Chapter 12: Gorge Walk

The first thing Jayden did after she stood and shook herself awake was go check on Tempest. She figured it might take her mind off Dark.

Of course Dark wasn't standing over me watching me sleep, hah, what was I thinking…?

The dark brown lioness trotted around Pride Rock to the front side. She didn't mind the rain pelting her back. She was pretty sure Tempest had insisted on sleeping outside with Vitani and Tome last night. Jayden found her family in the same place they used to reside when they lived here two years ago. The Vitani Family really liked to sleep in shade of Pride Rock's peak and supporting beam. Jayden remembered from cub hood that it had felt safe and a bit cool when the night wind blew through.

Tempest was still laying there with her eyes closed. Over her stood Mani and Tome. Jayden hurried over, alarmed at first, but then calmed when she saw the lions' relaxed posture and expressions. Tempest was merely sleeping or resting.

"Hey." she whispered when she approached. "How is she?"

"Very tired." Tome reported. "But sticking it out."

"The trip really exhausted her. I don't know how she stayed awake during the spar last night." Mani said, then rose his eyes to Jayden's. "Good job, by the way."

"Oh, thanks." Jayden replied, then looked at her sleeping sister. She looked small. "She should have rested last night."

"I tried telling her, but you know how she is." his glance returned to his mate.

"Yes, she's so stubborn."

"Uncontrollably."

"I don't think she's able to show weakness."

"The stubbornness just takes over."

Tempest eye's opened but Mani and Jayden didn't see.

"It like manifests into its own entity." Mani continued, whispering.

"Maybe we should call her 'Stubborn-est'."

"I can hear every word you're saying!" the pale peach-gray lioness growled without moving.

"Oh!" Mani and Jayden said, looking a bit guilty, but giggled. Tome threw back his head and laughed loudly.

"Would you all just go away! And let me sleep!"

The three felt reassured of Tempest's health, and moved away from her. As the three were about to go their separate ways, Jayden muttered to Mani, "I got a better name for her. 'Temper.'" Mani laughed, then went to find Jai and Kivu. Tome went to find Vitani or maybe Simba who he had surely reunited with and reopened their odd friendship that began two years ago. Jayden wondered what she should do when the golden-brown almost-lioness Mebala approached.

"Hey!"

"Morning," Jayden greeted.

"Nice day isn't it?" Mebala said, implying the cloudy sky and light rain.

"It feels nice. I like being in it."

"Good, cuz there's going to be a gorge walk today. Soon actually. You in?"

"Uh.. A what?"

"A walk in the gorge. A gorge walk. You never walked in the gorge when you lived here?"

"No, I was just a cub. And there was sort of a war going on."

"Oh. Duh. Well come with me. We're supposed to meet in the gorge in just a few minutes." Mebala set off toward the gorge, and Jayden followed.

"Who's 'we'?" She asked.

"I'm not sure who all is coming, but it's supposed to be you and me, Taeliss, Zuna and Zula, Clous, maybe Ahila and Dark, and I think Dayya said she was."

Ahila and Dark. Jayden thought. It sounded like their names were put together like that on more than one occasion. She hated to admit it but the names did sound good together. Like Zuna and Zula, Or Jayden and Dayya. Tempest and Mani, Ciara and Kivu.

"There might be more if we're lucky." Mebala continued.

Jayden swallowed hard. "The more the merrier, I guess."

"You get the idea!"

A short time later, Mebala and Jayden had descended into the gorge by the least steepest entrance far Northwest into the Pride Lands. They didn't realize it, but it was the same place where the corrupted Scar placed his cub nephew, Simba, to set up Mufasa's murder many years ago.

Waiting in the gorge was Zula, Clous and Taeliss.

"This is it?" Mebala said. "Where is everyone else?"

"Zuna got recruited for hunting duty." Zula reported. Clous nodded his red maned head.

Taeliss spoke up, "Dayya said she was coming but we've been waiting for a while, and she's still not here. Maybe she got caught in the hunting party too."

"Ahila? Dark?" the brown adolescent inquired. The three others shrugged.

"I guess not coming." Zula estimated.

"Well fine."

"We can still go." Jayden said, not sure if she was grateful or disappointed or bothered that Dark wasn't coming. Was he not coming because he was with Ahila?

I've got to stop thinking about them. They can be together, it's not my business. I'm supposed to be getting over him anyway.

"Yeah, come on." Clous said.

All the young lions began their stroll The rain still fell, but much softer now.

Zula moved to Jayden's side. "I was the one who was actually called in to go on hunting duty." she said to her friend. "But Kiara got Zuna and me confused, and gestured at her to go with them. She just shrugged and went along."

Jayden giggled. "Do you really thing that's what happened? She really can't tell you apart?"

"No way."

"It's easy to me." Jayden said.

"Thank you. Not many can tell us apart, actually." Zula said, making a point to turn and glare playfully at Clous behind them.

"Me? Oh come on, you know I can tell you two apart."

"You just like to pretend you don't know." Taeliss imputed, "So you can flirt with both girls and not get in trouble."

Clous only laughed, but neither denied or accepted this statement.

"Hey, wait up!" came a young voice echoing behind them. The five young lions turned around and saw the adolescent Ahila, and Dark coming toward them.

"Sorry we're late." Ahila called, still far away. Dark followed her carefully over the fallen rocks.

This was the first time Jayden saw Ahila in the light and up close. She did have peach fur, like she suspected, with a light brown tail tuft. Her cheeks were fluffy. Her ears seemed kind of big for her face, and so were her eyes. They were light blue-teal-gray. Like Dark's but with more green in them. Her nose was rounded and very dark pink-purple. Jayden thought it looked odd on her, and had to force herself not to stare.

"What took you?" Mebala asked.

"Who cares, let's just keep going." Taeliss said, and impatiently moved forward. Eveyone followed. Ahila and Dark said a quick hellow to them all. Jayden even found her voice and said, "hello." Then quickly positioned herself between Zula and Taeliss. She wasn't sure if she could stand beside Dark and act normal. Fortunately a good and distracting question popped into Jayden's head.

"So Zula, out of you and your sister, which of you are the better hunter?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh Kings, no!" Clous moaned with dramatically rolling his eyes.

"You don't know what you just re-opened." Mebala muttered.

"Oh come on, don't act like we fight about it that much!" Zula said, then to Jayden, "Zuna often disagrees with me but I really am the better hunter."

"It's a really good thing she's not here right now." Dark commented about his other sister.

"Is this like an on-going argument or something?" Jayden asked, amused.

"It's not an argument," Zula said. "Zuna just gets confused. I mean, I am faster and stronger."

"Yeah, you're heavier, so it's easier to keep prey from struggling and getting away." Clous teased.

"Excuse me?" Zula said, turning toward him again. Jayden, Taeliss and Mebala laughed. Clous only grinned at her, and Zula moved back to stand by him so she could swat him rather hard on the arm.

"Hey!" he protested.

"I am not heavier!"

"Okay, okay!"

"I'm really not."

"Okay, I know!"

She swatted him again. Jayden giggled, then realized she was now standing next to Dark. Ahila was on his other side. Their eyes met briefly. Jayden let out a nervous laugh that she tried to cover up with a cough.

"Quite the sisters you have there." was all Jayden could think to say. I'm so lame.

He smiled though, and said, "Yep, I wouldn't trade 'em for anything in the world."

Zula and Clous continued bickering in the background. Jayden tried to keep talking like any normal friend might.

"So by your evaluation, which of your sisters is the better hunter?"

"I don't know, they're both very good. I've seen strength in both of them. Zula has speed, but Zuna has silence. I've seen her sneak right up to a prey animal and take it down. It had no idea it was being stalked until she had it in her teeth."

"Wow." Ahila commented from Dark's other side. Her teal-grey eyes shining. "I hope I can be that good when I start to hunt."

Taeliss spoke up from Jayden's other side. "Me too! Me and Mebala's hunting tests should be coming up soon, right?" The peach-gray lioness turned her head to her brown friend. Mebala nodded.

"That's right."

"Are you nervous?" Jayden asked both girls.

"Kind of." Taeliss replied.

"Not me!" Said Mebala.

"How was your hunting test, Jayden?" Dark asked. She turned her head back toward him, surprised.

"Oh.. Um well I guess I didn't have a test exactly. My mother just told me to join the hunt one day and that was that. I guess we don't do the go-by-yourself-test thing."

"It must be a Pridelander thing." Clous spoke from behind them. He and Zula had finished their bickering and were just walking side by side.

"You weird Pridelanders." Jayden joked, glancing back at her cousin, Clous. He laughed.

I wish I had grown up here. Jayden almost said outloud.

"We just have different traditions." Mebala said.

"Yeah I know." Jayden said. "I like them."

"The Pridelanders rock!" Ahila cheered, "I'm so glad I'm a part of this Pride now."

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling thankful. Jayden wanted to ask Ahila how she came about to the Pride Lands, but she went on.

"It's so peaceful here, I can't imagine what it was like during the war." she remarked. "It must have been so scary."

At first no one replied to this, then Jayden realized it was because all of them were just cubs when the war happened, except for Mebala and Taeliss (and of course Ahila herself) who hadn't even been born yet. Only Jayden and Dark had seen bits and pieces of the fighting when they had snuck out into a bush by the border where the fight took place.

"We were protected from the war, so we didn't see much of it." Zula said finally.

Jayden didn't know weather to talk about what she and Dark had seen or not. She glanced at him and his eyes were hidden by the black mane around his face. She chose not to speak.

"I've heard stories," Ahila continued, "From some of the older lionesses. They say it was brutal."

It wasn't just brutal. Jayden wanted to say. It was demented. She thought of the Black Pride's "leader" Blood when he struck Dark's biological mother. She fell to the ground and didn't get up.

Still,no one spoke, and Ahila blurted, "All those black lions were just evil, I'm just glad they're wiped out."

Practically the whole group flinched. All made quick glances to Dark. His eyes were still guarded.

Against all her restraints, Jayden muttered with a tint of anger in her voice, "Not all black lions are evil."

"Oh!" Ahila realized. "Oh, Kings, yes of course not. I'm sorry Dark, you know I didn't mean you." The adolescent amended, putting her tail on Dark's back. "All but Dark were evil." she said.

"Actually there was another." Jayden couldn't help herself. "Dark's mother. She was brave. She gave Dark up so he could live a normal life without evil lions deciding his future. She was punished severally everyday, and ultimately sacrificed her life. She would have done it all over again the same way if she got the chance-I know it. So, no. not all black lions are evil."

Everyone was silent as death.

"Oh…" Ahila said. "I was told that part of the story but… um.. I guess I forgot. I'm sorry." she said, finally becoming quiet.

There was a long silence again.

Maybe I shouldn't have spoke. Jayden thought. Why can't I shut my mouth!? Should I apologize? No… I did nothing wrong.

"I'm sorry, Dark." Ahila squeaked quietly.

"That's okay." he spoke up. Then turned his head to the adolescent. "Really, it's alright." and even smiled. Jayden got the feeling he was just saying it to not cause animosity between them.

Something dawned on her. Surely if Dark and Ahila were dating, she would have known the story better, and she wouldn't have said something so obviously insensitive. Could it be that the two weren't even a couple? Just friends?

Her heart kind of fluttered. A small flame of hope jumped inside her, but she extinguished it quickly. She wasn't supposed to have hope. Hope just leaded to pain.

The silence in the group didn't last long. Dark himself made a joke when Mebala tripped noisily on a large rock, "Is this your first day outside?" he teased, "Those hard things are rocks. You walk over them."

The group burst out laughing.

"Very funny…" Mebala said, blushing a little. After that, things loosened up again. The topics swam from one subject to another. The young lions grew tired not long after that, but instead of continuing to go forward through the too-long gorge, the seven lions turned around and went back the way they came. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still cloudy. Random raindrops still fell every now and then. The group returned to Pride Rock just past lunch time. Most everyone had already eaten, but the hunting team had done well enough to get enough for everyone, so there was plenty left over. The seven lions ate hungrily with a few others who were still munching. Jayden managed to tear off a large hunk of meat from the carcass and moved away to give herself some space. She wasn't used to being around so many lions yet. It was hard to transition going from a pride of eight to a pride of thirty-three.

Jayden noticed an open grassy area where only Kivu and Ciara were currently resting. They were quietly grooming themselves and sometimes each other. She went to the same grassy area, but gave the couple some space. She ate her lunch quietly. Looking around, she could see lions resting and washing, some were finishing up eating too. She could see some lionesses including her mother, laying on the stone-steps that lead to Pride Rock's cave. Vitani was talking with Kanai and Kiara. Mairu walked over and lay with them and joined the conversation. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Jayden could tell it was just light and happy talk. Vitani was popular here. Jayden had always wondered why Vitani was so adamant on leaving here two years ago. Why couldn't they have lived here? She had always heard Vitani never slept well in the den.

Neither do I. She interrupted her own thoughts. But she sleeps fine outside, so what other reason was there to leave? Our home is beautiful…maybe mother wanted to get away. There are bad memories here for her. Her mother and brother died just outside of the Pride Lands.

Jayden was just finishing her chunk of meat when she heard pawsteps approaching. Clous, Zuna and Zula had come to join her. Zula sat next to Jayden, while Clous and Zuna sat side-by-side; they were very close to each other like Kivu and Ciara were. Jayden glanced at th e royal couple again, they were still grooming happily.

"So it was a good catch, right guys?" Zuna asked, grinning.

Jayden turned her head back to her group. "Yes!" she nodded.

"Good job." Zula commented with a smile. Jayden noticed another difference in the twins. Zuna's voice was softer and a bit high, while Zula's was rougher or a bit deeper.

Just like their fur. Zuna's is smooth, Zula's is rough.

Jayden took this opportunity to look the twins in their eyes. As cubs they used to announce one of them had "red-orange" eyes, and the other had "orange red" eyes. Jayden could barely see the difference, but it was true, Zula's eyes were more red.

The four chatted quietly at first. They told Zuna about their morning gorge walk. She said she was sorry to have missed it. The twins then laughed about Kiara's mistake when she had at first asked Zula to join the hunt, but gestured at Zuna when it was time to go.

Crickets were chirping and lulling Jayden into a sleepy state. She put her head on her paws and closed her eyes. She listened to Clous and Zuna talk for a bit. She could tell just by listening that they really loved each other. They were a good couple. Zula was being quiet. She opened her eyes and saw that Zula had put her head down too, and had her eyes closed. A spare rain drop must have fallen on her cheek, because there was a tiny drop of water there. Jayden herself had felt one land on her back just a minute before.

Jayden's eyes drifted to Kivu and Ciara again. They had their heads down too but were playing some sort of game with their paws. Kivu would put one of his on Ciara's then she would put her other paw on his. He repeated by putting his other paw on top, then she repeated. After their paws were a sandwich of four paws, with Kivu's on top, Ciara pulled hers from the bottom and put it on his at the top of the pile.

She continued to watch as Kivu strained to pull his from the bottom. This time Ciara was exerting pressure from the top to make it more difficult for him. Jayden figured the object of the game was to keep the other from pulling their paw out. Ciara kept giggling and smiling. Kivu grinned widely too.

They look so happy. Jayden closed her eyes again and listened to the quiet giggling. The Prideland's cutest couple. Possibly even cuter than Mani and Tempest. Jayden thought about Tempest for a while, wondering about her condition. She must be doing fine, since Mairu the medicine lioness had been talking casually to Vitani and Kiara.

Soon Jayden drifted off to sleep.

The rest of the day remained uneventful. Jayden only napped for a short time. The rest of the afternoon, she hung out with Dayya, Koru, Drayden, Mebala, Taeliss and Zula. Nearby, she could see Ahila, Clous, Dark, Malowa and Nundi gathered around a tree. Nundi was trying to climb it whil eAhila was cheering him on.

The dreary day turned into a dark night. This time, Jayden invited Zula to sleep by her and her family under Pride Rock's peak where her family liked to reside. Vitani and Tome seemed happy to share their favorite spot. Koru wasn't there at the time, so there was more space than expected. Jayden wondered if he went wandering away from the lands like he sometimes did back home. She often wondered if he would eventually leave the pride to be a wanderer. It was up to him, he could do what he wanted as an adult.

Everyone was settling to sleep. After lying awake for about an hour, Jayden was still awake.

Not again… she thought.

She could hear Zula's deep breathing. Even her den-loving friend fell asleep here. Why couldn't she? Jayden felt restless. Her feet planted on the Earth on their own, and pulled Jayden along. She walked in the night to the side of Pride Rock where she used to sneak out when she was a cub. The same place she slept last night.

She was almost next to the standing rock when she noticed a black shape resting in the grass in front of her.

There was no mistaking who it could be.