Caged

by Maggeh;;

Disclaimer : I own Sagittarium and Sanati. TLK owns the rest.

Notes: I know it's bad. It seems totally unrelated to TLK at first, but read further x) Trust me, I was bored.

Chapter One: Memories of Home

Wow. This was weird.

I pressed my nose up against the bars. A pudgy finger reached toward me. Surprised, I growled and stepped back. The small human girl began to wail. Grunting, I walked slowly to the edge of the bars again. What were these? Why couldn't I break them? I had to get back to the pride. I had been in this situation for two days, but still I couldn't make sense of it.

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I had been wandering near Pride Rock, but out of sight, really. I was close, though. Within boundaries. My paws were spread out before me, for I was in a laying position beside a lake. The sun's hot rays beat down on my back, but it felt comforting. Then, an adult human male jumped out of the bushes. I was startled, alert. He muttered,

"It's okay, big lion, we're gonna help you. What's the matter? Where's the wound?"

Wound? What wound?

"Just stay calm."

I was calm. He slowly inched towards me, then stuck a needle in my side.

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I woke up in the cage. So confused! What was going on? Oh- food.

"Here you go, Rocky, old boy." A human male came up to me with a bucket.

Rocky? My name wasn't Rocky. It was Sagittarium, a name going back in my family for generations. How dare he insult it!

"We've got some nice fish for you."

... Fish. FISH?! He had to be joking.

But alas, he wasn't. The man dumped a pile of fish in my cage. I stared at it, then growled at him.

"Sorry. That's what we feed lions at the zoo. Get used to it."

Zoo? I'd heard of a zoo. Hadn't I? It was spelled S-H-O-E. I knew that much. Grumbling at my defeat, I poked the fish with an extended claw. It wasn't even good fish. If it was good fish, I might've considered it. Might've. But it was slimy and dry at the same time. That, I tell you, is failure.

"Aw, he's so cute," a woman in front of my cage cooed.

"Yep, ma'am, he's certainly a beauty," a "zoo"keeper agreed.

"Why's he here? I didn't see him last time," the woman commented.

"Oh, we found Rocky"- UGH! - "just recently out in the Savannah. We'd been told 'e had a wound, but we couldn't find it... I'm sure it's there, though, it came from very reliable sources." Sagittarium snorted. Can't've been that reliable.

"Well, I'm sure glad you have him, he's so adorable," the woman continued.

"Why, we have some other adorable panda bears in another exhibit..." The zookeeper herded the woman away from my cage. I was glad for some peace, for a couple of seconds. Soon, a large group of children and an adult wearing a vest with apples on it appeared next to me. I sighed. Hoping to scare them away like I had done with the young human child, I roared and growled at them. This just seemed to fascinate them.

"Whoa!" a young male commented. "He's so ferocious."

"Yes, Mark, lions can be very hostile," the adult snapped in a leader-like voice. "You'd best keep away from that thing."

"I don't think so," Mark whispered.

The adult didn't hear.

"Oh, look, Miss Wilds, a deer!" A female commented.

The adult ran off to attend to the girl, leaving "Mark" unattended to. He jumped the fence surrounding my exhibit and approached my cage.

"Aw, you're not so scary," he grunted, smiling at me. "Can I pet you?"

He extended a hand- right through my bars. I looked at him in surprise. Maybe he could understand me!

"I need to get out of here," I muttered to him worriedly. "Can you get me out?"

The boy stared at me for a moment, then laughed.

"Of course!" he exclaimed.

I felt like jumping in delight. I stuck my nose near his hand and licked him.

Smiling, the boy added, "You must be talking lion language! Rocky, you make the weirdest noises."

I was crestfallen. He hadn't understood me. Worse yet, he'd called me Rocky! I snarled and withdrew my nose.

"What's the matter?"

I didn't respond. He didn't deserve attention. He'd called me ROCKY. When the human boy frowned and walked away, I sighed. I had to get back to Simba and the rest of the pride. I was, after all, the future king. They needed me.

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Simba had had a beautiful daughter named Sanati. She was incredible, with a soft golden pelt and eyes like the summer sky. We had befriended as cubs, and now, as adults, we were betrothed. Sagittarium and Sanati. But if I didn't return... Who was the heir? I didn't want to think about it. What if there was no heir?! What if the pride remained kingless?! Sanati would wait for me. I knew she would. But would Simba?

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Another sigh escaped my furry jaws. How would I get out of here?

I poked the food with my claws. Well, I was hungry. I ate a fish.