The Waterhole

Mufasa lay impatiently swishing his tail. Akase had tried to get him to lie with her but he had refused, waiting for Scar to arrive. Ahadi wandered out of the cave behind. In the afternoon heat was getting unbearable. The sun had long since passed, leaving the flat of the promontory in deep shadow. He flopped down on the heated rock by Akase and leaned over and licked her cheek.

"Now don't start that," she protested, only half seriously, "Immue is bringing Scar over to see Mufasa."

"Oh good," said Ahadi brightly, "She can take Mufasa out for a while. We can be alone."

"Ahadi! Whatever is the king thinking? And what would we do together?"

"Anything you want. Anything at all." Ahadi smiled and then licked her again.

"Really Ahadi! Anyone would think I was in season or something."

"Akase, you're always 'or something' to me."

Akase drew her head back suddenly and looked at her mate through half closed eyes. She lifted a forepaw and batted it gently towards Ahadi who lunged his head forwards and caught her paw gently between his teeth and licked it before releasing it. Akase stared hard at him. It had not hurt at all...

"I'm here Mufasa!" It was Scar's voice. It was shortly followed by a bouncy cub with a springing tail with the dour bulk of a lioness behind.

"Well, here we are. Yes, yes, yes. Oh you two do look good together. I know how pleased you must be to have a lion like that all to yourself my dear."

"Immue, now don't get any ideas."

"Ideas? Me Akase? No, no, no, it's king Ahadi there who's getting the ideas. Isn't that right my dear?"

"Well Immue, I'd like a chance to get some more ideas, you know," said Ahadi hopefully.

"Scar? D'ya wanna go down the water hole? It's just so hot!"

"Now you two, I'll take you only if your Mum and Dad think it's OK."

Mufasa called back over his shoulder as he turned to run off the rock. "Aww, come on Immue! Hey Scar, let's go!" Before anyone could say anything he ran off down the rocks closely followed by Scar. The pair bounding away full of youthful energy.

"Is it all right if they go? They do love playing together, don't they? I'll bring them back safe and sound. I promise."

"I guess we don't have much choice, do we Ahadi … Ahadi?" Ahadi was not really listening as he had already started to rub his mane up against Akase's shoulders. Akase smiled in a way that said "I guess he doesn't mind." Immue smiled too and turned to leave, pausing only to call back as she dropped down from the expanse of the rock, "I'll bring Mufasa back well before sunset. Yes, yes, yes."

Closing his eyes Ahadi said, "Has she gone?" close into Akase's ear as he licked its rim.

"Yes dear, she's gone and she's taken Mufasa with her. We're all alone."

"Are you tired?"

"No?" replied Akase puzzledly.

"Good, let's go in the cave then."

"Ahadi! What are you suggesting?" But Ahadi had already got up and was close to the cave mouth, he looked back and smiled mischievously. She returned smile. She knew exactly what he was suggesting and she didn't need to be asked twice.

As the afternoon wore on the air cooled slowly but the cave on Priderock remained hot and stuffy. Ahadi decided that his son's idea about cooling off in the waterhole sounded very attractive. Akase, who lay contentedly on the cave floor was not too sure, but when she saw her mate bouncing around as if he were their son she decided to join him in an afternoon splash in the muddy water.

"What are we? We're just a pair of cubs."

"Cubs? Akase, we're not cubs any more. But just for now and just for you, I'll pretend I am. Come on, let's go and show Mufasa what playing's really about." Ahadi looked towards Akase as she got up awkwardly as if to make out that she was a great-grandmother rather than barely a mother. She shook her legs saying:

"Look what you did to me."

"Come on Akase, let's go!"

Like his sons before him, he was already gone. Akase ran off after him and caught him on the plain just below Priderock. Together they sprang and ran, looking at each other and laughing together. It was just a few short, beautiful and breathless minutes before they arrived at the water hole.

Scar stood nervously at the edge of the water, looking intently at his mother who was wading in the shallows. Mufasa was nowhere to be seen. Ahadi slowed and stopped as he looked around. Akase sprang up to his side.

"Hey serious king, what's up?" Then she noticed Ahadi's concerned gaze. He did not answer, instead he shouted to Immue.

"Where's Mufasa? I can't see him."

Immue turned her head sharply as if she had been interrupted.

"Oh, hello Ahadi. He was here just a moment ago, wasn't he Scar?"

Scar did not answer. He drew back, too frightened to say anything.

Ahadi asked again with more strength, "Where is my son Immue?"

"He must have just wandered off for a bit. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough. Yes, yes, yes,"

Ahadi and Akase looked at each other and then at Immue. They both saw that the few tiny bubbles popping up around Immue's immersed forepaws. Immue stood so awkwardly and did not move to greet them. It was as if she were standing on something in the water.

The terrible truth hit Ahadi as if Immue had struck him a powerful blow. Now nothing on the Pridelands could hold his rage and strength. He roared shatteringly, sending every bird to the sky and every animal dashing for cover. He shot forwards towards Immue who jumped back and turned, just too late to fully avoid the first blow that Ahadi had ever delivered in true anger. Though his paw fell short, his unsheathed claws raked through her shoulder, opening it over more than two paw's width. She was knocked sideways and onto her back, landing at the water's edge two lengths away.

She splashed out furiously at Ahadi. He pounded through the water towards her. Spray flew up over them, covering the little Scar who cowered at the edge for a few moments before running over to Akase. Before he could reach the safety of his aunt, she lunged out across the water after Immue as she succeeded in filling Ahadi's eyes with enough mud to enable her to scramble from him; leaving him thrashing out wildly in rage and fury at anything that moved, even Akase who was caught on the left flank by his rear claws.

In all the confusion Immue managed to escape the waterhole. When Ahadi's eyes had cleared enough to see, he jumped out of the hole, muddy water running off every part of his coat. He chased her as far as the borders of the Pridelands, over every rock, ridge, log, track, gully and valley, but never quite catching up with her. When she finally leapt the six foot deep narrow gully that marked the Pridelands north-eastern border Ahadi realised that he had lost her.

He resigned himself to never seeing her again. He could never get used to not seeing his son again. After a few moments to catch his breath he dejectedly followed the trail of Immue's fresh blood back to the waterhole.

He finally it reached close to sunset. The water had long since settled and Akase had gone, so had Scar. There was no sign of Mufasa's drowned body, Ahadi was sure he would never see him again. He lay down by the water's edge and for the first time since his mane had come he cried. He had lost his dearest son, and on the eve of his presentation. No one: no lion, or any other animal went close to the waterhole that night until moonset. It was Ahadi's private place.

~oOOo~

All the Pridelands mourned with Ahadi. All except Akase, who once Immue and Ahadi had run off, had the presence of mind to feel around in the mud where Immue had been standing. She felt a soft, still warm furry body. She reached down into the water and lifted it out by what she thought must be the scruff. For a few moments it lay lifelessly in her gentle mouth. Then the body gasped and spluttered. Akase immediately forgot about Immue and Ahadi and carried the barely living Mufasa back to Priderock. Scar trailed a length or two behind, keeping just out of sight; he feared he might never see his mother again.

~oOOo~

When Ahadi returned to Priderock a little before dawn, the first few of the herds, grazing their way across the Pridelands over several days, were beginning to gather for the new king's presentation. Ahadi avoided all of them; he could not bring himself to tell anyone, especially himself, that his son Mufasa was dead. He hoped that they would all simply disappear and leave him alone.

He kept to the shadows as he climbed up to the cave entrance. For a moment he felt that he could not enter and that all he deserved to do was to slip away and die unseen. His world, and with it the future of the Pridelands, had died there in the shallows of the waterhole and Ahadi wished that he could die with it. There was only one reason for him to return, and she was probably inside the cave. He sniffed the still air that filtered from the cave mouth. On it he scented Akase: strong and even now, inviting, and Mufasa and… yes, even Scar. Clearly their scent had lingered on in the cave to haunt him.

'...and what of Scar. If he's still alive I suppose he will be...' but he could not bear to think more of that. He remembered Scar's terrified look by the water's edge. Could she have used Ahadi's own son against Mufasa? 'Scar didn't know what his mother was going to do. How could he? He was just as frightened as we were.' Mufasa's scent became stronger. For a second Ahadi thought that he might be alive after all; he had, after all, not seen the body. 'No, what if he had just run off? What if he's lying asleep in the cave? No... What have I done? Someone help me!'

Ahadi rushed into the cave and there, lying fast asleep where he always slept was Mufasa, at his side, with his head over Mufasa's back lay Scar as fast asleep as his brother. It was a picture of contentment and peace but it hid a tale so dreadful that no one ever spoke of it again. Akase woke, if indeed she had been sleeping, as Ahadi rushed in.

"Where in all the marsh lands have you been?"

"But... but Mufasa's alive! Immue didn't drown him! He's alive!"

Ahadi wanted to wake and play and have his son climb all over him, but Akase stopped him.

"Leave him to sleep. He's had the worst day of his life, so have all of us. Immue nearly succeeded. Mufasa almost died. I fished him out and I..." She paused and closed her eyes, holding, no, fighting back a flood or tears. "He was dead in my mouth. I held my own dead cub... and he fought back death and now sleeps. He is a very special cub. He is our cub Ahadi; he is ours and he's alive… and so is Scar."

Ahadi said nothing and did even less. He no longer wanted to die: he wanted to live, he wanted to roar, he wanted to feel close to Akase, he wanted to live a whole life in just a few moments but he could not. He lay down at Akase's side and, feeling her very soft purr, fell asleep with his head on her stretched out forepaws. It had been a very long night.

He was not allowed to sleep long. He was woken by Rafiki an hour later wanting to know if Mufasa was well enough to cope with the presentation. Panic broke out in the cave as Akase woke Mufasa, waking Scar who panicked thinking he was back in his cavern and shouted out for Immue. Ahadi had to tell his son that his mother would never return to the Pridelands.