Chapter 8: Love and Age (Two).

Miko was left wondering what the female was going on about. He was unlucky to be stupid around females, he did anything to the ones at his pride and they still adored him. This female was different. What did she mean by her sister though?

Terra's mother awoke from a restless sleep. She looked at Terra as she entered "It is an hour from dawn, what were you doing?" she asked her. Terra was unable to tell her, she looked at her slightly anxiously.

"I was at the border… and…"she began but she couldn't say it. She was going to ask the male about her sister, but she thought he would bring it up. She wasn't going to say anything if he didn't she didn't know if he was trust worthy. Her mother smiled at her,

"Zenobia?" she asked with some shock but quite happily, still she said it in a hushed voice. "If you wish to see her, I will allow that and persuade your fathers. You can go out often and see her?" She didn't get the right idea but her mother longed for her to see her sister. And so did she, the male might be able to tell and let her see her sister.

"Would you ask father? It would only be every full moon…" she began, it was not going to be a good idea if she went regularly, and she liked nights on a full moon.

"I will ask… Your hunting trip is tonight, it is a full moon… Will she be there?"

"I have not asked to meet again, but I said I would come to the border soon… I hope she is not there…"

"I will ask him when he is out… Now go get some sleep!" she ordered smiling but still having a voice of strong authority.

It was midday when she awoke and the hunting squad had gone out, they had caught quite a lot and a small antelope was left for Terra. It was obvious that Cayla had been the leader of the hunt, as she knew she liked antelope the best and they probably would not have caught so much. She ate it happily and walked out her father was waiting for her.

"Your mother has told me. See her only at the border" he commanded with a slightly hushed voice "I am not happy with the arrangement, but your mother would be much happier to know that your sister is alright" he walked off and she nodded in agreement. It was then she saw Juda and she nuzzled her cousin affectionately as she ran into the mouth of pride rock. Storm was snoozing on top of a tree branch and Ruto was prowling beside it and around it. He stopped Terra and playfully gained stance to pounce!

"I'm not letting you past! You must fight me if you wish to get through" he pathetically growled. Terra acted lightly and batted Ruto to the floor, he rolled and pounced on her shoulder. The strength made her wobble and nearly topple over but he looked triumphant in that outcome. She laughed and said "When did you learn to pounce like that?" she asked. He looked puzzled but gleamed after he realised what she had said. Taking this into consideration he tried to jump up the tree Storm was up and of course failed. Falling on to his back he jumped back up and hobbled onto the rock beside it.

Zenobia watched out, she woke as Jeem walked in, Miko following him warily his head looking downwards. Prince came to meet them, she lay as she watched from the other side of the opening the meeting. Prince looked to his son Miko with the same face he looked upon anything, slight disgust and looked up at Jeem with a bit of hatred.

"And what happened? Pravo came back hours ago?" he asked them sternly. He ruled with an iron paw and although his stature was petit in comparison to his brother, son and any other lions he had a roar which was as dangerous as crocodiles.

"He decided to go hunting outside the line of our borders" he looked down sternly at Miko who slung his head down and away. He wasn't at all bothered; he just wanted to see that female again.

"Did you get caught?" Prince asked his son. He looked slightly anxious for the answer.

"No" Miko replied. Still he looked away. His father hated this but stood back from that and looked at Jeem.

"Then what is the problem?"

"He was seen-"

"You said he was not caught!" Prince hissed.

"She just saw me; I was quite close to the border. I think she thought I was on the border and searching for the nearest herd or just passing" Miko retorted. He and Jeem had decided to lie to his father, and they had made this decision as they came back. It was quite a walk.

"I have told you MIKO! You must never be SEEN or CAUGHT!" He growled at his son with anger and detest.

"Father, you sent me to go hunt by the border. I went and the entire herd had moved across the border. I went in side slightly and looked, I didn't find anything!"

"And what else did I teach you?" He glared "Do not come back empty handed. You're bringing shame towards me"

"We did not come back empty handed…" Miko hissed "We brought back a couple of young antelope; they were resting exhausted by a rock near the watering hole. What do you know of shame father?" he asked with a slight growl and turned out of the caves mouth and into the open. He ran into the shade and ignored his fathers' growls of anger. "Miko! Come Back Here!"

Prince rushed out, Gavvo stopped him and took him aside. Prince was agitated by the words Gavvo said calmed him and he moved on, a little de-stressed. Jeem sighed, all the seriousness taken out he looked down at Zenobia but his face did not lighten up. She looked at him confused and looked down. He walked to the back of the cave and lay down exhausted. He was out all night, she had waited for him. Hoping that he would come back, so she would tell him her new decision, she was going to stay. It was hard to see him like this, but she understood. She felt a pang when her father exiled her. She couldn't fully understand she just went with gut instinct and that relapsed in her being exiled. She sighed and lay silently into a doze. A few females appeared in front of her. The darker female was Aztra, Prince's lioness of choice. For the time she was here Aztra had been Prince's prided female. There were a few little scandals on the side, some of which included the females in front of her. Jazz was a slender female and her eyes were thinner than the rest, she had been flirting with the King a few weeks after Zenobia came. She had gathered the scar on her side because Aztra had a thing to say to her about it. Fima her sister was more stout and fatter, she was found to be charmed by Prince 2 months after Zenobia's arrival. Aztra had set her straight, but everyone suspected that Prince had stopped it all before Aztra became possessive. There had been a few more scandals but Zenobia had not heard that they were true.

Aztra was not particularly big and did not eat as much as she should but she was head of the hunters and quite strong. The youngest of the group always lingered behind. Her name was Kitalya. She was younger than the rest, about the age of Zenobia herself, and she was treated ill by Aztra. Aztra did not particularly like Kitalya because Prince, even if he had not made much of a move on her, had shown a bit of interest. What may have angered Aztra more, and also made her a little easier, was that she rejected Princes interest when others did not. She did not know any particulars but Kitalya seemed clever enough to know that Prince was Aztra's and Prince would not stay with her anyways. He was glued to Kitalya, although he probably wishes he wasn't. Even with the entertainment of all his little fancies and the way Aztra was so protective and never blamed him.

She watched as they sat out on the Royal Rocks deciding who was better at hunting and which should go out for the next hunt in an hour. Kitalya was rejected, it looked as if she knew and didn't really care if she was or wasn't chosen to go out. She came into the cave and sat down by Zenobia.

"Hello" she said "You have been here half a year and we have only spoken a few times"

"Yes" Zenobia answered with a smile "It seems people like to keep us busy"

"Yes, they don't want us young females getting the better of ourselves. Especially with the wandering males"

"Wandering males?" Zenobia asked confused.

"Yes," she nodded about to explain "Although they have not come this year" she thought and then replied "The wandering males are brothers and cousins and relations to the king, well the last king, you may know about him. Prince doesn't like us saying much, the past is the past, you see. They come annually and younger females are kept busy so that the older females, who still can, can find a mate and have children" she looked at Zenobia who seemed not to know about this "Obviously you did not have it in your last pride" she smiled and changed the subject "They will keep you busy because they do not trust you very much, and they will keep me busy because my sister ran off with one" she sighed.

"Your sister?" Zenobia looked thoughtful; she had left hers and expected her to be grown. By the Sun, she would be fully grown! About the age to start hunting for herself, she sighed.

"You had a sibling? A litter cub?" she asked.

"I had two, one died" she said sadly "The other well… I do not think I should talk matters of my old pride, bad luck is it not?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is… by the by I would not ask about the wandering males, I think you would not get any answers and find yourself in trouble. I heard you were out late last night, and asking questions such as those will get both of us in trouble"

"Because they think I am spying?" she asked, it was her only thought. Kitalya nodded "They may" she said "But you seem genuine to me… although you do not hunt?" she was puzzled by this.

"I do not think I am allowed to" She answered "and I would not beg to hunt, if they need my assistance in hunting then they would ask for it" she said.

Kitalya nodded and looked outside. Jazz was watching her warily and whispered something to Aztra who a few moments later looked at Kitalya and glared her in the face. Gavvo walked past and Jazz jumped up and followed. Zenobia had seen behaviour like that from Jazz since a few days after Aztra had given Jazz that scar. She glared at Zenobia as she went past. Kitalya looked at Zenobia slightly worried.

"We will talk some other time. I think Aztra wants me" Kitalya was worried, maybe even frightened. Aztra took a lot of control over the other females. Zenobia realised that there was a power influence in the pride between females but she noticed that the males seemed more natural. There was a lot more females than males. Too many to name and the males were not all regular, these may be ones more closely related to the Pride and so could come and go with the wanders as they pleased. But Zenobia did not know anything so could only make assumptions. Jeem, Prince and Gavvo were the main males. Miko and Pravo would be second and once they became full male lions they would take upstage with both Jeem and the other lead males. Jeem however took a lower rank than Gavvo, he took charge of the two adolescent males on their way to adulthood. They were too old to be looked after by the females and they had many young females to look after and train. This was not what Prince wanted. He had choice over females, Jeem had his outsider and Gavvo seemed to have Jazz or any female that he Prince did not want.

The rights and courtesies of these lions were the same but their customs made the pride different. It was a big pride and Jeem's father had ruled it with his brother, apparently, what had happened to him was unknown. He had ruled with Prince and Gavvo behind them and was a much kinder male than others. Aztra was born of Tindria, who had died the season the late king had. She was old and Aztra was only just a fully grown lioness at the time of the succession. Zenobia lay in the cave recessing this history of her adopted pride with much thought. It was nearing evening when Jeem came out and Zenobia had got up and gotten something to eat and had come back up. She had come to see if either Jeem or Kitalya had wanted to go to the watering hole and drink. Jeem walked past her.

"Jeem," she said to him "Jeem," she followed him as he walked but he ran down and walked off towards the watering hole. She followed and he watched her as she did, she saw he knew she was following but she wasn't sure what he was going to do. She went down to the watering hole but he walked off towards a desolate rock in which there was quite a bit of shade. She watched him sit watching her, she lapped water and then when she had quenched her thirst went towards him and the shade. He welcomed her but still hung back, she had said she was to leave him with some insensitivity towards him. She was guilty of this, but had changed her mind and would have spoken but he went in first.

"I saw your sister" he stated.

"My sister, how is she?" she asked, she had not seen her for a very long time.

"She is well, Miko saw her and has taken a small fancy" he added with a small grin. Zenobia did not take it so lightly, and got up and paced about before turning to Miko.

"She will end the same way I did, exiled and it will be my fault. She would never have thought to run away for a male, but I did! What did you do to stop this?" she said.

"I did nothing. You did not run away for me, she will not end. She will hopefully be welcomed the same way as you into this pride"

"With a growl?" Zenobia said harshly "Sorry- I did run away for you. If another male or a female had come to the pride and told me about it I would not have left, I will stay aswell-"

"-But you must go back to Pride Rock" Jeem stated severly turning from her.

"No. I will stay" Zenobia stated looked to him. He turned in a flash and looked at her face, straight serious and beautiful.

"But is that what you want?"

"I do not know…"

"It is not what you want, you are staying because I made you stay" He said "You must go back, you belong there"

"I belong with you, it causes you pain for me to go and so Pride Rock could not bring me as much pleasure as seeing you" A tear was forming, she did want to go back but she wanted Jeem more.

"You do what you think is best, but do not stop your sister in love"

"And why not! She will ruin herself"

"You have ruined yourself with me, running to go here"

"That is… That's very different, I run now for you but I ran for Gae, I ran to save him and now I run for you, because I ran to get him and you helped me"

"Miko is good and very illusive, he will not be seen. He will not see her other than the border"

"And how will Ter-" she stopped herself, he had not spoken her sisters name in fear they were being heard, or so it seemed. She would do the same "How will my sister get to the border to see him regularly"

"Do not worry Zenobia, Miko informs me she does not wish to meet again, I was to inform you this but Miko believes she was just embarrassed after the incident" Zenobia was confused but Jeem explained and continued "she says she will not meet but Miko hopes she will"

Zenobia stood in thought for many moments before looking into Jeems eyes and smiling. "Please make sure she is not in any trouble" Jeem looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean by me?"

"If I go to the border they will think I am conversing, spying almost. If you go with Miko they will think you are hunting and as long as you bring something back then you will be, but make sure that Miko does not get seen by my fathers and that my sister will be safe."

"Okay" he said her face pushed into his mane and they embraced the moment for a few seconds before walking up the plains towards the royal rocks it was nearly evening and they hoped to get some rest before night. Jeem told Zenobia that Miko hoped to get out 'hunting' again and seeing if Terra, although not knowing her name, would be out again and they would meet once more.

As the sun was about to set, Nimfi came to Terra and purred.

"It is time, Terra. You will go hunt on your own and become a true lioness" Terra smiled and got up and walked out of pride Rock the females, including Biratta, Pintia and Frea stood welcoming her to run out for the hunt. Juda was watching eagerly but Mystu brought her in as Terra ran down the path to go hunting. It was far past Juda's bed time.