[quote]Story 1:
Rafiki Ritual: show
Rafiki’s Ritual
Rafiki was getting ready for his journey to the jungle.
In a couple of hours, Rafiki would be setting off to the jungle to gather the ingredients he needed. The rare ingredients to communicate to the kings of the past.
Rafiki had not done this in a while; he had no reason to up until now. But since the death of Prince Simba and King Mufasa, Scar had taken over the Pridelands, and Rafiki needed guidance on what to do to help.
As Rafiki was about to leave, he bowed his head and mumbled a few words that the last shaman had taught Rafiki to say before setting out on an important journey.
Rafiki kept his head bowed for a few moments, lifting it up as he heard a bird cry above his head in the uppermost tree branches.
“Well I guess I had better get going den.”
Rafiki swung down from his tree and landed in the grass with a small ‘thud’. Brushing himself off, he started off on his journey towards the jungle. The rising sun was on Rafiki’s back as he headed west to the jungle.
***
Rafiki was weary; he had been walking all day to reach the jungle and with every step he took his legs seemed to grow heavier. But Rafiki has amazing willpower; the more tired he got, the more he wanted to finish the journey that day.
Rafiki spotted the jungle in the distance, a small green speck on the golden-brown savannah, and his old legs seemed to gain some energy back.
‘Just a few more minutes, den I may rest for de night.’
Rafiki kept going; he walked for the remaining thirty or so minutes, the jungle ever increasing in size until he reached the edge, a place where it was half savannah, half jungle. He spotted a small body of water close-by with some trees surrounding it that looked like a good spot to spend the night.
Walking around the body of water, he sat down on a rock near the tree and surveyed the area closer than what he did when he arrived.
After a few minutes of scanning the area and thinking, he spoke to himself.
“Dis is a good area to stay de night. Seems like that pile up of leaves over dere would be a good place to sleep.”
Rafiki stood up, and walked over to the pile of leaves. He sat in them and found them to be extremely comfortable; perfect for sleeping on. He found some ripe looking fruit around a tree and cracked it in half, taking a bit out of one half. Rafiki found it to be quite nice. Sweet, but sour at the same time.
A nice-tasting combination. Rafiki made a mental note.
‘I must bring some of dis back with me.’
By the time Rafiki had finished his meal of fruit, it was getting dark. He decided to go to sleep, as he could do nothing else that day. He was far too tired.
Making his way from the water’s edge, he walked over to his makeshift bed and lay down on it, closing his eyes.
***
Rafiki opened his eyes to a clear, warm day. Perfect for hunting down the ingredients he needed. He sat up and stretched, but stopped when he noticed
a warthog searching around some logs.
‘What is dis?’
Rafiki rubbed his eyes and stood up. He started to walk over to where the warthog was; maybe it could help him find what he needed.
“Excuse me.”
“AHHH!” The warthog turned around, screaming as Rafik9 had approached from behind without making much noise.
“What’s de matter?”
“I’m sorry for screaming Mr Monkey, but you scared me a bit.”
“I’m sorry to have startled you.”
“It’s no worry Mr Monkey. Hakuna Matata.”
“Hakuna Matata you say? Interesting. And please, call me Rafiki.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Pumbaa!”
“A pleasure to meet you Pumbaa. May I ask for a favour from you?”
“Of course!”
“I’m looking for some certain ingredients. I was wondering if you could help me to find dem.”
“I’m your pig! What are these ingredients?”
“I am looking for a certain type of bug, a certain type of fruit, and special rock. Shall we start with de bug?”
“Sure! Can you tell me what it looks like?”
“Of course. It is a small bug, about this big.” Rafiki made a small circle with his left hand. “It is yellow with blue spots on it.”
“I think I may know where one of those bugs is!”
“Could you tell me where?”
“Well… you see… I had that type of bug for breakfast. I can show you where to find more though!”
“Lead de way.”
“Follow me!”
Pumbaa turned around to face the jungle, and through the trees that marked the edge between the savannah and the jungle. Rafiki followed close behind, and Pumbaa glanced behind himself every now and then to see if Rafiki was still following. After a few minutes of walking through the trees and over large roots, Rafiki and Pumbaa arrived at a large fallen log.
“Here we are! The bug that you are looking for is inside the log.”
“Thank you, I will go have a look.”
Rafiki walked over to the log. As Rafiki got closer, he saw that it was bigger than what it looked like. He crouched in front of one end of the log, and peered inside to find this bug.
Rafiki spotted the bug, hallway down the log, about 5 metres in. Rafiki’s arms weren’t that long, so he tried with his stick. Sadly, even with his stick, Rafiki wasn’t long enough to reach the bug. Rafiki would have crawled in, but the hole was too small for him, and he was too old.
“Excuse me Pumbaa, would you be so kind as to get dis bug for me?”
“Of course!”
Pumbaa walked over to where Rafiki was crouched in front of the log.
“Where is the bug?”
“It’s just inside the log, take a look.”
Pumbaa looked inside the log, just as Rafiki had, and saw the bug hallway down.
“All that way? I’m not sure if I can fit.”
“You should be fine.”
“Okay then.”
Pumbaa squeezed into the log, just, and somehow managed to crawl down to the centre. When Pumbaa had the bug in his grasp, he called out to Rafiki.
“I have the bug! Now how do I get out?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m stuck.”
And so Pumbaa was. He was wedged tightly inside the log, with no way to get out.
‘What should I do?’
Rafiki pondered for a moment, and then hesitantly asked Pumbaa something.
“Have you-“
“Wait, never mind.”
Pumbaa grunted a little bit, and then with a ‘pop’ came out the end of the log that he had crawled into.
“Well den, we have de bug. Now we need to find de fruit. It is a simple fruit to find; a mango. Do you know where we could find one?”
“I sure do! It’s not very far from here. Hmm… Look! You can see the mango tree from here!”
Pumbaa motioned with his head off to the right of the log, and sure enough there was a tall mango tree, covered in golden ripe mangoes.
“Would you like me to keep helping?”
“That would be good, thank you.”
Rafiki carefully walked over to the mango tree, so he didn’t trip on any roots or logs. He got to the mango tree, and looked up. It was taller than what it looked like from a distance, but it was no problem for Rafiki.
With a few swift movements, he climbed up the tree, plucked the ripest mango he could find and jumped back down to the ground, much to the amazement of Pumbaa.
“That’s two things, now all we need is de rock.”
“Uhhh…” Pumbaa was still amazed, but he quickly shook it off. “What does it look like?”
“It is very pretty. It shines in the light and is clear as water. Do you know of any such rocks?”
“Hmm…”
Pumbaa sat down and started to rub his hoof against his head, trying to remember. Time passed, and there was no result. Rafiki was about to thank Pumbaa for all his work when Pumbaa spoke up.
“I know where I’ve seen one! Mr Monkey, I can take you there right away!”
“Of course.”
“Right. Follow me!”
Pumbaa led Rafiki to the rock. Through bushes and puddles, leaves and vines. They walked for what felt like hours. Passing by many trees that looked to be the same to Rafiki, who had started to doubt if Pumbaa actually knew where he was going.
Rafiki had just started to grow weary from walking when Pumbaa stopped.
“Here we are!”
Pumbaa moved aside and Rafiki saw the most amazing thing he had seen in a while.
There, right in front of him, was a heap of the special rocks, just sitting there. Rafiki approached the rocks, looked at them all, and chose one.
He put it with the other two things he had collected, and leaved the clearing where the rocks were. This was his and Pumbaa’s secret now.
Rafiki turned around and faced Pumbaa.
“Pumbaa, I’d like to thank you very much for what you done for me today. Without you, I would have been here for a lot longer, and with the situation I am in, there is no time to waste. Thank you very much.”
“It was my pleasure Mr Monkey. Would you like me to show you the way out of the jungle?”
“No thank you Pumbaa, I’ll manage.”
“Okay then Mr Monkey. Goodbye!”
“Goodbye Pumbaa. I have a feeling that we will meet again one day.”
And that was that, Rafiki and Pumbaa parted ways. Rafiki decided that it wasn’t that late, so he didn’t stop to rest, he walked straight back to his tree.
When he arrived, it was very late, and Rafiki was far too tired to do the ritual that night. He put his ingredients in a safe place, and was asleep within 5 minutes of lying down on his bed.
***
Rafiki woke the next morning, to find that it was almost midday. With no time to lose, he got to work on the ritual right away.
He ground the bug up to a fine dust, and mixed it in with the mango, which he had turned into mush.
He grabbed the special rock and covered it with the paste he had made. He only covered it in a thin layer, so that light could still get through the rock.
After he had applied the paste, he hung the rock up in a special place made just for this ritual, and waited with his eyes closed. When the right time came, light shone through the rock and hit Rafiki in the face.
When Rafiki sensed the light hitting him, he spoke.
“Great King Mufasa, speak to me.”
Story 2:
Someone like me: show
Someone like me
Kovu followed Simba as the King begrudgingly led him to Pride Rock, eye's cold as he watched Simba's tail flicker, and claws unsheathed. He had a goal to do, and he wasn’t going to let any of the Pride stop him. He knew he had to be patient though. The lion’s humble speech had done him well, and Simba seemed suspicious, but would give him judgment, at least.
Kiara trotted up to him, the young Princess giving him an open smile, orange eye's gleaming. She was so indulgent, so trustworthy; it made him both amused and irritable. He rolled his eyes, looking away from her and back up at the hornbill, who kept a keen eye on him.
"Isn't this great?" She whispered excitedly, voice bubbling with excitement. "It's been forever since I've seen you, Kovu." She said, not taking his hint. "What's been going on?" She asked, paws twitching with excitement.
"Oh, nothing too big." Said Kovu, glancing to her with his voice edging of into a growl, but he masked his face with a grin. If you call being trained to be a murderer not being big, that is. Kovu thought wickedly, and Kiara swished her tail, nodding in agreement.
“Same here, nothing but boring lectures and Daddy,” She gave the back of her father’s head a piercing glare. “Not letting me have any freedom.” Wow, she was such a whiner. Kovu thought, already sick of her presence. At least when she was a cub she was a bit fun. Then again, he didn’t want any fun in his life anymore. He stared straight ahead, and when they arrived at Pride Rock, the Queen gave him a hopeful smile, sea green eye’s gleaming as she walked with her daughter to the den.
Trustworthy too? Kovu smirked, wanting to laugh about how soft these lionesses were. What would Zira do to them? He thought, but shook it away. She would get rid of them, obviously. His eye’s gleamed, and he yawned, exposing his jaws. He trotted up to the cave den, admiring how roomy and nice it was, compared to the dusty dens of the outlands, and prepared to give Kiara a nice little romantic talk about loneliness and friendship or some dirt. As Zira put it, Simba would trust him if he could steal the daughter’s heart, at least for the moment.
He grinned, and Simba came between him and the cave, a snarl on his face, and nodded off at a place outside for him to rest. Kovu gaped in disgust, and turned away with a snarl on his face, telling his claws to stay in his paws. He had to admit the lion was burly, corded with thick muscles and was intimidating. In truth, as he lay by the shade of the rock, laying on the cold surface, he was seething. Be humble, he reminded himself with a sigh. You are the humble rouge who wishes to be accepted.
His scruffy ears twitched as the Princess came over to him to him, ears flattened and a warm expression and he face as she stepped over to him, awkwardly thanking him. Her paws were shivering, and Kovu could tell she was blushing around him. Kovu scoffed, and stretched his legs, sitting up and commenting ill on her hunting skills. Had she ever even been taught?
Her face took on an offended expression, and a low growl rumbled in her throat. "What?" She asked, the princess showing her rebellious side again. Kovu gave her a smirk, looking out hopefully onto the Pride Lands, perhaps Nuka or Vitani had come to spy and keep up on his progress. His paws itched in anticipation of seeing Vitani, the lioness whom had been his playmate was quite stealthy.
"You wouldn't last three days out there." He said, turning back to face her, and Kiara, provoked, stepped in front of him, her tail lashing.
"Oh, and I suppose you could teach me?" She asked a smug grin on her face and Kovu gave a soft chuckle.
"Yeah." He said, still grinning at her response and he turned back to his resting spot, ready to go to sleep. The King gave a sharp call, he of course didn't want such royalty mingling with a Outlander. Kiara reassured Simba she was coming, and turned back to Kovu, looking smug and thinking herself clever.
"Alright, impress me." She said with a grin. "We start at dawn." She flashed him a look of mischief, trotting up to the den with an irritated look at her father, who watched her go in and settle down. Kovu sensed a tension between the two; perhaps, he thought as he twiddled his claws, I could use that to my advantage.
Simba was glaring at Kovu, and the young lion realized with a sharp shudder, in order to gain Simba's trust, he would have to do as the daughter said. He would have to play the nice guy, fun-loving and a teacher. He continued thinking on the matter but briefly, looking down at his unsheathed claws with a smirk. It wouldn't be that bad, it would only take a few days, he suspected, and the invasion would soon happen. He grinned.
"I look forward to it." He muttered, watching the King walk into the den. He glanced over his shoulder, at one of the rotting tree's that were clumped close to Pride Rock, and spotted Zira watching him, eye's eager and approving. Kovu flashed her a nasty grin, and Nuka sat beside her, eye's loathing and Kovu laughed at the pathetic lion, placing his head on his paws and taking a long sigh, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Through the next few days, he spent time with the Princess, though he did not care an ounce for her, teaching her hunting and the tactics of doing so, watching her fail with content. He told her everything was doing was fine for the moment, giving her moments of joy. Finally, he snapped, and told her to keep quiet, telling her to watch him. He let her see how he used his claws to feel the vibrations in the earth and he to stalk.
When he ran into the meerkat, he growled, angered he could not even catch a meal in the PrideLands. The warthog Pumba and Timon wanted their aid in their hunt for worms against some birds, and Kiara happily agreed, nudging a reluctant Kovu to roar to frighten some of the fowl. She laughed, racing down the cliffs and encouraging him to come along, and Kovu gave an angered sigh, following her and taking on a face of happiness, acting all the time.
As they were chased by Rhino's, they found themselves stuck in a cranny, and it was at this moment the dark lion realized Kiara held a deep attraction to him, and this made him roll his eyes at her indulgence. He grew annoyed at her, sometimes showing it with a lash of his tail, but never verbally showed it.
As he spent more time with her, the more he anticipated Simba's acceptance and the more he grew impatient for the attack. Kovu met with Zira after Kiara was spending a talk with her mother, and he met the lioness by the edge of the Elephant Graveyard. “I’ll see you later!” She told him happily, trotting off to meet her mother without a care in the world.
Kovu rolled his eyes, dragging himself to the Elephant Graveyard, where the grass stopped growing and it smelled of death. He crinkled his nose, and spotted Zira toying with a skull. He composed himself, straightening his back and clearing his throat. “I think by tomorrow you can come, at least by the evening.” He informed her.
“And you’ll have the job done by then?” Zira pressed, eye’s cold and voice quick with her joy.
“I’m certain.” He nodded, and she embraced him, whispering in his ear about what a beautiful son he was, how courageous he was, how Scar was right to pick him. Kovu was taken aback. It all seemed so alien to him. Zira had been abusing him and Nuka since a young age out of her anger.
She was using him, and he knew this for certain now. He knew did not care a thing for him, and this shocked and scared him. Vitani rested on a rocky cliff above, tail twitching and blue eye’s amused. “Remember, don’t let her charms fool you.” Her eyes were concerned and Kovu purred in amusement.
“Afraid I’m weak? Tani, I’m disappointed.” Vitani gave a purr, and Kovu smirked. Zira frowned, looking away and glancing up at the sun. Vitani watched her mother with a frown, and docile padded up to her. “She doesn’t realize how ignorant she is.” Snorted Kovu as he turned away from Vitani, and she chuckled. “Goodbye.” He muttered, bounding away from the graveyard, unsure of what to do from there. He would still have to do the dirty work, he supposed. Even if he was just a pawn to Zira’s mad plot.
Kovu spent the night laying by the princess as she pointed out constellations, and he remained quiet, not wanting to involve himself in such childish matter's. However, as he saw Simba sitting by the cliff, he hastily pointed out a grizzly constellation, but realized that was not helping, and grew silent once again.
Kiara sat up, sighing. "My father used to say the Great King's of the past are up there." She murmured wistfully, and Kovu twitched an ear. She held her head high, smiling up at the star's as the moon shined onto her fur.
"Bet Scar isn't up there." He muttered bitterly, looking shamefully away from the Princess as she took a pace to him, head bowed and ear's flat. Kovu twitched an ear, glancing up to her as she stood next to him. As they began to trot away, Kiara halted and Kovu looked back to her, blinking with annoyance. What was it now? She gave another sigh, head dipped down and she began to trot away suddenly. Kovu looked up, and saw Simba’s eye’s watching along with Nala, and he frantically stood up.
“Hey, where you going?” He asked, blinking his emerald green eye’s and sheathing his claws as she halted, tail lashing.
"Kovu, I know you couldn't care less about me." She said softly, voice steady and her eye's staring at her own paws. Her voice surprised him, it was rash and brave and the look she gave him stung. “I’m an idiot...” She muttered, digging her claws into the earth, tearing up the steams of roots.
Kovu looked up, alert and confused. "I'm sorry I’m such a twat, and can't hunt." She said with a sigh, voice started to tremble as she cleared her throat. It pained her to say this, he could tell by the heaving of her chest and the way she bit her lip in between words.
"I guess I just hoped." She murmured, lying back down on the grass, eyes misty. Kovu blinked in confusion. So she wasn't just a foolish princess. She knew she was an annoyance. She knew she was clumsy. She knew. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Kovu. I'm so sorry." She said, tear's beginning to stream down her cheeks even if she tried to fight them off. “I can take you to the border, there’s a nice valley over the mountains, I-” Her quivering voice stopped, and she placed her head on her paws, face stone cold. Kovu, for the first time, felt sympathetic for the lioness. She was hurt, like him. She had been raised in a bad situation, not able to leave from her father’s worrying site. As had he.
Kovu leaned forward, aware of the King watching, and kissed her tear's away with his tongue. She looked up at him, and he flashed her actual genuine smile. "No need to apologize, Princess." He grinned, looking at her with a nod, and she gave him a weak smile. He was aware of a mandrill in the grass, nodding his head in approval, but Kovu ignored this.
Simba smiled, he obviously seemed to trust the young lion somewhat now, after his mate's wise advice. Kovu frowned as he knew Zira would be close, watching his every move, and she would know now that Simba could be attacked and killed easily. And she expected him to do it. He looked back to the Princess, knowing with guilty dread she would be the next to die. He wouldn’t let her do that. For once he wanted to fight for somebody.
He stood up, watching the King trot away. "Kiara-" He began with nervous haste, paws twitching with a sense of fear. "How about we sleep out here tonight?" He suggested with a smile, and she blinked confused at first, but gave a nod.
"I'd rather not speak to my father right now, anyways." She said softly, a nervous tone in her voice and she was thankfully agreeable to sleeping on the cool grass, as long as she could cuddle up in his mane. He was a little shaken by this, but he allowed it, nonetheless. However, Kovu slept little that night. Zira was standing, watching, on the hills, sharp-eyed Vitani yawning, tired, beside her. Zira grinned in reassurance, and looked down at her daughter.
"Vitani! Do you see how he earns Simba's trust?" She whispered excitedly, and Vitani nodded, frowning. "Tell the other's there's a change in the plan. We'll attack tomorrow morning, by that time I'm certain little Kovu will have killed Simba." Her red eye's gleamed, eager for bloodshed, and Vitani bounded off. She was like a hyena, mad and yipping for the spilling of the King’s blood. Zira loved the feeling she got, when she thought of being Queen once more.
Kovu had seen her eye's gleaming in anticipation in the night, and he met her gaze, panic in his chest. It did not leave until after the lioness slunk back to the border, out of sight.
***
Kovu woke the Princess early, even before dawn, nudging her stirring body and hastily looking to the horizon. He had figured earlier that night he would leave her, but now it was different. How much he had despised her had faded when he realized her guilt and her understanding of his actions.
If she died, he would hold a sharp thorn in his chest for the rest of his days. He was awoken from a half-sleep by the smell of his Pride; it was faded but still there. He realized they would have figured Simba close to death by now, and would be searching for him. He would have to keep the Princess safe. "Kiara, I want you to run." He whispered softly and she yawned widely, flicking her tail in his face drowsily.
"Why Kovu?" She asked, still stretching out her legs from a slumber on the grass. She looked calm, even a bit amused.
"Just follow me, ok?" He urged, and she swallowed, noting the danger and fear in his voice and gave a curt nod. She took a glance over her shoulder, and she bit her lip, uncertain.
"But," She began, but Kovu roared in desperation, butting her shoulder with his own and bounding off down the hills, away from Pride Rock. She followed, calling his name, growing tired quickly and her calls quickly stopped. Kovu didn't care how much she called, he would not stop, knowing secretly she would follow him, no matter how much it strained her muscles. He came to the gorge quickly and halted, and a shudder came down his spine, and Kiara seemed a bit disturbed too, knowing this was where her Grandfather died. She closed her eyes, imagining hundred's of sharp hooves diving into her Grandfather, not letting him get up-
"Kiara!" Kovu nudged her gently, shaking her away from her terrible visions and he pressed her on, nodding to the thorn bushes, and the start of the desert.
"To the desert?" She whispered with a faint sense of doubt in her voice as she looked back to the plains of the Pridelands. Kovu began to trot down the gorge, but Kiara did not budge. Her face was hard, and paws stayed firm on the ground like glue.
"Come on!" Urged Kovu with a growl, eyes wide and his fur bristled at the thought of Zira jumping out at any given moment.
"I'm not moving." She said firmly, growling the words and her eyes cold. "Until you tell me what's going on." She said stubbornly, and Kovu sighed, defeated. He told the Princess everything, Zira's plan of attack, how he had been trained to kill Simba, there was no pointing in lying now. She nodded, taking it well, pacing against the dusty ground, eye’s wide.
"Then we have to go back!" She whispered, and Kovu shook his head, becoming the stubborn one now. He couldn't care less about Simba or the other's, he still despised them, she was the only that meant something to him. He growled, as she begged him, and finally caved in. “Please Kovu.” She nuzzled herself under him, flattening herself against him.
"Ok," He said softly, and looked over to the Pridelands, face somber. He would stop the battle, and die trying, if he had too. All for the one little Princess whom had defeated the killer within him. As they raced towards where the lioness were hissing, clawing and roaring, he realized he must be crazy. This lioness had changed his mind about everything.
They came in between the fight of Zira and Simba, and Nuka let out a nasty laugh. “Late, are you?” Mumbled Vitani, blood dripping from her muzzle as she pawed at a gash on her shoulder given to her by Nala. Vitani saw Kiara and blinked wildly. “So your on their side, are you?” She mused, eye’s burning up with anger and confusion.
“I’m doing as she wishes!” Growled Kovu, nodding to Kiara, and the Prideland lioness began to still, watching their Crown Princess and the lion Kovu lunged in between the feuding powers of Zira and Simba.
“Kovu, have you gone mad?” Zira spat, betrayal dripping in her voice as her fur bristled up her spine. “What happened to the Kovu I know?!” She roared, and he took a pace backward’s, thoughts bouncing over his head.
Am I wrong? Zira raised me! What do I do? Before he had time to think, Zira’s paw lashed out, meeting his face with a stinging pain. He roared in pain as it barley missed tearing his eye out, and scarlet red blood began to drip in his eye. Zira gasped, and began to give a tired, mad laugh.
“There! Now you can be Scar’s perfect heir!” She laughed, and nodded to Simba. “Come on Scar, kill him!” She roared, red eye’s wild and piercing as Kovu shook his head.
“I am not Scar. I won’t do anything more to hurt her.” He nodded to Kiara, and Zira snarled, face contorted into a deadly mess. Kiara glanced at him, gasping when she saw the bloody mess on his face, but he gave her a nod of reassurance, and she turned back to her father, boldly confronting him. Kovu could not help but smile at her, even if the pain burned.
As Kiara convinced her father the Outlanders and they were one, Vitani led the Outlanders to the PrideLander's side, and gave a smile to Kovu. Vitani had seen the look between Kovu and Kiara that night. Zira took a lunge at Simba, Kiara snapping out and blocking Zira with a snarl. The two lionesses locked in a roll, fur tearing and claws clashing as they tumbled off the cliff.
Kovu rushed to edge of the cliff, breath short as he watched Kiara struggle to hold her grip. He watched with a heavy chest as she offered a paw to Zira, the lioness whom had tried to destroy everything she had loved. Kovu gaped, why did she want to do this? As he watched Zira refuse the paw, he told himself he shouldn’t feel bad for her. Even as Zira fell to her death, a smile on her face and eye's pinned on him, he did not regret it. He would not. He had something he cared about now. Kiara.
Story 3:
The Mysterious Rogue: show
The Mysterious Rogue
Simba sighed as he tried not to look too visibly annoyed at the zebra and antelope, busy arguing with each other, in front of him. “Look, I don't know what the tow of you are arguing about,” he finally said when a moment of silence gave him a chance to speak, “seeing as I clearly told both of you that your herds are not to eat the grass in the same area of the Pride Lands.” He turned to the zebra. “You. I told you that you and your herd stay north of Pride Rock. And you-” the antelope. “-the south. So why in the world are the two of you complaining that some of your herds are eating the other's grass? It all looks the same green to me, so I have no idea why I am still here listening to you, when there's no problem in the first place?”
Normally, he would keep his cool and be much more formal. But this pair of herbivores have been pushing his buttons for the past few days already, and he was already seriously thinking of solving this and all future problems by simply inviting them to leave the Pride Lands altogether. “If you just stay to your halves of the lands, there will be no reason to come complaining to me, and-”
He was interrupted by Kovu, who was running towards him as fast as he could. “King Simba! King Simba, something's come up!”
The king sighed and rolled his eyes. “Alright you two: if I hear one more word from either one of you about the other, I heard that there is great grass outside the Pride Lands, as well as quite a lot more predators. So take your pick: stick to your halves, or get non of it. Am I understood?”
He hated to having to resort to temper and threats, but with these two, he really did try everything else he could think of, but they still kept on coming back. Maybe they were doing it on purpose. Either way, he reasoned, the next time the two will have the same problem again, he will simply exile them both. With that, the lion king was able to finally turn his attention to the prince and future king. “Alright, what is it?”
Kovu looked uncertainly at the pair of animals that Simba had just left. “Well, uh, I was patrolling, and there was a rogue at the boundary. He said he wanted to talk to you.”
“A rogue? Did he give a name? Anyone you might recognize or heard of?”
“...No, Simba.”
Simba let out another sigh. This was going to be a very long day indeed. “Oh, alright. Take me to him.” Dealing with rogues was the last thing on his mind right now. Along with the usual disputes he had to deal with, he was getting ready to hand over the throne to Kovu and Kiara, which meant that Kovu's training was in crunch time, and zapped whatever energy either one of them had left.
Following the darker lion, Simba didn't pay much attention to the lands around him as he remained in his thoughts. He only realized they had arrived when he just about walked into Kovu out of carelessness.
“We've arrived, Simba.”
Simba looked over at the rogue who was patiently waiting for them in the shade of a small tree. As soon as the rogue saw him, his eyes lit up in wonder and admiration.
“King Simba? Are you really the king Simba?”
The king frowned, not knowing how to deal with this kind of reaction. “Well, yes, that's me. Who are you?”
The lion grinned. “Oh, don't mind me. I'm no one important!” Simba eyed over the lion, not impressed at all. The lion was quite pale as well as rather on the small side. This lion was certainly closer to Scar than Mufasa bulk wise.
“Well, what do you want then?”
“King Simba... You're famous! When I heard stories as a cub about you, I knew that I had to meet you face to face!”
Simba got a nasty feeling that this lion was not going to be easy to get rid of any time soon. He leaned his head close to Kovu's. “Something makes me feel that this will take a while. You are free to go.”
Kovu didn't need telling twice to walk away.
His attention back to the small lion, Simba still had no idea what the deal was. “So what is it that you want exactly? Or was it to just come and see me, which I might say, while rather humbling, is also rather out of my way.”
The lion positivity lit up. “Well, you see, King Simba, you're famous-”
“You already said that.”
“-but I can make you more. I can make you immortal!”
The king took a step back. “Okay, rogue, let's get a few things straight: One, I don't want to live forever, as well as that I don't think it's possible. Two, you are starting to sound rather creepy, so give me one good reason why I shouldn't walk away right now.”
The rogue didn't seem to be fazed by Simba's attitude. “Oh no, I don't mean that. What I mean was make you more than just famous: I can make you a legend!”
This earned the rogue a glare. “And how are you planning to do this?”
“Well, King Simba, I know that quite a large group of lions are wandering the area and looking for trouble. When they come across a pride, they challenge the king to a fight just for the sake of killing him, which they always do.”
Simba frowned again. If this was true, this could pose a serious threat on the Pride Lands. “Is that a fact?” On the small chance that the rogue was teasing, Simba didn't want to give everyone a fright over a joke.
“Yes, it's a fact. You can check however you want, but mark my words: they are coming here next.”
Simba nodded a little, giving the impression that he was listening, while really he was mostly deep in thought. He would at the very least ask Zazu to scout the area around the Pride Lands, and interview any animal coming into the Pride Lands about this possible event. Until he will get word that the rogue's words were true, he will lay low and not inform anyone but Kovu and Nala about this. Kovu because he needed to, as part of the training, and Nala because if he won't tell her, he won't have to worry about any possible fights in the future for much longer.
He finally gave his attention back to the rogue. “So how is that going to 'make me a legend'? If there is in fact this group you speak off, I will have my pride and followers fight them off. Last time I checked, defending your home doesn't turn one into a legend.”
Nonchalantly, the rogue gave him a reply. “Because you're going to do it on your own... Imagine:” He reached out with his paw and placed a pebble in front of Simba. “The king, facing against...” he moved a substantial portion of ground next to the pebble. “...no less then fifty lions!”
There was no way that Simba would ever go and actually do this. “Uh, no thank you. I;m going to do it with help, thank you very much. Not what you want, but I will feel a whole lot better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have matters that I need to attend to.”
The rogue just grinned and shook his head. “Oh, but you are going to do it alone. You get help, and they'll never let you go. They want your head, King Simba, and unless you take them on all on your own, they won't stop to do things that you don't even know of you get you. Just think about it: you took on a whole army of hyenas when you toppled the tyrant Scar! The glory days!”
Simba rolled his eyes. “It wasn't a hyena army, and I had help there was well. There were no 'glory days'. Not ever.”
Having enough of this rogue, Simba turned and walked back home. But even as he walked away, the rogue still called out to him.
“I know you're better than that, King Simba! You just wait: I am going to turn you into a legend! King Simba against the King Killers! It will be talked about all over until the end of times!”
---
And the miraculous thing was that, when the invading marauders finally turned up, so did the rogue. He watched from the side lines, waiting for the end.
With a wide smile, he walked off into the sunset after it all ended. He was not disappointed: there was a story to tell across all of Africa.
Voting will end on Monday, July 15th.
Voting rules are: Don't vote for yourself, and don't vote for a story that you simply know was written by a friend. Don't ask others to vote for your story either. Read each one carefully and give all the stories the same consideration before you make your decision.
Author of story 1, I had to remove the apostrophe from the title, because the spoiler tag freaks out with it in the title. So no, that is not a typo, but an intentional editing of the title so that it will work with the spoiler tag. But fear not: the proper title is the first thing in the story as well, so you can relax there.
Have a great time reading the stories and go vote! Good luck authors!
