Oh my God.
I can't believe it.
I've returned.
Can you believe it? I can't. OMFGROFLMAOLOL.
Nah, probably you DO NOT WANT to believe it. I know that. I bet you're like, "OMG IT'S HIM AND HIS SHITTY STORY GET IN THE CAR" or something like that, I really don't know. Come on, move your ** and get away before your eyes start bleeding. Go away...! GO AWAY! HOWLEY SHEETZ IT'S TOO LATE- *splatter/gore-ish moment*
Anyway, I could easily show off some shiny, brand-new (and totally believable) excuses to justify such an enormous delay (five/six months?), but -you know what?- I think I'll tell you the truth instead.
First: my connection SUCKS. I mean, it does really SUCKS. Seriously, I couldn't get a decent one with FF, and sometimes even with Youtube or Facebook. Ah, in case you still don't get it: IT SUCKS. That's why I didn't reply back to any PM.
Second: School, school, school, concerts, revelries (I don't even know if that's the correct word DX), getting plastered, and so on. No time for writing, in any case.
Third: Uuh, laziness?
Long story short, I'm sorry. I don't know if I'll ever be able to post again -the last time I was ready to write, my connection ** up everything, so...-, yet I'll do my best to continue this...story. Eh. My most sincere apologies go to Theundersigned, Nielae, MadAboutStories, etc etc... I swear, here and now in this suffocatingly hot bedroom, I'll R&R everything you've written so far during my absence. Just...just wait, for the sake of any God you have faith in.
...
Finally, it's new-chapter-time.
Hooray ._.'
I'm sorry for the shorty lenght, but, well, I was not in the mood for the usual 9000-words brick. Also, I wanted to keep it clear and short because I added new characters (DOOOOOOUUHHH), thus avoiding complications regarding the others characters' storylines.I don't want to make a huge mess with the story, the characters and other stuff by uselessly extending the chapters in futile descriptions or avoidable speeches.
Hope you still enjoy it, though.
Tears for the Tearless
Chapter II:
"Weather Enemy"
Part II:
"Clouds of Dirt"
Rain.
The first thing he could recall from the distant reminiscence of his birth was the unceasing drumming of rainwater against cold stone. The distant peals of thunder made his tiny body jolt in fright, their deafening booms resounded through his blind, infantile frame. Loads of drops collapsed outside his secluded refuge, the sky's vault opened wide to disclose its womb replete with water, dark and mesmeric like a prairie of violets blooms; a blessing of life for some, a sentence of death for others. All he did during those monotonous months was snuggle against the embracing presence of his parents, his sole beacons of light in that world of darkness, and resting in his minuscule cavern, comforted only by their warmth.
Stop. Stop it.
Twisting through the earth, a new wind howled, pulled him back, blew dust and mud between his legs. His pelt was heavy, soaked, and cold, and the sudden surge did nothing but emphasize his physical suffering; he was aware of that, he tried to ignore it. He failed. His erect figure shivered noticeably amongst the fleeting, broken reflections of himself depicted on the curvaceous puddles that grouped around him. The roar of another clap of thunder reverberated over the landscape, soon followed by twin booms and flashes of lightning.
I lived. They died. That's it.
Large pools of the darkest water spread rapidly on the ground, under a sky permeated by dying lights, under a cloak of rumbling clouds. Lightning wounded the sky, made it cry and weep and bleed its own tears, the rain his cruel yet loyal companion. The soil, impregnated by the heavy downpour, accepted its unparalleled ferocity, bowed before the tempest, and exploded concurrently with the drumming of rain, a dirge of timeless days. He looked around himself, overwhelmed with astonishment; that was incredible. The weather was incredible, with its force, its savagery, unleashed without any control over its own strength. He had been an impotent spectator to that fierceness many times, so many that he actually could not remember them all; though he still was amazed by it. He wanted to be amazed, because any alien thought that might brush himself aside from the pressing echoes of his parents and his past life would be cheerfully welcomed.
He stared up at the sky overhead.
Weather was his enemy, his eternal nemesis, yet an insoluble tie bound it to him, like a twisted symbiosis of some sort between the two of them. He cried whenever it cried, he felt better whenever it turned serene. They were one, yet they were also divided by an immutable boundary of hatred, toward each other, toward the world, toward destiny.
"...Ghubari! Ghubari, where are you...?"
His heart jumped to his throat as he swung about, as he heard that voice calling his name so desperately. The blurred contour of a medium-sized shadow came into sight, twisting under the force of the elements. Raising his voice tampered by the violence of the storm, he made a reluctant step towards the figure. Smelling her scent was no use, mainly because he already knew that it was her, but also because his muzzle was simply too drenched to catch anybody's odor.
"Here, Fadhila."
The being's outline jolted noticeably while the sound of his firm voice pierced through the pelting down of the rain. He scarcely heard a soft sigh of relief coming from her figure hidden behind curtains of cascading water; she was afraid, and excited, he could tell by her movements, her tone.
Who–or what—was Fadhila? Well, definitely not a lion. She presented herself as a "hyena", though Ghubari had never heard that term before, not even in the tales his parents used to tell him, when they were still alive. Her structure was strong, firm, and, whenever she desired, even capable of incredibly lithe movements full of grace and poise. Her body was covered by short, chocolate-brown fur spotted by darker, blackish stains. He liked her fur; every time a ravaging thunderbolt cut through the thick clouds and radiated its flashing, elusive light, Fadhila's pelt flushed into a soft violet coloration, as if vivid flowers bloomed all over her form and followed the grooves of her prominent features.
Three thin, long-ago-healed scars stretched across her cheeks from ear to ear, like grotesque smiles stitched onto her skin; her teeth were sharp yet disproportionate, set into huge maws strong enough to crack open and crush a giraffe's impenetrable bones with a single bite. Nevertheless, the very first thing on which anyone's look would fall immediately was not her appalling appearance, was not her scar-marked face…but her eyes. Her eyes, two blue pearls streaked with grass-like green specks. Whenever he stared at those pure jewels of nature, Ghubari felt a sense of peace, of tranquility, and every other feature of hers that would scare him to death disappeared and was engulfed by a haze of mysticism.
"Ghubari!" Fadhila approached him, with her two flashing blue eyes blending with the murkiness brought by the storm. Her voice, now taking on a reprimanding tone, came to his ears with the tender, light severity of a relieved mother. "Where have you been? We're late, and you shouldn't wander here all alone."
"S-Sorry, I wasn't thinking and…" His own eyes, gifted with a lapis lazuli shade of blue quite similar to the hyena's, cast an ashamed look up at her, and he slightly jerked his head to move aside the drenched tuft of his unripe, gray mane that, hit by the constant rainfall, had glued itself to his face. "…Sorry," he repeated, with his dripping head bent down, in apology.
Fadhia's reproachful stare soon subsided into a mellow gaze before she turned her head and peered back at an indefinite spot far in the distance behind them. The rainfall was too strong, too intense, the mists too thick; she could not see anything nor anyone but a soaked forlornness.
"Hey…hey, it's okay, don't worry," Fadhida murmured soothingly as she approached Ghubari and tenderly licked his muzzle as the rain kept mercilessly flogging their aching backs. "Let's move on, shall we? Making Tiifu wait ain't a very good idea, ya' know." Immediately raising his head, Ghubari focused on her figure and kept staring at her for a few moments, with only the roaring cascade of the heavens filling the deafening silence stuck between the two of them. Then he looked away, chuckling quietly as his blue orbs narrowed behind his recomposed tuft, and nodded.
"Mm."
The cavern hang heavy with shadows, the darkness that lay inside punctured by scattered cracks of grayish light; it was spacious enough to have its farthest corners engulfed in twilit gloominess, but still curiously warm and comfortable, as if that welcoming cavern was completely separated by the surrounding, freezing atmosphere. Apart from those scintillating dots that constellated the murkiness like stars in the sky, the only element of distraction from the engorging obscurity was the vitreous glittering of the countless pairs of eyes staring attentively at Ghubari and Fadhila.
Ghubari winced. Why do they keep looking at us that way…
There was little light inside, but the grey lion's eyes—as well as those of the hyenas, for that matter—had no problem picking out every little detail in the dark ambience: the driblets of rain that penetrated the stone and trickled around them onto the ground, the canine shapes of numerous hyenas who scowled at them, the humid walls of coarse stone…everything was clear, definite, especially thanks to their adaptation to the cruel, drenched infernothey were forced to live in.
The figure of a hyena, a large male covered by powdery fur and characterized by a hollow cavity near his nose that had once housed his right eye, stood proudly near the entrance; his remaining eye, black as the most secluded corner of night, welcomed the two newcomers with a glimpse that expressed a most sincere pleasure; whether it was to welcome them or to devour them, that was hard to tell, seeing his daunting appearance. Ghubari simply shuddered under his stare; Fadhila, on the contrary, smiled.
"Tiifu."
The male approached and reached the two of them with nimble, expertly measured leaps, with a warming gaze firmly fixed on Fadhia; despite his considerable physique, Tiifu did not emit a single sound as he came nearer. Then he put a massive, sturdy paw on her shoulder, gently, or as gentle as a multiple-homicidal mass of muscles, claws and teeth could be. "Well met, my friend," he murmured, his voice gruff and edged as if he was not accustomed to using it much. "How're you?" Tiifu's sole eye suddenly rolled and cast a fleeting look to Ghubari, a look full of serenity and, somehow, respect towards the grey lion. "Greetings, Ghubari," the hyena ruffled Ghubari's mane energetically, enough to almost tear his scalp from his head.
Ghubari's throat always became dry and ached whenever he felt Tiifu's piercing stare sliding over his form, and this time was no exception. Behind that single dark eye, the lion was certain that there was something else, something unseen but perceptible through a reciprocal trial of silent looks. "Ehm…hello," he stammered. His voice sounded weak in the air; he almost did not even recognize his own quiet timbre.
"I've seen better days, if that's what you're wondering about." Moving aside Tiifu's paw from her own shoulder with a rude shove, Fadhila sneered back at him, letting out a defiant snigger as her words resonated through the hollow walls. All she received from the male, though, was high-pitched laughter, in stark contrast to his usually hoarse tone.
"You're having a midlife crisis, aren't you?" he chuckled. "Isn't that sweet…"
"No. Hell, what are you talking about? I'm even younger than you…" she spat back, unable to conceal her growing smirk. But Tiifu limited himself to letting out even louder laughs and giving a playful blow to her shoulder. If that hyena owned a remarkable virtue, it definitely was a genuine good humor. "So, how has your journey been?" Fadhila then proceeded with a smile. "Good news from the north?"
Tiifu's mirthful expression immediately subsided and turned into a shadowy gloominess, while an uncomfortable silence substituted his past laugh. "Come, let's talk in a better place, away from indiscreet ears," he finally said after a couple of rapid glances around him. In response to the twin nods from both Fadhila and Ghubari, Tiifu was about to swing around; but then, seeming slightly preoccupied, he beckoned at the grey lion. "Ehm…could he…"
"No," Fadhila stated quietly, curtly cutting his question off. The glimmerings of the other hyenas' eyes immediately became more intense; none was brave or foolish enough to use that tone with their leader. Fadhila ignored them and hastily made up an acceptable reason. "Ghubari and I keep no secrets from each other." She cast a look down to the slightly smaller lion that stood by her side. "He goes wherever I go, he sees whatever I see…and he knows whoever I know."
The other hyena's single eye narrowed slightly, with the blackish deepness of its iris engulfing Ghubari in a thoughtful gaze; afterwards, he merely nodded. "Hey, you're the boss." After signaling for his two guests to follow him, Tiifu turned round and made his way into the darkness, followed closely by Ghubari and Fadhila. In the recesses of that murk Ghubari's eyes shone more vividly than anything else, like two azure falling stars in the night sky.
He did not really mind much what Tiifu said, or thought, in that fleeting moment of weakness; in the year since he had joined the hyenas' clan, he had gotten used to all the discrimination a young lion, unique of his kind in that part of territory, would receive from a bunch of mocking, sniggering assassins. He was alone, despite Fadhila and, why not, even Tiifu's presence. They perceived his distress, but they could not offer any help. Because they were extraneous. Because they were creatures who poked their noses in after the "accident", after the brawl, the fray. Elements of the discouraging panorama before the eyes of a beaten adolescent, together with frustration, shame, the blood of the fallen, his blood. They could not do anything for him but work over in their turn those who dared to touch Fadhila's adopted son.
Pride.
His pride, his dignity, was wounded.
That was why he asked, he pleaded Fadhila to prepare him for future fights. He wanted, he neededto be ready for defend himself from those who hated him so badly. At first, the hyena pushed him away with an indifferent "no", but soon she realized how much that training would eventually help him. Under the constant, pressing storm of his requests, she finally gave up and took him as her disciple. Her words were deeply planted inside his mind, branded, still burning in all their truth:
"Tomorrow, you shall start. But in case you consider it as a reward or entertainment, I'll tell you now: it's neither one nor the other. You'll be nostalgic of those times when you used to scratch your belly and do nothing all day long…because there's no way to come back."
During their exhausting session filled with gasps, aching muscles, and inflamed scars Fadhila immediately noticed (not without a remote, complacent sensation filling her) the terrifying ferocity concealed behind the colourless fur and impossibly blue eyes of her adopted son. Ghubari was not a defenseless cub who needed help to make his own way through the world; an absurd wrath was nestled inside his body, an ire that could, without any doubt, turn him into a killing machine if left uncontrolled.
Once, during a hunt away from home, she found him in a pool of dark blood, sitting on a mass of mutilated corpses, faces and limbs, in a macabre spectacle of death. In all probability those were three or four zebras, but she could not be sure. The cadavers were unidentifiable, looking more like deformed shells of bleeding flesh and bones than real animals. Ghubari was there, gasping from crimson-stained maws, from where thick globs of gore kept gushing out and falling on the ground. How he managed to kill by himself such large animals all in the same time, Fadhila did not have the faintest idea.
That sure was impressing, and remarkable, but also risky. What if Ghubari, teased for the umpteenth time by the hyenas that still were not ready to accept the lion into the clan, would decide to quit with them once and for all? Day after day he grew stronger and larger, and sooner or later he would surely make them pay for everything, for he now had the will, the force, and the knowledge necessary to carry out such a suicidal massacre. The clan, and probably even the Council itself, would probably sentence the young lion to death without thinking twice…and she could not allow that. Thus she decided to develop his skills further, in a different direction...
…The sangfroid of the assassin.
Ghubari was indeed perfect for evolving into the archetype of a superlative warrior. His sole shortcoming was a total lack of…"style", if it could be called that. Ghubari simply followed his instincts, his blood frenzy; he took his leave from reality and advanced into the blaze that burned inside him. And, when the blood hunt lost its thrill, he found himself exhausted, trembling, shocked by what he had done.
Therefore, for his good, Fadhila made the wise, yet hazardous decision to teach him a new, completely different level of the art of death. Thorough knowledge of the rudiments of combat was the condition he would achieve from the following lessons. A perfectly balanced control of his own body was essential: those who were not able to master it could not even manage to hold their own in a battle, let alone win one.
Grips, blows, kicks, leaps, somersaults, defense, tactics, how to look in one direction and strike in another: Fadhila taught him everything she knew about fighting, and not without a certain number of difficulties…and inevitable failures. The hyena was a severe, strict instructor, yet never did she make him take unnecessary risks: he was still her stepson, after all. Previously, Ghubari had never been interested in the physics of movement, resistance, or respiration; after a few lessons, though, he finally realized that such simple aspects were in reality the most important mechanisms of that complicated, tricky system that was physical combat.
Rule Number One: prepare yourself.
Ghubari learned to use his body like an extremely complex machine that needed to be taken care of. He familiarized himself with the usage of the most precious gift he received from nature: his teeth. Admonitory bites, hostile bites, immobilizing bites, pressuring bites, lacerating bites, mortal bites…the grey lion soon became a master of his oft-underestimated incisors.
Rule Number Two: relax yourself.
He learned to be calm, cold, to break off from the rest of the world; he stopped looking at it and began to feel it. He learned to slice throats without emitting a single sound. He learned to lay ambushes. He learned to control himself even during the most critical situations.
Rule Number Three: enjoy yourself.
He learned to be a perfect murderer. And he loved every second of it.
Enjoy it…
After a couple of minutes, accompanied by silent steps on the bleak ground, Tiifu suddenly stopped under a circle of twilight, a tranquil, silvery glade in the middle of a forest of shadows, and cast a wide grin at his two followers as his head swung around to peer at them. "Please, have a seat." He nodded at two large, greasy pieces of bloody meat that were lying on the floor, in the vicinity, ready to be eaten by the guests. "Hope you're hungry."
Ghubari hurled himself toward the nearest portion, tempted by its plump and appetizing appearance. Soon his teeth were sunk deeply into the flesh as the young lion began to tear apart generous morsels of sinew, nerve and muscle. Fadhila and Tiifu stared at him, slightly amused at the sight of his swishing tailand obvious eagerness for food. If there was something that Fadhila had never been able to teach Ghubari, it definitely was how to eat properly in the presence of others.
"Your numbers seem diminished, Tiifu," Fadhila said, breaking the silence between the three of them. She was moved more by a nagging hunger for news than a firm intention of creating a conversation. Tiifu heard her remark, but did not move, nor show signs of wanting to. "Where are the others?" she persisted, approaching him with unsure movements as her smile slowly began to wipe away at the sight of his vexation.
"Losses have been inevitable during these past weeks."
Ghubari immediately sprang to attention and left his portion of meat ripped open and ignored for the sudden sensation of occlusion he felt in his stomach. His ears twitched slightly under fine tufts of ash-grey mane. What?
At the sound of that cryptic statement, Fadhila's heart jumped to her throat. No…no… Thousands of thoughts started racing through her mind in all different directions; Tiifu's warriors could not be dead. This was supposed to be a mission of peace. If they were dead…it was nonsense. And, even supposing that it were the truth, he could not use that neutral, nonchalant tone when speaking of his deceased companions. "What…what happened?"
Tiifu looked at her. Much to Fadhila's surprise, his fixed gaze vacillated for a moment, unable to match the pressing force of her glare. "Between the other clans reigns dissension, my friend," Tiifu said, breaking his visual link with Fadhila by bowing his head and closing his eye, seeming much older and more worn out than ever. "Hasimu's clan set an ambush in the proximity of the northern mountains." With a swift movement of his neck, he peered at her face, which was quickly turning from simple curiosity to dawning horror, and sighed again. "As we made our way out of a crevice, some of us fell directly into the trap and…well, I assume you can imagine the rest."
"Ha-Hasimu…?" she heard her own voice repeat in a choked tone, feeling as if she had just awoken from a dream. Hasimu was the chief of the clan settled in the utmost section of the northern region. "You mean…they attacked you?" Seeing no reaction from his motionless friend, Fadhila stood up and raised her voice. "Why would they break the pact like this?" Tiifu turned his strangely hurt gaze at her as she continued. "Why would they attack us?"
"They did not."
"What…" Fadhila didn't move a muscle until she realized the true meaning of that statement. What followed was a barely repressed growl from her, an indecipherable glare from a now standing Tiifu, and a confused glance towards both from Ghubari, situated between them with a piece of blood-stained gristle still dangling from a corner of his mouth.
"You attacked them," the female hyena hissed. "How…how many other clans-"
Tiifu's black eye gave away a hint of shame. "All of them."
"Why?"
He winced at the sound of her furious tone. Being a chief, he was not used to being treated that way; yet Fadhila was firstly his friend, and secondly one of the most vaunted hyenas that all the clans had ever known. So Tiifu ignored her hostility and kept answering her questions. "I am nothing but a tool in the Council's hands," he waved his paw in a nonchalant manner, as if they were talking about the weather. "I strike who and where they direct." Nonetheless, all he obtained from the other hyena was another growl, now even more menacing than before.
"That's…that's not you, Tiifu."
Another sigh, another stare broken by the shame she compelled him to feel. "Fadhila, listen…I don't know what they're actually planning. I just follow the orders…and you're supposed to act this way as well—"
An abrupt movement interrupted him in mid-sentence, and he saw Fadhila begin to walk away from him, in the direction of the clouded exit of the warm, comfortable cavern. "I'll talk with them," she stated, with monolithic gravity, as more steps were made by her nimble legs. Tiifu immediately swung about and touched her hind leg, without daring to tighten his grip around it; to do that now would be an one-way ticket right to death's door.
"Fadhila," he pleaded, trying to sound as kind as possible. "You know better than me that it's a waste of time. Just bow your head down and please, please…surrender."
"Are you listening to your own words, Tiifu?" Fadhila almost screamed out all her frustration as his touch made her turn around to face him once again. "I can't follow their orders if I don't even know what they're supposed to accomplish. I can't accept that, Tiifu." Her aquamarine eyes, only a few centimeters from his, flared into two raging fissures. "I won't accept that."
"They have already forgiven your actions towards the entire clan when you accepted Ghubari as your son, even despite his…nature." Tiifu glimpsed briefly at the grey lion that in the meantime had approached Fadhila and was now by her side once again. "You owe them a favor…no, more than one. What about Ghubari? They will-"
Ghubari, biting his lower lip, rapidly turned his head to look at Fadhila. Uh-oh.
Fadhila, growling furiously, pointed an unsheathed claw in his direction. A drop of cold sweat ran down Tiifu's brow as he gulped. "Say it," she snarled. "Say it, and I'll rip you open like a blade of grass." Her teeth were revealed, they showed menace, ire, fury. Pure animal wrath, barely controlled and dangerously potent. "Leave. Ghubari. Out of this. They…and you…will not use him to achieve whatever you're plotting."
"Fadhila…"
The female hyena only glowered in return. "Let's go, Ghubari."
Ghubari stared at her departing back for a moment, puzzled by her anger; his lost look s fell on Tiifu, who was gazing at Fadhila as well with a contrite expression printed on his grizzled face. The grey lion slowly and imperceptibly shook his head, feeling sorry for the hyena. I should say something…?
"Ghubari!"
He jolted at the sound of Fadhila's stern voice calling him and, after another sympathetic glimpse destined to Tiifu, he turned round and trotted towards the enraged hyena, outside, into the unwelcoming storm.
"For Gods' sake, Taka! Stop staring at me and get your buns over here already!"
The young lioness's brown eyes radiated alarming flashes of hostility as she glared at the two glowing green orbs opposite her cut across by long dilated fissures that were floating in the darkness of the cave. Another snort of exasperation escaped from her minute mouth when she seized the leg of the dead antelope that she was trying to carry inside the lair in her teeth and tugged again. She pulled and pulled with all her strength, but the constant force of the rain had apparently drained her force of will and the thrill of having succeeded in her first hunt without any help.
Under the two green eyes opened a row of white teeth, a grin, that shone through the night in a roguish way.
"I'm truly sorry, Sarabi, but ruining your fun hadn't even crossed my mind. Yet."
"Fun? Fun? You are a—" she began to yell and shout in Taka's direction, but a sudden loss of her balance made her fall into the squelching mud beneath. With a slight yelp Sarabi met the saturated ground with her face and chest, completely engulfing her cream-colored fur in drenching mud. Still semi-burrowed into the bog, she spoke low, slowly, almost giving out all her irritation through a mutter. "I bet you're enjoying the view, aren't you."
Taka, still concealed behind a curtain of shades, shook his head in denial, doing his best to suffocate his laughter. "No, no, no. What makes you think that?"
Sarabi raised her head and glared again at his obscure form. "Maybe the fact that you're grinning from ear to ear?" she spat, dirty water dripping from her face.
"But it wasn't meant to be a derisive gesture!" he countered as he waved a paw in her direction, though his smile actually managed to find more place on his face to widen and express his enjoyment. "It's how I support you in your toil."
"Of course."
"Sarabi! What are you doing?"
From the cavern's tenebrous maws stormed outside another figure, slightly larger than Taka's, whose dark-orange mane, still short and unripened, framed two scorching orange eyes that first cast a worried glance in the direction of the struggling lioness, and then a dangerous glare at Taka, whose grin, instead of an apologizing grimace, turned immediately into an even broader fleer.
"What sort of question is that, Mufasa?" he asked, scratching behind his tufted ear and assuming an innocent expression before the newcomer. "She's obviously picking up flowers for her Azure Prince."
"Uhnnngh!" Sarabi grunted again, without looking directly at Mufasa but greeting him with a pleading nod. She was definitely shattered, exhausted; all the adrenaline pumped inside her body during the hunt had lost its invigorating power and left her aching and gasping for air. Mufasa came immediately to her side and gently nuzzled her drawn back.
"Wait, let me help you. And you…" His orange eyes glimmered as he cast another glower destined to his smirking brother. "…were supposed to help her."
All Taka did in response was lie on the dry floor and stretch sluggishly in his brother's direction. His eyes did not break from Mufasa's as he began to nip at his own black-tufted tail, raised up in the air and left dangling near his head. "While I applaud your commendable act of chivalry towards our friend Sarabi, I must point out that Princes do not obey other Princes—AAGH!" Taka screamed out when a projectile of mud, lifted up from the boggy ground by Mufasa, arced directly towards him and hit his face with a squashing sound. Though the brown dirt in his eyes completely blinded him, Taka still could heard the muffled laughter of Mufasa and Sarabi, accompanied by the roar of the cascading rainfall, coming to him.
"You may applaud now," Mufasa chuckled.
"You…" Taka wiped away globs of muddy soil from his visual and glowered at his sibling. Drips of watery, sticky dirt completely covered his face in a mask of slop. "You will pay for this, brother." Taka winced and yelped when he sniffed his sludge-covered paw, with an expression of repugnance washing over his face. "Oh, perfect. Now I smell like—"
"Stop wasting time and make yourself useful," Mufasa interrupted, grabbing his brother by the scruff of the neck and dragging his light weight to Sarabi and her gruesome loading with ease under the drumming force of the rain. Taka tried to fight his brother's strength, but his slender build didn't help him at all in his efforts.
The feeble moonlight revealed him to be a pawing youngster, covered by fine, dark-brown fur, similar to his mother Uru's, except for his cream-colored paws and chin, with a slender body that expressed agility and elegancy much more than his larger brother's. Around Taka's neck was growing, slowly but steadily, a blotch of pitch-black hair, much similar to his father Ahadi's mane. Another feature that father and son shared was also the lively, green coloration of the eyes, though Taka's irises were noticeably darker and less shiny.
"Gah! Let me go, you stupid—"
Without much interest towards his brother's jerks and complaints, Mufasa opened his jaws and picked up a dangling, lifeless limb of the soaked corpse, near which Sarabi was waiting impatiently, and waved it in Taka's direction. "Take it," he ordered through his clenched teeth.
Taka glared with revulsion at the mud and grime that covered the antelope's bleeding flesh. "You are forcing me to do something that goes against all my ideals of cleanliness and decency. Are you aware of that?" He tapped Mufasa on his shoulder with his paw, foul with dirt that found Mufasa's orange-tinted fur and soiled it repeatedly. "Can you live with this weight on your conscience, Mufasa? Can you really do it?"
A smirk aimed at his brother played across Mufasa's face as raindrops slowly wiped away the dirt that Taka had deposited on his shoulder. "Yes. Yes, I can."
"HA-AH! Take that, Taka!" Sarabi burst out, blowing a loud raspberry in the dark lion's direction, jeeringly enough to make blood rush rapidly to his head in a flow of frustration. Taka glared at his brother, then at Sarabi, then at the dead antelope, and then finally, with much effort, he let out a yielding sigh.
"…Words cannot even describe how much I hate both of you."
Ah, Ghubari. Those who have read my old story should already know what is his role within the events, even though I slightly changed his character and completely altered his past. Hope you won't mind. Anyway, his role will still be the same, so... don't get panicked XP...
Please, R&R and... Oh, yes! Since I'm really, really SORRY for updating so late, I'm planning on starting a NEW STORY (which will be very succint and concise, I promise); if you want and if you have enough patience to read it, stay tuned and... well, we'll see. ;D I don't know if it's going to be connected to this fic or not, though... Aah, dilemma, dilemma.
