Hello again. This is chapter 9. Well, to begin with, the name Kisasian is copyrighted to Joshua Templin, and featured on one of the earliest (it may actually be the earliest, but I'm not sure about that) fanfics about The Lion King titled "The Tales of Tanabi". But there are some important differences between his version of that character and my version - probably enough to be considered totally different characters. Now that it's over, let's begin.
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Chapter 9 – The hyena pups
Meanwhile, in another part of Pride Rock, a small mouse, the same mouse that Tojo tried to hunt countless times without the lightest sign of success, was just coming out of his hole.
After coming out, he stopped for some moments, looked up, and saw the paw of a lion coming towards him. It wasn't Tojo's paw. It was the paw of an adult lion. The lion, whose name was Scar, lifted the squeaking mouse 'till his eyes, and then said, while playing with him: "Life's not fair, is it? You see, I… I shall never be king… and you…"
The mouse was preparing himself to jump from his paw, and concluded: "shall never see the light of another day! Adieu!"
Scar prepared himself to put the mouse in his mouth, but at the last moment, he heard Zazu's voice interrupting him: "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"
"What do you want?" asked Scar, bored, while holding the mouse with his right paw.
He already had a good guess of what would be Zazu's answer, but he had to hear it.
"Well, I'm here to announce that King Mufasa is on his way." said Zazu, bowing. "So, you'd better have a good excuse for missing the ceremony this morning."
"As a matter of fact, I have a good excuse." thought Scar. "I don't consider Simba as future king, so I didn't pay homage to him by going to his presentation."
While Scar was distracted with his thoughts, the mouse ran away, and escaped through a small hole.
"Oh, look Zazu, you made me lose my lunch." said Scar, a little bit bored..
"Hah!" said Zazu. "You'll lose more than that when the king gets through with you. He's as mad as a hippo with a hernia."
"Oooh… I quiver with fear…"
At the word "fear" Scar began to crouch down and shows his teeth at Zazu. He thought: "Let's give this hornbill a little scare."
"No Scar…" said Zazu, very concerned… "Don't look at me that way… HELP!"
Zazu tried to fly and escape, but Scar quickly pounced the flying bird and caught him in his mouth, but immediately after he heard Mufasa's voice saying: "SCAR!"
"Mm-hmm?" asked Scar with his mouth full.
"Drop him!" said Mufasa sternly.
"Impeccable timing, your Majesty." said Zazu putting his beak outside Scar's mouth.
Scar spat Zazu out, covered with saliva. Then he turned to Mufasa, thinking: "What do you want now?"
But he only said, sarcastically overjoyed: "Why! If isn't my big brother descending from on high to mingle with the commoners."
"Sarabi and I didn't see you at the presentation of Simba." said Mufasa, going straight to the matter.
"And what were you waiting for? I won't go to the presentation of the one who I don't consider future king."
But he didn't dare to say that.
"It was today?" asked Scar, faking astonishment. "Oh, I feel simply awful."
It was true. Scar was feeling simply awful. The birth of the cub, Simba, had been the last thing that he could stand. Mufasa was always better than him. Mufasa stole him the right to be king, his father's attention, and the girl of his life, Sarabi. Now, the birth of the cub, Simba, was the last thing that he could stand. On that very moment, he promised to himself that this wouldn't stay like this.
Then Scar scrapped his claws in the rock wall. Zazu cringed at the sound.
"It must've slipped my mind." said Scar admiring his claws.
"Yes, well, as slippery as your mind is, as the king's brother you should have been first in line!" said Zazu, flying to look Scar in his eyes.
Scar clicked his teeth at Zazu, who hid behind Mufasa's left front paw. Scar lowered his head to look Zazu in the eyes, and said: "Well, I was first in line, until the little hairball was born."
"The little hairball is my son… and your future king!" said Mufasa, lowering his head to look Scar in the eyes.
"Ohh, I shall practise my curtsy." said Scar, turning his back to Mufasa and going away.
"Don't turn your back on me, Scar!" saof Mufasa in a warning tone.
"On, no, Mufasa!" said Scar. "Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me!"
"Indeed, you shouldn't turn your back on me." thought Scar. "If you hadn't turned your back of what I was feeling in the day when I got the scar, and hadn't worried only with you, things would have been different."
But Mufasa took his words completely wrongly. The brown-maned lion roared and jumped in front of his brother, and said, baring his teeth for the first time in the talk: "Is that a challenge?"
"Temper, temper." said Scar. "I wouldn't dream of challenging you."
That was true. As far as he hated to admit, Mufasa was bigger and stronger than him. If Scar tried to challenge him, it would be certain death. Because he wouldn't be weak to the point of asking for mercy.
"Pity!" said Zazu. "Why not?"
"Well, as far as brains go, I got the lion's share." said Scar, looking at Zazu. Then he looked to Mufasa, and said: "But when it comes to brute strength… I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool."
Then Scar went away calmly, but in his mind, he already made a promise. He will be king.
"Oh, there's one in every family, sire… Two in mine, actually…" said Zazu, perching on Mufasa's shoulder. "And they always manage to ruin special occasions."
"What am I going to do with him?" asked Mufasa, thinking if there is some way to make Scar to become the playful and nice Taka that he was during his cubhood.
In fact, he knew it was his entire fault. If he hadn't been so self-centered on the day when Taka became Scar, his younger brother would still be Taka. Now, his brother was Scar, and there was nothing he could do to change it. He couldn't come back to his decisions.
However, it seemed Zazu didn't understand the true meaning of his question.
"He'd make a very handsome throw rug." said Zazu.
"Zazu!" said Mufasa, smiling a little bit.
"And just think! Whenever he gets dirty, you could take him out and beat him!" said Zazu.
Mufasa chuckled, but, a moment later, he got sorry. Unfortunately, Mufasa could take Scar out and beat him without needing to turn him into a throw rug.
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Scar passed the whole day wandering in the savannah, alone. He couldn't hunt because this day was day of sacred peace. If he hunted, he would most certainly be exiled, maybe even killed. So, he could only wander around. Zira offered herself to give him company, but Scar speciffically said that he wanted to be alone.
So, he just walked around during the whole day, without a specific destiny. At the sunset, he returned to Pride Rock, where he got (like he already expected), many looks of disapproval for the fact of he having missed the presentation of Simba. The only ones who seemed to understand him were Sakia and Zira. Besides, Zira also had missed the ceremony, according to what Scar came to know.
Their relationship was not welcome in the pride. When Scar had brought Zira to the pride, a month after he got his scar, almost anyone welcomed her or him. Not even Mufasa. The only ones who welcomed them were his mother, his grandmother, Sakia, and Uzuri. Maybe also Mega... but not even one lion more welcomed them. As they grew up, Zira became Scar's best friend, and Scar retributed her in the same way.
Scar just ignored the disappointed looks of all the pridemembers for who he passed (Leo, Mufasa, Fani, Asmini, Penda and Safura, to be exact), and climbed to the top of Pride Rock.
He looked to the sunset, watching the Pride Lands getting slowly darker. He did that almost everyday. Scar could still remember when he saw the beautiful landscape for the first time. On that time, he was still Taka…
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"Look, Taka." said Mohatu. "Everything the light touches is our kingdom."
"Whow!" said Taka, completely amazed with the Pride Lands seen from the top of Pride Rock.
His life as a cub was good. Three weeks after his birth, he was presented to the herds, like any normal royal heir, eventhough Ahadi extremely disliked the idea. His father hated him, and the poor Taka couldn't understand why, but all the other members of the pride loved him, and Taka loved them. Taka loved his grandfather, his grandmother, his mother, and, mainly, his big brother Mufasa.
Taka and Mufasa always played together. They were the best friends of the world. Ahadi seemed to disapprove the big friendship between the two brothers, but he did nothing to tear it apart. However, he shown the hatred he had for Taka whenever he had an occasion to do it.
No one could really understand the reason why Ahadi hated Taka… except Mega, but Mega also didn't want to tell anything.
Ahadi had already decided that Mufasa would become the king, and so, whenever he wasn't playing with Taka or any of the other cubs of the pride, Ahadi taught him everything that was needed to be a king.
Uru, Laini, and Mohatu tried to tell him countless times that Taka should also be taught, because no one could know what the future would bring, but Ahadi always answered: "No, I won't teach him. If you want him to learn this, teach him you!"
Eventually, Uru and Laini accepted Ahadi's suggestion, and asked Mohatu to teach Taka. Mohatu accepted with pleasure.
And the first part of teaching Taka was to take him to see the Pride Lands from above. Just as he hoped, Taka was amazed with the sight.
"A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun." said Mohatu. "The sun already set on my time here, and it rised with your father, Ahadi, as new king. One day, the sun will also set on Ahadi's time here, and it will rise with Mufasa as the new king."
"So, Muffy is going to rule all of this?" asked Taka.
"Everything." said Mohatu.
But then, Taka noticed something. A shadowy place, close to one of the borders of the Pride Lands. What could that be?
"Grandpa, you said that everything the light touches is our kingdom, right?" asked Taka.
"Right." said Mohatu.
"But what about that shadowy place?" asked Taka, curiously.
"That's beyond our borders." said Mohatu. "You shall never go there."
"But I thought that, as princes, Muffy and I should know about everything that is surrounding our kingdom." said Taka, a little bit disappointed.
"You're just like your mother when she had your age." said Mohatu, smiling. "She also wanted to learn about everything. Come with me."
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"Everything you see exists together, in a delicate balance." said Mohatu later, when they were walking in the open savannah. "And we all need to understand that balance. We must respect all creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope."
"But grandpa, don't we eat the antelope?" asked Taka, confused.
"Yes, Taka. If you let me explain you'll understand."
"Sorry, grandpa." said Taka. "Keep explaining."
"When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eats the grass. And so, we're all connected in the great Circle of Life." concluded Mohatu slowly.
"Grandpa, I understand all of this, but I can't exactly see what's wrong with that place." said Taka.
"That place is dangerous." said Mohatu. "You can't go there."
"Alright…" said Taka, disappointed.
But then, he cheered up, and said: "Probably Muffy already finished his lessons with dad as well. I'll meet him on Pride Rock, and we'll play. See ya, Grandpa!"
And so, Taka ran to Pride Rock.
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Shortly after, Taka arrived at Pride Rock. There he met Mufasa, Sakia, and Jani, and they were all being bathed. Mufasa by Uru, Sakia by Uzuri, and Jani by Mimea.
"Hey Muffy, hey Jani, hey Sakia." said Taka when he arrived.
"Hey, Taka." said them all, each one at his or her speed.
"So, what's new today?" asked Sakia, while Uzuri bathed her.
"Hey, I just heard of a really cool place." whispered Taka to Sakia. "I invite you all to come with me."
"Well, Taka, like you can see, we really can't go anywhere." said Sakia. "We're all in middle of our bath."
"And it's time for yours." said Laini.
Laini, who seemed to come out of nowhere, easily grabbed Taka by the scruff, laid him on her paws, and started cleaning him.
"Grandma!" said Taka. "That tickles!"
Soon Laini finished cleaning her grandson, Taka jumped out of her paws, and asked to all the cubs: "Well then, which one of you wants to come with me?"
"Not me." said Sakia. "Uzuri will give me a hunting lesson."
Even though Sakia was quite young when Uzuri found her, she was old enough to remember that Uzuri wasn't her mother. However, she adressed the lioness by her name with as much respect as a daughter expressed to her mother.
"Or me." said Jani, climbing out of her mother's paws. "I will hunt my first prey alone today!"
"Really?" asked Mimea. "I can't wait to see it."
"So, Muffy, you're in?" asked Taka.
"Of course!" said Mufasa.
"Hold on a second!" said Uru sternly. "No one is going anywhere, at least without an adult for company. That hyena might be still around here, and who knows if it is only one."
Uru was talking about a hyena that had been seen on the Pride Lands… no… on the cave of Pride Rock, on the previous night. She was trying to steal some food from the last hunt of the pride. Surely a lone hyena couldn't take too much, but Ahadi woke up on the instant, and, after a really short fight, the hyena ran away with the piece of meat.
But Ahadi and Mohatu had decided that they couldn't allow themselves to let their prey unguarded. The same hyena, or more, could come back and take the food. For now, it was just one hyena, but more hyenas could return.
"Mom!" said Taka, disappointed. "It's only one hyena!"
"And Dad almost killed her!" added Mufasa. "She got so scared that she won't return to the Pride Lands even if she lives a hundred years!"
"Alright." said Uru. "Let's see… probably Zuzu already finished her morning round, so I'll call her, and, if she hasn't seen any hyena, you can go to play alone."
"It won't be necessary to call her, Uru." said Uzuri. "She's coming!"
That was right. Zuzu was coming, riding on Ahadi, and a younger and smaller hornbill was with her. Most of the lionesses and cubs smiled when they saw the king approaching, but Taka hid behind his mother.
"You don't need to hide!" growled Ahadi, in an angry voice. "I'm not going to eat you!"
But he said it with a voice that wasn't exactly showing that he meant it.
"Dad, why you are so angry at Taka?" asked Mufasa. "He did nothing wrong!"
"He did!" growled Ahadi again. "HE WAS BORN!"
"Here we go again…" thought Laini.
It was always like that. Always that Ahadi saw Taka, it was the same talking of Ahadi's hatred for his second son, a hatred with an unknown origin… unknown, except to Ahadi, and maybe also to Mega.
"Dad, what is the problem of Taka having been born?" asked Mufasa. "You were so enthusiasmed when mom was pregnant with him! But now you're angry at him. Why?"
"YOU'RE A CUB!" said Ahadi. "You're too young to understand."
"I'm not a cub, and I also don't understand!" said Uru to Ahadi in an angry voice.
"You stay out of this!" said Ahadi, baring his teeth to Uru.
"We're talking about our son! I don't stay out of this!" said Uru, also baring her teeth..
"But he almost killed you!" whispered Ahadi, so that only Uru could hear him.
"Those things happen…" whispered Uru back to Ahadi.
"Then why they had to happen with my mother, with Kimya, and with you?" thought Ahadi.
"What is going on here?" asked Mega, who was just coming.
"Dad, king Ahadi is angry at Taka… again." whispered Jani to her father's ear.
So, Mega turned to Ahadi, and said calmly: "Ahadi, come with me."
"I'm the one who gives orders around here!" said Ahadi, furious. "I'm the king!"
"I'm asking, not ordering." said Mega, in a calm voice.
Mega and Uru were the only members of the pride who could control Ahadi. Ahadi calmed down, and went to Mega. Zuzu and the little hornbill flew from Ahadi's shoulder to Uru's shoulder, while Ahadi and Mega went away.
"Is he gone?" asked the scared Taka.
"Yes, Taka, Dad is gone." said Mufasa, sad at his father's attitude.
"Oh, Muffy, why does he hate me? Why everyone hates me?" asked Taka, bursting in tears.
"No one hates you." said Mufasa, in a sad voice.
He wanted to say "Not even dad", because he was sure that Ahadi couldn't just hate his son, but Ahadi really seemed to hate him.
Mufasa hugged his little brother, trying to calm him down, but Taka kept crying, while he had a sad stare. No one seemed to have a good idea to cheer him up, but then, Mufasa made a big smile, and said to his brother, in a rather provoking tone: "Taka… I remembered a song…"
"Not now." said Taka, with sad voice.
"Come on…" said Mufasa, trying to cheer him up. "I bet you already know it! Please, Taka, don't make me to sing it alone."
/"It's a small world after all" song. The tone, melody and the lyrics are copyright to Disney.
The music begins. Mufasa hugs Taka friendly.
Mufasa: "Come on, Taka, sing with me! I'm sure you know this song!"
Taka (he seems to be getting happier, but not as much). "Oh… not really, Muffy. I…"
Mufasa: "Oh, Taka…Come on, sing with me. This song won't be cool if you don't sing with me."
Taka still seems depressed, but Mufasa begins singing. Camera focuses on the singing Mufasa, but still allows to see Taka behind him./
Mufasa:
It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes,
It's a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
/Camera changes it's position, in a way that we see Taka still a little bit depressed, but he seems happier. We can also see still Mufasa from behind./
Chorus: Mufasa
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small, world
/Camera changes to Taka, with a happier expression, joining to Mufasa. Mufasa, seeing this, pats his brother's head friendly. In the background is Uru, smiling warmly at both her cubs./
Mufasa and Taka:
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to everyone
Though the moutains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small world after all
/Camera temporarially changes to the small hornbill. Then, he flies to Taka and Mufasa, and joins the singing. We can see Uru and Laini watching this in the background./
Chorus: Mufasa, Taka, and the little hornbill
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small, world
/Laini also joins the singing. Camera focuses on the two lionesses, but we see Taka sitting between Uru's paws, and Mufasa sitting between Laini's paws./
Mufasa, Taka, Uru, and Laini:
It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes,
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world,
A small world after all!
/Song finishes. The two brothers hug each other friendly, while their mother and grandmother smile./
"Thanks for cheering me up, Mufasa." said Taka, smiling.
"That's what big brothers are for!" replied Mufasa, patting his brother's head friendly. "Now, I think we can go play… after hearing if Zuzu has seen any hyenas or not."
Uru asked to Zuzu: "Zuzu, have you seen any hyenas in your morning round?"
"No, ma'am." said Zuzu. "I've made a special round, with some help, and we didn't see any hyenas."
For the first time, Taka noticed the younger hornbill.
"Who is he, Zuzu?" asked Taka.
"This is my son, Zazu." said Zuzu.
Zazu bowed to Mufasa and Taka, and then to Uru.
"I'm teaching him out to be the king's majordomo." said Zuzu.
"Isn't he a little bit young?" asked Uru.
"Maybe so, but he said that he wanted to learn as soon as possible."
"Let's see…" said Zazu, clearing his throat. "His majesty, King Ahadi of Pride Rock, ruler of the Pride Lands… no, it's no good… HIS MAJESTY, KING AHADI OF PRIDE ROCK, RULER OF THE PRIDE LANDS… no, it's even worst, HIS MAJESTY, KING AHADI… AAAAGHHH!"
Taka had just pounced Zazu. Zazu got up, and said: "Now I'm all dirty... you little pest… AGGGGHHH!"
Mufasa also had pounced Zazu. Zazu got up again, and cleaned himself.
"Nice pounce, Muffy." said Taka.
"Yours wasn't bad as well." said Mufasa.
"Mom… a little help, please?" begged Zazu.
"It's another part of being the king's majordomo." said Zuzu, chuckling. "We befriend the lions… and let their cubs practice pouncing on us!"
"Like that!" said Sakia, pouncing on Zuzu.
Zuzu soon got up, but she was pounced by Jani.
"See, mom?" asked Jani. "I told you I would hunt my first prey today!
"Well done." said Mimea with approval in her voice.
Jani never managed to pounce on Zuzu before. She was too noisy and Zuzu noticed her.
Leaving Sakia and Jani to practice pouncing on Zuzu and Zazu, Taka and Mufasa ran to Uru, and asked: "Now, mom, can we go to play?"
"Yes." said Uru. "But don't go far! And be home before sunset!"
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"Taka, don't you think we're going a little bit far?" asked Mufasa. "Mom said for we not to go far."
"Well, now that we are far, I want to ask you this." said Taka in a misterious voice. "Did dad show you one shadowy place close to the border when he took you to the top of Pride Rock?"
"Yes…" said Mufasa, indifferent. "And he told me to never go there."
"And you… ever thought about going there?"
"No, I never…" began to say Mufasa, but then he realized.
Taka wanted to go with him to the shadowy place. Mufasa didn't yet know why, but Taka should be mad. It was too dangerous to go to such a place.
"Taka, it's too dangerous!" said Mufasa. "You heard what grandpa said."
"But, Muffy, if you will be king, shouldn't you learn about what is surrounding your future kingdom?"
"I should learn about what it's inside my kingdom." said Muffy. "What is outside my kingdom doesn't care."
"Then I'll go alone." said Taka, bored. "If you don't want to come, I'll go alone."
"Fine!" said Mufasa.
"Fine?" thought Mufasa a second later when he saw his little brother going away. "You must take care of him. He is your brother."
"But he is crazy!" shouted another voice "And if you disobey your father's order, he may punish you and forbid you of being king!"
"And so what?" thought the first voice again. "If Taka dies, surely you won't be king as well, because you allowed him to die! Besides, don't be selfish. Our brother's safety is what it cares, not kingship!"
All this thoughts ran in Mufasa's mind just during some seconds. Then, he ran to his brother.
"Taka, wait!" shouted Mufasa. "I'm coming with you!"
And so, Taka and Mufasa went together to the shadowy place.
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"It's kind of scary." said Taka, some time later, when they already were in the shadowy place.
The place quite surprised them. First they arrived to a zone with geysers and fumaroles, and the water inside the geysers looked green… maybe even poisonous. Occasionally the geysers launched steam with an extremely loud noise, and the cubs jumped with the scare, but soon the steam explosions became so frequent that they stopped being worried.
Then, they arrived to a sinister place, filled with skeletons… huge skeletons, so big that they should have been from elephants, or from hippopotamuses. They climbed a cliff covered in bones, to have a better view of that misterious place.
"It looks like a Graveyard." whispered Taka to Mufasa.
"It's the Elephant Graveyard." whispered Mufasa back. "I once heard mom talking with Miss Mimea about this place."
"If it is a Graveyard, then it must be a sacred place." said Taka. "Probably that's why we can't come here. Because it is a sacred place."
"Wait!" said Mufasa. "Can't you hear anything?"
Taka used his ears as hard as he could, looking for any sound… and in fact, Mufasa was true. He could hear something. Voices. Or, better to say, a single voice, coming from the other side of a bone pile.
"Let's see who is there." said Taka, curious.
"Taka!" said Mufasa. "Curiosity killed the cat. And we're cats. Quite big ones, but cats."
"Let's just see." said Taka. "Then we can go away."
Taka ended up convincing his big brother to go with him. They looked to the other side of the bone pile, and saw… a hyena! Better to say, the same hyena that had been seen in the previous night trying to steal food from the pride's cave. She still had the wounds made by Ahadi, and eventhough Taka and Mufasa weren't experienced in those things, they could see that they were seriously infected.
The hyena seemed to be speaking for no one…. no… she was singing! Singing… a lullaby… to three pups (probably her own pups)… and, eventhough they looked quite horrible in Taka's and Mufasa's eyes, they should seem absolutely adorable in the female hyena's eyes.
"Now that you have seen this, can we go away?" asked Mufasa, quite scared.
"Muffy, we should go talk with her." said Taka. "She seems to have some problem. Probably we should ask help to mom."
"No, please!" said an unknown voice. "They'll kill me if they know that I'm here!"
Taka and Mufasa turned around, and they saw that the hyena was right in front of them. They should have been speaking too loudly.
Mufasa recognized the hyena… it was the same who tried to ask for help to his father's pride… but ended up almost killed…
"What was her name exactly?" thought Mufasa. "Shenzi… no… Sharia! That is. These are her cubs. Probably the father is that Hivyo guy that dad killed."
"Please, don't tell to your pride that I am here!" begged the hyena again. "They will kill my babies!"
"If I were you, miss, I would be more worried about you." said Taka. "Sorry, but I don't think you'll last for long. You have a quite serious infection, and you also have lost too much blood."
"I know that!" snarled the hyena to Taka.
"Hey, don't touch my brother, or you'll have to fight me!" said Mufasa, jumping between the hyena and Taka.
"Calm down, Muffy." said Taka.
"My babies!" cried the hyena, with some tears running down her cheeks. "They won't survive."
It was the cruel truth. The triplets wouldn't survive. They were too young. Taka and Mufasa couldn't help but cry as well as they saw the sad fate that awaited the young pups. And nothing could be done to avoid that.
"Or could?" thought Taka. "We could try to feed the hyena pups. I, most likely. It's better if Mufasa doesn't, if he wants to be king he can't cooperate with hyenas.
"But hyenas are trashes of the Circle of Life!" shouted a voice inside Taka's head. "They're nothing more than that. Trash."
"Exactly the same thing that you are." shouted the first voice back. "Why do you think that your name is Taka? You can't just leave them to die."
"Uh… miss… what's your name?" asked Taka.
"Sharia." said Mufasa.
"I'm surprised to see that you still remember me, Mufasa." said Sharia.
"You know her?" asked Taka, intrigued.
"It's a long story, Taka." said Mufasa avoiding that talking theme.
"What are the names of the triplets?" asked Taka.
"The girl is Shenzi… the big boy is Banzai… the one with two round cuts in each ear and a merry smile is Ed." answered the female hyena. "But why?"
She couldn't really understand why the cub wanted to know the names of her pups.
"I…" said Taka, a little bit fearful. "I… will take care of your pups in the best way that I can."
"You what?" asked Sharia and Mufasa at the same time.
"You're crazy, Taka!" said Mufasa. "You're a cub! You can't take care of them. You don't know how to hunt!"
"But it's not fair to let them die!" said Taka to Mufasa.
"Thank you…" said Sharia, hugging Taka while crying, but this time crying tears of joy.
Shortly after, she released Taka. She lifted her head for some seconds, and then she spoke, in an even weaker voice.
"Take me to that cave." whispered Sharia, pointing on a cavern in slope of valley.
"Why?" asked Mufasa, slightly confused.
"I don't want my children to see me dying here." replied the hyena, in a slightly weaker voice. "Maybe don't even tell them about it. Tell them… that I had to on a long journey. To meet their father."
"Who is the father?" asked a curious Taka. "We could take them to him."
"His name is Hivyo." answered Sharia, before coughing blood. "He is dead as well."
"Oh… I'm sorry…" said Taka.
But he realised that, in a way, they wouldn't be lying to Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. Mufasa, however, didn't seem to want to do that favour to the hyena.
"I think it's useless." snorted the older brother.
"Come on, Muffy." whispered Taka. "That's not a big effort, and we can do it for her."
"Oh… alright." said Mufasa.
So, Mufasa and Taka went down the cliff, with Sharia in the middle of them, guiding the wounded hyena in cave's direction. But they never got there. In middle of the walk, Sharia tripped and fell down. Taka tried to lift her up, without much success, and then realized she was already dead.
"Great." said Mufasa, seemingly without feel any pity for the hyena. "It's the end of our service as a public transport."
"At least we're closer to the place where we could bury her." replied Taka, a little bit shocked with the heartless tone of his brother.
"Oh… alright." said Mufasa. "Let's use some bones to cover her. It's the best we can do. No one of us has enough strenght to drag her uphill to that cave."
And so, Taka and Mufasa used some bones to cover the dead hyena. In the end, when Sharia was already covered with bones, they were panting and covered in dust.
"Let's get out of here." said Mufasa.
"Yes." said Taka. "You will go home, I have to get food for them."
Taka pointed to the cliff where the three pups were.
"Well…" said Mufasa slowly. "Good luck, Taka."
And so, Mufasa left the Elephant Graveyard. Taka watched his brother leaving.
"I'll need it." thought Taka, before following Mufasa.
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Taka came back to the Elephant Graveyard, around an hour later, dragging a baby antelope hunted by himself. He never thought to have so much luck by finding an antelope, but luck wouldn't come twice surely. Probably, on the next day, he would have to think about another thing to feed the hyena pups.
But this problem would come on the next day. Now, he would only have to feed the three hyenas for one day.
He entered the cave, dragged the antelope, and stopped to rest. With the sound of his breathing, Shenzi woke up. She got surprised by see Taka and the antelope, and no sign of her mother.
"Wake up." said Shenzi to her brothers. "There's a lion cub here, with an antelope, and our mother is gone."
"Your mother… went away." said Taka. He would tell the pups what Sharia had asked him to tell, but he would have to do it in a slow way.
"Where?" asked Shenzi.
"The antelope… is for you." said Taka, trying to take the talking to another theme. "But leave me some."
"But where went our mother?" asked Banzai, chewing the antelope.
"On a long journey." said Taka. "On a dangerous one."
"She said the same about dad!" said Banzai. Shenzi imitated him. Ed, however, simply laughed, like if he was satisfied with Taka's explanation.
"She went to meet up with him." said Taka. "And she asked me to care take of you."
"Why you?" asked Shenzi. "You're hyena, not lion, and you're still a cub, like us."
"I'll manage to do it." said Taka.
"What's your name?" asked Banzai.
"Taka." said Taka.
"That means "trash", right?" asked Shenzi.
"Right." said Taka. He was already used to the shocked reaction of him having such a name, when he introduced himself.
"But why they call you that?" asked Banzai. "You're good. I mean, I bet no other lion would take care of hyenas."
"I promised to your mother that I would hunt for you until you were old enough to do it for your own." said Taka. "And now I'll do it."
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"I kept my promise." thought Scar, looking at the Pride Lands. "But now I wonder if I shouldn't have done it. Maybe so I would still be Taka."
Scar got up, and looked at the Pride Lands. So many things happened since the day when Scar watched those lands from above for the first time… and the only good thing he could recall was meeting Zira… a cub kicked out of her pride, at least according to her version.
"One day… when I'm king, I'll make her my queen, and then maybe I can ask her normally what exactly happened."
"Scar!" said one well-known voice.
Scar turned around, and saw Zira coming to him. And she seemed extremely happy. Scar couldn't help but smile at her.
"Why you are so happy?" asked Scar.
"You'll soon get to know!" replied Zira, even happier. "I… wasn't feeling well lately…"
Scar knew that. During the last week, Zira was always waking up indisposed. Scar was getting worried, but now it seemed it would be for a good cause. Could it be? Well, he would have to wait for Zira's words.
"So, I went to the crazy mandrill Rafiki, and he said that I'm pregnant! With your cub!"
"That's wonderful!" said Scar, hugging Zira.
Zira also hugged him.
"Now…" said Zira when Scar released her. "I want you to choose the name for the cub. A boy name, if it is a boy. I'm almost sure that will be a boy, so choose the name."
Scar thought for some seconds, and then said: "Kisasian. If it's a boy, his name will be Kisasian."
"Scar…" asked Zira, a little bit fearful. "You know that "Kisasian" comes from the word "revenge" in ancient language, right?"
"Right." said Scar, and his expression became more serious. "I name him that, because soon I will have my revenge…"
"I see…" said Zira. "Well, I'm on your side."
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During all that time, not too far from Pride Rock, on a small oasis, that had some trees, and a small cave. Timon and Pumbaa had settled, thinking that the oasis was the magic place "Hakuna Matata". Pumbaa made the beds, while Timon prepared the drinks. On that night, on Timon's new house, Pumbaa came out of the cave, where he made the beds, and Timon said, in a happy voice: "This is it, buddy-boy. Home sweet home! And I don't gotta share it with anybody!"
"Don't you get to feel, you know, lonely out here?" asked Pumbaa, thinking that is strange for someone not to want any company.
"Lonely? Try commitment free."
Then Timon tied up a hammock and lied down. "The elbow-to-elbow life reminds me a little too much of home. This place has everything. Cool refreshments…" Pumbaa handed him a massive bowl of slush. "…cosy little hammock, a lovely water feature – and it's all mine!"
Pumbaa realized that he's not being factored in Timon's list, but tried to handle it bravely. After all, he was brave enough to face two lions, he could also face the disapproval of a meerkat.
He said: "Well… it's really coming together, Timon, so, uh, so I guess I'll just be going."
Then Pumbaa walked off slowly. Timon lifted his head, and, in that moment, realized that he already thought of Pumbaa as being somewhat important to his life. After all, Pumbaa was the first creature to accept him how he was, without questioning him.
The meerkat said: "Wait a minute, now wait-wa-wait. There's no law that says you have to go. I mean, if you want…"
Pumbaa zipped back immediately. Finally, someone wanted his company! Pumba said, in a happy voice: "Ooh, great! I already make up two beds!"
The two walked inside the cave. Then Pumbaa showed two beds made of grass, one being much bigger than the other.
"One for you, and one for me." said Pumbaa.
Timon yawned luxuriantly, and then said:
"Ohh! Gee, this all construction work has me bushed. Think I'll turn in early."
Timon crawled over the smaller, Timon-sized bed, and made himself comfortable in the larger, Pumbaa-sized bed.
Pumbaa thought it was somewhat strange for a meerkat to want such a big bed, but he would pay that small price for having a friend. He circled around the small bed twice, and then he somehow managed to stuff himself into the small bed. One of his legs popped out sideways, but he got comfortable anyway. Then he said:
"Aaah… Good night!"
"Sleep tight." said Timon.
"Dream of bedbugs tonight!" said Pumbaa.
And so, Timon and Pumbaa already had their temporary new home, and each one had… not yet a friend, but at least someone to talk with.
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On that night, it began raining with a moderate intensity. The rain wasn't too heavy, but was quite heavy in the same, and some thunder was Most of the night animals tried to look for a shelter, while others had to keep their night-routine.
But, on the Tree of Life, someone was also busy. Rafiki, the wiseape, was making paintings on one of the branches of his tree. Since the day when he had settled in the Pride Lands, he chose that tree to stay, because it was believed by the pride to bee a sacred tree, which was there since extremely ancient times. And, to a sacred ape, a sacred tree!
And, one of the things that Rafiki made in his tree was paintings. Not ordinary paintings, made just for fun, but paintings of divination, that were made to guess the future of the kingdom… well, they couldn't guess the next years, but, since Rafiki became wiseape, it was anyway a ritual to paint the royal heirs. And today, Simba was being painted.
"Just a little bit more here…" muttered Rafiki while perfecting the painting. "And it will be over…"
Then, he put his thumb into another ink, and, putting a ceremonial crown on the head of the lion painting, he said happily: "Simba!"
Right after, he turned to another painting, and, using the same ink of the ceremonial crown, he made a circle around another painting. That painting was of the head of a warthog and a head of a meerkat above it, like if the painting was seeing the meerkat riding on the warthog, and only the meerkat's head could be seen above the warthog's head.
"Timon and Pumbaa." said Rafiki happily. "The un-inseparable duo."
After that, Rafiki finally went to sleep.
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Well... what did you think? I'm sorry that most of it is from the movie... but that will change in time, believe me. Now, please, review!