[Private] Kiarasmate and Kivuli

[Baya]

"Then don't follow me you moronic shaman." Kivuli growled. He was in no mood for the lionesses games and insults. He just wanted to get some sleep. Ayari sighed as he walked alongside Siri now.

"Siri, why do you show so much hostility towards Kivuli?" Ayari asked with a gaze at her. Siri looked at Ayari with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you serious? He insults, and irritates me when ever he gets the chance! I ain't gonna let him take advantage of me by not doing something about his behavior." Siri pointed out. Ayari looked down for a moment as he walked then forward.

"There are other ways to deal with your problems. Try ignoring him. You think he does the think he does to actually hurt you? He wants your attention." Ayari said quietly. Siri frowned and nodded.

"I'll try it, but if it doesn't work then what can I do about him?" Siri asked with a growl.

"Nothing much you can do about him. Just tolerate him." Ayari pointed out. The next few minutes were just silence as the small group of rebels approached pride rock. At this point the sun was setting on the horizon.


Kovu had told his pride the news when he had gotten back, minutes before the rebels arrived. He was on the edge of pride rock, just waiting for them to arrive. When he saw them getting close, he walked down the steps of pride rock to greet, and instruct them.

[KiarasMate]

Continuing to laugh uproariously from Kivuli’s reaction, Zina scowled at him as she snapped back in an argumentative tone.

”You’d like that, wouldn’t you Kivuli? You want me to walk in front of you so you can ogle me. Well, it ain’t gonna happen. Why are you always so tired anyways? You don’t even do anything all day and yet, you lounge around like a hippo in the mud.”

Flashing Kivuli another toothy grin, Zina noticed that they were approaching the large rock structure once again, causing her voice to fade out as she remained quiet now, seeing the larger group of felines who were gathered at the top, or so it seemed.

=========

Vitani had been informed that the group of rogues, headed by her friend, would be arriving momentarily. Dragging herself from her resting place, Vitani made her way out onto the promontory of Pride Rock, taking her usual spot alongside her brother, on the opposite side to which Kiara stood. Scanning the lands below, the observant lioness sighted the oncoming group, feeling her heart rate picking up within her chest at the sight of her old friend again. Perhaps it was because she knew that it was going to be hard to become attached to him once again, more so for her brother’s request but also for her own personal wants and needs, but whatever the case may have been, Vitani found herself fidgety as she waited for her brother to start the introductions.

[Baya]

Kivuli chuckled darkly at Zina's comment. "I'd rather ogle the dirt ground then you." Kivuli snorted. Ayari roared at Kivuli and Zina.

"You two. Grow up." Ayari warned with a harsh whisper. Ayari's eyes narrowed as he noticed Vitani approaching him with Kovu and another lioness.

"Welcome to our lands Ayari. You are welcome to the food, water, and safety. Know that if you cause any trouble, I will have to...deal with you." Kovu said quietly, trying to sound the least threatening as possible.

"We won't cause any trouble. Don't you worry." Siri said in monotone.

"You may all choose to sleep in the den, or wherever you like." Kovu said with a smile as he trotted up towards pride rock again. The group dispersed as Ayari began to make his way towards Vitani with a grin on his face.

"Anyone needs me, I'll be sleeping up there." Kivuli murmured as he passed by Siri. His ear twitched expecting to hear a crude comment, but when he didn't hear one he continued on his way.

[KiarasMate]

Taking Ayari’s warning to heart, mostly because there were new lions around now, Zina stayed mute as she listened to who she figured, was their leader, speaking towards Ayari. Hearing that they were free to do whatever they wished within their lands, just as long as they didn’t cause any trouble, Zina’s spirits seemed to pick up as she gave Vitani a quick glance before introducing herself halfheartedly to the small group.

”Tha’ts nice of you. You all must be the friends to whom Ayari spoke of. My name is Zina and I’m a Traveling Shaman. If you don’t mind, I’d like to explore your lands to get better acquainted with everything.”

Not waiting for a reply from either of the new faces, not worrying about what their names were as she honestly didn’t care and knew she’d be able to find out the little details later, Zina wandered off to explore The Grasslands and all of the various foliage and flora that grew there. This interested her more than getting to know her new hosts and the further she could get away from everyone else, the better.

Vitani met with the white furred lioness’ gaze briefly before she turned her attention to Siri and Ayari. Speaking in a hospitable tone, the former outlander welcomed them both as humbly as she could muster.

”As my brother stated, our lands are now yours and if there is anything I can do for you to make your stay with us better, please feel free to ask.” Directing her focus to Siri now, as she knew Ayari already knew who she was, Vitani continued. ”My name is Vitani and I am the brother of Kovu here, who is the leader of our Pride and the ruler of these lands you are in now, known as The Pride Lands. Your leader here, Ayari, he’s an old friend who used to be a member of my mother’s former pride, that is, until the day he left.”

Trying not to sour the mood, even though as much as she wanted to mention that Ayari seemingly had abandoned her, Vitani held her tongue as she resumed speaking.

”Like my brother mentioned, you are free to sleep in the main den, which is located just at the top of the structure you see in front of you, known as Pride Rock, or you can claim one of the various vacant dens strewn around our lands. The choice is yours.” Flashing a slight smile to Ayari, Vitani stated curiously. ”Stop me if I’m telling her stuff you’ve already gone over Ayari. I’d hate to bore your mate with details you’ve already covered.”

[Baya]

Siri was listening intently to Vitani, and at the last comment her eyes widened. She then burst into hysterics, falling onto her back and rolling around holding her sides. Ayari raised an eyebrow as he looked at Siri.

"She isn't my mate. She's anything, but my mate." Ayari said quickly.

"Oh! That is rich! Hahaha! You actually thought I was his mate?" Siri said as she burst into laughter again. Ayari sighed, and glared down at Siri.

"That's enough Siri, it isn't that funny..." Ayari muttered. Siri stopped for a moment and then began laughing again."Yeah, she's not my mate, but she's taken by another of the pride. You know that guy you met earlier? Kivuli?" Ayari said with a chuckle, as his eyes glinted with mischief. Siri stopped laughing , and got up with a snarl.

"Don't you EVER even MENTION that disgusting idea! I hate him, and he hates me! Never again Ayari!" Siri said with a snort as she walked off with huff.

"So..." Ayari said as he looked at Vitani and then down awkwardly. This was not a good position to be in, considering he knew he was in trouble for leaving the pride without a word to her.


Siri quickly bounded after Zina, trying to catch up to her as fast as possible. "The nerve of that jerk...Suggesting such a filthy thing! I'd never mate with Kivuli, even if my life depended on it! I'd rather be skinned alive!" She thought to herself as she trotted after the scent of her friend."The tone of that Vitani didn't sound so good either. I could see why Ayari left without taking it up with her first."

[KiarasMate]

Looking at Siri and Ayari with an apologetic expression, Vitani remained quiet as the two felines in front of her argued amongst themselves. They did seem to come off as quite the opposites to one another, yet Vitani had witnessed such relationships during her times in The Outlands, so it came as no surprise to her, that she had misjudged their status towards one another. Watching as Siri departed, not being in the best of moods from the looks of it, Vitani turned her attention to her old friend as she tried to repair the situation as best she could.

”I’m sorry about that Ayari. I just assumed…well, anyways, it’s nice to see you again, although I probably shouldn’t be getting my hopes up of you staying long now, should I?”

Lowering her gaze, Vitani fell silent for a second, her brother’s words drifting through her mind once more as she hastily amended for her previous comment.

”Look, it was just really hard on me to find out that you just up and left without a single word to me Ayari. Even knowing how cruel and sick my mother could be, you should have at least said goodbye to me. Didn’t you even consider me a good enough friend to grant me that much at least?” Vitani asked, meeting Ayari’s gaze with a sad look in her own as she tried to keep her voice from trembling.

==========

Zina hadn’t been traveling long when her attention was captured by a nearby group of flowers. Casually making her way over towards the fragrant flora, her keen eyes and nose inspected the bright colored objects with an obvious intent, examining them from every angle and vantage point before she came to the conclusion that she would have a use for them eventually. Easily slipping her pouch from around her neck, revealing her visible scar as she gingerly set the hide pouch on the grass below her before attending to her work, carefully snipping off one or two of the flowers with a claw and delicately placing them into the pouch, mumbling to herself as she did so.

”These fools have so many resources at their disposal and they probably don’t even know it. Where would a pride be without a Shaman anyways…”

[Baya]

Ayari looked to Vitani as she spoke, and his ears drooped slightly. He knew this little speech was coming, and he really didn't even know Vitani was this emotional. Then again she was a lioness, no different from Siri, or Zina. "I'm sorry. I was not exactly right in my mind when I left. I spoke with Nuka about it earlier and he said that if I told you I was leaving, you'd be furious with me and hate me in the end for leaving anyways." Ayari murmured looking down. The moon was rising at this point, making his blue eyes glow ominously. "I have no regrets Vitani. If I stayed back all those years ago, I would not be what you see here today." Ayari said with a small smile, trying to at least lighten the mood. He never really focused on what he had lost when he left, but now he felt like he had done something terribly wrong to his first true friend. "Words are empty, I know. I'll try my best while im here to mend what has been broken." Ayari said as he began to walk towards a shadowed region, under the cliff of pride rock.


Siri sighed as she followed after Zina, finally catching up with her. She panted as angry thoughts ran through her mind, and then her fatigue from her little run caught up with her as well. "Gathering more plants I see? How do you find room for all those in that little pouch?" Siri asked as she walked up beside Zina.

[KiarasMate]

Listening contently to Ayari’s apology, Vitani couldn’t help but smile and let out a low laugh as he mentioned her deceased brother.

”You really must not have been Ayari, if you were seeking advice from Nuka of all creatures. I thought you would have learned that Nuka wasn’t exactly the brightest feline out of the pride but with that said, he still was my brother and I miss him dearly. He was killed in a freak accident during one of the skirmishes between my mother’s pride and this pride you’ve joined up with now that my brother rules over, thanks to him getting in good with the former ruler’s daughter but that’s not really my place to be talking about.”

Hearing the last words that Ayari spoke to her before he started to make his way towards a nearby spot, Vitani followed him, hoping that he wouldn’t mind her company as she also tried to lift the mood slightly, shifting her tone to a more pleasant one as she continued.

”Well, I suppose I can’t complain Ayari. With you not in my mother’s pride, I pretty much took up the position as secondary leader, much to Nuka’s dismay but it was still pretty lonely without you. I could only beat up Kovu and Nuka so many times before it lost its appeal.”

Taking a spot next to Ayari, Vitani laid herself down upon the cool grass below as she met with her old friend’s stare once again, feeling her cheeks starting to blush from the way he looked at her, quickly trying to avert his attention from herself as she asked.

”So, it seems like you’ve done well for yourself as far as finding new friends go Ayari? Quite the interesting band of characters you’ve assembled. Mind telling me a bit more about them?”

=========

Zina was too lost in her own train of thought to even realize that Siri had joined her. It wasn’t until her fellow rogue’s voice reached her ears, did she finally notice her, almost dropping her pouch as she whirled around to face her, a startled look plastered on her muzzle as she exclaimed.

”Crap Siri, you trying to give me a heart attack or something?”

Hearing Siri’s question, and doing her best to compose herself from the shock of being snuck up upon, Zina replied in a proud tone.

”Well, if I run out of room, I just leave whatever herbs I don’t think I’ll be needing. It’s hard to guess just which ones will take priority but experience plays a vital role in judging what should and shouldn’t be taken along if need be. These lands here, they seem to be quite plentiful in useful plants and flora but unless we’re going to be leaving here anytime soon, there’s no point in me stocking up.”

Casually slipping her pouch back around her neck, covering the scar once again, Zina turned to take her leave, looking over at Siri with a blank gaze as she asked.

”So you got bored with the new lions already or something Siri? I would have thought you would have been the first to get on everyone’s good side, although if Ayari can manage to do that with these sappy felines, I suppose there’s not a whole lot of effort needed to achieve that.”

Glancing back towards the distant figure of Pride Rock, Zina mumbled to Siri, more so in a thoughtful manner than anything, but loud enough so that her friend could hear.

”So what are your impressions of these lions anyways Siri? Do you think Ayari should really count on them for support like he thinks they will give him or what? Maybe I don’t give Ayari enough credit though. For him to backstab his own so called friends, that’s gotta take some sort of skill. Something that I thought that he didn’t even have.”

[Baya]

"I think what you and everyone else did was under estimate him. Everybody has potential, they just need to look deep inside themselves to find it." Ayari said as he laid down as well, gazing up at the now starry sky. His ears drooped as his mind processed the fact that Nuka was dead. He was pretty scrappy, and very unrefined but Ayari still spoke with him none the less. Ayari would listen to the hours of ranting just to see if it would be of any help. At most times it was.

"I've made all the friends I have, through protecting them. Every single one of them, I had to defend at one point, and I have. They see me as their leader not because I'm strongest, but because I've kept them alive for so long. On their own, they would die so quick." Ayari muttered. He lifted his head, and placed it over Vitani's now, with a grin on his face.

"I didn't know you'd miss me like this. I thought Zira told you I was dead?"


Siri nodded as Zina explained the answer. She tilted her head and snorted. "Why did you even become a shaman? I can't see you as one to help Kivuli, or Ayari if need be." Siri snorted. Then she growled. "Even saying those names makes me wanna tear at something!" She snarled.

[KiarasMate]

Feeling Ayari resting his head over her own, Vitani pulled back, a perplexed look upon her face as she tried to rebuild a bit of distance between her and her old friend, speaking to him in a convincing tone.

”Well, maybe I did miss you a little Ayari but I’m probably not the same lioness you knew when you left either. My life wasn’t exactly perfect since you left, not to say that it was when you were with us anyways, but you know what I mean. Haven’t to choose sides against my mother, all because of something that Kiara, my brother’s mate, said…” Locking eyes with Ayari again, Vitani continued. ”I’ve changed. I’m not the same.”

Lowering her gaze from Ayari’s, Vitani rose to her paws slowly as she glanced back towards Pride Rock before she spoke again to him in a low voice.

”I should go. I’ll talk to you later Ayari.”

Sighing softly to herself, Vitani left Ayari in the shade as she walked towards Pride Rock, her mind cluttered with a jumble of thoughts as she didn’t know how to deal with these new feelings that were brewing inside her. She knew that she needed some time to figure things out but for now, she would sleep on it.

=========

Narrowing her eyes from Siri’s inquiry, Zina replied in a cold voice.

”I had no choice! I was born a freak like this Siri and due to that fact, I was forced into a life of being a Shaman. My fur color kept me from being a good hunter and the only other option that was open to me in my pride was being a shaman. My mother taught me all she knew about the practice but once I surpassed her own knowledge, she felt that I wasn’t deserving enough to even breathe the same air as she did. I’ve already told you the rest of my crappy story so I won’t bore you again with it. Just know that being a Shaman is all I have in my life and it’s served me well. If you think I’d ever help Ayari and Kivuli with what I’ve learned though, you must not be as bright as I take you for being Siri.”

Shifting her voice to a more pleasant one now that she had gotten what she needed to say off of her chest, Zina continued as she started to make her way back towards Pride Rock.

”Besides, who else am I supposed to waste my excess herbs on anyways, hmm Siri? You think Kivuli is always so tired because of all the work he does? No, it’s because of me. I slip him some herbs every now and then, just to keep him nice and lethargic. It’s easier to monitor him that way. I’d do the same to Ayari, but I need him to be alert. As much as I hate to say it, he is the brains of the operation, behind you and I of course.”

[sorry for the late reply Kivuli. A tree took out my internet this morning and they just got it up and running now. Lol ^^]