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Saida started, "Well a long time ago, lions and the neighbors were enemies. We fought whenever we met each other and generally we didn't have anything to do with each other."

"Horrid..." commented Uzuri.

Saida shot her a look, then continued, "It had always been this way until one day a lion saved a human's life." Nala's eyes widened as she listened closely, her churning belly slowly calming. "The lion's name was Kiomi and the way I was told this happened was that one day Kiomi was out hunting by herself. She'd had a dream the previous night in which the ancestors had told her to prepare for a great change. She was so alarmed that she decided to travel a long distance from where the rest of her pride was staying."

"Hmph..." scoffed Uzuri. "Dreams and premonitions. Anyone with half a brain would realize that these embellishments get added in after the fact to make the hero seem special. It's almost certain the whole thing was an accident."

"Shush, Uzuri, don't spoil the story." chided Paka, who swatted the older lioness with her tail across the nose.

"Thank you." said Saida while Uzuri growled quietly and rubbed her snout. "Anyways, Kiomi finds herself alone out in a strange country where she's never been before. She's hungry and though she can see well in the dark of the night, she realizes that she is quite lost. All of a sudden, there comes a racket from not far away. A hideous sound like ghouls and ghosts emerging from the ground. It was, of course the ugly laughing of a band of hyenas." Nala glanced over at Mirembe in front of her, the younger lioness was holding her tail in her paws and seemed so tense and still she might shatter at any moment.

Saida punctuated the story by imitating the sound of hyenas. She did a pretty poor job at it, but the other lions around her seemed impressed. Of course, Nala had known the sound from real hyenas on a daily basis back home. After everyone quieted down, Saida continued, "Since Kiomi was by herself, she definitely didn't want to mess with a whole pack of hyenas. In fact, she was about to flee from the area when she realized that the pack was chasing something. She couldn't see clearly what it was. However, over the grass, she caught a glimpse of dark fur and she came to the conclusion that the hyenas were chasing a bedraggled male lion. She could have left the lion to his face, but Kiomi was the compassionate sort and she decided right away to put her own life on the line to save this stranger. She tore off as quickly as he paws could carry her.

"Not even a cheetah could have matched her speed as she flew across the ground then. With the force of a lightning bolt, she pounced and flew across the ground, smiting the first hyena in front of the back. She'd killed it before they even hit the ground. Kiomi rolled to her feet and faced the horde. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rogue lion continuing to flee, but he was moving oddly, she assumed that assumed that he must be very injured.

"The hyenas, cowards that they were, scattered at the sudden appearance of Kiomo, but soon they regrouped and began to press her with their numbers. Kiomo had no choice but to flee after the injured male, hyenas biting her heels. It wasn't long before she caught up with the slow moving lion, in fact she found him collapsed int he tall grass."

"Why she tripped over him in fact," added Paka.

"That's not the way I heard it." said Saida. "Now let me finish." Saida took a moment to brush her face with a paw and then started again, "Kiomi found the rogue lion collapsed, but that's not all she found, for she saw that he was not even a lion at all. It was, in fact a man!" Nala had seen this coming but the way Saida said it still sent a shiver up her spoke as she imagined the scene. "Kiomi was shocked of course. She thought she'd been saving a fellow lion and here instead was someone who has been just as much an enemy to her pride as the hyenas behind her. At first, she was filled with anger at what she perceived as deception. She rounded on the man, flipping him easily with her paws. She was about to end him, just as she'd ended the hyena shortly before, however, she stopped when she looked at the man's face. Strangely it was not fearful, in fact, the man seemed accepting of his imminent fate. The man reached up with his hand and gently laid it on Kiomi's cheek. He said something she couldn't understand, but in that moment of contact, Kiomi lost the will to kill the man.

"Now, Kiomi had a choice to make, she could either flee the hyenas and leave the human to his fate, or she could try to protect him. Because Kiomi was the compassionate sort, she chose the latter."

"I would have done the same." Mirembe piped in.

"I'm sure you would have, at that." said Saida, "Now Kiomi knew full well that she couldn't stay and fight all the hyenas. She did the only thing she could think of. Taking the human by the nape of his vest, which at the time she thought was his scruff, she began to drag him away from the oncoming hyenas. She dragged the man all night long and all the next day as well..."

Uzuri chuffed loudly. "That's ridiculous. What she did was fool the hyenas by hiding in a ditch with the man."

"The way I heard it, Kiomi dragged him up a tree where they stayed for three days until the hyenas gave up and left."

Uzuri laughed, "That's even more ridiculous than what Saida said.

"But the point is that she saved this man and afterward he was so grateful that he began telling the rest of his pride about us and eventually our two tribes became friends." Saida said, overruling the other two.

"That's a very interesting story." said Nala, "Though it's a little difficult to believe that one lion and one human could foster this kind of lasting friendship between the species."

"That's right." said Uzuri, sitting up a little straighter. "And that's because it didn't happen overnight. Kiomi lived dozens of generations ago. What she planted was a seed of trust that has blossomed over the lifetimes of many lions."

"Our formal relationship with the neighbors started with the meat offerings as I recall." said the rotund lioness.

"Naturally you would remember that part, Paka." said Uzuri, gesturing towards her sibling's amble frame.

"But she is right." said Saida. "The humans began to think of us as special creatures and they showed their appreciation by bringing us gifts of meat and milk. They'd bring food to us and eventually we grew to trust them even more. In time, the even built this shrine for us to live in."

"I see..." said Nala, whose stomach was beginning to calm, "You know, I think I'm feeling a little more comfortable about this human thing."

"I'm glad to hear that, Nala. I promise you there's really nothing to be afraid of." said Saida with a low nod.

"You'll have loads of fun here, Nala, I promise." Mirembe cried and then her ears shot up, "Oh! Why don't you tell us a tale from your land, Nala?"

Nala smiled/grimaced and suddenly her stomach ache was back. In fact, her belly issued a loud grumbling right then and her paws flew to her middle.

Paka saved her. "Mirembe, Nala has had a long day. I think we ought to give her some time to rest and digest. Right Nala?"

Nala managed a weak nod and though Mirembe looked rebellious at first, she relented under the three combined stares of her older siblings. Turning back to Nala, she said, "You can rest here if you like, or I can show you a quiet little niche I know."

Thinking it wouldn't be too quiet with Mirembe in it, Nala lowered her head onto her paws and said, "That's alright Mirembe, here is fine. I think I'll sleep off this meal and then we can hang out some more."

"Great! See you later Nala!" cried Mirembe and she bounded off to a different part of the shrine. Uzuri smirked and snorted after she'd gone, but said nothing.

Paka however, got up. If it was possible, she appeared even fatter standing than lying down. Nala stared without meaning to at her engorged tummy, heavy neck and chest and thickened legs. What with the famine, Paka seemed monstrously obese to Nala's eyes. But then, there was not a lion here that Nala considered "thin."

Paka nosed Nala's ears in a friendly way. "You can nap here or anywhere really. There's lots of benches and things to lounge on." Paka left after that and no one asked where she was going.

Nala got up and settled herself against an innocuous looking smooth stone and rolled partially onto her back. Closing her eyes, she listened to Saida and Uzuri continue to chat until the churning sound of her own tummy droned them out and she drifted off.

Nala slept for 20 hours. Occasionally she got up and moved to a different part of the common area, but for the most part, she was dead asleep. After her recent trials it felt so good to sleep on a full stomach in a safe place. If felt so good in fact, that Nala was taken completely off guard when she awoke to find a creature stroking her flank.

Nala started and jumped up, but quickly found that she towered over the thing that had been touching her. She saw that the thing in question was quite small and queerly standing on its hind legs. It was also dressed in some kind of loose white covering, like a second skin. Why it could only be a human, a human child. Nala was uneasy about the carefree way the youngling held itself in the presence of a full grown lioness so she backed off. The child approached a few steps but soon became infatuated with another nearby slumbering lion.

Looking up, Nala saw additional human children wandering about the common area. Most of them were petting lions, but a couple of the older ones were engaged somehow with one of the larger stone statues. The pridelander bit her tongue when she saw a tall adult human watching over the smaller ones. A cold tingle of fear ran up Nala's spine as their eyes met. Logically she knew she shouldn't be frightened like this, but these were living demons out of her childhood nightmares. She wasn't ready for this.

Breathing heavily, Nala stalked out of the common area, hopefully there would be a quiet place for her to finish her siesta. However, she was stopped just before she exited by a sly, familiar voice.

"Aren't you a little big to be running away from featherweight toddlers?" said Fauzi from where he'd been resting in a shadowy corner, spread out on an oblong smooth stone.

Nala walked over and looked the lean lion in the eye. She wasn't here to make waves, but she wasn't going to take prodding like this either. "I'm not running away, I'd just rather not have them touching me and tugging my fur."

"If you say so..." chided Fauzi.

With a slight growl, Nala responded, "And here you are, hidden in the corner. I don't see you exactly offering yourself to the little humans."

Fauzi grinned ans stretched, raising his rump and extending his claws. "I don't do kids. That's lioness stuff."

Nala raised her chin, "Hmph, I thought all the lions around here loved humans."

Fauzi straightened himself up and stood, looking down at Nala. He smirked, saying "I think it would be more accurate to say that humans love us."

"Considering that these humans keep you fed, I'd think you'd be more grateful." said Nala half turning her head.

Fauzi chuffed and leapt softly down from his perch. He was quite close to Nala now, so she could smell his strong male musk. "Oh, humans are a respectable lot I suppose; and powerful. But they have their quirks, their weaknesses that one can exploit."

Weaknesses? Now Nala was truley intrigued. "Hmm..." She purred, trying to play coy. "And what sort of weaknesses do they have?"

Fauzi looked past Nala, out to the middle of the common area where there were still young humans and lions milling about. "Not here. Follow me."

Fauzi brushed deliberately past Nala in a way that left some of his scent on her shoulder. Nala followed, mildly reluctant, but curious to learn more about the inner workings of this strange pride. He led her down a small trail and then suddenly deviated from the path altogether, forging his way into the leaf littered wood. He sat down in what seemed like a random spot and waited for Nala. She remained standing across from him, but soon it became apparent that he would not speak before her. "So why did you bring me out here?"

"Some of what I have to say is a little...controversial perhaps." said Fauzi. "I'm not sure you're aware of this Nala, but our pride does not exactly follow the old ways."

"Wow, you know I never would have guessed, what with the humans wandering around your pride."

Fauzi smirked again, "Oh, the partnership is more extensive than you've seen so far. But it also runs far deeper than I think you've realized yet. Tell me, have you noticed all the little carved wood and stone figures around here?"

"I have..." said Nala cautiously.

"Well. What would you say if I told you that those figures represented spirits, that they were literally little homes for them to live and gather in."

Nala wrinkled her nose. "I'd say that was a strange notion. Every lion should know that their ancestors live in the night sky."

Surprisingly Fauzi burst into laughter. "What exactly is so funny?" Nala reproached with a mild growl.

"Sorry, sorry." said Fauzi, swallowing and calming down. "It's just so odd to hear the old beliefs stated so plainly, what with them being half forgotten now."

"Forgotten? How can you forget where you came from?"

For once, Fauzi's face seemed less impish than sympathetic. "We've adopted a new set of beliefs here." He looked down at the ground, "Would you like to hear what they are?"

Nala took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I wouldn't really understand what's going on around here if I refused to hear you out. Why didn't anyone explain this to me before?"

Fauzi's tail lashed back and forth. "Probably because everyone just takes our beliefs for granted... just as you assumed that we believed the same as you."

Nala frowned, "And I don't think that you believe in anything, Fauzi."

The lion raised his paw to his breast, "Nala, I'm hurt." But he quickly recovered, "Anyway, I prefer to think of my self as an informed skeptic, not a heretic. Did you want to hear what I had to say or not?" Nala just grunted and Fauzi continued, "Well, the gist of it is that spirits exist - and these aren't just ancestor spirits, they're also spirits of plants and of the land itself - and that they need to be honored and respected and in turn, they can give you wisdom and luck if you treat them correctly."

"That's rather selfish." said Nala.

"It's how humans think." said Fauzi, and by the tone of his voice, Nala rather thought that he approved of the idea. "Humans believe that lions are a special creature and that the spirits like to hang around us and even act through us. We are intermediaries in a way."

Now Nala laughed, "And what lion would believe that she was interacting with spirits."

Fauzi chuffed, "My mother for one."

"Seriously?" asked Nala, caught of guard.

"Well, she is the high oracle." Said the lion with a lick of his paw.

"And what does that mean exactly?"

"It just means that my mother tells the humans in charge of their town what to do." Fauzi finished with a grin.

"And they believe the spirits are acting through her." said Nala in deadpan.

"Oh she believes it too. She's very spiritual." The corners of Fauzi's mouth didn't move, but there was laughter in his eyes.

"I hope you aren't offended when I say this all sounds crazy."

"Oh, it'd take much more than that to offend me." said Fauzi, rising. "I guess it's something you take for granted growing up here. But maybe knowing the basics will help you to adjust to how we do things here."

Feeling a bit guilty, Nala added, "Well, it sure seems to have benefited the pride."

"And I'm not saying that you have to believe what we do." Fauzi began to walk closer. "I just wanted to facilitate your...understanding of us."

"Fauzi..." said Nala and then suddenly the lion was brushing his body alongside hers. His musk had increased and he was clearly excited. Nala jumped, "Get off of me!" she growled.

For once, Fauzi seemed genuinely off put. Facing Nala again with a slick turn he said, "Come now, Nala. Surely you recognize the benefits of associating yourself with me. An outsider in a strange pride. You could use a friend like me." He began to approach her again, "And I promise I can be a very good friend."

Nala decided to do the thing that would wound Fauzi the most at the moment. She laughed. She chuffed and then said, "Get over yourself, Fauzi." And then she turned and left. Nala half expected some remark of retribution from the lion, but he remained silent as she paced back towards the Pride area.