Black.

No visions. No shapes, nor colors... no faces to match the words being uttered...

"Thanks for taking me with, uncle Scar. This was a great idea!"

"…Just one of the many that I have…"

Everything was reverberating.

"I like it when it's just you and me. We should take more walks like this all the time!"

"Well… the pleasure's certainly all mine, Simba."

"I mean, when I'm king, I promise to make sure we spend extra time together."

"Mm-hmm."

"Man… it sure is warm out. You think it'll be nice like this all year?"

"Only time will tell. Now you wait here. Your father has a marvelous surprise for…"

"…You, old lad! Come on, now, chop-chop!"

Scar's eyes opened. The second they had, sunlight spilled over his pupils, causing them to narrow. Scar then regretfully groaned and shut his eyes again, turning his head.

Daylight. Already?

Grandfather Lion's cheery silhouette stood eagerly in front of Scar, with a bright aurora of light emitting from behind him.

"Come on now, good chap, look alive!" he said merrily. "We'd be wastin' daylight!"

The senile lion then turned and went back to his own business, walking outside the cave.

Scar's mind was muddled. He just sort of stared after the old lion… watching him exit. That was a little awkward. When was he supposed to be up? No one bothered to wake him up sooner?

Scar took a quick glance about the den. It was empty. All that stared back was a blue-gray cave floor. He was the only one still left in here. So everyone else must've been waiting on him to wake up.

Just then, indistinctive voices rose out from outside the den. Scar turned an ear to listen. They were being used in a bright and chipper conversation. Scar had only been here for about one day, and he had already recognized the two voices as Hamu and Thamani's.

Scar's green eyes crept about the cave. He should get up. It must've been about ten or eleven o'clock already… judging the position of the sun.

Scar raised himself up on all fours. He inhaled and began to pace over towards the exit to the cave. He stepped outside… and bright sunlight fell over his form, making Scar's eyes narrow again.

The desert sun wasn't terribly uncomfortable in the early morning. It was a ball of light, floating at an angle in the sky, just beginning to warm up the land below. The sky stretched out for miles and miles all the way out here. It was a solid, blazing, bright blue. In fact, the sky was so broad and spacious, the entire thing looked curved like half a sphere, stretching over the land. There wasn't one cloud in the sky. The thunderstorm from the night prior must've passed over.

Scar came around the corner of the den to find the two children, Hamu and Thamani in light conversation, giggling to themselves. Once they heard paw prints behind them, Hamu and Thamani turned. Scar stood there, watching them watching him.

Thamani smirked.

"Well, look who's finally up," she said.

A big smile then flashed across Hamu's rounded face at the sight of Scar.

"Hey, Mister Lion!" he said. The cub then jumped up on all four of his paws to greet the older lion. "We were- we was just talkin' about you!" Hamu told him as he scampered on over.

Scar didn't bother to pay a whole lot of attention to the young cub's excited mood. He blinked tiredly, still too drowsy to really care about what was happening around his environment.

He then attempted stretching by dipping his head low and towards the ground… then pulled his shoulders up to his ears to stretch his muscles.

Thamani observed him… and then opened her mouth to speak.

"…We were gonna wake you up earlier at sunrise, but we all thought that it would be a good idea if you slept in."

But then her glance went over to her brother… looking a little confused and interested. Hamu had then skidded to a halt, and stood right at Scar's paws. The child looked up, although with some kind of high regard.

"…Did you have a nice sleep, Mister Lion?" he said. "The den was a little cold last night, so I hope ya did. Especially with you being hurt and all. I can't imagine bleeding all that much. Blood makes me nauseous. Gosh, it's getting warm out. Why, I was just tellin' Thamani that I had this really cool dream last night, an… and you were in it! But… I forgot most of it… don't ya hate that?"

His words ran off his tongue faster than Scar's train of thought could keep up. Scar just kept his eyes half-lidded, then raised his brows with some forced interest to acknowledge he was listening.

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a sound of busy, feverish paw pads running along the ground from behind the side of the cave. Scar and Hamu turned at the noise. Grandfather Lion then came frantically running to the scene. The senior citizen then stood by the cave, hurriedly scanning the area. His eyes were wild, although looking for something.

He then spotted Scar... and his two grandchildren sort of awkwardly staring right back. Grandfather Lion then he calmed down significantly when he saw everyone- as if that's what he was searching for.

"D'oh yes- good! Very good, then," he suddenly said. "Good. Now… a gust of wind due east…"

Grandfather Lion then mumbled to himself… suddenly sticking a single finger inside his mouth, and removed it to hold it high in the air. All Scar and the two children could do was watch him gingerly.

The withered gray lion paid no attention to their muddled gawks and inspected the ground intently, although he would find the answers he was looking for there. He then quickly began turn around and around… pacing in circles… continuing to mumble incoherently to himself.

Scar's eyebrows slid skyward... and studied the hurried, furrowing senior. He was quickly beginning to learn more and more about these lions the longer he stayed here. One, specific word then fell into Scar's mind regarding the old sod that pretty much summed him all up:

Eccentric.

Grandfather Lion paced and he paced until he finally he slowed down a little, settling on a clear spot. Grandfather Lion then bust out a beaming smile. He suddenly faced triumphantly in a clear direction.

"Ah... pup-pup-pup-pup... ah-ha! South would be this way. Oh, poo. That's not right. Er, Subira, poppet, where on earth is south?"

Scar turned. At the old lion's request, and at the side of the cave, Subira had then come calmly into the picture to her father's call. She then explained a simple alternative to find the directions he needed… which involved finding which way the sun was positioned within the sky. It was still early morning hours, and it was still rising in the east. Grandfather Lion got excited and instantly caught on.

"By George Scott's whiskers, Subira!" he merrily exclaimed with a slight chuckle. "You've done it!"

At this, Subira passed him by with a soft smile, shaking her head to herself. Scar's expression however, slowly twisted into pained bewilderment.

He looked over at Hamu and Thamani. They looked like they were so used to this, they didn't dare ask any questions. Grandfather Lion, however, couldn't be anymore pleased with himself. He began to step out in front of them to lead the way outward.

"Come along, now!" he said. "And please, try not to stop and touch everything today, Hamu. Your mother would appreciate not pulling out anymore cactus needles."

Hamu scowled.

"Aahwww…" he groaned, although disappointed. But regardless, the cub sat up and obediently followed his mother- with Thamani on his side.

Scar watched Hamu and Thamani. He decided it would've been best for him if he followed alongside them... behind Grandfather Lion and Subira. They apparently were leading the way.

Scar figured that if he obtained a secluded standpoint within the children, he could better find out more about the family he was staying with through observatory. He already figured out that Subira's father, Grandfather Lion, had one or two marbles loose.


It wasn't even noon, and the day had succumbed to a much more unwelcoming temperature. The sun was suspended high up in the air, reporting itself for duty over the African Sahara.

A brilliant, bleached orb in the sky.

The lion party was inching forward along the landscape. A fine line of golden sand dunes made out the horizon for them, painting out the only visible distinction between earth and sky for travelers out here. The heat was reverberating… ringing. Air began to simmer above the surface of the sand, roasting anything- and everything that it touched. This was the edge of the desert.

And Scar had a feeling it was just getting started.

Conversation between the family of lions was light for the most part… save for Hamu, who insisted on making the trip as much of a musical experience for himself as he could. The cub could only handle so much silence at a time... and he had to entertain himself.

Subira didn't admonish the boy. She actually found it a little amusing, since his scatting symphony didn't seem to be hurting anybody.

Although Hamu had been too swept up in it. Everyone was then temporarily slowed down due to deal with the cub stepping on a small- angry snapping scorpion that was well-hidden in the sand. Subira and Hamu pulled over to the side, and his mother had to remove the stinger out from his paw.

The boy was alright, but this just made Hamu's grandfather a little upset because the boy wasn't watching where he was stepping. Before long, Hamu was back on his feet, carrying along like nothing ever happened. He was either a very brave cub, or one too content in his own head to notice anything else.

Scar watched him from a distance… making his own observation on Hamu's animated temperament- along with his own conclusion on his personality:

He was childish, in the best definition.


Once the day had hit noon, they had hit another problem. The sun had froze dead above them in the sky. Because of this, this made Grandfather Lion's sense of direction swerve off course. They no longer had a compass to tell them which direction south was. It wasn't too much of a big deal… since all they had to do was wait for noon to pass, when the sun would soon begin to move again in the sky- clearly pointing out west.

But the lion that found this predicament the most unpleasant was Thamani. The becoming lioness pretended to bemoan and throw the back of her paw to her forehead. She went wasn't shy to express her dread about the "inevitable death" they would all face while lost in the parched wasteland, if they couldn't find sufficient food or water soon.

Scar took a moment to watch this. Subira told her that her theatrics were only wearing everyone down- if not demanding attention. Thamani sighed, but respectfully yielded to her mother. Subira then tried to reason and told her she would leave to find something to hunt and bring back for everyone to eat. This made the teenager calm down… and almost made her a little too happy with the situation, like nothing horrible even happened.

To Scar, it seemed like these lions didn't even notice he was studying everyone. Thamani was a rising thespian. A drama queen. She seemed like the typical adolescent… wanting all eyes to be on her.

Scar watched her and Hamu. Seeing both children and their antics, it began to make Scar wonder more about what other kind of memories he had lost… along with that very same adolescent stage in his life.

It only took about an hour for Subira to return with a small, white creature in her mouth. A Fennec Fox. This was good, because by that time, Grandfather Lion had then announced that the sun was beginning to glide across the sky again.

Before long, they were traveling along again.


They all had reached nearly the other end of the desert, and were now traveling away from the hot, sandy open land, and into some tall, narrow rocky walls. They were a light reddish color.

Slot canyons. They must've been here for years… formed through weather and water, Scar presumed.

It was late afternoon. The sun was now just barely starting to make its descent within the crystalline sky… changing the color from solid aqua, to a melting bronze. And all this walking was starting to wear Scar out. He had spent the last few hours trying to better understand the party he was traveling with. Subira was all that was left.

She didn't shed a lot of information about herself… which bothered Scar. (Strange lions taking him in, and all). But after a few hours of some close inspection behind her, he now had something on her. It wasn't much, but he had remembered that he had heard her say a while ago in mid-conversation with her father something about her living in Giza… and how she always used to look forward to watching the starry desert sky at night. She went off to say how the sky goes through this huge transformation, revealing every sort of star and planet in the sky.

Alas, Scar wasn't paying too much attention.

Giza. This proved her family was nomadic. They were wandering all over the place, for whatever reasons- Scar had no idea about. Again, this didn't say much about her… other than she cared enough about Egyptian culture.

The group had arrived at the slot canyon… and they all had to get around them somehow… so, the family began to venture right through them. Their location was just beyond it.

Scar at this point was starting to get worn out. He knew this would be a lot of walking, but not this much walking.

Grandfather led the way through an opening, hopping merrily over a few rocks, making his way through… with his daughter behind him. There was a small bridge made of stone, lying conveniently for the family to stroll down.

"Now, be careful, children!" Grandfather Lion said, smiling behind his mustache-mane. His voice bounced off the rock walls. The canyon formed rifts and cracks and crevices of every sort. "It's easy to get hurt around here!" he said.

Hamu's head then popped up from behind the narrow gap, he leapt up upon a rock and began to make his way down the little bridge… smiling proudly. Thamani came up behind him, following suit.

Hamu then smugly turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, Thamani, the opening might be too small for you to get through!"

At this, Thamani then looked slighted… and angry.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" she asked him.

Even from this distance, Scar could see Subira's face contort up front in disapproval.

Hamu suddenly then swung his head around, smiling cheesily.

"-No, I'm saying you're ginormous!" he called back to her… voice bouncing off the canyon walls.

Thamani scoffed… clearly offended. She showed hurt eyes turned her head for her mother's defense.

"Mom…!" she cried out.

"Oh, Hamu, stop it," Subira rebuked him from up front. Her voice ricocheted off the narrow canyon walls as well.

Scar then raised his eyes, both of them landing on Subira.

"I was just kidding!" Hamu then shouted back at his older sister, making his way over a few more red-colored rocks.

Hamu's mother, however, did a half pirouette and stopped walking. Subira faced Hamu more clearly and spoke like a civilized woman.

"…Hamu… go up in front please," she then told him. "I'd like you to be where I could see you."

Hamu sort of stopped walking and just looked at her… then began to frown.

"Sorry, mum," he then murmured incoherently.

The child then prodded up along his mother's side, getting in front of her.

Thamani pressed forward… secretly feeling justified.

Subira afterwards looked up… and probably more than unintentionally, her eyes… two peridots… landed on Scar. They both stared.

Scar then dropped eye contact. Quietly.


The elements began to settle down. The sun… the wild winds, and the raging heat started to grow weary, having enough for the day. It was getting cooler in the desert… the sun was making preparations for a sunset.

It began to sink below the mark of the horizon, drenching the sky in toasted peach, and loud, enthusiastic red. The clouds were glowing darkly over the barren land.

Fortunately, as the sun was putting on it's spectacular display… the entire lion party then stopped in their tracks, gazing forward to discover a safe haven inside the desert land. A refuge.

They examined the location from a distance. This was too convenient. This was exactly what they were looking for. It held silhouettes of stalky palm trees… all of them gathered in dark clusters. It provided them all a refuge out of the heat. And where there were trees… there was water.

Where there was water… other animals… food… was roaming the area.

Hamu, was the first out of the group to proclaim his joy.

"Oh, finally…!" he burst out, slightly limping. He had to restrain himself from running to the refuge due to his earlier scorpion experience that morning, and his paw was still throbbing.

"I've never been so happy to see a tree in my life!" he said. His voice faded off as he skipped toward the thicket of palm trees, standing patiently in the desert sand. Their leaves rustled gently in a welcoming, warm breeze.

Scar then took one look at the sheltered haven.

His eyes narrowed, inspecting it. He then took a moment to take realize the feel on the ground. He lifted one paw, and took note of the firmer soil underneath it. This wasn't sand, exactly. This was a mixture of dirt and sand. They were only now beginning to reach the very outskirts of the desert.

At last.

Thamani watched her brother head out from within the group. She pursed her lips, and then decided to follow him.

"You've only been on the earth about a year, Hamu," she told him, fading away with him.

Hamu stopped. Apparently, it looked like the wind was taken out of his sails. He raised his chin… dignified and smug, looking down on her.

"…I've experienced a lot of things in life, sister," he replied.

Even at a distance, everyone saw Thamani hang her head… shaking it.

As the two children went off to explore, Subira caught up to her father and faced him… looking quite relieved. She then breathed in, trying to compose her frail figure.

"I would presume we are resting here for the night," she told her father, eyeing the shelter, along with her children running off into it. It looked like Hamu and Thamani were trying to beat each other inside the thicket. Their faint voices bounced back at each other as they raced... and then faded off.

Subira then looked at her father.

"Dad…?" she said.

Grandfather Lion snapped his head at her direction, giving undivided attention… and an absurdly big, beaming smile behind his mane.

"…Would you please make sure they don't hurt themselves?" Subira requested. At this, her father blinked absentmindedly.

Then immediately hopped around, and rotated one-hundred-eighty degrees the other way.

"CHAARGE…!" he said good-humouredly. Scar flinched a brow.

The old lion then proceeded to run after the children like a gust of wind, straight for the palm tree haven.