A few hours later, Russell opened up his eyes, moved his body and slowly stood up on his feet and recovered to find himself inside an unfamiliar cave and when he turned to his left, he saw that Andy is lying unconscious next to him, and so Russell quickly placed his forepaws on the toddler male centaur's still unconscious body and then he said "Andy! Andy, wake up! Wake up!", and when Andy heard what Russell said, the toddler male centaur opened up his own eyes, moved his own body and slowly went into a sitting position on his horse haunches, which soon prompted Russell to sit down on his butt next to him as the two friends looked at each other in the eyes, and it seems like they're both so happy to see each other again since Oscar's herd's attack during the last night.
Then, Russell wrapped his right foreleg and forepaw around Andy's upper human back and said to him "It's nice to see you again and know that you're okay!", and then Andy said back as he then wrapped his arms around Russell's chest "It's so good to see that you're alive and okay too, Russell! I thought that you drowned in the river! We all thought that way after what that bad Deertaur said!", but then Russell said to him with a reassuring "Lucky for me, I managed to survive drowning in the river and I'm still alive and feeling well, although I still don't know how did you and I we both ended up here in this unfamiliar cave.", and when Andy heard what he said, the toddler male centaur said back to him "I don't know how did we both ended up here either, but luckily for us, we're both safe and sound and we're also together once again!", and with these words being said, the red leopard and the toddler male centaur shared a two friends hug, as both of them were happy to still have each other, despite they lost all the others (including Zoey), who are now hostages of Oscar and of his bad Deertaurs herd.
Then, when the two friends broke their hug, Andy looked behind Russell and saw a piece of red meat and flesh that looks good enough for the red leopard to eat, and so he said to Russell "Russell, look behind you!", and when Russell heard what he said, he asked him "What is it, Andy?", and once he turned around and then looked down, he saw the piece of red meat and flesh lying right in front of him, and so it made Russell feel hungry as he then started licking his lips before he said "Red meat!" and then he added "It reminds me that I haven't eaten anything for a while!", and then he quickly went up to the piece of red meat and flesh and then he said as he was about to eat it "Bon Appetit!", and with these words being said, Russell started eating the piece of red meat and flesh which lied down at his feet, thus finally eating something else since the jackal which he killed and then ate a few days ago.
However, once he finished eating the piece of red meat and flesh, Russell suddenly heard the growls and snarls of another leopard, and because the sounds were so loud to his ears, Russell knew instantly that there's another leopard from his own kind inside the same cave where he and Andy are (but of course, not with the same extremely rare mutation which only he (Russell himself) have), and that therefore the other leopard must be very close nearby, and just then, a medium-sized adult female leopard (with a normal fur mutation) came out of the shadows of the cave and then she jumped and pounced on Russell and pinned him to the floor upside down on his back, and then she angrily spoke up and asked him "Who are you, red leopard? What are you doing here in my leap's cave?".
When Russell heard what she just said, she said back to the female leopard "Well, I'm Russell, and you should know that I'm the only red leopard around here and maybe the only red leopard who actually exists in this entire world (Equestria), but don't worry, because I mean you and your leap no harm, and I also want to thank you for not only saving me and bringing me here, but also for sparing Andy and for choosing to bring him here too, and for last but not least, I also want to thank you for bringing me that piece of red meat so I can eat, because I haven't eaten much meat since that jackal which I killed and ate a few days ago.", and then he added and asked with a friendly smile as he kept looking up at the female leopard who is still pinning him to the floor "So what do you say? How about you accept me and Andy to your leap so we can have here a new home where we can both stay and live with all of you?".
However, when the female leopard heard what he said, she yelled back at Russell in the face as she looked down at him in the eyes (and while she's still pinning him to the floor) "Never! I will never accept a red leopard like you and/or a little centaur such as your so-called friend to the leap! It will be utterly preposterous!", but then Andy said to her (after the toddler centaur stood up on his hooves) "Please, let us stay here, Miss! We don't have anywhere else to go to!", but when she heard what he said, the female leopard turned to him and yelled "Nice try, little centaur! But you can't fool me into accepting you and this red leopard friend of yours into the leap!", and then she added "And by the way, if you dare to try to convince me into letting you two into the leap, I will kill your friend and then I will eat you for lunch!", and when Andy heard what she said, he gasped with shock and with fright before he said to her "You can't be serious!", but then the female leopard said back to him "I've never been more serious!".
However, just as the female leopard is about to end Russell with a bite to the neck, the same two male leopards from before (who are also the same two leopards who saved both Russell and Andy and brought them to the cave) suddenly came out of nowhere and shoved the female leopard aside and getting her off of Russell, who then quickly stood back up on his feet and watched as the three leopards started growling and snarling at each other like if they were about to have a battle of two-on-one (the two males versus the female), but just then, another male leopard came out of nowhere and said to the three other leopards "Stop doing that! All of you!", and when they heard what he said, the two male leopards quickly obeyed him and bowed their heads in shame while the female leopard just looked annoyed at him before she rolled her eyes in disrespect.
However, the third male leopard turned to the leopardess and then he said to her "You've gone far enough with your hostile behavior, Chuluun! Askari won't like hearing about it! Now you go outside and stay outside until I call you to come back to see Askari! Do you understand?", and when the leopardess, whose name was Chuluun, heard what the third male leopard just said to her, she said back in an annoyed tone "Fine! If you say so, my prince!" before she then turned around and walked away with the first two male leopards following close behind her to help making sure that she doesn't double back and/or decides to continue her attack on Andy and Russell, thus leaving them alone with the third male leopard.
Once Chuluun and the two male leopards are gone, Andy and Russell looked together at the third male leopard, whom they assumed is the leader of the leopard leap, and then the third male leopard stepped forward and approached and went towards them before he stopped and then reached out his right foreleg and forepaw to the two and said "I'm so sorry for how you two were treated a few short moments before, so please accept my apology.", and when Andy and Russell both heard what he said and then looked down at his right forepaw, Russell reached out his own forepaw to shake paws with the male leopard who stood right in front of him, and once the two leopards shook paws with each other, Russell kindly said back to him and then asked "Of course I accept your apology, we both accept your apology, although I still must ask you something - who are you?".
When the third male leopard heard what Russell said, he answered as he introduced himself "I'm Prince Azaad, the son of King Askari and the future leader of the leopard leap.", and then he added "It is my pleasure to meet you, and that's not only because you're a red leopard, but also because you're friends with a centaur.", and then he continued and explained "Because I've never seen such a strong friendship bond and a good connection between a predator and a prey animal like you two. Saving you two and letting you both live here with our leap is a pleasure, because such strong friendship bonds and good connections between predators and prey animals are very rare, and I've only seen this a very few times during my whole life, like 13 or 14 times, and that's all.".
"14 times?" Andy suddenly asked, and then Azaad turned to him and said "Yes, little centaur. I've already seen such strong friendship bonds and good connections between predators and prey animals only 14 times during my whole life, and yours with your friend's is the 15th I've seen overall.", and then he reached out his right foreleg and forepaw and then he gently placed his forepaw right on Andy upper human chest and said to him "And it is also my pleasure to save the life of such a young centaur as you, because I've barely even seen centaurs in my life, and you are in fact the first ever centaur whom I've ever got to meet up from so close.", and then Azaad asked "If a prince may ask, what's your name, little one?", and then Andy said back "I'm Andy, and I'm friends with Russell. Thank you so much for saving the both of us, Prince Azaad.", but then Azaad giggled kindly and said to him "There's no reason to call me 'Prince Azaad', Andy, because calling me just Azaad is also fine, and I promise you that I will make sure that my subjects will treat you both with respect, and in case one of the leap might think ill of you two, you can tell me about it and I promise I will take care of him or her for you and I'll also try to reason with them right away.", and when they both heard what the leopard prince said to them about that he'll promise them that he'll make sure that only good things will happen to them within the leopard leap, Russell said to Azaad with a sign of relief "Thank you, Azaad. You're indeed someone whom we can truly trust.".
Then, Azaad said to both Andy and Russell "So, how about I take you both with me to see everything that is outside this cave? I'm sure you both would like it.", and when they both heard what he said, Russell said to him "Oh, yes! Please! I hope the area around your home outside this cave looks good and is also favorable, just like you should know that my name is Russell!", and then Azaad said to him "It's okay, I already know your name because your little friend just told me that.", and then he asked "Now would you both like to come with me and I'll show you everything outside and all around in my leap's home?", and then Andy said with excitement in his tone "Oh, yes! Please! I want to see if the area and the environment outside this cave are good and favorable for lots and lots of animals to live within your home!", and with these words being said, Azaad said to both Andy and Russell "Follow me." and then he turned around and started to walk away with the toddler centaur and the red leopard soon following close behind him, thus letting Azaad take the lead.
When the three exited the cave, Andy and Russell couldn't help but gasp in shock and look in awe at the area and at the whole environment outside the cave, which turned out to be grassy savannah plains with some trees can be seen standing far away from Andy, Russell and Azaad, and these were indeed a good place for leopards (like Russell and Azaad) to live, and that was also a good home not only for Russell but also for Andy, since the centaurs' (including Andy's) ancestors used to live in African grassy savannah plains about anywhere that is from 3 to 4 million years ago (during the Pliocene epoch), and during that time, centaurs' ancestors were among the weirdest creatures, with the upper bodies which were those of apemen (the same ones of the extinct ape-like human ancestors) and the lower bodies of primitive horses which had three hoof-like toes in each foot like a rhinoceros instead of a single hoof like modern day horses (the same ones of the extinct Pliocene horse ancestor which lived at the same time as 3 or 4 million years ago), and that's not all - they're also the extinct ancestors to the African Zebrataurs, including Zach, Layla, Timmy, Violet, and of course - Brandon and his whole herd, which means that centaurs and Zebrataurs are closely related to each other due to having the same extinct common ancestor, which lived in and during the Pliocene epoch, about nearly 4 million years ago.
Then, Azaad said to both Andy and Russell "Let me show you two everything you need to see all around.", and then he started walking away, and so Andy and Russell soon followed behind him as they started to look everywhere at everything within the favorable environment, which has lots of water, lots of plants, some trees and even animals from many species, and one of these animal species which fascinated the two friends for the most was the Sable antelope, a large Artiodactyl mammal which inhabits wooded savannah in East Africa, south of Kenya, and in Southern Africa back on planet Earth.
This large species of antelope is among the most impressive ungulates in the African plains and savannah, with adult male Sable antelopes being heavier and they're also 20% taller than the females, and the head-and-body length varies from between 6 and a half to almost 9 feet long, depending on both the age and the gender of each individual animal. Adult male Sable antelopes reach from 4 to about 4 and a half feet tall at the shoulders, while adult females are slightly shorter, some of them only reach less than 4 feet tall at the shoulders, and another important thing about the Sable antelopes is their body weight, with adult males are slightly heavier than adult females, as males typically weigh 235 kilograms, whilst females weigh only about 220 kilograms, and depending on their age, size and gender, the Sable antelope's tail reaches from 1 and a half to 2 and a half feet in length, with a medium-sized tuft can be seen at the end.
Later, after showing Andy and Russell everything all around, Azaad took the two to the trees which stood far away from them, and once they arrived there, they came face-to-face with a large leap of leopards who are most likely Azaad's leopard leap, there were many leopards than there usually are in a real leopard leap you would or might expect to see back on planet earth, as the number of leopards in the leap appeared to be equal to the number of lions in Jayma's lion pride, which means that Azaad's leap is in fact a whole and united family consisting of adult males, adult females, adolescents, juveniles and even baby cubs, but the real question is - will they all accept both Andy and Russell to their beautiful homeland, or will they all chase them both out instead?
When all the adult leopards saw Russell, they were shocked to see his looks and especially his red skin and fur, and when some of them saw Andy standing right next to him, they started growling hungrily at him as it seems like they want to eat the little centaur for lunch, but then Azaad stepped in between them and said to his whole leap "Everyone, please, listen up! Today, I'm glad to represent to all of you two new guests which two of the leap have brought here to our homeland! These two were unlike everything you've seen in your lives! A red leopard who is best friends with a little centaur! Their names are Russell and Andy, and they're both here to stay in our homeland as our new guests! So, as your future king, I'm asking you all to treat these two with respect, show them some love, befriend them and show them that they're welcome to stay and live in our beautiful homeland for as much as they want!", and then he asked after he explained about Andy and Russell being the two newest guest in his and in his leopard leap's beautiful homeland "Who wants these two to stay?", and when the leopards heard what their future leader said to them all, they all accepted his decision to let both Andy and Russell stay and live in peace in their homeland and then they all said in unison "We all want!", but then a familiar female voice suddenly said in disapproval "But I don't!".
When everyone heard what the female voice said, they all turned to see Chuluun sitting down and looking disappointed with the fact that Andy and Russell are both welcomed to Azaad's homeland, and when Andy and Russell saw her, they both recognized her by her appearance before Andy said to her "Hey, it's you! We've seen you around before!", but then the leopardess said back to him with a strong hint of hatred can be seen on her face "Don't mind me, you little brat! And I expect that that reddish friend of yours (referring to Russell) should also do the same! You two are nothing but total strangers and I bet that you're also jerks!", but when everyone heard what she said to Andy and Russell, Azaad raised his voice and the warned her "Don't you dare insult our new guests, Chuluun! They did nothing to deserve such disrespect from you! And if you keep referring them to as outcasts, then you're going to be facing my father, Askari! And I'm pretty sure that he'll be more than interested to hear what you just said to Andy and Russell!", but then Chuluun blew up a raspberry at him before she then stood up, turned around and started walking away and leaving all the other leopards with whom she sat down, and when Andy and Russell saw and watched her leaving, they couldn't help but feel sorry for her, although they shouldn't have because Chuluun is actually a bad leopardess, and a little did they know is that she wants to have both Andy and Russell banished and exiled from Azaad's homeland, thus revealing that she already came to hate them both from first sight.
"What's wrong with her?", Andy asked Azaad as he and Russell both kept watching Chuluun leaving, and then Azaad gave a heavy sigh and he said and explained to the two "Chuluun doesn't tolerate new guests and newcomers whom I welcome to my homeland, and she can be very hostile towards other animals and creatures sometimes.", and then Russell asked him "How much do you know her, Azaad?", and then the leopard prince explained "She's the princess of my homelands.", and when they both heard what he said, Andy asked him "Is she your wife?", but then Azaad said back "No, she's my sister, and unlike any other female leopard I know and love, she always looks up to no good and even goes behind my back to look for troubles.".
"Poor lady. She needs some friends, I bet." Andy said about Chuluun, and then Russell added "Yeah, I think the same as you. She needs some friends.", but then Azaad said to the two "Don't mind or pay much attention to my sister. She's always acting like this and she doesn't want to have any friends at all. I already know of her unkind nature and of her bad attitude, and so I'm doing my best to make sure that she doesn't make too much troubles in my homelands, because she does so much trouble for too many times, I'll have no other choice and I will have to take her to face Askari, who is our old and wise father.", and then he asked Andy and Russell "Would you two like to meet him?", but then Andy asked him "Do you think your father will be nice to us the same way as you, Azaad?", and then Azaad said to him "Yes, he may be very old, but my father, Askari is still a good leopard and he has a kind and friendly soul, and he always liked to help other animals when he was very young, even before Chuluun and I we were born.", and then he said to Andy and Russell "Come with me, guys. I'm sure my father will be happy to see and meet you two. He's not too far away from here. In fact, he's very nearby. He's living under one of these big trees nearby, inside the one which is hollow and every animal can go there to meet him face-to-face.", and when they both heard what he said, Russell said to him "If you want us to meet your father, then lead the way and show us where he is, Azaad.", and then Azaad said back "Okay, fine. Just follow me, guys. We're very close to get to meet my father, Askari face-to-face. Come along, he's waiting to meet you two.".
With these words being said, Azaad started leading Andy and Russell towards a large and hollow tree, and once they went through the entrance, the three started going down into a cavern which leads down under the hollow tree, and once they reached the end of the cavern, they all entered a large space with ball-shaped lamps which are tied to the ceiling and each of the lamps has lots of fireflies inside them to make sure that the space is lit, and in the end of the lit space, there was an elderly male leopard who appeared to be lying down on his belly with his head and neck raised up and looking and facing forward, and when he saw Azaad, Andy and Russell in the lit space, the old male leopard just gave them all a gentle smile in order to reassure them that he means them no harm.
Then, Azaad stepped forward and said to the elderly male leopard "Father, I want you to meet these two new guests whom my subjects and I we've saved and brought here to our beautiful homeland.", and then he turned back to Russell and Andy and told them to step forward so that the elderly male leopard can see them, and then Russell said first "I'm Russell, and as you can see, I'm a red leopard.", and then Andy added "And I'm Andy. I'm Russell's best friend and the only one who is currently with him.", and when the elderly male leopard heard what they both said, he said back with a smile "I'm Askari, the king of our homeland and Azaad and Chuluun's father. It is my pleasure to meet you, travelers. You must've been through a lot.", and then Russell said "Yes, you can say that, your majesty.", and then he and Andy both bowed their heads down before him.
However, when Askari saw them bowing their heads down before him, he said "You may raise your heads up, Andy and Russell. There's no reason for you two to bow your heads down before me. I do not ask for other leopards or for any other creatures to be formal with me. You can treat me the same way as with any elderly animal or creature in this world.", and then he asked "So now tell me, Andy and Russell, where are you two from?", but the moment they both heard him saying that, Andy's face started becoming saddened, and so was Russell's the same way, and when Azaad and Askari both noticed the change on both the red leopard and the toddler centaur's faces, Askari asked the two "Is there's something wrong?", but then Russell said "Nothing, your majesty. It's nothing, really.".
However, both the elderly leopard king and the young leopard prince didn't really believed what he said because they weren't really buying it, and so Azaad asked them "Is there's something you don't want to tell us about that involved you two before you arrived here in our homeland?", and then Andy confessed "Yes, Azaad." and then he started sniffling as tears started forming in his eyes, and this made both the leopard prince and the leopard king feel worried about both him and Russell, before Askari asked the two "Would you both like to tell us about what happened to you two before you arrived here in our homeland?", and then Russell said as tears started forming in his own eyes as well "Yes, your majesty.", and so he and Andy both started talking to Azaad and to Askari about what happened to them before they arrived in the grassy savannah plains which are the leopard leap's homelands.
20 minutes later, when Russell and Andy finished explaining about what happened to themselves before they arrived in the grassy savannah plains, Azaad said to them "I had no idea. I'm so sorry, and I truly am for both of you.", and then Askari added "Nobody should ever be treated like that, not a young child or even a full grown adult.", and then Russell said to them "Thank you both for being so kind and caring for the both of us. Andy and I we both need protection, because we lost all our friends to a herd of bad Deertaurs who took them all hostages, and so now Andy and I we both have only each other support, but even the support we give to each other isn't enough to help us, so if we're going to live here in your beautiful homeland, then we do need your help so you can help us survive here as much as possible.".
Then, Andy asked Azaad and Askari "Will you be willing to help us adapt and get used to our new life in your beautiful homeland?", and when the two leopards heard what he said, Askari said to him "Of course we'll help you, both of you.", but then he also added and asked "Andy, if a king may ask, can you and Russell please come close to me for a minute?", and when the two heard what he said, they looked at him with hesitation before they turned to look at Azaad, who gave them both a reassuring smile before he said to them "It's okay, guys. My father won't hurt you. He just wants to talk to you from a closer look, that's all.", and then he encouraged them by saying to them "Go to him.", and that's when Andy and Russell both started approaching the elderly leopard king, and then the two came to a stop once they're only a foot away from Askari, who looked at the both of them with the gentle kindness can be seen both in and behind his eyes, similar to Asha (the matriarch and leader of the okapi family) before she died.
Then, Askari said to both Andy and Russell "I'm so glad I got to see such a strong friendship bond and such a good connection between a predator and a prey animal like you two, and I hope you enjoy staying and living here in our homeland. Azaad will make sure that nobody treats you badly, especially his sister, my daughter, Chuluun. I'm also very glad to meet you two face-to-face and I hope that you both will stay here in our homeland.", and then he barely raised up his right foreleg and forepaw and then he gently touched Russell on the shoulder with his forepaw and said to him "Russell, you didn't deserve to be treated like a toilet and/or to be mistreated by your former masters.", and then he moved his own foreleg and forepaw away from Russell's shoulder, before he then gently placed his forepaw on Andy's upper human chest and said to him "And you, Andy, you didn't deserve to be blamed for what happened to your older brother and to his girlfriend before you and your twin sister ran away from home.", and then he moved his forepaw away from Andy's upper human chest and then he placed his right foreleg and forepaw back down and on the floor.
Then, Askari said to both the toddler centaur and the red leopard "Nothing was your fault, and neither of you are to blame for what happened to you two before you ran away from your homes. Please, try to understand what I'm trying to say. Please, trust me.", and when Russell and Andy both heard what he said, Russell said back to him "I trust you, Askari. We both trust you.", and then Andy added and said in agreement "Thank you so much for telling us that we didn't deserve to be blamed for everything that's happened. You may be very old for a king, but still you're indeed a wise leopard who does knows the differences between right and wrong and also knows how to tell between who's good and who's bad. Thank you so much, Askari. We're so glad we came here to meet you.", and when Askari heard what they said, the elderly leopard king gave both Andy and Russell a kind and friendly smile to show them that they both can stay and live in his and in his leopard leap's homelands as much as they both want.
Then, Andy and Russell both smiled back at Askari after they thanked him for telling them that they're not to blame for anything from what happened to them before they ran away from their respective homes, and then Russell said "Goodbye for now, Askari. It was our pleasure to meet such a wise king as you.", and then they both turned back to Azaad and then Andy said to him "Now we're both ready to go out of here and have some lots of time interacting, befriending and having fun with all the other leopards who are all waiting for us outside.", and then Azaad said to them "Follow me, Andy and Russell. I'll take you two out of here with me so you can interact with the rest of the leap.", and then he started walking away from the lit underground space which was Askari's layer (in which the very old leopard king is currently lying down, but still alive as he still has some short time to live), and so Azaad started leading Andy and Russell away from Askari's layer and the three went together back to the entrance which leads both in and out of the hollow tree, and once the three exited and went out of and through the hollow tree, they reached back to the surface where all the other leopards were been waiting for them to come, and so that's when Andy and Russell started interacting with, befriending and having fun with all the other leopards, thus receiving lots of good attention, love and respect from all of them.
Meanwhile, far away in the Great Animal Graveyard, Chuluun is walking and wandering around, but that is until a female voice suddenly called and asked "Stop! Who goes there?", and then Chuluun asked back "Is there's someone there?", and just then, Shanzi, Benzai and Eddie (the same three Hyenataurs whom Russell and Andy have encountered before) came out of nowhere and appeared right in front of Chuluun before they slowly approached and then stopped right in front of her, and when they saw the leopardess in their territory, Shanzi asked her "Who are you, leopardess?", and then Chuluun said to her and to the two male Hyenataurs who stood right next to her from both of her sides "I'm Chuluun.", and then Benzai asked her "What are you doing here? What are you looking for?", and then he added "Do you want us to eat you for lunch, you trespasser?", but then Chuluun said back "Oh no, I'm not looking for trouble.", and then she added with an evil smile can be seen on her face "Actually, I'm looking for some help, and I think that you three can actually help me get rid of two new enemies of mine whom I want to be gone from my homeland, AND from this entire world!".
Then, she started to explain to the three Hyenataurs about her evil plan to get rid of both Russell and Andy by fooling a very close relative from Azaad's family (who is also part of the leopard leap) into going to the Great Animal Graveyard (and to end up getting eaten by the Hyenataurs), and that if Andy and Russell will see him or her trying to sneak away and go there all alone, they might decide to go after him or her and they will get themselves eaten by the Hyenataurs as well, and when Chuluun explained her whole plan to the Hyenataurs, Shanzi and Benzai said to her together with evil smiles on their faces "Count us all in!", while Eddie laughed both crazily and menacingly, and behind their backs, there were more Hyneataurs, and they weren't just a few, they were an army of almost 100 individuals from both genders, and judging by all the evil looks on all their faces, they all looked like they're up to no good.