nose.

            His cheeks turning a fade shade of red, Adwin cleared his throat, and averted his attention to the sky. "How long do you think it'll be until we find this... Judas?"

            Timira shrugged helplessly. Honestly she wasn't so sure if she would even be able to find the damn lion. They were a nomadic pride, moving from place to place when they needed to. She had no doubt they moved locations with Lindiwe's and Gwandoya's disappearances, and she could barely recall the scent of the gray lion.

            Sensing his mate's hesitation to respond, Adwin said gently, "It'll be okay, we'll find him. Or we might find someone who could help us find him."

            Did any other lion prides know of Judas? Timira wouldn't believe so. They weren't a well-established pride, like the Savannah pride, and from what Lindiwe had described of her home, they were well isolated from others. This was going to be more difficult than she realized.

            Adwin nudged her, giving her a soft smile. "Stop worrying so much. If we can find someone who might've seen him, then it'll be okay."

            Though Timira was glad her mate was trying to be optimistic for her, Timira could not help the nagging voice at the back of her head. "But what if we don't?"

            "We'll find a way, Timira."

            She sure hoped so.

            With her dedicated mate beside her, the pair made off into the night. Find the gray lion with the red mane. That was important.

~ * ~

In the Pridelands, the following morning...

            Zareb's muscles groaned as he felt an indent of sharp claws breach his shoulders. With one eye open, he looked up and saw Yejide standing over him. "Get up," she said gruffly. "You and Sarafina are hunting today."

            Because Yejide wasn't Abel, Zareb rolled his eyes. "Five more minutes," he grumbled, burying his nose further back into his paws. He felt the sharp raking of Yejide's claws on his shoulder. "Yej, cut it out. I'll hunt when I want to."

            "You're not going to want to do that," came a strong voice. At first Zareb was afraid that it was Ashiki, but as he sat up in alarm he saw that it was only Mawusi who was warning him. He knew very little about the pale-colored lion, other than that he never left the side of Abel, or of Abel's despondent father, Defir.

            Nonetheless, Mawusi had just the right demeanor that he could intimidate Zareb without having to threaten his life. "Okay," the light colored lion grumbled, refusing to meet Mawusi's eyes.

            Zareb gazed about in the den he and the rest of Abel's loyal subjects took residence in. Besides Nunka, he hardly knew anyone else who swore loyalty to Abel. He knew their names - Katura, Yejide, Ishonda (he was definitely afraid of Ishonda), and Sarafina, but anything else he was unaware of. All he knew of Sarafina was that it was her brother, Abrafo, who was a prisoner in the dens below the Rock. He almost pitied her in a way.

            Realizing she was not in the den with them, Zareb exited and found her waiting for him. She gave him a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "Ready to go?" she asked him.

            Zareb shrugged. "I have no choice, right?"

            "I suppose."

            Hearing his own words, Zareb quickly tried to rephrase his response. "I mean, if we don't, then Abel is-"

            "I get it. Let's just go, right?"

            Great, you idiot, you just made her upset, he thought to himself. He wanted to come up with something in apology to Sarafina, but the lioness was already making her way down the Rock. With a great sigh, he followed after her.

            Zareb made sure to keep his mouth shut as he walked alongside Sarafina. The lioness was not quick to make conversation with him either, so it was an uneasy walk out into the hunting fields. Zareb was wishing he was hunting with Nunka instead. Even though they hadn't been friends for too long, the gray lion was much easier and friendlier to talk to.

            But ever since that first night when he and Nunka had been scolded heavily by Abel, the pair weren't assigned to work together as much anymore. And when he often spoke to Nunka, Zareb found the gray lion looking around, as though trying to find someone. Unless it was Abel he was watching out for. Zareb hated Abel for everything he was doing - he was a pretentious little brat, even though he and Zareb were around the same age. Zareb couldn't understand how he could have anyone supporting him, but when he looked at Yejide and Ishonda and Katura, he knew they were crazy.

            Snapping away from his thoughts for a second, Zareb realized that they were walking without a purpose, even though they were supposed to be hunting. It was then that he saw Sarafina had an off-distant look in her eyes too. His heart ached for her.

            "Umm Sarafina, we were supposed to turn at that tree back there," he nonchalantly pointed out.

            This caught her attention as she came to an abrupt stop, a shaken look on her face. Zareb wondered if she thought he was Abel for a second.

            "O-Oh right, sorry, just thinking is all. Let's get going then. Abel's going to be hungry."

            "Umm, are you okay?"

            "What? Yes, of course I am. Enough talking, let's hunt."

            Zareb nodded, silently agreeing with her decision. But when they began their hunt, he saw that Sarafina hardly put any heart into her hunting. She tried, oh yes she definitely was trying, but she barely seemed interested in the baby gazelle she chased about, trying to hunt down. Her mid-leaps could barely even be constituted as an effort. Zareb felt sorry for her.

            It took around ten minutes for Sarafina to finally quit her pursuit, and to watch the gazelle race off to rejoin its mother. Her pelt was coated with dust, and her shoulders shook as she fought to catch her breath.

            Zareb came alongside her, his head turned so he wasn't looking directly at her. "Want to call it quits?" he asked.

            "A...Are you kidding? Abel will... you could've helped me."

            "Seemed like you had it under control."

            She scoffed, which sounded better to Zareb's ears than her quiet 'I'm-not-depressed-but-I-actually-am' attitude that she had earlier. "I think I might have preferred hunting with Ishonda and Yejide over you."

            That allowed for Zareb to smile. "Oh I'm sure they would've been really happy with you."

            To his surprise, Sarafina allowed a chuckle to escape her mouth. "I suppose you're right. Let's just take a break and re-group. I'm not going back without something."

            "Fair enough."

            The pair chose to relax underneath a dying tree, their coats blending in with the dried grass. While Sarafina still fought to completely recover all her strength, Zareb decided to make small talk. "So, you and your brother Abrafo... Did you really try to invade here?" He knew it was a stupid question to ask as soon as it left his mouth, but he just wanted to make small talk with her, and if that meant looking like a fool, so be it.

            Sarafina replied with a deadpan look. "Yeah, two lions versus an