I.

Nala felt the stone floor meet her paws as she landed gently upon it. The rush had swept through her but it only took a moment and a small "phew" to recover - that was until she was knocked off her feet by Chumvi almost bodyslamming into her as he drove his shoulder right into hers. She let out a loud yowl and glared at him as the others arrived to pile on top of them.

"Where's Rashow?" Kula asked right away.

"Why?" her brother nudged her shoulder. "Worried he's hurt?"

"Rashow should be fine," Malka assured them.

"Yeah," Tojo offered a nervous smile, "He was right behind us."

"Then," Nala stepped over to the opening, her heart hammering.

"Where is he?" Tama finished worriedly.

"Right behind ya! Just like Tojo said."

"RASHOW!" the boys called out in unison.

"You made it," Kula beamed.

"Well, it wasn't easy..." He made his way over to the six through the dim light of the underground cave. "First I had to lead them to the back of this place," the adolscent flexed his muscles. "then I had to lose the nimrods."

"You took one on?" Chumvi said, overwhelmingly excited.

"You might say that." Rashow flexed his limber arms again.

Nala pulled away from the others as his eyes fell over to meet hers. The other cubs exchanged looks and separated as one as Rashow took sure steps over to look at her more closely. She shot them all accusatory looks when he suddenly stopped in front of her. Everone held their breaths - - -:

"You were really fearless out there, Nala."

The cub dipped her head down. "No more than anyone else." she said.

"Hey, meet my eyes when I'm talking to you." Rashow tapped her chin up to connect with his gaze. "There, now I can see your eyes... they're green."

Nala blanched.

He smiled. "Like mine."

The lioness looked away, a smile also playing on her face.

Chumvi and Tama chuckled.

"All right, everyone," Rashow turned away from her and faced the others in an authorative tone, "It's time to get creative and get ready for tomorrow."

"Ready?" Nala walked up beside him. "For what?"

The lion turned back to her gravely. "Survival lessons."

"We know how to survive." she argued.

"With hyneas roaming your lands? Without any adult protection?"

The princess turned to the frightened eyes of the others.

"Well?"

"Well..." Nala turned back to him, glowering a little, "No." she admitted.

"Then let me help you." Rashow offered softly.

...

The pre-teen rogue had thought he had found something special with Zira but he had never really considered her a sister or a best friend of any type. That's what he detected in the young queen as he raised her chin up again to see her. She kept her eyes averted in a sort distrustful way as everyone was at work with making war designs with face painting. Rashow could feel the conflict in Nala the longer he was around her - just as he had the other night. She was in a turbulent stage of confusion and fear like he had been.

"It'd help if you'd look up."

Slowly, begrudingly, she met his eyes.

"You look like you've been through a lot." He told her.

She nodded.

His face moved into a way expression. "Can I do your face, Nala?"

Her dark jade eyes traced his square, prominent brown face.

"Okay." Nala said quietly. She held up her own face trustingly and waited.

Rashow grew nervous about proceeding and turned to the other cubs. As Chumvi smushed mud prints onto Tojo's cheeks, Tama drew intricate lines on Malka's with her tongue stuck out and Kula hesitated at even touching the would-be mud mask, Rashow decided to take out what he'd reserved for himself. He casually tipped over several rocks that revealed four basic colors under them that he had been shown by a mysterious monkey guru.

Red. He thought as he touched the dark hue and pressed three of his paw stubs against Nala's temples and mid-forehead. Yellow. With only two paw stubs on the outside of the middle threesome, he painted two arches going inward to form a circle on her chest. Orange. He drew an aura of mixed color around the yellow arches. When the cub opened her eyes and looked down under the leaf bandana Kula and Tama had attached. Nala gasped in shock.

"I thought you'd like it." His husky voice was calm and self-assured.

In a flash, he saw her pained green gaze flicker up at him before she fled.

"Nala!" A few called after her.

Rashow tucked his ears against his scalp in dejection.

...

Night hung open in the sky as the young lion sniffed, brushing the tears in her eyes aside. Today had happened so fast. How had her old world been taken away from her only to be placed entirely on her shoulders? Why did this Rashow lion think she could be incharge; and why had he picked her?

"Nala," someone said her name from the deeper part of the shadows.

She sniffed hard and rubbed at her red eyes. "Uh-huh?"

Rashow stepped over to sit beside her. "I wanted to apologize if I've been going too fast," the lioness cub turned surprised, "It's just that I was very interested in someone else who knew hyneas and I thought that you did."

Nala took a deep breath. "I'm not an expert, Rashow. It was an accident."

He chuckled and contradicted. "It was an 'accident' you ran into them?"

"Well," she clenched her teeth in hard remembrance, "Maybe not. It's just that I feel so weird. If I'm suppose to be a queen, how can I be without a..."

"King." Rashow answered for her.

"Yes." Nala breathed.

"Well," He wrapped an arm around her and brought her close.

"Well what?"

"No matter what anyone says... you were very brave today."

Nala pressed into the beginning of his mane and Rashow pulled in closer.

To be continued...

The conclusion will be in my story... The Offspring of an Outlander.

When?

Sometime this year.

Why?

To lead into the story fresh-minded.

Who's it in?

You'll see!

Thanks.

LP.