The following morning, Eshe emerged from the den, stretching before she descended the steps and crossed the savanna. With no idea she was being followed as she stopped for a drink at a nearby watering hole.
Sherise observed the queen from behind a large rock. She scowled slightly, but when she saw Eshe walking away, she prepared to follow until she was startled by someone leaping in front of her.
"Good morning!" To the young lioness surprise, it was Jashua. "Would you like a tour of the kingdom?" He asked, his face lit up with excitement.
"Um…" Sherise looked back at the watering hole to see that Eshe was gone. She frowned before returning her attention to Jashua. "Sure, I guess."
Jashua smiled. "Great!" He stood up and began to walk away. When he noticed she wasn't following him, he motioned to her and said, "Hey, come on! Let's go!" He walked away, and she followed, softly growling as she gave the watering hole one last look.
Throughout the tour, Jashua talked excitedly as they walked, occasionally pointing something out to Sherise. She was still unsure what to make of the prince. As he stumbled over something, tripped, and fell on his back, she rolled her purple eyes.
Sherise shook her head. "So," she asked smirking, "this is what Princey does on his days off, huh?"
Jashua grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."
"We never act like this in the Outlands," Sherise huffed as he stood.
"Well, that sounds boring," a voice replied.
Jashua and Sherise turned to see the youngest prince, who was approaching them with a teasing expression on his face.
Jashua groaned. "Don't tell me mother sent you after me again…"
Askari laughed, shaking his head. "He didn't, no. I just wanted to get out of the den. Nala and some of the pride members aren't exactly thrilled about our guest. Father and Uncle Sãhasí is trying to calm them down."
Jashua sighed heavily. "Of course they aren't."
Sherise looked at Askari. "And what do you think of me?"
The tawny Prince gave her a thoughtful look. "I'm not sure what to think about you...yet. But my big brother has good instincts, and if he says he trusts you, that's enough for me," he said simply. He shook his head. "Anyway, I'll let you go. While our sister is currently busy. I'm going to take the guard on patrol to see what damages that fire has done," Askari said as he walked past them. "I'll catch up with you both later!"
Jashua and Sherise stood there watching as the second in command of the lion guard walked away.
"So…guard?" the brownish lioness asked, her gaze returning to Jashua.
"Oh, my sister, Nala is the leader of the lion guard and our brother is her second in command. There's nothing really that doesn't happen under their watch besides yesterday but they were kind of off since it was my day to patrol.. like a rite of passage," Jashua explained as they continued on their way.
Sherise felt like she couldn't breathe. Lion Guard? She heard stories about how her father was a leader of a strong, powerful team of lions that were to protect the kingdom.
Since there's a lion guard now how was she supposed to complete her mission?
Unaware of the war inside his rescuer's head, Jashua turned to look at a nearby hill when he heard birds cawing and grinned as he noticed them landing on the other side of the hill. "Wanna race to see who can scare those birds off first?" he asked, looking at Sherise.
Sherise shook her head to clear the unsettling thoughts before she smirked. "Oh, so you're challenging me, Princey?"
The pale cream lion answered with a grin before the two took off. They raced up the hill, with Sherise pulling slightly ahead. She roared as she leapt over the hill.
Timon, who was eating a grub, turned in time to see Sherise lunge at him. He spit out the grub and screamed in terror as he fell onto his back between Sherise's extended paws.
"Don't eat me!" Timon pleaded, waving his arms. Sherise looked at the meerkat, confused, as he continued to babble. She stood as Timon scooted away from her.
"Timon? What are you doing here?" Jashua asked as he approached from behind them.
"Jashua! Thank goodness!" Timon exclaimed with relief.
Sherise gave the future king a look. "You know him?"
"Yes. Timon is one of my mother's closest friends," Jashua said, nodding to the meerkat. "It's a long story." He turned to face Timon as the meerkat gestured behind him.
"This just happens to be the best smorgasbord in the Pride Lands! Bugs everywhere!" Timon exclaimed as Jashua and Sherise surveyed the grassy area where birds were digging for worms. "But you don't make a reservation, and yeesh!" exclaimed Timon. He marched up to one of the birds. "Get outta here, ya scavengers! Go on!"
He made shooing motions at the bird, which swallowed its worm before pecking Timon in the nose.
"Ow!" He whimpered as he grabbed his nose.
Jashua winced in sympathy. He and Sherise turned to see Pumbaa when they heard yelling. He was charging at the birds, who flew into the air to let him pass before returning to the ground.
"Who is he?" Sherise asked, looking at Jashua in confusion.
"Pumbaa. He's Timon's closest companion and another of my mother's closest friends," Jashua explained.
They turned when they heard a groan and saw birds perched on Pumbaa's back. "Oh, Timon, I'm gettin' tired. I gotta lose some pounds."
Timon climbed onto Pumbaa's snout and chased the birds away. "Shoo! Go on! Shoo! Shoo!"
Jashua laughed as he and Sherise approached them.
"Hey! Maybe they could help!" Pumbaa said as he jerked his head toward the young lions. He looked at Timon, who was on his back, expectantly. "Don't you think so?"
"Shoo!" exclaimed Timon as he shooed the last two birds from Pumbaa's tail. "Oh, yeah, there's an idea," he said as he walked forward, his elbow resting against Pumbaa's snout. "Right. Let them…" He straightened up and grinned. "Hey, wait!" Pointing triumphantly at the sky, he exclaimed, "I have an idea!" He hopped to the ground and pointed at the two lions. "What if they help?"
Pumbaa's "What?" was ignored as Timon turned to face them.
"So…wanna lend a voice?" Timon said as he mimicked roaring. "Grr. Grr."
Sherise looked at Jashua, puzzled. "Huh?"
Jashua smirked. "Like this!" He let loose a roar that scared off several of the birds.
Timon jumped into the air in delight. "Woo-hoo!" He jumped onto Pumbaa's back, and the two raced away. "Come on, do it again! Do it again!"
Sherise gave Jashua a quick look before unleashing her own roar, scattering even more birds.
Timon yelled "Yeehaw!" and blew a raspberry as he and Pumbaa dashed through the flying birds.
Jashua and Sherise began running after them, dust flying from beneath their paws.
"Princey, what are we doing? What's the point of this?" Sherise called out to him, confused.
Jashua laughed. "This? This is just for fun! Haven't you ever had fun before?" He asked. They ran across the field, causing more birds to take flight.
"Fun?" Sherise mumbled, confused, as Jashua laughed again. She was surprised to discover that she liked the sound of his laugh.
Timon and Pumbaa sped past them. "Yeesh!" Timon said as he was lifted into the air after grasping onto the legs of a passing bird. "Kid, ya gotta get out more often. Fun! Yeehaw!" They both laughed as Timon let out a whoop before releasing the bird and landing on Pumbaa's back.
"Yeehaw!"
Kopa was laughing as he followed. "Yeehaw!"
Sherise finally grinned and laughed as she and Jashua caught up to Timon and Pumbaa. The four kept running as they entered a small canyon, scattering birds and laughing. They skidded to a halt when they came across a herd of rhinos in their path. The birds had landed on the rhinos' backs, smugly looking at them.
"Uh-oh," Jashua said as the rhinos snorted angrily and the birds blew raspberries at them.
They screamed and ran back in the direction they'd come from. Jashua yelped as he rounded a corner, Sherise close behind. Sherise, unlike the prince, was grinning and enjoying the chaos.
"Hey, rhino!" exclaimed Timon as he and Pumbaa rounded the corner.
The four barely made it into a crevice before the rhinos rounded the corner and thundered out of the canyon. After the herd passed by, they burst out laughing.
"Not bad, kid," Timon said as he gave Jashua a noogie. He laughed as Timon jumped off his head, and the four of them struggled to get out of the crevice.
"Excuse me. Pardon me. Pardon me. That's it, that's it, that's it!" Timon said, trying to help Pumbaa get out.
During the struggle, Jashua noticed an opening. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, his muzzle brushing against Sherise's. The brownish lioness' purple eyes widened in surprise…but she didn't pull away.
They remained like that for a few moments before drawing apart, their cheeks flushed. They chuckled nervously while exchanging sheepish smiles.
"Um, s-sorry," Jashua said softly, lowering his head shyly.
Sherise quickly averted her gaze briefly as the two of them pushed their way out of the crevice after Timon and Pumbaa. She and Jashua stood next to each other, both unsure of what to say.
Yet, as they met each other's eyes, they both sensed something was changing between them.
"Hey!" Timon exclaimed, attracting the two lions' attention as he and Pumbaa stood at the canyon's entrance. "Are you two comin' or what?" he asked, his hands on his hips.
Jashua and Sherise looked at each other and laughed as they followed Timon and Pumbaa out of the canyon.
~TLK~
That night…
Jashua and Sherise laid on their backs on a hillside, gazing up at the starry night sky.
Sherise was awestruck by the sight as she pointed up. "Oh, wow! It's really pretty."
Jashua laughed a bit. "Isn't it?" He pointed up. "Oh, look. There's a group of stars that looks like a baby rabbit. See the fluffy tail?"
"Oh yeah, I see it." Sherise nodded with a smile. "Hey!" she exclaimed, turning slightly. She indicated a different part of the sky. "There's one that looks like two lions killing each other for a scrap of meat!" As she laughed, she didn't notice Jashua's concerned expression. "I've never done something like this before."
Jashua looked at her. "Really? This was something my parents, siblings, and I used to do all the time. My mother would say that all of the Great Kings and Queens of the past are watching over us."
Sherise's expression darkened. "Do…do you think my Mufasa is up there?" Jashua gave her a sidelong glance. She gave him a quick glance before standing and walking away.
Jashua sat up, concerned, as she sat at a distance from him, her shoulders hunched.
"I have never met him, but I feel he's still...a part of me."
Jashua stood up and approached her. "My mother said there was a...a darkness in Mufasa that he couldn't escape," he said, sitting next to Sherise.
Sherise hung her head as she said softly, "Maybe there's a darkness in me too."
Jashua said nothing, only touching one of her forelegs and nuzzling her gently. He purred softly.
Sherise hesitantly nuzzled him back after a moment.