TLK IV

[Tamber]

Vitani resurfaced with a strong kick of her hind legs and crawled back upon the shore once again. Only when she lay down upon the ground once more did she realize that while she was in the relaxing water, her sore limbs no longer held her back. I guess that's just what the water does to me, she thought.

She rolled upon her back and spoke to Kopa, partly just talking to herself. She gave a chuckle. "Just think, Kopa. Yesterday at this time Sruffy was being chased down by a rhino, and I got myself tied up in a rocky situation."

Tani, becoming bored, then took in her surroundings, looking intently around her. She saw a bunch of lions clumped together at pride rock. Someone new had come once more. Probably all friends of the high and mighty Simba and Nala. It made Vitani cringe in her mind to think about them. They were no longer king and queen. yet they were still treated like gods. What was so great about what Simba did? He ran away and hid from his responsibilities for years. Then when he finally returned and "saved" the Pridelands, he exiled dozens of lionesses because of their views. The only one who had ever made physical threats to Simba was Zira, but he just had to exile them all; all the lionesses who still believed in Scar. Sure, many of them would have followed Zira out of the Pridelands without Simba's order, but it was his gesture that counted in Tani's mind.

She knew she was being silly, still having all these hard feelings for Simba. But Tani just couldn't help it. It was in her nature to be suspicious and critical. She was raised to be strong and mindful of danger and threats. Besides, Simba had caused a huge shift in all of their lives. Times would have been different had Simba never sent them all away. He could never understand what they went through, why they all had a more hostile temperament than he. Sometimes Tani and all the other former outlander pridesisters wished Simba would get a bit of his own medicine.

[Dakota]

Kopa watched as his mate made her way back to shore and then laid down to relax.Still standing in the water, he realised Vitani was talking to him. With a sigh, he kicked at the water as he made his way out, stopping to shake himself vigorously as he stood upon the shore.

Only half listening he turned and watched as Scruffy and Sarabi walked from view.
I know Tani isn't meant to know anything about this, but what if those two need help or it's all a trap, sometimes it's better to have backup

Turning back to his lioness, Kopa made a spur of the moment decision.

"Tani, I feel like walking.... would you like to come along, or maybe you might want to see what all the fuss is about over where Nala and her friends are?... or would you like to stay nice and comfy where you are ?...hmmm"

Kopa was startng to get restless, but kept his face free of any emotions in case Tani thought something was amiss. He wanted to be able to lessen the space between him and Sarabi and Scruffy, but still stay back enough they wouldn't know he was there.

[voluptuous♥penguin]

Kiara looked up suddenly to see Nala walking out of the den. She blushed at how out of it she must have been to ignore her own mother. She yawned as she got up, stretching. The fluff she could feel on her head had gone over one eye slightly, like a strange puffy eyebrow. She licked her paw, sticking the fur fluff back where it should be, as she walked out of the den.

The sun was bright and she saw Kovu storming away from a few of the other members of the pride. She didn't know how long she had been asleep and she hoped he wouldn't be angry for her taking off. "Kovu! Kovu!" she called. She took off down towards him, running quickly and agily.

She finally reached him, barely out of breath but slightly because of her recent wake up. "Oh dear. Whats wrong?"

[Tamber]

Nala sat quietly among the chatting males. It seemed that Malka was lightening up a bit with her, for the moment, that is. She still didn't feel completely comfortable around him, for reasons she couldn't exactly pinpoint.

The lioness became slightly peeved when Kovu stomped off in a rage. But her expression lightened, thinking about just what he was reacting to. There were a lot of males around, and it was natural for him to feel angry and maybe even jealous. She saw Kiara running down to greet him. Perhaps that would cheer him up. Kiara sure had slept late. She had barely reacted when Nala went in to wake her up.

It was indeed a pleasure to see Tojo again, something she had never expected. He was just as happy and friendly as ever. She always liked that about him. She couldn't help but give a short chuckle when he supposed Kovu to be their son.

"No, Kovu's not our son, Tojo. We have a daughter, Kiara." She nodded with her head toward where her daughter walked down Pride Rock toward her mate. "And our son is named Kopa. He's to the Northeast, there by that pond you can barely see. He and his half of the pride live there."
___________
Tani snapped out of her daze and turned to her mate, who invited her on a walk with him. She let out a sarcastic "Puh," when Kopa suggested to speak with Nala and all the newcomers. "Sure, let's see what the almighty gods of the savannah are up to," she mumbled. "Probably some old friends of their's visiting. I've lost track of how many have visited now." She shrugged. "Oh well, considering their relation they'll probably all get royal positions. Simba amd his sweet little queen might as well still be in charge. Kiara's too much of a pansy, and Kovu can't get a grip and tell Simba what to do. Look at him, he's just pouting now."

Tani realized how much complaining she had just done out loud. Looks like her critical thoughts had put her in a critical mood all over. But she got to thinking about her brother. She hadn't even spoken to him for a few days. Here she was complaining about him, and she never even got much of a chance to speak with him because he was so busy being king. It was another boundary this little "split up the pride" idea put between all of them.

"Sure, let's go on a walk," she told her mate. "When the little princess leaves Kovu, I want to speak with him, though." Vitani grunted as she tried to stand up. She nodded to Kopa, and he helped her stand on her sore legs. She walked along close to him, in case she would become weak and stumble.

[Sarafina]

Simba smiled at Nala and looked at Tojo. Kovu..his son. He would die!! He looked at Nala once more and licked her cheek. Simba looked around. The atmosphere felt so different. He looked at his paws and sighed. He then looked around for a quick moment.

"Nala...have you seen your mother...I havent seen her since yesterday morning." he said softly. Hewas a little worried. She seemed so alone lately. He saw his mother go off a while ago...he didnt want her to get depressed. He felt bad.

[Zorayda]

Tojo sat on his haunches and clicked his tongue, calling all of the birds to him.

"Hey, Simba... I know that there are a lot of males around here, and it seems to be making everyone tense. Would you rather I left and slept somewhere outside of Pride Rock, or...?"

He noticed that Simba and Nala seemed to be talking about someone that was missing from their conversation.

"I saw some lions--including your son--by the waterhole, not too far from here... if that helps," Tojo said. He licked his paw and washed his right ear, where a bit of dried blood was caked.

[Kirsui]

Scruffy watched as Sarabi begun crossing the river. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from lauhging or worse, giggling. Sarabi didn't seem all too confident on that tree...

"Scruffy....ummm..I think I need some help my dear ...please."

Scruffy lifted an eyebrow amusedly, and swallowed her clever remark. She could joke about this later, but now she had to get Sarabi across.
"Don look down, Sarabi" she said, her voice calm and steady.
"Look at me. Take slow steps, one by one, and keep your gaze at me, kay?"

She stood up, placing her in a straight line with Sarabi. She had to get the older lioness' thoughts away from the fall into the muddy waters...
"Do ya think we'll find her?" she begun.
"I mean... That ol' lioness looking so much like Zira?"
She mentally smirked. If she just managed to keep up this conversation...
"'Cos... I think it'd be great if we did, 'cos then we'd get to make sure it is who we think it is, doncha think? Though I don have a clue what we're gonna do after we find her. 'Tani and Kovu would need to know. Simba ain't gonna like it though, me thinks..."

[Deleted]

Sarabi lay there her belly scraping against the rough tree, she had no worries about crossing over, it wasn't until she saw that blasted crocodile, well what she thought was a crocodile.

Lifting her head to where Scuffy was, she caught a smirk on the lionesses face so she thinks this is funny does she, I'll fix her later about that

Sarabi's ears pricked up ,trying to catch what Scruffy was saying. Loosing what fright she had, she began to get annoyed and raised her voice.

" Will you stop that prattling, and tell me what it is in the water, so I can move again. I am staying here and not becoming a moving target till I know."

Sarabi refused to look down and just dug her claws in the wood for traction.

"PLEASE SCRUFFY "

[Nadira]

Kovu licked the top of his mate's head and sighed. "I'm just sick of all these visitors. I mean, I know they are your fathers' friends and all, but how can I sort out friend and foe? If I trust anyone, then, they could end up attacking the pride. By then, it could be too late." He sighed and bent his head down. "We don't need another Scar in this pride." He looked at Simba hoping he didn't hear those words. The last thing Simba needed was a memory spark, sending the great king into depression. Kovu was sure that Simba was over that now, but...just making sure.

Malka limped up to Tojo and weakly sat down. "I've only met you for a little bit. When Simba wasn't around and I had to comfort Nala from the hyenas. Remember? I came back to visit everyone, and Scar was ruler. I still don't know how a mangy, flea bitten lion could over take a strong, majestic lion like Mufasa. I heard the story about the stampede. But. I don't know." He swiped up dirt with his paw and splattered Tojo with it. "Come on, old friend, let's get some lunch."

[voluptuous♥penguin]

Kiara gave a reassuring nod. "Ah. I see what you mean. I hardly remember any of them myself. It's hard enough to trust someone who supposedly knew you, but you have no recollection of, let alone never knowing them." She looked over to where the newcomers were talking and heard what Kovu said about Scar. "I agree with you on that one. What would make you feel slightly less on edge about them? I'll help any way that would make you more comfortable with all this, dearest."

[Dakota]

Kopa watched as Vitani pushed her self up from the ground, willing to come walking with him. Glancing over her shoulder and beyond he couldn't see Sarabi or Scruffy any more. Trying not to show any impatience he picked up his pace a little, which in turn made Tani walk a little faster as well.

"So, whats put you in a mood this morning ? Has someone come and said something they shouldn't have?"

Bringing his head down Kopa rubbed his cheek gently agianst his mates.

"You know you can always go and talk to your brother, and I'm sure he would come and spend some time alone with you, just you and him, catching up on old times or just some one on one, all you have to do is ask him, it's not that hard Tani, I'm sure he's missing you just as you are him"

"Are you sure you would like to come walking, it might be a bit further than your sore body would like, you could always go and see Kovu instead ?"

[Tamber]

Nala sat back and listened as the males spoke back and forth. Malka began to speak about the past and the time the cubs spent together.

"I've only met you for a little bit. When Simba wasn't around and I had to comfort Nala from the hyenas. Remember?"

Nala's expression quirked. She hated for anyone to comfort her, or talk about it at all, let alone this...Malka.
________________
Tani shook her head and reassured Kopa. "No, I'll walk with you. My legs are just fine, and I'll talk to Kovu later." She shrugged her shoulders about her mood being so strange and bitter. "I don't know why I'm this way today. I guess I just got to thinking about this whole situation we're in, and it got me angry. I mean, do you honestly think, deep down, that it is fair the way things have been split up and handled here?"

[Sarafina]

Simba listened to Tojo. "No its fine. You can stay, nd her mother never went over there." he smiled and looked at Malka. He listened and his heart practically cringed. Why did he have to mention when he wasn there.

Simba sat up straighter and looked at Nala. He didnt really have any kind of expression on his face. He looked at Malka and Tojo and sighed softly. He hated his past and hated talking about it. He hated it more whe he was speaking with his mother.

He left them when he was a cub, and he missed a lot of the same things Nala experienced. Nala knew not to speak of it, not nless he brought it up. But Malka has been bringing up to much of the past for him. it was time for Smbas mouth to stay shut.

[Dakota]

Kopa let a silent sigh escape through his lips why of all days does Vitani have to bring this up, why can't she let it go

Bringing his head around, Kopa gave his mate a searching look.

"Tani, it's just how it is, alright, whether it's fair or unfair, sometimes thats how life is, and we just have to get on with it and try and make the best of each day. If I sat around every day, thinking that Kiara and Kovu got 'the best deal'. well it would just make me bitter and twisted, and I don't want to be like that.... but truthfully sometimes I think about it, but then I make the effort to change the way my thoughts are heading.... and what happens when our cubs come along, I want us to rejoice and only show them love and affection, not start their lives with 'what ifs'.."

Giving her a quick nuzzle, Kopa smiled and gave her a little nudge.. "come on my love, lets enjoy our day and all it might offer "

[Kirsui]

Scruffy had to force herself neither to roll her eyes nor laugh out loud at Sarabi's comment. Fine, if the older lioness wanted it done this way then let it be so.

With a faint shake of her head Scruffy made her way down the riverbank, picking up a fairly good sized branch from the ground to her mouth. When she reached the water she threw the stick at what Sarabi had seen. The thing did look like a crocodile...

But when Scruffy's branch hit it it let out a sound of wood hitting wood.
"It's only a log, Sarabi", she told the older lioness, returning to her previous place at the end of the fallen tree.
"Now, com' on, ol' lady."
Scruffy grinned teasingly at Sarabi when saying that.
"It ain't that hard to cross the tree... No crocs 'round. The water's just muddy."

[Deleted]

'No crocs..water just muddy' reached Sarabis ears. Letting a sigh escape through her muzzle she unclenched her claws from digging in the tree.

Straightening her back to ease her muscles, the lioness looked at Scruffy her eyes narrowing a bit, she knew she would never hear the end of this, she'd have to remind this one, of a few things she had on her.

Slowly but surely Sarabi made her way over to the other side, stopping at the end where Scruffy now blocked her way, still with a silly grin on her face.

"If it's ok with you, this old lady would like to get down and carry on with our journey, you think that might be possible ? "

Not waiting for an answer Sarabi just carried on talking " so come on lets get a move on Scruffy"

[Dakota]

After giving Vitani a quick nuzzle, Kopa started to lead her in the direction he had last seen Sarabi and Scruffy heading. He hoped that they hadn't got too far ahead, he was sure they wouldn't be breaking into a run seeing it was the older lioness that Scruffy was travelling with.

Picking up speed a little, hoping that his mate wouldn't tune into his slight agitation, Kopa turned his head slightly to look at her. His chest puffed a little with pride as he stared at her, realising that she was his mate and the mother of his future cubs, if they should be so fortunate. mmm life's looking pretty good .

With a grin on his muzzle he switched his attention back to the landscape in front of them. Pausing before he spoke to Vitani, he wondered if he should start to give her little hints about any possibilities that Zira hadn't actually plunged to a watery death.

[Tamber]

Tani sighed at what Kopa told her. He was right, she was being negative about things. After all, she had what she had always wanted. She was living in the pridelands, healthy and happy, with the lion she had always wanted to be with, and her family was there with her, supporting her as she assumed a...well...some sort of a throne.

But Tani was never one to settle with what she had. Sure, she could be grateful for the things she loves, and sometimes days brought great happines to her heart. But this lioness was a dreamer, a worker. She always tried to make improvement out of situations. She believed that anything could be made better, and this was no different. Her motto was that only fools are satisfied, and Tani was not satisfied, and she was certainly not a fool.

Still, as the lioness looked into her mates eyes, she saw the lion she had fallen in love with, and it brought a smile to her face and her heart. Kopa brought out the soft side in her, and he made her forget her worries for the time being, leaving her swearing to herself that she wouldn't let him do this next time...

Tani continued walking next to her mate, wondering where they would be heading. She grinned faintly at him, smiling all the world was offering her to smile at the moment, for all she felt to smile about was in Kopa's eyes.

[Kirsui]

Scruffy chuckled at Sarabi before she stepped aside, allowing the older lioness to pass her before she herself continued to walk beside the former queen. She gazed around the area, now for the first time noticing that things at the Outlands hadn't changed much since the Exile... It was still the same, old, dusty, termite bitten wasteland that Scruffy had grown to know better than all those small scars she had hidden under her dust-brown fur.

And so the fluffy necked soon realized that her feet were carrying her almost automatically towards the large termite nests, also known as the Outlander's Den. It brought back memories. Herself having a play fight with Digger and Dotty - claws extended. Young Kovu and Vitani being watched over by her instead of Nuka for a change - the oldest son of Scar had managed to slip away before Zira noticed he was gone.

She sighed at that last memory, shaking her head slightly. She wasn't all that much older than Vitani and Kovu... And yet she wasn't as old as Nuka would have been if he was still alive. She herself had been very much a cub when she babysat the two troublemakers, but of course Zira didn't care of things like that, and once when the two had managed to slip away from her she had gotten beaten up. The damage hadn't been large, but Zira had made sure it hurt enough for her to realize such a mistake as letting Vitani and Kovu - especially Kovu - out of sight was something she would not do again.

How ironic... Was she really looking out for the very same lioness who had done that? No one in their right mind would have... And this caused Scruffy to chuckle amusedly. Was she really questioning her own sanity?

She stopped walking for a moment when she and Sarabi reached one of the rare hills at the outlands. Down below was the Outlander's Den, and the fluffy necked could see thousands of termites fly around the nests. She snorted out of disgust, wondering how on earth she had been able to live there.

"Ok", she said at Sarabi as she begun going down the hill.
"If she's home, she should be somewhere around here."

[Deleted]

"Thankyou my dear " Sarabi said as she passed by the smirking Scruffy, carrying on walking she let her mind wander over again what Scuffy had told her about Zira. As much as she believed the lioness, part of her mind still disbelieved.

Coming to a standstill beside her when she stopped walking,,Sarabi viewed all she could see with distaste, crinklilng up her nose and letting out a sigh.

"Scruffy... wait... how do we know its not a trap, and we are just about to walk straight into something?"

Sarabi stood there not moving, placing a paw on Scruffy rear. "Please stop for a minute, and lets think shall we?"

[Dakota]

Kopa gave his mate a small wink, letting a broad smile cover his muzzle as they carried on walking.
Raising his head up higher he sniffed the air, tying to catch Scruffy and Sarabi's scent well they weren't that far ahead of us, I watched them go...Blast I hope they haven't got themselves in trouble already...But...Scruffy is pretty good in these sorts of conditions, she'll know what to do

Taking a breath, Kopa knew that he had promised Scruffy about not telling Vitani that her mother Zira might still be alive, but he couldn't let Vitani just walk into a situation that was probably going to end up totally messy and someone getting badly hurt. He just had to pick his words carefully, very carefully.

"Tani, I need to tell you something.".

looking at her as she walked along majestically beside him, Kopa felt a shadow pass over his heart, he didn't know if he could protect her from what was going to come.Starting again he cleared his throat, but at the last minute couldn't do it.

"Tani we are coming this way for our walk, as I saw Scruffy and Sarabi head this way, and they looked very mysterious about it, so... I thought we would just keep back a little as keep an eye on them, you know for..any little mishaps or troubles they might find themselves in... what do you think ?"

[Tamber]

Tani walked along fine next to Kopa for a while. Her legs were still rather sore, but they were loosening up a bit the more she walked and kept them active. She grinned at Kopa as he winked at her, feeling a little rush of butterflies fly through her stomache.

Kopa mentioned that he needed to tell her something, and Tani became a bit suspicious. Naturally, she expected it to be something he had been hiding from her, and it made her a bit worried. He then suggested that they keep behind Scruffy and Sarabi on their walk, but Tani was skeptical that this was originally going to be his statement. Why would he act so nervous and hesitant to tell her that?

Tani gave a grin, however, and replied. "Since when are you worried about Scruffy staying safe? She'll be fine. They both will. They're tough ladies."

[Kirsui]

"Scruffy... wait... how do we know its not a trap --"

Scruffy stopped in an instant, her other front paw hanging on air. How could she have been foolish enough not to think of a possible trap? It was Zira after all, the stripe headed Queen in the Exile, famous of her cunnig plots.

Then she relaxed, placing her paw to the ground and turning to look at Sarabi over her shoulder.
"I think it ain't a trap, M'Lady", she said.
"This ain't like her, to hide in the Den like this. If it was a trap, she would've raised some noise 'bout her precence earlier than this..."
She turned her head, her gaze locking at the termite nests.
"This just ain't like her at all..." she muttered thoughtfully, more to herself than to Sarabi.

Then she shook her head and glanced over her shoulder at the older lioness.
"I'm gonna go there", she said.
"Trap or not, I ain't afraid of what Zira could come up with... I saw her state, Sarabi... She ain't looking healthy. She was worse than what we were on the Exile."

Then the fluffy necked stepped forward, her ears perked up as she listened for the tiniest sounds that could mean possible danger.

[Dakota]

"Since when are you worried about Scruffy staying safe? She'll be fine. They both will. They're tough ladies."

Kopa hesitated, after hearing Vitani's reply, trying to think of a suitable answer.

"well my grandmother isn't so young anymore, and if anything happened she might be more of a hindrance than a help, but whatever you do, never tell her that or I might be picking myself off the ground with a few deep cuts to my hide."

Kopa burst out laughing after he said that, imagining in his mind Sarabi swatting his behind with her sharp claws.

"Ok, I'll stop worrying for now, but I would like to speed up a bit more, it looks like Scruffy is heading towards the outlands."

Whilst speaking, Kopa snuck a sideways glance at Vitani to see if she was looking suspicious, or still unawares of what was deeveloping.

[Tamber]

Vitani nodded supportingly at Kopa's response. Sure, his mother was a bit older, but she sure was still a tough lioness. Tani had always looked up to her, even while under Zira's command. In some ways, Sarabi was always the mother Vitani wished she had...supportive, strong, loving...

Tani had to snap herself out of this fantasy. There she went...thinking about her mother again.

As Kopa hurried her along, she began to consider the situation a bit more. "Yeah, perhaps you're right that we should follow them, Sarabi or no Sarabi," she said. "It is strange, isn't it? I really wonder why Scruffy would ever want to go back to the outlands. I have my moments, but I don't ever have an urge to return. Besides, she was there yesterda-"

Vitani paused, considering what she had just said. Indeed, Scruffy had been to the Outlands the day before, and for a good while, at that. Why on Earth would she want to go back? Certainly she wasn't getting homesick so quickly after returning. Something must have been going on. It wasn't like Scruffy to just keep sneaking off to dismal and neglected places, particularly with Sarabi. Tani couldn't remember a single time she had ever seen Scruffy with Sarabi before. Perhaps Vitani was paranoid, but something didn't smell right.

After thinking about it for a few minutes, they came to the log that crossed over a thin part of the river; the old boundary. Tani stood before the bridge and paused, deeply considering just where Kopa was leading her, and where and what Scruffy and Sarabi were investigating.

"Kopa...is something wrong?"

[Deleted]

Sarabi listened to Scruffy and let out a sigh. why does she have to be so stubborn

Not letting her go by herself the older lioness moved straight away behind, her ears also listening for any noise that would mean an ambush.

Thinking back over what Scruffy had told her about how Zira had looked when she saw her, she realised that it sounded impossible that they would be attacked by just her, one swipe from either herself or Scruffy and zira would be left for dead in this horrible dry dusty place.

"Wait up for me, lets go side by side, that way we are together."

Sarabi watched where she moved her paws, away from any dried twigs that would make a noise for others to hear.

"And I thought I told you to stop calling me M'Lady" Sarabi had lowered her voice to say back to Scruffy

[Dakota]

Kopa stopped at the log next to Vitani, staring at the water whirling under and carrying on its way further downstream.

Still hesitating, his mind was pulling him in all directions, but in the end he knew his loyalty was to his mate Vitani. Lifting his eyes away from the water, he brought them upto herface. Now was the time to be honest with her, before they went any further, it was Vitanis time to decide.

"Tani, come back from the log, come over here and sit with me, I need to tell you a few things, then you will need to make some decisions."

Stepping back with her, Kopa sat down in a small space of shade, making room for his mate. When he saw she was settled beside him, he licked his dry lips partly from being nervous.

"Tani, before aything else, please remember I did this to protect you, to stop you from being hurt because I love you dearly....but... the reason Scruffy and Sarabi have come back to the Outlands is because they are looking for someone, someone that Scruffy thinks she saw, in fact knows she did. Our friend said that she talked to Zira, and it was definetely her, but it appears that she is in a very bad way, and also her memory has left her."

Keeping his eyes on Tani as he spoke, he started to get a bit worried, as her expression didn't seem to falter at all, he was expecting alot of things but not her blank look.

Bringing up a paw he gently stroked her cheek "Tani, speak to me, tell me what you're feeling ?....Tani "

[Tamber]

Tani's suspicion rose to its peak as Kopa finally asked her to speak with him. She started to become very nervous of wat he would say, but she tried to stay calm.

The lioness sat beside her mate under the tree, a blank expression on her face, hiding her intense worry and curiosity. Kopa delved deeper and deeper into his explanation. Protecting her? From what? Sarabi and Scruffy were looking for someone? Who? For god's sakes who?

Suddenly the word Zira passed her mate's lips, and Tani was momentarily paralyzed. Her mind froze, her expression didn't change. Was this a joke? No, it couldn't be. But at first Tani didn't believe it. She thought she was helucinating, dreaming, going crazy...something. She was unsure of what was going on, but one thing was for certain: this wasn't really happening. Kopa did not just say that her mother was alive.

But suddenly it hit Tani like an epiphany. In a split second she began to see that it was true, and she didn't know what to say, what to think, what to feel. The world seemed to be watching her, closing in upon her, and her mind began to focus on this one moment, forgetting all else in the world. Vitani's expression slowly, ever so gradually, grew to one of sadness and fear. Her eyes darted up and down, her lip trembling, but nothing else about her moving. Soon her mouth fell open very slightly, and she looked at her mate incredulously.

"M-m.......mother?"

[Kirsui]

Scruffy looked at Sarabi momentarily, flashing a quick smile at the older lioness.
"Why yes, M'Lady", she said, her smile growing into a grin.
"I think ya did tell me to stop calling ya M'Lady."
She then shook her head momentarily before turning her attention back at the surroundings. For some reason something was pulling her towards the main den. Maybe it was instinct, but she just knew something was inside the den.

The fluffy necked stopped at the den entrance, glancing at Sarabi momentarily before she nodded and continued inside the den. It still amazed her how much cooler it was inside the cave than outside at the sunlight. She let out a faint sigh, smiling faintly at the memories how much she had loved to enter the cave after the whole day in deadly hot sunlight.

Then she suddenly stopped, motioning Sarabi to do the same. Her gaze was locked on the point where Kovu's tree stump bed had located so long ago. The stump was still there, somewhat. But that wasn't what had caught her attention. No, her attention had been caught by the shape of a sleeping lioness right next to the tree stump.

Scruffy didn't dare to move at all, incase the lioness woke up. From what she could see from where she stood though she realized the sleeping feline was the same lioness who she had already met twice, the one who she thought was Zira.

The fluffy necked glanced at Sarabi, a clear unsure expression on her face. What could they do now? Wake up the lioness who well could be Zira or try getting a closer look without waking her up?

[Dakota]

Kopa sat there afraid of what he had just done, he knew he had to tell her, he couldn't let her just come face to face with Zira, if indeed that it was her. he knew he had done the right thing,..just why did it hurt so much, that he just broke her heart.

"I'm sorry Tani, I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have told you, I should have listened to Scruffy and Sarabi"

Pausing, he moved closer to her, then held himself back, he wasn't sure if she would want him close to her anymore, for he had lied to her, out of love, but still he had lied.

"Tani, we aren't 100% sure it is your mother, we all thought she had died remember, and if she hadn't why didnt she come looking for you, or anyone of us.. She was one of the toughest lionesses around, and this..this...creature that Scruffy says she has talked to, the only thing that is exactly as Zira, is the missing part of her ear."

Kopa moved his head looking past the bridge, over to where he could see the faint termite mounds, but no appearance of Scruffy or his grandmother that he could see.

"Well Tani, its upto you now, what would you like to do, whatever you choose, know I;m always right here beside you."