Ahadi's father was a rogue by the name of Baako. Although he had been raised by the male throughout his entire cubhood, Ahadi had not known of his father's origins until shortly before the old lion's death.

Baako had been a traditionalist, as his father-in-law, Mohatu used to say. He was part of a generation of lions who were thankfully dying out, leaving their vile mindsets to rot in the ground along with them. Ahadi's mother, Chuki, had originally been wed to the lion prince Jela. Baako and Jela had known each other during their cubhoods. Mohatu couldn't say if they had ever been friends. They certainly weren't friends when they eventually met again.

During a particularly wearying dry season many moons ago, Baako began to leave his mark around the borders of Chuki's childhood home, the lands she and her husband had recently inherited from Jela's parents. Jela would try to drive him out, but he could never find the mysterious stranger. Just when they would think the intruder had moved on, Baako would return, his scent inching closer and closer to the cave where the lionesses and their cubs slept at night. It lingered in the air, a constant presence to the worrying King and Queen. Jela soon took to giving up his rest so he could keep watch over the pride.

The first lightning storm Chuki could remember occurred on the night of her husband's death.

Baako and Jela entered a brawl that seemed to last from dusk until dawn. Chuki and the lionesses protected the cubs, creating a circle around them, pushing into their bodies with their warm pelts to muffle the sounds of tearing skin and splitting bones. Jela's snarls steadily diluted into pained whines over the course of the stormy evening. By the time the sun had rose above the Serengeti, he was no longer making any sort of noise. Chuki knew the fate of her husband long before Baako had let loose with his triumphant victory roar, one massive paw stood on Jela's open chest, pushing down into dead flesh. Baako was the reigning victor. His prize was slaughtering all of the cubs in front of their mothers, lest they too suffer the same fate. He impregnated Chuki as she wept, mourning over the death of her beloved.

Ahadi hadn't known any of this growing up, but he hadn't cared to seek answers. He never questioned the fact that his mother didn't sleep near his father in the den, preferring to be near her pride sisters. He never wondered why his aunts never had cubs of their own. He never thought on why he could smell the traces of old life around the family cave, and see signs that other young lions and lionesses had been here before him-at least not for too long.

All he knew was that he loved his father, his mother, and especially his little brother, Jibade.

"Don't move," his small voice whispered one sunny morning. He was hiding behind the torso of his Papa. Ever since Ahadi and his family had moved to the Pride Lands to live with Queen Sabra and the rest of Mohatu's pride, Mohatu had invited the cub to address him that way. Practice for when you're older, he had said with a chuckle. Ahadi had asked his mother what he meant. She said it would become clear in time.

Mohatu, a professional when it came to baby-sitting, having been the caretaker of his younger sisters years ago, flicked an ear as he registered the cub's voice.

"Is he there?" Ahadi whispered. Mohatu's large chest rose and fell as he breathed. Silently, he nodded. A grin grew on the cub's miniature maw.

"Excellent."

"Adi? Adi...?"

Jibade frowned and came to a stop, carefully scanning the vibrant grasslands for his missing brother. "Adi, where are-"

"GOTCHA!"

The smaller cub screamed as his brother suddenly shot out from behind the King. His paws weighed down on the cub's chest. He snapped his jaw in his face. Jibade laughed and kicked up his hindlegs, pushing into Ahadi's tummy and sending the older cub onto his back.

"Great shot!" Mohatu cheered. Jibade grinned, turning to bask in his praise.

"Thank you, Papa."

"Not so fast, Ji!"

And there was Ahadi again, pouncing onto Ji, digging tiny claws into his brother's fur. The cubs wrestled, tumbling, turning, until finally, Jibade ended up on his back with Ahadi firmly on top.

"Pinned ya!" The elder cub boasted. Ji rolled his eyes and tried to wriggle out from underneath. Ahadi flipped him and came down squarely on the cub's stomach, harshly this time, prompting a surprised gasp of breath from the little cub.

"Pinned ya again! Haha!"

Jibade whimpered and Ahadi finally let him go. The younger cub shrugged off the debris in his dark fur, pouting at his older brother, who strutted proudly toward their baby-sitter.

"Did ya see that? Huh? Did ya see me, Papa?"

"Mhm," Mohatu smiled weakly, his tongue extended to lick his front paw as he cleaned himself. Ahadi's brow creased in confusion.

"But... aren't you going to say anything?"

"Congratulations, young one."

"But you said-you told him it was a great shot! What about me?"

"Ahadi, you always win," the lion reminded him gently. "I was encouraging Ji to do a little better, so that maybe he'd win this round."

"Well, he didn't. An' s'not my fault he stinks."

Ahadi turned his head toward his brother and stuck his little pink tongue out at him. Jibade stuck his back. Ahadi laughed and batted dirt at him, encouraging the younger male to do the same.

Mohatu's paw came down firmly on Ahadi's tail. The cub flopped onto his stomach and looked curiously at his elder.

"Ahadi," Mohatu began, lowering his voice so only he could hear it, while Ji was distracted with the nearby antelope. "Could you perhaps try to make it easier for your brother? It'd be awfully nice of you."

"But that wouldn't be fair," Ahadi protested.

"Yes, that's true," Mohatu agreed, not wanting to set the cub's morals astray. But Ahadi could see that there was something bothering the King. "But it would be helpf-"

"What's going on here, Mohatu?"

Baako's booming baritones came from behind the group and made each of them flinch. Mohatu relaxed on his side again, facing away from the hulking male while the cubs raced eagerly toward their father. Baako shot Mohatu a stern look. The cubs didn't catch it.

"Well, my boys?" Baako grinned, showing off rows of blood-stained teeth. The cubs raised their paws toward his huge face, pressing them into his rough features.

"Oh, daddy, you should've seen it!" Ahadi exclaimed. "We were playin' pounce, and I pinned Ji twice!"

"Did you now?" A large paw smacked into Ahadi's back, pushing him toward his mane so he could be nuzzled. It hurt a little, as it always did, but Ahadi had gotten used to it. "My dear boy, you're making me very proud. You're getting stronger and stronger by the day."

Ahadi beamed, purring as he rubbed against his father's face.

"And as for you..."

Baako lifted his head to look down at the younger cub. His shadow was huge, enveloping the boy in darkness. The air felt colder now. Jibade tried his hardest not to shiver.

"Do better, child. I expect a little more from you."

Ji bowed his head and nodded. When Father was kind, it was the nicest feeling in the world. Sunshine during a cloudless afternoon couldn't compare to the warmth he felt when Father nurtured him. When he wasn't, it was... uncomfortable to be near him. He hadn't done anything aside from the occasional swat and growl, but the tone in which he addressed Jibade often made the cub's fine hair stand on end. There was feelings he got that didn't sit well with him. He wondered if Ahadi ever felt the same, though he never dared to ask, in fear that Father would overhear them. He seemed to hear everything.

"Yes, daddy. I will."

"I want to see a real fight next time," Baako said, his deep voice underlined with a rumbling growl. "Teeth and claws. The whole lot!"

"You got it, dad!" Ahadi enthused. Jibade nodded weakly, forcing a smile. Baako smirked and turned away, flicking his tail close to Mohatu's face.

"I'll see you back at the den, old man."

"Yes, Baako," Mohatu replied plainly.

As Baako pushed his way through the grass reeds, Mohatu leaned over and dragged Ahadi closer to him. "Remember what I said?"

"I ain't letting Jibade win our next fight!" The child cried. Mohatu cringed at his loudness.

"Ssh, Ahadi, I didn't mean-"

A piercing roar made Mohatu instinctively shield both cubs. He knew as soon as he turned that Baako would be in his face, his breath washing Mohatu over with the smell of old carcasses.

"What are you telling him?" Baako snarled.

Mohatu didn't drop his gaze. He took a step closer to the scarred lion, towering above Baako, but not quite. Not enough to intimidate him.

"I was reminding your son about the importance of fairness," he calmly explained.

"Fairness," Baako scoffed. "That has nothing to do with what I'm teaching them."

"No, I suppose not."

"You know how these Lands work. How they've worked for centuries."

"Yes, I do. For I am the King." Mohatu reminded him. The cubs had huddled together, watching the adults stare each other down. Baako didn't say anything. Then he smiled, lazily and knowingly.

"For now, yes. But one day, that title will fall upon one of my boys..."

He turned to look down at the cubs. Ahadi could feel Jibade shaking. He leaned into him comfortingly.

"And the King should be the strongest, smartest lion in the pride. These fights determine that, do they not?"

"The King should be there to assist the ruling party, which I believe will be my daughter," Mohatu reminded him sternly. "I trust I can hand over the cub-watching to you, now. I have duties to attend to."

"Go fetch one of the lionesses," Baako dismissed with a huff. He turned and stalked away without giving Mohatu the chance to say otherwise. Mohatu watched him go until he was safely out of sight, and he could turn his back to the grasslands.

He sighed and looked down at the cubs.

"Well, boys. I'm sorry you had to see that. Your father and I are disagreeing quite frequently these days, aren't we?"

Ahadi and Jibade regained some courage and nodded.

"Why is Daddy so mad?" Ji asked softly. Mohatu breathed in the air from a passing breeze.

"Perhaps he's homesick," Mohatu answered. "He misses being back home, where he had a little more authority. I suspect your Father doesn't appreciate that he's no longer King."

"Daddy was never King," Ahadi noted. "Mama says we had to leave because the animals didn't trust him."

Mohatu's brow hitched upward, but his only response was a sway of his tail.

"What game can we play now?" Ahadi asked.

"How about we go visit my darling Uru? I could sure use her company right now," Mohatu suggested.

"Yeah! Uru!" Jibade cried happily, leaping into the air to swipe at Mohatu's long tail.

"Girls," Ahadi grimaced, kicking at the dirt. He followed behind his brother and Papa, moving curtly through the reeds. A butterfly fluttered past his head and rested somewhere behind him. Ahadi snapped around to catch it between his sharp teeth. It had settled upon the top of a small boulder. His rump wriggled as he lowered his body to the dirt, eyes focusing on it, then they were drawn toward a shape in the distance...

His ears flattened against his head as he noticed the shape standing up, neck stretching as it lifted its huge head, as if to follow something that was moving away.

It was Father.

He had been watching them.