Prologue
Grrr...
Janja wrapped his forelegs around his stomach, wincing at the pain. Three days had passed since his last meal: the bitter, tough roots of a dying tree. Apart from being horrible to the taste, it wasn't at all filling. Of course, Janja wasn't the only one suffering; his entire clan had empty bellies, and with the Lion Guard always on alert, it seemed they'd never be able to eat.
Janja stared at his comrades. How could they sleep through the pain, he wondered. Hell if he knew, but he certainly was jealous. The hyena sighed, his head resting on the cold, stone floor of his cave.
"Stupid Lion Guard," he muttered. "Oh, I'd give anything for some tasty antelope, or oryx, or gazelle, or-" His nose suddenly quivered, picking up a delicious-smelling scent. "Ooh...zebra's nice too..." He stood, following the scent to the entrance of the cave. One part of him, the logical part, thought it would was too good to be true, that there was no way a zebra would be that stupid as to stroll right up to his cave. The other part of him, the hungry part, was far too curious to care.
A cool, midnight breeze ruffled Janja's fur as he poked his head outside. The scent was really strong now, and Janja was beginning to salivate in anticipation. He looked ahead to see something lying just in front of the cave's entrance. His eyes widened; could it be...? Were there really five zebras lying at his doorstep? He had to have been dreaming, or at least, hallucinating to due hunger.
Grrrr...
"Alright, alright, I'm goin'!" Janja snapped at his stomach. "Jeez..." He approached the dead zebras, the scent growing stronger with each step he took. Janja noticed how heavy his breathing was; the scent was driving him absolutely crazy. Finally, he was standing in front of a zebra. This was it. It was time to see if he had really lost his mind or not. Janja bit down and...
It was real.
He tore off a piece of tender zebra flesh and downed it quickly, the rich flavors dancing on his tongue. He had no idea how, but somehow he'd been blessed with a real meal, finally. He looked back at his clan.
"Hey, furbrains!" he called. "Wake up!"
The rest of his pack awoke with a start, looking around in confusion.
"Huh?" Cheezi said. "What is it, Boss?"
"Food!" Janja devoured another chunk of meat. "So much food!"
It took a second for it to sink in to the other hyenas' heads, before they scrambled out of the cave, tripping over each other, and joining Janja in wolfing down the feast. How it got there was no concern to them, but they gladly accepted it.
Thud!
"Huh?"
Jasiri's head lifted from the ground, her ears twitching. It seemed that someone was intruding in her territory. The young female got up, walking outside.
"Hello?"
There was no response, just the strong scent of zebra. It was odd. Zebras never strayed this far into the Outlands; they'd be torn up by Janja's crew halfway through their territory. But lo and behold, there lay a dead zebra. Judging by the marks on its neck, it'd been killed by a suffocating bite, and the scent of a hyena lingered onto it. Jasiri stared at the kill, puzzled. What sort of hyena just left prey for another hyena? Her mind wandered to Janja. The male had offered her many times to be in his clan before they became enemies; could this be his way of asking her again? Jasiri rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Nice try, Janja," she called out. "But it'll take more than a zebra to get me to join you. Still, since you left this for me..." She began to eat, her tail swishing happily at the taste of real food. That Janja may have been a nasty hyena, but he sure did know a way to a girl's stomach.
"Goigoi!"
"Huh? Er...yes, dear?"
Reirei, the jackal mother, stared wide-eyed at the dead zebras in front of her and her family's den. Her husband joined her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a paw.
"Is, uh, everything ok-" Goigoi paused, seeing the fresh kill. "...Oh, my..."
"Get the kids," Reirei ordered. "We're having a feast..." She licked her chops. "Jackal style."
On the outskirts of the Outlands, far from the border to the Pridelands, a hyena was perched on a cliff, overlooking both territories. Far off in the distance sat Pride Rock, the lions' home. A dark figure stared at that iconic structure, a low growl deep in the back of his throat.
"My lord!"
The figure turned, seeing a young male hyena climbing up to his perch. The hyena bowed respectfully in front of his leader.
"Speak."
"All residents of the Outlands have received their gifts, sir."
"Good, good. Tell my soldiers to rest for now. Tomorrow, we will make our formal introduction to the Outlanders."
"Yes, sir."
The hyena left, leaving the figure to continue staring at Pride Rock. His tongue ran over his his canines.
"A real king is coming, Simba. Be ready to surrender...or die."