[Closed] Little Stranger (Taraji Chapter 1)

[LionPrincess]

A cheary grin appered across her face "ok i will play with you, but first you have to take me to priderock as i think Kopa might be worried so i have to tell him were im going, and plus im starving and i need to eat, so is it a deal?" she asked as she crouched down into a pouncing position

[KiarasMate]

Kopa was pleasantly surprised from Shani’s offer to help locate Almasi. The only impression he had gotten of this other lion was the brief confrontation he and Rahina had had previously, which didn’t leave much to be desired about his character, although Kopa knew as well as anyone that first impressions weren’t always sincere, and Rahina was a perfect example of this. Despite his untrusting nature towards strangers, Rahina had turned out to be caring, loving and above all, understanding, so Kopa figured that Shani deserved a second chance as well. Smiling graciously towards his fellow pride member, Kopa replied in a thankful tone.

”That’s very kind of you to help out Shani and I think we’ll have a better chance of finding her with an extra pair of eyes and ears. Thank you, let’s head to Pride Rock. Maybe the little one is waiting for us there…hopefully.”

With this said, Kopa turned and started to move off towards Pride Rock once again. The two lions weren’t too far away from the local, making for a rather short trip and upon arriving, Kopa’s eyes spotted movement. Unfortunately, it belonged to a much older looking lioness than Almasi, although Kopa still took the opportunity to question her, just in case. Calling out in a friendly, yet serious manner, Kopa addressed her.

”Excuse me Miss, but have you seen a little cub with a unique marking on her, coming up here by any chance? She’s about this tall.” Kopa stated, indicating with a fore paw once again, like he had done for Shani.

Glancing upwards at the lioness, who looked a lot like Rahina, Kopa’s memory tried to recall what her name was, although they hadn’t been formally introduced before, so it proved to be quite challenging. Opting to save the formalities for a better suited time, Kopa waited patiently for a reply as he tried to pick up the scent of Almasi, although he hadn’t spent enough time with her to really get to know her smell, so this also proved to be rather feudal.

==========

Hearing Almasi’s question, as well as the tidbits about her reasoning’s for being in The Pride Lands, Kiara smiled as she replied in a caring fashion.

”Oh, I see. Well, I’m sure my father will have no objections with you staying here Almasi, since you seem like a very polite and well behaved cub. As for Taraji here, she’s just very shy around strangers. You’ll have to forgive her. She’s just not used to being around so many new faces is all.”

Moments later, Kiara watched as Almasi took her leave, wandering off towards Daxis, who the golden furred princess could barely make out, hiding behind a distant tree. Kiara was just about to suggest something to the departing cub, when her attention was shifted to Kivuli, who had meandered into sight. Giving the grey furred male a friendly greeting, Kiara spoke in a kind tone.

”Good morning Kivuli. Out for an early morning stroll are we?”

Looking about, Kiara figured that Kivuli might not have been introduced to the two new faces around him. Taking the liberty to fill him in, the golden furred princess addressed him once again.

”Oh, just in case you haven’t met them, this is Sarabi, my father’s mother, although I’m pretty sure you might know her already, seeing as you were a part of our Pride before I even was, right?” Giggling from the thought of how old Kivuli might actually be, Kiara continued. ”And that cub there,” Kiara stated, motioning towards the distant figure of Almasi. ”is Almasi. If you didn’t happen to hear, apparently she was found by Rahina and is awaiting my father’s approval to join our pride.”

==========

Nala smiled as she listened to Rahina’s response. Somehow, she figured that this would have been her reaction, knowing that this was Rahina’s first time carrying cubs. Feeling completely understanding of her fellow lioness’ situation, the cream colored queen replied in a caring voice.

”Oh, I understand Rahina. Trust me, the first time I was pregnant, names were the last thing on my mind. After having two cubs though, it starts to become a bit easier dealing with everything though. I was thinking, if the cub is male, I’d name him Muffy, as a tribute to my mate’s deceased father, or if it happens to be a female, I was thinking about Tani, to pay my respects to my good friend Vitani, who you had the pleasure of meeting this morning. She’s really been a good friend to me and despite the rough life she lived being Zir’as daughter, I still can’t believe just how caring and kind she is. It’s a real inspiration to me Rahina and that’s why I’d name my cub after her.”

Nala had no idea that her words might have damaged the relationship between her two fellow lionesses, as she was just caught up in the moment of talking about her cub’s potential names.

[KingKivuli]

Kivuli heard Kiara's words and responded in kind I thought recognised that motherly face. Its been too long Sarabi, the years have kept you well Sarabi pretty much become Kivuli's mother after his real mother was killed by Scar. He continued to speak after looking down at the scared little cub behind Kiara Almasi and met yesterday, but this younger cub is an unknown to me, As for bng out here was wondering f you knew how Mila was, im on my way to see her

[Mike]

Shani kept pace as the pair made their way speedily up Pride Rock. There he was not surprised to see Vitani. It would be hrd for her to move around at any rate, so it made sense that she was still on Pride Rock. He approached Vitani with Kopa and added his own greeting.

"Vitani, good morning." Shani said lightly. "I hope you're feeling better. This is Kopa, we're trying to find a cub that was under his care."

Shani knew that there would be next to zero chance that Vitani'd seen the cub, but there was no harm in asking.

Vitani drew in a sharp breath seeing Shani approach with a male he didn't know. So far since Rahina and Nala'd left Vitani saw only Kivuli who brushed past on his way to the waterhole. She was uneasy seeing these two, though the stranger did bear a striking resemblance to a younger Simba. At the sound of his voice she relaxed slightly, he was slightly nervous and polite. When Shani mentioned his name, Vitani was thrown back to the story Simba had told her just a few days ago, though it felt like much longer. Surely Simba would know though if it was him. She pushed the question from her mind for the time being.

"As a matter of fact I'm nearly healed." Vitani said with a deliberately cheerful smile. I'm afraid I haven't seen your missing cub though."

[SinChei]

Daxis crouched down in the same position almasi was and leaped still playfully around her.
He didn't know if he could find the main den again but He wanted to try.
The dark furred cub got up and looked Self assured in Almasis eyes.
"Yes ok follow me" He huggles and made his way to the Main den and climbed up pride rock. Daxis looked constantly Back to Not loose Almasi.

[Lodrill]

Rahina winced a bit at the name of Zira. She had to fight hard to not give a harsh comment. She liked Nala already and something in her told her that she did not say Ziras name out of a bad intend. But still she was not able to stop the wild stare she gave Nala. Her black eyes had become cold and filled with anger and so Rahina quickly tried to look away so that Nala would not notice it.

Rahina kept silent. She did not dare to speak in her angered state. Slowly she calmed down and her blood pressure returned to normal.

[hr][/hr]

Taraji had a hard time trying to hide from all the new faces. She crouched on the ground as hard as possible and his behind the paw of Kiara. Even if it did not really help to hide from any of the surrounding lions. Taraji looked up to Kiara with her shy crystal eyes as if she was asking her to hide her. She nearly wished she had stayed with Kovu. Then she would have been able to hide in his mane.

[hr][/hr]

Laini had noticed as Daxis left the den due her sleep always had been pretty light. Due he seems to not bother waking her up Laini kept her eyes closed and went back to sleep. The past days had worn her out. Watching over this active adolescent lion was really something that pushed her past her limits. It was somehow a nice time of peace she had now. Maybe the mother instinct was missing in the still young lioness because she did not even think about what could happen to Daxis at this moment. She just enjoyed the moment of peace.

[LionPrincess]

Almasi followed Daxis until she seen priderock in front of her, she ran ahead of him and started bounding up the majestic structure of the rock "hurry up" she shouted back at him as she reached the top, then she spotted Kopa with another lion and lioness, "KOPA" she shouted as she ran towards him "why did you run away and leave me, i was scared" she said as if he had ment to loose her, she sat and stared at him for a second and then she nuzzled him and started to cry "i thought i had lost you for good" she said through tears, she wasnt close to the male standing infront of her but he and Rahina were the closest thing to family she had in a long time

[SinChei]

Daxis was surprised and twiched his right ear as Almasi ran past him but He followed her running and giggled. The voice of her got louder and Daxis didn't know what was wrong now. He went towards her and nugded her.
What is wrong Almasi ... why are you crying. It looked like you ran away... not he
Then he looked up in Kopas face and waited for him to say something.

[KiarasMate]

Kiara smiled warmly at Kivuli as she politely shook her head and replied softly.

”Oh, this is Taraji. She shares a similar past to Almasi, as my mate found her on a Scouting run. We’ve been taking care of her ever since. She’s just a bit shy around new faces though Kivuli, so don’t take it personally. As for Mila, I’m sorry but I haven’t checked up on her today. Me and Cutie here just woke up and were on our way to The Private Waterhole for a drink. I’m sure Mila’s doing well though. She’s a very strong lioness and I know my mom and dad will be looking after her too.”

Seeing that Taraji was still cowering behind her fore paws, Kiara politely excused herself as she started to make her way from the small group, calling back over her shoulder to Kivuli as she did so.

”If you’re going to see Mila Kivuli, tell her I send my regards please.”

Smiling down at Taraji now, Kiara spoke softly to her adopted daughter as they made their way onwards.

”Oh Cutie, you need to really learn to not be so shy around everyone. How is everyone going to see just how adorable you are if you’re hiding all the time.”

Giggling quietly to herself, the golden furred princess made a mental note to bring this subject up with her mate when they returned, seeing as she was curious if this type of behavior was natural for a cub or not.

==========

Kopa was right about to thank Vitani for her information, when Almasi seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Hearing the young lioness’ voice, seeing the tears starting to form in her eyes, Kopa felt himself at a loss for words. He hadn’t meant to lose track of her and now he had obviously hurt her feelings in some way or another. It was all very confusing to him but not wanting to look the fool in front of Vitani and Shani, Kopa managed to state.

”I’m sorry Almasi. I didn’t mean to leave you. You just ran off and I couldn’t find you. I’m glad you’re safe though and try to stay close to me at all times if you can, or let me know if you want to go off on your own.”

Reaching a fore paw over to the young feline, Kopa lightly patted her on the head, as he felt a bit uncomfortable in actually leaning down to nuzzle the little lioness. It wasn’t as if he didn’t care about her, because knowing that Rahina had entrusted him to keep watch over her meant everything to him, but just being so unaccustomed to dealing with cubs, Kopa couldn’t really decide on which actions were appropriate for the given situation. Smiling warmly at Almasi however, to show that he wasn’t upset with her, Kopa spoke once more, this time, in a cheerier tone.

”So, whose your friend here Almasi?” Kopa inquired, giving a nod towards the red maned adolescent who seemed to be trying to comfort Almasi.

==========

Nala’s observant behavior picked up on the subtle change in attitude that Rahina displayed, even as well as the dark furred lioness tried to hide her feelings. Chalking this up to her being pregnant however, Nala paid it little mind as she decided to change the subject once again, as they were nearing The Southern Hunting Grounds now.

”So, the typical prey that we’ll find here are gazelle, wildebeest and antelope. I think we should perhaps try for a wildebeest Rahina, since they are the slower out of the three main prey and should prove to be a good start for us. I’d like to test your hunting skills if I may, just so I know what to expect from you. I never like to endanger any of my fellow lionesses on the hunt and it’s best to know what you’re capable of before taking on bigger prey, you know? So, here’s what we’ll do.”

Nala paused where they were, which happened to be in a rather large grassy field, providing the perfect cover for a stalking lioness. Several hundred yards ahead of them, there was a small herd of Wildebeest, who seemed to be enjoying the mid morning sun as they grazed without a care in the world.

”From what I’ve seen thus far Rahina, I think you’ll be best suited for taking The Outer Flank. This means, that I will drive the herd to you and you pick out a target and make the kill. Try to single out the weakest creature of the bunch, whether that be the youngest or oldest creature, or one with an injury. Always keep low to the ground, keep your movements few and short and above all, be patient. Lastly,” Nala stated, giving Rahina’s fore paw a light tap with her own. ”don’t forget to use your claws for traction when you’re running here Rahina. I’ve noticed that you don’t typically have your claws out, which I’m assuming is because back in your previous lands, the terrain was different, but here, you’ll end up hurting yourself if you don’t have proper traction, so keep that in mind too.”

Taking up a perfect hunting stance in front of Rahina, her plump looking belly pressed firmly against the ground below her, fore paws placed lightly against the grass, claws sheathed for the moment, tail flattened and ears perked.

”I try to keep my claws sheathed until the very last second, before I strike Rahina. This lessens the noise factor and allows you to shift positions much easier too.”

Rising up now that she had demonstrated the stance, Nala gave one last glance towards the distant herd as she looked back towards Rahina and stated.

”So, ready to get this hunt underway Rahina or do you need a moment?”

[LionPrincess]

Almasi looked over to Daxis and giggled "this is Daxis, he wants me to go and play, i told himthat i had to find you first and that i want to eat so were is the food" the little lioness said looking around for a scrap of meat "and when will i meet the king i want to know if this is truley my home" she said as she wandered over to Vitani "hi, im Almasi, you look kind of like me, scruffy like i meen" she said noticing that Vitani shared the same outlanderish look she had, she lay down beside her and she couldent take her bright blue eyes off of the lioness