Private [DGF and OriginalLelis]

[DGFone]

The three cubs his in the rocky outcrop, weathering out the storm together. Kopa was really worried. Not only was he certain that he had no idea where they were, but the sun had set, they were out of the Pridelands, and a storm was raging outside.

Next to him, Awali was already passed out asleep on the rocky storm. It looked like getting here took a larger tole on him than Kopa thought. "How are we going to get back?" He asked Delano, not bothering to hide his fear. "I don't even know where we are." His voice trembled as he admitted this fact.

Delano just shook his head, also afraid. "Just wait for the storm to pass, then we will see," he said, trying to reassure himself more than Kopa. "When the wind will die down, we will leave and get back home. Right, Kopa? We'll get home, won't we?" He looked down at Awali's sleeping form, not knowing how the cub could sleep at a time like this.

---

Back at Priderock, Simba was pacing. By now, Kopa should have been back at the den, but his son was nowhere to be seen. He was most likely with Awali, but even together, Simba was able to trust them to get back home on time. "Come on, where are you guys?" he asked no one in particular.

He saw Nala come to him, and he went over to her, nuzzling her worryingly. She herself didn't look worried herself, and was generally more calm than him, but he knew that even she had her limits. "Nala, have you seen Kopa? I can't find him anywhere..."

[Awali]

The sun had only been down for about 10 minutes. Nala couldn't imagine Kopa getting into trouble, and was having trouble figuring out why Simba was so upset. "Maybe he's just having fun, Simba. You know, with his friends?" she said quite casually. She'd worry about him in a couple hours if they weren't back by then.

~-=-~

Awali woke up, in the middle of the night, fully alert. The winds had died down, but it was still quite windy. His leg felt as if it had been cut off, but to his surprise, it was still attached to him when he looked down. It was dark, and there was still sand blowing, lowering the visibility to only about 10 feet.

When he looked around, also standing up in the process, he noticed Kopa was just sitting there, staring into the darkness. Delano was off to Kopa's right, sleeping. "What happened? Where are we?" he mewed. The look on Awali's face was the same as Kopa's: worried and scared. Nothing looked familiar. The sands must have blown enough to completely change the size, location, and height of the dunes. He knew Kopa's parents would be looking for them soon, but they had no idea where to look.

"Kopa, you look tired. You should sleep. There's not much we can do as long as it's dark and the wind is blowing." Awali was still tired too, but if his friend wouldn't sleep, then they would both stay up, as it had always been, together.

[DGFone]

Simba looked at Nala, not really knowing how she could be so calm right now. "But it's dark. And Kopa was always back before now. What if he's hurt? Or lost?" He ran to the tip of Priderock again, looking around for his son. "Kopa, where are you?" He called out, but didn't get an answer. Slowly walking back to Nala, Simba sighed, trying to become as calm as her. "I'm just worried," he explained, "Kopa isn't the kind of cub to stay out late."

---

Kopa turned his head when he heard Awali talk. "I can't sleep," he told his friend, "I want to get back home." He looked outside at the storm. It didn't look as bad now, but it was still to tough for them to go back out. Not to mention that combined with the darkness, the cubs couldn't do anything but wait.

While Awali was right that Kopa was tired, he simply couldn't sleep. But he wasn't able to do anything more than just sit and wait, hoping for storm to pass.

Next to him, Delano also waited. "I hope we will be able to find our way back afterwards," he whispered, "because I think we're lost."

[Awali]

"Kopa," Awali said, turning towards his friend, "we'll be fine. We don't recognize anything right now because it's nighttime. Everything looks different at night." 'I hope.. he though quietly to himself.

~-=-~

"Simba, I'm ready to start worrying. It's been almost 3 hours now." Nala said, her voice quivering. Simba was right, Kopa wasn't know to stay out late, especially 4 hours after dark. "The only problem is that I don't have the slightest idea of where to look." she moaned, trying to keep her composure. Panicking won't help anybody. "Maybe we should talk to Awali's mother or father. What do you think?"

~-=-~

"Kopa, do you think your parents are looking for us?" Awali asked his friend, though he knew the answer. His majesty was always breathing down his neck, so he had most likely noticed. There was nothing Awali wanted more than to be at home, eating a freshly killed Antelope.. or better, a zebra! His mind drifted off into thoughts of meat as the sun slowly rose into the African sky.

[DGFone]

Simba knew that if Nala was starting to get worried, then something really is wrong. He looked around frantically for someone who might help them, but didn't see anyone. Zazu, the bird he could always trust to follow someone, already flew home for the night. Timon and Pumbaa were also gone. "Yeah, let's go to her," he told Nala, taking his turn to be the calm and collected parent. "They might be with her. They have to be."

He turned, and with Nala by his side, ran to the dens where Awali and his family sleep.

---

Kopa's heart sank. He knew that Simba would be extremely disappointing in him for wandering off, and not only for staying out so lat, but also for wandering out of the Pridelands. But at this moment, his fear of any consequences was far smaller than his wish to get reunited with his family at Priderock.

"Yeah, they're looking for us," Kopa told Awali. "And they're going to find us, and we are going to go home soon." He felt someone nudge him on the shoulder and turned to see Delano looking at him sternly. "What?" Kopa asked.

Delano motioned at the storm still raging outside. "They are not going to find us in this," he said, "and once it passes, who said that we are close to the Pridelands?" he slumped against the ground. "We're going to die here, aren't we?" He mumbled miserably.

Kopa shook his head. "We are not going to die!" he said decisively. "Mom and dad will find us, and we'll get home. You hear me? We're going home."

[Awali]

Die? Not possible, Awali thought. Kopa was right, they were not going to die. Not this close to the Pride Lands. At least, he believed they were close. "Delano, don't be such a pessimist. We're going to be fine, maybe little hungry, that's all. We can't do anything while the winds are still blowing, and neither can Kopa's parents." he said, trying to make himself believe it in the process.

~-=-~

They had just arrived in the dens, panting, even though it was a short run. "Kopa?!" Nala shouted, losing her grip. Everyone looked annoyed as they were woken up by the lioness. Nobody spoke, but all glared. She didn't see Kopa, or Awali, for that matter. There was another cub missing, too. She could only remember that his name had started with a 'D.' "Has anybody seen my cub, or Awali?" Nala said, quieter this time. She saw 2 lions in the corner of the den stir. They were Awali's parents. "Simba, I'm going to go talk to them. Awali's not here either. There's another cub missing too, but I don't remember his name." Nala whispered, looking into the worried, yet calm eyes of her mate.

She began walking over to the lions. "Where's Awali?" she asked them, now worried for Awali's sake, too. They replied, saying he was known to stay out quite late, and sometimes not come back until the morning. "Is there a problem? I hear you call out for Kopa when you came in." Awali's mother asked in response. She informed them that she was only worried, because Kopa was not known to stay out late, but hasn't come home yet. She also mentioned the other cub. "Ah, Delano." Awali's mother finally said. "I don't know much about him, sorry. Maybe the name will be of use." she said sadly to Nala. "Alright, thank you for your time."

Nala wondered why they didn't seem worried about their cub.

[DGFone]

Delano grunted. "So the storm dies down, and we leave this place," he said, "and we find ourselves lost in the middle of nowhere, and not knowing where to go to get back home." He groaned and covered his head with his paws.

Kopa frowned at Delano. "Just ignore him," he told Awali. "We'll get home." He looked outside again, wishing that he was able to make the storm stop.

---

Simba looked around the den, looking for Kopa, but didn't see him nor Awali. Wherever they were, they wen't here. He gently nudged Nala outside. "Let's go get Zazu," he said, "he can fly, and see much better than us. Zazu find Kopa, you get that? We'll find Kopa." He waited for Nala to nod before talking again. "Kopa's with Awali. And maybe Delano too. Either way, he's not alone. It will be easier to spot him, and he has less of a chance to get hurt. I'm going to get Zazu now. You can come with me, or you can go back to the den, but I don't want you to look for him alone. You're nervous and scared." Simba nuzzled Nala briefly before turning to run to the tree where Zazu nested, letting her decide if she wanted to accompany him or not.

[Awali]

"Yeah, Zazu will have a bird's eye view, literally. I'll go with you." Nala said, beginning to walk along with Simba. "And I'm not nervous or scared." she snapped quickly.

~-=-~

"I know we will. It's just Delano --" Awali said angrily, looking directly into Delano's deep, colored eyes.

~-=-~

They were almost to Zazu's home now. "Simba, what if we can't find him? What if it's too late?" Nala said, seeing as she can't hold back her worries any longer. She just had to let it out. She was a mother, so it was her job to worry about her cub.

~-=-~

The sun was finally rising on them. The storm was over. Just as Awali feared, he had no idea where he was.

"Kopa, are you awake?" he said to his friend, who was laying down. After resting, Awali's leg felt much better but was still a dull ache. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind. They had to focus, all of them, on getting out of this mess. He noticed, once again, Delano off in his own world. Awali would rather not talk to him right now, though he knew he had to. "Delano, are you alright? I know we don't talk much, but I can promise you we're going to be fine. Don't get to stressed over it. And I'm sorry about being angry at you earlier, I was worried myself."

Awali was starving. At least he thought he was. All growing cubs think they're always hungry. He needed to find food, but there was only desert, everywhere.

[DGFone]

Despite how nervous he also felt, Simba flashed Nala a cheeky grin. "No, you are," he said, "just to tough to admit it." He gave Nala a quick lick of reassurance before resuming his walk to Zazu's home. By now, it was quite late into the night, something that really got him nervous.

And when they were nearing the tree, Nala finally voiced her concerns. Simba quickly nuzzled her, trying to calm her down. "They're going to be fine," he said softly, "we will grab Zazu, and he will lead us straight towards them."

---

Kopa woke up with a start when Awali called out to him. He never even realized that he had fallen asleep, and was now blinking rapidly to try and wake up properly. Next to them, Delano was also stirring awake. Looking outside, Kopa saw that the storm had passed. "Come on, let's go. It won't help us to continue hiding under this rock."

Walking outside with the other two, Kopa saw right away that he had no idea where they were. All around them were large sand dunes, and not a sign of the rocky slope they had climbed down on the day before. Even in the early morning darkness, he was able to see the lack of any features.

Kopa knew they had to find their bearings first. "If we split up, and each of us go in a direction to the top of a hill, we will be able to see better, and-" He was cut off by Delano.

"-We stay together." Delano said firmly. "We have no idea what lives here, and with the three of us together, we can at least protect each other."

[Awali]

"I hate to say it, but Delano is right. We have no idea where we are. And, there could be other lions out here, rouges. Or worse; Outlanders." Awali said the last word in a low tone, almost a growl. While he wasn't really connected to the royal family, he knew that the outlanders were in support of Scar, an evil tyrant who ruled the Pridelands before he was born. "Let's head for the largest dune.. that one," Awali said, motioning towards a large dune in the distance. Little did he know, they were slowly walking farther from the Pridelands.. and their way home.

~-=-~

"You're right, sorry. It's just so weird. He's just not one to wander off in the night, you know?" she said, heading to the base of Zazu's tree. She began whispering his name, in case there were other Hornbills in the tree. "Zazu. Zazu! Are you awake? Zazu?!"

Zazu's head popped out quite suddenly. "Yes, Nala? It's quite early, I hope this is urgent."

"Oh Zazu, it is. Kopa's been missing since last night. We were hoping you could help us look for him. Awali and Delano are most likely with -"

"Say no more, madam. I'm on it. Anything else, Nala? Simba?"