"Karasi, why are you staring into the savannah again?" Ifama asked. Karasi took in a deep breath, knowing her mother would get onto her again.

"Mother, I am watching for prey." Karasi's ear twitched in annoyance.

Ifama swept her tail over her daughter's head. "You are only a cub. You should be resting. Gain strength for the assembly. All the prides will be there." The lioness walked away to lay next to the other lionesses. The other cubs were playing nearby.

Karasi rolled her eyes. She didn't care that there was an assembly tonight, or that it was her first one. She didn't care that the prince would be there, even though the other female cubs did. She didn't even care that the other prides would be there.

She cared that Asante would be there. The big male lion was second-in-command of the Grass Pride, and he frequently visited Karasi to teach her to hunt and fight and track animals. He hadn't come to see the cub in over two weeks.

He is more of a father to me than Banji is, Karasi thought bitterly. Well, more of a brother, really.

"Karasi! Come play with us!" Tene called. He lashed his tail, staring at her intently. He was the oldest cub in the pride, a little over one year. Karasi was about to turn one.

Karasi turned, charging at him. They both reared onto their hind legs and wrestled until Tene got the upper paw and slammed her into the ground. When he let go, she scrambled up. She licked his jaw, joyful at having a friend like him. Tene shook the tangles out of the tufts of fur beginning to grow around his neck and smiled at her.

"Aww, you two are so cute," Ayanna, a female lion cub the same age as Karasi, cooed. The words were sweet, but there was bitterness in her eyes. It was no secret that Ayanna liked Tene. It was also no secret how Tene adored Karasi.

I guess I like him, too, Karasi mused.

"Tene, time for your bath," Zuri, Tene's mother, said, beckoning her cub with her tail. Although he was already one year old, Tene still had to submit to baths from his mother, who loved her cubs with a burning ferocity. She was also the biggest lioness in the pride, making it even more impossible for Tene to get away.

"But, Mother. I'm playing with Karasi," Tene whined, flicking his tail. "I can clean myself. And if I can't, Karasi can help me."

Another cub came up to them. "Yeah, Mother. She can help him. Tene and Karasi are in loooove." It was Tene's brother, Tafari. He was a bit smaller than Tene, and his growing mane was shorter and stiffer.

Tene shoved Tafari with his shoulder, and Karasi pummeled him with her paws. Tafari rolled away and jumped up. "See, they even fight together."

"Karasi, you should clean yourself up. Your fur is a mess. Uncleanliness is a disgrace to me and your father," Ifama growled from her place near Banji's den, a cave under an acacia, the tree the pride was named after.

Karasi felt all the playfulness drain out of her body. She lowered her eyes. "Yes, Mother." She laid down and began to lap at her flank, smoothing the fur and swiping away dust and burrs. A body pressed against her, and another tongue joined her grooming. It was Tene. Affection for the male cub warmed Karasi's heart. Glancing up, she saw Zuri gazing at her with sympathy, and other lionesses muttering unhappily about Ifama.

"She's so rude."

"She thinks that she can boss everyone around."

"How could she be so mean to her cub?"

"Why doesn't Banji stop her?"

Tene rolled closer to her. "Don't listen to them, Karasi. Lionesses are gossipers."

Karasi shook her head. "They're right, though, Tene." She paused as Tene rasped his tongue over her cheek, then went on. "My mother is horrible. But she can't ruin me."