Chapter 9

The sun had just risen when Simba rose from his sleep; the exiled prince stole a glance over toward his sleeping friend that was sprayed out on her side beside him. Yawning, Simba stretched his tired body to try and wake himself up fully, and shook his head to move his mane out from his eyes. Grinning the young lion padded his way toward the tanned lioness that had taken him in, and rubbed his head against hers, "Morning."

Zakia chuckled and smiled softly, "Morning Simba," she returned the greeting. Raising her paw, she wet it and groomed Simba's mane into place, "There now, don't you look handsome dear. Now why are you up so early?" she asked. Normally she was always the first in the cave to rise, followed by her daughter whom she left to wake a usually snoring Simba. "The sun is barely above the trees." Zakia turned her head to gaze at the moving light from the sun across the ground that moved inch by inch as the sun peeked over the treetops.

Simba's ears pressed against his head, he remembered why he had awoken early, and what he had dreamt about the night before. He dreamt he was back at Pride Rock, that nothing had ever happened, his father was alive and he was with his family and his friend...Nala. He barely thought of her over the last few months. When he was with her in his dream, they were rolling about wrestling like they would do as cubs, when she pinned him, however when Simba gazed up it wasn't into the face of his once childhood friend but instead it was the face of a young brown lioness who befriended and he grew with. That was when he woke.

Zakia watched the emotions play across his face, and placed her paw on his said "You do not need to tell me my boy." Licking his cheek she rubbed her head against his and smiled, over the time he had been with them she began to think of him more and more as a son she never had the chance to raise. Turning, she made her way out of the den and toward the river for her morning drink.

Eyes following her, Simba rolled his shoulders and sighed as he tried to forget what he had dreamt about that night. He looked toward Zuri who was beginning to stir as light filled the cave. "Hey there sleepy head!"

Groaning slightly, Zuri stretched and raised her head and stared at him confused, "Simba, you're up, what a surprise!" Jumping to her paws she made her way over to him. Sitting down she gave a wide yawn, looking outside the cave she watched as much of the Pride was beginning to wake and leave their own dens, many to just find a place to relax with what was left over from the other day's hunt, many going to the river to drink.

"Well, couldn't let you find me snoring again, now could I?" Simba joked poking her with his paw, "You never let me forget it the last time!"

"Yes well you were snoring like a hippo. What else could I have done but laugh at you for it?" Zuri grinned and smacked his paw away from her playfully. "So are you patrolling the territory with Jaali again today?" she asked turning her gaze away from the mouth of the cave to the lion sitting beside her.

Simba groaned and nodded, "Yes sadly, it was the responsibility Mansa gave us both. He's had us on double since those leopards brothers had tried to move into our lands; the minor migration of animals into the territory is attracting more predators. No need for them to steal our food!" He winked and stepped around her and began padding his way out of the den, however he stopped and thought for a moment. "Hey why not come with us? The party isn't going out to hunt again today are they?"

Zuri shook her head, "No, Leta decided to let us rest there is still some meat left over from the other day for us to feast upon," she responded. Jumping to her paws she pounced over to him and with a graceful leap, leapt right over him. "And I would love to join you, better then staying around boring old lionesses all day that do nothing but lounge about. Now come on, last one to meet up with Jaali has to kiss a warthog!" She laughed over her shoulder taking an advantage to get ahead of him. Grinning, Simba took after her.

Grumbling the red mane lion sat sulking; of course Zuri had beaten him to the main cave, and was taking much joy in hopping around him, chanting as loud as she could "Simba has to kiss a warthog! Simba has to kiss a warthog!" At the top of her lungs over and over.

Walking over, Jaali punched Simba with his paw in the arm, "You of all lions should know better then to race her by now," reaching out he grabbed Zuri by the tail causing the lioness to let out a loud shrieking hiss as she spun around her claws nearly hitting Jaali in the nose.

"What was that for!?" she roared at him.

"Enough with embarrassing the poor lion!" Jaali grinned and nudged his cousin's head with his own looking down into her eyes. "After all, keep up like that and he may shy out of kissing that warthog!" Stepping around Zuri Jaali began his way toward the closest path that would lead them out from the Grove. Simba and Zuri fell in step behind him, Zuri licking Simba on the cheek, "Don't worry Simba I'm sure we won't find any warthogs for you to kiss."

"Thanks that makes me feel so much better!" Sarcasm dripped from Simba's every word as he walked in pace with her. Laughing together, the two picked up pace to keep up with Jaali.

"This is boring! Can we go pack yet?" Zuri whined, she had long since fallen behind the boys. Her paws ached, due to the thorn bush that Jaali had mistakenly forgotten to tell her about that had grown on that path, seeing she wasn't getting any response she picked up pace until she was beside Simba once more.

"Doesn't anything exciting ever happen?" she asked turning her head toward Simba who in return looked toward her. He shrugged his shoulders, "Not really, we occasionally see the leopards and that on the other side of the boundary lines but they haven't been foolish enough to cross since Mansa killed that last one but we still have to patrol." Turning to face the front once more he added, "And it's not that boring, there's some good game we can kill out here if we ever get hungry."

Zuri snorted in amusement "You two hunt? I like to see that, I swear if you two and Mansa didn't have us lionesses you three would starve to death!"

"Hey, I too can hunt!" Simba protested, stopping he turned to face her, "After all your mother did teach us both!"

Zuri rolled her eyes, "Fine, but I still say you three are lazy when it comes to the hunting department." Stepping around him she quickened her steps to walk along side Jaali, listening as Simba huffed and caught up with them seconds later. Jaali chuckled and grinned at the two of them, "Sheesh you two bicker like old mates!" he ducked his head when both of them swiped at him. "What you do, heck you two bicker like my parents," he chuckled as they both growled and glared ahead of them refusing to meet the prince's eyes or each other's eyes.

Grinning, the Rasheda prince picked up his pace when they began to reach the river that separated a part of the Rasheda Territory. The one they had unmistakably crossed when they were cubs. He stopped however when he noticed Zuri was no longer beside him but instead was creeping toward the river bank keeping low to the ground. "Zuri what are you doing?" he hissed, as he and Simba paced over to her, only to find themselves low to the ground when Zuri's paws pressed their heads down.

"Shh, I smell fresh food!" Zuri smiled wickedly as she put her self in the paws of the huntress within her. Staying low, she crawled along her belly, poking her nose between the tall grass that separated the bank and the trees. Her eyes swept the river bank until she spotted what she was looking for, her eyes seized up the warthog and meerkat that was digging around the river bank picking and eating whatever bugs they could find.

"Well look Simba, it's your lucky day, you get to kiss a warthog after all!" Jaali mused beside her. Zuri had to resist from laughing, when Simba beside her began to gag, "Yuck!"

Scraping her claws along the ground, she shifted her shoulders and braced her body, "Meals on boys!" She smiled and like a spring being released she was off. With a fierce growl, she leapt over the bushes and bounded down the river bank, but her growl had alerted her prey who with a cry began to run in circles before they took off down the bank. Behind her Jaali and Simba jumped from the bushes and joined the chase.

The three laughed as they ran down the river bank chasing after their prey that began rounding the next bend. "We got them cornered!" Zuri laughed as they rounded the corner and stopped when they saw their prey trying to climb the rocky side. They stopped however when they found themselves trapped, the Meerkat placing himself in front of the warthog arms outstretched on either side of him as if trying to shield the warthog.

Simba raised an eyebrow in question, "What's a meerkat doing all the way out here?" He couldn't remember the last time he had actually seen a meerkat but he knew they didn't often lurk this far from the savannahs much less alone with only a warthog.

Zuri shrugged, "What does it matter, its going to be our next meal!" she stepped forward with the boys in step along side her as they paced toward their prey. "What should we start with? The warthog or the meerkat?" she asked with a smirk. The three however stopped their advance when the Meerkat threw himself down on his knees and began crawling toward them with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Please have mercy on us!" he pleaded, the warthog following his lead.

Jaali raised an eyebrow, and snorted in laughter, "That's a first! I never heard food beg not to be eaten!" He licked his chops and looked down at the meerkat his nose mere inches from his face. "You should be glad, not many get the chance to be dined upon by a prince!" he pulled his head back however when the Meerkat burst out in streams of hysterics.

"Please...you can't eat us...we're so...gamy...we wouldn't taste good...ever had meerkat..." he licked his fur and made a face, "Yuck!"

The three stopped and stared down at the two and burst out in fits of laughter, Simba shook his head as the three of them sat down and stared at the two in front of them.

Reaching out, Simba poked the meerkat, "We may consider not eating you if you stop. It's just pathetic to watch an animal beg!"

Zuri cocked her head to the side and grinned down at the two, "You are a fit of laughs!" leaning her head down she smirked as the meerkat scurried away from her and jumped to his feet and held up his fists, "Stay back or else…or else I'll fight you!"

Zuri's head snapped back letting out a loud laugh, "Oh now he wants to fight us!" she cracked her claws in front of the meerkat. "Okay lets fight little meerkat!" her claws gleamed as the meerkat who almost seemed faint at the sight of them. Chuckling she turned her gaze toward the warthog who had his back to them now cowardly into the cliff side his hooves over his head.

Cracking his neck, Jaali stood, "Alright playtimes over, lets just eat them already!" He moved toward the warthog when he suddenly stopped in his path. Sniffing the air, his face scrunched up, gagging the Prince turned and ran back the way they came.

"Huh? Jaali!" Simba and Zuri called after him, but the both of them soon had to hold their breaths as a rotten smell filled their noses. Turning the two of them took after their friend and cousin, the three young lions stopped when they could finally get fresh air and collapsed on their stomachs, "Oh by the Kings what was that!?" Simba hollered his paws over his nose. "It won't go away!"

Zuri crawled toward the river and stuck her head in the water for a good few seconds then came back up for air gasping. Sighing in relief when she could smell properly again, she looked back in the direction they left the meerkat and warthog. "I think that smell came from that...warthog," she gagged and walked over to the others again and sat down rubbing her nose.

"I'm not going back there, that smell could shed the fur off us!" Jaali took in deep breaths of clean air and pushed himself onto his paws. Simba being the last to stand.

"I second that motion!" Simba raised his paw, shaking his head to clear his mind. "Lets just go back to the Pride and find something else to eat. I don't think I ever want to eat warthog again after today." He stumbled past Zuri as he and Jaali began making their way back toward the Grove. Laughing, Zuri looked back toward the direction they had come from then hurried after the two boys calling for them to wait up.

"Are they gone Timon?"

Timon, the meerkat, peeked around the corner, watching the three lions take off into the Jungle. He swallowed and nodded, "Yes Pumbaa, they are..." he smirked and laughed and jumped onto the warthog and patted his head, "Good job Pumbaa! Talk about your wins of war!" Grabbing a hold his ears he pointed, "Now let us find some more grub!" Timon pointed in another direction that would lead them away from the way the lions had gone.