Noon was fast approaching, and Ni was making his way up the tree that housed the royal den. He had spent the night in the Kuatan Jungle, on the insistence of Lana as her way of thanking him for driving off the wispy offender. She had no doubt told her pride of him, and she also managed to convince the king of the Jungle to allow him to sit at their dinner table and eat with them. What should Ni expect? How would he explain to Lana's father exactly who he was and what he was doing that allowed him to be in the position to rescue her? And not to mention the fact that, in the end, he rescued her from a lion who had the exact same impure intentions for her. And for all he knew of Iago, he was also a prince who was allowed to explore and wander until he was old enough to formally inherit the throne. Looking at Lana and the way she was the center of attention, as well as the eloquence which she spoke and the confidence of her overall demeanor, there was no doubt that he wasn't the first male to be taken by her appearance.
The only difference between he and I is which one of us was accepted and rejected. Ni thought as he approached the alcove in the tree that served as the den. Kuendesha and some of the lionesses were all having their fill of the morning hunt, each one feasting on one of the 2 large waterbuck that had been caught. Although David and Julia's mother stared daggers of distrust at the orange male, Lana's greetings directed Ni's attention over to where she, Akato and Masika were eating a very fat wild boar, now doubt saved just for the Princess and her friends. Ni walked over to the beautiful teenaged princess, almost losing himself all over again as he let his mind wander to his imagination of what she would look like as an adult.
"Well? You're gonna answer the princess, aren't you?" Masika said through a playful giggle, tearing Ni right out of his thoughts. He hadn't quite fully noticed that Masika and Akato were present. Nor did he even hear the teenaged lioness's greetings. Lana, however, just giggled at the embarrassed lion. "Oh, Masika. You're embarrassing him. You must be hungry. Come and eat." She invited, and Ni this time did so. He had never had wild boar before, but the meat was actually quite tender and sweet.
"You'll never believe how this guy got this." Lana said, gesturing at Akato. He looked up from his meal, her sarcasm not lost on him. "Oh, and you wouldn't have done the same?" Akato teased, proud nonetheless of what he had done. He then held his head high, his developing black mane already reaching his shoulders as he began to boast. "I'll have you know that Cano didn't even try to oppose me. He knew the hunting laws, and he knew he had broken them. And he had a choice: either relinquish his kill or lose protection from other tigers. As you might have guessed, it didn't take him very long to decide." Akato said, and he chuckled to himself at the thought of his own cunning and skill at throwing the weight of the Pride around. Lana simply rolled her eyes. "You males and your power plays." The dark princess retorted, and Masika giggled at the jibe. Akato, however, merely calmly retorted. "At least one of us was paying attention to Icarus's lessons."
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. At that moment, Namana walked into the den, followed by Icarus and Nyota. "And you must be the lion my daughter told me about." Icarus stated as he and Nyota approached the orange lion eating with his daughter. Ni stood up, apprehensive yet masking it with respect, though that wasn't necessarily forced either.
As he looked at Icarus, he noticed that the deep chocolate pelt and piercing lavender eyes were the only other gifts he had passed onto Lana, in addition to her intellect. His dark pelt contrasted with the slightly lighter and more vibrant reddish-brown pelt of his mate, and he had the build of a highly-trained fighter that had eked out an existence the Wastelands. On the other hand, his smooth, well-spoken voice could almost make Ni forget that Icarus was the one of the two lions responsible for Miran the Tyrant's downfall. Almost.
"Y-yes. I'm… I'm Ni." Ni stammered out, his voice cracking with nervousness. He was hoping to the spirits that Lana hadn't told him more. And was relieved by the elder lion's next words. "You are also the one who rescued my daughter from her attacker. So Iago didn't get it after all, eh?" Icarus questioned, and it was Lana who spoke up when Ni's face conveyed his confusion as to who that was and why he was trying to attack her.
"He's my friend Jezebel's other brother. The ones that've been my friends are Malka and Othello. And yes, Iago really does hate me for some reason. He's jealous of my friendship with his brothers, or at least that's what it seems like." As Ni absorbed that information, Kuendesha began to make her way over to rogue male. Icarus, however, looked at her with an unspoken message. I'll handle this. He turned to the younger lion.
"Tell me, Ni. How exactly did YOU know about Iago's plan? You were in the right place at the right time" Icarus had put a bit of emphasis on "you", as though he had already been informed about what he was doing and was now seeing if Ni would be honest with him or not. He became nervous, partly because he did not know much of anything about the small-statured male in question. But he was truly nervous because he didn't like the way Kuendesha's icy stare bore into his soul as though he were her prey. And she was just waiting for the signal to pounce.
"W-w-well… ummm… I actually didn't even know his name until just now. I just happened to see him accost Lana on the way back here." Ni was truthful, but he knew exactly what was coming before Icarus even asked the next question. "So you just happened to be in the right place, at the right time?" Icarus was now suspicious of the orange male, for the route Lana and Julia had taken was in fact the safest way between the Jungle, the Goldlands and the Pridelands. Away from the lustful, prying eyes of the rogues in the Wastelands. The only other animal outside of the Kuatan Jungle that knew of this route would be Magnus and, as Icarus is now finding out, Iago. Maybe Kuendesha has a point; maybe she's right to worry, Icarus thought as he voiced his next question. "And just how did fate bring you to that path?" Icarus had asked in a way that conveyed that he already knew the answer, if only on account of the fact that he too was once a younger male. Kuendesha let out a low growl, and as she did Ni looked as though he was about to choke on his own nerves, but he took a deep breath before forming his plea. "Please, before I answer, I want you to understand. I have no ill intent towards her. Or anyone here."
Icarus believed him, but Kuendesha and to an extent Nyota did not.