Chapter 5:
Enemy Infiltration

As Kiara and I try to ambush a herd of antelope, I hear her step on a stick from the other side. Having no choice and needing to complete the task at hand, we both give chase. These guys are faster than I expected! Then again, I was never great at running, since I lack muscle tone for some reason; hence why I'm constantly the brains. I then notice Kiara easily overtaking me as we keep chasing; this wasn't good. I need to figure out a way to get to the front of the herd, however, this is quickly ended when I trip over my own paws and slam into the ground. Suddenly as I recover, I hear Timon, Pumbaa, and Edd shreik. I turn to find Kiara spotted them.

Kiara asks sternly, "Timon...what are you doing here?"

"Heh, guess I'm not perfectly fit to be watching you, sis." I say sitting up, tail curling in half frustration.

Timon replies as Pumbaa nods his head mid-sentence, "Uh...shopping! We thought a nice pelt for the den...some throw-pillows, a little potpourri..."

Kiara replies upset, "My father sent you. After he promised to let us do it on our own--he lied!"

"I doubt that." I reply tilting an ear.

"Mwezi's right! He just doesn't want you guys to get hurt." Timon replies taking my side.

Edd starts to whimper sensing danger.

"It sounds reasonable. I mean c'mon, lionesses that just nearly turns a year old suddenly off hunting; I'd be worried myself." I say agreeing with Simba's ways of doing things.

Kiara growls, "Who's side are you on Mwezi? Ngh, I should've he'd never give us a real chance."

She suddenly continues towards the herd saying, "I'll do this on my own! Away from the Prodelands!"

"Ah shit..." I say reluctantly following.

"Hey! Wait! Oh...can Mwezi keep track of her? Kiara--come back!" Timon calls.

He hops up on Pumbaa's head, together they and Edd give chase, but we're too far ahead. Edd looks off in another direction picking up sounds.

Timon says in worry and aggrivation, "Oh...they're gone again! Somebody's gotta get beepers for those kids!"

Far ahead, I lost sight of Kiara completely. By now I had plopped to the ground exhausted and trying to catch my breath. There was no way in hell I could catch up with her; there's too many smells here. Suddenly, I start smelling smoke. A zebra jumps over me followed by a few birds overhead. I sit up and notice the sky's red glare; Kiara's in trouble!

"Shit! What am I gonna do? Uh, let's see....uhmmmm..." I say thinking under pressure, heart racing.

As I pace in some circles really quick, it finally came to me.

"There's a river nearby! Chances are I'll find her on the other side! But where the hell is the river?! Ack, why does my geography have to suck so bad?" I say formulating a plan only to end in failure.

Just then I notice the fire beginning to surround me. Not thinking in total panic, I try to dash out, but the fire locks me in. I'm completely trapped with no where to turn. In fear, I start letting out cub-like help calls mixed with full-grown roars. I could jump throughthe fire, but the issue being I need enough speed to jump through it unharmed; this circle's too small. The fire begins to close in. Just then, I hear galloping footsprints from outside the fire; someone's heard me! I keep letting out calls to help them find me. I then see a very muscular Lion jump in, grab my scruff, and jump out, tossing me a few feet away.

After landing not-so-gracefully on my feet, I notice the Lion is Simba! Oh shit, it's Simba...

"Mwezi, where's Kiara?" he quickly demands.

"No time to explain! C'mon, we need to head towards the river!" I reply dashing off as he quickly keeps up.

Later, we make it to a pool of water where Kiara and another lion are. Simba calls Kiara and jumps in front of her, growling and snarling. I flop to the ground completely exhausted as Nala gives me a quick headbutt, and goes to Kiara doing the same.

"Kiara! I'm glad you and Mwezi are alright." Nala says.

Kiara demands, "Father...how could you break your promise?"

"It's a good thing I did. I almost lost you both. No more hunts for you two; not ever!" Simba replies mad.

Kiara responds, "But we were doing just fine! Even before Kovu--"

"Kovu?!" Simba replies, roaring at Kovu as Kovu roars back.

Nala is surprised at Simba's ferocity.

"So that's who that lion is...{something doesn't smell right...}" I say going into thought.

Shenzi appears and nudges me saying, "Mwezi, you lucky cub, you! It's a good thing I taught you what to do in those situations!"

"You gotta stop calling me a cub." I say getting the strength to sit up.

Suddenly we all here Rafiki saying from a hilltop, "Hey! You! How dare you save the king's daughter?"

Simba demands, "You saved Kiara? Why?"

"{Oh yeah, save the important lioness.}" I thought rolling my eyes.

Kovu replies, "I humbly ask to join your pride."

"No! You were banished with the other Outsiders!" Simba immediatley says.

Kovu explains, "I have left the Outsiders. I am a rogue. Judge me now for what I am...or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn't commit?"

"Oh, this just got interesting." I say with a sadistic smirk, tail curling as an added effect.

Simba starts to snarl and pace around as Nala looks hard at him. I simply start drawing things in the dirt with my nail.

Nala says keeping the hard look, "Simba, you owe him Kiara's life."

Zazu appears saying, "Mmm...yes, sire. Clearly we are in his debt...and royal protocol demands that all debts be paid. Though in this case you may want to make an exeption."

"Oh please, buzz off, Chew Toy!" I say playfully trying to pounce Zazu.

As Simba paces a bit more, he makes his decision, "Hmmm. My father's law will prevail. For now, I reserve judgement. We'll see who you really are."

As Kovu inwardly smiles and looks sidelong at Kiara who smiles back. Zazu turns his back on him. Although Shenzi couldn't care less, she makes a quick growl at Kovu, turns her back with her tail up, and walks away. I follow her as I try to catch the airborne Zazu for fun. We all follow Simba back to Pride Rock with Kovu.

Night starts to fall. Most of us start to head in, Simba notices Kovu trying to get in. Simba jumps in front with a growl and intimidates Kovu away from the cavern. With that, Kovu heads over to the rocks to sleep. As Shenzi heads in with Edd, who we had to find because he got lost, I head for the cliffpoint of Pride Rock, looking out at the now burned hunting ground. I try to recall the event in my mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. Although I could here Kavu and Kiara talking, I didn't bother to pay attention, that is, till Simba's voice scares the crap out of me.

Simba calls, "Kiara! Mwezi!"

I nearly jump a mile and slip over the edge, grabbing onto the edge for dear life with my claws. As I try to climb back up, I slip and fall, landing hard on my back at the bottom with a painful growl. This was going to cost me big tomorrow. I roll over to my side and stand up. As I made my way towards the steps, I started to think.

"Meh, why should I bother? The ramp on the other side is much easier." I say to myself.

I rush over to the other side and dash up the ramp. Nala is sticking out the cavern, quickly spotting me as I near the cavern.

"What happened? You're covered in dirt." Nala asks.

"Simba's sudden call spooked me and I slipped off the edge. I'm okay." I reply actually in pain and not showing it.

"You need to be more careful when you'rte lost in thought. Come, it's time for bed." Nala replies turning back inside.

As I head back in, Kovu jokes, "Couldn't land on your feet, huh, pretty kitty?"

"Oh shut the f*ck up, Kovu. I may not be as graceful as I should be, but I can back it up with my intelligence. You have yet to see my full potential." I reply puffing out my chest to look bigger.

"My ass you have intelligence." Kovu says.

I throw my head and tail up and make my way into the cavern. Kovu lies back down to sleep.

The next morning, I head out to the burned area. Something about this fire wasn't right. Not to mention, a different emotion was clouding my mind, blocking me from thinking straight. All I could think about was yesterday into last night; then I started thinking and picturing Kiara's future. She and Kovu are so going to fall for each other, leaving me with nothing. But fighting over him is pointless; I'll lose to Kiara hands down at the rate I'm going. I was lucky enough to join the pride as a cub, but now...I don't know. I'm pretty sure there's a limit as to how many lions can be in a pride, unless they're related. I'm not related to Kiara by any means; I could create my own pride if I wanted. But a lioness without muscle tone is no use for hunting. All I have is this thick fur.

Feeling a sense of failure, I turn back towards Pride Rock. As I turn to do so, I'm confronted by an odd Lion. He wasn't an Outsider, as his fur was a pale gold color, and a dark brown mane. He looked to be Simba's size, but around the same muscle tone as Kovu. This wasn't either, however.

"Who are you?" I ask trying to turn away.

"Relax. I'm a rogue lion." he replies, his voice deep and oddly calming.

"I've heard that one before." I say trying to walk away from him.

"Hey, where are you going? Aren't you an Outlander?" he asks.

I growl and turn yelling, "I'm a Pridelander, asshole! I'm in Simba's Pride!"

"Simba? You mean that Mufasa look-alike?" the lion asks.

"Yeah, exactly." I snarl not liking the lion.

"Hey, take it easy. It's not like you're in season." the lion says.

"In season? What the hell do you mean by that? Get the hell away from me!" I say dashing towards Pride Rock.

The lion sits down confused.

Back in the Pridelands a little while later, I find Timon, Pumbaa, Bonzai, Kiara, and Kovu exiting a gorge. They were laughing about something. I trot over in order to get answers.

As I near them I call, "Hey you guys!"

"Hm? Ah, it's Mwezi! What's up, kitty-cat?" Bonzai asks in a good mood.

"I just got confronted by an odd lion." I reply.

"An odd lion?" Pumbaa asks.

"I can beat him up for ya if he hurt you." Kovu offers.

"I'll take you up on that offer. He was just being a creep is all. Saying I'm not 'in seasin'. Does anyone even know what that means?" I reply pacing in a circle.

Everyone looks at each other, obviously knowing what "in season" meant. Although Timon was happy to answer my question, Pumbaa easily trots away, keeping Timon from being blunt. As much as they wanted to explain, they have no way of doing so. This left me confused.