Chapter nine.. yay. Keeping it short again. Also: Thanks for not flaming me (so far. o.o;) about the sad chapter.. I would've flamed me if I were you.. but that's just me. heheh.. onto the story...

A blood red sun rose slowly in a sapphire sky, slowly turning the dark sky a light blue. In a small den in the outlands held the small and powerful Liba Pride. An extremely dark brown cub, almost black, woke up in the warm sun first. His yellow-red eyes shut tightly as he winced at the sun's brightness. "Ugh.." He groaned and hopped out of the den and stretched his dark body out, ".. morning already." He smirked and latched his teeth lightly on his little brother's ear and tugged gently. "C'mon Qua.. wake up.."

The lighter brown cub clawed at Boteshu, missing horribly and opened his eyes sleepily, "Boteshu.. I was sleeping.." He winced at the light and held a paw over his eyes. "Why didn't you wake Gunab or Ibzimai up?"

"I don't know.." He shrugged and smirked. Qua shook his head and jumped over his sister and Gunab, into the sunlight and smiled in the heat.

The large white lion came jumping from a rock down to the two cubs, and landed right in front of them. "What are you two doing up so early?" He chuckled the green, vertical stripes on his eyes glistening in the sun.

"This isn't early!" Boteshu smirked and clawed at Boniko, "It's perfect. You all just sleep in too much. I like to play!" He smirked again.

"You're just like Obassi when he was a cub." Azazsi said, strutting out of the den with a toothy smile and she licked both Boteshu and Qua's foreheads.

Boteshu backed away from his Mom, "Hey! Don't do that..!" He laughed and rubbed the fur on his head back down with his claws. Azazsi chuckled at Boteshu and shook her head. "You really are like him. Obassi freaks out if anyone messes up him mane.."

".. Except for you." Boniko smirked at Azazsi and nipped at her, playfully.

Gunab wandered out of the den and looked at them all oddly, then shook his head, waking up more, "Shouldn't I be going home sometime soon?" He chuckled weakly, lowering his ears.

Obassi chuckled, standing right behind Gunab, "Actually.. I talked to your dad yesterday after you went to play with Boteshu, Qua, and Ibzimai, and he said you can stay here as long as you want." He lied, and smirked to himself. Azazsi rubbed up against Obassi playfully and smiled at him.

The chocolate-brown lion smiled and his ears perked back up, happily, "Yay!" He smirked and jumped on Boteshu, starting a play fight. Boteshu growled and easily pinned the smaller lion cub with a smirk.

"You do know that we haven't chosen an heir yet.." Azazsi reminded them with a sly smirk.

Obassi looked at her oddly, "Hmm ... one of the boys.." He chuckled and looked at Ibzimai as she slowly staggered out of the den and yawned lightly. Azazsi smiled at the light brown cub and licked her on the forehead. Ibzimai just smiled and chuckled a bit, her shy nature already showing.

Gunab tilted his head at Ibzimai, blushing a bit under his fur at her, "Why are you so quiet?" He chuckled quietly.

"I don't know.." She said quietly, smiling sweetly at Gunab. Boteshu rolled his eyes and made kissy noises, causing Qua to go into a laughing fit. Gunab glared at Boteshu and Qua, blushing even more, and Ibzimai closed her eyes and shook her head at her older brothers, "You two are crazy.."

"We are?" Qua swaggered over to his sister, drunken-like, and laughed maniacally. Ibzimai jumped back and swatted at his face, cutting off one of his whiskers with her sharp claws and growled.

"Don't you dare do that to me again, or I won't miss." She growled again and smirked.

Azazsi chuckled and picked Ibzimai up in her mouth and moved her by Obassi, "Don't you be cutting Qua's whiskers off." She smirked and turned to Qua, "No pretending that you're a crazy rouge ... even if it is true." She laughed

"Hey!" He glared at his Mom and pounced on one of her front paws. Azazsi just laughed and licked his nose, causing Qua to go into an odd fit, rubbing his nose as it twitched.

"Alright, Mom..." she said obediently, sinking her head to her paws, her ears laid flat.

Obassi chuckled and lifted his daughter up, back to her feet, "Don't just sink down when someone scolds you, Ibzimai. You need to stand up for yourself sometime."

Ibzimai looked up at Obassi and sighed, shaking her head slowly, "I'm not like that, though.."

"..Because you're weak!" Boteshu laughed at his little sister.

Gunab growled and gave Boteshu a nice set of scratches across his shoulder, "Don't be mean to Ibzimai!" He glared at Boteshu and growled, but quickly changed back to his playful self and bounded over to Ibzimai and licked her nose like Azazsi did to Qua.

"Hey!" The light brown cub laughed and rubbed her nose and jumped on Gunab playfully.

Qua looked up into the sky and pointed a paw out at a fire-colored hornbill, flying down to the pride, "Azia's back!" He smiled at the bird and reared up, pouncing on her when she was close enough.

"I SAY!" Azia squawked and flew free of Qua, losing a few red feathers on her way and landing on Boniko's head, "Haven't you taught these children any manners, Obassi?" She looked at the cubs and pointed out Gunab, "Who's cub is this?"

"Yes, I have," He growled at Azia, "and the cub is Gunab, a visitor from the Pridelands." He chuckled through a smirk.

"The Pridelands!" She almost fell off Boniko's head, "You mean you brought the Prince here?"

Gunab tilted his head at Azia, "A Prince?.. I don't think so.. I am crowned as the heir, but I don't want to be king..."

"'Don't want to be king?'" Boniko stared at the little cub, "Why on Earth not?"

Gunab tilted his head, sitting in front of the older lions, "Well, yesterday, I was talking to my grandfather, and he told me that not all lion prides can get along. Some lion in prides can't even get along! I don't want to rule over something like that..."

"Your grandfather? Isn't that former King Simba?" Obassi looked down at the small cub in question.

The cub nodded, "Yeah.. on Mom's side. I don't know anything about Dad's. He doesn't talk about his family that much. The only other family I know on his side is Aunt Vitani."

Azazsi looked oddly at Obassi when he spoke, "I know about Kovu's side. It's not the best of families, that's for sure." He smirked, leading the cub away from the others as they continued to talk and play.

Gunab looked up oddly at Obassi, "How do you know about his side?" He swiped at a small rock, sending it a few feet away.

Obassi chuckled and shook his head at the cub, "I'm your dad's half brother.. kind of. Although he may not even remember me. Boniko and I were exiled from our pride when I was a cub because of your dad."

"What'd my dad do to get you exiled?!" Gunab stared at Obassi in disbelief, his ears pinned flat on his head. "You don't seem like anyone who'd do anything to get exiled!"

"Well," Obassi thought for a moment then smirked to himself so that Gunab didn't notice. 'What if I told him something horrible about his dad when he was a cub...' He chuckled and looked down at Gunab, another idea forming, "Your Dad was a vicious cub. He picked on all of us until we bled. Since he was your Grandfather's favorite, he got away with it."

The little, chocolate-brown cub stared at him, "My Dad was that mean? I don't believe that!" He shook his head.

"Oh, but it's true. So when Boniko and I got fed up with it, we fought back and gave him that scar across his eye, and because we did that to the 'chosen one,' we got exiled."

Gunab thought for a moment, ".. So that's why he doesn't talk about how he got that scar.. I've asked him about it before. He just said I was too young for him to tell me."

Obassi chuckled at the small cub, then sighed, "So since then, we've been living in these dreadful Outlands. We have little food and less water.. and it's all my brother's fault."

"But..." Gunab looked up at him, thinking, "Why don't you just come join our pride..? I mean.. if you want.."

"Gunab, Gunab, Gunab.." Obassi chuckled and pulled the cub close to him, "Your dad would probably kill me and the rest of my pride if we even sit foot in the Pridelands."

"But why?! I don't get it! Why can't the prides get along?" Gunab growled and swatted at a pebble in front of him.

The dark king gazed down at the prince, "I don't know.. why don't you ask your father that? You should be getting back to the Pridelands soon..."

Gunab sighed heavily, lowering his ears, "I don't want to go back right now.." He glanced out in the distance at Pride Rock and sighed. "Can't I stay here just a little longer..?"

Obassi smiled, but inwardly smirked at the small cub, "Gunab, you can stay here as long as you want. I'll just have Azia talk to your dad."

"Alright!" Gunab grinned, "It's really fun here.. there aren't any other cubs in our pride right now.."

"I've noticed that you've had your eye on Ibzimai.." Obassi smirked, changing the subject, "..she seems fond of you as well."

Gunab blushed under his fur and chuckled nervously, "No!..Of course not! She's my friend.."

The older one laughed and shook his head and began heading back to the rest of the pride. Obassi chuckled and shook his head at them as they watched Boteshu and Qua fight over a bone, then looked up at Azia, "Azia? Could you to Pride Rock to see if our young friend can stay longer?" He smirked so that Gunab couldn't see.

Azia looked at Obassi oddly then caught on, "Oh! Alright.." She jumped off Boniko's head and flew to Pride Rock, but only circled it quickly a few times before coming back and saying Gunab could stay.

"Your Dad didn't say when he wanted you back, either." Azia smirked."

"So I could stay here for a while!" Gunab smiled up at Azia who was perched on Boniko's head again.

Umaimai chuckled and walked up behind Boniko, nuzzling against him and looking at Gunab, "I guess you'll want something to eat then, won't you?"

Obassi looked up as Gunab nodded, "A successful hunt?" Umaimai and Dekala nodded happily and the Liba Pride cubs cheered happily as they followed Umaimai and Dekala to the small wildebeest kill and ate happily.

Gunab looked at the kill oddly, then back up to the older lions, "That's so small.. is that all that's out here?"

"That's what happens when you live out in the Outlands, kid." Dekala chuckled and shook her head, "Very little food, very little water."

Gunab thought about that for a while and ate very little of the wildebeest to leave some for the rest of the Liba Pride, wondering why they couldn't join the Pridelands and have more food and water. But he soon put aside the thought to continue the day with the pride, still not knowing what had happened in the Pridelands, and that one of his newest friends, Obassi, had killed his own mother.

So how long until little Gunab realizes that his well.. pretty much idol.. killed Kiara? Hmm. who knows. And what is Obassi planning-having Gunab there for so long? Who knows? Not me.. I'm just the writer! HAHA! o.O; anyway. C'ya next chapter.