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Taharka stayed near the entrance of the pride, though staying in the shadows. The light was blinding, so he avoided looking toward it. His siblings had all gone out of the caves to see what the pride looked like from above. Two of his siblings had left the pride all together. He stayed in the tunnels though. There were somedays, like today, where he wanted to see what it was like outside the pride. There must be a reason why his siblings left, why others enjoyed seeing the surface.

Part of him did not want to go up because he felt a sense of duty to stay in the tunnels. But another, more larger reason was that he was terrified of what could be above ground. He had nightmares about monsters that lived on the surface, who attacked and killed just for fun. Every night he would wake up from the nightmares, feeling sick to his stomach.

He was told that he had nothing to fear, but the young prince still could not bare the thought of going up there. Instead, he waited, watching the entrance, wishing that he was brave enough to explore the surface.

The prince did not hear the footsteps of the leopard. When he spoke, Taharka looked at him. He looked familiar. One of Thamani's siblings maybe? If he lived here as a cub, then Taharka probably did not get to meet him. He was a bit younger than Thamani was.

“This is Mazunguko.” Taharka responded. He took a couple steps closer to the entrance to get a better look at the leopard. “I am Taharka.” He did not add his title. Despite being the king's son, he did not ever feel like it was a title he deserved, at least not yet.

“You haven't been out in the rogue lands this whole time have you?” He asked. Taharka could not imagine leaving the pride at such a young age and then being able to find his way back. It was truly a miracle that he made it back safely.

Since he was a juvenile. He could not imagine that. Taharka wondered what happened to his brother, but decided against asking. He knew Jemmnu, though mostly because of his father. “I am friends with one of your brothers, Thamani. My father and your father used to be best friends when they were younger.”

He knew the pride would be excited for his return. “Why don't we get you some food. Is there anything you need after your travel?” Taharka asked with a worried tone. After traveling he was certain Ta'deheb would be hungry or tired. Or hurt.

“If you need to, I can take you to a medic if you're in anyway injured, or bring a medic here if you don't feel like walking that far.” He could feel himself panicking, so he took a couple deep breathes. Everything would be fine, he thought to himself.

“The den where we keep the days food isn't too far.” Taharka said. “We have plenty of food in there.” He would tell someone later that they grabbed some food, that way no one would think it was being stolen.

“Oh, my name is Taharka. It's nice to meet you.” He said politely. “After we get you some food, you can rest up at my den while I try and locate your family.” He would also tell his father. This was something his father would want to know about. With any luck he would be able to have Jemmnu tracked down and brought back so he could see his son.

Taharka looked at Ta'deheb and smiled. “Anytime. It's my duty to make sure other feel comfortable and at home.” He said, stopping at the food storage. They were in luck! Some hunters were dropping off freshly caught prey. He thanked them before grabbing a large gazelle and bringing it back to Ta'deheb.

Carefully he set it down. “My den is this way if you want to follow me and eat in privacy.” He said before picking up the meat and leading the way though the maze like tunnels. His den was near his father's and the rest of the royal family.