Hi! I hope you liked the last chapter. Also, I don't exactly own Moyo. In a way I do, but you will see in the next chapter what I mean. And, I want to thank all of you that favorited, or followed this story. Means a lot.

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Carmen: You must read the books! You don't have to if you don't want to. You can probably find them on YouTube. That's where I read them. They're mostly about Kopa and the stories either his parents, or Rafiki tells him.


Chapter XII

Kovu walked out of the den and lay next to the rock he used to sleep by. Ni and Moyo didn't trust him because he was an Outsider. And that was what they were kinda talking about. Simba had decided it'd be best if he waited outside.

"This isn't fair," he muttered, "I could help out a lot more with this than those two strangers." He lay there as a million different thoughts raced through his head. Some were memories. The cool, gentle breeze seemed to make his eyes heavy. In a few seconds, he was knocked out.


(Some time ago)

"Try not to get distracted by anything, Kovu. We really need these kills," Vitani said.

Her younger brother sniffed. "When do I ever?" He knew his sister only wanted to boss him around a little. He didn't mind. After all, she was always on his side and did her best to make sure Zira's plan went smoothly just so he could be king one day.

Their mother had ordered them to go hunting in the Pridelands. The two of them each had to get a kill of their own to bring back to the Outlands. They would hunt that night, but had to find wake chases. They had to make sure not to go too far in. So, then, Vitani and her brother went their separate ways.

Kovu silently stalked his prey. An isolated wildebeest. A big one, too. What was it doing out alone, away from it's herd? He crept a little closer, staying low to the ground, hidden by the tall grass. He had to hurry a bit and get this over with. It was getting late. Well, it's not like any of the members of Simba's Pride would be hunting at this hour. Maybe.

As he got ready to leap, a lioness pounced on the creature before he got the chance to. The herbivore panicked and tried to throw her off. Kovu got a little bit annoyed….mad? He didn't have the time to find another kill. He muttered something about taking the wildebeest away from the lioness, but realized it was a mistake when the lioness look directly at him and growled.

Kovu had to admit, she was pretty good at her job. She had her prey dead in under twenty-five seconds. But, he still couldn't figure out why she was hunting so late. "Who's there?" she asked.

"That was my kill," Kovu growled as he walked out from the grass, but stayed in the shadows so she couldn't see his face even though it was already night. Which made it harder for her to see.

"It's mine now," she smirked.

"I saw it first." He sounded like a child, but he didn't care. He needed that wildebeest. Mostly because he didn't want Nuka to make fun of him. Partially so his mother wouldn't yell at him. She rarely did, though.

"I killed it first. You're not supposed to be here, Outsider. Or, outsider? Whomever you are."

"Just let me have the wildebeest and I'll leave. You can find another one."

"If you need one so badly, why not go find another one?" The lioness growled.

"You might warn your Pride in the middle of the fight," Kovu said.

"Now why would I do that?" He knew this lioness and almost didn't recognize her until that moment. She'd change a lot. The short, brown tuft that she had as a cub had grown and now covered most of the right side of her face. Her eyes matched the night sky. In the moonlight, it seemed like two different shades of blue, a dark violet, but still had the same silver flecks.

Kovu didn't have time for this. If he didn't get this now, he'd get in trouble. Not in big trouble, but trouble. The lioness sensed his feelings. She knew that look on his face. Even in the dark. It wasn't hard for her to see. She used to wear it a lot as a cub. A look of worry, sadness, impatientness, and mostly fear. "You know, maybe I can find something else to hunt." She gave him a small, quick smile, turned around and slowly walked away. Kovu almost didn't catch it.

That was the first time he saw her after Kopa's death.


Nyota exited the den to get Kovu. She walked up to him and gently nudged him with her paw. He slowly opened one eye and looked her, then opened the other and yawned. "Hey."

"Um, we're gonna all sleep. You can come inside now," she said.

"Okay. Give me a moment." He stretched a bit, extended his claws and clawed the solid ground. He stood up straight and smiled. "Okay. I'm good to go."

Nyota chuckled. "Don't wake up too fast. The night isn't over yet." She turned around and walked inside, Kovu trailing behind. They took their usual spots: Nyota slept in the far dark corner of the den to the left, Kovu slept all the way on the other side to the right, ten feet from the entrance.

Nyota lay on her left side, facing one of the walls of the den. As she slowly closed her eyes, she silently prayed to the Great Kings that the universe would be nice to her just for tonight, and not give her nightmares.


Nyota was wide awake in between her mother's paws, thinking about the Outsider cub she met days ago. Well, that was all she had been thinking about during her spare time. She hadn't seen him in the longest time. She had lived in the Pridelands for a while and had already started her training for when she became a hunter or a guard.

The cub slowly stepped out of her mother's paws and crept outside of the den. She looked back to see if anyone woke up. When she saw nothing, she ran down Pride Rock and headed for the Outlands. Nyota knew she wasn't supposed to be there, but she wanted to see her new friend again. Just in case anything bad were to happen.

The young lioness hesitated before she stepped over the border of the Pridelands and Outlands. She looked for the place Kovu described when they were playing one of their games. Nyota started to have second thoughts when she found it. She looked up at the termite mound and shuddered at the sight of it. Before she could sneak inside, the air was knocked right out of her. She realized someone had jumped her. Her eyes were shut tight when she felt her back hit the ground. When she opened them, her dark blue eyes met verdant ones.

"Do you want to get yourself killed?!" The Outsider cub whisper-yelled.

Nyota flinched. "Sorry. I wanted to see you again. You were kinda on my mind for the past couple of days. Couldn't help myself. It was one of those things you need to get over with, ya know? I missed you, Kovu."

Kovu got off of Nyota, and walked away with her. Getting her far from the termite mound. "Well, I have to admit, I missed you, too. But, you shouldn't be here. If I wasn't there, you'd be dead meat! But, I'm glad you came. I walked out because theses past few days have been boring and tiring. My mother is training me to…."

"To what?" Nyota raised an eyebrow.

"I, uh, to….protect you. Yeah. And, of course, to be a better hunter and stuff."

"Since when do I need protecting?"

"Uh, just a few minutes ago? Duh."

"Besides that? Didn't I save you from falling off that cliff three days after we were separated. And that one time with those hyenas and crocodiles near that one river later that day. And-"

"I get your point! Sheesh," Kovu said.

Nyota smirked. "Maybe I could help you with your training. Teach you some things, too."

"Pft. Yeah, right."

"Look, you seriously need help with your training. And, what would be the point in coming here anyway if I'll do nothing?"

"Well, I guess," Kovu decided.

"Great! Think of this as your first fighting lesson. Kind of. The only rule is 'Don't kill each other.' Start when you're-"

Kovu took action and leaped at Nyota. She saw this coming and when they made contact, she quickly put her paws in between his arms and pushed her elbows out, making his paws lose a grip on her. They stopped rolling and she used her upper body strength to pin him to the ground instead of the other way around. "Gotcha!" She grinned, then giggled.

Kovu stared at her in shock. "How'd you do that? It's never happened to me before when I used to play around with the other Outsider cubs."

"It's a trick I've seen the queen use. I had to pay really close attention. It's her special move, I guess you could say. At first, it was all a blur. Then I got used to watching her movements with her paws and stuff and saw what she did clearly."

"That's crash. Can you teach me?"

Nyota hesitated. "Well, I don't think so. It just came to me. But, maybe some other time?"

Her friend looked disappointed. "Fine. Let's fight some more. Oh, and is it okay if I call you 'Galaxy' every once in a while?"

Nyota raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Kopa already calls me that. I don't mind.."

"Because you eyes kinda remind of the night sky. Like, they're dark blue, but when you move around, they seem to gain more color:blue, violet, and I think teal. Also, the silvery flecks in your eyes look like stars." Nyota looked like she wasn't sure if that was a complement or something to offend her. Kovu saw this, then added quickly, "I-it's a good thing. In my opinion, your eyes look really awesome."

The female cub blinked. She then smiled. "Thanks! I guess you can call me Galaxy for now. That was actually the first good thing I was told about my eyes. Besides Kopa and Queen Nala. Thank you."

Kovu grinned. "You're welcome! Now," he gave her a devilish look, "back to the fighting."

~0~

After fifteen more fights, the young cubs got tired. "The sun will rise in about two hours. I better go," Nyota said.

Kovu looked like he wanted to complain, but sighed instead. "Okay. Will I see you later today or tomorrow?"

"Hate to say it, but I've also got training. I'm not as free as you Outsider cubs. I'll see you when I see you, Kovu."

"I'll see you soon, Nyota." They rubbed foreheads and went their separate ways.

The Pridelander hoped that "Soon" wouldn't be too far away.