"Hey, Nala," I replied to the lioness.
"Hey, you're finally out of the cave!" She exclaimed.
"Yep!" I said. "Mother and I went to talk to Scar this morning. I think it went okay-ish."
Nala smiled. "That's great!" She said. "Now that you are out, I can show you where the girls and I hang out. We can't leave Priderock, but this area is where the hyenas don't generally hang out. That's the best you could hope for now."
"Okay," I said.
Nala set off to the back of Priderock. Following her, we came to a small clearing where two lionesses, about Nala's age, where engaged in a rather rough combat. I had never met them before. They must have belonged to the second group of the pride that lived on the other side of Priderock. Sometimes, a few adults would visit, but they would not let the juveniles to go.
"Tama! Kula!" Called Nala.
The lionesses stopped their activity to look up at her.
"Oh, hey Nala," said one. "What's up?"
"Everyone, this is Shani," Nala introduced me.
"Hey, Shani!" Said the other.
"Shani? As in...?"
Nala nodded.
"Shani, I want you to meet Tama," Nala gestured to the first lioness, "And Kula," gesturing to the second.
Tama was a pale lioness with orange eyes and Kula was a dark-brown lioness with dark-brown eyes. Either way, they looked friendly as they smiled warmly at me.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Shani," said Kula. I smiled, liking her already. "Want to join us?"
"Oh, yes!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.
Soon, Kula and I were chasing each other around the small area. Even though I was way smaller than her, Kula would let me pin her, while Nala and Tama lay on the ground watching us.
"Wow," Tama said to Nala, watching me closely. "She looks a lot like... "
Nala looked away and stared at the ground. Tama, noticing her reaction, didn't continue her sentence.
At that point, I was already getting exhausted. I wasn't used to using that amount of energy. I approached Nala and Tama and lay down next to them. The two lionesses smiled at me.
"Had fun, kid?" Asked Tama.
"It's definitely better than being in that stupid cave," I replied.
Before long, Tama, Kula and I were deep in conversation. I enjoyed the new company. Tama was blunt and forthright, saying whatever was on her mind, and Kula was calm and gentle, making everyone around her feel at ease.
As the conversation continued to flow, I noticed that Nala was not following. Her mind seemed elsewhere and her teal eyes had a distant look. I wondered what it was that was bothering her.
The sun was beginning to set when Sarafina came to where we were.
"It's getting late," she said. "Tama and Kula, you too had better get home. Come on Nala and Shani."
After saying goodbye to Tama and Kula, Nala and I followed Sarafina back to the cave. I noticed that Nala still had the faraway look in her eyes.
"So," Sarafina said. "Did you have fun? It's probably nicer now that you are out and about."
"Oh, yes it is!" I exclaimed. "It was so boring in that stupid little hole."
"Yes," She agreed. "A growing cub like you needs fresh air and exercise."
"And proper food too..." she mumbled, thinking I hadn't heard her. But it didn't matter. I knew of the tough situation, I wasn't stupid enough to think that everything was the way it should be. But I never complained about it. It would only upset mother and she was already going through such a hard time.
We arrived back at the cave and entered it, ignoring the hyenas at the entrance.
Mother was laying in a corner. Upon seeing her, I rushed over to her and snuggled underneath her paw.
"Hi, mother," I greeted her.
"Hi, Shani. Had a good time with Nala?"
"Yeah," I answered. "We met up with two girls from the other group, Kula and Tama. They were really nice."
Mother smiled. "Glad to hear it. I bet you are wiped out."
"A little," I said with a yawn.
Mother tucked me into her chest and I curled up in the warmth her body provided me.
"Good night, Shani" mother said.
"Good night, mother," I replied before falling asleep.
But, before my eyes closed, I noticed Nala was laying at the entrance of the cave, not looking at least like she had the intention of sleeping.
Then I was asleep.
So, here it is, chapter 3.
My aim is to update weekly.
I apologise for the rather bad writing, but I am having a bit of writer's block. I do hope that you are all enjoying it, though.
This story will probably have about 7 chapters, then a short story, and then onto a new story.
I'm considering making a sequel to this if it does well, but my next story is a "what if?" story that I hope you enjoy.
Next chapter will probably arrive sometime next week, where we will be introduced to a certain evil lioness and we will look into the reason behind Nala's sadness.
Won't be saying more, but I hope you will enjoy the story. Btw, this will remain within TLK canon, as well as my version of SP.