Chapter 13

In the morning sunlight, Kiava was pacing on the spot and ready to go. They had awoken at dawn, and now as Sarafina had promised, it was finally happening! Kiava couldn't help but feel a surge of elation. Finally. Sarafina stood in front of him, the two them were standing in the middle of a clearing in the middle of her territory. There was enough space to move around and enough open foliage in the leaves overhead that real sunlight could filter down and gave them some sense of the time of day. In the daylight, she looked a little less intimidating to him, though her age was more apparent. She looked greyer. Sarafina paced up and down as if in thought, letting low growling sounds permeate the jungle. Ookai and Bruce were nowhere in sight, Sarafina had immediately declared them to be a distraction and refused to teach Kiava in their presence. She didn't look as though she intended to afford Zuri much more patience. When Zuri sat down in front of her as well, Sarafina eyed her suspiciously.

"You aren't needed in these lessons. They are just for Kiava. You will have little use for them." She told her. Zuri hesitated.

"I really don't mind." She said. The two lionesses were visually similar to Kiava's eyes. Zuri's cream coat wasn't far from Sarafina's hue. But appearance was where their similarities ended. Their temperaments were about as far apart as they could be. While Zuri was as optimistic and cheerful as she had ever been Sarafina scowled and glowered at her.

"Perhaps I should have been clearer. These lessons aren't just about fighting. They're about ruling a kingdom. Maintaining the circle of life. Things that only the King can do. You are not suited for it, and you'll certainly never use them." She said. Zuri frowned.

"Can't I just sit and watch then? I won't interfere…" She said. Sarafina sighed audibly.

"Fine. If you must. If you remain silent and speak only when you're spoken to and don't interrupt to ask annoying questions. And one more thing: if I need you to do something for me, you do it without complaining." She said.

Zuri nodded eagerly. "Not a problem." She said, cheerfully. Sarafina smirked.

"If you say so. Do you see that rock over there?" She pointed at one in the centre of the glade they had chosen to instruct Kiava lessons in. Zuri saw it. It was round, heavy, and half buried in the ground. it was also almost as big as she was. She nodded; her brow furrowed.

"I see it." He said.

"It's in our way. If you want be of some small use, you can move it to the edge of the glade." She said. Zuri stared, and looked at the massive boulder, at its immense size.

"What?"

"Is that a problem?" Sarafina asked, her eyes narrowing. Zuri shook her head.

"No! No problem. I'll move it." She said and immediately set about the daunting task. Sarafina turned to face Kiava and didn't give Zuri another glance.

"I suppose we are really doing this. Alright then, Kiava. First lesson. What do you think a King is for?" She asked him. Kiava swallowed.

"Dad always said the King's job was to protect the Pride. To protect its people, however you can. To lead them, to make the tough decisions and do it the right way." He said after a moment. Sarafina listened for a moment. Then she nodded.

"It sounds as though Zira's son ended up growing into a wiser lion than I ever thought he would. I would not have credited Kovu with that wisdom. Not with his parentage. But maybe that's exactly why he grew up the way he did. I never thought that he would have much chance in life. But I suppose Scar and Zira provided a wonderful example of who not to be…" She mused for a moment. "A good answer from Kovu. Certainly, a credible one given his own cubhood. But not entirely correct." She said. Rather than give the correct answer, she asked another question. "Do you know who the first King of Pride Rock was?" She asked him. Kiava answered immediately.

"I know that! It was King Judai. The First King." He said. Sarafina nodded.

"What about Judai's father then?" She asked him.

"I don't know his name. I don't think anyone does, expect the great Kings themselves..." Kiava said. "I know he led the Pride that settled the Pridelands back when the Pride was just nomads and claimed Pride Rock for himself, as well as everything he could see from its summit." he said. He remembered that one. It was the oldest story Danyal had known.

"So, if he still led the Pride, why isn't he remembered as a King?" Sarafina asked him. This time Kiava took longer to answer.

"Because he didn't have a Kingdom?" He guessed. Sarafina rolled her eyes.

"Really? What does that make you, then Kiava? You possess as much land as he did. No, if claiming land for oneself was all it took to be a King, then any leopard or cheetah with a lair of their own and who marked a bunch of territory could qualify as a King. There is more to than that. It's about responsibility. About duty. Judai's grandfather was a rogue, in charge of only himself. Judai's father was responsible for solely the welfare of his Pride, and we can assume he did so admirably. But Judai stands apart because he was the first to take responsibility for the for all of the creatures in the Pridelands. When there was a drought, he found new sources of water, not just for his people but for all of them. When there was conflict, he acted as mediator. Judai ruled. He maintained the circle of life." She said. "That's what makes a king. That's what all the great kings do. And it's how you can always separate a king from a tyrant." Sarafina told him. Kiava listened carefully and nodded.

"You mean like Scar." Kiava said, shivering. Sarafina nodded.

"You're quick. Yes." She said quietly. "Like Scar." She paused for a moment. "And others. It isn't just murderers and traitors who can be bad rulers. It's easy to think that all you need to be to be a good king is to be kind and generous and not go around murdering your brothers and nephews." She said. "That's not too hard. And that's all it takes to be a good lion. But when you have responsibility for others a foolish or weak king can be as bad for the land and for his people. And it doesn't make any difference to the cheetahs or the leopards if they are starving because the King is a murderous despot, or if he is simply an idiot who hasn't got the strength to stand up to a bunch of hyenas."

"Really?" Kiava asked. "I mean, I know that still pretty bad, but being cruel like Scar has to be worse, right?" He asked her. Sarafina cocked her head and considered for a moment.

"To the Great Kings who are supposed to judge our souls? I am sure it makes a great difference. To the leopard lord with a starving cub to feed? How could you expect him to know or care about the difference?" Sarafina asked him. Kiava paused. He wasn't sure he liked that.

"You mean if I'm not very good at being the King, they might think I'm as bad as Scar?" He asked. The idea frightened him considerably. Sarafina gave a mirthless smile.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" She asked him. Kiava swallowed, and nodded. "It warrants consideration. You could end up like Ahadi." She said. The name was familiar to him.

"Mufasa's father?" Kiava asked, his brow furrowing. "I thought he was a good King?"

"Pah." Sarafina snorted. "No. Ahadi was spiteful, vengeful, petty, and stubborn. On a good day." He said shaking her head. "He wasn't an evil tyrant. Not exactly. But I would not call him a great king. People can tell all the stories they want about Ahadi, but as far as I am concerned, he was a fool. And not a harmless one." She said. Kiava accepted this silently. The enormity of what was being asked of him was suddenly spread before him like an open abyss. Sarafina stepped forward. She was picking at the ground, trying to figure out what to say next. Eventually she looked up at him, her eyes were calculating.

"Consider this. Imagine, you are King of a strong land. You have three watering holes within your borders, a Pride of substantial size to feed and water, and your lands contain a dozen other herds. Zebra, antelope, that sort of thing. Most of the time, your lions only drink from the nearest waterhole. But a drought has struck the land and the cubs are dying of thirst. The old law states that any lioness drinking from the banned waterholes be exiled. What do you do in the time of crisis?" She asked him. Kiava blinked again.

"Is this a test?" He asked her. Sarafina smiled.

"All life is a test. That was a question. What would you do? Given that you are King?" She said. Kiava hesitated.

"Well… I mean…. The old laws are supposed to be there to make sure everyone has enough water, right? But that isn't what's happening. Is there enough water to support all of the Pridelanders? Not just the lions?" He said.

"Maybe. If no one is greedy." She told him. "You'd allow the lionesses to drink from the other pools?" She asked. Kiava started to nod, but then he caught himself.

"Wait..." He said. Sarafina raised an eye.

"What?" She asked.

"Well… If the lionesses drink from all three watering holes, then it won't matter if there is enough water or not. All the prey in the Pridelands will be too frightened to come near. A lot will die of thirst. Even if the lions had all the water they wanted, they'd run out of meat before long." He said. Sarafina nodded.

"Exactly. Everything is interconnected." She said. Kiava hesitated.

"Then… we can't just use those watering holes. We need to find more water, from somewhere else?" He asked.

Sarafina shook her head. "Venture too far and you forsake your kingdom and before long you'll have rogues at your throat, making a dash for power with the King absent. Or the hyenas might smell weakness. You could return and find your Kingdom conquered." She said, her voice emotionless. Kiava sat down. This was harder than he thought.

"How do I make sure everyone has enough to drink?" He asked.

"You have to make some tricky choices. Decide who goes thirsty." She said.

"There must be a way to satisfy everyone." He said with certainty. She raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Who told you that?" She asked him. Kiava paced for a while, then sighed.

"Alright. I give up. How do I solve it?" He asked her genuinely curious. Sarafina shrugged.

"Well, one straight forward option is to do nothing. Eventually, the problem will take care of itself. Some will die of thirst but there will be more water to go around for the survivors. If you wanted to maximize the odds of the young and strong surviving you could even hurry things along yourself and kill off halve of the lionesses that are older and weaker. Or cull the herds, though then starvation remains a risk." She said. Kiava blanched.

"What?! Are you crazy?! That's disgusting!" he said in shock. Sarafina shrugged.

"Who would stop you? You're the King. You can do what you want to solve the problem. And you could save so many lives. Fitter, younger lives, the older ones would only have died soon anyway." She said.

"I don't care. It would be wrong!" Kiava said. Sarafina looked him dead in the eye.

"Why?" She said. He balked.

"What do you mean why?" He said in confusion.

"Explain it to me. Why is it wrong to kill, if it saves lives? If you can save ten lives by killing three, otherwise, five will die, leaving seven, isn't it better to kill the three weakest lives and improve the lives of the survivors?" She asked him. Kiava stared at her.

"Are you saying it is right?" He asked.

She shrugged. "You were the one who said that the job of the King was to protect the Pride, no matter what." She told him.

"It is wrong." He said firmly.

"Why?" The ancient lioness asked him asked him, staring at him intently with blue-green eyes. She didn't blink. It made him very uncomfortable.

"I… don't know." He said. She stood up.

"Then we are done here. Until you can tell me why it is or it isn't, we have nothing else discuss." She said, rising and leaving.

"Hey! You said you would teach me!" Kiava protested. Sarafina grinned for the first time.

"You just had your first lesson." She said and left. Kiava stared after her.

"Well… That was interesting." Zuri said, watching her leave. Kiava jumped.

"Oh, I forgot you were there." He said. Zuri scowled at him

"Of course, you did. The things I do for you. Move rocks. Sit still. Be quiet while the important royal stuff happens." She said, sourly. She looked exhausted, and Kiava saw a long track extending from the centre of the glade. Somehow, she had maneuverer the boulder all the way out the way, and beads of sweat marked her face. In spite of that, Kiava rubbed himself along her side, nuzzling her as he did so. She didn't pull away from his show of affection.

"Don't be like that." He told her as she rolled her eyes, but didn't complain. Instead, she let out a sigh.

"What was all that about, do you think? Her asking if it was wrong to kill a bunch of old lionesses or not? Of course, it was. It seems obvious. What does she want you to do? Explain why killing cubs is wrong as well? If you're going to go around doing that sort of thing we might as well let the Imperium win. They'd love killing off the elderly to let the rest of us have more water. That's kinda their whole deal." She said, shaking her head. The thought had occurred to Kiava too, and he nodded in agreement. It made him rather uncomfortable. He was fairly sure that she wasn't trying to teach him to kill off the weaker members of the Pride. It would be fairly counterintuitive given her… advanced… age.

"Huh. What are you lovebirds up to?" A voice asked and they turned as saw Buzz coming towards them. Half a dozen spears now strapped to his back by a small vine. He had clearly been hard at work.

"Lovebirds?" Zuri asked in confusion. "We're just talking." She said.

"That 'nuzzling' you're doing. I have seen other lions do it. You know. Mates." he said. Zuri and Kiava jumped apart.

"Eeew! That's gross!" Kiava said. He looked at Zuri. "I am so sorry! I was just being friendly!" He said, but Zuri looked just as mortified.

"What?!" She asked. Buzz chuckled.

"Maybe I was wrong." The meerkat said, continuing to snigger as he did so at their obvious discomfort at the idea. "So, tell me. How was the lesson? I didn't think old Sarafina would be much of a teacher. What's she like?" Buzz asked. Kiava shrugged.

"She spent the first half lecturing me about responsibility and the second half trying to convince me to commit mass murder for the greater good." Kiava said, sardonically. Even saying it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Buzz burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! I didn't take her for the philosopher type! That's priceless." He said, giggling to himself. "I bet that must have been something to hear." Then he saw what Zuri had been up to, and frowned in puzzlement. The rock was on its side. Zuri had been unable to push the rock at first, so instead had dug around it, using her paws to shove aside the dirt and mud and give the rock a point to pivot on. She had managed to roll it over on its self once and was in the process of filling back up the hole, ready to dig around it in another place and repeat the process.

"What on earth are you doing with that rock?" Buzz asked her after a moment.

"What she asked me to do." Zuri answered by way of explanation. Buzz stared at her for a moment longer, and then shrugged. Kiava sat down, and pondered Sarafina's question to himself. But he hadn't made much headway by the time Sarafina returned to them an hour later. Zuri had started work on her boulder again, and had moved it another few paced by the time that Sarafina came back. She had thought she was making good progress.

"Have you solved your conundrum yet?" She asked him when she arrived. Kiava looked guiltily.

"Not yet." He answered. She frowned.

"Oh well. You have plenty of time. Keep thinking about it. You on the other paw are running out." She pointed at Zuri, who was busily manoeuvring the rock out of the way as she had been asked. She blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I thought you said you wanted to be of help? You're still struggling at that boulder? Oh, never mind, it's not too important. I wouldn't have asked you to do it if it were." She said shortly, looking disappointed. "I will be going hunting shortly. Then we shall practice the more physical side of your training. I'm not much of a fighter these days, but I do know how it's done. If you do well in your attempt, then you can share the food – if not, then I am sure Ookai can rustle up some grubs for you." Kiava opened his mouth to protest even as his stomach growled. The possibility of meat excited him, but he wasn't too happy about having it conditional on his succeeding in her 'lessons.' Still. There were plenty of bugs so he wouldn't starve, even if it did seem like a harsh method of teaching. Sarafina was watched him, as if expecting him to challenge her judgment, but he said nothing and nodded in acceptance. He had after all asked her to train him and She had promised she would. He could follow her rules for now.

Zuri meanwhile was back at the boulder, pushing with all her strength to do as Sarafina had bid her. Kiava moved as if to help her, but she waved away his assistance. "I am fine. You try to work out that thing you were puzzling over… I have this. You figure out what it is she's asking you to figure out." She told him, giving him an encouraging smile.

Kiava nodded in thanks, but he felt stuck. He thought back to all of the lessons Vitani had taught him. The wisdom Rafiki and Makini had shared with him during their brief acquaintance. He thought in particular to Danyal's stories and fables, even paused for a moment to consider Inti's strange pips of advice and (with considerably more weight) every word that Sara and Zuri had ever spoken to him. It was a strange thing to consider. It had never occurred to him that there might be a reason why things were wrong. He had always simply followed his conscience. So, he sat in thought, thinking to himself, whilst behind him, Zuri grunted in frustration.

Hours later, Sarafina returned. Zuri was lying, painting on her side, completely exhausted. She was breathing heavily and her brow forming for the first time a kind of fringe from all of the sweat that had gathered on her brow. Her eyes were screwed shut, against the Sun as he let out slow deep breaths. Kiava meanwhile sat to one side, also on the dusty ground, but his eyes were open and his claws unsheathed. He was fiddling with the first with his claws, sheathing them and ejected them in succession even as his tail swished in the dirt. It was a tick of his and he seemed annoyed.

"Well?" Sarafina barked. Zuri jerked her eyes open, not having heard her approached and Kiava stood up slowly. Sarafina eyes lingered on the boulder, now a safe distance from the centre of the glade, but she passed no comment. Even so, Zuri's eyes were bright, not with excitement (she was far too mature a lioness for that) but with triumph and achievement. Kiava stood up.

"It's a trick question. Things don't need a reason to be wrong any more than they need a reason to be hot or cold. Nobody sat down one day and decided that killing people is wrong. It's like how lifting a rock is exhausting. Or telling a joke is funny." He said flatly.

"So, who gets to say that its wrong?"
"Me." Kiava said, firmly. "That's what you're getting at isn't it? When you were talking responsibility. It's not about proving that its wrong. It's about deciding that its wrong and being right."

"Really?" Sarafina asked him, lightly. But her words had an edge to them. "Who are you to decide that on our behalf? What if I disagreed with you and decided that it should okay? That was I was one of your lionesses and I decided that it was okay after all? What then?" She challenged him, and took a threatening step towards him. Zuri leapt to her feet, ready to leap to Kiava's defence, but the young cub didn't flinch. He was staring at her, and grinning. He had finally figured it out.

"Then I would stop you. Even if I couldn't convince you with words. Especially if I couldn't convince you. That's the idea, isn't it? That's the point of being a king. Perhaps we would starve. Perhaps we wouldn't. But I wouldn't let you do that to survive. Perhaps it is better to allow the circle of life to turn." He said.

"How do you know if you are right?" She asked him. Kiava smiled. That he did know.

"If I'm right, the Pridelands prosper. I'm wrong, they'll fail, and I'll be remembered as being as bad as Scar because it would be my fault. Every crime that I allowed to take place – because it suited me and only me – becomes my fault. It's not just about wielding power. That's being the sacrifice." he said. Sarafina nodded.

"Yes! Yes. You're right. Now. Are you sure you still want to learn to be a King?" She asked him. Kiava nodded instantly.

"I… Can't not, can I? It's my duty. That's what they said. It shouldn't be me. But it is. That's what they meant."

"A good answer. You may yet be King, if you can think like that, she said, smiling. There was very little warmth to it. Kiava got the sense that he had just passed the point of no return. The last moment where he might have turned back. "Out of curiosity, how would you survive the crisis?" She asked him. Kiava shrugged.

"That's easy. I'd stop people hunting around the watering holes. It would be like Kuputana all year round. That way even if it terrified them, the prey animals could still drink. Right next to the lions and cheetahs if they wanted to. They won't enjoy it. But they'll be alive." He said. He had figured that out a while back. It was surprisingly easy compared to the question as to why evil was evil and considerably more pragmatic and (for that matter) useful. In as much as it was a scenario he might plausibly come across as King. If he wasn't too busy facing down the Imperium.

Sarafina took a moment to stare at the cub in front of her, and then she burst out laughing. Buzz gave a snigger.

"I told you the kid was quick." The meerkat said, with a smirk of his own. For a moment, the serious young cub reminded her of another cub. She hadn't expected him to come up with a solution to what she thought was a rather neat little puzzle. It seemed she could still be surprised. For a moment, she thought she could see shades of Ahadi there. He looked like him with his coat of royal gold and dark black mane. Only his eyes, a deep sapphire, were truly different. Those were Nala's. She knew them well. But it wasn't how he physically resembled them that hurt her. He valued responsibility and duty as well, in a manner which reminded her of Mufasa. There was the wild recklessness of Simba as well, one which she supposed came from growing in the wilds. Or possibly a diet of insects. And less amusingly, was a darker, haunted edge to his pragmatic words. His easy willingness to place himself above his inferiors, and command others so long as it was in all their best interests. That came easily to him. An eagerness for justice and the haunted, hollow look that could only remind her of Taka.

How much of that was him?

She would find out soon enough.

"Come to the middle of the glade." She said. "Time to see what you are capable of."

"Fighting." Sarafina began. "Fighting is different to hunting. Ignore anyone who tells you hunting is about strength. When you hunt, your main weapon is stealth. You attack your prey before it even knows you are there." Kiava could believe that. By all accounts Nala had been the best huntress in a generation, but Sarafina can't have been far behind her. "Most of the time, when you fight, your opponent already knows you are there. He is aware of you; your obvious weaknesses and he is usually trying to claw out your throat. That means you can't take your time and you can't hesitate. When you hunt, you're trying to wound, incapacitate, and then you can kill them at your leisure. In a fight, even a lame foe can rip out your entrails. The biggest difficulty will not in killing, but in making sure you don't die first. That is the real contest." Sarafina said to him. Like last time, she spoke in a flat emotionless tone. She would occasionally stop and start. She had clearly never taught before, and her words came as a stream of thoughts as soon as she thought them. "Zuri." She said after a moment. "Come and stand here."

Zuri looked up. She was still exhausted from moving that ludicrous rock from earlier.

"What for?" She asked her, puzzled. Sarafina scowled at her.

"I thought you said you would do whatever I asked?" She reminded her. Zuri silently groaned, but nodded. She had indeed said that.

"Yes?" She said meekly. Sarafina smiled slightly. It made Zuri rather uncomfortable.

"Good. I thought so. Come over here and stand like this." As she said, Zuri paced other and stood in front of her, facing Kiava. Without hurting her, but none to gently either, Sarafina maneuverer Zuri's legs in position so she was crouched on the ground, moving her into place with her significantly more powerful build as if arranging a sprig of flowers.

"Try to push her over." Sarafina said. Kiava came over, and Zuri gave a slight snigger, as he leapt at her, and almost bounced off her. Her weight was so close to the ground, he may as well have been pushing against a boulder. Kiava scowled, but Sarafina looked pleased.

"See how her weight is balanced between all four legs, but mostly on her hind legs? You need to break that balance. When you're in a real fight you'll want to break to try to break their legs, or bite at their paws. Don't do that just yet, we'll need her for quite a few lessons, so try not to damage her. Just try to make her fall over. Zuri, stand still for now and don't try to defend yourself. Kiava needs to be able to do this right." He said. Kiava and Zuri both nodded, and Kiava leapt at her again, this time focusing on one leg. She wobbled slightly, but stood firm.

"You're not moving a pile of rocks; you're unbalancing a cutthroat! Scratch at her!" Sarafina snapped, annoyed. Zuri's eyes widened, and Kiava only paused for a moment before he did as he was bidden, and scratched at her leg. His claws were sharp and they scythed into her rear left leg. He left three angry red marks, and deeper of the drew the slightest fleck of blood, as he pressed his weight against her. Zuri shouted in pain and alarm and crashed to the ground and Kiava leapt up, shaken by her shout of pain. Zuri rose to her feet though and blushed, trying not to seem hurt.

"I am fine!" She assured him though the angry waves of pain that pulsed through the leg. Kings that smarted. Sarafina nodded.

"Good. Do it again." She said. Kiava attacked again. Zuri was braced this time and Kiava was a little more cautious of the strength of his blows and she only let out a brief grunt, as she fell to the ground again with a loud thud. Sarafina nodded, looking satisfied.

"Remember, when you are fighting everything around you is confused. Things are moving too fast. The world is a blur. The blood is pounding in your ears. You'll need to rely on every instinct. Instinct is faster than thought. Quicker than any decision. So, you need to train your instinct to make the right decision for you. For this, your practice is the upmost importance." She explained to him, as he repeated the action. Zuri panted, but Kiava nodded in agreement.

"Zuri, if she was not already, is now your best friend. At least in this endeavour. You might think the Shai'tan are great fighters because they can pull off great moves and cunning tricks. But when you're in the heat of battle you will fall back on what you know well. On what you practice. On what you can do in your sleep. For that, Zuri will be your most effective teacher." She explained as Kiava repeated the motion again and again. It wasn't about doing it right. It was about it right without needing to even consider it. "Zuri, this time do what you can to try and steady yourself, but don't fight back. Kiava needs these skills to be by reflex. That way, he can focus his attention on blocking and defending against what your opponent is doing. There is no fancy trick or talent to fighting. Not really. They all come down to the same thing. You win a fight by hitting your opponent and not getting hit in exchange when you do. Do it enough times, and even a hyrax can bring down a lion. This will teach you to do the first by reflex and put your all into the second." She explained again. They continued in this vein for some time. Eventually though Zuri wobbled on her feet. After only a few minutes, she was tired. Kiava had done little else all day but think and puzzle and was still quite fresh, but even before they had started 'fighting' Zuri had nearly exhausted herself lugging that great rock out of the way, presumably to clear the glade. Not that they seemed to be using the space it provided too much: Sarafina had yet to allow her to move from the spot where she stood. If Sarafina noticed her lagging, she gave no indication of it. She seemed satisfied with Kiava's progress.

"Keep practicing until I say stop and don't let up. Try not to injure one another, but use whatever tactics you need to in order to bring her down." The intonations were clear. To what you need to. Hurt her if you need to. Kiava gulped, and Zuri sighed wearily, and steeled herself.

"Come one then." She said. As Kiava again, fought her for a few moments, before flinging her into the dust again. She landed with a grunt.

"Good. Do it again." Sarafina said.

This continued for quite a while. Zuri forced herself to stand up and set herself in the strongest position she could and Kiava did all he could to bring her down. Using force and skill as much as he could. He dived under her, and attacked a leg she had neglected with his jaws sending shivers of pain through her as his teeth nibbled away. He charged at her flank, before slamming both paws into the side of her head, an act that left her seeing stars for a good few minutes. He twisted under her, throwing his weight at her weaker side. Each time, Zuri would eventually crumple into a heap with a yelp of pain, and although she kept rising to her feet, it was beginning to bother Kiava. At no point did Sarafina reverse their positions and instruct Kiava to focus on holding his own balance. Instead, the two got up and continued. The practice was hot and sticky work. After a few hours of the ordeal and a few dozen lumps and bruises had swollen up around Zuri's sides. There were even a few light cuts where she had fallen awkwardly near some stone or branch and that at least had garnered Sarafina's attention for a few moments, at least enough to growl in frustration at the two of them.

"I said not to injure! You're not supposed to cause actual harm. Not yet, at any rate." She snapped. The intonation sent shivers down Zuri's spine. She wasn't too worried about the few places she was bleeding – she had suffered worse from the briar patched. She was much more concerned with the myriad pockets of aches and pains around her that would make so much as sitting down a trial for days. When the cubs had travelled alone with Danyal, the juvenile had (during of Inti's pranks) once threatened to beat them so hard they'd lose the ability to sleep, but she had never really entertained the possibility of it becoming a reality. At one point she had yelped too loudly and Kiava had put his foot down and protested to Sarafina that needed to stop, but Sarafina had only looked at Zuri sternly and asked if she had enough. Zuri had obstinately refused. She was determined to be useful in any way she could and if all she could do was fall over in an uncomfortable heap every few seconds to help Kiava practice, then that was what she was going to do. That at least, seemed to have mollified Sarafina. Eventually though, she called them to a halt and Zuri sank to ground, aching. Sarafina didn't indicate that their exercise was over though.

"Get up." She ordered her.

"Fina!" Buzz called out to her, scowling at her disapprovingly. The lionesses ignored the meerkat. Instead, she moved other to Zuri and looked carefully at her with a critical eye. Zuri tried not to flinch.

"The other way of unbalancing an opponent is to lift them. To get under a limb and lift it, unbalances the remaining three legs. But you need to get in close. Dodge her blows and get under a leg, then lift upwards and twist. Either she falls, or else she'll risk injuring herself and her leg will be sprained, broken, or dislocated. I'd suggest falling." She said. Zuri blanched at that but nodded.

"Wait, we aren't taking a break?" Kiava asked her, sounding surprising.

"Are you tired?"

"Me? No, but –"

"Then let us continue." Sarafina said, in a tone that brokered no argument. With that, their trials continued, one after the other, with Sarafina suggesting different techniques and tactics, and catching Kiava repeat the process four dozen times, on Zuri, who stood up and took the punishment. Buzz came to watch a few times, but glared at Sarafina, before leaving after watching Kiava perform a move which left Zuri flat on her back. Rather than criticize her, Sarafina chose to take that as a sign that the time had come to give an impromptu lesson on pinning. With a short glare, Kiava tried again. This time, from the beginning.

"Go!" Sarafina said, as Kiava ducked under Zuri's half-hearted swipe. She moved to the right, getting her legs firmed back on the ground, grounding herself again, and when Kiava struck at her leg, she stood firm. She swiped at him, mostly to distract and befuddle him and he took a glancing blow to the head, having misjudged her angle and earning himself a tsk of disapproval from Sarafina. He circled back and ducked under her swipes again. Zuri wobbled a little bit when she did so, but only narrowly missed. Kiava struck at the second leg his claws scratching a previous bruise of hers and with new bursts of pain, she stumbled back. Kiava pushed forwards as he had been instructed to and slammed his shoulder straight into her and followed through with strikes of his own. Yet again, she tumbled to the ground unable to suppress a whimper as sharp pain laced her cream coat, landed on her back. She lifted her paws to shield himself but he was standing on top of her and pinning both her paws flat against the ground with his own. Her own neck exposed, his jaws darted down ready to close around her neck, to bit out her throat and let her blood spill out onto the dust! He stopped his movement, an inch from her neck, and his teeth snapped around thin air.

They stayed like that for a moment, both breathing so heavily that their chests heaved and rose in rhythm like the waves of an ocean. One on top of the other, each exhausted, each tired and each aching and sweating and wheezing and bruised. Her gaze lingered on his for just the briefest of a moment. Kiava's tuft of jet-black fur hung over his eyes and dripped in sweat and fatigue. Then he stepped off her and Zuri crawled to her feet, nursing her wrists, where his paws had crushed them into the ground.

"Gotcha." he muttered, though his heart was no longer in it. It had stopped being fun some time ago, around the time she had started yelping in pain each time he had landed a blow. Zuri sighed. Sarafina looked at the pair of them, and finally declared that that was enough for one day. The first day. Tomorrow it would get harder.

"Excellent. We are starting to get somewhere." She said. Somehow it wasn't quite everything Kiava had imagined. Then his stomach rumbled, signalling for all that the time had surely come for some much-promised food. For a few moments, Sarafina left them alone, and then returned with a leg of meat. Without a word to either of them, she took half of gazelle and stripped meat from it and passed it to Kiava, who devoured it greedily. Zuri waited expectantly. But then she blinked in surprise when Sarafina made no move to offer her any of the food. Instead, Sarafina began chomping down the rest of meat, and had finished in a heartbeat.

"What about me?" Zuri asked. Sarafina blinked at her, seemingly in surprise.

"I told Kiava he could have meat for doing well in his first lessons, which he did. You weren't the one being taught." She said.

"Wait what?!" Kiava asked, looking alarmed. He had already woofed down his own meat in seconds, having assumed Sarafina was diving it between them. He looked shocked. "That isn't fair!" Both he and she said at the same time. Zuri looked devastated. Kiava looked positively indignant. Sarafina gave a quiet growl at the two cubs, and the two shied back.

"Isn't it? You did nothing today other than let Kiava practice against you, and move a rock. Kiava is learning the ways of ruling and leading. The two are hardly of equal worth Zuri and I only caught the one gazelle. I am sure Ookai and Bruce can get you a few bugs. In fact, they promised as much." Zuri looked upset, but didn't argue. What would be the point? Sarafina seemed to be amused. They'd promised to follow Sarafina's rules, but it seemed to Kiava to be a little more than a cruel trick to play on Zuri. Zuri scowled again.

"I did everything you asked me to!" She said. And quite a bit more too! She thought to herself, thinking about the hundreds of bruises and cuts which would keep her awake tonight. Sarafina only shrugged.

"Yes. You were supposed to." Sarafina told her. "You said you would if I let you take part in the lessons. And I told you that you can have whatever food you wanted from my territory. But I don't recall promising to go hunting for you. I am Kiava's teacher, not your mother." Zuri glared at her, and looked between her and Kiava. Kiava looked as though he was about to say something they'd both regret to Sarafina. Which might make all of it worthless, if she changed her mind about teaching Kiava after all. Instead, she sighed.

"I… Fine." She said, defiantly. But she didn't argue the point.

"Glad that's settled." Sarafina said. "Get some rest. We will have more to do tomorrow." She said, rising to her feet. Kiava nodded. "Oh, and Zuri!" Sarafina called to her. "Would you mind doing one more thing, before you go to sleep tonight?"

"What?" Zuri said, trying not to sound annoyed. She understood Sarafina's position, but that did not mean she had to like it.

"If you would please put that boulder back into place. We'll need it for tomorrow, and I for one am exhausted. Put it back when you found it?" She said. Then she left them.

That did it. If Sarafina heard her, she didn't show it. But Zuri cursed loudly and suggested an alternative location for Sarafina's precious boulder. After a moment though she exhaled heavily. Each of her muscles protesting at their rough treatment. But she paced over to the boulder and leaned against it. She groaned.

Then she felt a presence next to her and turned to see Kiava standing beside her.

"One. Two. Three." He counted. Despite it all, she gave a small smile. Their muscles strained against the boulder together. But working as a pair, grunting, and groaning as they did so, they nudged the boulder back to its original place. It didn't seem to take half as much time.