CHAPTER:  A MATTER OF TRUST

	It was a clear night.  Kubali held Elanna's trembling body 
beneath his own and shuddered in the grip of passion.  He climaxed, 
and with a roar, he sprang from her.  She turned to snarl at him, but 
she was not angry with him.  She rolled over in the grass and invited 
him over.  Kubali lay next to her in the soft grass and looked with 
her into the night sky.  Elanna snuggled into his soft mane listening 
to his heart beat.  It was a comforting sound, a familiar sound, and 
she drew solace from it.  Still, as she scanned the night sky she let 
out a small sigh.  
	Kubali looked around.  "Are you all right, Lannie?"
	"I'm fine.  It was nothing, really."
	"If it's nothing, you won't mind telling me about it.  I mean, 
we don't keep secrets from each other--do we?"
	She smiled, but it was a melancholy smile.  "I was wondering 
which one of those stars was my Taka.  I miss him..."
	Kubali frowned slightly, but he quickly hid it.  "I know you 
do, lover...he sounds like he was everything to you."
	She turned her head to face him more, "He was.  And he used to 
tell me I was everything to him.  He had no other friends.  He relied 
on me for comfort and friendship.  I was all that kept him going."
	"I see."  Kubali's jaw set firmly.  "He trusted you entirely, I 
imagine?"
	"Why yes, he did."
	"Uh huh.  Everyone needs someone they can trust entirely.  
Someone whose love for them is unconditional--who would never betray 
them."
	"I know."  She rubbed his chest mane with her paw.  "You are 
that person for me."
	"I'm glad to hear it," he said.
	She seemed to be waiting for him to answer her more 
meaningfully, but he did not.
	"You do trust me, don't you, lover?"
	Kubali changed the subject quickly.  "Look, the bats are out.  
They don't fly in straight lines like birds."
	Elanna glared at him.  "I asked you a question!"
	Kubali looked back, tensely.  "Look, I'm trying to let this 
whole business about Taka be firmly in the past.  If you help me, 
I'll help you."
	"What about Taka??  Today I've made love to you many times!  Do 
you think I'd just go crouch with any lion in the bushes??"  She 
shoved him roughly with a paw.  "Kubali, if there is no trust between 
us, there sure as the world will be no more intimacy.  I don't crouch 
for someone that doesn't trust me!"
	"I trust you all right.  I just can't forget what you did just 
like that!  I'm sorry, but it's going to take time!"
	"And what did I do??"
	"You know."
	"Assume for a moment I don't!"
	"I don't want to talk about it.  Look, I trust you, OK?  Let's 
get some sleep."
	"Sure!  You sleep here.  I'll find me a place."
	"Look, you little spitfire, you're acting like a complete fool!  
Everything was fine, then all of a sudden you change toward me!"
	She got up quickly and moved away from him.  "I thought you 
were gentle and sensitive, but you're not at all!  You're coarse and 
inconsiderate, and it's no wonder they drove you out!"
	The words seemed to sting him more than words could express.  
He stared at her for a while silently, a look of barely suppressed 
rage on his face.  Then when he found his tongue, he blurted out, 
"Yeah right, like I'm the only outcast here!  If you're so perfect in 
every way, where are your pride sisters when you need them?  Huh??"
	Shocked and hurt, tears welled up in her eyes and she 
stammered, "Good bye, Kubali.  It's over."  She turned quickly and 
walked off, leaving him alone in the night.
	He growled back at her as she drew away, "FINE...leave me."  He 
shouted, "I don't need you!  You HEAR me??  I don't need ANYONE!"  He 
let out a loud roar and turned from her.


CHAPTER:  HURT FEELINGS

	At first Kubali was angry enough to hide from the grimness of 
his situation.  He muttered to himself, "How could she betray Taka?  
Even if he was insane!  I could understand if she'd left him, but 
having him ripped alive??  My gods!  Hey, I was willing to forget and 
forgive, but she started acting like a complete...."
	He stopped and sighed.  The loneliness was beginning to find 
the chinks in his defenses and wear away his resolve.  "And I guess I 
helped her a lot, didn't I??  Way to GO, Kubali!"  He flopped on the 
ground where they lied together a few moments ago.  He inhaled slowly 
and deeply, reading her fragrance.  "She was the most beautiful and 
loving lioness I had ever met--and I went and blew it!  She was my 
last chance for happiness."  He rolled on his back and sighed.  "My 
last chance.  I'll never forget the look on her face when I rubbed in 
her exile."  He frowned and growled.  "But she never should have said 
what she did!  She started it!  She insulted me first!  She made me 
mad, and I just had to say something--I just had...."  He sighed 
again.  "Well, I didn't HAVE to.  Oh God, help me!  Maybe I'm not the 
most patient lion in the world, but I really love her, and I need 
her.  Help me please!"
	Kubali rolled over and got up.  "I am not the lion my father 
exiled." He opens his eyes slowly, "I will find her...confess my love 
to her...and ask her to be mine."
	He moved off slowly in the direction that he saw Elanna 
disappear in, nose close to the ground, seeking the scent that will 
lead him to her.
	As Elanna walked away, disappearing into the night, her ears 
turned to hear his roar of frustration after her.  "What did I see in 
him?" she muttered softly.  "He is nothing like Taka.  Why did I give 
myself to him like I did?"  She walked a short distance more, intent 
on leaving Kubali for good.  As she continued to move away from him 
though, she turns her head more often, as if a part of her is saying 
no.  Finally, she gave up and sat down to work through her thoughts.
	Out of frustration for her remaining feelings for Kubali, she 
muttered, "He did not trust me."  She sighed and looked over the open 
fields.  "Maybe I should go home...I have nothing here either.  Even 
if they kill me, I will be with my husband and I won't be lonely 
again."  She looks up at the stars, searching for him.  "I will join 
you, my love...you must keep your faith.  I will be there to cradle 
you again, tell you how much you mean to me.  In Aiheu's fields you 
will dream no bad dreams and I will weep no tears.  How could you 
send me to that lion?  You were mistaken about him, Taka.  I don't 
need the kind of care he gives me.  You were wrong, Honey Tree."
	She laid her body in the grass and, with a deep sigh, allowed 
her head to fall to her paws in thought.  Through her mind ran the 
times she spent with her husband--how she courted him.  The 
expectation of giving him cubs, then the tragedy of losing them and 
with them her fertility.  She smiles softly, remembering how he 
wouldn't replace her and how he remained faithful through it all.  
"He was always there for me.  He loved me.  He truly loved me!"
	She gasped softly, remembering the moments of passion she had 
shared with Kubali.  "Will Taka be jealous?  Will he want me back?  
Oh gods, if he refuses me what will I do??"
	She remembered the last days of Taka's life.  She recalled the 
sleepless nights she spent cuddling him close and protecting him from 
his bad dreams.  She remembered trying to anticipate his needs and 
fill them one by one.  She could not always know what would please 
him, and he would sulk.  Then she would have to use all her powers of 
subtlety to draw out the cause of his ill humor and make it up to 
him.  She remembered staying in the cave by herself and not even 
given the satisfaction of feeding herself.  His temper had become 
even worse in the weeks before his downfall.  She stayed by his side 
through it all for their love was strong.  But he would leave her 
alone for hours or days in a private hell of despair.
	She didn't know what to make of Kubali.  Their first meeting 
still fresh in her mind, remembering how alone she felt until she 
meet him.  How he didn't try to control her life...how she could 
actually sleep through the day without it being interrupted by a 
scream.  She could even express her thoughts to him, something she 
never dared to do to Taka.  He was more like her memories of Mufasa 
and Ahadi.  She sighed softly, trying to chart her future course.
	Her eyes traveled back up to the sky.  "I loved you so much, my 
dear, that I never realized how much you controlled and used me.  
Whatever you did to me, I still loved you and I always will." She 
sighed softly, "But what is this I feel for this other lion? Is it 
love like I felt with you, or is this just my season?  I talk about 
you so much to him, I guess that is unfair to him.  You mean so much 
to me, even when you aren't here, how can I just forget you?"
	She heard a voice.  It might have been beside her or just in 
the back of her mind.  But its message arrested her.  "Don't forget 
me, but don't forget him either.  If he knew the truth, all would be 
well between you.  Tell him the truth, Lannie."
	A lioness has little trouble following even an old trail when 
they are following someone else.  But they are so accustomed to their 
own scent that it is hard for them to backtrack.  She desperately 
tried to trace her steps back to Kubali.  "Help me, Taka!  Guide me, 
Aiheu!  Gods, give me success!"
	Suddenly, she saw a form move through the grass.  Seeing the 
mane poke through the grass, she held her breath, hoping that it is 
the one that she is hoping for.  As her line of vision cleared and 
his face came into view, she gasped and ran after him.  Together in 
the middle of the savanna, they came together.  At first, both are 
silent, just looking over each other slowly.  Suddenly, they both 
began to speak.  With a slight laugh, they tried again, this time 
with Kubali starting.
	"I'm sorry for what I said.  I believe in your love, and I'd 
trust you with my Ma'at and my very Ka.  Gods, Lannie, I don't know 
why you should love me, but I am grateful and I don't question my 
good fortune.  Can you forgive me?"
	Elanna nuzzled him gently.  "I'm sorry I was so angry.  Let's 
promise it will never happen again.  The only good part of this whole 
argument is making up afterwards.  Kubali, I love you."  With that, 
she gave his cheek a soft lick, walked a short distance and crouched.  
"Make love to me, my lion!"
	He looked in the sky and smiled.  "Thank you, God!  You haven't 
abandoned me!"  He turned his attention to the golden body of his 
lover.  With a soft purr, he approached her.  "Beloved, I come!"


CHAPTER:  GAMU'S FRIENDSHIP

	Kubali went running to Gamu.  "You know, you were right!  
Lannie and I got this out into the open, and she and I are closer 
than ever!"
	"You did??"
	"Yes!  You're a dear friend, and I'm sorry I ever doubted you.  
And someday when I have a kingdom of my own, you'll be my Prince 
Consort--the brother I never had--and everyone that sees you will owe 
you respect."
	"Oh--great.  Thanks.  That will be nice--when you get one.  
There is this land to the south I think we could grab."
	"Soon enough," Kubali said, giving his shoulder a little pat.  
"I have to get back.  Lannie will wonder where I am."
	Gamu nodded absently.  "Oh yes...go to her, by all means."  He 
stared off in the other direction as Kubali rose to pad away from 
him.  "We can't keep our lovely savanna flower waiting, can we?"
	Kubali paused and eyed the other lion oddly.  "Gamu?"
	"Eh?"
	"Are you all right?"
	Gamu flashed a grin at him.  "I'm fine...just full of thoughts.  
Go on, Kubali."
	Gamu realized that he had lost the battle, but was determined 
not to lose the war.  Knowing that Kubali and Elanna would be 
otherwise occupied for the rest of the day, he slinked away to find 
his companion.  The hyena was eagerly awaiting him.
	"Any food?"
	"No, not now.  Lover Boy is in search of slower prey."
	"Oh."  Griz'nik's ears drooped.  "I guess your brilliant plan 
didn't work."
	Gamu glared at him furiously.  "No," he spat out.  "It didn't."
	"I think you should cut out the fun and games and knock off the 
lion.  This isn't a pakh'jimbi match--there's too much at stake."
	Gamu looked down his nose at the hyena and paused for a moment.  
"Dare I ask?  What is pakh'jimbi?"
	"It's a pup's game.  You need at least three players on both 
sides.  The head of each side is called a kor'hum, and it's his or 
her job to coordinate the other players called gam'gis.  Now when the 
referee, which we call a bar'gem, gives the signal with three sharp 
cries, the two sides assume a formation called a tar'tar on either 
side of the center line or mehlo.  The object of the game is to rack 
up the most points by getting more of your gam'gis through the four 
obstacles or mosh'muikheti...."
	"I get the point!"
	"The point is you'll never ditch the lion at this rate, and 
I'll be stuck in this hellhole with no hope!  You're a big 
disappointment, Gamu.  You have no hope of ever being but a THINKER--
you should be a DOER."
	Gamu snarled at the hyena, setting him aback.  "Be glad I'm a 
thinker right now.  You wouldn't like what I'd do!"
	"All right!  OK!  Don't get upset--you know you're bigger than 
I am, and I know it too.  You don't have to prove anything."
	Gamu calmed down at the hyena's show of submission.  He made a 
very clear show of sharpening his claws on a tree trunk.  Then he 
yawned, showing off his ivory daggers of death.  Out of the corner of 
his eye, masked by a quiet expression, the lion watched with glee as 
his companion stared at the arsenal.  And satisfied, Gamu finally 
settled down and closed his eyes for a nap.
	Griz'nik watched him very closely.  "Gamu almost looks decent 
when he's asleep," he thought.  He waited several minutes, looking 
deceptively like a guardian angel.  The great chest rose and fell 
softly.  Once, before Griz'nik realized the true depth of Gamu's 
disdain for him, he had longed for the soft warmth of another body 
next to him as he slept.  He would have tolerated the odor of a lion 
which he found foreign and irksome.  "We might have been friends," 
Griz'nik silently mouthed.  "As my mother used to say, if you hunt 
trouble, someday you'll catch it."
	The hyena looked at the thin-skinned spot in the upper throat 
right under Gamu's jaw.  Griz'nik knew if he suddenly bit down--hard-
-and then ran away quick, Gamu would bleed to death before he could 
catch him.  Griz'nik squirmed close, his belly to the ground, his 
eyes fixed on Gamu's throat.  From time to time he glanced up, and 
the great eyes were closed.  Now was the moment of his destiny, the 
moment he took charge of his own life once again.  The eyes were 
still closed.  Gamu's breath was even and slow.  He crept closer, 
every movement designed for stealth and accuracy.  One last time he 
looked up--the eyes were slitted...watching him.  He froze.
	Gamu said, "Come here," and patted with his paw on the ground.  
"Lay down, old friend."  
	The hyena crawled next to him, exposing his neck in submission.  
The lion, with a razor-sharp claw stuck out, said, "You know 
something......"  He drew the claw lightly over Griz's throat and 
abdomen.  "Claws are a wonderful thing.  A mother tends her little 
cub.  It glides through his fur and gets out the mats very gently, 
very tenderly.  Then that evening she puts her little cub in a safe 
place.  `Now don't you move--Mommy is going to get you dinner....'  
Then she goes out on the hunt, and Mommy becomes a huntress."  
	The claw tightened on his skin.  "She stalks the gazelle like a 
ghost...then, suddenly, springs!  Those claws become very different!"  
	Gamu swiped quickly down Griz'nik's soft underside.  The hyena 
looked down in panic, expecting to see blood and entrails.  
Whimpering and shrieking, he examined his abdomen.  There was 
nothing--Gamu's claws had been tucked in.
	Gamu laughed.  "But you're my FRIEND, Griz'nik!  I wouldn't 
hurt a FRIEND, would I?"  He shoved the hyena away and stalked off, 
leaving Griznik to stare after him, rubbing his belly and shivering.

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