So yeah… sorry I haven't updated this story since Christmas (Wow… time really gets away from a person…) but that's because I've been contemplating how I'm going to continue this story in an effective way. I have an ending in mind, and I just need to jump back in and develop an appropriate middle. I have plenty of ideas in mind, but obviously if I thought they were what I want, I would have finished this already (plus I've been busy writing papers for school for the last few quarters.)

So many pieces, so many ways to put them together XD

BUT I have not forgotten about this story! It also makes me happy to see that my story is getting added to people's favorites. When I'm done working on the plot work for another project I've had in mind and have been beating with a stick to get the way I want it, I'll turn my attention back to this one and finally finish it. Since I've stepped away from this one for so long, I was able to reread what I have done and look at it with "new" eyes.

Onward to part dos!

Part 2

"Asuma? Asuma!"

"What?"

"No, no, no! Stop goofing off, Asuma! Just like this, you see? And you crawl forward like this, and when you get very close, you turn your paws over just like this so they're deaf and blind to your attack. Your fur will muffle your advancement. Don't you remember? Or do you want to show Isabis and Neo the wrong way to hunt?"

Tanga leaped to her brother's side. He was down in a crouch, but his tail end was too high in the air. She had shoved it down and skidded into a proper crouch herself next to him.

"This is just stupid," Asuma complained, frowning. He shook his head to clear his sight of his bangs, which had fallen into his eyes. For the last year, he had been working on a thick, light brown mane that was now reached the middle of his chest. When he gazed at himself in a reflective, watery surface, he was fondly reminded of his grandfather, only a messier version. He thought he saw bits of his father as well, from what he recalled of him, but he chose to ignore the cut of his chin and the harsh look in his eyes that only intensified as he grew older. His mother often called him handsome. "I don't see why we have to be out here," he added. "I hate hunting, you know."

Tanga coughed. "Stick in the mud," she muttered as she cleared her throat.

Standing up straight, Asuma frowned at her.

"Reeelaaax," she said with a grin. "I know you just don't like it out here, but we didn't even have to sneak away like we used to. It's expected of us to at least try and catch something by ourselves. At least if we do, it'll cheer them up."

"I doubt that it could. We lost Nala after all."

Why was Asuma trying so hard to be bum her out? It had been almost an entire moon since Nala's passing, but she would have wanted them to move on quickly. Tanga knew that, as she tried her best to do so, or at least act the part for her disheartened family, but she could only do so much when she was with Asuma. With a playful growl, she knocked him to the ground and pinned him on his back.

"The least you can do is pretend," she told him as she looked down at him.

"Fine." Asuma forced a smile, the corners of his mouth turning up so far that Tanga could see every deadly tooth in his mouth. "Is that good enough for ya?" he mumbled flatly.

"No, now I'm just scared. You're going to give me nightmares, Asuma. I hope you can appreciate that."

"Off," Asuma growled as he pushed her away and began to groom his ginger fur, running his tongue over the faint wild dog scars on his foreleg. Unlike Tanga, his pelt was still speckled with faint spots.

"Fine, then I'll leave you behind. I don't need you, Asuma," Tanga threatened. Her grin widened mischievously. "You're so awkward anyhow. You're constantly scaring away our prey."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. Your skills were inherited from Mother… or lack thereof from the sounds of it… At least there's hope for you, I guess. Mother hunts perfectly fine now."

"Hey, I've caught some things here and there."

"Name one."

Asuma hesitated as he thought for a moment. "During the last family hunt, I caught that zebra," he reminded her.

"Yeah, with me! You never could have done it by yourself. I was the one who slowed it down just so you could catch it! That mane of yours must have a lot of drag or something."

"Will you stop it?" Asuma growled. He lunged at his sister, planning to pin her, but she dodged backwards, giggling all the while.

"Hmmm, stop what, Asuma?"

"Taunting me."

This time he caught her, but she went limp and somehow slid out of his grip. Playfully she batted him on the shoulder before jumping away. He gave chase, but lost her, standing amidst a grouping of bushes that surrounded him on all sides.

"Lighten up, brother, or your face shall be frozen like that," he heard her calling nearby. He looked around. He could hear her giggling without much control.

"Like what?"

"Like this!" Tanga popped out of the top of a bush, her claws forcing the corners of her mouth down far. She glared cross-eyed at him.

Asuma couldn't help but be irritated and delighted at the same time at the sight. He wanted to laugh, but he couldn't let his sister see that her cubbish foolishness was having an effect on him. He pounced on the bush, but she had already gone. "I've never seen such a becoming creature as you," he told her.

"I've heard that the elephants are some of the most serious beasts around," Tanga's voice could be heard from another bush. "I suggest you go and ask them how all the time they're so down."

"Can't you not act like a cub for one day in your life? I don't think a hyena would even think you're as hilarious as you believe yourself to be."

"How would you know? You rarely get out enough to see what they're laughing at."

"This taunting is really getting pretty old."

"That's rather bold."

As he was walking past a bush, Asuma felt Tanga's paw as it flashed out and tripped him. He went down hard.

"Haven't you come to notice by now that I barely can stand doing what I've been told?" she asked. She slid gracefully from the bush before bouncing once on his back and jumping away. She laughed.

"Even in old age, you'll be nothing but a cub. I can see it now," Asuma called as he quickly got up and began chasing after her. "All hobbled over, and you will still be running around, showin' up all the young lions, each of them with a brow raised high."

"That'll be years from this time, and for now, you've still got to catch me!"

Tanga watched from a bush quietly as Asuma sought her out, without a clue that he was just mere steps away from her. She breathed shallowly and didn't even quiver a bit until he had moved on. She followed in the direction in which he had gone until she could hear a scuffling sound just on the other side of a few big rocks. She climbed over, and looked hardly long enough to see the general site of her target before she catapulted herself over the rocks and onto her unsuspecting prey below.

She had naturally expected the lion to be Asuma, but it wasn't. She realized this in midair.

Having spooked a dark-furred lion, he fought back and pinned her with her belly pressed to the ground faster than she had ever pinned her brother before. She had landed on his back, but somehow he had flipped her so that he was on top of her. Her eyes wide in terror, she expected to be finished off by the beast who had caught her. She covered her eyes with her paws and cringed when she felt his breath grazing the back of her surely vulnerable neck. She thought about calling for help, but she didn't want Asuma to get hurt.

The game they had played was over.

The lion, with a strong paw, rolled her over and pushed her away as if she were as light as a cub again. With a huff, Tanga jumped to her paws and glared at the stranger, who stood smirking at her, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth.

"You oughta learn to defend yourself better," the lion remarked. He looked on as she shook out her dusty pelt."You never know what kind of beasts are out here."

"I can defend myself," Tanga growled.

"Reallllly…"

"My appearance is deceiving, I suppose," she retorted.

"Sure… and cloud watching it some form of fun. You weren't out here doing that again, were you?"

"What...?" Tanga looked more closely at the lion. Have I seen you before?

He began to circle her, giving her the once over. "My my, you've certainly turned into a beautiful creature, I must say, Lewa," he said charmingly. "How's that old stick-in-the-mud brother of yours these days?"

"Natin?" A smile broke over Tanga's face. Only he had given her a nickname. She thought he looked so different from the last time they had seen each other. Granted, they had both grown up with the passing of nearly two years, but the way he walked and the build of his now muscular body threw her off. As a cub, he had been so lanky, his gait a bit clumsy. Now, he was so graceful that with even the smallest step he seemed like the most agile creature she had ever met. But, the main thing that she remembered was the deep blue of his quick eyes. "Is it really you, Natin?"

He nodded, smiling back at her.

"Hey... you should show me that trick you just did," she asked. "You moved so fast! How'd you learn something like that?"

"Oh, I've just been practicing a lot for self-defense, no big deal," Natin replied with an air of nonchalance. "Here, I'll show you, and then I can show you another if you have the time. You're a quick learner still, aren't you?"

Nodding, Tanga smiled wider at this, admiring Natin for his skill, and not to mention how handsome she thought he had become as he complimented her. He went down into a slight crouch and jumped playfully at her. Tanga mirrored him, and listened to him carefully, hanging onto every word. She watched as he then stood back up and sat with his back to her.

"The first thing to remember is to attack when your target is the least aware of what you are about to do. Take them off guard, distract them, stalk them, trick them- whatever it takes."

"Naturally."

"Now, when you leaped on me, I went down like this when I felt your weight," Natin explained as he dropped his front half closer to the ground while his hind quarters remained in the air, his knees slightly bent. "Your paws naturally tried to grab for something, which was my middle. You were just playing, but with any attacker it would be the same. You just dip your head like this, roll back on them, twist, and pin them."

He did all this as slow as he could, tucking his head between his paws before turning into a somersault. Next, he twisted over so that he would be on his paws and face-to-face with his imaginary foe.

"It doesn't matter if you pin them on their back or on their belly, so long as they stay down and can't hurt you. Care to try now, Tanga?"

"Oh, you bet!" she exclaimed excitedly. When Natin didn't make the move to "leap" on her shoulders, she figured it was just because he was so much bigger than her that it would make the move too difficult for her. Nevertheless, she performed the mock move she had just watched him do on an imaginary attacker, more or less elegantly compared to how Natin had performed it.

"Like that?" she asked him.

"Excellent!" Natin smiled. "Now do you want me to teach you another?"

Tanga nodded. "I can always try them out later on Asuma." She paused to think for a moment. "If I were… er, in the attacker position, I guess, would that move you just showed me work as well?" she asked, her head tilted.

Natin glanced down at the ground in thought. "I… I would think so if you could overpower them." He then looked back at her before crouching again, his tail end swishing back and forth. "Now, do you want another lesson or not?" he smirked. "C'mon."

"Bring it on!" Tanga laughed.

"Tanga!"

Just as she heard her name being called, Natin leaped at her awkwardly, bowling her over as they knocked heads. They were scrambling to their paws when Asuma raced up to them, glaring and snarling at the stranger who he hadn't yet to realized was Natin.

"Get behind me, Tanga," her brother growled, his teeth bared. The fur all along his spine stood on end. Natin quickly lost his surprise and mirrored his cousin's threatening attitude.

If the situation hadn't been so serious, Tanga would have laughed at the difference between the two males. Comparatively, Natin was bigger and far less lanky than the pale-furred Asuma. Tanga could only assume that living away from Pride Rock had been a harder life to live, making the young lion heartier, stronger. The drought they had lived through when they were young had come to an end long ago, and the dry season this year had been hardly worth noticing. She wondered if her brother could even win a fight against an opponent such as Natin since they had never needed to do so. Asuma just wasn't built for combat.

And she didn't wish to find out now.

"Asuma, stop!" she cried. "It's Natin!"

Her brother made a face. "Natin?" he repeated the name.

"Natin." She nodded.

Asuma continued to stare at their cousin, saying nothing.

"Well, isn't it great? Ain't you excited, Asuma?" Tanga said to break the wall of silence.

Her brother frowned. "I'm... not so sure that I would call it excitement."

Tanga narrowed her eyes. "What's the matter with you, Asuma?" she scoffed.

Again, Asuma said nothing, but the apprehension on his face increased.

"Wellll, Asuma, what is it? Why aren't you jumping for joy?" Natin remarked with the tilt of his chin.

Asuma frowned. "For starters, where have you and your mother been all this time? Why didn't you come back?"

Natin snorted quietly. "You know well enough, don't you? And I've come back, as my mother wished, to once again take my place as a prince of Pride Rock."

"See, Asuma. Mother promised us he'd come back one day!"

Asuma clearly was refusing to share in Tanga's excitement. "Your mother and you left the pride a long time ago. Why the return now?"

Natin blinked. "Does it matter?" he said shortly.

"Yes, it does."

When their cousin didn't continue, Asuma pressed for more information. "Well? Where have you been? Where is your mother?"

Natin's jaw muscles twitched slightly as he ground his teeth. Tanga felt the smile drop from her face, and she felt a small chill run down her spine.

"I must report that Vitani is dead. She died bravely, and I've come to fulfill her promise." Natin glanced down at his paws for a moment. "All that matters now is that I'm home again... I hope the pride has been well."

Vitani? Dead? "I... I'm sorry for your loss, Natin," Tanga said quietly. She then shot Asuma a pointed look. Why are you being such a jerk to Natin?

"Your grief is shared," Asuma finally said. His body lost much of the tension, but his eyes still gave away his suspicion. "The pride has been well, but they'll feel the loss at losing a lioness like your mother, especially after Nala's passing."

Natin lifted his head a little though his ears lowered. "She was one of the loveliest lionesses I'd ever met. She'll be missed."

The three of them stood in silence for a moment before Tanga thought to speak up, involved in other thoughts of her own. She remarked, smiling slightly again, "They might be cheered up to see you, Natin."

"Is Chaka still around?" Natin asked suddenly, shifting his weight a little.

Both Asuma and Tanga nodded. "He's been a big help since... you know," Tanga said. "Mother hasn't been the same, but she's very good at keeping the pride in line since Nala isn't around anymore either. They'll both be so excited to see you, actually, I think!"

Natin gave a wry smile that caused the young lioness to quirk a brow, but he said nothing when she expected him to.

"Well..." The look on Asuma's face was reluctant to say the least. "If you plan to stay, we should take you to Pride Rock, I suppose."

Natin grimaced at this.

"Chaka was on patrol with Isabis when we left," Asuma said. "He might be out still." He turned to lead the way. "Come, let's get this over with."

Tanga sighed, but said nothing as she followed after her brother and cousin. I wonder what happened to Vitani, she thought to herself. I hope it wasn't the same rogues that got Simba and Father... Natin was pretty distant about the subject. I can maybe ask him later when he's settled in... She glanced briefly at Natin, whose face was nearly expressionless, only a hint of relief filling his blue eyes.

...Maybe...

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"Do you think that Asuma will be back at the cave when we get there?"

"Not sure, Isabis," Chaka said as he made sure that the markings along the border were as clear as day to any intruders. He spread his jaws to yawn, knowing well what he'd be doing once he returned to Pride Rock. "Tanga and Asuma are busy hunting to practice for the official one in a few days."

"Well, I hope he is," the young, brown-furred lioness replied. "He's fun. Tanga, too."

I wouldn't call him 'fun' if I were you," Chaka thought to himself. He could easily admit to himself that Asuma had only continued to become more surly as he grew into adulthood, and it was clear to everyone but poor Isabis that he could care less for the pretty, young lioness, who in fact was going to one day be his queen. Instead, I've been stuck saddled to you, even if it is to your benefit as the future queen.

This gave him little reason to wish for the well-being of the pride once Asuma, Isabis, and Tanga came into their own. He was just glad he was leading them for now.

"Isabis, what are you doing?" he asked the young lioness once he was able to drag his focus back onto her.

The young lioness shrugged, looking worriedly up at him. "Did I do something wrong again? I'm sorry..."

Chaka pulled a thin smile. "No big deal," he finally said, though he didn't appreciate the young lioness tainting his strong, male marks with hers. Any passing rogue would smell them and laugh, he thought. "Why don't you find something to stalk, hmmm? If you're good, you can show your skills off to Asuma," he suggested.

This made her smile, too naive to know that he was brushing her off. "Alright then, Chaka," she piped cheerfully. "Will you help me? You're really good, and I want to learn."

"In a moment I will."

"Great!"

While Isabis bounded off to find something else to get into, surely, Chaka did his best to cover up her markings with his own again and a little earth. When he was finished, he found himself staring into space, out past the border to the foreign territories that he had once roamed in search of his family. If had known what finding his family would have meant, even with the encouragement of Rafiki, he wasn't sure if the old Chaka would have been so eager to return home.

I know you're still out there... and I'll be, waiting, right here, for you.

"Chaha, are yoo dah yeh?"

The big lion blinked and shook his head to clear the image of Kovu's backside as Kiara let him get away from his mind. What was she thinking, letting him off easy? Chaka turned toward Isabis' voice, and he saw that she had caught two small mice.

"Loo wha I caw!" she exclaimed.

Without his bidding, he found himself smiling. At least you're a good huntress.

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This was a bit slower paced compared to the emotionally charged last part of part 1, but in a chapter or two, it will pick back up. But I do hope you'll enjoy reading. J