Not much to say about this chapter… only Mlenzi makes a new friend and stuff.
Sorry, not much Uzuri in this chapter. :P There will be next chapter, though! :D
I'm trying to go, like, Both, Mlenzi, Uzuri, Both, Mlenzi, Uzuri, etc.
Anway...
Enjoy! 3
"Mlenzi! C'mon, Mlenzi! Get up, lazy butt!" the young lion heard as he groggily fluttered his eyes open.
"Wha'?" Mlenzi groaned as his smaller, but steadily growing sister jumped on his back and the young Prince covered his eyes with his paws. "Nooo…" he rolled over.
"Oof!" Uzuri yelped as she fell off her brother's back. She growled and raised her haunches determinedly. "The hunter… will attack her prey in three, two…one!" Uzuri yelled the last part as she jumped back on Mlenzi's lean body.
He sighed. "Fine, fine…" he yawned and got up to stretch. Uzuri squealed happily. The two walked out of the Pride's den and into the pink sunlight. Two or three other lion were scattered here and there, for some reason, awake also. A large figure could be seen somewhere in the distance. Mlenzi squinted his eyes.
"Hey, look Uzuri, there's Dad." He pointed his paw in the direction of their father, on his daily patrol.
But the young cub had already wandered off to find her friend. Mlenzi looked around a bit until he found Cheshi and her playing by two lionesses. One of them smiled, as if to say, I will watch them. Go have fun. He nodded and trotted towards the waterhole.
All the way there, he thought he heard swishing in the grass. Eventually, half way there, he became paranoid. "Okay, who's there?" he yelled around him, his voice echoing off the trees around him.
Swish. He heard it again, except now he actually saw the long grass move. He got into a stalking position and waited patiently.
Swish. Suddenly, Mlenzi pounced from where the movement and sound was coming from.
"Ack! Get off me, ugh, stupid lion!" the creature yelped as Mlenzi pinned it down. After a moment, the prince realized it was a male cheetah, about his age. He growled warningly.
"Why are you following me?" he demanded, pushing his paws further into the stalker's shoulders.
The cheetah lowered its eyes. "Why are you following me, that is the real question." He said simply.
Mlenzi growled slightly and got off of him. "So you're going to the waterhole?" he said carefully.
"Yep," the lean cheetah said as he licked himself clean. After a few seconds, he sat down.
"So…what's your name, then?" Mlenzi asked, thinking he came on too strong.
"My name is Kasi. And yours?" he asked, a slightly friendly tone now entering his voice.
Mlenzi furrowed his brow, surprised Kasi didn't know Kovu's son's name. "Um, Mlenzi." He answered.
Kasi widened his eyes slightly. "Oh! The young lion Prince?" he asked.
Mlenzi sighed. This always happened when he tried to make non-lion friends. They were always like, "Oh, the young prince! What an honor!" or "Oh, my, the prince! I am blessed to have your acquaintance!" Yadda yadda yadda.
"Yes, the Prince." He said, disappointed. But Kasi smiled and said,
"Cool. Want to come the rest of the way with me?" He asked friendly-like.
Mlenzi looked up, surprised again.
"Sure." He smiled, and tried to continue the conversation. They got up and started walking, side by side. "So, where do you live? I don't think I've seen where the coalitions live."
Kasi laughed. "Not many animals do. It's kind of hidden…I'll explain later." He simply said. After a moment of thought, he asked, "How is Pride Rock? Is it nice?"
Mlenzi laughed, 'It's okay. I don't get special treatment or anything, I'm just… another lion in the Pride. But my father keeps us organized and happy. What about the coalition? Do you like it?" he asked, curiosity growing inside of him.
"Eh…it's…okay. We don't always eat, and sometimes we have to share dens, but we get along pretty well. Our leader's very wise and friendly." Mlenzi nodded, soaking up all the new information.
After talking a few more minutes, they reached the waterhole. No one else was there. The two quickly bent down and slurped up water, not realizing how thirsty they both were.
After a few minutes of drinking, Mlenzi ay down lazily. "Ahh," he sighed. Kasi came up a few seconds after and lay on his back beside Mlenzi. They talked for what seemed like seconds.
After laughing over a funny joke Kasi made, Mlenzi looked at the sky. The sun was already high up. "Whoa, it's already noon! Aw man, my family's gonna be worried…sorry, I gotta go, Kasi!"
"Oh, um, okay." Kasi's said. His ears lowered a bit. Mlenzi thought a moment.
"Hey, I'll meet you here again tomorrow, same time as now, right?" he smiled. Kasi's ears rose back up.
"Uh, yeah…yeah, that'd be good." The cheetah said confidently.
"'Kay, bye, Kasi!" Mlenzi turned around and began trotting, his tail flicking in a goodbye wave. Kasi got up and began to jog the other direction, toward his home,
"Later!" he yelled back.
Mlenzi later broke into a swift run. Soon, he came back to Pride Rock. Kiara and the other lionesses were all in a group.
"Okay, you've checked the savannah?" she asked one demandingly. The lioness nodded sadly.
"You, you've checked all the dens?" The Queen asked another quickly. "Yes, ma'um."
Kiara sighed, and looked around, then suddenly saw Mlenzi running up to them.
"Oh, Mlenzi!" She ran up to him and nuzzled him. "I was so worried! A-are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked, and ferociously licked his stray fur down.
"Mooomm…I'm fine. I just met a new friend, that's all." Mlenzi said pointedly, swatting her off.
Kiara huffed. "And you just chatted for six hours? You better be glad you didn't get hurt, mister!"
Mlenzi's ears lowered. "Sorry, we lost track of time." Kiara stared at him coldly, but then her eyes softened up. She sighed, and said, "I'm sorry. I just worry about you, Mlenzi. You're growing up too fast." She nuzzled him once more, then walked off. The group began to disassemble into smaller groups of chatty lionesses.
Mlenzi sighed and walked to the den. Why should they worry about me so much? I can take care of myself…when I'm King, I'll roam wherever I want to, whenever I want to. He thought happily.
Mlenzi couldn't wait to be King. The young Prince was happy that he had his life planned out for him, so there were no devastating mishaps along the way.
Yep, everything's going to be perfect…he thought and began to yawn.
Mlenzi carefully looked around to make sure Uzuri wasn't around, and closed his eyes as he quickly fell asleep.
