"Thank you for letting us eat with you. Taka and I appreciate it greatly." Malika nodded before turning to walk away.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" Taka asked, running up to Malika's side. She instantly moved away, Taka too close to her for just meeting him. He clearly doesn't know what personal space is.

"I am going straight, towards the sun. I intend to find Milele, maybe find some other lions." Malika simply said, her eyes staring straight ahead.

"That is where we are headed. Our pride was killed by the outsiders. Taka's father entrusted me to protect him and lead him safely to a place where the outsiders couldn't harm us. My mother told me of Milele, I thought that to be the best place." Mufasa explained, he was now on Malika's other side, yet a decent space between them, something Malika was grateful for. She didn't feel comfortable around strangers after what happened to her pride.

"So why were you discussing being eaten by crocodiles? Why were you even in the river at all?" Malika questioned, still curious about the brothers' interaction with the reptilian predator. 

"That would be my dear bothers fault. I saved him and he almost let us get eaten by those crocodiles." Taka smugly said, his head raised high as he walked next to Malika.

"Did you now? And how, exactly, did you save us brother?" At this, Taka's ears flattened and his head turned away in shame.

"Well I uh—um well you see I may or may not have pushed us off a cliff to escape the outsiders." Taka shamefully admitted. Mufasa slowed to go behind the two lions before pouncing towards his brother playfully. Taka laughed as he ran to the side to avoid his brother's attack.

Malika starts to laugh before realizing what Taka said. "The outsiders? They are actively after you? What did you do?" Her hackles raised as she realized the danger in staying with the two lions. She managed to escape the outsiders once, she doubted she could do it again alone.

"Nothing! We didn't do anything." Mufasa tried to calm the lioness but she knew more than they thought.

"The outsiders do not chase after others unless they have personally wronged them. So, I will ask again, what did you two do?" Malika demanded.

"How would you know?" Mufasa retailed back, his hackles raised, ready to defend himself and his brother.

"The outsiders killed my pride, only a few of us lioness escaped from their paws. Yet they made sure all the male lions in the pride were killed to stop the pride from ever returning. So, what did you do?"

Mufasa and Taka shared a glance before Mufasa eventually sighed. "Eshe, Taka's mother, and I were out hunting for some antelope. I stayed in the brush to surprise the antelope while Eshe went to attack. We caught wind of a lions scent but we didn't recognize it. That's when two white lions attacked Eshe. I managed to help and kill one of the lions, saving Eshe from harm. The other lion ran, back to its pack, the outsiders. The lion I killed? It was Kiros' son, Prince of the outsiders." Mufasa finished his tale, his eyes straight forward, afraid of what the lioness would think of him.

Mufasa paused in his step, why would he care about what the lioness thought of him? He just met her, who cares if she offered them food without knowing them? Or let them join her on her journey to Milele? Or if she's the prettiest lioness Mufasa has ever laid eyes on?

Shit.

"You killed the Prince of the outsiders to protect a lioness?" Malika softly asked, eyes focused on Mufasa's face. Mufasa blinked his thoughts away before focusing on Malika again.

"I, well, yes. Eshe took me in after I lost my parents in a flood. I owed her my life, the least I could do was help her." Mufasa uttered softly, eyes downcast as he remembers his adoptive mother. Taka was also mourning, he eyes straight ahead but with a sad look in them.

"The outsiders attacked my pride in the night. We tried to fight, but there was no hope of winning. They out numbered our pride and my father was the only male in the pride, leaving us weaker in comparison to their three. Once it was clear we could not win, my father commanded the remaining lionesses to run, my twin sister and I included. My mother stayed with him, refusing to leave him to die alone. While running, the outsiders caught up to my sister and I, we were forced to split up and I haven't seen her since. I was hoping to find her, instead I managed to find you two." Mufasa turned to look at the lioness. A look of understanding on his face.

"I hope we find her on this journey. I know how important family can be." He said, turning to look at his brother. Taka was in his thoughts, Mufasa bumped his shoulder to bring him back into the conversation.

"Yes, when my mother found Mufasa, my father would only allow him to stay if he won the race between him and I. I, of course, had to let him win, but I always wanted a brother. Letting him win was a victory even though I lost." Taka smiled softly as he remembered the day he first met Mufasa.

"Sounds like fun. Sarabi and I would always play fight each other, whoever won got to go on the hunts with our mother. Sarabi usually won, but she would let me win sometimes. Those days were always the best, being with my mother while watching her do what she did best. It was like—I don't even know." Malika finished, a smile on her face.

"Seeing the impossible be possible?" Mufasa filled in for the lioness. Mufasa remembered the first time he watched Eshe hunt. It was beautiful in a way. The way he watched her be so confident in her abilities to feed the pride. To see her take down prey twice as fast, big, or strong as her. It was amazing to watch.

"Yes, how did you...?" Mufasa sent a smile towards the lioness next to him.

"I've felt it too, watching Eshe hunt." Malika smiled as she nodded her head, slowly turning her head forward again. She enjoyed the brother's company yet it felt too soon. She needed some space to think things through. Especially if the brothers continued to stay with her.

"Until I find my sister, would you both like to, uh, I suppose travel with me? We are going to the same place." The brothers looked to each other, Taka nodding eagerly to stay with the lioness. Mufasa, of course, was also wanting to stay with Malika.

"If that's okay with you, we would be honored to travel with you." Mufasa said to Malika. She sent a smile his way, nodding her head in agreement.

Feeling far too comfortable with the brothers, Malika decided she needed some space to think clearly.

"I'm going to scout ahead, see what I can find. I'll circle back around to you when the moon hits the tree line." Taka and Mufasa nodded in agreement, Malika was about to head off when Mufasa stoped her.

"Be careful, the outsiders may be behind us, but other animals can be just as dangerous. Call if you need us." Malika bent her head in agreement and dismissal before bounding ahead.

"I think I'm in love, Mufasa." Mufasa rolled his eyes at his brother before continuing forward into the jungle.

"Come on Taka."