A/N:
This is a random one-shot, the idea for which came to me on Friday. I then proceeded to write it late Friday/early Saturday (I usually write late at night - don't ask why :3). I'm quite satisfied with it. It's probably the closest thing to a non-con scene you'll see me write at this point. But it's still rated T, because I don't like lemons... hence why there are none.
So I hope you enjoy (more than) one-hour one-shot #8: Floccinaucinihilipilificatio n (yikes, that's a mouthful! XD)
It was dark.
But it was always dark in the cave—alas, that was to be expected. Maybe that's why the lion was always in there. Never moving, never leaving… only staying hidden and masked by the absence of the light. To the king, it was welcoming—a needed amenity, much like eating and sleeping were. Indeed, the darkness didn't just signify poor lighting: it was a part of him. And the cave was a chance to be alone and unperturbed. Ideally, no one would come and force him to stir from his preferred home, but this wasn't always the case.
"Heya boss, it's, uh, dark out now." An impetuous voice called from amidst the moonlit world outside the cave, causing him to roll over steadily and rouse himself from his half-conscious slumber. The lion growled. He may not have been completely lucid, but he could see that much.
"And what? Finish your sentence! You dare to wake the king with your petty ramblings…"
He fixed the intruder with his glinting emerald eyes, hoping he would back off or leave. His gesture was clearly threatening, complete with the wildly-bristling brown fur and an intimidating snarl.
"Let me handle this, Banzai," a feminine voice—much softer than the last—reasoned in the darkness. Their faces may have been obscured by the thick, dim shadows, but their identities were nevertheless obvious from the beginning. Hyenas. There were two, a simple duo… yet, to his mind, there may as well have been a hungry horde. Scores. Hundreds. Thousands. All with mouths to feed.
"Scar, ta hunting parties still haven't returned. Shouldn't ya be… I dunno… worried yet?"
Shouldn't you be worried yet?
That small little thought, practically an echo of her exact words, tickled the back of his brain. A dim chorus of voices subsequently proceeded to play in his mind, and his powers of thought were temporarily abated as the cacophony intensified.
You don't care about your subjects, Taka.
Blasphemous nonsense! Of course I shall remain concerned in the utmost for their safety.
Say what you will, shameless as you are.
"Scar? Didcha hear me?"
"What, Shenzi?" he set his head down on a nearby rock irritably, expressing his thoroughly outraged demeanor. The simple interrogative 'what' again played back, like a record scratched and marred beyond any hope of repair.
What.
What.
What.
Shenzi.
It was torment. Pure torture. A part of him wanted to bash his screaming, pounding, pulsating head against the sharp edges of a rock—then maybe it would cease, as well as the rest of his heap of problems. Alas, he had more than his share…
Life's not fair. But I'm sure it was worse for Mufasa, being separated from his mate and son so early…
No, stop it! I feel no regret for what I did and I shall continue to do so!
"Hey, it's time for me to eat and there's nothing on the table. Whaddya have to say for yourself, Scar?" The first hyena voiced himself with an air of fierce and rather brusque accusation. It was clear, even in the all-enveloping darkness, that he was studying him intently.
Me.
Time to eat.
Scar.
What do you have to say for yourself?
"Get away from me! How dare you attempt to slander my name and title with your lies?" the lion roared and advanced towards him a step, clearly provoked. His expression was one of pure wildness and abandonment, which was obvious from his unkempt fur and crazed, fiery eyes. Shenzi cast a rather concerned look at her friend, and then back at the royal leonine figure in front of her.
"Banzai, why don'tcha leave us alone?" She ordered solemnly, worried about what would happen if her impetuous sidekick were allowed to linger here, in the cave…
Alone.
The word struck the lion's thoughts like a hot branding iron, leaving that cursed combination of two juxtaposed syllables—and all that it stood for—to attack his injured and grievous state of mind. Oh, how many times he had asked Zazu, his majordomo, for a solution. Anything that would mitigate the sharp and almost physical showers of pain which frequently assailed his warped and hopelessly-meandering moods.
Always.
Alone.
I need a queen.
No hope.
Alone.
Banzai obeyed, and diffidently left the cave without another word. He cast a final, spiteful look back at the lion king… but it went unnoticed by the monarch as he faded into the blackness of the cruel and hopeless world—presumably far away from the cave and back towards the pack.
"Scar?"
That's not my name. It shall never be my name. Mufasa always called me Taka.
It's the past. He had to go.
No, things should have remained the way they were.
Too bad. Life changes.
And?
And so the golden epoch replaces the dark and shabby dynasty I rightfully extirpated.
"You aren't actin' like yourself."
Myself.
"Are ya listenin' to me?"
Indeed, he was, sadly. His sharp ears caught her every pitiable squeak—which was unfortunate, because the words no sooner left her lips than he was listening to them… over and over again, without fail, each and every succeeding time. He wanted to let it out. The insanity and isolation was gnawing at his broken core like an infestation of horrible, infectious parasites. It was always pent up within his soul, growing stronger and darker with each passing day. A deadly and invisible smear on his already tainted self. Had one decided to compare conscious minds to a river, Scar's would have been dammed and overflowing, even bordering on violent. Not to mention brimming with the same dark, crimson blood that stained his very paws…
"I'm fine," he snapped, intending to turn away and fall back into the nightmare-laden territories of his sleep, where his brother—or, at least, the twisted and vengeful version of him that had been rendered by his guilt-ridden innermost subconscious—would be waiting for him to surrender to a seemingly-blissful and unconscious slumber. Just biding his time until he was able to fully assault him with a flurry of terrifying visions and hallucinations.
"Are ya sure? I'd hate ta leave you alone when you're like this, Scar." Shenzi's features softened somewhat as she looked upon him with her best approximation of pity. But she'd unknowingly made a grave mistake. That word. It was there again.
I am alone.
Alone.
ALONE.
His mind screamed it out to him, practically deafening out any undertones of sense or reason. He attempted to cover his face with his paws, trying vainly to blot out that pressing, insidious little voice inside of him. But it was still there. In fact, the loss of outside noise brought about by his own paws only made it worse. Most of all, he didn't want to see Shenzi's rueful face… he simply wanted to hide before he did something else he'd regret. To run away from everyone else and especially from himself.
"It's just me and you, dear," he finally whispered, the deep sound and rich timbre of his speech barely audible as he peeked out from behind his paws, only to see Shenzi's form looming over him. Banzai had left, apparently. And he was not alone… not anymore… he had a female right there, beside him. Not a lioness, for he cared for none, but another.
"Uh, yeah…" Shenzi cocked her eyebrow, somewhat confused as he rose to his feet and stalked towards her, his tail flicking to and fro somewhat as he approached. His teeth were bared hungrily, and the mood was quickly set into one that was vaguely unsettling. Something was wrong…
"You know how lonely it is up here, in this dismal and putrid cave. No visitors. No one to"—he brushed his flank against her softly, causing Shenzi to stiffen up—"love me."
"What are you doing? I don't think—"
The lion clamped a paw around her mouth before she could finish her sentence, and forcefully dragged her backwards… into his somewhat cold embrace.
"No, you shouldn't. Cease to work that pitiful little mind of yours. Don't think."
She tried to speak up again, but he simply wouldn't allow it. Drawing closer and closer, he ventured forth, trying to silence and quench that ever-continuing desire in his insanity-afflicted mind. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he licked her cheek, trying to force her to sidle up to him. The hyena struggled somewhat, still unsure of what could have gotten into a lion who was normally so cool and composed, so clever and intelligent…
"Get off a' me, Scar. I'm only lookin' fa those in my own species, ya understand?"
"No," he replied, shaking his head wildly. She looked into his eyes, and was shocked by what she saw. It almost seemed as though he were a living corpse, a mere shell of his former self. Everything about him was unkempt and in disarray. Even his mane, once so neat and handsome, was matted and blood-encrusted. His formerly sleek and supple body was reduced to a shaggy-furred, sweat-peppered, bony hide, which had been stretched painfully taut over his emaciated figure. Yet that fiery lust for… well, anything… still burned like a pair of destructive wildfires in his jade-hued eyes.
"This feels right," he insisted, unsheathing his sharp claws and letting them dig into her side. "Don't think, dear. Let me love you."
"No," she snapped sharply, "get offa me. Now." Shenzi unsheathed her claws as well, clearly uncomfortable about what was about to happen.
"Ingrate," he growled dangerously low in his throat, causing a deep and blood-chilling sound to reverberate throughout the deep darkness within the lonely, dusty cavern. His mood quickly changed into one of silent, pounding fury. He would get what he wanted. The lion knew he could overpower her, despite the fact that, considering his species, he was extremely lean and lithe—not brawny or physically strong. He pulled her closer and closer towards him, the madness in his mind still roaring above anything else that dared to lodge there. Shenzi was a hyena, and he was not. She was so much younger than he was, and he was her superior. It wasn't right, and yet… he was with her in the middle of the cavern, attempting to clamber onto her back and remain on top of her. She put up a fight, but it didn't affect him. It seemed as though nothing would. Nothing except the continual brokenness of his disjointed thoughts.
Until, of course, he felt the sharp and profound sting of four sharp points as they easily sliced through his soft, exposed flank. He cried out in pain, his mind suddenly whirling as he collapsed on the ground, blood beginning to seep out of his new-found wounds. The lion looked up, momentarily dazed, in order that he might see his attacker. It was Banzai, with a furious expression on his face. Four of his knife-like claws were resting on the ground beside the lion's head, jutting out of his paw and dripping with wet, gleaming blood.
"Whaddya think you're doin' to Shenzi?" The audacious hyena exposed his fangs condescendingly, clearly furious. Only the lion's position of power and proud mien saved him from being mauled and bitterly attacked by his adversary. Banzai narrowed his eyes, outraged, as Shenzi staggered to her paws. The pair of them both cast angry glances at Scar, who didn't back down. In fact, he didn't do anything. He only stood up stiffly, his quiet gaze focused on them.
Shenzi.
Shenzi.
What do you think you're doing?
His headache-inducing thoughts returned in full force, causing him to rub his forehead with a paw. He was angry. He'd been upstaged by an underling. But, at the same time, it was late. He was bleeding and hurt, and the shreds of his mind that remained intact were in turmoil and distress. Worst of all, that word came back…
Alone.
But this time, he didn't do anything about it. He embraced it—in fact, it was what he wanted, seeing as how he was at an impasse. When he was alone, he was lonely. But when someone else was around, they always inevitably rejected him. Each and every time. Baring his teeth forebodingly, he motioned towards the entrance of the cave.
"Go," he spat venomously at Banzai, who didn't appear to relent at first.
"Don't think you aren't gonna pay for that, Scar. Especially if you hurt her—"
"OUT!" Scar practically screeched the word out, taking several aggressive steps towards the hyenas in order to drive them away from his presence. Shenzi appeared miffed, as well as appalled. Of course, had they decided to disobey and fight against him, Scar would have had a hard time battling two hyenas… not to mention that Shenzi was in control of an entire pack, and she could easily summon them. But it didn't matter. Because they were always under his control.
At least, except for this one incident… and that worried him. She hadn't submitted to his will, and she had gotten away with it, no less. Notwithstanding the fact that the hyenas had become more and more restless of late. What if the seeds of rebellion were already planted within them? What if there was an uprising? Another coup d'état within their organized ranks? A relapse into anarchy?
No, that wouldn't happen. Not while he was around. The hyenas were too stupid, and too lacking in ambition to ever figure anything like that out on their own. They would never rise against him, their beloved leader… and they would do what he said until the end.
He turned back towards the darkest edge of the cave, allowing the thick shadows to welcome and envelope him. The king bathed in it, submitting to the sleepy desire that was attempting to force his eyes shut. His preoccupied thoughts turned towards other, more mundane subjects, and the fear of a hyena rebellion was quickly forgotten.
He didn't realize his foolhardiness. Nor did he realize that his own undoing would be brought about by his carelessness. His madness and lack of prudence. He'd underestimated his own minions, and so he never suspected that his own untimely death would be brought about soon, and by that duo's very claws…
In case you were wondering, floccinaucinihilipilificatio n is often cited as the longest common word in the English language, and is defined as the act of underestimating someone or something - in this case, it refers both to Scar's underestimation of the hyenas, and Shenzi's underestimation of the extent of Scar's madness. If you liked it (or you didn't, either way), then R&R. ;o Or, if you're too lazy, F&F (fave and follow... although I suppose following a one-shot doesn't make much sense XD F&F just sounds cool). Peace~
-Twin out (: