Kuendesha had finally caught her prey, and good thing too as it had taken much longer than she originally planned. So old, yet so much fight in him. I'm glad I didn't try this when he was in his prime. She thought as she began to drag the kill back to the Tree of Conception, fighting every urge to dig into the meat right then and there. Her cubs will need the extra energy for what she has in store for them today. They'll learn not to make me worry like that again, she thought as she began to formulate ideas for a suitable punishment. However, upon dragging the wildebeest up to the den where her cubs were grounded, she discovered something that made her fur stand on end.

Specifically, that her two cubs weren't where she told them to be. Her blood boiled, and if anyone could see her right now, she would probably have looked more like a demon from hell than any living creature. And right now she felt exactly like that; she would have to calm herself if she wanted to even think about talking to her cubs. I shouldn't be angry at them. This is Icarus's doing! I know it is! He's undermining me to my cubs! And like that, Kuendesha's blood was boiling again as she left the wildebeest behind and raced off in the direction that she last remembered Icarus trotting off to. As she ran, her vision began to go red, her anger increasing with each step, until she finally found who she was looking for. And they hadn't noticed her yet.

"Now, Lana and friends. What did you learn today?" Icarus asked, and from the pondering looks of the cubs they were clearly trying to search for the best answers. David spoke up first. "Um… well, we learned that hyenas aren't the smartest animals around. Nor do they like to negotiate." Kuendesha couldn't believe how cavalier he was acting, especially as he was blatantly disobeying her. Icarus laughed. "Well, I could have told you that. And I'm sure Drivotra and Asante would have gladly told you that, too." Icarus said, prompting the other cubs to join in the mirth. Akato spoke next. "We also learned that the shaman's powers are weird." Masika chimed in as soon as his sentence was finished. "And cool. I wish we could make the rain fall when we want it too." At that, Icarus looked over all 5 cubs with him. "Those powers may be cool, but all five of you, as well as the other cubs in the pride, possess something even greater than power over the Order of Nature." At that, all five of them went silent, out of awe. "We do?" Lana asked?

"Yes, especially you, David and Julia, due to being heirs to the kingdom. But all lions have a certain power, greater than any force that the Order of Nature can muster. And that is the power to rule the land and determine the law which the other animals follow. Ajabu and his apprentice Siri; for all of their spiritual powers, they have such little freedom and control, despite all of their power. But you cubs? You are the next generation of the Pride, the next generation that will guide in a better future. Mostly because you won't have the taint of a bad past…" Icarus had trailed off at that last part, the memories of his spiritual brother flowing right back into his mind. Tears came to his eyes, even though his mind told him not to let it happen.

"Daddy?" Lana asked, concern in her voice at sudden clamming up that Icarus just went through. Icarus shook his head, clearing his mind and refocusing on his cub and her playmates. But he wouldn't be focused on them for very long, as the roar of an angry lioness broke his concentration. Kuendesha's roar.

"Icarus!" She shouted, as though she was his mother as well. Icarus was… not pleased about that. "What do you want?" He asked curtly. "My cubs." She said, simply yet angrily. "As the heirs to the kingdom, they can not be kept from royal lessons. Otherwise they will never learn to rule a kingdom." Icarus logically explained, though there was clearly an edge to his voice. An edge that Kuendesha was not about to back down from. "They were grounded. After sneaking off and deliberately disobeying me, they had been grounded for a month! And you snuck them out of the den." At that, Lana spoke up "No, I did. I was the one to go get them and bring them here. Daddy had nothing to do with it, and didn't even know I was even showing up." She tried, and Kuendesha turned her anger to the princess. "So he put YOU up to it! I can't believe you actually did what your father told you to."

And there it was. Icarus was now visibly angry, a rarity for him in general but this was first for the cubs. "Lana, take your friends home and play some games. Kuendesha and I need to talk." He said. Kuendesha's eyes blazed with fury, almost turning from blue to red. "He is not your father! David, Julia, you two aren't going any-" Icarus interrupted her. "Unless you want to see your mother in the state I'm going to leave her in, I suggest you follow Lana." He said, calmly, but with a storm behind his calm veneer. Lana, without a word, gathered her friends and more pushed them away from what was going to be a definite showdown.

"Are you trying to turn my cubs against me?! Is that what you-" And once again, Icarus cut her off again, this time holding up his paw. His claws gleamed in the sunlight, and Kuendesha noticed how very sharp they all were. "Kuendesha, while I was walking home with your cubs they informed me that they didn't know Saul was a king. More importantly, they also thought he was just another male lion in the pride. Can you explain why they would think that?" He phrased it as a question, but the accusation was apparent in his voice. "I told them what they needed to know about their father, and that was that he was a good lion and one who cared about the pride he was a part of." She defended, but Icarus had already heard the full story from the cubs. "Yes, and what else did you say?" He lead.

And now Kuendesha realizes what he's getting at. "What I say to my cubs is my business, thank you very much." She said, angry that once again her parenting style was being questioned by who she thought was a weak-willed father. "Yes, and ensuring that the future of the Jungle is well taken care of is my business. And it involves David and Julia, no matter what you may think." At that, Kuendesha can no longer contain herself.

"And no matter what you may think, Iknow what's best for my cubs! I am their mother, not you! I suggest you stay out of my den, and worry about your own slutty daughter!" Kuendesha more roared than demanded, and hearing his daughter insulted in that way, Icarus loses it too. "THEN YOU GET OUT OF MY KINGDOM!" Icarus said, getting the attention of the other animals that might have been around with his roar. Kuendesha simply stared at the dark lion, his fur bristling and his mane puffed out. It was only at this moment of his anger that she could see that he was quite a bit taller than her and, though he wasn't as muscular as Saul, was still quite well-built and his muscles looked as though they were twisted from wire cables. He was an intimidating sight, Kuendesha had to admit.

However, one creature wasn't so intimidated. In fact, she saw this disunity among the Jungle Pride as an opportunity.