Tai observed Lana, and most pertinently, Julia and David from the sky. That's where they went. Good. Now to tell the King. The eagle thought as he flew back, his mission accomplished. Kuendesha needn't have worried, Tai thought as he remembered all the times Lana visits other territories on her own, and Icarus never once worried about her safety. Nyota was a different story, and a few times the majordomo was sent to find Lana and bring her home, but usually Lana would also at least let someone know where she was going.
Although Tai wasn't noticed by any of the cubs he was surveying, a cub did notice him. And, from what Tai could see, said cub was had a wiry, scrawny, almost unhealthy looking build if not for the sheen and cleanliness of his golden yellow pelt. Although the pelt color could just be a coincidence, there was no mistaking the cold, icy stare of his blue eyes, and who he would have gotten it from. Tai had only seen Caesar one time, but he would never forget the lion who attempted to challenge Miran, only to cower just as soon as he had seen the Blonde Tyrant in person. That cub was one of his cubs, he was sure of it. Just how many children have you had, Caesar? Tai thought as he flew west.
The favored eldest son, Iago watched his two younger siblings as they walked to Ivory Tower. Something had told him to wake up and leave the den soon, and he thought he had sensed Lana's return. He was not wrong, and he was pleasantly surprised that she had brought along some of her pridemembers with her. Or, rather, he was happy to see Julia and completely ignored David. And he was even more happy that neither Lana nor Julia noticed him above them as they passed him by, and Iago was more than happy to enjoy the view of them walking by. Although Julia moved in a subdued way, Lana's rear swayed and swished whenever she walked, in a hypnotic way. And since she was following behind everyone, Iago knew that this was simply the way she walked. You might look like a male, but you walk like a female. Let's see if you feel like a female. Iago thought as other, less-than-wholesome thoughts also crossed his mind. But now came the hard part; Iago would have to figure out a way to get the two females alone to work his magic.
As the group made it to the Royal Den, they were greeted with the sight of Sefu getting a bath. Although he was clearly not happy with it, his eyes lit up as soon as he saw Lana enter the den. Khari took not of that, and looked behind her to see the group approaching. "Hi guys. Looks like everyone's here. And…" She stopped short upon seeing David and Julia. "Oh, yeah, I never told you my name. I'm David." David remembered. "And I'm Julia." Julia quickly introduced herself. Sefu had wriggled his way out Chuma's grasp to greet the others, especially Lana. She seemed to spend the most time hugging and nuzzling the mute cub, and he loved it. Othello crinkled his nose, as did Chuma and Mato at the precociously flirtatious cub, but in Othello's case it was for a different reason.
"Well, I'm certainly glad that his condition hasn't hindered his other faculties." Chuma said, her voice betraying her confusion at Sefu's acceptance of Lana's affectionate actions. "Chuma!" Mato said, alerting her that she said that rather loudly. David, Julia and Lana all looked at the Queen. "You guys say something?" Lana asked, innocently and unaware of what Chuma was implying. She decided to lead with a question. "I don't think I've met you before." She said, and that prompted Lana to introduce herself. "Of course. I'm Lana, the Crown Princess of the Kuatan Jungle. And I can tell: you're Mato's queen. Am I right?" Chuma answered. "That's right, and I'm also Sefu and Khari's mot-" Chuma stopped short, before turning to the rest of the cubs and the wild dog pup present. "All of you except Lana, out!" Chuma commanded, and Sefu tilted his head inquisitively. However, Khari pulled him away, and followed the others outside. "I'll catch up, you guys." Lana said.
Once all of them had cleared out, Chuma addressed the dark cub. "Now, what did you say?" Chuma asked, this time looking the cub over for anything that would tell her anything about the cub's gender. "I'm Lana, the Crown Princess of the Kuatan Jungle. Yes, Daddy and Uncle Saul had to kill Miran to takeover. I'm sorry if he was any kin to you." She directed the apology towards Mato, though she needn't have done so as he was quite happy that the tyrant was dead and gone. Chuma, however, wasn't concerned by the apology, but more about the part where she had said that she was a 'princess' and not a 'prince'.
"Oh… and I had thought that you were… Actually it's not important." Mato knew exactly what she was going to say, and tilted his head exactly as Sefu did before he was told to leave with the other cubs. "What, you thought we were proud of killing his relative?" Lana asked. Chuma shook her head. "No… it was when you said you were a princess and… it's really not important." At that Lana raised her eyebrows. "Well, Daddy says that a princess should always be approachable. I know I don't always act like an heiress should, though." She admitted. Chuma was happy she didn't quite catch on to her line of thinking.
As the adults dismissed Lana to allow her to rejoin her friends, Iago made his move and thanked the Spirits that he hadn't been noticed yet.