Chapter 2

Kiava pushed another piece of vine out of the way. Almost at once, it sprang back and struck him In the face as it had some many times before. This time, he avoided it. The black maned, golden cub strode with what seemed to the untrained eye to be confidence and purpose. Grim determination kept him going now. Behind him, another lioness with a cream-coloured coat followed him.

"Owiee." She said. "That looked like it stung. Are you ok?" She asked him.

"Never better." Kiava told her, and flashed a smirk with confidence he didn't feel. But their situation had improved dramatically in recent days. For example, he was no longer oozing blood from his side every few miles and the wound that had been debilitating mere weeks ago was now nothing more than a dull ache on the peripheral of his senses. Now it had faded to a scar. One of an unusual coloration (it seemed to him more of a charcoal grey than anything else) but it didn't ache or pulse with ominous pain nor glow with eldritch light anymore. He hoped that was a good sign. He breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized how much the injury had weighed upon him, in spirit as well as in body. He was only now coming to recognize just how much lighter he felt without its sickening touch.

Behind him, a loud clattering was heard. The two cubs turned to the sound and tried to stifle laughter. They weren't the only ones struggling in the undergrowth. The mighty silverbacked gorilla known to them as Bruce had tripped on a stretched vine and from his perch the golden monkey Ookai tumbled down in a heap of bruises and curses. It was a small wonder Bruce didn't land atop of him.

"That's it!" He exclaimed, hobbling to his feet. "I'll walk from now on!" he said, and promptly did so. Zuri watched him take the lead.

"Do you think he's ok?" She asked in concern. Kiava laughed.

"Nothing's injured but his pride. He's fine." He reassured her.

"This jungle is getting thicker and thicker. We went a few stretches back there where I couldn't even see the sky through the leaves." Zuri shuddered. "It must be easy to get lost in a place like this. No way to see the stars, or even the sun to figure out which direction we're going." She said. Kiava ran a clawed paw through the black part of his tuft and tried not to wince at Zuri's words. The thought had occurred to him. But it wasn't as though they had much of a set of directions to work with in the first place. Only a name. A name a vague direction and a promise of help at the end of it.

"Is that your way of asking if I know where I am going?" He asked her lightly. Zuri shook her head.

"No. No I trust you completely." She said firmly, then glance ahead of them to where Ookai was loudly grumbling. "I'm not too confident Ookai actually knows where he's taking us. But he hasn't led us astray yet." That was true, surprisingly enough. Despite Ooaki's temperament which suggested anything but reliability, or indeed competence, the golden monkey seemed to have a soft spot for the two young cubs. Despite amble opportunity their guide had yet to leave them high and dry in the unknown jungleland. They were far from the Pridelands now, they knew. Far from their families. Deliberately so. Ookai could do far worse than simply abandon them if he wanted to. It was well known that the Shai'tan would pay handsomely for any information that might lead to the capture of the exiled Prince of the Pridelands. It was almost enough to renew Zuri's faith in the basic decency of all animalkind.

"We'll be fine. Once we make it to Valon's brook. I wonder who Valon was?" he asked, thoughtfully. Zuri didn't know. They continued at their slow march for some time, until eventually Kiava called out to Bruce and Ookai to stop.

"What's the hold-up?" She asked them.

"Nothing. I just thought we should take a break." Kiava said He looked around, his jet-black tuft bounced a little, matching his raised eyebrow perfectly. Zuri gave a little giggle.

"Fine. You're the boss." She said. Kiava paused.

"Boss. I like the sound of that." He said smiling. Zuri laughed as Kiava made his way over to the two apes who were looking at him expectantly.

"We can call a halt here for a little bit, I think. Bruce, you go look for some grubs to rustle up, okay? We might need them – but make sure to feed yourself first. Ookai, I want you to have a scout around; I don't want us bumping into predators. If you see anything with teeth that's bigger than a baby panther, make your excuses and we'll move on, we're not here to fight. Zuri, why don't you come with me?" He said. Bruce nodded cheerfully, and immediately set to the task without complaint, lifting great logs of wood and heavy rocks with his great hands and digging around under them for insects that the four of them could eat. It wasn't the typical diet for a lion cub. It was depressing how quickly the two lion cubs had adapted to a diet of insects and bugs, like King Simba before them. Ookai raised an eyebrow at Kiava's instructions.

"Is it just me, or has Kiava changed a little since that run in with the wraith?" He murmured to Zuri after a moment.

"I don't think either of us is exactly the same as we were when all this started out." Zuri replied, softly. It was true though. Kiava had changed. She didn't quite have the words for it, but he seemed more focused. More driven. She couldn't blame him. Anyone who fought a creature like the wraith that had pursued them would find themselves changed by it. "But I think it's an improvement, if you ask me." She told him. Ookai looked past her at Kiava and cocked his head.

"I don't know about that, Zuri. Trust me. Misplaced confidence can be a bad habit to kick. I still think you should have gone back with your uncle. I just can't wrap my head around why you'd just leave him lying there and not take the chance to return home to your families!" He told her, gently. Zuri winced. She had wondered herself sometimes, in her moments of doubt if it was a mistake. Leaving king Kion and striking out on their own. But Kiava seemed confident.

"You said you'd help us." She reminded him. Ookai raised his hands.

"Don't worry. A deal is a deal, I'll take you to Valon's brook. Or try to at any rate, I've only ever heard of the place. I think that you'd be safer heading back to your family now that that… thing… is destroyed for good." He said. He shuddered, trying not to dwell on the memory of the malformed entity that had pursued them across so many miles. The reanimated spirit of a long dead threat the Pridelands.

"You know why we have to keep going. Kiava says that the Spirits of the Kings have said there is help waiting there. And you know Kiava by now. He doesn't want to endanger anyone else by putting them between him and the Shai'tan. He thinks that we can do more by ourselves." Zuri reminded him. Ookai shook his head. The golden monkey didn't mock her, but he did shake his head.

"Spirits huh? Well, I've seen one kind of feytale come to life to start talking when they should be dead. Who's to say there aren't more about? But that doesn't answer my question. Why does it have to be you, Zuri? Why not go back?" Ookai asked her. Zuri hesitated, thinking. Ookai blinked up at her. He didn't drop the subject. Zuri sighed.

"He'll say that doesn't want to drag anyone else into danger. But I think he's just tried of needing saving. He doesn't want to be rescued." She told him. Ookai cocked his head, then let out a drawn-out sigh.

"Well, I can respect that I guess. Kid wants to the self-reliant hero type. Just take care of yourself." He said after a while, and Zuri almost sighed in relief.

"You coming Zuri?" Kiava shouted behind him. Zuri nodded enthusiastically, and rushed after him, leaving Ookai alone, looking concerned. Zuri followed Kiava, off what they had been generously calling a track.

"What are we doing then?" She asked him. Kiava smiled.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I am a little sick of a diet of bugs and insects. I was thinking we should see about getting ourselves some meat." He said. Zuri stared at him.

"You are going hunting?" She asked, incredulously. Kiava smiled.

"No. We are going to go hunting." he said. "Danyal taught me a little before we split up. Now we have a little more time to spend without risking Bane catching up with us, I was thinking maybe we should give it a go. Would you care to join me?" he asked her, trying to sound nonchalant. His excitement was palpable however and Zuri was practically vibrating. She nodded excitedly.
"Yes! Of course! Why'd you send off Bruce to look for bugs then?" She asked. Kiava smirked.

"In case we turn out to be awful at it." He asked her. Zuri could barely contain her excitement.

"Let's do it! I am starving! But I haven't hunted before!" She said. Kiava grinned.

"Don't worry. I'll show you what Danyal told me, and we can figure the rest out together, okay?" He said. Zuri nodded in agreement, and went to follow his lead.

"Excellent. So, first things first. If we're going to be hunting there is something very important, I need to do first. Ahem. I Kiava, Son of Kovu, King of the Pridelands and all the light touched earth, yada yada yada, hereby make you, Zuri daughter of Damu, the leader of my lioness' hunting party. Congratulations." He said, grinning. Zuri burst out laughing, but a part of her was scandalised at his trivializing something that was so important in the Pridelands. Or had been.

"Kiava! You shouldn't joke about that sort of thing! This is serious!" She protested, but couldn't help laughing as she did so. Kiava grinned back at her, but he shook his head.

"Look around you Zuri, do you see anyone else lining up for the position?" He asked her.

"So who am I leading exactly?" She giggled. It was an insane idea, but she'd play along.

"Well, it's a start at least! You'll have Sara. And Inti is practically a girl, so he can join up as well. That's three." He said. Zuri laughed again.

"I don't think he'll like that!" She said, giggling at the concept. Kiava grinned.

"I am the King! I can do whatever I want, remember? He doesn't get a say." He joked, which only caused Zuri to laugh even harder. Zuri smiled at him.

"Things are actually starting to look up for us, aren't they? I mean, Bane is gone, the Shai'tan have no idea where we are and as far as we know, the others are all safe and well. And according to you, even the Kings of the Past are on our side." Zuri told him. Kiava returned her smile.

"I know! One problem at a time, but it's beginning to feel like we can actually do this. I think we can." Kiava said, nuzzling his friend gently. Then he pulled away. If they were going to do this, then they were going to do it properly. He racked his brains, going over everything Danyal had taught him, certain he had it all right. He paused and sniffed the air. Then he lowered his voice and turned to Zuri.

"So. We need to spread out, to find our prey. Pick something small, or else something that's sick or injured. Injured if you can, I don't know about you, but I don't especially want to catch anything unpleasant." He said. Zuri nodded, flexing her claws.

"Got it." She whispered. The two split up, Zuri going one way and Kiava the other. Kiava kept her at the edge of his senses making sure he could still make out her presence, by sound, scent, or sight. He didn't want to get lost, nor lose Zuri.

As she moved Zuri sniffed the air cautiously, looking for something, anything that might smell like food. Suddenly, she felt it – the metallic pang of blood, mixed with sweat. If a creature was bleeding, then it might be injured. Zuri smiled. They could take an injured prey animal, even if it was larger than them. The thought of a buffalo, or gazelle was enough to make her stomach growl with impatience. She'd been living on a diet of insects for so long she sometimes thought she'd forget the taste of actual real meat if it went on for much longer. Zuri stalked along the ground, staying close the surface of the earth as she had often seen her mother do. She pushed her way through the undergrowth, hiding beneath branches and weeds, sliding through them like a serpent, careful not to disturb the silence of the jungle. She inhaled deeply, extending out her senses searching for signs of something edible. She tasted it on the air before she saw it, but it didn't take long for her eyes to find what her tongue had found. Something unfamiliar yet unmistakably delicious. A deer she thought, or something like one. Some kind of hooved, horned creature. Oddly though, it wasn't moving, and the reason was obvious once she got a look at it. Its throat was ripped wide open, and blood stained the grass and ground around. It was recently dead too; no carrion had disturbed it. It wasn't quite what she'd been looking for. She had been looking forward to hunting with Kiava. But if she could smell it, chances were that so could any nearby prey animals and they would have long since vacated the surrounding area. And what a scent. Her mouth began to water. There was no other predator in sight. She slunk back the way she had come.

"Kiava!" He hissed. She waited a few moments, and then Kiava appeared next to her, emerging from the jungle without a noise. She was briefly startled; she couldn't remember where he had picked that up. He must have been paying closer attention to Danyal than she'd credited him. She smiled though and shared her discovery.

"Something already gotten it." It felt decidedly hyena like to scavenge someone else's kill, but there hadn't been a lion born who would turn down a free meal after several moons of beetles and grubs. "Here!"

Kiava followed her, and stared at the dead ungulate sceptically.

"Huh. That's weird."

"Some luck at last!" Zuri said cheerfully. She made a bee line for the meat carcass.

Then Kiava realized what had been bothering him. The animal had died, and its injuries looked significant but apart from a small amount of blood around it, there was no trace of blood in the leaves or sprayed about. It was almost as if the carcass had been moved after it had been slain.

"Wait, Zuri!" Kiava called out in panic, but as Zuri stepped towards carcass the ground vanished beneath her. A sinkhole opened around her like a gaping maw. Zuri flailed in the air as she tumbled, before landing in the pit with a loud thud and a shout of pain.

"Gah! Kiava!" She called out inf ear as she fell and grunted as she hit the ground hard. It was quite a hole and quite a fall. She groaned in pain.

"Zuri! Are you alright?!" Kiava rushed to the hole's edge and looked down the pitfall. He gasped.

Zuri struggled to her feet and then flinched away from a spiked stake of wood, less than a pawspan from her head. The pit was full of them, all pointing upwards, jagged, and sharp. Only Zuri's small frame had led to her falling relatively harmlessly between the points, but if she had been larger or fully grown creature, they could have impaled her! Kiava gasped at the viciousness of it. If she hadn't bled out right away it would have left her immobile and mortally wounded. She shuddered at the thought of her precious life blood leaving her.

"Zuri! Kings are you alright? Zuri!" Kiava called from above her. Zuri looked up and saw Kiava's head looking down with shock.

"Kiava! I am fine! Don't come any closer!" She warned him. She knew a few animals used lures and traps when hunting. She'd heard of hyenas chased faster prey in the rocked cragged wastelands, where they would stumble in the cracked ground, fall, and injure themselves. Maybe even break a limb. Letting their pursuers devour them for the pleasure. Jackals were known to drive animals into rivers and marshlands where the sticky mud would slow them down. She had never seen anything like this though. She looked around for an escape but saw straight away that she could not scale the sharp embankment. She thought about jumping but the thought turned her stomach. If she missed and fell, she risked falling on the spikes she had so far avoided.

She was cruelly reminded of a time, many moons ago before, when Danyal had shamelessly dumped the four cubs in the waterhole, and watched in amusement as they had struggled to climb out of the shallow pit and repeatedly landed face-first in the muddy sides. Danyal had earned four mouthfuls of mud for his prank when he was made to wash the cubs clean himself, but it had been entertaining all the same… for him at least. This was even worse.

"Can you use a way out?" She called up to Kiava. Kiava surveyed the area but shook his head.

"Not from here. Can you dig your way out?" He asked her. She shook her head. "I'll go get Bruce – he'll be able to lean in and pull you out." Kiava tried to assure her. Zuri half nodded but then hesitated as a new thought crossed her mind.

"Wait Kiava? Can we not do that? Are you sure you can't see a way out? Maybe find a branch of something?" She asked him. "It's just… well… someone dug this hole. What if they come back?" She said. Kiava frowned. The thought hadn't occurred to him.

"I'll try to be as quick as I can!" He said, but Zuri shook her head.

"Don't. Please. Don't leave me here." She pleased. Kiava's eyes widened in surprise. But then nodded.

"Okay then. We'll figure a way out ourselves, okay?" He said Zuri agreed to that wholeheartedly. "I am right here." He told her as he moved out of view. "Can you still hear me?" He called, even though he was out of sight, reassuring her. He found a sturdy looking branch and dragged it in his teeth towards the pit and lowered it to her, but it was out of reach.

"Can you climb on something?" He asked her. Zuri looked around, but there was nothing. No rock or log or other support. Just her, the meat, and the spikes. She tried to stand on the carcass which had landed on one of the sharpened sticks of wood, but it gave her very little extra height. She ended up pushing it further down onto the spikes, and tried not to shudder as it did so. She looked around desperately.

"Get something longer!" She told him. But try as he might, Kiava couldn't move anything bigger – he didn't have the muscle. She groaned in frustration. Zuri threw her wait at one of the stakes, trying to make some room, and it bent over. Slightly. She repeated it. Then tried to shove some of the prey carcass against it. Somehow it seemed far less edible and far less delicious from here. She perched on it.

"Lower it down again! I have an idea." She called up to Kiava, who did as he was told.

"'Uri, wha' 'ou 'oing? Ug!" Kiava tried to ask as he strained his jaw.

Zuri made a leap, and pulled at the branch Kiava had lowered. It creaked ominously as she made her way up it slowly, and it began to sink into the edge of the earth Kiava struggled their combined weight, trying to grab at the branch with his paws. Zuri moved as fast as she dared, averting her gaze from the spikes below her. Then the branch creaked again, and Kiava's eyes widened.

"Zuri!" he shouted, spitting out splinters his mouth suddenly clear as the branch split in two. Zuri heard his warning and leapt as far as she could in those last precious few moments. Zuri flew through the air and flailed, grabbing and clawing at the edge of pit as soon as she could. Immediately, she began to slide backwards, he claws grinding into the soft earth as she away. Then Kiava's paws slammed into hers, pinning her to the edge of the pit. Her rear legs flailed, desperately and blindly searching for footholds. He body strained, but Kiava wasn't letting her go anywhere, beads of perspiration appearing on his body as he strained against her weight.

"Hold on! Don't fall!" he called to her. Zuri gasped as her feet made contact with a suitable foothold, and some of the force was lifted from her forearms. Kiava leaned in and grabbed a soft part of her neck between his teeth, trying not to grip too hard. He pulled, and Zuri pushed on the edge. Together, they worked, and Zuri moved. By a few inches at a time. Then a few more. And then she was over the edge and pulling her behind towards her and away from the aping maw behind her. The two cubs lay on the side of the pit, gasping for air. Her neck was bruised, but otherwise uninjured. Kiava's forearms were raw and throbbing from the effort, but not damaged either. They lay there, without words, for a good minute. Zuri pulled herself to her feet, and look back at the pit she had escaped, and the deadly spikes below. She shuddered.

"Thanks Kiava." She said. Kiava grinned.

"Hey. What are friends for?" He asked her. She smiled, breathing a sigh of relief.

"That could have been nasty." She said. Kiava nodded.

"I know. Let's not do that again?" he suggested. Zuri didn't need convincing. It had been a close call.

"Thanks again." She said.

"Don't mention it. You'd have done the same for me." He said. Zuri frowned.

"Except I would I have mucked it up. Gosh, I feel like such a fool. Just running after the nearest piece of food like a hyena! What is my name Inti now? Thinking with my stomach?" She asked, annoyed with herself. Kiava shook his head.

"It was a trap – you couldn't have known." he said.

"You did. Somehow." She pointed out, looking annoyed.

"I guessed something wasn't right, I didn't know what was going to happen, we would probably have still fallen for it anyway whilst trying to work out what was out of place." He reminded her. Zuri sighed and said nothing. "Hey! We all make mistakes, alright? So stop beating yourself over the head with it, and let's go see if we can find some real meat now, ok?" Kiava suggested. Zuri shook her head.

"Forget it. You find something. I'll go eat some bugs with Bruce. I kinda like the orange kind." She said, and began to walk away. Kiava sighed.

"I'll find you something nice." he said. Zuri stopped.

"Please don't. That's not the way it's meant to work. King's hunting for their lionesses." She said. Kiava frowned.

"Alright, now you're just being silly. You ate Danyal's kills all the time. Besides, you just made one slip up, there no need to get upset over it, or be discouraged." He told her. "Look. My mother was a terrible hunter." He reminded her. Zuri looked up.

"Really?" She said. Kiava grinned.

"Absolutely atrocious! Get Aunt Vitani to tell you about it sometime. That's how she met Dad. There's no need to feel bad about a trap. It didn't outsmart your, it's not even alive." he told her. Zuri nodded.

"I guess your right…" She said. Kiava nodded as sagely as he could, doing his best impression of Rafiki.

"I am the King – I am always right. We've been over this." he reminded her, flashing her smirk. Zuri closed her eyes and groaned at that.

"I've changed my mind. You can drop me back in that pit now." He told him. Kiava laughed.

"Come on." He told her, and the two disappeared into the jungle.

When they met back up with Ookai and Bruce later that day, they dragged between them a young wildebeest. They'd caught it together after taking the time to move some distance away from the pit. And only after a failed attempt at getting after a larger less injured one. When Bane was still hot on their trail, they wouldn't have dared to take the time. But between the two of them they'd managed it. It was young, and injured to boot, but even that wasn't enough to discourage the euphoria, nor dispel the hilarity of Ookai's face as they gorged themselves on the thick, juicy meat. Despite herself, Zuri had enjoyed it. And the taste of meat after so long was truly something. They'd never be able to finish themselves before they needed to move on, but she didn't care. Nor did she care that when they had finally returned, Ookai has gasped audibly at the filthy and ragged state of them. She had been right. Things were finally starting to look up at them. It was beginning to feel like the Kings above them, were on their side after all.