Midnight is young Outlander lioness with dwindling hope for her pride. Their lead male is dead, and now the lionesses are on the brink of anarchy. The pride's only hope is to send someone for help, and Midnight is the only one that seems ready. She is sent to ally herself with the Pridelanders, but her journey seems to be more than the young lioness can handle. Can Midnight find help for her pride, or will her quest stop before it has started?
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This is my first Lion King fanfic, so go easy on me. Now time for the discalimer, then you can read the story.
I do not own Lion King. Disney does, and they did a wonderful job.
I do not own the character Saigon. The artist on TLKFAA named Saigon owns him. He is her character, not mine.
Ch 1: Outlanders
Midnight scratched at an elusive flea that was hiding somewhere in her fur. She was skinny and her pitch black fur was unkempt, but the annoying fleas seemed to like her more than any of the other scrawny lionesses in her pride. With a half-hearted snarl she let the bug do what it wanted and padded over to her friend, a scruffy golden lioness by the name of Shade. Midnight lowered herself down next to her friend and sighed. She trapped an emerald green beetle under her paw and teased it roughly, tossing it to and fro with her claws and eventually batting it away with a single swipe. Shade followed her every move with amber eyes, her tail twitching with annoyance.
"Must you really be so idle?" Shade asked in a voice that seemed to be oozing with irritation. "You sit around and play with beetles when you should really be out hunting for the pride. We have less food than before, and you chose to sit here and play with bugs!" The golden lioness pulled herself up onto her feet and began to pace, limping heavily on one of her legs. Not long ago, Shade had been attacked by hyenas, and the savage brutes won. They had torn her back right leg, leaving a bloody mess of matted fur as a reminder of what had happened.
It wasn't long before Shade couldn't stand any more, and rolled over on her side next to Midnight.
"I'm sorry for snapping," she said in a voice filled with tiredness. "It's my leg, it won't stop throbbing." Midnight nodded, even though she had been slightly taken aback by her friend's mood swing. Normally, Shade was the type of lion that could get away with lying in the sun all day, and she wouldn't feel guilty about it at all. Now it had changed, and all because their pride male, Thistle, had died. With his death came anarchy of all the beasts in the kingdom, especially hyenas. They would steal kills from the lionesses before they even had a chance to sink their teeth into the still-warm flesh. The hyenas also drove away groups of lionesses who came to the watering holes. There was almost no way of survival for the dwindling group of lionesses, until Midnight discovered something truly important: the hyenas were reduced to stumbling, idiotic pests in the night.
But still, Midnight's group was in disarray. They had no true leader, so they fought often. Some lionesses even carried scars from others who could not hold back their fury and annoyance. Midnight was one of the few who hadn't been attacked by tooth or claw. The only lioness that could break up a snarling pair of females was Talla, a small female with a voice that could talk almost anyone out of anything. Midnight liked to think she was half snake, because of the way she could slip out of unpleasant situations at her own free will, like it was just a trivial matter of saying the right things at the right time, with the right tone of voice to convince everyone that you did nothing wrong at all, and they should just let you go without a fuss.
Shade continued to apologize, however. "It's not like you can go out at hunt now anyways. It's not dark yet, and the hyenas are bound to attack you if you go now, even if you have some other lionesses with you. They just attack in such huge numbers, there's no way we can stand a chance. I-" Shade would have continued, but Midnight cut her off.
"Shade, there's no need to be sorry. I know you didn't mean what you said. We'll just wait for the sun to go down, and then I'll hunt, simple."
"When you get back," Shade said in a tired voice, "Bring me back some meat. I don't think I'm going to come with you." It was obvious that her wound was sapping the energy out of the dark brown lioness, and she set her head in her paws carefully. Midnight smiled slightly and nodded.
"When I get back, I'll bring you a nice, juicy warthog leg." She said softly. Shade's eyelids drooped and her head titled limply to the side as she fell asleep.
Midnight got silently to her feet and turned to pad toward the den, when Talla and two other lionesses padded slowly past her, flicking their tails in a superior air. At once, Midnight's fur stood on end. Snake! She snarled in her head, digging her claws into the ground and barring her teeth slightly. Talla turned around and smirked, giving Midnight a look that made her feel like her fur was being rubbed the wrong way. She took a deep breath and exhaled, telling herself not to let Talla bait her. She turned and shot the small lioness a look of contempt before padding over to a withered old grey lioness.
"Khaz, we need to go hunting for the pride tonight," she said rather loudly. Khaz was blind and almost deaf; her body was breaking down more every day. The grey lioness turned her sightless silver eyes on Midnight.
"Yes, I believe we do. These old ears of mine have been picking up complaints from every lioness in the pride about this food shortage," Khaz said, pushing herself stiffly to her feet. She leaned heavily on Midnight and padded out of the den. She took a deep breath, scenting the air, and sighed. "The land grows bleaker and deader every day," she rasped, sitting down with a huff. Midnight's ears twitched as she starred at the dead shrubs and grasses around her. "I fear that one day, we will have to move the pride to a safer place," Khaz continued with a cough.
"Send Snake-tongue. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of making a life-threatening journey towards the Pridelands," Midnight said with a sneer. Khaz struck out blindly with her paw and cuffed the black lioness across the ears.
"Enough! I am the only lioness with enough power to give orders here, so I say stop looking for trouble!" Khaz's milky white eyes grew firm, and she starred directly at Midnight even though she couldn't actually see her. "Squabbles break out in this pride every day. You making rash remarks and teasing jeers will only increase the number of fights. You seem to like challenges, so maybe it is you who will be sent when the time comes," the old lion growled. Midnight looked slightly taken aback at her elder's sudden change of mood. The black lion took a few steps back, but stopped and starred at Khaz.
"If I'm sent, I'll be ready," she said in a cold monotone. Something about Khaz's tone and the stony look in her eyes made Midnight's fur stand on end. She padded over a small group of lions and lay down; watching as the sun sank wearily, turning the dead wasteland into a mixture of bright oranges and bloody reds. Midnight sighed and followed the dark silhouette of Khaz as she limped around blindly. It wasn't long before Midnight's conscious kicked in and she stood up to help the old lioness. She padded over and let Khaz lean on her flank as they padded back over to the den.
"Midnight, tell the others that we are free to hunt now. Take some lionesses and bring back meat for the pride," Khaz said slowly, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. She lay down in a corner of the den, placing a paw over her muzzle wearily. "Bring me back some meat."
Midnight nodded, forgetting her animosity and padding out of the den. She walked over to the small group of lions and shook them all awake. "Come on, we're going hunting," she growled. The other lionesses yawned and stretched, their strong muscles rippling under their short fur. Midnight padded over to the den and stuck her head inside. "Khaz, we're leaving," she said loudly. Silence; absolutely no response from inside the den. Midnight shrugged and walked away, thinking the old lion must be sleeping. She trotted over to the rest of the hunting group and swished her tail in finality. "Let's go," she said, beginning to walk away from the dens. A familiar silky voice made her stop in her tracks and her fur stand on end.
"May I join you?" Talla said with a sneer
Midnight turned and starred at the small lioness. "Of course," she said through clenched teeth. Her fur bristled, but she forced it to lie flat again. Talla brushed past Midnight and joined the rest of the group, bringing the total number of hunting lionesses up to nine. Midnight sighed and continued walking, muttering under her breath, sheathing and unsheathing her ebony claws.
- - -
The group of lionesses padded silently on, only the sound of dead branches and twigs snapping under their feet, shattering the quiet like invisible lightning bolts. The air between Talla and Midnight seemed to crackle with intensity, and the black lioness lashed her tail violently. Her head shot up as she saw a fat warthog snuffling around in the bushes not to far away. She twitched her tail in signal to the others, and at once all the lionesses were pressed close to the ground. Talla signaled to three lionesses, and they spread out to circle their prey.
Midnight crept slowly forward. She was downwind, which was to her advantage. Her amber eyes glinted in the moonlight as she checked to see if all the lionesses were in position. They were, and everything was ready.
With an intentionally loud snarl, Midnight sprang from her hiding spot. She had one goal now: to drive the warthog towards the others. The pig squealed in fright and bolted, kicking up its pronged hooves in terror. Midnight snarled as the warthog slashed open her muzzle, with began to bleed. She stumbled slightly, and another lioness stepped in. It was a scrawny but well-muscled pale lioness named Shika. She sped forward and teased the warthog, lashing out inches away from its tough hide. Midnight faltered for another second, but soon caught up. The warthog shot sideways and another lioness sprang from the bushes, an emerald-eyed beauty named Sage. She lashed out at the warthog and soon had it back on course, speeding with startled squeals towards the remaining lionesses hidden in the scrub. Midnight snapped at it, and the pig dashed into the bushes. There was a startled squeal, and the grass shook violently. Talla emerged, her lips bloody and her claws stained crimson. Midnight felt a sudden wave of jealousy that the undersized lion got to kill the prey and not her. She stalked over to the dead warthog and examined it. Its side was ripped open, and its neck was snapped. She rolled it over and closed its glazed eyes. Even though it was dead, it was only proper that Midnight pay it at least a little respect. She glanced over her shoulder and stepped aside for the biggest lioness of them all, Sage, carry it away.
- - -
Midnight followed slowly behind the other lionesses, her pitch black fur covered in dust. She licked her lips as small droplets of blood fell off her whiskers; the wound was beginning to stop bleeding, but it hadn't halted the flow of blood just yet. All the lionesses were clumped together in a group for safety measures; they didn't want to be left helpless if a hyena did jump out of the bushes in the middle of the night and attack them. Midnight was stuck in the middle of the group, and she felt as if all the air was being pressed out of her because of her cramped position. Sage held the warthog limply in her jaws, and its rich sent floated leisurely around the group, making tier mouths water with hunger.
Suddenly, Midnight's ears flipped up. She was only paces away from the dens now, and she could hear lion's claws scuttling around violently on the cave floor. Snarls erupted and two hyenas ran out of the cave, their stubby tails in the air, their mouths open wide in a crazy chorus of maniacal laughter. Midnight snarled and chased after them, but was stopped by Shade. The dark brown lioness blocked her path completely, standing on three legs because the wound on her leg had been torn wider.
"Stop, Midnight. If we hurt them, the rest will just come and raid the dens. They got to Khaz before the others and I could help. She' pretty torn up, but I think she'll live," Shade said breathlessly. Midnight hesitated for a moment before turning away and walking into the den. A small scruffy lioness by the name of Jade was huddled over the still form of Khaz, and she backed away swiftly when Midnight entered. The black lioness walked stiffly over to her elder and bent down next to her. Khaz was still breathing, but her chest heaved with the effort. When she coughed, blood spattered on the ground.
"Midnight?" she croaked, her silver eyes swiveling in her pride mate's direction.
Midnight swallowed as she felt her throat tighten. "Yes," she said softly, digging her claws into the ground, seeking comfort from the cold stone where she had grown up. She felt her face get red hot and her vision blurred. For years she had always seen Khaz as a powerful and wise lion, and to see her in such a weak state seemed to rip out her heart.
Khaz collapsed into a horrible coughing fit, spattering droplets of blood all around her. "Listen. The hyenas are getting way out of paw…"
Midnight knew what was coming next, and it sucked all of the breath out of her chest.
"And we need to send someone for help. I want you to go and ally yourself with the Pridelanders as swiftly as possible; don't stop for anything." Khaz continued, her words coming out in strangled gasps.
Midnight was willing to accept the offer, but she couldn't help shaking her head. "But what about you? And the hyenas? What if you get attacked-"
"I'll be fine," Khaz interrupted. "I want you to leave before the sun rises, while there's still some moonlight left. Go get ready," the old lioness said with finality. Midnight straitened and padded out of then den. Like a scared spider, Jade jerked back into the den to treat Khaz's wounds. Shade limped over to Midnight, concern growing in her features.
"You're not leaving, are you?" Shade asked. It was obvious she had been eavesdropping on Khaz and Midnight. The black lioness looked quickly away, averting her eyes.
"I have to. I have to go get help from the Pridelanders so this pride can have a chance to survive," Midnight responded sadly. Her friend grew speechless with shock, and Midnight padded slowly away. A few of the lionesses nudged a large portion of the warthog towards her, and she ate it half-heartedly. She felt queasy, and her mind was spinning with the speed at which the new events were taking place. She finished and padded to the end of the den, her tail twitching nervously. The other lionesses huddled around her, the ones she knew better pressing their noses into her flank.
"Good luck, Midnight," several of them chanted, watching sadly as the black lioness began to retreat into the darkness of the Outlands.
Well, there you have it! Chapter one, and I'm already working on chapter two. Don't forget to keep reviewing and checking in to see when I update! I promise that this story will get more interesting.