Simba and Zazu gasped at the sound of the scream, looking around frantically to see where it was coming from. "I knew this was a bad idea!" Zazu cried. His eyes were wide with fear. "Nana Zazu always said there'd be days like this!"

"I don't think this is the right time to be telling me what your family said, Zazu!" said Simba, a worried look in his eyes.

He knew what to look for when danger was nearby. A very loud scream was almost a certainty that Simba was at least three metres away from a deadly situation. "We might be in trouble!"

"Trouble?" Zazu became even more terrified. "Danger? Threats? Psychopathic killers with a hunger for hornbills like me?" He shouldn't have gone. He knew that. And now he would end up regretting it for the rest of his life – and that wouldn't be very long, by the looks of things.

"I don't know," Simba answered honestly, his eyes darting left and right. "It could be anything, Zazu. I can't read minds. What kind of a cub do you think I am?"

"A very irresponsible, immature, irritating little one!" Zazu shot back, furious that he was mere moments away from a painful death. "Now we're both going to end up eaten by a ten foot tall monster!"

"Maybe we were just hearing things," Simba said hopefully. "Maybe it was all just in our head. Maybe nothing wrong is going to happen at all." He chuckled nervously. "Yeah. That's it."

Another deafening scream was heard, as a fully grown lion jumped down in front of Simba and Zazu, causing them to jump back, screaming at the top of their voices!

"Please eat the cub first!" Zazu pleaded, a desperate look in his eyes. "I'm just skin and bones! He's a lion cub! He's full of meat!"

"See?" said Simba accusingly, glaring at Zazu. "You are a coward! I knew it! Ever since you tried to—"

"Who are you?" the lion demanded, staring at them with his hard brown eyes. He had golden-brown fur, with a long darkbrown mane. He didn't look very friendly. "And what are you doing in the territory of the Mungu Pride?"

"The Mungu Pride?" Simba exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of a name for a pride is that?"

The lion leant in towards Simba, staring into his auburn eyes. "Our name," he said, actually managing to sound threatening. "Is there some kind of… prob lem with that?" he asked the terrified Prince of the Pride Lands.

Simba chuckled nervously. "Uh… no. I meant that… it was cool!" He grinned. "Yeah! Cool! Very, very cool! No problems from me! No complaints at all!"

The lion smiled. "Good," he said, still sounding very scary. "Now answer my questions, you infidels. Who are you?"

"Infidels?" Zazu frowned, folding his wings, looking unimpressed. "How very rude. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The lion exploded with anger, grabbing Zazu and holding him up to his snarling face. "What did you say to me?" he growled.

Me and my big beak, he thought. "I apologise sincerely. It won't ever happen again. Please don't kill me. I stress the word 'please'."

The lion growled again, dropping Zazu to the ground.

"Nice going, Zazu," Simba remarked, watching Zazu as he climbed to his feet.

"You've got five seconds to identify yourselves before I tear your throats out," the lion told them, sounding like he would make good on his threat.

"I'm Simba," he introduced himself. "Prince Simba. To be exact, Prince of the Pride Lands. And—"

"Worth keeping alive," Zazu cut in. "I'd say very worth keeping alive."

"Zazu, let me handle this," Simba said, gritting his teeth.

"You? Nonsense! I am the King's official royal representative! I will be handling all matters regarding—"

Simba grabbed Zazu by the throat, stopping him from speaking. "Excuse my good… friend, Zazu," said Simba, finding it hard to call Zazu that. "He's just a little crazy after being out in the hot sun all day. So, who are you?"

"I am Kiongozi," the lion introduced himself. "Leader of the Mungu Pride. Now what are you doing here?"

Simba dropped Zazu to the ground. "Oh, we were just…" Simba had to think quickly for a reason. "Passing through. There's nothing to worry about. We'll be out of your way in a second."

Simba tried to walk past Kiongozi, but he pushed him back. "Hold on," the scary lion said. "You're not going anywhere."

Simba gulped nervously. "W-what do you mean?" he stammered, confused. "Is there s-some k-kind of p-p-problem?"

"No one passes through our territory freely," Kiongozi informed him. "They must be assessed by the rest of the pride before they're allowed to get through. If you're deemed fit to walk through our lands then you're free to go."

Simba had a worried frown on his face. "And what happens if we're not fit to walk through your lands? Do you send us back the other way or something?"

"No," replied Kiongozi, a murderous glint in his eyes. "We kill you. It's the law, and everyone has to abide by it – even travellers."

"But we're not travellers!" Zazu protested, panicking madly. "I only agreed to come here because that foolish, arrogant cub here talked me into it! Can't you just let me go and murder him instead?"

"I'll let you know right now, little bird, that your assessment has already begun, and that it isn't going too well," Kiongozi informed him. "One of our laws here is that we respect our friends. And right now, I'm not seeing any respect."

"I'm not his friend!" Zazu told him. "I'm just his babysitter!"

Kiongozi sighed, turning around and shaking his head. "Follow me. The Mungu Pride awaits."

Simba started slowly walking, wondering just how horrible the Mungu Pride was. I b et they're an entire pride full of killers, he thought. We're dead. And it's all Zazu's fault. Can't he keep that beak of his shut for once?

Zazu landed on Simba's shoulder. "What are we going to do?" he whispered, fearful that any minute now he was going to be torn into tiny pieces. "You'd better figure something out. It's your fault we got into this awful mess. Just wait until your father hears about this!"

Simba glared at Zazu furiously. "If you mention any of this to my dad, then I'll kill you," he threatened. "Now shut up, and let me figure a way out of this. In the meantime, just keep that beak of yours shut."

Zazu frowned. "And another thing, the way you speak to your elders is absolutely disgusting. Why, in my day—"

"That's it." Simba couldn't stand any more. "He can have you. I'm getting out of this myself. If you want a way out, then you're going to do it alone. You're just so ungrateful – just like everyone else back home. You're all jerks."

"Fine by me!" Zazu shut his beak, folding his wings. "Very fine indeed…"