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As she awaited Acting Queen Wema to speak, Zuri who was on the other side of the queen asked if she would stay with her. Seemed to her that Zuri was intent on the words being spoken by the Prince and those near him. Kijani was also listening but for the moment the Acting Queen was the priority.

Kijani didn't hesitate for one moment, in a clear voice she said "I would be honored to stay and assist the Acting Queen. Anything she requires I will assist her" with that she turned and looked over the growing crowd of lions and lionesses that had gathered.

Before Zuri had moved she said to her "If I am needed for the plans the Prince is devising, please alert me but for now I will stay with Wema" with that she turned to check on the Acting Queen before turning back towards the crowd.

She felt something, the air didn't feel right. Sniffing nothing came to her that alarmed her, it must be something else. "It may be my imagination but the air feels off" she said to herself

Moxxiie

Kicheko's mind was put to some rest knowing that Kemet was here, taking comfort in his affection. Still, she sled him a pointed look which she was certain he took note of, when he spoke of caution. She flicked her tail and was about to reply, when she found Kiburi all but shoving his face into hers.

When he accused her of sneaking in, her narrow eyes hardened and she drew herself up, bolstered by the presence of her brother and her paramour.
"That's a bold accusation to make with someone who has no proof to back his words." She hissed at him. Her ears snapped back when he bellowed into her face and she stook a step back, bumping into her brother. Reassured by his presence, she took three steps forward instead and shoved her chest against Kiburi's a snarl on her face. "You speak of audacity, yet you would all but threaten a pride mate. It is you who should be relieved that the Guards are not here to see you acting like rogue with no sense of decorum, for your attitude is a danger to us all. I will not be daunted by your size, so you can back off!" She spat at him. "You have no authority over me!" She roared - making no efforts to hide her volume. She wanted as many eyes on her for this as she could. She would not let him bully her into submission and get away with it. Let others witness this and talk of it for days to come. She stayed quiet as she watched him interact with Kemet, seemingly suddenly disinterested in her - fine, that was fine. She didn't want his interest, she wanted him gone and soon, after he'd had words with her beloved, he was off, walking away from her and her group.

She lashed her tail as she watched him move over to Wema and Moyo, holding firm in her position until she was certain he wasn't watching her, then she slumped to her haunches, breathing heavily. Fear coursed through her - Moyo had stopped her, wasn't that enough? Who was Kiburi to speak to her that way? She looked up, wide-eyed at Kemet and then to her brother. "I think... I think he would've killed me, if you two hadn't been there. Thank you, both." She dipped her head and butted her forehead against Kemet's chest, her body trembling. "If everyone reacts as violently to the king and queen being gone, then yes, we must tell Moyo immediately. Kiburi and any who share in his feelings should be the ones who are watched by the Guard, in case there are any more outbursts that could predict violence." She hissed quietly, her spirits thoroughly rattled. "Let's go at once, but... can we keep our distance from him? I don't know if I'll be able to go paw to paw with him so soon again." She said, casting worried glances between her boys.

The young male lowered his large, shaggy head, searching his sister's eyes. No, this wasn't simply one of her pranks. Haha nodded, believing in Koko when she said she meant no mischief. Still he tilted his head at her.

"Sister, would you like it if others bothered you after you'd asked for privacy?" He said gently, sighing at her desire to march up to Wema and the prince with demands, "...Or we just be patient and trust in our King. We'll be fine, honest. We just.. Need to get out of our heads--" His quiet voice is quickly swallowed by the booming voice of this other male, Kiburi. Furaha shrank back a step. There was no need to yell... He glanced around, with everyone talking over one another, doubt and accusations being thrown around so casually. All this was doing was making matters worse. He tried to speak up, raising his head a bit, but his sister jumped in. She was always better with confrontation than he was. He watched, wide-eyed as she stood up to this male and his loud voice, matching his tone with strength of her own.

It gave him courage as well, and he followed her as she stepped up to Kiburi, not quite interfering, but there if she needed him. As he stalked off, Haha pressed his shoulder against hers, "Let's go talk to the prince. See what he has to say. Maybe some order will do us all good, yeah?"

Daaruk Watched as Lady Wema got to her paws with the help of the lionesses, which he was very greatful for, it hurt his heart to watch her struggle like this and he also watched as Zuri, one of their strongest hunters departed to go speak with Prince Moyo. He eyes Potopoto only once more to make sure he had settled, before looking back to the lovely Lady Wema who just then offered him a weary smile. His eyes softened and he gave a gentle smile in return, a look that just resonated "Everything will be okay" and of mild-natured encouragement.
He could hear the shouting where he saw Kiburi go and he figured he is probably scolding someone again, That one would definitely be a great asset as a guard in his opinion but he also wanted the fellow Lion to be happy with what he did. As a Teacher it wasn't his place to say either.
However his focus stayed on Wema, especially after asking for Kijani, who was steadfast at Wema's side, to help her to the Royal den, his eyes following her gaze to the opening upon Pride Rock, he too very much worried for the King and Queen. Wema's voice quieted and he couldn't make out what she said to Kijani, but his trust in Lady Wema was deep and he wouldn't pry.
Then she spoke to him, asking for him to flank them and make sure no one followed them or rushed behind. He gave a gentle bow of his heavy head in agreement but before he lifted his head, her next words make his big heart sink a bit. Not knowing what would be found, not drawing attention to what they were doing as to not cause a panic, she was right and it was key. He spoke very gently and quietly to her in response " Yes My Lady." Understanding fully how to go about this. His wide head lifted and he gave Kijani a smile and an expression of thanks and appreciation that she was there though he was a Lion of few words at this time.
Daaruk's posture became more relaxed, letting all the tension and worry seem to just slip away, yielding to a calm and a pleasant expression came over his face. Those that may see or were watching may not be able to hear them, but he became so leisurely in energy that perhaps it would seem not just that all was well, but that there would be no need to have interest in what they were doing or where they were going. He looked about at the others that were present, lions gathering to Prince Moyo, others staying mostly where they were and Ikarta who had came to speak, He waited a moment or two to follow the Lionesses, so there was a relaxed distance between them as to not seem alarmed and to position himself between everyone else and the two.




Finally! She could be of some good use and was in a way excited to help, however she remained calm and focused, listening to every single thing Prince Moyo had to say first. As he spoke to Zuri, She made a mental note of what information Zuri and her hunting party would need from her. Zuri was so cool and so was Estelle! Though Ikarta wasn't a hunter, she still looked up to the more experienced lionesses in many ways.
As the Prince Spoke to Potopoto, Ikarta made note of what information she could give to aid the Guards in their patrolling. The Guards were such a valuable asset and anything she could do to help was something she was happy to do.
Brunivald, the fire spotted Guard had great timing as he came up and reported that the southern border was clear.
Before she said anything, Potopoto responded to the Prince.

Potopotos golden eyes landed on Brunivald for a moment and he shot him a grateful expression on his darker brown muzzle before beginning to speak in his Naturally booming tone. He wasn't trying to be loud, it was just his voice. It was deep but very clear. "I believe while we have her here, Ikarta needs to be spoken to first. Sense we now know the Southern border is clear and I have checked the eastern border.." His head turned from the Prince to Ikarta " Have you seen or smelled anything about the northern or western border?"
Ikarta slowly shook her head in response, her eyes moving from Brunivald to Potopoto " No, but I did just come in from the northern border and took a moment to see if there were signs of anything. Everything seemed in order and I could still smell our markers."
Potopoto then looked to Brunivald, " We need Kemet, Giza and Jua. So we can orient a better coverage of the west and still keep the night guards on the night shift" He stated. Knowing all too well that Brunivald is usually asleep right now and disrupting sleep can cause a lion to miss things.
Potopoto had no sign of his earlier aggression, with him it was like a switch he could just turn on and off an any moment.
Ikarta had given her information to the Guards, and now she turns and completely focuses of Zuri, ready to assist her in anything she needed with an eagerness in her sky blue eyes. She looked up to Zuri and Estelle so much inside was excited to be able to work directly with them! She would even go retrieve Estelle for Zuri if she wanted.

Estelle thought about the question and then she said "Perhaps we have too many hunters and huntresses that maybe part of the problem and causing the herds to move further away to avoid the large groups.." She then paused and said "Unless there is something or someone else that is causing problems for the herds and unbalancing the circle of life." She pondered the thought and looked around at the others gathered in the hunter's group. She shook her head since she didn't think the answers would just drop into her paws. "I don't think we have enough scouts and teachers compared to hunters currently."

As usual, Hamdan was fashionably late. He strolled in with his usual bouncing steps, a smile and not a care in the world. It didn’t matter to him that the king and queen had chosen to seclude themselves away, or that the hunting parties were falling apart, everything down at his watering hole was calm, his fur was clean and quite frankly, the royalty deserved a break every now and again. He didn’t blame them for taking a little vacation.

His fur was still damp but rapidly drying in the hot midday sun as he found an empty spot to flop into the hot stones and stretch luxuriously, as if at a casual friendly gathering and not a tension charged meeting of frustrated lions.

He yawned, eyeballing some of the more angrier lions with an arched brow.

“I don’t know what the fuss is about,” he said to nobody in particular. “They’ll come out sooner or later.”

Estelle listened to Zuri and she nodded "That sounds like a good plan." She knew that things would likely still be hard for a while but she still didn't blame Lady Wema for what had happened the hunters should have realized sooner that there was a problem and sought to fix it. The circle of life was important and not respecting it caused problems. The prey animals had as much right to life as the pride did. She looked to Ikarta to see if they agreed with Zuri's plan. It was important that they all worked together and didn't bother the royals whatever was going on with them.

Hamdan loved gossip.

He’d been looking rather heavy-lidded, as if a nap was imminent when Ikarta approached. That brightened his right up, his eyes widening with eager anticipation and his mouth curling into a grin. ““Oh, do tell!”” One paw patted the hot ground beside him, offering a position at his side where they could chat.