It had been three days since that Misuli lion visited their den, and Othello regretted not having the foresight to sleep at Ivory Tower with Malka, Jezebel and the other lionesses as the brute returned on this morning. "Hey, Othello! WAKE UP!" Iago slapped his sleeping younger brother on the muzzle, jolting him awake. "I'm having guests over, so take your stupid bitch ass out of my den." Iago demanded. Othello stood up, his growl dictating clearly just how very angry and annoyed with how he was woken up. The glare from the younger, yet bigger brother intimidated Iago, and for just a moment the younger son of Choyana resembled Blood.
"Othello, you should give us a minute. Maybe go find your sister and her friends." Choyana had spoken up, in a motherly tone, though Misuli's threatening presence had more than made it clear that she was simply telling him this so that he wouldn't challenge Iago any further. This isn't over, you had best believe that. Othello thought as he exited the den and took off into a run to Ivory Tower. He had gotten there quicker than he'd thought because as he was stewing and festering over the way he was treated, a really syrupy voice sounded behind him. "Hi Othello. I thought you'd be sleeping in today." It was Lana, herself just getting to Ivory Tower. And next to her was Magnus and… Who's this? Othello thought as he looked at the dark-orange sub-adult standing just behind Lana and Magnus.
He waved awkwardly. "Umm… Hi." He said, with a nervous smile. Othello raised his eyebrows, but then turned his back to enter Ivory Tower. "Lana, I'm starting to have second thoughts." Ni said as soon as Othello was out of earshot. Lana simply looked at him, and it was all Ni could muster to not melt under her gaze. "Don't worry. I'm sure the others would love to meet you. What could go wrong?" I could run into another Kuendesha here. Ni thought, but did not voice. Mostly because the others appeared before he could say anything further. First exited the lionesses to begin the hunt for today, and a few of them cast some very appreciative looks onto the sub-adult male. But the one who would express her appreciation soon appeared.
"Oh hi, Lana. Looks like you brought us a guest. A really special guest." It was Khari who spoke, though Jezebel shared her enthusiasm and admiration for the awkward lion. Oh good. No one is suspicious of me. Ni thought with relief, right until he saw Malka and Sefu behind the two lionesses who exited the den. "I'm Ni. And… I'm a friend of Lana's." He explained, and the lionesses giggled at the sound of his voice. Why does everyone laugh when I talk? He wondered. And as he wondered, he noticed that Sefu and Malka were glaring at him with suspicion. Malka spoke what perhaps both of them were thinking.
"A friend of Lana's, eh?" Malka regarded, clearly a little put-off by the sub-adult male as he sized him up. Ni was no older than he, and they both were about the same size. However, he also didn't like how the lionesses seemed taken by his demeanor. Am I… jealous of another lion? Malka thought as he ridiculed himself for feeling the way he did. Especially as Sefu didn't seem fazed by this awkward lion in the least. Although, given that Sefu can not speak, at times Malka wondered what he truly felt. "And where, pray tell, did you find this guy?"Malka asked. Lana couldn't help but notice the tone with which he asked, and decided to speak up for the nervous lion.
"I'll have you know that he stopped Iago from attacking me a few days ago." She said, causing Malka and Sefu to do a double-take. "Yeah, that's right. He pinned Iago down faster than he could yelp in terror, and made sure he knew what would happen if he continued to threaten me." Lana said, in a way that made Ni smile in modest embarassment. Although Sefu seemed to approve of what he heard, it was Malka who's whole demeanor changed. "Is that right? In that case, I think you and I can get along." Ni noted the complete 180 in tone that Malka just had towards him, but it wasn't like he was going to complain. He was happy he was no longer distrusted. Sefu and Khari especially seemed to be happy with this, as it now meant they could get down to business.
"Now that we're all friends, we can introduce Ni to that stash you told us about." Lana had to think for a few seconds, but then Magnus remembered for her. "Oh right. Don't worry it's still where we left it. And a few new koalas were added to the mix. You like koalas, Ni?" The teenaged dog asked, and Ni shrugged. "They're okay, I guess. I used to do it for the high, really. Until Dad outlawed that entirely." When everyone looked at Ni in confusion, he explained. "My Dad's the King of the Riverlands, first off. Second, enough of the koalas there complained about the fact that the predators were eating them and their babies and threatened to move out and let the eucalyptus leaves overgrow and poison the river and waterholes if something wasn't done about it." He said. Othello spoke up. "So your old man just caved in to their ultimatum?" To that, Ni shrugged.
"Well, it was that, risk them leaving, or hunting them until they were no more, and the last two would have basically had the same results. Mom and Dad loved koala meat too, so it wasn't like that was exactly an easy decision." He admitted as they began walking. Othello and Jezebel found themselves wondering more about his home life, if his parents were really that cool with eating mind-altering animals.
And as Malka and the teens asked Ni their questions, they smelled the scents of wild dog. Everyone present just assumed it was Magnus, who was leading the group and was therefore upwind of them.