"Mufasa quit acting like a child! you need to act like Pride Land's future king! And Taka, stop distracting your brother from his responsibilities," Ahadi yelled at his two sons as they paused from playfully rolling in the grass.
Both of their faces in disbelief at the sight of their father so suddenly. After all, they were only cubs and weren't used to seeing their father angry.
As he yelled at them Taka bowed his head in sadness and Mufasa bowed his in disgrace. Mufasa turned and walked towards his home, Pride Rock. Ahadi turned and followed him. Taka stared at the tree wondering to himself why Mufasa was the chosen one. Mufasa was only one year older than him. Not much bigger. In fact, Mufasa was quite small for his age.
I can prove to you that I can handle the responsibilities of being king. I can provide food for my family. I can protect them from danger and I will still let them have fun! I know, I will go hunt by myself and bring back a whole antelope. That oughta impress our father.
Taka was always the bragging type. He always over exaggerated his "adventures." Everybody knew he was just a kid; weak and naive. He could convince himself that he was the best and bravest around. He never sensed trouble coming and always seemed to be the center of danger in the pridelands leading his father to treat him as if he were less than family. Almost as if Taka were an outcast.
Taka ran for the pride lands towards the green mess flooded with antelope herds. He was ready to pounce with all the adrenaline pumping through his blood. He could feel the heartbeat of the earth in his paws as soon as they touched the fertile land he hoped to someday rule.
Taka would prove that he is better than Mufasa and take his place as the rightful king when the time came. He loved his brother, but the desire to become king overpowered him. He would find the biggest antelope and slaughter it for the whole kingdom to see. No, the whole world to see.
Taka ran with all of his might, and all of his energy. He had never ran so fast in his life. He ran until he came across a herd of antelope. He hid in the tall prairie grass a few hundred feet away from the nearest antelope. Anything could happen, but he was sure of one thing. He was gonna find the biggest and baddest from the herd and take it down.
Taka sat crouched in the tall grass waiting for the perfect time to pounce. Awaiting the perfect antelope to walk by. The grass swayed against his fur as he waited. Along came a small herd of antelope. Taka glanced up. He found the biggest of the herd within an instant. He contemplated his attack. He knew to aim for the throat. If there was one thing he learned from his father, it was to aim for the throat. The adrenaline rushing through his veins became too much to bear. Taka leaped on impulse failing to notice the group of exiled lions already tearing away through a group of antelope. Everything happened so fast. Taka took sudden notice of the lions. He could see the anger, but by the time he tried to run, three lions were after him. They were all so much bigger than him. He was running faster than he ever had in his life. All of a sudden, the oldest of the lions tackled Taka to the ground leaving him unconscious.
Taka dreamed of his father, and his brother. They were fighting and Mufasa was sad. He wanted to tell Mufasa that he would take over the kingdom so he could be happy. Mufasa just stared blankly. Taka tried yelling, but nothing got their attention. All of a sudden Taka saw himself lying dead on the floor in the corner where his father had stood only moments ago standing now next to Mufasa with bloody paws.
Taka gasped for breath as he awoke. He couldn't even make out where he was. The world seemed so blurry. When he was finally able to see past the fog in his eyes, he noticed that he didn't recognize where he was but fear rippled through him the instant he recognized the exiles. The ground was bare with not the slightest hint of grass, it was night, so the only source of light came from the moon. They must have dragged him here knowing that he was the king's son.
"Where...where am I?" Taka asked shakingly.
"You are home my son." said who seemed to be the oldest of the pack.
"I am not your son…" he said blankly.
" There is a lot you have left to learn young one."
"I don't understand. Why am I here? Where is my father? Shouldn't someone be looking for me? Please, just let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone!" Taka cried out more so like a child than he had hoped.
The old lion didn't even budge. He just stared at Taka with amazement. Taka decided to try to run. He knew he was surrounded but he ran anyways. A female lion swooped her paw out catching Taka in the face. He screamed in pain as blood flowed down his face. He sobbed weakly as the older lion looked at him again. This lion standing in front of him was black with a black mane with a sense of familiarity. Standing tall and proud. He seemed to have sadness in his eyes. In a way, Taka felt as if he had known this lion his whole life.
"You really believe you belong with them? You are my son, not his. Your mother and I were in love. When Ahadi found out about the affair, he exiled me and promised to never let you be king. Can't you see? I want you to know the truth. My name is Zali and I am your real father."
Taka stared in disbelief still in pain from the wound. He didn't know what to think.
"You are a liar! I don't know you! Ahadi is my father!" Taka ran. He didn't care anymore if he got scratched and bruised. He just ran. He couldn't handle that Zali may actually be his father. He just couldn't bear the thought.
Taka went back to the pride lands. From there he could see Pride Rock and he slowly made his way home hungry and tired. When he got there, Ahadi stood at the tip of the rock and stared at him half with what seemed like anger and half of what looked like disgust. What felt like minutes to Taka passed before he spoke out.
"Don't you want to know where I have been or how i got this gash on my face?" Taka asked. "Do you even care?!" Taka screamed.
Ahadi walked away shaking his head barely taking a second notice of him leaving Taka in tears. Even Mufasa, the only one Taka had ever truly loved in his family, turned and walked away with a look of shame aimed at Taka. In that instant, all love that dwelled in Taka's heart faded to hatred. Taka had enough and took off for the outlands. He didn't care if Zali was his real father or not, that's where he belonged. Taka arrived back where he was only hours ago to the dark, bare land. Zali was standing tall and proud almost as if he expected Taka's arrival any second.
"Welcome back."
"I'm only staying on one condition. My name is no longer Taka. That is the name Ahadi gave me. From now on, call me Scar." Taka said with hatred in his voice.