Amazing Discovery

The small Lowland cub had been walking through the jungle when he came upon a marvelous sight. A small pool of water which had many vines above it was situated in the remote jungle that he and his pride called home. This place intrigued Upendo and he quietly padded up to the water once he was sure no one was calling this place home. The light brown cub smiled once he saw his reflection, the water was so clear it was just as if he was viewing a cub that was living underneath the water!

That thought made Upendo chuckle, lions couldn't live underneath the water! It would be funny to see a cub just like him with gills though, just like a fish. Would these mutant cubs have fins too? What would happen with their tails, would that morph into a fin as well? Aside from the absurd thought of a fish-lion hybrid, Upendo stared at his own reflection, his eyes in particular. The cub sported two colors, just like the queen of his own pride. Crimson inherited from somewhere in his father's side of the blood, and violet from his mother.

Upendo, the cub who was normally calm and sweet in nature, growled and smacked the water at the thought of his father. He didn't just hate his father, he loathed him. Who else would split his litter in half, taking the two stronger males and ditching the other three with their mother? The cub's father claimed that he was sent with his mother to remind her of his love, but the cub thought that was a load of okapi dung. Shinikizo was always odd to Upendo, he seemed to train his brothers for something, and the cub wanted to know what. Why wasn't he worthy to stay with his father? Why couldn't he of left Jabari with his mother instead of himself?

As Upendo collected his angry thoughts against his father, he calmed himself down quickly and dipped his paw into the water. He could just touch the bottom of the pool, but he didn't know how far the shallow water extended, and he wasn't just ready to test that. Upendo had seen some of the older females drenched in water, so he knew that the middle of the pool was surely very deep. The young boy sat in silence, questioning on whether he should venture into the water, or if he should just wait until someone else came along. Just in case something would happen.

Days has passed since Giza had gotten lost in the Pridelands. After a brief adventure with her sister Tasa, the russet daughter of Scar found herself hopelessly stuck at the bottom of a sharp ravine, and neither cub could find a way to save her. Tasa went for help while Giza looked for the best hiding spot, fearing predators in the night. Hour after hour Giza had waited there, hurt, frightened, and filthy from her fall, but no one came to rescue her. The sun had risen, arched high above her, before sinking into the east, and Giza had still been waiting, crouched beneath boulders for safety. The heat was maddening, her thirst torturous, and by the time the moon had risen and the sky blackened, Giza realized she was on her own. Help was not coming. Tasa had left her there to die.

How could her sister forget about her? Why hadn't her father come to rescue her? Scar had never seemed interested in Giza, but even she had believed he would come for her in her hour of need, or at least send Heshima to fetch the errant cub. For the first time in her life, the princess was utterly alone, and she would have to save herself or die trapped there. The only way out was to climb up the opposite side of the ravine, but once on the other cliff, Giza had no idea how to get back across. So she began to walk. She walked for hours alongside the canyon, looking for a way across, but this proved an impossible task. It was nighttime again, which only helped her to get more lost. Pride Rock had been lost from sight and now the familiar scent of her father was no longer lingering in the air. Unknowingly, she had entered neutral territory.

When the sun rose again, it was a mixed blessing for Giza. Now she could see where she was going, but her dark pelt soon had the hot cub panting. With no other choice but to keep moving, she wandered south for several more hours until she saw green looming in the distance. Where the savanna ended, a lush jungle began, and Giza's pace quickened as she made her way into the Lowlands for the first time, desparate now for water to quench her thirst. A snaking river was soon discovered, and Giza couldn't believe her luck -- finally! She ran to the edge of the water and lapped it up greedily, failing to notice the younger cub that was already inhabiating the beautiful verdant area.

It had only been a few minutes of contemplation before the light brown cub finally decided to slowly wade into the cool water of the lands. Upendo quickly found out that he had only a few feet around the ridge where he was still able to stand, but the water reached his neck and inhibited his movements greatly. However, the cub quickly figured out how to get around and essentially taught himself how to swim. The dual eyed cub smiled and cheered softly, his mother would be so happy that he was able to accomplish this task!

But alas, Upendo's movements were too fast and he swam too far into the pool. With not being able to feel the bottom anymore Upendo flailed slightly and found himself under the water. The cub opened his eyes and viewed the clear view of the underwater world of the Lowlands. In the middle of the pool was a school of small fish, swimming along in the dirt and plants on the deep floor. But that was only for a moment before Upendo had to retract to the air again to breath. As the cub broke the surface he paddled over to the shore and pulled himself up, taking deep breaths every second. He shook off the water and smoothed out his mane tuft before hearing a sound behind him.

When Upendo turned he saw another lion cub -one obviously larger than him- lapping up the water. The light brown cub cocked his head, he had never seen this other cub before; was it lost? He took in the russet pelt of the newcomer and found it odd, this cub must be from a neighboring pride! Even though this cub was bigger than him, Upendo decided to welcome it to the Lowlands. He quietly padded over and sat down when he was a few feet away from the new cub. "H-Hello there,"

As Giza helped herself to the water at the river's edge, she finally caught a glipmse of her face. As she had fallen, a bramble thorn had sliced her above her ebony nostrils, arching across the bridge of her nose. The deep cut had attracted dirt, and now looked as if it would get terribly infected. She lowered her face in an attempt to clean the wound, and when she looked at her reflection again, she looked like a drowned rat with a long pink slice marring her russet face. It was impossible not to think of her own father, for the cut would undoubtedly turn into a scar once it had healed. The thought made her angry. As if she didn't already look the spitting image of her dark father!

During her distraction, Giza hadn't seen the younger cub swimming in the water, nor did she see him crawl out over the river again. The water felt so cool against her parched tongue, she was totally unaware of what was going on around her, and only realized she was no longer alone when Upendo approached her slowly. Instantly, the hair on the back of her neck raised in alarm, and she inched away from him, fear obvious on her features. "Who-who are you? Are you a prince?" The only other cubs Giza knew were her siblings, and all were of royal decent, so she naturally assumed that all other cubs were also regal.

This new cub didn't look especially prince-like, but then, Giza certainly didn't look much like a princess herself. Her sky blue eyes glanced over his soft brown coat curiously, but she kept her distance, and her expression was wild. Though it was unlikely the young male had ever seen Scar, much less heard of the russet brute, Giza was petrified that she would be recognized as the devil's own flesh and blood. She was well aware that neighboring kingdoms did not like her father, and there was no telling what might happen to her if someone knew who she was. Still, she was glad to have found another cub, but her muscles remained tense.

Upendo cocked his head when the russet cub asked if he was a prince. From it's voice, the male could defiantly tell that it was a girl. She seemed scared and she inched away from him slowly. The brown cub took a step forward, his right paw being lifted in mid-air after that last step. "Wait, I won't hurt you," Upendo wondered how he was scaring this larger cub, "I'm not a prince, not by a long shot!" This fact made Upendo chuckle, there was no way he was going to be a prince, the only prince of the Lowlands was Sakitu, and Upendo heard that he was currently residing in the Coldlands with his father.

His father, and Upendo's father. The cub held back the urge to lash out at the thought of his paternal guardian, but he feared that he would scare the female in front of him even more. Shaking off the rage, he placed his happy face back on, "I'm Upendo, what's your name?" The cub's eyes hovered to the nose of the female and noticed the deep cut that she had sustained. The cub knew that it would most likely scar, and the thought of a story of an epic battle ran through his head; this brightening up his mood.

The cub had not heard about Scar or his many children, so he wouldn't know who this russet cub was or her tyrant lineage. All he knew was that this russet female was far away from home and Upendo decided to bring that up. "You seem to be a long way from home, so that being said, welcome to the Lowlands!" The dual-colored eyed cub took a seat and looked at the cub, he had never seen another cub that lived outside of the Lowlands sans the one time he laid a glimpse on Sakitu. If this was what other cubs looked like, Upendo thought that there must be others with wild colors! Maybe some purple lions like his left eye!

The closer he got, Giza began to notice the brown cub's subtleties. His eyes were two different colors, which the russet cub had never seen before. The cub had a little brown mane sprouting, but Giza guessed she was still several months older than him. Her own small size made it possible for her to look younger than she really was, and she would likely use this to her advantage now that she was far away from home. Upendo claimed he wouldn't hurt the strange cub that had appeared, but Giza was still wary of him and was glad when he finally stopped approaching. She didn't move back, in part because she was curious to get a better look at the male cub, and because she didn't feel like taking a full bath in the river.

The cub wasn't a prince, and Giza felt silly for assuming so. He didn't ask if she was royal, and it was not something that the cub cared to bring up. "My name is Giza." She couldn't remember the last time she had made a new friend, or even had a friend at all, and the cub's friendly nature only confused the dark cub. A brow arched questioningly when Upendo enthusiastically welcomed her to the Lowlands, a place she had never heard of by name. It had been ingrained in her mentality that the neighboring prides were full of maniacal killers, and if there was one thing Upendo definitely wasn't, it was a crazy murderer. But she didn't seem to know how to respond to his kind gesture, instead just staring at him with her head tilted to the right.

"Who-" she began hesitantly, voice low as she looked around nervously to be certain no other lion would be making a sudden appearance at the river. "Who is the king here?" Or better yet, was the king a nice lion? Giza wanted to know if she would be in trouble once discovered in the jungle, and her anxiety was obvious in her clenched jaw and rigid frame. The two cubs were opposites: while Upendo was relaxed and approachable, Giza was nervous still, and looked as if she would lash out at anyone who dared to come too close. Unconsciously, her jet black claws had come out defensively, a natural reaction to the fear that still seized the cub.

Upendo smiled when Giza had revealed her name, and he repeated it to himself before commenting on the name. The cub knew that it meant 'dark', but he wouldn't let her know that. "Giza? That's a really cool name!" Upendo wanted to be relaxed and as friendly in order not the scare the cub even more. The two were locked in a stare off as silence swept the area, Upendo took in this time to see what else Giza hid in her appearance. He noticed her bright blue eyes, the same color as his sister Sakina, along with her now extended claws.

But then the russet cub asked about the ruler of the lands and yet again she assumed something that wasn't right. The lands did not have a king, but a queen instead! Had Giza ever been outside of her den before this? "King? We have no king, but we have a queen, Queen Nyota!" Upendo didn't recognize the fault in what he had just said, he had given up valuable information to an unknown stranger, but at what price would that be?

Upendo smiled once again and motioned his paw around, "Where do you come from Giza? I bet it's so much different from where I live,"

(OOC: Sorry it's so short Bee! ^^')

Why was he being so nice? He didn't know Giza at all. The strange russet cub could have been anyone in the entire world and he was still being friendly like it didn't matter that she wasn't supposed to be there. Sure, her own mother had taught her to have manners and be nice, but usually when Giza was those things, it was all an act to please the adults. She managed a faint smile when he complimented her name, though she instantly doubted his sincerity, since no one had ever said something so nice to her before.

Giza's brows raised incredulously when the cub profressed that the kingdom didn't have a king at all. It was the craziest thing that the cub had ever heard, for in her lifetime, the importance of having a king, being the king, or striving to become the king were paramount. The thought that a queen could do it on her own was almost laughable to Giza, but of course, she kept her chuckling to herself. Well, why shouldn't a queen be able to be the one in charge? It was a foreign concept, but one that instantly appealed to Giza. "I've never heard of a pride without a king," she admitted.

"I come from.." Quick, she had to come up with something! Anything but the truth. "I'm from a pride that's really, really far away. I got lost." Her ears fell as she spoke, for her latter comment was not a lie at all. She had no idea where she was, or how far she had traveled.

[[No worries!]]

Upendo's eyes widened, Giza had never heard of a pride without a king? The cub knew that in the lands where his father resided there was the opposite of the Lowlands so the small brown cub thought that every pride knew of lands such as those. But clearly that was not the case as Giza seemed almost amused by the fact. The male shook it off and listened to where the russet cub had come from and it almost seemed as if it was a joke.

The dark tan cub realized that she had been lost, he hadn't seen her around and beside his two sisters there was only one other cub in the pride. "Far away huh? You must be hungry then!" The cub looked around the lush forest and saw many small animals running among the trees. Upendo smiled at Giza and backed away slowly, "Wait here!" And with that the cub was off, soon he came upon a lizard and with a quick sorry, smashed it underneath his paws. Before any of the birds could steal away the meal Upendo took the reptile into his mouth and raced back to Giza.

He had only left for a moment and was relieved to see that the female was still there, if she was lost than she was surely going to be wandering off sooner or later. But as Upendo's kind nature shined through, he couldn't let her leave without a meal, no matter how small it was. The dual-eyed cub dropped the meat in front of Giza and smiled, "It isn't much, but at least you're able to eat now," Upendo padded back slightly as to give the older female some room and he laid down on his stomach. Curiosity struck again and another question fired out of the cub's mouth.

"So Giza, is everyone of your pride your color? I've never seen a lion with that bright of a pelt, it looks pretty cool,"

With nowhere else to go, Giza sat and watched as Upendo got an idea and suddenly disappeared. Though he was lost from sight for only a few minutes, the russet cub began to feel nervous all over again. He said he would be right back, but why should the lost cub believe that? But before she knew it, Upendo had returned with a smashed lizard as his prize, which he then presented to Giza. Having so many siblings back home, the princess of the Pridelands had been taught to share, however reluctantly, but with not a brother or sister in sight, Giza gobbled up the small reptile without a secnd thought. It was not enough to fill her belly, but it was something, and a small, genuine smile finally appeared on her scarred face. "Uh, thanks, Upendo," she pronounced his name slowly, so she wouldn't say it wrong and offend the cub.

"No-no," she answered slowly when he inquired about her family, mind quickly trying to conjure up a good excuse for her unusual pelt color. "Actually, everyone else was much darker. Kind of like my fur, but much darker. I'm not really like them." For the first time in her life, Giza felt the vaguest sense of guilt for misleading someone. Upendo was just trying to be friendly, but that did not mean he was trustworthy. Giza remembered what she had been taught about strangers: to avoid them like the plague, and yet the jungle cub didn't seem mean or violent at all.

"Does everyone in your pride have weird eyes, too?" As soon as the words had parted her lips, Giza realized they sounded... well, rude, and not very nice, even though Upendo had just paid her a compliment. "I mean, I like them, they're just... I've never seen eyes like that!" Here, she tried to smile, in spite of her weariness, in a pitiful attempt to just be nice.

The tan cub was happy when he was able to feed his new russet friend, it made him feel like he had done some good in the world. He watched as Giza scarfed down the lizard and he smiled with her thanking. "Don't mention it, there's plenty of food to go around. I'm sure Queen Duara wouldn't mind it, but then again, I've never talked to her about it." Upendo's tongue slipped as he mentioned the other matriarch of the pride. It was sure to cause some suspicion from the female cub, but Upendo wasn't going to worry about that right now.

When hearing about how Giza's pride was darker colors than her, Upendo didn't second guess the cub and he bought right into the ploy. He started to imagine dark, almost jet black lions running around the lush grassy lands. The cub wondered what her family was like, was her father strong and tall? Was her mother outgoing and ferocious? It was all like a puzzle in Upendo's head, but he decided to place the pieces together at a later time. But for now, an odd question was asked of Upendo, and Giza's apology for asking said question was almost half-hearted.

"No no it's fine! You have every right to ask me that and the manner you asked it is acceptable. They are weird aren't they?" Upendo chuckled, "No, the only ones that have these eyes are me and Queen Nyota. Well, and my father, but who cares about him? He doesn't live here anyways," When Upendo talked about his father, rage filled the cub's body and he started to shake. He stood and padded slightly away from Giza and laid down with a huff, looking at his reflection. "Apparently he gained his eyes in an accident when he was a cub, he has the scar on his eye to prove it. I guess I just inherited something, maybe someone on my mother's side had these eyes? I can only hope,"

Upendo's mood dropped and he sighed once more, "Sorry for being so irritable Giza, it's just," Should he tell her? Might as well, there was no point in not doing so, "I loathe my father, I hate his guts. He's sitting in the Coldlands with my two brothers, training them to be strong or something; they haven't told me much. Why he chose them over me I can see, but why not take me too? He claims he cares, but he doesn't show it." It wasn't like Upendo let him show it either, the cub always collected one or both of his brothers and ran off before Shinikizo could say hi. "But it's not like you know what I speak of, your dad probably loves you!" Upendo put on a smile, "I don't see why he shouldn't, you're really a cool cub!"

A dark-rimmed ear flicked at the mention of Duara, a second queen, and though the cub thought this was a strange remark, she kept her curiosity to herself. What kind of screwy place had she found? Two queens and no king? But Upendo's kindness was the first she had encountered in some time, and in such a desperate state, she was in no mood to argue or question. She was only grateful that the male cub did not further questions about her family, and allowed the subject to change to Upendo's absent father without a word.

Giza watched silently as the gentle cub's demeanor shifted at the mention of his father. If there was one thing that Giza could understand, it was feeling unwanted in the eyes of a father, for it was something she too had experienced back home. She struggled to hide the look of surprise when he talked about his own father's facial scar, and her heart pounded hard in her chest at the similarity. Upendo's father had left him there, he explained, and now the otherwise seemingly sweet and friendly cub loathed the lion. Well, at least the two had something in common. Neither was the respective father's chosen favorite, and both despised them in return. When Upendo apologized for his angry outburst, Giza only looked at him with eyebrows knit, as if she didn't understand why he felt the need to apologize. That behavior was routine for the russet female cub, after all.

"My father has a scar too," she said quietly, but quickly thought better of the comment. She was revealing too much with even such an innocent remark, and the wheels in her mind were quickly turning. "Had a scar. He's.. He's dead now. But he was mean, anyway. He never loved me, I'm sure of it. He only wanted boys, so he never bothered with me." A slight shrug was offered along with her words, trying to appear as if the fact that her dad never cared about her was not all that important. For a brief second, Giza wondered if she would ever see the russet lion again. Perhaps he would prove her suspicions wrong and come searching for her?

But in her heart, the once-princess knew that she was on her own. It was a terrifying realization, nearly as scary as being trapped down in the ravine itself, and spending the day waiting for a rescue that would never come. The Spirits could only know how she had ended up in the jungle, but now her ears drooped and her shoulders sagged with the weight of the world on her shoulders. "They're all gone now." She could feel the warm sting of tears threatening to fall, and she bit her lip hard to keep her emotions in check. Crying wouldn't help her now, as it hadn't helped to save her when she was trapped in the ravine.

Upendo's eyes widened when Giza revealed her father had a scar. Most lions would have instantly made the connection, but little Upendo hadn't been taught the danger of the Prideland's tyrant or his spawn. If either queen knew that Upendo was making friends with the 'enemy' he would surely be chastised without a moment's notice. But the cub was still young, still naive to the world outside of his fertile lands. When he thought about the Coldlands where his father and brothers resided, he shook with fear. There were clearly lands without the mass amount of green and food; but Upendo didn't know that there his was the only one currently not like the others.

Upendo sat up and padded closer to Giza as she told of her father wanting boys and the cub understood that fully. Shinikizo only wanted males for some unseen objective; the main reason that he shoved Sakina and Malaika off with Shani. Upendo nodded to show that he understood but he didn't speak, he only listened. But the calm natured male's heart broke when Giza told of how her family was all gone, he could only assume the worst. He could see how troubled she was and he stepped forward and nuzzled her in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry Giza, I really am. But hey, I'm here for you, even if we only have just met," All Upendo wanted to do was to help this lost cub, and it seemed that it was exactly what he was going to do.

It wasn't his call, but Upendo was sure that he wasn't going to let his new friend be left alone. "Why don't you stay here with me and my pride? I'll protect you if anyone tries to hurt you!" The tan cub smiled, his dual-colored eyes shining brightly in the sunlight that just broke through the tree tops. The Lowlands were a beacon of hope for many, and Upendo wasn't just going to let Giza wander into the desert that he knew was beyond the bordered trees. Besides, there was a lot of fun for a cub here and they had the protection of the trees to aid them. The only thing that Upendo would have to deal with would be his queens. But he would take full responsibility for Giza, whether they liked it or not.

Instantly, she jerked away from the male cub's comforting geture, sky blue eyes wide with fear and apprehension. Giza simply couldn't fathom why he was being so nice to her. As he said himself, the two had only just met, and Giza was not the type to offer sympathy, even to those she was supposed to care about. Her mind flashed to Ari and Tasa, the two family members that Giza had actually liked back home, and wondered what they would do if they were in her situation. But then she knew that Ari would never had wandered this far, and Tasa would have been able to find her way back. Giza was on her own now.

Her expression remained unconvinced when Upendo offered Giza a place to stay, as well as protection. The boy cub was smaller than even Giza, so she knew he wouldn't be of much use to her, but she couldn't just leave now. What choice did she really have? Going back to the Pridelands now seemed an impossible endeavor, and she certainly wasn't about to ask for directions back to the dying kingdom. Then Upendo would know who she really was, and he would tell the queens of his pride, and Giza could only fill in the blanks with what would happen next. Fortunately for the russet cub, not even Queen Nyota had laid eyes upon Scar, so she would not be able to guess where Giza had originally come from.

After a long, silent pause, a faint smile appeared on her muzzle, though it was forced. "I.. I guess I will stay. I have nowhere else to go." The bridge of her nose still smarted, throbbing dully now that it had been cleansed, reminding her of what could happen if she made any more foolish decisions. "Thanks, Upendo. You're, uh... Really nice!" Her enthusiasm was feigned. It was just like being back at Pride Rock. Giza had been an expert in putting on a sweet face and kind words when she wanted something. Now, it was a matter of survival.

When Giza had said that she would stay in the Lowlands, Upendo smiled and cheered to himself. Finally, the cub would have a friend besides his sisters to play and hang out with. Even if he could tell that Giza was more reclusive than most, he would try to find a way to bring out the cub inside of her. It seemed to the dark tan cub that she was forced with too much responsibility as a cub before her parents died and now she had forgotten what it was like to be a cub. To run around and play in the cool water of the lands where she lived, or, that's what Upendo imagined her lands looked like. The cub had no idea about the darkness of the Pridelands or where they even were! All he knew was that of his and his father's lands, two polar opposites in the world.

Then Upendo smiled when Giza had thanked him for his kindness, "No problem Giza, it's just my nature really, but I want to make mother proud of me!" Upendo chuckled and put his paw on his head for a moment before putting it down in front of him, "I don't think you'd be able to relate, but I'm from a litter of five! A huge litter, but at least I only have the competition of Saki and Mala for mother's attention," Upendo had always heard that larger litters were rare, mostly the cubs that are born are either single births or twins. He had no clue that the cub sitting in front of him was one of four, and had three half siblings at that! The dual eyed cub smiled and looked to the vines above the large pool of water and an idea formed in his head. "Hey Giza, you wanna swim?"

The cub pointed with his paw at the vines above, "We can jump on those vines and dive into the water, I was just swimming and underneath the water looks really cool!" He paused and looked around making sure that no one was approaching and when he was satisfied, the cub stood and walked towards a tree. He didn't extend his claws like most lions would to climb the trees but he knew he might just have to. He hit the tree softly to get a feel for how to accomplish the task of climbing it and found that he could climb it with only a slight difficulty. He looked back at the russet cub and smiled, "Come on Giza, it'll be fun! Trust me!" Upendo wanted nothing more than to make Giza comfortable in the Lowlands, and he wanted to break her out of her shell. But could he do it? Or would the little cub be met with resistance at every turn?

(OOC: Holy crap, sorry this took so long!!)

As Upendo spoke about his unusually large litter, Giza arched a brow once again, wondering why he felt inclined to share this information when she was purposely being so private. Most of the litters she knew about were single births, and she assumed four was pretty big for a litter. She had never heard of five before, and she wrinkled her nose at the very thought of having so many cubs to take care of. With Uma included, Heshima's cub count had itself been five, and obviously it had been overwhelming for the lioness. "There were a lot in my litter, too. Lots of needy cubs. Too many." She allowed her thoughts to drift back to her home, to the family that now must realize that Giza was gone. Would they even notice her absence? Or would they be happy to be rid of one more mouth to feed that would never grown to be a king?

"Swim?" She repeated the word incredulously, as if he had asked her to walk through a ring of fire. Water was not a lion's best friend, and Giza seemed shocked that Upendo would even make such a suggestion. Maybe the lions here really were as bizarre as she had dreamt! For a long, lingering moment, she just stared at him as he approached the tree, her expression still surprised. "Is that what you do for fun around here? The only things that are supposed to swim are the fish and the crocodiles! Water is for drinking," she stated, as she had heard her mother say countless times before when the cubs were visiting the waterhole. The resources back home were too scarce to waste, but here, it was a totally different world.

Well, she would try to humor him, anyway. There was no way she was going to climb the tree, and she gave one final look at him to further make up her mind. Perhaps after her fall, she was a little more wary of heights than she had been before. Still, she inched closer to the edge of the water to dip a toe into the liquid, and found it to be surprisingly cool to the touch. Instinctively, she pulled away from it, and once again looked at Upendo like he was a cub gone mad. "No, you go ahead. Really, it's fine, I'll just watch." In fact, now that they had stopped, the russet cub realized just how exhausted she was, and she didn't waste another second before lying down on the ground. The soil beneath her belly was cool, like the water had been. It was a sharp contrast from the rocks around Pride Rock that baked beneath the hot sun. It was different, but Giza was not complaining. Her limbs felt shakey, and she was glad to be so close to water, still feel dehydrated from her long journey.

Upendo cocked his head at the word crocodile, he had never seen such a thing as a crocodile in the jungle and he started to wonder what they were like. He had no idea if these animals lived in his jungle or were only native to the lands where Giza hailed. He chuckled when she said that water is only for drinking, "Not here Giza! We have a ton of water, so why not use it for fun? I mean, you've never thought about what it would be like to be able to just let go and swim? What is it that you do for fun?" If there was only enough water used for drinking where Giza lived he couldn't imagine what life was like there. Upendo loved his water, and even though he had just taught himself how to swim, he knew that he would be doing this activity for a long time to come. Heavens knew if there wasn't a hint of tiger of all things in his blood, but everyone knew that there wasn't. His new found love of swimming was him and him alone.

When Giza had denied his invitation to swim, Upendo shrugged, "Suit yourself," The cub then proceeded to climb up the tree, claws sheathed inside of his paw as if he was worried about damaging the tree in some unknown way. He slipped a couple of times, but the knots and branches that protruded from the tree seemed to be abundant and Upendo made short work of his climb. For being a cub, one might think Upendo would be afraid of heights, but for some reason he seemed to enjoy being up high. He could see for miles and he sat on a large, wide branch for a moment to soak in the beauty of his lands, "Giza!" he called down to his new friend, "You should see this, the Lowlands look amazing from up here!" But then, Upendo felt very small in the world, he was a young cub that was for sure, and deep inside he knew that everything out there except for the small insects were able to pick him off and end his life right then and there. But finally Upendo snapped out of his thoughts and stood up, walking carefully on the branch that led out to the vines.

Upendo brought out a single claw and snapped one end of the vine off of the entanglement that they were in and tugged on it with his mouth a few times to make sure that it wouldn't fall or snap prematurely. After Upendo found that he was ready, he took the vine into his mouth and backed up on the branch. Was he a daredevil? Mostly not, but now it seemed like a good time to do so. With a running start, the cub leaped off of the branch and swung down to the pool of clear water. With a large splash Upendo was sent deep in the liquid and he found that he hadn't taken enough breath to enjoy the wonders of the underwater world. Soon he broke the surface of the water and took a deep breath and shook his head, trying to soften up his still growing mane tuft. Seeing Giza he swam over and placed his front two paws on the grass in front of her, his body still submerged in the cool water, "Come on Giza, the water is so nice, you should relax! You've traveled such a far way, this should be a reward!"

Imagine, Giza thought to herself, what the rest of her pride would think of a kingdom overflowing with water? The Pridelands were decaying swiftly, and without water, they would certainly be doomed. So far, the russet cub very much liked the Lowlands, for it was the polar opposite of the oppressing heat and suffering back where she had been born. When Upendo questioned what she did for fun, the cub was at a loss, could not think of a single way that she enjoyed passing the time... Aside from getting siblings into mischief, sleeping, or eating. Sky blue eyes followed the tan cub as he shimmied up the tree, careful not to use his claws, and he beckoned for Giza to join him to admire the view. But the cub's feet were firmly on the ground, and she didn't want to climb that far up. In fact, she felt a surge of worry for Upendo, seeing him so far off the ground.

Now, Giza was not the kind of cub who worried about others. In fact, she had been more than happy to set her siblings up for potential disaster. Perhaps in part, she hadn't quite realized how dangerous the world was, despite all of the warnings from grown-ups. Until that day, when she was stuck at the bottom of the ravine with no hope for climbing back up, Giza's own mortality had never really been considered. With a new scar and new trauma to show for it, she had learned very swiftly that death was a very real possibility for one so small. When Upendo disappeared beneath the water, leaving only his splash, Giza was immediately concerned. The jungle cub hadn't even brought her to the rest of the pride now, and she needed him. What were the chances of finding another friendly cub out on her own? More likely, she'd encounter a hungry rogue instead. When Giza agreed to stay, she had meant it, because she had no other options.

It was only a few seconds before Upendo's face reappeared above the pool, and though Giza was relieved to see he was alright, her expression seemed peeved. "I thought you had drowned for sure." Her eyes never left the cub as he swam over to where she was sitting at the water's edge, half expecting his little body to disappear beneath the ripples in the jaws of a croc. When he made it over safely, she gave a soft sigh. She was rather tired, and maybe the water would feel nice against her dark fur, after traveling for so long that day. Cautiously, she dipped a toe into the water again, reaching down to immerse her whole paw. But her legs were still shakey from the day's activities, and within a minute, Giza lost her balance and toppled headfirst into the water. Sputtering as she tried to swim, her eyes matched the cool water, but they were wide with horror. Her flailing attempts at swimming only seemed to make things worse as she tried to reach the shore again. "Help! I don't know how to swim!"

Upendo's eyes narrowed and his expression went flat when Giza had mentioned that she thought he had drowned. He was slightly annoyed and he shook his head to fling water on the russet female in front of him, even if the water was only a few droplets. "Glad to see I'm wanted around here," Of course, Upendo was joking, but it still irked him. Was Giza that sadistic that she instantly thought that he had drowned? Either or Upendo's expression turned into one of worry as Giza tumbled head first into the water and started to thrash about. Her screams of terror of not being able to swim scared Upendo and he quickly acted, "Stop trashing Giza! I'm coming!" The cub took in a large breath and hoped that the female had listened to his advice as he dove once again underneath the water. The dark tan cub positioned himself underneath Giza's stomach and he grabbed her paw and towed her to the shallow end of the water pool.

Swimming was a newly acquired skill for the young cub so dragging his friend back to where he had first dipped his body into the pool was testing. He could see the shallow ends come nearer and nearer, he was almost there! But the young cub was quickly out of breath and reaching the point where he wanted to open his mouth and breath in the cool water around him, hoping for some type of oxygen in the water. After he laid his paw on the rocky bottom of the shallow end of the pool he used his remaining strength to push Giza off carefully and bring his head up for air. As he took in his first gulps of air in a short amount of time he started to cough. His vision was blurry and he collapsed, but the air quickly reached his brain once more and he opened his eyes and looked to Giza wherever she might be. He chuckled and closed his eyes, "And there I thought we were both going to drown," After resting for a moment in the cool water, Upendo stood and with shaking legs, padded over to dry land where he shook of his pelt and laid down.

His thoughts ran to his sisters, he had to be stronger in order to protect them if they were to end up in a situation similar to Giza's. If he had almost died trying to save her, what would happen if Sakina or Malaika were to fall in at a deeper depth? It scared the cub but he knew that in order to be the best, he would have to be strong. He would prove to his father that it was a mistake to take his brothers and to leave him with his sisters. He would make him regret the day where he had been too scared to see a look alike of him running around his precious lands. Upendo shook his head and smiled at Giza, happy to see that he had saved her. "You know, the shallow part was where I learned to swim, just move around it with your paws, it's easy once you get the hang of it," He wouldn't blame Giza if she wasn't going to go back swimming again, he would be scared too! But if Giza was going to stay in the Lowlands he knew it might be a good skill to have, just in case something happened and they had to swim to escape something.

As she panicked, Giza did everything one shouldn't do while struggling in water, from flailing furiously to trying to use her rescuer as a flotation device. But she quickly realized what Upendo was trying to do and stopped fight as he tugged her through the pool until her feet were touching the bottom. Instantly, the cub was back on the shore, staring down at the water as if it had jumped out and attacked her. "Yeah," she said weakly, for in those few seconds of fear, she had been certain herself that she was doomed. But Upendo had saved her, putting his own life in danger, and she inhaled the air in deep gulps.

The stress of everything -- trying to get attention back home, only to have her plan backfire so spectacularly, running for her life, and now almost drowning, all of the day's events were finally too much for the russet cub. It had been, undoubtedly, the worst day of her young life, and now she was trembling from exhaustion. The feel of water dripping from her fur was foreign and she used her last bit of energy to give her frame a feeble shake before she realized it was all too much. She had to get away, and fast, before she exploded, but her legs wouldn't cooperate when she tried to stand again to run away. "Th-thanks for saving me."

The words had barely escaped before Giza turned away from Upendo and she began to cry as silently as she could. Now she almost wished she had gone under, and she wondered if it would be terribly painful to drown, after all. Certainly it couldn't be any worse than succumbing to injuries, as the bridge of her nose was still tender and it was relatively small. But the last thing she wanted now was to look weak before her new friend, who had just gone through so much effort to save her twice -- once by bringing her home, and then by dragging her to the shallow water. No one had ever done something so nice for her before, and she felt confused about what she should do to repay the favor. This only added to her current state, and she began to shake as she held back the tears that trailed down her cheek anyway. She wanted the other cub to go away, but then, she desperately wanted him to stay. Giza didn't know what to think or feel anymore.

Tears actually start to fill Upendo's eyes as the russet female turned and broke down, he didn't understand how much stress was actually upon Giza. But what he could realize is that almost drowning brought every single part of Giza's stress to a maximum. Upendo didn't know whether or not he should give the cub her space or not, in fact, Upendo was unsure of almost everything in that moment. He stayed silent for a few minutes but then padded over to the crying Giza. His affection was not taken so kindly the first time around, but hopefully Giza would warm up. The tan cub placed his paw next to hers, leaving only an inch between the two as he sat down silently. He didn't know what to say, what could possibly be offensive to the russet cub or not. The dual colored eyes of Upendo scanned the trees around the two and then sighed. "It's alright for one to cry Giza, just know that I'm here for you, you're a Lowlander now, I'll always be here for you,"

So much had happened in that one day, Upendo had learned to swim, he had met a new friend, and he had just gained one more badge in his good deeds book. He had gotten his daily rant about his father out of the way, and the little cub had offered a friend a home. But then, in the midst of it all, today could have been both Upendo and Giza's last day had Upendo not learned to swim earlier, he would have been responsible for the death of another lion, if not indirectly. And the cub knew well what that would mean, exile from the Lowlands, being forced to go live off in another land away from his sisters and mother. Would they of shipped him off to the Coldlands? At least he would have his brothers to take care of him, but the cub wouldn't be so fond of his father. Little did Upendo know, Shinikizo wouldn't care for him, only focus on his other two sons. The sadistic lion didn't want any look alike clone of him in the Coldlands, and Upendo -like his brothers and sisters- wanted nothing to do with their father. If only he had shown more interest, take one of his daughters as well, then maybe the cubs wouldn't of hated him so much. It was true he left the majority of the litter with their mother, but his choices of cubs were suspicious.

Whatever Shinikizo was doing, he surely had caught the attention of Upendo who was now old enough to put two and two together. Whenever his father and brothers were back to visit, Upendo would question his brothers, avoiding his father at all costs. Maybe Giza would be there to see Jabari and Ziko come home? Oh they would have to meet her! As the small cub thought of his family, he placed his paw on Giza's, offering a little more compassion than he had already have given her. "Giza, you're tired I can tell, you've had a long day so why not get some sleep?" Upendo looked back towards the area of where the dens were, his pride's scent becoming slightly stronger as they gathered together, there must have been a successful hunt. But, when wasn't there a successful hunt in the Lowlands? Upendo's home seemed so bountiful, much unlike the lands where his new friend had hailed from. Upendo stood as nodded his head, offering a calming and warm smile, "Come on, I think the hunting party just brought back some food, you can come meet the pride," Upendo knew it would take a while for Giza to contain herself, and he would wait as long as he had to, he wouldn't leave Giza's side.

Finally, after turning down any semblance of comfort, Giza was at a low place where she simply couldn't keep it together any longer. The pain was too much for even a cub who normally ignored her emotions with ease, and when Upendo inched closer, she didn't snap at him. On the contrary, she buried her face in the tan fur of his shoulder and wept even harder. Sometimes, a good cry is all one needs to feel better, and it did help a little. Now Giza felt a little less like throwing herself into the water, but a sense of disbelief at her situation hit her hard. Her own family hadn't bothered to save her, but Upendo vowed to be there for her, for no reason other than because that was the way he was. After a few minutes, Giza finally felt her sobs subsiding, and she pulled her face away to stare down at the ground. "You really are the nicest lion I've ever met," she said, voice hoarse from her crying fit. Such kindness was still foreign, but it was appreciated more than even Giza could realize at the time.

Secretly, the russet daughter of the Pridelands wondered if he would feel differently towards her if he knew her true identity. Presumably, the answer was yes, for who could accept the offspring of a heartless, despised king? She only hoped that the queens would not recognize the color of her fur, which was unmistakably Scar's. Her father had been one of the few males Giza had contact with, but she recalled what Upendo had said earlier about his own absent father. If it weren't for Upendo's generosity, Giza would probably believe that every lion was as bad as those two. Regardless, she didn't trust adults, and for the first few weeks as a Lowlander, the russet cub would never leave her new friend's side. She would listen when he ranted about his hatred towards Shinikizo while bitterness towards her own kin smoldered within.

Inhaling deeply, Giza continued to calm herself down, and the feeling of Upendo's paw on her own seemed to sooth her frayed nerves. When the male cub offered lead the newcomer to a safe place and dinner, she nodded, rising unsteadily to her paws. If there was one thing Giza could not turn down, it was fresh meat, and she tried to smile to show Upendo that she would be okay. Even if she didn't truly believe it herself, she suspected the male cub was not going to easily give up on his newfound friend. "If you're sure it's okay, and the pride won't... won't mind." She knew only that Upendo's father was a poor excuse for a parent, but it was more likely she would meet his mother instead, and any siblings that remained in the jungle.


[[We can wrap it up here, or soon, if you'd like! They're so cute.]]