Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you like it! The last few chapters have come out pretty quickly for once, and I'm hoping I can keep that up. I think I've found my groove again! Let's just hope I don't eat my words on that thought.
Mikazo, Kimada, and Zawadi were gathered near the waterhole, with the morning sun just rising above the horizon. A misting rain fell, and Mikazo could tell that it would soon become a downpour as the day continued on. At the moment, the waterhole was empty of most other animals aside from the three young lions and a small herd of impala on the far side. They'd gone to get a drink, and Mikazo lapped at the water half-heartedly, lost in thought.
Voninahitra had gone with them to grab some water himself, but had returned for Pride Rock not long after they'd arrived at the waterhole, saying apologetically that he had a Majordomo lesson planned with Zazu that he couldn't afford to be late for. Vonny had been quite busy over the last few days, what with his training with Zazu as well as his attempts to spend time with Mikazo, Kimada, and Zawadi. On top of that, Vonny had made two separate trips, as scheduled, to Mikazo's pride to find out what was going on.
Mikazo had been alarmed to hear Vonny's report, upon his return from the first of the two trips, that, though he hadn't seen any hyenas, Mikazo's pride mates had mentioned something about a confrontation they'd had with a hyena clan. From what Vonny could work out, judging by what he'd overheard, the hyenas had stolen some prey from the four lionesses, and they'd been forced to flee so they wouldn't get caught in a fight.
That certainly worried Mikazo, hyenas causing trouble in his lands and for his friends, but at least there was nothing new to report on Jinamizi's actions. Mikazo knew which clan had to be the one his pride mates had encountered, a clan that lived just outside the borders of his lands and that he'd heard his parents speaking of every now and then. There was almost always some amount of trouble between lions and hyenas, for many different prides and clans all across Africa, but Mikazo's main concern was the excuse for a king that his pride mates had to live under.
At least, according to what Vonny had overheard, the lionesses had thought that the hyena clan had likely left their territory after they'd fed on the stolen prey. Mikazo had growled when he'd learned that part of the story. What right did those hyenas have to take the prey his pride mates had worked hard to catch? All Mikazo could hope was that the clan would stick to their own lands now and wouldn't continue to cause trouble for his pride mates. The second trip Vonny had made to Mikazo's pride had been all but pointless, with absolutely nothing new turning up, including no new news on the hyena clan's actions. Mikazo supposed that was a good thing- no news was likely good news when it came to hyenas- but he still felt anxious about it.
Mikazo jerked back as a wave of water struck him in the face, drenching him from his whiskers to his chest and yanking him from his preoccupied thoughts. He whipped around to his right to see that Kimada was grinning widely, one paw still hanging, dripping, over the waterhole. It seemed that Kimada had decided to take advantage of the abundant water supply to start a water-fight.
Zawadi, standing at Mikazo's other side, had also been splashed, judging by her splutter. "Okay, Kimada, now you're gonna get it!" she announced, laughing, and Mikazo, who was standing in between the two siblings and was in the line of attack, felt his eyes widen in alarm.
Mikazo dove sideways and to the ground as Zawadi sprang; he ended up alongside Kimada as Zawadi plowed into her brother. Mikazo watched in amused disbelief as Kimada was unbalanced by the pounce and sent tumbling into the waterhole; but before he'd had time to fully register the massive splash caused by Kimada's fall, Zawadi's leap carried her straight into Mikazo.
The two of them rolled several times across the ground, before they landed flat on the grass. It was clear by Zawadi's surprised expression that she hadn't been aiming for Mikazo as well when she'd jumped at Kimada. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to go with it, Mikazo realized, as Zawadi grinned and raised a paw to swipe at him.
Mikazo ducked sideways to dodge and returned her swipe before tossing himself forward to tackle her. Zawadi leapt out of the way, and Mikazo landed next to her, where she had been standing a moment before.
Mikazo's paw slipped in the mud as he tried to regain his balance and he hit the ground, the breath exploding out of him. He started to scramble up but Zawadi slammed into his side, knocking him back down and sending them both tumbling across the ground. Mikazo battered at her stomach with his hind paws to try and free himself, and though she grunted at the blows, Zawadi sank her teeth into his mane fur, refusing to be tossed off.
He pressed his fore paws against her chest and shoved both hind paws against the ground as they rolled, flipping them over so she fell back first against the ground. Her hold weakened and Mikazo yanked free, leaping backward several feet from Zawadi and dropping instantly into a crouch, growling a playful challenge.
Zawadi rolled to her stomach and crouched opposite him, her tail lashing slowly and her eyes pressed flat against her head, though her eyes gleamed with playfulness. Mikazo launched himself through the air and she reared to meet him. They once again fell to the ground, Zawadi skidding along on the bottom, back first, as she struggled to send them into a roll. But this time, Mikazo managed to dig his hind paws into the ground and keep his fore paws on her shoulders, holding her down. Zawadi twisted but couldn't push him off, and she fell limp against the grass with a scoff, earning Mikazo the win.
Mikazo grinned down at Zawadi, feeling rather smug. She was a tough lioness to beat. Judging by the look she was giving him, though, from where she lay pinned beneath him, she was not amused by his grin. Her eyes narrowed and she tried to hit one of his hind legs with a back paw, but was defeated by the way she was pinned.
"Okay, you lump of fur, you win," Zawadi grumbled, though despite her frustrated tone, a grin was tugging at her muzzle. "Off, already!" She pushed at him again and this time Mikazo let her shove him off and roll back into a sitting position.
Mikazo fell onto his side, laughing. "Lump of fur, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'd say you are," Zawadi said, standing up and now grinning widely. She was streaked with mud from their tumble, and she gave herself a shake, causing her reddish-gold coat to stick out in slicked together patches, splatted with clumpy mud. Mikazo stared at her new coat style and clenched his mouth tightly shut in an effort to keep from laughing. Zawadi didn't seem to notice his strained expression and she continued, "Not as fluffy as Kimada, but still..."
"I am not fluffy!" Kimada protested from where he sat nearby, his own fur thoroughly soaked and dripping heavily. He'd clearly pulled himself out of the waterhole, and it didn't seem he'd even attempted to shake the water from his fur. "My mane is thick and majestic, not fluffy!"
Zawadi snickered. "If you say so, Kimada."
"Well, at the moment, I'd say I'm more of a lump of mud then anything else," Mikazo pointed out, looking over his own fur. Since his coat was mainly light brown, the mud was less obvious than it was on Zawadi's gold fur, but he could see that he was covered nearly from head to tail. "You, too, for that matter," he had to add to Zawadi.
"Hmm, guess so," Zawadi agreed, looking back at her pelt with faint amusement.
"Heh, I'm not muddy in the least!" Kimada said smugly, grinning widely. "Honestly, I almost feel a little left out."
"Well, I can fix that..." Zawadi said with a smile that was definitely threatening, standing and stalking toward her brother.
"Oh, bring it on!" Kimada said with a playful growl, and sprang to meet his sister's charge.
Mikazo watched with a grin as Kimada and Zawadi tumbled back and forth, growling and swiping energetically. While it was fun on its own to watch his friends play, he intended to get in on the game. They were certainly distracted enough not to notice his stalk... He waited for a chance, creeping forward slowly, then leapt on top of both of them, knocking all of them into a pile.
"Hello there, you three," Mikazo heard Msafiri's amused voice called, even as they tumbled to the ground in a bundle. "You certainly seem to be enjoying yourselves."
They all broke apart, laughing, and greeted Msafiri, who, it seemed, had just come to the waterhole for his morning drink of water.
"So where's Azizi?" Zawadi asked as she started trying to remove the worst of the mud from her fur, starting by grooming the clumpy fur on her chest. Her ears twitched with distaste as her tongue brushed through the mud, but she continued nonetheless.
"She's playing with Daka, back at Pride Rock," Msafiri answered. "I must say I'm rather fond of that cub. He's a good friend for Azizi." He paused, and Mikazo noticed that Msafiri seemed a little hesitant. "I'm glad I came across you three so soon, though, because there's something I need to speak with you about."
Msafiri sat down and told Mikazo, Kimada, and Zawadi of how he was thinking about leaving soon, with his pride. Which, of course, included Zawadi.
Though Msafiri mentioned that it was also possible that they would stay in the Pride Lands permanently, as Simba had offered that choice to them, he hadn't decided what to do yet. That meant that Kimada and Zawadi had a decision to make. They had to decide whether or not the two of them would go with Msafiri's pride or stay in the Pride Lands if it was decided that Msafiri's group would be leaving. He knew that the brother and sister would not want to be split up, and he made it very clear that Kimada was welcome to join his pride if that was what they decided.
"I don't know, Msafiri," Zawadi said quietly once Msafiri had finished explaining the situation to them. Her shoulders were slumped and her head was held low, all of her playful excitement from minutes earlier having been drained by this news. "I mean, I knew that we weren't planning to stay here for good, that it was just for a bit, but I guess I'd put it out of my mind..."
"Yeah," Kimada agreed in an unusually subdued voice. "I didn't think about it either. I mean, I had my sister back, I didn't want to be thinking that she might have to leave again at some point." He sighed heavily and gave his head a small shake, obviously troubled.
"I know," Msafiri said with a nod, his expression both apologetic and understanding. "And you certainly don't have to make your choice right away. In fact, if we do take Simba up on his offer to stay here for good, then you might not have to make a choice at all. But to be honest, I have no idea what to do. I have to decide myself whether we'll be staying or going, as well as speak with Vema and Suluhu about it, and with Azizi, so you don't have to choose now."
Mikazo was staring between Msafiri, Kimada and Zawadi, his heart heavy. Aside from his first reaction of dismay, he had remained silent throughout this conversation, which didn't truly include him in it, except by extension. His two friends weren't the only ones who hadn't really considered the fact that Msafiri's pride wasn't planning to stay for good. If Msafiri did decide to leave, then not only would he be going, but Kimada and Zawadi might, as well. If they didn't choose to stay in the Pride Lands, then Mikazo realized he would lose not only Msafiri and Azizi, but Zawadi and even Kimada, too. If they left, would he ever see any of them again?
A few moments passed with all four of them sitting in glum silence.
Zawadi glanced between each of the other three, and then she said, "Well, on a lighter note, why don't you join us, Msafiri? We were just having a mass play-fight, and the more, the better, right?"
Mikazo smiled slightly, knowing that Zawadi was trying to cheer up the mood.
Msafiri chuckled. "I get it. You were having fun, and here I come along and spoil it." He smiled more widely. "Please, let me go in peace and continue on with your games. Perhaps I'll find out what Azizi and Daka are getting into." He paused for a moment, then said, "Please don't worry about it. It isn't time to make any decisions yet. I just wanted to tell you that we're all going to have to make some decisions soon and we should keep that in the back of our minds."
"Alright, thanks," Kimada agreed quietly.
Msafiri dipped his head, stood and turned to leave. Then as he was walking away, he called over his shoulder, "Oh, Kimada, in case you failed to notice, Mikazo's entire left flank is dry. You should do something about that."
Mikazo was staring after Msafiri's retreating form, his head low as he contemplated the king's news that could result in Mikazo having to say goodbye to Kimada, Zawadi, and Msafiri and the others as well. As a result, a few short moments passed before he registered the last part of what Msafiri had said.
"Hey!" Mikazo shouted indignantly, and saw Msafiri's tail flick as his head lifted. He couldn't see Msafiri's expression, as he was walking away and had his back to them, but he guessed that he was looking amused. Mikazo turned to face Kimada as a wide grin grew on his friend's muzzle.
Mikazo gave an exaggerated swallow, but before he could move, Kimada sprang forward and slammed into him, tackling him backward toward the waterhole. Mikazo let out a yelp as he felt the ground disappear beneath his paws and splashed down in the water with Kimada next to him.
Mikazo burst out of the water, gasping for air through his laughter. Paddling in place, Mikazo shook his head hard, scattering the water droplets as Kimada laughed uproariously next to him. Kimada leapt back out of the waterhole and Mikazo followed, hauling himself up onto land. They both left puddles in their wake.
Still gasping slightly from his unexpected dunking, Mikazo watched as Kimada started strutting around with a smug air, clearly proud of himself. Mikazo heard a fond scoff next to his ear and looked over to see Zawadi watching Kimada with a smirk. Zawadi glanced over at Mikazo, met his eyes, and they exchanged a nod before leaping at the same time and landing on Kimada.
Once again, the three of them went down in a tumbling, laughing pile of fur, tails, and legs.
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Azizi frowned at Daka in confusion and slight irritation as the smaller, mahogany-furred cub scraped a paw through the dirt, his expression sullen. The two of them had been having such fun a short while ago, splashing in the puddles and loving the rain and the first ever rainy season of their lives, and then for some reason, Daka had started acting as if he was angry with her.
"Come on, Daka, you're being silly!" Azizi huffed. "What does it matter if zebras are white with black stripes or black with white?"
"Because it does!" Daka shot her a look, his bright red-brown eyes narrowed in a glare. "They're all stripy, but what color are the stripes?"
"How did we even get into-" Azizi broke off, frustrated. "Daka, all I said was that I think they're black with white stripes!"
"But they're so much whiter," Daka retorted. "Their bellies and everything are white!"
"Yeah, but not on all of them," Azizi pointed out. "Just some. A lot of them have black on their bellies. And besides, I don't think bothering that zebra colt with the question was really safe. I mean, his mother looked a little angry..."
"Aw, that's nothing!" Daka scoffed, sitting down and lifting his chin high. "I'm prince of the Pride Lands! What was she gonna do, stomp on me?"
"I think she was thinking about it..."
"She was not!" Daka turned his glare onto the ground. "And anyway, what do you know about zebras either way? You're the one who's silly!"
"I am not!" Azizi snapped.
"Are too!" Daka lashed his tail. "You're silly and you think you're the best at everything!"
Azizi paused, blinking. She cocked her head at Daka, irritated but suddenly realizing something. "Daka, you're being mean, you know. And this isn't about the zebras, at all, is it? Not their stripes, or that colt's mother." Daka glared at her without speaking and Azizi nodded firmly. "Yeah, I am right! You're just upset because my roar was a little louder than yours, aren't you?"
Daka shot to his paws, his ears pressed back and his muzzle wrinkled. "Well, it's not fair!" he snapped. "Your roar shouldn't be louder than mine!"
Azizi frowned, biting back a growl of frustration. "Why not? I am older than you are by a couple of months."
"I know, but still..." Daka's tone dropped to a more normal level as he returned his gaze to the ground, looking more morose than anything else. "I should have a better roar!" He scoffed quietly. "I'm gonna be the king of the Pride Lands someday, Azizi. My roar has to be louder than anyone else's, or how can I scare off bad animals, like those stupid jackals... If my roar isn't loudest, then I'm gonna be laughed at by every bad animal I try to scare away! It's just not right!"
Azizi sat down, feeling most of her irritation leave at the sight of her friend's sad face. "Daka..." she said with a sigh. "Your roar will get a lot louder, you know. The only reason mine is louder than yours is because I'm older." She paused. "I asked my dad about roars once, because I was curious, and he told me that our roars are louder when we're grown-ups and not cubs, and that lions' roars are louder than lionesses' roars."
Daka looked up at that, his ears pricking in surprise. "Really?" He frowned. "But Mom's roar is so loud. I don't know if Dad's is louder..."
"It probably is, just a little," Azizi said thoughtfully. "My dad said that it's not that big a difference. And anyway, when you're all grown up, Daka, even though we're a few months apart, it won't matter at all then. Your roar will be louder than mine, and you'll be able to scare off jackals and hyenas, and even crocodiles, I'll bet!"
Daka smiled. "You really think so, Azizi?" He waved his tail in the air above his head and gave a little hop on his paws, his eyes lighting up in excitement. "I really hope so!" He froze suddenly and his expression fell. "Uh, right..." He stepped toward her, his shoulders hunched and his head tilted in an apologetic way. "I'm sorry, Azizi, I was being mean," he said quietly. "You're not silly... and you don't think you're the best at everything."
Azizi grinned happily. "Thanks, and it's okay, Daka." She paused, then, unable to resist, added, "And I don't think I'm the best at everything, you're right. I know I am!"
Daka laughed and swatted at her. "Sure, you are!" He dropped into a crouch and growled quietly. "When I'm big, nothing will stick around when I roar! They'll all run screaming! Just you watch, if any enemies try to attack my pride, I'll show 'em!" He growled again and swatted at the air as Azizi grinned, and then he said, "And you can help, if you want! I'll save some of the smaller crocodiles for you to chase off."
Azizi laughed. "That sounds like fun! But how about I take the big ones and you take on the small ones?"
"Uh uh, no way!" Daka scoffed. "The little ones would be way too easy for a big strong king!"
"All right, your majesty, see if you can beat me!" Azizi taunted playfully, crouching low. "The winner fights the big crocodiles. Bet ya can't beat me!"
"Can too! Grrrrr-rrah!" Daka roared as he pounced at the larger cub, laughing as they tumbled around, batting at each other with fore and hind paws and tugging on ears and tails alike.
Nearby, and without either cub having seen him, Msafiri lay with his head on his paws, watching his daughter play with a fond smile. They'd notice him eventually, he knew, but for now, he'd just watch the two cubs have fun.
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"Well, so much for them leaving," Cheneta muttered darkly as she, Tumaini, Nuru and Uzuri watched the clan of spotted hyenas, led by their matriarch Chana, pad boldly across their lands.
It was nearly twilight, and the hunched shapes of the clan members stood out in stark black against the lighter backdrop of gray sky shot through with dim purple. They were not even attempting to hide the evidence of their trespassing. The sounds of the clan, barking, yipping, and the chilling sound of their cackling growls, filled the air. Tumaini snarled in rage as she watched the hyenas brush deliberately against the grass and any bushes they passed, trying to leave as much of their scents as they could. They were throwing their presence right in the pride's faces with their actions.
Any prey animals that had been nearby had fled the area when they caught sight and sound of the clan, so this part of their lands was empty of anyone but the hyenas, the lionesses, and a few birds that were perched in the trees or watching the hyenas as they flew in circles overhead. Tumaini supposed that the birds were just as wary of the hyena clan as all the other animals were, but they at least were high out of reach from the clan and could watch their actions and keep tabs on them without fear.
The four lionesses that made up Tumaini's group had just been lounging beneath a baobab tree, gladly taking the shelter it offered from the pounding rain. The tree was a massive one, with thick branches that draped down and criss-crossed each other until, combined with its abundance in leaves, hardly any gaps could be found. Though it was still much wetter than their cave would be, Jinamizi was currently occupying the cave, staying out of the rain himself. The lionesses all decided they'd rather be a little damp out here than have to deal with being inside the cave with their king. Here at least, they had their peace and enjoyment of each others' company without the vexation of Jinamizi's presence.
They'd been laying here for a few hours, resting and talking together. The lush grass provided a comfortable surface for them to rest on, having grown thick from the rainfall, and Tumaini had nearly found herself drifting off to sleep several times, lulled by the softness and the warmth of her pride mates' coats and their murmured conversation.
Their cozy rest and chat had been interrupted, however, when the four of them saw and heard Chana's clan moving through their territory as boldly as if they'd marked every pawstep of it as their own.
"What are they planning now, to steal some other prey animal from us?" Tumaini asked furiously, the fur on her shoulders bristling in agitation as she watched the mangy scavengers travel. "Uzuri, what do we do?"
"As much as they outnumber us, they can't go on in our lands like this unchallenged," Uzuri decided. "We'll have to fetch Jinamizi, unfortunately, and just hope that this doesn't end in bloodshed." She grimaced. "Either because the clan refuses to leave without a fight or because Jinamizi decides to start one himself."
Nuru sighed, her tail lashing slowly as she turned in the direction of their cave. "Alright, I'll go get him." She glanced warily at the hyena clan, which was now milling around a spot in the Savannah some distance away that they all knew held a small waterhole, little more than a puddle. Perhaps they were stopping for a drink before they continued on with their blatant trespassing. "I'll be back with him as quickly as I can manage. You guys keep an eye on them, okay? And be careful."
"You don't have to worry about that," Cheneta said with a faint smile. "Haven't you learned by now? I'm an expert on careful."
As Nuru nodded and briefly returned the smile before slipping off quickly toward their home, Tumaini couldn't resist saying, "If you're such an expect on being careful, Cheneta, then what was that a few days ago when the clan took our prey, when you wanted to 'get a good hit or two in'?"
"Brief moment of insanity brought on by the overwhelmingly pungent smell of the clan," Cheneta answered promptly, with a completely straight expression.
"Understandable," Tumaini said, turning her gaze back to the hyenas, who remained unaware of their lion observers.
Tumaini felt her muzzle pull back in a snarl as Chana, near the center of the clan, snapped her jaws at one of her clan mates, what seemed to be a low-ranking male who had tried to get a drink of water ahead of her. Her head was held high, her muzzle was clenched shut, and her bristly mane stuck straight up as she approached her now cowering clan mate with tight steps. Letting loose with a loud, low-pitched bark, Chana grabbed the other hyena's neck in her teeth and yanked sideways, wrenching him to the ground and causing him to yelp in pain, through it didn't appear that she had broken the skin on his neck.
With a growl, Chana thrust her muzzle an inch from the fallen hyena's, one fore paw pressing down on his shoulder in a clear assertion of her dominance. The hyena whimpered, and Tumaini pressed her ears back as he let out a high-pitched whoop of apology. He pressed his head against the ground, tucked his tail underneath his stomach, and twisted himself so that his neck was bared to Chana in submission. With a final snort of irritation that Tumaini could see even if she was too far away to hear, Chana stepped back from her clan mate and returned to the puddle to drink, and the confrontation was dropped.
Tumaini shook her head in disapproval, wondering how Chana could treat a member of her own clan so harshly for something so small. The male hyena who had been chastised slowly rolled to his stomach but stayed laying, his head low and his eyes on his clan leader as he waited for her to finish drinking before, it seemed, he even dared to stand.
"Chana's a pleasant one," Uzuri said dryly, voicing Tumaini's thoughts. "I can't exactly bring myself to feel sympathy for a hyena, at least one from that clan, but even so..."
Tumaini, Uzuri, and Cheneta watched in relative silence as the hyena clan left the small gathering of water and seemed about to start a hunt, judging by what words they could make out among the clan from this distance. As they were planning and before they could set off, however, Tumaini turned at the sound of a snarl echoing through the land to see Jinamizi stalking toward the clan with Nuru pacing along behind him, an anxious expression on her face.
The clan whipped around as one at Jinamizi's growl as Tumaini and her two pride mates sprang from cover and hurried over to join Jinamizi and Nuru. Tumaini fell into step beside the light-furred lioness, and the five of them approached the clan, four of them cautiously, Jinamizi with stiff, stalking movements. Tumaini could see that their king was angry, with muscles bunching tightly underneath his dark tawny pelt and a low growl rumbling from between his bared teeth.
Tumaini sighed. She didn't think this was likely to end well.
"Hey, Chana, look who it is!" one of the male hyenas called out, whisking his tail up over his back with a series of high, fast whoops bursting from his muzzle. "King Carrion Brain!"
"Heh, at least carrion has a use," Chana retorted. "Can't say the same for this guy's brain."
Tumaini blinked, finding herself in agreement with a hyena for the first time in her life. It was an odd feeling.
"Now," Chana continued, stepping toward Jinamizi and the lionesses with her clan flanking her, "what can I do ya for, kingy?"
"Watch your tongue when you speak to me!" Jinamizi snarled, rage evident in every inch of his body, from his blazing eyes to his lashing tail. "These are my lands, and if you do not leave, I will tear each and every one of you to scraps of fur and bone!"
Chana tutted disapprovingly and shook her head, her amber eyes glinting as she smirked. "My, the rumors about your temper haven't been exaggerated, after all. And as for this being your land and us leaving..." She hummed and cocked her head. "Well, don't you think you'd need to be able to back that threat of yours up?"
Jinamizi crouched down, ready to pounce on the clan leader. "What makes you think I won't?"
She scoffed. "Well, I'm sure you'd be stupid enough to try," she admitted. "But stupidity isn't somethin' to brag about, buddy. As I pointed out to your lady friends last time, we outnumber you."
"You didn't try this hard to invade our territory before," Tumaini pointed out sharply. "Where's the sudden bravado come from?"
"Well, my clan grew a bit in recent months," Chana said with a shrug. "By about ten members; a passing clan we let join because we could always use some more paws to take down prey. And idiotic lions. And then there's the fact that at least Hodari and Kawanja weren't entirely dumb. But I'm not so sure about this guy, to be honest..."
Tumaini braced herself, knowing that Chana had just gone one step too far. With a deep, rumbling roar, Jinamizi lunged through the air, his massive form landing just in front of the clan leader, whose quick jump backward had saved her from being pounced on directly. Snarling, Jinamizi lashed out with a paw, his claws just missing Chana as she dove to the side. Tumaini swore she saw the sharp tips slice through Chana's stiff-furred mane.
Even as Chana dodged the rogue's attack, her clan mates come to her assistance with a barrage of barks and growls, tossing themselves toward Jinamizi. Tumaini's pelt bristled as she watched the first hyena to reach Jinamizi get swatted away so hard he flipped through the air and fell, yowling, into one of his clan mates. The second managed to tear a chunk of fur from Jinamizi's fore leg, causing him to draw back with another vicious snarl before biting at the offending hyena's head, just barely missing her eyes and catching an ear between his teeth.
The hyena only had time to yelp in pain and rear back in an attempt to free herself before five more hyenas sprang on top of Jinamizi, quickly followed by perhaps fifteen more, all of them shrieking and cackling as they tore at the dark king. That was too many for any lion to handle alone, even one as vicious and bloodthirsty as Jinamizi.
Tumaini exchanged a look with her pride mates, unsure what to do. None of them thought that it was possible for them to win in a fight against this many hyenas, and aside from that, not one of them was particularly inclined to help Jinamizi.
Finally, as Jinamizi had a chunk of fur torn from his throat by Chana and let out a roar of pain, while the hyenas barked and snarled in the way only their species could, the snaps and slashes of their teeth and claws accompanied by nightmarish ripping sounds as they viciously attacked the rogue, Tumaini's instincts kicked in and overrode her personal feelings. As much as she hated Jinamizi, she couldn't stand by and watch hyenas, of all creatures, maul a lion to death, no matter who that lion was.
Hyenas were the enemy of every lion, including Jinamizi. And as long as they were Jinamizi's enemies as much as they were the lionesses' foes, then Tumaini supposed, just this once, they could come to Jinamizi's aid. She honestly couldn't say that she hated Jinamizi less than she did the hyenas- in fact, she despised the rogue far more in a personal and deeply set loathing- but at least he was her own species. Though he was a truly poor excuse for a lion, he was still a lion who was now being attacked by hyenas, the hunter of cubs and skulking, vicious scavengers. She knew all too well how hyenas killed and ate their prey, often starting to feed while the prey was still alive, and she couldn't stomach seeing that happen, even to this rogue.
The others shared her thoughts, it seemed, as even before Tumaini could do more then tense to jump, Uzuri growled and sprang with the other two following at her paws.
With slashing claws and snapping teeth, the four lionesses threw themselves into the fray. With a slight twinge of regret, Tumaini grabbed a hyena's back in her jaws and wrenched him off of Jinamizi's chest, tossing him away, before swiping at the neck of another hyena. The hyena, a female with a ragged gray pelt, ducked the attack and lunged upward, clamping her teeth around Tumaini's bottom jaw and yanking back. Tumaini hissed in pain, yanked her muzzle free, and tried to retaliate, but her attack was aborted as a third and then forth hyena sprang onto her back and side, bringing her to the ground and ripping great patches of fur from her pelt.
With her eyes clenched in pain, Tumaini lashed out blindly, her claws catching what she realized by feel was a hyena's chest. She swiped it off of her even as another hyena snapped dangerously close to her throat.
She heard a leonine snarl over the sound of the hyenas barking, and two of the hyenas were knocked away from her, thanks to Nuru's tackle. Kicking the third hyena away from her, and then slashing at the forth, Tumaini scrambled back to her feet. She glanced around quickly in time to see Uzuri tossing a hyena through the air by its neck, and Cheneta struggling under the assault of five other hyenas. Chana and maybe ten others had ganged up on Jinamizi. Nuru, who had rescued Tumaini from her situation, was now grappling with yet more of Chana's clan, her deep growl all but drowned out by the hyenas' barking laughter and fast, low-pitched whoops.
Jinamizi's claws swiped along a hyena's head, and then he snapped his teeth shut on the throat of another, giving it a vicious shake before tossing the badly wounded hyena to the ground. In a flash, before he could attempt to kill the injured hyena, many more hyenas leapt at him, and Jinamizi was forced to back away, slashing defensively. Uzuri fell onto her back as six hyenas lunged at her in a wave, and Tumaini sprang to her pride mate's side, roaring in anger.
As the battle raged on, Tumaini lost focus of anything but slashing and biting, swiping, clawing, and snarling as she ducked and dodged and tried to avoid falling under the sheer numbers of the clan. She weaved around two hyenas and threw herself at a third, feeling a forth's teeth meet in her flank and dropping to the ground to roll away. She'd barely staggered back to her paws when Cheneta slammed into Tumaini's side as she herself stumbled under the weight of three hyenas, a snarl tearing from the dark-furred lioness' throat as she fought to stay standing. Tumaini tried to leap to Cheneta's aid but was tackled to the ground by two more hyenas and she was forced to fight against them, leaving her pride mate to battle alone.
Her pelt was soaked with blood, both her own and that of the hyenas. She was sure some belonged to her pride mates, too. Her wounds burned like fire and her head swam from the pain, but if she stopped fighting, she would be overwhelmed in an instant. Her body ached from the effort it took to continue clawing and biting in spite of her injuries, and she had her ears pinned flat, trying not to hear the bloodcurdling caterwauling and shrieking of the attacking hyenas, punctuated by the growls and roars of her friends and Jinamizi.
Just when she thought that she and her pride mates, and even Jinamizi, could hold out no longer, Chana let out a cry that rose above the clamor of battle, a cry that her clan mates heard and responded to. Immediately, the hyenas began to break off in their attack, dodging the still attacking lions and backing away with Chana. Soon enough, the clan of thirty-six hyenas were gathered in a loose circle around the panting lions, silence falling over the battlefield aside from low, rattling growls coming from all quarters.
"Well, gotta admit, you put up a fight," Chana said with a growl. Her sides rose and fell quickly, and even from where she stood some distance away, Tumaini could see the hyena matriarch's fur was slicked nearly flat in places from her wounds, the wet patches glinting in the half light of the setting sun. One place on her shoulder had been completely bared of fur, and she had several nasty scratches along the side of her head, one stretching in a thick band under one of her eyes. Many of her clan mates had injuries as well, some of them so severe that the injured individuals seemed to be struggling to remain standing. "Pretty impressive for a bunch of little kittens."
Jinamizi snarled and took a pace forward, then gasped and nearly fell as he put weight on his severely mauled foreleg, which had been more or less shredded from just above his paw to the bend of his leg. Tumaini and the other lionesses were badly hurt as well, she knew, but she couldn't take the time to assess the exact extent of the damage with the hyenas surrounding them as they were.
"Now, really, you want more, Jinamizi?" Chana said in apparent disbelief. "Do you have a death wish or something? It's not enough I all but took your tail off at one point? You know, I'd be glad to continue this fight, and you can be certain that every last one of you lions would be dead once we were done. But some of my clan seem to be a bit too injured to easily continue, and I don't care to risk losing some of the less dumb of my friends here. So, if it's all the same to you, we'll just have to cut this little meeting of ours short."
"You're seriously going to leave?" Cheneta said in shock.
"Why, would you like us to stay a bit longer?" one hyena, relatively unharmed aside from a few shallow slashes along his side, asked with a cackle.
Cheneta stiffed and clenched her jaw firmly shut, refusing to answer.
Jinamizi growled again and, despite his injuries and the overwhelming disadvantage in numbers, leapt with great effort at Chana in one last attempt to kill the clan leader.
Chana sprang out of the way, and as Jinamizi landed roughly and stumbled, roaring in pain as he put extra strain on his injuries, Chana dealt him a terrible blow along his side. Jinamizi's roar became something closer to a screech as Chana's teeth sank into his flank, and with a last jerk of her head, which caused Jinamizi's screech to choke off into a breathless rasp, Chana stepped back and allowed the injured lion to fall limply to the ground.
"Man, you really are an idiot!" Chana said, shaking her head and swiping her tongue along her stained muzzle. She let out a grunting laugh-like bark that escalated into an amused whoop. Several of her clan mates gathered closer to her as Jinamizi glared up at Chana with a pained snarl. Chana didn't seem concerned, and Tumaini supposed that she had good reason. Jinamizi seemed too stunned by the severity of the latest wound to do anything but lay there for the moment. "Anyway, now that you've gone and got yourself hurt this badly, my clan and I will be off for home now," Chana continued casually. "Like I said, fighting you and your lionesses has taken just a small toll on my friends, and if we continue, I might lose a few hyenas here. Better safe then sorry, right? Though I suppose, with your brains, you don't quite get the idea of that concept, do you, king cat?" She laughed and turned away, limping slightly, her tail flipping in a corkscrewing circle over her back as she started off. "See you ladies later," she called to the stunned lionesses. "Don't worry, we'll be back soon enough. After all, you've got some pretty good animals here, ripe for the eatin', and we're not ones to pass up something like that."
With that, Chana and her clan of hyenas started off in the direction of the closest border, ready to leave the lions' territory for the moment. Many of them were injured to some degree, and some of them quite extensively, but much less so than the lions they'd just fought.
If nothing else, Tumaini supposed their fight had kept the hyenas from heading off on that hunt they had been planning. As she glanced around at her pride mates, however, Tumaini had to wonder if it'd been worth it. Each of the other three were badly hurt, with deep wounds covering much of their bodies, and Nuru was swaying in place as though at any moment she might collapse. Uzuri was breathing shallowly, and Tumaini could see a horrid looking claw mark crossing her chest. Cheneta had sunk down onto her haunches and had her eyes closed. Her worst wound, though she had many bad ones, was a deep bite along the shoulder of her right foreleg.
Tumaini, her energy drained nearly completely by exhaustion and pain, laid down with a gasp. It felt like not one inch of her body had been spared, and she could swear even her fur ached. One of her claws had been wrenched, and though it wasn't torn out and would heal, she knew her paw would hurt for days if not weeks. She could feel a gash along her neck, and one of her hind legs hurt so badly she almost thought it had been yanked from its socket. She noted though, that her underbelly had been mostly spared from injury, aside from a few fairly shallow bite and scratch marks. At least that meant that the cub still forming inside was likely just fine, and she felt a rush of relief at that thought. She still didn't know what she felt for the unborn cub yet, but she did know she didn't want it to die.
But as badly as each of them had been attacked, as far as she could tell, none of her wounds, or those of her pride mates', were fatal. That was a relief, at the very least.
Through bleary eyes, she looked over at Jinamizi, knowing he had received the worst beating of any of them, both in the moments before they had begun to help him, and in his last foolish solo attack on Chana. Her eyes widened in shock, even so, as she saw the wounds marking Jinamizi's hide. As much as she hated this lion, his injuries were terrible to see. His pelt was covered so utterly in blood that its tawny coloring could barely be made out, and large chunks of fur were missing all along his form. One part of his tail, close to the base, had been stripped nearly down to the bone, and the wound on his side, the last mark left by Chana, was deep and wide.
Jinamizi was conscious, his eyes glinting under half-closed lids, but he was breathing heavily, his breath making a slight wheeze as it passed through his throat. To Tumaini's shock, despite his clear pain, she could hear a low angry growl coming from the king, his anger deep enough that even though it must have hurt to growl, he was doing so steadily. With obvious effort, Jinamizi pulled himself up until he was sitting, glaring after the retreating forms of Chana's clan with hatred etched in every line of his face.
"Is everyone alright?" Uzuri asked weakly. "I suppose that's a fairly stupid question, given the circumstances, but..."
"I don't think I'm about to pass out, at least," Cheneta said with a sigh, hunched over with her head hanging. "...Hope not, anyway."
Tumaini and Nuru added their assertions that they would be okay, though Nuru commented that she needed to get to work on healing all of them. She seemed to think that it would take some doing to get all of their wounds patched up, a thought Tumaini had to agree with.
Jinamizi didn't respond to Uzuri's question, not that any of them had really expected him to. He was still glaring after the clan, though by now they had vanished from sight. Finally, he turned his furious gaze on the lionesses. "Just what do you think you four were doing, standing out of the battle?" he growled, his muzzle curled back to expose his teeth.
"Uh, I don't know if you've noticed, Jinamizi, but it's kind of obvious we didn't stay of the battle!" Tumaini snapped. "Or did you miss the great big bite and scratch marks we've all got?" She knew exactly what he was referring to; the few seconds at the beginning of the fight where neither she nor her pride mates had done anything to help. But she was hardly going to address that. They had helped in the end, hadn't they?
"Not at first," Jinamizi snarled, pushing himself to his paws and staggering as he did. "You traitorous lionesses took your time making yourselves useful, didn't you?"
"What, are you saying you needed our help?" Nuru asked coldly. "Maybe we thought you could handle it on your own. Isn't that what you think?"
"Shut up, you useless pile of maggots!" Jinamizi spat, shocking the lionesses slightly. "Whether or not I needed your help is not the point. The fact is that as my lionesses, you were meant to help without question! I am your king, your purpose is to serve me!"
"Serve you? Our purpose?" Tumaini scoffed indignantly. "What is it with you? Just because you're king doesn't mean you're the only one with any worth! We risked our necks saving your sorry hide, you pathetic fool!"
With a growl, Jinamizi moved toward Tumaini with clear difficulty but with speed born of anger. Though Tumaini saw the rage in his eyes, she couldn't back away, both because her pride would not allow it and because she was too tired to stand back up just yet. She let out a gasp as his paw struck the side of her head in a dazing blow, knocking her onto her side with new claw marks blazing along her cheek.
"Jinamizi, don't!" Uzuri cried, shock and anger in her voice. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Get away from her!" Nuru spat, while Cheneta growled, her hackles bristling.
"I'm tired of each of you lionesses disrespecting me!" Jinamizi snarled. "You're a useless, pointless bunch! And you, Tumaini, the only reason you are not dead right now for speaking to me as you continue time and time again to do is because you are carrying my cub, the cub of your king, your ruler! You should be honored beyond belief for that. And I promise you that if you do not start treating me the way a king deserves, the instant the cub is old enough to go without your care, I will kill you."
Tumaini met his eyes from where she lay on her side, too stunned by pain and shock to try to stand. His dark red-brown eyes blazed into hers, filled with anger and hatred, and his teeth were bared. There was no indication that his words were an empty threat, and knowing this lion and what he was capable of, murdering Hodari and Kawanja when their deaths had not been necessary for him to claim the throne, and killing Jamili, a little cub, she couldn't imagine that he would hesitate to kill her if or when it suited him.
"I have no doubt you would," Tumaini said quietly. "But I'm not going to fawn over and bow to a lion like you just because you made me pregnant against my will and threaten my life now." She closed her eyes with a sigh, letting her head fall back against the ground. "Feel free to carry out your threat once the cub's born and old enough, but don't ever expect me to bow to you, Jinamizi. I will never treat you as though you're a better lion than you really are."
Jinamizi snarled, a long, low sound. "Stupid lioness," he spat quietly, his tone both furious and derisive. "Your life is not worth the prey and air you waste to continue living." He turned his glare on the other three, who were all staring at Jinamizi and Tumaini with a mixture of shock, horror, and worry. "None of you are!" He growled and dug his claws into the ground, then turned and walked several paces away to flop down on the ground, clearly exhausted even though he was simmering in anger.
Tumaini's pride mates gathered around her slowly, their movements made difficult by their wounds. "Are you okay, Tumaini?" Nuru asked quietly, trying to speak lowly enough that Jinamizi would not hear, in case it angered him further.
"I'll be fine," Tumaini answered with another sigh, weakly lifting a paw to the new wounds on her cheek.
"How dare he strike you?" Uzuri growled quietly.
"Are you surprised he did?" Tumaini asked, her voice nearly a monotone.
"No. No, I'm not." Uzuri shook her head and looked over at their king with a clenched jaw. "But how I wish I could kill him for all he's done..." She looked back at Tumaini. "The things he's done to you alone, Tumaini, are unforgivable."
"True," Tumaini sighed. "But it doesn't change the fact we're stuck with him."
A few moments passed, and Cheneta laid down next to Tumaini, resting her head on her fore paws with a defeated expression.
"I'll... I'll go and get what herbs I need to start treating us all," Nuru said in a voice that was raised to include the rogue. "All of you, start cleaning as many of your wounds as well as you can, and I'll be back soon."
"Nuru, you're hurt, too," Uzuri pointed out. "You shouldn't move too much just yet."
"Well, no one else around here knows as much about herbs as I do," Nuru said, straightening in a transparent effort to appear healthier than she felt, obviously wanting to put Uzuri's mind at ease. "And anyway, we're all hurt, so it's not as though any of you would be better off gathering herbs than I would. I'll be fine, Uzuri, don't worry." She turned to head off into the Savannah to gather healing supplies, limping with every step. "I'll be back as quickly as I can manage," she promised over her shoulder. "Stay safe."
"We will," Cheneta sighed, watching as Tumaini pushed herself slowly back into a sitting position and gazed after Nuru wearily until her friend was out of sight. Uzuri, Cheneta and Tumaini sat close together as they cleaned their wounds, while some distance away, Jinamizi began to wash his own injuries, a low growl occasionally escaping his muzzle. The rain still fell heavily, and it had washed most of the blood away on its own, but it was still a good idea to clean all of their injuries carefully to avoid the risk of infection.
Tumaini lifted her head and looked in the direction the hyenas had headed, wondering if Chana's clan had reached the edge of her territory and left it yet. She knew that the trouble with these hyenas was far from over. She just didn't know what could be done about them. She sighed and closed her eyes briefly. Didn't she and her pride mates have enough to be worrying about with Jinamizi as their king? They didn't need this problem on top of that.
Nuru would be back quickly, she knew. Despite her friend's injuries, she knew that Nuru would be pushing herself to hurry, desperate as she would be to come back and start to make them all well again. Tumaini and the others would recover from these wounds soon enough, that their battle with the hyena clan had caused them. But she doubted that some of the wounds Jinamizi had inflicted on all of them would ever fully heal.
As night fell completely over the lands Tumaini used to consider a paradise, she licked a paw and slowly started to clean her injured cheek.
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
Mikazo was laying under Pride Rock's promontory with Kimada and Zawadi. The three of them had decided to use the huge stone structure for a bit of cover from the rain since none of them were quite ready to go into the cave and sleep just yet.
It was early night, and most of the Pride Lands' diurnal animals had gone to sleep. The nighttime sky was largely blocked from view by rain clouds, apart from the far horizon, where a deep blue, almost black was visible along with a swath of stars. Mikazo wondered briefly how the Great Kings of the Past kept an eye on everything during the rainy season. If they were the stars, how did they see what was going on through all the rain clouds?
Many of the pride's lions, along with Timon, Pumbaa, and Vonny, were inside the cave by now, though a few were out taking a late night walk. Mikazo watched with scant attention as two of the lionesses returned from a stop at the waterhole, both of them yawning widely. Soon enough, Mikazo and his friends were the only lions still awake in the Pride Lands.
The mood between the three young lions was fairly dismal, the darker spirits brought on by their talk about the choice that Kimada and Zawadi had to make. They had spent the better part of the day playing and training and trying to ignore the thought of the whole thing. But now that the day was winding down, they'd decided they'd better talk about it and try to at least begin to come to a decision.
Mikazo was staying mostly silent as he listened to the siblings talk, knowing that this choice was far more theirs to make than it was his. Of course he would be affected by it, because if they did decide to go with Msafiri's pride, if Msafiri's pride decided to leave at all, that was, then Mikazo would lose both of his friends. That thought was incredibly painful, and it was becoming increasingly difficult not to start begging them to stay in Pride Lands, to take that option, so they would stay near him.
"I don't like the thought of never seeing Msafiri, Azizi, Vema and Suluhu again," Zawadi admitted quietly. "I mean, Msafiri and Masa practically raised me, and so did Vema and Suluhu, when they found me after we got separated, Kimada. They're like family, and the idea of leaving them... I don't know."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kimada agreed. "I feel the same way about the Pride Landers. They took me in, too, you know? But there's no way I'm not going wherever you go, 'Wadi. Now that I've got you back, you're stuck with me for life."
Zawadi chuckled weakly. "Good to know. Wouldn't want to lose my crazy brother, now would I?" She sighed. "It's hard to decide whether to stay here or leave with Msafiri and the rest of my pride, but you're right, whatever choice we make, we have to stick together."
"Msafiri might decide to stay after all," Mikazo pointed out hopefully, laying on his stomach with his head on his paws. "If he does, neither of you have to lose your pride mates, right?"
"Yeah, that's true!" Kimada said with a twinge of his usual brightness. "I'm gonna be hoping for that, for sure."
"But in case he doesn't, we do need to decide," Zawadi said reluctantly. She paused. "I suppose this is hardly uncommon, though, to have to leave your old pride. I mean, lots of lions do, and start new prides, right? This isn't so different, one of us joining the other's pride."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, there," Kimada agreed. "Doesn't make it any more fun to have to choose, though..." He frowned, clearly bothered, and looked over at Mikazo. "And what about you, Mikazo? You're my best friend, I don't want to leave you behind at all."
Mikazo smiled. "Thanks, Kimada, and believe me, it's mutual. But Zawadi's your sister, and that outranks best friend in importance, doesn't it?"
Kimada looked at the ground, shaking his head slightly without answering, his shoulders heaving as he sighed heavily.
"Not entirely," Zawadi said quietly, responding to the rhetorical question in her brother's place. "I mean, I know how important you are to my brother, Mikazo. And I have to admit, you've grown on me, too." She smirked half-heartedly. "Just a bit."
Mikazo laughed briefly. "Thanks, I think."
"I don't want the three of us to be split up at all," Kimada complained. "I mean, come on! If I go with Msafiri's pride, Zawadi, then I'll be saying goodbye to Simba's pride and everyone in it, and to Mikazo, too! And if you stay here, you'll be losing your pride mates, and that's just not fair." He let out a strained grumble. "What are we supposed to do about that?"
"I agree, this stinks," Zawadi huffed with a mixture of frustration and sadness, flicking her tail along the ground.
A few more minutes passed, during which they exchanged few words, and when they did talk, it was in subdued tones. Then, by unspoken mutual agreement, the three young lions got up together and headed into the cave to sleep. Tonight, they opted to find a spot they could share together, and Mikazo curled into a ball with his chin resting on Kimada's back and with Zawadi's shoulder pressed against his side. The three of them felt a need tonight to not be separated just yet.
With a yawn, Mikazo closed his eyes and tried to push the whole matter from his mind.