CHAPTER:  A NICE COLD DIP

	Mabatu was living up to his promise.  Those who thought handsome 
babies often grow up to be plain had to admit that there were exceptions 
to every rule.  At one year of age, Baba was still a youngster, but his 
beauty would turn the heads of the female cubs.  Like warm sunshine was 
his smile, and his walk was a carefully choreographed dance of joy that 
delighted the eye and gladdened the heart.
	Lela padded over to him at the cistern as he stopped to draw 
refreshment and watched him with deepest admiration.  "Baba?  What'cha 
doing now?"
	"I'm seeing what I'd look like with big round wrinkles."
	She laughed.  "I don't think you COULD look ugly if you tried."
	"Oh really?"  He crossed his eyes and covered the end of his nose 
with his tongue.
	"Eww, gross!"  She turned sideways, and bending her body away from 
him, she said, "How about my long, furry tongue!"  She opened her mouth 
and passed her tail along her opposite cheek and wiggled it.
	"Cool!  How about a big wet kiss with it!"  He did likewise.  
"Like this?"
	"Yeah!  That's so sick!"
	"Hey, that's nothing.  Wanna hear me roar?"
	"You, roar??"
	"Sure I can.  Just listen...."  He gulped air several times, then 
with a look of supreme concentration, he held up his snout and vented it 
in a long, soulful belch.
	"You win!" she said, giggling.  "I could NEVER do that!"
	He sprang at her and put his paws around her neck.  Giggling, she 
wrestled with him, planning all the time to let him win but not to let 
it show.
	Back and forth they swayed, standing on hind limbs with a supreme 
effort to unseat each other and pin shoulders to the ground.  Then 
Mabatu lost his footing and rolled backwards.  With a loud splash, he 
landed in the icy cistern, paddling in shock through the chilly waters 
to the side.
	"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Lela said, helping pull him out by the scruff 
of the neck.  As he stood dripping and shivering, she kissed his face.  
"I like you, Baba!  I always have!  I'd never do anything to hurt you!"
	"I know."  He shook off, showering her with moist diamonds.  "Hey, 
so I slipped.  No big deal."
	"So you're not mad?"
	"No."  He touched her cheek with his tongue.  "It's OK."
	"I'm glad."  She kissed him back.  "I really do like you.  Do you 
think I could see you again?"
	He smiled.  "Why not?  Just don't drown me, OK?"
	She laughed.  "It's a deal!"
	Just then, Isha walked by.  "Were you swimming in the cistern?"
	"I'm sorry, Isha.  It was an accident."
	"Well try to be more careful.  Hey, we have to drink that stuff!"  
She nuzzled him.  "I'm headed out to Anteater Kopje to scout out the 
herd if anyone asks where I am."
	"Can I come too??"
	"Sure, if you'll be quiet."
	His face positively glowed.  "Not a word," he said, putting his 
paw over his mouth and winking.  It may have looked funny to other 
creatures, but among lions it is a solemn promise of silence.
	Lela's ears drooped.  "But I wanted to play tag!"
	"Maybe later," Mabatu said.  
	"Tag sounds fun," Isha said, encouragingly.
	"Yeah, but I have stuff to do."  When Isha left, he trotted along 
behind her toward the distant kopje.
	Lela sighed.  "Oh well."  She went and looked in the cistern at 
her reflection, then touched it with a paw.  The waves made her face 
dance, and she had to smile at the effect.  "Maybe tomorrow."


CHAPTER:  OUR DAILY BREAD

	Food was harder to come by and the hyenas started to grumble.  
Shenzi had promised them unending abundance, and that promise was 
failing.  At first, Shenzi claimed that Roh'kash was merely testing 
their faith.  They began to pray almost without ceasing for relief, but 
it did no good.  It was becoming clear to even the strongest believers 
that Roh'kash could and would let them suffer hunger and thirst from the 
Roh'mach clear down to the smallest pup.
	Scrambling not to lose her people's loyalty, Shenzi was looking 
for ways to make the food go further.  Rationing began among the hyenas, 
and they looked toward the lions looking for ways to reduce their 
tremendous appetites as well.  They looked at the male cubs and thought 
they may have found an answer in rushing some mantlements.  Even an 
adolescent lion ate as much as three hyenas.  And who knows, with a 
couple of well-placed teams waiting just outside the border, they might 
even have a way to supplement their diet even more.
	One male cub posed a special threat.  Mabatu was now in line to 
succeed Taka as King, and it was the general opinion of the hyenas he 
would be a powerful and dangerous king who believed Pride Rock was for 
lions alone.  Terrified of the prospect of a bloody war in the making, 
Skulk submerged his usual disdain for lions and offered to take Mabatu 
on a trip around the Eastern Meadow to hunt palm squirrels and rabbits.  
They were gone for only a couple of hours when Skulk came charging into 
Shenzi's cave, fuming and cursing.  "I was SO NICE to him!  You'd think 
I was his real FATHER with the way I treated the brat!  He didn't say 
two words to me the whole time, and when I slipped in the creek, he 
laughed at me!"
	"He's a boy," Shenzi said gently.
	"He's a hyena hater," Skulk said.  "Don't you think I could see it 
in everything he did?  I patted his shoulder, and when he didn't think I 
could see him, he rubbed in the grass to get rid of my scent!"
	Shenzi's eyes narrowed to slits.  "We'll get rid of his scent--
permanently!"
	Makhpil had clearly foreseen that Taka would die young and 
violently.  It was a vague prophesy, but one that filled Shenzi with the 
urgency of the moment.  They didn't have much time before Taka was gone 
and the popular Mabatu became King of a pride full of strong and 
determined lionesses.
	One of them suggested that they kill Mabatu, but there was no 
telling what Taka would do in retribution.  They would have to be more 
subtle.
	Time passed, and unlike some of Taka's mercurial friendships, his 
bond with Mabatu grew closer with each passing day.  So when Mabatu was 
only eighteen moons old, and a few bits of ruff around his neck began to 
form a real mane, the leaders of the clan had a private meeting and 
decided it was time to act.
	But how?  Certainly, Shimbekh must be involved.  Fed information 
from Makhpil, she still made several correct predictions to Taka, enough 
to cover all the lies Shenzi wanted to sneak in.
	Relying on the old hyena proverb that a half truth is like a half 
carcass-it can be pulled twice as far-they decided on a lie that would 
soften the blow, but still strike home.
	Timid and unsteady, Shimbekh stood before Taka to deliver the news 
that may bring instant death.  "My Lord, evil tidings."
	"Oh?  Surely not!"
	"I don't know how to say this, my lord.  But there is an evil 
spirit in this place.  One too strong for our powers to drive off.  
Unless Mabatu driven off early, the day after his mantlement he will go 
mad and kill his mother, then you."
	"What??"  Taka came and faced her down.  "If you're lying to me, 
I'll rip you apart!"
	Tears filled her eyes and she touched his cheek with her tongue.  
"You love him, don't you."
	"Yes, I love him."
	She kissed him again.  "Then send him away now while his heart is 
pure.  You know what it is like to suffer from the inside.  There is 
nowhere to hide."  She looked down and moaned.  "No one knows what 
torment there is in the wounds we bear inside.  We try to smile when our 
heart is breaking!"
	Taka looked at her in the eyes.  His chin began to tremble.  "I'm 
stove through," he muttered.  Tears began to stream down his face.  "Go, 
Shimbekh."  The hyeness's ears drooped and her tail hung limply.
	"Old friend, we are both stove through."
	"Go, Shimbekh!  Please, just go!"
	Shimbekh trudged outside, the weight of the world stooping her 
shoulders and bowing her head.  Shenzi said, "Very convincing.  You 
really sounded concerned."
	"Go to hell!"
	"See you there, Shimbekh!"
	As Shimbekh walked away, she heard behind her the soft, deep sobs 
of a lion.  Somehow, like a fugitive from a daydream, a memory came back 
to her of playing with her sister Kambra.  What would the pup she was 
think of what she had become?  "What I wouldn't give to lay at my 
mother's side again and nurse myself to sleep!  My heart is so tired, 
Muti.  So tired!  If I could be your pup again just for tonight and feel 
your love once more!"  Tears spilled down her cheeks and she slinked to 
her quarters like a forgotten shadow.
	Mabatu was told two days in advance that he would get a commoner's 
mantlement so he could prepare himself, but he was not told the reason 
why.  Taka was clearly heartbroken, and Mabatu could sense it.  Mabatu 
could not hate him, and no matter what his mother said, he kept faith 
that deep inside Taka loved him as much as ever.
	Mabatu and Kako were both in a bit of a panic.  Baba was not ready 
yet-he had minimal hunting skills and he was still not what most lions 
consider mature.  Kako made an impassioned plea for a little more time-
that not waiting a moon or two would condemn him to death--but Taka was 
insistent.  "He will learn.  It's nature's way.  Besides, I will pray 
for him every night."  Tears slid down Taka's cheeks and even Kako could 
see the horrible pain he felt.
	"Won't you at least tell us why you're doing this?"
	"Sometimes love must be firm," he stammered.  "I'm so sorry."


CHAPTER:  LOVE TRIUMPHANT

		As Bor the monkey pounds his fruit
		Upon the tree to free its juice
		And savor its elixir sweet
		So pounds against my anxious chest
		my trembling heart.

           			 --  The Love of Kigali and Lisha

	Mabatu spent the night before his mantlement with Isha.  She 
wanted to teach him everything she could about survival before he faced 
the unforgiving challenges of "The Big World."
	Mabatu was a good fighter for someone his size.  Playful wrestling 
with the other cubs had gracefully prepared him for the serious 
challenges of battle.  Isha still remembered the time he threw her in a 
wrestling match by grabbing one of her hind legs.  They spent little 
time on fighting except for Isha's advice that running away was not 
always shameful or cowardly.  
	Hunting skills were a different matter.  Isha had plenty of fond 
memories of hunting rabbits and antelope with her mother.  Luckily Isha 
grew up in a time when the savanna rejoiced in abundance.  Mabatu was a 
child of hardship, and his mother had to spend toilsome hours hunting 
just to survive.  Little wonder his education was sorely neglected.
	Mabatu had almost no knowledge of stalking and pursuit.  And it 
was clear if he ever caught up to an antelope, he wouldn't know what to 
do with it.  It was an unpleasant surprise to her, for all lionesses 
believed a cub born at night would make a great hunter, and he had 
literally been born on the hunt.  Maybe when old folk wisdoms failed, a 
little determined teaching would have to do.
	"We must look at holds," Isha said.  "Here on the arm, you can 
restrict movement."  She gently gripped his arm above the elbow.  "Here 
on the flank you can rip.  But the throat hold is one of prime 
importance...."  She put her arm across his back.  "You strike them here 
and push with your weight."  Isha leaned into him, nearly pushing him 
over.  "It's important to let your weight do the work.  Then you go for 
the throat and cut off his wind."  She gently mouthed Mabatu's throat.
	Mabatu trembled.  She quickly let go and looked him in the eye.  
"Your heart is pounding.  Are you all right?"
	He stared back.  "Isha...."
	"I didn't mean to offend you.  I'm sorry."
	"Don't be sorry.  It is I who have offended you."
	"Nonsense," she said, nuzzling him softly.
	He returned her nuzzle and nibbled at her ear.  Before she could 
pull back with surprise, he said, "Don't hate me.  You don't know how 
long I've waited to do that."  He sighed.  "How VERY long."
	"We need to get back to hunting," she said unsteadily, recognizing 
the look in his eyes.  "We don't have much time."
	"We DON'T have much time.  I must hunt now.  I may not have a 
chance, but I've stalked for a long time.  Now I must break my cover and 
rush to you."
	She took a step backward.  "Even though I'm old enough to be your 
mother?  I'm flattered.  Really I am.  But when you're older, you'll 
find someone more your own age.  Then you'll look back on this and 
laugh."
	"You know I'll never get much older.  I'm being sacrificed to help 
the others.  You know it."
	She looked down.  "I wish you wouldn't say that."
	"But you don't deny it."
	"How can I?"  Tears began to roll down her cheeks.  "My poor Baba!  
My precious little Nisei!  I love you more than the food I eat or the 
water I drink.  Even more than the air I breathe.  I would give them up 
if it would save you."
	"I love you, Isha.  I've always loved you."  He kissed away her 
tears.  "Remember, I said when I grew up, I'd marry you.  You laughed 
then, but if you laugh now, I'll die.  While life holds my soul and body 
together, I will love you.  Even in death I will love you."
	"In death?"  She pawed and nuzzled him.  "Don't think of death.  
You are alive.  There is still hope."
	"How can I be alive?  I've never lived!"  He looked her intently 
in the eyes.  The fire in his hazel eyes was unmistakable even if it was 
uncertain.  "If I could only be close to you, just for tonight, I would 
have LIVED, Isha."
	She looked deeply into his eyes and saw the sincerity of his love.  
Isha was held captive by its overwhelming purity and depth.  She pawed 
him affectionately and he playfully batted back at her.  She drew off a 
length and began to circle him, looking for an opening.  "If you hunt 
big game, prepare to exert yourself."
	He watched her lithe body as it crept gracefully but forcefully 
about him.  Any moment the huntress could rush her prey.  A flick of her 
ears betrayed her attack, but it was not enough warning.  She pounced, 
collaring his throat and wrestling him.  Laughing and panting, she 
nearly shoved him to the ground.  He flailed at her with his arms, but 
struck her very gently.
"I can still throw you," he said.
"Prove it!"  She threw her weight on him with a mighty thrust and 
easily pushed him over.
	Mabatu regained his feet and circled her.  He tried to use his 
weight to push her over, but she had the advantage and sidestepped him.  
She put her arm over his shoulder and began to lean in on him, causing 
his legs to start buckling.  Then when it seemed victory was hers, she 
relaxed and did not move.  He put his head under her arm and pushed her 
over into the grass and looked down into her face.  "Gotcha!"
	Her paw reached up and gently traced the curve of his cheek and 
fondled his chin.  She looked deep into his eyes smiled alluringly as 
his breath came and went like a wild wind.  "Now that you've caught me, 
do what you will."
	"Oh gods!"  Breathless, he knelt down and began to nuzzle her 
passionately, nibbling her ears and pawing her cheek gently.  Her 
fragrance made him tremble, and he kissed her on the cheek and forehead 
murmuring, "Isha, beloved!"
	She whispered, "Not here.  Come, my lover, where the night shall 
hide us away."  They rose from the verdant grass and he walked, pressed 
against her warm, soft body into the shadows.
	When they were alone, he stroked her thigh with his paw.  "How 
could one lioness be so beautiful?"  He expected a reply, but suddenly 
she broke away from him and began to run.
	"Isha, wait!  What did I do??"
	She looked at him reassuringly.  "If you want me, you'll have to 
catch me!"
	He realized it was a game.  Laughing like a cub, he began to 
pursue her through the tall grass.  She cornered sharply like a wise 
huntress, keeping him off balance and maddeningly at bay.  They bounded 
over the hill and down the other side, splashed through a small creek, 
and ran around Anteater Kopje.  She looked back and laughed.  "Can't you 
run faster than that??"
	"Are you kidding??  You haven't seen anything!"
	Driven by the fierce heat of desire, he lunged forward and began 
to narrow the gap with each spring.  Sensing his approach, Isha plunged 
through a field of gold and purple blossoms, somewhat wilted by the 
drought but still holding an essence of their former beauty.  And amid 
the blossoms, she stopped and looked back.
	Mabatu came to a halt and looked at her wonderingly.  "Give up?"
	"You'll need some of that great strength," she said.  "I wouldn't 
leave you drained.  We'll start out simple."  She took a couple of steps 
and crouched among the fragrant blossoms.  "Come, Baba.  Make love to 
me."
	He stared at her apprehensively.  An awkward moment passed.
"Do I not still please you?"
"Isha, you ARE pleasure.  It's just--well--this is my first time.  
I don't know my father and my mother did not speak with me.  All I know 
about making love is a lot of cub gossip."
	She smiled.  "I'll help you if you need it.  Just remember, you 
are saying farewell to cubhood.  Once you've taken this step, you will 
be a lion."  She smiled disarmingly.  "Come and kiss me.  Would you like 
that?"
	He trembled.  "Always!"  He shyly came forward and reached down, 
touching her cheek with his tongue.  She looked up and kissed him 
passionately, pawing at his mane.  She rolled over and stroked his 
throat and chest with her paws, setting him on fire.  "I can feel your 
heart throbbing."  She reached up with a paw and drew his face toward 
hers, kissing him passionately.  In a sultry voice, she purred, "Deep 
inside, you know what you want.  Forget what your head tells you.  Go 
where your feelings lead you.  Make love to me."
	His feelings were strong and clear this time.  She rolled back 
into a crouch, purring softly.  "It's OK.  Don't be afraid."
	He gently mouthed her neck, and trembling with desire he pressed 
himself against her soft golden body.  With faint utterances of 
contentment and pleasure, Baba filled his senses with her love, the love 
that made her his lioness.  Feeling her shudder in his gentle embrace, 
he lived out all the tender fantasies that filled his dreams.  Never had 
he felt so alive as he had in that moment.
"Beloved," she purred, "Are you happy?"
"Delirious!  And you?  Do I please you?"
"Yes!  I feel...I feel..."  She jerked and moaned.  "Oh, Baba!  
Yes!"
Mabatu was drunk with her pleasures, and just as he thought his 
heart would burst, he knew in his own body the ecstasy that made her cry 
out.  He gasped and wanted to let it out in a roar, but he dared not.  
Only a gentle sigh of fulfillment left him, and overcome he nuzzled her 
and stumbled away.
"Will that ever happen again?"
"Many times," Isha said.  "The night is still young."
Panting, he fell in the grass.  "Many times," he said, heaving a 
contented sigh.  "Imagine that!  I must have done something good in my 
life.  Aiheu has been good to me--so have you."
He patted with his paw on the ground, and Isha came and snuggled 
next to him, rolling on her back and stroking his mane with her paw.  "I 
love you," he said simply.  "You're everything I've ever wanted.  And at 
every special moment of my life, you were always there."
"Always," she said.  "Because I love you."
Cubhood was over--he was a lion at last.

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