Participants:
Balana - elder lioness, mother of King Mzohari.
Kasjari - lioness, King Mzohari's mate.
Katili - lioness cub, daughter of King Mzohari and Kasjari.
Kiini - lion, son of King Mzohari and Nyunya.
Kikora - lioness cub, newly arrived to the pride.
Mwaliko - lioness, Kiini's mate.
Mzohari - lion, King of the Kopje Valley.
Wingu - lion cub, son of King Mzohari and Kasjari.
Kopje Valley - Bottom of the Waterfall Cliff
You come to the bottom of a large cliff. Just above you is a massive promontory jutting out of the side, it sends a shadow across the waterfall. A large torrent of water comes down, creating a large 'lake' at the bottom of the cliff. Many sweet grasses grow on the edge perfect for grazing animals. As you look up the cliff face, you see a small path leading to the promontory and then stretches further along the cliff.
To the [K]opje [V]alley [Climb] up to the Promontory
[E]dge of the [S]avannah
A sparkling and cool lake
You can see the 'end of' a runoff stream.
After the mini-adventure of yesterday, Mzohari was loathe to do much else other than rest .. but despite that fact, the lion still dragged himself off to take care of the patrol along the western border. More than a little relieved to find it quiet — without a bundle of scent trails leading away like the opposite border yesterday — the lion made an immediate beeline back to the waterfall as soon as that morning patrol was finished. Since then, he's been lounging in a patch of shortened grasses just a few feet short of the shoreline. Presently, Mzo' is stretched out on his back — forepaws slumped on his chest and muzzle hanging open as he snores. What a picture of regality .. Not.
Unlike the drowsy ones, Wingu is wide awake. He'd slept quite enough since returning from the forest and at the moment, the pale child is looking at his reflection in the nearby pools of water. Every now and again, he dips his paw into the water and tries to slick back his headfluff, only to find it springing back up again in it's usual untamed fashion. Well, at least there's more of it now. With a small huff, the child bats at his reflection in the water and then gives his head a shake, giving up on looking anything but a scruffy cub. Then, the boy turns his attention to his snoring father. He crouches a little, creeping closer… closer… intending to try and catch the big lion unawares.
Kasjari is only now returning from her side-trip after side-tracking on the return trip fro mthe forest the night before. As such, a rather downtrodden lioness is picking her way toward where she's followed Mzo and the cubs' scent. She lifts her head a little as the roar of the falls grow louder in her ears, trying to pluck up her usual cheerful demeanor.
Mwaliko gaze turns towards the cub near the water and she watches him quiety, a faint smile seen. Her attention then turns towards the snoring Mzo, which makes her smirk for a few moment. Her tail slowly flicks while she takes in a breath and lets her head lower to a forepaw as she watches the cub creep ever closer to Mzohari. Should at least be amusing.
Kikora was quite tuckered out after her great adventure the day before, falling asleep as soon as she and the others returned from the strange, frost-covered lands. She is still curled up in a fuzzy, compact ball with her head resting delicately on her forepaws, hindfeet tucked beneath her. Though everyone around her is quiet, the roar of the waterfall eventually breaks through her sleep shield, causing the girl to raise her head slowly, blinking her eyes against the bright light of the day.
Catching him unawares shouldn't be anything terribly challenging — considering he's snoring loudly enough to sleep through a stampede of elephants trampling through the Valley. There are no movements — outside of the usual things like breathing and random tail-twitches — that indicate Mzohari has the slightest idea of his encroaching son. He remains flattened out on his back, mouth agape. At least he isn't drooling on himself. Yet.
Creep. Creep. Wingu draws himself closer, using the pouncing techniques his mother had taught him. Then, with a mighty, cubbish leap, he pushes on the side of his father's head with his paws. "Daaaaad! Wake up!" He calls out, giving a small childish growl, trying to reach through the mop of mane and grab onto one of his father's ears and tug. "Da da da!" He says, calling each time he gives a tug. No rest for the weary with cubs around.
Kasjari is still struggling to perk up as she nears the water's edge, but then a new sound is heard over the steady rumble, the voice of her son, apparently attempting to wake her mate. This succeeds in bring a smile stretching over her muzzle as she steps through the last of the grasses and looks over the gathered forms. Her smile falters for but a moment as her gaze passes over Kikora, but watching Wingu rooting around in his father's foreboding mane helps her regain her smile. Seeing her son indisposed she makes her way over toward the waking Kikora and leans down, offering her a soft nuzzle, "Sleep well?" she asks kindly.
Mwaliko grins at the sight of Wingu and Mzohari, a soft chuckle escaping her and she shakes her head at the amusement. Her gaze turns to Kasjari an Kikora as she hears the voice. A nod is offered along with a friendly smile. "Afternoon Kasjari."
If the waterfall hadn't been the cause of her awakening, Wingu would have been! Kikora's ears turn forward, craning her neck as far as it will go before she spots the pale-furred cub battering his father. She issues a few quiet giggles, lifting one paw to her mouth, as if to hide her amusement from the others. She relaxes a bit, noticing Kasjari as she's a few paces away, brown eyes lighting up — she lifts the front half of her body, stretching her forearms as the lioness nuzzles her. "I slept 'kay," she says in a little voice, but loud enough to be heard over Wingu's 'Da' chants and the roaring rush of water nearby.
"Hyuaugh!" Such is his proclaimation when Wingu is suddenly attached to the side of his head, yanking on one of his ears. The paws which had been tucked up to his chest flail skyward as his legs snap out, his tail giving a few hard lashes around his flanks as his eyes pop open. "Ow, ow, easy with that! I'm awake! I'm awake! Ouch!" Seemingly at the mercy of his son, and thus completely wrapped up in trying to save his poor ear, Mzohari is unaware of both the lionesses and the girl-cub.
As soon as his father begins to move around, Wingu releases the ear from captivity and takes a few steps back, looking up at his father with some excitement. Afterall, he doesn't get to see the big fluffy king very often since he's off on patrols a lot. So, any chance he has to spend with dad is a special treat. "Morning da." He greets with his best 'I'm a good son don't kill me for waking you up' voice. "Wanna play?" He asks, batting at a stone on the ground.
Kasjari smiles warmly to Mwaliko, "Heya Mwa, enjoying the show?" she asks with a grin, looking over towards Mzo and Wingu. She smiles and lays down heavily, mindful of kikora of course. She smiles to the young lioness, "Much nicer here than that cold ground back in the forest, eh? This is Kopje, our home," she says, waving a paw to encompass the valley.
Mwaliko chuckles softly and nods. "Oh yes.. Very amusing." She says with a grin while peering towards Mzo and Wingu once more. Her gaze soon turns back to Kikora and she offers the cub a friendly smile and nod to her as well. "Hello there."
Kikora is just about to respond to Kasjari when Mwaliko, a new face, speaks to her. The cub half-turns, resting her bright eyes on Mwaliko and says, "Hiiii," drawing it out for no apparent reason. She smiles shyly before returning her attention to Kasjari, her black-tipped ears turning back a bit. "I like it here -much- better! Not cold." She wrinkles her nose, suggesting that she wasn't really a fan of the frost, and doesn't plan on going -there- again. "See mama?" She blurts out, unable to contain it any longer. Maybe she was wrong about her mother, maybe the lioness was just sleeping, maybe she left Kinamisa's side before the lioness could wake up. She peers expectantly at Kasjari, if not a bit uncomfortably.
The moment that his ear is released, one of Mzohari's forepaws comes up to rub over the cub-spit-dampened appendage — though a grin is curling itself over the lion's muzzle. "Morning, champ," he replies, though a brow is soon hiked up at his son's invitation. "Well .. so long as you promise to play gently. If you'd yanked much harder on my ear it prolly would've fallen off! You're too strong for me, so you gotta be careful." The paw that had been wrapped around his chewed ear is now used to deliver a few soft pokes to boy's pale chest. But Mzo' is awake now, and his ears — slobbery one included — tune into the other voices in the vicinity. Lifting his head up just enough to get a look around, he first sees Mwaliko, and then Kasjari over by Kikora. All are given a bright smile followed by a languid wave of a forepaw — something which falters as he hears Kikora's question to his mate.
The pale cub peers at the slobbered on ear, seeing if there's any damage or if his father is just being his usual silly self. "Nuh uh, it's fine da." The boy says with a nod of his head, which is interrupted by the poking at his chest, which causes the cub to laugh a little bit. "But I'll be careful." Padding over towards one of his father's big paws, Wingu crouches, intent on pouncing at it when… he hears the girl's question. Suddenly his tail goes down between his legs and thoughts of play slip right out of his head through his oversized ears.
Kasjari is smiling, watching son and father play, seeing Kikora greet Mwaliko with a cute shyness, but not hiding from the new lioness. She even grins as kikora proclaims her approval of their home. But it is short lived, as kikora asks two simple words and the happy scene around her seems to grow distant and silent as all eyes turn toward the cub between her forepaws. Her smile turns sad as she looks down at this intelligent cub between her forepaws, surprised again, she nuzzles the little lioness gently, "I found her, yes, but there was nothing I could do for her. I'm sorry dear one," she says softly, biting her lower lip for a moment.
~ Not too far away, a lioness roars!
As expected, Kikora's little ears drop and she drops her gaze, focusing now on her paws and the earth beneath them. She is silent for a few moments, but she lifts her head again and says, "Hmm, 'kay. What I do now?" It seems as though the little lioness knew, in her heart, that her mother was no longer alive — she was just checking. After all, she -could- have been wrong. Now that the issue is apparently resolved, a new one crops up. What is she going to do without her mother?
Though his eyes do not waver away from Kasjari and Kikora, the lion is still able to observe his son wilting beside him. Still holding his silence, Mzohari uses a foreleg to sweep his son up and onto his chest, nestling him into the heavy layers of his ebony mane. A soft, disheartened sigh is exhaled .. though Mzo' feels no need to speak up. What more can be said? Yet Kikora seems to answer that by asking a new question of her own — but seeing as Kas' is already doing more than a good job at handling her, the Kopje lion keeps still and quiet where he is with Wingu.
There isn't any objection from Wingu when his father sweeps him up against his mane, although he does paw at the dark fur a few times to try to make sure he doesn't get completely buried in it. It looks a little silly, the boy's pale head perking out of a big mess of brown mane that seems far too oversized for him. Still, comfort is comfort, and Wingu tries to blows at the mane strands, kneeding them with his white paws until there's a bit of an opening in the fluff. He peers through it up at his dad, whispering, "Can she stay here pllleeeeze?" He asks again, not wanting to see a cub end up lost out there with no one, especially not after what has happened all too recently to one pridal cub.
Kasjari smiles gently down to Kikora, "What you do now is to be a cub, to have fun, to play with Wingu and Korzar and the other cubs here until you are too tired to play anymore. Then you can sleep all curled up and warm, eat your food, and do it all over again the next day. Would that be okay for you?" she asks Kikora, gazing down into her upturned eyes gently.
Mwaliko ears twitch forward and back while a faint snuffle escapes her. She had dozed off there for a few moments it seems, still she caught most of the conversation in her sleep. A forepaw lifts to rub across her face a few times while she stretches and then soon sits herself up on her haunches as she stretches.
Kiini has been sleeping next to his mate for the better part of the day after getting next to no sleep the night before. The sound of voices is finally enough to pry him out of dreamland, so he awakens with yawn and glances over to his mate, following her eyes with his own until he realizes who else is all here. "Hi everyone." He remarks wearily.
Kikora nods, almost enthusiastically, up at Kasjari as the lioness speaks. "I can do that!" Her life in the past few weeks has taken an absolute turn for the worse, and the structure that the lioness offers to her can't be passed up. She leaves the issue alone now, simply settling down at the lioness's paws gently, and it appears as though she's calming down — at least until Kiini wakes up. She cowers against Kasjari some, watching the big lion warily. He's done nothing to -her-, but his deep voice and looming demeanor bring about a feeling of distrust and unease in the little girl.
A few stifled grunts are voiced as Wingu goes about settling himself into the Kopje lion's overly large mane, though once the boy has stilled, Mzohari takes his turn to do a little squirming so that the blades of his shoulders are a bit more comfortable. As he was still watching Kasjari and Kikora, he doesn't look back to his son until Wingu pipes up with his murmured request .. which is responded to, at first, with a subtle grin. "It looks like Kas' has already given the okay on that one, kiddo. And one thing you'll learn when you grow up is to listen to the lionesses — unless you want your ears cuffed off. So it looks like your new friend will be staying." A paw lifts so that his toes can scritch over the tops of Wingu's shoulders — all he can reach, since the rest of his son's body is buried within his mane. Hearing someone awakening nearby, a glance aside shows him the stirring of his eldest son. "Afternoon, Kiini."
Relief finds it's way onto Wingu's face as the smile returns, purring a little bit as his father scratches over his shoulders. "Good. And I already know to listen to mum." He nods his head before setting it down on his paws, his face nearly getting lost in the fluff. How or why it happens though, the pale cub soon falls asleep, perhaps having been a little more tired out than he had let on, especially having been up while everyone else was asleep.
Kasjari smiles warmly as Kikora's response to her offer, scritching an affectionate swipe of her tongue over the little lioness' head and ears. She looks across at Mzo, not having expected him to have any issues with her words, and glad to see her beliefs go unchallenged. She blinks as the cub huddles against her and blinks, looking about and over toward Kiini with a rueful chuckle, "Seems you've a reuptation as a scary lion Kiini."
Mwaliko glances to Kiini and offers him a smile before her gaze goes over to Kikora noticing the way she acts. Her head tilts and a brow lifts. "Kiini.. Why does Kikora seem scared of you?" If there is one thing she knows its someone that is scared, and the cub really doesn't look like she enjoys Kiini being here at the moment. Mwal peers back at Kiini wondering what she might have missed.
Kiini groans and gets up wearily to all fours. He leans over to nuzzle his mate to reassure her before answering "Just a misunderstanding." From here he makes his way to the others, bumping his head against his dad before stepping up to Kasjari and the cub that seems to shiver at his presence. "Kas, sorry about the other night and all.." Hoping that will be enough, he lowers his head until his nose is about the height of Kikora. "And I guess I owe you an appology too." He adds, trying to speak as softly as he's able.
"Too loooud, too taaall," Kikora says in a soft voice, eye-to-eye with the large, golden-eyed lion. That seems to be all she has to say about the situation, relaxing a bit once she sees that Korzar and Wingu's older brother means no harm — after all, Kasjari and Mzohari are near, so that's an added boost to her bravery. "I's Kikora!" She says in louder and more confident voice. "You's Kiini? King is dad?" She asks, referring of course to Mzohari — but in all the excitement and punishing going on last night, she was never formally introduced to Kasjari -or- Mzohari. To her, they are 'Wingu-Korzar Mama' and 'King'.
As Wingu drifts off to sleep, Mzohari doesn't find himself too terribly surprised — he is, after all, a cub. But unfortunately, the lion cannot spend the rest of the afternoon and into the evening lounging around with his son tuckered out on his chest. And so, tilting his head forward and taking gentle hold of the excess skin along the back of Wingu's neck and using one of his forepaws, he gingerly shuffles the boy off of his chest and into the cushion of soft grasses below. After swiping his tongue over the top of Wingu's head, he stands — stretching luxuriously in the process, joints popping. The head-bump of Kiini is returned, though something of a dubious look is given to his eldest son as he first doesn't give much of a story to Mwaliko, and then says that he 'guesses' he owes Kikora an apology. He snorts, looking to Mwaliko and giving more details. "He'd asked me to let him handle Korzar's punishment, for running off .. and then proceeded to stand over and shout at him. With Wingu and Kikora right there next to Kor'. So .. " Figuring that makes it rather clear why Kikora was shying away from him, Mzo' now heads for Kasjari — whom he greets with a rub of his muzzle along the arch of her neck, before he murmurs something into one of her ears.
Kasjari watches the interaction between Kiini and Kikora attentively, looking quite ready to cuff Kiini's ears right off his head if he scares her again. :P Luckily it doesn't come to that and she smiles at Kikora's proclamation. She smiles warmly as Mzo approaches and leans into his rub with a happy purrrring. An ear is perked to his whisper and she regards him curiously for a moment before she nods. Kas looks down to Kikora then as she finishes speaking to Kiini and nudges her gently toward Mwaliko, "Go introduce yourself to Mwaliko too," she coaxes the new cub, smiling gently.
Mwaliko watches Kiini as he moves on over to Kas and Kikora, she humms faintly pondering if there is more to it then just a misunderstanding. Her ears perk forward while she listions to Kiini and the cub before glancing over to Mzohari as she explains what happens. A slight smirk crosses her maw while she glances to Kiini and ahs faintly. "You..shouted at the cub for his punishment?" Now she comes from a hard-nosed pride but shouting at cubs wasn't on the list, being hard? Yes, but not enough to lose there respect. "I certainly hope you arn't going to continue with the 'shouting' as a way to make cubs understand anything.." She won't have it around her cubs, evenfrom Kiini. "Because it doesn't work, unless you want them to fear you of course." Seems Mwal is feeling back to her normal forward self on matters that she knows something about. She looks to Kikora upon hearing Kas and offers her a warm smile.
"Nice to meet you Kikora. That's right, I'm Kiini." He answers, smiling some now as the cub seems to warm up to him a little more. He turns about only to hear his dad announce what makes him sound like a monster. Naturally, Mwaliko just chimes right in making Kiini feel about three inches tall. "Its a little more complicated than that." Though dad likely won't hear the rest anyways. "We'll talk about it later." He adds to his mate.
Kikora is nudged forward by Kasjari, and she leaves her post a little begrudgingly — the lioness has been her first source of comfort after a terrible, hunger-filled few weeks. Though she's now on a considerably friendly basis with Kiini, she still slinks past him, making herself as low to the ground as possible without literally crawling over to Mwaliko…but it doesn't appear to be a direct fault of the lion. She's just a little wary of the bigger lions right now! She lifts herself up to her full height (which is still very small, compared to the lioness) once she reaches Mwaliko, black-tipped ears curving forward. "Hi again," she says in a little sheepish voice, tail twitching curiously behind her.
The pale green of his eyes shifts downward to Kikora as Kasjari coaxes her into greeting Mwaliko, before the lioness settles herself in for some much-deserved rest. Lifting his head upward, Mzohari's attention moves off to the west — up towards the Pridelands' border and the distant acacia that marks it, where that roar had eminated from earlier. But seeing as everything from that direction has been quiet since, Mzo' figures that there's no need to bother venturing over. Hefting a brow as Kiini says that the previous situation was more complicated, the lion says, "I was only telling her what I saw. But no complications can excuse shouting at a cub like you did. And I think if you ask anyone else that was there .. with the exception of Vikali .. they'll probably agree with me." The look that Mzo' gives his son all-but dares the younger lion to try arguing with that statement.
~ Not too far away, a lioness roars!
"Oh really?.." Mwaliko says with a flick of her tail while watching Kiini, not seeming to like the idea that they can't talk about it now. She shakes her head slightly. "You might be busy later." The lioness points out after a moment. Though she drops this conversation with Kiini as Kikora moves over to her. A soft purr escapes her while she lowers back down to not seem so big. "Hello there." Is said with a soft tone and smile. "I'm Mwaliko, its nice to meet you Kikora." A ear twitches towards Mzohari as he speaks up more about the night before, yet she keeps her gaze on the cub before her. "You have a very pretty name."
Kiini frowns outright at his father now. "Dad, this isn't a trial." Kiini remarks, growing annoyed that Mzohari won't drop it. "I said I'm sorry. And for your information, Korzar already /did/ get a quiet talking to before you ever stepped forward into that forest. I didn't just go and shout at him, I told him I would put on a show so that he wouldn't get grounded so bad. You know, a 'brotherly' sort of thing. I got a little carried away with it, I'm sorry, AGAIN." The male answers, humphing at his father. "Now if we can please drop it, there's something much more important to talk about."
Uh-oh … though Kiini isn't raising his voice, or looming over her, the lion's stern tone does wonders to reverse the small bit of trust little Kikora had put in him. She huddles near Mwaliko, her ears tamped down neatly against her head, her chin brushing the top of her forepaws. She may one day come to accept such argumentative voices, but with the recent tragedies stacked one after another in her young life, she's rightfully frightened of such tones. She turns her brown eyes up to Mwaliko questioningly, as if asking, 'Why is he speaking this way?'
Mwaliko lets a forepaw curl around Kikora softly to show that its alright, a soft purr still escapes her to try and offer a comforting sound for the girl. At the look from Kikora she is unsure what to say and shakes her head slightly. "Not sure.." Is murmured softly while she lowers her head to nose at the cub's cheek. Her bright gaze drifts back towards Kiini at the talk of something important. "Alright.. What is it?" She questions to try and get to what he has to say that is important. Her gaze turns to Mzohari and she nods with a smile. "Sure, I have no problem watching over her. As long she doesn't mind staying with me." This said as she looks to Kikora with a smile seen still.
Kiini isn't too happy at all with dad right now. Its probably best that Mzohari does wander off. His expression falls as he looks back to his mate now. He pads over to lioness and cub and looks down at Kikora with a hint of guilt in his face. He sighs and sits back down. "Mwal, did you want to talk about this at all first?" He asks, trying to control his own patience.
Mwaliko does want to talk about it, but she thinks Kikora has had enough with raised voices at the moment, not that she plans on raising her voice during the conversation. "We can talk about it later.. What did you want to talk about Kiini?" Well she is curious as to what is on his mind, what ever it is seemed to be rather important.
Kikora scoots closer to Mwaliko, remaining silent as Mzohari wanders off to investigate the faint roar. With Kasjari asleep, she feels a little overwhelmed, but decides that she's safe as long as Mwaliko is around. After all, she feels more secure around lionesses, and she doubts that Kiini would ever hurt her. He's just a bit too cross for her right now.
"Its about Vikali. Well, sort of." Kiini explains as he settles down to his stomach to put Kikora at ease. "See, she went out after Kori and Nabana, after the cubs." Kiini starts to explain.
Hearing voices not too far away, Balana stirs from where she sleeps. Is Korzar still there? Good. But just what's going on? Unaware, the elder's ears perk up as she becomes conscious. Something about Vikali… swell.
Mwaliko peers at Kiini curiously at the talk of Vikali. "So did Onaedo from what I heard.." She doesn't seem that impressed by this to say the least. "Alright.. So she followed them, and?" Mwal questions curiously while purring softly to Kikora as she keeps a forepaw curled around the girl.
~ Very close to you, from 'Kopje Valley', Mzohari roars!
Judging from Kiini's story, it doesn't look like he's up for leaving anytime soon… so, hearing Mzohari's roar, the elder decides to get up and go see what's going on.
Kikora doesn't stir, listening to the adults converse, but it's obvious that she's getting a bit squirmy. As Mzohari's roar echoes through the valley, Kikora immediate sits up, pulling her thin shoulders back, ears turning forward. Is he okay? Is it another attack, like what happened in her homelands?
"And… Dad." Kiini blinks as he hears the roar, snapping his gaze with his mate's eyes to look at the valley. "Dad!" Kiini exclaims, "Mwal, I should go make sure dad is okay. I, uh.." He looks down to the little cub again and smiles very weakly. "Mwal, you okay with staying with Kikora? I promise I'll come back as quick as I can.."
Mwaliko lifts her head to the roar as well, her ears perking forward as she listions for more to come before nodding to Kiini. "Of course I'm fine staying with her." She glances to her mate before looking to the cub and offers her a smile. "Its alright, don't worry."
Kikora peers at both Mwaliko and Kiini, still in her alert position, not knowing what to make of all of this. It's much too sudden for her, this constant flow of activity, and the small lioness sighs lowly. "Where Wingu? Korzar?" She asks to no one in particular, wiggling with nerves. She sees that there are other cubs here, and all she wants is to fall back into a schedule — play, eat, nap. Seems she wants to play!
Kiini trots off towards the direction of the roar.
Mwaliko watches Kiini go before humming. "Oh.. There asleep at the moment it seems." She offers while looking over the cubs, including her own before she looks to Kikora and smiles. "I'm sure they will be awake soon and you all can play though."
Kikora frowns, obviously unpleased with this news. She sighs again, a little more dramatically, and lowers herself to the ground next to the lioness. She rests her chin on her paws, neatly tucking her hindfeet beneath her. Boooored.
Mwaliko hums softly as she watches Kikora, she lifts her tail and lets it fall next to the girl. The tuft wiggling about to try and get the cub's attention it seems.
Kiini wanders back along the path to where he left everyone, spotting his mate and the 'pile' of cubs by her. He chuffs softly to let her know he's coming, and shortly there after is padding up to the both of them. "How is she, Love?" Kiini wonders, eyes looking down at the little nomad in particular.
Mwaliko glances to Kiini and smiles some. "She's fine.. Just sleeping like the rest of them." She says softly, not wanting to cause the cubs to wake up from the talking. "Is Mzohari alright?"
Kiini sighs deeply. "He's fine. Apparently roaring for Grandma is the norm now." The lion flops down at Mwaliko's cub free side and leans into her. "Mwal, are you alright?" He asks, letting her bring up a discussion from before if she'd like. He certainly doesn't want to, but its his mate afterall.
Mwaliko ahs softly and smirks a tad, well that's something that shedidn't know about until now. "I see.." She offers softly while tilting her head to look at him. "What else did you want to talk about dealing with Vikali?" Her ears perk forward and she ohs softly. "I'm alright, tired.." Grumpy, worried, stressed.. Though she keeps that to heself for now.
Kikora shifts uncomfortably at Mwaliko's side, dozing fitfully. She is still subconciously aware of voices around her, but for now she only makes a low-pitched whining sound, as if she were having a bad dream.
Had he fallen asleep? Well, something certainly isn't comfortable. Peeking open his blue-green eyes, Wingu yawns a little bit and stretches his forepaws out, finding neither the warmth of his mother, his father, or his brother. Ut oh. He almost panics, thinking he's back in the cold forest, but soon enough reality sinks in. Rolling over, the boy sits up suddenly and looks about, ears perking. Oh, the waterfall, his older brother and his mate, and the girl-cub. "Where's da?" He asks sleepily, looking up towards Kiini with sleepy eyes.
"Dad's off at the border, Wingu." Kiini replies to the sleepy cub before leaning somewhat into his mate. "So I noticed. You need to talk about it at all?" He offers, letting love over rule his own unwillingness to bring up the past day or two.
Kikora's bad dreams seem to continue, and she lets out a longer, louder whine — one of her hindpaws twitches vigorously, and she pushes herself up against Mwaliko in her sleep.
Mwaliko shakes her head slightly while she looks to Kikora. "No.. Its alright." Not now at least. She lowers her head and softly nuzzles at Kikora's side, a soft purr escaping her as she tries to get the cub to relax some.
"Oh." Wingu shakes his head a little, trying to clear the sleepiness from his features. Pushing himself up onto his paws, the cub looks over at the girlcub, nestled with Mwaliko. His naturally protective nature seems to kick in as he walks over towards the mother and all her cubs. "Murr. Bad dreams." He notes to himself, little tail-tip flicking as he approaches.
Creep, creep, creep, On nearly silent velvet paws Wingu's little sister snuck through the grasses. At first Katili was intent on pouncing her brother, but then the little sneak perked her ears and decided to listen to the talk without interrupting. If the other knew she was here they probably wouldn't change the subject at all…but evesdropping was more fun then just being allowed to listen. >:D
Kiini watches the cubs all making their way for his mate. Smiling to himself, he leans his neck and mane on Mwaliko's shoulder and lets the cubs be cubs.
Kikora's nightmares finally relent as she is startled awake, inhaling a sharp gasp of air. "Mama?" She calls instinctively, not realizing where she is at first. Reality settles in, and the girl lowers her ears a bit — there isn't a mama here to comfort her, maybe, but plenty of others. She blinks her bleary eyes, noticing Wingu first: "Wingu." she says simply enough, peering at him with her wide, brown eyes.
Mwaliko smiles and nods to Wingu. "Yes.. She'll be alright if we just let her sleep." This said softly, some think its a good idea to wake them up but she was never a fan of that because she was just have the dream later on. Her gaze rests on Kikora as she wakes up, a slight frown crosses her maw as the girl cries out for her mother. The lioness softly licks across Kikora's head. "Its alright Kikora.." Is murmured softly to the girl.
"Hey Kikora." Wingu replies, lifting his ears a little bit and offering the girl his best 'it's okay' sort of smile. "No bad dreams. I get em." He swipes his paws in the air as if he were catching little floating nightmares from the sky. "Okay?" He says, puffing his chest out and trying to stand his tallest, which isn't all that tall as of yet. "I keep them away and you sleep safe." He nods firmly, settling into a sitting position as his tail curls about his haunches. Looking from the girl, up to Mwaliko, he offers her a smile as well for her shelter of his new friend.
Katili lowers herself in the grass, eyes fixed on Wingu's back as she peers through the grass behind him. her rear end wiggles back and forth as she prepares to pounce him finally…
Kikora responds kindly to Mwaliko's gentle lick, turning her head to look at the lioness's face — it's not too much unlike her birth mother's, and that gives the girl a little comfort. As Wingu begins to speak, she looks to him, watching first with interest, and then falling into a fit of giggles. It seems she's able to relate to him a little better, as they're similar in age. "Silly Wingu!" She comments, relaxing a bit against Mwaliko's side.
Mwaliko smiles at the two and noses at Kikora. "Why don't you play with Wingu while your both awake?" She questions softly. Mwal has taken a quick liking to the girl it seems. She looks to Wingu and offers him a smile back and noses at him. "So you and your brother have been wandering off more hum?"
"Learned from my da." Wingu says with a grin on his face. Apparently taking 'silly' as a compliment. He's oblivious to his sister lurking in the distance, or to her abrupt change of plans apparently. The boy chuckles a little as he is nosed, shrugging his small shoulders. "Korzar went to the woods. I asked mom to go after. But we found Kikora there? That's good right?" Well, there was a positive outcome from the whole escapade. As for playing, Wingu just seems to lay down, still seeming a little tired. "I stay here."
Kikora inches a little closer toward Wingu at Mwaliko's request, slowly becoming accustomed to being gently nudged or nosed by the older lions. She gives the pale boy a little smile, still quite bashful being around new, unfamiliar faces. "I think I's sleep better if Wingu's close." She wiggles a little on the ground, still making contact with Mwaliko through and outstretched hindpaw. She lowers her head to the ground, looking at Wingu appreciatively as she does so. "Sleepy."
"You sleep. I stay." Wingu replies to the girl, giving a small yawn himself. He slowly sinks down into a laying position and reaches one of his paws out towards hers. Aww. He offers a small smile before closing his eyes, trying to snuggle down onto his other paw as he starts to slip to sleep again as well.
Mwaliko chuckles softly and smiles while watching the pair. "Then sleep.." She offers softly while nuzzling at the two. Seems she has a collection of cubs at her side now, not that she cares. A soft purr escapes her while she lifts her head to look to the falls before humming a soft tune of some song her mother would sing to help her and her siblings sleep so long ago.