Longing for home (Simba)

[summerrain]

She slowly approached the large structure of rock. It had always been menacing, but that was from a distance. Up close, it was even more overpowering.

"Lady Tanya, are you alright?" asked a voice behind her.

"Raquelle," Tanya said softly. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just... Pride Rock is a bit... Intimidating."

"I understand completely, Lady Tanya," Raquelle said, nodding. Tanya sighed and held her head high.

"Raquelle, watch my cubs," Tanya said before ascending to Pride Rock. Raquelle simply nodded silently, making sure the two snow white cubs were within sight.

Tanya stepped up to the first lioness she saw. "I come to speak with King Simba," she said curtly. Her reputation in this area was not a frightful one, but enough to prove that she deserved to be Queen, despite her mate having been killed. She stood with her head high, her posture showing her position as a Queen. She had, not just the lives of the Sani, but her own twin cubs to take care of. She couldn't let the death of her mate and King keep her down for too long. She had been Queen too long to let something like that make her loose heart. Especially when her one of her cubs were going to take over for her some day.

[Koda]

Simba had been talking with Zazu in the cave when one of the lionesses approached him with news that a lioness was here to speak with him and sighed before standing and walked over to the cave exit and then proceeded to look at Zazu, "We will talk about this another time my friend." He waited until he saw him nod and exited the cave and followed to where the lioness was waiting to speak with him and cleared his throat to get her attention. "What is your business here stranger?" He did not recognize this female though he had been expecting such a visit from a female for quite some time but he was not sure if this was the one called Tanya.

[summerrain]

Tanya smiled slightly, a kindness that can only be shown when someone understands the difficulties of another, even if only a small portion. "King Simba," she said, dipping her head. "I come to speak for my Sani pride. I am known as Tanya, and I know much of you." She lifted her head, her smile turned sad. "I would've come sooner. Your father was a good friend of my parents. He granted us permission to wander these lands, and as the Sani. As our own pride."

She turned her attention back to the subject at hand. "I come in response to a recent... incident..." she started, looking away. She didn't want him to see the sadness in her eyes. "I have been Sani Queen for three years, and I am young yet, but after the attack on my mate Kai, the other Sani have grown restless. They request a true home, so we do not have to keep moving with the seasons. In Sani lore, there is a place believed to be home to our ancestors since time began. We come to request that place back. The Savannah within the Jungle. That is all we ask." She dipped her head again, eyes closed. This wasn't just for her. It was for her cubs. For the Sani.

[Koda]

Simba's eyes softened as he listened to her speak as he could see she had been through a tough time and so listened as she explained why she was here and he sat as he listened intently, he was soft hearted when it came to other lions having a diffucult time and his heart pounded as she mentioned his father being a good friend to her parents and when she mentioned him letting them have their own pride he swallowed and stood up to stand at the edge of Pride Rock as he listened more.

"I am sorry for your loss Tanya and I understand what you are going through. He looked troubled as he thought about what he must do, he wanted to give her the Savannah but that was not something he could just hand over. What would his father do in this instance? Sighing he listened as she finished speaking and then looked at her. "I will give you the Savannah but on one condition and that is, you must let me know before hunting on our lands. I give you my blessings"

[summerrain]

Tanya's eyes lit up. "Thank you," she said, slightly breathlessly. "I-" She was cut off as two white forms came dashing past.

"Can't catch me!" said one of them playfully.

"Yes I can!" said the other. The first one, looking back at the second, ended up running headlong into Simba. She landed on her back, looking up at the Pride Rock King.

"Sorry," she said, just as Tanya came up to her.

"Kimba! Layla!" Tanya scolded. "I told you both to stay with Raquelle!"

"But mama," Layla said, looking at her paws. "Kimba was calling me slow."

"Was not!" said the cub at Simba's paws, jumping up again. "I said I was bored!"

"Behave, both of you!" Tanya said sternly. Then she sighed as the cubs took places next to her. "I'm sorry about this, but..." She gave him a look that said Cubs will be cubs. "This is Layla, and this one's Kimba. They're my daughters. Girls, this is Simba, King of the Pridelanders."

"Pleasure to meet you," the twins said together. Their eyes met, and they laughed quietly.

"I request permission to hunt in the Jungle as we must," Tanya said to Simba. "I am probably pressing my luck with this, but... The Jungle can provide prey aplenty, even in winter. And, in summer, will we be allowed to explore the Pridelands, as long as we refrain from hunting your prey?" Her professional Queen side was returning to the surface.

"Mama, can we go play with the Pride Rock cubs?" Layla asked.

"Please?" Kimba finished.

"Not today," Tanya said softly. She bent down and gave each cub a lick. "Go back to Raquelle. She's bound to be worried about you. All our wandering has made her a bit paranoid, but that is was makes her the best of cub-watchers. Now go. Go on. And don't go anywhere else!" she called as the two dashed off. She sighed again, but a smile was left on her face in the wake of her cubs. "They really are too energetic for their own good... Like Kai was... As a cub..." Her smile faded slightly, and she turned to Simba, awaiting his answer.

[Koda]

Simba thought about her new request for a few minutes and then felt a ball of fur his his legs and he looked down in surprise at the white cub and gave him a smile showing him that he was not upset in any way and listened as Tanya told them to behave, he could tell that she was stressed out and did not any more so when they asked if they could play with the cubs around Pride Rock he decided to intervene.

"I think you need some relaxation Tanya, its ok if they go play with the other cubs. He gave her a reassuring smile and then went back to thinking about her request. "It is alright with me Tanya, I am just a bit paranoid. You may hunt on our lands for today and I give you permission to explore."

[summerrain]

"Raquelle is a wonderful cubwatcher," Tanya promised. "We were friends as cubs, and her mother was cubwatcher before her. As long as they're with them, I'll not worry."

She nodded, smiling slightly, when he granted them permission. "We will keep our hunting to the Jungle, and the Savannah within it," she promised. "King Simba, I thank you for your generosity. Sani lore speaks of good relations between your Pride and mine. I hope to one day restore that." With that, Tanya smiled kindly at the elder King. "Send word, and we will come. I know your daughter has found her Prince. Word spreads quickly, as if carried on the wind. If you will let us, we would be honored to attend the sunrise when her cubs are shown to the Pridelands. When a pair is mated, cubs come eventually," she added with a knowing glimmer in her eyes. "I was in such a place myself." She saw her twin cubs wrestling with a curious Pridelander cub.

"I thank you again for your generosity. The Sani will be much happier with a permanent home," she said softly. "It will be easier on myself as well, I'll admit. Won't have to worry about cubs getting lost chasing some bug or something," she added with a laugh. Her eyes were lit up, and she seemed relaxed for the first time in a while.

"I should go now," Tanya said, looking down at the few Sani cubs and the small group of lionesses that came with her. "I will say this first, though. The Sani have always been loyal to the Pridelanders. The cause of the war that got us banished all those generations ago has long been lost to the seasons. If we are called, we will come." With that, she turned and walked down the path.

"Raquelle, we have a home now," she reported. She said nothing more. She called her cubs to her, and the Pridelander cubs returned to their mothers. The Sani left with lifted spirits, the thought of a permanent home giving them hope. It showed in the way they interacted as they walked free of the Pridelanders.

(exit thread)

[Koda]

Simba nodded softly as she spoke of the good relations that were once between the two prides as he agreed to that as his father had once told him of them though he had almost forgotten that pride due to having not seeing them in such a long time. Thank you for that Tanya, I will definitely call you when the time comes and should I ever have need of you and your Pride.

He watched as she turned and walked down the path she had come on and he smiled at the group that was with her reassuring them that everything was ok, "Whats past is past Tanya, thank you for coming to me." Simba watched as they all left and he turned and went back into the den to wait for Nala's return and for any news.

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