Before reading this, you'd be advised to read my short origin story for my character, Stoker, as he plays a major role in this story.
Without further ado, I'll get on to the story.
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Chapter 1: His Mercenary, Arriving
In the months after the deaths of Mufasa and Simba, things had begun to worsen in the Pridelands. It was a dark time for the pride. Sarabi and young Nala were taking the losses most heavily at that point, but things were getting worse for everyone. The former queen liked keeping to herself nowadays, and the cub almost always looked lethargic. What was the worst though, was the hyenas. There were literally hundreds of them, and they were always badgering the lionesses. Their presence was growing wearisome, especially as it became evident that Scar expected the lionesses to hunt for them! It was a hellish life to say the least, but there was nothing the lionesses could do against so many hyenas.
As the months dragged on, a year passed. Two. Sarabi became more and more cold during the years. Nala became a strong huntress. And the living conditions only grew worse. In the early part of the third year since the loss of the king and prince, a drought had set it, drying up the land and causing the herds to move on. The once lush Pridelands were now a cracked and barren wasteland, devoid of life besides the lions and hyenas at Pride Rock. Prey was becoming harder and harder to find, and the waterhole was slowly drying up. Soon, there would be nothing left.
The melancholy singing of Zazu, trapped inside the den with Scar, could often be heard on the tanning rocks nearby, where the lionesses still gathered, but only to sleep or otherwise laze about. Most discussions were held some distance from Pride Rock, often while the lionesses were out hunting. They figured they might as well talk, since there wasn't much to eat. On such occasions, the hunting party sometimes returned with new lionesses, whom Scar allowed to stay because "maybe they can hunt better than the rest of you."
Three of the younger lionesses in the pride, Atifa, Sethunya, and the youngest, a year younger than the other two, Nala, were out on hunt today. They had been with several of the other lionesses, but the older ones had given up and returned home empty handed. The three still out here knew that their pridemates would be punished if they didn't bring back some amount of food, so they were intent on catching something. This had led them far from their usual hunting grounds; it had taken them out of the Pridelands altogether. It wasn't much help, as all they had found was a vast desert, but they weren't ready to give up yet.
Nala scanned the horizon, catching sight of what appeared to be a small oasis in the distance. She squinted, trying to make out whether or not it was an illusion. There were a few trees around it, and that definitely looked like water. What was more, it looked like there were forms there. Perhaps it was some sort of prey animals.
"Look!" she said, alerting her companions, "Let's go check it out."
With that, she began trotting towards the spot. The other two lionesses silently followed after her, hoping it was something worth checking out. As they drew near, they could make out the forms near the waterㅡ they were lions, three of them. Two lionesses were conscious, and the other was a male lying on the ground. The flies buzzing around his mane made it clear that he was dead even from a slight distance. The hunting party stopped near the others.
"What do you want from us?" one of the lionesses asked. She was slender, with a lithe but muscular form, her fur was a tawny-tan color and there was a darker stripe atop her head. Her companion was equally built, but much brighter in coloration.
"Nothing," Sethunya said quickly.
"We've ventured out here in search of food. Our pride is starving, and the herds have moved on, so we've been going farther and farther out in our hunts. We saw you from afar and were hoping you were prey animals," Nala explained.
"We haven't had anything to eat in a while either," the apparently more talkative one replied, "Imamu was letting Sakina and I eat before him, and now he's... gone." She sobbed dramatically as she told them this, though it didn't seem to be deliberately so. The lionesses from Pride Rock exchanged a look. There was only one apparent solution to this current issue, but it was very gruesome, and none of them wanted to say anything about it.
"Wait... you three don't look like you're starving," the quieter lioness, who had been identified as Sakina, said.
"Well..." Sethunya began, trying to figure out how to explain it.
"That's because we've been eating our dead when we can't find prey," Atifa spoke up. The two strangers looked at her in shock and horror.
"You can't be serious," the more talkative of them said, her eyes darting to the body of Imamu.
"We've had no choice. It's not all lions though. There's a clan of hyenas living with us, so we more often end up having to eat their dead. Times are hard right now, but if you come back with us, as gruesome of an existence as it is, you can survive. Unfortunately, if we don't want to starve, we'll have to bring your... Imamu with us," Atifa went on. Nala and Sethunya remained quiet.
"No!"
"Zira... I think they're right. I think we have to go with them now," Sakina whispered to her companion.
"And we eat my Imamu?" the other lioness shrieked.
"He wouldn't want us to starve like this."
"He wouldn't want us to eat his body either! He deserves better than that!"
"Let's just go with them. Maybe the rest of their pride has found something else to eat and we can give him a proper burial," Sakina continued. After a long moment of silence, the other lioness nodded, tears rolling down her face.
"Alright, we'll go with them," she said at last.
"I'm Sakina, and this is Zira," the more brightly colored lioness addressed the other three, "We're all that's left of our pride."
"I'm Sethunya, these are Nala and Atifa," the creamy tan lioness introduced in turn, indicating each member of the hunting party with a paw. Sakina smiled at her, she seemed nice. Not to mention, the brown "freckles" on her face were quite cute, unlike the ones on her own face, and they made her seem more relatable. The hunting party from Pride Rock stepped over to the water of the oasis, getting a long drink each before trying to get back home. They had a long walk ahead of them.
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Everything the light touched was barren land and cracked earth, dead trees and small patches of dead grass. It was a sight that brought back unpleasant memories for the adolescent red lion standing on a plateau. There was even a large rock standing up in the distance like a tombstone marking the final resting place of everything. He let out a sigh of frustration and began walking towards the tombstone; after all, there wasn't anything else around so he might as well head for that.
It was a long and somewhat tiring jaunt, but it seemed to go more quickly than he thought, as before he knew it, the rock was looming above him. All around it were swarms of hyenas and spattering of lionessesㅡ a combination he found rather odd. Where a large piece of rock jutted out from the main mass of the tombstone, he could see a cave. It would be cool inside. On the rock in front of the cave stood a slender male lion who seemed angry with a lioness in front of him. He'd be the one in charge of this pride.
As the red lion surveyed his surroundings, he noticed a drying waterhole behind the rock. He would like to stay here for a little while, assuming there was anything to eat. He'd need to talk to the scrawny male atop the rock. His mind made up, the adolescent padded over to the rock, moving between lionesses and hyenas when it was necessary, ignoring the perturbed looks he was getting from them as he passed by. His presence was soon known by all, and the lioness who'd been being berated was dismissed. The male atop the rock looked down at the approaching newcomer, allowing the adolescent to glimpse a scar on his left eye.
"I'm afraid there's nothing here for you," the scarred male said, "but you can no doubt see that."
"Actually, I think there is something here for me," the newcomer disagreed as he reached the ledge the other male sat on and sat before him. "I've come to offer my services to whoever's in charge here."
"What services?" spat the scarred male.
"Are you in charge here?" the other asked to clarify.
"Of course I'm in charge, I am the king!"
"I didn't realize, forgive me Your Majesty," said the newcomer with a bow, "My name is Stoker. I'm traveling the lands in search of food, water, shelter, anything really. If you've any to offer, I'd like to partake in exchange for pretty much anything you might need done."
The king looked thoughtful for a moment, and Stoker couldn't begin to imagine what he was thinking. Finally, the king spoke.
"I think we can make an arrangement, follow me, and we will discuss the details of your offer away from prying eyes."
Saying nothing more, the king stood and led Stoker into the den on the rock. Upon entering, the younger lion found the inside to be little different from the outside, except that it was darker and a bit cooler. In a corner the skeleton of some animal lay on the ground with a bird trapped behind within it. Seeing the king, the miserable creature moved to the edge of his confinement, poking out his head.
"Scar, sire?" he asked, "What's going on?"
"Quiet, Zazu," Scar replied. Then he turned to the mercenary behind him. "You can stay here and share in our... spoils for as long as you prove useful to me. In fact, I'll even give you one of my lionesses, if you so desire. In return, I want you to keep an eye on those girls... they're quiet, too quiet of late, and I need to know if they are plotting anything. You see, they blame me for this drought, and I'd hate for them to, kings forbid it, rise up against me. In addition, you'll have to be part of the hunting party, and do anything and everything I tell you to while you're here."
"Yes Your Majesty, your will is my command," Stoker said with a bow, agreeing to the king's terms.
"Good. Then get to it."
Stoker nodded and left the cave, ready to begin his new role in the Pridelands.