The jungle was silent, or as silent as it could be considering the chirrups of crickets and distant sounds of running water. Deep in the heart of the jungle, the Waterside Pride were all congregated in their small cave and were all sleeping peacefully, lost in their own dreamworlds, except for one lioness.

Akasha could not sleep. No matter how she tossed and turned, no matter how she tried to count antelope, sleep eluded her. She had already woken her aunt Kamwe several times with her constant shifting so she braved the dark jungle.

As soon as she left the cave the cool night air hit her and she gave a small shivver. The jungle could be very cold during the night and very hot and humid during the day. Her paws took her down the familiar path through the darkness and trees. She arrived at her destination quickly, a small pool with a log acting as a bridge. She had discovered this place when she was a cub one day when she had escaped her father's watchful eye and always came here when she was feeling particularly troubled.

She leapt agily onto the log, which groaned a little under her weight, and stared down at her reflection in the still water. A brown furred lioness with dark blue eyes stared back up at her with an equally troubled looking expression. She frowned and her reflection mimiced the movement exactly. Akasha lay down on the log and allowed her conflicted thoughts to consume her.

She had arrived back at her pride early that morning and had been greeted cheerfully by her aunt as well as Adrian and Shani, they always came to meet her on her frequent trips to the Pridelands. As usual she gave them all the news of what was going on in the Pridelands, Jia had recently given birth to her and Enzi's first litter of four cubs (Shani had been pretty happy about that), Penda had confided in her that she might be expecting cubs and that things were generally good in the Pridelands.

What she didn't tell them was about Zemar.

Akasha had spent a lot of time with him on this visit to the Pridelands, she had enjoyed talking to him and generally being in his presence, contray to her first impression of him, he was a good lion. She liked him...a lot...he was her friend and she enjoyed being with him...yet a small part of her wasn't content. It wanted more. Akasha had tried to repress this, it was stupid, childish and too cliché. She visited the Pridelands only a few times a year so it would be a very long time before she saw him again. Added to that, it was still clear that Zemar still loved Jia. Even though she was Enzi's mate and the mother of his cubs. Plus, it was simply too long a distance to persue anything romantic.

At least that was what her brain was telling her and usually she would listen to it. Feelings made everything more complicated and could often lead to trouble.

Her heart on the other hand was arguing that she shouldn't ignore the fact that she liked Zemar. He was handsome, intelligent and he seemed to like her a lot and maybe he might hold some romantic feelings for her. She spent a lot of time in his company and they, although they held very different views, got along well.

Her heart argued that she was falling in love with Zemar but her brain protested. 'Love' was overrated and it often hurt. Zemar was living proof of that. Why should she offer herself up for pain? Zemar had been hurt by love and probably didn't feel the same way as she did. She would only end up being hurt if she gave into her feelings.

Then there was the issue of their prides.

If she did decide to make her growing feelings known, and by some minor miracle they were returned, where were they going to live? Zemar's home was in the Pridelands, although Chaka was not pleased in the slightest with this fact, and she assumed he would want to remain there...but her home was in the jungle. She was born and raised in the Waterside Pride...she had friends here and family...she couldn't just leave. They couldn't live half-way between the two because there was a large desert seperating the savannah and the jungle.

In the end, Akasha only ended up with a throbbing headache. She had solved nothing, if anything she was even more conflicted than she had been when she had first arrived. She liked Zemar, a lot, but she had no clue what to do.

Slowly her gaze travelled skywards, she knew asking the night sky for assistance was overly childish and idealistic but she had no idea what to do herself so she was willing to take the chance.

"If any of you have any advice, now would be a great time to give it." 

Silence. She should have known better. The stars wouldn't just suddenly send her an epiphany. They remained silent and beautiful in the night sky. Akasha sighed and rested her head on her paws, she felt drained by trying to sort out her feelings. Why couldn't these things just be simple? It would save everyone a lot of time and heartache.

Slowly, Akasha's thoughts began to drift. Her mind seemed to fix on the memory of the time she fell into the gorge and Zemar rescued her. She smiled at the memory of him taking her paw, she'd felt so safe, she knew he wouldn't have let her fall...he would make sure she was safe.

Akasha stood, she knew what to do now and she walked back to the cave with a smile on her muzzle. She loved Zemar, there was no use in denying it. She knew that it would be difficult...but then again, when were these things ever easy?One thing was absolutely certain: she was never going to willingly admit it aloud.