First Entrance &c

[mane_event]

Didya know that there's a cat flap in the main door?

Well you do now, cause a little ball of golden fuzz and energy has just barrelled through it, accompanied by his own soundtrack of uncontrolled laughter, in a flurry of hornbill feathers, (not his.)

The ball unfurls into a small lion cub (toldya the feathers weren't his) who definitely was not expecting a...

um...

What is this place anyway?

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[makes_the_toys]

"Prrrt?" That curious trill comes from the small bird-thing that is sitting on a booster-seat at a nearby table.

GP is wearing a red vest today and there's a plate of sushi rolls in front of him that he's been eating. The other plate on the table in front of an empty chair is evidence that he's not dining alone.

For the moment, though, it's just GP.

The space bird stares down at the lion cub, unblinking for several long moments, then gets up and hops down from his chair to the floor for more Intense Staring.

[mane_event]

"Oh," says Simba, looking up at the bird. He doesn't recognise the species, but he doesn't know ALL the birds under his domain yet. And it's good to have someone interact with him.

"Hey," he says in the space created by the silent, rather weird, staring. Simba sits back on his haunches, tail stretched out behind him, tip twitching gently.

Uh.

"Hi?" he says again as the bird hops down to his level. Simba stands up and creeps forward, politely cautious, head down and nose wrinkling as he approaches for exploratory smelling.

[makes_the_toys]

When the cub speaks GP's head tilts one way, and then the other, and he finally blinks.

GP watches the approach with continued curiosity. He doesn't answer the greeting, but a light on his vest starts to blink and a computerized voice emits from a small speaker implanted on the breast of the outerwear.

"IDENTIFY."

[mane_event]

Woah! Simba leaps vertically up about a foot and back another, all four paws rigid beneath him.

Was that the bird? It didn't seem to be the bird.

"Identify what?"

[makes_the_toys]

That leap startles GP and he squawks and jumps backwards as well. Less graceful than a cat, GP goes into a tumble and bonks against a chair leg.

"IDENTIFY," the vest demands again.

"Okay buddy, I got the pickled ginger and-- " This is one Cisco Ramon returning to the table with sushi condiments. He flinches when he hears the squawk and sees the cub, and drops both ginger and soy sauce in favor of snatching up his space bird.

"HOLY GET IN THE CAR IT'S A LION!" Cisco shouts, hoisting GP up into the air over his head and trying to back away from the wild animal only to bump into the table.

[mane_event]

And what does Simba do?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

He screams back, in surprise and alarm and because there's SHOUTING, and flees back behind the nearest.. um, thing that lion cubs can hide behind.

(Chair. He runs behind a chair.)

And peers back just to see if the monkey is still yelling.

[makes_the_toys]

Amid all the yelling and flailing the vest declares, "THREAT IDENTIFIED."

From up in the rafters a flying drone drops down, rushing in to aid GP by firing a volley of Nerf darts at the nearest target.

Which is of course Cisco.

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Cisco screams, trying to protect GP and ward off the Nerf darts. "STAND DOWN, STAND DOWN!"

GP shrieks at the commotion and jumps out of Cisco's grip. He lands on the floor and quickly races to join the lion cub behind the chair, away from the battle between man and flying robot.

Will be scarce this weekend but had to tag this (hover for alt text)

[moonandstar]

There is a grey-skinned human-shaped thing in the middle of the bar, whose eyes turn to meet the furry arrival. Something like recognition crosses his face, before shifting into a more neutral expression.

"Dras'kay, ja'ariit," he says. "Ja'fith khaja."

Garyn knows it's more likely than not that he isn't what he looks like to him. But it's worth a shot anyway.

[mane_event]

Dude, Simba is totally a regal crown-wearing lion cat thing. Only, he left his crown at home today.

But, also, also, no one ever calls Simba "young anything" unless he's in trouble, and he's not where he's supposed to be right now, probably, so maybe kind of he's in trouble? Which is why he cringes just ever so slightly before answering.

"Hey," he says, cautiously. "Uh, you too?"

(He prefers grass to sand. Which he guesses is a type of dust? Not all the words make sense.)

[moonandstar]

A very slight smile crosses Garyn's face at that. He's not Khajiit - he can tell when Bar is translating for him and when someone is speaking a language he understands already, and he isn't answering in Ta'agra. But he's something familiar enough anyway - and the first-timer's confusion is more than familiar enough to recognize.

"I take it you weren't expecting to end up here?"

[mane_event]

"No," Simba admits, looking over his shoulder at the door and the wall that were definitely not there a minute ago.

"I was only at Pride Rock a minute ago..."

[moonandstar]

"Well, you're not there anymore," Garyn says.

"You're as far away from it as you can get. The very end of the universe, as a matter of fact."

[mane_event]

Ummmmmmmm.

"What's a universe?"

[feminine_menace]

There’s a barking noise, followed shortly by some kind of large reddish creature bounding in Simba’s direction. It pulls up a little short of him, wagging its tail, and does a play bow.

From somewhere else in the Bar, a woman yells “Stella! No, Stella! Sit!”

[mane_event]

Oh no he's being charged! Simba's a lion he can tell scary charging from playful charging. He starts in suprise when he sees the weirdest Lycaon ever bounding up.

Utterly fearless, he crouches in readiness, tail vertically up and twitching, all the time bubbling under with laughter, ready to launch straight into a playfight.

When someone who is definitely not Surabi yells no, Simba drops his butt and slips immediately into I wasn't doing anything nonchalance.

Not without giving the animal the side eye.

"Ha, busted."

[feminine_menace]

YT scrambles up and grabs Stella’s collar. “What have I told you about running up to strange...holy shit, that’s a lion!”

A cub, but still. YT doesn’t know how Stella would fare in a fight with a lion cub and doesn’t want to find out the hard way.

[mane_event]

Simba is now giving her the eye. They were just playing!

His gaze sloooowly slides down to Stella and he leans forward to stage whisper.

"Does she not like lions?"

[feminine_menace]

YT has a moment of utter confusion because, well, talking lion cub. But it dawns on her that if this lion is a person who can talk, then this makes this situation less of a potential clusterfuck than she thought.

“Uh, no, it’s not that. I thought it was the other way around, that lions might not like dogs.”

Stella whimpers plaintively. She just wants to play with the big kitty!

[mane_event]

"If I promise not to hurt her, can she play?"

She wants to plaaaaay, YT! Simba twitches from paw to paw in sympathetic restlessness.

[desired_tavar]

Oh cool, it's a lion cub. Neat!

Also, he really does have to wonder where the hornbill feathers came from, because it's a lion after all and lions eat things. Just because it's a cub doesn't mean it's not dangerous.

(He is extremely aware of that particular fact. It's a way of life.)

Derius doesn't usually do the whole sit-on-the-rafters thing, but today he was looking for a little peace and quiet to read, so up he went. Therefore down he now goes, landing neatly in a crouch that lets him settle back on his heels.

He stays a respectful distance away from those teeth and claws. Because who knows, really.

"I'm guessing cat flaps aren't what you're used to."

Whether or not the cub talks, a calm voice has to help, right?

[mane_event]

Simba, who hangs outs with birds and elephants and monkeys, isn't really surprised at animals dropping from above, especially (as long as) if they don't drop on him.

Plus he's kind of very aware because this place is weird.

But he does eye the monkey somewhat.

"What's a cat flap?"

[desired_tavar]

This is extra cool. Talking lion!

Derius has grown up around nine foot talking wolfmen and he knows their leader's grandpups, so honestly, this is kind of refreshing.

"That thing you came through, the flap in the door?" He waves back at the Door. "And I hope you still see it. That's called a cat flap, where I come from, since most cats have trouble with door-knobs."

Handles... that's different.

His cousins have some cats who are, apparently, terrifyingly clever.

[mane_event]

Simba's gaze slides over to the door, with its flap, and then it slides back to the monkey.

"What's a door?
"And a door knob?


"And what's going on?"

[desired_tavar]

Derius takes a breath. This will be way harder than he thought.

"Okay. That flap you came through. See how it's in a section of wall that's different from the wall around it? That swings open when it's pulled by that round thing about in the middle of it."

Hopefully that's a comprehensive explanation of that much, at least.

"Usually it takes a hand like I have," he holds it up and wiggles his fingers, "to do that. It was sorta made for us with fingers and thumbs like this."

If the cub gets that much, then Derius will get into the rest.

[mane_event]

Okay. He guesses he gets it. But it's still kinda not quite making sense.

Even when Simba holds up his own front paw and flexes his toes, defensively. They've never beem a problem before.

"Okay..."

Okay?

Okay.

"...why?"