Faith in the Fauna

[Zorayda]

Taro listened to the newcomers' stories, still standing somewhat between them and Sarumba.

He didn't quite know how to be diplomatic or handle others' problems, so he watched Bagymo handle the situation with a learning eye.

So, they wanted to be Juail? Taro didn't know if he wanted to have more lions following the small troupe--he might be distracted from his studies with Bagymo and Sarumba--but the idea of being a part of a little pride again made him smile.

((OOC: Omg teh shortness of it all Xo)

[Tamber]

Tad's expression lightened when Kianga looked back and grinned at him. In fact, he felt rather ashamed to have let her seen him so grumpy, and his ears flattened back. He looked away from her uncomfortably. Soon he heard her ravings of how well he had hidden, and though his manor did not change, it gave him hope that maybe she was telling the truth. Perhaps hiding was his strong point. He wished to think of it no more, however, as they reached the trees and is eyes lay upon the dead gazelle he thought would be his.

Fjea gazed thoughtfully down at the white lioness. Kianga was right; she looked completely fine, just like she was asleep. "Her breathing looks normal," she said confusedly to Kianga. The cheetah stepped around the lioness in a circle and looked over her. "And...I don't see any cuts of scrapes on her, either."

Then a thought came to her. The lioness's hair was quite long. "Have you looked under her hair?" Feja asked. "Maybe there's a bump or a wound there that we can't see."

[KanuTGL]

"Thank you, thank you, thank you sooo much! I am so sorry about all this trouble. After all, tree cobras are not something that I would like to get into a fight with. You two, are very brave."

Dajan's grin became wider and he puffed his chest out to look even braver. Gacoki rolled his eyes at his foolish brother. Then things started to happen quickly - another pair of lions appeared on the scene, a white lioness and a young male, Maybelle gave them a brief recap of the situation before shooting off again, yelling her cub's name. Dajan and Gacoki followed close behind her, in case that snake was still around, but came to a sudden stop again when they saw that the mother and cub were safely reunited.

Apparently another lion, a large male, had fended off the snake. Gacoki let out a sigh of relief, but Dajan seemed slightly disappointed. "Well, seems you won't get to play hero this time either, Daj." said Gacoki and smiled. The younger brother mumbled something incoherent, then sighed as well, shaking his mane. "I guess it's just as well." Gacoki continued. "Maybe we should leave them in peace and carry on with our business, hmm?" Dajan didn't reply; he seemed to still have his eyes fixed upon Maybelle. Or was it the other white lioness? Whichever. "Come on. We're not needed here any more, they turned out fine! And she won't be threatened again with so many of them around." Gacoki glanced at the older male of the group. "And if that snake did come back, I'm sure he would do a much better job of it than you would." he added in a mocking tone. The green-maned lion then commenced his walk back towards the water hole, expecting his brother to follow.

"But maybe they're a pride!" Dajan suddenly exclaimed. "Then they'd know what we can hunt here, right?"

Gacoki stopped in his tracks.

"Riight?"

"Right." Gacoki made a quick decision, since hunger was gnawing at also his stomach, turned around and went back towards the group but made sure that his brother followed this time. Maybe they were not all as friendly as Queen Maybelle had been, but if she was indeed the Queen of this land, then...

"Uh, greetings." Gacoki said, stepping up in front of the group and trying to keep his stance as was fit of a royal heir. "I believe we didn't properly introduce ourselves before. I am Prince Gacoki, heir of the Habari throne and this is my brother, Prince Dajan." Dajan bowed. "Is this... uhm, your kingdom, Sir?" Gacoki looked to the large male, who seemed regal enough, and nervously waited for an answer.

[Lorien]

Bagymo smiled at Maybelle. "By all means, yes, hunt for you and your cub. She is exhausted and must be hungry." His eyes then strayed to Zelda. A Juail, eh? It was strange that the cub was a believer while the mother was not. There was something more than meets the eye in this situation, something he took great interest in. However, if she wanted to learn more, she would need to stay with them, and with her being a queen and all...no, it would not do. Unless there was something that this lioness was not telling them.

He then looked down at the young Moona, a frown on his face. "I have not seen any leopards around these lands for a very long time. I'm sorry, young Moona."

The large male then brought his attention to the two males, both with bright colored manes. His kingdom, eh? He chuckled slightly while shaking his head. "No, this is not my kingdom nor anybody else's. It belongs to all of the creatures and is currently unclaimed." At this, he looked over to Sarumba, a smile on his face. "Sarumba and I, Bagymo, merely live here, but this land is abundant in it's resources. You are all quite welcome to stay, hunt, do whatever you wish." He got up from sitting, scanning the land. It surely was a beautiful place, especially now during the wet season. His attention then went back to the two males. "And it is a pleasure being in the presence of royalty," he said, bowing his head in respect.

Sarumba just listened to all that was going on around her. Her tail flicked behind her excitedly, her eyes scanning the faces of everyone. "I'm Sarumba. It's nice to meet all of you," she said with a smile. This was the most lions she had been around in a while, and she quite enjoyed the extra company. She stopped on Taro's face, a smile coming to her own. He seemed uneasy around so many and yet at the same time seemed happy.

The white lioness leaned over toward him and whispered, "Our numbers sure did grow quickly...Lots of lions here now!" Sarumba was excited about all of this. She always grasped the chance at meeting new faces.

[Kirsui]

"Have you looked under her hair? Maybe there's a bump or a wound there that we can't see."

"I tried looking", Kianga replied, her gaze still glued to the white lioness.
Then she frowned slightly, recalling the moment she had checked the unconscious lioness' possible injuries.
"Her hair is rather tricky though, it looks thin but it's rather thick from the roots, so I might have missed it..."

From her eye corner she caught a sight of Tad. She turned to look at the maneless lion better. It took her a moment to understand what he was doing, and when she did a faint smile came to her face.
"You can take a bite of the gazelle, if you want Tad", she told.
"I thought that if our friend here", she motioned towards the white lioness with her paw, "would be hungry when she woke up, I could as well have something for her to eat."
Then she turned back to the white one.
"Though... I'm not all too sure if she'll wake..."

---

She floated in dark nothingness. She knew not where she was, who she was, when all this was... It was dead silent and still in the dark abyss, she could not see, she could not smell, she could not move, she could not hear. It was like she was in the depths of an ocean. The dark shadows brushed her fur like water, swayed her hair in an invisible current. She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or shut, the darkness was the same in both cases.

Her ears twitched. She was certain she had heard something. But how was that possible?

"-- breathing --"

What? She couldn't... Could she move? She tried, and to her utter surprise she could breath!

"-- cuts of scrapes-- "

What? Had she been injured? She opened her eyes, though she still saw nothing else than darkness. She couldn't feel anything that hurt... Right?

"-- under her hair --"

Pain shot through her head and she sharply took in a breath. She had been injured, somewhere to her head!

"-- I'm not all too sure if she'll wake..."

Blinding light lit in front of her eyes. It was so bright after the darkness that she thought her eyes were burning. She had to shut her eyes tightly, and to wish the light would just go away.

Then she opened her eyes again, and she... she could see grass. Soft green grass, and the moist soil under it, and the bright blue sky above, and the swaying trees that sheltered her from direct sunlight. And... She... She could smell. It was the fresh scent of morning, though the morning scent was already fading. And through the morning scent she could detect...

Her head snapped up, too quickly for the headache intensified at the quick movement. She groaned slightly, and then blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to see clearly the three felines that stood so close to her.

When she could see them clearly, she remembered who she was, and when.. But one answer remained as a mystery.
"Where..?"
She swallowed, her voice had sounded so weak for it hadn't been used in a while. She swallowed again, forcing her voice not to crackle.
"Where am I...?"

[magiccat]

Maybelle watched Bagymo's eyes trail to Zelda. She sighed, supposing now would be the time to let it out.

"My...my mate died not that long ago...he was Zelda's father and...we dealt with it in different ways. Zelda, she found religion and it gave her hope. I didn't understand what on earth she was on about at first...but now it is starting to make more sense. Although, I could do with learning more about it. Definitely in fact" She tried to make up an excuse as to why she was not ruling her lands right now.

"My...my mate's death sent the land into turmoil. My father fled with myself and Zelda to be safe. My own pride was beggining to doubt we could help them and well...you know. We shall return when we have a solution for the battles that have ensued for the throne. I do feel guilty about leaving them though..." She realised she must have been quite a downer so quickly shut her mouth.

"I apologise. I haven't had a chance to vent that yet and now I'm forcing it onto your plates. Nice to meet you Sarumba" She smiled as the two males came over again and widened her eyes when she heard they were princes.

"Nice to meet you Prince Gacoki and Prince Dajan of course." She said, smiling once more. "I could get us all some food. We'd probably have to share a kill but I could catch one" She offered. Hoping it would protect her from questions.

[Zorayda]

Taro blushed when Sarumba came close to him and whispered in his ear. Her breath tickled and his fur stood on end for a second. He blinked and smiled in reply.

"And I'm Taro," he said, speaking up finally and facing the others. These lions all seemed friendly enough... "I once lived in a pride myself, but the testosterone level was off the charts, so...I had to leave. And as for the religion...I've heard about it here and there, snatches about it off the savannah. I can't say that I'm 100 per cent Juail, but I'd like to head that way."

Taro flashed a quick smile--a real one that didn't come very often. It really brightened his features.

When Maybelle mentioned hunting, Taro's stomach started to rumble. When was the last time he ate something?

"Unfortunately, I am not so great at hunting. I don't know how I've managed to survive thus far," he said, laughing a little. "I'm sure Bagymo and Rumbly--" he glanced at her and smirked as he said the silly nickname-- "here could help you...that is, if they're up to it."

[kyto7878]

Moona shined up and shouted out "I can catch a mouse!" Moona smiled as he was eager to help catch a mouse for food. Moona's tail flicked left and right,Up and down. Moona began to jump up and down with eagerness "Can I? Can I? Can I? Please?" Moona couldnt control himself.

[Tamber]

Tad's ears sank as Kianga offered him a bite or two of the gazelle. He didn't wish to eat any of it, simply because just the sight of it made his heart wrench. It could have been his. He could have been offering the food to Kianga, rather than looking pathetic and having her offer it to him. But the kind lioness's voice made him feel guilty. For some reason, not taking a bite of the so graciously offered animal felt rude, as if he was bitter and unforgiving. With these confronting emotions he simply sat back and was gladdened to be interrupted by what they had all been waiting for.

"Though... I'm not all too sure if she'll wake..."

Apparently "wake" is the word to bring a lioness back to consciousness, for it seemed that right as Kianaga spoke this phrase, the white lioness began to stir. She threw her head up with a start and Feja stepped back from her, fearing she would jump up in some blind, detructive seizure. But the lioness, as blanched white as the noonday sun, stayed still, grunting and trying to regain full consciousness. She finally spoke, asking where she was.

Feja glanced at Kianga before replying. "You're in a wide valley surrounded by tall hills. My friend here found you and brought you here in the safety of the trees. She has brought food for you." Feja spoke loudly and clearly, knowing that all the senses are dimmed after being unconscious, particularly for as long as this girl had been. The teal cheetah chose not to ask her anything involving memory. Right now it was important for the lioness to get her bearings.

"It is approaching midday," she told her. "Are you still with us? Can you see alright? Do you hear me ok?"

[Zorayda]

Taro grinned down at the small black cub.

"Sure. As a matter of fact, I'll come and watch, if your mother is all right with it," he commented, glancing at Moona's mother. Taro had always been one of the cub-sitters in his old pride, and he rather enjoyed watching them.

"We could use all the help we can get."

[magiccat]

Maybelle chuckled at the cubs enthusiasm, but looked down shyly as Taro mentioned Moona's mum.

"Oh, I'm, not his mother. We found him unconscious" She said, looking down at Zelda. "We can't seem to find his pride or parents. We were going to search but that snake interrupted us" Maybelle said bitterly. Still she smiled at Taro.

"But in the absence of his mother...You can watch him hunt I suppose. And I'll come too. Maybe Zelda can get some rest." She said with a shrug. Then turned to Bagymo and Sarumba.

"So...if you wish, I will leave you to go about your business after I have hunted. I don't wish to be an inconvience to you. Once food is no longer a priority, I will take Zelda and we will search for Moona's mother and father" She smiled as she said this, but inside she was sighing. Another oppurtunity lost. She had gotten quite lonely with just Zelda to talk to. Sure she was the best daughter a lioness could want. But she missed the companionship of adults, who talked about things she knew of, not cubs who demanded to play with her a lot. Then what would happen when Zelda grew up? She would be alone. Maybelle couldn't help allowing a sad expression to pass her face as she thought about that. She wiped it clean in an instant though.Stiff upper lip now Maybelle, this is unbecoming of a Royal. Now she spoke to the whole group.

"Thank you...for all your help." She said with a nod. Then turned to Moona.

"You are the mouse expert. Lead the way" She said with a smile. She picked up Zelda by the scruff of her neck. Leaving the resting cub dangling. Now I won't have to speak again. You and your big mouth Maybelle

[kyto7878]

Moona Leaped with joy. "Im gonna catch a mouse!" He repeated over and over again. Moona began running back and forth looking for the mouse holes when he stumbled upon a skeleton. Moona didn't know what animal it was but he knew that it had died a harsh death. Moona began padding closer to the skeleton When he found a mouse.

"I Found a Mouse!" Moona yelled Moona began chasing the mouse all over the place. Moona ran past the group of lions he was trying to catch the mouse for. Moona pbarely got the mouse by the tail and held it in between his fingers. "Got it!" He yelled

[Kirsui]

"Are you still with us? Can you see alright? Do you hear me ok?"

The white lioness nodded faintly with closed eyes.
"I can hear you."
Her reply was quiet. She was trying to will away the headache at the same time as the teal cheetah's words sunk in. Valley... She remembered she had been crossing the high hills in attempt to reach the valley. But she couldn't remember coming to the valley.

Kianga saw the white lioness frown slightly.
"It has been a few days since I found you", she explained. "I found you near the hills, but couldn't detect any injuries and such..."

The white lioness nodded again. She recalled the last bits she remembered, and the frown deepened on her face. She had been walking on a very steep and rocky path... And... The path had given in and she had fallen.

Satisfied with what she had been able to recall, she opened her eyes and looked directly at Kianga. The younger lioness was startled at how intense the gaze was, as well as the fact the lioness' eyes were black. However, Kianga was unable to pull away from those eyes, and she could only stare back.

"It zeemz I have to thank you for zaving my life."
When the white lioness finally spoke, her voice was still weak. However, one could easily detect the odd accent she had.
"N-no problem", Kianga replied hesitantly, feeling rather nervous under the white lioness' stare.

The white lioness chuckled faintly and finally averted her gaze when she noticed how uncomfortable Kianga felt, examining Tad briefly with the intense stare of her black eyes before turning to look at Feja.
"My name iz Xoren", the white lioness introduced herself.

[Tamber]

Feja grew more relaxed as the white lioness, referring to herself as Xoren, gained consciousness more with each passing moment. She began to speak more clearly, revealing a funny accent that Feja hadn't heard very often, certainly not in a long time. The she lion's pitch black eyes contrasted fiercely with her blinding white pelt. Feja stood up and backed away from Xoren now, knowing that she would soon be fine and she needed some space to get her bearings.

"Nice to see you coming around, Xoren," Feja said collectedly with a small, playful smile. "I'm Feja...."

Tad winced as Feja paused and turned to look at him. His ears drooped a bit and he pretended not to understand the cheetah's glare, but he was afraid to look away from her. Feja tilted her head and sent a piercing, demanding look into Tad's eyes. Her face was as subtle as a light breeze but rushing and serious as an approaching storm. Still, Tad said nothing, only waited for her to leave him be. The cheetah wrinkled her muzzle in disappointment and turned back to the lioness.

"And this is Tad," she told Xoren, her disappointment slightly reflected in her voice. She fought the wish to comment on his cowardice. He always disappointed her around new people.

Though relieved that he didn't have to speak with this strange new person, Tad was disappointed in himself, as well. His head hung a bit lower and he looked at his feet, feeling weak and powerless, hating to forget all that Feja had taught him when the time came to improve upon his weaknesses. He looked up at Xoren hesitantly, catching her strong gaze in the process. Her eyes were as black as coal. Tad's gaze faltered and his eyes dashed about uncontrollably. She overpowered him from the start, even when barely conscious.

[Zorayda]

Taro followed the scurrying black cub until he heard it cry out in alarm.

"What? What is it, Moona?" Taro came forward until he saw the skeletons. "Ah..."

The orange-and-black lion scooped the cub under his body, trying to comfort him. "Hey, it's okay..."

(OOC: eh...creativeness ran out.)

[kyto7878]

Moona felt himself being scooped up as he had the mouse in his mouth. "Look Look Look I got a mouse." Moona grinned for he was proud of his sucessful hunt. Moona's tail began to flick back and forth but he was still more confused then ever why Taro had picked him up. "Hey taro where are we going?"

[magiccat]

Maybelle rolled her eyes as the cub ran. Slow down eager beaver. She thought to herself. Placing Zelda down she smiled at the group.

"Well...see you" She said and picked Zelda up. Noticing Taro had it under control she walked slowly over. When she reached the two she placed Zelda down, noticing the skeleton she uttered a single word.

"Oh" Then she noticed Moona had caught a mouse.

"Well done Moona. That is a very good mouse" She commented, examining it hard. Suddenly she felt a powerful tug and closed her eyes as her memories cycled to a few years back.

"She's beautiful" Maybelle smiled at her mate as he looked over her shoulder, Zelda was between her paws, curled up and sleeping. Maybelle smiled, pride settling deep in her stomach. This was her cub, her Zelda and her time. She was Queen, this was their Princess.

"I know" She commented happily. Zelda yawned and the proud parents smiled. Maybelle looked up as a young cub scampered in. Zelda's intended husband.

"Hello Queen Maybelle, Hello my King" The two nodded their heads at the brown cub. He opened his jaws and placed a mouse in front of Maybelle. She shook her head, remembering how the cub had died in the early stages of war. That had fuelled her care for cubs. She smiled at Moona and then spoke to Taro.

"Thank you for seeing to him. You're good with cubs" She praised.

[Zorayda]

Taro smiled.

"Well, they're fun to be around, I guess..." the young lion told Maybelle. To Moona, he said, "Sorry, I just thought...well, I used to be afraid of skeletons when I was little. Maybe I was just being overprotective."

Taro looked over at Sarumba to see if she'd noticed his little romp with the cub. He didn't know why he worked so hard to impress her, but something about the blue-eyed lioness made him certain that she was worth his trouble.

[mahewarac]

OOC: So sorry for never posting!

Fira sat quietly, watching the savannah as she always did. It was getting quite boring, causing no mischif or anything of the sort. She was a cobra, that was her job! Why, with out her, who would make the plains an adventure?

Spying her lioness with another group of lions, she hissed a curse. Attacking was difficult when if you bit someone there would be multiple others to bite you. However...as she looked closer, she saw the cub she hated bound off.

"Foolish, foolish child." She slithered down, working her way to where he had went to catch a mouse. You would think they would learn not to separate yourself, but no...

She cursed again as a lion carried her prey away. She wouldn't be eating the lions, but she could play with them...

Sneaking up to the group, she wrapped around the "queen's" leg.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite lioness. You wouldn't happen to be mentioning me to those cats, would you dear?"

[magiccat]

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite lioness. You wouldn't happen to be mentioning me to those cats, would you dear?"

The feeling of a snake wrapping itself round her leg caused Maybelle to panic. Swallowing her fright she glared at the snake with determination.

"Yes and if you wish to continue your miserable existance, you will leave me and my cub alone" She growled at the snake, who was top of her 'to kill' list. She bent down to it and said clearly.

"Would you mind unravelling yourself from my leg?" She said it politely and nicely then spoke in a colder tone "If you dare unravell yourself and harm Zelda you had better start slivering away fast with your stupid little head held very low"

She began walking slowly towards Moona and Taro.

"Taro, do you think you could do something about...this?" She lifted up the leg to reveal the snake.

"At least take Moona back to the group for safety" She whispered it, hoping the snake wouldn't hear and follow the two.

[Zorayda]

Oh crap...!

Taro's emerald eyes widened when he saw the highly poisonous and dangerous snake coiled around Maybelle's leg. He was doubly shocked when he noticed that Maybelle was acting so casually about having the equivalent of two poison needles on a bendy pole wrapped around her front paw.

"Right, MOONA! We're going now," Taro yelled to the cub. To Maybelle, he said, "I'll come back...just, uh, don't panic...?"

In all honesty, the young lion really had no idea what to do. He grabbed the cub by his scruff and ran towards the other group of lions quickly.

He stopped in front of Sarumba. "HeywatchhimIgottagohelpMaybellebye!" And he sped off once more.

He looked down at the offeding reptile. "Um...would you please get off of my uh...acquaintance's leg? She really needs that, you know." He made sure to stay out of striking distance. "Look, if you wanna eat something, I'll find it for you, just please don't eat the cubs?"

[Lorien]

((Sorry about my absence as well XO. My computer has been on the fritz...had to restore the OS twice..and I still think it's messed up. I may have to put it back to factory settings and lose everything x.x)

Bagymo listened as the lions and lionesses spoke around him. He enjoyed the fact that so many now wanted to learn about the Juai religion. He embraced the idea of having a following with him as the mentor. However, he looked to Sarumba, who was busy watching Moona and Taro, and sighed. This would mean less personal time teaching her everything he knew about the religion. The large male closed his eyes and shook out his mane a little bit. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that the message would be spread. He would be doing Solet's work, and the thought of this made him happy.

Sarumba continued to watch Taro and the cub, smiling as she did. It wasn't everyday that one saw a young male take to cubs like he had. She was about to say something about it when a snake wrapped around Maybelle's leg in the distance. Sarumba jumped back in fright, even though it was not near her, not too fond of snakes, especially dangerous ones, herself. She nodded to Taro as he dropped Moona by her side, and she quickly and defensively placed her leg in front of him as she stood there, looking down at the black cub. "It's going to be ok, Moona. They're going to handle everything; don't you worry now."

Bagymo stood quickly, running to Maybelle and Taro, ready to strike if anything happened. However, with the snake in it's current position, there was not much he could do. If he attacked, it would endanger Maybelle. You never knew what a snake would do, and so he just kept his senses peeled. He growled, in a defensive position, and his low voice boomed, "I'd be careful of what you do, serpent. You are very outnumbered."

((Sorry again if I ignored any particular thing in the RP. Just trying to get a post in inbetween studying for my classes that I really need to do))

Edit: Dang it! You two posted right before me! Now I have to change stuff XD

[kyto7878]

Moona felt himself get scooped up and thrown on the ground. "Hey whats the big idea!" Moona didnt know what was going on all he knew was that cause of this he had dropped his pet mouse friend. Moona ran following his mouse friend. "Hey wait up I thought we were friends!" Moona cried out to the mouse as he chased it in circles.

Sooner or later Moona's mouse found a hole and ran inside it. Moona sighed and ran back to Sarumba. and said. "I guess im staying with you now huh?"

[mahewarac]

"If you dare unravell yourself and harm Zelda you had better start slivering away fast with your stupid little head held very low"

"Oh, I'm just shivering with fear." The snake laughed, uncoiling herself from the lioness's leg. "Oh, and your daughter, yes. Such a sweet girl. I may just pay her a visit."

Turning to slide away, she laughed and turned back to the cat. "Don't worry, love, I have better things to do then kill her now. Like toy with you ridiculous Juails. Wasting your life away chasing proficies and myths, how humorous."

She dissapeared into the grass with a smirk.

[Deleted]

(OOC: Sorry about not posting, long story it explains why in my goodbye thing lol. Even though I was planning on posting at my dads his comp died D=)

Zelda slowly awakened. She hung silently in midair waiting for her sight to become clear. “Mum? Where are we?” She asked yawning widely. He looked around then saw Bagymo and Taro. She cowered slightly at the sight of the lions. Zelda then scanned the area again and saw Moona running around in circles then go back to Sarumba. Zelda struggled to get free of her mothers grasp, eventually she was free. Landing gracefully on her paws she ran towards Moona. She slowed her pace as he became clearer. Silently she snuck up behind him then pounced tugging his ear playfully.

[magiccat]

Maybelle sighed with relief as the snake uncoiled itself and slivered away. She heard it's final comment about Juails and pinned her ears to her head. Doubts swarmed her mind and she shook her head to clear it.

"Thanks" She said weakly to Taro and Bagymo. She may have looked like she was casual but really she was so scared she was now shaking lightly. Her fur which had bristled was now slowly returning to normal. She placed a paw forward, it shook slightly in mid air before touching the ground. That had been a shocker.

"What is it with that Snake?" She asked aloud and grimaced as she thought of it watching them. She was drawn from her grimace by Zelda awakening. She smiled as once more the cub got free of her grasp and ran over to Moona. Her smile widened as she began to play with him.

"It's nice to see you up about and healthy" She remembered Zelda's question and smiled.

"Still in the same lands, you know I never move us on without telling you. We're with Bagymo, Sarumba, Taro, Prince Dajan and Prince Gacoki oh, and Moona as you can see" She said, still grinning as she watched her cub. Her mate would be proud, then again Zelda wouldn't have had to lure the snake away if her mate was here. Why did he have to die? Things would have been so much better. He would have killed that snake on the spot. He'd have done anything for his little girl. That was why he had died she supposed. Trying to take back the pride for Zelda so she could grow up in a stable position. A sad look crossed her face but then dissapeared as watched Zelda.

[kyto7878]

Moona felt a tug on his ear and fell to the side he was being tugged on. Moona looked up to see zelda's face and said "Hey whats the big idea." Moona got up and jumps on top of zelda and yelled "Gitty up horsy!" Moona began to laugh. But after a while he got off. Moona remembered the past when his parents would play with him or tickled him when he fell. Moona was an orphan on the search for his family. Moona didn't know what to do. Moona then sighed "Mom........Dad......Where......Are......You?"

[Deleted]

"Mom........Dad......Where......Are......You?"

Zelda watched Moona silently as he called for his parents. “You’re lucky.” She sighed. “My dad is dead.” She looked up at Moona her blue eyes shining with tears. A light wind ruffled her white fur. She looked around, confused. “Dad?” she murmured, the wind blew again, it was as if her father was trying to contact. “Utop please take care of my dad.” She whispered. She shook herself then looked at Moona. “Do you wanna go play somewhere?” Zelda asked, she wanted to be somewhere quiet with her new friend more than anything. A place where she can be herself and let her emotions take over without anyone around fretting over her.

[Zorayda]

The snake slithered away, allowing for Taro to breathe a sigh of relief.

Its last comment, however, got the young male thinking...what if Juail really wasn't real? Before he could ponder, however, another cub arrived, pouncing on Moona. Maybelle greeted the new female cub before Taro wandered over to where Sarumba and the others stood.

"Hey there, Zelda, right? I'm Taro. I guess you know Moona already. We were just talking about boring adult stuff..." He stuck out his tongue in an exaggerated gesture of disgust.

The cubs got to talking to one another about their parents and Taro decided to remain silent.

"I don't think it's so smart to play alone at the moment," Taro advised. "But I could come with you so it's just me watching and not ALL of the adults...besides, I'm not all the way grown yet." Taro's protectiveness shined through in his soft smile. "Sound good?"

[magiccat]

Maybelle sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, she too felt the breeze ruffle her fur. It was as if her mate was with her, nuzzling her grey tipped hair tuft softly.

"Fenwrack? Are...are you here, with me?" She whispered using the name of Zelda's father. She would have to teach her cub that name. It was him, she was sure of it. Maybe it was a breeze, no! There was no mistake, no ordinary breeze ruffled her hair tuft like that. She sighed sadly.

However Maybelle smiled as she watched Taro talk to the cubs. She had heard Zelda mention her father and frowned. Walking forward she licked Zelda's head in silent comfort. She smiled down at her, a motherly one, comforting the cub as best she could. She stood up and glanced at Taro. She was slightly hurt by Zelda not wanting her there. Of course, she had to accept the fact that Zelda was growing up and wasn't her baby cub anymore. She just didn't want to.

"Don't get upset sweetie. Your dad's in a better place. I wish he was still here too but he's safe with Solet now." She said with a soft smile as she leaned down to whisper it to her cub. When it came to Zelda as far as she was concerned, Solet existed. If it gave her comfort Maybelle was going to go along with it. She straightened up and looked at the cubs with a raised eyebrow.

"Well Zelda, Moona, what do you say? I think you should go with Taro. He'll look after you and you can play" She grinned to herself. She could talk to other adults at last. It had been so long since she's done that!