AN: Whoa man! I didn't expect such a positive response to less than 600 words of text… Seams that some of you have become my faithful readers! Thanks you guys! I will try not to disappoint you and publish new material every 2 or 3 days. Enjoy! XD


Chapter 2 – Surprising new Environment

I approached the Pridelands from the west. At first it seamed that the rumors I had heard were actually true- in the distance there was quite a fertile little piece of savannah, undoubtedly inhabited by hordes of tasty gazelle and buffalo and whatever. Right, unfortunately the rumor about a huge gorge that set the border of that supposed paradise was also true. Not really happy about that fact, I carefully slid down the almost vertical wall, not wanting to take the time to go around. The canyon was filled with shallow water- I thought that it were probably the remains of a river that used to flow there. A river in which the famous, murderous leader of the pride loyal to the land's former dictator had drowned… at least as well as I could remember the stories. I took a quick look around and remembered, that this would also be the same place where the rightful king had been killed by his brother in a wildebeest stampede. It was actually quite exciting to really be in a place almost every lion in Africa spoke legends about. But I had no time for meditations, so I started to look for a way to exit that damn gorge. Somehow I managed to find a tight path through the rocks, and voila- there I was. The famous Pridelands were open before me, bathing in the sun. It was great- I could see herds of giraffe and zebras roaming the area, and of course probably the most luxurious lion den there ever was- Pride Rock, reaching out towards the sky. A beautiful picture, one could say. And so I did, happy that I finally got there… but once I went a little deeper into the land, I noticed that something wasn't right. Namely, I felt the stink of hyenas. Strange, because I heard that the new king kicked the canine army of the former ruler out of the neighborhood as soon as he took the throne. After a short walk, not only did I smell those ugly mutts, but I saw a few of them, sitting there and polluting the landscape. I was already concerned, but what made me even more disturbed was a terrible mistake I made- I carelessly let the hyenas spot me. As soon as they saw me, they made a run for it towards Pride Rock, barking at each other about what I could not understand. Now that was simply fabulous- a paradise with hyenas in it was no paradise at all. I thought that somebody had lied to me, and you have to understand I became quite angry, but it was already too late to turn back. So, throwing curses all around, I continued my road towards Pride Rock. And man, was I ever surprised to see a welcoming committee! Surprised rather negatively, as I was quickly surrounded by more than a dozen slobbering, growling and stinking spotted mutts. Now the fact that my name means 'hyena' doesn't change anything. I still hate those stupid, laughing bastards. Fortunately enough, I saw that they were lead by a lioness. That gave me hope that I still might not get mauled to death… Yeah, so you just try to imagine the conversation I had with that interesting female.


The nomad lion stood surrounded by a pack of hungry hyena guards, with no chance to escape. He was either really bold or totally stupid to just cross the borders of the kingdom like that. The canine soldiers usually didn't waste their time and took care of any trespassers swiftly, but this time the patrol that saw him was a little too small, so they decided to go and call for some reinforcements first. Seeing the commotion, the king's daughter became curious and decided to go check out what was actually going on. Now she stood among the hyenas, eyeing the young lion calmly yet suspiciously. He was scared out of his mind, but still he tried out for an awkward smile.

-Heh-heh… - started Fisi nervously. – Now this is a nice sight… a lioness leading a pack of canines… Talk about being a king of beasts, eh?

-Shut up! – the female growled with irritation. She frowned, not sure if she should let the short-maned trespasser explain himself or rather watch her soldiers rip him apart. Good thing he didn't say anything to her when she was making her discernment- if he started to beg for his life, he would occur too pathetic to let him continue his existence. – You're not an Outsider. What are you doing here? – she continued, giving him a curious gaze.

-Well I, I… - he gulped. – I'm a nomad. A rogue, so to speak. I haven't got a pride of my own…

-Puh! – the lioness snorted and rolled her eyes. – And I suppose you're looking to join?

-Y-yeah! I've heard many stories about the magnificent Pridelands…

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, nomad-boy! – she ordered him to silence with a gesture of her paw. The hyenas laughed uncontrollably. – What makes you think that my father would want you to join our pride?

The young male's eyes widened. Did she just mention to be the daughter of the king? He simply couldn't believe how lucky he was.

-Wait… - he said, smiling. – Are you trying to tell me that you're the princess of the Pridelands? Isn't your name Kiara?

The reaction of the lioness and her henchmen was something he didn't expect. He heard her roar, and moments later he laid on the ground under the weight of a dozen hyenas, feeling their sharp claws scratching his skin. In front of him he saw bared fangs, and an angry pair of blue eyes.

-What did you just call me? – growled the female, looking like she was ready to kill someone. Fisi took a deep breath before he was able to answer.

-W-what? What? Aren't you a princess?

-Of course I am a princess, you idiot! That's not what I'm talking about!

The lion began to understand… and that made fear fill his heart like a dark cloud.

-What's your name, then? – he whispered.

The lioness hid her teeth and adopted an expression of irritation mixed with deep astonishment.

-Vitani. My name is Vitani.


AN: Oh, the tension!

You might want to get used to the shifting narration, cause I'm going to use it often later in the story.