A/N: Hey, I'm new to TLK fanfic-ing after developing an obsession with it. Just ask Awena...this Fennec fox who acts as my newfound TLK muse and has been trampling all my other muses to get me to write this.

Something glistened in the distance. Waves of heat on swells of sand distorted pebbles into little pools of false hope. She would be better off just continuing on…but her judgment was as dry as the sands around her. On little paws raw from salt she plodded over to the shimmer. It grew as she neared it. So did her wishing. Gingerly she tapped the shine with a claw. Ripples appeared on the otherwise stagnant surface. Water! She lapped up as much of it as she could. Once it was just a thin muddy film in the depression she stood in it, reveling in how the lukewarm liquid felt on her paws. The cub turned around in the mud as it dried, caking her paws in a soothing layer.

The sun dipped towards the horizon as the moon rose to take its place. Her paws had long since lost their mud coverings, but it had worked well for the time being. Night was so cold compared to the sweltering heat pounding down from the sun during the day. She dragged her tail and stared at the ground with her head bowed. A massive rock formation rose in the distance, nearing with every step, but she took no notice of it. Sand made way for a small strip of cracked ground, and then it changed to something soft under her paws. She opened her half closed green eyes to find herself on sweet smelling grass. The outlines of lionesses strolling along and some cubs tussling made her breathe a sigh of relief. She bounded along with new found energy until she had halved the distance between herself and them, but stopped herself short. What if they didn't like outsiders? She crouched down low, not trusting her dark brown fur to conceal her against the green and yellow grass, inching along slowly beneath the noon-day sun.

A lioness with golden tawny fur whipped her head in the hiding cub's direction, smiled, and strolled over to her. "Who do we have here?"

She sat on her haunches, staring at a blade of grass between her forepaws, afraid to look in the eyes of the lioness. "I'm…Kamaria." Her name came out just barely above a whisper.

By now all the other cubs and lionesses had taken notice of the new comer. The lioness picked Kamaria up gently by the scruff of her neck and carried her over to the shaded grove where the others were. At once she was pressed with questions from all sides.

"Where are you from?"

"Did you leave your pride?"

"Why did you leave?"

"Do you have a pride?"

"Did they make you leave?"

A shaky breath was drawn in, and strength with it. "It's too far from here to remember…I don't have a pride. It was just my mother and I. Something happened when she was out hunting…" She closed her eyes as she trailed off.

"Nala, look at her paw." Another lioness with tan fur that had a grayish undertone spoke concernedly to the first.

Sure enough, there was a puddle of blood around one of the dark brown paws. Kamaria lifted it gingerly and peered at the underside. A gash ran along the largest pad. Deep red blood trickled out at an alarming rate. She licked at it fervently, trying to stop the flow. Her eyes widened in shock just before she crumpled. She couldn't feel Nala take her by the scruff of her neck once more, this time to be carried to the watering hole. The cubs followed closely behind. Something cold and wet hit her nose. She opened one eye groggily and peered at a crescent of lion cubs that had gathered around her.

An elderly lioness came over and inspected her paw, which had thankfully ceased bleeding. "I'm Sarabi," she grinned at Kamaria, "are you hungry?"

"Oh yes, I'm very hungry ma'am," the cub sat up, giving a small simper of sincerity in return. Her thin bony frame hadn't gone unnoticed by any of the lionesses who observed her; even a few of the cubs took note and had whispered among themselves about it.

"Alright then, I have to take you to see my son, Simba." Sarabi nudged her up into a standing position, and then added for clarification, "He's the king of the Pridelands and in charge of how food is dispensed among the pride."

"Nia… isn't Kovu king too?" One female cub inquired with confusion, tilting her pale tawny head to the side, widening a bright blue eye, and perking up one ear.

The girl who had been addressed explained with a haughty tone: "Waseme, Kovu is in line to be king, but he and Simba share a lot of the duties." She whipped the piece of her peach fur that grew over her brown eyes out of the way.

Kamaria just shook her head a little bit as she followed Sarabi, catching the small portion of their conversation. The trek over to pride rock was just a short way along the path, but she was loathe to walking after wandering for days on end. She scrambled up the rock formation, heart pounding out of nervousness. They stopped near the entrance to the cavern; Sarabi gave her a look to stay put before disappearing inside. Some moments later a lion with goldish brown fur and fiery red mane emerged. He whispered something to Sarabi who smiled at the cub and went to rejoin the others.

"Kamaria, I am Simba." He greeted her, showing that Sarabi had told him the strange cub's name. "So, you'd like some food would you?"

"Y-yes sir…" She stammered somewhat softly, her ears low

Simba gave her a grin almost identical to that of his mother Sarabi's, "How would you like to stay here…and join the pride?"

Nearly leaping with joy, Kamaria's ears perked up and a trace of a smile grazed her features, "I would love to stay here--" a sad thought came to her—"I've never had a pride before…"

"Come on; let's go get you something to eat." Simba motioned for her to follow him back down pride rock. He led her to where the carcass of a zebra that had been killed earlier that day lay. "Go on…have your fill."

She just about dove into it, tearing of hunks, chewing them contentedly, and swallowing just as she got another piece to replace it. Until she was full to bursting, more so than she could ever remember being, she continued in the same manner. Wiping her muzzle with the back of her paw, she expressed her gratitude, "Thank you."

"You should go introduce yourself to the other cubs," he instructed with a smile, sending on her way.

She nodded and went scampering off to find them. They were playing some sort of game in the grove as the lionesses sunned themselves on large flat rocks. In quick succession they stopped playing and turned to face her. One of the male cubs with an orange tinge to his fur spoke first, "I'm Musa…do you want to play tag too?" His white fur had a dusting of dirt from rolling around.

"Sure. I'm Kamaria." She flicked her tail.

A short while later she found that there were seven cubs (she made the eighth), five girls and two boys. Besides Nia, Waseme, and Musa there was Amri was a male with apricot fur and a tuft similar to his little sister Nia's; Chuki's light tan fur had a grayish blue tinge to it, along with a pattern of dots splattered on one side of her nose; and Harbuu and Zahra: the inseparable twins with flaxen fur and if it weren't for their respective tails having minutely different tufts of dark and light brown no one could tell them apart.

Someone—Nia--swatted her side and shouted, "Kama's it!" before racing away again. She took a moment to get her bearings then sprinted towards Musa who quickly dodged, exposing Zahra who had ducked behind him. "Got--" Kama was so close, but Zahra slipped away in the nick of time-- "cha…" the latter was a crestfallen whisper. "Hey Kama! Come and get us!" Waseme taunted playfully from where the other cubs were sitting on a log. She charged and they scattered in every direction. Amri tumbled and righted himself just as Kamaria bowled into him. They tumbled for a short distance; she ended up pining him with a triumphant look. She leapt off of him, yelling "Amri's it!" as she darted to join the ranks of the chased once more.

The game of tag continued on as the sun moved through the sky. As the light got dimmer the cubs finally took notice of how late it was getting. The lionesses called for their cubs to give them baths. "You'll sleep better." Sarabi quieted their protests. Kamaria hung back and waited patiently for them to finish. Maybe they just weren't comfortable with her yet or they could have just been occupied, but none of the lionesses offered to give her a bath. The moon and stars had fully replaced the sun by the time all of the other cubs were bathed. They ambled to Pride Rock and filed into the cavern, taking their customary sleeping spots. Unsure of how close she should be to the others, she turned around a few times along the wall just inside the entrance and curled up on herself as closely as she could. The first sleep she had had in days was far from restful though.

A/N: Here are what the names for the cubs mean, if you're interested.

Kamaria- Bright as the moon
Nia- Radiance; brightness
Waseme- Let them talk
Musa- Drawn out of the water
Amri- Power, authority, command
Chuki- Born in a time of strife and hatred
Harbuu- Warrior
Zahra- Flower

Reviews please!