Private [DGF and OriginalLelis]

[DGFone]

Together, the three cubs walked to the top of the dune. What they was was not a pretty sight. More dunes lay around them in all directions for as long as they can see.

Kopa scanned the dunes, his eyes wide in fear and shock. "But the Pridelands have to be somewhere around here!" he said, "After all, we didn't walk that far away from them yesterday..."

Delano also looked around, desperate for anything that might lead them back home. But all he saw were more dunes. He slumped onto the warm sand. "Where are we supposed to go?" He asked. "How do we know that we won't accidently go the wrong way?"

---

Simba's spirits rose when Zazu quickly got ready to look for Kopa and the other two cubs. "No, that's it..." he told his majordomo. Giving a quick sideways glance at Nala, Simba added, "um, Zazu, also, can you check not only the Pridelands, but also around the borders as well? Just to make sure?"

[Awali]

"We don't." Awali said grimly. "But we can hope. We can hope that we're going the right way. We can hope that we're close to the Pridelands. We can hope we're not going to die." he said. The magnitude of their situation finally made it to him. They were lost. There was no hiding it.

~-=-~

"Yes sire," the Hornbill replied, flying away as fast as he could. He was getting old, and wasn't as fast as he used to be. He was fully grown when Mufasa was king.

Flying away full speed, he had to think quickly as where to look for the cub, or cubs. He'd check the most obvious places first: The Waterhole, then The Dens (in case they had returned home,) and the Gorge.

He began heading in the direction of the waterhole, since it was the closest. He could see it from his home.

[DGFone]

Kopa sat down on the sand, trying to think of what to do. "Where can we go?" He muttered, "if we just... pick a direction, we can walk farther away from home instead..." he shook his head, "But from here we don't know where to go and where not to go." He looked at the other two. "But if we stay here, we are as good as dead."

Delano placed a paw on Kopa's shoulder. "I don't know where to go, but if you think of something, I'm going with you." He saw that Awali was sharing the same thoughts.

Kopa looked around. "The dunes should be smaller at the edge," he said, "let's go to the shorter ones... It's the only thing I can think of."

---

Simba watched Zazu fly away and sighed. Finding Kopa would no longer be up to them. But he turned to Nala anyways. "I'm going to the top of Pride rock," he informed her, "I can see all of the lands from there, and if Kopa is somewhere here, I hope that I will be able to spot him." He gave her a quick nuzzle. "We'll find them. Zazu has a good eye, and he moves fast. Try not to worry, alright?"

[Awali]

Nala was done panicking. Simba was right, it was out of their hands now. Zazu knew what he was doing, and he had done it plenty of times looking for Kopa, and even Simba.

~-=-~

Zazu made it to the waterhole, and looked around quickly. Not seeing Kopa, or any lions for that matter, he flew off to the dens. Right after leaving the waterhole, he headed back for it, deciding he hadn't looked well enough. This time he checked carefully, making sure he didn't miss a detail. Since he was sure this time, he flew off.

~-=-~

"That's a good idea, Kopa. It makes sense." Awali said, though he really didn't know how Kopa got the idea. None of them knew anything about this place, this dry, vast land that threatened to kill them. They began walking towards said dunes, and Awali had to walk very cautiously, as to not re-injure his leg. He was really, really hungry. Thirsty, too. Maybe they'd be lucky enough to find food or water along what they thought was the way home.

[DGFone]

Simba nodded and gently nudged Nala to come with him. "Come on, I think you won't mind looking for Kopa with me. Will beat sitting around and doing nothing." He began walking with Nala towards Priderock.

---

Kopa lead the other two cubs down to another dune. It took a while to get up the second one, not helping with the fact that they were all tired and thirsty. When they reached the top of the smaller dune, Kopa looked around again. Despite all the effort they spent coming here, the area around them still looked the same.

Despite this fact, he was determined not to give up. "Come on, let's keep going," he said, "It's useless to just stay here."

Delano felt better now that Kopa had them occupied, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that they were doing something wrong. "How far could we have walked yesterday?" He asked after they reached the top of yet another dune. "We should have reached the end by now!"

[Awali]

Zazu was inside the dens, looking for any signs that Kopa was, or had been there. There were none. It wasn't very likely to begin with. It was midday, and the dens were quite empty, considering most of the lionesses were out on the afternoon hunt. Zazu decided to call out for Kopa, only to receive an echo from the walls. Flying away from the dens, he noticed Simba and Nala walking towards them. Swooping down to them, he gave them an update on the situation. "No sign of Kopa yet, but I'm sure he's close. I will find him, your highness, I guarantee it." He didn't bother waiting for a response, as there was no time to waste. Now flying towards the gorge, Zazu hoped that was a guarantee he could honor.

~-=-~

"Delano's right. I think we're going in the wrong direction. We definitely didn't wander this far out into this place during the storm. Maybe we should head ba--" Awali's voice trailed off, as he looked behind him, as their tracks were swept away by the gentle wind. "Let's choose a new direction. It's your turn to be the hero, Delano," he said, turning towards the cub.

[DGFone]

Simba nodded when Zazu gave him the news. "Wait, Zazu..." Simba hesitated, but in the end made up his mind. "Nala and I will be watching the Pridelands. So I want you to look elsewhere." He reached out and placed a paw next to Nala's. "Come on, let's go," he told her gently. It hurt him just as much as her to know that Kopa was missing for so long, but he had to stay strong for her.

---

Delano looked at Awali, dumbfounded. "What? I - I can't do that!" He protested. "I will definitely get us lost!" And just like Awali, he watched as their tracks were blown away.

Kopa lay down on the sand, feeling terrible. "We're already lost. And Awali's right. This is not the way we need to go." He looked at Delano. "Your turn to choose."

"Alright," Delano said, "we can't go there," he pointed at where their tracks were, "because that direction will simply get us back to where we were before." He turned around. "But we don't think that this is a good direction..." He turned himself so that he was facing roughly between the direction they were going at and where they came from. "Let's go here," he announced.

[Awali]

Now follwing Delano, Awali let his mind wander, again. "What's going to be the first thing you do when we get back?" he asked both of the other cubs. "I know I could eat a whole zebra," which was a big deal, considering the size of Awali. He was only a cub, after all. It was starting to get late, again. Awali didn't want to spend another night out there.

~-=-~

Zazu barely heard what Simba had said, but got the message. Why did Simba want me to check outside the Pridelands, he wondered. Something must've gone wrong. Very, very wrong. He would check the other side of the gorge, then.

~-=-~

Nala just tried staying with Simba. She knew there was nothing in her power she could do for Kopa, other than looking for him, and waiting for Zazu to return. On top of Pride Rock, the view was amazing, despiter her situation. She didn't go up top too often. Considering she normally wasn't even home at this hour. She wished she was hunting with the other lionesses, just to get Kopa off her mind. But she knew that it was a good idea to keep looking, and not give up.

[DGFone]

Kopa smiled at Awali's joke, but didn't have anything as funny to reply with. "Well, after mom and dad are through with me, I doubt I will be able to see you guys again," he said, "and I really don't know what I'll even be able to do when we get back."

Delano also grinned. "Cheer up, Kopa," he said, "you're the prince, right? Change the rules if you don't like them." But as he said that, he stumbled and fell, rolling down the slope of the dune.

---

Simba looked around his lands, searching everything for any sign of Kopa. He reached out with a paw and placed it around Nala. "This kind of reminds me when dad brought me up here," he commented, "was one of the few times I actually paid attention to one of his lessons right away..." He smiled at the memory. "So I am thinking, when we find Kopa, I think I will bring him here as well. I think he's old enough for it." He grinned at Nala. "Would you like to be with us as well? All three of us together at the top of our home?"

[Awali]

Awali rushed up to Delano. Halfway there, Delano was still rolling down the dune, which was tall, but not that steep. "Delano, stop rolling!" Awali said, teasing him as he tumbled. He didn't look like he would be injured when he reached the bottom, it was soft sand, after all. He wasn't rolling very fast, either. The last thing they needed was another injury.

~-=-~

"Simba," Nala said, nuzzling her mate, "I'd love to be there. But I think that's a father-son type of thing. I wouldn't want to get in the way of it."

She was really beginning to hurt her eyes, looking so hard for Kopa. She kept hoping that when she turned around, he would be standing there in front of her. "Where do you think he went," she asked, looking into the eyes of Simba.

~-=-~

Zazu reached the gorge. He flew up as high as he felt comfortable doing, and began flying over the gorge. The view was incredible. The gorge seemed to go on in one direction for quite awhile. The other ended quite quickly, on a rocky slope. There was also a desert at the base of the rocks. What a view. "I'm looking for Kopa." Zazu whispered to himself, after noticing his mind was wandering. The other side of the gorge was quite barren, and not part of the Pridelands. It was considered trespassing to go across. Oh well, I'm safe up here. he thought, flying over to the other side of the formation.