Mufasa had an odd beam on his face, which meant that he had a plan of some sort in his mind. It was probably a surprise for me.

"Guess what Taka! We're not just going to the waterhole to play today, but were gonna spend the day with dad!"

"Great." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes to watch the clouds roll by. Anything would be more interesting than this conversation.

Mufasa smirked and pushed his heavy body against my own, teasingly. I skidded into a prickly bush, and some rodents under a shady tree nearby began chuckling. "C'mon Taka. It'll be real fun! Sound more excited for once!"

"What are you talking about? I'm practically leaping with joy!" I masked my face with an impression of Mufasa's classic goofy grin. He recoiled when he saw it.

"Never make that face again, please."


After a long silent stroll along the dusty path to the waterhole, which I actually found peaceful, we saw Ahadi sitting majestically on his fat flaxen colored rump, chatting with some lionesses and lapping up water. As soon as they saw me, they turned their glowering eyes away and gossiped, just after shooting Muffy an adoring smile. Even though the ambiance of the crystalline blue water hole and the lush green grass around it was welcoming and cheery, there was a sense of abhorrence in the air. It was so strong; you could feel it with a swish of a tail.

If there was a being on this planet that I detested most, it would be Ahadi. He was the favoring type of father, and as far as I was concerned in the matter, I was the reject son he treated like something that comes out of one's nose. Let's just say we saw the worst in each other.

"Ah, Mufasa, dear boy, and … Taka." He seemed to gag at the mention of my name. He adverted his gaze from my fixed glare. "Let's walk, shall we?"

Ahadi Lifted himself up onto his massive paws and bid farewell to the lionesses. He glanced back at me with an unreadable expression. His dark-as-a-raven's-wing- hair shone in the sunlight, falling upon his wildebeest-built frame. Some lioness fans he must have too, for such a handsome mane. "Have a nice morning, ladies."

They all replied in unison "Have a nice walk your majesties". To me they rolled their eyes.

It was still fairly early in the morning, and on the path we took to the elder tree, the shrubs seemed to shrug indecisively in the morning wind.

Father signaled for us to pace with him wit his tail. No, he motioned for Muffy to pace with him. The two golden coats were pressed together as Ahadi whispered something into his both burst out, chuckling.

"What?"

Mufasa shook his head, still laughing hard, trying to repress another fit of giggles. "Hey, do you remember that time you tripped over mom…" then he snorted and laughed into his father's pelt.

"And she began screaming at me, startled, because I was yelping in fright?" I asked, shaking my head.

Ahadi and Mufasa both nodded, still beaming. Yep, they were definitely roots from the same tree. The horrible sense of humor was a particular distinguishing feature of Prideland royalty. Maybe that's why I wasn't king…

"Taka, do you mind leaving us alone for a few hours, I wanted to show my son the expanses of our territory." Ahadi said, not even looking at me. "Look… there's a little lioness all by herself. Why don't you go play with her?" and under his breath he mumbled "She's just as pathetic as you are, little runt."

I ignored this, even though I was hurt, and dipped my head to father. Together, they took off leaping to the Grand Hill. I glanced to see who this "pathetic lioness" was, and to my surprise, there was no one there. I was sure I'd seen her a couple of seconds ago…

Deciding to catch up on my snoozing, I placed myself lazily over a decently large rock. It was a bad idea, because half a second after I had slid on, the rock tumbled over , leaving me upside down and upset on a mound of clouding dirt. A single red ant ventured over my ear.

Maybe I am pathetic. Maybe, its just the rock.

Suddenly, I was recovered with dust.I coughed but only swallowed in I finally opened my eyes, I saw a blob of beige over my left shoulder.

"Whoa, harsh tumble there." said a single friendly surely belonged to a lioness, but it was fairly deep for one.

I turned my still upside down head to see a cub, staring inquisitively at me. Her eyes were the color of a gazelle's behind, as were most lionesses, but they were quite pretty. They looked more like pools of amber on a face of beige. Her chin and eyes were surrounded by a softer shade . Even though her soft curves gave her the distinctive look of a huntress, she had a bulky frame. Not fat, just toned.

"Um... hello." I said awkwardly, wishing she hadn't seen that. I regained my formal composure and licked my paw nonchalantly.

She snorted, raising a very high eyebrow."Tell me, are you Ahadi's son? Why aren't you with him doing 'princely' duties?"

"And why would such a solitary lioness want to know such things?" I responded curtly, raising an eyebrow of my own.

"She cares for the well-being of her pride of course."

It was a stare off of intimidating highly arched she-cub was quite focused, which was rare for most her age. I wasn't going to let her win.

Finally, she pressed her face so close to mine, that our noses practically touched. I blushed mildly.

Then, we both started laughing of the awkwardness. "I'm Taka, Mufasa's brother, but I am most certainly not the future king."

"I thought so" she said , then realizing how rude it must've sounded. "I mean, because you don't really look like Ahadi. But you have his mane, and nose."

I looked at the sky, trying to calm the anger for being called "like Ahadi". "So, what's your name?"

She smiled sincerely at me, amber eyes flashing, and purred "Why I am Sarabi ,sister to the future princess."