Nuka turned back to Humphrey and Lilly. "Here," he said. He ripped of a large hunk of meat from the dead moose and tossed it in front of them. "Have a bite to eat."
Lilly and Humphrey looked at the bloody slab of meat hungrily and then began to dig in.
"Um, excuse me," said Lilly to Nuka after she had swallowed her first bite, "but… what are you?"
Nuka grinned. "I am a lion," he said proudly. "I'm not surprised that you've never seen one of my kind before. We come from Africa. It's a continent practically on the other side of the world."
"How'd you get here?" asked Humphrey.
"It's a long story," said Nuka. "I was born and raised in an illegal traveling circus. The humans there taught me tricks and made me and the other animals perform in front of hundreds of people. It was a very undignified life, but it was all worth it for… her." He seemed to start staring off into space.
"Her?" asked Lilly.
"Jasmine," said Nuka. "She was a lioness who was also in the circus, and she was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. I was madly in love with her. I would have done anything to be with her. But what did she do? She tore out my heart and crushed it, that's what. She married my older brother Ghalib, instead of me. Of course, he was the older, stronger, charming one, while I was the scrawny runt." He sighed. "She broke my heart."
Humphrey and Lilly felt sorry for the large feline in front of them. It was also kind of weird, feeling sorry for something that looked so ferocious.
"I know how you feel," said Humphrey. "I was in love too."
"So was I," said Lilly. "We both had our hearts broken."
Nuka looked at them. "Hmmm, we have much in common, don't we?"
Humphrey and Lilly didn't respond.
"Anyway," said Nuka. "I escaped from the circus one night while they were feeding us. I ran into the woods and I eventually met this pack of wolves. They weren't much. They were weak and starving, but they were the closest thing to a pride that I had ever known. So I made a deal with them. If they made me their new leader, I would solve all their problems for them. And now, thanks to my help, we are the most powerful pack in the area."
Humphrey and Lilly were amazed by his story. They were beginning to not feel so afraid and starting to relax a little.
"It has not been easy though," Nuka continued. "Large game is scarce in these parts, and getting scarcer. Most of our rival packs have even moved away in the hopes of finding new territories with more food. How was the food situation where you're from?"
"Well, we had plenty of caribou back in Jasper Park," said Humphrey. "Our pack almost had a war with another pack over the territory because it was so good."
"Jasper Park?" asked Nuka.
"Yeah," said Humphrey. "Its up north in Canada."
"Canada? You two have traveled a long way then," said Nuka.
"Well, we hitched a ride on a train," said Humphrey.
"Train?" asked Nuka.
"Yeah, the Canadian Express," said Humphrey. "It's a bunch of miles north west of here."
"Really," said Nuka. He thought for a moment. "Then we shall make Jasper our new home."
"What?" said Lilly, she and Humphrey confused.
"We are going to travel to Jasper Park and take it for our selves," said Nuka. Then he pointed and Humphrey and Lilly. "And you two… shall help us."
"What? No!" exclaimed Humphrey. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.
"Don't tell me you two still care about your pack," said Nuka. "You left them. Why should you care what happens to them?"
"They're still our pack," said Lilly angrily.
"Yeah. We can't let you do this!" growled Humphrey.
"Don't be a fool," laughed Nuka. "Why die defending them, when you could join me and live?" He looked directly at Humphrey. "I like you, Humphrey. You remind me of myself, or at least what I used to be. I can tell what kind of person you are, Humphrey. People like you and me; we don't get the pretty girls, Humphrey. We're the losers. The geeks. The rejects. So you can settle for a less than ordinary life, or you can use that anger to rise up and accomplish great and terrible things, like me."
Humphrey continued to stare at him. The two female wolves behind Nuka had scooted back further into the cave and were huddled together in a corner, shaking with fear. This guy wasn't just crazy. He was a freaking' psycho.
Nuka continued. "Humphrey, you don't realize the potential you have. Join me, and we can concur the entire country together!"
"Never! I'll never join you!" said Humphrey.
"Me neither!" said Lilly.
"Wrong answer!" shouted Nuka, as he raised his right paw above his head and unsheathed his razor sharp retractable claws. He was about to bring them down on them.
"LILLY!" shouted Humphrey, as he quickly shoved her out of the way. Nuka's paw came down and whacked Humphrey in the side, sending him hurtling across the cave.
"HUMPHREY!" shouted Lilly in worry.
Fortunately, Humphrey was not hurt too badly and quickly got to his feet. "COME ON!" he shouted to Lilly as he bolted for the exit of the cave. Lilly was right behind him.
"STOP THEM!" roared Nuka to his wolves as Humphrey and Lilly dashed out among the pack.
Humphrey and Lilly dashed for the slop down the mountain, but were cut off by a group of Nuka's wolves, snarling at them. The two turned back around, but were faced by a wave of more wolves and Nuka himself approaching them. Humphrey and Lilly turned again to run, and in doing so, they almost ran straight off a cliff.
Humphrey and Lilly now found them selves backed up against the edge of the cliff, with the pack blocking their only escape and quickly closing in on them. They were trapped.
A/N: Uh oh! What have they gotten themselves into now? How will they make it out of this one? The answers to these and more questions may be answered in the next chapter. Stick around. Remember; I encourage your ideas and opinions as to what you think should happen later on in the story. Take it easy.
