a nice family reunion." Again he left out the fact that he had to see the other one who was close to his heart.

Mheetu seemed to lighten at this suggestion, but inside he really wasn't too sure. He had the responsibility of leading his pride and he had been living in Marakele National Park for so long now that he called it home, so it would be hard to leave such a beautiful habitat; including the fact that the Pride Lands were extremely far away. But the well being of the both the Royal Family and the Pride Lands was also on his mind.

"I don't know, my nephew." Mheetu replied. "You know as well as I do that it is not is a lion's best interest to leave where he or she comfortably roams except for when circumstances demand it. Plus it is a very long journey back to there and it would take us at least 20 days. We don't even know if everything is alright there."

"I have this feeling inside that all is well." Kopa optomistically responded. "My father and your sister are good strong leaders and I know that both they and their pride could take on anyone who would attempt to challenge them. Even if everything is not alright there, maybe we could help to make it right in some way. In that case, we may have to gain some numbers to back us up if we have to fight for it. But my family has attained the throne for a few generations and retained it once, so I know that we have the strength to keep it in our safe paws. In my heart I know that they and the kingdom are at peace."

The young lion's uncle quietly agreed to this logic after some consideration through listening to it.

"And I respect the fact that it is a very long road back," Kopa continued, remembering that when he went into exile and he ended up finding his uncle in another savannah miles south of the Pride Lands, they both had to travel from land to land for many days until they finally found this place. "but we got through it well unscathed to get here last time, so I know that we can be even stronger this time. And you could say that we had a vacation experience after all the beautiful lands and national parks we visited on our travels, so maybe we could do that again on the way. But the point is, it is important that we see our family again and let them know that we are alive and well. We spend some time with them, catch up on details, and then we return to where we reside."

Mheetu thought that this sounded very reasonable. He was also keen on the idea of another 'vacation'. I think that I am ready for more adventure. It has been a while since I saw the other sights of this beautiful continent. And to cap it all off by seeing the family again would make it even more enjoyable.

"Well, you are right, Kopa." He therefore responded. "Family reunions are important. And our prescence would help to set their minds at ease after everything that they have gone through. I also believe that we can bend a lion's roaming rule just this once; not that we are leaving our home for good. It is only temporary and we will return. So, why not? We really should go back and see them." He then remembered his own pride. "However, we will need Azima to look after the pride while we are gone. As our second-in-command, he is very wise and strong and has learned well from what we have taught him. I have faith in him to lead."

"So our pride will be safe then?"

"Completely safe." The alpha lion assured.

"Alright, then. Let's organise it with our pride tomorrow morning and then hit the road. Only there is no road." Kopa laughed a little after he said this.

"No, only desert and grass." Mheetu replied, also chuckling in amusement. "But I can visualize that road to our destination, and I know it will get us there."

"I can believe that."

"Right, then; it is settled." Mheetu finished, getting up from lying on his back to standing on his front and hind legs and beginning to stretch. "Now time to go to sleep."

Kopa followed suit and got up to follow his uncle back to the nearby den; where most of the lionesses were already asleep either inside or outside of it; where they would be spending their final evening sleeping in for an upcoming temporary period.

*

Back in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, Kufuzu and his pride had spent the late afternoon feeding on the antelope carcasses that they had killed earlier in the day, including the new acquisitions to their pride: The hyenas who Kufuzu had made friends with when he was younger.

It was now the evening, and Kufuzu had taken aside his friend and co-leader, Hekima, and his mate, Mwezi, into the pride's rocky dome den to discuss with them the reasoning behind his kinship with the supposed 'scavengers' who lions were always traditionally in competition with.

"After my father had taken over the Pride Lands," Kufuzu began to them. "it was a couple of years until he and his mate, Zira, had me. They let me know that I would be next in line to claim the throne when their time would come. I was thrilled at first, but then over time my father's dark leadership led to chaos and ruin within the kingdom. I was horrified at his actions and whenever I tried to reason with him, he would always be stern with me and tell me to stay put. As the leader he could have done whatever he liked and he did not like anyone wishing him against his decisions. So I knew there was nothing I could do. As a result I was becoming more and more unhappy to be around him. Knowing that I had to find some company in these dark times as well as the fact that the pride despised their leader and would not even want to have anything to do with his son, I turned to Scar's only alies: The hyenas."

Hekima and Mwezi moved their heads slightly closer towards the co-leader in eager anticipation to hear the story of his experience with them.

"As much as they went along with his commands and were very much on his side, I could see that they were also feeling the pain of his madness and it apparently presented a softer side to them, so both they and I thought alike and expressed our feelings to one another. They then got the impression that I was actually okay to them, and so it then began. Day after day we hung out together. We had a lot: piggy back rides; friendly wrestles; hunting lessons; the odd scarce joint feasts; and conversations with one another. There were also plenty of amusing wisecracks from afew of them, and they could always make me laugh. It was the very thing that we needed to help keep our spirits up when things got bad." 

His friend and mate looked at each other in complete awe, not sure whether or not to believe their ears, but one thing for sure was that they both marveled at the unique compassion that Kufuzu possesed. This extraordinary lion befriending a bunch of supposed scavengers who would usually compete against the big cats for food and territory?

"What are the odds?" Hekima whispered to Mwezi.

"Yes, what are the odds?" She likewise replied.

Kufuzu noticed this and satisfactorily smiled as though he had achieved something extraordinary, but he quickly recovered and continued on with his story:

"And it got bad, alright: The place became almost inhabitable and I could not take it any more. Knowing then that I was old enough to take care of myself, I decided to move and get out of there for good. I despied Scar more than ever and I could not care less about ruling a degraded land and cleaning up my own evil father's mess. But before I left, I thanked the hyenas for all that they did for me and their much needed friendship, and they did the same. I guess they saw me as their own child in a way and they were a little sad that I was leaving, but they understood that it was for good cause as well as the fact that I had come of age. They said that if they were not under my father's strict command, they would have definately followed suit. Our farewells then followed and away I went. So that was the last time that I saw them. And the rest is history."

His friend and mate were still in a state of awe and admiration as he finished up his story. They were also very eager to answer some questions.

"That is quite a story, Kufuzu." Mwezi first responded to her mate. "I would never have imagined that any lion would ever develop such a kinship with a traditional rival like these wild dogs. What did it take?"

"Yeah, what was it that you saw in them?" Hekima added.

"As I said before, there was a softer side to their kind of, shall I say, unique wisecracking personality?" They both shrugged and just smiled as Kufuzu said this, and he gave a likewise amusing smile before continuing: "Well, anyway, they had gone along well with my father's evil plot and were willing to help him as a show of loyalty, but deep down they were desperate for resources, appropriate land and peace of mind and I knew that they would have done whatever it took to get it. There were times we spent time together when they expressed their need for freedom but how, from their hearts, they would never have considered seriously hurting others for it because, by tradition, it was not in their best interests. But under Scar's supposed exchange deal for his place on the throne, they had no choice. Above all that, however, their hearts were still in the right place. So it was their inner goodness that I came to recogize and they did likewise. That was what brought about our friendship."

"So you came to realize that they were not as bad as you thought?" Mwezi asked, intrigued into this different side of hyenas that her mate had found.

"I guess so." Kufuzu replied. "From all the