Zuka wasn't sure if they were going to find the lioness or not, be he was more than happy to help Kiti looked for her. It wasn't like he had a pride to run or anything. Though, to be fair, it was his fault the lioness had run off, even if he didn't really understand WHY that was. She seemed to be very scared of him because he was a male. But he couldn't really control that, and he was otherwise a very nice guy! So why should he be in trouble?

He would do his best to find her and prove that he wasn't a bad guy- he didn't want her suffering because of him.

Kiti followed Zuka, though for the past few hours they hadn't been able to find the lioness they were looking for. Had she stopped somewhere? Maybe she was hiding- she would have been happy if Rrab were hiding. That meant they could actually find her. If she was still on the run, though, there might be no chance of them coming across her again. That would make her sad. She wanted to know that Rrab was safe and sound. Even if they hadn't known each other long, they were still friends!

A young leopard roamed along on her own, humming to herself. She had just managed to steal a meal from another leopard, so she was feeling very proud of herself. She had also passed by a pretty sad looking lioness, but she had been so pathetic that Pima hadn't wanted to pull a prank on her. It was only fun when she knew the animal getting pranked wouldn't be wrecked because of it.

She sighed heavily, wandering over the rogue lands. Pathetic female aside, her day had been pretty good. There was no reason to let one female spoil things for her.

"Don't worry Kiti, we'll find her," Zuka offered to the green lioness, as he could see she was looking very concerned about her friend. He frowned, unable to keep from feeling guilty, even though he knew it wasn't actually his fault that the lioness had fled. Something about her past had spooked her. He couldn't have done anything differently. Still, he wanted to help. Make things right. It seemed like the right thing to do.

He spotted a leopard not far from them, motioning to Kiti. "Perhaps she has seen something and can help us," he offered lightly.

Kiti was so worried.

Her friend could have been in trouble! She looked at Zuka when he attempted to comfort her, smiling weakly. He was very sweet for trying to make her feel better, and for sticking around to help her search for her new friend. He wasn't obligated to do either, and she imagined he was probably a busy fellow. He must have had more important things he could have been doing at that moment. Yet, he was there.

Rrab really needed to see that he wasn't a bad guy.

"Excuse me!" She called when the lion pointed out the leopard not far from us, "Can we speak to you for a moment?"

Pima's ears perked when she heard someone speaking to her. Two someones, actually. She looked over at the pair, the lion and lioness moving towards her quickly. Quickly, but without any real malice in their movements. It seemed she wasn't being attacked, just questioned. So she stood there, waiting for them to come over to her.

"What can I do to help the both of you?" She asked, looking from one lion to the other. They looked a little concerned, but she hadn't done anything, had she? Besides the meal... were they friends of that leopard's?

"We're looking for a lioness," Zuka said, bowing his head slightly in greeting, "she's an easily frightening, small lioness with a bright pink and blue coat. Have you seen anyone like that around here?" He asked seriously, hoping the leopard might have seen someone who matched the description. Thankfully, she just happened to be quite a unique lioness- there were very few who looked like her. That he had seen, at least.

Kiti followed after Zuka, approaching the leopard quickly. Thankfully, it seemed she could see they weren't looking to attack her, as she was watching them both very carefully but wasn't making herself tense or look like she was feeling threatened. Actually, she welcome the both of them with a bit of a smile and a nod of her heading, asking them what she could do for them.

That was good.

She let Zuka offer his description, though decided to help with a few more, probably unneeded, details. "She doesn't speak very well, and she seems to have a fear of males. She might have been hiding somewhere, as she was frightened off recently."

"Oh, I have seen someone like that," Pima replied thoughtfully, "back a few miles I had passed a lioness who was cowering between some trees. I tried to ask her if she was alright, but she didn't seem to want to talk to me. She just turned away and whimpered, so I just left her alone. I didn't know there was anyone looked for her, I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Zuka replied, "it's just nice to know that you happened to see her! Do you think we could follow you back to where she was?"

"Yes, thank you so much!" Kiti yelped, "we've been looking everywhere for her!"

"It's, uh, no problem," Rrab replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "don't mention it. Come on, follow me." She motioned for them to follow and that was just what they did, heading back the way the leopard had come. It took about half an hour to get there, but they did eventually reach the sport where Pima claimed to have seen the lioness before. The only problem was- she wasn't there anymore. Pima frowned, sitting herself down again. She sighed heavily, looking at the two of them. "I'm sorry. I know this is where I last saw her."

"No, it's okay," replied Zuka, "we're happy you were able to lead us in the right direction. I think I'll continue to hunt for her a little longer. Kiti, why don't you stay in this area to rest? It would be good to stay somewhere Rrab might remember to come back to. She could return here." Kiti frowned, looking at the ground.

"I think I would rather come with you," she said, though she knew she was very tired. Zuka knew as well, and smiled at her gently.

"No, you need to rest. Who knows how long we've been searching, but you must be exhausted. You stay here- I promise I'll bring her back to this spot."

"Don't worry, I'll go with him," Pima offered, "I know what she looks like, too, and a fresh pair of eyes might help, you know? You can rest up and there's still a couple of us doing the hunting, okay?"

"Thank you, both of you," replied Kiti with a smile, "you're both so kind to help us when you don't even really know us. I don't know how to properly repay you for this." Zuka chuckled and shrugged. He didn't want anything in return- he just wanted Rrab to know that he wasn't a bad guy. Pima, meanwhile, couldn't really think of how they might make all this up to her, either, though she was sure she could think of something once all was well again. She liked to play pranks, but she didn't like to see anyone actually suffering. That was just too sad.

Not funny at all.

So the lion and the leopard went to continue the hunt, while the tired lioness settled down against the ground to get some rest. She hoped the two would be able to find Rrab, and that she wasn't still very scared of what was going on. How was she going to deal with life if she got so spooked at seeing one male? How had she managed so long thus far? It bothered her, but it wasn't like she could play mother. Once they found her and made sure she was safe, Kiti would have to go back to her own pride. Would Rrab come with her? Maybe not. Actually, it seemed like a better idea for her to go with Zuka. He ran a pride, from what he said, and he was very kind. Maybe she could learn more about males if she was in a safe place like that? Of course, convincing her to go would be the trick.

She actually hadn't even asking Zuka yet, either. She put down her head on her paws, sighing heavily. This whole thing was a real problem.

Pima and Zuka, meanwhile, had moved away from the lioness, following what seemed to be a somewhat fresh trail. At least they had a good idea of what direction they needed to go in this time. With some luck, they would find her before she ended up hurt.

WC: 1508