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After months spent with very little appetite, Rana had finally begun to gain weight again. There were more muscles on her limbs hnow than flabby skin and a light had returned to her beautiful emerald green eyes. She was delighted to note that the various improvements in her physical health had done much to improve her moods and outlook on life. She was happier now than she'd been in a long time, even in the wake of her recent run-in with Kyp, the male who'd left her broken hearted and alone.

The caramel colored lioness snoozed peacefully in the shade of a tree with branches that hung astonishingly low to ground. She was nestled there, comfortable amongst the fallen leaves and broken twigs. Every now and then, a colorful beetle would skitter across the ground at her side and into the shelter of the various trees nearby.

It was cooler here than it was in the open, where the sun liked to beat against the defenseless heads of any creature that dared travel under it's rays.

There was a weight on her back. It was a few moments before Rana, who was slowly falling out of sleep, could sort out the series of murky thoughts in her mind. It was not just warm out. It was really warm out, but the sun was not shining directly on her head. There was a not just a weight on her back. There was a very small weight on her back.

Rana had always been sharp and, after her head had finally been cleared of the sandman's exhausting influence, it did not take her long to figure out that someone, and not something, had decided she'd make an excellent pillow. She wasn't sure whether she should be surprised or outraged. This character hadn't even bothered to wake her up and ask for permission.

Still, out of consideration for the other creature that had chosen to sleep under her tree, Rana tried to twist her neck around as quietly as possible, in order to find out the identity of the brave stranger. Her eyes widened in delight at the site of the sweet looking cub.

Where were his parents?

Oh, he was so cute!

It had been a long time since she'd seen or spoken to a lion of his size and, before Rana had time to register the fact that he was obviously quite scared of her, she was struck by an incredibly strong wave of maternal affection. This feeling, however, was shortly followed by an extreme sense of loss that she immediately tried to squash and forget about.

This wasn't the time nor the place for such negative emotions.

This little boy was clearly terrified and Rana felt obligated to remedy this particular predicament. There was no space for her own ghosts now. Those could continue to be dealt with later. She had always wanted to be a mother and, as she had not yet had the opportunity, was the type to share the love where ever she saw fit.

"My name is Rana, little one," she said sweetly from her completely non-threatening position on the ground, "And who might you be?"

"It's nice to meet you, Nazih'Matata," Rana refrained from abbreviation in case the little boy had some kind of vendetta against it. She supposed that it was unlikely, but the last thing she wanted to do was offend him. He already looked harassed enough for the both of them. It hurt a bit, to know that she'd caused such a great surge of fear in his little body.

Rana had never pictured herself as frightening, but she apparently was.

"Are you alone, out here?"

She didn't like to think that the cub had to fend for himself in this world. It was hard enough for an adult as large and as strong as she was, so Rana didn't even want to imagine what it might be like for a cub.

"Nazih then," she smiled fondly at him, delighted by the little boy's presence there. It had been a very long time since she'd laid eyes on a cub. Mainly because she was not a part of a pride and little ones rarely survived on their own. It was amazing, truly, that he'd lived as long as he had.

Rather than try to get him to accept and understand her sympathy, Rana figured it might be wiser to try and connect with him. It would lessen his fear of her, at least.

"My parents are dead too, but I was much older than you are now when they passed away. I miss them sometimes. My father was very talented when it came to telling stories. "

"I'm sure he was," Rana nodded agreeably, understanding that most cubs thought their fathers were the most valiant of lions- no matter how cowardly they might, in fact, have been, "Fathers are always very brave. They need to be, in order to protect those that they love most."

When poor, little Nazih burst into tears the lioness was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. He'd been wary of her, at first, and Rana wasn't sure if the wisest move would be to try and comfort him. He was beside himself with grief, but that didn't mean he'd automatically welcome her kind words and soothing whispers. She was nothing but a stranger, after all.

"Sweety," she murmured softly, in what she hoped was a helpful tone, and nudged him tentatively with her nose, "I'm sure that they miss you too, where ever they are."

It broke her heart to think that he would have to try and hunt all on his own. It was apparent to her that he'd done a decent enough job taking care of himself already, but that didn't mean it was right for such a little boy to be alone. It would force him to grow up too quickly, and that thought made the lioness terribly sad. Youth was a wonderful thing. He shouldn't have had to give up his.

"It was nice to meet you too, little one," she murmured softly, and couldn't resist the urge to offer him a home, no matter how temporary, with her. Still, Rana was wise enough to keep it from looking like charity. "You know, I could always use some company. And a big, brave protector- if you think you're up for the job."