between her fore paws.

Deep down, Singa desperately wanted to confide in Tanga, as he truly did seem genuinely sympathetic towards her plight, even without knowing what exactly it was that was bothering her. Still, she knew that even if she told the young male the abridged version of what had transpired that fateful day, it would raise more questions that the tawny furred lioness was not yet prepared to deal with herself. Silently cursing her emotions for letting them get the better of her, Singa raised her head off of her fore paws and stared absentmindedly up at the cluster of acacia trees, hoping to take her mind off of the past events that now flooded her thoughts.

Catching sight of one of the cheetahs that had taken up residence within one of the higher up branches of the tree, Singa noticed that the group of cheetahs, to whom Singa already knew were all males since males were the only ones who were typically known to travel in groups together, were giving her a rather undignified stare. The young female knew that her status of being a member of the Arimathea pride was known far and wide, and regardless of whether or not she was traveling with them, on her own, or if she was even still affiliated with her former pride, it made little to no difference to most other creatures. Narrowing her eyes as her ebony muzzle lips curled into a snarl, Singa made it blatantly apparent that she did not appreciate the unwanted attention from the gawking band of spotted felines.

”I never asked to be a part of them!” Singa exclaimed as she ejected her claws and swiped the ground in frustration, causing her onlookers to turn away immediately.

Obviously irritated, Singa repositioned herself so that her back was now facing towards the gathering of acacia trees, her tail tucked indignantly in between her hind legs as she curled up tightly, her eyes closing firmly as she took several more deep breaths to calm her nerves once more. It looked as though it was going to be a very long night, and as the last flecks of sunlight were overtaken by the darkness, an uneasy silence fell over the lands. As much as she tried, Singa found that sleep was just out of reach, only adding to her misery as she shifted positions once again, moving in a little closer to Tanga while still keeping at least one or two paws length between herself and the golden furred lion.

”I’m sorry Tanga. I told you it wasn’t easy to be around me for very long. I guess I just need sleep. If you’re not here when I wake up, I’ll understand completely though, and if that be the case, may I say once again, that it has been a pleasure being in your presence for what it’s worth to you, coming from someone like me that is.” Singa murmured quietly, hoping not to disturb the black maned male if he had already fallen asleep.

Finally letting both her body and mind relax, the young lioness eventually found herself drifting off slowly as the faint moon above cast its eerie pale light across the savannah. As the hours progressed however, Singa’s momentary escape from reality was cut short by a distant roar that sounded from a far off location, yet was carried clearly by the nippy winds of the night. It was not an ordinary roar produced by a lion or lioness though, as it was more of a combination of a roar and howl of sorts. Immediately, Singa’s ears stood erect as she snapped out of her light slumber just in time to see the assemblage of panicked cheetahs scattering quickly away through the grass in all directions. Feeling her heart rate already starting to pick up from the thought of what very well could be heading her and Tanga’s way, the tawny furred feline had no choice as she scrambled to all fours before roughly nudging Tanga awake.

”Get up Tanga. We have to move, NOW!” Singa hissed urgently, making absolutely sure to keep her voice down as much as possible. As soon as she was certain that the dozy looking male understood what she had just said, she was off, leaving a trail of dust in her wake that pointed southward as another distant roar echoed through the still air.