Chapter10

The watering hole

Water. It was all I could think about. I rubbed my sandpaper tongue against my lips. Just one sip, one sip. My throat ached painfully. It felt as though we had been walking for days, but in reality we had only been walking half the day. Still, that was such a long time to go without water. My legs felt numb, and I didn't even need to think about walking anymore. Estana lagged behind me a little, panting heavily. My whole body throbbed, but more than anything my head hurt. It was just impossible to wrap my head around the fact that Tatony was… dead. I couldn't help but wonder why the universe hated me so much. I had always tried so hard to be a good lion. I guess it hadn't been enough to take away my family, my best friend needed to die too. Oh and poor Lakea. She deserved to have a mother too.

"Let's stop and rest," I announced noticing the rest of the pride wearing out.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, almost in unison. The cubs, Silvius, Jabari, and Lakea all looked tuckered out, Silvius especially. I was worried for them. We needed to find water soon. Chakaa was also in bad condition. She was leaning heavily on her sister. I looked around the pride. They couldn't go on much longer like this.

"I'm going to scout ahead and look for water. I'll be back as soon as I find some," I told them.

"I'm coming with," Estana said without hesitation.

I didn't even resist. Perhaps a part of me wanted him to come, more likely I was just too tired to fight with him.

"Good luck," Lakea whispered staring up at me.

Her eyes were sparking with tears. I felt my heart lurch, and dizzyingly strong emotions surfacing. My eyes stung and I just nodded, not trusting my voice.

"Let's go," I finally said, turning away.

Estana nodded, and together we walked away from the rest of the pride.

We'd been walking for a long time now, silently, that I might add. I was torn. I wanted to just blurt out all my problems and bottled up emotions, but on the other hand I wanted to be cool, admirable leader that doesn't let emotions get in her way. I must have been making some kind of face because Estana asked if everything was all right.

"yes-I mean no- I mean," I sighed.

"I'm just having a hard time accepting Tatony's death," I admitted.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," He said softly.

I glanced over at him. He always had reminded me of Simba, but now I noticed all the differences. His mane was a shade darker, his muzzle was longer, his face was thinner, and he was smaller. I suddenly realized whenever I had looked at Estana, I had just seen Simba, but now I saw him as the lion he really was.

"You're right. I just feel so much pressure," I said.

"Nala, you are a great leader. In all my years, I have never seen anybody take charge like you, or be as cool and collected in emergency situations. Your pride loves you," He assured me.

I couldn't help but smile. I felt warmth flood my cheeks. I glanced up and spotted something that made my heart do a little summersault. Water.

"Look!" I exclaimed.

Estana glanced to his right and spotted it too. His eyes lit up and he immediately started heading towards it.

"Wait! We need to get back and tell the pride first. They are all just as thirsty," I stopped him.

"Nala, you're too selfless. You need your strength, and we should cheek and make sure everything is safe," He reasoned.

I sighed giving in. He was right. When we reached the watering hole, I bent down and lapped at the surface greedily. I let the cool water wash over my senses for a moment, before drinking some more. That's when I heard the roar.

I whipped my head up to see a big orange cat. A tiger. I immediately bared my teeth and growled. Estana tensed and his back arched. The Tiger stared at us for a moment, and then ran towards us.

"Let me handle this," I growled at Estana with a tone that said don't-try-to-stop-me.

I broke into a sprint, feeling my tense muscles loosening up. The wind whipped my fur and it felt oh so good. Every emotion was suddenly pouring out of me and I wanted to fight so badly. We meet in mid-air and I slammed him into the ground. The tiger let out a small moan of pain as his back collided with the ground. He slashed at me aggressively and I could feel blood matting my shoulder. I winced and then raked my claws across his face. The tiger let out a horrible wail, and threw me off him. I hunched low to the ground, every muscle in my body ready to spring into motion. We circled each other for a moment before he leapt at me. Bad move. I dodged to the right and was on top of him. I scratched and bit at every piece of flesh I could. I heard the tiger roar in pain. I barely felt as he struck me back, a blind rage overwhelming me.

And then he went limp. I raised my claws, ready to strike again, when I stopped. I had won; there was no reason for any more bloodshed. I slowly lowered my paw and stepped away from the tiger. Estana ran over to my side.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, he should be the one you're worrying about," I nodded at the tiger.

He chuckled, "Nala, you are something else."

I gave him a wry grin and padded over to the water hole tiredly. Oh how I loved water. After I had enough, we left. The silence no longer seemed awkward or out of place. We were both just tired and were ready to sleep. We decided it was only fair to run back to the pride. It felt good running too in a way. It just gave me time to think.

"Did you find one?" Jabari asked enthusiastically.

"We did," I smiled at the cub.

She let out a cute holler and did a little dance. I laughed. It felt so good to laugh, even better than drinking the water. I beckoned for all the lions to follow me as I lead the way to the water hole. Everyone was overjoyed at the sight of water. The sun had started to set, and it was cooling off. There was a cluster of trees nearby that we could sleep under. I waited for everyone to finish their drinks, and then wearily walked over to the trees.

The pride followed me, probably equally as exhausted. We huddled around each other and lay down. Estana just happened to lie down next to me. I found myself smiling at him.

"You were amazing today, you know," He whispered.

"The tiger wasn't even that big," I rolled my eyes.

"You escaped with barely any scratches. That's pretty impressive,"

I shrugged, "Yeah I guess you're right. I was pretty amazing."

He laughed. I chuckled too and laid my head in my paws. I was so tired. My eyes began to close and my mind wanders. The pride was safe. I had successfully lead them to water. For now, nobody knew where we were and the threat of Zira was distant. But one day I would have to face her. I recalled Rafiki's words. He had said killing her wouldn't solve anything. It would get me my home back, but it might come back to bite me in the butt. I sighed, feeling overwhelmed. Zira would never leave the pride lands, I was sure of it. She would probably rather die. And sharing the pride lands with her was way out of the picture. I would never live and rule alongside with my husband's murderer.

What would I do then? How could I possibly solve this? My eyes settled on the small shape of Silvius. He was my hope. He was going to save the clan. Not me. Him. It was weird to think about the tiny cub one day growing up in a big, strong lion that would save the clan.

I closed my eyes. Sleep crept into the corners of my mind. And for once, I didn't have any nightmares.

I was wondering if anybody had any lions they wanted put in the pride? Just review what they look like, age, personality, and things like that. I'll be sure to add them in my story! Thanks!