Another Path
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"Ha! Catch me if you can, slow poke!"
The voice startled the young cub, for he didn't expect his playmate to take off that quickly. The young prince quickly looked up from the ground and caught the swiftly moving tail of his friend move over a mound and out of sight. "You better hope I don't!" he yelled back.
Using his strong, young legs and the youthful adrenaline pumping through his veins, the gold shaded cup bolted forward, desperate to catch his adversary. He was faster, but at the cost of being in a position that prevented him from stopping and turning well. Angry muttering was all that was heard from the prince as the dark tan cub in front of him took a sharp turn and ducked around a corner, out of his line of sight once again. He wouldn't let her get away, he was a prince after all, and princes never lose.
Being the son of one of the many great kings that rule over the Savannah had its perks. He could lounge around all day and do nothing if his father permitted. This, unfortunately for the young prince, was a rare occurrence. His father was an energetic person, waking early in the morn' to start his duties, and not returning till the late day hunting party came back with dinner. There was a bright side however, his father was keen on teaching him about good use of his natural senses in order to defend himself and the pride. Luckily for the prince, these skills will be beneficial to hunting down his prey.
The cub broke his thoughts and zipped around the corner with a zeal, only to find the previously occupied spot empty. He huffed in frustration, getting lost in thought had lost him his prey, but the hunt wasn't over. He wouldn't give up so easily. She had slipped up somehow, and he was gonna find out how. His cocky trademark smirk plastered itself on his face as a familiar scent wafted into his nose. The prince's amber orbs and cocky smirk drifted to a small that seemed to rise and fall rhythmically. The prince's smirk only grew as he crouched down mere feet from his prey, his light tan underbelly just tickling the ground, sending a shiver of excitement down his spine. He had her now, and she wasn't escaping him again.
A shrill screech of surprise rang from the bush and into the air as the Prince lunged forward and tackled the bush, sending him and its occupant tumbling away. Laughs and playful growls rang out as the dust settled to see the young prince firmly pinned under his prey. Shocked and stunned the young prince stared up at his adversary in shock, receiving a chuckle from her. Quickly his faced turned sour, a disgruntled mask set upon his face. "Get off me Asha, it's not funny!"
The dark brown form above him grinned down, showing two rows of pearly white teeth. Her dark green orbs gazed down into the prince's fiery amber eyes. No verbal communication was needed to know what Asha's stare meant: she wanted him to admit defeat.
"I'm not gonna say you didn't win," The Prince sputtered out, "I-I just was...uh wasn't ready. Yeah, that's it!" He was royalty, and here he is sputtering like an idiot before someone. Well, to be fair, she's not just a regular lioness. She was more than that, a best friend possibly. He never had much luck in the way of finding friends before, so finding someone he could truthfully declare as his best friend and partner in crime was something to behold.
"Oh come on Simba! The quicker you admit defeat, the quicker we can get up and go exploring," She edged on, "before you dad comes back…" Asha finished with a single-song tone and a raised brow. Possible outcomes ran through the prince's mind faster than he could comprehend. Staying pinned under Asha wasn't a fate he wanted to be subjugated to. On the other paw, however, if his father were to catch him, he would be forced to do kingly stuff and that's boring!
Finally, with a huff of displeasure, and a dismissive glance, he conceded defeat. He didn't like losing, but losing to her was better than losing to the other cubs, they weren't as understanding.
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"Now where is your sense of adventure, Mr. 'Danger is my middle name'?"
For reasons unknown, the normally calm, collected and responsible Asha decided that venturing to the dark side of the kingdom was the best thing to do with their free time. Not that he didn't like going to an awesome place like that, but for some compelling reason the thought of Asha going to such a dangerous place filled him with worry and doubt. Not that he cared, of course, she was only his friend, and as long as he didn't get in trouble, Simba was fine with it. Still, the young prince did feel a tug on his heart string as Asha continued to lead him deeper into the dark, unknown land.
Simba didn't get scared a lot, but now was one of those rare moments. His fear manifested itself in a weird tingly numbness ghosting just under his fur. He had been to the edges of the graveyard, much to his father's displeasure, but had not ventured this deep in. He contemplated asking Asha to stop on the account of his father's wrath if he were to find out, but his reputation was more important, well…that and hanging out with Asha made him feel good inside, though he didn't know why.
It didn't take long before the green luscious ground beneath them slowly turned dark and dreary: cold, dark dirt takes the place of the soft, green grass. Sharp rocks prick their paws as they trudge further into hyena territory.
Simba's rationality, and sense of right and wrong, tempted him back to the pride lands like a cub getting their first taste of meat, however, the loyalty to his friend, along with a sense of adventure, pulled him towards the dark and dreary elephant graveyard. Different words drifted through the prince's mind as their paws carried them further into unfriendly territory. Despite how fast his heart was beating, and the speed at which his brain was thinking of different ways this could go wrong, he couldn't bring himself to turn around. The slight tugging in his conscious pulled him away from reality and the images in front of him were blurred out by the battle waging inside his mind.
A sharp gasp cut through the mental dilemma waging in the prince's mind and broke him free of his trance. In front of him there stood Asha, her dark brown pelt a small contrast in colors from the world of bones and death around them; while not much, the difference in color was greater than his, for his golden pelt created a yellowish sheen light that surrounded him. Comparatively, the little light that hit Asha caused small flecks of orange fur to break through her dark brown pelt and reflected sharply against the ivory tusks of the fallen elephants around them. Despite the dangerous scenario and dreary mood, Simba couldn't resist becoming entranced by the display before him. The dark brown colored lioness's forest green eyes complemented the slight orange haze around her greatly. They held no fear or worry, but rather a mischievous gleam and a spark for adventure resided within them. At the moment, however, their attention was captivated by what lies beyond the cliff in front of her.
Still not seeing the beauty and captivating sight she's seeing, he decided to not take it upon his self to figure out what she was looking at so intently. "What are you looking at? All I see is a bunch of rocks." He whispered in a hushed tone.
"Not that dumbo! The steam geysers! Aren't they cool?" Her voice, powered by her newfound excitement, bounced of the ivory walls of bones and returned sharply to the prince.
"Well… yeah, I guess. But that can't be all, right? Or did miss adventure exaggerate how awesome this place would be?" The playfulness returned to Simba as he quipped back sarcastically, attempting to rouse a response from his dark furred companion.
Deflated, Asha returned a comment, "Well that's all we can see from here. We can't go any farther down anyways, it's too dangerous."
Simba bit his lip for a moment before saying, "Well why can't we go deeper? I bet those geysers would be a million times more awesome up close!"
Asha's energy seemed to flow right back as her ears perked up, "Great! See, I told you this would be fun!" She said with a laugh.
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Steam shot out of the ground right in front of Simba, he yelped before jumping back a foot, scared. Simba stared blankly for a minute at the gaping geyser that was a mere foot in front of him, he was about to jump over it when it erupted. Clearing up his mind, Simba rose, dusted himself off and continued forward.
Ignoring Asha's maniacal laughter, Simba stopped for a moment and looked around. Nothing was there except bones, rock, and more bones. The young prince felt momentarily sad for those who had to live in these conditions until he remembered stories that his mother and father had told him about the atrocious acts the hyenas committed. Simba felt better, knowing they got what they had coming to them, but something still felt off. It was Asha, she still hadn't stopped laughing. It continued to get more and more deranged, it was infuriating.
Angry that she was still laughing at his scare, Simba bellowed out, "Will you stop laughing it's not funny!", and whipped his head around to find Asha staring at him with a worried expression on her face.
She stared at him for a minute before replying shakily, "Simba… That's not me."
Simba looked perplexed for a second, he could've sworn it was her. Dread spread across his face as he heard the laughter pick up again, this time louder, and with more voices. Simba froze for a second and looked at Asha as the grim realization settled upon both of them. They're alone, in the Elephant Graveyard with hyenas nearby!
Before either of them could move, or think of a plan, a feminine voice rang out above them, "Oh don't get scared little cubs. I was the only laughin'. We'd hate for you to get all tense and afraid. It just makes you guys a little tougher… and I prefer my meat chewy…", followed by another course of haunting, maniacal laughs.
The two lion cubs spared a wordless glance at each other before screaming and running towards the Pridelands border. The hyenas followed suit: barking, yipping and laughing at the cubs as they pursued after them. Simba took the lead and ran as fast as he could away from the hyenas. Suddenly, Simba took a sharp turn to shake the hyenas but stopped face to face with a large pile of bones that towered loomingly over them. The cubs look at each other in fear, their ears flicked attentively with the sound of thumping paws and laughter that grew ever closer. They knew that the only way out was up.
Swallowing their fear, Simba and Asha clawed and scraped their way up a steep pile of bones. They paused at the top, the drop was extremely steep, but they could hear the hyenas laughing as they made their way up the pile. They could see the Pridelands from here, all they needed was a way down.
"Simba over here!" Asha bidded him to follow.
Simba ran over and saw what Asha was talking about: a large elephant ribcage was lying belly up, it was steep and dangerous, but it was their only way out.
A/N Hey guys first story in a while. Big credit to Mysterydude23 for the title, and thanks to my beta-reader MrSimba. Review, fav and follow.