We all know that when Mufasa and Scar became adults, there was thick tension, so much that it led to Scar murdering his own brother. But, why the tension? Why the hate? It surely couldn't have been solely because Scar wanted the throne.
This story takes us back to the past, when these brothers were cubs. There are many twists and turns in the story - all leading right up to the birth of the one and only, Simba.
For anyone who doesn't know these other characters, they are all real, written and drawn in many LK books. I do not own anything in this story, it all belongs to Disney.
Nobody knows what Uru looks like, but as most LK fanatics presume she has brown fur, I'll just go along with it.
Prologue
This story takes us back to the past, when these brothers were cubs. There are many twists and turns in the story - all leading right up to the birth of the one and only, Simba.
For anyone who doesn't know these other characters, they are all real, written and drawn in many LK books. I do not own anything in this story, it all belongs to Disney.
Nobody knows what Uru looks like, but as most LK fanatics presume she has brown fur, I'll just go along with it.
Prologue
King Ahadi had been pacing the jut in Pride Rock anxiously for the good part of sunrise. His beloved, Uru, was having a troublesome birth - there were severe complications, according to Zuzu, who had been flitting between the King and Queen since the first cracks of light on the horizon.
With every sound of pain that echoed off the walls, Ahadi's heart tore. He desperately wanted to be in Pride Rock's hollow with his wife, supporting her, giving her reassurance - but the other lionesses and Zuzu forbade him, saying it would just make her anxious, seeing his pained facial expressions.
"Sire?"
The Hornbill's single word smacked Ahadi out of his deep, swirling thoughts, whipping his mind into an agitated frenzy.
"You may come in now, Sire." Zuzu had never looked more relieved - her face had sagged slightly, a content smile plastered over her beaked face. Taking this as a positive sign, Ahadi ran into Pride Rock's gaping mouth, padding through the dark towards the mass of lionesses he could see.
They parted for him respectfully, each one with a reassuring grin. Ahadi finally found his Queen, skidding to a stop in front of her. She was lying horizontally on her back, her head leaning on a fellow lioness's back. They exchanged loving smiles, and Ahadi's heart swelled at seeing that she was fine. He buried his face into her neck, nuzzling her affectionately, feeling a weak nuzzle back. With eagerness, Ahadi drew back and automatically found his cub... cubs. A pair of beautiful lion cubs were nestled in their mother's arms, their eyes tightly shut, squealing and yowling. One was a rich, yellow colour; his brother had brown fur, with a tuft of black hair topping his tail. The brown cub obviously took his genetics from Uru; the brown lioness was much different to the others, who all bore a pale, creamy colour. It was one of the things that had attracted Ahadi so strongly to his wife - the difference, the exotic nature of her appearance.
"We have two?" Ahadi said in disbelief, gently nuzzling the cubs with his nose. They responded with compliant yowls.
"We have two." Uru chuckled, her voice smooth. "The birth was hard, but everything's fine now. This one is your heir, he was born first." She gently lifted the yellow cub. The cub, feeling the small height difference, made a noise and batted at something in the air.
"My heir." Ahadi repeated faintly, gazing at the yellow cub. He imagined him flourishing into an adult lion - what would he look like? What colour would his mane be? Would he be strong?
"What shall we call them?" He asked.
Uru wrinkled her nose in thought for a moment.
"I like Taka."
"Taka. Taka... very nice. Mkeme? Mufasa?"
"Mufasa... That has a ring to it. Mufasa and Taka." She lifted the cubs respectively to their names - the yellow one, Mufasa, and the brown one Taka.
Ahadi felt pride and love blossom through his being; his entire body, his soul. He knew the Kings of the Past agreed; Ahadi couldn't deny the feeling that was pulsing through his blood.
As the other lionesses crowded to peek at the twins, and Ahadi took his place by his family's side, he knew a new era had begun.
Part One
Taka chewed at an antelope bone, casting vengeful glances at the lions a few feet away.
“Hey, Taka!” A small, yellow lion cub popped into his view, a friendly smile plastered over his face. “Come and sit with us. Don’t sit there in that big shadow.”
“I like the shadow.” Taka snapped. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the “loving royal family”, not when Mufasa was the centre of attention.
“Don’t be like that, son.” Ahadi’s deep voice weaved into the conversation. “Your brother is doing a lot of good pouncing here. Join in.”
The other lionesses, who were all lying around the royal couple, turned their heads towards the brown cub expectantly. Taka’s eyes narrowed — without a word, he stood and began to stalk away, away from the sickeningly loving pride of lions.
“Where’re you going? To see your girlfriend?” Mufasa joked, bearing a cheeky grin.
“Sarabi is not my girlfriend.”
“Yeah she is, why else do you spend the whole day with her?”
“Because she happens to be funny and intelligent — I wish I could say the same for you.”
Uru frowned.
“Talk nicely, cubs.”
“Bye, Taka!” Mufasa called, in a last-ditch attempt to communicate with his twin.
But the words reached thin air; Taka had already stalked off.
---
“Hey, Sarabi!”
The small, cream-coloured lion cub sitting at the water hole turned at the sound of her name; her mouth split into a large smile.
“Hi, Taka! Why aren’t you with your parents?”
“Why aren’t you?” Taka quizzed back, smiling.
Sarabi wasn’t to be fazed by that comment — she was much too sharp for that.
“I don’t have to be, I’m not a Prince. You should really give out the image of a united family, or who knows what’ll happen — a complete breakdown of Pride Rock? The whole of the Pridelands, even? The world? All because you won’t sit with your parents and your twin.”
The joke had faded away now. Sarabi’s dark eyes pierced straight into Taka’s thoughts. It was extraordinary — she was only a young cub, yet she was one of the smartest, deepest members of the pride, in Taka’s opinion. She could see through him so easily, it was almost as if his body was made of water. There was no point in lying to her.
Sarabi began to walk slowly towards him, along the edge of the water hole, her reflection rippling in the slight breeze.
“Why, Taka? Why do you have so much hate for your family?”
“I... I don’t.” Taka stammered, his voice breaking. His throat felt tight, almost as if he were choking. “It’s just... Mufasa gets all the... the attention.”
“No, he doesn’t, Taka, you just refuse to be a part of anything. The pouncing games. The playfights. You never want to be involved, and that’s your own fault. You can’t blame other people.”
“But it’s not my fault! It’s not my fault Mufasa’s the heir.” The last word was spat out. Scar flicked his tail with contempt — Sarabi had stopped a metre away from him.
“So that’s what it is? They didn’t choose Mufasa, he was born first, so he’s the heir. That’s the rule. You still have loads of power.”
“But I’ll always be a Prince, won’t I? I won’t ever be King.”
“That’s not their fault. Don’t blame them. Will you please make an attempt to get along with them? Please? For me?”
Taka shrugged.
“You know I’ll do anything for you, you’re my best friend.”
Sarabi’s serious outlook melted away, replaced by a playful smile.
“Good. Now we can get onto the good stuff!”
The words had barely escaped her lips when she pounced, pinning Taka down by the shoulders.
“Every time.” She scoffed, as the brown cub struggled under her grip.
So, until sunset, Taka and Sarabi frolicked in the long grass by the water hole.
Part Two.
“Cubs, time for some pouncing practice.”
The words had only just left Uru’s mouth when a cluster of cubs gathered at her feet. Mufasa, Taka, Sarabi and Sarafina. The Princes’s tufts of hair had grown slightly, and darkened by just half a shade, but they were already bragging.
“Look, look, my mane’s growing!” Mufasa yelled excitedly, as they followed Uru and Sarafina’s mother away from Pride Rock.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Muf, it’s just a tiny tuft that’s gotten a bit red.” Sarafina rolled her eyes, batting at the clump; Mufasa’s face scrunched.
“Hey, stop it, you’re ruining my mane! Mom!” He whined.
Uru responded with a half-hissing, half-growling noise.
“Get down, all of you.” She whispered, crouching low, her belly barely off the ground. The cubs hushed, scrambling behind a rock, knowing they were watching a professional.
The brown lioness faded in amongst the grass — despite her unusual fur colour, she still blended into the landscape as easily as any other lioness.
“Where’s mum?” Taka hissed to Mufasa, starting to panic. “Mum?!”
“Be quiet! She’ll be there in a minute, stop fussing.” Mufasa scolded, jamming a paw over Taka’s mouth and keeping an eye on the herd of antelope grazing nearby.
A low bellow split their scuffling; from out of nowhere, Uru had leapt onto the back on an antelope and bit viciously at its spine. The antelope crumpled, its long legs tangling together into a confused mess. Uru quickly finished the demonstration by dodging a flying hoof and biting into the prey’s neck. The beast flopped and never rose again.
The cubs trotted towards the Queen, Mufasa confidently leading the way, Taka trailing at the back.
“Did you see that? Did you see how I sunk low, the crucial parts where I struck him? I hope you did, because now you’re going to pounce on some critters.”
Uru gracefully swished towards a small hole in the ground, obviously the home of a small ground creature.
“When it comes out... which it will, when it smells berries, you each have take it in turns and chase after it and pin it. Pretend to bite it’s crucial points, don’t really, or the next cub won’t have anything to chase. Everyone clear?”
The novices bobbed their heads, scrambling into a line - Sarafina, Sarabi, Taka, then Mufasa. While they sorted themselves, Uru had placed a clump of berries by the hole. The creature seemed to have a good sense of smell — a brown fluffball scuttled out, before trying to dive back in at the sight of the predators — slightly too late. Sarafina had already jumped in on the scene, batting the creature away from its hole. It began to run — Sarafina followed, almost pinning it. Every time her paws pushed it down, it would wiggle out of her grasp and slip away. Finally, exasperated, the young lioness leapt on top of it, squashing it down on the ground.
“Now, Sarafina.” Uru lifted Sarafina by the scruff of her neck, much like she’d carried her own Princes shortly after they were born. “You know that’s not what you do. Sarabi, quickly, chase it!”
Sarabi took off, not flustered at all; remaining calm and cool, the cub’s attempts was similar to Sarafina’s — the creature was sly, jerking in different direction as the cub prepared to pounce. Uru ended up having to lift Sarabi off the creature in the same way as she had lifted Sarafina; the young lionesses needed to learn patience, and not to just jump on the prey when they got annoyed.
Taka swallowed as Uru beckoned him to run. The fluffy prey scurried through the long grass — Uru pushed Taka forward with her nose. The Prince stumbled into an awkward run, catching up with the creature. Taka pounced — the prey dived. Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Taka fumbled mid-leap, landing on his face.
A pitiful “ooooh” chimed through the clump of cubs nearby — Uru appeared by her son’s side.
“Are you okay, Taka?” She licked his face reassuringly.
“Yeah, Mum, I’m fine, I’m fine.” Taka snapped, eyes burning with embarrassment. He spat dust back onto the ground, glancing at the other cubs. They were all stifling giggles, including Sarabi — Taka’s heart sank at the sight.
Uru bolted away to search for the creature he had been chasing — in less than a minute, she returned with it wriggling in her mouth.
“Do you want to try again, son?” She asked, her voice laden with love.
Taka nodded; if he only tried once and gave up, he’d be dubbed the weakest lion in the pride.
The creature whizzed through the grass — Taka tried harder this time, running with a few inches to spare between them before pouncing.
Once again, Taka fumbled and fell face-down on the ground. Picking himself up hastily, his face coated with dust, he could feel the giggles being stifled by the big boulder.
Uru’s tongue attacked his face — she licked him clean, before sitting by him.
“Would you like to try again, Taka?”
Taka shook his head fiercely, forcing the lump in his throat to disappear, and the tears welling in his eyes to vanish. Uru nuzzled him affectionately.
“Don’t worry, son, I’m sure you’ll pick it up soon.”
The Prince trotted back to the clump of cubs, shamed, his head hanging down. Even the girls had beaten him — they’d kept their balance throughout their attempts, sometimes getting a grip on the animal. All he’d done was face-plant twice.
Mufasa modestly approached his mother — not his usual, confident saunter. He didn’t want to rub anything in his brother’s face.
Nevertheless, he still pinned the animal on his third try. The first two times, the animal had slipped out of his grasp like with the girls, but after that, he ended up pinning the prey strongly between his paws. He grinned as it wriggled helplessly.
Sarabi and Sarafina burst into cheers — even Uru praised Mufasa strongly, before letting the creature run free.
“Well done, my son, you’re a natural hunter.” The Queen smiled, licking Mufasa’s face with pride.
Even though he’d been successful, Mufasa didn’t swagger back to his friends. Instead, he trotted straight to Taka.
“How are you feeling, brother?” He asked quietly, trying hard not to gather attention.
“I’m fine! Get away from me.” Taka shrank away, gravitating towards the safety of his mother. “Don’t... don’t talk to me.”
Mufasa, incredibly confused, tried to sort his jumbled thoughts.
“What? I haven’t done anything, have I?”
“You’ve done enough.” Taka snapped — realising his anger, he calmed himself. “Please. Please, leave me alone.”
The yellow cub, still confused, obeyed; he walked at least two metres away from Taka the whole way home.
And from that moment, from when Mufasa got all the praise, all the attention, managed everything perfectly, and Taka had been inadequate, a failure, as usual — the smaller, brown cub felt that their relationship had finally been severed — and would never recover.
