Nala and her mother Sarafina stormed into Pride Rock, both looking for Simba. They found him napping at the back of the cave, trying to avoid the heat of the day.
"Simba, can you help us settle an argument?" Nala asked.
"Sure," replied the lion king. "What's up?"
"Which one of us is better…"
"Why you are of course," Simba replied. "Sarafina, you have a nice rear. but Nala has the full package."
Nala glared. "Let me finish the question," she snapped. "Which one of us is better at hunting?"
"Oh… well… um, since you're my mate, the leader of the hunting party, younger and more agile, I would say you Nala…"
Nala smiled.
"... However," Simba continued. "Your mom is more experienced so I'm actually going to have to say Sarafina."
"What?" Nala retorted.
"She's taught you everything you know."
"Maybe, but I'm a great huntress through what I've learned myself, not because of her."
"Excuse me," Sarafina said to her daughter. "I taught you everything you know, Missy. I could make a great hunter out of anybody."
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!
"Alright," said Nala, "but I get to pick who."
Some time later, Nala was out prowling the Pridelands looking for some prey.
She caught sight of an antelope, but before she could start setting herself up for an attack, Fuli the cheetah dashed out of her hiding place and gave chase.
Fuli had made her move too soon though and the antelope had already gone. The young cheetah came to a halt. This antelope was too far away. It wasn't worth the chase.
"Fuli!" exclaimed Nala.
"Oh, hi your majesty!" replied Fuli, walking up to the queen.
"Drop the formalities, Fuli, I'm here with an offer for you."
"Oh… well… great!" she replied. "What's the offer?"
"I want you to challenge me in a hunting contest."
"Whoa…" replied Fuli, quite taken aback. "Well, it would be an honor Nala, but, well, you're really, really good. I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Don't worry," Nala replied. "My mom's going to teach you all the tricks she knows. She'll train you for the next few days and then in a week we go head-to-head and see who wins."
"Sounds good," said the cheetah. "Why are we doing this again?"
In a parallel universe:
"Because I made a bet with my mom that she couldn't train someone like you to be a better hunter than me," said Nala.
In this universe:
"I don't know, I just think it would be fun," said Nala.
"Alright, well, see you in a week!"
Day 1:
"Let's start with the basics," stated Sarafina as she and Fuli took a stroll through the Pridelands. "What's the ultimate goal of hunting?"
"To kill the prey," replied Fuli.
"Hmm… really?" Nala's mother gave Fuli a serious look, and the cheetah knew she'd given the wrong answer. "So why don't we just pick up a human's gun and shoot all of the antelope?" she asked rhetorically. "What's the ultimate goal of hunting, Fuli?"
"To protect the circle of life," Fuli answered this time.
"Very good. Hunting not only keeps us alive, Fuli, but also helps manage the herds' numbers. But which herds?" she asked, bringing Fuli to the top of a hill.
"Hmm…" replied Fuli, looking over the savannah. "Well, there aren't that many antelope or zebra… and I don't see any wildebeest either."
"Agreed," said Sarafina. "Oh well, looks like you're hunting buffalo!"
"Buffalo!?" exclaimed Fuli. "Sarafina… don't you think that's a bit of a jump? I've never hunted anything larger than a zebra before."
"Same concepts," Sarafina stated simply.
"Well… can't you at least give me a safety briefing first?"
"That's probably not a bad idea," Sarafina admitted. "Give me a day to make a list of the do's and don't's. You're right, I don't want you to get hurt."
Day 2:
One day later, Sarafina and Fuli met back up in the savannah.
"So you've came up with a safety briefing for me?" asked Fuli.
"Indeed I have!" replied the lioness.
"Great! Let's hear it!"
Sarafina took a deep breath:
"Please keep your arms and legs on the prey at all times. In case of an emergency, please remember that there are 360 ways to exit around you, although we recommend avoiding the hooves. This prey is not equipped with seat belts, life vests, floatation devices, or oxygen masks. There is no smoking allowed on the prey. If you are bucked off, you will be flying at an elevation of 20 feet. In case of an emergency landing, please curl up into the fetal position and brace for impact. We thank you for attending Sarafina's Hunting Lessons and please remember that if you fail, you will likely bleed or starve to death."
Sarafina finished. Fuli blinked.
"Is that everything?" she asked.
"Not quite," replied Sarafina. "The white zone is for loading and unloading of predators only. There is no hunting in the red zone."
Day 3:
"Alright," said Sarafina, as she and Fuli spotted a hare while wandering through the Pridelands. "Show me what you can do."
Fuli crouched down and maneuvered herself into position. Then, using her ultra-fast speed and lightning reflexes, the cheetah ran down and caught the hare and carried it in her mouth - alive - back to Sarafina.
"Impressive," stated Sarafina. "You let it live?"
"Yeah," replied Fuli, setting the hare down on the ground, free. "I'm not that hungry. Circle of life, remember?"
Sarafina smiled in approval. "Why did you not jump over that rock?" she asked.
"Pardon?"
"When you were chasing the hare, you could have taken a shortcut over that rock, but you didn't. Why not?"
"I knew I was fast enough to catch him, and I have no idea what's behind that rock - there could be a snake! I didn't want to risk it."
"You have to," Sarafina replied. "When it comes down to it, nothing is more important than feeding yourself and those who depend on you. You've got to take every risk you must in order to make your chances of success as great as possible. You understand?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Also," added the hare, "when you caught me you left my legs free, I could have started kicking and tried to escape."
Fuli blinked. "I'm sorry… is my prey teaching me how to hunt??"
"I didn't start kicking because I could feel that you didn't want to kill me, but since you hadn't placed your paw down on my feet, I was about to start kicking and break your grasp."
"He has a good point," Sarafina noted.
Fuli was still taken aback. "I'm sorry, but WHY is this hare telling me how to kill it? It's quite insulting."
"Also, when you were chasing me, you gave me an opportunity to start to run to my burrow…"
"That's it, I'm leaving," snapped Fuli, and she stormed off.
Day 4:
It rained.
"Shouldn't you teach me to hunt in the rain?"
"Ha!" replied Sarafina. "I ain't going out in that."
Day 5:
"Rise and shine!!" exclaimed Sarafina, awaking Fuli from her slumber.
"Sarafina! Oh no…" Fuli turned over and tried to stuff an item behind a rock.
Sarafina cocked an eyebrow. "You sleep with a stuffed toy?" she asked.
Fuli snarled and barged her way towards the exit.
"Talk about an invasion of privacy," she grumbled, unhappy that Sarafina had barged into her home. "How did you even find where I live?"
"Tracking of course," replied Sarafina, following Fuli out of her den. "Want me to teach you?"
"Um… Sarafina…" called Fuli, standing just outside her house staring at the stars. "What time is it?"
"3 a.m.," replied the lioness. "We're going to practice some night training. I thought about waking you at 2 but figured I'd let you sleep in."
"Thanks for the consideration."
"You looked so peaceful sleeping with your stuffed toy. Kion and the others thought it was adorable."
"WHAT!?"
"I'm kidding," said Sarafina. "Don't worry, I won't tell. Now as for hunting at night…" she started, but then she stopped. She had caught a whiff of a scent she knew in the air and it could only mean one thing…
"WE WON!!" Sarafina exclaimed. "Cheater! I can smell you from behind that rock, Nala. You're trying to get in on some free lessons and that disqualifies you from the bet. Come on out, game's over, no need to hide."
Knowing the game was lost, a defeated Nala crept out of the bushes and walked toward her mother and Fuli.
"What's going on?" asked Fuli. "What bet?"
"Mom bet that she could train anyone to be a better hunter than me," Nala replied. "I didn't think she could, but she's right, I've heard her teach you some things that she had never taught me and I had never learned. I guess I'm really not the ultimate hunter. Sorry I was spying on you both, but Mom's right, Fuli. That disqualifies me. You two win."
"Does this mean I can go back to bed?" asked Fuli.
"Sure."
"Thank heavens!" the tired cheetah replied, heading back into her home.
Day 6:
The Lion Guard was done with it's morning duties and the group had split up for the rest of the day.
Fuli had taken herself over to the waterhole for a drink and was now taking a nap in the sun. It all felt a bit boring though.
"You know," came a voice from above her in the trees, "dis reminds me of somet'ing very familiar."
"Oh, hi Rafiki!" greeted Fuli, looking up in the tree.
The mandrilll came swinging down.
"Humans play a game called chess," continued Rafiki, landing next to Fuli. "It is a game of skill. Some humans are a lot better at it dan others, just like Sarafina and Nala are better hunters dan de rest."
Rafiki had got Fuli's interest. "Go on," she encouraged.
"One day de best chess player in de world walked into a room and offered a random guy a game of chess. De guy accepted, but, knowing he would probably lose, played a few moves but den offered a draw."
"Fat chance!" Fuli replied. "I guess the expert kept on playing?"
"No, he took de draw. But when he left de room, he said the guy he met had done somet'ing very foolish indeed."
"How so?" Fuli asked.
"He had passed up de opportunity to play one of de best players in de world. He drew, but he did it as a coward and didn't learn anyt'ing. If he'd played, true, he would have lost, but he would have walked out a much wiser man."
Fuli pondered what Rafiki had just said, but it didn't take long. She knew what she needed to do.
"Thank you Rafiki," said the cheetah. "I will play the game."
Story's conclusion in chapter 2: