Chapter 3

New members in the Pride

Rafiki panted heavily as he walked through the tall grass. It seemed that the lioness that had just given birth moved to another hiding place to protect her defenceless cubs. Despite the fact that he knew he must keep on going, Rafiki had to sit down and rest for a bit. He had been running mostly during his distant search, and the baboon was growing tired. After a while, he continued looking eagerly for her, but it seemed it was useless. He felt an enormous sadness when he thought that Thembi's cubs would die if he didn't find someone able to feed them. All of a sudden, he heard a slight noise. Rafiki stood up quickly and looked in all directions. He noticed that something was moving between the grass. Cautiously, Rafiki approached to inspect and see what was hiding in there. He listened as some animal talked to something or someone, unable to understand what it was saying. Rafiki kept approaching, until he was able to understand some of the words.

"I know you are hidden here, you won't be able to escape- There... that's it. Mmmhhh. Delicious!"

Rafiki, feeling curious, couldn't help approaching a little more. The voice he heard belonged to a small blue bird that was looking for food.

Rafiki stepped on a twig and made a cracking noise. The bird looked up startled and shrieked when he saw someone coming near him. He tried to fly away, but Rafiki hit him with his wooden staff right on the head, blocking his escape.

"Don't harm me!" the stunned bird pleaded.

Rafiki looked carefully at the stranger and smiled. "Great, you're a hornbill! Perhaps you could help me..." the baboon said as he scratched his beard, thoughtfully.

The bird rubbed his sore head with one of his wings and looked at Rafiki. Realizing his aggressor was a full grown baboon, the bird became more alarmed, but he remained still, not wanting another knock on the head again.

"Help?" the bird asked, sounding confused.

"Yes," Rafiki insisted, "You are able to fly. Could you perhaps help me find a lioness that has just given birth not far from here? It is very urgent, the life of the King's sons depends on it!"

"The cubs are born?" the bird asked enthusiastically.

Rafiki nodded. "But it's necessary that we find this lioness I am talking about, because... the Queen has passed away, and there is no one to feed the future king and his younger brother."

The bird's happiness disappeared completely. "The Queen is dead? Oh, dear..." he exclaimed, looking sadly at Rafiki.

The baboon studied the bird for a moment. A rather young hornbill, he won't be much help, Rafiki thought. But the bird was willing to do his best to save the lives of the new princes.

"Please, let me help! I'll try to find that lioness, I'll do it immediately!"

"Thank you. The King will reward you for your help, I'm sure," Rafiki exclaimed and almost at the same time, the bird took off and flew quickly out of sight.

Rafiki continued with his search on ground, praying to the kings of the past for strength, specially for the cubs, to help them survive until he found someone who would feed them. After several minutes that seemed to last an eternity, the bird came back.

"Hey there!" the bird called the baboon, still floating in mid-air. Rafiki looked up.

"Have you seen her?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, she's nearby, that way!" the bird said, pointing with his beak in the right direction.

"Wonderful!" the baboon said, sighing in relief. "Could you guide me?" Rafiki asked as he grabbed his staff firmly.

"Yes, come on, hurry!" the bird replied, and both animals went towards the lioness's new hiding place as fast as they could.

As they approached, Rafiki was able to hear low whines that came from the lioness's cubs. He could also listen to her tender words, trying to comfort them. The baboon approached cautiously. He saw the lioness hiding between the tall, yellow grass. She was cleaning one of her cubs carefully, while the others ate. There were three babies in total. It would be a hard job for the lioness to feed so many cubs, her own and Thembi's, but Rafiki was hoping she would accept his proposal anyway.

Approaching little by little, Rafiki pushed the grass aside as he walked through. The lioness's excellent hearing warned her that someone was approaching. She stood up, alarmed, and looked everywhere intently, trying to listen for other sounds or to catch the scent of the animal that was nearby. She managed to make out the slim figure of Rafiki, who was watching her fixedly. She bared her teeth as a warning.

Rafiki could see that the lioness was already aware of his presence. He approached a few steps saying, "Please, I come in the name of King Thembi to ask you an enormous favor. Don't hurt me, I didn't come here to hurt you or your cubs."

The lioness pricked her ears with curiosity, and felt interested when she heard the word King.

"Come nearer, let me see you." she said as she hugged her small cubs protectively.

Rafiki obeyed and walked to the lioness, while the bird flew in circles above them, waiting impatiently to hear the mother's answer.

Once Rafiki was in front of the lioness, he sat down and relaxed slightly, so that she could see that the baboon posed no threat to her or the babies.

Rafiki addressed her politely. "My name is Rafiki, and I've come here searching for you because we need you to do us a favor."

She tilted her head slightly. "A favor? What do you mean?"

Rafiki sighed and looked at the ground. "The Prince and his brother were born earlier today, but the Queen passed away after the second cub came. The cubs are starving and the rest of the lionesses in the pride have no milk to feed them. That's why I've been looking for you. I wanted to ask if you could help feed King Thembi's sons, until they are out of danger." Rafiki looked at her hopefully.

The lioness looked startled, she didn't know what to say. "Thembi... The Lion King..." she told to herself thoughtfully.

Rafiki nodded. "We need to act quickly, the cubs haven't eaten at all..."

She looked at her cubs for an instant. "I am not from this place, my pride is waiting for me... I only came here to give birth to my cubs, I don't even know King Thembi..." she said with visible indecision.

Rafiki approached a little bit more, until he was able to feel the breath of the lioness in his face. "Those cubs are the only thing that remain from Kitok, the Queen, and if they die, Thembi would suffer greatly... Please, the cubs need food desperately," the baboon pleaded. "Once they are strong, you will be free to return to your pride, I'll make sure of that.

The motherly instincts of the lioness were screaming at her what she had to do. After a few minutes she made up her mind. "OK, I'll help them. It would be very sad if they died, they deserve a chance to live..."

Rafiki felt very relieved. "Thank you so much. You have a such a kind heart!" he said, placing his hand on the lioness' head and rubbing it softly.

The lioness looked at him surprised. It seemed that Rafiki's hand brought some comfort to her, she could not explain it, but she liked the feeling.

Rafiki picked up two of the cubs, one under each arm, "You take that one and I'll take care of these two."

The lioness raised to her feet and stretched herself, yawning noisily.

"This way, eh..." Rafiki said, but he realized that he didn't know the lioness's name yet. "What's your name?" the baboon asked.

After shaking herself, she replied, "Dalasini."

"All right, Dalasini, let's go. We don't have time to lose," Rafiki said and started walking, with the cubs under his arms.

Picking up the last cub with her mouth, the lioness followed Rafiki. The hornbill that helped Rafiki also followed them, flying a few meters behind.

Dalasini in the meantime felt a bit uneasy after making this big decision. "I just hope I'm doing the correct thing, I hope my pride won't get too upset," she thought.

Everything had happened so suddenly... She had never met that strange baboon before, however, for some odd reason, he seemed to be trustworthy. Still, Dalasini was afraid of meeting the rest of the lionesses of a totally unknown pride.

Sensing her fear, Rafiki told her, "Don't be afraid."

Dalasini looked at him, startled.

"Thembi's pride will be very friendly towards you," Rafiki added.

Dalasini was amazed at the fact the Rafiki had apparently read her mind, but then she dismissed it as a mere coincidence. Rafiki only smiled to himself and carried on, humming quietly.

It was almost dawn when Rafiki and Dalasini arrived at Pride Rock. The lioness was impressed by the beautiful grounds.

"This place is wonderful!" she exclaimed.

Rafiki only nodded.

The lionesses of Thembi's pride saw the baboon approaching in the distance.

"Thembi, they've arrived!" Anasa shouted.

The rest of the pride raised to their feet, to greet Rafiki and the lioness that came with him.

Thembi came out of the cave walking quickly and approached the lionesses. Karanga remained next to the second cub, who was losing his body heat rapidly, same as the first cub. Both babies were weak and they moved less with each minute that passed, falling slowly into a stupor. Their stomach growled constantly, demanding food.

Seeing Rafiki accompanied by a lioness, the Lion King cheered up and ran to meet him.

"Rafiki! You found her!" Thembi said, looking at the lioness and analyzing her condition rapidly. She looked tired, but healthy.

"Yes, indeed, Thembi. She gladly offered to help us," Rafiki said.

Thembi looked at her intently, causing her to look away.

"What's your name?" the King asked.

Dalasini placed her cub on the ground and nervously replied, "D-Dalasini, your Majesty." she bowed with respect.

"Dalasini, can you feed my son as soon as possible?" the King asked, feeling a sudden pain in the ribs.

The source of the pain turned out to be Rafiki, who poked Thembi with the end of his staff on one side, after listening to him speaking as if he only had one son.

Thembi, getting the message, corrected quickly, "And his brother too?"

Dalasini nodded. "Where are they? I'll feed them right now."

Thembi rested one of his front paws on the lioness' shoulder and fixed his gaze on her. She didn't look away this time, and noticed that Thembi's eyes were red and swollen because he had cried too much.

"Thank you so much for your help, Dalasini," Thembi whispered.

She nodded, and looking away, she said, "It's nothing... Any mother would have done the same..."

"Come, follow me. I'll take you to where the cubs are," the lion said.

Rafiki picked up Dalasini's three cubs this time, and with a movement of the head, he motioned her to follow the King. Nothing bad would happen to her.

Dalasini followed the lion while Rafiki and the bird that had helped him walked to where the rest of the pride was.

"Rafiki, has that lioness agreed to feed the cubs?" Sita asked.

"Yes, Sita, I just hope it isn't too late..." the baboon answered.

"I will take this little one inside the cave, so that he can eat too," Karanga said, and grabbed the second cub with her mouth.

She took him to the cave, followed by Rafiki, who left Dalasini's cubs in charge of the other lionesses.

The bird had decided to wait around, just to find out how the cubs would react after eating, so he settled down on the branch of a nearby tree.

Kuuliza and the rest of the lionesses remained outside, praying for the cubs to survive.

Karanga entered the cave while Dalasini lay on the floor, offering food to the future king. Thembi placed the first cub near Dalasini, and at the same time, Karanga did the same with the smaller one. Thembi looked at her with distrust, but he said nothing. He just stood there, watching how his sons started eating. At the first contact with the liquid, the cubs seemed to wake up, and started eating anxiously.

"I'm glad they're eating, I was fearing they wouldn't have enough strength to eat..." Rafiki said.

Thembi sat down beside Dalasini feeling a bit more relaxed now.

"Thanks again, Dalasini. Without you, they would have died for sure."

Dalasini smiled understandingly, feeling more reassured that she had done the right thing by going to the Pride Lands and helping Thembi.

With deep sorrow, the lioness said, "I'm so sorry about the Queen, your Highness."

Thembi pressed his eyes shut and nodded silently, sighing once in a while.

Karanga approached him. Trying to comfort the King, she head-butted him gently.

Thembi opened his eyes, startled, and gave a few steps back.

Karanga felt hurt, but she didn't demonstrate it.

"Thembi," Karanga said, "we must carry on with Kitok's funeral ceremony."

Thembi nodded and walked slowly towards Dalasini.

"Dalasini, could you stay here and take care of my sons while we take care of the funeral?"

The lioness agreed.

Thembi turned around and walked towards Kitok's body. He suppressed a slight growl as he recalled that when the second cub came to this world, Kitok was forced to abandon it. That produced in him a terrible feeling of uneasiness, and he felt a great rage at the impotence of knowing that there was nothing that could be done to change things.

He lied down next to Kitok, shedding some tears.

"Rafiki," the lion called, "Can you help?"

Rafiki walked to Kitok's body and with great effort he placed her over Thembi's back. Thembi stood up, carrying the body of the lioness on top of him.

"It's time for the funeral," the lion said. "We'll take her to your tree right now."

Rafiki nodded.

The king left the cave, and with the first light of morning, the lions started the peregrination to the tree where Rafiki used to live. Once they got there, the baboon would be in charge of the Queen's funeral.
Sita took Dalasini's cubs to the cave quickly and caught up with the rest of the pride. Thembi was walking at the front, heavily, suffering greatly because of having to carry his wife's limp body over his back... She, who had been always so skilled, agile and strong... It was too painful for the lion. He had always loved her, since they were cubs. He had never taken another lioness too seriously, saving his whole heart for Kitok and for no one else. It was impossible for him to grasp the thought that the would never again listen to his wife's laughter.
As he walked, Thembi started recalling his cubhood, adolescence, and maturity; the memory of Kitok always present. But one of those memories, in special, brought new tears to the eyes of the Lion King.