Disclaimer: Disney owns their souls, I own my OFCs.

Outsiders

What should have been a ferocious roar came out sounding more like a weak and strangled yowl from a common house cat. The human documenting the young cub smiled to herself, careful not to make any sudden sounds that may have accidentally frightened him off, or provoked an attack from the other members of the pride that laid hidden in the tall grass. The cub's mother, the lioness with a piece of one ear torn out, was certainly a forced to be reckoned with, so Aria had had learned while watching her lead the females in their hunts. The father, on the other hand, was as any male would be; egotistical, proud and utterly dependent on his females.

The cub made another attempt at roaring, digging his claws into the ground this time out of frustration. The father, the scarred one with the black mane, looked toward his offspring and grunted lowly.

"Hey," Aria whispered to the cub, easing into a squat. "There's no need to drag mom and dad into this," she chuckled. The cub titled his head to the side.

Silence followed, and the young intern took the chance to really study the young lion. As he relaxed and sat down, Aria how his skin was pulled tight across his ribs, and how his stomach sank in. Until today, the little one always kept close to his parents, though it seemed King and Queen would have preferred to bask in each other's company than pay any heed to their young one.

Perhaps, Aria thought, he's sick, and they've chosen to neglect him in favor of another, healthier cub. It would have certainly explained his frailty.

The object of her curiosity coughed quietly, though the sudden noise was enough to snap her out of her thoughts. She watched with one eyebrow raised as he bowed and growled softly. His tail began to sway in that mischievous feline way and Aria chuckled.

"I can't play with you," she said in a hush, then gave a startled yelp when the mother made herself known, leaping out of the grass and growling something fierce as she took her cub between her jaws and carried him to where she had been resting prior, a good distance away from the human.

Aria knew when to leave. Catching her breath, she hoisted herself off the ground and walked quickly back to the waiting jeep and her anxious colleague.

"That sure cut it close," the other girl said, turning the key and starting the engine. "Don't you think?"

"Oh, hush, Mina," Aria muttered as she looked over her shoulder toward the cub once more. He was curled into a fetal position at his mother's feet, tail wrapped tight against his hind legs. He knew he had crossed a line, Aria realized.

"You know," she said, turning back to Mina as they drove away, starting back to the village the two interns were lodging in, "I think I''ll keep an eye on that one."

--

There she was again, that strange human that always seemed too close for comfort. The one that often carried small machines that beeped and whirred and flashed when she pointed them at him. The one Scar told him to ignore – then she would grow tired and bored and leave them be once more.

Nuka had tried to ignore her, but sure as the sunrise she arrived daily in the wheeled machine to watch them. At first her presence had made him nervous but now having her watching him constantly was beginning to frustrate him. And enough was enough.

He glanced at his parents, and once he was sure they weren't paying attention, he crept away, closer to the intruding human. He stumbled out of the grass, then took a breath and roared.

The human smiled, and judging from her expression she was trying desperately not to laugh. That would just not do. Taking another breath, deeper than the last, he tried again.

Behind him, Scar chuckled hollowly to himself. "Give it up, boy. You're hardly intimidating."

Nuka's claws dug into the dirt, then he released his grip when the when the human squatted in front of him and spoke. He couldn't understand her words, but the tone in her voice led him to believe they were kind and meant to sooth. Then she chuckled, and he titled his head to the side, wondering just what she found so amusing.

In the silence that followed, he noticed the way the human was staring at him. Her eyes wandered up and down his body, taking in whatever detail she cared to notice. Nuka decided to do the same.

Too young to take the time to actually mimic whatever it was she was doing, he allowed his mind to wander as he stared at her face. Her skin was lighter than the other people that sometimes came through the Pride Lands. She wasn't native to this land and he wanted to know where she came from and what she was doing here. She couldn't have been here just to study lions, could she? It seemed futile, stupid even, to Nuka. Didn't these humans know that they would never fully understand the ways of the animal kingdom, regardless of the vast amount of time spent watching and stalking and... other things he preferred not to think about.

He hoped she wouldn't come with one of those loud sticks one day and put one of his pride to sleep then steal then away. Scar had told him stories, and he couldn't imagine being caged. But instinct told him not to fear this human with the green eyes and the short brown hair. She had been watching this long and showed no sign of becoming a threat.

And, he hated to admit it, but being this close and staring like this felt kind of nice. Safe.

He cleared his throat to gain her attention. He glanced over his shoulder once, then smirked to himself as he bowed. If she was of no harm, why not have some fun with her?

She chuckled again and spoke through the soft bouts of laughter. He was ready to lunge when Zira came rushing through th grass.

"What, pray tell, do you think you're doing?!" she demanded before taking Nuka into her mouth. She glared as the human tumbled backward, shouting in surprise.

"I just thought," Nuka paused to wince as Zira's teeth dug into his sides, "we could, you know, since she isn't here to hurt us..."

Zira laughed coldly as she dropped her son before Scar. "She is a human! Have you lost your mind?"

"N-no," Nuka mumbled. "Why can't we study them the way they study us?"

"Because we are above such things. We don't need to understand humans," Zira snapped and Nuka laid down at his mother's feet.

"I thought we were above siding with hyenas, too," Nuka mumbled, then winced when Scar roared, quite offended.

Perhaps they were right and there was no need to understand the humans but that didn't mean Nuka didn't want to in spite of it all – because he could see she wasn't like the others that came and went as they pleased. She stood out among the rest. She was different, just like him.