Here's a fic for any of you who are interested in such things. And it's going to be about Simba! Yeah, my first fic starring Simba. Kinda strange for me, I know. But you can't not love Simba.
Also, if anybody thinks they have a good idea for a tlk fanfic, be sure to PM the idea, and if I like it, I'll put it on my 'to do' list, and eventually, I'll write it! And if you're just a guest, leave a review on any one of my stories with the idea.
Anyways, be sure to leave a review! And enjoy the fic.
And also, FORGIVE ME FOR THE CRAPPINESS OF THIS CHAPTER, JUST BEAR WITH ME, ALL RIGHT? I TRIED AND I RE WROTE THE LAST PART OF THIS CHAPTER A BAZZILION TIMES AND ITS STILL JUST…. NOT QUITE RIGHT. JUST BEAR WITH ME!
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Simba's POV
"Come on Simba!"
Simba trotted after Taka to begin their normal daily routine. For the past couple months nearly every day had gone very much the same, but so far the repetition had proved to be about the best thing that had happened to Taka. It was sturdy, reliable, and best of all, included tons of playtime.
Right now, they were going to see the hyenas.
Simba had clamped in his jaws a slab of meat Uru had given them for breakfast. They had each taken their share, but the trio was a lot more eager to eat than they were. So they took half portions and saved the rest for Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. Every day they gave the hyenas something to eat, and every day, once they had finished, they came up with some new scheme to busy themselves with.
Taka and Shenzi were usually the masterminds of the day's plan. Taka had been thinking a lot more lately, and had proved adept at solving puzzles. He could look at some items and come up with something to do with them, like building a pyramid or using them to race rocks down a hill. Simba and Banzai tended to be the brute force necessary to execute their plans, and Ed was the…. er…. comic relief.
"I am coming!" Replied Simba, setting down the food for just a moment to reply.
"Not very quickly."
"You try lugging this thing around, see how fast you go." He retorted.
"No, I'm good."
"Wimp." He muttered, but his tone lacked malice. Taka was weaker than him anyways, it made more sense that he, the stronger one, carry it.
"Just come on." Said Taka, as he turned around and continued trotting across the last parts of the Pridelands, almost to the Graveyard. Simba picked the giant slab back up, and kept walking.
They slid down the ridge that officially marked the border, and looked around.
"Shenzi?" Called Taka, as his gaze scanned the dried bones.
"Ah! Yes, Taka, come here!" She called, her voice coming from over behind a large group of skulls. "I need some…. er….help!"
"No she doesn't!" Shouted Banzai suddenly, his voice coming from the same spot. Ed's giggling suddenly filed the air. Looking at eachother with amusement, Simba and Taka padded over the hill and looked over at the pile of bones.
Shenzi was lying on the ground belly down, with Banzai next to her, his paws on her
pushing down on her head and back. Ed was next to them, drooling and giggling as he normally did.
"Let me up you fat galoot!" Cursed Shenzi, her hind legs struggling in the dust to get out of Banzai's pin.
"Not until you admit I'm stronger than you!" He replied gleefully, his muscles rippling as he pushed Shenzi into the ground.
"Hey Shenzi…. did Banzai….. beat you?" Asked Taka, almost in disbelief. Simba nodded, Banzai had never beat Shenzi before, despite his greater strength. Shenzi was simply too smart to let pure strength one-up her.
"What does it look like? Of course he beat me! He got… lucky." She snarled, giving him the evil eye.
"I beat her! And I'm not letting her up until she admits I'm stronger than her." He said, snickering.
"I'll admit that when hell freezes over, and we all start skating over lava!"
"Oooh, don't make promises! You might have to keep them!" Chuckled Banzai.
"It's a hyperbole! Not get off me!"
"No."
"So, is this what you needed our help for?" Asked Simba, grinning.
"Yes! Get him off me!"
"Gosh, I don't know Shenzi….. I think we can let Banzai have his moment, right Simba?" Asked Taka, snickering.
"Yeah, I think every hyena has his day. And today is Banzai's." Added Simba.
"Double crossers!" Swore Shenzi, gritting her teeth.
"Say it!" Said Banzai, in a sing songy voice.
"No."
"Saaaay it."
"No!"
"Saaaaaaay it!"
"HeyBanzailookanantelope!" Shouted Taka, pointing behind them. Banzai immediately broke his concentration and whipped around, looking where Taka had pointed.
Muttering to herself, Shenzi took a second or two to dust herself off, then wound up her paw. With a loud and painful thwack, she whacked Banzai behind the head, sending him reeling forward. He stumbled to the ground and rolled over, his eyes wide from shock.
Shenzi trotted up to him victoriously, leaned up to him until they were eye to eye, and said.
"No."
"Phooey." Muttered Banzai, rubbing his new bruise with his paw.
"I guess this wasn't your day Banzai." Said Simba, trotting up to the dazed hyena as Shenzi did a victory dance next to them.
"Meh. I'll have it eventually."
"Be careful! Eventually might just turn into never!" Added Shenzi, as she hopped from side to side.
"Oh, forget about it." Muttered Banzai.
"Exactly!" Added Shenzi.
"Female superiority aside, we got lunch!" Said Simba, producing the haunch with his jaws. Banzai immediately stopped cursing under his breath, and jumped up, his tongue out.
"Yes! I was hungry anyways." He said, panting with expectation. Shenzi and Ed scooted over to them, and the lions divided up the meat with their sharper claws.
"Here's a bit." He said, tossing a section to Banzai, who caught it in his mouth and immediately began to tear at it. "Here's a bit." He tossed one to Ed, who got hit in the face with it, and didn't even react until it fell in front of him. "And here's a bit." He threw the last at Shenzi, who caught it with her paws and began to examine it, making sure she had gotten the best piece.
Simba sat down next to the feasting hyenas, smiling.
"So." Started Shenzi, her mouth full. "What say we do tag after this?"
"Tag? We've done tag tons of times, shouldn't we try something…. different?" Suggested Taka.
"Well, yeah." She said, as she chewed her meal. "But this time, we're adding a twist."
"What sort of twist? Something fun?" Asked Simba.
"Oh yeah. You see, we're going to play tag…. next to the cliffs."
"Which cliffs?"
"Oh you know." She swallowed. "Where those four ravines intersect. The way I see it, with all those deadly drops around us, it'll add a spice of excitement."
"It sounds pretty cool." Said Taka, grinning.
"Right. But no pushing or tackling, or today could end badly real fast." Added Simba.
"Yeah, no duh. How about you guys? Will you play?" Asked Shenzi, turning to her comrades.
"Say what?" Asked Banzai, his voice muffled with the food in his mouth.
"Tag! Are you going to play tag with us!"
"Er…. well, yeah." He said, swallowing his chunk in one almighty effort.
"Good. The ravines with the best drops are that way." Said Shenzi, as she pranced off away from them. Ed giggled, and ran after her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Looking at eachother, Simba, Taka, and Banzai quickly trotted to catch up to Shenzi. After a few moments, they arrived at their destination. The place where the four ravines met.
Taka looked over the side.
"That's deep." He whistled.
"You can say that again." Said Simba.
"That's deep."
"You can say that again."
"That's deep."
"You can say that again."
"That's-"
"Geez o pete, we get it! It's deep!" Interrupted Shenzi. "Now are you morons going to play, or not?"
"Of course we're going to play Shenzi." Said Simba, grinning. "We were just commenting on how deep this was!"
"Forget it. Now, in any case, the way I see it is I will be it, and the rest of you will run. No pushing, jumping, tackling, biting, clawing, spitting, gorging, whining, wailing, or killing. Are we all set?"
"You took out the good stuff." Muttered Banzai, as Ed giggled.
"It's because of you that we added those stuff Banzai." Said Taka, grinning.
"Maybe I just know how to have fun." Said Banzai, grumbling.
"Oh who cares. Now let's go! I'm counting to fifty, the rest of you had better run!" Said Shenzi, putting her paws over her eyes.
They all looked at each other, grinning. Banzai turned around and trotted off, and Simba went off the opposite direction. Taka and Ed padded away quickly, as the sound of Shenzi counting slowly faded into the background. Simba jumped behind a pile of bones, crouching down low ao as to not be soon.
Seconds ticked by slowly.
Then minutes.
And more minutes.
Slowly passing…..
"Hey Simba!" Hissed Taka, as he jumped down next to him.
"Hey to you too. What's up?" He asked, looking around.
"She got Banzai and Ed. I just narrowly got out of my hiding spot, she almost had me dead to rights."
"How'd you escape?"
"I slid down an elephant tusk. That's not easy, you know."
"I imagine not." Snickered Simba.
"In any case, she'll probably follow my scent here. Keep watch." He said, crouching. Simba nodded, he was all over that part. Nobody was getting close without him noticing…..
"Found ya!" Shouted Shenzi, as the trio jumped down in front of them. Taka and Simba yelped, scrambling backwards as the hyenas ran at them. They turned around and ran, their paws hitting the ground as they jumped out of the hole.
The lions slid down a small hill, and to their chagrin, found that they were at a dead end. Right in front of them was a ravine, not a particularly deep one, but not one he wanted to jump over. They glanced back to see the hyenas sliding donw the hill after them, stopping just short of the trapped lions.
"Now we gotcha!" Announced Shenzi triumphantly, as they closed in.
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Uru's POV
Uru yawned.
Honestly, some days just got….. boring!
She had just finished her morning hunt, and had dragged an antelope haunch back to give to Mufasa. Nowadays, Mufasa usually hung out with all the other young lionesses, basking in his own popularity. He son hadn't yet told her if he…. liked…. any of them, but Uru had mother's intuition. She was guessing Sarabi. Mufasa was always, always hanging out with Sarabi.
Sarabi wasn't as beautiful as Tiifu, or as cunning as Naanda, but Uru figured Mufasa saw something else in her, probably her sweet personality. And truthfully, she didn't care who her oldest son fell in love with, so long as he was happy with his decision.
Because she certainly wasn't.
But now wasn't the time to brood over her worst life choice. Now was the time…. to take a nice long nap in the sun. All lions loved warm naps, and she was certainly no exception.
"Queen Uru?"
"Sarafina?" Asked Uru, looking at the den's entrance to see the adolescent lioness standing there.
"Yeah, it's me. Uh…. I'm just looking for Taka, and I was hoping you knew where he was." She said, smiling.
"Taka? Oh… he's out playing with Simba. I don't know where he went unfortunately." She said, yawning again and getting up. "Why do you want to know where he is?" She asked. To her surprise, she saw Sarafina blush slightly.
Oh well.
"I just want to…. catch up with him, that's all."
"Oh, he's out playing with Simba." Said Uru, yawning again and getting up. "But I don't know where they went."
"Okay. I just wanted to know if you perhaps knew where he went." She said, nodding in thanks.
"I could help you find him, of course." She offered. Sarafina brightened.
"Could you?"
"Well, sure! I don't know where he goes every day, but following his scent can't be that hard." Said Uru.
"Thank you Queen Uru! I appreciate it." Said Sarafina, bowing.
"It's no problem Sarafina. I've got nothing else to do in any case." Said Uru, as she headed out of the cave. She trotted down the side of pride rock, with Sarafina behind her.
"Thanks again." Said Sarafina, as she trotted next to her.
"It really is no problem." She replied. "Why do you want to play with Taka all of a sudden?"
"Well, this isn't 'all of a sudden'." She said. "I've been looking for him every day for a while now actually. But he and that Simba get up really early and then take off."
"I know what you mean." Chuckled Uru. "They're always up to something, I guess."
"I just wish they would take me along, that's all. But I haven't been able to speak to them, they're always gone."
"Well, I'm sure Taka will be happy to let you in on their antics, whatever they are. Three lions are better than one."
Uru and Sarafina padded through the savanna grass, as the sun shone down onto the cheerful duo. Finding Taka's freshest available scent, they went on, traveling through the Pridelands.
"They go really far, don't they?" Remarked Sarafina.
"I guess they do." Chuckled Uru.
"Why do they go this far out?"
"Who knows? Perhaps they have their own special place. We'll find out when we get there."
And so they went on, the grass swishing against their underbellies in the calming breeze. And on and on, and on as the sun climbed higher into the sky. As they got closer and closer to the border, Sarafina kept looking around for the lions. They were almost at the border, they had to be somewhere here!
"We're…. at the border, Queen Uru." Said Sarafina, looking around.
"Yeah, I can see that."
"Where did they go from here? This is where the Pridelands ends." Said Sarafina, perplexed. "There's nothing past here….."
They both looked out at the cold grayness.
"Except the Graveyard." She finished. Uru stepped over the border, and sniffed again.
"I smell them! I smell their scent, and it's recent! And it's…. from the Graveyard?" Said Uru, confused. Why the heck would their scent be coming from the land of endless shadow?
"They went into the Graveyard? There's nothing in the Graveyard! Nothing except for dry bones and dust!"
"Taka likes to explore…. maybe they're exploring?"
"I guess." Said Sarafina, scratching her head in confusion.
"If they're in there, we're going to find them." Said Uru, going up to the ridge that marked the last of the soft grass, and the beginning of the stones and the eternal shadow.
She didn't know why her little one would be so stupid as to enter the domain of the hyenas….. it could be dangerous! She trotted over the stone, making her way through the many bones piled around the area.
"This place is spooky." Whispered Sarafina.
"I guess it is… really spooky." Whispered Uru, the dark atmosphere taking its toll upon them both.
"Well, forget about that. Any sign of them?" Asked Uru, looking around at the still bones. It was deadly quiet.
"No…. I… wait, do you hear that?" Hissed Sarafina. Uru strained her ears, waiting for a sound to reach them.
"Now we gotcha!"
"Did you hear that!?"
"Yeah! Yeah, I heard something!" Said Uru, running up a hill towards the sound. They reached the top, and then looked down over the side.
To their horror, they saw Simba and Taka backed up against a cliff with three hyenas cornering them, their teeth bared and growling.
Hyenas!
Fear striking her heart, she slid down the hill, her paws pounding against the stone with Sarafina close behind. She couldn't let them hurt her little one! Those blasted hyenas!
"Taka!" She cried, as she reached the bottom and stopped.
Taka, Simba, and the hyenas all turned to look at them, confusion written all across their faces.
Then, all five pairs of eyes widened, their jaws agape in surprise and what looked like…. fear?
Nobody moved.
"Scatter!" Shouted one of the hyenas, turning around and jumping into Taka, bowling both of them over the edge they had been standing next to moments before. Another hyena did the same to Simba before Uru could even react, and the third jumped right over the fatal drop after his companions.
"No!" Cried Uru, hurrying up to the ledge. She and Sarafina looked over it to see all five of them, including Taka and Simba, bouncing down the slope, head over paws. They had jumped just right so they would catch the slope, and in a moment they rolled to a stop at the bottom.
"Caves! Hide in the caves!" Shouted one of the hyenas, as it bounded into an opening of the earth.
"Taka! What are you doing?" Shouted Uru, as he and Simba bounded after it, disappearing into the darkness.
"What the hell?" Muttered Sarafina, as she watched them vanish.
"Those hyenas…. they're chasing them or something!"
"Er…."
"Come on!" She shouted, sliding down the slope. After a moment of deliberation, Sarafina jumped after the orange lioness, skidding down the slope.
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Taka's POV
"Shiiiiiiit!"
"Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit!" Muttered Banzai quickly, as they ran through the tunnels that reached extensively throughout the underbelly of the graveyard.
"Relax!" Shouted Shenzi, as they took a right. "We're not in trouble yet."
"Lions!" He shrieked, glancing behind him fearfully.
"There are no lions chasing us!" Swore Shenzi, as the five of them skidded to a stop at a crossroads.
At that moment, there was a loud roar from somewhere behind them, the sound echoing throughout the caves.
"Never mind." Muttered Shenzi, as Simba and Taka looked at each other, swallowing.
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Simba's POV
"That way!"
"That way!"
"That way!"
They each glared at each other.
"Come on guys, I know this place better than you do!" Shouted Shenzi, stamping her paw.
"We've all been here before! That tunnel takes us out!" Retorted Taka, gesturing at another tunnel.
"No, it's that way! I remember clear as day we went out that way." Said Simba, pointing down the third and final tunnel.
"They're going to catch us!" Squeaked Banzai, glancing back the way they came.
"Shut up!" Yelled Taka, as he anxiously bounced on his paws.
"It's night, not day! Listen to me and go this way!" Shouted Shenzi, padding down a tunnel a little ways.
"That's the wrong way though!"
"No it's not!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it's not!"
ROOOOAAAAR!
"Everyone go their own way!" Squeaked Taka, bolting down his cave, followed closely by Ed. Simba and Shenzi looked at eachother, and Shenzi ran down her tunnel, followed by Banzai. Simba gulped, and ran down the third tunnel, vanishing into the darkness.
Simba quickly padded through the cave, until everything got extremely quiet. He couldn't hear Uru's roars anymore, he couldn't hear Taka's panicked breathing, and he couldn't hear Shenzi swearing violently under her breath.
Which was a wonderful characteristic of hers, really. Just charming.
In any case, he was alone. As he looked around the empty tunnel, he realized he really was alone. Which was good, he needed time to collect his thoughts. If he was right, which he suddenly suspected he wasn't, he would soon be out of the cave and home free, free to get the heck back to Pride Rock.
Unfortunately, Uru had seen them. Which was very, very bad. Simba didn't know Uru's personal stance on hyenas, but if she like most other lions, there was a good chance she hated them as much as he had. What would she say once she inevitably caught up with them? And she would catch up with them, it didn't need to be here in the Graveyard, she could simply talk to them whenever they next chose to return to Pride Rock.
She was going to disapprove, Simba knew it. The enmity between lions and hyenas was simply too great. He doubted Uru would punish her 'little one' but he got the distinct sense that perhaps they wouldn't be able to see the hyenas again.
The hyenas were their… well… best friends. Especially Taka's. Without them, the long days would be incredibly boring. The trio always had something to screw around with, always something boneheaded to say, and always a bad pun to offer. They were sometimes vulgar, but that was usually part of the fun.
He hoped things wouldn't turn out too badly.
Simba hopped down a hole and slid into another tunnel, looking around for a familiar sight. Anything to tell him he was going in the right direction. Then, he heard pawsteps running down the tunnel, coming towards him. He quickly backed into a very dark shadow.
Banzai ran by, his eyes wide and breathing hard. Simba was about to reveal himself and ask him if he was being chased, when a ear shattering roar erupted from the tunnel.
Simba crouched even lower, as Uru rounded the corner with her teeth bared, claws out and eyes red with fury. Simba gulped as she leaped at Banzai, nailing him with a perfect pounce.
"Don't kill me!" Yelled Banzai, as Uru slammed him onto the ground.
"Where's my son!" She screamed, furious. "What did you do to him?!"
"What? I didn't do anything to Taka, you're nuts you are!"
"Shut it! Where's Taka!"
"He ran another way! I don't know, get off me!"
"I said where is my son!?"
"Geeez! I don't know, I said I don't know!" Squeaked Banzai, as Uru pressed down firmly onto his chest, squeezing his lungs and making him wheeze. Simba watched horrified, preparing to pounce on Uru if she was going to kill him. At that moment, Shenzi turned the corner, running as hard as she could at Uru.
"Get off my friend!" She shouted, jumping at the orange lioness. Uru only had just enough time to turn to the new threat before Shenzi landed on Uru's head, doing her best to scratch it. Uru grunted and stepped back off Banzai, they threw Shenzi off.
Barely missing a beat, Shenzi landed on her paws and bolted away, just as Banzai seized his chance and ran the other direction. Shouting a vulgar oath, Uru took off after Shenzi.
Simba watched the two of them disappear, and he grumbled underneath his breath. This wasn't going to turn out well, not if it continued like this.
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Shenzi's POV
Shenzi jumped down into a cave, her paws beating furiously against the stone.
Damned lions.
Shenzi glanced back to see the orange lioness jump down after her, looking furious. She gulped and put on extra speed, her hair tufts waving in the air as she bolted through the caves. If this went on for much longer, the lioness was going to catch her.
Fortunately, she knew her way around, the lioness didn't. Shenzi turned right, weaving through the stalagmites. Hopefully the larger lioness would be slowed down by the sharp impediments.
She made her way out of the stalagmite field and slid down into another tunnel, running down it as fast as she could. She ran into a cavern, the expansive tunnel becoming extremely large. It was a magnificent cave, and it was filled with nothing but hiding places and-
"Mom?!" She exclaimed, skidding to a stop as she saw her mother and a male hyena talking to each other in the center of the cavern. Hatari looked up when she heard her daughter's voice, looking confused.
"Shenzi?" She exclaimed, a perplexed look on her face.
"Mom! I…. what are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you." Replied the Matriarch, as the male looked at Shenzi with a grumpy expression.
"I.. I ran here! Mom, there's this angry-"
At that moment, Uru let out a loud roar, cutting Shenzi off as she jumped into the cavern. Hatari's expression went from very surprised to extremely surprised, and she gaped at the sudden appearance of the orange lioness.
"You!" Shouted Uru, pointing her paw at the hyenas. "Where is my son!"
"What the- who the hell are you!?" Demanded Hatari.
"Where is my son!" Demanded Hatari. "He's in here somewhere, what did you do to him?!"
"Your son? I don't know who the hell you are, much less who your son is! If you'd calm down and explain why the hell you're on my territory in a calm fashion, maybe we could figure something out!"
"No! You stupid hyena, what have you done to Taka?"
"Hey! Don't call me names furbag!" Shouted Hatari, getting into an offensive position as the hyena next to her, whom Shenzi didn't recognize, slunk backwards.
"I'm here! What's happening?" Asked Sarafina, as she burst into the cavern to find Uru and Hatari growling at eachother. She looked back and forth for a moment, then began to growl at Hatari alongside Uru.
Shenzi gulped, were they going to attack her mother? Where the heck was Taka, he could call them off!
"Just tell me where my son is…." Snarled Uru.
"I have no clue where your blasted son is!"
"TELL ME!" Shouted Uru, as she leapt at Hatari, pushing off with her hind legs. Hatari wasted absolutely no time in jumping out of the way, and Uru landed on nothing but dust and air. Sarafina, eager to help Uru, ran at the other hyena, who had been attempting to slink away quietly. When he saw Sarafina running at him, he yelped like a pup and bolted with Sarafina hot on his tail.
Hatari was also on the run, not wanting to take her chances with a much larger furious lioness. She danced out of reach from Uru's flailing claws, always one step ahead from the deadly tines. But it was a precarious dance, one in which no mistakes could be committed.
"Mom!" Yelled Shenzi, as she stared horrified at the dueling animals. Hatari leaped away yet again, then swung back at the outstretched paw, batting it away with her claws.
Uru snarled and leaped forward, landing on Hatari with all her might. Before the claws had even dug in, and before they even hit the ground, Hatari rolled backwards with all her effort. She threw the larger animal behind her with the massive amount of momentum, and Uru went skidding towards the edge of an underground ravine.
Able to stop herself, Uru dug her claws in and caught a rock before she reached the edge. She glanced at the drop she had very nearly fell into, and saw that the pit was filled with pointy stalagmites. Falling into that would be deadly.
Hatari had taken the precious few seconds she had gained to recuperate, panting from the massive amount of exertion she had just sustained over an extremely brief period. Fighting was a tiresome game.
Uru snarled at Hatari, and Hatari growled back. They began to circle each other, their teeth bared as they occasionally lunged their paws out threateningly. Shenzi watched with her eyes wide open, enraptured with the events of her mother and Uru. As she watched, Taka, Simba, Banzai and Ed crept into the cavern, coming up next to Shenzi silently as they stared at the snarling animals.
"Holy Shit! Holy Shit! I think he's dead!" Screeched Sarafina suddenly. Hatari, Shenzi Uru, and all the rest turned their heads to see Sarafina staring down into one of the pits, her mouth agape. Uru and Hatari looked at eachother, then quickly trotted over to the pit and looked over.
Shenzi felt bile rise on her mouth. The male hyena had somehow fallen into the pit filled with stalagmites, and it wasn't moving, the grasp of death over it.
"Well… that's a shame." Said Hatari.
"He's dead…." Whispered Uru. "Sarafina…. did you…"
"It was an accident, he fell in by mistake!" Exclaimed Sarafina. Taka and Simba looked at each other, still unnoticed by Uru.
"Well, good riddance." Snorted Hatari. Uru looked over at the hyena, raising her eyebrow.
"Don't you care if one of your own is killed?"
"I wouldn't call him one of our own. He's a lazy bum who sucked away food without helping add to it. He helped the clan even less than the poor defected hyenas, and spat upon our hierarchy along with the needs of the clan. Before you lions so rudely interrupted me, I was telling him he needed to leave, or I'd kill him. But I guess that was decided for him." She said shortly.
"He's dead…." Repeated Sarafina, shaking her head furiously to try to shake off the shock of what had just happened.
"He's dead. I didn't need to see that today." Muttered Simba. Uru turned around to his voice and to her surprise saw them standing right behind her.
"You two! You're safe!" She exclaimed, a wave of relief washing over her.
"Uh…...yeah….Hi mom." Said Taka, rubbing the back of his head.
"You're safe! you outran the hyenas!" Exclaimed Uru, seeming to forget the presence of four other hyenas right behind her.
"Mom…. I didn't outrun the hyenas… I was running from you." Said Taka haltingly, apprehension written across his face.
"What? Running from me? Little one… what for?"
"Uh…" Taka looked down at his paws, unsure of what to say.
"Well?"
"The hyenas are my friends, all right!"
Uru blinked.
"What?"
"Okay, don't freak out, and don't be mad! I play with the hyenas… specifically those three…." he gestured at the trio, and Hatari flashed Shenzi a confused look. "They're my friends, we met a couple months ago! This is where I go everyday, and I have a lot of fun playing with them! That's Shenzi-" Taka pointed at Shenzi. "And She's the smart one. Ed over there is the funny one, and Banzai is the comedic relief!" Rambled Taka, as Uru gave him a strange look.
"You play with hyenas…. every day?"
"Yeah! Simba too."
Uru stared at Taka, and Shenzi figured she was about to pop from the amount of new information she had just been told. Uru turned around to face Hatari. "Did you know about this?"
"I do now." Grinned Hatari. Uru looked back at Taka.
"Do you… enjoy playing with them?" She asked. Taka nodded vigorously. "Uh… okay then….. I guess I'm fine….. with it, that is." She said. Taka's and Simba's faces brightened, and they gave each other a high paw. Uru turned around to look at Hatari. "Sorry about that."
"Oh yeah, barging in here and attacking me for no reason warrants only a simple 'sorry'." Snorted Hatari.
"Well….. that's all I've got."
"Yeah, don't sweat it. Nobody important was killed, so we're good. But next time… well, next time don't even come onto my territory. You lions keep us out of the Pridelands, I don't see why we can't keep you out of the Graveyard."
"Sorry about that. I'll be leaving then." Said Uru, bowing her head respectfully.
"Heeeeeeeeyyy Taka." Said Sarafina, sliding up to Taka.
"Come on you three. We're leaving." Said Uru, as she padded back towards the tunnel they had come from.
"Bye Shenzi!" Called Taka, as he turned around to follow his mother. The four hyenas watched them go, and they sat in silence for a while.
Hatari cleared her throat.
"Banzai and Ed, you can go home too." She ordered. Ed and Banzai cast Shenzi worried looks, and then quickly trotted away.
Now they were alone.
"So…. You really are friends with lions then."
Shenzi gulped, was she angry?
"Well….. yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Asked Hatari.
"Oh, uh, we figured you wouldn't like it." She replied quickly.
"Like it?... well, truth be told, I don't like any of their kind, but do you know who those specific lions are!"
"Uh…. Taka, Simba, Sarafina, and Uru?" Tried Shenzi.
"Well if those are their names, but I recognize them! The orange one… that's the queen! The queen of all the Pridelands! And her son, the one you called Taka… that's one of the princes! Maybe not the crown prince, but a prince nonetheless! And you…. you're friends with a prince of the Pridelands!" Said Hatari, nearly breathless.
"Okay… so what?"
"So what? Shenzi dear, you have to stay his friend. You must. Maybe nothing will come of it anytime soon, or even in my lifetime, but for you Shenzi….. you could have a future I could only dream of." Said Hatari, grinning widely.
"Uh…. okay." Replied Shenzi, unsure of what she meant.
"Never lose his friendship little one. Never. Oh, and one more thing." Hatari turned around to face the pit. "See that hyena down there?"
"How could I miss it." Muttered Shenzi, doing her best to not focus on the bleeding parts.
"Well….. don't tell Banzai this one… you see, that hyena did a lot of things. Stupid things. One of them was somehow seducing Banzai's mother. But he really was a horrible father, I don't know if he ever even saw his son."
Shenzi looked at Hatari, her jaw dropped.
"You mean…."
"That's Banzai's dad. I guess the lioness called Sarafina killed him. Good riddance too." Said Hatari, as she turned around, and padded away, leaving Shenzi alone with her thoughts
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AARGH THAT LAST BIT WAS HORRIBLE BUT I COULDN'T GET IT TO WORK RIGHT.
oh well.
In any case, tell me what you thought of the chapter! Good parts? Bad parts? Come on people, feedback!
Cya whenever I post the next chapter! (Hopefully sooner than this one)