I'm on a roll, we've hit the 200,000 word mark! Party at my house.
At 100,000 words, we had a pizza party. Let's do KFC this time. Bring buckets. I like extra crispy, how about you?
...You know... if we hit 300,000 words? I demand steak.
Hope you enjoy!
The rain blasted down from the sky in a sudden and fierce but thankfully brief downpour, slamming a barrage of cold, hard droplets into Daka and Azizi's faces and forcing them both to clench their eyes shut against it. Then, after a few seconds, the deluge calmed and returned to its previous drizzle. It was still raining fairly heavily, but much less so than was most common these days. Huffing in disgust, Daka impatiently shook his head to scatter the rain from his eyes and then scrubbed at his face with a paw, unwilling to have his vision blurred for even a moment when there were so many cool things for him to find and explore around here.
The Pride Lands' young prince, with the worst of the water out of his eyes and his sight clear aside from the intervening mist, looked around with an open-mouthed grin and his tail lifted high at the new area of the Elephant Graveyard he and Azizi were in. They were deep inside the shadowy territory of rocks and bones now, having thoroughly explored every interesting thing they could find along their path as they'd continued in their adventure. Now Daka and Azizi were heading toward a massive collection of tall spires and deep pits that made up a kind of cavern, filled with crevices and geysers that periodically spouted lines of searing steam that Daka could swear went nearly as tall as a tree. Dark and creepy, it was set against a backdrop of thick mist, shrouded heavily until parts of the jutting stone were completely invisible, and then those parts loomed suddenly out of the mist as he and Azizi drew nearer.
It looked like just the sort of place to explore, and from what he knew from his grandparents' stories, it was probably where the hyenas used to live before his evil Great-Great-Uncle Scar caused all that trouble, starting back when his grandpa and grandma had been cubs. He didn't know exactly what Great-Great-Uncle Scar had done, though he knew it was very bad, and that it had hurt his Grandfather Simba a lot. He knew it had something to do with his Great-Grandfather Mufasa's death, his Grandpa Simba's own dad, and that Scar had recruited all of the hyenas in some kind of evil plan, but no-one would explain any more than that to Daka.
To Daka's frustration, whenever he asked about that time, his parents and his grandparents, and even his Aunt Vitani, always said "I'll tell you when you're older." His Great-Grandmothers Sarabi and Sarafina seemed especially unwilling to speak of that time to Daka. They all told him that he was too young, and they didn't want him to know yet just how bad King Scar's reign had been, and just what his great-great-uncle had done. Even the other pride members and even a gazelle- who'd been a last resort because Daka had wanted to hear the full story and no one else would tell him- he'd questioned had refused to explain anything to him. (Although in that gazelle's case, Daka supposed it might have been more that he wasn't much older than Daka was and probably didn't know himself. Maybe, anyway. He still had a sneaking suspicion that the gazelle had been holding out on him.)
Daka had long since decided that was probably the most annoying thing to say in the history of the world, that he'd find out what he was curious about now only when he was older. Why did they think they had to coddle him like a little baby? He could handle anything that any adult could! Wasn't he proving just that right this very moment, being in the Elephant Graveyard? They always said it was too dangerous, but that was just dumb. It was such a cool place, with geysers and little mountain-like things and spires and rocks and holes and dips and crevices and many other things besides that Daka really wanted to look into. And besides, there weren't any other animals around aside from a few bugs that occasionally buzzed around the two cubs' ears and the occasional sound of a mouse scuttling among the bones and rocks, its tiny claws scratching for purchase and its little squeaks barely audible.
As much as he might like to tell everyone back home how brave and smart he and Azizi were, he guessed it would be a bad idea to tell his parents about this adventure. He'd probably get grounded for life because they thought he'd been in danger. He was sure that wasn't true, he wasn't in any sort of danger here. Daka wondered why they thought there were any problems in the Elephant Graveyard. Had they visited it since the hyenas had left? The little cub supposed they must not have, because if they had, they would have known that there wasn't any kind of other dangerous things around here anymore, either, just like he did.
"This place is really spooky-looking," Azizi said with both excitement and a hint of fear as they had almost reached the massive group of spires and such that made up the hyena clan's old home.
Dim shadows, the last remnants of the sunlight's effect, of what faint light had managed to make it down through both the rain clouds and the mist, were cast in thick, long bands along the ground around the collection of jutting rocks. Along with their pointed spires disappearing into the sky, so far above the cubs' heads that Daka had to crane his neck back to even see where they vanished into the mist, there were also deep pools of darkness where caves and caverns were situated among the towering stone shapes. The mist not only shrouded the collection of structures, but like over all the rest of the Elephant Graveyard, here also it hung just over the ground in both thin and thick twisting shapes, faintly translucent but surprisingly dense.
Daka wasn't sure what caused mist- or rain, actually, for that matter, maybe he'd ask his parents after he returned triumphantly from his adventure- but it, along with the rain and the shadows cast by the spires and jutting rocks and the steam that rose from the multitudes of geysers, made it pretty hard to see long distances around here. All the same, all together it made the hyenas' old home a place so different than any Daka had ever seen that it was one of the best places for exploration he could imagine.
"You're not afraid, are you?" Daka asked his companion with a hint of a smirk, not trying to be mean, but unable to help but tease her about it. Although he had to admit to himself that it was a bit creepy, but in a cool kind of way. Still, he wasn't about to admit that out loud. That wasn't something you did, telling your best friend that you were a little creeped out, especially if they happened to be a girl. Though he was sure if he ever said as much to Azizi, she'd pin him to the ground and wouldn't let him back up until he took it back. She'd done it before...
"No, I'm not!" Azizi said with insulted sharpness. She lifted her head and straightened her back. "Come on, I'll even lead the way." With a short lash of her tail, the silvery-tan cub trotted on ahead with a proud air, heading toward the spires at a quick pace, clearly intent on proving just how not afraid she was. Daka grinned and raced after her, swatting playfully at her brown tufted tail-tip as he caught up.
As they continued on, however, Daka caught a sound just at the edge of his hearing. Twisting his ears, he tried to track it, to identify it, but it was so brief and echoed so strangely among the towering rocks and deep crevices that he couldn't guess what it even really sounded like, let alone where it came from. Then the sound faded from hearing without giving him any chance to figure out what had caused it. Twitching his own tail dismissively and deciding it must have just been a mouse or something, Daka started off again.
He'd only taken a few short steps when the sound came again, nearer to them and this time loud enough for him to get an idea of what it sounded like.
It was a faint sound, sibilant and strange as it filtered through the mist; some kind of low-pitched, wavering hiss. As the sound washed over him, Daka felt his muscles lock as some deep instinct inside him responded to the unfamiliar noise with alarm and the beginnings of terror. Though he didn't know what exactly was causing that sound, had never heard it before, some deep part of him insisted desperately that it meant danger.
Azizi, who was a few paces ahead of him, paused and looked back, confused at why he had stopped walking. "Daka, what's..." She trailed off as she saw his expression, and her own twisted into one of worry and fear. "Daka?"
"Azizi, do you hear that?" Daka asked in a strained whisper, his limbs still locked in place and his heart beginning to pound as the hiss came again, long, drawn out, and wavering. His ears twitched to and fro as he tried to track the sound, tried to figure out exactly where it was coming from and just what was making it. He had no luck, but if one thing was clear, it was that it was the sound of another living creature. And it certainly didn't sound much like any mouse Daka had ever heard.
Blinking at his question, the little lioness cub pricked her own ears, and waited. Soon enough her eyes widened slightly as she, too, caught the noise. "I... I think so," Azizi said quietly, obviously disturbed. Daka saw that the fur along her back was beginning to lift, the silvery specks in her tan fur glimmering slightly in the light as her fur bristled. "What is that, where's it coming from?"
Daka shook his head, uncertain and afraid. He padded a few slow, careful steps over to Azizi and pressed his side lightly to hers, not wanting to appear too terrified, but unable to resist looking for some form of comfort. As Azizi stepped closer to him in return until she was close enough that his whiskers brushed her head, Daka lifted his ears high again.
Just underneath the hiss, which rose and fell in pitch as well as having moments of silence, Daka thought he could hear something else. Just at the very faintest volume that he was capable of detecting, there seemed to be some kind of scraping sound, as of something moving slowly over stone, something rough and grating, like claws or... Daka swallowed as he realized the noise sounded just like the sound that the lizard he sometimes pounced at made as it moved low on its belly, low enough its scales brushed the ground as it ran; a quiet, spine-tingling scrape, so quiet as to be nearly impossible to hear.
The noise was the sound of scales brushing against stone. But no lizard Daka knew of made a hissing noise. In fact, he could only think of one species of animal that might make that sound, combined with the brush of scales; some kind of snake.
He hadn't considered that there might be snakes living in the Elephant Graveyard. He hadn't even thought of that, all he'd known was that there were no hyenas here anymore. But Daka knew that there were many species of snakes around where he lived that would see him and Azizi as little more than an appetizer.
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
Simba reached the boundary that divided his lands from the Elephant Graveyard and wasted no time in springing easily in a few bounds down the hill he and Nala had once fallen down while play-fighting as cubs. That had been the day they had sneaked off to the Elephant Graveyard and had then nearly been killed by those three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, who had been Scar's closest followers out of all the members of the hyena clan that had lived in the Elephant Graveyard back then.
Though he couldn't, of course, be certain, Simba had to assume that that had been an early attempt by his uncle, Scar, to kill him, before he had tried and half-succeeded by causing the wildebeest stampede in the gorge that had left Simba alive but had killed Mufasa, as Scar had intended for both cub and father. That stampede had taken his father from him, and Simba still occasionally had nightmares filled with thundering hooves and the sound of his father's yell as he'd fallen from the cliff edge into the stampede... or rather, as Simba had found out much later, had been thrown- or perhaps been shoved, he didn't know the exact specifics and didn't want to think too much about it- from the cliff by his brother, Scar. He wouldn't be at all surprised if his and Nala's near deaths at the paws of the hyenas who had worked for Scar had been planned by the conniving lion, that their visit to the Elephant Graveyard had been part of Scar's quest for power. At least that had failed, thanks to Zazu bringing Simba's father to the rescue, and both Simba and Nala had been saved.
All that aside, Simba had been to the Elephant Graveyard several times as an adult, though he'd never gone too deep into the barren, shadowed lands. They weren't his lands to travel, but as they weren't claimed by any other lion prides or Shenzi's hyena clan any longer, there at least was no danger of starting a war by his trespass. He'd paced around the perimeter that met with the Pride Lands' borders, and had ventured a short distance inside each time, checking to be sure there was nothing there that could threaten his pride if it decided to cross into his lands. There never had been something of significant threat for an entire pride of lions, but he knew there were a few animals scattered throughout the massive Graveyard that could easily hurt or kill a couple of young cubs.
If they were in the Elephant Graveyard- and he hoped desperately they were not, that they were somewhere safe and just unnoticed in the Pride Lands- he had to find Daka and Azizi before something terrible happened to them. He couldn't bear the thought of losing his grandson, the warm-hearted, curious, adventurous cub he loved so much. And he couldn't allow anything to happen to Azizi either. She was too young, far too young, to die or be badly injured. He also wasn't sure Msafiri could tolerate the loss of his daughter- Simba knew he certainly would never be able to stand it if something ever happened to Kiara- especially so soon after Msafiri's mate's death.
As he landed on the ground at the bottom of the hill not far from a geyser, Simba stood tall and looked around, trying to decide which direction to head. He tried to sniff the air and then the ground for any sign of the cubs, but the rain and the mist made it impossible to smell anything but water and wet rock. If they had passed through here, he had no way of knowing through scent.
With a growl of frustration, Simba glanced around at the ground for tracks, though he knew since it was predominately made up of stone and scattered bones, there was no surface where a paw could leave a print. Still hoping that neither cub was here in these dark lands, Simba heaved a sigh and set off into the depths of the Elephant Graveyard, calling Daka and Azizi's names periodically, as he had been even while in the Pride Lands. If they were here, he'd find them, even if he had to search the entire Elephant Graveyard.
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
The low, sibilant sound of hissing and the scraping of scales echoed in Daka's ears, and his breath was coming quickly as he struggled not to panic, unwilling to appear cowardly in front of his friend but unable to hide his reaction. Thankfully, at least on that count, Azizi seemed as nervous as he did, so maybe he wasn't a complete coward.
"Azizi, maybe... maybe we should get out of here," Daka said, his voice shaking in fear. "I think that it might be..." He swallowed again, feeling as though there was something caught in his throat, something jagged and sharp like the fear he felt rushing through him. He couldn't seem to finish his statement, that he believed it could be a snake, and Daka closed his mouth again without speaking. He fought back the urge to crouch to the ground with his eyes closed and his fore-paws covering his face, as if doing that would make the threatening sound and whatever was causing it to just go away. He was not a little cub, and he was not going to act like a newborn, no matter how frightened he was rapidly becoming.
"Yeah, I agree," Azizi said uneasily, her ears now pressed flat as though to block out the chilling sounds echoing around them. "Let's go back home."
Both cubs turned and started moving at a fast trot back in the direction they'd come, leaving the gigantic structure of spires and caves unexplored in favor of getting out of the Elephant Graveyard right away. As much as Daka wanted to go exploring there, his rising fear made it too scary a prospect. Maybe they'd come back some other day and explore it like they'd planned to do, but not now.
But they hadn't gone far when the hiss reached a sudden and paralyzing pitch, abruptly impossible to miss even if you weren't listening for it. The rattling hiss was now punctuated with sharp, rapid spitting. Both Daka and Azizi froze in place as a long, slim and sinuous form glided out of the mist, winding along the ground and down a long ridged bone that had to be the spine of an elephant, heading toward them from their left.
The snake blinked deep black eyes, glinting with something fierce and frightening as they fixed on the cubs. Its back was pale gray, and as it lifted its roughly rectangular head from the ground, hissing once again as its tongue flickered out through its closed mouth, Daka saw that its stomach and the bottom of its jaw was even more pale; a milky white that blended perfectly with the mist that hung over this part of the land. The snake's supple form undulated in a way that almost memorized, every twist filled with coiled power, as it drew close to them. It stopped only a few feet away, its head still lifted and a faint hiss fizzling from its mouth.
"I would normally agree with you both, and send you on your way," the snake said in an unmistakably male voice, cold and hard. Both cubs found themselves unable to move, his cold gaze pinning them in place. "If this was anyone's territory but my own, that is. Except, as it is my own, I'm afraid you have to live by my rules while here. Only fair, yes? Especially since you entered my lands without my permission." There was a fiercely territorial sharpness to the snake's tone.
"What... who are you?" Azizi asked, choking back what seemed to be a whimper. Daka thought he could feel her trembling against his side, though he himself was shaking so hard that it was difficult to tell for sure.
The snake's jaws dropped open, revealing a pitch-black mouth and two long, sharp fangs, as a threatening, rattling hiss emerged. "Oh, my name is Mauja... and, in case you did not recognize my species, young as you both are, I am a black mamba."
Daka felt his eyes widen and his fur bristle as he realized he knew that species of snake, he'd heard of it. Everyone said that black mambas were among the most dangerous snakes in Africa. They said that if a black mamba bit you even once, you were dead, and there was nothing even Rafiki could do to stop the poison from doing its work. Daka's shivering worsened as a whimper broke free from his control. Maybe his parents and grandparents had been right about the Elephant Graveyard being a dangerous place after all... And somehow, it didn't seem so worth it to explore any longer.
"Allow me to finish what I'm saying just now, though, if you would," the black mamba, Mauja, continued. "I suppose you're unfamiliar with my rules, being a newcomer to this wonderful wasteland of mine, so I'll explain them to you. Normally I would allow ones so young as you a free pass, if this were not my territory, if I was traveling outside my lands right now. I do not like to prey on children. But, you see, if you enter my territory without my permission, then you have to pay for your trespassing..." He slithered even closer and Daka backed up a step, then froze again as the serpent tensed as if to strike then and there. Flicking his tongue out as Daka stopped moving, the snake relaxed and blinked in satisfaction. "Good, stay there. As I was saying, the price of trespassing, regardless of your age, is this; you both die, and then I get to eat you." With no more warning than that, the snake reared to strike, his jaws opening wide.
"Run!" Daka shouted frantically, and he and Azizi whipped around and sprang away. Daka heard Mauja's hiss as his head lashed through the air behind them, visible out of the corner of Daka's eye even as the cub spun to run, and he felt the strike pass so close to him that the wind stirred by it brushed past his tail. The snake's head slammed into the ground behind them, sending a few smaller elephant bones flying, and his hiss briefly became sharp with pain.
As Daka and Azizi fled for their lives, hearts pounding, pelts bristling, and minds blurred in fear, Daka chanced a glance back over his shoulder. Mauja was pursuing them, quickly building up to an astounding speed, very quickly closing the small gap they had managed to gain when he'd smacked his head into the ground.
Daka gasped and leapt sideways, and then sprang back in a zigzag pattern, instinct driving him to make himself as hard a target to hit as possible. Part of him wondered if he and Azizi should split up; at least then Mauja could only chase after one of them. The one who was not chased could almost certainly escape, and surely the one who was would have as much chance as both cubs did at the moment. But he couldn't, even in his panic, suggest it. He'd feel beyond horrible if they split up and Azizi died because she was the one chased. No, friends had to stick together, even in situations that made Daka's heart feel like it was going to burst out of his chest and made his lungs feel too small for him to breathe.
The serpent lashed out again, and Azizi cried out, springing sideways so quickly she almost plunged into a large boulder. Because he had lunged between the two of them and he was in a position to see, Daka thought the side of the black mamba's head had swept alongside Azizi's body, perhaps missing her but he couldn't be sure. In his panicked concern, Daka nearly stumbled, but then he saw that there was no blood, that Azizi had not been struck, and that she was still running as desperately as he was, and he managed to regain control of his legs.
Both cubs leapt their way up onto a broken off elephant tusk, and then thrust themselves up and over it, landing on a stone outcropping just above the shattered tusk. With Mauja lunging up after them, the length of his body easily making it over the distance Daka and Azizi had jumped, they ran on, quickly crossing the flat outcropping and springing off the edge back onto the ground below. They landed on a combination of stone and a small amount of dirt, soaked by the rain, and continued to run, the serpent's spitting and hissing urging them on to a pace faster than Daka had thought either of them could manage.
"Daka, up there!" Azizi shouted suddenly. She turned sharply on one fore-paw, swinging on that paw so her hind-quarters were carried on by her momentum while her front was holding her in place, allowing her to twist so she was facing sideways. And then, as her swing was completed, she shoved off with the opposite hind paw in order to launch herself in a new direction without loosing her stride. Daka, struggling to keep up with the larger and faster cub, struggling to stay ahead of the hissing, slithering serpent that was snapping at their paws, performed the same maneuver a moment later and threw himself after Azizi as she headed up a gently sloping hill.
"Why?" Daka asked breathlessly, flinching and trying to run even faster as he heard Mauja's mouth snap shut just behind his tail. He didn't understand how heading up a hill could help them. Mauja could travel up the hill just as quickly as they could, and it wasn't as if snakes couldn't climb, so even trying to scale the massive stone spire at the top of this hill would be useless.
Azizi was panting in the effort to get her words out without slowing her frantic pace. "I have... an idea. Just follow my lead!"
Daka had no time to hesitate or question further as Mauja slipped nearly alongside them, twisting to the side as though to cut in front of them and block their path with his thin but clearly powerful body. Daka was close enough to the black mamba to see the muscles rippling smoothly underneath the sleek gray scales. Both cubs sprang upward, shouting out in panic as the serpent lunged at them from the side. They just barely dodged once more, but Daka knew they couldn't keep this up. He knew how fast snakes could move, and he truly wasn't sure why they had not been caught already. Was Mauja playing with them? Or was he trying to tire them out so they wouldn't be able to fight back and maybe hurt him before he killed and ate them?
It didn't matter which, if either, was true, because neither cub could stand the thought of becoming snake food. They had to get away. They both continued their frantic dash up the moderate hill, their paws skidding on the occasional elephant bone, each time causing Daka's heart to leap into his throat as they slipped and nearly fell back into the jaws of the serpent pursuing them. Then, once they were near the top of the hill, Azizi shouted, "Now!" and then, in one move, she sprang sideways and up, twisting as she did so. Not knowing what she was doing, Daka stared for the space of an instant before regaining his focus and, as she'd said, following her lead, supposing that it couldn't really put them in a worse situation then they were in already. As he leapt and twisted, he realized what her plan had been.
The leap and twist they had both performed had been a complete one-eighty from the direction they had been heading, and as they sprang, they were now leaping down the hill. Their jumps were carrying them right over the clearly confused Mauja, who didn't seem to understand why they'd suddenly turned straight back toward him. Despite his surprise, he recovered quickly and struck at them, launching his head high into the air in an attempt to bite one of the leaping cubs, a high-pitched simmering hiss coming from his open jaws. But that was where the second part of Azizi's plan had come in, why she had led them up the hill.
Because they'd been climbing up this hill with Mauja chasing behind them, Mauja was naturally at a lower height then they were. Their jumps had carried them still higher, as well as horizontally over the black mamba, and because of the extra height they'd gained from being further up the hill then Mauja was, he didn't have enough length in his body, as long as he was, for his strike to reach them. If they'd tried to leap over him while on even ground and without that little bit of extra height, his strike would have caught them easily. But Azizi's idea had given them just enough height to avoid being hit.
Both cubs were spared as Mauja's fangs cut through the air a quarter of a foot below them, and then they passed over their hunter. Daka, marveling at Azizi's quick-thinking and brilliance, landed roughly on the ground, a fair distance down the hill from the still-shocked snake. To his alarm, he very nearly lost his balance as he did, and then his claws bit and held in the hill, allowing him to continue standing. The instant he'd aborted his fall, he launched himself back into a full run alongside Azizi as they raced back down the hill they had just climbed.
Throwing a look backward, Daka saw that Mauja's shock at their move had delayed his response, and though he was now slithering after them once again, a gray streak shooting down the hill at high speed, he was nearly half of the hill away, which was further than he'd been during the entire chase.
With a slight laugh of incredulous hope, and largely from nerves, Daka kept running even though his legs and his ribs were both beginning to ache from his desperate efforts and the extent he was demanding of them. He wanted to say something to Azizi on her idea, tell her how impressed he was, but he couldn't seem to find enough breath, and hearing a sharp hiss echoing through the mist as Mauja charged after them, he couldn't risk trying.
As they reached the bottom of the hill and began running across the nearly flat ground, with more dips and more hills ahead of them, along with spires and rocks they would have to slip around, Daka wondered which way they were supposed to go. The mist and the unfamiliarity of the Elephant Graveyard suddenly hit Daka fully, and he wasn't at all sure which way was the way back home. And even if they somehow managed to get to the border and back into the Pride Lands, would Mauja stop chasing them simply because they were out of his territory? From the snake's hissing and explosive spitting behind them, Daka was sure he wouldn't.
That meant they had to lose him somehow, leave him behind and get themselves far out of his sight before they ran back toward the border and the Pride Lands. But they didn't know this place at all, they didn't know where the shortcuts were, and which way would be the best way to run to lose someone. It was certainly a maze of spires and stones and bones, especially with the obscuring mist, but Mauja lived here. Daka didn't see how they could out maneuver him on his own territory- he didn't even see how either of them could keep running for much longer- but they needed to try or they were both food.
Daka and Azizi lunged around a massive rock spire and plunged into a cave-like structure that was made of curving stones. The stones were not completely connected overhead, so though it was similar to the stone tunnels you could find in caves, and similar in a way to the cave Daka and his family lived in at Pride Rock, there were still holes in the stone ceiling that allowed extremely faint sunlight to filter through.
As a result, both cubs were racing through a haphazard assortment of shadow and light, partial shade and wide spots of relative brightness. It was disorienting, and Daka quickly started to feel dizzy, but he could hear Mauja some distance behind them, now once again close enough for him to hear the scrape of the serpent's scales against the ground even over the sound of their own paws hitting the stone, so he had to keep running despite his difficulties.
Next to him, Azizi was a pale blur as she bounded with equal desperation through the tunnel, and soon, they both burst out into a new area. Still moving as quickly as he could, Daka looked around. Fresh horror and fear pounded through him, stronger than anything he'd ever felt before, as he realized they'd run into a shallow, open-ceilinged cavern. On all sides, save for the tunnel they had just run through, were steep stone walls arching nearly straight upward. The walls were far too high to leap up, far too steep and smooth to climb.
There were no other openings apart from the one they'd just run through, no other exits, only cracks in the stone large enough for a mouse or perhaps a small bird, but far too small for them.
There was no way out. They were trapped.
With panicked disbelief, Daka and Azizi both ran to the opposite side of the cavern, shooting frantic looks in every direction, hoping desperately that their eyes were fooling them, and that there was some escape.
There was none, and as Daka skidded to a halt in front of the far wall, his side slamming into the stone as he twisted and scrambled to stop, the young cub let out a terrified sob.
At his side, Azizi crouched to the ground with her haunches pressed against the stone wall, frantic whimpers choking in her throat as both cubs watched Mauja emerge from the tunnel opposite from them. Something like surprise glittered in the black mamba's dark eyes, and it was clear he hadn't expected them to survive for so long as they ran from him. Daka supposed that, from the speed with which he'd seen the snake chase them after they had used Azizi's idea to gain such a significant lead, that Mauja really had been holding back before that; he had been playing with them.
And now it was clear he had no intention of continuing in this vein. He was obviously done playing. He hissed quietly as he approached the two shaking cubs at a moderate pace, his eyes fixed on them intently and his mouth dropping open to reveal his glistening fangs. "You two are fairly impressive for lions so young," Mauja commented as he neared them. "That move on the hill... I was surprised."
"Please, don't eat us," Azizi begged quietly, shivering against Daka's side, all of their bravery and bravado entirely gone by now, lost in the snake's unwavering black gaze.
"You entered my territory without my permission, and I can't allow that!" Mauja snapped. "What right do you have to wander into my land, trespass in my home, just to satisfy your curiosity?"
"We weren't going to hurt anything!" Daka protested desperately. "We wouldn't have hunted any mice or anything. I can't even hunt yet, I don't eat meat yet!" His voice broke as he finished.
The snake paused in surprise, stopping nearly half the cavern from them with his hiss cutting off abruptly. "You are not old enough to eat meat yet?" Mauja questioned quietly. "That is indeed very young..." For a brief moment, he almost looked troubled, and his slightly parted jaws closed. And then his eyes hardened once more. "But that does not excuse your trespass. It is not just the theft of prey that I care about. After all, there are so many mice here, and they have so many babies so often that I have a near endless supply, even if I would prefer larger meals. I am in no danger of starving, and I would have cared very little if you had caught a mouse or two. But I can't stand for trespass for any reason. This territory is mine, and mine alone..." With another hiss, he continued across the cavern, closing the gap between them.
"Please," Daka said as he pressed his chest to the ground, halfway turning so that his head was tucked under Azizi's. He could hear her rapid heartbeat beneath his ear, the breath catching raggedly in her lungs, and he was just as terrified as she was.
Mauja shook his head slowly. "...I will do this much for you, cubs. When I strike, I will bite you in your throats and chests. My venom will travel quickly through your bodies that way, and your deaths will come within minutes... perhaps even seconds, small as you are. You will suffer as little as I can possible manage to arrange."
Azizi tried one last time for bravery. "Stay away from us!" she exclaimed, with a weak attempt at a threatening growl. "Leave us alone!" Despite her last brave attempt, tears were welling in Azizi's bright green eyes.
Daka knew he was not imagining the troubled, almost reluctant look in Mauja's eyes now, but the snake still reared into a striking position. His mouth gaped, and he prepared to lunge at them. His deep black mouth and his thin, hollow fangs, which would deliver his deadly poison, were all that Daka could focus on. He didn't want to watch Mauja attack, he didn't want to see their deaths coming, but he couldn't look away. His attention was riveted, and his heart was pounding so hard his vision was blurred.
But several seconds passed, and Mauja didn't strike. He was utterly still, motionless in a pre-strike position, and Daka finally found himself able to look away from the fangs and into the snake's dark eyes. They were filled with confusion and conflict, and as Daka and Azizi met his gaze, their eyes both wide and terrified, Mauja's mouth began to close as if of its own accord as the conflict in his eyes strengthened.
Suddenly Mauja shook his head roughly as if chiding himself, and then widened his jaws again to strike, this time moving his head forward perhaps half a foot before he once again slowed to a stop, his hiss choking off as his mouth half-closed once more. As Daka and Azizi stared in confusion and desperate hope, and as Mauja's confused emotions were joined by something that looked like frustration, a new voice snapped out in the silence, shocking all of them.
"Get away from them!"
Daka, as well as Azizi and Mauja, whipped around and stared up at the left of the open cavern. On top of one of the stone walls, having clearly approached from above, silhouetted against the backdrop of mist and rainclouds, stood Daka's grandfather, Simba. The large golden lion was crouched slightly as if ready to pounce, and his expression was angry but wary as he watched the black mamba who lay so close to the cubs, poised to strike.
Daka's heart leapt with joy and hope even as shock coursed through him. What was his grandpa doing here? What did it matter? He was here! He would save them both!
Azizi let out a cry of delight as Daka yelled, "Grandpa! Help!"
Mauja's jaws snapped shut, his expression stunned. His dark eyes fixed on Simba for a moment, then his tongue flickered out to taste the air. Releasing a long, low hiss, he said quietly, "Aren't you Simba, the king of the Pride Lands?"
"Yes," Simba said, eyes fixed cautiously on the snake. "And that is my grandson, Daka. And I won't allow any harm to come to either him or Azizi. Stay away from them..." With that low threat, Simba leapt down into the cavern and slowly began to move toward the three frozen figures, stopping a short distance away with his eyes flicking in between the tensed serpent and the two shivering cubs.
"Prince Daka?" the mamba hissed, eying the mahogany-colored cub with new interest. "And Azizi... as in the daughter of King Msafiri? How surprising… I didn't realize that I was about to eat royalty..."
"Grandpa…" Daka whimpered, pressing his side against Azizi's. "He can't eat us!"
"If you even try to eat them you won't live to see another day," Simba growled, stalking forward a few short paces with every one of his muscles tensed. Daka, even through his fear, was astonished by how dangerous his grandfather looked. Dangerous was not a word he'd ever thought fit his warm-hearted grandpa before this moment, but there was no other word for the deadly grace with which Simba was moving, holding himself as though ready to launch forward the instant he needed to do so.
"If you attack me, neither will you," Mauja replied, narrowing his eyes and hissing briefly. "I will bite if you attack. I can strike all three of you before you lay a claw on me. You would not survive the day. My kind's venom is so potent that a bite from one of us is considered the Kiss of Death."
"That might be true, but I could still deal you a mortal blow before the poison could take effect, couldn't I?" Simba said in a dark tone. Mauja remained silent aside from a faint hiss, and Simba took that as a confirmation. Then the king continued more evenly, "But it doesn't have to come to that. Neither you nor I would gain anything from all three of us being stricken and then my killing you before your poison killed us all. If that happened, all four of us would be dead." Simba's voice lowered, becoming something between an order and a desperate request. "Let them go. They are just cubs. And if you let them go, all four of us live."
Mauja froze and his jaw tightened at the reminder of the young age of the two cubs. But then he rallied and said fiercely, "I have hunted them in a chase that exhausted us all. They trespassed in my territory. Why should I give up my prey? You have no way to command me here, this land is not part of your kingdom, and I cannot be punished as the laws of your lands decree. And as for killing me before the poison takes effect, I believe I have a fair chance of dodging any of your attacks. Black mambas are extremely fast, as I'm sure you've heard."
"But you can't guarantee that!" Simba snapped, a faint growl rumbling in his chest. As Mauja's gaze fixed on his unwaveringly, and as Daka realized that Mauja was not going to back down, a strange look came over Simba's face, one of almost resignation, as he seemed to come to an idea, one that from his expression was clearly one that he considered a last resort. When he spoke, his voice was quiet once again. "If you let them go, and if you give them enough time to head back home that I know you can't catch up to by then, that they're safely back in the Pride Lands, then I will let you have me without a fight."
Mauja's eyes widened in shock as Daka and Azizi stared in incomprehension. "What?" the serpent asked blankly.
"If you want a source of prey, I am much more... filling... then any two cubs could ever be. And as for trespassing on your territory, they can't be held responsible for that. They're just cubs who went exploring, do they deserve to die for that? If you need to punish someone for their trespass, then I'll take responsibility for their actions." Simba's expression was dark, his eyes pained, and it was clear that there was a part of him that was utterly terrified at the thought of the death a black mamba would deal. But the strongest of the emotions to be seen in the Lion King's face were ones of resignation and resolution- and, most of all, fierce protectiveness.
"Grandpa, no!" Daka yelled in horror as he realized what his grandfather was saying. "No, don't! I won't let you!" The cub felt a sob rising in his throat and made no effort to restrain it. He didn't care who heard him crying. He couldn't let his grandpa, his wonderful, loving grandpa who played with him and told him stories and tickled him and cared for him as deeply as Daka's parents' did, die. He couldn't! "Don't!" Daka's voice broke once again.
"Simba, what..." Azizi trailed off, nearly as horrified as Daka was.
"You would..." Mauja broke off and just stared in astonishment, and then continued in a hesitant, uncertain tone, as though he wasn't sure he had understood Simba's meaning. "You would take these cubs' place as my meal? You would die in their place if I let them go?"
"Yes," Simba answered quietly but firmly. "If you allow them to get far enough away that there's no chance you could chase after them and catch them too after I am dealt with, I will let you strike me. I give my word that I will not try to harm you as the poison takes effect. I'm a much larger meal than they are." He paused for a long moment. "Please, take me, but let the cubs go."
"Grandpa..." Daka's legs would no longer hold him, so he sank down on his stomach. He was shaking, his breath coming in quick, broken gasps, and he could feel tears welling in the corners of his eyes. Nothing else that had happened today could compare to the feeling of terror and pain Daka felt now, as if his heart was being wrenched apart by the sacrifice his grandpa was about to make. "No..."
Mauja stared at Simba for a long few seconds, his dark eyes stunned. "I believe you," the serpent hissed quietly. "I believe you would do this, that you would allow me to kill you and would not attack me while you died, in exchange for the safety of these cubs." He paused, his eyes fixed on Simba's for a long moment. He looked from the king to the two cubs, first meeting Daka's desperation-filled eyes, then Azizi's, and then he returned his gaze to Simba. Another moment passed before he said softly, "But I will not accept your offer."
"Listen, what do you have to gain from my attacking you if you don't take this chance?" Simba demanded, though there was some definite pleading in his voice. "Then every one of us dies!"
"You misunderstand... your majesty," Mauja said, in nearly a whisper. He blinked slowly as he dropped closer to the ground, relaxing from his strike-ready pose. His demeanor was no longer threatening, and his words were spoken softly. "Just this once... I will tolerate trespass, which was done in ignorance and without malice. I have mice to feed on, and no lack of them. I don't need a meal today."
"What..." Now Simba was the one who didn't know how to respond. "What are you saying?"
Mauja drew back, putting some distance between himself and the cubs. "I am saying that I will not strike any of you. I will not kill any of you. I am saying you are free to go. Leave my territory, and do not return, and I will forgive this trespass this one time." He paused once more. "If you linger, I will kill you. But if you leave this place by the time the moon has reached the center of the sky, I will not harm any of you." He hissed lightly. "It is just after midday now, is it not? I believe you have plenty of time."
"You're letting us go?" Daka asked shakily, still crouched on the ground. He slowly tried to stand, but could only raise halfway out of his crouch, his legs refusing to allow any more effort than that. He was still trembling, had never stopped, and the fear that still caused his heart to pound and his breath to come unevenly was only slightly abated by hope. He could hardly believe what Mauja seemed to be saying. "You won't eat us or hurt my grandpa?"
"...No, young one, I will not," Mauja said, his voice still quiet, but carrying the weight of a solemn promise. "I will not apologize for defending my territory, for attacking those who intrude upon it. It is in my nature to do so, and it is in my nature to kill and feed. But that does not mean I can't show mercy to those who deserve it."
The cavern was silent for a moment as the lions stared at the snake, trying to process his words through their disbelief. Daka couldn't believe it. Was their hunter, this terrifying snake who had tried to kill him and Azizi, who his grandfather had been about to allow to kill him instead, really letting them go? Was he really, as he said, showing them mercy because he believed they deserved it?
Then Mauja turned once more to Simba, who was frozen in astonishment. "The Pride Lands are as lucky as they say, to have a king such as you," he said with a soft hiss. "I am glad. I will take my leave now. Farewell. And, as I said, leave the Elephant Graveyard before moon-high. You will not get a second reprieve." Those final words, though they were spoken in clear sincerity, seemed less in threat than in the manner of stating fact, less to frighten than to warn. And then Mauja the black mamba dipped his head in a shallow but unmistakable bow of respect to Simba.
With one last hiss, and as all three lions stared in shock, Mauja turned and slithered toward the cave exit, leaving them unharmed.
"What is your name?" Simba called suddenly after the serpent.
The snake paused briefly, halfway inside the tunnel, and he twisted his head around to look back, his dark eyes glinting faintly in the dim light. "My name is Mauja," he answered. "Well met, King Simba."
And then, without another word, he vanished into the gloom of the tunnel as silently as a shadow.
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
Mauja, coiled loosely on a raised flat stone, watched from a distance as Simba climbed up the tall hill that led to the border between the Elephant Graveyard and the Pride Lands. The Lion King was carrying his grandson, Daka, in his jaws, and was traveling up the hill with some difficulty, as he was trying to stay steady enough that he didn't knock Azizi off of his back, which was where the female cub was perched. Mauja supposed that Simba hadn't been able to carry both cubs in his mouth at the same time, but hadn't been willing to leave one of them alone at the bottom of the hill for any amount of time.
Mauja could hardly blame him for not fully trusting his word not to harm any of them, though he hoped that it was less a matter of not believing the mamba would stick to his promise than it was a matter of not being willing to take even the slightest chance that he wouldn't. He was sure that Simba would not want to risk the cubs' safety in any way. But he need not have worried on that account; Mauja would not break his word, and he had no desire to do so. As the golden lion reached the crest of the hill and crossed over it, heading into the Pride Lands and out of sight, Mauja let out a quiet hiss, feeling strangely pleased.
He was glad that the three lions were safe now, and relieved that there had been no reason for him to hold to his threat of attacking them if they did not leave before moon-high. It wasn't even twilight yet, as far as he could see through the mist and clouds. He could have given them a shorter dead-line, because he had been certain they would not be lingering for the remaining hours it would take for moon-high to come. But he hadn't wanted to end their lives, not any longer, trespassers or not. All three of them, and especially the king, had impressed Mauja to a degree that shocked the black mamba. He would not be forgetting this day, or those lions, for a very long time.
With one last look after the three lions, one brave-hearted, loyal and selfless adult, and two courageous, ingenious little cubs, Mauja nodded to himself, then turned and slithered back into the depths of the Elephant Graveyard.
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
"I was three months older than you are when I got into this much trouble," Simba grumbled as he and the two cubs began to make their way across the Pride Lands in the direction of Pride Rock, the border just a few feet behind them.
Daka dipped his head to look at the ground, knowing his grandfather's comment was directed at him. "I'm sorry, Grandpa," he said quietly.
"Me too," Azizi added, her tail tip dragging on the ground behind her and her shoulders hunched in what seemed to be shame.
"What were either of you thinking?" Simba demanded, his tone suddenly sharp. "You both could have died!"
"We just wanted to explore it a little," Daka protested. "We didn't know it was dangerous."
Simba stared at them incredulously. "We've told you both so many times how dangerous the Elephant Graveyard is. What do you mean you didn't know?"
"I..." Daka swallowed. "I just thought... well, everyone says the hyenas are gone now, and I just thought they were the only trouble there..." He looked at the ground again awkwardly. "I thought that maybe you guys just hadn't been there since the hyenas left, and thought there was some kind of trouble when there wasn't. Azizi and I didn't run into anybody for so long back there, until..."
"Until you were hunted and almost killed by Mauja," Simba finished. Daka flinched as he heard the disappointment in his grandfather's voice. "You thought we were wrong, that you knew more than we did about a place you had never been, and then you both were nearly killed." Simba shook his head, his expression pained. "I thought you both had more sense than that."
"I'm sorry!" Daka exclaimed, feeling close to tears. "I didn't... I just wanted to have an adventure, I wanted to go exploring..."
"So did I," Azizi agreed quietly. "I'm sorry, Simba, really. I just-" She sighed and trailed off.
"We were all afraid we'd lost you both," Simba told them in a low voice. "Your parents were in a panic, Daka, and so were your aunt and grandmother. And so was I. None of us could stand to lose you, either of you." He glanced at the morose lioness cub. "Azizi... your father needs you. If something happened to you, I don't think he'd ever be the same."
Azizi whimpered, flattening her ears. "I know," she said sadly. "I didn't mean to worry him..."
"Are Mom and Dad okay?" Daka asked in guilty concern. "I'm really sorry I scared you guys. I didn't mean to, really! I just wanted to go on an adventure..."
Simba sighed, looking from one cub to the other for a moment, his expression caught between understanding and residual fear and worry. "Yes, they're fine. They're worried, but they'll be alright, once they see you are, Daka." He paused. "And I can't exactly blame you. I did the same thing when I was a cub, Nala and I went into the Elephant Graveyard. You know that story already, Daka. And we were nearly killed. After that, I knew how dangerous it was to go on an adventure to a place I'd been told not to... though I can't honestly say I was never tempted to do something dangerous again. Especially since it stills occasionally happens now." He shook his head with an extremely brief chuckle, then continued, "I can't promise you won't get in trouble for this, and I don't intend to try and keep your parents from grounding you if they decide to. But I want you both to promise you won't ever do something like this again, going somewhere we told you was dangerous."
"I won't," Daka promised. "I'll never go back to the Elephant Graveyard again, or any place like it." He fully meant it, too. He'd been more afraid then he'd known it was possible to be while Mauja had chased them, and though they were now almost certainly going to be grounded, he found he didn't really care. They weren't snake food, and next to that, a grounding was nothing.
"Neither will I," Azizi added. "I shouldn't have gone at all..." Simba nodded, accepting their words. Then Azizi swallowed suddenly, loud enough to be heard by the other two, and when she spoke again, her voice was shaking, "Mauja nearly killed all of us. We almost died..."
"I'm sorry you went through that," Simba said quietly. He paused in his walking to nuzzle Daka, and then, after a brief hesitation, to nuzzle Azizi as well. "But you're both safe now, I promise."
The three of them continued on toward Pride Rock for a few moments before Daka spoke up, hesitant and shaky as he asked a painful question. "Grandpa... why'd you go and tell Mauja you'd... let him kill you?"
"I had to save you both," Simba answered, looking down at the cubs seriously. "My life doesn't matter nearly as much as yours do."
"Yes, it does!" Daka exclaimed, horrified. "You're my grandpa! And if you'd died, it would have been my fault!"
Simba froze, his expression abruptly one of absolute horror, and then he turned to look directly at Daka, catching his eyes and holding them. "No, Daka, never!" he said fervently. "No matter what, if I had died, it would never have been your fault. Neither of you would have been to blame, at all." He shook his head, sharply. "Never believe it would have been."
Daka stared in surprise at Simba, wondering what was making his grandfather speak so fiercely. Simba was nearly shaking with emotion. "Okay," Daka said quickly, confused. "Okay, I won't. I promise."
"Me too," Azizi agreed, also watching Simba in surprise.
Simba sighed heavily and relaxed somewhat, though he still seemed a little shaky. "Alright, good. Come on, then, you two, let's get back."
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
Mikazo was pacing some distance inside the Outlands, scanning the horizon in every direction for some sign of Daka and Azizi. His pelt was prickling in alarm as more and more time passed and they hadn't found the cubs or heard word back from anyone who had. Kimada, Zawadi, and Voninahitra were all some distance away, within shouting distance but still far enough away that if the land was not so flat, they might not have been able to see each other. Each of them were searching a different area of the Outlands with increasing worry.
None of them had had any luck in finding the cubs yet, and Mikazo was becoming close to panicked. He didn't want to believe that anything was happening to the cubs, but his worry was causing him to imagine some rather horrible scenarios that they could be caught in at that very moment. Everything from landslides and river rapids to deep pits to hungry hyenas, violent leopards, and massive crocodiles... Really, the list was endless, and those thoughts were doing nothing to calm Mikazo's alarm.
The Outlands were the same barren, dusty landscape Mikazo remembered from when he had first arrived in the Pride Lands, around a month and a half ago. It had been through the Outlands he had first crossed the border into the Pride Lands, and he hadn't been terribly impressed with the out-laying region then, either. It was very flat, and it was easy to see very far, but they couldn't find any sign that either cub had ever been anywhere near this part of the Outlands. Though it was still quite dusty, somehow- or maybe the word was grainy, almost like wet sand- the rainy season had turned areas of it into thick bogs of sucking mud, and Mikazo shivered slightly at the thought of Daka and Azizi getting caught in one of those quicksand-like nightmares.
Suddenly a lion's roar rang out from the south, echoing out from the Pride Lands, and Mikazo spun around, his eyes widening. He recognized the voice that roar belonged to as Simba's, and he knew what the call had to mean. Grinning widely as the roar sounded out again, Mikazo realized that Simba must have found Daka and Azizi. Stepping forward on legs that felt weak with relief, Mikazo called out to the others, "Did you hear that?"
"We sure did!" Kimada's voice was nearly a shout, and exuberant. "That was Simba!"
"He found them, didn't he?" Zawadi asked. She laughed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Come on, let's go!" With grins as wide as the one Mikazo was sporting, she and Kimada both started running. They were all deeply relieved, and Mikazo wanted to get back to Pride Rock as quickly as they could so that he could see for himself, reassure himself, that his two young friends were alright.
"Wait for me!" Voninahitra called, also grinning and clearly pleased. He raced over to Mikazo's side and sprang up onto his shoulders, and then the four of them hurried back into the Pride Lands toward Pride Rock, leaving the Outlands behind.
