Sorry I'm making them so short lately. I'll hopefully begin longer ones soon.
Back at the Outlands, things grew quite busy.
Many scrawny lions in figure were padding along, performing duties, as if getting prepared for something big.
"Dakima!" Lord Gyasi strolled from the den, a worried expression on his face.
"Coming, dad!" A dark ginger pelted lioness, a teen, came running from Daktari's den and up to her father. "Shaman Daktari was just teaching me-"
"Dakima, how many times must I tell you?" Gyasi began circling her, though his expression was still soft. "You're duty is not to learn how to heal, but to fight."
"But...father...it's so wrong." Dakima protested.
"No, no, no, no...it's very much right my dear." Gyasi sat down and drew his paw over his daughter's back, pulling her closer to him. "Listen, here. Daktari's calling was that of a healer. Your calling was that of a warrior. Understand?"
"But-"
"Come now. I called you because it was time for your training." Gyasi didn't wait for a reply and padded away to the training area.
Dakima sighed and slowly followed after him.
Cheja, now much larger and mane more full, followed after Kafara in a hurry.
"Are we there yet?" He asked.
"No." Kafara replied. The pale golden furred lion was even larger too.
"Hmph," Cheja looked away.
"Just be patient, Cheja." Kafara said in a soothing tone.
"We've been traveling for two days!" Cheja exclaimed.
"Nonsense. Afraid of a little work?" Kafara teased.
"No way!"
"Cause Lord Gyasi would not like that."
"Ugh, I hate it when I feel wrong." Cheja pushed into a trot, brushing past Kafara.
"What do you mean?" Kafara tilted his head.
"Nothing." Cheja sighed. "Do you know where we are?"
"Hmmm," Kafara glanced around. They were still standing on the very outskirts of the lush Pride Lands, but were too far away for any patrol to find them there. "We can stop and rest for now." He decided.
The two males found a nice shaded spot under an overhanging tree and laid down, sprawling out.
Cheja yawned and rolled onto his back, "If only life were like this everyday."
"Yeah, well," Kafara stretched. "Duty calls. Every warrior counts."
"So, you're saying that...if we weren't here, the whole pride would be helpless?" Cheja questioned. He found it odd how Kafara seemed to know the answer to almost any question.
"Not exactly," Kafara replied. "We can't slack each day. We have jobs to do. Some like it, others don't. But we're all trained to do the same thing, which is to protect the pride with our own blood on the line, as well as everything we have inside us. We most certainly need eachother if we are to succeed in anything. Others, back home, they rely on us to do certain things. If we're not there to do it, all may be lost."
"Of course," Cheja sighed, beginning to get bored of the conversation. "But we're not fighting right now. We're supposed to be going to that...pride. That pride that Lord Gyasi wanted to ally with."
"This trip may draw blood. Let's hope not, but it may." Kafara pointed out. "Like I said...being a warrior isn't all about fighting. Why, a warrior is one of the most common yet important rankings in a pride." He turned to his now-older apprentice and stretched out a paw, poking him in the shoulder, "Following orders. That's what we're meant to do."
"Sure, whatever." Cheja rolled his eyes. "Let's continue now. For once, I'm interested in this mission. I wonder what the Kingdom of Maziwa is like."
"We'll be climbing over the mountains over there, right over." Kafara said dismissively. "Let's hurry. Lord Gyasi warned us not to be gone for long."
Late that night, Maisha sat on the highest point of Pride Rock, her russet colored fur now glowing in the bright moonlight. She gazed out over the mountains.
"Hey, Maisha, what are you doing?" Joka's voice sounded behind her.
"Oh, hey." Maisha glanced back at her brother, somewhat happy to hear his voice. It seemed like a long time since she'd heard it. She also hadn't realized the way her brother had changed, guessing it was because she lived with him. She always captured him in the age of a cub, young, playful and naive. But no, Joka now had a larger mane that covered his whole neck, but not as large as Simba's or Kovu's. Taha had gone through the same change.
"What are you doing out here?" Joka asked.
"Just looking around," Maisha lied. She was really waiting for a good time to leave for the Kingdom of Maziwa. She didn't want anyone to know she was going, because she just knew that her mother would try her hardest to talk her out of it. "Well," Joka yawned. "Good luck with that." He chuckled, then he yawned, letting out a low pitched grumble. "I'm going to bed."
"See you tomorrow." Maisha gazed down at her paws, knowing she wouldn't really be able to see him for a while. "I'll miss you," She murmured under her breath.
When she knew for a fact that every single lion was sleeping, Maisha slowly clambered down the side of Pride Rock in a hurry, until she reached the grassy terrain. She kicked into a sprint, her paws drumming the ground. She headed toward the mountains, like Rafiki had said. The Kingdom of Maziwa was right over the mountains, where many streams and rivers lie, as well as a large lake. Maisha had never seen a lake before, but she'd heard of them.
"Truth, here I come!"
So Maisha and Cheja are traveling to the same place at the same time :o Will they meet up? And if they do, how will they now react to eachother's presence?