First Impressions

Arriving at Rafikis' tree, the wise old baboon was looking over the quills with care. "Ahh yes. They're a little deep, but they can be removed. Just lie still, and they'll be out before you know it." Colt nodded nervously as he laid down on his stomach and he waited for the wise monkey to proceed.

Elda and Colt held him down to make sure he wouldn't move and squirm. Achak and Meika who just got done with Simba. "Hey, we heard about happened. What did this?" asked Duke.

"Colt was standing up for one of the lionesses being insulted and he got too…apprehensive." Elda explained. "And so here we are, helping him get out the quills."

Meika shook her head, hearing how incredulous it was. "Colt, what were you thinking?"

"It's called chivalry, Miss Meika-ow! It's what every man, or wolf, has got to do for every lady-yeow! It's in the gentlemen's code-gah-ha-ha!" stated Colt in between quills being removed from his muzzles.

"Why would you want to do such a thing?" asked Achak. "Has it even worked with any of other female wolves you've met?"

"That I cannot tell ya. The point is, that living needle bed insulted her and he was being a complete jerk. So I stepped in and defended her honor. Any of you would have done the same, wouldn't you?"

They all mumbled in agreement, knowing that he had a point. "Well, it was very sweet of what you did. I'm glad you did it for her." said Meika.

"And I did say we were to make a good impression with these lions. Good call, Colt." Achak added.

"Do you think they appreciate the gesture?" asked an uncertain Radolf.

"I'm sure they would have, Radolf. Otherwise we wouldn't be allowed to stay, at least until we get word of any humans nearby; hopefully ours," said Duke.

"Say what now?" asked Colt, wincing as he was getting near done with his quills.

"Oh yeah, that's what we're here to tell you. Simba agreed to let us stay here as long as we follow some simple ground rules. One, we take only what we need to fill us up. And two, we don't cause any trouble whatsoever. That, and we don't eat our fellow cohorts who are the hosts of our temporary home."

"And who's that exactly?" asked Elda, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Just a meerkat and a warthog that have been with Simba since he was a cub. As long as we don't eat them and live respectfully with them, we're welcome to stay."

"And just where are we staying at?"

Over at Pride Rock, the five lionesses (both from the group that followed the main three wolves and the three that accompanied Kiara and the other wolves) were taking it easy near Pride Rock. They just came back and were attending to themselves. They were in their usual spot under a shaded spot not too far from Pride Rock just cooling off. The three that were with Colt, Radolf, Elda and Borris just arrived a few minutes after the two walking with Simba and the rest.

"Ah, there they are," said the lioness with the scar along her cheek as she was licking her paw. "So how were things with you three?"

"It was going well," said a the lioness that was behind the tour group. "And then there was a uh...a bit of an incident." The three soon joined the scarred one, forming a small circle.

"What happened?"

"A porcupine came across our path," said the lioness that had been eyeing Borris. "He was being rude to Zuri and then one of the wolves intervened. And when that happened, he got a face full of quills."

"Oh no. Is he alright?"

"I'm sure he will be, Sikara," the lioness that been walking behind the tour group spoke up. "He's being looked at by Rafiki even as we speak. He honestly didn't have to do that. If he had just kept quiet..."

"Kaya! How could you say that about him? He was only trying to help."

"I'm not saying it was a bad thing," said Kaya, looking defensive. "I'm only saying that he should have left that walking needle bed alone and not antagonize him. I do applaud him for standing up for Zuri, I just didn't think it was necessary."

"I just hope he's alright," said a concerned Zuri. "So how was it with you, Sikara?"

Sikara looked up from grooming herself as she answered. "Their story checks out. We found what brought them here, though I'm skeptical about the means of how they got here. I don't think anyone in the Pridelands has ever seen anything that could possibly transport seven wolves from wherever they came from."

"Seems very suspicious," said Kaya with a query look on her face.

"There was also something else the wolves mentioned."

"What, Sikara?" asked Zuri. The three lions leaned in close with curiosity.

"They said that they were being carried off somewhere to another part of the world."

"But why would they ever want to be carried off from their own land in the first place?" asked a confused Kaya.

"One of their pack leaders, I believe his name was Duke, said that it was part of something called...'conservation'. "

"Conservation?" the three lions said all together, then Zuri inquired, "What exactly is that?"

"I believe he best described it as 'preservation through education'. It was a way for humans to understand the importance of balance and something about the ecosystem. I'm not quite completely sure what he meant. What I do know is that there were few of his friend Radolfs' species of wolf thus the reason for such a thing."

"But why though? Why if so few humans cared?" asked a puzzled Kaya.

"I don't know. I didn't have time to ask them about it. All that mattered to them was getting back to their humans before something happened."

"So where are they staying at? There couldn't possibly be enough room for all of us here at Pride Rock."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Simba's already seen to it already, going over the conditions of them staying at the Pridelands temporarily."

"Really? Where's that at?" the third lioness asked curiously.

"Why are you so concerned about it, Rashmi?" Kaya had a thought and it made her feel aghast and bewildered. "Don't tell me you're infatuated with that small wolf?!"

Flustered, Rashmi stumbled at first. "What?! No! I just think he's...a little cute is all."

All the lady lions looked at her in surprise at her response. "You think he's what?" asked Kaya in utter shock as Zuri looked flustered and blushed. "You honestly think that wolf is cute? How?"

"Well...I mean he's...cute when he gets all flustered and shy. I mean you should've seen him, how he looked. All small and...cuddly like a little cub."

"Oh sweet savanna! You're smitten, aren't you?! You're acting like a smitten kitten!"

"I am not. I'm only a little curious about him is all." If lions could blush, Rashmi would be showing a little bit of red on her cheeks.

"Well, don't be surprised if he doesn't respond to you. It's unlikely that anyone outside of our species could feel the same as you're feeling."

"Tell that to the wolf with the funny voice, the one that stood up for Zuri. It looked like he was being a bit flirty with her."

Rashmi acknowledged this over at Zuri who now had all eyes on her. "Is that true?" asked Sikara. Zuri hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Well,…even so. It would be nice to learn about a species different from our own. I mean he seemed nice and he certainly was polite."

"That is true." Kaya admitted. "It was kind of him to do that. But let's not get too comfortable. We don't truly know if their intentions are true or not." Sikara had a small smile on her face. She felt glad to live this long to see such a curious event like this occur.

Back at the tree, the pack was waiting to be taken to their temporary home until further notice while Colt was getting used to his bandaged muzzle. "So how exactly did it go with you three and his highness?" Radolf asked the main three.

"Surprisingly well actually," said Duke, sitting down for a moment to scratch his ear. "He's convinced about how we got here. Anyway, long story short, we've got the green card to stay here on temporary notice."

"There's some good news," said Elda with a little smile. "What's the catch though?"

"I figured one of you would say that. Just to clarify, we can eat just about anything here in the Pridelands, just not our two hosts."

"Seems fair enough," said Elda. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, there was one other very important rule that Simba couldn't stress enough," said Meika. "He specifically told us to stay away from an area called the Outlands."

"Why? What's so dangerous about that place?" asked Colt, trying to resist the itch from his bandaged muzzle.

"To make yet another long story short,-"

"Too late," interjected Radolf.

"-he and some other lions had some…issues. And thus, said lions were exiled. He didn't give us much detail about it after that. But other than just stay out of trouble, that's pretty much it."

"Fair enough. Any idea what our hosts are like?"

"I think we're about to find out." said Duke, looking over to see Simba walking up to them with a strange looking pig and some weird weasel-looking critter. "Lord Simba, how nice to see you again. I take it that these are your friends you mentioned?"

"They are. This is Timon and this is Pumbaa. They'll be your hosts for where you're all going. Guys, these are the guests that'll staying with you temporarily."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," said the portly warthog named Pumbaa.

"You didn't exactly say anything about them being predators," said Timon, looking awfully regretful about saying yes to this.

"Calm down, little weasel," said Radolf, leaning down to talk to him at eye level. "We're not going to eat you,-" he then grumbled out the side of his mouth, "-unless you give us a reason to." Achak caught ear of it and abruptly nudged him.

"Weasel? I, sir, am a meerkat. And proud of it." Timon corrected him with huff. "And just what are you supposed to be?"

"The last thing thing you'll see if you're not careful." Achak retorted in manner that was firm but not threatening.

Seeing the worried look on the two, Meika stepped in. "We're wolves actually. And the fact of the matter is that we agreed not to eat either of you just as long we all play nice," she said sweetly. "It's very nice to meet you two. My name's Meika," she then acknowledged the others. "This here is Achak. And these are Colt, Radolf, Duke and Borris." The pack said hello as Duke smiled. Good ol' Meika. She knew when to keep them in line when things got a little hostile. She was the motherly one of the group; being reassuring and helpful however things were looking. "So would you two boys be so kind and show us where we're staying at please?"

"Yes we can," said Pumbaa with a cheerful smile.

"Well, I suppose we could. Just so long as Simba's got your word on it." Timon reluctantly agreed. He then hopped aboard his porcine compadre and waved for them to follow the two. "Okay fuzz-balls! Follow the big pig." The pack thanked Simba for the assistance and said farewell as they followed their hosts to wherever they were headed to.

As they walked to their destination, Borris surprisingly struck up the conversation with them. "So you guys knew Simba since he was a cub, huh?" he asked the comedy duo.

"Yeah, nearly eaten alive by the buzzards," said Timon.

"He nearly died if it wasn't for us. We took him back to our hangout and he's been with us since." Pumbaa included.

"Yeah, and it would have been so if wasn't for his lady friend. The one that you might know as the queen of the Pridelands," quoted the meerkat.

"You mean Nala?" asked Duke.

"The same. But the upside is we're not lion chow."

"Which reminds me. After agreeing to let us stay, Simba told us three ground rules we had to follow for the time being. One of them being away from the Outlands. You know much about it?"

"Just nothing but bad lions, my canine friend." Timon answered. "And not to be messed with."

Pumbaa backed him up by saying "Yeah, those guys we give a pretty wide berth."

"Really? Why's that?" Colt asked curiously.

"Do you really need an answer to that question, Colt?" Radolf asked his wounded friend. "They must have had a disagreement and thus split."

"Yeah, but why though? I think we should know why we should stay clear of unfriendly company." Colt then looked over at the two leading them. "I don't suppose you two fellas could tell us, could ya?"

"Well…eh…the thing is eh…" Pumbaa was struggling to tell the story and then Timon soon stepped in.

"Easy pal, you might strain yourself." Clearing his throat, the skinny weasel explained the situation. To sum it up, it was Simba's uncle had murdered his brother, Simba's father and previous king of the Pridelands. Said uncle pinned the blame on Simba, causing him to be exiled and stay with Timon and Pumbaa for quite some time. That is until Nala came across him. After some coaxing and persuasion, the young lion went back to defeat his uncle and reclaim his place as the lion king (roll credits *wink*).

But even with that accomplished, there was still some discord amongst the pride. The cause of it all was a zealous follower of Scars' named Zira. She and a select few lionesses nearly caused an uprising but were thwarted and banished to what was now the Outlands. They haven't had a run-in with them until Kiara ran into Zira's son Kovu, the last male born before being exiled (though not perfectly explained but don't tell the fans that, they might hurt themselves thinking). Since then, everything went back to the status quote. "And then you guys showed up."

"Wow, it's…really something," said Radolf feeling incredulous.

"Yeah. I mean, I know I've been through some rough patches with other packs, but is it really worth banishing more than one member?" implored Colt.

"Have there been any other animals sent to patrol the Pridelands?" asked Achak.

"Well there is his youngest who has a patrol of animals, but we don't talk about him much. Ah, here we are!" The group soon reached what looked like a strange forest to the pack and hesitantly went in. They traveled for a little while as they took in the luscious jungle life and saw some more unusual critters.

They soon came across a bundle of jungle leaves which Timon and Pumbaa pulled apart to reveal a gorgeous valley of falls and trees it nearly took the wolves' breath away. "Welcome to our humble abode," said Timon.

"Wait, you guys have this place all to yourselves?" asked Elda.

"We live wherever we want to here."

"Yup, home is where your rump rests," said a happy Pumbaa.

"It's beautiful," said Meika as she admired the scenery. For the rest of the day, the wolves enjoyed some jungle fun whether it was playing tag with each other or swimming in the lake.

At the end of the day, the wolves were exhausted. They soon found a nice little spot where the moon shined brightly upon them as they curled up in spots they picked for themselves. "It's not too bad out here," said Borris, feeling happy after having a fun time.

"I'll say it is," said Colt, licking his fur along the back. "This place could be a second home."

"Yeah, if it is wasn't so hot out here," said Radolf. "I mean it's pretty warm back home compared to this."

"I hear that." Colt said in agreement. "But on the upside, at least you'll get to see 'her' again, Borris."

Borris looked up at his cohort in confusion. "Her? Who do you mean?"

"You know who I mean. That lusty lioness that's been eyeing you earlier." Colt then teased him. "She looked like she wanted to have a little fun with you, buddy."

Borris' ears lowered in embarrassment. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"C'mon, Colt. Lay off." Radolf interjected. "It's been a long day for us and I don't think that kind of love could ever work."

"Oh? And what would you do if you were in his shoes, hmm?" Colt asked the brainy wolf.

"I'd ignore her," was Radolf's reply.

"You'd ignore her?"

"I'd ignore her. Some relationships just don't work out. Especially between two different species.

"I'll remember you said that." Colt wasn't one to give up for being a man-uh wolf-of romance and he wasn't going to quit just yet.

"Alright, knock it off you two," said Meika. "Let's get some sleep. We've got plans to hunt for tomorrow and we need the energy."

"Hey, he's the one ruining all the fun," said Colt with a huff.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just focus all of our attention on our new feline friends."

"Meika's right," said Duke. "We got to keep our heads on straight and not end up dead here."

"Yeah-yeah. Sure-sure." Radolf agreed. They all said good night to one another and curled up for a long night's rest, for tomorrow their first day in the savanna begins.