Shenzi – Gluttony

I'm not the bad guy – lions only make it seem that way. In fact, I'm actually really protective and caring, but do I get the chance to show it? Defiantly not. I'm the leader of my clan but I always have to be the bad guy. I get the blame and beatings for everything. Is it fair? No, but there is no such thing as a fair world.

I became the leader after my mother died. I didn't want to take the position. In fact, I'd rather live my life with my best friends Banzai and Ed, but the first adopted daughter of the last leader takes the position. That's been the tradition for generations – probably as long as there have been hyena clans. I couldn't have the same things as a normal hyena, which sucked. I couldn't have a mate nor have pups, which really sucked. We had to adopt or steal our heir. I came into the clan like that. I shared no blood with any of these hyenas, yet I was supposed to lead them.

The leader was supposed to choose a male second-in-command, but I chose two. Banzai couldn't go anywhere without his brother Ed tagging along, so I chose them both to take the position. Ed never really did anything but drool, but he always was a great stress reliever. As for Banzai, I trusted him more then anybody else. If I wasn't the leader, I could have pups with him…which would never happen. It was impossible.

The only good part about being the leader was the respect and the food. Every hyena gave a portion of the food caught to me. It was great to be fed; in fact, I rarely lifted a paw for food. The downside was if I became a bad leader, the meals would stop. I was the most well-fed hyena, even though I got more exercise. Banzai, Ed, and I were in charge of patrols…not like there was much to patrol. The lions made sure of that.

I hated being the leader of thieves, but it was the only way to get food in the wastelands. We stole almost everything just to survive, but we were still labeled as poachers. Anytime something strayed into our lands, we killed it. Killing lion cubs was my favorite sport. If they strayed into my territory, I got the privilege to tear their sorry little throats. The only lion I trusted was Scar, but my story with him has its ups and downs. He saved me when I was a cub from the own lions in his pride, but he used me ever since then.

Out of all of the lions, I hated Mufasa the most. His father killed a lot of my clan, and his mate's father killed Banzai's dad. He was evil, not us. He scared the crap outta me, which I hated. I was supposed to be fearless, but my past haunted me, and I couldn't fight him. He just made me angrier, and my clan hungrier. Scar was the brilliant one, not his brother. Plus, I wasn't afraid of Scar; I could kill him if I wanted to because he was weak. I never wanted to kill him, though, because he fed me. I enjoyed that a lot.

One day, he told us of a brilliant plan – we were going to kill Mufasa's kid. It would be easy because the cub was so dang stupid. He would be lured into my lands where Banzai, Ed, and I would slice him apart. Mufasa would be weak without an heir, and much more vulnerable to Scar.

We waited in an elephant skull forever before the stupid cub came strutting in with his friend. "Ohh, looks like our package came in," I giggled menacingly. Banzai and Ed laughed quietly, drooling at the sight of the cubs. The cub came closer, and I growled at his arrogance; he was just like his father. I would be sure that we left his body beyond mangled for Mufasa. The kid had to be disposed of before he could hurt my clan, just as his family had done in the past.

"What's the plan? I'm starving and ready for lunch," Banzai growled. Ed giggled.

"Just wait," I ordered. We watched until the cub came very close and laughed. Ed giggled loudly, Banzai and I joining in. We stalked out of the skull, thrilled to have such a great lunch planned out. There was even some poultry for a side dish.

We taunted the trio before we had to chase them down. I was so close at some points that my mouth watered, but one moment and the cubs slipped away. I got a cut on the cheek from the little furball. We ran faster after that and trapped them, only to be trapped by Mufasa himself. The plan failed.

Scar was furious, but he still gave us food. He also had a new plan to kill both Mufasa and the cub. This one was foolproof, and he promised my clan endless food if it worked. With that promise, I'd go to all ends to make sure the plan didn't fail.

I liked this one. Shenzi was one of my favorite characters in TLK. Enjoy!

I don't own TLK

~Skyy