stupidly brave? She sat down, and began to speak again.

"My brother is always saying things like that, but to be honest, I like to walk on the wild side of things," Alba said, smiling. Askari's ears flattened even further. She must be absolutely crazy. "I don't think you understand," he replied slowly. "I could've killed you." He put emphasis on 'killed', hoping she would understand. Was she really this blind? He may have just ended her life and she wouldn't even know it. It seemed like she didn't even care about her life. Was she suicidal? This thought briefly crossed his mind, but he pushed it aside. No, she seemed fine. She had a cub to look after and a family, so why commit suicide? But there was no other explanation. Maybe she was just so detached from the world that she didn't consider death as an option? If that was the case, he was ready to give up all hope in this pride.

"I'm trying not to make you feel bad," she said, walking towards him. He eyed her warily, but froze on the spot. She gently pushed her nose into his mane in a silent nuzzle, then pulled back quickly so as to not make him uncomfortable, a smile spreading across her face. He quickly moved away from her touch, eager to keep distance between them. He didn't understand anything she was doing. Did she really care? Or was she just coming up with things? Still, he couldn't figure it out. His chest felt heavy with confusion, and he wasn't sure what to do. He tried to come up with something to say to her, but only found bare, hot confusion swimming in his mind. Finally, he was able to come up with words. "There is no need to spare my feelings," he began, feeling ruffled. She should feel no need to protect him. He had been trained to contain emotions, and even though he felt bad, she should feel no need to coddle him. "How can you not be shocked that I nearly killed you? Do you not understand death?" he continued, finally voicing what he had been thinking. How could she be so calm and composed and overall just carefree about death? He was beginning to wonder whether he could trust her.

Alba answered his question with a nod as she padded over to sit next to him. "I'm not dumb," she responded, looking down over the hill they were one. She curled her tail around her paws, blue eyes trained on the distance. Askari eyed her for a moment before putting a bit of distance between them for comfort. Confusion and frustration was making him antsy, and he still couldn't make sense of her, wanting to go back to Priderock. "Then why laugh?" he retorted, tail swishing behind him in agitation. He was getting more and more confused and uncomfortable, and needed some time to rest his head. Alba's smile grew and she continued looking ahead. "I knew you wouldn't really hurt me," she responded calmly and confidently. Askari found himself even more perplexed, and was about to bite back a stinging retort when he thought better of it. No matter what he said, she never seemed to make sense. Feeling weary and exhausted with all of this, he huffed quietly to himself. He shook out his mane, though it did little to clear his thoughts. "Can we go back to Priderock?" he asked. He wasn't sure how much longer he wanted to be out here with her while she was still confusing, and he wanted some time to rest and gather his thoughts.

Askari looked to her as Alba's jaws stretched wide in a yawn and she slowly began nodding. She rose to her paws, saying, "Sure, I'm tired anyway." She began to descend the hill when she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him with a curious look. "You okay?" she asked, pricking her ears. He gave a curt nod as he followed after her. "Fine," he murmured shortly as he managed to pass her, the lioness's blue eyes following him. He didn't feel like talking right now, especially to Alba. He'd hoped to gain some clarity by spending time with her, but he only found himself more perplexed. Right now, he just wanted to head back to the den he was staying in and rest his headache, hopefully giving him time to gather his thoughts. He didn't think he could handle much more of her erratic and eccentric behavior at the moment, and felt a strong need to be alone for a while. Crickets chirped as background noise as he padded on, looking down at the ground as he tried to clear his thoughts.

Alba followed after, and soon fell into the lead, and he allowed her to do so, as she knew the terrain better, and he didn't feel like thinking. Every once and a while, she glanced at him over her shoulder, but each time he didn't change. He kept his head down, eyes focused on the ground as he tried to soothe his aching mind. A few times she contemplated speaking, but thought better of it since it didn't seem he was in the mood. Soon, Priderock loomed ahead of them, illuminated in the moonlight, turning the massive rock silver. "Good night," she called, and received silence. She looked back at him once more before slinking back to her family cave to retire for the night. Askari gratefully walked back to the cave he had been kept in when he first arrived and lay down, glad to be back. He closed his eyes, and he struggled to drift into sleep. Finally, his mind drifted off into a restless sleep, ending this night.