Tau POV:

I roared loudly as I stood at the tip of pride rock, my dark brown mane rustling slightly in the wind.

"Goodness Tau, how many times do we have to tell you to only roar when it is just past sunrise?" A familiar voice said from behind me and I turned round to see my mother, Kiara raising her eyebrow at me playfully. "Yeah, you'll scare off the prey and get shredded ears by me if you keep that racket up" My unamused father, Kovu, said grumpily.

I smirked at them "you'll get shredded ears too if you hurt me, by my fan girls" I replied arrogantly, lifting my head proudly.

I knew I was good looking, with my mothers light-golden coat and my fathers dark-brown mane with a light red tint to it from my grandfather Simba and my eyes were a mixture between my parents eye colour; a dark green from my mothers brown eyes and my dads light green ones. Because of my good looks, lots of the annoying lionesses that were my age practically stalked me every chance I got, giggling and whispering when I so much as walked by them.

Kovu rolled his eyes and Kiara walked up to me, giving me a motherly lick against my forehead "be careful Tau, its your first hunt today" She told me and Kovu nodded with her. I rolled my eyes "I'll be fine! Stop worrying about me!" I snapped rudely, and bounded offdown the slope towards the grasslands, without looking back to my family

Kiara POV:

I sighed sadly "what happened to my sweet son I once knew?" I said to Kovu, my ears drooping as we watched Tau race away from us, eager to prove himself a great hunter "he changed when he became older and a young adult, I can't remember the last time he told us he loved us"

Kovu nodded sadly "I was proud of him once, he was kind and polite, but now..." Kovu trailed off, shaking his head "he just so difficult, trying to prove that he is strong and independent but he just comes off as rude, and that is not what this pride needs" I nuzzled into my mates side comfortingly "don't worry, I'm sure it's just a phase, and one day he will be the little prince we once knew" I told him.

*1 hour later*

Tau POV:

"Dammit!" I growled as I landed in a ungraceful heap on the dusty ground.

For the last hour I had been trying to catch gazelles, but they somehow kept sensing me before I leapt, making me crumple to the dirt when I pounced because they leapt out the way just in time.

I shook the dust from my mane irratibly and walked for a few minutes absent-mindely before I suddenly realized that I had walked so far I was past the outlands, in strange territory that I could tell was already claimed by other lions. I quickly turned to leave when I suddenly smelt the scent of gazelles nearby.

Dropping to the ground I prowled silently over to a bush, where beyond was a gazelle grazing contently. Licking my lips, I wiggled my shoulder blades preparing to pounce, and I suddenly leapt out of the bush; my claws were centimetres away form the gazelle when I was suddenly flung to the side, crashing heavily to the ground.

Winded, I struggled up and saw the gazelle prancing off in the opposite direction.

Growling, I swung my head around to my attacker "you idiot! How dare you ruin my hunt..." I trailed off when I saw my attacker.

A young lioness sat a metre away from me, licking her claws calmly.

She had dark gold fur with a brown stripe from her forehead down her neck, with a long fringe the colour of night hanging down her head, past her eye. Her dark red eyes glimmered with mischief and fire, and a long cut down her ear that looked like it had been made by a lions claw showed that this lioness was not a stranger to fights. She was slightly more slender then the lionesses in my pride, but she had hard, defined muscles underneath her unusually dark gold coat, and white-cream fur coated her stomuch up to her chin.

She was the most beautiful lioness I had ever seen.

The lioness's eyes flicked up to me, smirking "like what you see?" She snickered, flicking her dark fringe out of her eyes. I blinked a couple of times, taken aback.

Usually the lioness's would be falling to my paws by now.

I snorted "whatever" I narrowed my eyes at her "alteast at my home the lioness's know not to ruin another lions hunt!"

I instantly knew I had spoken wrongly when the lioness's eyes narrowed dangerously and she swung a paw at my head, smacking me across my head. "You selfish piece of buffalo dung!" She snarled, striding up to me so our faces were centimetres apart, her ruby eyes staring challengingly into my emerald ones

"I know who you are prince!" She spat "I know that a moron like you would think every piece of land he walks on is his! This is MY land you were hunting on in the first place so I was perfectly right to ruin your pathetic hunt on MY prey! I have to fight every day for my survival unlike YOU, a lazy scrap of fur who just lays around all day ether waiting for other lions to bring him food or try and steal someone else's!"

I took a step back, shocked by the lioness's outburst.

"I'm sorry" I said, ducking my head when I realized how right she was "I won't bother you again" I told her, walking past back to the Pridelands. I stopped when I heard a low chuckle of amusement from behind me, "guess youre a bit tounge-tied at being told off hm?" The lioness asked, all her previous anger in her eyes gone, repleced with humour. I blinked at her and the lioness smirked "we haven't been formally introduced yet have we?"

I grinned back at the outspoken lioness "I'm the one and only prince of the Pridelands, Tau" I told her proudly, giving her a wink.

The lioness raised her eyebrow at me "Tau?" She echoed "doesn't that mean lion?" She let out a loud chuckle "I guess that your parents don't want you to think you are a warthog or something" I smirked back at her arrogantly "please, no warthog can ever look this good" I told her.

I waited for her to sigh and simper at me, batting her eyelashes like the rest of the lionesses but instead she smirked even larger "well, I'm Zuri" She told me, leaning towards me, posing gracefully with one paw infront of another as she looked up at me slyly "it means beautiful...do you agree?" She asked me teasingly, flicking her tail in my face as she turned away from me.

All the arrogance left me abruptly at this; why wasn't this lioness falling at my paws already?

Zuri started to walk away from me "you better go Princey Tau" She called back to me carelessly over one shoulder "you don't want mummy and daddy worried do ya?" Zuri turned back to glance at me, and she winked lazily "meet me back here in two days at sunset" She told me and before I could reply, she was gone, with a careless flick of her tail.