The jackal who had chased Lisa up the tree was now running as fast as he could through the savanna toward a rocky canyon area, a place where many carnivores hid when they did not want to be found. Dajan was in there somewhere, he had been in there for the past two months waiting for any signs of the girl with the moonstone.

The jackal would have run right by Dajan if Dajan had not seen him first and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck just as he was passing. The jackal let out a loud yelp before looking up at the eyes of the evil lion.

"Why are you in such a hurry Samir?" asked Dajan in an icy cold voice. Samir instantly cringed.

"Ah Sire, I thought you would be hidden away in that chasm over there," said Samir with a hint of nervousness in his voice and he had good reason too. Dajan was all muscle for a rogue lion. His fur was a very dark brown while his mane and tail were a very dirty gray, some parts fully black. His eyes were a piercing green and his smile was enough to make anyone back down with fear.

"Nah that place was too gloomy, I like this spot, I can stalk my minions," he said with an evil grin.

Samir gulped again almost forgetting the reason he came running into the rocky area in the first place.

"So what is your reason for running in here so fast?" asked Dajan as he unsheathed his claws and slowly brought one up to Samir's face just to scare him a little.

"She is in the land sire, I tried to capture her, but Ramla stopped me before I could" he said as he tried his hardest to back away but was stopped by a rock.

"She is is she? But Ramla got her before me, a shame really, but no worries I have two weeks to find a way to capture her myself. Her blood is not important until then any way. I would have loved to torture her but that can always be saved for later," said Dajan as he put his claws back in.

"But what about your brother?" asked Samir.

"My brother? I think I can find a way to capture the child without him knowing, of course the prophecy did say her father is the one to worry about," said Dajan.

"What do you mean sire?' asked Samir.

"Well you know how fathers are, always protecting their children from certain doom, perhaps I can find a way to lure him in a trap," said Dajan.

"Maybe it won't happen, maybe he won't come to find her," said Samir.

"Not when Ramla's involved, I would try to destroy her but that's impossible, she's too smart for anyone," said Dajan as he began to pace back and forth, wondering how he could get Lisa without any problem.

"Too bad it's only two of us," said Samir.

Dajan turned around and looked at Samir who had obviously not paid attention to his remark and was now biting at a flea that was somewhere on his hindquarters.

"I like your thinking Samir, are you still close with your pack?" asked Dajan.

"Oh yeah, I just don't live with them I'm not a real big fan of crowds, plus I have great health benefits with you," said Samir with a grin.

"Yes I guess that is true, then do you think you can bring them to me, I believe I have a plan that they can help me with," said Dajan.

"Oh what is it sire?" asked Samir.

"If you get them for me, you will know in time," said Dajan with a grin.

Samir gave a quick wag of his tail and without a second thought turned and ran out of the cave, while Dajan gave an evil laugh that echoed through the rocky walls.

"Oof, these four legs are harder to walk on than they seem to be," said Lisa after she had tripped over her back legs and fell face first into the dirt. She was no longer an eight year old human girl but an eight month old lion. Her fur was a lovely golden brown and on her paws, stomach, and tail tuft, her fur was a light grayish color. Her blonde hair was still the same, though it did not stick out as far and were mainly just little tufts on top of her head. Her necklace was still around her neck as well and it was on tight enough to be kept from coming off easily.

"Yes it does take some getting used to and you will walk like a month old cub at first but don't worry it will be as natural as breathing," said Ramla as she helped Lisa up.

Lisa tried to move forward again, lifting her right leg up and moving forward with her left and then lifting her front left leg and then her right. It worked for a few strides before she tripped over herself again making Ramla help her up once more.

"Don't try to go too fast at first, you might break something and we don't want that, plus you are a cat now, cats walk with both left legs forward then both right legs forward, they sort of stride," said Ramla.

"It's definitely harder than it looks," said Lisa.

"You were doing fine that last time, just go slowly and do what I just said until you have it all figured out, then you will learn how to run," said Ramla.

Lisa looked down at her paws; it was so strange seeing her body like this now and was unsure if what she was doing was ever going to work. She tried again only more slowly like her old grandfather. First her front left leg moved forward, then her back left leg while her right front leg moved back along with her right back leg. It was a long practice and she fell down the first few times but after about two hours, she finally got the hang of it and was running through the grass with reckless abandon before coming to a stop in front of Ramla who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Now you are ready to meet the pride," she said.

The pride was situated quite far from any sign of civilization, Lisa could not blame them though, it was safer than dealing with humans who were more worried about their livestock. Their den was situated on a group of rocks that looked as if a bulldozer had just left them there, the biggest rocks stuck out high into the sky and a few others were laid flat a good place to watch for danger from and that was exactly what King Latif was doing. He saw Ramla and let out a small roar that made everyone in the pride pick up their heads and look in Ramla's direction.

Lisa stood behind Ramla still a little nervous about meeting an actual lion; Ramla would protect her if anything went wrong. Lisa watched behind Ramla as Latif approached, striding over with a curious look on his face, not an angry one.

"Good afternoon Ramla," said Latif.

"Good afternoon Sire, how is your pride?" asked Ramla.

"They are well, Kahfee, Halima's sister gave birth to twins two weeks ago, they are tiny but so beautiful," said Latif.

"Oh good your pride is prospering well like it has been for years," said Ramla.

"Yes, a growing pride is a happy pride, but I sense you came to tell me something, what news do you have?" asked Latif as he just started to notice a small figure hiding behind Ramla.

"Well she has arrived," said Ramla as she stepped aside revealing Lisa who looked up at the king with nervous but curious eyes unsure how to react to him.

Latif gasped in shock. "Already, it feels like it was only a few months ago when that happened," he said as he looked down at Lisa with surprise. Only he and his wife knew about her coming yet were still very surprised by her presence.

"I'm afraid that the things you dread happen quicker than when you want them to, but if you keep Lisa safe, Dajan presence will no longer be a problem," said Ramla.

Latif looked down at Lisa while Lisa looked up at him, giving him a nervous grin not sure how to greet a huge lion that was not behind a bar or glass. One swipe of his paw could end her life at any moment.

"Well I guess the quicker it is over with the better, what is your name child?" asked Latif.

"Lisa, sir," said Lisa nervously.

"So polite, and to think that she was human only a little while ago," said Latif.

Lisa only grinned while Ramla pushed her forward. "I say its time for you to meet the pride," said Ramla.

"Yes I say it is as well, and we should have a feast for you in your honor, of course only me and my wife Halima know about you so we will pretend that this feast is to fatten you up since you have been lost for a few days without your pride," said Latif who seemed to have the whole plan sorted out when he had nothing better to do.

Latif then led the way toward the pride which consisted of twenty lionesses, two males including Latif's three year old son and heir to the throne named Mashal, and six cubs that all ranged from the two tiny cubs who were only two weeks of age to the oldest who was a year and half. Every one of them had watched Latif talk to Ramla and when they saw Lisa appear behind her they all tried to listen with curiosity but without success.

"Everyone, this is Lisa, she lost her family while traveling with them, she will stay with us for a few days until we can find them," said Latif.

Lisa only nodded toward them as they all welcomed her to the pride, Latif nudged her forward helping her to get better acquainted to her new foster family.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Lisa, you must be exhausted from loosing your family," said Halima whose voice sounded like a calm river stream that made Lisa feel even more welcome into the pride.

"Lisa! That's a weird name," said a cub who was about the same age as Lisa.

"Kanzi be nice, she probably thinks your name is weird, some names are just different," said Kanzi's mother who then gave her a quick swat with her paw.

Kanzi made a face at her mother and then snorted at Lisa in disgust, she barely even knew Lisa yet but already had a big grudge against her that the other cubs began to notice.

"Don't mind my sister, she thinks she rules the cubs but she could not lead us even if she tried," said a male cub who had a tuft of red on his head and for some strange reason, Lisa was attracted to him.

"At least I'm a better leader than you will be," said Kanzi.

Her brother just sneered and then smiled at Lisa. "My name is Khalil, that there is my brother Saburi, and my cousin Pandu; the two week olds won't be named until they are a month old," said Khalil as he introduced his brother and cousin.

Saburi looked almost like his brother, only his red tuft was much smaller, more of a small cowlick than anything else, the tip of his ears though had little tufts sticking up making him look like a lynx. Pandu was a year and a half so he wasn't exactly a cub but he still hung around with them, acting like a big brother and protecting them from any problems.

Lisa only nodded at the new companions both of them gave her reassuring smiles to make sure that she knew that they were on friendly terms with her, not like Kanzi.

"So how did you loose your parents any way, doesn't your pride have its own territory?" asked Saburi.

Lisa thought for a moment on how to lie about her new identity, hopefully what she came up with would be true and honest sounding.

"Actually me, my parents, and my brother travel around just living off the land," said Lisa nervously.

"Oh Rogues I see," said Pandu.

"You must have fascinating adventures," said Khalil.

"Yeah but my brother is the one who usually gets into more adventures than I do though, he's more of the troublemaker," said Lisa.

"Oh who cares, you're just a dumb rogue whose parents don't have a set of boundaries and would probably take more than their fair share of food in our lands," said Kanzi.

"Shuttup Kanzi, just because we lost our sister to one does not mean her parents were like that one," said Khalil.

"You say that now but just watch I bet her parents will try to take over our pride when they find her too," said Kanzi who now had her muzzle against Lisa's, giving her the evil eye and making Lisa feel extremely terrible.

Saburi was the one who actually noticed this and quickly pushed Kanzi to the side getting into a kitten fight that was with claws. Lisa only watched wishing now more than ever that she was back at the hotel not worrying about any kind of prophecy at all.

"Don't worry about them, Kanzi will get over it, so what is that thing around your neck any way?" asked Khalil trying to change the subject and make Lisa feel welcome.

"Oh this, my dad found it when I was little and put it around my neck, I've worn it ever since," lied Lisa.

"Is really pretty, it matches your eyes," said Khalil making Lisa blush.

"Dinner's ready!" a voice suddenly yelled before Lisa could feel any more awkward around a cub that she would probably never see again in a few weeks time.

The call for dinner instantly stopped Kanzi and Saburi's fight and they all raced over to the meal, Lisa following quickly behind. Once she saw what the meal was, she instantly cringed and wished again that she had not taken the offer up with Ramla. There in front of her was the carcass of a dead Zebra, meat. Lisa stared at everyone as they ate unsure of what to think of this ritual and seeing them act like savages.

"What's wrong Lisa?" asked Halima when she noticed that Lisa was only standing there looking upset.

"Oh nothing it's just that I'm a vega…" She stopped in mid sentence knowing that the lions would find this extremely confusing.

"You're a what?" asked Mashal.

"Probably something stupid that her rogue family made up and is forbidden to eat," said Kanzi.

Kanzi's mother only glared at her.

"Sorry I guess I'm just used to seeing my parents and my brother eat with me, there is just a lot of you," said Lisa as she tried to lie again.

"Don't worry you'll get as much as you need, now don't be shy," said Latif.

Lisa only gulped before slowly moving forward. She stood in front of the hind leg of the animal, its body steaming with the smell of fresh meat. Lisa felt she was about to barf but quickly swallowed it in before finally taking a bite. When she used to eat meat, her meal was cooked, now she had to resort to the raw kind which now tasted more bloody and filled with the germs she needed to avoid when it was cooked. She soon swallowed the meat and then looked at the pride who was watching her.

"How is it?" asked Halima.

Lisa knew she had to lie a little. "It's not bad," she said as she took another bite, she looked up after doing so and found that the pride had lost interest in her eating and were now eating themselves. Lisa only sighed and swallowed her meal. She reluctantly ate a few more bites until she could no longer handle it and watched everyone else eat; it was going to be a long few weeks with the pride.

Evening finally arrived and the pride had settled into the den for a long siesta. Lisa was invited to sleep with Latif and Halima but she couldn't fall asleep and quickly slipped out of the cave and out onto the promontory where she first saw Latif. There was a steady breeze blowing and she gave a heavy sigh as it blew into her face.

The land looked so peaceful from where she stood and every star you could imagine could be seen from where she was, something she could not do at home. She watched as birds flew by, animals run toward a safe place fore the evening, and hundreds of noises that she was not sure if they were angry sounds or sounds of sleep. It was truly fascinating to her yet at the same time she longed for her parents to be by her side.

She had been away from them for many hours now and they were probably worried sick about her. They all were probably not even sleeping either, maybe they were out searching for her right now.

"Can't sleep eh?" came a voice from behind her.

Lisa turned around startled but only discovered that it was Latif looking down at her with loving eyes. Eyes that told her he could be trusted no matter what she did.

"Yes sir, I'm just not used to this and I'm worried about my parents," said Lisa.

"I bet they are worried about you too Lisa, but don't worry you'll be together with them soon," said Latif.

"I just don't understand why I was the one chosen for this, why can't it be another lion like Khalil or something?" asked Lisa.

"Fate is a strange thing isn't it, one minute you are a human just minding your own business, the next you are standing next to a baboon walking on all fours. Fate can't really be explained, it just happens for a reason, you were destined for it and there is no way to change that," said Latif.

"It is strange and it feels even stranger being something I was not born to be," said Lisa.

"I agree with you on that, I would most likely be just as confused as you are if I found myself as a human," said Latif.

"I just hope I can get this prophecy over and done with as quickly as I can, I know its nice being out here away from humans and their pollution but I just suddenly don't feel safe like this out in the open," said Lisa.

"But Halima and I are here to protect you, if any harm tries to come to you we will fight back," said Latif who pushed Lisa up against his leg, even though Lisa barely knew him she suddenly felt a connection with him and quickly nuzzled up against his leg. This was as close to a father figure she was going to get for a while and she had chosen to help him in his hour of need to keep his angry brother from trying to rule his kingdom and others.

"Thank you I'm glad you are willing to take care of me," said Lisa.

"The pleasure is all mine especially since if you did not come a different battle would be fought and innocent blood would most likely be spilled," said Latif.

"But Dajan might get me and my innocent blood would be spilled and it would be a waste for me to come," said Lisa.

"That is why I am here, you have a destiny and I will make sure that that rotten brother of mine won't change that," Latif let out a slight growl that startled Lisa for a moment.

"Sorry, he just makes me angry," said Latif blushing.

"It's alright even the kindest of us show anger," said Lisa.

"Such wise words for a young child, you truly are special, now since we are both wide awake I bet you can tell me some fascinating things about those dots in the night sky up there," said Latif as he looked up at the heavens with a grin and curious eyes.

Lisa only giggled before she began to teach the curious king all she knew about the stars.

"Now wait before you go any further," interrupted Layla as quickly as she could.

"Yes young lady?" said Kijani.

"Why was Lisa afraid to eat meat?" asked Layla.

"Well you know how hooved mammals only eat green food and not meat like us?" asked Kijani.

Layla only nodded.

"Well she prefers to eat greens because humans have a tendency to prepare their meat in such a way that other humans find revolting and they don't want any part of it, so they call themselves vegetarians," said Kijani.

"Oh I see, that's all I wanted to know," said Layla who then smiled as she waited for Kijani to continue with the rest of the story.

A/N: Okay that's enough for now and sorry for the long wait, I tried to finish this before I left for vacation but it didn't work out too well. I hope you all enjoyed that and I know the ending it's probably not the best I can come up with but I thought it was nice to have Lisa get to know Latif some more. You know this story can actually be a whole story if I wanted it to be and I could use Mufasa as the king or something but I'm not sure how it will work out and everything. What do you all think? Here are name meanings for you all.

Kahfee: Quiet

Mashal: Torch

Kanzi: A treasure

Khalil: Sincere Friend

Samir: Companion

Pandu: Artistic

Saburi: Patience

I hope that's all of them, if I forgot one please let me know. I hope to have the next chapter up as soon as possible so keep a lookout for it. See you all later.