Afternoon Stroll [Nala & Kids]

[kaneko]

The sun was already high in the sky. Any crisp coolness of the night before had been chased away by the warm African sun. Making her way leisurely across the savanna was a single lioness with pale fur. Nala had spent her entire morning lounging around Pride Rock without anything to do and now it was time to at least pretend she had something going on. And so she had decided on a trip to the watering hole. There she could get something to drink and relax in the shade. So essentially what she had been doing back at Pride Rock, just somewhere else. At the watering hole, if the mood struck her, she could even go for a swim. Any fear she had of being in the water was soundly stomped out that time in the jungle when Simba had pulled her into the water with him.

The queen smiled fondly at the memory and shook her head slightly as she continued towards her destination. Once she reached the Prideland's source of water, she took a look around to see what other animals were there. She noticed a couple other lions on the far side of the body of water, but they appeared to be too wrapped up in their conversation to notice her. With delicate pawsteps, the light lioness made her way to the waters edge and peered down at her reflection.

Her own blue eyes stared back at her from the water's reflection, complimented by the sandy tan of her fur. She took a moment to admire her reflection. She turned her head slightly in either direction as if to get a better look at the delicate features of her face. She was a modest lioness, but Simba would still tell her from time to time that she was still as lovely as she had been in her younger days. She shrugged one shoulder before bowing her head and lapping at the water, thus disbanding her reflection with the ripples of the water.

It was then that she realized that she hadn't really seen either of her cubs around Pride Rock since earlier in the morning. She sent a silent prayer to the Great Kings that they weren't out causing trouble. No doubt if Kiara was exploring beyond the borders of the Pridelands again, Simba would lose his temper and that was just a bad situation. True, Nala was not very comfortable having any of her cubs stray too far, but sometimes Simba did overreact. With a melancholy sigh, the lioness remembered why he was so protective of their cubs.

Perhaps he had felt that they had given their first son, Kopa, too much freedom to explore when he was young. They had lost him to Zira's claws. She cast her eyes to the ground at the painful memories. The old feelings of failing to protect her cub came crashing on Nala's shoulders as hard as they had when the accident had first been discovered.

Lifting her head again and taking a deep breath to calm herself again. It was in the past and there wasn't much she could do about it now. She picked a nice spot in the shade and lay down. As much as she didn't want her cubs to get in trouble with their father, she wasn't about to track them down and drag them home. Besides, perhaps if she stayed at the watering hole long enough, she figured she might run into one of them.

[Kiara ♥]

Kiara had escaped her prison of Pride rock earlier this morning, at the crack of dawn before she could be lectured by her father, again. Its not that she hated her father, she just wished that he trusted her more. Though being the first born daughter, and one that closely resembled her deceased brother Kopa, she could in a way picture why he was so protective of her. Koda was always the dutiful cub staying where he asked, while she? She would become bored of the old places and in turn become restless and then accidently wander off. Which lead to him sending out Zazu to look for her, and when she was found she was escorted to her father for another scolding. Even as a young adult she was still being treated like a cub, and if there was one thing that annoyed her it was being talked down to. She was old enough to make her decisions, and for the record she had not died yet so he should just relax. She knew her mother hated taking sides in arguments, and she could see the pain it caused in her eyes.

Kiara was the spitting image of her father, and grandfather just in female form, down to having Mufasa's redish brown eyes that were different from Simbas brown ones. The sunlight rose to its peak while the young princess was walking through the hunting grounds, the light bounced off of her dark golden pelt, illuminating her face and lighter fur colors that were resting on her paws, and underbelly area. She had contemplated chasing some of the Buffalo today, not for a hunt but for sport. But she found that cruel in some ways so decided against it, being stuck in the Pride lands was boring, in her opinion, there was nothing to do. "stay where the light touches" her father had warned, the lioness found herself rolling her eyes at the concept. What was the worst that could happen? She would get lost? Not likely, hyenas? She was old enough to put up a decent fight. She didn't understand why he worried about her so much, much more than her other siblings. Pausing she looked out over the lands, seeing the dark area that ended the pride lands and started the out lands, her paws itched to go over the boarder, at least once.

Catching a flash of movement, Kiara spotted the outline of Pumba, of course. Her ears flattened and her eyes narrowed, already she was being watched. Snorting her turned and walked away . her tail lashed behind her as she moved. See what she meant by not trusting her? Her paws pressed against the soft grass of her homeland, bits of the longer pieces brushed against her fur, tickling her legs. She allowed a small smile to pierce her lips as she started to move into a brisk trot. Her ears flicked forward as she heard the sound of the birds above, and she paused to listen to their heart songs. It was about that season, the love season, and suddenly dread filled her heart. Wasn't it "law" that the parents would pick the mate of their children? Already she could feel any independence over her life float away and she tried desperately to cling to it. She should get to chose who own lover, not have him chosen for her, another thing to make her want to rebel more. Shaking her head at the thought she found her paws carrying her to the watering hole.

Se could already hear the sounds of some of the other animals there, and it was a good place to meet some strange animals. To her disappointment it was only a few lions, on the other side, her ears flattened once again. Her eyes scanned the area to land on a familiar cream colored form, it was that of her mother Nala. Making her way over to her, she smiled softly at her mothers dazing form. Though she knew her mother disapproved of her over active wanderings, she still showed she cared what she felt. A loud purr rumbled her throat as she reached her mother, "Hello mother."

she said rubbing her head against her mothers in greeting. [/blockquote]
[/blockquote][/sub][/color]

[kaneko]

Nala had just finished settling into her spot near the watering hole. Thoroughly relaxed, the queen's eyelids were beginning to slip closed when the combination of a loud purr and soft pawsteps caught her attention. Opening her eyes again, she was pleased to see it was Kiara coming to greet her. Relief warmed her belly to see that her more adventurous daughter was here at the watering hole in the Pridelands rather than out getting into trouble. At least there might now be an argument between her and Simba tonight and that simple thought made her happy.

Nala returned the greeting with a loving purr of her own as the two lionesses rubbed heads. "Hello Kiara," she said. "I trust you're behaving yourself today?" The queens eyebrow was raised as a sort of physical question mark, but her tone was light and teasing. Between her and Simba, it was no secret that Nala wasn't as concerned about where her cubs went. Of course she loved both of them, but the simple fact was that they weren't cubs anymore. They were young adults now and old enough to take care of themselves. That isn't to say that she wouldn't leap to the defense of them in a heartbeat if they needed her because she would, but that's not the point.

Besides, Kiara was usually the one the king and queen needed to worry about. Her brother was usually good about staying where he was supposed to. For that, Nala was thankful. It was stressful enough on the family to have one cub always at odds with Simba, it would have been even worse to have both of them constantly arguing.

The queen glanced around them, half expecting to see the bulky shape of Pumbaa lurking in the tall grass nearby or catch a glimpse of Timon's tan fur. She didn't see either of them right away which meant one of two things. Simba's spies had left when they saw that Kiara was with her mother or Kiara had managed to ditch them... again. "Have you lost your trackers yet?" she asked, still in the light questioning tone she had before. Her tail patted leisurely against the grass behind her as she waited for her daughter's answer.

[Kiara ♥]

Kiara could hear the loud purring of her mother in her ears, and she found it soothing to her in a way. The golden colored lioness relaxed in a symphony of purrs for a moment longer before they both pulled away to look each other face to face. Her eyes searched her mothers face, she could see the relief hidden inside her blue orbs. Relief? was she that worried about her to? If any more lions worried about her she would be smothered by all of the emotion. It was already to much for her to handle, still her mothers face lightened and changed when she spoke to her, verbally returning the greeting they had shared moments ago. Kiara smiled, and allowed herself to taking a seat beside her mothers laid out form. Her tail half curled around her hunches as she waited in silence, only hearing the random chattering of the others who had gathered. The two lions from before had noticed the two females, nodding to them both before continuing there conversation.

"I trust you're behaving yourself today?"

he mother had questioned and Kiara snapped her focus back upon her mother, seeing the teasing yet questioning lift of her eyebrow, she grinned. "More or less."[/color] she replied her tone teasing as she used a paw to gently nudge her mothers shoulder playfully. Hearing the sound of rustle leaves she turned her attention back to the others as a few different animals walked into the watering hole, her head tilted slightly as she took in there appearance. Seeing them dappled with spots, giraffes. She guessed as they had long necks that towered over them like trees. She wondered what it was like to be that high up, she imagined it was like standing on Pride Rock. She was lost in her thoughts as she got to her paws and made her way to the edge of the water, lapping up a few gulps before turning to sit back with her mother. She was a bit tired from her morning escapades, but nothing a little relaxing wouldn't handle, that and thats all she could do here that was allowed.

"Have you lost your trackers yet?"[/color] she had asked, and Kiara turned to look around, she had grown a knack for finding even the slightest traces of the meerkat and his warthog. She could see a pair of eyes and a meerkat face to match staring straight at her, until they made eye contact and Timon hid his face behind the leaf. "do you think she saw?"[/color]"not a chance Timon."[/color] she could hear the two converse until a few more ruffles and they were gone. Her ears flattened as she turned her attention back on Nala. "They are now."[/color] she heaved a sigh and slide onto her stomach, placing her head on her paws. Her eyes narrowed slightly."Will he ever trust me to be on my own?"[/color] she asked, referring to her over protective father Simba, just because she looked like Kopa didn't mean she was going to end up like him, she was her own person. She had her own ways of thinking, and doing things, she could handle herself. If he ever let her prove it to him he would see, he still didn't even let her have her first hunt yet. [/blockquote]
[/blockquote][/sub][/color]

[kaneko]

The pale furred queen thought she could see a bit of irritation in Kiara's eyes just before she sat down next to her. Nala felt a bit guilty when she realized that it was probably because the younger lioness had probably seen that she was relieved to see her at the watering hole. Nonetheless, the moment seemed to pass as they struck up their conversation. More or less Kiara had responded with a playful nudge to Nala's shoulder. She gave an amused chuckle and smiled at her daughter. "Well you're here. How much trouble could you possibly get in right now?" she asked mildly.

Like her daughter, she became momentarily distracted by the arrival new animals that had come to quench their thirst. Kiara seemed to be fixated on the giraffes, but Nala only glanced at them for a moment before looking down at the shorter animals. Zebra and wildebeest seemed to make up most of the rest of the animals and she was so busy keeping track of them that Kiara's seemingly sudden movement towards the water caught her a bit off guard. For a brief moment, she thought that she was already leaving, but she quickly shrugged the thought away. She figured that her daughter would stick around for a least a little while longer before wandering off again. It wasn't like she could expect her to stay by her side until they got back to Pride Rock. In a perfect world, maybe, but Kiara had never been the type to stick by her parents for too long. It was something Nala had accepted long ago.

No, for now, the young lioness was only going to get a drink of water. As Kiara turned to look for whoever Simba had sent after her today, Nala turned her muzzle down slightly to lift her ears higher in the air as she listened for what her daughter was looking for. A slight rustling of the tall grass behind them and rather loud whisperings about being seen or not gave the lionesses the answer to whether or not Kiara was being followed. Nala rolled her eyes minutely and gave a little sigh as the pair left.

They are now. Nala cast her blue eyes back up to her daughter with an almost apologetic look on her face. Being worried was one thing, but she had always thought that Simba sending scouts out after their daughter was a bit overboard. Granted, when they had been cubs, Sarabi and Mufasa had always sent Zazu with the pair of cubs whenever they asked to go somewhere alone, but somehow this just seemed different. Will he ever trust me to be on my own? Nala glanced down at her paws for a moment at the question. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if Simba would ever relax enough to let Kiara be a free adult lioness. She was due for her first hunt any time now and she hadn't heard her mate mention it once.

Taking a deep breath, a thoughtful frown crossed the sandy lioness's face. "I'm sure he will eventually," she began, speaking slowly as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. "You just need to show him that you can be a responsible adult," she continued. Then a knowing and teasing look entered her eyes and a small smirk replaced her frown. "Misbehaving is not the way to do that. You know that, don't you?"

[җ K.oda]

Koda

======

A low growl of anticipation escaped from a closed maw as the cream colored Prince lowered himself to the ground, his brown mane providing some camoflauge against the tawny grasses. Had be been a lioness or a more natural colored male perhaps he would have better luck with this kind of stuff, but that was only wishful thinking. While his sister, Kiara, had taken after their father, with her golden colored sunny pelt, the young Prince had taken more from his mother's side, and not once had he not been told he looked more like their uncle, Mheetu, than the Lion King whom he called father. His pelt wasn't as light as their uncle's much more paler coat, and if not for his brown mane and cream undertones he could be mistaken for a white lion... thank the Spirits that he had some natural color to his pelt, although it didn't go to say that he wasn't proud of his coat... it just made things like this harder. Slowly, ever quiet in each step, the young male crept further and further towards the herd of gazalle, his green orbs alight with the instinct of a predator. For a moment, he paused, trying to remember what his mother had told him before; watch for weakness, and take out the sickly, never the healthy unless you have no choice. Weakness... he scanned the herd with an all knowing gaze, trying to decipher which of the deer he should target. Healthy, strong, too fast... too young... bingo! An elderly buck male with a limp in his hind leg... perfect.

His prey chosen, the young lion felt his heart begin to race, his claws kneeding at the ground with an eagerness he'd never known. His kin were predators, masters of the chase and kill, and now he knew why so many lions and lionesses jumped at the chance for a hunt: it wasn't the fact that they'd get food for the Pride, it was the thrill that they, as predators, would get from the chase, from the wind racing through their pelts and their blood racing through their ears. Another quiet deep chested growl escaped the young lion as the instinct of a predator began to take over again, to urge him closer, to force his legs to run, and he gave in once more. Moving closer to his intended target, he made sure to keep low to the ground, to pause whenever a gazalle lifted their head from the earth, and to move when they began grazing again. He moved with an uncertainty, though, not the skill of a seasoned hunter; in fact, he'd never hunted before in his life until now. He'd been following his sister's scent to check up on her when he saw the gazalle... and then after hearing his stomach rumble he felt a new feeling overwhelm him, and he had no choice but to give in. That's how he got here, that's why he was on his stomach creeping further towards the herd, using all he'd been taught and seen to his advantage. He was so close now, so close that if he were to just bound a few steps he'd be on his target, so close that if the wind changed now, there would be no mistaking his scent... this was it, now... he struck.

It was a blurr of adrenaline and excitement as he sprang up from the grasses, taking the gazalle by surprise and causing them to scatter. Pupils dialated to pinpoints against green backdrops as he snarled, racing after his prey. Despite everything that was against it, the elderly gazalle seemed to not be hindered in the least about his limp or his age, the scent of its fear flowing into the cream lion's nostrils and overwhelming his brain. However, soon the limp got the better of the gazalle, and a bad turn sealed the deal as it hit its hoof against the ground in a wrong way, and Koda seized his one and only chance. Instinct took over again, just has it had done before, and a moment after his fangs hit flesh, it was over. Panting, his catch still in his jaws, Koda finally regained his senses, releasing his kill and raising his head. The rest of the gazelle had moved on, frantic to retreat away from the lion hunting them, leaving him alone with his kill. Looking back down at his prize, the young Prince felt a sense of triumph rise in his chest, a sense of complete and utter accomplishment. His first hunt: a complete success... it was almost too good to be true. In a moment of pure joy, the Prince raised his maw to the heavens, roaring out loud for all in the Pridelands to hear. He'd made his first kill, young as he was, he'd done it... and what an event it had been.

Bringing his tongue out to lick over his lips, he realized he'd made a mess of himself. The gazelle's blood covered his maw, and a quick gaze down showed that he had some blood on his paws as well. Nothing a quick bath couldn't change. He was about to do just that... when the wind shifted and brought along the scent of lions. Two lions he knew very well, in fact. Green eyes gazing down towards the direction of the scents, he caught sight of the water hole, not far from where he now stood. Geez, how far had ran? Still, he scented his mother and sister there... perhaps they were hungry? It only accured to him now that the gazelle was too large to eat by himself, but three lions could finish it off easily with equal share. So, with his mind made up, he grabbed his kill and began to drag it towards the water hole. No sense in making his mother travel to these grasses, after all... although Kiara was a different case. Without life in its body, the carcass was much heavier, but Koda was strong and managed it, long enough to pull it just to the grass's edge, where the water hole started a few yards off.

Allowing his kill to drop back to the ground, Koda turned around and made his way towards his mother and sister, who were on the other side of the water hole. With a few quick, abeit tired, bounds, the Prince came to a stop next to his mother, the blood beginning to dry on his paws and maw a sign of what had happened. Hello, Mother, Kiara. he stated, his breathing still not having evened out yet. He took a moment to take a deep breath, before letting it out in a hard breath. Hunting, by instinct or whatever, was very taxing on the body, especially to a first timer, it seemed...

[/color]

[Kiara ♥]

Kiara still couldn't get the glum look that was showing through her eyes to disappear, she had been in a better mood earlier, and now she was just irritated. She knew she wasn't the most.. obedient of the siblings, but still she deserved some respect to. She had tried to hunt once before, but she just ended up rushing into things. She couldn't help it she was someone who took action, instead of really thinking it over. In some ways that was a good thing, it meant she could be good in battle later on, if she were ever to be in a fight at all. She would be a hero, jumping in the way to save someone she cared about, didn't that mater to? Apparently not, he still treated her like a helpless cub that needed to be watched constantly, while Koda was allowed to go wherever her pleased. In that sense she was jealous of Koda, not to the point of where she would ever hate him, but still. He had the freedom she desired, he had everything. Father and mothers praises, the pride adored him, and her? All they could say was "look how big you got..." and "someday..." though noting even close to a full on complement.

Still Kiara never gave herself credit for her thoughts, she may be opinionated but thats what made her wise in many ways. And many others failed to see that, including her. "I'm sure he will eventually,"

she glanced up to look at her mother. She could tell she was trying not to offend her daughter, Kiara was good at reading others and so she just snorted lightly at the thought. "Eventually could be an eternity."[/color] she stated keeping her head on her paws. Her tail tip twitched irritably as all her flaws ran over in her mind again. "You just need to show him that you can be a responsible adult,"[/color] Kiara lifted her brownish red optics up at Nala's blue ones. Hadn't she already been doing that? She hadn't run off lately, well she didn't cross over into the outlands. That was being responsible, she had come here didn't she? She was trying, and she never got credit for any of it. When Nala spoke again, Kiara lifted her head.

She opened her mouth to protest when a familiar scent came over her. One that was hinted in blood, turning Kiara noticed Koda across the watering hole as he made his way over. Kiara smiled at her brother when he approached and nodded to him when he greeted the to lioness's/ "Hey Koda! Wha...."[/color] she got to her paws, burning curiousity in them as she walked over to meet her brother part way. She brushed her cheek against his in greeting also getting a smell of the gazelles blood that overcame his own scent now that she was closer. Kiara gasped and took a step back, "You... made your first kill?"[/color] she had asked, feeling the tears forming in her eyes, she pushed them back. Just like she had thought earlier, Koda was perfect, someone everyone praised, someone everyone was proud of. Again he had beaten her to something, something that meant the growing of age, it was like when you killed your first prey you became a true lion of the pride, it was a right of passage.

She managed a fake smile, "Thats...great... Koda, really."[/color] with that she walked away, trying to keep her head from hanging she walked over to the water hole, peering down at her reflection. Only seeing a half of herself in the waters, she was incomplete... but what could ever make her whole, she was broken. One tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped away before anyone could see.[/blockquote]
[/blockquote][/sub][/color]

[kaneko]

It wasn't particularly difficult to see that Kiara was still irritated with her situation and Nala was beginning to grow frustrated with herself at her apparently inability to console her daughter. Gazing up at her, she looked like she was about to protest Nala's answer when something else caught her attention. She followed her gaze and spotted Koda approaching them just before Kiara got up to go greet him. An elegant smile crossed the queen's muzzle to see both of her cubs in the same place and out of trouble. She caught the scent of blood mingling with her son's scent, though she didn't see the gazelle just yet.

Pulling herself to her paws, the cream colored lioness followed her daughter to greet Koda. She finally noticed the prince's kill as she came up to stand beside Kiara. The queen purred in greeting and stepped forward to briefly rub her head against her son's as she had done when Kiara first arrived. His muzzle and paws had blood on them which meant that he hadn't bothered to clean himself up since he'd made his kill. It took all of Nala's self control to keep herself from cleaning the blood off for him. Reminding herself, once again, that her cubs weren't, well... cubs anymore. She remembered that even as a cub, Simba would protest whenever Sarabi had tried to clean him. So if Koda was anything like his father, he wouldn't appreciate his mother trying to clean him when he was practically full grown so she held back.

You... made your first kill? Kiara had said. Nala glanced over at her with a tiny frown. She could see how Koda making his first kill before his sister would be upsetting to her. They had just been talking about Simba letting Kiara have more freedom or at least letting her out without Timon, Pumbaa or Zazu and now that Koda had made his first kill he was sure to get what Kiara wanted from Simba. She shifted her weight sideways to press against her daughter's side before she moved away towards the edge of the water.

"Koda, your father will be so proud," Nala said, glancing down at the gazelle. She could tell by the way the hair on its muzzle was beginning to turn gray that it had probably been an older buck and she nodded to herself. That meant that Koda had remembered her tip about looking for weakness in his target. If the lions took out sick prey animals, then it helped to keep the herds strong in the grand scheme of things. "Why don't you get yourself cleaned up a bit. It won't do to have a prince going around with blood on his face," she reminded him with a gentle smile. She turned and made her way to sit beside Kiara. She gently nudged her daughter's shoulder with her nose. "Is everything alright, Kiara?" she asked.

[җ K.oda]

Koda

======

A smile formed over the young Prince's maw as his sister and mother came to meet him, first Kiara and then Nala herself. As Kiara came to a stop in front of him, she pressed her cheek to his in greeting, a greeting that was followed up by their mother, both of which he whole-heartedly returned. For the first time, he wondered how his mother and Kiara would react to the knowledge that he'd made his first kill; while his mother was normally proud of something he did, he'd known for a long time that Kiara would often just remain silent whenever he accomplished something, remain silent and wander off afterward. He didn't have to wonder as to the reason for her actions, because he knew. Kiara had always desired freedom, the ability to go wherever she wanted without having to be babysat by either Zazu, Timon or Pumbaa; heck, father had even imployed him to help watch her. He did sympathize with his sister, he really did, but for once... he just wished she would be just as excited and happy has everyone else was. There were times when he had been excited about his accomplishments, back when they were young cubs... but slowly as he began to focus on his life as a Prince, he found that day by day as he continued to make their parents and Pride proud, she began to drift away. Eventually, it came to the point that even when the Pride had begun to celebrate, he wouldn't find the spirit to be proud of himself as well; there would still be a sense of accomplishment, but it just seemed to... die.

"Hey, Koda. Wha... You... made your first kill? That's... great... Koda, really."

As she greeted him, he could sense the change in her voice, the new tone she began to take. Her face held a false smile, and he could already see the tears welling up in her eyes. Beside her, their mother held a small frown on her muzzle, although he could tell it was aimed at his sister and it was in concern for Kiara's emotional being. As Kiara began to move off, Koda went to call after her, to ask her if she was alright. Thankfully, she stopped at the water's edge; if she had moved any further, he would've raced after her immediately, but now he wasn't so sure... he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers she would give. Now without Kiara at her side, his had seen fit to examine his first kill, her blue eyes wandering over it as he froze in his tracks, unable to move after his elder sister.

"Koda, your father will be so proud. Why don't you get yourself cleaned up a bit. It won't do to have a prince going around with blood on his face."

As she turned her words towards him, he slowly turned his gaze to her, sighing to himself as he nodded once and sat down to begin the process of removing the drying blood from his cream fur... joy. Lifting one paw up to his muzzle, he ran a rough tongue over it, making sure to cleanse away all traces of blood upon it. However, as he licked his paw, his attention remained on his sister and mother, his ears pricked and raised towards them as he caught the tones of whispered words. He wanted to go over there and ask his sister if she was alright too, but he was afraid, ashamed of himself for making her upset and being unable to try and make it alright again. Bringing his attention back to his paw and finding that it was clean, he moved to his second one, licking over it much easier and slower. However, about the third lick, he stopped, remembering his reason for coming here in the first place. Standing up to all fours, his paws clean but his muzzle still caked in blood, the young Prince of the Pridelands walked up to his mother and sister, clearing his throat softly to gain their attention. I... I came over here to ask if you if either of you were hungry... I wanted to share it with you both. he explained, his tone slightly unsure as he gazed worriedly at his sister... he hated seeing her upset, and what was worse was that he couldn't understand what he could do to make her better again...

[/color]

[Kiara ♥]

Kiara just stared at her reflection for a bit longer, trying to see something in it. Something great, something worthwhile, but all she saw was a skinny little princess with nothing. She didn't feel like a princess, they were supposed to be better than most. And yet here she was, she couldn't do anything right. It wasn't the fact that Koda took his first kill, it was the fact that when she did it would be old news quick. She knew Simba would brag about her brother, and everyone would be so proud while when she did it would be like, "oh, good job." and that would be the end of it, with the exception of some surprised stares. Thats how it always was, even as cubs Koda stood up quicker then she did when they first learned to stand, and when she did it was "look at her trying to be like her brother" it was never a big deal. For once she wanted to be first at something, for everyone to be excited for her. Still she knew she had to be the better lion and not act like a baby about it.

Still she couldn't get the defeated look out of her eyes and so she splashed her reflection and looked away. Her ears perked at the sound of her families voices, before they were silenced and she could hear soft paw steps coming her way. Glancing back she wasn't surprised to see Nala's slender form walking her way, eyes lit up in worry for her. "Is everything alright, Kiara?"

a cold nose pressed into her shoulder, and the sound of her gentle voice rung in her ears before she turned to fully look at her mother. "Its just...."[/color] she started to say, she wanted to finish with, when will it be y turn? But it wasn't her moment, she should be happy for her brother, not make him feel bad for something that was great, for him. She shook her head, not wanting to finish her thoughts. "Im fine."[/color] she answered pressing a small smile onto her pretty features before glancing up at Koda whom was walking this way. He looked a little more cleaned up than before, she purred lightly. "Well that looks better doesn't it."[/color] she teased, Kiara always knew how to bounce back.

Getting up she walked over to meet him, tilted her head as if looking him over. "You missed a spot."[/color] with that she lifted her paw and licked it, drawing it over his muzzle to wipe some of the blood off. I... I came over here to ask if you if either of you were hungry... I wanted to share it with you both.[/color] she could hear the double meaning in his words, she knew it meant that he wanted her to stay and share in his day, as she had always done in the past. Even if she wanted to just run off and be alone, he needed her support. She knew it, even though she could not make herself happy, even though she had no support she could at least give it to him. She smiled warmly and nodded, a true queen knew to put others before herself, and so lesson number one was learned. And she had learned it without even realizing that she had.

"Of course, I want to be able to say I was the first one to take a bite."[/color]she answered, turning back to see if Nala was already on her way over. someday that voice in her head said, and it was the only strand of hope she held on to, the one that kept her spirits up. Without it she would crumble under her own self pity, but Kiara was a fighter that much was certain and she was to stubborn to let herself fall under the weight and give in. [/blockquote]
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[kaneko]

Koda appeared to be aware that him making his first kill may have upset Kiara. Nala could see that much from the look on the young prince's face before she'd walked over to Kiara. She had walked over to find her daughter gazing down at her reflection and she had to sit through a short wait before Kiara responded.

It's just...

Nala raised her eyebrows and nodded at Kiara as if to say 'go on', but she never finished her thought. Instead, she simply claimed to be fine and turned her attention back to Koda. A smile cross the queen's face, but her eyes still showed concern as if she guessed that the princess was saying there was nothing wrong to pacify her companions. Either way, Kiara had never really been one to keep her emotions bottled up for long. If she was still upset, someone would find out sooner or later and Nala could address it then if she needed to. Following suit, the queen turned to face Koda again, smiling as she watched her daughter clean one last bit of blood off of her brother's muzzle.

I... I came over here to ask if you if either of you were hungry... I wanted to share it with you both.

True it was a generous gesture, but it wasn't exactly hard to hear in his voice that he was feeling a bit uncertain about how to go about handling the situation. At the offer of a meal, Nala slowly approached her cubs and stood just behind Kiara as she declared that she wanted to be the first to take a bite. The queen smirked and nudged her daughter slightly with her shoulder. "Aren't you going to ask permission to have the first bite?" she teased. Usually, the lion that brought down the kill got the honor of having the first bite, but Koda and Kiara were close enough siblings that he might let his sister eat first. After all, her little comment about Kiara's manners wasn't serious and she even threw in a small chuckle to make sure they knew she was only kidding.

At least for now, the momentary conflict of Koda bringing down prey first had smoothed over and even that was enough to soothe the worried lioness. There was enough conflict when it was just Simba and Kiara arguing. If the siblings started fighting, then that would leave Nala as the only one still on good terms with all of the members of her family. Just the thought made her heart break a little and she rolled one of her shoulders back as if brushing her thoughts away.