delicious flavor it brought to them. Though they did not eat all of it, they ate a good portion of it, and when it was done, they left the carcass out for the vultures. Tojo wandered off for a nap and Nalo decided this was his chance.

"Hey Monifa, I wanna talk to you," he said.

"Okay. Here, let's sit underneath this tree." Monifa placed her rump firmly on the ground and didn't look like she was going to move anywhere else.

 Nalo chuckled a bit. He walked over to her and sat next to her. "Monifa... are you okay?" he asked immediately, not wanting to dawdle on the issue. He wanted Monifa to feel better.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said, flashing him a smile though Nalo immediately saw how fake it was. Monifa saw the look in his eyes that told her that he knew she was faking being okay, and she decided not to 'beat around the bush' anymore. "Nalo, I've been thinking of my home lately..."

"Your home? Are you homesick?"

"I guess I am. I mean I miss Mom and everyone. They were my family after all. I mean sure it's been a while since I last saw them but lately I've been kinda thinking about them, and how much I miss them." Monifa gave out a weak chuckle. "I used to bully all the other cubs. But I had friends. They were even related to me, all of them!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Nalo I don't even know..." Monifa sighed.

Upset at the fact that his friend was sad, Nalo moved closer and leaned his head against her in an attempt to comfort her. "Hey, it'll be ok. Come on, how about we go on an adventure? That'll cheer you up."

Sad though she was, Monifa, true to her nature, could not pass up the opportunity for an adventure. "Thanks Nalo." She licked his muzzle and then bounced away from him. Nalo was blushing hard, but when he saw Monifa trying to lead him into a chase, he quickly shook himself awake and pursued her.

Hearing their laughter from where he laid, Tojo opened up one eye and smiled.

****

Monifa's mood seemed to have improved over the course of the following days. She was back to her old self, often trying to convince Nalo to do more dangerous stunts, which he was hesitant to do but nonetheless did. It made Nalo's heart sore now that his friend was doing better.

The three of them went out hunting again, with Tojo practically pleading that Monifa behave and try to not get herself killed. Monifa half-heartedly promised him so.

Now three, their efforts combined made them easily able to take down a young antelope without much trouble at all. However, the trouble did come after they downed the antelope. The scent of kill filled the air and it attracted a lion and lioness pair.

Tojo, seeing them and not about to have their kill taken away, marched up to the pair and roared loudly at them in an attempt to make them cower. The lion, a young adolescent lion whose mane had not quite grown out yet, quivered in Tojo's presence but the lioness was ever so calm and confident. She boldly stared Tojo in the eye while unsheathing her claws.

"You're not welcomed here," he growled. "Get out. Now."

"Who says? You?" growled the lioness.

Nalo and Monifa stood on either side of Tojo. Nalo, though never fierce, growled alongside his adoptive father, also not wanting to let their kill go. However, Monifa just stared at the pair with an inquisitive face.

It was the lion, however, who remembered her. "Monifa?" he asked in disbelief.

The lioness faced her male companion and then looked at Monifa, where her stony gaze softened up. She smiled. "It is you!"

Monifa, confused, took a step back, her head cocked to one side. "Who are you..? And how do you know my name?" she asked.

Tojo and Nalo, both just as shocked as Monifa, stopped growling and instead watched the three interact.

The female walked up to Monifa. "It's me, Nia! Your cousin. Don't you remember?"

"Monifa, we thought you were dead," said the male lion. "Remember me? I'm Rudo."

Monifa looked back and forth between the two. Her expression was still one of confusion but eventually it began to dissolve into one of realization. Her mouth grew wide and she let out a loud yowl of happiness before hugging the pair. "I can't believe you guys are here! What happened? How'd you get out? Why'd you get out?" Monifa bombarded them with questions, but Tojo interrupted them before they could answer.

"So these are old friends of yours Monifa?" he asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nia glare at him. He brushed her off and continued, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

So caught up in her excitement to see her old friends, Monifa had momentarily forgotten about Tojo and Nalo. She struggled to calm herself down, and once she did, she said, "This is Tojo and my best friend Nalo!"

Nia cringed a bit when she called Nalo her best friend, but Rudo was indifferent and was polite to both lions, thanking them for taking care of Monifa. Nalo immediately decided he liked Rudo far more than Nia, who seemed somewhat hostile towards them.

Tojo smiled. "Well, now that we've made each other's acquaintances, why not share stories over a piece of meat?"

"Well if only you're willing to share," said Rudo. Nia murmured a snide remark, to which he nudged her. "We don't want to intrude if we're not allowed."

Tojo, loving Rudo's absolute politeness, waved off Rudo's comment. "Nonsense. Any friend of Monifa is a friend of ours." To Nalo he said, "Right Nalo?"

Nalo nodded.

Monifa smiled. She pranced around with a little hop in her step. Tojo laughed. "Okay, how about a paw here?"

"I'll help," offered Rudo. He grabbed one side of the antelope with his teeth. Tojo grabbed the other side, and the two lions began dragging it along behind the others.

Walking alongside Monifa and listening to her chat with Nia made Nalo a bit worried. Nia kept on relaying stories of their old home to Monifa and how everyone missed her. Monifa seemed overjoyed and excited by the news. It couldn't help but worry Nalo because he didn't want to lose his friend. He didn't want her to go back home.

They dragged the kill underneath one of the shady spots underneath a big tree, where each of them greedily tore apart the antelope. But Tojo's, Monifa's, and Nalo's appetite could not equal Nia's and Rudo's. They cleaned the antelope to the bone and even then it seemed they weren't satisfied.

Tojo yawned and laid on his side while Nalo and Monifa sat next to each other. "So," said Tojo. "Where are you two from?"

Nia cleaned her paws and seemed entirely uninterested in sharing the topic, so instead Rudo spoke up. "We're from a lion reserve far north. They have a bunch of lions there, but I don't know why. But Monifa is our cousin, and Nia is my half-sister, so pretty much everyone is related to everyone in some sense of the word.

"When Monifa went missing, we were all sad." Rudo sighed. "We used to have a lot of fun, playing games, and other stuff. But when Monifa went missing, it seemed like all the fun was sucked out along with her. Nia and I never forgot about her, and when we were old enough, we escaped to find her."

"You escaped... to find me?" asked Monifa disbelievingly.

Nia raised her head. "Hey, family is always and forever." For some reason, she looked at Nalo. "Right Monifa?"

"Yup!" said Monifa. She leaned into Nalo. "And these guys are my family too."

Nia felt a growl rise in her throat, but she held her tongue from saying anything.

Rudo smiled. "Do you own all of this?" he asked Tojo.

"Yup," said Tojo. "It's a long story. It all started..."

While the two lions engaged themselves in a riveting story, Nalo, Monifa, and Nia talked. Well, only Monifa and Nia talked while Nalo intently listened in on their conversation. For some reason, Nia made him feel uncomfortable. There was something about her that just didn't fit with him, though he couldn't put his paw on what it was. However he kept quiet. Monifa was enjoying herself so he decided he would keep quiet for her sake.

"So you've been living here all this time?" asked Nia. Though he wasn't initially too interested in their conversation, this suddenly perked Nalo and he discreetly listened to them.

Monifa nodded. "Yeah. It's beautiful isn't it?"

"I suppose." Nia was clearly uninterested. "Though I don't see why you stuck around living here. I mean it's just..." Her voice trailed off momentarily. "It's bland."

This made Nalo sore. This was his home since he was a cub. This seem to have hit a sore spot on Monifa too, for she said, "It's not the beauty of the home that counts, but those who live in it."

"Uh huh." To Nalo, it seemed that Nia had more to say, but because he was with them, she didn't want to go any further.

"I agree with Monifa," said Nalo suddenly. "It is pretty, but it's those around you that make it beautiful."

"Uh huh..." Now Nalo sensed annoyance within Nia's voice. Yup, she did not like him at all.

Tojo and Rudo then began to include everyone into their conversations. Rudo was just finishing up telling Tojo about his encounter with a