[quote]Story 1:
Untitled: show
"So what happened?"a thick voice said. It was the shadow of a lion perched on top of a cliff. In front of him were three shadows. As they came into the light, they were revealed as three hyenas. They bent their heads low.
"We failed, Scar,"one of them said. The lion jumped from the cliff right in front of them. He had a dark brown fur color and thin grey eyes. "We are so sorry! Please don't kill us!"another hyena said. Scar circled the three of them.
"If you failed, then why are you alive?"he said.
"Be-Because we ran!"the third hyena said. The other two nodded frantically.
"Oh, so you are cowards then,"Scar asked. She set his paw on the third hyena's tail. "Lions aren't cowards."
"We aren't cowards Scar. We almost had him, then his father, Mufasa came,"the third hyena said. "Yeah, what Ed is saying is true. His father came so that's why we ran,"Shenzi said.
"Why didn't you kill him quickly so his father didn't have to come!"Scar said thickly. He growled and held a claw to the second hyena's throat.
"Bonzai,"Shenzi said."Scar we promise to have that cub if you give us another chance."
Scar growled and let go of Bonzai's throat. The hyena gagged and coughed. Scar then jumped back onto the cliff and left the cave. Ed laughed. "You almost got killed by Scar." Shenzi kicked him and he went rolling to the other side of the cave. "We need to do something about Scar,"Shenzi said. She took a seat down and watched as the lion went the other side.
Ed slowly came crawling back to them. "What do you mean?"he said. "Like kill him?"
"We can't do that, Scar's way too strong. That's why we've been serving him for all this time,"the hyena called Bonzai said.
"Say, what about that 'Lion King' in the Pridelands. You know, the one that we fought earlier." Shenzi smiled slickly. "Isn't Scar afraid of him?"
"Yeah he is. But isn't this betraying Scar?"Ed asked.
"We're only here to do his dirtywork," Bonzai said. "I'm with Shenzi on this one. While Scar's out, we can head to the Pridelands."
"But they won't trust us,"Ed said.
"Correction: They won't trust idiots like you,"Bonzai replied.
"Shut up, both of you. If we're planning to rebel on Scar, we'll need the help of Mufasa."
"Mufasa?"both Ed and Bonzai said at the same time. "We're asking help from a lion that almost tried to kill us?"Ed said. "You're thinking is messed up."
"He almost tried to kill us because we sided with Scar,"Shenzi said. "I don't know about you, but if you're not coming, I'll go alone." With that, she exited the opposite side of the cave and ran.
"She's right. I'm not going to handle Scar anymore,"Bonzai said, following Shenzi.
"Looks like its just me next." Ed said rolling over. "I'm bored, guess I'll just go with them."
"So this is Pridelands?"Bonzai said.
"It's so...much better than Scar's territory. Let's sneak in from the back,"Shenzi said. Ed and Bonzai nodded. "Don't make too much noise, Lions can smell and hear us from here."
Ed accidentally tripped, leaving a rock to fall to the ground. Suddenly, A lion followed by lionesses emerged from the cave. "Idiot Ed!"Bonzai whispered.
"Idiot Bonzai, you spoke to loud!"Shenzi said.
"Shenzi, you spoke as loud as Bonzai,"Ed said laughing.
"Intruders!"A lioness said.
"They're Scar's dogs,"Mufasa said. "I had an encounter with them earlier."
"Stop! We beg of your mercy,"Ed said crying. Shenzi and Bonzai immediately quivered and did as Ed did.
"For hyenas, these guys are cowards,"one lioness spoke.
"What do you want?"Mufasa asked.
"We only want freedom!"Bonzai said.
"Freedom?"The lioness spoke again. Several others, including cubs exchanged glances.
"You're freedom is within your own territory,"Mufasa said, then he turned around and was about to go back into the cave.
"Please! We don't want to work for Scar anymore!"Shenzi said.
"Then don't,"Mufasa replied sternly.
"Help us fight Scar! And we'll repay you. Helping us regain our freedom will lead to a treaty with the lions and hyenas. We promise to lay off your territory and not lay a single finger on any living creature of yours."
"You want to fight Scar?"Mufasa said. "In that, I shall aid you. The treaty is accepted." He went back to the cave followed with all the lionesses.
The hyena's faces lightened up. "Did you hear that!"Shenzi said.
"Yeah! We're gonna be free!"
"We failed, Scar,"one of them said. The lion jumped from the cliff right in front of them. He had a dark brown fur color and thin grey eyes. "We are so sorry! Please don't kill us!"another hyena said. Scar circled the three of them.
"If you failed, then why are you alive?"he said.
"Be-Because we ran!"the third hyena said. The other two nodded frantically.
"Oh, so you are cowards then,"Scar asked. She set his paw on the third hyena's tail. "Lions aren't cowards."
"We aren't cowards Scar. We almost had him, then his father, Mufasa came,"the third hyena said. "Yeah, what Ed is saying is true. His father came so that's why we ran,"Shenzi said.
"Why didn't you kill him quickly so his father didn't have to come!"Scar said thickly. He growled and held a claw to the second hyena's throat.
"Bonzai,"Shenzi said."Scar we promise to have that cub if you give us another chance."
Scar growled and let go of Bonzai's throat. The hyena gagged and coughed. Scar then jumped back onto the cliff and left the cave. Ed laughed. "You almost got killed by Scar." Shenzi kicked him and he went rolling to the other side of the cave. "We need to do something about Scar,"Shenzi said. She took a seat down and watched as the lion went the other side.
Ed slowly came crawling back to them. "What do you mean?"he said. "Like kill him?"
"We can't do that, Scar's way too strong. That's why we've been serving him for all this time,"the hyena called Bonzai said.
"Say, what about that 'Lion King' in the Pridelands. You know, the one that we fought earlier." Shenzi smiled slickly. "Isn't Scar afraid of him?"
"Yeah he is. But isn't this betraying Scar?"Ed asked.
"We're only here to do his dirtywork," Bonzai said. "I'm with Shenzi on this one. While Scar's out, we can head to the Pridelands."
"But they won't trust us,"Ed said.
"Correction: They won't trust idiots like you,"Bonzai replied.
"Shut up, both of you. If we're planning to rebel on Scar, we'll need the help of Mufasa."
"Mufasa?"both Ed and Bonzai said at the same time. "We're asking help from a lion that almost tried to kill us?"Ed said. "You're thinking is messed up."
"He almost tried to kill us because we sided with Scar,"Shenzi said. "I don't know about you, but if you're not coming, I'll go alone." With that, she exited the opposite side of the cave and ran.
"She's right. I'm not going to handle Scar anymore,"Bonzai said, following Shenzi.
"Looks like its just me next." Ed said rolling over. "I'm bored, guess I'll just go with them."
"So this is Pridelands?"Bonzai said.
"It's so...much better than Scar's territory. Let's sneak in from the back,"Shenzi said. Ed and Bonzai nodded. "Don't make too much noise, Lions can smell and hear us from here."
Ed accidentally tripped, leaving a rock to fall to the ground. Suddenly, A lion followed by lionesses emerged from the cave. "Idiot Ed!"Bonzai whispered.
"Idiot Bonzai, you spoke to loud!"Shenzi said.
"Shenzi, you spoke as loud as Bonzai,"Ed said laughing.
"Intruders!"A lioness said.
"They're Scar's dogs,"Mufasa said. "I had an encounter with them earlier."
"Stop! We beg of your mercy,"Ed said crying. Shenzi and Bonzai immediately quivered and did as Ed did.
"For hyenas, these guys are cowards,"one lioness spoke.
"What do you want?"Mufasa asked.
"We only want freedom!"Bonzai said.
"Freedom?"The lioness spoke again. Several others, including cubs exchanged glances.
"You're freedom is within your own territory,"Mufasa said, then he turned around and was about to go back into the cave.
"Please! We don't want to work for Scar anymore!"Shenzi said.
"Then don't,"Mufasa replied sternly.
"Help us fight Scar! And we'll repay you. Helping us regain our freedom will lead to a treaty with the lions and hyenas. We promise to lay off your territory and not lay a single finger on any living creature of yours."
"You want to fight Scar?"Mufasa said. "In that, I shall aid you. The treaty is accepted." He went back to the cave followed with all the lionesses.
The hyena's faces lightened up. "Did you hear that!"Shenzi said.
"Yeah! We're gonna be free!"
Story 2:
You Must Fight: show
You Must Fight
Some souls suffer in silence. The silence of the victim, that is. Real silence; utter, rare and absolute silence, is sometimes the severest form of criticism.
Vitani slowly went over to her brother's side before turning to face her mother and the rest of her pride members. Every single one of them (and possibly the pridelanders, too, but she had her back turned on them) was staring directly at her. Some looked in shock and disbelief, but one specific pair of eyes looked at her with anger. "Enough…" said the worn out outsider, looking back into those two eyes.
Ever since the banishment she's done nothing but wonder why. Why couldn't she have grown up like a regular cub? Why did her mother have to believe that friends were for the weak? Why did she, and especially poor Nuka, grew up while barely getting any of Zira's attention, which wasn't even close to being the care a growing cub deserved to begin with? Why did she, who had lived in the Pridelands as a cub and grew to love absolutely everything about them, ended up following her mother absentmindedly as if the past never existed? Why did her older brother have to die? Lastly; why, why in the name of all the Great Kings of the Past had her mother done that horrible, unjustified act, ultimately leading to their exile?
All was silent. Surely Zira would listen to her own daughter, right? She was only ignoring Kovu because she was still angry about Nuka's death. Yes, that had to be it. The stillness lasted only for a few seconds before being interrupted by Zira, and yet it seemed to last forever. "If you will not fight," said the leader of the Outsiders, smiling ghastly at Vitani, "then you will die as well."
Vitani was shocked. She knew the possibility of Zira not listening to her was very likely, but to have her own mother threaten her with death - not for helping the pridelanders instead of the outlanders but for simply claiming to refuse to continue fighting for either side? Still rooted to the spot, she briefly looked at her pride members (or former pride members, by the looks of it). Not a single one of them seemed to be even slightly touched by the attempt of Kovu and Kiara, nor did they look like they would hesitate to operate with hostility towards her and brother.
"Y-you can't be serious…" said Vitani with pure astonishment, still looking at the outsiders. The last time she'd felt so confused and afraid was right before their banishment. "All this time we've been throwing lives away like dirt, and for what?!" She knew that Kiara was right. What was it that kept her pride members from understanding that their pointless feud with Simba's pride has gone too far and for too long? "Just because we disagree with one another?!" There Simba and the pridelanders were, seemingly willing to stop the fight and end the rivalry for good, and not a single outlander was going to even consider it?
Zira, who seemed to have heard quite enough from her treacherous daughter, snickered menacingly. "Attack!"
Vitani remained completely frozen as one of her former pride members roared and pounced directly in her direction. In any other situation she would fight back in order to defend herself, but she just couldn't get herself to even consider hurting one of her own. Just as the attacking lioness was about to collide with her she was struck by a blur of brown and black. Kovu. He did not attack the outsider, but simply tackled her away before she could reach his sister. "Stop!" he begged, but before he, Vitani and Kiara knew it, the pridelanders once again had no choice but to fight for their lives.
In what seemed like no time, Simba found himself once more face to face with Zira, who had that sinister, confident smile on her face. Why wouldn't she, though? She had the king of Pride Rock exactly where she wanted him. "Sorry, Simba, but your precious little daughter isn't going to save you!" she yelled with arrogance as she slowly approached her target, looking more than sure of herself. "The Pridelands are Scar's!"
"No."
Despite all the noise caused by the fighting around them Zira had somehow managed to catch the king's response. "What did you say?!" she asked, her voice a snarl. Somehow that very simple reply seemed to have more impact than any other choice of words would have had.
"I said no." Simba didn't need to growl or even bare his teeth in order for Zira to notice the resolute determination in his eyes. It enraged her.
With a loud roar the queen of the Outlands charged. The two fought for what seemed like ages. The fighting around them slowly ceased, with everyone's attention focusing on their battle. Nobody dared to interfere. Kiara and Kovu wanted to try to stop them, but they knew that any attempt would be pointless. Zira could not be reasoned with, and Simba couldn't stop fighting back because Zira wasn't going to leave him be. As horrible as watching their parents fight like that was, there wasn't anything they could do.
No matter what Zira tried to pull off she was simply unable to gain the upper hand. This infuriated her even more. She'd planned this out so carefully by attacking Pride Rock after the ambush on Simba earlier and she even waited for her lionesses to weaken him even more before taking him on herself. How come he was still able to stand, not to mention fend her off? Why couldn't he just drop and die already?! She could not understand. Of course she couldn't. A lioness like Zira would never understand.
Growing up believing he was responsible for his father's death only to find out that the uncle he's looked up to and admired as a cub was the one to blame… All the work he's put into the Pridelands after Scar's demise in order to rebuild them into the beautiful and prosperous kingdom Mufasa had left behind… Everything he's been through in his entire life… Did Zira truly believe that Simba was going to just let it all be for nothing? That he was going to let her hurt his family and pride members?
At some point the two of them broke apart and simply stood there, growling at each other and panting. Zira couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied with the fact that Simba looked more hurt and tired than she was (for obvious reasons). "Don't you see it's over, Simba?!" she exclaimed, her voice ringing out throughout the area now that the commotion around them no longer existed. "You can't keep going like this forever! This is the end of you!"
"No! It is not over, Zira!" Silence followed. It took everybody a second to realize that the voice they'd just heard was not Simba's. The king's aggressive expression, which was directed at Zira, was replaced by a look of confusion. That voice, the source of which was somewhere behind him, couldn't possibly belong to a lioness. However, it wasn't Kovu's either. In the corners of his eyes he could see that all the lionesses surrounding him and Zira, pridelanders and outsiders alike, were looking at the speaker with shocked expressions on their faces. Only Zira still had her gaze fixed directly at Simba. It was possible that she wasn't paying attention, or maybe he was blocking her view.
Then, in his curiosity, the king of Pride Rock ended up doing the one thing he'd always told Kiara to never do. He turned his back on an outsider. Before he could even focus well enough in order to figure out who he was looking at he found himself being forced down to the ground, his injured legs easily giving in under Zira's weight. The last thing he remembered before everything turned black was a sharp pain in his throat followed by a roar of rage as a blurry figure leaped over his head and shoved Zira away.
The first sense Simba regained was his sense of hearing. He could make out a few faint voices around him. A few seconds passed and he could suddenly tell he was lying on his side. The floor was very cold. The words spoken around him slowly became louder and clearer as the king of the Pridelands slowly drifted back into consciousness. Where was he? What was going on? Only after concentrating really hard for a few seconds he was able to recall what had happened.
Simba slowly breathed through his nose, smelling the air that surrounded him. The fragrance of rain after a long period of dry days was present, but it was very faint. A possible explanation to that was that it's been about a day since it last rained and, therefore, about a day since the attack of the outlanders. The more logical explanation, seeing how there was no wind, was that he was no longer outside in the open where the battle against Zira and her followers had taken place. Was he inside the den?
The king tried to move, but his limbs refused to respond to his will. Eventually, after what felt like eternity but was actually a long moment filled with fear and uncertainty, he was finally able to understand what was being said somewhere near him.
"Well?" Nala's voice... Thank the Great Kings of the Past! She sounded impatient and quite worried to say the least, but her voice assured Simba that he was safe now and that the outlanders were gone. If he could have shown any signs of panic at that moment, then he would have. After all, while Nala sounded okay, he had no idea whether the same could be said about their daughter.
"Rafiki did all that he could do." Simba immediately recognized the mandrill's voice and accent. "The king was very lucky, but… You must prepare yourselves for anything… There is a chance that-"
"That what?" came Kiara's unstable voice, cutting Rafiki short. It was a huge relief to find out that she was okay, too.
"There's no way to know for sure at the moment." continued the mandrill, his voice filled with concern. "There is a chance that your father will not live through this…" As he said this Kiara burst into tears. "The next few days are going to be crucial… I am very sorry…"
"Kiara, please don't cry…" said Kovu quietly. He couldn't bear to see his loved one like this.
"Thank you for coming all this way, Rafiki." said Nala as calmly as she could.
"It was all Rafiki's pleasure, my queen."
"How are you holding up?" Nala asked. Simba couldn't tell, but he assumed that she talking to their daughter. It was absolutely typical of his mate – making sure that others were okay despite how worried she was herself. That was one of the many traits Nala had which Simba valued so much.
However, to the king's surprise, Kiara wasn't the one who answered her. "I…" The den became silent, the only other noise being Kiara's weeping. "I don't know…" The voice was filled with doubt, but what caught Simba's attention the most was the fact that, while his initial thought was that he's never heard it before, it sounded somehow familiar. It had to be the same voice from before. That was the only reasonable explanation. The speaker stuttered incomprehensibly for a few seconds before carrying on. "He… He can't die…" He let out a long and heavy sigh. "Not now… I came all this way…"
"I know the situation doesn't look well," said Rafiki reassuringly, "but there is hope. You must remain optimistic. All of you."
"I know…" continued the same voice.
"For the time being, though, on a happier note…" said the mandrill, his words followed by the sound of him slowly making his way outside, "Welcome back."
"Thank you…"
Simba couldn't take it anymore. Just who was this mysterious stranger? As if right on cue, his eyelids suddenly decided to obey him and open. But, to his dismay, everyone who was present inside the den was standing behind him. He was going to have to stand up and turn around in order to get a better view because, as soon as he attempted to move his neck, the result was great pain. Still determined, the king slowly rolled onto his stomach, the den becoming completely silent as he did.
After a lot of effort and what felt like forever to Simba, he finally managed to rise. His vision was out of focus and he felt very weak, but he didn't care. As soon as he turned around he lost his balance, but he didn't hit the ground. Somebody had ran over and stood next to him, providing Simba's exhausted body with something to lean against for support. "It's okay. I got you, don't worry .."
Simba's eyes went wide in surprise. The lion he was trying to identify was standing right by his side. Ignoring his aching neck, he managed to somehow raise his gaze to meet with that of the one supporting him and was met with a golden furred face which was crowned with a maroon colored mane. The small smile on the lion's face was a mixture of relief, concern and sadness. What amazed Simba the most was his eyes. He recognized them.
"Hello dad..."
Story 3:
Every Single Last One of Us: show
Every Single Last One of Us
Kovu slowly climbed up Pride Rock after another long hard day of learning from King Simba. It was already well into the evening, the sun slowly setting, covering the savanna in a soft orange glow. The lion was greatly looking forwards to a nice rest after the endless barrage of lessons he had to indure.
Of all the lessons Zira had taught him in order to take the throne from Simba and become king, Kovu was never actually taught how to be a king proper. While the Pridelander king was no match against him in a one-on one fight, what good were all the lessons on stealth, ambush, and lethal take-downs when he was busy learning that the only winning move in a fight was not to get into one in the first place?
Only a few days ago, Simba had Kovu accompany him to deal with an angry elephant. Kovu naturally was already planning on how to eliminate the beast and remove it as a threat, but when he actually lay his eyes on it, he saw that all his plans were quite useless. Elephants were far too large for a lone lion to kill individually, and if Simba had allowed Kovu to act as he pleased, only one lion would have come back to Pride Rock that night.
Instead, king Simba faced down the raging beast and very calmly, but with a commanding tone that even Zira was never able to conjure up, kept the elephant at bay using nothing but words. This kept on until the beast finally calmed down, and left.
That was Kovu's first real lesson on why not fighting was a very good idea. Since that, the lessons only got harder and longer, and Simba added more and more of them. “You missed out on a lot of training by growing up in the Outlands”, the king explained when Kovu's temper failed him, and the adopted prince was ready to walk off in a rage. “When I came back after Nala found me, the first thing I learned was that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. And to make things worse, the Pride Lands were in a serious drought, and the pride itself were starving. You can even say that during that time, I was king by title only, and the power lay in Sarafina and Sarabi, who actually knew what they were doing. You don't want to be caught off guard like that either. That's why I am pushing you this hard.” Then, despite Kovu's temper, Simba smiled at the other lion. “”I wouldn't do this if I didn't believe that you can handle this, Kovu. You will make a fine king. All you need to do is apply that determination of yous into learning.”
Walking up the rocky steps towards the den, Kovu's thoughts were interrupted by a lioness who came from out of nowhere, running towards him and jumping at him, embracing him in a big hug. “Kiara! Guess who I didn't get to see since before the sunrise!” His favorite part of the day always had to be after the lessons, when he actually got to relax and spend even a little bit of time with the lioness who convinced him to turn against his mother...
...And his pride.
Kiara let go of Kovu, then motioned at the pinnacle of Pride Rock, where a singe lioness sat silhouetted against the bright orange sky, looking down on the rolling hills below. Kovu knew it was Vitani, the only other Outlander who chose to side with Kovu and Kiara over Zira.
Kovu looked at his sister nervously, knowing that his relaxation period was cut significantly shorter. “I'll deal with her,” he told Kiara, “go wait for me in the den.” Leaving the lioness behind, he walked towards his sister, who hadn't moved the entire time.
He cautiously approached Vitani, making sure not to make any noise. He could hear her queit sniffles, which struck him as very odd. In the Outlands, Vitani never cried. Ever.
“Vitani? Are you alright?”
The lioness didn't react. Kovu was about to give up and walk away when she suddenly spoke. “I miss them, Kovu.”
The lion sighed and sat down next to his sister. “I know. I miss them too.”
Then once again to his surprise, Vitani let out a small wail before burying her muzzle into his mane. “No! You don't understand! You... you have Kiara! You knew what you were doing when you jumped in front of mother! I...” She stopped, and Kovu waited for her to continue, but Vitani had fallen silent.
Kovu let out another sigh. He was also beginning to feel sad at how the final fight had turned out. “You what, Vitani? You did the right thing.”
His sister let out a groan. “I don't know, Kovu! I thought- I thought that they would stop fighting as well. I didn't expect them to continue the fight!”
In the Outlands, Zira ruled with an iron claw, making sure that Vitani and Kovu were the best trained lions alive. When Kovu betrayed them and switched over to Simba's side, they still had the strength and numbers to take the Pride Landers on.
However, when Vitani crossed the line as well, it should have been the end of it. Without their two best fighters, the Outlanders no longer had the advantage. The Pride Landers had greater numbers, were much more fit and healthy, and were fighting to protect their home. Vitani had at least expected her ex-pride to give up and leave. After all, they never really bothered to be very loyal to Zira anyways. The only reason why they tolerated the insane lioness was from the endless promises of a hunter's paradise as soon as Kovu would reclaim the throne from Simba. Apart from that, they held no intelligence to Zira or her family.
Kovu recalled that night. Driven to insanity by the final betrayal of the last of her family, Zira ordered the attack. The Outsiders obeyed.
Kovu and Vitani fought to protect their new pride, and both of them slay quite the number of the lions who they grew up with, their family.
The only reason why Kovu didn't feel so negatively about it was because he didn't switch sides at the very last minute, and so he knew that if push came to shove, he had to fight his own pride. He had a few days to accept that realization, and even then, Kiara was always there to help him. Then to top it all off, Simba was always keeping him busy now, so he never even had much time to dwell on these things.
But Vitani didn't have these luxuries. She had to fight the pride that she had shared her previous meal with. She had all day to lie about and think about what had happened. She didn't have anyone else to talk to, despite the best efforts by the Pride Landers to welcome Vitani to her new home and make her comfortable. She always lacked the talkative traits that the Pride Landers took for granted.
“Vitani, there was nothing you could have done. They chose to fight, and we did what we had to do.” Kovu said after a long period of silence.
Vitani grunted again. “I killed her, Kovu. I killed her!”
“I know, Vitani. I know. I was there. She was about to lunge at Nala. You know that mother would have killed her if you havn't stopped her. And then what would have happened? Simba would have killed every single last one of us.”
“Does it make a difference that he didn't? Does it matter that some of them lived, when they are still banished, living in who knows what kind of flea0infested hole this time? You tell me!”
Kovu winced at his sister's flare of anger. “You know I can't know that, Vitani. We can only hope that they found some place comfortable to call home. At least they don't live in the termite mounds anymore.”
“And the rest? What about them?”
Kovu hesitated. “They died fighting for what they believed was right, as did a few Pride Landers. We can only remember them as the family we grew up with, who made a single mistake that cost them their lives. But considering the lives we lived in the Outlands, I don't think that they mind too much. Vitani, you just need to... learn that there was nothing we could have done to stop them. Don't break yourself over something that happened in the past. You did all you could, and that should be enough.” Hesitantly, he got up to his feet. “Come on, the sun has set. Let's go inside.”
He left Vitani, walking back down into the dark den. Kiara would most likely already be asleep. So much for relaxation.
“I really do miss her, Kovu.”
The lion stopped, looking back at Vitani. “I know. I miss her too.” Turing back down, he disappeared inside the blackness of the den.
Shortly before the first hints of sunrise, the lioness finally followed him inside as well.
Story 4:
the hyena rebellion: show
The Hyena Rebellion
The hyenas had complained to Scar more times than they could count in the past week about the lack of food. He always gave them the same excuse: “it’s the lionesses’ job to do the hunting.” The hyena were not blind, however, and they could see just as well as the lionesses could that the herds had moved on. Things were not as beautiful as Scar had promised, and they were not pleased.
“Look at him up there in his cave, taking the best of each hunt’s spoils and leaving the scraps for all of us and all of them,” Banzai moaned to Shenzi and Ed as they sat in the shade of one of the few remaining trees near the drying up water hole.
“He used us. He lied. He never intended for us to be well fed. Just look at this place; the influx of predators led the herds away, as did the drought. Scar is the only one who got what he wanted from this coup. We got blood on our paws for nothing,” Shenzi extrapolated. Ed nodded furiously.
“What are we gonna do about it?” Banzai inquired grumpily.
“We’re gonna set this straight. We can’t live with lions, and who says they can’t be run by a female like us, anyway?” Shenzi replied slyly.
“What do you got in mind?” her subordinate asked.
“First, we need to talk to the clan. Let’s pass word along quietly that he’s manipulated and used us. And by “let’s,” I mean you and Ed. Spread the discontent around; they’re already uneasy with him, but urge them not to act just yet. And keep it on the down low, would ya?” the matriarch instructed.
“Man, why do we gotta do all the dirty work?” Banzai whined, Ed nodding his agreement as a thick rattling sound emerged from his skull. Shenzi narrowed her eyes but retained her sly smile.
“Because I’m going to deal with the lionesses.”
___________________________________________________________________
Sarabi approached the waterhole with the rest of the lionesses after yet another failed hunt. She was weary, mentally and physically, and the sight of two hyenas slinking away from the water hole as the lionesses approached did nothing to ease her discontent. She took note of a shadow beneath the nearby tree, wondering how much hounding she’d have to deal with today for “letting” those mongrels go hungry.
As the lionesses reached the dried up water, the former queen kept her eyes focused on her task and not on the sinister form beneath the tree. Sometimes they’d leave you alone if you didn’t make eye contact. The hyena matriarch cleared her throat and Sarabi raised from the puddle with a sigh. This wasn’t one of those times.
“Hey there Sarabster,” Shenzi said in a sort of seductive, lazy drawl.
“What is it?” Sarabi returned dully.
“Come over here in the shade, won’t you? It’s much nicer… and a better place to talk. Why don’t all of you come over?” the hyena continued lackadaisically. Sarabi approached cautiously, laying down in the shade closer to the hyena, but not too close. The other lionesses moved to that side of the water hole, but remained standing.
“Scar will be suspicious if we’re all standing up. Relax girls,” Shenzi instructed. They eyed her suspiciously, but there were no signs of a hyena ambush, and Sarabi nodded that they should comply, so the pride sank to the earth, making themselves physically comfortable at least.
“What are you up to?” Sarabi asked the hyena when they had all settled.
“Listen. I don’t like you, and you don’t like me. Let me finish,” Shenzi explained at some stirring and murmuring from the lionesses. “We don’t get along but we can all see what Scar has done is wrong. Hyenas and lions aren’t meant to live together, and our combined presence, together with the lack of water, has driven away all the prey. Scar promised us we’d never go hungry again, but it was all lies so we’d help him acquire the throne. It’s time we do something about it.”
“What do you mean you helped him acquire the throne?” Sarabi demanded in a tone full of distrust.
“The stampede, honey bunch,” the hyena sassed, “It was a set-up. A plot.”
“Are you implying that Scar is behind the deaths of my mate and son?” the former queen asked, bewildered. The lionesses all began to murmur their own questions, not at all sure what to make of this.
“I’m not implying anything. I’m stating a fact. Scar charged Banzai, Ed, and me with creating a stampede into the gorge at his signal to kill the king and prince. He promised our clan ample food if we helped him with his dastardly plot, and if we hadn’t been so hungry we wouldn’t’ve agreed to do it. Only thing is, Mufasa and Simba didn’t die in the stampede,” the hyena teased them.
“What are you saying?” Sarafina blurted.
“Yes, how is that possible?” Sarabi added.
“From my position chasing the wildebeest, I saw Mufasa jump out of harm’s way and make his way up the wall of the gorge. I saw him make it up to nearly the top, and I saw Scar pry his paws from the rock and throw him back in. Scar killed him. And when Banzai, Ed, and me made it back to Scar and the body after chasing off the wildebeest, there he was, comforting Simba, telling him it was his fault, and the only thing he could do would be to run away and never return. When Simba fled, the ‘king’ up there instructed us to kill the young prince. We chased him, but when he jumped in a thorn bush we gave up pursuit. He probably died in the desert.
“But we are sternly against cub-killing, and only considered it because of the situation we were in. The Elephant Graveyard is terrible and we were starving. He promised that we only had to do this one thing to get all the food we could eat. And it pains me to know there’s such blood on my paws and there’s not even a single scrap of food to show for it,” the hyena matriarch enlightened them.
“I should rip your throat out right now for helping him to kill my family!” Sarabi snarled, rising on her paws. Sarafina rose with her and placed a paw on her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t advise that. The clan would kill you and they’d never consider helping you,” Shenzi said coyly, not even bothering to move.
“Why are you telling us this?” Sarafina probed cautiously.
“Because Scar is a tyrant and he’s killing us all. We can’t live like this. We all need to leave the Pridelands and we don’t need to force ourselves to live in the same confined place. It’s not natural. There needs to be balance, and all Scar is doing is creating death. We’re hungrier than we ever were in the Elephant Graveyard days and so are you. It’s time that he’s done away with,” the hyena replied dryly, her eyes narrowing.
“Are you suggesting we kill him?” Sarabi asked, aghast.
“I’m suggesting mutiny, at the very least. And if he fights back, don’t he deserve to die, for all that blood on his paws?”
“Murder isn’t the right thing… but something must be done. What do you propose?” Sarabi relented.
“I propose we put him on trial, elect a new ruler, a queen, and sentence him to the same thing he sentenced the prince to—exile in the desert. Then we go our separate ways in the search for more prosperous lands and return here to live in peace, but not together, if the land regenerates,” Shenzi declared tartly.
“Lions have always been led by males,” one of the lionesses stammered, “We can’t reproduce without one. We have to obey them or we’ll die off.”
“Who says?” Shenzi snapped, standing up and swishing her tail, “Why should females be submissive to males? That’s just absurd. Look at us hyena—we are plentiful in number and have fewer tyrannies because only a female can lead. Look around! Scar’s not mated with any of you, you’re starving, and there’s not even much water! He’s killing you faster than anything else! Wouldn’t a wise, experienced lioness lead you better? And won’t there be rogue males in the lands somewhere to provide you with cubs? Why should you need Scar, when you have a much more capable ruler right here in front of you?”
The hyena had been towering over the lioness who’d dared to challenge her until she reached the conclusion of her speech and moved over to stand beside Sarabi, gesturing at her with a paw.
“Shenzi is right,” Sarafina said firmly, “We don’t need Scar.”
“He’s bad for all of us, lion and hyena alike,” Sarabi concurred. The lionesses murmured their agreement to one another, heads nodding as this all came together. Shenzi let a sinister grin split her maw.
“Now that we’re agreed, let’s plan the details ladies. And don’t worry at all about the clan… they will do as I say, and Scar will have no one to back him up…”
______________________________________________________________________
Scar glowered at the lionesses where they lazed on the sunning stones instead of going out to hunt. It was time for the daily hunt and he, their KING, was hungry. How dare they lie about collecting flies like the rotten corpses that would be more useful to him than they. The lion king stalked towards them, feeling, as usual, invincible with the hyena at his back.
“Sarabi!” he snapped.
“Yes, Scar?” the lioness in question asked lazily, without even bothering to turn so much as her head in his direction. The nerve of her, disrespecting him so!
“Sarabi, you are supposed to be hunting. I am hungry and there’s no food. Get up and deal with it instead of being so worthless,” he growled. Sarabi cut a steely glare at him and rose deliberately to her paws.
“My, my, Scar. Is that an order?” she drawled.
“Are you challenging my authority, Sarabi? Because I wouldn’t advise—” the king started, furiously.
“What authority?” Sarabi interrupted him threateningly. Scar’s eyes widened in anger and shock and he took a step back. Regaining his composure, he took a few heavy steps towards the rebellious lioness.
“What authority?” he repeated no louder than a whisper. Suddenly his bellow filled the air and sent a gathering of birds into the skies from around Pride Rock, “I AM THE KING!”
“No Scar,” Sarabi replied evenly, with venom in her voice, “You are the king of nothing. We know of your crimes, and the lionesses have elected a new ruler. As your queen, I banish you to the deserts in exile, the same fate you bestowed upon my son.”
The king froze, panicking a little, though not totally concerned as the hyenas still had his back. He gazed around at the resolute faces of the lionesses and could see that they’d all planned this. He couldn’t know how they’d discovered that he’d rid the lands of Simba, but it was surely speculation as the facts weren’t quite right. He’d had the hyena kill Simba, not exiled him.
“The heat has made you delirious. You’re temporarily retired from your position as head huntress, and the honor shall be bestowed upon Nala instead. Nala, rally your lionesses and go fetch us some food,” he commanded in an attempt to retain control.
“You don’t have any power over us, Scar. Didn’t you hear Queen Sarabi?” Nala shot back at him, as she stared daggers into him.
“Have you all gone mad? The hyena are still loyal to me. They are at my command. You will obey, or you will be punished,” Scar threatened. Nala barked a laugh as the lionesses, Sarabi at their lead, stood their ground, and took steps forward as they began advancing on him.
“Mad, Scar? No, that’s you. You murdered my mate, your brother, and had my son chased into the desert by hyenas to die. Then you decimated the kingdom and forced us to remain here with too many predators as the water dried up and the herds fled. And now—even now that we know the truth, you expect to hold dominion over us and continue to get your way. I have news for you Scar, it’s over. You are a king no more, and I have sentenced you to exile. So the choice is yours… you will obey, or you will be punished,” Sarabi declared, never ceasing in her advance and hovering over him as the small male began to cower.
A nervous chuckle rose from the lion’s throat as he rose back to his full height on his paws, trying not to be too troubled by Sarabi’s intense stare and violent mutiny. This was foolishness.
“It doesn’t matter what you know, there are still more of my loyal followers than there are of you,” he said to the lioness darkly. Then he rose his voice to give an order to the hyena legions behind him and surrounding the lionesses: “Break up this pathetic revolt!”
He smiled as the hyena began to advance from all sides, slowly, determined, loyal, and sinister in their gait and stares. It would be beautiful to watch the lioness rebellion put to an end, and they would never question his authority again. He decided to add a final command, just to make a point, “And kill Sarabi. She’s outlived her usefulness.”
“You won’t get your way this time, your majesty,” Sarabi snapped bitterly, still standing regally before him. The lionesses weren’t moving at all. It was odd how they awaited death so resolutely. The lion king would have puzzled over it further had a voice from behind him not stopped him cold and made him understand the full gravity of the situation.
“There’s nowhere for you to run, Scar. It’s over.”
He turned, panic stricken, knowing it to be the voice of Shenzi, matriarch of the hyena. His eyes widened in true fear and he sank to the ground as he realized what had happened, what was happening. The hyenas, Shenzi, his most trusted and loyal devotee, had come clean to the lionesses, had turned on him, had planned this rebellion alongside the lionesses. For the first time since he’d ascended the throne, Scar was outnumbered, and they were all hungry for blood.
“Why?” he choked to the hyena leader, “You were my allies, my friends…”
“Don’t give me that crap, Scar. You used us and manipulated us for your own gain. You lied to us and nearly led us to extinction… you’re no friend of ours,” she spat, as the animals had completely surrounded him, blocking him from getting away.
“No… please. I beg of you… have mercy!” Scar pleaded to both the lionesses and the hyena, “It wasn’t my fault! Mufasa, he… Simba… it was a mercy killing…!”
“Listen to him trying to get out of it…” Shenzi observed.
“It won’t work, boss, we know why you did it. You let us in on all your secrets,” Banzai added maliciously. Scar visibly shrank before the options with which he was faced.
“This is your last chance, Scar. Run away into the desert and don’t return, or die here for your crimes,” Sarabi decreed.
“I…” he stammered before giving in to save his hide, “Yes. You are the queen…” The once proud lion felt loathing in his loins as he submitted, rather against his will, to her dictates. Everything he’d ever had was being snatched unfairly from him, and he actually had to try not to let his anger show. He had to keep his cool if he ever hoped to get this back.
“I shall go, and I shan’t return to these lands. It’s the last you’ll see of me,” he complied. The sea of hyenas and lionesses parted to allow him passage in one direction—towards the desert. The former king gulped and began plodding carefully along, descending Pride Rock and making his way slowly and determinedly towards his death.
“You’re taking too long!” Shenzi snapped, “Hurry up!”
When he didn’t show any signs of obeying, the hyena began to snap at him, forcing him to go faster, then chasing him from the lands, their snarls resounding through the air.
“It’s over,” Nala said softly.
“I can’t ever forgive you for your part in his crimes, Shenzi,” Sarabi informed the hyena matriarch, “But thank you for helping us to get rid of him. May the Great Kings lead your clan to all the food you need.”
“Same to you, lioness,” the hyena matriarch returned. The two groups of animals nodded their thanks to one another, then, at last, they set off in different directions, leaving the Pridelands in search of prey. The lionesses made their way towards a distant jungle, unaware that they’d find a pleasant surprise in the trees. The hyena made their way north, towards the Elephant Graveyard, and whatever may lie beyond, knowing that whatever they found, it couldn’t be worse than here.
Story 5:
feeding the snake: show
Feeding the Snake
From afar, the dry, dying savanna grasses whisked from side to side in the wind. They flowed as tawny waves, seamless across the horizon except where interrupted by the discrete outcroppings of the occasional acacia or impala. The landscape was still alive and habitable, though clearly on the decline from the bright, vibrant, and golden days of Mufasa's era.
Up close, however, it was a completely different sight to behold. Not an ounce of tranquility was felt, as Sarafina arched her backside and raised her tail. Her claws hugged the surface of the soil without penetration; her weight was balanced almost entirely on the tips of her hindpaws. The overlying grasses shielded her from view—only her eyes stood out on the horizon. Her posture was just the way she wanted it—unseen and deadly.
"In position and ready," Sarafina announced with a whisper.
"Alright," replied a hidden lioness, not far over on the other side of a hill. "Wait until the straggler crosses that tree..."
"Got it," Sarafina nodded.
"Sarabi..." the other lioness whispered. "Go."
A branch cracked. The golden grasses across the horizon split in half, and out emerged a lioness into the air. Sarabi's claws blazed through a parabolic trajectory, which was soon followed by her tail in the back. Several birds took to the air at the unexpected rustling in the bush, but the more notable reaction was the cluster of impala ahead.
The entire herd—no more than a dozen strong—scattered in every which direction. Some went farther from Sarafina, but several approached the tree nearest her. Unfortunately, the one Sarafina had targeted was going the wrong way. But that was not a problem for her pride; it was not an unusual occurrence, and the lioness barely broke a sweat. She merely waited, before she could rush in on more favorable terms.
Amidst the trampling ruckus, another voice called out from afar. "Zira!" she yelled. "Bring 'em in!"
In consequence, the very same sight repeated itself for a second iteration. The undisturbed portion of the horizon rose into a cloud of dust, and the fury of a mighty feline hunter darted out at full speed, this time heading directly toward Sarafina's position. Zira had set herself on a collision course with the impala—strategically so, of course.
The distance between Zira and the pride's target closed rapidly, faster than even Mufasa during his great descent to the bottom of the gorge. Zira had gained magnificent speed, and with the combined and considerable speed of the impala approaching her, it was but a second before the eyes of the two creatures met.
And just like Mufasa's great fall into a stampede, Zira was faced with a similar fate in the reflection of her eyes and the path of her trajectory.
The targeted impala, obviously slightly more nimble than the intercepting carnivore, made every attempt to break off and change direction. The impala's head and forehooves shifted one way, but its flank had no sense of direction. The backside continued in the air, unbound by the ground or the rest of the impala's body. Naturally, as inertia would have it, the hooves in the back continued on their same path—and right into Zira's head.
Almost a little too conveniently, the impala used Zira's head as a springboard to gain momentum in the other direction. Despite every ounce of reason suggesting otherwise, the prey actually managed to keep its balance through the maneuver. The target's impact with the lioness proved to be something beneficial for its own survival, allowing its path to be redirected, its balance to be reset, and a hostile predator to be out of the game.
But the prey's advantage was short-lived at best. The situation, as it happened, was not slow to change. Now, the target was just approaching Sarafina—exactly as planned to begin with. The targeted prey was still running, but it was now running the right way.
Sarafina grinned. "Thanks, Zira," she whispered insidiously, though slightly sarcastic at the tip of her tongue.
Sarafina's moment of glory soon followed her words. In due time, the prey ran under her designated tree, and Sarafina lunged out from her hiding spot to pin it to the ground. Sarabi wasn't far behind, and she was catching up; however, her help was far from necessary. Today, the feast was on Sarafina's claws.
Sarafina ripped into the impala's backside and subsequently brought the entire creature to the ground. Its yelp of pain extended across the horizon, but the cries were soon extinguished after a bite to the neck.
"I got it," Sarafina announced proudly. She lifted her head and tail up for a brief moment, allowing the adrenaline at her core to lessen its intensity. A rush of satisfaction and contentment filled her blood as the air returned to her lungs. Nala would get to eat tonight, and for that, Sarafina was eternally grateful.
Sarabi, however, wasn't quite as satisfied with the outcome of the situation. As her pace slowed and her breaths returned to normal, she broke the comfortable breeze with her silence. "Saffy, I think..."
Sarafina turned around to meet Sarabi's uneasy gaze. She smirked with a twinge, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
"Zira is..."
"I know," Sarafina insisted, not even showing the smallest sign of concern.
"She was kicked," Sarabi informed her. "We sh—"
"I don't think so," Sarafina quickly interrupted.
"But—"
Sarafina's gaze returned to the impala beneath her paws, and then back to Sarabi. "If Zira is out, you know what that means," she stated proudly, albeit rhetorically as well. "Nala will get to eat today. No one is going to stop me now."
"Saffy..." insisted Sarabi with a sigh. "You... please... no. Don't do this to us..."
Sarafina's triumphant smile quickly faded to a scowl. "What do you think is more important?" she asked. "Should I give this to Nala, or should I give this to Scar? You know the answer."
"And you know the rules," Sarabi argued. "I don't like Scar, but he is our king. We cannot break the laws of our ancestors... it is forbidden."
Sarafina placed her paw firmly on the ground, and raised her nosepad up at Sarabi's. "You can't," she insisted, not quite understanding. "But I can."
"No... this isn't the time," the other lioness retorted. She was never one to bring herself to argue with another Pridelander, as was evident by her attempt to avoid the issue. Sarabi very much preferred to take the peaceful route; she always felt comfortable on the diplomatic side of conflict. "Our sister is down, and we need to help her." That was the extent of her argument, no more and certainly no less.
"My cub is hungry," Sarafina insisted. She stepped in toward to Sarabi, until the two stood atypically close. Sarabi tried to step back under Sarafina's intense gaze, but it was no use. Her paws fell numb, and her movements ceased.
"Tell me," Sarafina continued. "Is there nothing you wouldn't have done for your own cub? Would you not have done the same for Simba?"
A brief moment of pause occurred, before Sarabi's heart dropped. "I..."
Sarafina maintained her steady gaze throughout the entire length of the conversation. "Nala is our only hope," she insisted. "She's our only cub left, and you know... if we give this kill to Scar, not one of us will see a bite of it. He's going to feed it to the hyenas."
"That's not important..." Sarabi struggled to argue. "I can't let you..."
Sarafina turned around, giving Sarabi the tail view. "Then you'll have to stop me," she spat, before picking up the carcass with her teeth.
Sarabi shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't do that either," she sighed.
---
The shadows of Pride Rock's den clashed with the intense sunlight from above. Outside, it was an unusually arid environment for the Pridelandian savanna—hot, dry, and stagnant. Inside the cavity of Pride Rock, however, it was a little different. The shade kept the air a little cooler, and while it was still dry, there was a lesser sense of imminent death.
It was there in the den where Scar had made his new home, at the very center of throne. Since Mufasa's fall, he often acted very much like a hermit lion, if such a thing happened to exist. Regardless, at any occurrence, it was always a rare sight to see him leave that very spot, in all its dark and cozy glory.
Nevertheless, today was one of those rare days.
Scar stepped outside of the shadow line, immediately bringing his eyes to a squint to shield his pupils from the brightness. It was almost painful for the lion—but he had to persist. This was something a little more important than the typical afternoon errand.
After a few steps, he stood still. His eyes opened, and he scanned across the horizon. At that very moment, he came to the inevitable conclusion that it was too far to walk. Quite frankly, such things were beneath a king of his level. In all reality, there was no reason why he had to walk. Now, he had something else in mind.
"Nala!" he roared.
She was but a cub, Scar reminded himself. She couldn't have gone far, and as such, she had to have heard his call. Instead of going to look for her, he was waiting for her to come to him. The lion king smirked to himself, again satisfied by his own omnipotent genius.
However, it was not Nala who approached. Within a matter of seconds, the first creature to catch Scar's eye was actually a familiar baboon primate type of thing of the sort. "You called?" Rafiki asked.
Scar gasped, immediately stepping back at the sudden and unexpected sight. Just who the creature was, he didn't know—nor did he honestly care. He was the king; that meant he could do whatever he wanted without ever needing to care about anyone or anything. "Why... no," Scar answered. "I didn't call for you, you imbecile."
Rafiki flipped over to Scar's hindlegs and pulled on the lion's tail. It all happened in a blink, before Scar even had the capacity to understand what the monkey was doing. "Feisty today, aren't you? Hehe!"
Scar tilted his head back with a roar. "Ugh! What do you want? Just... go away."
Rafiki pulled away, and leaned his arms up against his stick. It was there, on the promontory, where he rested casually and waited for his answers from Scar. "Are the pressures of ruling a kingdom getting to you, mhmm?"
"No," Scar answered bitterly. "No... not at all. Now get out of my sight!"
"I don't think so," argued Rafiki, in his usual senseless tone.
At first, Scar immediately ignored the baboon's odd retort. After some time, however, he started to wonder if there was something he didn't know. Perhaps Rafiki was actually hinting at possessing a greater understanding of the kingdom than expected. Perhaps—well, perhaps this was a good thing.
"What do you know?" Scar asked aloud, slowly but with a small, sinister sense of wonder. However, given the circumstances, he thought he already knew what the issue was. "Are the lionesses hiding their kills from me?" he later inquired.
"No," Rafiki denied his involvement. "But there is... something..."
Naturally, Scar squinted his eyes. That wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, and if that wasn't the problem, he struggled to convince himself that he actually cared. On second thought, that was a bit of an understatement. He really didn't care, no question about it. "Don't waste my time," he spat.
"I won't," Rafiki insisted. "Have you ever heard the story of the cub and the snake?"
"No, and I don't care."
"A giant, venomous snake makes its way into the Pridelands," Rafiki began his story, starting with the exposition. "A young lion cub sees the snake, and watches it carefully. Days pass, until it leaves the territory."
"Oh, this is exciting," Scar retorted, his typical sarcasm evident in the spiteful texture of his voice.
"The lion cub follows the snake into the jungle. He clears fallen branches and twigs out of its path, and helps it over many obstacles. He even throws a log over the Zuberi river to help it across, and catches mice to keep it fed."
"I'm getting bored..." Scar whined.
"Shush, you! Many moons pass, and still the young lion follows the snake. He even follows it into the sands of the Sahara desert. There, with no food, the snake eventually grows hungry. It turns and bites the cub; its poison quickly works its way into his body."
Scar looked away, up at the clouds. He could only wonder what part of I'm getting bored it was that did Rafiki not understand.
Rafiki stepped closer, and bopped the adult lion upside the head. "You pay attention and listen to a story!" he demanded. "Finally," Rafiki continued his tale, "Curious, the snake looks up at the cub and asks, 'why were you foolish enough to follow me all the way out here?' The cub looks down and answers, 'Did I follow you? Oh... I thought I was leading you away from everyone else.' And then he died."
"That's fascinating," Scar spat. "Truly fascinating." He lowered his head to the ground, before unsheathing his claws out toward Rafiki's general direction. "Now go away!"
Rafiki stepped back, but parallel to his nature, he maintained a silly smile. "So... what do you think? Are you the cub, or are you the snake?"
"I said go away, you senseless pest!"
---
After leaving the other lionesses behind, Sarafina brought her kill out to the backside of Pride Rock, where the grasses were darker and drier. The many rocks in her path made the trip a little more difficult than usual, especially in her state of atrophy from malnutrition. But that was all of lesser concern—getting caught with the impala clenched between her teeth was a far greater threat.
At the end of her snoop across the Pridelands, Sarafina met up with her daughter, who had lain in the shade under a jagged rock. Nala's ears perked up immediately at the scent of the impala. Likewise, her tail followed. She rushed toward her mother, saliva ready to flow out of the corners of her mouth.
"You did it!" Nala smiled.
Sarafina dropped the dead animal. "Hurry up and take a piece before anyone sees us," she commanded.
Without any extra encouragement, Nala did as she was told. She began to claw into the top shoulder of the impala, before attempting to gnaw it away with her teeth. It had been quite some time since she had last enjoyed the pleasure of chowing down on a nice meal, and that was no doubt obvious from her blissful haste.
Problematically, her cub teeth weren't nearly strong enough to break off the limb on her own. In the largest sense, it was mostly a futile effort. Even after several subsequent bites, she just couldn't cut it. Teeth, claws, whiskers, paws, nose—none of it was any use.
Meanwhile, Sarafina refused to watch her daughter struggle. She leaned inward and waited for Nala to move aside. "Here... just let me do it," she insisted.
As soon as Nala backed off, Sarafina reached downward and bit the entire limb away with her much-stronger jaw muscles. "That's how you do it," she explained. "You have to bite from the side, that way the flesh peels off the bone. Did you see?"
"Yes," Nala murmured, salivating heavily.
"See what, my dear Sarabi?" asked Scar in retort. He gazed forward, motionless, obviously noting the dead animal on the ground.
Sarafina's fur spiked. She jumped back slightly, her paws rising an inch above the ground for a moment. "Scar!" She yelped at first, before blushing heavily as she faced him. The timing of his arrival couldn't have been any worse, and that was quite the understatement. "Oh, Scar... it's... ugh... it's you..."
"Show me what you were doing," Scar demanded. His voice was void of emotion, save a pleased hint of hatred.
"Well, I..." Sarafina closed her eyes. "I... was..."
Scar stepped closer, until he could place his paw above the impala. He then inspected the kill at a much closer distance—he wasn't really interested, but he was pretending to be, just so that he could have the pleasure of watching Sarabi struggle. It was unquestionably satisfying, and not just because he was feeling his usual, sadistic self. "And what's this?" the king asked.
"Is this what it looks like?" Scar inquired rhetorically.
"Yes..." Sarafina finally admitted. She turned away, attempting to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I was going to give you the rest, I just... I wanted... Nala..."
Scar glared down at the lioness, who was practically begging on the tips of her paws. "I'm very disappointed in you, Sarabi. I thought better of my pride than this."
Sarafina raised her head slightly. "Actually... if you're going to punish me, I'm not Sarabi. I'm Sarafina," she corrected.
The lion king inched back, hardly a little aghast. "That doesn't matter! And how... how would I know?" Scar retorted, lowering the volume of his voice toward the end. "All of you lionesses look alike."
"Right," replied Sarafina, sighing heavily with a sarcastic undertone. "I'm sure we do." As her words trailed off into the silence of croaking insects, her ears drooped a little.
"What do you think?" Scar spat, bringing his hatred up to full power. "Do you think it is acceptable for my lionesses to share their meals behind my back?"
Sarafina gulped. Naturally, she flinched and blinked her eyes as well.
With his furious advance and evil stare, Scar pushed the lioness all the way back to the corner of a nearby rock, where he breathed down onto her face, intimidating her even further. "Do you think I don't know what you're up to?" He stepped back for a moment, raising a claw in the process. "I know you underestimate my intellect."
"No..." Sarafina lied, shaking her head. "We're just hungry..."
"Hungry, mhm?" Scar grinned sadistically. At that moment, a brilliant idea formed in his mind. He had been thinking about punishing the lionesses for quite some time, but now, he saw a new way to please himself. "Is that true, Nala?" he asked.
"Yes..." the cub answered, albeit rather hesitantly. She lowered herself totally to the ground, almost trying to hide in the gravel. She was no doubt fearful regarding her anxieties of what was about to happen.
Scar set his sight on Nala's designated hunk of meat, before swiping it away with his paws. He held the limb in the air, dangling it above Nala's face. "You want this, don't you?" he teased.
"Yes... please."
"And why should I let you have it?" argued Scar. "I don't think you really deserve this..."
Sarafina lowered her brows, her eyes still moist as she held back the formation of tears. "Scar..." she warned, sternly but with a cracked voice. "You're feeding the snake."
Scar immediately shifted his scowl back over to Sarafina. "Oh, am I?" he asked himself, not waiting or caring to hear an answer. He licked the impala's forehoof, slowly gliding his tongue down its length. He made sure to exaggerate his movements in the most teasing of ways.
"I think I'll just eat this myself," he decided aloud. And with that, Scar grabbed himself a bite of the delicious meat. Though Sarafina wanted to stop him, there was little she could do. She was forced to endure a continuation of the torture, as was Nala.
"And the rest," Scar continued, licking his delicious pawtips, "that will go to to the hyenas."
"Don't I..." Nala started to ask, but she somehow knew the answer before she ever phrased the question in her most cubbish voice. "I need a piece. I'm hungry too."
"I'm sorry, Nala," Scar apologized with utmost insincerity. "I wish I had something to give you, but it appears my lionesses have decided not to share their meals. Oh, what a pity this is! I... why, I should have a better pride than this."
Sarafina turned her back to Scar, simultaneously motioning for Nala to follow with a nod of her head. "I'll find you something to eat," she whispered, before a single tear fell from her eye. "I promise."
Scar grinned as the two left him. His work for the day was done. He had ruined someone's day—Nala, Sarabi, or Sarafina—it didn't really matter to him. One of them was miserable; now, he allowed himself to be happy.
Voting will end on Monday, May 19th. Take your time reading the stories, but don't wait until the last minute!
Voting rules are the usual: 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.
Good luck, read carefully, and may the best story win!
