Ok then, it's a bit rusty, but here's that Shenzi/Banzai chapter I made. I think the plot suits them well, but it's a bit heartbreaking for Valentine's Day. Anyway, if you don't like heartbreaker fics, don't read.
(Thought to self: …Why am I making sad endings for all my romances?)
"Alright, now if I set up scout parties here, we should-"
A scraping sound interrupted her thoughts, continuing on for a moment or so. She gave a silent, annoyed breath. After the nuisance had died down, she resumed concentrating.
"We should be able to track 'em enough to predict their movements. Abeni and Kamau'll take the left flank, Bongani can get the right. T'll take up the ba-"
More scratching; she flexed her own claws into the ground in impatience. But retaining composure, she waited until the sickening noise of claws digging through fur to moderately penetrate skin had ended.
A minute or two passed before it did; she twitched her ears, anticipating further interruptions. Then after one more silent moment, let out another sigh and continued arranging the hunt.
"Ed oughtta scare anything back to us; he'll take the front. Now counting up the party's numbers, the herd's instinctive reflexes, and the time it should take to bring down each kill, we should come back with-"
Continuous, obnoxious, nonstop scraping breeched her line of concentration. Finally the matriarch couldn't take it anymore; she swerved around to face her deputy.
"Can't you see I'm tryin' to THINK?!" Shenzi growled.
"All I did was scratch my neck!" Banzai yelled right back.
"Chyeah? Well scratch any harder and you'll saw right through it!"
"Stare at the floor anymore and you'll burn holes right through it!"
"I'm thinkin' you moron!"
"Well can't ya knock it off for once?! It's startin' to tick me off!"
"Oh I'm sorry Banzai," she sneered, "I had no idea. From now on I'll stop thinkin' before I do anything; I'll stop figurin' out which herds are easiest to get and I'll stop figurin' how to get to 'em, I'll stop helpin' you or Ed bring down the prey, since that would call for mental ability. Oh, and I'm sorry I get so busy plannin' hunts all day; hunts that keep the clan alive, hunts that get food, hunts that get YOU food, while you sit on your haunches all day to scrape your neck!"
"Maybe you should-!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Came a yell. Stunned, the two could only stare at the normally docile T, on all fours, glowering. Ed was giving them a similar look from behind her. After catching their attention, the young hyena sighed and sat on her haunches.
"Look," she told them, "you're both obviously too wound up to be in the same place with each other. Why don't you try spending some time apart? Banzai can leave to go continue his…scratching, and Shenzi can go elsewhere to plan the hunts."
"If anybody's goin' anywhere," Shenzi began determinedly, "one of us is stayin' right here and the other's long gone!"
"Well it ain't gonna be me!" Banzai firmly stated. She turned to growl menacingly at him. T backed up slightly as Ed turned away; this wouldn't end well…
A few minutes later…
How Shenzi lost that fight she'd never be able to comprehend; maybe it had something to do with the lack of meat she'd had yesterday—unlike Banzai who stuffed himself—she must've tired out quicker from being low on fuel. Or she could've been mentally out of it; concentrating on a hunt can really remove focus in combat. Or maybe the environment was working against her; there was no way her male 2nd-in-command would lay a paw on her, so the match was mainly composed of throwing body weight around.
Albeit she did weigh less than Banzai, the main cause of her downfall was skidding on a mound of pebbles, giving him the opportunity to slam into her for the kill. But nonetheless she'd lost; her head hit the ground fair and square, and although she almost believed she'd seen a flicker of regret and even concern in his eyes once it was over, she thought nothing else of the whole predicament and left straight after.
She could still hear them, faintly, as she departed for the "elsewhere" T had mentioned earlier; their voices reverberating inside the skull just barely loud enough for her to decipher.
"Don't worry," T's voice assured someone, most likely him, "she'll be back."
"That's what I'm afraid of." He replied.
Deciding her "elsewhere" would be in the Pridelands—someplace it was easy to find a secluded, peaceful, usually comfortable area to think in—Shenzi walked a few miles into the border, and settled herself underneath a large, broad, somewhat strange-looking tree. She leaned against it with a sigh, too frustrated to think now.
"Lousy males." She muttered, closing her eyes to let the airstream gently ruffle her bangs, tickling her eyelids; yet another small luxury of the Pridelands. It was such a warm breeze, much different from the spine-chilling drafts the Elephant Graveyard offered. A mild, tranquil, soothing…vaguely forceful breeze. The hyena peeled an eye open at noticing the air's sudden change in momentum. The once peaceful wind wafting by now became a powerful gust almost crushing her with its might.
One of the branches shook above her, instinctively driving her into survival mode. Shenzi pressed herself against the tree, between the large roots digging into the earth, and waited for the over-blown draft to pass by. Then, just as quickly as it came, the wind stopped, astounding the defensive hyena. She observed her surroundings, taken aback that there was no serious damage, if any at all. Aware that she herself was just fine as well, the matriarch scowled, climbing from the gap in the roots.
"Now I know the catch to livin' in a place like this. No wonder them lions only let their females hunt—no manes to blow in their faces! Look at my bangs!" She growled. "It's gonna take a week to get 'em back to normal! I don't think this day could get any-"
Just as she spoke that, a large, unknown object, full of some odd, anomalous liquid, fell directly on top of her head.
Not much earlier…
"Asante sana, squash banana, we we nugu, mi mi apana." The mandrill chuckled, gleefully adding two more fruits to the inside of half a hollowed-out tortoise shell. He then gathered a few leaves and dropped them in too, next were 3 different powders and an exotic flower growing right on one of the branches. He plunked those ingredients in, combined them all together. Then slowly, delicately, he merged them with his walking stick, stirring the mixture ever so carefully.
"Now for de final touch." He stated, reaching for another leaf, this one growing on one of the branches as well.
"Shaman!" A voice called out.
Rafiki started, causing the shell to tilt. He immediately clutched onto it, keeping its balance intact. It rocked a few times before he managed to get it steady. After fretfully glancing over it to make sure everything was unharmed, he gave a sigh and glared up at Zazu.
"What wrong with you?!" He demanded. "You coulda caused more trouble dan a porcupine up an elephant's nose!"
Zazu, who had flown in unexpectedly, now perched on a nearby limb, wrinkled his bill at the primate. "And just what is more important than being accounted for at my very important, private lecture?!"
"Everyting! But dat not important. You come to be ignored later!" He turned to the shell, retrieving his stick. "I HAVE to put a certain ingredient in dis, or else it will sustain as a powerful-" Before the baboon could say more, a strong gust invaded his tree, making the branches quake. Rafiki himself was roughly thrown off his feet, but after quickly recovering clutched the shell once again; trying his best to withstand the fierce winds rattling his home. Unfortunately, one of the many fruits dangling from the limbs was detached from a vine, and splattered onto the surface which Rafiki stood on. Trying to keep his footing the shaman moved his left leg, only to slip on his back from the mashed pulp.
Much to his horror, he saw the very shell he'd been caring for so charily, fly out of his grasp and right toward the upset majordomo. Zazu gawked before veering out of the way just in time. Rafiki leapt to his feet, but it was already too late—mouth agape, he watched as the shell, concoction and all, disappeared through the canopy branches. Zazu, having landed on a nearby branch, looked at the primate inquisitively.
"Oh no…" The shaman moaned. "Without dat final ingredient, what just fell out of my tree was a very powerful brew. Most unfortunate to the touch, for any crecha."
"Oh my…erm, what does it do?" Zazu asked uneasily.
"It ees a highly effective love poshun!" He announced dramatically. The hornbill, once fairly disconcerted by this predicament, now frowned at the primate and scoffed.
"Love potion? Preposterous! I suppose you're going to tell me whatever animal that could've been drenched in that nonsensical snake oil is going to fall madly in love with the first creature it sees?"
"Of course not!" Rafiki bellowed. "Dat ees just plain nonsense!"
Zazu nodded, "Precisely."
"Dey going to fall in love with de first crecha dey tink about!" The shaman finished.
Banzai thumped his head against the wall repeatedly, ignoring the slight throbbing in his forehead. "Idiot!" His brain kept shouting. Ever since Shenzi left all he could think about was that stupid fight—how he'd "won" by slinging her to the ground, hearing her skull bang against the stone floor, and then fearfully waiting to see if she'd get back up. Then watching her shakily get to her feet, and leave without another word. It kept playing over and over again in his mind.
"It wasn't your fault." T kept telling him, sporadically raising her voice over the sounds of his cranium making contact to the much larger skull. "Banzai it was an accident!" She shouted, trying to get him to stop.
"Did you hear her head hit that floor?!" He snapped, jerking his head in her direction. The youngest hyena nodded solemnly. "Yes, and she could be sore for quite awhile. But she'll be fine; you know Shenzi, she's taken worse than that."
"Not by me." He looked away disgustedly.
"There's a first time for everything." A serene voice cut in. Puzzled, mainly as to why anybody here could have such a tone, all three hyenas turned to the entrance…to gape almost simultaneously at a smiling Shenzi, who appeared strangely fascinated with something in the back of their home.
T, having the least history with the matriarch, was first to recover and albeit still shaken, she vigilantly spoke up. "Uh…did you finish planning your hunt?"
"Got everything figured out just fine." Her response was to T, but she never took her gaze off Banzai, who began to look uncomfortable.
"Hey, Ed…T," Shenzi's eyes were abnormally soft, and her tone had become most delicate; it made her three companions very uneasy, "could you give me and Banzai…some time alone?"
"DON'T LEAVE ME WITH HER!!!" Banzai immediately shouted, his pleading gaze not lost to his friends. T and Ed exchanged troubled glances; something was clearly not right here, and obviously if they left, Banzai would be in for a world of hurt. But Shenzi was never one to be predictable—was this some kind of ruse, or a twisted mental game of hers to drive them all crazy? They didn't have time to find out.
"Now don't make me repeat myself." Shenzi said, keeping the bizarrely affable voice. And in one move she had the two hyenas securely in her grasp. With barely any effort, she innocuously flung them both outside with ease. Trapped in the back of the cave, Banzai tried to make a hasty retreat, but ended up crushing his back against the wall. Shenzi turned to look at him; a mischievous glint in her eye. Banzai gulped in apprehension.
For some reason, instead of attacking him then and there, Shenzi paused; evidently to observe their surroundings. She put a paw to her chin, taking her time to absorb every detail, and that eerie smile never left her face—to him, it seemed as if she meant to taunt him about his earlier comments of her idle planning, right before she'd use his body to paint the floor.
"Now let's see," she finally spoke, making his stomach clench, "I think there's somethin' wrong with this picture…"
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" Banzai shouted, clearly scared out of his mind. "I get it! I won't hassle ya when you're tryin' to think. Just knock off the act!!" He begged.
She crooked a brow, that smile melting into a now inquisitive expression. "Act? What act?"
"THAT act!" He pointed to her eerily soft eyes, her calm face, and her without-threat composure. Even her bangs, one of her biggest iniquitous trademarks, seemed tamer. "What're you tryin' to do?! Psych me out!?"
The smile grew back again, bristling his mane. He wondered—what in clan's name was she trying to pull here? His answer came in a chillingly melodious, and yet still matter-of-factly response. "Banzai honey, I'm not doin' nothin'."
He scoffed, "Oh chyeah right—you waltz into the Pridelands for five minutes, then decide you're NOT gonna kill me when you come back."
"Well…" To his perplexity, she moved closer, almost within touching range. "I did have somethin' pretty different in mind."
"Wh-what…what're you doing?" He started to back away, but was reminded of his position when he felt the wall from behind. Then, stunning him completely, Shenzi did something that—if either were here to see—would've surprised T beyond movement and sent Ed into a shock-induced coma; she brushed her lips against his, as if to kiss him. It would've been a fully complete kiss, had Banzai not jumped away—not out of fear, but of pure shock.
"You didn't get a head injury while you were gone, did you?"
She merely smirked at him.
"…Yeah, you did."
"I'm just fine…except for one thang," She admitted, lowering her gaze to her paws. At first Banzai was chary…then inquisitive…then dumbstruck; astounding as it was, the once unassailable matriarch appeared truly disheartened. Over what reason was unknown. Banzai would have been surprised…had she not looked so pitiable.
He couldn't think of anything that could make her this depressed. …Unless something had happened in the Pridelands. And something had to have happened in the Pridelands; she was her usual self before she departed for them. Perhaps she had grown unhappy while she was trying to plan the hunting mission; the Pridelands had abundant food, yet only specific animals could attain this land of heavenly sustenance—hyenas were not among this privileged group. So she was reminded that the same mission she was arranging of was also a poaching. And realizing she was in the same territory she conspired to poach from, only made things worse.
What else could make her act this way?
Or, maybe it wasn't over preparing a successful poach. …Maybe it was over the fight they had. Shenzi was excellent at playing the emotional deception card—she hated showing weakness—instead of being her normal vengeful self when she left, she could've been masking the humiliation of defeat.
But why reveal her true colors now? Was this a ploy to get his guard down, so she could nab him from the underbelly? Or was it a true and legitimate display of, sad, emotions?
He couldn't tell; she was very good at playing the emotional deception card. Wanting to find out—whether coming out of it battered or unharmed—he approached her cautiously. This earned him a wary glance from one of the eyes behind her still soft bangs. Carefully sitting nearby, he asked in a tone as considerately as someone like him could muster.
"What's wrong?"
She slowly lifted her gaze toward him, making direct eye contact. Bit by bit, their faces inched toward each other's…before Shenzi promptly grinned in an almost predatory manner. "You stole somethin' from me."
Banzai blinked in surprise. "Huh?!"
"You heard me."
"N-no I didn't!"
"I know you did." She insisted, prior to touching her nose to his. "It was my heart, y'know."
Banzai's own heart stopped. "W…wha? …You mean?"
She nodded, "Mm-hmm."
That smile, which at one point seemed creepy, now looked…fairly pleasant. And those once fiery orbs, intimidating anything that dared glance into them, that had once been so fierce, even creatures without visual capability could feel their stare on their form; sending a chill through their bodies.
Those eyes, which now held tenderness within them—replaced malice with affection, spite with compassion, and starkness with empathy—looked directly into his. He could felt his chest tightening.
"Isthisaboutthefight?" His scratchily-surprised voice mustered; a dead giveaway for his loss of composure. Shenzi chuckled; their noses still touching, the action sent tingles to Banzai's face, just before she pulled away.
"Mostly, yeah."
Banzai, although still a bit shaken, managed to sigh in half-relief; this needed to end as soon as possible. He retained all sensibility prior to saying, "Well look, I'm so-"
"I'm sorry I was such a diehard. A real matriarch knows how to hold her temper."
"…WHO THE HECK ARE YOU, AND WHAT'VE YOU DONE WITH SHENZI?!" Banzai demanded. Thus ensued a chain of remedies specifically intended to check up on the matriarch's health, emotional status and—most important—sanity.
He felt her head. "Not sick." He concluded, and then lifted one of her forelegs to glance at it. "Doesn't look broken." He sniffed at her. "No trauma." He walked around her, "And not a scratch on-"
She stopped him with an extended foreleg. "I'm fine." She insisted.
Banzai still didn't fully believe it. "How many spots do I have?" He maneuvered himself in a way for her to see a side-view of him. Shenzi rolled her eyes. "If I say I'm gonna hit you, will you stop?"
He stopped.
Any other day, Shenzi wouldn't have thought twice about the success of that age-old method, but this time she looked surprised. Which made her 2nd-in-command tilt his head in puzzlement. "What's wrong? I thought you were back to normal."
She shook her head; disbelieving herself. Had she really been reduced to constantly threatening others with violence if things didn't go her way? Even her own clan members, hunters, and alphas? It was time for a change in technique. "Ban'…I don't wanna hit you. I'm not sick, and I didn't suffer a serious brain injury while I was out. And I'm fine about the fight." She put emphasis on the last sentence, then looked at him somberly. "Why's that so hard to believe?"
He gave her a look. "You're kiddin' right?"
She looked hurt. This time Banzai was skeptical. "Nice try; I'm not fallin' for that again."
She looked at him at full eye-contact; a firm, serious, poised expression on her face. "…You wanna know why I'm not gonna seriously wound you?"
"Because you're gonna do something horrible to me in my sle-?"
"I love you."
He stared. Confirming that he had heard right, Shenzi nodded her head quietly, a miniscule, bashful form of the smile returning. For the first few seconds, Banzai didn't move; not blinking, not shifting his gaze, he didn't even seem to be breathing. At the sight of his wide eyes and frozen body, Shenzi began to worry, until much to her relief he brought one of his forelegs up.
He grinned at her, making her chest flutter with hope, until he said, "One sec."
Puzzling her, but at least relieving her that he was talking, she sat back and waited for whatever he planned to do.
She saw him bring the same paw to his opposite foreleg, and jab himself with a claw. He winced, but after unclenching his eyes, looked around the skull. Seeing their environment was unchanged, he looked confused; as did she, but at observing his actions. A moment of observing him however, was all it took to figure out exactly what he must've been thinking.
Seeing that Shenzi remained unchanged as well, this time he paused, before hastily scraping his claws through the same foreleg. He snarled in pain, but realizing nothing had changed, as a last resort, he flung his head to the foreleg and began savagely gnawing away. Shenzi rolled her eyes.
"This ain't a dream." She said over his incessant chewing. He either didn't hear her or didn't believe her.
The situation was getting very ridiculous from Shenzi's point of view, and it seemed unless she did something quite fast, Banzai would be learning to walk on all three; blood was already staining the fur on his right leg. Deducing on what she could do to stop it, it seemed the only way to convince him he wasn't dreaming was to back up some evidence that she really did love him.
…And a kiss was often the way to do that.
Smiling intently, she made not a sound as she moved toward him. Between the biting and the chewing, he didn't seem to notice her approach. The real problem was how to do it without accidentally being bit by her skeptical lover's actions; she'd have to time it just right between bites. Though being a swift, clever matriarch, what better challenge to give a skillfully smitten female?
Just as Banzai parted his jaws to clamp down on his injured leg yet again, a pair of lips suddenly pressed themselves to his cheek, immediately diverting his attention.
To Shenzi's delight, it certainly made him stop biting his leg…to her misfortune, it also caused all his regular functions to cease. He stayed frozen in place for quite awhile, not even acknowledging the blood dripping down his leg. She began shouting his name to snap him out of it, though it wasn't until the tenth time in a row that he somewhat recovered.
"BANZAI!"
His mental mechanisms started working first; just enough for him to comprehend what she had done. Once he found that out, he slowly turned his head toward her.
She smiled again, and repeated, "It ain't a dream, hun."
Banzai couldn't believe it: Shenzi was forgiving him not even one hour after a spat, was clearly not in a passive-aggressive temperament about it, and she was in love with him! All his dreams were coming true! There could've been only one logical explanation…
Something was horribly wrong.
The next morning…
Judging by the daylight pouring from the entrance of the skull and onto his eyelids, Banzai realized he must've dropped out of consciousness sometime yesterday afternoon. Exactly what for he had trouble remembering…but got a good reminder at something gently stroking the underside of his neck. He twisted his head right to see Shenzi curled up next to him.
She smiled, "Mornin'."
He bolted to his feet.
"What's wrong, honey? You look like you just ate rotten meat."
He was about to yell something provocative from shock, until memories of yesterday quickly flooded into his conscious, saying there was nothing to be alarmed of. In no time, he calmed down and smiled at his love, who returned the gesture.
It took awhile for him to notice it was just the two of them, and it made him ponder—oh right, Ed and T were still gone. …Where could they've stayed for the whole night? Ah well, he didn't care; with a shrug he focused back on Shenzi, who got to all fours.
"How's the leg?" She asked, stretching a bit. He blinked in confusion, before looking down and realizing what she meant.
"…Aw, I've had worse." It was a true statement, but the sight of the bad injury still worried him, albeit most of it was clotted over by now. So focused on the wound, he didn't notice Shenzi sneaking over to right beside him; only when she rubbed up against his body did he notice her presence.
"Well that's no good," she said, "Wouldn't want anything real bad to happen to you. It could ruin a lotta…pleasant things."
He raised a brow, an impish grin beginning to sprout onto his maw. "Really? Like what?"
"Eh, nothin' special." At first it just seemed like psychological teasing, but when she playfully tugged on his ear, that's when Banzai grew enthusiastic. He looked over, expecting to see her right next to him, but to his surprise she was halfway to the entrance of the skull. She grinned.
"But if you wanna find out, you're gonna hafta stop me from leaving." The flicker in his eye not lost to her, she moved in position as if to take off, smirking teasingly. "So how 'bout it? Think you can catch me?"
"You know I can!" Taking the bait, he immediately gave chase. It wasn't a full-out charge to the exit, but from Banzai's point of view, it still seemed they were going pretty fast; though that didn't stop him from cutting her off mere inches before she breached the skull.
Before she had time to escape, it was Banzai's turn to surprise her. He lunged at the female and pinned her back to the ground, good-humoredly of course. The matriarch struggled, but he held her paws in a way that prevented her from hitting him; a tactic he'd normally use in a combat situation, but a much more tender alteration.
He grinned, leaning down to her ear. Shenzi felt him giving it a small tug of his own, before saying, "Can't leave now, can ya?"
That quirky look on her face seemed to tell otherwise, and in one move she had him pushed off using her back legs. Though just because it got him off didn't mean it flung him away, in the time it took her to get up he had her down on her stomach when she tried to flee once more.
"Not so easy out-runnin' the 2nd command, huh?"
"Who said I needed to out-run 'im to leave?" In the next second, Banzai felt his own back to the floor, Shenzi gazing down at him victoriously. The male stared; frankly, surprised that he'd forgotten how strong she was. In fact, it was almost uncanny he'd even impeded her this far. …That's when it hit him—she wasn't any lower on energy than she was in general; she was playing him! She wanted to humor them with this game. She liked that they were chasing each other.
And she liked that he caught her…
After the momentary revelation passed, Banzai looked up at the triumphant female and smirked; well, if she found this so pleasant, why end it now? Besides, he was starting to find it enjoyable as well. With a cackle, he said, "Alright, so you pinned me, doesn't mean ya won." That grin of his made her both puzzled and skeptical.
"Uh-huh; I ain't the one with my back to the floor."
"See, that's the thing; you don't got me, 'cause…I GOT YOU!"
Letting out a yelp of surprise, Shenzi felt Banzai's strong forearms rapidly put themselves around her, rolling both hyenas to their sides as he pulled her close. Now locked within a determined hyena's grip, as well as pinned on her side, Shenzi looked at Banzai's face…which was very close to hers. If not for that triumphant smile he had on, she would've been too lost in his eyes to speak. But that smile of his…it made her head rush for reasons unknown. After a moment of composing herself, the matriarch chortled in defeat. "Ok, you got me."
Banzai smirked wider, and—not only surprising her again, but causing her heart to implode—slowly licked her cheek. "I didn't get to tell ya this yesterday but…I love you too."
She watched the formerly exultant smile melt into one of warmth and affection. Allowing herself to be lost this time, she brushed his mane with her paw, talking softly. "We should do this more often."
Then Shenzi felt one of his paws moving to the back of her neck, gradually pushing her forward to move her head closer. At first she was confused…then realized what was happening; letting that new smile of her own return to her countenance, she moved with his paw to kiss him…just before their abdomens growled.
Pausing, their maws a breath apart, they held still a moment. Another grumbling sound emitted from one of their stomachs, but they were too close to tell exactly whose it was. Admitting her second defeat for the afternoon—that had to be a personal record—Shenzi slipped out of Banzai's grasp and lay beside him.
Remembering it'd been days since they'd had one of their infamously awful excuses for a meal, she realized moments like this—and ones that could get even better—wouldn't happen a lot without a little sustenance every now an then. She made eye contact with her love. "You remember the last time we ate?"
He turned over to get better vision of her, "Why?" Evidently, Shenzi surpassed his love for food.
"Ain't you hungry? I bet there's wildebeest out by now."
"So?" Even the love for his favorite food.
She laughed. "I could stay here as much as you could, but we won't last that long if we're always hungry."
"I'm hungry alright." He wriggled his brow suggestively. She jokingly pushed him away. "Timing is everything; so the sooner you get back with food, the sooner we can…get back where we started."
Banzai stared. "…On second thought, think as much as you want; floors with holes sound pretty sweet."
Shenzi chuckled again. "I'll be thinkin' of you the whole time you're out."
Banzai smirked and got to all fours, walked out to the exit of the skull, just before looking back and grinning, "Won't be long."
She winked, telling him it'd be a very good idea to get back to the skull as soon as possible.
The sun was beating down harshly on the long-winded plains, the herds were thinning everywhere one looked, and there were more lions crawling in sight than insects—Banzai thought it was a spectacular day to be in the Pridelands!
A spring in his step, if any Graveyarder could see him now their jaws would drop at the sight of this oddly optimistic stranger—then realize it was Banzai and die of shock. Strolling by a grassy hummock, the buoyant male turned his head at the tranquil scene of a medium-sized wildebeest herd peacefully grazing…far away from one of their crippled offspring.
Subtly making his way in that direction, he must've had his mind too far up in the clouds to see where he was going. Fortunately a kind bystander brought him back to earth, by unexpectedly crashing into him.
Banzai was almost knocked off his feet, unlike T, who thumped into Ed, who'd been standing behind her. The 2nd-in-command shook off the unexpected collision, but once he saw exactly who he bumped into in the Pridelands, it certainly brought him out of the reverie.
And needless to say, the pair was surprised to see him in one piece.
"What're you doin' here?!" He and T shouted in unison, right before Banzai caught a familiar scent in the air. Sniffing a few times just to make sure, his suspicions were immediately confirmed. At first, his instinct was to duck in cover, and he pulled the other two down to the ground.
"Don't move!" Cautiously raising his head just above the grass tips, very carefully, he turned to see if there were any threats about, putting his companions on guard.
Suddenly, that scent caught him again, this time closer. His mane bristling, he realized there could've been a very good chance they had to fight for their lives. But he didn't want it to come to that—particularly since T didn't seem like the most threatening type, and without Shenzi, he and Ed would only be able to bide enough time for a shot at retreat. Seeing as there wasn't much of a choice though, he pulled T close and whispered quietly.
"Ok listen-"
Though just as he began giving her orders on how to combat their potential attackers, a waft of that scent caught his nose, closer than ever. …In fact, too close; there was no way he could've detected a lioness at this distance without pressing noses with her by now. He raised his head once again to survey their surroundings, now extremely puzzled. T and Ed rose themselves from the ground too, though not as mistrustful as he was.
"Somethin' wrong?" T asked.
"I keep feelin' like we're be-" He sniffed, realizing this waft was complete potency, leading him to its exact location. He sniffed again, keeping it up until his nose was pressed into the finally discovered source of lioness scent—T's bangs. Banzai pulled away in surprise.
"You two smell like lions!" He shouted. T smiled while Ed cringed in embarrassment.
"I called Nala in on a favor; she let the lionesses give us a den for the night. …We have to stop poaching more than twice a week now." She admitted, before getting a startled look on her face, and turning her gaze directly at him. As if reading her mind, Ed did the same thing. Banzai was perplexed as to why the two hyenas were staring at him, until T said,
"…You're still in one piece?" Then she noticed his leg. Ed followed her gaze, then made a hiss as he cringed away; T's eyes widened. "Whoa, I guess not."
Banzai followed their stares, and had to chuckle once realizing what she meant, "Oh, that. Yeah, funny story-"
"OUTTA DE WAY!!" The three were knocked aside by some crazy two-legged creature as it scrambled to get past them. T got up and rubbed her head while Ed shook it off. Banzai however, had a mind to yell a few obscenities in the animal's direction, but instead shouted,
"Hey, watch where you're goin'!"
The creature, who turned out to be the Pridelands' shaman, glanced back at the hyenas.
"I got no time for you tree hyenas!"
"Tree hyenas?" T tilted her head.
"Tree, tree! Dat's what I said. Dere tree of you!"
"Uh…if you say so." She complied.
"What's the idea knockin' into us like that?! I oughtta come over there and knock you around!"
"Happy to crush your skull latah, but right now Rafiki got an emergency!"
"What's the matter—kingy need a diaper change?"
"I need to see matriarch!"
All stared at him, grunting in unison. "…Wha?"
"She in bad shape, I need to fix it right away!"
"Wait a minute," T began as the group started walking toward him, "what's wrong with 'er?"
"Poshun fell on her from Rafiki's tree, so I must cure her before all havoc breaks loose!"
"What's it do?" T asked him.
"No time to explain!" He started to hasten away another time, before unexpectedly meeting Banzai nose-to-nose as he turned to leave.
"You wanna see her, you gotta see us." He told him unwaveringly. Rafiki paused, taking a good look at the hyena…before striking him firmly with his infamous stick. Banzai cursed, his forelegs darting upward to his cranium.
"Annoying male—you wasting my time! I have to give antidote for dat love poshun!"
"Love potion?" Ed and T chorused.
"You're crazy." Banzai rubbed his aching head.
"I not de one in love against my will! Rafiki make other poshun to tell me which animal was controlled by it, she shows up in de concoction. De bigger problem is finding de one she in love with so he can give her antidote; is only way to break de spell."
Banzai stared. T furrowed her brow in puzzlement as Ed scratched at a flea. "Banzai, what's he talking about?" The 2nd-in-command heard her say. Ignoring her, he took a better look at the shaman.
"…You think she's under a potion?"
"Rafiki don't tink, he know! Now unless you can tell me who she in love with, I be on my way!"
He pushed past Banzai, and the three watched him depart for the Elephant Graveyard, an eerie silence left to keep them company.
"…That was weird." T stated after a moment. Ed nodded then just started licking his paw. Banzai however, was completely speechless. He kept staring after the primate, without another word spoken. Concerned, T prodded him on the shoulder.
"Hey."
Amazed that such a small nudge could make Banzai leap out of his skin like that, T and Ed jumped away as he sprung up in surprise. The two stayed over to the side for a moment, while Banzai seemed to be catching his breath. When he appeared calm again, the youngest of the three continued.
"You ok?"
"Uh, yeah." He said after a pause. Then much like his usual self, he turned to the pair, chuckling, "But maybe that guy should stop hangin' upside down so much."
"I guess so." T replied, still unsure of his behavior.
Banzai scoffed, "Eh, probably doesn't even know what he's talkin' about; bet he can't even tell between a matriarch and a monkey."
"…So, you're sure you're ok?" She asked him. He waved his paw in dismissal.
"Eh, I'm fine; I just dropped by this place for some grub. I'm gonna head back now."
"…Ok, see ya back at the skull."
Keeping the relaxed grin, Banzai waited until Ed and T ventured far enough away to disappear on the opposite side of the hummock…
Then ran like a madman straight after that monkey.
"It can't be true…" He kept saying in his mind, over and over again. "It can't be…"
"Hey, wait up!" A voice called behind Rafiki. The baboon turned to see that quick-tempered hyena he'd previously encountered following him.
"What you want now?" He demanded as Banzai finally caught up, panting slightly.
"You…you're really sure it's a…love potion?" The hyena asked between gasps.
"Yes!" The primate replied, now visibly irritated.
"And…you think it fell on her?"
"How many times Rafiki gotta say it?! The potion never lies—it reveal which animal underneath dat spell and it show me her. Yestahday she musta been in the Pridelands, stood under my tree and den de shell fall on her, and now she hottah dan Graveyard-geysers for some male I must also find. If it were any other poshun I wouldn't bada and let it get dat female for trespassing, but dis is different! Everybody know dat matriarch will mate with a male right aftah she raises a lion. Now I must restore de Kenyan matriarch to her former terrorizing, male-bashing glory. Den I gotta find de poor sap she crazy-like-coconuts for. Now, why you follow me?"
Banzai couldn't believe it; the connections between the situations were too uncanny to be coincidental—Shenzi leaves for the Pridelands, vicious and normal, then she comes back sometime later, and can barely stand being two feet from him! But something still didn't make sense here.
"Wait a minute, don't these things usually work out like she'll fall in love with the first dude she sees?"
Rafiki rolled his eyes, "Why everybody tink dat? No you silly ting! She fall in love with first male she tink of!"
So it was the fight on her mind when she left. That explained a lot. Banzai chewed this over for what seemed like a long, long time. Then, after realizing they couldn't be merely coincidental, gave a great sigh. Much as he had trouble telling the shaman this, the larger problem…was admitting it to himself. He looked the baboon in the eye. "Hey uh, listen man…I think I'm the guy you're lookin' for."
Rafiki tilted his head. "What you mean?"
"You said you dropped it out of the tree yesterday?"
"Well, dat was de majordomo's fault, but yes it fall dat day."
"Well, uh…she kinda went into the Pridelands to think awhile. And before she left, she was…normal, and when she came back…" He trailed off.
"What make you tink you de one?"
Banzai gave him a look, "Just trust me on this."
Rafiki stared at him a long time, stroking his beard continuously. He seemed to be thinking, while at the same time giving the hyena a once-over. After a long moment, an animated smile crossed his face, just as a vibrant laugh came out. Banzai tilted his head in confusion at seeing the monkey hold his sides. "…See now I know she must be afflicted by poshun; she'd have to, to look at you!"
Banzai scowled, but successfully kept himself from sinking teeth into the tittering shaman. "Yeah, thanks. Anyway, even if she is under a spell or whatever, how you gonna fix her?"
Rafiki calmed and took a gourd off of his walking stick, though this one was quite abnormal from the two other ones he usually carried; this one was a mixture of gray and yellow, and it sparkled every which way you turned it. Banzai assumed it had to be pretty flimsy, from the way that monkey delicately, painstakingly, tried to remove it. That made the hyena uneasy; if he himself was supposed to handle that thing, how could someone so coarse as him do so without mashing it at the touch?
But willing to try if it was for Shenzi's sake, he open his mouth to let the shaman set it in. Rafiki gave him a astounded look, making him wonder if his hard-core reputation was that widely known.
"You sure you want to do that?" The shaman asked, looking uncomfortable. Still open-mouthed, Banzai nodded, flattening his tongue to cradle the supposedly fragile fruit. The primate stared for a moment, before giving a shrug, and with a, "Suit youself," placed the gourd inside his mouth.
Banzai immediately found out why it was so sparkly, as to why the baboon seemed uneasy to remove it; all that glint was caused by the sun reflecting off all the barb tips jetting from the inside the pulp. In not even a second he gagged it back up, making Rafiki laugh. It fell to the ground but remained intact; apparently not as fragile as the hyena thought.
"Why didn't you SAY it was gonna gouge my mouth?!" Banzai growled.
"Nevah asked." He replied, tenderly picking up the gourd again. "Now, dis have everyting you need to break de spell. All you gotta do is get de juice inside here, on her. She should be cured in no time. …Howevah, dere is a slight chance she will remembah everyting dat happened while she was afflicted. In de event dat you ever took advantage of her-"
"I didn't know she was under a SPELL!" Banzai retorted.
"In de case," Rafiki went on, "or if she experiences the horrible side affect, which will temporarily make her cannibal for her former lovah—I suggest you run."
Finished explaining, the shaman held out the gourd. Banzai nearly pricked his paw trying to grab it, claws-only. "Ow!" He jerked back. Rafiki took another gourd off his stick, broke it in two and let the juices run out, then enclosed the second gourd between the halves.
"Why's it so pointy?" Banzai asked before taking the makeshift case in his mouth.
"Love hurts!" The shaman responded, right before taking note Banzai's leg and chuckling. "And dat's de most violent love-bite I evah seen. Hahaha!!"
Banzai solemnly approached the skull, dreading every inch that brought him closer to the oblivious Shenzi—utterly clueless to realizing her emotions were forced. He did everything to take his time before getting there, so when he finally reached his home it was almost dark. He took note of some ominous figure pacing the floors, most likely Shenzi waiting for him.
When she caught him at the entrance her face lit up, prior to furrowing her brow at what was in his mouth.
"…I didn't know we were goin' herbivore tonight."
He placed the gourd at his feet and took another deep breath, then looked at her soberly and said, "We need to talk."
A few minutes later…
"Ban', we're in the middle of nowhere." Shenzi stated, following him through a particularly secluded area of the Graveyard, having been made so by the bones upon bones stacked high in piles and tightly-packed masses. Banzai waited until they were safely behind a curved rock ledge before deciding to speak. He laid the gourd down again and looked at her sadly.
That expression of his worrying her, Shenzi furrowed her brows in unease, "Just tell me what's goin' on. By the time we make it back home Ed n' T'll be worried sick."
Banzai took a deep breath, then looked her straight in the eye. "Look, Shenzi, what you're feelin'…it ain't real."
Not quite comprehending, she asked, "Whadda you mean?"
He nudged the gourd with his paw absentmindedly. "What happened…in the Pridelands…the monkey dropped some kinda potion on you and…well, it made you get the hots for me." He bluntly finished.
She looked at him a long time, to confirm she'd heard right, he gave a silent nod. They stared for a moment, until, surprising him, she bent over in laughter. "That's what you dragged me here for?" This continued for a few more seconds, until she calmed herself, then brought her gaze up to him.
"Banzai, you think I don't know what goes on in my own head? I always felt like this about you."
He was stunned. "Y…you did?"
"Yeah, but you seen how hard matriarchal duties get in the way of a real personal life—business eats out pleasure. I know I only came out about my feelings because of that shaman's slip-up, but now that I've seen that I can run a clan and have you…I love that this happened." She smiled tenderly at him. Banzai couldn't believe his ears.
She kept smiling, then noticed the gourd. "What is that anyway?"
Realizing she was glancing at his feet, he looked down and quickly recollected what he came to do here in the first place at the sight of that antidote. "Oh! Um…uh, it was supposed to bring you out of the spell." He explained.
"Oh." Shenzi shrugged. "Throw that thang into the waterhole."
Banzai stared at her for a long, long while—in all the time he'd known her, nothing had made him happier than the thought of being with Shenzi forever. Even if they remained in the graveyard for the rest of their lives he'd gladly tolerate it if every second was spent with her. His affection had grown from care as pups, to devotion as teenagers, to actual love as adults. He'd cared for her so long…he feared if he'd ever get the chance to expose how he felt; until the discovery of that love potion it seemed that problem had quickly dissolved.
Then he looked at the gourd; the only thing standing between him and a happy life with Shenzi.
…No, it wasn't the gourd; it was the possibility that this was false infatuation. Maybe she did really feel that way about him, even without the potion; maybe when he gave her the antidote all it would do is get her drenched, and unlike the pummeling he would've gotten before she'd laugh it off so they could return to the skull. Then possibly announce their relationship to the rest of the clan—he could imagine the look on their faces, particularly Ed's, who had known them the longest.
But there could always be a chance that that same explanation she gave for always loving him, could be the ill-effects of the affliction. And to put her through some forced infatuation for the rest of her life, would've hurt Banzai more then any normal-Shenzi-given beating. Her best interest was all he ever cared about, and if it didn't involve him then…it was her best interest.
He had to know for sure. Quick as lightning he sliced open the gourd with his claws and knocked it in Shenzi's direction, pouring its juices onto her face. He then watched like a hawk to see what would happen. At first she was startled, in reaction to the cool liquid, but regained composure and shook herself dry. Banzai held with bated breath.
…After a minute, Shenzi turned to look at him, that same smile still on her face. Banzai felt a flicker of hope.
"Banzai baby, it didn't do nothin'. I still think you…" She paused. He moved forward, waiting for her to finish. "Yeah?"
"STICK WORSE THAN A WARTHOG!" She yelled, her maw wrinkling in disgust, the female abruptly moving away from him to cover her nose. Upon picking up its scent in the air, Banzai realized that fruit did smell indeed disgusting. She started coughing, "Did you eat rotten wildebeest again?! Your breath's killin' me!"
Banzai's eyes enlarged as she began to insult him, but eventually gave a sigh of relief…then remembered the monkey mentioning side effects and quickly braced himself as he got to all fours. Once Shenzi stopped coughing, she paused for a moment, then slowly turned her head to give him this strange look. The male gulped—so she did remember.
To some extent…
"Dang, you wouldn't believe the dream I just had!" She said.
Banzai confusingly took this in, then—still remaining cautious—sat up as he furrowed his brow. "Dream?"
"Yeah, I dreamt I fell in love with you!" Seeming wholly amazed at even dreaming of it, made Banzai decide it'd be best to neglect telling her of its actuality—that, and what she might do if she did know. What she said next however, tore at him more than even the rage-induced assault she would've bestowed upon him if she realized the facts.
"We even kissed! Ain't that crazy?" Snickering from the craziness of her supposed "dream", Shenzi walked off into the vicinity of the Elephant Graveyard.
Banzai stared after her, watching until she had disappeared past a mound of bones, and even afterwards. He didn't know how long he sat there—it could've been forever and wouldn't have cared—he just stayed in that spot, watching the place where she'd left. There was nothing to wait for, and his legs didn't feel like working again, but it wouldn't bother him.
Despite having sat there for at least an hour, somehow he re-emerged into consciousness, recalling those same words she spoke before she'd gone.
And as if replying to her question said, "…Insane…"
A few minutes later…
He began to walk off somewhere, he didn't know exactly. But whatever place he was searching for home must've been more important to his subconscious, because that's where it led him. Glancing up, he could see T sitting by the entrance of the cave, appearing to talk to…Shenzi. And Ed was out like a light in the back.
Taking another heavy breath, he began walking towards the skull…before he nearly had a heart attack—much like anyone else in earshot—when he heard an abrupt scream coming from there.
"WHAT?! WE CAN'T POACH MORE THAN TWICE A WEEK?! WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO, T!?"
That evening…
Banzai pitied T—she was more scared than anything, but seeing Shenzi raise a paw to you was enough to make any animal flinch. Shenzi must've pitied her too, for at seeing the younger female cringe away in fear, she retained composure and lowered her foreleg at the last minute. T would however be feeling the affects of her deal with Nala, soon; of that Banzai was sure.
He glanced at the opposite end of the skull to see the youngest of them fast asleep. Gazing up at the position of the moon, he figured he probably needed to get to bed himself, but he didn't feel tired …or anything else.
His ear twitching as he picked up a noise from the exit of the skull, he saw Shenzi tetchily walk in, a plump haunch in her mouth. Showing no other facial expression, he simply raised a brow.
"What're you doing?"
She let the haunch fall to the ground. "What's it look like? Thanks to Lil' Miss Tender-Paws, queeny's gonna be cashin' in on that deal real soon. I'm gettin' while the gettin's good."
Banzai took a good look at the haunch, then both his bushy eyebrows rose in surprise. "…Wildebeest?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah help yourself." She waved it off, prior to shooting him a warning glance. "Just leave some for us."
He shrugged. "We could split it."
She almost held back a laugh, "You sharin' wildebeest?"
The 2nd-in-command looked off to the side, pondering something…he was willing to tell her, but should he really be so bold to do so? …He figured. Looking back at her, he tried everything to make it seem he wasn't making a big deal out of it, even shrugging again, but from Banzai—when it came to wildebeest—it was always a shocker to hear him say, "I'll share it with you."
She started. "Huh?"
"You're hungry, right? Ya hunted it down; get a bite."
Shenzi almost gaped at him, before narrowing her eyes in suspicion, "What'd you do?"
"Nothin'." He insisted, shoving the meal towards her. The matriarch kept her questioning eye on him, though eventually settled on opposite side of the haunch.
"Alright, but if I find out about anything latah-"
"Wouldja just eat?"
She scowled, but couldn't ignore the emptiness of her stomach. Holding it in place with her claws she dug in to savor the meal. Banzai mostly glanced at it, taking a nibble or two to qualm Shenzi's suspicions; true it was his favorite meat but he didn't have an appetite at the moment.
After boringly glancing around the skull and at Shenzi, a recent event suddenly popped back into his mind; just as he bolted up in revelation. His hasty action was not lost to his matriarch, who presumed she at last found the reason of his abnormal behavior.
"I KNEW it!" She proclaimed, getting to all fours smoothly but just as quick. "You did do somethin'! What'd you n' Ed do this time?!" She demanded, moving around the carcass to get to him.
Very peculiar to her, he didn't appear frightened of her advances; in fact, much more to her perplexity, he looked at her with a solemn look.
"…Shenz'?"
Realizing he expected her to answer, she bluntly replied, "What?"
"Uh…sorry 'bout buggin' ya earlier; it was just your job, won't happen again."
She couldn't take her wide eyes away from him, and after a moment, to Banzai's extreme surprise, tilted her head slightly, a genuine look of concern on her face. "…You feelin' ok?"
That motion of actual care for his well-being, made him wonder…was the loving Shenzi in there somewhere? Feeling a bit better now, he smiled at her kindly, replying,
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Only then did he notice how close their muzzles were. He glanced up to see if Shenzi realized; she did. For awhile, the two held eye contact for a moment…
"…Banzai?" Shenzi finally said.
"Yeah?" He could feel the glint of hope returning already. Just as he was preparing to lean in closer…
"You really need a mint."
His jaw dropped, completely bug-eyed. Shenzi paid no heed and blatantly finished her meal.