VERY sorry for making you guys wait all this time. If you ever have the opportunity to chose a schedule of your own, TAKE IT!


Shenzi poked her nose just above a small boulder, as she stalked her, Banzai, and Ed's desired target…Maumbu. For old time's sake. The young matriarch smirked as the adult hyena tried to crack a long bone open, in hopes of what marrow left would leak out for him to eat or bring back home. Busying himself like that out in the open however, would prove to be his mistake…

The female hyena glanced back at her two companions. "Ok boys, ready?"

Banzai and Ed each smirked and nodded. The two of them had silently waiting for her signal this entire time, ever since Ed spotted Maumbu and alerted his friends of his presence and the three of them crept up to the rock. But unlike many times before, Ed nor Banzai were either griping, laughing, or just plain straining to keep down their restlessness in their ardency to pounce. Ed especially in this case. Shenzi appeared perplexed at their behavior, before growing an impish smile.

"I said, 'ready'?"

Their eager grins somewhat deteriorating, Banzai and Ed again nodded.

She put a paw to her ear. "Sorry, didn't quite catch that."

Each male immediately scowled and fixed their irate gazes on her. Shenzi didn't even flinch. Banzai looked down and tried to scratch a response in the dirt, but found it was too rocky to write in and soon growled in annoyance. An action he would hastily regret.

He slapped both forepaws on his muzzle soon after his throat let out a grow…a raspy, wavering growl.

A laugh was rising up in Shenzi's chest and pleading to be let out. She too put both her paws on her muzzle to keep from cracking up so Maumbu would continue being unaware of their presence. Ed seemed to have forgotten his displeasure and giggled in agreement—before growing stunned with silence at the sound of his own rusty vocal choards. Shenzi kept her head to the ground as her body shook with restrained hilarity. Banzai rolled his eyes.

"N' you say I'm a pain in the tail…" His varied-octave voice said quietly yet heatedly.

"Aw quit whinin'. Least ya got enough angah ta help tackle Maumbu." Now reminded of why they were here in the first place, Banzai and Ed's irritable appearances soon deteriorated, melting into mischievous grins, and the pair followed Shenzi as the threesome noiselessly inched closer.

As they neared toward the unsuspecting hyena, Ed was trying to stifle a laugh like Shenzi had previously; near-mauling his older brother brought back some good times. Banzai turned his screech of a growl on his friend in forewarning, even if it sounded more like an elephant with nasal congestion. But it was all it took to promptly silence himself. The three had now stalked close enough, to see the ruffles in Maumbu's fur, and just when they were in perfect range…

They pounced!

Without even glancing away from the bone, the adult hyena took one step sideways; letting the three young adolescents collide on the ground.

"Nice try." He smirked after they picked themselves up, irritably grumbling.

"For future reference, with age comes wisdom. I'm not even that old, but I can already outsmart a few hyenas." Maumbu proudly stated.

"Ya mean 3 ones less n' half ya age?" Shenzi skeptically replied.

The father hyena wrinkled his nose at her and leaned down so they were face-to-face. "Stuff it." And without another word Ed's older brother was walking off in the other direction, taking the bone with him.

"Thanks for teachin' his kids how to do it Ed! Now he knows when it's comin'!" Banzai glared at his friend, who merely looked down in embarrassment. "Now whadda we gonna do for fun?" Banzai whined to no one in particular.

"…While you males figure it out, I'm gonna get me some meat. Didn't get to eat nothin' because 'a trainin' yestaday." Shenzi said.

"I dunno if there's any left, Shenzi." Her friend told her.

"Aw why don't you take Maumbu's advice? Your voice is startin' to sound like n' elephant's trunk."

"IS NOT!" Banzai shouted after his friend as she ran in the direction of the kills Scar had brought the previous day…before reluctantly turning back to Ed with a questioning look on his face. "…Is it?"

Ed only shrugged.


"…Guess I wasn't the only one who didn't get no chance to eat." Shenzi said to herself as she sat upon a rock overlooking the area where Scar left the carcasses.

Not far off in said area, a couple of pups, most likely brother and sister, were picking at the remains of yesterday's meals. The older one, female, was ripping strips of meat off the bones, and laying them in front of the younger one, male, to eat. Shenzi blinked.

"Why ain't their momma or daddy with 'em?" She wondered as she looked around. No adult hyenas could be seen nearby however. After a moment scanning the place over, she just shrugged and laid on the rock while waiting for them to finish in order for her turn at the meat to start.

By now the two siblings were happily gnawing on bits of food with tiny teeth. The sister, far too busied by eating to notice anything else, didn't see her brother glancing up every now and then, as if checking on something. And every once in awhile, for some reason, the young pup would get to his paws and drag his meal a little further away from the pile of half-eaten carcasses. Shenzi tilted her head at about the fifth time he did this, by which time he was almost underneath part of a skull covering the entrance of an abandoned den.

"What's his problem?" She said to herself.

Suddenly, the male appeared to be shaking, and began crying and whimpering in his sister's direction.

"What is it?" She asked, puzzled. Her brother only pointed behind her with his nose. Both Shenzi and the other female looked back… to jump up in surprise.

Perched on old elephant bones, two vultures were looming in the direction of the kills. A mere annoyance to an adult hyena, but seemingly huge to a pair of pups. Both were gazing intently at the food that was in front of them…and the only two things standing in their way of it.

The little brother of them started whining frantically again, only louder as he ran around in circles as if begging his sister to come to the den. But the young hyena was too worried about getting enough food for them both. Quickly she latched her teeth onto the nearest, most meat-covered, bone she could find and dragged it as fast as she could towards the den where her brother was.

Seeing their presence was now detected, the vultures leapt off their perches and glided to the meal. Shenzi knew scavenging birds of this type didn't mind fighting other animals over food, even if it was rotting, let alone chasing off defenseless pups; she'd witnessed plenty of encounters of the kind to know this pair would dispose of the hungry graveyarders to get to the meat. And there was hardly anything to do to stop them…

"Well it ain't the first time this' happened. …S'not like I can do anything anyway."

At least, that's what the daughter of Safia thought at first…

Until, she happened to notice the size of a rib cage on one of the kills. …If it could be turned over, it'd be just enough to trap one of those vultures inside. But how to do it? She wasn't exactly as strong as her mother, yet, to try to use physical force. But then, an idea hit her. Maybe she hadn't thought of a way to stop the other vulture, but one hostile rival for food was better than two. Skillfully as her mother taught her, Shenzi jumped down the ledge from rock to rock until she reached the bottom, where she then raced toward the two pups being closed in on by the hungry birds.

The younger one was pulling on his sister's tail, in a gesture to make her forget about the meat and come where it was safe. But she was too determined to make sure they didn't go hungry to care about the vulture beak so near her skull, when the creature suddenly gave out a "Squawk!", quickly catching the attention of the sister hyena. She only had to watch as it looked back to see another female had yanked a couple of its tail feathers out.

Its companion let out a hiss. Shenzi stuck out her tongue and smacked dirt into their faces, before turning tail and running off. Angered, the birds flew up and gave chase. More curious than frightened, the two pups watched after them…as soon as they dragged their meal back to the den and were both safely in it. As if having second thoughts though, the female looked back, a distant look on her face. The younger of them, troubled by her change in behavior, pulled on her neck scruff with his mouth as he whimpered for her to come inside. She looked down at him.

"Stay here." She said, before running off to find that other female who helped them. The male tried to lunge after her, but wouldn't dare leave the safety of the den.

Not far away…

Meanwhile, Shenzi was trying to find some way to distract both vultures so she could put her plan into action. Currently she was leading the two birds through a maze of bones, rocks, and vaporous steamy vents every now and then, hoping those would confuse them at least. The most it did though was condensate on their wings and slow down their flight. It wasn't much, but at least it was a factor in her advantage.

"Hey!" Came a call next to her. Turning that way, the matriarch's eyes widened at the sight of one of the hyenas she had just saved running up on her side.

"What're you doin' here?" She demanded.

"Helpin' you! Now follow me!"

One of the vultures let out another cry, and neither female knew which due to picking up speed because of it sounding so close; not even bothering to look back. They ducked just in time as one of them tried to swoop down and clench them in its talons.

"What're we doin', exactly?" The other hyena asked Shenzi.

"Right now we're tryin' not to die!"

The other let out a call and tried to pick them off as well, but didn't notice a
bone protruding out of a mass of rubble and collided painfully; with its head trying to move over top of the skeletal remain, and the rest of it trying to move underneath. Shenzi, seeing this chance, pointed to a small hole in a nearby pile of rocks.

"Through there!" She shouted. While the more unfortunate of the pair of vultures was recovering from the impact, the second one took flight after them. Shenzi let the other female go first, and had made it through just in time before the bird's beak latched onto her leg. Now the flying scavenger was trying to pry its beak out of the gap as its targets were quickly gaining distance.

At this time the two female hyenas made it back to the carcass pile. The female's younger brother, now happy to see they made it back, swiftly ventured just outside of the den and yipped excitedly, but still seemed like he wanted them go both come in.

"Why'd you bring us here?" His sister asked.

"Start diggin'!" Was her reply, as she saw her scraping away dirt from one side of the large rib cage; confusing her.

"But-"

"Just do it!" Shenzi yelled once more. And without another word, both of them were clawing away at dry, infertile soil, until nearly a large ditch was made from their effort.

"How do we know when to sto-"

"HIT THE DIRT!" They dropped to their stomachs right before a large pair of talons could snatch them from the ground. Now frightened since one of the vultures was back, the male pup instantly whirled around and ran inside the den. His sister, alarmed as well, looked to her companion for guidance.

"Keep digging!" She said.

"But what about-?"

"In a minute you an' him'll see what I'm talkin' about!" Shenzi stated, pointing at the vulture momentarily.

So very reluctantly, the second female joined in once more, even though the threatening bird was now hovering just a few feet away, looking for the most precise instant to strike. The third time she glanced up to check the scavenger's position, it swooped down, causing her stomach to jump into her chest.

"Perfect!" She heard the other female exclaim, after which she looked at her, aghast.

"Perfect? We're gonna get eaten!"

"NOW!" Shenzi yelled as she threw herself over the other female, while the vulture closed in.

The female could hear her brother screaming in fear as she and her rescuer dropped into the pit beside the ribcage, and she too nearly cried out when the hostile creature became so close she could see the fringes of its feathers. Until suddenly, its talon hit one of the ends of the bones on one half of the ribcage, this caused the entire skeletal torso to turn over until its caving-in shaped bones were now surrounding the caught off-guard bird, who plummeted into the hole after the spine hit its skull.

…Just as Shenzi, had predicted.

"Get to the edge an' crawl out!" She commanded; the, now scared out of her wits, young clan member wasted no time in climbing through the gap between the edge of the hole and the roof of the makeshift prison; just missing the vulture's furious sharp beak as the two of them made it.

Looking back in near-shock, Shenzi's saved victim couldn't believe it; even as she witnessed the extremely confused and irritated bird prying, striking, and poking at the ribcage in which it was now confined. She turned her head towards the quick-thinking female.

"You…you, saved us."

"Eh, guess I'd have to start somewhere anyway."

"That was incredible! That was-! …Whadda you mean 'start somewhere'?"

"Well, I figure I be savin' a lot more lives once my momma hands ovah leadahship."

"You're…you're Safia's daughter?" The female exclaimed.

"Yeah, n' I'm just like you so zip it with all that polite stuff." Shenzi replied. The rescued juvenile clan member smiled gratefully at her. …Eventually, Shenzi let a smile show back. Suddenly the other female's eyes lit up, and she turned her head to their left.

"Oh. Hey, you can come out now; it's safe." She told her little brother.

For some reason, although he seemed to hear her, the male didn't move from where he was sitting in front of the cave. His sister raised a confused brow. By this time Shenzi's paw was on her chin.

"Y'know…I think mighta I fo'got somethin-" Her sentence was cut short when the other vulture, now reminding the future matriarch what she had forgotten, let out a cry as it lashed out its talons, managing to grab hold of the female hyena who was once been saved from such a fate. She let out a scream while Shenzi clawed and bit at the claws holding her, but the bird wouldn't let go.

Tried as she might to save her again, Shenzi's ability to think up possibilities to help, was being blocked by the adrenaline currently rushing in her body.

Then, startling everybody, including the bird of prey, the female's little brother appeared out of nowhere and began a full-out assault in defense of his sister; just enough to distract the creature and make it let go of her. Both hyenas watched as the young male jumped off it and sped off in the other direction.

"BROTHER!" The female cried out before her and Shenzi pursued. They managed to keep up just enough to see where the vulture was being led to…a remote field of green geysers. It was only when they stood aghast at a horrible sight, that they caught up to the bird and the courageous male.

There he was, nearly back-to-back against a large stone wall. Shenzi and the female could only watch in fear, as the bird stalked him further into the corner.

"MOVE OR YOU'LL DIE!" His sister beseeched; one more step backward and his escape would be cut off completely.

It appeared the young hyena heard her plea, but did not move, even though he very well knew the angry scavenger was getting closer and closer…

By this time his sister was biting her lip, Shenzi, on the other hand, was watching with interested eyes.

"If I had to guess what he was up to, I'd say-" Her assumption was not finished before a loud rumbling resounded throughout the area. The vulture let out a squawk as though it sensed something was about to happen. And surprising the sister hyena, half-astonishing Shenzi, and seeming to please the male, it leapt up as if to take to the air.

But just as it had gotten up off the ground, a loud wave of steam shrouded the creature, and not a second after, a shot of greenish-colored, boiling water arose from the ground below; accelerating into the sky and taking the screeching and flailing bird with it. When the explosion had subsided, the three could see an injured vulture struggling to maintain being airborne while fleeing from the scene.

The female wholeheartedly embraced her brother once he sprinted back to them. He smiled and nuzzled her, before noticing Shenzi again and prodding his sister to acknowledge their rescuer. She turned to her future matriarch, albeit shyly.

"Hey uh…thanks for saving me n' my brother." She smiled a bit while speaking.

"Eh, it's what I do." Shenzi waved it off, though secretly her self-confidence was skyrocketing all the while as a little gloating and self-appraisal bellowed in her mind.

The other female glanced at her little brother. "Well, better go finish that meat before someone else does."

The young matriarch thought not much of it as the two left, but after a minute a past wonder returned to her mind and she swiftly whirled around to call out to them.

"Hey!" Both siblings looked back to her.

"Where the heck was your folks while you guys was tryin' to eat? They shoulda known stuff like this could happen!"

The two hyenas' eyes temporarily widened, but just as quickly shrank back to normal size. The oldest one looked at the ground as her brother's ears drooped.

"Our parents…gave too much food to us…" Was all she said, before she nudged the male to stay aside her as they made their way back.

The pre-teen matriarch titled her head in perplexity; what was that supposed to mean? …Unless…

Her head snapped back into regular position as her face grew a look of shock:

How could any pups so young learn to live without their parents?


"No way!" Banzai protested. Ed quickly waved towards his muzzle in a proud and boasting manner.

"You're crazy!" His friend said. But his friend still kept his swagger. "If you've got a spot on your muzzle then I'm the king of Priderock!" The older of the two would've continued his argument, if he had not seen something approaching from the corner of his eye.

"Hey Shenz'! Over here!" The leader of the trio kept onward but made no reply, puzzling the two males.

"Nothin' left huh? Toldja." The oldest of the three stated, though by the look on her face it was obvious this was more than about food, and food was quite a big issue. The two exchanged glances before Banzai turned to his friend again.

"What's eatin' you?" He asked.

"Nothin'… What're you two yellin' about now?"

Banzai's fur instantly riled up. "Ed here thinks he's getting' a spot on his muzzle! An' that can't happen since I'm the oldest; I should be first ta get spots!"

Shenzi rolled her eyes. "There's more important thangs in life n' how fast ya hit pubaty! You two gotta be the most stupid, bigheaded thangs since they invented lions." She stated.

"I beg your pardon?" Came another voice from nowhere. All three whirled around to see who had spoken, only to be surprised to see Scar staring right at them.

"…Uh, don't pay no attention to that Scar; I was just kiddin'." Shenzi said with a nervous smile on her face. Scar grimaced.

"Of course you were. But no matter," he waved it off, "I'm actually, surprisingly, too occupied in reflecting on the handiwork I saw as I entered this crater you call a home."

"Wha?" The female of the trio asked.

"Why the inspiring resourcefulness, at least to young ones such as yourselves, which you used to ensnare that hostile vulture that was trying to pilfer the remains of your meal."

"You got attacked by a vulture?" Banzai's screechy voiced exclaimed; both his and Ed's faces were taken aback.

"Two." Scar corrected. "And she was not alone. …Pity, those pups had nowhere to go anyhow."

Shenzi blinked. "Oh…ya saw that?"

"Saw what?" The oldest male hyena of their group demanded.

"Well…" The matriarch opened her mouth to explain, but put a paw to her chin in thought for a moment, before her face lit up.

A few minutes later…

Shenzi laughed, "N' look, he's too big to fit out the sides!"

Now beyond furious, the trapped vulture clawed, bit, and slammed its weight against the bones above it. A few times it did rattle the skeletal prison, but that was merely any effect that happened before the bird fell back into the bottom of the pit.

"What happened to the other one?" Asked Banzai as Ed curiously walked up to the bird cage to give it a sniff, only to yelp and retreat when the bird squawked and nearly nipped his nose.

"Oh, I shot it out one 'a the birdie boilahs." Shenzi replied as Ed hid behind Scar, failing to notice the lion raise a faintly annoyed eyebrow, before directing his attention back at the young female hyena.

"YOU BLEW UP A BIRDIE-BOILER WITHOUT ME?" Banzai screamed, too appalled and angry to care about how his voice sounded, especially when he raised it.

"Aw, you don't even like the green ones." She waved it off.

"Still…" He grumbled. After a moment of disappointedly blinking at the ground, the male turned his attention back to their lion friend. "Hey Scar, wha'dja com here for anyway?" Banzai asked.

Much to the trio's confusion, the dark-maned feline's eyes lit up in a way that would send a chill down the spine of anyone who had not developed immunity to such bizarre displays of… "emotion" as some would call it.

"Well, now that you do mention it," he began with a seemingly innocent tone, "it was my first intention to come to you three with a message."

"So, spit it out." The pubescent male hyena said, just a second before Ed nodded furiously, slinging saliva onto his friend's back. "GAH! ED! That's just sick!"

Shenzi rolled her eyes once more, "Nevahmind them Scar, bettah say what you came to say before dumb and dumbest make you forget."

"Who's who?" Banzai paused to ask while he was raking spit from his fur with his claws. Ed laughed teasingly. "Shut up dumbo!" The semi-drenched male snapped.

"I rest my case." The future matriarch stated.

"…To cut to the chase, I've devised a new plan which will aid me in becoming the new and rightful leader of Priderock."

"But your dad already decided who the next ruler was. You're not gonna be king…Scar." Shenzi told him, calling the lion by his wanted nickname.

"That's what plan B is for." Scar casually replied.

"Plan B?" Shenzi and Banzai asked in unison. The three pups exchanged glances.

"Whaddya mean?" Banzai asked as they looked back at their friend. The dark-maned lion merely glanced back and smirked.

"Just saying, it may not hurt for you three to…be prepared."


A few years later…

"15 years may feel like a new start, and some ways it is, but you need to constantly focus. No good matriarch learned all her skills in a day honey." Safia told her daughter.

"I know that momma." Shenzi said, the to-be matriarch keep her eyes shut if only so her ears would pick up on her mother's counsel better.

"You've got a whole new generation of well-fed hyenas on ya shoulders, and albeit they're much stronger and smarter than what you might remembah, they might be cocky as well."

"Nobody's gonna rule this place but me." She said in a determined voice. Her mother nodded.

"Now, back ta biz'ness: what does a good leadah need in order to propahly rule?"

"Brains, awareness, brawn but only if need be,"

"Good, good." Her mother nodded.

"Sharp tongue, knowledge of the ones she's in charge of, and…" she blinked, "to always…" The young matriarch paused for a moment. Safia raised an eyebrow.

"Always…be prepared?" She guessed, opening her eyes slowly in question. The other female blinked.

"Not what I had in mind, but not bad. It was actually to keep her head on straight no mattah what, but just as good. Now, let's focus on when we need to keep our heads on straight most. What if a trespasser comes into the graveyard?"

"Approach him with as little threat as possible, and find out what his intentions are."

"And what if his intentions are to hurt anybody in the graveyard?"

"Call out to the stronger parties to make us look like a force to reckon with, and tell 'im to leave."

"What if he picks a fight with you and won't take no for an answer?"

"Deny it only until he starts trying to harm our home. Then take him one-on-one."

"If you win?"

"I can choose to set 'em free, to feed 'em to the clan, or just kill 'em off; my decision." Shenzi replied. Safia looked satisfied with her daughter's reaction to these questions; clear as the water was in the sanctum of Priderock, the 15 year-old female was growing to be a great, commanding matriarch.

Though…the mother hyena had known that these questions had been asked of her daughter many times, so of course she knew how to answer them. But, what if the scenario didn't always go in her direction? What would she do then? One way to find out how she would handle those situations, was to ask and demand some new answers, out of the blue.

"Mm-hmm…but, say you're in a tight spot and it looks like you won't win? What then?" Safia asked.

"Use every resource to my advantage." Shenzi replied, earning a small grin from her mother.

"What if he lunges at you and tries to injure you?"

"Keep my guard up constantly."

"What if he does manage to hurt you?"

"Use my surroundings as another way to win, all the while knowing my limits."

"What if he can outrun you?"

"Turn the fight into a way that cannot be won by speed." As Shenzi stared straight ahead, while her mother continued to circle her and envelope her with questions, she felt a new commotion stirring within her; as though this was no longer about just growing from adolescent to adult, perhaps not even turning from a juvenile clan member into a well-balanced leader, it was about how much she could do to protect her family and her clan. It was an amazing feeling, as though the world as she saw it didn't even exist without her and her mother; them, they were the ones keeping this land which was theirs safe and, although an undoubted eyesore, a land that was just as great as any other.

Never mind the lack of food, water, or decent shelter. It wasn't the scenery or image of a place that made it great, it was those who inhabited it. Yes the hyenas of the Elephant Graveyard weren't as strong, powerful, or even cleaner than the lions of Priderock, but it was them that proved themselves the great survivors. They were the ones who could endure and survive famine and sickness every day of their lives. They raised families here, they played here, and most treasured of all (to their species at least), could even laugh here.

And why? Because of the leadership they were ruled under in these harsh conditions. Shenzi never had felt something so marvelous as this in her entire life.

"And what if he knocks you down?" Safia asked as she circled around her daughter one more time.

"That's not possible." Shenzi replied. Her mother stopped circling for a moment, and leaned in so they were eyeing each other face-to-face. "In ordah to be prahpared fo' tha possible, we must be prahpared fo' what is not possible." Shenzi nodded her head in understanding.

Safia smiled and continued to lecture her daughter.

"Be Prepared." Those two words kept echoing in the young matriarch's mind.

Meanwhile…

"You're sure you'll be ok?" A concerned-looking female asked as a teenage male stood outside her den, an adult male and another adolescent by his side.

"He'll be fine." The adult male said confidently, before playfully slapping him on the back. "Taught 'im everything I know." The second teenage male, most likely his son, laughed in agreement. The oldest of the young hyenas smiled somewhat self-consciously.

"C'mon, we'll both know I'm lucky to even know half as much as you."

The female kept her worried expression visible. "Now Banzai if there's ever anything you think you still need help on you can always come right back home."

"Mom, I can barely fit in the den!" Her son replied; puberty having a large effect on him, the male had grown to become larger than the entrance of his old abode, not being able to get comfortable in there since he neared 15. Even Raziya now had to glance up in order to look her son in the eye. Though most of that was partially due to giving birth young; her body had to use so many of what little nutrients she could get that her growth was permanently stunted at 16.

"Well…the offer's always open." Raziya finished with a look that only a mother who was saying goodbye to her one and only son who was leaving to be on his own could muster.

"I'm impressed; I moved out at 16 but couldn't find a home of my own until I was a couple years older than you." Rashid said. Ed snickered, his father noticed.

"Now Ed, stop teasing your brother. You're lucky you didn't have to move around with your parents all the time like he did."

Raziya looked back at her son. "Be careful." She said.

"I will." He said casually, but before he could say much else, she walked up and gave him one last motherly nuzzle, catching him off guard. Ed looked like he was about to giggle at the sight, until Rashid looked at him with a warning glance. At which the male just stayed quiet until his friend's mother finally, reluctantly, let go.

Without saying much else Banzai turned around and started toward his new home; another den, only bigger on the inside with an entrance he wouldn't have to suck-in to get through. Ed rushed to join him while the two adults stayed behind. Ed had not yet moved out of his parents' place, since he was not technically an adult, and other than that didn't really see a need to. But from what he saw today he already knew what to fully expect: a crushed mother.

As they left, the two could hear mumbling from behind them.

"I hope he'll be ok." Raziya quietly said.

"What? Him? He'll always be prepared!" Rashid happily exclaimed.

The last two words of his statement didn't go unnoticed by Banzai and Ed as they made their way to Banzai's new home, and they stopped momentarily to exchange glances, before continuing on their way.


Shenzi stared at her home from a high-up area of the Elephant Graveyard. It wasn't so much the land she was gazing at, it was the hyenas who were moving about it, and the clear differences she was noticing about them.

The older ones, her parents not excluded, were much bonier and lankier than the young ones they accompanied throughout the day. The hyenas that were more in her generation, seemed to be at least more robust and somewhat healthier.

The young matriarch had it all figured out since she had been a pup, maybe not completely at the time, but enough to realize what was going on with what her mother had planned for the future:

Safia's plan was to nourish the new generation of the Elephant Graveyard, so that the hyenas of that same generation could teach the younger ones and pups how to hunt; and showing them examples with better, healthier bodies, she guessed, would improve their hunting skills.

By the looks of the slight improvements in her home it worked; it even raised the confidence and will to thrive for most hyenas here.

Speaking of confidence, it had been known for sometime to Shenzi that her friend Banzai was moving out today at only 16.

"He could've just dug the den a lil' deeper." She thought to herself, but knew that he wasn't just moving out because of the inadequate size of his old home. Growing up was exciting to anybody she knew in this whole place; she'd even heard of some hyenas talking about getting married as soon as they turned 16.

Still, it was only right to see her friend move into his new home, and although she'd never tell him, she was curious of what it looked like.

"Hey Shenz'!" Came a voice to her left, looking that way she saw Banzai and Ed. "C'mon, ya wanna see my place or not?" He yelled up to her.

Pretending to be of little interest, she casually walked up to them. "Eh, I guess." She shrugged. Ed laughed in enjoyment and the trio continued forward. Shenzi, in the middle as always, gave him a playful nudge on the shoulder. He cackled and gave it right back, the female becoming surprised; he had become much stronger than he had when he was a pup. She could tell. Ed however interrupted her reverie by nudging her on the right. All three of them cackling it was a long walk to Banzai's den as the hyena trio tried their best to avoid tripping over each other.


There will be a LOT of climactic events in this part of the trilogy. Many of it, as you may have guessed, is what leads the trio into allying with Scar and taking over the pridelands. Again, sorry this took so long to update but I'm very happy with what I've managed to create here.

And to those of you who have followed on this story since the first chapter of Part I, I thank you for your admiration. To those of you who read AND review, I thank you for your courtesy in at least acknowledging that you were here.

Thanks from Tearthgrrl!