Chapter 29, A dread to follow
Another day had come to the Pridelands. With the sun rising in the far distance, the darkness of night faded slowly from upon the Savannah. Within the lair of pride rock, Jay was still sleeping up atop of Sarabi's back. It was during the time they had journeyed back to Pride Rock that the boy faded to his slumber along the way. Sarabi herself was still confined to her slumber even with the growing presence of the arriving morning. However lying next to the two, Mufassa was laying fast asleep, but in a short time he then woke up. He opened his mouth wide giving a roaring yawn. After of which he stood up and stretched his paws out before him.
Mufassa then looked to Sarabi and Jay who were still asleep. Mufassa gazed upon the boy atop his queens back, all the while he pondered of that entire time he had heard from last night and his horrible mistake. The choice that he had made had already surrounded him with but all the guilt and sorrow. Yet knowing all that Jay had endured, he had come to questioned himself of his doings. He had but already come to hurt the boy with his actions, but now he had but afflicted far worse then he thought.
The Alpha lion sighed and closed his eyes, narrowing his head. With but all the thought to this, he felt a dreading feeling of such remorse and bad consciousness. He then turned and walked past the two. He leaped down off the stone plate form and continued toward the cave entrance.
Outside from the stone shelter of the cave, Mufassa began making his way down the path way at the side of the peaking rock. As he came upon the ground below, the Alpha lion was then apprehended by the blue majordomo who flew toward the king.
"Good morning, your majesty." He said as he flew past the lion.
Mufassa looked to Zazu as he flew and landed before him.
"I have already down a full sweep of the kingdom." said Zazu.
"All seems to be in order. Everyone is in their exact habitats and there has been no sign of any hyenas. However Nyati was not so kind to my presence."
The Alpha moaned at the thought of the cape Buffelo, who had nearly killed Sarabi and Jay. From the very thought of him and the sight of the damage he had inflicted upon his loved ones, he felt his anger take over.
"That brute has always been such a distrusting fellow if you ask me."
Zazu gazed up to the king. Mufassa only stared sternly at the mere mention of Nyati. For the reason, Zazu understood well.
"Oh, your majesty." said the majordomo.
"I am very sorry for your queen. That Buffalo is shush a mindless brute. Thank heavens that he had not hurt her too bad."
Mufassa, concerned as he was for Sarabi, was also concerned for that of Jay. He was but left ever more mutilated then she was, the bull had but done far worse to him then his beloved queen.
"It's not Sarabi who has been hurt, Zazu," said Mufassa.
The blue feathered bird gazed up to Mufassa curiously.
"It's Jay who is hurt."
"Oh yes, the man-cub." Said Zazu, having to see for him of what the brute had did.
"I cannot say that I don't feel any sypathy for what that mindless brute had done to him."
Mufassa slowly shock his head yes, feeling but the same as the bird. The alpha sighed as he thought of what to do. It was all because of him and his rejection to the boy that had come to cause all this. He refused to further the boy's pain anymore then he had already. He wanted just as much as Sarabi for Jay to be well again. To recover from the wounds those were given to him. But he was afraid that he had done more to Jay then he may know
"I'm afraid it's not just Nyati that hurt him," Said the Alpha.
The blue bird gazed up to Mufassa.
"Sire?" He asked.
Mufassa sighed and closed his eyes.. The events he had saw the other night, to which he had heard Sarabi and Jay talk to what was the past the boy had endured.
"I saw him with Sarabi last night." The alpha said.
"I heard them talking by the river west from here."
"Oh?" Zazu asked curiously.
Remembering all the words that Jay had said, Mufassa narrowed his eyes and head as well.
"I heard him talking about his..." Mufassa said, knowing that his actions had brought upon Jay.
"About what, sire?" Zazu said.
Mufassa stood in silence for about a moment. He felt the dread and consuming feeling of guilt take control of him. For everything he had done to the boy and to Sarabi, he wanted to make things right, to heal the wounds afflicted upon them. With Jay so mutilated, he felt the need to help him. To that end, he knew someone who would help him recover. He then spoke up.
"Zazu." He said, looking to the blue bird.
"Go to Rafiki tree and tell him that Jay needs to be healed."
"The mandrill?" asked Zazu.
Mufassa nodded his head to the bird. With his answer, the bird responded out of respect to his request.
"Yes, your majesty." said the bird.
Zazu then turned and spread out his blue and white feathered wings. The bird then left from the ground and began souring through the air, flying out toward the Savannah. As Zazu flew from sight, Mufassa was but left to himself and continued to dwell about his absence toward Jay. His loyalty and love for his son, Simba was but competing with his will to move on. With all that he had heard from the night before, his majesty was all but left to ponder upon the mistake he made. Along with it, the question of what he was to do now and how he could replenish the mistakes he had made.
The morning proceeded into its later times as the sun now stood high in the clear blue sky above. At one of Pride Rocks many corners was the favorable spot by the lioness. Down a steep hill side stood several stone ledges for the lioness to rest upon. On one particular flaw rock peak, to which an small tree stuck up from the ground behind, Jay could be found sitting up against the trunk of the tree. His sprained leg laid flat down upon the solid stone ground below him. Along with the wild boy, Sarafina and Nala laid close to the boy.
The wild boy sat underneath the shade the tree had provided with its many leaves above. With the injuries and wounds he was given, Jay was now to be kept near Pride Rock. No longer could he explore the Pride lands with Nala Neil they were healed. It would be for these following time of recovery that Jay was to stay near Sarafiana and the other lionesses and wait for when she would bring home food for him.
As of now he waited for the return of his mother, his stomach aching and grumbling with the need of food. Sarabi had left to go hunt with a few of the lioness. Whatever kill she would bring him at this time, Jay was eager for whatever meat there was to have.
However, it was not the boy's hunger that concerned him. As Jay sat waiting, he pondered to all that had happened the day that had now long passed. As he thought, bothering and unnerving feeling came upon the wild boy. Feelings that were mostly out of his sorrow and anguish on the action that Mufassa had done. For it was when Mufassa had turned away from him, the boy was left with more than just brutal wounds that were physical. There erupted another wound, one that couldn't be healed so easy. That was being rejected by his foster father.
"Hey, you okay?" Nala asked standing before him.
Jay sat with but utter silence. His eyes closed and he gave a sigh. The boy felt so crushed by that of his father's choice to all but abandon him. All Jay had ever asked for what Mufassa's love and acceptance to him. But since he had just turned him away, Jay came to the realization for his assumed hated of him. It was just as the father he had never come to know.
"No." The boy said, trapped within his pain and misery of rejection.
Nala turned to her mother. Sarafina was looking to her and Jay as well. While her daughter was of now oblivious to what was making Jay so upset. She Had heard from Sarabi of when Mufassa had turned from his family when they needed him the most. It was a shocking thing to be known, even if from the action of Mufassa. She had knew him from the early years of a cub. He had never did anything so bad then what he had yesterday. It was such a major shock for her and Sarabi. But it come in a much worse way to Jay.
"Jay?" Sarafina said.
The boy gazed up toward her, his eyes full of such pain.
"I'm sorry about yesterday." She said, referring to when Mufassa had done what he had.
"I don't know how Mufassa could have done that to you."
"Because he hates me, isn't it?" Jay interjected.
"No, Jay," Sarafina insisted.
"Mufassa doesn't hate you."
"Mom tells me that all the time!" Jay said, tired with the answer he would always be given.
"But why didn't he try to help me yesterday then?"
That was a question that Sarafina could not answer so easy. She herself had but been left with so many questions by Mufassa's actions. Jay narrowed his head down toward the ground as he crossed his arms over his left knee. He pressed his face against his arm before he buried his face behind his crossed arms and had his forehead lean against it.
"He hates me." He said again.
As he sat grieving with sorrow, Nala looked in a sorrowful way to her friend. She came up and sat right beside Jay. She wanted to help Jay an somehow make him feel more acceptance to himself.
"You know." She said.
"I thought that you were very brave yesterday."
Jay lifted his face from arms and turned to Nala.
"I mean, the way you took on the big Buffalo yesterday. You saved us."
Jay felt only a small ping of satisfactory by his friend's words. He had done what was a noble deed by his action to distract Nyati and lead him away from his friend. Not only that, but he had also saved his mother from him as well. He had shown such bravery and such care to his adopted family.
"You were so brave."
The boy narrowed his eyes and nodded his head a bit. Nala gave a smile to Jay.
"Come on, cheer up." Nala encouraged.
The lioness cub then grabbed hold of the boys ear with her mouth. She began to tugging, pulling him toward her. Jay was pulled to the right and nearly fell on his side. He landed down upon his arm and used it to keep himself from falling down on the ground below him. He laughed as Nala continued to pull him down.
"Hey, cut it out!" He said, chuckling.
Nala continued to pull him down; till it was that her mother intervened.
"Hey you two." She said, as she stood up on her four paws and walk up to them.
"You need to take it easy, especially you Jay."
Nala released Jay's ear from her mouth and sat down. Jay sat up from the ground.
"Aw come on, Aunt Sarafina." Jay said chuckling.
"Can't we have some fun?"
"Not saying you can't." Sarafina said again.
"It's just you both need to be careful, you are already hurt enough as it is."
Jay poured a bit from the boundary on fun that he was allowed. But he knew that it had to be. He was till hurt from yesterday and the last thing he wanted was to be hurt even more.
"I guess you're right." Jay admitted.
Nala nodded her head in agreement.
"Don't pout, Jay." said Sarafina.
"It's for your own good."
Sarafina turned and moved back to where she was laying before. As the ground below the ledge came into view, she saw Sarabi returning from her hunt. The lioness queen was walking backward toward the hill. Being hauled along in her jaws was the now lifeless body of a striped Zebra. She pulled the kill up to the ledge where Sarafina was looking down to her. She came onto the stone ledge and came toward her adopted son.
Jay looked to his mother, who had looked to have brought some lunch to him. Sarabi released the now blood stained neck of the zebra and turned to Jay.
"Come Jay." She said.
"It's time to eat."
The boy crawled a short step to the body of the zebra. His hunger had far exceeded his tolerance for it had become so excruciating. He starved and craved for the meat that the Zebra would provide him. However it hadn't always been such a case for the boy. Being raised by lions, the very beginning wasn't an easy step. This was one of those factors that were a challenge for the boy. The eating of uncooked, raw and blood covered meat. The boy's stomach had but a hard time digesting it at first. It was often the result of an upset stomach and feeling so ill by it. It had taken a long while before his stomach was able to process it.
Jay reached for the open, scar wound that had pierced through the hide of the Zebra and revealed the red blood and meat underneath. He drugged his hands in through the open wound, staining his hands with blood. He pulled the two side apart open with all his might, ripping the scar on the zebras side open. He then dug his hands in the exposed blood-filled meat underneath.
He then pulled out meshed, raw, red meat from the inside of the zebra. He brought the flesh to his mouth and bit down upon it. His mouth was covered with blood as he chewed the flesh in his mouth. Nala had already begun biting and tugging down on the stripped hide of the Zebra, trying to open the skin to the meat underneath.
As the two cubs began to feast upon the kill his mother had made, the other lionesses from above began making their way down the path to join in with Sarabi's kill.
Surrounding the corpse of the Zebra, the lioness cam down and began digging their fangs into the stripped flesh. The zebra began to be ripped apart by the hunger driven lionesses.
(Yeah, I know that it's a bit disturbing that I end it here, but some of you have been curious of this matter so. I still hope you enjoy this chapter. If there are any requests, feel free to share. And as always, please comment and review!)
