Author's notes: I'm very very sorry for the long delay in posting the new chapter, but I somehow managed to break my super-duper advanced PC that I recently spent a sickening amount of money on in a desperate attempt to get out of using 1990's computer technology. My pc is now repaired, but unfortunately it hampered my progress on the fic by a good 2 weeks, as you can imagine. Excuses, excuses. But here it is, at long last. In a desperate attempt to keep my audience interested and get this chapter online I may have rushed it a little. Bear with me, normal service will be resumed ASAP.

We begin this chapter with a flashback, for two reasons: (1) to explain a few inconsistencies and to throw some light on some areas of the TLK movies and (2) because I said so.

Anyway, once again, thank you al very much for your kind reviews. I've definitely become very fond of the story's consistent followers, as well as anyone else who has a read once in a while obviously. Please leave a review if you feel like putting the energy into one.

Here's the character list.

Simba – Adult male lion, King of the Pride Lands

Nala – Adult lioness, Queen of the Pride Lands, wife of Simba

Kiara – Adult lioness, Princess of the Pride Lands, hunting party leader

Kovu – Adult lion, Prince Regent of the Pride Lands, husband of Kiara

Vitani – Adult lioness, half-sister of Kovu

Amaryllis – Adult lioness, foster mother of Amabi, former loner, wanderer

Nadhari – Adult lioness, mother of Alyssa and Kelt

Sharhal – Adult lioness, a member of Kiara's hunting party

Aetti – Adult lioness, a member of Kiara's hunting party

Tumai – Adult male lion, competitive, aggressive, mocking

Juvi – Adult male lion, quiet, thoughtful young male

Salama – Adult male lion, old and wise but not as wise as he thinks, condescending

Lokanneoro – Adult male lion, Tenzer's father, veteran survivor, powerful

Maradi – Adult male lion, attractive and pleased with his appearance

Haya – Adult male lion, young, curious about the world

Tenzer – Half grown male lion, loner, quiet character but gentle with cubs

Ryana – Half-grown lioness, talkative and besotted with Tenzer

Amabi – Male lion cub, adopted son of Amaryllis, cheeky, inquisitive cub

Alyssa – Lioness cub, daughter of Nadhari, more reserved and careful cub

Kelt – Male lion cub, son of Nadhari, slightly insecure cub

Zazu – Adult hornbill, Simba's majordomo

Timon – Adult meerkat, Simba's friend

Pumbaa – Adult warthog, Simba's friend

Rafiki – Adult baboon- Simba's friend, shaman and advisor

Shenzi – Adult female hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan

Banzai – Adult male hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan

Ed – Adult male hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan

Ridikill – Adult male hyena, hunting pack leader, extremely aggressive and antisocial

Burudi – Adult male hyena, scarred face, Ridikill's 'lieutenant', less vicious, member of Ridikill's pack

Groco – Adult male hyena, weakling, low-ranking scout trying to improve his social standing, member of Ridikill's pack

Agiza – Adult female hyena, hunting pack leader, one of Shenzi's favoured, high-ranking

Sarkil – Adult female hyena, sarcastic huntress, member of Ridikill's hunting pack

Kapungu – Adult male hyena, fearsome hunter with a lust for blood, member of Ridikill's pack

Babaka – Adult male hyena, always hungry, member of Ridikill's pack

Shungi – Adult female hyena, rookie leader of small hunting pack

Cauron – Adult female hyena, currently heavily pregnant

Mali – Adult male leopard

Mamacala – Adult male crocodile

Kachero – Adult male rock python

Oocheva – Adult male plover bird

Zira had been half-dead when the hyenas found her. She was lying in a puddle of stagnant water at the end of a gorge. Shattered driftwood lay about her and much of her body was crushed. Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and about half a dozen other hyenas had been on their way back to the Elephant Graveyard from an expedition to recruit more members to the clan they were struggling to rebuild when they spotted her.

As Shenzi approached she could see Zira was not going to survive. Her wounds were not immediately fatal but she would never walk again. Her eyes were filled with painful hatred, her lips were curled back to show her teeth and her breathing came in laboured gasps.

"Zira", Shenzi said as they neared the lioness.

Zira finally noticed them and looked up to see the hyenas staring at her. She spat in disgust and growled even though the act sent spasms of pain crashing through her destroyed body. Zira had hated the necessity of the hyenas in Scar's plans. She viewed them with more contempt than Scar and even the other lionesses did, but she was willing to stoop very low to stay in power.

Like the other lionesses the first Zira had known of Scar's plans was when one hundred hyenas poured into Pride Rock. She had approached Scar soon after, who until then had just been the jealous little brother of Mufasa to her. Scar had seemingly recognized in her a twisted spirit like his own and he had told her everything that had lead to his crowning, including the murder of his brother.

At first Zira had been disgusted and said she was going to tell the other lionesses. Scar had assured her she wouldn't. And sure enough she found herself admiring the cunning of Scar and his sublime methods. She had fallen in love with him and sired two of his cubs, but when that had produced only a weakling deficient male called Nuka and a more powerful but still female Vitani, Scar had suggested that Zira find herself someone else to father her a more powerful cub that Scar would adopt as his heir. Hence Kovu.

But throughout Scar and Zira's warped romance Zira had never been able to tolerate the hyenas with grace. She could see the need for them in Scar's plan but that didn't stop her regretting every minute she spent in the company of them. She held particular hatred for Scar's main henchmen, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. She failed to see why exactly they had become so powerful, lording over even her, for Scar had insisted that their affair should be kept somewhat discreet and refused to openly make Zira his Queen.

"You", Zira hissed with venom as the hyenas looked over her, crushed and helpless, "What do you want?"

"And hello to you too", Banzai grinned, "You're looking well".

The hyenas laughed and Zira snarled in impotent fury. There was nothing she could do to stop the taunts of the hyenas.

"What happened?" Shenzi asked, looking at the driftwood and the shattered logs.

"That doesn't concern you, you hyena harlot!" the lioness howled, "But to cut a long story short let's just say I was trying to do something that you should have done yourselves years ago: avenge Scar's murder".

The hyenas looked at her. She glared back defiantly.

"Uh…who do you think killed Scar, honey?" Shenzi asked.

"That wicked brute Simba! Don't play dumb with me, you witch-sister of jackals! You had the luxury of being there at his final glorious stand while I…I was too loyal to him for my own good and was off hunting. For him."

Shenzi sighed. During Scar's reign over the Pride Lands she had been well aware of what exactly the relationship between Zira and Scar had been well before the cub Nuka had been born and it had become common knowledge. She had despised the distorted lioness as an egotistical eccentric, similar to Scar but without anything worthy of Shenzi's respect, which was something Scar's scheming and housing of the hyenas had won.

"Well, I suppose you could say Simba killed Scar", Banzai was saying, cutting short Shenzi's reminiscing, "But not technically. See, I'm sure Simba would have let him live if it weren't for one little problem".

"What are you talking about?" Zira gasped between clenched teeth as her crushed rear legs screamed with pain.

"That's right Banzai", Shenzi nodded, "See, Scar somewhat offended us. We saw him die because we killed him".

Zira's eyes widened and her jaw hung open. With horror she realized she had been trying to kill the wrong enemy for the last few years. All along the hyenas had been…

"Yeah, you see, we're what you'd call…hmm…what did Scar call us?" Banzai wondered, "Oh yeah! We're the real enemy".

"Oh yeah, that was it honey", Shenzi stepped towards Zira, "We're the enemy. Sorry you heard it a bit late sugar. You must be upset you had it wrong the whole time".

"But…but…no…" Zira whispered to herself. Her hatred of Simba had totally consumed her and her entire pride. She had become utterly obsessed with the image of Simba looming over Scar's noble corpse, his muzzle stained with the older lion's lifeblood. But Simba had merely defeated him. Zira had wanted to exact her revenge on Scar's murderers as much as she had wanted to exact revenge on Simba for being exiled.

Haunted eyes of stricken pain and powerless hatred stared up at the approaching hyenas. She was too wracked with physical and emotional pain to move her body. She just stared open-mouthed at the hyenas.

"You…you…killed…him….my love…my beautiful Scar…" she managed to wheeze.

"Yup", Banzai said cheerfully, "Tell you what; if you wanna know exactly what happened to him, we can stage a little reconstruction for ya. Whatcha think, Shenz?"

Shenzi nodded, "Sounds good to me".

The pair turned to look at their comrade who was staring at Zira blankly, and they said in unison, "Ed?"

Ed chuckled quietly and licked his lips.

The hyenas cackled and closed in. Zira could only watch helplessly as they leapt on her and tore her apart.

Shenzi woke with a start. She'd been dreaming, but it wasn't a typical dream. Most dreams seemed to just be made up of nonsense, but her final meeting with Zira…that had actually happened, several years ago while she'd been trying to gather together remnants of the clan. She wondered why she'd dreamed of that. Strange. It made her uneasy. It wasn't exactly her finest moment.

She looked around. It was night, or actually very early morning, judging by the shade of the sky. Dozens of clan members lolled around nearby, with more sleeping soundly. She could see Banzai and Ed sleeping next to each other nearby. She smiled: they looked far more peaceful than they ever did when they were awake. A sudden urge to lie down with them rose within her: it was something they hadn't done since they were cubs. She shrugged and walked over.

As she did something rustled in the acacia trees above her, passing swiftly from one tree to the next. She couldn't see clearly, but it was probably baboons. What would baboons be doing so close to a clan of flesh-eating hyenas? Morons. That was asking for trouble.

She stepped up towards Banzai and Ed, then paused. What was she doing? It wouldn't do for the leader of the clan to be seen cuddling with her two cronies. It wasn't good for her image as a ruthless leader. She turned and trotted over to beneath a different tree, on her own. She curled up beneath it; it was cold at night even during the dry season and she shivered a little.

Shenzi tried to block out the thoughts whirling around her mind: her dream, her responsibility to the clan as their leader, her treaty with Simba and the lions, Ridikill's threat to her leadership, and most of all, the weird incident with Banzai earlier in the day.

But what was weirder than the cub-like behaviour they'd engaged in was Ed's reaction to it. He had smirked at them, and as Shenzi had followed him, demanding to know what he found funny, he'd said something odd.

"Why exactly do you find this so damn funny?" Shenzi had snarled.

"Because you love him", was all Ed had said when out of Banzai's earshot, taking Shenzi by surprise.

Ed rarely talked. He'd never explained why. In fact until the other day most of the clan had thought he was mute. But he could talk, and when he did on those rare occasions that he felt strongly enough about something to voice his opinion, usually in front of only Shenzi and Banzai, he seemed pretty smart. Sooner or later though he'd revert to the drooling lunatic everyone thought he was.

Shenzi had her own theory about Ed. She figured Ed could be clever when he needed to be, but in order to do that he needed to spend most of his time gathering his mental power. When he needed to he'd release this energy all at once for a short burst, then to conserve energy he'd return to normal and let her and Banzai do the thinking for them.

At last that was her opinion. Ed wasn't right in the head, that much was obvious. For one thing, what the hell had he meant by implying Shenzi loved Banzai? What was that little freak talking about?

After all, Shenzi and Banzai had known each other since they were cubs, and there had never once during their companionship been the hint of anything resembling romance. At least not as far as Shenzi had noticed.

They were friends. Shenzi could never see Banzai in any other light after so many years. Anyway, why would there be such a recent change in their relationship now, of all times…

Her train of thought was interrupted. Something crushed the wind out of her, and she nearly blacked out. Before she could recover or understand what was happening something tore into her, slashing and rending her flesh and spilling her blood into the soil.

Vitani lunged and tackled her prey, driving her claws into the zebra's rump and flinging herself onto the creature's back. The herbivore plunged on ahead through the night, foaming at the mouth and its tiny red eyes open wide. It didn't slow down as Vitani struggled to use her weight to yank it to the floor.

The zebra mare bucked suddenly and Vitani nearly fell. If she had fallen she would have been at risk from a kick from one of those sharp and strong hooves. She hung on grimly to the zebra and waited for reinforcements.

Two other lionesses bolted out of the dark suddenly and leapt at the herbivore. The zebra was caught off-balance and toppled over, hooting loudly and kicking. Vitani and one lioness did their best to hold it down while the other lioness sank her canines into the throat, slicing the arteries. Within a moment the powerful creature had stopped struggling and the lionesses relaxed their hold. The rest of the hunting pack bounded up and surveyed their kill.

"Successful", Sharhal said.

"Just", Vitani growled in good-humour, "Where was the backup? I nearly had the living snot kicked out of me".

"Come on, we'd better get something else if we're going to keep the pride happy", Amaryllis said.

"No, we'll call it quits for today", Vitani said, "We'll cope on this for the day, then go hunting again tomorrow night. Everyone okay with that?"

Everyone nodded: nobody was eager to stay out for longer than necessary at night with the hyenas around. Three lionesses gripped the zebra in their teeth and began to drag it home.

As they headed back Amaryllis noticed something in the corner of her eye. It was a huge python sitting on top of a ruined old termite mound. It seemed to be looking directly at them, and what's more it turned its head to keep them in its field of vision, which she thought was unusual. Snakes tended not to take much notice of anything that wasn't either predator or prey, and since the lionesses were not big enough or small enough to be either, it struck Amaryllis as odd.

"Hey Vitani", she whispered, "Don't look, but there's this big python curled up around that old termite mound there. You see him?"

Vitani subtly angled her head to catch a glimpse of the great snake without looking directly, " Yeah. So?"

"Well, I know it sounds weird but I swear that that python is…watching us. It's looking right at us and watching where we go. What could it be after?"

Vitani snorted, "Come on Amaryllis, you're jumping at shadows. Snakes aren't usually out in the cold of the night. It's probably just an old one whose lost and confused, trying to figure out where he is. What harm could he do? Reptiles might be a bit creepy, Amy, but they're basically harmless".

Shenzi struggled for air as…something savaged her. She didn't have a clue what was happening. One moment she had been lying still beneath a tree and now she was being torn to pieces by a mysterious assailant.

She was being constantly buffeted around, and if she tried to rise up, she was struck down again with a crack to the side of her head or her flank. The only time Shenzi had ever experienced anything like it was when she was a cub and had gotten caught in the wet season's first onslaught of torrential rain. She had been playing alone in a dried-up riverbed but frighteningly quickly it had filled up with brown froth and before she knew what was going on she was washed down the newly reformed stream, struggling in the currents and trying to keep her head above the surface to breathe. Luckily she had managed to catch herself on a rock and scramble out before the stream joined the main river, but the experience had badly frightened her.

Now she felt it all over again. She felt like she was drowning. Every time she tried to get some breathing space the mysterious force was all over her, striking her back down and rolling her around like she was a songbird caught in a storm. She couldn't even tell what side she was lying on.

But Shenzi was tough and in no mood to die today. She realized she needed to figure out what was going on - and quickly if she was going to survive, so she forced her cut eyelids open and saw a whirlwind of movement on top of her. She managed to look down and see her belly. So she was lying on her back and the attacker was tearing into her underside.

Now that she had a rough idea of what was going on, her amazingly calm mind told her what to do. She writhed around and tried to sink her teeth into part of her assailant. All she got in return for her efforts was a blow to the head. Then she felt a deep pressure on her throat, and realized it was the paw or claw of her enemy pressing down on her neck to hold her still. There was a blast of hot breath on her neck and she realized that it was going for a throat bite to end her.

The surprise attack and the rapid loss of blood would have left most hyenas too weak and shocked to resist the final death blow her foe had planned for her, but Shenzi wasn't 'most hyenas'. With the angry realization that she didn't want to die like this, she swung her neck up and opened her jaws wide and bit down.

There was an almighty crunch followed by a howl of pain. Shenzi tasted fur, blood and flesh. Her teeth scraped against bone. Still she hung on, biting deeper and shaking her neck to widen the wound she had inflicted.

Suddenly the enemy wrenched free violently. Shenzi rolled to her feet at a speed she had no idea she could achieve, snarling defiantly. She couldn't see very well and prepared herself for another attack. It never came.

Instead she heard Banzai's voice, "Oh my God, Shenz, are you okay?!"

"Huh?" she said thickly: she felt blood dripping from what felt like a hundred thousand wounds all over her body. Hot drops of crimson fell on her snout from her blood-matted topknot. Her eyes seemed covered by a red veil of burst blood vessels. Even her tongue seemed to be bleeding.

She could hear well though, and heard outraged shouting and shrieks of disbelief and panic. Again, she had no idea what was going on. Where was her attacker?

She had no idea how long she stood there on shaky legs, dripping blood and staring ahead with unseeing eyes. But gradually the red haze in front of her eyes began to fade. She moved her head to look around, her body screaming with pain. Suddenly she saw who had attacked her.

Lying on its back in amongst a crowd of angry hyena onlookers was a large leopard. It was gasping and wheezing, and blood stained its white chest. When Shenzi had bit back, she had snapped the creature's collar bone. At least now she understood why she was bleeding so profusely and how the leopard had managed to get the drop on her so easily. Leopards, unlike lions, attacked not only with their jaws and forepaws, but also their hind legs, tearing and slashing their enemies with a fury the much larger lions could not hope to match. Also, leopards were masters of the treetops and expert stalkers: the leopard had leapt down on top of her from the very tree she was sitting under.

Banzai and Ed suddenly reared up in front of her, looking horrified, "Shenz, don't move! We'll help you! Take it easy!" Banzai yelped.

"No, wait" she managed to say as she tottered towards the leopard, and looked down on it, "Who are you and why did you try to kill me?"

The leopard panted and gurgled, but it still somehow managed to maintain a smug smile of assured superiority, "My name is Mali", it practically purred.

Mali looked up at the assembled hyenas. They had woken up quickly and charged to their leader's rescue once they had heard his howl of pain. Now they looked on with the distress of deeply confused, troubled and angered beings. That pleased him, at least. It was a small grain of comfort to take with him as he died.

"And I wanted to kill you because…" suddenly a spasm of pain shot through him and he coughed violently, but he continued, "Because you're the leader of this collection of ill-bred thugs, aren't you? You're the one responsible for the hyena presence in the Pride Lands. I had to end it. I had to end your invasion, you filth-ridden…"

"You're living on borrowed time", Shenzi said slowly, "I'd hurry up and say your last words if I were you".

"Fine. Simba failed me. I thought he was a strong leader. I was sure he'd stand up to the likes of you…but no. He failed. So I felt it was up to me to rid the Pride Lands of you".

"That's it? Just 'cos you hate us?" Shenzi stared.

"You'll never understand just how deeply I hate your kind", Mali hissed between his teeth, "Murderers, pillagers, thieves, monsters, remorseless villains…you needed to be taught a lesson. I tried…"

"But realize this, hyenas! You will never be welcome in the Pride Lands! Not so long as one being has the strength of will and the sense to resist you! You'll never be at peace within the hallowed Pride Lands, I promise you that!"

The hyenas had heard enough. They closed in at a sign from Banzai, opening their jaws and baring their teeth.

Mali watched them loom over him. It should have been so simple. All he had to do was leap down on that accursed leader, snuff the life out of her repulsive body, and leap back into the trees and retreat. It would have crippled the hyena invasion. It had all failed because of a silly mistake on his behalf: he had underestimated the hyena leader.

And now it had cost him his life. But if that was going to be his end, so be it. He had given his life to a cause he knew was right. He was a hero, a martyr. A fitting end for Mali the leopard, noble of the Pride Lands.

The hyenas tore him open and abruptly crushed the life out of his handsome body and left him broken on the floor.

Shenzi was quivering and she was struggling to stay on her feet. Banzai and Ed surveyed her wounds with horror.

"How bad am I, guys?" Shenzi asked.

"Um…bad" Banzai said dumbly.

"Like…life-threatening bad or what?" she replied thickly.

"I don't know!" Banzai's voice sounded strained, "Listen, just lie down. We'll get you something to eat and drink. You take it easy".

Immediately Shenzi flopped down on the floor and passed out. She was dimly aware of alarmed shrieking and shouting as she collapsed.

Ridikill stared at the pond. It was as flat as the Pride Land horizon. There was no whisper of wind to ripple the surface. A dragonfly landed on the surface, causing ripples that grew to circles that didn't cease until they broke on the banks.

Several days of relative peace had passed in the Pride Lands since the attack on Shenzi. The hyenas continued to hunt at night, as did the lions, but somehow the two had managed to completely avoid each other at all times, so there was no conflict.

In the hyena clan there was a great deal of uproar and horror at the attempt on Shenzi's life. Shenzi herself now spent all her time in an abandoned aardvark burrow, visited by only Ed and Banzai, who brought her food. On two occasions they convinced her to hobble outside and walk down to the waterhole with them to drink. Ridikill had seen her on one of those occasions. She had seemed feverish and dopey, not really aware of what was going on around her.

Ridikill would normally have relished something that left Shenzi so vulnerable, but he had been in an odd mood for the last few days and the concerns of the clan really weren't on his mind.

He had come back to this little pond, where he had met the lioness Amaryllis three times before, every day now since their last chance meeting. Without an explanation to his fellow pack members, he marched off in the morning and remained there until early evening. Occasionally he'd wander off a little, but sooner or later he'd come trotting back, wondering if anything had happened in his absence.

He was waiting to see if Amaryllis would show up, of course. He had managed to admit that to himself by now. It was important that he learned more about her. Yes, it had to be done. For his own good.

Ridikill licked his chops impatiently and scratched behind his ear with his hind leg. He had spent the last few days thinking exclusively about what both Mamacala and Amaryllis had said to him, and what it meant.

It was beginning to look obsessive, returning to the same spot day after day and waiting for hours and hours in silence for somebody who wasn't going to show up, someone he was supposed to hate. But Ridikill preferred to think of himself as 'determined'.

With his foul temper he was of course furious that his vigil so far had gone unrewarded. He blamed Amaryllis, naturally. Where the hell was she? Why hadn't she come back? How dare she keep him waiting like this? He spat and cursed quietly.

The hours rolled by. It was mid-afternoon. It wasn't long before Ridikill had fallen asleep, curled up underneath the rushes. He woke with a start when a stork took to the wing, squawking in alarm. He stared ahead groggily, eyes only half-open. He hated falling asleep unplanned. His vision focused a little and he saw Amaryllis on the opposite bank.

He was unable to avoid his reaction. He leapt to his feet, suddenly wide awake. His ears were pricked up and his tail wagged back and forth like he was a carefree cub greeting a playmate.

The bemused Amaryllis stared at him, one eyebrow raised, "If I didn't know better I'd swear you were happy to see me".

Ridikill regained himself and suddenly felt acutely embarrassed. To cover it up he instantly scowled and snarled aggressively.

Amaryllis blinked, "Nice to see you too. Mind if I chill here a while?"

"What are you doing here, lioness?" Ridikill snapped, trying to rebuild his cover of ferocity.

"Oh, I just wanted to get away from Pride Rock for a while. It's not easy raising a cub in these troubled times, you know. It's hectic back at Pride Rock right now. What about you? Why are you here?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was just passing through and stopped to drink", Ridikill replied.

"Riiiight. That's why you were fast asleep in the shade?"

"Silence!" Ridikill roared, annoyed with himself for making such a silly blunder.

Amaryllis laughed, "You haven't been waiting for me to show up, have you Ridikill?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"If I had known you were looking forward to seeing me I'd have come before".

"I was not waiting for you!" Ridikill spat; he couldn't remember the last time he felt so foolish.

"Whatever you say", Amaryllis smiled and leaned forward to lap up a few drops from the pond. Ridikill watched silently.

"So how are you then?" the lioness said when she raised her head.

"You should know by now I'm not one for small talk", Ridikill snorted.

"Puh-lease", Amaryllis cocked one eyebrow, "We went over this last time. I thought we'd made some progress. There's no need to be so defensive all the damn time".

Ridikill, in truth, did want to talk, but wasn't about to admit it, "Whatever you say, lioness. If you must know, I'm fine. Enjoying the easy life in the Pride Lands".

"Yeah, I have to say, there's not really been any conflict between our species yet, has there?" Amaryllis sat down and adopted a more casual, less mocking tone.

"No, which of course I find incredibly disappointing".

"But of course. So anything of interest going on in your clan?"

Ridikill paused. Why was she interested in that? Was Mamacala right? Was she just a spy after all?

"Why do you ask?" he said suspiciously.

"Just making conversation", Amaryllis replied, "But if you not up for discussing that I guess that's fair enough. We are technically two hostile tribes and all".

That seemed convincing enough for Ridikill. After all, Amaryllis had never questioned him about the clan before, and if she was a spy he doubted she would be so willing to drop the subject. No, his hunch was right: she was no spy.

"No, if you're interested I can tell you a thing or two", the hyena said, "For a start, the other day our clan leader was attacked by a leopard. We killed it but she was hurt. Also…actually, I guess that's about all that's happened lately. Of interest anyway."

Amaryllis was staring, "She's injured? That's awful. Is she hurt bad?"

"I don't know", Ridikill grunted irritably, "Yeah, I guess so. Dunno if she'll make it or not".

Amaryllis looked horrified, "Oh, I hope she gets better".

"Why? What do you care?"

"I don't wish death on anybody".

"Fine words for a predator", Ridikill sneered.

"I suppose you're pleased with her injury then?" Amaryllis looked annoyed, "Means you can try to replace her and all that".

"Absolutely", Ridikill lied: the thought hadn't crossed his mind, so consumed with both her and Mamacala's words he had been, "Soon I'll be calling all the shots. And then you lions will know the true meaning of terror!"

"You can try and play the tough guy all you like, but I know you're not as bad as you like others to think", Amaryllis replied.

"Once again you dare to assume something so absurd about me! I'm the fiercest hyena this side of the Sahara!"

Amaryllis just shrugged: she wasn't about to encourage the hyena embark on another ego trip, "I'll take your word for it".

Ridikill grunted and slumped down in the dirt, subdued, disappointed that he hadn't been challenged.

They sat in silence for a while. Although neither was about to admit it, they both quietly enjoyed one another's company. But at last the silence was broken by Ridikill.

"How's your son?" he barked suddenly.

Amaryllis looked up, "My son? He's fine. His name's Amabi, by the way".

Ridikill gave no indication that he cared but he also gave no indication that he was annoyed: Amaryllis knew by now that was usually the best reaction she could expect.

"What was he doing that night, him and his little friends, all alone out there in the Pride Lands? Kinda dangerous", the hyena wondered.

Amaryllis thought back to that fateful night, "Well, actually it was because he wanted to watch me and the other lionesses hunt, but later he admitted it was also because he wanted the excitement of 'seeing a real hyena'", Amaryllis laughed gently, "He thinks they're kinda cool, or at least he did until you guys chased him up that tree".

Ridikill managed a small smile, "Hahaha, I like that kid's style".

Amaryllis bit her lip and paused, holding back, but then decided to try her luck; "He'd love to meet you".

The hyena twitched, "What?"

"Amabi. He'd think it was the coolest thing if he could meet a real hyena up close".

"He must have seen us pretty close last time", Ridikill snorted.

"Yeah but…without you trying to eat him. It'd make his day".

Ridikill didn't say anything.

"Well? What do you think?" Amaryllis pushed.

The hyena stared at her, "Wow, you're serious aren't you?"

"Darn right I am".

Ridikill's face wrinkled in disgust, "What makes you think I would want to spend any more time than I have to in your company, let alone your repulsive son's?"

"Oh come on Ridikill. Quit pretending you hate me. You must at least be… slightly fond of me, if you were waiting for me to show up at this place".

"I was not waiting for you to show up!" Ridikill roared, but he looked flustered.

"Suuure you weren't", she winked, "You just keep telling yourself that".

"Silence, desert cat!"

"Will you chill out? Come on, why don't you meet Amabi sometime?"

"Why do you even want me to?"

"Well…" Amaryllis hesitated. She actually had many reasons. But she simply said, "I like to give my son a broad look at the world, to meet as many different people as he can. It'd be good for him to meet one of your kind, and he'd enjoy it. He needs some fun since he and all the other cubs are basically confined to Pride Rock these days".

What she didn't mention was that it would help her get to know the strange hyena better, and it would give the anti-social creature a chance to make more friends for himself. Also, if it went well, it would prove to at least some of the pride that the hyenas really weren't as bad as they thought.

"And besides", she knitted her brow, "You owe Amabi. You tried to eat him. If you consider my friendship worthwhile, and we both know you do, then you'll do me this favour and we'll call it even. How's that sound?"

Ridikill said nothing at first. Then at last he nodded slowly.

"Alright, fine. I'll meet with your stupid little son, if it'll shut you up".

Amaryllis stood up, leaned over the pond and ruffled Ridikill's mane in a patronizing fashion, "See? I knew you had a nice side".

Ridikill came back with some angry remark, but python had heard enough. It crawled away from its hiding place in the reeds and slipped away, unnoticed by the two would-be-friends, heading towards the river to meet with its Master, Mamacala.