Here's the Halloween story, VERY sorry it took so long. But I didn't have much time on my hands. (Plus Harvest Moon is a REALLY fun game! …Can't…stop…playing.) Well here's the chapter. Oh, and I'd like to thank D4rk for the help on this fic as well: read our story "Amiss Sins"!
Shenzi sunned herself in a secluded part of the African savannah, completely indulging herself in noon's hour. As far as she could remember she loved afternoon's tranquility; all the animals out either hunting or being hunted, the warm weather making everything around too lazy to do anything; it was the most quiet part of the day. And it was also one of those rare moments when she actually got some relaxation in. Even with Banzai and Ed not being very far off, nothing was going to stop her from milking the moment to the fullest; after all, being the clan's matriarch wasn't an easy duty.
Meanwhile, her two male companions weren't exactly as peaceful as she was. Ed was giggling at something like no tomorrow, although, it seemed to be forced; since there was nothing in particular to laugh about, even for him. Banzai was in no better condition; the male hyena was staring off at the horizon with a mixture of boredom and dazed-out on his face. Being never too fond of quiet or calm moments, the circumstances were just making him irritable with monotony. The worst part was, when he wasn't focused on something besides his stomach, he focused on, well…his stomach, which gave an annoying gurgle.
Growling in frustration, he glanced back at Shenzi. He knew how cranky she could be if she was disturbed in the least, but his appetite was persistent. Plus even after time after time after time, he'd tried to learn to ignore his unnecessary cravings, such as when his kind was still evicted to the Elephant Graveyard, but apparently his brain had some sort of abnormal bodily connection with his stomach. So, even though he knew it was probably a bad idea, he reluctantly approached the sleeping female. Ed, happy to see some movement for the first time in half an hour, happily followed.
In the meantime, Shenzi was still languidly resting on the warm sandy surface of the savanna. She sighed in near contentment as she rolled to her side…only to be washed over by two long shadows. Peeling her eyes open, she wasn't entirely surprised to see none other than Banzai and Ed standing above her.
"I knew this wouldn't last long." She thought as she let out a groan and rose up to her paws.
"What?" Their matriarch demanded.
"I'm hungry." The tougher of the two males replied.
"So? Go eat." Shenzi rolled her eyes as she started to lie down again.
"I would, but you're the only one who knows where all the herds are this time of day." He persisted. Shenzi let out an annoyed grunt.
"It ain't enough I gotta hold your n' Ed's paws everywhere I go, but now ya gotta have me escort you on a simple huntin' trip. In case you two ain't noticed, YOU'RE BOTH FULL-GROWN MALES! FIND THE HERDS ON YA OWN FAH ONCE!"
At that last, maturity-insulting, statement, Banzai scowled as his friend once again laid on her side. He sighed to himself; well, it was worth a try at least. He turned to face away from the tired female. Ed, seeing as how his hopes got up only for a false alarm, drooped his ears and walked away, letting out a sigh as he went; this caused a trail of drool that was previously hanging off his lower lip to land with a semi-loud splish/plop on the dirt.
Banzai, who looked up slightly when he heard the sound, raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly thick texture of his friend's saliva. He grimaced at the sight of the tiny dark puddle, careful not to accidentally step in it.
"Sick." He thought…until, a deviously disgusting idea popped into his head. He blinked as he thought it over for a moment, before widely smirking with malevolence. Looking back at Shenzi, he saw her still indolent form resting on the ground. And looking ahead at Ed, he saw just what he wanted to see: a bored expression on the male hyena's face. Not bothering to stop himself from smirking any broader, he approached his second companion.
"Hey Ed." The hyena blinked when he heard a familiar voice, strangely speaking in a low tone. Glancing to his side, he saw Banzai. A grin was plastered on his face, for what reason he didn't know…that is until his friend leaned close and whispered something in his ear. THEN he couldn't help but let out a hilarious guffaw, that is before Banzai slapped him on the back of the head and hissed at him to be quiet, in which case he toned it down to a mischievous cackle. After grinning at one another deviously, both males looked in the direction of their matriarch, and silently moved in.
Which was too bad for Shenzi, she was just starting to relax again…until she was suddenly rolled onto her back; her shoulders, forepaws, and hips pinned to the ground. Blinking in surprise, she looked up to see a cheerfully smiling Ed and a wickedly grinning Banzai. Banzai had her forepaws and shoulders immobile in his grip, and Ed was the one making sure she wouldn't try to kick them in their faces…or worse. Their female friend kept blinking for a moment as she took in what just happened and her current situation…before narrowing her eyes at both of them.
"Whadda you think you're doing?!" She demanded.
"Giving you a last chance." Banzai replied.
"Either you go hunting with me n' Ed, or else."
"Or else what?" She snorted. "You two start spoutin' things you think sound smart until I give in?" She rolled her eyes. The toughest male of the trio looked at her for awhile, before glancing over to their friend.
"Ed," he said, "show 'er what we mean." The more humorous of the trio laughed hilariously, before looking down at Shenzi and letting his tongue hang out in her direction. Now, being underneath somebody with an open mouth like Ed's, one could understand why Shenzi was getting a little apprehensive.
"Ed…" she began "what're you doin'?" He merely giggled once more, before alarming his friend as he let a stream of saliva travel down his abnormally long tongue; it came at her in a long, wet, nauseating stream. Shenzi cringed away from it, she could immediately hear Banzai cackle after she had done so.
"Glad this moment is so pleasant fah you. 'Cause you're dead once it's over." She thought to herself.
"I think she gets it." She heard the more talkative male of their group say. At his statement, Ed slurped the drool back in; sickening both his companions. Despite this, Banzai put on another grin as he looked at Shenzi, who gritted her teeth.
"You. Wouldn't. Dare." She growled.
"That's up to you, babe." He replied. Shenzi only narrowed her eyes again. Seeing this reaction, her oldest male friend merely shrugged.
"Hey, it's your muzzle, not mine." Snickered the hyena. "Let 'er have it, Ed."
At his friend's command, Ed let the saliva trickle down out of his mouth once more. Shenzi watched with wide eyes as it strained itself near her nose, before being slurped back into her less-than-intelligent friend's oral cavity, only to be repeated another time. Shenzi tried to make a few threats on the side, in hopes of making them stop .
"Ed, I swear, I'll kill you." But her hostile comments were ignored as she was kept immobile during the whole ordeal. This went on for another five minutes, and each time Ed's spit came closer; it was up to the point when the warm, revolting substance was a hair away from splattering her right between the eyes, that the female of the trio finally gave in.
"Alright!" She shouted. "Lemme up and we'll go on this stupid huntin' trip!" She finished with a snarl. Banzai and Ed, smiling in satisfaction, released their matriarch.
A few minutes later…
"Just so you know, when you're done scarfin' down all that meat, I'm gonna gag you two with the same, femur." Shenzi icily told her two companions.
"From what ya said before," Banzai responded, "you were gonna go back to sleep after we were done."
"To get the rest needed after I'm done with you two." She growled. Before another comeback could be made, the two heard excited laughter coming from their left. Glancing that way, they saw Ed eagerly pointing in a far-off direction. Following his gesture, both hyenas looked relieved at the sight of a large, plump antelope. Banzai licked his lips while Shenzi blew a bang from her eye.
"Well, whaddya waitin' fo'?" She said. The trio immediately took off.
It didn't take long for their prey to realize it had been targeted by three hungry predators, and the antelope bolted in the opposite direction. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were gaining by the minute. But in the middle of the chase, the grazing animal decided to take a sharp turn and detoured to the left, in the direction of the waterhole. Shenzi was the first to notice and quickly cut in the same path to get closer; Banzai and Ed following suite.
Thinking it'd be a cunning move to sneak through the tall shrubbery, Shenzi swung right into the brush of the area. Banzai and Ed exchanged glances, before they parted in opposite directions; getting ready to take their planned meal down on each side.
Not seeing the posse of hyenas pursuing it anymore, the antelope ceased in its escape. Taking a few cautious glances of its surroundings, the creature decided to slowly ease its way over to the waterhole; it took a wary step further.
This however proved to be a mistake, for Shenzi came lunging at the soon-to-be carcass from the front. The grazing animal cried out as she latched her jaws onto its face. And it only cried worse when Banzai and Ed came lunging from the sides. The two males pounced onto the doomed creature and dug their claws and teeth into the flesh.
Wanting to make one last attempt to freedom, the antelope gave out a shrill cry and, forgetting about the pain for a moment, charged directly towards the watering hole. The trio hung on for dear life, particularly Shenzi, who knew she'd be trampled if she let go. Yet, ironically, once it passed the ring of grass and reeds that surrounded the large body of water, all four of them were ambushed by a large crocodile. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed all directly unleashed themselves from their prey and high-tailed it out of there; just in time to hear the hiss of the scaled, predatory animal faint as they made their escape.
Luckily, the three managed to make it outside just in time before a loud commotion was heard from within the greenery of the watering hole. Panting for breath, they glanced at one another…until Banzai and Ed cowered away from a very furious Shenzi.
"Well was that enough of a hunt for ya?!" She irately demanded. Both males uneasily nodded. Seeing her about to get angrier, each of them was about to start apologizing…until Banzai saw something flicker from the corner of his eye. Raising a thick brow, he leaned over to look past the angry female to confirm his suspicions. What he saw was apparently enough to make him forget about the irritable matriarch in front of him and crack a half-smile as well.
"Then again…" He spoke up. Ed immediately looked at his companion as though he was the crazy one of the group. Shenzi however looked at him as if he were that antelope they almost had.
"What are you talking about you stupid, thick-headed, son of a-"
"Looks lunch might still be on the menu!" He excitedly shouted. Now it was Shenzi's turn to raise an eyebrow, before realizing he was looking in another direction, taking a glance in said direction, and seeing just what he was talking about. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the antelope they had pursued earlier completely unharmed!
There it was, standing there and even grazing like there was nothing to worry about; as if it was oblivious to the fact that in was knee-deep in an area full of crocodiles. The female hyena blinked before looking back at her two would-be victims.
"…I wouldn't eat what's on that menu; look like it got some sorta disease." She stated…until a grumbling sound echoed from a place very close. This caused her to glare at Banzai.
"Apparently your stomach doesn't realize when it's about to be kicked in repeatedly." She said in a normal-toned yet menacing voice. Her friend blinked in surprise, before truthfully stating,
"That wasn't me." And again, the grumbling sound came. This time the two glanced at Ed, who shook his head and shrugged. For one final time it was noticed, the sound echoed once more; before all eyes went on Shenzi, who seemed surprised.
"Well," Banzai smirked, "looks like we might've actually just saved you some trouble. We're already in the grazin' areas after all."
"Yeah, but ain't nothin' gonna come out aftah that lil' stunt we just pulled. I can guarantee ya there won't be any food fah miles." Shenzi retorted.
"Is that so? Well, I see one right now." The gruffer of the trio stated, causing his matriarch to raise a skeptical eyebrow.
"Where?"
"A few feet away from us. Er, my bad, you." He finished. Both remaining hyenas blinked.
"…You crazy?" Shenzi finally said.
"What? You said so yourself, there's not gonna be anymore food for awhile after what we just did. And besides: look at that thing! Does it look like it's bein' eaten up by crocs to you?!" Banzai defended. Shenzi and Ed both cast a glance back at the antelope, and indeed, it was still standing there. No problems whatsoever. They turned back to their now seemingly accurate companion.
"Ok, maybe not. Then again, it may just not be that close to the watah yet. You seen how them thangs are; they wait until somethin' walks up to the bank and SNAP! You won't be seein' it for awhile."
"Which only proves how righter I am." Banzai persisted.
"First of all, 'righter' ain't even a word. Second-"
"Lemme finish: since that thing's not close enough to the water for the crocs to get it, what's stoppin' us? If it's not bein' stalked by those lizards with big teeth, then why would the three of us be too?" Shenzi still skeptically lowered her eyes.
"Ok hotshot, so who's gonna go get it?"
"Who else? You." He replied. His female companion snorted.
"Yeah, right."
"Well," the male hyena said as he casually inspected his claws, "if ya can't do it…" This caused the Kenyan matriarch to stop all the jokes completely.
"What did you just say?" She demanded in a tone so icy it made Ed whimper and back away.
"Hey, if your strength's drained because you're so obviously hungry, that's cool-"
"My strength isn't drained no mattah what." Shenzi growled.
"Sure…" Banzai smirked as he rolled his eyes. Now the female of the trio was getting aggressive.
"I could lunge ovah there, snap that thang's neck, and drag it back here fastah than Ed can find a reason to laugh!"
"She talks the talk, but can she stalk the stalk?" He cackled. Narrowing her eyes one last time, Shenzi said not another word as she turned around and disappeared into the grass and reeds.
"And don't worry: next time you wanna be left alone we'll go bug T. She likes it!" He laughed.
A long moment passed. Ed stared at where she had left, until about two minutes later, began whimpering in concern.
"Eh, I'm sure she's fi-" Banzai was cut off when an enormous crocodile lunged out at them from behind the reeds. Both hyenas quickly scrambled out of the way, but from the angle the reptilian predator had lunged at them, they saw they had no choice other than to directly head into the grasses surrounding the waterhole; even though they had a good idea of what awaited them on the other side.
Yet nothing, not even seeing Scar himself come back to end their lives, could prepare them for what they saw next:
The crocodiles were all having a feeding frenzy in the middle of the water hole, but the creature they were sinking their teeth into, wasn't the antelope that had lingered close by: said antelope was still off grazing to the side, minding its own business.
What Banzai and Ed saw, was a lot of blood dyeing the water an ugly red color, and dark patches of fur occasionally showing above the surface; depending on whether the reptilian predators wanted to share or not. The unlucky meal itself, was about the size of a large canine-like creature, about the same size as…
Banzai gawked at the horror with white eyes; feeling like he was going to be sick. And Ed just stared at the site; completely shocked. That is until, that crocodile who had jumped them earlier came at the two again from behind. Ed was the first to see it coming and instantly shoved his friend out of the way; the two male hyenas made a run for it, not stopping until the watering hole was a mere dot on the horizon.
But no matter how small the view of that place would be, now matter how far they were, the gore that was happening could still be painfully visible and audible to all who looked in its direction. The two of them stared, open-mouthed, at the one-victim massacre.
It wasn't until an hour had passed until the literal bloodbath seemed to be over. Some few heavy breathings later, Ed managed to bring his gaze over to his friend, who was still staring at the tragic site with eyes that couldn't seem to comprehend the situation. When the younger of the two males finally heard his friend speak, he was taken aback by what came out of his mouth.
"I killed her…" Banzai said.
The two males silently walked back to their clan, neither had spoken for the whole trip. Ed was in horrible shape after that ordeal, but he could NEVER compare to Banzai in this circumstance: the male hyena was a wreck, a complete wreck. His eyes were vague and frightened, if his fur wasn't standing on edge it was ruffled and torn at from all the nervous biting and scratching he had done earlier; pretending to dig at fleas that weren't even there. His whole body was ruined with stress, and he looked like he could jump out of his skin at any minute.
"Ed." The lesser-brained of the two quickly turned his head upon hearing his friend's voice for the first time in hours. Banzai was staring off at nothing in particular, yet he still seemed to acknowledge his companion's presence.
"I killed something today. And it's a new thing to me. …I know it shouldn't be. …Usually…when I kill something…I don't feel horrible like this: …usually, when I kill something, I'm full of food afterward, or I'm full of vengeful satisfaction later. But now…I feel like crap, worse than crap, and I'm not full of anything…BUT GUILT!" It was then the hyena lost it, and he began tearing at himself wildly. Ed wanted to restrain his friend but held back out of fear of injuring the both of them.
"I'M ACTUALLY FEELING GUILTY FOR KILLING SOMETHING!!" He went on uncontrollably.
"I USED TO KILL THINGS FOR A LIVING AND TO STAY LIVING, BUT NOW-"
"Hey guys, what's up?"
"AHHHHHH!" Ed had lunge out and grip onto his friend to keep him from bolting out of his fur. Looking right in front of them, both were slightly surprised to see a puzzled T, tilting her head at the two.
"Uh…Banzai, Ed…everything ok?" She asked. Ed quickly nodded until Banzai snapped out of his daze and answered.
"Uh, yeah! Never better! …Why? We look like we did somethin'?" This however, earned him a "shut up!" slap on the back of the head from the other male.
"Where's Shenzi?" She asked. There was an uncomfortable pause as both males stared at her in silence. But after a moment, Banzai and Ed, exchanging glances, reluctantly gazed back at her.
"T…Shenzi…Shenzi is…won't be coming back for awhile." Banzai answered. The youngest of the group seemed puzzled at his response, but after a moment just shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Well, I already caught dinner with a hunting party today. Come back to the cave if you're hungry." After which she walked off towards the middle of the clan. Both of them watched her leave, before Banzai slumped to the ground and covered his face with his paws.
"Oh man…what have I done?" He groaned. Ed felt pity for his friend and patted him on the back, although he also couldn't help the sorrow that was burrowing inside him over the loss of their life-long friend.
Suddenly, after the contact of the other male, Banzai paused for a moment, before grabbing Ed's shoulders.
"Whadda we gonna do?! We just killed our best friend, matriarch, AND clan! Do you know what happens to clans without matriarchs?! They starve!" Ed hit his friend on the cheek as if to say "Pull yourself together!". The frantic hyena pulled his head back after the impact and started rubbing the spot where the other canine had struck it.
"…I think I needed that." Ed nodded…until his friend gripped his shoulder again, this time with one paw, and jerked him to face in his direction.
"Look man, this is bad. Worse than anything we've ever done before…put together!" Ed nodded in understanding once more; despite all the previously blunt and small-minded things Banzai had said in the past, for once, what was coming out of the panic-stricken hyena's mouth was actually making sense.
"We can't tell nobody about this!" But then the other male tilted his head and gave him a troubled look. After a moment of trying to figure out what he was thinking, Banzai finally pieced it together: sooner or later, everybody would figure out they were the ones last seen with Shenzi before she disappeared. And suspicion would certainly be aroused; questions would be asked, accusations would be made…persecutions would be taken out.
"…We gotta think up an alibi." He said. Ed nodded for the final time that day.
That night…
Obviously T became worried when Shenzi didn't show up by dusk, but Ed managed to ease her fears and distract her from the topic long enough until she grew tired and fell asleep. Seeing that a bullet had been dodged, until tomorrow came at least, Ed joined her.
Banzai on the other hand, despite having to manage to drift out of consciousness, was barely getting any sleep at all:
He scratched and clawed at the floor as the image of Shenzi being brutalized and then eaten by those crocodiles filled every visible image shown to his psyche. What was worse, he was trying to save her, but she was too far out, and there were so many of them…
…Wait, he never tried to save her, Ed pushed him out of the way just as the two of them were about to be eaten. And then it occurred to him, he was having a nightmare.
A nightmare now, and a horrible one at that, but one that could turn into a dream…
Now he saw himself with Shenzi; perfectly unharmed and as lively as ever. Astounded, he reached out to touch her; his paw made contact with warm, uninjured flesh. His mind seemed to play what he wanted afterward; now they were just eating like the friends they were. Nothing out of the usual; just the common teasing and pushing when they ate alongside each other. This was what he envisioned, in his mind nothing was atypical in the least… not even when he spotted blood pouring out of her beautiful face.
The carcass they were eating was wide open, and Ed was the first to dig into it and take off a big piece of meat, Shenzi following suite. Banzai was just about to grab a bite himself, until he paused to take another look at his female companion…only to back away in horror.
What gazed at him looked like Shenzi, but there was something about this being that just wasn't right. And then what occurred next could only be viewed as things you see only in nightmares of the worst, coming crudely and in mutilating truth.
"What?" The male gasped at the standing, unmoving female hyena. But his eyes quickly widened when he saw her screech in pain, and he lost his breath once he saw why:
Bite-mark after bite-mark was pierced right through her body, each time another scream of anguish erupted from her lips. Banzai could only shake, frozen in place, at the sight. And if that wasn't bad enough, once her body was completely immersed in gashes, so much her blood was making tiny puddles around her, she wailed in agony as she seemed to be being torn apart…just like what those crocodiles did to her, Banzai realized. They grabbed hold of her with their unmerciful jaws, then proceeded to yank her limbs and other such parts off to satisfy their hungry cravings. Banzai wanted to help her, but all he could do was stare as her painfully bleeding body began to stagger in his direction, as if saying, "help…help…"
The carnage within was clearly shown through her gashes, again she tried to scream but it only came as a gurgling sound; muffled by her own blood. Banzai only stood helplessly, as the horrific sights now manifested; penetrating his inner mind. Maggots began to gather beneath her on the ground, waiting for dead tissue of some sort to land and satisfy their numerous appetites.
He tried to turn away, but found to his horror he couldn't. All the while the violently gashed body of Shenzi kept limping towards him; a look of desperation on, what must've been, her face.
He would've stared at the sight forever, had it not been for the image of Ed flickering in the corner of his view. Quickly he turned his head in his direction, only to gaze into his friend's own deranged eyes. Ed stared at him with a twisted smile, opened his mouth…
"…Murderer."
A gurgling sound pulled the male hyena back to reality; a loud and harsh noise which sounded much like someone quickly emptying the contents of their stomach. His eyes gaped open only to find that it was himself. Blinking himself back to actuality, he wiped the excess of vomit from off the corners of his mouth to the floor. Looking around, there was nothing out of place…except for the obvious fact that Shenzi was still not here: Banzai found himself wiping tears he didn't even knew he had.
It was too horrible to bear: "…Murderer". He couldn't keep from hearing that word: it banged in his brain again and again. The guilt was eating him alive: how he could tell the whole clan…or even T for the matter? How could he tell them he was responsible for the death of their matriarch? How could he tell them that, with no heir, the entire hyena population of the area was doomed to downward spiral until their demises?
Worst of all, how he could he keep living, just thinking about that twisted and broken image of his friend, engraved his mind?
That was just it: no matter what, he couldn't do it. And he never would…
Taking a heavy breath, the male hyena was well aware his mind would torture him about this for as long as he lived. He couldn't take this anymore: it was too much to bear. …That's when he spotted that steep ledge that could be viewed just outside the cave. Taking a few steps out of his home, he saw it wasn't a very long walk at all. His mind, frozen on those bad memories, kept his focus off the frigid weather as he approached the rocky hill.
Banzai stopped at the edge and paused to look down at the pit of the elevated, rock-strewn cliff. Jagged rocks lingered at the bottom; a dark fate for anyone unfortunate enough to miss just one step.
He wondered what they could do, if a body similar to his own plummeted in their direction…
Meanwhile…
Ed quickly woke up at a devastatingly acidic smell; he covered his nose as the putrid stench nearly burnt his nostrils. Blinking the extra tears from his eyes, he looked about the cave. There was a puddle of vomit on the floor, that explained the foul odor airing out of their home, Ed cringed at the site, but then noticed that was once the spot that sheltered a sleeping Banzai. He searched the cave for his friend, but he was nowhere to be found. An increasingly bad feeling began to rise in his stomach; now the hyena was becoming truly anxious now. But just as he thought about doing anything desperate his nose, despite the vomit, suddenly picked up the scent of a familiar trail: Banzai's.
Anxiety growing more with each step, he eventually found a set of prints, obviously Banzai's, and ran in the direction they were headed. What he saw once he looked up from the ground caused him to freeze in place and lose all breath in him.
Ed's jaw dropped, as he saw Banzai standing directly on the edge of a cliff! Banzai didn't back off as he continued observing at the rocks; he took another glance at the dark sky. The hyena had a vacant look in his eyes, and, even though he knew his friend was nearby, did not even turn to him as he said.
"I'm the one who made her go, Ed." Ed wailed for his friend to stop and reconsider, but Banzai was already looking down at what was to meet him. The rocks sparkled, as if excited, like they knew what was about to happen. Looking at their painfully serrated edges, Banzai told himself whatever happened would be fair enough: like the pain Shenzi felt when thousands of teeth descended upon her. The thought caused a lump to form in his throat, but he utterly refused to shed anymore tears as he took one more step forward; he bit his lip to keep himself as emotionless as possible, not caring that droplets of blood clung to the sharp canines piercing his mouth's own flesh.
He took a deep breath, and stole one final glance at his friend. Ed was nothing but a ball of nerves in the moment; somehow praying something would come to make him stop. The eyes of the younger of the males widened as Banzai edged closer to his fate.
But before he took a paw into floorless air, the familiar tone of a feminine voice interrupted his leap.
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" The voice penetrated his mind: it couldn't be, it was just another nightmare, his thoughts were just playing tricks on him to sidetrack his self-inflicted death.
That is what he though, until he heard Ed guffawing in nothing but complete happiness. Yet, fearing this actually was another nightmare, Banzai refused to turn around in fear of that mangled corpse staring back at him. A stray piece of a broken branch to his head brought him back to reality. He snarled in pain at the impact, and by involuntary reflex, jerked his head backward to see the origin of where it was thrown…and was more appalled at what he saw more than anything else in his entire life.
Her face, her angry face albeit it, but her face, was staring right at him. He could only gape as she scowled in his direction…before grinning as far as the corners of his mouth would stretch. She opened her mouth to say something, but he lunged at her, interrupting her sentence, and tightly wrapped his forepaws around her.
"YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" He shouted in happiness. It wasn't long until Shenzi felt Ed hugging her from behind as well. But only after five seconds had passed in the moment, that she roughly shoved both of the males off from her.
"No thanks to you. But don't worry, I already had somethin' to eat before I go here." The falsely-assumed-dead matriarch scornfully stated. Banzai couldn't care how much hurtful things she said, even if they were about him, right now his elatedness was being fueled just on seeing her alive. Really alive. Ed however, although happy, was very confused. He asked their female friend, almost incoherently of course, how on earth she had survived such an attack. Luckily both Shenzi and Banzai had learned to perceive most of their friend's unofficial "language" and Banzai, both perplexed and questioning, turned his head to hear her explanation as well. Shenzi blew a bang from her eye, before looking at them with a semi-calm expression on her face.
"Well, it happened like this: aftah Banzai sent me back to get that antelope, I tried my luck at bringin' down somethin' solo. Unfortunately it managed to dodge my tactics, and we ended up arousin' I'd say about a 20-foot lean, green, killin' machine. Both me and the meat got outta there in time; unfortunately, aftah I escaped, anothah one cornered me on a rock.
So we made a deal: if he let me go, I'd bring him that big, juicy antelope. Naturally neitha of us was going to keep the bargain, so I thought up n' idea. Seeing as how there was a hippo nearby, only sweetened the odds fah me.
I started speakin' a lil' louder than usual. The terms "rivah pig" and "croc kings" were used, and long-story short, I wriggled my way outta a classic rivah-feud buhtween hippo and crocodile."
Ed interrupted with something close to an inquire on the whereabouts of their long-lost meal. Shenzi blinked and fixed him with a glare.
"I was gettin' to that part. See, you two probably didn't notice this, but there wasn't just one meal near the waterin' hole. But two; ours was an antelope with a bad limp."
"But those crocs were chowin' down on somethin' in the middle of the water hole! Ed n' me saw it! It even had dark fur!" Banzai cut in.
"Boy you two just can't let me finish one sentence, can ya?" She glared.
"Like I was sayin', there was two potential meals: one was an antelope and the othah was a wildebeest, which species' is known to have dark fur. …Now, are thah n'y othah questions before I can head back to the cave with you two, get some sleep, and then beat the snot out of both of ya tomorrow?" Shenzi finished. Banzai stared at her for a moment, before saying,
"Just one." Of course the female of the trio rolled her eyes before raising an eyebrow and replying,
"What is it?"
"Will ya promise not to throw me off that cliff after I do this?"
"Do wha-" Before she could even finish he had her neck locked in one forepaw and her lips locked with his. Ed's eyes nearly popped out of his head but he managed to look away.
After Banzai parted from her, he smiled at her affectionately…only to raise his eyebrow warily at her response expression.
"Shenzi…what's with the look? …Aw c'mon, it's not like it meant anything! …No, no, wait, I didn't mean it like that. …Shenzi, when did you learn to make your claws that big?" He quickly dodged a pounce she lunged at him and immediately fled in the direction opposite the cliff with the jagged pit at the bottom. She immediately gave chase.
As Ed watched them take off as fast as their four legs could carry them, Shenzi yelling obscenities directed toward Banzai the whole way, he couldn't help but laugh at the sight. A voice next to him chuckled.
"Sad isn't it, Ed?" A familiar tenor said. The hyena smiled, looked over and nodded at the dark-maned lion. …Wait, dark-maned lion? The male canine jumped to his feet and backed off in horror, as a transparent King Scar smirked at him conceitedly with a toothless grin.
"Let me know when they work things out, won't you? Don't worry, if I don't show up, you certainly will…in time…" He finished as he faded.
Ed stared at where the ghost of his ex-boss once remained, before looking around and realizing he was alone. Whimpering in fear, he ran back to the cave. Hopefully some cuddling with T would be enough to calm him down…