The Past Can Hurt

[changa]

So here's a little Mheetu story. The title doesn't actually refer to Mheetu himself, just in case you were confused.
~~~
Sarafina woke, yawning and stretching. She heard a smaller yawn, and turned to see Nala. She was waking as well.
"Sleep well, honey?"
"Yeah,"
Sarafina turned to Mheetu to ask him the same question, but he was not there. "Mheetu! Nala, where's Mheetu?"
"I don't know,"
"Mheetu! This is not time for fun and games! Come out!" She was beginning to get worried. Where was he? She yelled and roared for him, but she got nothing in response. She ran ahead to Pride Rock.
"Mom, wait!" exclaimed Nala, and Sarafina turned.
"Oh, I just..." she grabbed Nala by the scruff of the neck and hurried off to the large rock. Here, Scar was lying on a bed of stone, playing with a skull.
"Scar, my son is gone. He's missing, and I can't find him anywhere."
"Well, one less mouth to feed," he chuckled.
"Perhaps I should rephrase that. Our son is missing," With a start, Scar realized that the only male cub Sarafina had was his heir.
"Sarabi!" he called and a defiant-looking lioness came near.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Mheetu is gone. Find him."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Sarabi gave Sarafina a sympathetic look and went off to gather a search party.
"Shenzi!"
"Yeah?" called a female hyena, entering the den.
"Find the little brat. Bring him back alive,"
" 'Kay," she said, turning to shout commands at her clan, and presently, a group of hyenas passed them.
"Thank you, Scar," said Sarafina sincerely, picking up Nala.
"Oh, no. You're staying here," Scar chuckled madly, "I need an heir that won't get himself lost."
Sarafina backed away. "No. Oh, no. Our deal was, I give you a cub, and you leave me alone."
"Well, your deal just expired." Scar laughed again. "Come here."
"No!" Sarafina was indignant. So what if he was king? She wouldn't do it.
"No? Well, I can change your mind." He yelled at the leftover hyenas, which soon began to attack Sarafina. The lioness growled and bit, fighting off the hyenas that were swarming like insects. "Stop!" shouted Scar, and everyone paused to turn to him. Scar had Nala's neck under his paw, pushing down just enough to keep her from moving.
"No! No, Scar, please! Please!" Nala's mother was almost in tears, seeing her little daughter helpless.
"Well, do we have a deal?" She nodded, too scared to speak. Scar advanced toward her, setting Nala aside. Sarafina let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. As the scrawny lion came near her, she, in a flash, grabbed Nala and leapt away.

"Oh, my! Not Mheetu!" exclaimed Raha, a lioness. As Sarabi told the lionesses, they were truly feeling for Sarafina. Some of their own cubs had been killed, so they understood somewhat what their friend was going through.
"Yes, Mheetu. Scar says we are to leave at once." The lionesses muttered agreement. "Some of us must stay here, however. You never know when Scar will kill another." The two cubs that were left, Kula and Chumvi, whimpered. They were Scar's, but were deemed too weak to be his successors. He respected their mother enough to let them live, but knowing Scar, you could never be too careful.
A few lionesses agreed to stay, and the rest were on their way. They searched for bloodstains on horns of buffalo, but found none. They stampeded a small herd of zebra, but there was no cub whatsoever.
"I don't know where else to look," admitted Sarabi. She had led many of these searches lately, but could always find proof that the poor victim had been killed. This was just challenging.
After searching for a while, Nala, still shaking, and her mother, still bloodstained, ran up to them. "Hi," the latter said nervously, "Found him?"
"No. What happened?" Sarabi was curious. Normally her best friend would be leading the search party, but she had not followed.
"He... Well..." Sarafina stuttered, and her friend nodded. She didn't need to ask more. Neither did any of the other lions.
"I understand." The lionesses searched through the tallest grass and behind the thickest trees, but there was no cub in sight. By the time the sun reached the horizon, Sarafina was choking back tears for the second time that day.
"Sarafina, I... I'm so sorry. I have no idea where he could have gone. I feel the same way." Sarafina had forgotten, in all her fear, that Simba was still gone. It hadn't been long, so it was still fresh in her friend's mind.
"Well, we can grieve together," she whispered, a tiny smile crossing her face. At the exact same moment, a tear ran down each of their cheeks.

Mheetu woke far differently than his mother had that day. He was lying on a pile of fresh green leaves, in the middle of--well, he didn't know where.
"You're finally awake!" said a voice, and Mheetu jumped, his instincts telling him to attack. He turned to see a smiling face. It belonged to a cub, older than him. However, his face was that of a young child.
"So, Mheetu, right?" he asked innocently. Mheetu didn't really know how to respond. He was in the middle of nowhere, and this strange cub knew his name. That, he felt, was creepy.
"I said, is your name Mheetu?"
"Kinda..." he replied, finding his voice, "How do you know?"
"Your mom was muttering in her sleep. So... hi!"
"Where... where am I?" asked Mheetu cautiously.
"The jungle,"
"The where?"
"You know, the jungle," the cub said. This was too much for Mheetu to take in.
"Who are you?" he ventured.
"Uhuru, leader of the Mzima Huru."
"Oh. What's the Mzima Huru?"
"A group with no rules. No adults. A free group. You joinin'?"
"Sure. Why not?" Mheetu paused. "Wait. Did you say, 'No adults?’?”
"Uh-huh."
"But... My mom... She'll be worried out of her mind!"
"Well, let her worry!"
"But... but..."
Uhuru sighed. "Look, Mheetu, adults... they take over our lives with worrying and rules. We don't need that. We want freedom! And adults just won't give us that!"
"But they make rules to protect us!"
"Sometimes they do it for their own personal gain!"
"Yeah? How do you know?"
Uhuru didn't respond. "They... they just do..." he said eventually.
"What? But... I have to go back."
"But this place has no rules... Why would you ever leave that?"
"Uhuru... I have to go home."
"Just stay for one day! Just one! And if you don't like it, I'll personally escort you home."
"Well, okay. But one day only! And then I'll leave!"
"You're sure you will?" inquired Uhuru.
"Yes. I want to be with Nala and Mom!"
"Alright..." Uhuru said, unsure. "So, before you meet the others, I'd like you to meet our shaman."
"How did you get a shaman? Shamans are rule-y and do what's right!"
"Who says being free isn't right?" They traveled in silence to a large tree. Through the branches, Mheetu saw a tail twitching. Two orange eyes gleamed from the leaves. They locked onto the two cubs, and a leopard descended the trunk.
"Ah, a new visitor," he said, his voice a husky whisper, "Your name, young lion?"
"Mheetu," he responded shakily.
"Yes, I see," The leopard circled Mheetu, every once in a while saying something he had discovered. Most Mheetu didn't know how he discovered; he supposed it was a shaman thing. "A light brown... Green eyes... Son of a tyrant, I see... Sister..."
"Is he suitable, Mchawi?" asked Uhuru emotionlessly.
"Yes... Yes, he is. He will do just fine here. He will stay, this I'm sure of. Won't you, Mheetu?"
Mheetu found his eyes locking with Mchawi's, without him willing them to. "Yes, of course... Why wouldn't I?"
"He has a point," said Uhuru cheerfully.
"Ah, yes... Run along now, Mheetu. New friends await." His strange whispery voice no longer scared Mheetu. Nothing scared Mheetu. He was too happy.
"Friends," called Uhuru, and Mheetu suddenly noticed that he was in a clearing, in front of a group of lions. "I present to you, Mheetu of the Pridelands!" Pridelands. Mheetu reached to the back of his mind to find what the word meant. But soon, he discarded the thought and enjoyed the attention given to him by the lions.
"Hi! I'm Hadithiwa!" a brown, young lion with three stripes on his back exclaimed, the smile never escaping his bright features.
"And I'm his sister, Ambiwa!" another cub, almost identical to the first, yelled. The only thing different from her brother was that she was grey.
"Hello!" Mheetu loved all the attention. Each and every cub (and there were about a dozen) introduced him or herself and soon Mheetu was prancing around like an antelope with the rest of them. He didn't notice that Uhuru wasn't playing or that Mchawi approached him out of nowhere. He also didn't notice the words they exchanged. But if he had, he would have heard this:
"So, Mchawi, will he come to his senses?"
"His mind was strong, but I think he'll hold until adulthood. But, by then, he'll be fully ours. He will be a major piece of our puzzle, as he has much strength. Do you have any ideas for him?"
"Just use him to take the land that belongs to us."
"Well, it will be simple, despite his broken ancestry." They shared a chuckle, and Mchawi retreated to his tree.

"I can't believe it's already been a day, and he's nowhere in sight," complained Banzai.
"Look, if we get the kid, we get a reward. A big reward. Caught and killed by the king himself," replied Shenzi.
"Yeah, I guess..." he muttered in response.
The sun had just risen over the Pridelands, and no one had yet found Mheetu. Even Scar was getting a bit jumpy in his cave. The lioness search party had contemplated leaving the Pridelands.
"If we find him, we can stay. And live without Scar and his ghastly ruling," called Raha hopefully.
"But we cannot. This is the place of my birth, and yours, and your cubs'. We can't just leave," argued Sarabi, "And we still haven't looked everywhere. There's still the Elephant Graveyard left."
"But there's no one there! All the hyenas live here!"
"Which is why it's the perfect hiding spot, especially if he was cubnapped."
All of the lionesses could agree with that logic, so they set off to the graveyard, Sarafina's eyes red from tears, yet still hopeful.
"We'll find him, Sara. We will," whispered her friend.
"But will we, Sarabi? What if he's dead?"
"But there's no 'what-iffing' here. That just makes you think of the worst, and that sort of thing gives you nightmares."
"Yes, I suppose." The lionesses trudged through the bones and caves, hopeful, and still knowing they wouldn't find him there.
"Mheetu!" called Sarabi, and the other lionesses followed suit. Their calls echoed through the empty graveyard, with no reply.
"We have to keep looking!" Sarafina cried, growling slightly.
"Sara, he's not here."
"Then, where is he?"
Sarabi sighed. "Sara, move on. He's not here."
Sarafina roared with rage, fear and sorrow. Then she began to cry.

Mheetu was living live to the fullest, especially as he had grown. Meals seemed to appear magically when he was hungry. He was curious as to who put them there, but he would always dismiss the thought and begin to eat.
"So, Mheetu," Hadithiwa said one day, "Have you ever thought what it would be like to not live here?"
"It would be so boring! Adults would be everywhere, and then, we'd have nothing to do! We'd just sit there."
"Of course, you're right!" exclaimed Ambiwa, pouncing playfully on her brother. Soon, the three were distracted by a lovely flower. Mheetu soon became bored, however, and ran off.
Something fell from the trees to face him: Mchawi. "Go back and play with your friends," he said.
"But... There are no rules!" Mheetu exclaimed, and suddenly a flurry of images flashed through his mind, and he remembered everything. But before he could utter a word, Mchawi's eyes met his.
"Of course. My mistake," he said, and Mheetu's memory was gone again. He bounded off into the jungle, not pausing for anything. Until he saw a familiar face.
"Simba?" he asked curiously, and memories came flooding back.
"Mheetu?" Mheetu nodded, overjoyed. He examined Simba, who was far older than when they had last seen each other. He had the beginnings of a mane, and was far bigger and stronger. But one crucial and important detail stood out.
"You're not dead," he said, awestruck, "How?"
"Well, I never died."
"But Scar said--"
"Look, forget about what Scar said. Why are YOU here?"
"I was cubnapped. And then this creepy leopard came, and... Messed with my mind. And then I didn't remember anything about you or mom or anything." He said, realizing how wrong this whole thing was.
"Hey, Mheetu, just forget about them. You're... You're better off."
"But... don't you miss your mother?"
"I... Mheetu, I did something horrible. She can't know. So I won't go back."
"Has the leopard messed with your mind too?"
"No, but Pumbaa and Timon--" he was cut short by Mchawi, who dropped from the trees above.
"Hello, Mheetu," he sneered, "You're a long way from home,"
"That is not my home!" he exclaimed, but his efforts were not enough. The leopard's eyes met his, and he was back to the young idiot. "Right. Of course. I'll go home right away. Hadithiwa and Ambiwa are missing me. Bye!" As he went back to the clearing he called "home," he passed Uhuru. "Hi, Uhuru," he said cheerily.
"Who's this?" Uhuru said, as he approached Simba.
"Stay back," Simba growled.
"His mind is too strong, Uhuru. I must clear it of his... encounter. He would just ruin our plan."
"Of course." Uhuru backed into the shadows of the jungle. Simba was struggling against the massive power of Mchawi, and soon they made eye contact. Simba pulled his eyes away, and the leopard was gone. But he didn't remember any of that.

"Scar," Shenzi shouted, as she entered the den.
"Scar," exclaimed Sarafina, as she entered the den. The two females and their groups had been searching, so long that Nala had even reached the teenage stage.
"What?"
"He's nowhere to be found," Sarafina said sadly.
"There isn't any cub anywhere," Shenzi said, disappointed at herself for giving up.
"Oh. Well, Shenzi, go tell a lioness to come. Any lioness at all." Scar chuckled madly.
"No, Scar. You don't need an heir. You aren't even king," Sarafina spat.
"What did you say?" Scar exploded.
"You are not the king!" Scar jumped for Sarafina, but she dodged him. "Scar, please. We saw... We saw a small traveling pride. Pick one of those lionesses."
"Oh. You don't say. Shenzi! Forget my last order. Escort the lionesses to my throne."
"Yeah. Got it." Shenzi gathered Banzai and Ed and they made their way out onto the savannah.
A lioness, carrying a cub in her womb, didn't much like the situation. She was in the middle of a barren wasteland, and she had just spotted three hyenas. "Hyenas! Prepare to battle!" She was certainly not in the best state for battle, but she had to live. If only for her cub. The lionesses behind her got into their attack positions, though none of them were ready for battle either.
Shenzi heard her cry, and tried not to bare her teeth defensively. "Girls, and your cubs, we have been sent by the king himself to welcome you to our lands. He requests that your small band see him immediately."
The leader looked warily at Shenzi, but she supposed it was better than fighting. So she pursued the hyenas to Scar's cave.
"Ah, thank you, Shenzi. Welcome, poor wanderers, to our humble pride. I am Scar, your king."
The leader gulped. "You'd really let us stay?"
"Certainly. It's not much, as most of the herds had moved on, but we have enough to spare,"
No we don’t, thought Shenzi, her stomach growling.
"Thank you so very much, your majesty," the leader said, truly and utterly grateful. She noticed that he had a nice smile. And a nice everything else. "My name is Zira,"

Mheetu was fully grown now, and still living life to the fullest. Hadithiwa and Ambiwa were still his best friends, and he still acted like a child, despite his age. As he was playing with his friends, Mchawi and Uhuru were conversing.
"So, their memories will be back soon, then? They are adults, now." Uhuru truly didn't like the sound of that, especially in Mheetu. He was tricky.
"I believe they have forgotten all that by now. Permanently."
"And Mheetu?"
"Perhaps."
They viewed a simple fight between two lions that was soon becoming serious. Blood flew, and the other lions were cheering. Except Mheetu.
Mheetu's emotions were conflicted. These two fighting lions had been friends since they were cubnapped. He, being hypnotized, wanted to cheer. But, somewhere deep inside himself, he knew that wasn't right. He watched, slightly horror-stricken, slightly amazed. And the final bite came. One of the lions slumped to the ground, and everyone cheered.
Uhuru and Mchawi looked at each other. They knew there was an upside to this: these childish beings could kill. But that was one less fighter for their cause.
"Stop this!" Mchawi's normally husky whisper had turned to a blood-chilling scream. "You cannot do that," he exclaimed, his eyes locking with the killer's.
"There's no rule against it. There are no rules," he said, a smile outlining his bloodied muzzle.
Mchawi realized this was true. His eyes flickered to a commotion around Mheetu. He was jerking around randomly, and others were crowding around in confusion.
"Mchawi," hissed Uhuru, "what's happening?"
"A... side effect... to my... er, modifications... to his mind."
"Mchawi, you have brainwashed us," Mheetu said suddenly, "and this needs to stop. Uhuru, you see why rules are important? Killing is wrong, and your expressions showed that clearly."
Uhuru fidgeted. "Mheetu..." he warned.
Mchawi tried to meet eyes with the lion, but Mheetu was too strong. "No. Look, my friends. Killing is wrong. We have rules to keep people safe, and this is surely not safe. Please, come back and remember."
Hadithiwa and his sister looked at Mheetu. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Mheetu looked at the ground. "You need to remember your home. Your family."
"This is our home!" shouted a lioness, "And we are each other's family!"
"Yeah!" came the crowd's cry.
"Please! Try to remember! Remember your mother, who would hold you close, take care of you! Remember your pride! One big community! A family!"
The lions murmured among themselves.
"This is our pride," hissed Mchawi, "And mothers make rules. To hold us back."
"To keep us safe," Mheetu argued.
Uhuru couldn't take it anymore. "Mheetu, you idiot! I have been pushed down, ridiculed, and persecuted by my pride, my community, my mother! And tonight, we are getting revenge, with or without your life in this world. Make up your mind."
"I'll never help you," he sneered.
"Fine," Uhuru motioned to the lion that had just killed his friend. "Kill Mheetu," he commanded.
The lion approached Mheetu, a bloodthirsty smile on his face. Ambiwa jumped in front of him. "No! Stop! You can't kill my best friend!"
"Who's to stop me?"
"Me!"
"And me!" said her brother, stepping up next to her.
"Well, I'll just kill you all, then." He sounded confident, as he was very strong, but he could not win in a battle three against one. He turned, and escaped into the ferns and bushes.
"Thanks," Mheetu told his friends, and added, "Do you remember your mother now?"
"I remember a large figure. She would lick me, and nuzzle me," said Ambiwa.
"Yes. And she was dark brown. Darker than me," continued Hadithiwa.
"And your father, perhaps?" Mheetu pressed.
"Well, he was large. And gray. Gray like me. And he always had a smile on," Ambiwa smiled at the memory.
"What about you?" Mheetu addressed the crowd, "Do you remember your mother and father?"
Murmurs came from the crowd, and soon, the jungle was filled with joyful noises as the lions remembered.
"No," Uhuru's world was crumbling before his eyes. All the work he had ever done was gone. "Mchawi, help!"
Mchawi met eyes with every lion there. He looked up at his companion and shook his head. It was over.
"Run, now! Run to your communities and families!" Mheetu exclaimed, overjoyed, and surprisingly, everyone remembered where their pride was. They went their separate ways, returning home.

As Mheetu approached what he thought was the Pridelands, he saw a young cub, prancing around with a butterfly. "Excuse me, young one," he said calmly, as he didn't want to scare her, "Could you take me to see the king?"
"Oh. My daddy," she giggled, and began to frolic off. So Scar had another cub. A new heir. That had replaced him. He followed her to Pride Rock, noticing along the way that the savannah was greener than when he had left. Herds were everywhere, far more than when he had last seen them.
Mheetu continued to follow the cub, until he finally saw his true home: Pride Rock.
He climbed up to the tip and looked over the land that he had missed so.
"Excuse me? That's my spot, rogue," growled Simba from behind.
"Simba? You're king? Isn't..."
"What, do you want to be king? Well, you can't,"
"Simba, it's me, Mheetu,"
"Mheetu? Nala!"
Nala exited the den, yawning. "Yes?" Her eyes strayed to the lion on the tip of Pride Rock. "Mheetu? Is that you?"
"Nala," he gasped, relieved.
"Oh, Mheetu, we thought you were dead!"
"Where's Mom?"
Nala sighed. "Mheetu, she... she's gone. I'm so sorry."
"Oh. Yeah. It's just... I haven't seen her in forever. And I never will. Never again."
"I know. I know what it's like to lose family," Simba sighed.
"So, what's been happening all this time?" Mheetu said, trying to forget his loss.
"It's a long story," Nala smiled.
"I have lots of time,"

That night Mheetu lay under the stars. "Are you up there?" He knew the great kings and queens were up in the sky, but was his mother? He waited. A small breeze ruffled his mane, and seemed to whisper, "So proud. So proud,"
"I love you, mom," he smiled.

[TheLionQueen]

Nice story I can't wait to read more if you write more lol

[changa]

Yeah, I'm working on one about Zira.

[TheLionQueen]

Cool! I'd love to read about Zira she is one of my favorite Vilians.

[changa]

Do you want a sneak peek?

[TheLionQueen]

OMG awesome sure! Id love to see a sneak peek!