Welcome to Gaia! ::

Eyes gleaming, Hamdan accepted the head rub with a rumbling purr, more than happy to be as touchy feely as possible. Then he simply listened, clearly delighted by every single word she was saying. Every now and then he made a sound of encouragement, a little ‘oh my!’ or ‘mhm!’ to make sure she knew he was intently paying attention.

When she finally trailed off, he took no notice of the blush or at least didn’t remark upon it. He was quite used to others being speechless in his presence. It wasn’t her fault if he was effortlessly charming, and she looked quite cute with a pink hue.

“Aha! It’s been quite the day for you! How exciting! It’s a shame I missed all the fussing about, I simply couldn’t have shown up for a royal event like this without a good bath.” He grinned. “And well done! You’ve always been useful, my dear. I’m glad others are seeing that too.”

He chuckled, rolling his gaze to where the other lions were all still milling about.

“Ah poor dear Wema. She’s doing her best, I suppose. Though leadership isn’t her greatest asset, it’s not her fault everyone is getting antsy and has the patience of an antelope.” He yawned wide, as if to show that he was perfectly patient and highly unbothered. “The world won’t fall apart if the king and queen enjoy their staycation for a few more days. Though,” he leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper, “do you think there’s a reason? Perhaps she gave birth and one of the cubs has two heads.”

((Just quoting you both so you know she moved away))

Zuri thought about what the next steps should be. One of them should start gathering the hunters into smaller groups and assign a beast, while another should let the royals know of their plan. She was about to mention this as Ikarta excused herself, so she directed her words to Estelle. "Would you like to relay the information to the other hunters or to the royals? Whichever task you'd prefer I can do the other that way less time is taken, and we can get the groups ready to head out once the word is given. I think the Prince and Lady Wema would be grateful to know things are ready to go."

Her eyes flickered towards Daaruk and she that his attention was soley on the acting queen and her surroundings. Even though he was a teacher, he had the skills of a guard. She suddenly felt relaxed, he seemed to have a very calming effect on those near him. It was quite a jolt to go from rigid, worrisome to relaxed in the span of a few moments. Tilting her head to the side she studied him closely, but not rudely. He smiled at her almost in thanks and proceeded to flank both of them to follow as the queen bade him to do.

Her mind suddenly was busy with one thought after another. The queen seemed to be carrying an enormous weight and whatever it was was affecting her health in a negative way. Kijani was beginning to worry but forced it down, putting on a neutral face she awaited the queen's bidding then would move as slowly as the queen's pace allowed.

Once the queen was settled and if she was given leave she would go outside and wait to speak with Daaruk. There was something telling in his eyes and she was determined to find out what.

Nefarious Muse

Kicheko's fur bristled when Kiburi whipped around to face her and her claws unsheathed when he came close to her again. She'd defend herself if she had to - she'd killed prey, surely dodging zebra hooves and lion claws couldn't be too different?

I shouldn't HAVE to fight him. He should know when to stop talking - he should know better than to intimidate a pride mate! Whenever the King and Queen did make their appearance, she thought, a little wildness in her eyes, she glanced away from Kiburi to look at Kemet, a Guard in the pride, and her protector and confidant. Then she looked to Furaha, and found herself wishing she didn't always have to be the one to stand up for the pair. She couldn't imagine Furaha ever confronting Kiburi, but surely he'd stand up to them on her behalf, wouldn't he?

She tried to tame the frantic beating of her heart, willing fear to mold back into anger. She ground her fangs against each other and fixed her expression into a glare of disdain towards the pompous lion that stood before her.

"Oh, Kijani was with you? Well the Prince was with me, and he never saw me set a paw in their den. I daresay Prince Moyo outranks you and your precious Kijani both!" She growled. Never mind that Prince Moyo had been the one to stop her from doing any sneaking - and not even he could prove that she'd been doing anything! She'd die on the hill that she was just taking a walk in the same direction and since she hadn't gotten so far as to creep into the den, there was no definitive proof saying what her intentions had been, no matter how many lions claimed to know them.

"If I am hiding, Kiburi, it's because you are coming across not as a concerned pridemate, but as a threat, plain and simple. If you do not wish me to hide, then do not threaten me. Guards besides, imagine what our Royals shall think when they hear that you came upon a lioness unprovoked to yell at her for crimes not committed! You can roar all you want at me, but justice will find you, and the consequences will be worse if you do not control yourself, now!" She hissed her warning.

He could tell the Guards, but what could they do? Maybe others saw her going towards the cave, but even the King and Queen - provided they weren't dead or yet sleeping still within - could back her that she never entered there Den. She couldn't comprehend why Kiburi was so keen to single her out and torment her, but if the royals were still in charge, they were going to be the first lions she went to... especially if the Guards took Kiburi's words over hers. Prince Moyo had gotten to her long before Kiburi had, clearly he was just painting a false narrative where he was the one who bested her, some portrayed villain in his story. She held her tongue as he continued to rant at her - there was no reasoning with his level of entitlement and stupidity. She watched him go, her fur smoothing and when he was out of earshot, she leaned back on her brother.

"I wish you would've said something to him, Haha." She sighed. "Some lions only listen to other lions. What I can't understand is why he would be such the fool to admit that he would take matters into his own paws to enact his own version of justice. All that 'not what's necessary, but what's needed' makes me think he's surely got buzzards in his brain." She looked to Kemet. "The Guard will want to know if he's trying to act outside of the rules of the Pride, won't they? He said it himself, we all heard him." She said, glancing around for the confirmation in loved ones. "At any rate... yes, let's go see what all the fuss is really about." She said, and heaved herself to her paws.

She made a point to avoid Kiburi - and Kijani, since he'd mentioned the lioness as an ally by name - and moved instead to go sit with Hamdan and Ikarta, an artisan and a scout. She'd often considered leaving her job as a huntress to become an artisan. She already had enough unusual ideas, surely someone was bound to find that entertaining.

"Two heads?" She echoed Hamdan, sitting beside him and across from Ikarta. She raised her gaze to see if Kemet and Furaha were joining her, or if they'd gone to observe Prince Moyo from a closer vantage point. "Why stop at two - why not three or five?" She asked with a grin. "Our queen is so miraculous, I'm sure she could manage such a wonder."

Turning to Ikarta, she chuckled a little.
"While his colors would do them some good, I'd worry for the loss of artistry we'd be without in the pride. Tell you what, Hamdan, if the King comes out roaring your name, Ikarta and I can provide a distraction while you run off." She suggested and then leaned in and dropped her voice. "Speaking of running off... I just had a very peculiar encounter." She said and looked at them expectantly, hoping to be asked about it.

Estelle listened to Zuri and then she nodded and answered, "I'll talk to the other hunters and work with them to organize the smaller groups." She was a bit nervous about talking to Lady Wema so she was glad that Zuri was willing to do it instead. They had a lot of work to do she was glad others in the pride had listened to her and were willing to work towards fixing the problems rather than blaming the nobles like Lady Wema. She still thought it was foolish to have expected her to figure out this mess and Estelle felt foolish for not noticing the problem sooner perhaps they could have avoided this panic.

As Ikarta joined them, Hamdan moved ever so slightly to include her in their circle, his tail giving a greeting flick. “Ah you’re quite right, go big or go home. With five heads they could be a marvellous one-lion choir.” Another rumbling chuckle rolled through him.

“My saviours,” he lifted a paw to his chest, his voice playfully lilting, “I commend your dedication to our friendship and shall endeavour to repay you by escaping to some far off kingdom in search of more queens to befriend. Please take care of my royal progeny in my absence, and though I know you’ll miss my delightful entertainment, know that it’s for the best.”

A few mini Hamdan’s wasn’t a bad idea, as long as he didn’t have to look after them. And perhaps without the danger of a royal affair.

Again his gaze brightened considerably at the prospect of even more gossip and he leaned in eagerly. “Do tell. I love hearing about peculiar encounters and I came too late to witness anything interesting myself.”

She watched as Lady Wema was helped into the den by Kijani. Satisfied that she had fulfilled her task, Zuri returned to the hunters to help with organizing the hunting parties. She worked with Estelle to coordinate which group would go where. After they were done assigning which group would hunt which prey, Zuri spoke with Estelle again.

"I want to lead a party as well, but I also want to see what happens here with the king and queen. I'm concerned and curious as to why they have been isolated. Once I know all is well, I will head out."