He said this was the direction the hunting party was, didn't he?

The young prince stopped and looked around. Nothing looked right to him, and his back crawled with the chill of dark familiarity to the situation running up and down his spine like a hoard of itchy fleas. He felt his whole body lower slowly into the short grass. "Oh, no... no, no, no, no..." he sputtered as he vigorously shook his head. His eyes flashed about in the darkness as he struggled to find one thing that was familiar to him. "Why did I think I could find them? Why didn't I just stay where I was told to stay?" Why wasn't Dad there to meet me?

Overwhelmed, Asuma tucked his head between his paws for comfort and tried everything to stop himself from bawling like he had seen the young cubs from the den do whenever they were away from their mother for too long. Could he feel even more like such an idiot? So much for being so smart... how is it possible to be lost again?

After waiting for a while longer, Asuma had climbed back up to the top of the rocky hill to get his bearings. To his left, like Kovu had told him, he'd been sure he had seen the signs of his family. He didn't know how he could've lost his father, but he thought the best decision would be to go back to the hunting party and meet up with his father there. Too much time for his liking had passed since he had last seen his father. Instead, he had kept on walking, but had found nobody. He had now decided to turn around and go back to the rocky hill in case his father tried looking there for him. He planned to not move from that spot for as long as possible once he found it again. Where did Dad go?

"Why am I lost again!" Asuma cried out angrily, his muzzle tilted to the stars. "Why aren't you guiding me! Help me, Great Kings! I just want to go home!" He sniffed. "I gotta get back home..."

Asuma laid there for a while longer, beginning to grow dangerously sleepy, before he remembered that he couldn't just stay there, practically out in the open. He gathered every bit of strength that he had to carry on and pushed his shuddering body into a hunched but standing position. Immediately, he crouched back down after looking around.

Oh-no... Fear ran through his body like a cold stab, his ears pinned back against his head, when he saw the six or so shadowy figures that were slowly ambling his way. He had heard them sniffing around, but hadn't thought much of it. I knew I heard them... So it wasn't just me starting to dream after all, Asuma thought as he wondered how his luck could be so terrible. He had seen wild dogs only once, but from very far away and with his pride nearby. His father had told him that they were a nuisance for an adult lion, but could be dangerous to a cub or when in high numbers. Asuma was somewhere between an adult and a cub, and he wondered fretfully if he'd be able to get away from them, or if they would pass him by if he stayed low long enough.

Of course they're going to find you! They're probably already on the trail of your scent...

You're going to have to stand and fight this one out if they attack. You can't let them stumble onto you either.

He didn't give himself time to stay there and think for much longer. He jumped to his paws, and tore off, hoping the noise from the grass would distract the wild dogs for a moment to give him a head start before they gave chase. He headed for a clearing he knew was close. The grass he was in wasn't that tall, but all too often there were clumps of taller grass that would blind him.

"Hey, it's a lion!" Asuma heard a wild dog yell.

"Maybe it's the one who killed Payto!"

"Coward!"

"Let's get 'em!"

Asuma squeaked in terror. They think I'm a killer? He was panting hard, already running faster than he ever had in his short life, which he knew it would be cut even shorter if they caught him and ganged up on him. He thought he could drive off a few, but there were twice that chasing after him, and they were out for revenge. They're out for blood!

"Help! Anyone, heeeeelllllllpp!" Asuma shouted. He wanted to find the rocky hill again, but he knew that he was running aimlessly. "Help! Hhheeellllp!"

"Get 'em!"

With a yelp of surprise, Asuma found himself tumbling to the ground, stirring up a small cloud of dirt. He hissed and swatted at the muzzle of the wild dog that had sunk its teeth into his haunch. His eyes were wide, and he twisted around to bite the face of the dog. It howled and let him go, but then another one grabbed his left foreleg. His free paw came down hard on its ear. This did nothing the faze the angry beast, and instead made him shake his head from side to side with a furious growl. Yowling, Asuma swatted at the dog again, his teeth bared.

"Hold him down," one wild dog snarled. "He's going to pay for what he's done."

Asuma looked up and could only see the dark outlines of the dogs. "No, please! I'm not the killer!"

Several of the dogs barked with laughter.

"Even if you're not the killer, one day you're going to be," the dog replied callously. "We can punish you now before you're big."

"Like I am!"

If Asuma had blinked, he would have missed the whole thing, and as it was, he felt like he did. He and the dogs were deafened by the tremendous roar of a lion. Bodies were thrown every which way as the newcomer chased the blood-thirsty dogs away. One fell to the ground, dead. It's throat had been slashed open by the lion's quick bite.

"A rogue," Asuma gasped while he looked on in horror as the lion dealt with the dogs. His wide eyes refused to look away from the blood on his muzzle, which made his vicious snarl stand out even more in the darkness. His nostrils filled with the scent of rank fear and blood from the dogs. Slowly at first, before he realized what he was doing, Asuma started to back away from the scene. He couldn't be certain of what the lion's motives were, and after seeing what he was capable of, Asuma didn't want to stick around any longer to discover them at his own expense. Tripping over himself in an effort to get away as fast as possible, the young lion turned tail and ran.

"Hey, come back here!"

Visions of the rogue who had killed Simba scattered any coherent thought. Asuma picked up his pace. I won't get caught I won't get caught I won't get caugh—

"Oommph!"

"Where do you think you're running off to?" the rogue asked Asuma. The big lion had a paw planted on his shoulder, holding him down so he couldn't escape. The young lion writhed about, his paws clawing at the dirt and air.

"You're bleeding."

Clenching his eyes shut, Asuma said through his teeth, "If you're going to kill me, do it fast."

A sound came from the rogue that made Asuma take a peek at him. Is he laughing at me? Is he chuckling? Soon, it was obvious that the rogue was doing just that even though he kept a paw on Asuma.

"Why would I want to kill you if I just saved you?"

"I thought rogues weren't above playing sick games," Asuma scoffed. "Why else would you save me?"

"My reason can't be because I couldn't stand by and watch you be killed by those sorry excuses for predators?" the rogue retorted. He then took his paw off of Asuma, and the young lion quickly scrambled to his paws and crouched down, readying himself to run at any sign of a threat. "And besides," the stranger went on, "I'm the killer they're after, not you. But that stupid mongrel deserved what he got after he disturbed my nap with his pitiful baying. They're all like that."

Rogues were no good. Why should this one be any different? Asuma wasn't sure what to think about the lion who had saved him. But how can I trust him? He might even be the very lion who killed Grandfather. They may have been wild dogs, but they were still lives.

"Good thing I was around," the rogue said when Asuma didn't reply, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he looked down upon him. "You like to live dangerously, hmm?"

Asuma only frowned.

The lion stared back at him, obviously growing awkward by the way he glanced around briefly. "You feel alright?" he asked. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself, you know."

Lie! Lie! "I'm not out here by myself. I'm out here by my own choosing," Asuma blurted. Mentally, he smacked himself. It was a very poor lie.

"Oh, then I'll safely know that your screams will go unheard..." the rogue said, a sly smile alighting on his muzzle, which was still a grisly mess of drying blood.

Asuma gasped, his eyes widening. He shrank away from the rogue.

"Hahahaha!" the rogue laughed, tossing his head back. By the way his paws kept lifting off the ground, Asuma wondered if he was trying to stop himself from falling to the ground in a fit of cruel humor, further adding to the young lion's annoyance and humiliation. Asuma glared at the rogue as he continued to laugh, his face growing hot.

"It's not funny..." Asuma muttered, irritated. If I was bigger, I'd smack that smile off your face. Then, unwanted tears began to pool in his eyes, and he cast his gaze down onto his paws. "It isn't at all..."

The rogue continued to laugh, having now fallen to the ground. Asuma couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, thanks for your help," Asuma seethed as he turned away and started walking. His tail dragged limply behind him, and the bites to his shoulder and hind leg made him stiff. He limped a little. Even if he had survived the wild dog attack, he knew he'd succumb to the elements and starvation in a matter of days. I might as well lie down right here and let the buzzards have me when they come looking for those dead dogs, he thought grimly. Where was Dad when he told me to wait?

"Look." Rapid paw steps announced the coming of the rogue from behind. The lion, who was bigger than his father, stood in Asuma's path. "That was rotten of me," he said. "Ever since I left my pride, I haven't been around many lions. You just should have seen the look on your face..." The lion paused to smile, but it was quickly wiped away. "The look on your face now tells me that something is very wrong. What's the matter? Those bites hurting you?"

"No, I'm fine," Asuma said through his teeth. "What do you care... you're just a rogue."

"Ouch," the lion said, feigning hurt. "Can't imagine your mother taught you those manners. And what's the matter with rogues?"

Asuma shrugged. I shouldn't even be talking to you. He wanted to tell the lion to buzz off, but the lion was right. He was being rude, and after all, the lion had saved him and for that he was still breathing. Finally, he replied, "I've just heard that you're no good... And someone close to me was killed by one not that long ago..."

A look of sympathy passed over the lion's face, dulling his pale green eyes. "I'm sorry if that's what you've been told, and I'm sorry for your loss, kid. There are bad lions out there, but not all of us are that way. At least I don't consider myself to be." The lion shifted his weight. "Was this someone by chance... your mother?"

Asuma frowned. "No, it wasn't her. It... it was my grandfather who was killed," he admitted.

"Then where is your mother? You have one, don't you?"

He swallowed nervously. Can I trust him? Asuma was wary about rogue, even if his actions seemed kind and earnest. He then remembered some of the things Nala told him about rogues before Simba had been killed. She had said that all rogues were just lions without a pride. Some were made cruel and tough by their nomadic way of life, but others could be kind and decent. She had said that one had saved her as a cub, too. All they needed was a place to start over and call their own, but were forced to roam until they found it. Asuma had to hope that this lion was that kind of a rogue.

"Yes," he eventually said, "I have one... I just don't know where she is."

"Ah," the lion said with a warm smile. "Well, where was the last place you saw her?"

"At home. I was with my father and the rest of my pride when I got... lost..."

"You think you've wandered far?" The lion stood up and looked around.

"I-I don't know... I'm so l-lost..." Asuma's voice cracked at the end. He pursed his mouth.

The young lion's emotions couldn't be helped, and he broke down.

"Hey, it's alright. I'll try my best to get you home," the lion spoke. "You can be tough until then."

"No, I'm not tough!" Asuma cried. "I can't wrestle, I can't hunt, I'm sobbing like a cub, and I've been hopelessly lost twice now. I'm such a disappointment! What kind of a prince am I? Who's going to want me as king someday, who?"

The lion was alarmed by this sudden outburst. He watched Asuma helplessly as angry tears ran ceaselessly down his dirty cheeks, the young lion's eyes narrowed and his ears lowered.

"Don't be hard on yourself, kid," he said meekly. He wasn't sure what to tell the cub when he simply and lightly bumped his shoulder with his paw.

"I'm not... it's just the t-truth..."

Unbidden, the filthy young lion turned to press his face into his brown mane for comfort, catching him by surprise. But, he soon relaxed.

The least the lion could do was allow the cub that much.

XXXXXX

A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while, been busy and I needed a little break from this story so that I could get a fresh look at it in my preparation for the second part, which will be coming up in a few chapters. I could have waited to upload this chapter, but I figured you guys would want something to read in the mean time. I've started work on this again, and once I get some stuff sorted out, I should be able to bolt it out. Also, I'd like to hear what you think of the story as a whole up until this point :)