Wandering

All that mattered to Ahadi was to find the lost Narala. However, she wasn't so much lost as bored.

"My name is Ahadi - and yes I was with Narala but she… wandered off."

"Oh my dear, that can't be right surely? Lionesses don't just 'wander off' with a lion to… attend to them."

"Well OK, so maybe I wasn't as 'attentive' as I might have been. She's very nice and all that but..." Ahadi felt embarrassed, but now he had duties to his pride to fulfil, he felt he had to rise above that. He rose straight into Immue's waiting trap. "...but I love Akase you see. I have to mate all the lionesses but I only love Akase, she's the one I really care about."

"Oh, how awful. I'm so, so, so sorry. Is there anything I can do, anything at all?" She continued in silent thought, 'oh... he is such a dear little cub.'

"You can tell me what you know. I'd do anything to get her back."

"Oh, really? Anything? Well now, let me see. Hmmm… oh yes, I did see her; but she wasn't alone."

"Really? The other lionesses must have found her. I'm done for; you know how they'll talk. I'll never be able to hold my tail up again. Akase will have me for breakfast."

"Oh my dear, no, no, no it's not like that at all."

"It's not? Good. For a moment I thought I was in trouble." Ahadi lifted his head up and for a second looked as though he really could lead a pride.

"No, no, no, she's with another lion."

Ahadi could not believe what he was hearing, not only had Narala walked off on him but she had gone with another lion.

"At least she's not mating him," he thought doubtfully. The situation could hardly be worse.

"Oh yes, yes, she's really with this lion. If you see what I mean."

"You mean she walks out from under me and straight under another lion?"

"Well, my dear, you must have been very inattentive. What did you do?"

"I..." Ahadi drew his head away and mumbled something into the night.

"Oh my dear, I couldn't quite hear that. Now say it again, a little louder just for me. Yes, yes?"

"I... fell asleep."

"What? On her?" Immue laughed gently. Inside she prepared herself for the pounce on her prey.

"No - NO! We weren't actually... no, I just dozed off and she must have..."

"...Wandered off. Yes you said; no need to repeat yourself. That's not so bad. You felt tired yes, yes?"

"Yes, yes. But I brought all these lionesses out from the marsh-lands. They look to me as their lion."

"Well yes. Of course."

"Akase calls me her king for standing up to her father. I can't go back and say 'I fell asleep on Narala.' I'll never be able to really be her king now. The pride would never think I'm a real lion. Lions don't fall asleep with lionesses. Do they?"

Though she was not going to admit it, Immue did not really know. Certainly the old lion had looked anything but asleep.

"Well now, you don't have to tell them my dear."

"I don't? But surely they'll find out from Narala."

"Oh my dear, I don't think so."

Ahadi narrowed his eyes probingly. "Why not?"

"Yes, yes, yes. You see…" Immue smiled knowingly at Ahadi. "…I know that you'll tell all the lionesses that you are the father of Narala's cubs."

"Why should they believe me?"

"Because I will tell them it is true. Yes, yes, indeed I will tell them."

"But you're not a member of my pride. They'll not listen to you."

"My dear, didn't you say you'd do anything? Hmmm?"

"Yes, well I..." Ahadi was beginning to suspect something big was coming.

"Well, you did, and what I want… well what I want is to be a full member of your pride."

"Ah... a member of my pride. You mean like Narala?"

"Oh yes, just like Narala, only..." Immue teased him mercilessly, "...only I won't let you fall asleep. No, no, no..."

"If I do this, what will you tell all the others?"

Immue thought for a moment, raised a forepaw and, extending one claw, touched her chin gently.

"Hmmm, let me see... Oh yes, that's simply too easy: I'll just say she's a trouble maker." Then she added, accompanied by a vaguely waved forepaw, "...or something."

"Hmmm," Ahadi mused doubtfully, "Well, that wouldn't be far from the truth. I mean she always wants to be my queen. She'd take my Akase's place any time if she could. OK, I'll promise."

"Well my dear, it seems your problem is solved, is it not? Yes? Now all we have to do is find your Narala and makes sure she doesn't cause any more trouble. Yes my dear?" Once Ahadi had turned his back, Immue went on with a slight chuckle under her breath, "Simply too easy my dear, yes, yes, yes."

~oOOo~

The pride had a shock when Ahadi finally walked in, his tail held high, followed by a strangely subdued Narala and an eerily quiet stranger.

Immue never talked about her arrival in the pride. Nor did Narala ever told about the days when she was with Ahadi. No one asked her as they knew such times were private.

Soon Akase took back possession of her great love. A week or so later Immue's time came and Ahadi, as he had promised and as busy and tired as he was, responded to her demands and made her a very full member of his pride.

In time, after the pride had arrived in what quickly became known as the Pridelands, Narala's cubs were born, all female; ranging in colour from dark sand to almost hazel brown with delicate spots of only slightly darker brown - one even had dark marks on the rim of her ears. She inherited her mother's powerful yet sleek build and grew day by day to move with grace and elegance. Ahadi made it known that despite their appearance they were indeed his cubs and were to be treated just like all his cubs. This was accepted as, of course, all the cubs in the pride were to be Ahadi's….

~oOOo~

Ahadi looked around for any signs of Scar. He could see two sets of tracks - one lion, the other, in simple pairs as of a biped - distinct and clear, leading away; the depth increasing and the stride extending as the monkey and cub had run off. That would be the best way: to follow and hopefully catch up with Scar and Rafiki.

Ahadi knew that Rafiki would take care of Scar. His fears of earlier now subsided. The only problem was who was looking after Rafiki? It seemed, thanks in no small part to his ceremonial stick which he carried at nearly times, that Rafiki could look after himself well enough but would that be enough to keep the pair safe from hyenas? Then again, Scar seemed to act as a deterrent to the pack. One, the young and particularly troublesome female, Shenzi, had even been seen talking to the cub on vaguely friendly terms. Ahadi had tried to get to the bottom of whatever had been going on but had merely ended up with a set of scratches on his hind legs that made sitting uncomfortable for a time.

The hyenas hunted the Pridelands when they could of course, and from time to time the ever present tension between lion and hyena flared into violent bloodshed. One night a particularly bitter argument had erupted over a hartebeest carcass Ahadi was guarding. He had stood his ground until overwhelming pressure of numbers had forced him to release the kill. It didn't end there however, and Ahadi found himself surrounded; the hyenas closing in relentlessly. Akase and another of the lionesses, Falasha, arrived just in time, with flying claw and ripping teeth, to break the circle of hyena. A couple of hyena had been killed in the ensuing bloody brawl. One of whom, apparently, had been Shenzi's mother.

Ahadi pushed aside the memories of the hyenas and broke into a run, his pads landing alongside the prints of his son. It was not long before he entered a thicket, slowing to a steady and cautious walk through trees that could hide almost any animal.

This was leopard country and Ahadi was taking no chances. He looked to both sides as his paws fell rhythmically on the thicket floor. Ahead he thought he heard a sound, a voice... a mandrill's voice, followed unmistakably by Scar's:

"You don't like Zazu much, do you?"

"Zazu? Well, he's all right. He is rather nosy eh? You know."

'All right Rafiki,' thought Ahadi as he approached unseen from downwind, 'that's enough of that.'

"But he thought I was still Scar, still a lion cub."

"What? No? You are a mandrill. Listen, you do trust Rafiki?"

"Yeah, well, Dad does so I guess I should too but… sometimes it's hard."

"Yes, it can be hard to trust."

Ahadi padded quietly into the pair's field of view.

"See, now do you trust him?" Rafiki said quietly into the cub's ear. Scar did not answer, he just shrank down fearfully realising that Zazu must have found his father and sent him here to collect him and take him back to Priderock.

"Well now Rafiki. Who's your fine mandrill friend? I've not seen him on the Pridelands before?"

Scar lifted his head up in surprise.

"He is my brother, Makedde. He is visiting me."

"Your brother? Well now, Makedde, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Rafiki whispered into Scar's ear, "Better say hello to the king, Makedde. He's a very nice lion when you get to know him."

"Your majesty, I..." but Scar could not finish, after a few moments Ahadi broke the tension.

"Don't worry Makedde, we can talk some more later. I'd best be getting back now. Why don't you two come with me, then you can tell me all about yourself and how Rafiki managed to keep so quiet about you for all this time."

Scar looked to Rafiki who held his staff out in the direction of Priderock and nodded gently. Scar lead off. Ahadi stepped forward to his side smiling. Rafiki fell in behind the father and son.

On the way back they chatted about the weather and mandrill's favourite foods and the difficulties of getting really fresh bananas.

Rafiki, never saw his cousin again.