For days after the outburst, Epesi worked hard to lose weight, eating less and exercising more. The problem was, like most cheetahs, he wasn't patient, and so, while he was losing weight slowly, it wasn't fast enough for him, leaving him feeling depressed.

None of this would have been so bad, but for the unfortunate habit Epesi had developed of comfort-eating, and one such meal, along with the nap afterwards, would set him back several days. At first this wasn't a problem, because even with his comfort eating the cheetah was making headway, but as time passed, he was doing more and more eating and less and less exercise.

Nala watched this process with shame, she'd want to get Epesi fat to stop him teasing her, but this was going too far. The problem was, she knew, Epesi would get mad if he found out she tried to help him.