"Face it, you just can't beat me."

"I did once!" Kayin snapped at Samirah, who had him pinned to the ground under her—for the third time in a row.

"Yeah," Samirah sighed, getting off him and looking at him like he was a thing to be pitied. "Once. It's just pathetic. If you can't beat me, you won't beat the other cubs when the time comes to find a new ruler for this pride. Now go again." She turned around deliberately and planted herself down on the dry land a few tree-lengths away from him.

Concentrating on his pounce once again, Kayin flattened himself to the ground and slowly crept forward. He gradually began rising to a crouch, and quickened his pace. Focusing on Samirah's brown silhouette, he broke into a run, coiled his legs up tight, and pounced—

Only to have Samirah lazily step out of his way.

Kayin landed face-first in the dust. Snarling, he doubled back and faced Samirah, who was yawning. He lashed out at her, his claws still sheathed, and… missed. Samirah dodged and scooted behind him. Kayin turned again, but he was getting dizzy, and Samirah knew it. He took a swipe at her with his paw, missed again, slipped on the sandy earth, and fell awkwardly on one side. Samirah sighed and stretched her paw out to pin him down once again.

"You," Samirah groaned, "are really sad."

"You just know all my tricks," Kayin snapped. "Now, to a cub who's never fought me—"

"It would just be worse," Samirah cut in calmly. "'cuz they wouldn't be half as nice to you as I am, and so they'd strut around telling the whole savannah."

"You've said so before, though, I do better when I'm taken by surprise, maybe if you tried—" Suddenly a brown blur barreled into him and knocked him to the ground. Kayin lashed out blindly, then kicked. He heard a breathless "hoof" and knew immediately he'd hit his mark. While Samirah was out of breath, he leaped, smacked her to the ground and let out a triumphant yowl of victory.

"That was certainly an impro-o-vement…" Samirah coughed, still sounding breathless. "You do do better without warning…"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Kayin asked anxiously, then added, "Whoa, that was a change…"

A booming roar suddenly made both cubs jump out of their skins. "All boys gather near the hunting grounds," a firm voice demanded. Kayin looked questioningly at Samirah, who whispered, "It'll be Azad." Another questioning glance, and Samirah added, "You know… the big man, ruler, whatever… I did tell you about him, right?" Kayin shook his head mutely, eyes wide. "Ohhhh," Samirah whimpered. "Um, good luck." She pushed him into the crowd of cubs heading toward the hunting grounds.

Kayin wandered through the chaos frantically, watching the cubs in front of him and following them. He vaguely heard a cub whisper, "See that tan pansy earlier? Got beat up three times by a girl!" Kayin maneuvered up to the cub, stuck his snout near his ear and let out a short but deafening yowl, making the cub jump and knock over about five others.

Soon they reached the hunting grounds. Azad, who looked remarkably like Bakari, turned to face the rowdy cubs. "All right, listen up," He shouted, silencing them all immediately. "I know each of you want to rule this pride," he began, letting his slate-gray eyes rest on each cub in turn. "Well, if you can't fight, you have no chance. You might as well leave right now, no one's stopping you." His gaze lingered for a moment on Kayin, and Kayin gulped. Did he see Samirah beat me? He thought to himself, but Azad's ringing voice shook him out of his thoughts. "Not leaving, eh? I want you all to partner up." There was a sudden shuffling of dirt and yelping of names, and soon Kayin was left partnerless and feeling humiliated.

"Awww, no partner?" Azad cooed in a mock baby-voice. His stern gray eyes scanned the crowd, and he suddenly snapped, "Bakari! Come here, son, and show how a real lion fights." The crowd parted as if on cue, to reveal a smug looking Bakari. He looked as though dinner had come early.

"I want you two to face off, and spar when I get to three," Azad sneered. "Try not to cry," he added, casting a dirty look in Kayin's direction. The two cubs faced each other, Kayin trying to meet Bakari's stare steadily.

"One…"

Pathetic…

"…two…"

Beat up by a girl

"…three."

Kayin saw, as if in slow motion, Bakari lunge at him. He dodged him easily, and moved to another angle. Bakari spun quickly, looking a bit confused, and lashed out at Kayin again. Kayin suddenly remembered what Samirah did when he had lashed out at her, and he dashed behind Bakari, a big smile now playing on the features of his face. Bakari whirled around and slipped, and Kayin moved in. He leaped and had pinned Bakari to the ground when—

"Aaaargh!" Pain seared through Kayin's face, one of his eyes suddenly blinded. Abandoning Bakari, he rubbed his hurt eye with the back of his paw and saw blood staining his fur. He gasped, and a sudden force rammed into his stomach, taking his breath away and knocking him to the ground—Bakari had pinned him to the ground. Kayin waited for Azad's "you cheated" snarl, but it never came. And then Kayin understood: he had wiped off the blood with his paw.

"Well done, son!" Azad laughed triumphantly, cuffing Bakari's ear. "You showed him, eh?"

"Yeah," Bakari sneered, looking back at Kayin and smirking. "It was easy… give him a false sense of security and you're sure to win…"

Azad smiled proudly, leered down at Kayin, and strode over to the other pairs of cubs. Kayin glowered and stalked back to Den Valley.

Samirah was waiting for him. "I heard you guys were called over there to spar. How did it go?"

"Shut it," Kayin snapped. "I don't want to talk about it, and you won't make me feel any better about it."

Samirah blinked. "Fine," she answered coolly. "I won't ask. Since you really seem to want me to, I'll just leave." Samirah turned and strode away.

"Wait!" Kayin caught up to her, looking apologetic. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just, I would've won, if Bakari hadn't cheated."

"Cheated?" Samirah repeated, looking confused. "How… aaah," she whispered, looking at the back of his paw. "What a little—"

"Hold it!" Kayin yelped, surprised at Samirah's outburst. "You—"

"Hold it! How can I do that?" she shouted, looking furious. "When I sink my claws into him—"

"So I can't take care of him myself?" Kayin asked quietly. Samirah looked thunderstruck.

"I didn't mean that," she said in a hushed voice.

"I know you didn't," Kayin smiled warmly. "This is my fight, not yours."

Samirah started to smile, then looked back at Bakari. Her smile became considerably larger.

"What?"

"You could've beaten him… looks like Bakari's got competition." Samirah grinned mischievously. Yet Kayin was sure that the twinkle in her eye had another meaning, too.

Ooh, anybody have an idea what the eye twinkling was about? Well, anywho...reviews are appreciated!

Allie