03/04/09 - Crocodile Attack

Participants:

Kasjari - lioness, King Mzohari's mate.
Kiini - lion, son of King Mzohari and Nyunya.
Kikora - lioness cub, newly arrived to the pride.
Korzar - lion cub, son of King Mzohari and Kasjari.
Kousho - adolescent panther, visiting the valley.
Mzohari - lion, King of the Kopje Valley.
Onaedo - adolescent lion, son of King Mzohari and Kenta.
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.

Onaedo grins faintly at the complement, at least he thinks that's what it is. A glance is offered to Korzar as his went quiet before his gaze turns back to Kousho at the talk of some problem that also deals with Vikali. A faint humm escapes him at this, finding it interesting to say the least.

A smile that is quite pleased flushes onto Mzohari's muzzle at the praise from the shadow-cat — though it's short-lived as some of those missing details are given by Kousho. But the lion is distracted by the rousing of Kasjari, his eyes flitting aside towards the lioness — who is given a rumbled greeting and a rather urgent look. To finish his talk with their guest, however, Mzo' says to the panther, "If you need any help from any of our lions .. just let us know. But if you want to keep this fight to yourself, then I also understand. Whatever you choose, I wish you well. But if you'll excuse me .. " He dips his head in pardon, before turning to his teenage son and saying, "Keep an eye on things for a little, would you?" Soon after, his attention has landed on Kasjari — whom he approaches at a quick walk, running his muzzle against hers and onto her cheek as he murmurs to her, "No more cub emergencies, I've been meaning to talk to you for a couple days now. C'mon." A nip is laid on her ear, and Mzo' slips off into the thicker grasses.

Kikora has been sleeping for quite a while now, and so it's no surprise when she lifts her head gently from the soft grasses. Despite her shocking loss, little Kikora appears to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed — something that indicates the incline of her physical and mental health. The cub yawns, wiggling her ears a little bit as she wakes up.

Kousho nods to Mzohari's words and tilts his head, "I will keep that in mind Mister Mzohari, Thank you. I do not think the trouble will be too terrible. The foe is a cheetah, I would simply advise caution with your cubs. Young adults and fully grown lions and lionesses should have little to worry about. But the villian is cunning and crafty, that is why…I…worry for Vikali. Please don't tell her I said that." The panther found himself in an bad spot now, he didn't want to insult his adoptive sister but in the cunning and crafty departments Vikali unfortunately had never had the best track record.

Kasjari blinks softly as Mzo greets her. She tilts her head gently and carefully rises to her paws, extracting herself from the pile of cubs and moving to follow him, nodding to the others.

Onaedo glances to Kasjari as she starts to wake up more and offers her a smile before glancing to his father and nods. "Sure thing.. But if you hear me yelling it's beacuse I fell into the lake again." He smirks faintly at that remembering when he chased after the cubs and missed a few steps and fell right into the water. He looks over to Kikora and offers her a smile. "Hello there." A cheetah?.. Well that's interesting, a glance is offered towards Kousho once more as he talks about the problem more.

He pauses in the process of departing the area, unable to restrain the grin that now spreads wide across his features — or the short laugh that bubbles up from his chest. "Your secret is safe with me, Kousho. And for what it's worth, I share your opinion. Be well." A final bob of his head is given to the panther, a smirk to his son — and then he and Kasjari slip away.

Mzohari decides to walk to the Valley
Mzohari has left.

Kikora watches quietly as Mzohari and Kasjari move off into thicker, taller grasses, her ears turned forward with curiosity. She'd be inclined to follow after them if she were a little more comfortable making her way throughout the valley. As it is, she has no idea what lies beyond those grasses — it could be anything. Noticing that she has been left in the care of Onaedo, the girl turns her attention to him, offering him a quiet, shy "Hi…"; it's only then that she picks up the smell of the dark-furred leopard, and Kikora immediately lowers her head to her paws, ears turning back. It's one of the other cats her mother warned her about!

Somewhere in his dreams, Wingu hears voices and chooses to follow them. Of course, in his dream he's a full grown lion with more mane than even his dad if you can imagine that much. However in following the voices it brings him around to reality once more. "Rrrarro." He murmurs to himself as his eyes open, yawning slightly as his front paws stretch out in their usual fashion. Apparently he's not very articulate when first waking up. With a big yaaaaawn, the boy shakes his head from side to side, trying to drive off the sleepy feeling. Spotting one of his older brothers, Wingu murmurs, "Mmmorining Ona."

Kousho for the first time in a month allows a small smile to cross his face at mzohari's reaction, it was true and everyone knew it, Vikali was not the most intelligent of lionesses around, but Kousho dearly loved his adoptive sister. He then turned to look at Onaedo again, Only now realizing he had not properly introduced himself to the lion who was actually much closer to his own age then the king was. He lowered his head in a slight nod and offered a second smile to the other male, "Hello, I am Kousho. It's a pleasure to meet you." He blinked his two toned eyes as he noticed the look of fear on the young lioness cub's face. Trying to make himself appear both smaller and in a relaxed posture he lowers his foreparts to the ground and softens his unusually deep voice a bit as he speaks to the cub, "Don't worry little one. I won't hurt you. I love cubs of all kinds."

Onaedo smiles to Kikora still before glancing to Wingu and grins. "hey Wingu.. Finally awake huh?" A glance is offered to Kousho and he nods to the girl cub. "Your alright.. His a friend of the pride and he won't hurt you."

Kikora's eyes cut sharply toward Wingu, and though he's just now waking up, the look on her face reads 'eek!'. As Onaedo and the panther explain that she is in no danger, the girl cautiously lifts her head, bright brown eyes settling on the melanistic cat. "So, leopard not mean? Leopard won't hurt me?" She swishes her tail a bit nervously, ready to flee at the first signs of danger from Kousho.

Still half asleep, Wingu doesn't notice at first what it is that has his friend so frightened. Then, his eyes turn towards the Leopard. Blinking, the boy is almost too asleep to recognise the face. Then, he perks a little. "Oh, scary leopard." Apparently this is the boy's name for Kousho. Looking back at Kikora, the boy nods his head. "He won't hurt you. He helped my sister Katili way back. She got scared, too." He explains, rubbing one paw at his eye, before he sits up, licking at his own muzzle.

Kousho offers the small female a gentle smile, "Of course I won't hurt you. Some leopards are bad so you are right to be careful, but my big brother and I are nice. We have cubs too and know how terrible it would be if they got hurt." He turned then and glanced at the male cub, although he didn't seem happy about being considered scary he understood why cubs were afraid of him. The fact that he had one white eye and the four white stripes where his forehead had been clawed probably did make him look intimidating to younger cats.

Onaedo doesn't seem intimidated by the panther, though the fact that his father knows him puts him at ease at least. "See.. Its alright." Is offered softly to Kikora while he winks at her.

Kiini awakens from his spot next to Mwaliko, murmering something in a contented sort of way before he takes in a deep breath and blinks his eyes open to the sound of Onaedo. Curious, he looks off in that direction while trying to get himself more wide awake.

"Ohhh…" comes Kikora's response to all three — the princes Wingu and Onaedo, and the leopard. She bobs her head a little bit, as if indicating that she understands the message that Kousho is trying to convey. Some leopards -can- be bad, but some can be good, too. She relaxes visibly, hopping up to her paws in a flash — it seems that once something is made clear to her, she puts it behind her, like the confirmation of her mother's death. Little Kikora moves toward Wingu, who is only a short distance away, and paws at one of his ears gently. "Play?" She asks simply enough, curious to see what kind of new games this pride's cubs have.

Blinking the last of sleep from his eyes, Wingu watches the girl's approach, giving a little laugh as his ear gets batted. Tilting his head a little bit, his ear flicks as the boy nods his head a little. Taking a step back, he crouches a bit, his rear end rising up in a play invitation. His tail waggles back and forth behind him. "I betcha I can get to the edge of the lake before you can!" He dares her, giving a small bat at her forepaws before turning and waiting to make it a fair competition. "Race ya on one… two… three… Go!"

Kiini rises up, arching his back to stretch out before glancing down at his mate and cubs. Sound asleep. That's probably a good thing, the lion decides to himself. He heads for the cubs instead, making sure that he's within view of the cubs before remarking "Evening you two. What'cha up to?" He makes sure to keep his voice soft with Kikora around.

"Kiini, h'lo," Kikora greets the lion cheerfully enough, reacting to him in a positive manner now that he's careful with the tone of his voice and making placid movements — though if he were to relapse, she'd be sure to do so as well. "I's gonna beat the tail off'a Wingu!" She announces to both lions, hopping a few times in excitement. She drops down into a sprinter's position, and as Wingu says "Go!", she bounds toward the edge of the lake with wreckless abandon, maneuvering as best as she can around the sleeping bodies.

Wingu, on the other hand, doesn't have time to respond to Kiini as he's taking off after the girl with quick little feet. At first, he's keeping up quite well, even getting maybe a few pawsteps ahead. However, one of his white paws slips on some muddy ground, causing him to lose his balance so much so that he slides forward on his chest, coming to a stop a few lion's lengths from the lake with his chest and muzzle muddied. "… Ow." He says with a small laugh and a grunt, flailing his paws in the muddy streak of ground left behind.

Onaedo ears flick forward as he hears Kiini starting to join in, his tail flicks a few times while a glance is offered towards his older brother. His maw twitches before nodding slightly to him. "Hey.." They have never seen eye-to-eye on anything, or even gotten along so he doesn't expect it to be any different now either. Still he'll at least try and play nice around the cubs. His ears perk and he glances towards Wingu at the ow and humms faintly. "You alright there Wingu?" Though while his relationship with Kiini is strained his younger siblings he has no problem with at all.

Kiini lets out a chuckle at the sight of the two pouncing at each other. "Sounds like fun to me, Kikora." The lion then turns his attention to the larger sibling instead. "How are you Onaedo?" Kiini wonders, sounding friendly enough for the time being.

Kikora seems to be a bit more adept at running and dodging than the boy, naturally built to chase and maneuver. As Wingu falters, the girl glances over her shoulder to see if he's okay — but she doesn't stop running. Uh oh. She slows down a little too late and ends up tumbling into the lake, submerged for a few seconds before she lifts her head, sputtering water and flailing her paws. Lucky for her, her father taught her the joys of swimming — she's in no real danger. She paddles the short distance to the edge of the lake, struggling to pull herself out, all sopping wet. "Oops!" She calls out with a little giggle.

With all the noise and running going on around him, there's no way that Korzar is going to stay asleep. With a little mrrring noise, his eyes flicker open and he stretches his forepaws out in front of him. He lifts his head and soon after pops up to his feet, looking around for the source of all that noise. Hey it's Wingu! And Kikora too! Sure one is plopped in the mud, and the other is sputtering her way out of the lake, but that doesn't deter Korzar. With a smile, he begins to make his way over toward the pair of cubs.

So with the girl drenched and Wingu muddy, the boy just manages a laugh as he gets to his feet. He shakes his paws a little bit, sending little flecks of mud here and there. Then, he walks right up to the edge of the lake and reaches over, trying to help pull his friend from the water. In the process, he ends up smearing a bit of mud along her neck. "Guess you win." He says cheerfully enough once he's sure she's free. Then, the boy gives her a little wink, he dives into the water himself, intending on getting the mud off and going for a swim himself. Neither Wingu or his brother really had any aversion to water.

Onaedo humms faintly as he watches the cubs like he told his father that he would. "I'm fine." His forepaw pulls close to his chest while his tail lashes around a few times. Bright green eyes turn back to Kiini watching him a few moments before he speaks up again. "Suppose you've been rather busy lately huh?" Meaning his cubs an the like.

Though she's fairly well-kept, Kikora isn't above getting dirty while playing — the fact that her mother isn't around to groom her later doesn't seem to affect her much, as she knows either Mwaliko or Kasjari will be more than happy to lend a tongue. She watches intently as Wingu jumps into the water, perking her ears in interest — the Kopje cubs like to swim, too? Faint movement is registered in her peripheral vision, and Kikora turns her head to make sure it isn't the leopard sneaking up on her! She seems pleasantly surprised to find Korzar instead, grinning brightly at him, "Play, Korzar?" With that, she slinks back into the water carefully, working her paws as she turns to look back at the approaching cub.

Kiini nods his head to the remark, somewhat distracted by the action of the cubs a couple of yards away. "I'll say." Kiini answers thoughtfully, before looking more so directly at his younger brother. "Between Mwaliko, the cubs, and the border patrols, its a wonder my paws ever get any rest. (OOC just sticks mine in front of Kikora's.

Wingu's head pops up a moment later, giving a shake and sending a spray of water this way and that. At least it dilutes the mud on his fur, but there's still a little lingering dirt that stains the bottom of his muzzle brown. "She can swim, Korzar." He reports to his brother, blowing a few strands of wet pre-mane from his eyes. "Come on, play?" He echos the girl's invitation, paddling in the water as he keeps himself afloat.

Korzar doesn't just tolerate water, he loves it. Ever since he was introduced to the joys of splashing around in the big lake, it's been one of his favorite things to do when he gets the chance. And far from the days when he was forced to stay in the shallowest edges of the lake, Korzar is now, if not yet a good swimmer, than one who could keep his head above the water. When he reaches the edge of the water, and Kikora and Wingu invite him to play, he nods enthusiastically. "Yeah!" he responds, and quickly splashes into the water after Kikora. He actually has some things he wants to tell his brother - and Kikora too, although he's less familiar with the girl cub - but all that can wait until after all the important stuff got done - play.

Onaedo smirks at Kiini faintly and shrugs some. "I never have a problem with my patrols.." But then he just sleeps when ever his done. Hearing the cubs in the water now he shifts up onto his paws with a sore grunt escaping him before he moves on over towards the water's edge so he can keep a better eye on them. He settles back to his haunches, tail curling at his side while he smiles some at the three. His glad they can all play with each other but it is a somehwat sour note for him seeing how his siblings was never around for him, and now there gone.

Kiini flicks his tail some. "I didn't say they were a problem. I'm just saying that taking mates, having cubs, and doing the patrols is a lot on the paws, that's all." He shrugs, not bothering to dwell on such a topic. "Anyways, have you seen dad at all lately? I have something I should really talk to him about."

Kikora is blissfully unaware of the tension between Korzar and Wingu's older brothers — and that seems to be a good thing. One of the last things she needs is to worry about the strained relationship between Kiini and Onaedo. "We're swimming!" She announces, almost as if she can't believe it… after all, most of her own half-siblings were less than pleased with aquatic activities. She treads water for a few moments before swimming in a full circle, snapping her jaws together playfully. "Croc-o-diiiile!" She swims in Wingu's direction first, keeping her head up, little teeth clicking. "Korzar, croco too?" She invites, hoping he accepts. Time to get Winguuuu!

Much like Kikora, Wingu is also oblvious to the tensions of the older lions. Besides, playing is much more interesting than all of that nonsense. "Yep. We been swimming since we were little." He brags, equally oblivious to the fact that many lions don't care for the water. However, his eyes do grow wide when she begins to circle around, snapping her jaws. "Oh no!" He calls out, splashing around in the water as if he were trying to escape, playing along for the moment. "Korzar no be a croc!" Wingu calls out, trying not to be double-teamed, but knowing it's probably useless. Oh no, predator is now the prey! The boy begins to swim away, fleeeee!

"Yes.. His off talking with Kasjari, and they left here so I can assume he wanted to talk to her with no one else around." Onaedo offers while glancing towards Kiini. "What you going to talk to him about?" Well his curious, an normally his the last to know what is going on so he figured he'd try to find out ahead of time for once. His gaze goes back to the cubs as they swim around, he grins slightly at the game.

Korzar giggles at Kikora's suggestion. "Crocs!" he agrees, then growls playfully. Wait - do crocs growl? Ahhh, who cares! He plunges into the water, gnashing his teeth together as he paddles deeper towards his brother. "Get Gooooo!" he cries, paying no attention to his brother's playful protests.

Kiini listens to the cubs for a second, but his biggest half brother gives him the answer he was looking for. "I was hoping to talk to him about a couple of things. Vikali, for one. Dad's got her intimidated of him, to say the least. That, and there's some things I was going to discuss with him about Mwaliko." He adds thoughtfully.

Kikora mimics Korzar's cries with her own, more than a little delighted that her game has taken off. "Get Goo!" She paddles ever-closer to the pale cub, breathing hard — it's been a little while since she's really exercised like this in earnest. "Croco sees the Goo-pala, and croco is hungry!" She exclaims, describing the scene she envisions in her mind, a wicked little look on her grinning face.

Onaedo ahs at this and tilts his head while peering at Kiini. "Well.. It is Vikali, I'm not surprized." Seems he doesn't know everything that has been going on between Kiini and Vikali, but his heard enough from his mother and others about her. "I'm sure there get over it. How's Mwaliko doing? Heard she was sick."

"Oh no!" The boy calls out again as the two cub-crocs close in on him. "They're gonna get me!" Flailing around, the boy calls out, "Ahh, ahh, my leg, I'm done for." And then, he lets himself go under the water, a few little bubbles following where he had been. A few seconds later, he re-surfaces a small distance away, swimming fast towards the sore. And then, with a splash, he's out, racing over towards Onaedo. "Ona Ona! There's crocks in the lake trying to eat me." Soaking wet, the boy swings around and tries to hid behind the larger form of his older brother, peaking out once or twice to making silly, teasing faces at the other two cubs.

Kiini is distracted at the splashes, and can't help but grin to himself before looking back at his younger brother again. "Vik's heart is in the right place." Kiini explains, tail flicking some now. "Anyways, Mwaliko was sick right around the time she gave birth, but she's much better now. She's healthy, and so are the cubs. I can't ask for more, you know?"

Korzar circles his brother, with a - what he hopes - is a menancing glare on his muzzle. "Crocs get Goo… eat!" he giggles, still paddling to stay afloat. Soon his prediction is proved true, as Wingu sinks under the water. When his brother reappears a little further away, Korzar paddles after him, still chasing him. But soon Wingu has seeked the protection of Onaedo, and Korzar's getting tired as it is from all the paddling and yelling, with little chance to catch his breath. He pants as he stands in the shallow part of the lake, and then gives a glance around, wondering if Kikora followed him back into the shallow water.

Onaedo nods slightly to Kiini before looking to Wingu as the cub hides behind him from the others, a chuckle escapes him. He looks to Korzar and Kikora. "You guys should come take a break, don't need to get to tired out there in the water." HIs ears turn to Kiini. "Well I'm glad to hear that."

Kiini dips his head to acknowledge that much as he too watches Wingu make a steady retreat. "Onaedo's right." He remarks to the still water splashing cubs. "Time for a break." This said, he lets the cubs finish up playing for the time being. "You should come out on a patrol with me sometime." He suggests out of the clear blue.

Well, Korzar *is* getting tired and he's decided to be a good cub… at least until all the big lions forget about his most recent adventure. "C'mon!" he shouts, swiping his paw through the water to send one last splash of water towards Kikora before he heads out of the water. He comes to a stop in between his two much older brothers, still panting. He gives himself a good shake, sending a spray of water droplets off of the dripping cub unintentionally onto Kiini and Onaedo. Whoops. He grins sheepishly.

Onaedo blinks while tilting his head and looks at Kiini a moment, ears flicking forward while he just watches him. "Me?" He questions with a half unsure tone. Sure his went on patrols with Mzohari before but the others never had a interest in him following along so his surprized at this. A half erk escapes him at the water that is shaken upon him before he laughs and grins at Korzar. "Oh.. Nice one.."

Mzohari pads in here from the valley, looking to relax.
Mzohari has arrived.

Kiini grins as water droplets from his baby brother go flying all over the place. "Maybe we won't have to dry you off if you keep that up." He teases Korzar, before lowering his head and licking the cub across the back. He looks up at Onaedo while doing so, rather interested in the reaction he gets. "Sure, why not?"

As Korzar is licked, he purrs and lies down on his belly in between his two brothers. He's still damp, so a good bit of dirt clings to his fur as he lies down on the ground. He peers around Ona, trying to look for Kikora. Wingu had fallen asleep, and he needs *someone* to tell his news to!

He is returning, now .. and judging from the expression now upon Mzohari's face, the time spent with Kasjari must have gone well enough. That fact alone has helped fill the lion with a sizeable amount of relief, and so his steps as he makes his way back towards the waterfall are easy and smooth. Stepping into the shorter grasses, Mzo' gives himself a moment to thoroughly shake out his mane and stretch out his frame — a few grunts and rumblings sounding from the lion in the process.

Onaedo watches Kiini a few moments, maw twitching while he glances back to the water and shrugs. "I don't know.. Dad's the only one that asked me to go on patrol with him before." He isn't to sure what to make of Kiini asking to actually do something with him. After everything that happened he was sorta thrown into doing more patrols and just did them without thinking or questioning anything about it. His head lifts upong hearing the grunts and rumblings and humms. "Looks like dad is free." This offered to Kiini.

Kiini chuckles at the reply from his little brother. "What's that got to do with anything?" He asks, perking his own ears up as he glances over his shoulder at the arrival of his father. He takes one more look back to his brother before acknowledging the king though. "Anyways, its up to you Oneado, but I'd be disappointed if you turned me down." His eyes look down to Korzar now, and the cub gets one more lick on his forehead this time before he remarks, "Back in a little bit." to the both of them. From here he turns about, chuffing out to his father as Mzohari nears.

Kikora had to disconnect at this point.

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