Just Like Two Fish

(July 2nd Closed to Kula and Badger)

Badger had woken up early, plastered a smile on her face, then went out into the world. After the loss of the closest thing she ever'd had to a father was completley destroyed, she had been quite upset, but pushed it down, feeling the urge to be strong. Especially with Cadpig so down, latley. The runt was actually starting to worry the black-eared canine, but that was a matter for a different time. The spotted female had promised herself that she wouldn't worry today. Today was going to be a good day, she could just feel it in her bones.

But there was one slight problem. The mixed-eyed dalmatian didn't exactly have anyone to share her happiness with. Quite honestly, Badger didn't have many friends of her own age, and she already knew that all of her adopted siblings had been pretty down latley. So she was stuck ridin' solo, just wandering throughout camp as she usually did when the days at camp were slow like this one. With seemingly nothing to really do on the sunny day, the black-eared canine found herself wandering pride rock, heading for the cave at the top.

After having been saved by the king's sister, Badger was unable to stop thinking about her savior. Truly, the spotted female still felt as if she had to repay Kula for her uneccesary actions. Honestly, the lioness could have died, yet she had thrown herself in the river after her clutzy self, anyways! The black-eared canine could only dream of being that brave, one day.

Reaching the base of the rock figure, Badger swallowed, slowly scrabbling up the rocks. Her small figure tumbled up rocks, small white paws clawing at each one. Grunting with effort, she eventually reached the top, beaming with pride. bounding over to the cave, the spotted female poked her muzzle inside, blue and brown orbs taking a moment to adjust to the darkness. "Kula? Are you in here?"

(EDITED 8D )

Before the war, dawn would have heralded a chorus of low, moan-like roars from the depths of Pride Rock as lionesses awoke and gathered for a hunt. Now, silence met the morning rays of sun, broken only by the infrequent noises from the camp's early-bird residents who took their training most seriously. Of the original Pridelander females, only Kula, acclaimed worst of the hunters, remained a resident of the royal home. Coupled with the strange schedule of the war, Kula's sleep had taken a great blow - and she'd been busy the day before.

Having remembered her brother's official duties, (many of which she feared had become dangerously neglected) Kula had taken a long patrol about the Pridelands, meeting with the herds and animals of the kingdom to hear and assist them in their problems. Gaining their acceptance hadn't been difficult; at first glance she'd been mistaken many a time for her maternal predecessor, who had often been approached by the animals for help during Scar's reign. It was the problems that Kula found difficult. Convincing conflicting herds to share land until the water had receded, settling a minor dispute between a pair of matriarchal elephants, sending a few antelope away from the infamously poisoned water hole... Kula ran a paw over her face as the cold rock against her cheek warmed.

She needed a majordomo. Or an adviser, or something - she couldn't imagine doing the job without one, now that she'd had a taste. But Zazu was gone... The lionesses' heart pinged in sadness at the thought of the overgrown canary. He'd always been there ever since... Since Mufasa had been young, she'd guessed. It was still hard to swallow that so many of the old, familiar faces were actually gone.

Such was Kula's battered frame of mind when she heard a soft bark from the cave entrance.

"Mmmrrr...?" The lioness lifted her head from the cold stone floor, the walls echoing and carrying her soft reply to the pup.

Black ears flicking, Badger tiptoed into the cave, blue and brown orbs scanning for the dark-furred lioness. Easily making out Kula, she padded closer to the adult lioness, only to realize that she had been sleeping. Ears pressing back against her skull, the spotted female looked down at her paws, somewhat unsure of what to do. "I'm sorry, Miss. Kula, I didn't know you were, uh, sleeping, I-I'll leave, now," The dalmatian pup stammered, only to quickly re-open her speckled muzzle. "I-I mean, that is if you want me too. I wouldn't want to leave if you actually wanted me here. But if you don't want me here, that's fine. I mean, I do wanna stay but I-" The black-eared canine bumbled on, only catching herself after a minute or two of her clutter of thoughts.

"I'm, uh, sorry for goin' on like that, I'll leave now if you want me, too," Badger whispered, eyes flicking unsurely around the room. Yes, the spotted female had never been good with words, but this had to have been an all-time low for her. But, she was the King's sister, after all, that meant she had, like, tha almighty power to banish her and whatnot. Right?

(Gaaaahhhh short and sucky xP )

Red eyes fixed upon the Dalmatian as she moved towards Simba's sister, glowing with amusement. Such a tiny thing, frightened of her? Was it because of her size? Or her newfound relationship to the king....? Either way, it didn't matter. Kula found the behavior quite adorable. Reaching out, the lioness dropped a paw behind Badger and pulled her forward, close to her head. "It's alright, kiddo. I was half-awake already."

Smile faded slightly as Kula considered reasons for the pup to venture into get den. "Did you have a nightmare?"

(Sorry for the wait xP)

Relief flooding her, Badger allowed herself to be pulled close to Kula, smiling slightly. It was rather nice to know that she hadn't distured the dark-furred lioness, seeing that she would've felt utterly terrible about it. The spotted female knew quite well that being woken up while she was asleep was just downright irritating. Resting her speckled head on Kula's large paw, the black-eared canine wrapped her black-tipped tail around her small form, staring up at Kula, blue and brown orbs wide. The raw gratitude she stored for the King's sister was almost unspeakable.

"Nightmare? No, not tonight, I just wanted to thank you again," Badger woofed, raising her head a bit. "And I was bored, so I thought I'd visit you," She added somewhat sheepishly after a moment, glancing down at her paws before looking back up at Kula. There was no denying that the spotted female enjoyed Kula's company, seeing how comfortable the dark-furred lioness made her feel. "You know, we were just like two fish, back there," She stated, giggling slightly at the thought of her and Kula swimming like fishes in a pond. Although, Badger had steered clear of swimming after the incident.