gripping the zebra by the fur on its chest, and pulling it down so that Samanya and Zarah could reach it. They bit into its hind legs to stop it from moving, and it was Sauda, not Ari, who made the final blow to the foal's jugular once she caught up to them. By the time Ari, panting, arrived, her pride-sisters had already taken down the beast.

            She greeted them with kind touches to the nose, praising them. "Amazing job, you guys. Let's get this back to the pride, and feed everyone."

            "Merlissa is going to be happy about this," chattered Zarah as she helped pull a hind leg. "She loves zebra meat. I'm sure Tranda will be happy about this too."

            "I know Maalik is," laughed Ari, who pulled at the dead zebra's backside. "Even though I promised him a water buffalo."

            "If he wants one, he can get one himself," commented Xolani, with a faint smirk on her face. "A water buffalo isn't worth getting into a scrap with."

            "They're tasty though," admitted Samanya.

            Through closed mouths, the lionesses all chuckled in agreement. Ari even agreed to let them stop for a moment to indulge themselves to cease their growling stomachs. When they reached the pride, they came upon the sight of Maalik and the others standing before two unfamiliar females who looked exhausted.

            Their prey forgotten, Ari and her pride-sisters approached the circle that had formed, all manner of laughter ceased in favor of a more professional look.

            As he saw his mate approach, Maalik moved to allow her to get a better look at their guests. "Hello," Ari greeted kindly, "may we help you with something?"

            "Good timing Ari," remarked Maalik. "They wanted to talk to you."

            "Oh?" Ari eyed the two lionesses with keen interest. "Well, how can I help you?"

            "We're no threat," said one of the lionesses. "My name's Adanna."

            "And I'm Timira, of the Savannah pride."

            Ari's eyebrows creased. Savannah pride? They gave their own prides a name? Her father never did that - they had all just addressed as his pride.

            When familiarity was not struck, Timira resumed, "Anyways, we came here to ask for help."

            "They wanted to know about your father," said Maalik.

            "My father?" Why would lionesses who came from this strangely-named prides come all the way out here? Ari thought.

            When Ari appeared skeptical, Adanna clarified, "He's in danger." She didn't outright declare it, but kept it as a hushed whisper between the four of them.

            Understanding that their need for her help was dire, Ari turned to the rest of her pride, and shooed them off. This was only for her and Maalik's ears alone. "Come," she said, leading them to the rock that she and Maalik had rested upon only hours ago. "What's going on here? Why do you think my father is in danger?"

            It was Adanna who spoke up, "He's Judas, correct? He's in big trouble. Abel, my brother, he's the new King of the Pridelands. He's looking for Judas. I overheard him saying he wanted to destroy him."

            Ari nodded her head, trying to digest the information she was receiving. She knew little about the Pridelands other than that Judas had been born there, which meant that she had relatives in those lands. But her father had only been there once, when Kayode was young, and he had expressed no interest to return. So how could he make an enemy when he wasn't even there?

            "We were talking to Maalik," said Timira, "and he said that Judas is your father."

            "Yes, he is."

            "We wanted to warn him to watch out for Abel," said Adanna. "My brother is insane. He's not going to stop at anything to destroy Judas, for whatever reason why."

            "I don't know if word came out this far because you guys are really out of reach from everyone else, but there's another. His name is Ashiki. He chased out the Outland pride."

            Ari failed to recognize the significance of the pride itself, but knew that he had to have been a threat if he had chased away a pride; Maalik, however, who had been schooled in understanding the cultures of the other lion prides (for all the wrong reasons) knew the danger in that. "You didn't mention that," he said. "The Outland pride was pretty solid."

            Timira nodded. "Chased them across the river, and killed the leader's second-in command."

            "Ashiki allied himself with my brother," said Adanna. "He's a big threat. Insane too."

            "Sounds like a war," said Maalik.

            "Well we were hoping to find Judas ourselves to plead that he come to our aid."

            "I'll speak to my father," offered Ari. "Besides, he wouldn't be too happy about seeing you guys there. You know, not being pride members."

            Adanna glanced at Timira, saying, "Wow, lion prides sure run differently out here."

            "But thank you for letting me know. You're more than welcomed to stay here and rest. We went out hunting, but looking at it now, maybe I should go back out again..."

            "I'll take care of it," said Maalik, a smile on his face. "I'm fairly decent, if I do say so."

            Ari smiled, but something nagged her deep down. Turning to Adanna and Timira, she asked for them to leave her and Maalik to themselves. Once so, she added, "Maalik, I don't like the sound of this."

            "I agree," he said, nodding his head once. "And here I thought the Highlands would be the first over the Pridelands. This Abel must be insane or something."

            In her mind, an image of Zuri flashed quickly. Ari shook her head, wanting to rid herself of that horrible memory. "Maalik, you'll be okay to watch over the pride while I go find my father?"

            "You sure you don't want to bring anyone with you? Want me to come along?"

            "Trust me, Dad isn't a very welcoming guy."

            "Haha, that's probably why I haven't met him yet. Don't worry, I'll keep things peaceful here. Should I tell everyone else?"

            "No, tell them later. If we tell everyone now, well... maybe it's just better to hold off."

            "Whatever you want, you're the boss." He leaned in and pressed his nose against hers. "Go on, I'll watch over things here."

            "You're the best. I love you," was her quick reply, as she wasted no time departing from her pride to see her father. She only hoped that she wasn't too late.

~ * ~

At Judas's pride...

            Judas was well past his prime, he had decided. He was old, pushing the age of sixteen. His bones did not work as well as they had when he was young. His once bright red mane was losing its