A raspy cough emanated from within the murky shadows of the large, gaping hole.

"Huh..." The stranger's voice was gravelly. "I didn't see this dumb hole in the dark. Lucky nuthin's broken, but my pride on the other hand..." He gave a barely-recognizable attempt at a chuckle.

Asuma was stunned by what he'd found. He straightened his back and arched his sore neck to get a better look at the stranger well-below him. The tips of his toes were a mere whisker's length away from the hole's rim. He opened his mouth to speak; but nothing came out, nor did any words come to mind.

"So, I could use a little help," the filthy-furred stranger continued. He shook his red-brown mane. "I cannot get out myself. Tried that. I keep hearing things out there- other creatures- so I've been yelling myself hoarse," he went on in a rambling, half-slurred voice. "Guess they umm... ah... a-didn't want to help out a guy. Or else they were prey animals. I dunno. But I guess none of that matters now, but for all I know, I conjured up you, too!" There was another rough chuckle.

A thought briefly flitted through Asuma's own mind, that perhaps he'd conjured up theoldlion. He ached all over and his stomach groaned in protest as the adrenaline running through his system began to fade. Despite the clear distress of the old lion, he was irritated more than anything- he was sitting there mostly because he'd been looking for Kovu again, and now had run into this dilemma. A familiar, dull pain throbbed in his temples, one that had subsided slightly since the opportunity of destroying Kovu had become a possibility, after living for years believing that he'd been slain by someone else. Finding Kovu down in the hole would've been a blessed miracle. A long-shot, but it would've solved everything, and he could've gone home knowing he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do.

This lion clearly was not the murderer that he was hunting, and as his blue eyes took in the long scratch marks on the walls of the hole, Asuma told himself that saving the stranger would be dangerous. What the lion had accomplished on his own, with little running space at the bottom for aid, was quite impressive, but the rim of the hole was still only just out of reach. Helping the stranger would mean risking falling in and injuring himself, if he could even come up with a plan to save him...

For a split second, again he wondered if he were instead still dreaming. What were the chances, after all that had happened to him, that he would find a stranger in distress, at the bottom of a hole, who Tanga hadn't heard first? Unless, he thought, Tanga really had left...

He knew without a doubt, that Tanga would be tripping over her paws to help the stranger- Asuma caught himself when he thought he was about give an unexpected, bitter chuckle at that image. It brought on feelings of both irritation and envy. It was also ridiculous how he was just sitting there staring angrily at the bottom of the hole, envisioning how any and all rescue attempts could turn south for him. He wondered briefly what it might feel like to actually succeed at pulling the lion from his would-be grave, but nothing stirred within him, aside from frustration at the emptiness he felt.

Maybe he was more selfish than he cared to admit, more wrapped up in his own problems.

Then, any tiny bit of distasteful humor drained from him when his thoughts drifted back to one, miserable desire that he'd had earlier...

I want to do something that I don't screw up... something I can be proud of...

Asuma suddenly felt short of breath. A tingle ran down his spine, and the muscles in his back were crawling with guilt and dread.

Maybe I'm not so alone in all of-

He shook his head to clear away the idea.

No… it's just me and this stranger.

"-you bother coming if you're just going to sit there and stare, eh? Am I so very entertaining or something..? Though, you are just kinda staring into space, shaking your head for some dumb reason. It's not like I'm a pretty lioness or a cub, but... I like those stars over your head, but my view could be better. I'll ask you now: are you saving me, or not? I'm really thinking not."

The sudden accusation caught Asuma off guard, shattering his creeping, probably impossible, yet horrific, idea. He had to stop himself from shifting his weight uncomfortably as he tried to recover and answer. "No... Who said I wasn't going to help you?"

The stranger scoffed. "He talks! Well, you haven't exactly jumped for joy trying to be useful. And your face might be in shadow, but from that snarky tone of yours, I'd bet you were thinking about how pathetic I am."

Asuma scowled, shaking his head. "I was not."

The older lion growled. "I've raised enough smart-mouthed cubs to know when one of them has something to hide."

Asuma growled back. His ears pressed into his mane. He tried to keep his voice level as he said, "I wasn't lying, if that's what you think. And I'm not a-"

"Hey! I didn't defend my pride for seasons from selfish punks like you just to die in a hole," the stranger wheezed sharply. "You're ah... ummm... a-torturing me here, giving me too much hope. Maybe you should just get lost so that I can die in peace! Go find some lionesses to bother, or ah... ah... some cubs to kill."

Asuma's jaw tensed. "Do you think you know me?" he spat. "You're pretty quick with the profiling for someone who needs to be saved. It's just by cruel fate that you fell down there. It's not like I pushed you in or anything, right? I've never met you in my life."

The stranger's long-winded chuckle made Asuma's skin crawl.

"You're very defensive," the stranger said.

Frowning, Asuma mused, "What...?" He tried to shake it off. "Of course I am. Like I said, you don't know anything about me."

"Well, I suppose you haven't said no to helping me, but you're standing there doing nuthin'," the stranger replied matter-of-factly. "Maybe not nuthin'- you keep arguing with me, and sayin' how I've got you all wrong. Like a dumb punk... I'd bet you're probably some punk I've had to chase off my land before... I'd say that you've killed lots of guys like me before... but..."

There was no need for the old stranger to continue. Asuma lashed his tail wildly, and he had to stop himself from digging too hard with his claws at the dirt beneath him. He remembered how he'd once been in the old lion's position- alone and dependent on someone else for his survival. In his case, it had been Chaka who had saved him- back before Chaka had lost it. Asuma was sure those painful memories were what influenced his cool voice when he growled warningly, "Stop making these assumptions about me. You don't know me."

"Are all your first impressions this terrible, kid?" retorted the stranger, still not taking the hint.

"Do you call everyone you meet a cub killer?"

"Well, I'm sure you're plain rude to everyone. I, of course, don't call everyone I meet a cub killer. But guys like you don't have manners anymore like they used to. No respect, nope!"

The stranger's crotchedy attitude rubbed him the wrong way- reminding him of Isabis's incessant chattering, Natin's pointless death, his mother's ignorance, and Chaka's anger-all rolled up into one creature. He couldn't think rationally. He pushed himself to his paws so fast that he disturbed the dirt beneath him, causing some of it to rain down into the hole.

"Hey! Why you..." The old lion shook the falling dirt from his face.

Asuma glared down into the dismal hole, and stood there for a moment, reluctant to do what he really wanted to do...

"Had enough of me already?" the stranger rasped. "Heh... I bet you don't have an ummm... ah... a-drop of compassion in your bones!"

Asuma rolled and then closed his eyes. The stranger was sucking the energy from him. He needed to find Tanga if he could, get to the Pride Lands, and somehow find Kovu.

As far as I'm concerned, I'd probably be doing someone a favor by leaving him down there. Maybe if he keeps trying, he'll get out himself. Maybe if he keeps yelling, someone else who's much nicer than me will save him...

His shoulders tensed up and the scars on his foreleg itched as his thoughts once again turned back to the night when Chaka had saved him... after Kovu had left him behind. His own reaction to Chaka's wild presence had been anything but delighted, and he started to wonder if there had been something in this stranger's past that had made him so callous.

Do I really care to know?

He waited to see if this thought bothered him... but it didn't.

Am I too emotionally fatigued? Or am I just beyond the point of caring... to a point that even if this jerk were a little cub, I would feel just the same? I've been here, done that… I already know what it takes to make someone like this stranger… all I need is to look into a calm puddle.

I do keep saying that I don't care if I become a monster...

He closed his eyes and felt his body sag…

Hmmm… Tanga was right about one thing... There is something deeply wrong with me.

He thought he'd at least have the decency to save a small cub in distress, but there was no cub in distress, far from it... He had the option of saving or walking away from a loud-mouthed stranger who probably only had a few seasons left on him by the look of it. The thought also crossed his mind that if he did save the lion, he'd decide to take his frustration out on him.

He might be decrepit, but the last thing I need is to have someone who hates me by my presence alone chasing me around in the dark. There's a chance that he might not, but I'm much safer if he's trapped down there, right?

"You're an idiot," hissed the stranger, snapping Asuma from his thoughts. "I'd just been, umm... ah... ah-making my peace when you showed your punk face, now I gotta start up all over again!"

Asuma frowned questioningly as he briefly studied the face of the sharp-tongued stranger. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw hope draining from his dirty features…

"Maybe it'll rain and I can swim out or drown," the stranger muttered. "Maybe this is a man-trap... and they'll come spear me."

While the stranger continued to babble on…

Asuma backed away from the hole.

He had made it roughly five lengths of his body away before the stranger noticed.

Asuma thought he heard claws scraping on earth.

"Someone did a fiiine job of raising you! Fan-tastic!" he shouted hoarsely. "For yer sake, I hope the end comes quick for me! I hope...!"

Asuma heaved a sigh, continuing to walk toward the river. Soon, he was pushing himself into a run. He tried to shut out the stranger's grating voice, to get away. He was back into the wooded area when the shouting died off for whatever reason. He paused and looked over his shoulder, as if expecting the lion to climb out of the hole and barrel into him.

He's going to starve down there... Asuma thought. Perhaps his brittle sense of compassion was finally catching up with him. No... No, he'll die of thirst long before then. He won't know what happened to him by the time his body gives out... It won't be pleasant... He's stuck down in that hole, plain and simple. I left him to rot.

Asuma was about to shiver involuntarily, when suddenly, a bird startled nearby and nearly struck his head in its panic. Ducking with the hairs raised all along his spine, Asuma followed the bird with his eyes into the night sky overhead. Seeing the stars twinkling back at him, he felt low. A queer idea popped into his mind that his paws might sink into the ground, and continue to do so until the earth had completely devoured him.

And at that moment, he allowed the thought he'd started to think before mature and form fully... somehow, he didn't know why exactly, but he had a strong feeling...

"I'm sorry..." he whispered to the stars, to whoever might be listening. "I know you wouldn't have wanted me to do that, but... I can't have any interference with my plans..."

He sharply turned his gaze away, and started to head back towards Tanga's trail. Maybe she hadn't really run off, and maybe seeing her would make him feel better, though after their fight, he doubted it.

"Saving him would slow me down... I already fail miserably at caring for Tanga," he continued. He glared at the ground as his voice came out, so completely devoid of emotion that it scared him, "You should know by now that I intend to see to it that Kovu is killed... nobody but me seems to want it; hence, why they let him run free… Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong... maybe being compared to Kovu isn't such a bad thing-knowing how your enemy's mind works is how you get the upper hand, after all. I can do that."

Kovu was sprawled out at the bottom of a freshly-dug hole, still unconscious. Natin guessed his uncle had been about to push him into the grave right before the Council's intervention. He found it halfway amusing that Kovu had returned to bury him, while Asuma and Tanga had fled the scene.

When Natin had woken up, he'd first gone to the river for a drink, and had cringed at the smell of so much blood, and the drag marks that led up to the top of the river bank. His fur was caked in crusted mud, but he hadn't bothered to clean up just yet. He'd been too busy staring in disbelief at his disheveled, mortal reflection. The nearly-unbearable, lingering sensation of death was tedious to fade. It felt like he'd woken up to find that he'd slept on a nest of scorpions, after he'd eaten a dozen jagged rocks. Natin noticed he couldn't hear clearly, and that even the light of the moon hurt his eyes. There was a dull ache at the back of his skull, and he had little recollection of the events leading up to his death. The last thing he remembered was Sauda's death followed by a mad dash to the river. Now, he was clearly alone with Kovu.

Natin was eyeing the pile of removed dirt, thoughtful, when Kovu finally stirred with a groan. He couldn't help but grin when Kovu looked up and saw him, the older lion's eyes widening. Natin's form cast a faint shadow over Kovu.

"So it wasn't just a... a..."

Natin's voice was cool, clearing his throat at first. "Nope, no dream... Believe me..."

Kovu continued to stare. "I'm hallucinating..."

Natin made an irritated sound. I may have been sent back to be your keeper, but I can't be the keeper of the insane... He then chuckled and grinned so that his teeth showed a little. "Geez," he remarked. "If I didn't wanna get buried, I'd probably get out of that grave... Now."

To make his point, he flipped a pawful of dirt onto Kovu's belly, making him flinch wildly in shock. When Kovu still didn't get up, he shoved a larger clump into the hole.

"Time's a-wast-"

"Enough!" Kovu snapped. He struggled to roll onto his paws and climb up and out of the hole.

Natin scowled, lowering his head and standing up. He took a step back, muttering, "I really hope that at least you can appreciate the Council's generosity..."

Kovu closed his eyes and sneezed. Dust billowed off his pelt like steam. He glanced guiltily at Natin, but said nothing.

Uneasiness fell over Natin. "What?" he snapped. "What is it now? You better not have just been going through the motions up there-"

"Natin!" Kovu was shaking his head, avoiding looking at him. "Stop talking for a moment." He paused before asking quietly, "Clean your face, would you? I can't think with you like that."

Natin narrowed his eyes, somewhat pleased that his appearance was disturbing to his uncle. He knew he could stand there and refuse to wash off the grime, but the benefit of harassing Kovu was perhaps too small. Causing trouble would make it harder on the Council's precious, fallen angel. He needed Kovu to cooperate.

"Fine. Don't run off. Stay here."

Kovu looked up, acknowledging him with a nod.

The water was chilly. Easing in up to his elbows, Natin looked around and listened. His heavy breathing, and the trickling sound of the flowing river filled his ears. There was no breeze. Ducking his face under the water, he quickly rubbed his cheeks and nose with his paw, fighting a sudden surge of panic, before leaping out of the water and restlessly shaking his mane. He could feel the mud dripping down his jaw unpleasantly as he stood there panting and trying to calm himself. His body had tensed up, and he let out a soft growl, glaring at the river through his soaked mane.

You almost drowned, remember?

"Natin."

The young lion's eyes flashed up to the side to the bank behind him. Kovu was sitting at the edge, staring listlessly down at him.

Natin remarked icily, "Is my appearance acceptable now?"

With hesitation, Kovu nodded.

Natin's jaw clenched. "The lionesses are chasing after Asuma and Tanga, aren't they? That's what the Council said."

Another nod. "I think Fola has been elected their leader."

Natin wasn't surprised. He hated Fola more than he'd hated Sauda.

Figures. As if there isn't enough to deal with...

"I think we should try driving them away from Asuma and Tanga. It's me they really want. We'll get them to chase us and-"

"Then what?" Natin climbed halfway up the bank and stood in front of Kovu. "They catch either of us and we're dead. How would that help anyone?"

Kovu's shoulders slumped. "If... we out run them-"

"No. That's wrong. They will not stop until you are dead, they will not stop until I'm finally dead, they will not stop until your children are dead for the hell of it, and they won't stop until they get these Pride Lands they've heard such tremendous things about. That's what you gotta understand..."

Natin cut himself off, looking away. He wanted to vomit. He finished climbing the bank, walked a few lengths, and sat down with his back to Kovu, tucking his tail around his cold paws.

I can't believe I let Mother talk me into this. We're only gonna run around in circles again, putting off the inevitable. This was over the day I told Asuma that Kovu was alive... and I was too stupid to accept that.

Kovu didn't approach him at first. "They're greedy," he said musingly. "Hungry. Every one of them."

Natin's lip curled. He lifted his chin a little. "Isn't that what I said?"

"Mostly. So what would they do after they got all of that? Would they finally be happy?"

Natin shrugged, shivering. "I don't think there's a cure for greed. Isn't that kinda the point of greed, or whatever you could call it? If they got all that, they still wouldn't know when to quit."

"And the Council made it clear that murder is wrong."

His uncle's words put a crease into the bridge of Natin's nose. He shrugged indifferently. "Kind of puts a hitch into things, and I just feel a little bit more useless now."

Hearing Kovu's pawsteps come up behind him, Natin deliberately turned his face away. He forced himself to stay there when Kovu sat down beside him.

"Who is Asuma really?"

Face still turned away, Natin corrected him. "You mean what is Asuma really..." He swallowed hard. "He basically told me he'd gladly become a monster if that meant he could finally kill you, Kovu. He certainly hasn't got my skills, but what I don't-"

Natin blinked as a thought came to him. Then he continued...

"What I didn't... understand about him, was that he refused to let me train him... It was almost as if he was in love with the idea that he's too weak to fight." Natin paused. "The best that I can explain it is that he specifically wanted me to take the fall all because Tanga and I taunted him into going on that hunt... which got him lost, and led him to being tormented by you, the murderer of his innocent, beloved grandfather. I kinda wonder now if... Our original plan was to ambush you during the hunt that night we abandoned the lionesses, before Asuma said something to you that made you change your mind-whatever the hell that was… Now, if I had refused to kill you at any point-if I'd said no, telling him I'd protect you instead... What if he'd come to you, saying that I planned to kill you? So that I could finally avenge my mother? To make you strike first?"

With Kovu's hesitation, Natin pushed through the pain and at least turned his head so that he could see Kovu out of the corner of his eye.

Kovu said quietly, his voice so certain, "I wouldn't have..."

"Yes, he would've had you right where he'd wanted you." Natin said quietly. The muscles in his throat were tight. With the dullness of his voice, he could've been talking about something as plain as the weather. "You may not wanna now... maybe... but I... I didn't get you in your sleep like you wanted. I didn't stay in the Pride Lands like you wanted. I didn't keep my huge mouth shut and leave your kids at home like you wanted. What would be better than to prove to your son, that if you could take me out, then you'd have a shot at defeating Chaka."

"... Asuma never would've done that..."

Natin scoffed. "Well, why not? The Chaka thing was a lie after all! Optimally, his worthless, stupid cousin would die, and you'd be crippled from your wounds and he'd think to himself that he'd sooner die than not finish you off himself. Even better, Kovu, if Tanga jumped in to break us apart!"

Kovu let out a throaty growl.

Natin smirked. He looked down at his paws. "Understand now why they said he's more dangerous than you?"

"No. You're only feeding me this paranoid fantasy of yours."

"Believe what you want, Kovu, but I guess I am only speculating. I can't read thoughts like the Council can." He shook his head. "The Council... they want him to be king...? What a joke. Why ever..."

Kovu huffed.

Natin made a face. "You can't make excuses for him, and you can't let him kill you. I don't care how much of a death wish you've got. If he gets you, you doom him."

"Your mother's worried about you for the same reason. Of course you'd see Asuma doing all that."

Water was still trickling from his mane, down his chest and legs. He knew all the mud hadn't come clean from his lower jaw or the knotted clumps in his debris-filled mane. Shaking his head to clear his mane out of his eyes, he said slowly, "I'm nothing like Asuma. Not anymore. At least."

"Then... tell me what I should do."

Natin lifted his ears. Had he imagined the tremble in Kovu's voice, a twang of fear and remorse? Did he just hear a miserable snort? Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Natin listened as Kovu gave another sniff. There were tears welled-up in the corners of his uncle's green eyes, his mouth pressed into a hard line.

Finally he looked Kovu full in the face. He said, his tone scathing, yet uneasy, "Why is it me who's gotta fix everybody?"

Kovu blinked hard. "You... Because you understand them. Me. Yourself." His voice caught in his throat when he said, "Natin, you didn't give in to your frustration like I did."

Natin narrowed his eyes. He'd never seen Kovu so broken down. He'd been very close before... but the foul mask of lunacy and ruin had never so entirely cracked as it had now. It was as if Kovu were laying in front of him, soft belly exposed with his deadly claws and fangs removed. It was spooky, and soon Natin realized that he was hoping what he was seeing was yet another cheap trick designed to callously wrench out the last trace of sympathy from his heart. Kovu had never really been flesh and blood to him; rather, a myth, or a hungry bird waiting for some cowering hare and its family to emerge from their warren-safe, as long as they stayed out of sight.

"I don't know if I've treated you worse than Asuma," Kovu continued, his voice sluggish. "Probably... You have no idea how happy I was to become an uncle..." He trailed off, his gaze getting distant. "When you were born, we were all happy. We knew we had a strong cub, the beginning of the next generation, and we all anticipated Kiara's delivery of the next heirs to Pride Rock. I knew the best part was that you were born in the Pride Lands where you were never supposed to feel unsafe, or hungry, or alone, or sad."

Stunned, Natin's face softened. Despite this, he snapped flatly, "I got none of that."

The rogue's ears lowered. His voice was barely audible. "Natin... I'm sorry."

Natin lowered his ears, unsure if cursing Kovu out of disgust was the proper reaction. The words seemed wrong coming from the rogue's mouth. He sighed heavy through his nose and turned his face away again. The sky caught his attention, and he noted that sunrise was quickly encroaching upon the shelter that the night provided.

Kovu sniffed. "Natin?"

The younger lion felt the weary looseness of his bones, the dull ache in his chest. "Lewa said something to me, the night before you changed the plan and I bickered with Asuma."

"Huh?" Kovu croaked.

Natin sighed again, tilting his head to the side. "Begging me to not kill you, she told me that it was too high a price to pay for basically being stupid and selfish. Her answer to everything was that I should talk to you-forgive you."

"I don't expect forgiveness," Kovu said soberly, catching Natin's attention. "Vitani said she probably won't forgive me. I know her too well, and her mind's already made up."

Staring at Kovu, Natin again was caught off guard by his uncle's candidness. Kovu's words triggered him to remember how his mother had tried to help her brother hide the murders. Natin realized it was beside the point that Kovu had threatened to hurt him, because Vitani had made the mistake of letting him hide behind lie after lie. Natin guessed his mother was punishing them both for not doing what would've been the right thing to do. He knew his mother would be restless until she forgave herself because things would've been so different if she'd made the choice to give Kovu up to the rest of the pride.

"Can I ask you again...? Natin... tell me what to do?" Kovu moved a little closer. "Please?"

The raw desperation in Kovu's eyes unnerved Natin, especially after the remark about his mother's reluctance to forgive. The look was similar to the one he recalled Kovu having after he'd butchered Sauda.

He's gonna run himself into the ground to get that forgiveness from Asuma and Mother. He craves it, and when he craves something this badly, he acts like an idiot. He'll find a way to make this worse.

Natin frowned, dubious.

"Please, I need direction." Kovu's eyes shined in the increasing sunlight. "Nat-?"

"You'll listen to me?" The words escaped Natin's mouth before he realized he'd even thought them. He hesitated, looking to the side.

I'm really gonna do this?

"Natin, please-"

"You'll... I'll hear no arguments from you." He glared sternly at Kovu, full in the face. A chill ran down his spine, but he ignored it. "I doubt you won't question me, but you'll do what I tell you, when I tell you."

Kovu's head bobbed up and down furiously. "Yes, I'll listen, Natin."

The younger lion stood up, feeling his legs shudder from the strain. He shoved his nose into Kovu's. "And if you ignore me and do something stupid... I'll leave."

Kovu's eyes widened.

Natin felt a growl in his throat as his resolve strengthened, taking a step back. "My sanity's not gonna handle much more of you. Do you understand? I don't especially care what the Council wants me to do, and I can only do so much to keep you from being you. So you'll listen to me. Do you doubt a word I'm saying?"

Kovu's mouth had fallen open. He closed it. Then he shook his head.

Natin cringed inwardly, waiting for Kovu's anger to arise. His uncle would certainly be indignant about being told that he was to be as subordinate as a cub...

But it isn't gonna rise... is it? Where'd the anger go?

There was a crease between Kovu's worried green eyes. The dark-maned lion suddenly looked up at the sky, noticing, too, that sunrise was upon them. He murmured, "They'll be on the move."

Natin raised a brow. "What?"

Kovu didn't look at him. A spark of fear entered his eyes. "Fola. The other lionesses-for sure they'll be on the move. They're hunting Asuma and Tanga."

Natin pursed his mouth. He came up with two options: try and beat the lionesses to Asuma and Tanga and whoever was "helping" or "testing" them, or go find help in the Pride Lands first and warn them. It was already clear to him what Kovu's decision would be, and Natin felt that was warning enough to not go down that path.

He cleared his throat to get Kovu's attention. Once his uncle was focused on him again, he said, "You've gotta trust they're actually taking care of your kids."

He's already frowning...

"The pride needs to be told about all of this, everything," Natin went on, steeling himself. "The lionesses are savages, and the least we could do would be to have you make amends at home and warn them all. Maybe they'll have a better plan than me." He hesitated. "Kiara might know how to handle the lionesses... and your son." He doubted she could solve the problem with the latter.

And let's hope I can still help Tanga in time...

That wiped the frown off Kovu's face. A look of exhaustion replaced it. "I think I'd rather face Asuma than Kiara."

Natin sensed it wasn't so much an argument, but an exclamation of distress. "Look, if we talk to her before Chaka gets to us, there's a slim chance that she'll be kinder to you than the rest of us have been..."

Especially after I led her cubs away with the intentions that I had... not to mention the grip that Chaka had on her and her denial of Asuma's problems...

"You're not leading me there to have Chaka kill me, are you?"

Natin glared at Kovu. "No."

Kovu scowled back, unconvinced.

Natin was shaking his head. "No," he repeated.

"Not even a tiny bit?"

The presence of the stiff dirt on his body felt painfully obvious at that moment. He did his best to steady his breathing, continuing to match Kovu's glare. He said frankly, lowering his head, "Regardless of what I feel, I'm gonna do my best to prevent Chaka from going berserk on your ass. I don't see why you're asking such things, because it's a waste of time-we both know you don't care about yourself, and we both know that I hate you."

Natin cut himself off, as if he'd remembered something. In one smooth movement, he then turned on his paws and quickly looked around to get his bearings.

No time to argue... that's a waste, too.

"What are you doing?"

The Pride Lands are that way... Satisfied, Natin looked over his shoulder, one paw raised. "We're going to Pride Rock." He felt his muzzle twist into a slight smirk. "Like I said. You were listening, right?"

Kovu glared back at him, but at least he'd stood up.

"C'mon," Natin continued, "you do as I say, and I help you. That's all you want from me. That's why I'm alive. If we run, but pace ourselves, we can get to the border by tomorrow morning. Can you do that?"

Kovu glanced down and to the side. "Yes," he relented, then added, "Can you?"

Natin nodded, hoping for all that his life was worth that he wasn't making the wrong choice.

"Good. Pride Rock it is."

The fur of the lean hare in Tanga's jaws tasted coppery and gritty. She'd already eaten a couple mice and the first hare she'd caught, having needed the strength to hunt, and was bringing food to Asuma. Her appetite had diminished, but she knew a gazelle or a wild pig would've better filled her up. The area, unfortunately, was more heavily populated by zebra and buffalo; hunting prey that large would've been tiring and dangerous, on top of the fact that she'd never be able to keep scavengers from taking it while she abandoned the meal to fetch Asuma to share it. Attracting those scavengers would have also been a terrible idea.

Her nerves had only cooled slightly after having scolded, and bickered with her brother. It had been close since she'd run away from the Pride Lands, but she'd never quite heard him speak to her like he had.

I've never heard myself speak like that, either... Maybe I was too hard on him... He knew I was preparing to attack him...

He just didn't understand, and she'd been unable to form the words exactly how she'd wanted to say them, so they'd just bubbled out. When he'd told her to stop bombarding him with her "so-called" morals, and to leave him alone, she knew she'd still done too little. The problem was, she hadn't known at the time, and still didn't know, what more she could've done. Now, she felt sorry for yelling at him. Asuma's problems were too big for her, especially when he refused to open up.

He's never been good at that... always hiding things... but I thought that maybe... maybe he finally would, and I'd be able to guide him or something, or at least sit, nod, and listen to him. Now I have to settle with just feeding him skinny hares...

Sighing through her nose, she came out of the wooded area and started to walk tiredly toward the river. The sun was starting to rise. She saw Asuma, who was sitting with his back to her and his front facing the river. His posture was stiff, and he didn't seem to notice when she dropped the hare down near his paws. Craning her neck, she looked into his face, and knew that he was someplace else.

Her voice was cautious. "Asuma? I brought you something to eat..."

He blinked and turned his head toward her. A look of sadness, she thought, flitted over his face before it became unreadable again.

"Oh... thanks..." he muttered gruffly, pawing the limp hare and stiffly lying down on his belly.

She sat there patiently as he ate, only leaving briefly to take a drink from the river and to gather her nerves. She had hardly slept much. She'd been too wound up for that, and she had been starving. When she returned and sat down again, Asuma was cleaning a few of the bones with his teeth. There was a neat pile of the remnants of the hare next to his paws.

She cleared her throat to gain his attention. When his ears went down and he glanced at her while he continued to eat, she sighed heavily and began.

"Asuma? Do you hate me for yelling at you?"

It looked like he flinched, and he stopped eating, pushing the rest of his meal away so that it was all in one pile. "No..." he started slowly. His head tilted to the side slightly. "Is this an apology?"

She thought for a moment before answering. "I'm apologizing for making you feel horrible... but I won't apologize for what I said, because I meant what I said."

He didn't answer her, but started to groom his face with slow, almost guilty, strokes of his paw.

She was too tired even to frown. "You're about as openly emotional as a rock."

Asuma paused, resting his paws so that they were lying side by side. He looked up at her, still with his unreadable expression. "Tanga, I think you'd hate me more if I did let you in, and like I said before, I don't want to burden you." Again, very briefly, the sadness crept into his blue eyes, then vanished. "But I accept your apology. I know you were angry with me, and it is my entire fault that you're not safe at Pride Rock."

Tanga's brows arched in concern. "I don't hate you..."

As he stood up, his gaze averted again, it looked like he were going to say something, but instead kept quiet. The muscles in his jaw twitched, and his mouth was set into a hard, stubborn line.

She stood up, too. "Asuma..? Would you also accept my apology... if… I said I was sorry about the hunt? You know... the bad one... when we were younger? I can't remember back then if I told you to your face that I was sorry... I just want you to know that I am. I shoulda said it sooner." She looked down at the ground. "A long time ago, actually."

Asuma's eyes widened slightly, his breathing calm. His ears lowered, and his brows arched a bit.

"And… Natin was sorry, too," she added awkwardly. "We talked about it. He really was sorry that he teased you."

Her brother issued a hoarse growl. Anger dulled the blue of his eyes, and a small crease bunched of the flesh over his nose. He said through slightly clenched jaws, "I think I always hated Natin..."

She tried not to flinch at his barbed remark.

"He was a better son to Kovu than I am," Asuma went on. "Kovu got a taste for what he thought his cubs should be like before we were born. I didn't exactly live up to the standard that Natin set for the both of us."

Tanga lowered her ears, knowing there was nothing she could say to change her brother's mind. She'd always suspected his jealously. She also feared any bit of truth to his words.

"We should start walking again." Asuma's voice sounded briskly abrupt.

When Tanga refocused, she noticed that Asuma was turned to look over his shoulder at the wooded area, his ears perked, as if he were waiting for something or someone to appear.

"I promise we won't walk until we drop this time," he added, starting to follow the river again.

She shrugged and wrenched up the corners of her mouth into a pitiful excuse for a smile. She followed him, walking behind. She hoped that his paws weren't still bothering him, as she tried to ignore the stiffness in her own shoulders.

There was a large gap of silence before Asuma spoke up again. "I was kind of worried..." he began, "I was kinda worried that you'd run off without me. I thought you were hunting, but I wasn't so sure."

"...Oh?" She waited anxiously for him to ask if she had considered it... because she had, multiple times. "I'm sorry I made you worry," she replied.

"Yeah... I... I woke up and couldn't see you, but then I found your trail and it seemed like you were hunting. I thought I'd wait by the river first to see if you would come back, in case I tried to find you and got lost instead. I also needed some time to think about the things you said. Especially the being obsessed part." He spat out the word 'obsessed' like it was a piece of bad meat.

Tanga thought she'd venture to ask. "Well… what did you think about what I said?"

He slowed down, letting her catch up to him. Yet again, the sadness was there, but this time it lingered, as he looked at her. "I'm not sure yet..."

"Oh, Asuma..." she whispered. She stopped herself from touching him-perhaps nuzzling her cheek into his mane or lifting a dusty paw to his shoulder. If his reaction to her dumping water on his face after he'd passed out was any indication to any response she might get out of him at that moment, any kind of contact, she thought, would only aggravate him. Helplessness filled her, and she caught herself feeling disgusted towards their mother and Chaka for only covering up Asuma's physical symptoms, and not trying to coax out the ones he'd buried deep inside him.

After a while, Asuma let her lead again like the day before, and at a slower pace. She told herself that just before the sun reached the middle of the sky they would rest and maybe find something more to eat, though she feared that any food would disagree with her stomach.

"I know that killing him won't bring Simba back, or erase my past," Asuma remarked suddenly, startling her, "but..."

Tanga wondered if he possessed the words to continue. The unfinished statement lingered in the tense, weary air between them like a tick that had buried its head deep into the flesh of its host.

All they could do was to keep walking, hopefully toward the Pride Lands.

Hey, I can't say when the next update will be- classes start on the 19th, and I will be busy packing next week. :)