Here it is! The chapter of Shenzi's birth! And, also a lot of other events. Anyway, glad you all liked the first chapter. Have fun reading this one!

A few more months later…

Safia was conversing with Raziya and Neema, a happy mother to a second pup, on a typical site in the graveyard. The weather was always hot but the haze from the geysers kept any cool air from reaching the area, literally steaming some hundreds of hyenas. It had been a few months since the day of Edward's birth, and Neema and Raziya could see that Safia's stomach was well swollen from the pup growing inside her; it would be coming any day now.

During these few months, Edward had grown big enough to walk and venture outside his family's home. And aside from his tongue refusing to stay inside his mouth, the atypical, piercing laughter or the strange look of his eyes, his development was not any different from any other pups his age. Banzai had also matured in those few months; his body grew stronger, and he could run faster than most of the pups around. Banzai had also surpassed the age of one year old, with a few months added. But neither of the two young males had yet learned to talk.

"What was birthing like for you two?" Safia asked after a moment of staring at her tummy. Neema and Raziya exchanged glances before turning back to her with skeptical smiles on their faces.

"Very painful." They answered.

"Why?" Both asked her. Safia looked up at them with a calm but small smile on her face.

"Go get Bakari." She told them. Raziya and Neema's eyes widened.

"Safia!" Bakari yelled the second he got to the birthing den. He was stopped by Neema before he could enter.

"Bakari, you can't come in now, not yet." Neema explained.

"That's my mate in there!" Bakari yelled once again.

"I know, and she's doing fine. The pup should be arriving soon; it won't take much longer." She lightly said. Bakari sighed, and after a long, silent moment, looked back up at Neema.

"Fine." He said as he walked away. Neema turned around and went back inside.

She could see a large circle of females all around Safia, much larger than when she was in labor. This didn't surprise her, as Safia was matriarch and for the sake of the clan the birth would have to go by without any problems or difficulties. She walked over to Raziya who was sitting beside her.

"How is she?" She asked.

"Shouldn't be long now." Raziya replied. Both females could see Safia was heaving for breath, although it didn't hinder the look of determination on her face; she knew she was going to give birth to a healthy, happy pup, and nothing was going to get in her way.

"Do you feel anything strange Safia?" She heard Neema ask.

"Anything we can get you?" Raziya asked. Safia growled in pain before replying through gritted teeth.

"The minute she's out, I want Bakari in here with me."

"How do you know it's a 'she'?" Her friends asked her. Managing to turn her gaze toward them, a very determined smile appeared on her face.

"It's a girl; I can feel it." There was a sudden cry of pain that shook the birthing den erupting straight from Safia's mouth. Not once had she screamed during the birthing process but now something phenomenal was about to happen.

"And she's about to come out!" Safia finished. Raziya and Neema immediately moved to the lower part of her body. Safia continued to heave for breath as she tried to do everything she could to make sure her pup arrived safely. Her body did not matter right now, nor did it ever; everything Safia did she did for the clan's own good, and that included her pup. And one large painful contraction told her that its journey was almost complete.

"That's it! Good girl!" Neema and Raziya urged her on. Safia's yells echoed throughout the den, and after one final shove, the pain was no more. There was a moment of silence. She managed to lower her gaze down to see Neema and Raziya looking at something very sweetly. They looked up at her and said,

"You were right."

Bakari rushed into the den the minute he saw the last group of females emerge from the exit. Neema and Raziya had gone back to their families that were waiting for them outside along with all the mates, friends and relatives of the other females. He saw her laying on her side and licking at something cradled in her forepaws. He slowly approached her. Upon hearing his footsteps, she turned her head towards him, and gave him a warm smile.

"Bakari, this is our daughter." She said. Then she faced toward him and brought out something on the other side of her, then pushed it forward a bit so it was just a few feet in front of him.

The minute Bakari saw his daughter he was stunned; she was so…tiny, her body couldn't have been any larger than a fully-grown meerkat, head to tail, plus her spots didn't show yet but that was normal for a new-born hyena pup. But those eyes… those abnormally large eyes that just stared up at him, showing both curiosity and wariness. Bakari nearly teared-up right there.

He took a step towards her, but she immediately began to kick and whimper in an effort to run; wanting to get back to the warm paws that made her feel safe, instead of this cold, hard floor and this strange new visitor. But despite her efforts she was still too weak to walk. Safia and Bakari both laughed at their daughter's reaction, and Safia gently picked her up in her mouth and let her daughter snuggle up against her chest. After that she looked up at her husband.

"She's…she's, beautiful. …Just like her mom." Bakari said. Safia smiled at him.

"Why don't you bring the others inside? They deserve to see their next matriarch."

"Right." He replied as he turned toward the exit.

"Everyone, come inside!" He ordered. The two saw a few groups of hyenas come into the den after Bakari gave the order. Among them were Neema, Raziya, Rashid, Maumbu, and Banzai and Edward.

With the males allowed into the den, an even bigger circle formed around Safia, and her mate. She also let Neema and Raziya's families take their places beside her, as they helped her birth her daughter the most. Banzai and Edward peeked their heads out from in between their mother's forepaws to see what their parents were staring at. Safia's daughter lifted her head up at the site of so many other visitors, much like the one who came to her before. A little less afraid now since she knew she was safe in her mother's arms, she began to observe the large group around her.

Then her gaze just happened to land upon two certain male hyenas. She was confused, but also relieved, that they were much smaller than everyone else. Banzai and Edward were just as confused as her; this was the first time they had seen another hyena pup, as Edward usually stayed home with his brother and Banzai was only allowed to leave the cave at a certain distance. The two males had also never seen each other, until Rashid offered to watch Banzai while Neema and Raziya were about to go help Safia with her labor.

Deciding to investigate a little more about this other hyena pup, Banzai took a step towards her. But his mother put a paw in front of him.

"No Banzai." She said lightly.

"It's ok; let 'im come over here." Safia said. At her matriarch's permission, Raziya slowly took her paw out from in front of her son and let him walk over to her. Safia also saw Edward trying to make an effort to go towards the newborn matriarch. Neema noticed this as well and gave Safia an asking look. Safia nodded and Neema gently took Edward in her mouth and placed him a few inches away from in front of the pup. By that time Banzai had made it over to her. The three pups just stared at each other for a few minutes, until Safia and Bakari began speaking to each other.

"Well, it is a girl." Bakari said after a pause.

"Mmm-hmmm." Safia replied.

"So…I guess we're calling her Shenzi?"

"Don't forget, I'm naming her after my mother too."

"Right." Bakari sighed.

"Shenzi Marie Predatora Veldetta Jacquelina Hyena. Boy, that's a name I'll have to get used to." Bakari stated.

A few years passed and all three of the pups had continued to grow; Banzai, being five years old now, grew strong enough to climb the elephant bones, run faster, and even practice his pouncing skills. Edward, being four, grew big enough to start walking and journey out of his home, but his father, mother or brother had to go with him as his parents still worried about him a lot.

As for Shenzi, who was also four, the minute she could walk she was allowed to go anywhere in the graveyards; her mother felt it necessary for her daughter to get a better reference of the land that would be hers someday. Plus, Shenzi was so adventurous her parents couldn't keep her in the skull even if they wanted to. And as long as an escort came with her, she had permission to go wherever she wanted.

Although the escort was usually (only) her father, as he loved her so much and didn't like the idea of someone else walking around a large, remote, graveyard with her.

And of course (with the exception of Edward) the pups learned the ability to talk.

On yet another average day, Shenzi and her father Bakari were roaming about the graveyards.

"Shenzi, slow down; don't go too far ahead of me." Bakari lightly called up to his daughter, who was climbing and jumping over elephant bones some feet ahead of him. At his voice, Shenzi turned around to face her father.

"Daddy, keep up!" She pouted. Bakari merely laughed and caught up with his daughter. As soon as he did Shenzi started running up ahead once more, but he caught her in his paw before she could get far. She pouted again and walked alongside her father. Before long the two reached the skull which they called home.

"When can I go out of the cave all by myself?" She asked as he and her walked up to the entrance.

"If your father had a say, never." Came a voice behind them. Shenzi and Bakari turned around to see Safia walking up to them. Bakari smiled at his mate and Shenzi immediately ran up to hug her mother. She tightly wrapped her forepaws around Safia's leg.

"But I would say about…15." Her mother decided.

"15? That's gonna take forever." Shenzi whined. Bakari looked a bit relieved even though he knew Shenzi would turn fifteen sooner than he thought. Safia smiled at him then looked down at her daughter.

"You better enjoy your time now; matriarch training might come sooner than you think." She told her.

"How am I supposed ta enjoy my time when daddy won't even let me climb over a tusk by myself?" Shenzi complained. At that, Safia cocked an eyebrow at her mate.

"…I just don't want her to get hurt." Bakari sheepishly defended himself.

"Well, maybe Shenzi should walk around on her own for a bit." Safia suggested. Bakari's expression turned slightly panicky.

"But…" He said weakly until his mate cocked her eyebrow at him again. He sighed; knowing there was no arguing with Safia.

"Alright."

Banzai was enjoying his newfound abilities to walk and talk. He could even talk in a language none of the hyenas could understand! His mother said it was called "Spanish". Banzai liked how it sounded; how the r's rolled or how j's sounded like h's. Most of all it was something only he and his mother could talk in, it was like their little secret. His mom said other animals spoke it too, but as far as Banzai could see, nobody spoke this language but them.

But other than speaking or learning "Spanish", he loved to run around the graveyard. There were so many bones to climb on, so many caves to explore, plus the geysers made a really cool sound when they exploded. He liked exploring a lot. So much that he often worried his mother sick about where he was most of the time. In fact just now, he was walking out of the den he and his mother shared until a familiar voice stopped him.

"Don't go too far Banzai." He turned his head around to see his mother looking at him with a small but worried smile on her face. He smiled back.

"Don't worry; I won't." He told her. Banzai was about to exit until he saw Rashid walking by and stopped in his tracks. Something puzzled him about Rashid, and not just him either, but Bakari as well.

He had always seen Rashid around that female who had two sons. He also saw Bakari spending a lot of his time with the matriarch and her pup. This puzzled him because why was it Maumbu and the other two pups (who he hadn't gotten a good look at since Shenzi's birth so he didn't remember who they were) got visited by the two males so much but he and his mother never had any males around except himself? Deciding to let his mother answer this question, he turned around to her.

"Mom?" Raziya raised her head off her paws at her son's voice.

"Oh. I thought you had already left. What is it sweetie?" She smiled.

"How come those two males are always hangin' around Neema and the matriarch, but not us?"

Raziya's expression immediately dropped. Lately Banzai had been noticing Rashid and Bakari having a bit of fatherly time with their pups, and Raziya had seen him watching them. She also couldn't help but notice the confused expression on his face every time he saw them, and it broke her heart. She knew he would start asking her questions one day and there was no stopping them once they started.

"Because…Bakari and Rashid are both fathers." She explained.

"Well, what's a father? An' how come I don't got one?" He asked her. Raziya wanted to save that little explanation for when Banzai was old enough though. So she told him,

"That's… not important right now. G-go on and play honey."

Banzai turned around, a confused expression still present upon his face, but ran out of the den to go see what fun could be had around the graveyard today.

Rashid walked into his den to find Neema with Edward cuddled in her arms. She softly licked the top of his forehead; he smiled and nuzzled her in response. Rashid smiled as well and walked over to his mate and youngest son, and gave them each a nuzzle. Neema let Edward crawl out of her paws and go play around their skull for awhile. She turned to her mate.

"Does it look good today?" She asked him, knowing Rashid had gone off in search of food while she was watching their son.

"No." He answered as he hung his head. Neema sighed; Edward had just been weaned and a pup could only survive on leathery elephant bones for so long. Then the couple saw their oldest son suddenly run into the cave.

"Mom! Dad! My friends are all goin' to the geyser valley, I'm goin' too." Maumbu stated as he turned around to leave.

"Well wait Maumbu; you have to watch Edward today, because your father and I are going to look for food again." Neema told her son.

"What's the point? You guys never find anything anyway."

"Maumbu do as you're told." Rashid firmly commanded.

"Besides, Edward likes spending time with you." Neema added.

"That's just because I'm the only company he has." Maumbu dryly stated.

"That's not true." Neema and Rashid said in unison. Then both parents suddenly looked down at the floor, and after a moment, smiled at each other, then looked back up at their oldest son.

"He loves his older brother." They said. Maumbu was skeptical and annoyed, but then he felt something rubbing against his leg. He looked down and grimaced when he saw his little brother giving him a nuzzle.

"Now if you don't want to stay here then why don't you take him with you?" Rashid suggested.

"But if I take 'im to the geyser valley, all my friends are gonna laugh at me!" Maumbu complained.

"Who said anything about taking him to the geyser valley? You two are just going to go for a walk." Rashid leaned down so he and his son were staring straight in the eye.

"Understood?" He asked. Maumbu sighed.

"Yeah dad."

There's the second chapter! Please tell me what you think!