Sun Shinning light

She hated this, she hated being marked a traitor for what she had done, she sort of stood her ground until she flied from him. Now she was stuck hunting for herself, which she didn't like at all. This was the fun part, though it almost seemed more successful in a group. And she was a lone for the moment, at least the scar Scar had given her had healed, though now it was a scar upon her beautiful tannish-cream colored fur with an orange tint to it upon her hind leg when Scar attempted to turn her around.

She sighs to herself and sits down upon the dried out grass. She looks to the sky and wonders how in the world did everything become so complicated. At least she knew that Malka was around and still alive, and Nala was too, though she was in the Pride Rock pride. But it seemed like out of the four, she Malka, Nala, and Simba, Nala was the only one from their small group that was still there. She looks behind her, oh the Pride Rock looked so far away from where she stood now.

Although it seemed like she couldn't really hold a grudge, she was annoyed and mad at Scar, although it probably was mostly her fault for being at the Water Hole at the time, all a lone. But she did like the peacefulness until he came, checking it out.

Tama sighs, she doesn't really know what was going to happen next, or if she would even see Nala again. But being a rogue and a traitor really stunk, so she wasn't sure where she would go from here, all she knew what she was doing was saying no to cubs to Scar, and that was what caused her to be outside of Pride Rock, until things changed, or until she found a new home.

When Tama hadn’t shown up for their evening hunting party, Nala had gotten worried. It only got worse when Scar finally returned from wherever he was lurking to announce that the lioness had run away. But even that Nala wasn’t sure was true. Tama wouldn’t have just run off like that, not without coming to Nala first. Something had to have caused it, and it didn’t take a shaman to figure out the catalyst. Tama had wandered off earlier before Nala had realized it (else she would’ve stopped or gone with her) and Scar had done much the same. He’d pulled this trick before, stalking lone lionesses as if they were young wildebeests.

So as soon as she could, Nala slipped away from Pride Rock in search of her cubhood friend. She couldn’t have gotten too far, Tama didn’t know the area outside of the Pridelands well, and no doubt she’d want to stay near her home, even if Scar declared it no longer hers. The lioness ran through the dried grasses, trying to catch scent of the other, and eventually making her way to the edge of the Savannah. Her guess had been right, as Nala found her friend sitting in the grass not too far from the Prideland boards. “Tama!” She called out, not slowing until she was beside the orange lioness, huffing. “Tama, you’re okay,” She sighed in relief, “What happened? Scar said you’d left, but that’s not true, is it?” As she spoke she caught sight of the scar along Tama’s hind leg, and her face fell in a pained expression. “He didn’t -- you’re not... are you all right?”

She probably could've waited for Nala to get back from wherever she was so she could go to the watering hole with her, or together. But instead she had taken upon herself to go by herself, which proved to be a big mistake. Since now she was out here, and not anywhere near Pride Rock or wherever the light touched to make Pride Rock's kingdom.

Oh yes, she was sticking close to the Pridelands, she defiantly didn't know the other lands very well, so she just stuck to the land that she knew, although not going into its boarders, since that would prove to be a big mistake if she did return with Scar still on the throne. She sat looking to the Pride Rock from what she could see, not really expecting Nala to find her, but she hears her friend call her name, and she turns and stands and faces her. "Nala!" She returned her friend's call. She was happy to see her, and by the looks of things Scar hadn't gotten to her yet. She was about to tell her friend that she wasn't okay, she was now called a traitor. But she listened to her friend as she spoke to her. She waited until her friend was done speaking.

"I wouldn't let him near my rump or let him mate with me, he got furious, attempted to grab me and swing me around, but all he did was leave that mark upon my hind leg." She explains to her friend. She looks down to the dead grass then to her friend. "Nala, I ran off for my safety, it was run off or something worse might probably have happened." She continues to explain. "Scar now claims me as a traitor because I wouldn't mate with him, that and I let Mufasa's name slip on accident." She says to her. "But other than that, I'm fine, I ran into Malka, and he assisted me further out of the prideland, and tended to my wound." She happily says to her. That was the end of what she had to say. "We gotta find help." She says to her, not really knowing if Nala knew what she meant of the gotta find help or not, but she knew that they couldn't defeat Scar on their own, they needed help.

The old baboon had been pacing through the savanna for some time now. He has been absent from the Pridelands for 8 days. He has been morally supported since he met Kiume in the crocodile swamp that marks the border between the Pridelands and the Outlands. He was very happy to see an old pride member as a king, with a mate, and a litter of cubs on the way as well! He thought he was an adolescent yesterday, and grew up in front of his eyes the next day.

But then, as he paced through the tall grass, he ate a banana, jumped on a tree and saw two lionesses. He could easily identify them simply by their features. He was very proud of them. From cute playful cubs they have grown into beautiful lionesses with great qualities. However, Tama still had the adorable tuft of fur that made her unique.

He decided to make a surprise entry. He jumped onto a tree near the two, then tossed a coconut between them, then began to sing: "Assante sana, squash banana, UUUUUWAHAAAAA!!!!!" He flipped and rolled over a branch, then jumped off, walking towards the young adults with a happy grin. He was very anxious to tell Nala that her fiance was alright.

Nala frowned as Tama retold the story, shaking her head in annoyance. “I thought as much. But you’re right, if you didn’t run he no doubt would’ve...” Nala trailed off. Both knew full well what would’ve happened, they didn’t need to jinx it by stating it outright. But she smiled at the mention of Malka, “I’m glad, I ran into Malka myself not too long ago, but never got the chance to tell you before you disappeared! You’re lucky he’s the one who found you, and not some other rogue... else you may as well have stayed here with Scar.” Her tone and face fell at the thought. “I’m glad you’re all right though, overall... but where do you think you’ll go now? It’s not safe for you here anymore, but I’m not sure where it would be good for a young lioness on her own.” She asked, watching her friend with concern. Nala would like to help, but had no clue how. If Tama did come back with her, the hyena’s would probably attack both of them before Scar even caught wind of it. There were too many hyena’s now, they far outnumbered the pride.

When Tama mentioned help, Nala froze. That was just what she had been trying to do for weeks now. She shook it off after a moment, nodding. “I’ve been trying, Tama...” The lioness admitted, softly. “That’s why I haven’t been around recently. But there’s no luck so far... I haven’t managed to contact any other prides, nor have I found anymore food or water. And if I take as long as I need to travel outside the Pridelands, Scar will no doubt get suspicious, and he has far too many hyena’s watching us for that. But I have been trying...” Nala sighed, head slumping forwards. Their entire situation was so frustrating, and left Nala feeling helpless -- something she wasn’t accustomed to feeling. But with so many hyena’s and even about half the pride on Scar’s side, trying to convince anyone to run Scar off would just result in an all out war and they’d probably end up killing themselves. And then what? Who would claim the Pridelands thrown then? Another no-good ruler who would ruin the lands further? The hyenas? No, the Pridelands weren’t ready for this yet.

The lioness’s thoughts were broken when someone began shrieking a song and a coconut landed between them with a thud! Nala jumped back, twisting her head towards the direction of the voice, tail flickering and growl rumbling in her throat until she saw who it was. She didn’t see the monkey too often at all, but remembered him vaguely. “What are you doing here?” She asked in a mix of curious confusion.

[[I think it’s a bit early for word of Simba being alive to get around. We still have some Scar stuff going on, and we don’t want to push Simba’s return too quickly since that will drastically change the site-wide plot. So I’d say Rafiki shouldn’t mention it, or only do it very subtly.]]

Tama just gave a light nod. She didn’t want to tell her friend the event that caused her to run off. But her friend did need to know why she was out here and not near the Rock like usual. She listened to her friend as she replied to her story. But now at least the subject changed to Malka. She listened to her friend as she told her of when she ran into Malka. “I would’ve liked to hear that he was still around.” She says to her. She wished she could’ve been there with Nala instead of going with the hunting party or wherever she was that day when her friend met back up with Malka. She sighs as she tries to think of where she would go next. “I’m not entirely sure, maybe just stay within Malka’s pride or with him until Pride Rock is safe again.” She says to her.

When she told her of that she was trying, she listened. She sighs, it seemed like there was no hope these days, and help seemed like a far dream. “Wish everything was like when we were cubs, it all seemed better and food was plentiful an...” Her last word seemed to be cut off as someone began shrieking and the song, and the coconut landed between them, she too jumped back and looked behind Nala to see who was making that entire racket. She too made the growl until she too recognized the Monkey, she couldn’t really remember the last time she saw him, but she was about to ask the same thing. But instead she waited for him to answer.

Rafiki trotted over to the lionesses and smiled: "The question is what..." He walks below her and pokes her on the nose with his finger: "...are you doing out here?" He then said: "Isn't it better out here than in the Pridelands? There is hardly any food back home." Then, the monkey looked up with a sad expression on his face: "Oooohhh, Mufasa, only if you were here..."

Nala shook her head. “I’m sorry, it was only recently, and I never got the chance to speak with you privately. If Scar found out Malka was around, he would certainly send hyenas after him.” But the lioness nodded and let out her own sigh at the mention of the past. “It was nicer then. You don’t know how often I wish things could just go back to the way they were then...” When Rafiki trotted up to them in his strange gait, poking Nala in the nose, the lioness blinked and pulled her head back, wriggling her nose. “What am I doing? Well I came to see what happened to Tama...” Nala explained, though figured that wasn’t the real question the monkey was asking.

“At this point, it seems almost anywhere is better than the Pridelands. The only thing the other lands don’t have are our family.” Nala exchanged a strange look with Tama as the baboon spoke to the sky, as if Mufasa was right in the clouds watching them. Her mom had told her stories of such, but sometimes such things were hard to believe when their life and lands were so desperate. The lioness glanced up at the sky herself, unsurprisingly finding no lion or even lion-shaped clouds, but hoping Mufasa really was up there, watching, listening, planning something.

“But Mufasa’s not here now,” Nala said firmly, looking back at Rafiki. “Meaning if we expect anything to get done, we’ll have to do it ourselves.”

She couldn't agree more, everything was better when they were cubs, or teens or younger than they were now, and Scar wouldn't even look at her back then, as he did before she ran off. Though being out here, probably could serve as a better chance to find help, though it seemed no one really wanted to mess with Pride Rock because of them hyenas. She listened to Nala's reply of Malka. "At least we both know he is out here and doing alright." She listens to her friend's next reply of the past. She couldn't help but watch Rafiki come up to them, and she watched him poke Nala in the nose, she couldn't help but smile, and try not to laugh, at least she didn't get poked in the nose.

She sighs as Nala speaks again, family was important, and friends too, but it seemed that Scar had other ideas of what family was. She exchanged the same strange look with Nala as she looked to her as the baboon spoke to the sky. She couldn't help but look up and strangely look up as well, but she saw nothing.

She gave a light nod. "Yeah he isn't up in the clouds or I don't really see a Mufasa." She says to Rafiki. She looked to Nala and nodded. "I can do my best to see if I can get any outside help, now that I'm banished from the Rock." She says to her friend.

Rafiki just listened to the lionesses as he looked up into the sky, looking for some support from the great kings. Everything seemed lost at this moment, but something kept Rafiki going, and unusual feeling, one that he himself could not explain. He sensed that something thought to be lost was still there, but he just couldn't tell what.

When the monkey gained word of Malka's presence, he immediately turned to them: "Malka? That caracal-like cub? It's been 2 years since I last saw him! What does he look like?" Then, knowing that Tama and Nala are the same age as him and being the old joker he is, he then said: "Ah-HA! So...one of you was flirting with him, weren't you, hahahahaaaa!!!"

He slowly waited for their response, with a toothy smile, with his eyes wide open.

Nala nodded at Tama, also glad to know at least one of their friends was still all right, no matter the troubles that had passed. At the mention of help, Nala smiled sadly at the lioness. “See what you can find, but I’ve been looking and asking around. No one seems ready. I know the Outlanders will help, but only when they’ve built up a large enough network. Everyone just seems to be waiting it out.” When Rafiki described Malka as “caracal-like,” Nala couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yes, that’s the one. He still has his tuffs, but his mane grew in thick and wild. Overall, he seems to be doing well. Rogue life doesn’t fit him, though.” The lioness blinked and leaned back at the accusation of flirting, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Malka’s just a good, old friend!” Nala said, hoping it was true, because she didn’t need to add the complications of ‘love’ on top of everything else going on at Pride Rock. Then she turned to Tama with a teasing grin, “Though I know Tama liked him when we were cubs.” Nala raised her eyebrows with a short laugh.

“So,” The lioness turned back to Rafiki after a moment, “What are you doing out here? Have you been around Pride Rock all this time?”

Tama gave a light nod in response to Rafiki as he spoke of Malka. It had been a long time since they all were cubs. She couldn't help but almost look away when Rafiki said flirting. Well, she wasn't really flirting, she just ran into him, and he helped her out to get further away from the Pridelands. "Well I wasn't exactly flirting per-say, he just happened to find me and helped me further out of the Pridelands, and yes he is just an old cubhood friend." She explains to him, but maybe to herself for reinsurance, for he was just an old friend, that she did have a crush on. "But maybe just a tiny crush I have is still there." She didn't want to embarrass herself, but she did still like him.

She lightly nodded to Nala's instructions. "I'll do my best." She says to her friend. She would defiantly do her best in finding more support, though it probably could be tough to do. But maybe time was on their side, and maybe time was what they still had to figure something out.

She was about to ask Rafiki what he was doing out here, since it wasn't the Tree of life where he usually hung out, but maybe he was on a mission. "Are you on a mission Rafiki?" She asks him, after her friend asked him what he was out here for.

Rafiki just smiled at them, being satisfied with their response to his little joke. Then he spoke: "Ah, you have grown so much since you were cubs." He was proud of the lionesses, but when ha was asked of his purpose, he replied: "Nothing, just breathing the fresh air. I never left the Tree of Life so far. No missions."

He was in fact heading to speak to the Great Kings, Mufasa among them. Without his guiding hand, the Kingdom had collapsed into ruin and it's fertility faded slowly. Rafiki hated this, and he disliked Scar's laze and irresponsibility. Yet alas, he wasn't very different now from his cub ages. The monkey held a grudge on him, he found his antics insanely annoying!

But, he had a feeling that something that was thought to be lost years ago, was still somewhere in the horizon, waiting to be discovered. This kept Rafiki restless and confused. Why was this tormenting his thoughts day and night, without stopping?

The baboon decided to quench his hunger with some fruit. He snatched a banana from a tree, jumping from a branch and snatching it with his long fingers. He laid back on a branch and ate it slowly.