Our Future lies within You. [DG & Songo]

[DGFone]

The raging stampede of wildebeest still played in Ahadi's mind when he came to. He panicked, and tried to run, only to realize that he couldn't move his limbs. His side burned, and he heard someone talking frantically next to him. He turned to look, and yet all he saw were more wildebeest...

Ahadi woke up with a pained gasp, heart pounding. Looking around, he had to blink as the bright light hurt his eyes. At first, everything was blurry, but slowly his view came into focus. This time, he was able to move his neck and turned to see Uru besides him. They were in a clearing, surrounded by green bushes. The sky was a bright blue, the clouds floating above him. Despite what his eyes saw, his ears still heard the ferocious pounding of hoofs, and his mind had yet to catch up to the idea that he was safe.

"Uru!" Ahadi tried to shout, but his voice came out as a barely audible whisper. "Are you okay?" He tried to get up, but his legs failed him, and he collapsed back on the ground with a painful grunt. "Where are we?" Ahadi asked, sounding like he was about to panic. It had yet to occur to him that he might have been moved. "Where's the... How did we get here? We need to get out of here! It's not safe!" Again, he tried to get up and run, but something firm pressed him to the ground. In front of him, Uru moved into his view, a concerned look on her face. Ahadi gave up trying to run, and gave in to the darkness which he was sure to come...

Mohatu noticed Ahadi wake up, only to panic and try to run. Mohatu pressed hard on Ahadi's body to keep him from getting up. While the young lion wasn't able to get up right away, he most likely have been able to in his panicked state. "Relax, Ahadi!" Mohatu ordered, softly but with a commanding tone. "You're safe! We got you. Uru's here too. Try to relax." He watched as Uru desperately tried to calm him down.

Mohatu looked desperately at Rafiki. "Is there anything we can do? You might have healed his wounds, but his mind is still against him." Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he realized why he was so worried about Ahadi: when the young lion will get better, he will make the perfect mate for Uru.

[Songo]

Kamaria's blue eyes watched Ahadi struggle under Mohatu's paw and she frowned, "Poor thing..." she whispered sitting beside Uru. She looked to Mohatu, "When the pain goes away, he'll feel better." she said softly looking to her mate. She remembered when he had his share of cuts and bruises, especially when he'd have to fight off rogue lions that only wanted to claim his throne.

Uru stroked Ahadi's mane and she laid down to rest his head on her paws, "Shhh..Ahadi I'm fine. It'll be ok, just rest. We are safe." she whispered softly to him trying to calm him down. Her honey colored eyes looked to her father and mother, "I don't think we should move him, Ill stay here the night with him." she said to them softly. She knew they might object but she hopped they would feel Ahadi's pain and let her stay by her side.

Kamaria nodded to Uru, "Of course you can. Don't leave him out here alone." she said softly. She then looked to Mohatu to give his answer and she winked.

[DGFone]

Ahadi struggled against whatever was keeping him at bay. It was winning. In front of him, Uru was talking to him. He could just barely hear what she was saying over his mental stampede. He stopped struggling when he comprehended what she was saying. "We're safe?" he breathed out. The stampede was bringing him to a frenzy. With renewed vigor, he again tried to run, but whatever was keeping him still was much stronger than him. The entire time, Uru just sat there, trying to comfort him, unaware of the danger she was in. "How?.. But I can hear them! They're-"

Ahadi started to realize that what he was seeing was real. He was in fact in the clearing, with Uru resting next to him. "They're not real..." he whispered in conclusion. He gave up struggling against the force keeping him on the ground and relaxed, a smile forming. "We are safe," he repeated Uru's statement. His eyes blurred as tears of joy covered them. A wave of exhaustion overtook Ahadi, and he closed his eyes, laying his head down on the ground. "We are safe..." he repeated again as he slipped again into unconsciousness, this time due to the rest he needed once the danger passed, knowing that Uru was right there next to him.


Mohatu felt Ahadi give up struggling against his grip. Carefully, he removed his paw from Ahadi's body, ready to force the lion down again if needed. Mohatu heard Ahadi say something to Uru, but didn't hear it. Based on Uru's reaction, it was good news. He looked at Kamaria and Uru. His daughter wanted to protect Ahadi overnight, but didn't want to bring him to the den. Kamaria made it quite clear that she sided with Uru That, and the wink...

Mohatu nodded. "Alright," he said, "You can stay with him if you think that you two will be alright overnight." Mohatu was worried about not only the hyenas, but also the unrelenting night cold, which can easily overcome the beat up and vulnerable Ahadi. As much as Mohatu didn't want his daughter outside at night, he had to acknowledge, Ahadi needed her to survive. He looked at Ahadi. Either the lion was sleeping, or he was unconscious again. Mohatu realized that judging by how little time it took, it was most likely the latter. He nodded at Uru. "You can stay with him." he told her.

Together, Mohatu and Kamaria left, leaving Uru and the sleeping Ahadi behind.

[Songo]

Uru smiled at her dad, "Thanks. Goodnight." she called as they walked away from her sight. Uru nestled in close to Ahadi and rested his head on her paws, her eyes gazed up at the stars. "Please help Ahadi, protect him from this nightmare hes trapped in." she whispered softly. She rested her head on Ahadi's neck and hummed softly in his ear, it was a small lullaby that her mother use to sing to her when she had nightmares and couldn't fall back asleep. Uru fell asleep and hoped when she woke up the next morning, Ahadi would atleast be moving around.

Kamaria nuzzled Mohatu's furry mane and she smirked, "Shes fallen in love." she said softly laying next to Mohatu. She cuddled close to him and rested her head on his paws, her blue eyes gazing up at him. "I can tell. Shes like I was years ago, i never wanted to leave your side." she chuckled. "I still hate when were apart and you go patrol, i miss you." she whispered softly. She licked his cheek and rested her head back down, a soft purr slipping from her muzzle lips.

[DGFone]

Mohatu smiled at Kamaria's affections. "I love you too." he told her, nuzzling her back. "I was thinking back there," he told her, "I was thinking, Ahadi risked his life for our Uru. He only knew here for about a day, and yet he already nearly died for her." He winced as he thought at the danger Ahadi and Uru went through, and the pain Ahadi must have been in. "I haven't seen that much devotion in any other potential mate for Uru we thought of." He smiled as he let Kamaria reach what he was hinting at. "I was thinking about betrothing Ahadi and Uru. We'll have to teach him how to become a king, but I'm sure he'll be a fast learner."

Mohatu lay down next to his loving mate. "But for now, my queen, I will be happy to let Ahadi stay with us for as long as he wants." He chuckled. "I'm afraid that if he will decide to leave, for Uru's sake, I'll have to threaten him to stay or face death." He laughed harder. "Funny, considering normally that's what I threaten rouges with for when they want to come in, and yet with Ahadi, if he will wish to leave, may the Great Kings have mercy upon him."


A cold chill woke Ahadi up from his deep slumber. He groggily opened his eyes to look. Everything was dark, and when he looked up, he saw the endless expanse of stars in the night sky. Uru was sleeping peacefully next to him. Another cold chill made Ahadi shiver and realize why he woke up. He shivered again, the cold night air making it impossible for him to go back to sleep. His ragged breathing just audible over the night critters. He looked around, and saw that they were still in the clearing. They didn't move him after healing him, it seemed. By now, he was shivering severely. He had to get warmer, or he'd be in trouble.

Slowly and painfully, he moved closer to Uru, snuggling up against her warm body. He winced from the extreme pain the movement caused, which also left him once again drained of energy. Leaning against Uru, he realized that if he hadn't gotten any help, he would have died. This realization made him smile as he felt Uru's gently, harmonic breathing. Slowly, his shivering dwindled and stopped. Just being next to her, her warm radiating heat keeping the cold away, and simply being next to her, made him feel a tranquil calm.

Ahadi knew that at that moment, there was no denying it. He was falling in love with Uru. He nearly died for her. But it was worth it.

[Songo]

Kamaria chuckled softly, "Lets hope you don't need to threaten him anymore." she whispered before closing here eyes. She cuddled closer to Mohatu feeling safe and secure, she quietly fell asleep.


As the Pridelands started their day it wasn't the sunlight that woke her up, it was the earth shaking. Panicking Uru shot up and quickly looked at a herd of elephants walking up to use the watering hole, her ears flattened back annoyed. She relaxed a moment and took a cool drink herself before stepping back to Ahadi, she watched him sleep soundly. Quietly she groomed herself and then shook him with her paw, "Ahadi, how are you feeling?" she whispered softly.

She inched closer to his face, checking to make sure he was breathing. Her honey colored eyes stared at his black mane and she stroked it with her paw. "Why did you choose to be so alone...?" she whispered softly and waited for him to wake up.

[DGFone]

Ahadi was again outside the Pridelands. It was nighttime. He had met a leopard who called himself Delano met him that night in his life as a rogue. The two of them were talking about the solitary lifestyle. Delano liked it, Ahadi didn't.

"Yeah, Not your kind of life is it? I've met a few lions before. Most of you are the same." Delano was saying. "Tell you what: You follow the brightest star, it'll lead you to where you belong." Ahadi looked up at the stars. He spotted one. It seamed to beckon him. He vaguely recalled that Delano was saying something. "Hey, lion boy, you hear a word I'm saying?" Delano asked. Ahadi didn't notice. His eyes were fixated on that one star... Not realizing what he was doing, Ahadi started walking, leaving Delano behind. That was several days ago.


Slowly, Ahadi opened his eyes. It was daylight. His heart sank a little at the revelation. He didn't know why the memory came to him, but it did. And now Ahadi wanted to see that star once more. He'll just have to wait until the night again.

Looking around slowly, Ahadi saw Uru. She smiled at him when she noticed he was awake. "Hey," Ahadi said. His voice was faint, but he had a smile on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked her. He then mentally kicked himself for asking such a stupid question, but it was too late. He already asked it.

[Songo]

Her eyes fell upon him as he woke up and she smiled, "Im fine. You saved me." she said softly. She stepped back and reclined to her haunches by his side, her furry cheeks flushed red. "Twice Ahadi." she added. Leaning down a bit Uru froze, thoughts passed through her mind and she shook them away. She gently nuzzled Ahadi's neck and let out a soft purr. "You were unconscious and I was so worried, I didn't want to leave you out here alone. So I stayed.."she muttered outloud.

Uru stared at Ahadi and she felt her own heart skip a beat, she smiled sheepishly. Unsure of her next action she smiled, "My father would probably like to see you. We all were worried." she said looking down at her own paws now.

Kamaria felt the sun's rays peak through her den, she nuzzled Mohatu's mane. "Wake up sleepy head." she said smiling. She put her forepaws on Mohatu's side and rolled him onto his back pinning him down. "I wonder how Uru and Ahadi are doing? Dont you? Maybe today you should spend some time with Ahadi...show him around?" she said offering a idea. She licked Mohatu's cheek before letting him roll back over.

[DGFone]

Ahadi smiled and nuzzled Uru back. "I'm glad you stayed with me." he told her. "I think you also saved me. I don't know if I would have made it through the night without you." he told her. "Thanks." He rested his head on her body, enjoying just being there with her. It seemed to elevate her embarrassment somewhat. Enough to suggest that he spend time with her father. The king...

Ahadi's heart skipped a beat. What if he was not accepted after yesterdays fiasco? After all, he did place Uru in mortal danger by starting that stampede. But there was no way out of it. "Sure. That might not be such a bad idea." he told Uru. Something was telling him that everything will be fine. He trusted Mohatu.

Ahadi rose unsteadily to his feet. he nearly fell, but Uru rose quickly to provide the support he needed. "Thanks," he breathed out after regaining his balance. Personally, he was glad to be able to stand at all. Slowly, the two of them proceeded on the long trek to Priderock.


Mohatu woke up to the excellent feeling of his mate next to him. Until she rolled him on his back and pinned him. "Hey, that's not fair!" He complained, with a wide grin. After he was let up again, he listened to Kamari as he yawned loudly. "Sure. I'll show him around. I'm sure Uru will also want to join in. Want to come as well? Us and him, a big family walk around the kingdom, as we introduce him to our life." He smiled. "I like the sound of that. Unless you have a better idea?"

[Songo]

Uru helped Ahadi along and she gazed up at Pride rock, she hoped both her parents were still there. Helping Ahadi up the ledge she slowly padded into her mother and father's den, eyes flickering from the change of light. "I brought Ahadi up here, I figured you'd want to talk to him." she said softly to her parents. Seeing them together always made her smile, they loved eachother. For a moment she thought about Ahadi and it brought a smile to her own delicate features, she stepped back out of the den and reclined by Ahadi's side. "They won't be to much longer." she whispered.

Kamaria nuzzled Mohatu as they moved, "No just you and him.." she was cut off by Uru walking in. She nodded to her daughter, "Well be out soon, your father wants to talk to Ahadi." she said softly. Waiting till Uru was out of ear's length she used her forepaw and grabbed Mohatu's muzzle, "Shhh...go take him and get to know this rogue. I want to talk to Uru alone. Its time Mohatu, shes getting older and this may be a good chance to find a mate that; well works well with Uru." she instructed. She chuckled sweetly and stepped to her paws heading out of the den, she looked back at Mohatu, "Sometimes I should be King." she smirked slightly and went to join Uru and Ahadi.