Private [DGF and Noah]

[DGFone]

Characters:

Simba: Noah
Nala: DGF
Sarabi: Noah
Mufasa: DGF
other: N/A
Delano: DGF
Nahaai: Noah

Delano groaned as his head felt like it was about to implode on him. This wasn't normal. He was used to waking up normally, or at least, as normal as one can be when they live in a zoo. But it never included a headache. As his head slowly cleared, he realized that the air smelled differently. More plants and less metal.

He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the bright light of the sun. It didn't help with his head. Seconds ticked bye until he realized that he didn't realize where he was. Lifting his head up, he looked around, taking in the view. Instead of the concrete walls he was used to, he now saw grass, grass, trees, and more grass. The land was so open that he felt vulnerable.

Looking around some more, Delano saw something that made him less nervous. Next to him, still snoozing, was his friend and cell mate Nahaai. Delano shoved himself over to his friend. "Hey, Nahaai, wake up!" He said, prodding his friend urgently. "We're lost!"

[Noah]

Nahaai was never one to rise early, and today would prove to be no exception. He was definitely awake, how could you not with that huge paw poking you without a second thought, but he pretended to still be dozing. Whether or not Delano was aware of his charade mattered not.

Suddenly, and possibly deliberately, a single hair was ripped from his mane. "RAAWWRR" he roared. "Too far Del...". He stopped himself halfway through the sentence. Despite his still throbbing facial area, Nahaai was quick to take notice of their new environment.

"Where are we?" he whimpered. Anger and frustration quickly melted into fear. Deep down, Nahaai had a fear of abandonment, of his human caretaker never wanting to see him again. Unbeknownst to his best friend, Naahai hadn't always lived at the zoo: He had been abandoned as a cub, and he feared history was going to repeat itself. The zoo was his shelter, but that had just changed. Possible forever.

[DGFone]

Delano shrugged, but was glad that he was able to get Nahaai up. "I don't know where we are, that's why I had to get you up," he replied, "Because weren't we supposed to be transferred somewhere? What was it called... New Yard or something like that..." He motioned around them. "I don't know what it looks like, but we sure did not get there."

He looked around, failing to spot anything that can help him. "I mean, look! This place is empty. It doesn't have anything!" Used to a much more cramped environment, Delano found the emptiness unnerving. "Where are we supposed to go?"

[Noah]

Nahaai quickly regained his composure and did his best to project a calm and relaxed persona. He didn't want Delano to have the impression that he was some sort of coward. He was a lion after all, mother nature's most fierce animal.

"When were we supposed to be transferred?" Nahaai thought to himself. Nahaai tried racking his brain to remember if he had heard this information before. Perhaps he had and a part of his brain surpressed it; almost as if a part of him didn't want to believe he would leave the only real home he had ever known.

"Don't worry I'm sure they'll fix whatever mistake they've made. You know how humans can be." He rotated in a 360º path to search for any signs. He had to adjust his eyesight as he had never had to opportunity to gaze farther than a couple of yards. "Look there!" he pointed towards the east. "Do you see what I see?"

[DGFone]

Delano frowned. "No... I think we were supposed to be transferred soon, but I never was good with the names humans use for the days." his frown deepened when Nahaai suggested that the humans will fix the situation. "How can they fix it?" he asked, "There isn't a sign of them anywhere! How are they going to find us?"

He was about to mumble on some other tangent when Nahaai interrupted his thoughts with a sudden remark. "Wha- where?" Delano asked, and looked to where his friend was pointing. He only saw grass, the same yellowish, dried up grass that was no different than anything else. "Now is not the time to be playing games!" Delano snapped at Nahaai. "It's just grass!"

[Noah]

"No! Look beyond what you see". Nahaai now spoke in a slightly irritated manner. He almost felt insulted that Delano assumed he was playing games given their current situation. He wasn't one to play games period.

He continued directing Delano's line of vision until he saw what Nahaai had originally pointed at. "Don't you see that building?" No sooner had he said this than he immediately began to question whether it was a building at all. It had the same size, but the shape was askew. It looked like the rocks he had been trained to climb over at the zoo, but he had never seen any that big. "We should probably go towards it. Don't you think?"

[DGFone]

Delano didn't see anything. "What are you talking abou- ohh..." On the horizon, where he was not used to looking, Delano saw what Nahaai pointed out. "Yeah, that does look like a building." He agreed. He wasn't sure about something though, and it took him a few more moments to realize what. He was used to being surrounded by buildings, and not looking at one from far away. This new concept was slightly unnerving.

But still. "Well, we don't exactly have any other bright ideas," Delano said, trying to hide his nervousness and even the slight bit of fear he was starting to feel. "Aright, let's go there." He looked up at the sky, searching for an airplane. He didn't know what they were exactly but they flew over the zoo often enough, and he learned quickly enough that they were something to do with humans.

He didn't spot any. So the building will have to do. "Alright," Delano repeated himself, "Let's go." He forced himself up, and with Nahaai next to him, the two of them began to walk towards the building.

[Noah]

"I'm sorry I got hostile with you earlier". Nahaai stated. He knew this was as much an experience for him as it was for Delano and arguing would help neither of them in the least. Delano immediately accepted his apology, adding his own compliments to smooth over the situation.

------

Unbeknownst to either of them, the King's majordomo was gliding several dozen feet above the ground on which they were walking. Being in charge of the mundane aspects of the Pridelands, Zazu had just finished an early morning breakfast meeting with the Crocodiles of Lake Enofgd. His sharp eyes quickly noticed the two feline friends strolling towards Pride Rock, despite their unintentional camouflage between their fur coats and the ground.

Per protocol, he assumed the worst (an attack on Pride Rock) and sought a royal official. He spotted the King taking a morning dip in the Watering Hole. "I must alert Mufasa" he said and took off as fast as his wings could carry him.

[DGFone]

Mufasa ducked his head under water, enjoying the cooling sensation contrasting to the hot morning sun. Needing air, he lifted his head above the water's surface, just in time to spot Zazu flying towards him. "Good morning, Zazu!" he greeted, "Any news this morning?"

------------------

Delano sighed, feeling extremely hot. This new place was much hotter than the zoo where they came from, and there was no shade to hide in. To make matters worse, the building they saw stubbornly refused to get any closer. It still remained over the horizon, far away. "You know," Delano panted out, "Wow, this heat is killing me," he complained, "how can anything live here?"

To add to his misery, his tongue felt dry, causing him to suffer from an almost unbearable thirst. "Would not mind some water right now at all." he looked up at the sun, cursing its heat.

[Noah]

"Sire!" Zazu was out of breath and could only mutter a few words at a time "Lions" *pant* "Trespassing" *pant *pant* "In the Pridelands" Mufasa's facial expression slowly changed into that of a concerned ruler and proceeded to exit the body of water. Even with his matted fur and dripping mane, Zazu could tell he meant business.

------

The heat was beginning to take its toll on Nahaai as well. "There must be water" He heaved. Every step he took made his paws seem like they would catch fire. "There must be water" he repeated, unaware that he had just said the exact same thing moments earlier.

In the distance, Nahaai noticed a large yellow and red figure. His entire body glowing with an almost unworldly bright light. He didn't know if he should speak up, as he could not differentiate between what was real and what was imaginary. The potential to be rescued won out and he spoke up. "There! Look ahead, slightly to the left". Nahaai managed to raise his left forepaw ever so slightly. "Could it be another lion?"