A/N: I'm TERRIBLY sorry about the delay, but the usual routine gets in the way: school, musical practice, four stories at once, school, four stories, musical practice, four stories, did I mention four separate stories? Anyway, I tried my best with this chapter, hope you like it.

Phantomfreak07

Chapter 13 – Companions on the Journey

Nala spent the evening hunting in the company of the rogue clan. She was surprised by how well fed they looked; she had always heard that rouges were scrawny, and their prides were all contaminated with rabies. This was certainly not true of Ramenai's tribe. They were better groomed than the Pridelanders!

Ramenai had agreed to escort her to the edge of the desert, assuring her it wouldn't take more than a few days. "Our kin have lived here for years," he boasted. "We could find a rabbit with our eyes closed."

Nala laughed. "That's because you use your nose!"

He grinned. "Of course. Finally, someone sharper than the rest."

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"No one understands when I say that. They don't get it."

Nala snorted. "Wow."

"So… what's Simba like?"

Nala shivered at the memories. "He was so confident… he couldn't wait to be king. He rescued me from a group of hyenas when we were only cubs. And then… he was gone."

Ramenai blinked sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Nala tossed her head, as if brushing it off. "It's alright. I'm over it."

But he had seen the tears in her eyes. "No, you're not." He stepped closer to comfort her. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know."

She turned away, her voice like ice. "Yes. I do."

"Why won't you let me help you?" he growled, upset by her persistence in being left alone.

"I learned years ago not to trust anyone. Scar… our leader… he killed my mother because she didn't want to be his mate."

Ramenai hissed angrily. "I never heard of a lion, a leader much less, sinking so low."

She snorted contemptuously. "Well, believe it. We'd better be going, this place definitely isn't fit for our pride to live in."

Ramenai sighed, but flicked his tail toward the pride nonetheless.

"Let's go!"

One of the younger males sauntered up, eyeing Nala with pure lust that he didn't bother to conceal. "Why should we keep moving? We could do with a reprieve."

He purred the word, and Ramenai snarled in protest.

"I know what you're on about, Zanat, and the answer is no."

The young lion licked his muzzle. "What's wrong with one –"

Ramenai leapt to his feet. "I said NO!"

Zanat cowered. "Okay, okay, I was just—"

"I know what you were just," the leader growled. "And let me tell you, if you tried she would have you down in less than ten seconds."

Nala shot Zanat a 'don't mess with me' look and he took off. "Yessir, Ramenai. Sorry to be making trouble."

Nala purred with quiet laughter. "There's one in every family, I take it?"

Ramenai rolled his eyes. "Of course."

If they were making progress across the sand, Nala couldn't tell. Everywhere she looked was the same.

"How do you find your way when everything's alike?" she asked, striding up to match Ramenai's pace.

"Scents… wind direction… that sort of thing."

By the second day, Nala found herself meandering along in a complete daze, utterly bored with the redundant landscape. Therefore, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Zanat spoke from beside her.

"So, what are the Pridelands like?"

Nala snarled in fright. "Where did you come from?"

He smirked. "I've been here the entire time. So?"

She exhaled slowly. "Well, before the hyenas took over it was the most beautiful place you could imagine. The trees were all green, there were antelopes, elephants, zebras, giraffes, gazelles, cheetahs, wildebeest –"

"Plenty of prey, it sounds like."

"And we all lived just fine. But then, they came. And it rained the night Scar took over… one last time. It hasn't rained since. The land is dry, more barren than this desert. The water hole evaporated, splitting an enormous crevice through the land, and all the other animals have pretty much disappeared. The grass is so hard it pokes into you, and if a fire started then all would be lost. Then again," she glanced wistfully at the swirling sand, "there's not a lot to lose anyway."

Zanat purred sympathetically. "Sounds rough."

She nodded. "So I came out here to find a new place to live; I'm hoping there's something beyond all this sand."

He grinned. "Your hope's right."

She blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"There's an oasis just east of here; that's where we're going. It's all green, you'd like it."

"Does it have water, then?"

He laughed. "Of course! We drop by every once in a while if prey gets too scarce for us. It's not that often, mind you. We usually wander around from place to place."

"Is your life hard?"

"I used to think so, when I was a cub. It seemed to me like there was never enough prey; it was only a few rabbits or whatever else was around. But your stomach develops after a few years, so you don't need to eat as much as a normal lion would. I would never be able to stomach a gazelle in one meal."

Nala was surprised. "Really? They're the smallest we have."

He shrugged. "See what I mean? It would take me at least a week to get through all that. An elephant would rot before we could finish it."

Nala suddenly lifted her head and sniffed the air.

"Something wrong?" Zanat asked.

"No… come on!" She darted forward, racing ahead of the rest of the pride.

"Where are you going?" he called, chasing after her.

"Can't you smell that?"

"What?"

He was able to tackle her as the others hurried behind them.

"Nala, what is it?" Ramenai cocked his head, also sniffing.

"I smell the gourd juice… we're almost there!" she exclaimed.

"Nala, there aren't any gourds around," said Zanat gently. "It's the desert's mirages. You're inside your head again; there's nothing here."

She gave him a hard look. "Are you sure? I swear, it was there… like I'd never left home."

"Sorry Nala," Ramenai said. "We should sleep now, though. Conserving energy is one of the first things you learn after you're out here for a day or so."

As she laid down to sleep, Nala smiled at the fact that she had made these new friends. They made traveling an adventure instead of a trial, and for that she was glad.

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sigh 'There's one in every family, sire.' That was a good line. Also: 'Whenever he gets dirty, you can take him out and beat him.' And:

'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts… there they are all standing in a row, big ones, small ones, some as big as your HEAD!'

Oooh, good times. My girls in math know what I'm talking about (if they ever read this) ROCK ON!

Hope you liked it, now go press the button and tell me what to do. Thankies!