Unwanted Advice

"I can't belief you keep running to him." Blankly one of the lionesses patrolling through the savanna shook her head. "Seriously. I simply cannot understand it!"

"Of course, you can't, Usiku", Jua growled back at her. "You have never fallen in love with anyone."

"Oh, leave me alone with that shit! You know exactly what I mean." With a quick jump Usiku got in front of her friend to stop her. "Girl, I'm worried about you! He is dangerous!"

"Not to me." Defiantly, she walked around her. "Only to his enemies."

"Only to his… Yes, and I know what he does to his enemies! I was there and so were you, you remember? More than a year has passed since that day and it still haunts me in my nightmares." Caused by that thought she shuddered. "Guess I'll never get that scene out of my head…"

"But it's over", Jua argued. "And it was justified."

"How can you even say that?" With some short jumps Usiku caught up to her. "Even today it's hard for me not to vomit if I remember what he and his cripple of a father did to your dad!"

"Don't call him like that. They did it to the one who brutally murdered a member of his own pride, as a punishment for rejecting him. How could I ever call someone like that my dad?" With a spark of anger in her eyes she looked down the hills at the river, marking the border between their territory and the Outlands. "We both know he didn't even accept me as his daughter at all. My mom was not more like a welcoming distraction for him, than a suitable queen. And by the way, I'm pretty sure some of our pridesisters are more than only that to me, if you know what I mean…"

"I know", Usiku assured. "And I also know that you are trying to guide me away from the subject. Your father, or your begetter, if that suits you more wasn't the best of kings, ok, but that doesn't change the fact, that this Kenua guy is a damn psychopath! What if one day he snaps and attacks you if you keep bothering him?"

"He won't", Jua simply answered. "You know, that's not his style", she added with a smile.

Appalled her friend looked at her. "Why? Why did you say that? That's not better. It's worse! Even more nightmares for me, thanks!"

"You're welcome", Jua giggled. "Will you stop playing my relationship counselor now or do I have to make you?"

"Never. I'd rather…"

"Wait!" Out of a sudden Jua turned her head away from her friend, sniffing through the air. "Do you smell that?"

"Is that all you've got? How desperate are you, trying that num…"

"I'm serious", she stopped her and sniffed once more. Slowly she turned her head against the soft breeze and searched the land. Then she had spotted them. "Look! Over there."

Grudging Usiku followed her gaze until she saw them too. A bunch of strangers, trying to drag not only one, but three dead gazelles across the river. "Hey, they're stealing our prey!"

"Yeah." Motionless, Jua watched the intruders climbing out of the water.

"Well, shouldn't we do something?", Usiku asked nervously. "We're the patrol, so..."

"Yes, but it would be pointless to go after them. There are too many of them, and they are too far anyway. Nevertheless, we should remind them, who this territory belongs to." By that Jua took a deep breath and send a long and loud roar after the poachers. With a smile she witnessed some of them flinching and turning around, looking back at her, knowing their crime was no secret anymore.

"And by that, they were gone", Usiku commented, as the strangers disappeared behind the rock formations of the Outlands. "With that problem out of the way, back to business."

"Oh, Great King! Quit it! Or do you want me to ask Kenua, if he could pay you a visit tonight?" More amused than angry she turned around and started running.

"What?" Her friend, still facing towards the Outlands asked. "He would never listen to… wait, where are you going?" With a frightened look on her face she jumped up and ran after Jua, who had already built up a lead.

. . .

Somewhere upstream the loud laughter of a crocodile was heard, mockingly looking up to a lion laying on the ledge above it. "You should have seen your face! Bahaha!" Caused by all his amusement, Njaa seemed close to drowning. "Some cheeky kitties you got there, Kenu! Are all of them yours? Didn't knew you already had children."

"Of course, they aren't, you oversized gecko!", the lion growled. "I just met one of them yesterday. Thought, she'd be cool, but now she came back bringing all her friends."

"Anyway, congratulations mate! That was your first notable interaction with someone else than Jua since… when? Two months? Maybe four?"

"More I guess", Kenua responded ruminative. "Man, my social skills are as underdeveloped as Jua's sense of humor."

"Well, I think she's funny. And she is persistent. I really don't get it, why you keep rejecting her. At least you should give it a try already. She kind of deserves it after all the time she wasted on you. But if you are more interested in the companionship of cubs…" Thoughtfully he rolled his eyes around. "Wait, wait, I've got it!" He stretched his head further out of the water. "Jua and you could adopt them! That would be a nice little family, don't you think?"

"Yeah, great idea", he said ironically. "Me and my precious Jua starting our own pride with our beloved cubbies. And we shall call them Crazyhair, Spotty and Crocfood. Well, screw you too."

"Aw, you already gave sweet nicknames to them? I knew you had a soft spot for them!"

With a paw Kenua covered his eyes, while he held the other one far over the edge. "I… I know, I deserve punishment, but anymore of your bubbling is too much! Come on and kill me now. Death can't possibly be worse than this."

"Nah, where is the challenge in that? Where's the fun? Watching you suffer is way more entertaining. Hush!" The distant sound of something dipping into the water had caught his attention. For a moment he remained silent, before looking up to Kenua again. "Sorry buddy, that seems to be promising. Please don't be mad, but I have to leave. This time you won't ruin my meal." Without another word he sank down into the river and disappeared, ending their conversation.

Now left alone, Kenua let his head down onto his front paws. Suddenly he felt terribly bored. That had never been a problem in the last time. In fact, he had liked it and it was been better for everyone that he kept distance, but now… Probably the cubs' appearance had triggered that strange feeling. The need to break free of his uneventful live… He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts and closed his eyes. This wasn't the time for stuff like that. As long as the sun was shining, he wouldn't overcome himself to do anything at all. He would rethink all of that later, when darkness would fall and his time of the day had begun.