moreover in times of her cubhood and youth, before accident in Rumble Gorge and matehood with Arista. So, if Zira was about to at least partially substitute her biological mother, she couldn’t be worse in simple walking on sand.

Of course all those reasons weren’t clear for kitty. She was walking south-east, thinking about nothing in particular for most of way, or feeling inflow of her melancholic mood. Just in short moments after she stopped to think about herself as murdered, but still wasn’t appeased by easy pace of road, she had moments of clarity, when she was asking herself, why the heck she just had gone away from home, saying nothing to father and brother, who were  - most likely – dying from fear about her disappearance.

The interesting thing was also how she survived. Due to her light mass she had no problems with walking on loose sand. But her paws were short and in spite she was walking with tempo of mature lion, he got exhausted much faster. When first night of her march came, she made about thirty kilometres of straight way (although she – if she was able to think about so huge distances – thought it was three times more). Fortunately for most of way she was walking on lime alley of rocky ground, not tiring herself with walking on sand.

About midnight she just sat down and decided that was enough. She laid her head on cool rock (after long and hot day that coolness was still nice, but soon it was to turn into very unpleasant cold) and cowed her tired paws. That position seemed to be very comfortable for her.

“Hey, your sssssslepynesssss!” hissed Kauli. “You must find some water and a better shelter.”

“Mhmm…” murmured cub, clearly suggesting with tone of her voice that she was unable to make any move.

“That isssssss not funny!” snorted snake. “Wake up!”

Reptile was tired with instructing and disciplining his charge. For first hour of march he was trying to persuade Zira quick return, but when he noticed that she wasn’t listening to him, he just coiled around her neck in more comfortable position and stayed silent for most of day, just from time to time correcting lioness’s steps.

“Tomorrow.” Said princess and covered her head with paw. Kauli slapped her cheek with tip of his tail. “Leave me alone, or I eat you.”

“And you sssshould!” hissed snake. “Don’t fall asssssleep or you will be dead!” Zira opened her eyes with heavy effort. “Listen to me. Now you know that travelling on desert issss dangerous and not so nice. We will return tomorrow. But for now you have to take care about ssssome basics. Find a rock crack to collect dew on morning.”

“I’ll do it tomorrow.” Replied cub.

“No!” gasped snake. “If you don’t prepare it now, there will be no water tomorrow. Sssstand up!”

It took him about quarter to force Zira to take some actions. They both walked on alley father south, to finally find some bigger boulders and proper shelter among them. Then Kauli made princess to gather some smaller rocks and make a pile of them over small pan. Zira knew that actions were requited to gather dew at night. She was taught that very early in her cubhood, but without constant advices and scolds of Kauli she wouldn’t apply that theory to practise. Finally, about two hours after midnight, python decided that desert shelter was ready to use.

Zira fell between rocks and instantly was asleep. For her it was just a second between last evening memory and hissing wake up of Kauli. Reptile alarmed her precisely on dawn, hissing, calling and in desperate strangling his charge.

“What!?” snorted cub. “Sparthi, I want to sleep!”

“Do you know, where you are, princessssss?” asked Kauli.

“It’s not funny anymore.” Replied kitty, at random hitting with paw. Python shunned her claws by inch.

“Indeed!” he snorted. “Missssss, you are on desert. Now get up, or your breakfassssst drink will vaporize.”

Morning preparations passed with another Kauli’s instruction. He told Zira how to get water from wet stones and then he tried massage her swollen paws. Then cub announced she was hungry.

“That’sssss excellent!” smiled snake. “So you want go home, right?”

“I’m hungry! Now!” cried Zira.

“Ssssorry, misssss.” Replied reptile. “But I have no power to feed you. We must go back to Golden Sands and…”

“There must be a way to get some food here.” Said kitty, but then – maybe for the very first time in her trip – she shivered and asked herself if she would save her soul out of that venture. “I’m a Golden Lioness, I’m living on desert. I must know, how to find some game!”

“I guessss you are right.” Nodded snake. “Ssssso, if you are so wise…”

“Ekhm… help me.” Whispered kitty, as if she was ashamed to admit she had no idea about hunting, especially hunting on desert.

“Stars!” murmured python. “Won’t you sssstand way back?” she shook her head. “Sssso we must find some area inhabited. We ssssshouldn’t go any further… but I think back from here there isssss nothing to hunt.”

They set off south-east again. That was completely against Kauli’s plan, because he wanted to return to Golden Sands that day, or maybe at night. But searching for food they marched away from home. That was not a problem for a snake – he was satisfied and as most of reptiles he was able to stay long weeks without solid meal. But cub was different – she needed energy, much water and there were countless reasons she shouldn’t be on the desert at all. But she was and Kauli had to solve that problem somehow.

They went few more kilometres on Lime Alley to find something that optimist could call <grove>. That was a cluster of desert bushes and cactuses, covering area big enough to keep some animal life there. There was no plan for hunting – techniques of lion cub and python were so different that their experience said nothing about eventual cooperation. So Kauli just entered some rock crack, resting and hiding from sunrays, while Zira started her tracking.

Inhabitants of that grove were short in number. No bigger game of course, just some bird-nests and smaller mammals. Birds were out of range for Zira and nest turned out to be cleared from any eggs. Finally kitty tracked colony of desert rats. Irritated with such poor trophy she simply ran to rodents to discover they hid in den. She stopped before the hole, thinking how she was supposed to get any of creatures out, but then she noticed in corner of her vision a red silhouette of fennec.

That was a decent prey for Zira. Desert fox was small and lean, but for a cub it was fine enough. But then princess learned that fennecs are in some aspects much better prepared to life there than lions. Before she even started her chase, fox was already speeding away. Zira ran after him, but soon found out that she was no match for tempo of smaller predator. Fenec left the grove, entered lime alley and… was stopped in place.

Kauli grabbed a paw of runaway and coiled around it. It was pure coincidence that animal chose to get water from wet stones and then he tried massage her swollen paws. Then cub announced she was hungry.

“That’sssss excellent!” smiled snake. “So you want go home, right?”

“I’m hungry! Now!” cried Zira.

“Ssssorry, misssss.” Replied reptile. “But I have no power to feed you. We must go back to Golden Sands and…”

“There must be a way to get some food here.” Said kitty, but then – maybe for the very first time in her trip – she shivered and asked herself if she would save her soul out of that venture. “I’m a Golden Lioness, I’m living on desert. I must know, how to find some game!”

“I guessss you are right.” Nodded snake. “Ssssso, if you are so wise…”

“Ekhm… help me.” Whispered kitty, as if she was ashamed to admit she had no idea about hunting, especially hunting on desert.

“Stars!” murmured python. “Won’t you sssstand way back?” she shook her head. “Sssso we must find some area inhabited. We ssssshouldn’t go any further… but I think back from here there isssss nothing to hunt.”

They set off south-east again. That was completely against Kauli’s plan, because he wanted to return to Golden Sands that day, or maybe at night. But searching for food they marched away from home. That was not a problem for a snake – he was satisfied and as most of reptiles he was able to stay long weeks without solid meal. But cub was different – she needed energy, much water and there were countless reasons she shouldn’t be on the desert at all. But she was and Kauli had to solve that problem somehow.

They went few more kilometres on Lime Alley to find something that optimist could call <grove>. That was a cluster of desert bushes and cactuses, covering area big enough to keep some animal life there. There was no plan for hunting – techniques of lion cub and python were so different that their experience said nothing about eventual cooperation. So Kauli just entered some rock crack, resting and hiding from sunrays, while Zira started her tracking.

Inhabitants of that grove were short in number. No bigger game of course, just some bird-nests and smaller mammals. Birds were out of range for Zira and nest turned out to be cleared from any eggs. Finally kitty tracked colony of desert rats. Irritated with such poor trophy she simply ran to rodents to discover they hid in den. She stopped before the hole, thinking how she was supposed to get any of creatures out, but then she noticed in corner of her vision a red silhouette of fennec.

That was a decent prey for Zira. Desert fox was small and lean, but for a cub it was fine enough. But then princess learned that fennecs are in some aspects much better prepared to life there than lions. Before she even started her chase, fox was already speeding away. Zira ran after him, but soon found his way just next to reptile’s hideout, but python decided to use it. He was strong enough to squash fennec’s bone. Although creature freed itself from coil

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