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If there was one thing that made Rieseln clam up, it was being alone. Normally she was a talkative, outgoing cub, but when mom and dad were gone and she was left to play alone without her brothers, she got very nervous. Her two brothers were off exploring their new home, and she decided to stay behind with dad. They always liked to play rough and, while she got in on the action most of the time, she really wanted another girl to play with that didn't think about wrestling constantly.

Dad had been called off, though, and she had been told to stay on the hill near the races. She could kind of see from where she was, and she knew her mother was down there practicing her new job, but the fact that she couldn't see her parents was very nerve-wracking for her. She paced back and forth, bright magenta eyes scanning the crowds, but it was no use.

Ries glanced around after the unsuccessful hunt, trying to find something to occupy her time with. She was very surprised to see another cub sitting on the hill with her. Has she been there the whole time? Who knew! Putting on a brave smile, she moved over to the other cub and cleared her throat a bit to get her attention.

"Hey," she said cheerfully. "I didn't know there was someone else up here, too. Are you watching the race?"

Ries tilted her head as she noticed the sad look on the other cub's face. Now that wouldn't do! Her own nervousness at being left alone disappeared as the cub spoke. She'd help cheer her up a bit! And maybe make her first friend in the pride at the same time. Now that was catching two birds with one pounce if she did say so herself.

"That's okay, I'm not allowed to go down there either," she said as he sat down beside the darker cub. "My mom is learning how to check up on cheetahs and my dad went off to do...something. I dunno what. My brothers are off playing in the tall grass, and I'm sick of their roughhousing for today, so that's why I'm here." She nodded slightly, smiling at the darker cub.

"What's your name? I'm Rieseln. Me and my family are new here. We walked forever to get here and we finally made it a week or so ago. I don't know any cubs yet but now I kinda know you!"

Ries pricked up her ears as she looked a bit closer at the cub. She looked an awful lot like the healer that checked her and her brothers out when they had first arrived. And if her mom was down there checking out the cheetahs...maybe it was the same lioness!

"I like wrestling some times," she admitted. "But it's all they wanna do! And I beat them every time so it's boring," she added, even if that was a bit of a fib. She didn't win every time, but she liked to think that she did. "It's really hot and dry. Not much water and not a lot of food. At least, where we were. Dad's been all over the place and he said there's some places that are really nice."

The name caught Ries off guard, and she frowned a bit as she tried to say it. "Nina...kupe...something...do you have a nickname?" she asked with a sheepish smile. "Your name is really pretty but it's really long. My name is kinda short but mom and dad call me Ries sometimes. So you can call me that if you don't wanna remember Rieseln."

"Every time," Ries said with a nod, a little sheepish smile on her face. "Except when my brothers win. But those times don't count because they cheat and bite my ears too hard." Excuses, excuses. In her eyes, though, that was the truth. They did bite her ears too hard! Dad or mom would always scold them, and after that she'd go pounce them and win. That was fair, yes!

"Yeah, he was born there," she said with a nod. "He's walked really far! And seen a lot of prides. But he heard about this one and wanted to come! And then he met my mom on the way and fell in love." She sighed happily, a far-off look on her face. Love was a funny thing, but she hoped to find it herself one day. Her parents were so happy together. She really hoped to find a nice boy and settle down with him and have cubs of her own. That would be so much fun!

"Oh, Nina. That's a lot easier to say," Ries said with a laugh. "I like it! Nina it is!" She glanced down at the race that was still getting under way, and tilted her head as she saw the black lioness roaming around between the cheetahs. "Oh! Is that your mom? Mavi?" She glanced back at Nani, a hopeful smile on her face.

Ries pricked up her ears as Nina confirmed that that was her mother. Ha, she had been right! She lifted her head a bit with pride for being correct before glancing at her new friends. "You mom was the one who made sure me and my brothers were healthy when we got here," she informed her happily. "She was really nice, even though my brothers were being kinda stupid and rolling around and getting dirty."

She was the whitest of them all, but was usually the cleanest. She had copied how her mother - who was almost completely white - walked, laid down, ate, and did other daily things. There were some lions that had white pelts that were so dirty they looked brown. That was nasty!

"My mom's got a green stripe on her back like mine, and little marks over her eyes like mine, and dots by her eyes and they're all lime green," she explained as she searched the crowd for any white spots. "Otherwise she's white, like me! She's gonna be a healer too, and I bet your mom'll teach her how to check up cheetahs."

Ries nodded a bit. Grey was the color to go with, or a light brown. Then you really couldn't tell if there was dirt or not on you. Her paws were like that, and so she was constantly cleaning them to make sure they actually were nice and free of dirt. She did a good job, she felt, because her mother never had to clean her feet for her. Just hard to reach places, like the back of her neck, her back, the top of her head...

"Thank you. That's what my dad says, too," she said with a little giggle. "He's the new matchmaker. I dunno what he's gonna do but I wanna be like our moms and be a healer when I get bigger," she added, lifting her head proudly. "I like helping people so much! Do you know what you wanna do?"

She tilted her head just a bit, a smile still on her face. It was so nice having Nina to talk to! She loved her brothers, but they got a bit boring after a while. Having a girl her own age was amazing!

Ries' ears perked up at the offer. A friend? Definitely! And they could practice their healing together once that happened! Sweet!

"Yeah! We can be healing buddies and regular buddies!" Woo! A friend that was a girl! She grinned and was about to playfully pounce Nina and roll around in celebration when she heard her father calling her name.

"Oh...great, Dad's calling me," she muttered quietly. "I gotta go. But we can play more later! Maybe if we're good our moms'll let us watch one of the races a bit closer." She leaned forward to bump her head against Nina's before laughing. "See ya later!"

She turned and ran in the direction of her father's voice, grinning the whole way. She had a friend!