Hello again. Before reading this story, it is strongly recommmended that you read Of Kings and Trash Mufasa and Taka before reading this. It takes place after chapter 4 of said story, as Akida and the group return to the Elephant Graveyard. Like all my other stories, I'm going to make it up as I go along. All characters belong to Disney except Akida, Kivuli, Ajia, Sauda, Thimba, Jabari, Eruvu, Jozi, Jozi, Asani, Issa, Kimondo,Nyoni, Bemba, and Nbushe. They are my characters and are not to be used without my permission. If I decide to add more characters, I will state so at the begining of the chapter in which they are introduced. Read, Review, Forgive typos, and Enjoy!

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A Hyena's Loss

Ten hyenas entered the Elephant Graveyard, two of them dragging the corpse of their former queen. The largest of the hyenas, Akida, lead the pack with his head drooped, tears slipping off of his snout.

Sauda...my Sauda, Akida thought to himself, I'm so sorry...I couldn't save her. Damn that Ahadi! From this day forward, I swear that I will do anything in my power to make him suffer! Sauda, my love! You shall be avenged!

"Oh, you're back," A voice from in front of Akida said, "All went well, I presume?"

Akida looked up to see Kimondo, one of his clan's hyenas. Akida shook his head sadly and pointed to Sauda's dead body. Kimondo stared at the fallen-queen in shock. He glanced at the other hyenas that stood in front of him. Each of them was weeping sadly. This was a sad day, indeed.

"I..." Kimondo stammered, "I'll alert the others of your return."

Kimondo ran off to find the other hyenas, only to trip on a stone and land on his chin. Kimondo slowly got up and continued running. The hyenas behind Akida glanced at one another, each wondering exactly how to approach the situation. One of the hyenas, Kivuli, finally stepped forward and sat next to Akida. Akida looked at KIvuli from the corner of his eye. He was surprised to see tears stuck in the hyena's black coat, for Kivuli was never one who showed any feelings of sadness.

"She...Sauda, that is," Kivuli coughed, "She was the most wonderful sister that a hyena could ask for...and I miss her very much. But...she is dead, now. She's dead and there is nothing that you can do. Maybe you could have done something to save her. But you didn't. And now she is dead."

Akida snarled at Kivuli and prepared to strike. Two hyenas, one missing its left ear and the other missing its right ear, leaped forward pushed Kivuli out of the way and turned to Akida. Akida turned his head to wards them slowly, instantly recognizing them as Jozi and Jozi.

"Boss," the male Jozi sighed, "Don't pay any attention to Kivuli. I'm sure that he didn't mean anything by it. He's just not used to these kinds of situations. You can't expect him to understand."

Kivuli snorted and turned away. Akida sighed and nodded, staring at his mate's prone corpse.

"I cannot bear it anymore," Akida breathed, "I'm going to go see Nbushe. I'll see you at the funeral."

The group of hyenas stared at their leader strangely as he disappeared from view.

"Funeral?" the female Jozi gasped, "Akida hasn't ordered one of those in a while!"

"Not since his dad keeled over," Thimba, a scar covered hyena, remarked.

"This must be hard for him," the hyena called Ajia stated, "He loved Sauda so much...even if he didn't show it much."

"What's the point?" Asani, a hyena without any spots, snorted, "It's not like holdin' a funeral would bring her back to life."

Issa, light-coated hyena with silver eyes, stepped in front of the group and looked at up the stars. His eyes widened.

"The Great Spirits!" Issa gasped, "They are showing me visions of the future!"

The hyenas gathered around Issa and listened attentively.

"Without Sauda," Issa continued, "Our clan will suffer greatly!"

"What?" Eruvu, the twin of Ajia, gasped, "Why? What will happen?"

Issa lowered his head and breathed heavily.

"I know not," Issa replied, "The Spirits will show me no more."

The hyenas growed. It was not unusual for Issa's visions to be cut short.

"I..I am sorry," Issa sighed, "I'm just not as good at communicating with the Spirits as my mother yet."

"It's fine," Kivuli smiled, placing his paw on Issa's shoulder, "You'll get the hang of it someday. Hopefully the Spirits will soon speak to you again, so we can know more about this time of suffering."

Issa nodded slowly. Jabari, the scruffiest of the hyenas, addresed the others.

"Well," Jabari stated, "Akida ordered a funeral. We better get everything ready."

The other hyenas nodded. The twin Jozi each grabbed an end of Sauda and lifted her up. The nine hyenas ran off to find a proper spot for their queen's funeral.

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Akida entered the cracked elephant skull that served as Nbushe's home.

"Hey, Nbushe!" Akida called, "Are you in here? I need to talk to you!"

An old hyena with silver eyes appeared in front of Akida. Nyoni, the vulture who lived with the hyena-clan, was perched on the hyena's shoulder.

"Nyoni," Akida addressed the vulture, "I was wondering where you went."

Nyoni replied by shreiking and flapping her wings.

"Something I can help you with?" the old hyena asked Akida in a quiet voice.

Akida turned his attention to the hyena and frowned at her.

"Sauda..." Akida said sadly, "She...she's.."

"Dead," Nbushe interrupted, "I know. The Spirits told me."

Akida nodded sadly.

"This is bad," Akida started nervously, "Who will be the clan-leader now? It is going to be hard to replace Sauda."

"That right of clan-leader," Nbushe answered, "Goes to the one closest to the past leader."

Akida stared at Nbushe hopefully.

"So..." Akida smiled slightly, "Am I to assume that the right goes to me?"

"You were her mate," Nbushe nodded.

Akida's smile grew wider.

"However," Nbushe continued, "There is one hyena who is closer to her than you. Her older brother."

Akida's smile disappeared.

"What?" Akida snarled, "You mean to tell me that Kivuli is our new leader!"

"Indeed," Nbushe replied.

"This can't be happening!" Akida howled in disbelief, "Kivuli cannot be our leader! He's insane! Tell me it's not true!"

"Kivuli is the rightful king," Nbushe stated, "Whether you like it or not. It is sacred tradition, and sacred tradition is to be broken by no one!"

"Who created this tradition, anyway?" Akida growled.

"The Great Spirits," Nbushe replied, "They created all tradition. That is why I am here. To see to it that the traditions are carried out."

Akida paced around in a huff, thinking the situation over. Finally, an idea popped into his head.

"So," Akida smiled at Nbushe, "The only ones who know of this tradition are the Spirits and you?"

"That is correct," Nbushe nodded.

Akida smiled at Nyoni and whistled. Nyoni immediately set upon Nbushe, clawing at the hyena's silver eyes. Nbushe reeled backward in pain, allowing Akida to leap forward and clamp his jaws over Nbushe's neck, snapping it instantly. Akida laughed widely.

"Well," Akida cackled, "That takes care of that!"

Nyoni looked glanced around the den carefully and sniffed the air. She let out a warning shreik. Akida stared at the vulture strangely, before sniffing the air. His eyes widened. Kivuli was coming! Akida looked around for a back-exit desperately, but found none. Akida could only watch as Kivuli entered the skull.

"Akida," Kivuli stated, "We've gotten all the hyenas to come to the Tusk Pile. We're ready."

"Oh..um...great!" Akida said sheepishly, "Let's get going, then!"

Kivuli nodded, before noticing the dead hyena that lay behind Akida. Kivuli's jaw dropped.

"Akida!" Kivuli gasped in shock, "What the hell did you do?"

Akida shook with fear. Even if he was twice Kivuli's size, he doubted that he would stand a chance against him.

"Kivuli...please..." Akida said sheepishly, "You must understand..."

"This is a quality job, right here," Kivuli laughed, examining Nbushe's dead body, "Very nice! I didn't know you had it in you! I mean, the way the neck is twisted...it's perfect!"

Akida stared at Kivuli, not knowing whether to be relieved or sick.

"Um...yes," Akida stated, "I suppose so."

"...Wait," Kivuli said, rubbing his head in confusion, "Why would you kill her? Issa's really not going to be happy about this!"

Issa! Akida thought to himself, Damn! I knew I was forgetting something!

Akida looked around the skull, thinking of what to tell Kivuli.

"Y'know what?" Kivuli smiled, "It doesn't matter why you did it. The fact is you did it...and quite nicely, I might add! You and me should go for a hunt sometime!"

"..Sure," Akida nodded, before remembering Issa, "Kivuli, Issa must never know. Please."

"Course not," Kivuli nodded, "So, what are you going to tell him?"

"Well," Akida said thoughtfully, "I'll just tell him that she was so devastated by the knews of Sauda's death, that she decided to go for a walk. When she doesn't come back...well, we'll just leave that to Issa's imagination!"

"Sure," Kivuli said licking his lips, "Now, you're going to need someone to get rid of the body!"

Akida looked from Nbushe's corpse to Kivuli's drooling face.

"..Oh!" Akida smiled, finally figuring out what Kivuli was getting at, "Knock yourself out! I'll just meet you at the Tusk Pile."

Kivuli nodded before digging into Nbushe's flesh. Akida whistled, leading to Nyoni flying up and perching on his shoulder. The large hyena exited the skull, smiling to himself.

That old fool! Akida thought to himself, He actually fell for it!

As Akida left, Kivuli looked up from his meal and smiled.

Akida, you fool, Kivuli thought to himself, Do you really believe that I'm not going to tell Issa?

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The sun was begining to rise. Akida sat atop the pile of elephant tusks with Nyoni perched on his shoulder. He looked down at hundreds of sobbing hyenas. His group was in the front, as expected. Kivuli soon pushed through the crowd to the front and sat next to Issa. Akida smiled. Kivuli looked quite satified. All the hyenas bowed as the two Jozi carried their fallen queen to a pile of bones and set her down gently. The twin hyenas looked up at Akida and nodded, stepping back into the crowd. Akida addressed the army of hyenas.

"Fellow hyenas!" Akida called loudly, "We are gathered here to give our final respects to our queen, Sauda. I'm sure that all of you have your own special memories of Sauda. She was, to put it simply, the greatest queen that we have ever had. She was kind, caring, and loving. She never wished harm on anyone...not even those outsiders who killed her son. All she ever wanted was for everyone to be happy, and live together in harmony. And her dream would have become a reality, if it wasn't for Ahadi!"

The hundreds of hyenas below Akida hissed and snarled at the mere mention of Ahadi's name.

"She did not deserve to die," Akida continued sadly, "She deserved to see her dream come true...and for a moment, she did...only to see it slaughtered before her eyes. She will be sorely missed. I'm of that I am sure. However, we must look to the future! According to sacred law, as Sauda's mate, I have the right to lead the clan. I know that I am no Sauda, but I hope that you can come to accept me as your ruler...you may now pay your respects."

The army of hyenas bowed to Akida, and one by one dropped an offering in front of Sauda's dead body. Some brought mice, others brought bones. But of all the offerings, Kivuli's was the most heartfelt. He placed a black flower in Sauda's mouth. The same black flower that she herself had planted for him when she was a cub. After each hyena had given an offering, Akida dismissed them. They hung their heads sadly and slowly walked away. Akida told Nyoni to follow the clan, and the vulture obeyed. Akida then jumped down from the pile of tusks and stood over Sauda's body. He watched as his tears splashed on her fur. He knew that he couldn't take seeing his mate's dead body much longer. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Kivuli was still there, weeping quietly.

"Oh, Kivuli," Akida said plainly, "You're still here. Good. I'd like you to do me a favor."

Kivuli looked up at the large hyena sadly.

"What is it?" Kivuli breathed.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this," Akida stated, "It pains me so, seeing her like this. I...I just can't take this."

"What do you want me to do?" Kivuli asked bluntly.

"Simple," Akida replied, "I want you to eat her."

"WHAT?" Kivuli gasped in complete shock, "I can't do that!"

"Of course you can," Akida sighed, "Look. Her presence pains me more with each and every second. Please, Kivuli. Just make my pain go away."

"She's my baby sister, you sick bastard!" Kivuli snarled, "There's no chance in hell that I'd ever do anything like that!"

Akida growled and pounced on Kivuli, pinning the black hyena on the ground.

"Do you think this is easy for me?" Akida growled in Kivuli's ear, "Don't you think that I wish there was some other way? Well, there's not! Your the only one I know who can do this for me. I know you, Kivuli. Deep down, you crave her flesh. You cannot deny it!"

Kivuli glared up at Akida, before nodding sadly.

"Good!" Akida smiled, "Now, are you going to do me this favor?"

Kivuli responded by spitting in Akida's face and pushing him away.

"Not on your life!" Kivuli growled.

Akida glared at Kivuli, before snorting and running away sadly. Kivuli stood over his sister's dead body and sighed. Kivuli picked at the middle of the black flower in Sauda's mouth, causing a seed to fall out. He turned and began to dig a hole. Once the hole was large enough, he picked up Sauda and dropped her in. Kivuli then began to fill the hole. After the hole was filled, he pulled some dirt away and place the seed over the grave, covering it in dirt. He looked up at the sky.

Good, Kivuli thought to himself, It looks like it's going to rain soon. The seed will get some water.

Suddenly, Kivuli heard something coming from behind. He turned to see a female hyena sitting down and staring at him.

"Oh...hi, there," Kivuli said politely.

"Hi," the female hyena said shyly, "I haven't seen you around here."

"Well," Kivuli replied, "There are a lot of hyenas. Can't have the fortune of meeting them all."

The female hyena giggled and stepped closer to Kivuli.

"Kivuli," the hyena mused, "That's a lovely name! I'm Bemba, by the way."

"Oh," Kivuli said, backing away a bit, "Nice to meet you."

Bemba smiled and began brushing against Kivuli.

"I saw how you stood up to Akida," Bemba stated, "That was very brave. I can't believe that he wanted you to eat another hyena! How disgusting!"

"Oh...yes," Kivuli laughed sheepishly, "I suppose it is very disgusting."

Bemba smiled up at Kivuli and brushed against him even harder.

"So tell me, Kivuli," Bemba cooed, "Do you happen to have a mate?"

"Well...no," Kivuli admitted, almost ashamed.

"I see!" Bemba exclaimed, "So you're available!"

Kivuli's eyes widened, suddenly realizing what Bemba's purpose was.

"Yes," Kivuli replied, "But I don't think anyone would want an old hyena like me."

Bemba circled him and stared at him strangely.

"You don't look old," Bemba commented.

"I suppose I don't," Kivuli smiled, "But don't be fooled. I have lived to see five lions take their place as kings of the Pride Lands."

Bemba smiled at Kivuli sweetly.

"That matters not," Bemba giggled, "You know what they say about love."

"And what would that be?" Kivuli asked plainly.

Bemba smiled at Kivuli and licked his cheek.

"It transcends time!" Bemba laughed.

Kivuli smiled. No females had ever talked to him this way.

"So," Kivuli smirked down at Bemba, "What do you say we go back to my skull? We have much to talk about!"

Bemba nodded and licked Kivuli's cheek again. Kivuli laughed and ran to wards his skull, Bemba trailing close behind.

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It began to rain. Not that it bothered Akida, for he was safely underground. He remembered when he and Sauda had found this place. A fiery hell that was offensive to all five senses. And still, it was special to him, all because it was the first time that Sauda actually laughed. Akida thought of many things. He thought of Ahadi, the murderous tyrant. He thought of Nbushe, who now lay dead, all because she told him something he didn't want to hear. He thought of Kivuli, the black hyena who marveled at Nbushe's dead body, but was brought to tears at the sight of his dead sister. Most of all, he thought of Sauda.

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Please review. Let me know what you think of the story so far.