Private [DGF and Noah]

[DGFone]

Nala sighed softly, but let Simba stay for now. If more than anything, it looked like he was softening up to these two lions, something that she was grateful for. Just by watching how quickly they devoured the small kill she made, Nala was able to tell that they needed the meat. So she instead moved over to Simba's side and sat down next to him.

As Delano ate, he could feel Simba's and Nala's eyes on him, but he didn't care. The meat was good, and he was in desperate need of it. After a while, he finally had his fill and backed away from the kill. "Hey, thanks," he told Nala, grateful that she went and got the meat for them.

[Noah]

"Oh yes, thank you for the kill". Nahaai said, as quickly remembered his manners. Nala did another one of those winks, this time directly at him. "They will be much more at tonight's party." Simba said. "After all it is a special occasion." With those words his eyes met Nala's.

Nahaai felt embarrassed they would go through all this trouble for them. "Do you always plan a party for visitors?" Simba promptly corrected him. "Oh No. We have another things we are celebrating. Should we tell them?" Nala nodded her approval, not wanting to keep their guests in the dark any longer.

------

Sarabi sat on her elevated rock, a right reserved to the current Queen, as he continued her chat with Sarafina. "Seriously, Sarafina You really should stop asking me what I thi...Hello Dear" She turned and greeted her mate as he as his majordomo returned from their bath. She proceeded to nuzzle him and inhale deeply "Your mane smells so nice when you're clean". Despite the water's cleansing power, she could still detect the traces of an unknown lion on Mufasa' body. "Meeting new people?" She asked coyly. He grinned, well aware that nothing got past her.

[DGFone]

Nala grinned. "Come on, Simba. It'll be fine if you tell them." She wanted Simba to tell Nahaai and Delano of the special occasion, wanting to get him to lighten up towards these two lions. He was much more relaxed around them now compared to when they had just met, but she still felt like Simba was still on alert for a danger that she was able to see long ago didn't exist. "Go on, tell them." she urged him on.

Delano didn't know what these lions might be celebrating. He thought that only humans celebrated things, and began to search his mind for what might be the cause, but he wasn't aware of any impending special human days. Then he realized that these lions wouldn't even know about which days humans considered special, confusing him even more. Heck, he knew about those days, but without knowing how to keep track of the days, he relied on the humans for the information. But there weren't any around.

So Delano looked at Simba, hoping to get an answer.

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

Mufasa nodded at Sarabi. "Two lions wandered into the Pridelands," he explained, "I don't really know what to do with them. They seem mostly harmless enough, so I gave them three days and three nights to reorganize themselves and leave. Should be enough time."

[Noah]

Simba beamed as he told his guests the good news "Well. Nala and I are expecting our firstborn.", to which both he and his mate exchanged nuzzles after he finishing the sentence. "Congratulations" Nahaai answered. He hadn't been around a cub since Delano and him were little and he didn't remember that much about little ones. He had never been a part of the breeding program back home, or any program for that matter, so he didn't know how these things worked, but he knew it would get pretty awkward if he spoke up. "We're hoping for at least two, maybe four. Just so long as one of them's a boy" Nala gave Simba a look that expressed a joking sense of disapproval "I said 'one of them' dear".

------

Sarabi seemed interested. It had been a long time since she had met new people. During her husband's trips, she had been unable to go on most of them because she was the leader of the hunter party. It was a wonder she had managed to get today off. "I see. I hope you invited them to the party tonight." Mufasa gave her a look that meant he had done so. "You wouldn't want our visitors to be left out of celebrations. Then we would be in danger." Mufasa chuckled at Sarabi's observation.

Zazu muttered something under his breath that was only meant to imply he didn't approve of the King's decision to let them stay. "Don't you last minute preparations to do Zazu?" Zazu's eyes widened "Oh dear! You're quite right." And with that Zazu flew away. "You can let them stay in the nursery" Sarabi suggested. "Since they're only here for three days, Nala wouldn't be using during their stay. By the way, why three days and three nights?".

[DGFone]

Nala grinned. "It will be a while still before they're born, but it's still something to look forward to." She saw that both Nahaai and Delano looked slightly troubled. "What's wrong? You will get to meet the rest of the pride! Besides, I know that you will have to leave in a few days, but it doesn't mean that these days will have to be boring."

Delano tried to look relaxed, but didn't necessarily feel like it. "Oh, uh, sure. We'll come." Seeing as the pride was letting them get their barrings, it was only fit that he and Nahaai make their hosts happy, but he still didn't exactly feel comfortable meeting even more lions. These few they already met were enough for him.

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

Mufasa watched Zazu fly away. The majordomo was a valuable asset, if only a little too easily spooked. As Zazu disappeared behind some rocks, Mufasa turned back to Sarabi. "Oh, just that it's always been three days and nights," he answered. "They might even leave earlier than that if they figure out where they're headed. I'de hate to kick them out, but they are rogues, and well... they're quite different. I don't know how well they'd adjust to staying here longer."

[Noah]

Nahaai felt uneasy. He knew he wanted to meet the lionesses, but he preferred a one-to-one conversation. Meeting all of them at once with a cause celebre in the background was a bit much. "Uh...We wouldn't have any special treatments given to us would we?" Simba grinned widely. "Of Course. We'll make sure everyone meets you before the night's up." Nahaai felt uneasy but was willing to trust Simba that he knew what he was doing.

------

"I see." Sarabi was curious to find out how different these lions were. She expected to meet run-of-the-mill felines, but this tweaked his interests a bit. "Tell me more."

[DGFone]

Upon hearing that they would at least meet everyone else made Delano slightly less uneasy. But that still meant that they had an entire pride to get through today: not a prospect he was looking for. "So when do we exactly meet everyone?" he asked. "Because that's going to be another... uhh..." He didn't know how large a pride was.

Nala grinned, catching onto what Delano was trying to say. "It won't be too bad. There are a few lions, but not to many. You already know Simba and I, along with Mufasa. That only leaves another five. Not too hard." She grinned at them. "When you're ready, we can take you up to them."

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

Mufasa thought about what he learned about the two lions in the short amount he saw them. "They were looking around a lot..." he said, "more than usual. As though they are not used to the open savanna. And they referred to Priderock in a strange name," he racked his mind for the term Nahaai and Delano used to describe the rock formation. "I think they called it a building," Mufasa answered. "Almost like they saw more of such formations."

[Noah]

They made their way back to Pride Rock. Simba and Nala had plans their unexpectedly broke when they hurried off towards Mufasa's welcome wagon. "So do all lions live in a pride?" Nahaai inquired. Simba responded in a easy tone of voice "Yes, except for rough lions. You see, they have no home." He felt like he was talking to a newborn, but he thought he should at least get all the practice he could before his own child was born.

"That's why my father was so worried when he saw you approaching. He thought you might take over Pride Rock." Nahaai and Delano gulped. They hadn't realized the severity of their actions until just then.

------

Sarabi's curiousity dwindled. "Honestly dear you're making too much of a deal out of this". Mufasa was about to raise an objection, but Sarabi brought her paw to his lips. "Now you run along and finish whatever business you have to do" Sarabi said. "I don't want you late to the big celebration" Without speaking a word, Mufasa nodded and descended the banks of Pride Rock, trying his best to keep his mate's commands.

[DGFone]

Now Delano understood why Mufasa attacked Nahaai randomly like that. But this understanding didn't prevent him from feeling fear. What if the other lions in the pride think the same thing? "But we were simply glad to see another lion," Delano tried explaining, "I mean, we woke up in the middle of nowhere, so when we saw another lion, we figured that he might help us." He looked at Simba. "And why would we try to take over, anyways? You are a lion. You're one of us, I mean you're our pal, right?"

---------

Mufasa left his mate and made his way down pride rock. He had to find Simba and Nala and see what they figured to do with these two strangers. Once that will be figured out, he will know how to proceed with the celebration.

[Noah]

"Unfortunately not all lions are nice. Some are mean and would do evil things to take over our Pride." Simba noticed Mufasa coming at them again "We are fortunate that you are not like that"

Mufasa greeted everyone as he strode in and told his son he needed to speak with him in private. Simba immediately replied "Absolutely. Excuse us for one moment everyone." Nahaai turned to Delano and Nala and said in a quiet tone "I think they are talking about us"

Mufasa and Simba walked to a safe distance where they could be sure no one would be able to hear them, with the Simba speaking first: "What is it you wanted to tell me?"