Cubhood: Chapter 2
The fog dissipated after a few moments, allowing Scar to take in his surroundings. He was instantly struck by how familiar it seemed to him. At first glance the area had not changed from where they had stood, but on closer inspection Scar could see that the sun was still low in the sky. It was only early morning as opposed to midday and the vegetation was definitely different from his most recent recalling's. It was fuller and greener. Healthy, as if the last two years of drought had been entirely undone. In the distance Pride Rock stood strong against the morning skyline, as it always had.
"Where are we?" Scar asked cautiously. Kivuli looked around the area calmly and nodded at the silhouette of Pride Rock in distance.
"I would venture a guess that we are in Pridelands." He noted with some sarcasm. "Not all that far from Pride Rock."
Scar snarled at him and drew his claws. Kivuli prepared to step aside, only to see the dead tyrant hiss angrily, sheathing his claws again. Angry as he was, Scar was not so reckless as to think that assaulting the lion that was supposed to be on his side in this judgement was the best course of action.
"I can see that." Scar finally deadpanned. Best not give any ground or allow any more irritation to show.
"Then why did you ask? The place has not changed. Merely the time." Kivuli remarked.
"Don't mock me!" Scar then paused, considering what he had said. "Fine, I think I have a better question. Precisely, when are we then?"
Ammit smiled at the exchange. Only the grin held about as much warmth as a skeletal grimace.
"You are so very quick witted. Do you recognize no one?" he asked, indicating a direction with a casual jerk of his head. Scar turned and looked, and saw a figure moving some distance away.
As the lioness moved closer, Scar could at least make out from the more elegant movement that it was a female. As she moved out of the sun's flare, Scar realised the female was also quite young. In the prime of her life in fact.
She was a dark brown lioness, and from one of the eastern Prides by the looks of her. Quite far removed from her home if she was in the Pridelands. Few from near the Pridelands, let alone Pridelanders were of such dark complexion. There was something vaguely familiar about her and for a moment, Scar was fraught with confusion. Then it hit him, and he felt like a fool for ever mistaking her for someone else. Snarling in fury he rounded on his two companions and growled, teeth barred. This time he wasn't going to even try to hide his rage.
"That is impossible!" He hissed. She shouldn't be here. What sort of sick nonsense was this?
The two made no comment, then finally Kivuli made a small smile yet again.
"You recognize her I take it?" Kivuli said in an oddly soft tone.
"I watched her die - then I helped bury her body!" He was practically shaking. From anger he tried telling himself, though deep down he knew that wasn't the full truth. "She died, many years ago! How can she be here?" As the memory passed, Scar felt a sharp pain across his chest as he remembered that wholly remarkable lioness.
"A lioness from your past, Scar?" Ammit drawled. "I would never have thought it of you. She's an attractive lioness to be sure, but I'd have pegged you as one who favoured the wilder kind of lioness."
Scar felt a brimming anger at his words, along with disgust at Ammit's expression. He looked away, staring at the ground, the savannah, anywhere save for that lioness or Ammit's leering, death head of a face.
"I don't want to see this. I can't. Show me something else!" He demanded through clenched teeth. For a moment he almost wished he'd picked oblivion, before banishing the thought.
"Why is that? Does looking at her stir something in you, something that brings you great pain?" Kivuli asked in a gentle tone.
A lump formed in Scar's throat as he looked upon the lioness. She seemed ignorant of their presence. She hadn't acknowledged them in any way, and the sight of three fully grown male lions in the area would have been daunting for any lioness. Especially ones such as Kivuli who practically glowed with unnatural light, and Ammit, who looked nearly demonic. She didn't as much as look at any of them. Instead the lioness seemed to be looking right through them, as if they weren't there at all.
"Her name is Uru. She, as I already said, died years ago." Scar swallowed in an effort to maintain his composure. "And she was my mother."
Kivuli looked at the lioness again, then gave a knowing smile at what he saw. Then he pointed to something.
"Look Scar. She's not alone."
The lioness that moved across the Savannah was closely pursued by two young lion cubs. Uru was laughing as one of two cubs leaped ineffectively against her strong body, trying in vain to remain steady on her back before tumbling off and landing in a heap. The cub lacked any mane to speak of, aside from a few strands of black hair atop his head. The cub also shared his mother's emerald green eyes. Both mother and son were of a dark brown pelt, the same as Scar himself. The other cub easily kept up with them, yet opted to remain a short distance away.
His gaze was glued to the horizon, as if he were was waiting for something. This one was a deep golden colour and possessed amber eyes. He lacked any sort of mane at all at this stage of his growth. Scar knew though that one day he would boast a crimson mane that wreathed his head, billowing like a brilliant flame. A thing that made him most uncomfortable to think about.
Noticing her other cub's preoccupation, Uru carefully pried his brother from her shoulder, before pacing over to him.
She spoke with a deep voice that was almost a purr. It was subdued, but the slight accent that those from the Eastern lands possessed remained with her.
"Is something bothering you?" She asked him. Her words seemed to snap him out of some sort of daze, and he turned to her. Then he blinked in surprise. He hadn't heard her approaching him.
"I'm sorry Mother. I was just thinking. Did you need something?" The cub spoke formally and without the boisterousness normally characteristic of young cubs. His mother smiled at him, before leaning down to lick his cheek.
"Do I have to need something of you to want to talk to my son?" She asked.
"Mother!" The cub recoiled from the lick, prompting his mother to snicker at his reaction.
Any further interaction between mother and son was soundly interrupted by the loud arrival of the first cub. He came bounding over to them and tackled the lighter cub to the ground in a mock pounce, pinning him to the ground with his paws. Then he gave a triumphant little roar of victory. The golden furred brother growled in protest, and at both his insistence and their mothers disapproving look, he released the larger cub, finally allowing his brother the chance to stand up.
"And what-" he said, as his brother picked himself out of the dirt and shook himself off, "-was our fearless Prince pondering so deeply about? What lost philosophies have been rediscovered by his deep meditation? What great enlightenment has come upon our future king and dear leader?" Taunted the darker cub in a playful manner.
"Now Taka, be nice to your brother..." Uru said absently, a little too used to such behaviour. The young Mufasa shifted himself indignantly, before looking down haughtily at Taka.
"I have come to the conclusion that my brother is a foolish cub who has taken it upon himself to behave as irritably as possible, instead of behaving as a Prince of the Pridelands should." He glared at his brother, who gave a smug smile in response. Uru looked at him, and Taka rolled his eyes and bowed low to his brother. The fact that it was almost comically exaggerated was lost on no one.
"I apologize most sincerely, Mufasa. It is obvious that one of your kingly status is sullied by presence of his lesser, merely mortal brother. I shall cease my feeble attempts at humour immediately. Please brother of mine, do not exile me..." Taka said solemly to his brother. Mufasa stared at him flatly. Taka managed to last all of ten seconds, before his mouth twitched. With a shout, he burst into a fit of laughter. Unable to remain standing, he collapsed to the ground, falling on to his back whilst gasping for breath. His brother regarded him with an arched eyebrow - until he was unable to ignore the absurdity of the situation any longer, and his mouth twitched as he fought back a smirk.
Mufasa looked away and coughed, but try as he might, he couldn't cover up his own sniggering. He turned to his mother in exasperation in an obvious attempt to distract himself, appealing for her support. Uru just looked at her two cubs and gave an exaggerated groan of exasperation. She covered her face with one of her paws.
"Oh, Ahadi, what have we created?" She said to no one is particular. "These two represent the future of the Royal Family. The future of the Pridelands itself and what do we have? A Prince who often seems to forget he is a cub and another cub who forgets he's a Prince!" She exclaimed. The sound of deep laughter that followed took all three of them by surprise, for they had heard no one approach.
As one they whirled around, Taka choking in surprise and stumbling to his feet. Behind them, unnoticed in all of the commotion, a great lion was strolling towards them, his head wreathed in deep black fur that made up his mane. His coat was a royal gold, and his eyes were a familiar amber like Mufasa's.
"DAD!" Both lion cubs shouted in unison, though Mufasa recovered his composure first.
"Father, I –" before he could finish a blur of brown whirled across his vision.
"Taka!" Uru scolded, as Taka leapt at his father, and was immediately playing the same game he had played with his mother, latching onto his father's massive black mane with his claws.
"Ouch! Taka!" Ahadi winced as the young cub's claws dug through the fur and scraped the soft skin underneath. Uru couldn't contain her laughter though, despite knowing she should be scolding him.
"What is this? The great King Ahadi, defeated by his son without so much as putting up a fight?" She asked, as Ahadi rolled his eyes at the taunt. The King pulled his paw up to his son and gently swatted him out of his fur. Taka giggled as he fell, which came to as a halt when he landed with a grunt. Mufasa moved much slower, walking up to his father, rubbing himself against his leg. All the while Uru purred and rubbed herself against the King's side, licking her mate's face.
"Well isn't this a precious little moment. One big happy family." Ammit muttered, not even attempting to hide his revulsion at the scene. Kivuli by contrast seemed moved by what he saw. Scar on the other hand could do little but look at the family in shock. He slowly stretched out his paw to as if to touch the group, then at the last second retracted it, placing it firmly on the ground in front of him. He kept his voice steady, but he seemed to be shaking, and couldn't keep it from his voice.
"They cannot see us, can they?" Scar asked. Whether he was asking for reassurance or hoping to be told otherwise was unclear. Surprisingly it was Ammit who answered.
"No," he said, "people have tried across the ages. This is the realm of the unreal. Illusion. Memory, in case you somehow forgot what you were told earlier. Even so, people have tried their hardest to warn their loved ones of tragic events to come, or tried to talk with those long since departed. Time is more flexible here, but it isn't that flexible. You can't change the past once it's been written in stone. I've seen so many people try, and it never gets old. But it never works. It will only cause them more pain. More suffering. So by all means, do go on. Give it a try. Your disappointment will be delicious." He suggested with a hint of malice. Scar scowled, not being foolish enough to take the bait.
"And why would I play right into your demented game? You just told me all it would bring is more pain." Scar hissed in response.
"Exactly." Ammit said. "Although I doubt it's all that different than the games you played while alive." Ammit smiled wickedly, and as Scar turned to face him in disgust, not dignifying his meaningless jibe with a response, and instead, scoffing. He knew this creature's type. The kind that spent their cubhoods chasing butterflies, so they could pick their legs off.
"I am starting to get the impression that you didn't have all that many friends when you were alive. You didn't, did you?" Scar asked the spirit. The creature calling itself Ammit cackled softly.
"You're one to talk. With all that you did, you were loyal to no one but your own skin." Ammit fired back with a maniacal grin. Scar was silent, as those words held more truth than he was willing to admit. He turned back to the memory playing out before him. Scar noticed that the four had pulled apart and that Ahadi was speaking with his mate.
"I left Zuzu in charge-" he said, smiling genuinely, "-she is more than capable of handling things for today. I wanted to spend some time with my family, with you and our cubs."
"You can just do that? Decide to go somewhere?" The young Taka asked, looking up at his father from between Uru and Ahadi.
"I am the King! I can do whatever I want!" Ahadi laughed in response and Taka joined in with him. Mufasa however, didn't join with their mirth, and Ahadi motioned for his to come over to them.
"Whatever is bothering you son? You've barely spoken a word all afternoon. Something is troubling you." Ahadi asked with concern.
"It's nothing." Mufasa replied, though Ahadi clearly didn't plan on believing him.
"What's the matter? You're about as serious as an Elephant Graveyard..." Ahadi said. Taka looked to his brother before taking an experimental sniff of the air. Then he gave a grimace and backed away a couple steps.
"He smells like one too..." He said, pulling a face in disgust. Mufasa did not even blink at the comment, and Taka looked disappointed that one of his usual taunts didn't elicit any response.
"I've been thinking..." Mufasa began.
"Again? Haven't we warned you about how dangerous that is?" Taka interjected, prompting a glare from his mother. Mufasa tried ignoring him again though this time his face did betray a flicker of annoyance at the jab. Something Taka seemed to regard as at least a small victory.
"I just… I mean…" Mufasa paused.
"About yesterday. You said one of us was going to be king when you died. That it would probably be me. I guess… I thought it would be for the best if we started practicing… I don't want to mess it up." He said helplessly. "I mean, I doubt anyone wants a king who spends all day playing and lounging around...laughing at lame jokes and pulling stupid pranks, do they? It's a serious responsibility...isn't it?"
Ahadi regarded his son gravely and sighed. Part of him felt bad for not clarifying this sooner.
"Yes son. It is a very serious job. You will be isolated, likely even feared. There are also those who might harm you to take what's yours. And never forget that there will be an ever present temptation to misuse your power and authority. Nobody is perfect my son, and making a mistake could hurt a lot of other people beyond just you or this pride. It also makes having a stable family life nigh impossible." He nuzzled his son gently, before continuing. "Do you know what that means?"
"What?" Mufasa asked him.
"It means you should enjoy yourself and your relative freedom while you still have the chance. Look at Taka! I have never seen a larger bundle of energy."
"Sure… when he wants to use it." Mufasa pointed out, prompting Taka to stick out his tongue. Ahadi smirked at the two's exchange.
"Don't underestimate him. He takes from your mother's side of the family in many ways. And that is by no means an insult. He has a brilliant tactical mind and he knows how to use it! You've seen his elaborate pranks on the antelope herds, even on the huntresses as much as I have. Probably more so, since you are so often a big part of them..." Ahadi said with a knowing grin.
At this Mufasa smiled sheepishly. His father had raised a fine point. They looked to Taka and saw that once again, the young cub was climbing upon his mother. Only this time he had found a strong grip, right between her shoulder blades where she was unable to reach him. Due to how tightly he was hanging on, Uru's attempts to swat him off were to no avail.
"So being a king doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy yourself?" Mufasa asked suspiciously. That sounded like a trick to him.
"It means you won't be able to enjoy yourself often, so you should make the most out of it when you find those moments." Ahadi told him. Then he grinned.
"But neither you nor your brother will be a king anytime soon. Not unless you were making plans to challenge me for the throne?" Ahadi asked him. Mufasa smirked, then laughed at the concept.
"What was that about challenging you for the throne?"
"Eh?"
Uru and Taka finished their playing and turned to look at the King and the Prince with curiosity. Taka especially choked out a strangled laugh at the very idea of Mufasa ever wanting to duel his father.
"Nothing Uru, really. I was just clearing up some things with Mufasa here. He has decided he doesn't want to be known as Prince Misery-Guts after all." Ahadi said. Mufasa flushed with embarrassment.
"That's good Mufasa! What changed your mind?" Taka asked sweetly. His eyes were glinting, a usual sign that he was up to something devious.
"Well..." Mufasa began, then launched himself at his brother. The impact bowled Taka over, with Mufasa quickly using his greater strength to pin his brother to the ground.
"It means I can get you back for tackling me before!" He said gleefully, letting loose a raucous bout of laughter.
"Hey! I wasn't ready!" Taka growled indignantly, and squirmed beneath him. Mufasa was older, stronger as well as much heavier than his brother. Even so Taka eventually kicked at Mufasa's unprotected hind legs and broke himself free of the pin. The two circled each other before playfully attacking once more.
The mists descended on the family again and they faded from view. Which left Scar, Kivuli and Ammit in much the same position as they were before, in its cruel imitation of the Pridelands - as if they'd never left. Which Scar was suspecting they hadn't.
"Well that was most enlightening..." Kivuli said, looking at Scar with curiosity.
"Enlightening? What was so enlightening about that droll moment in time? I was bored out of my wits." Scar said, not entirely truthfully. He was still reeling from the fact he had just seen ghosts, fully aware of the irony considering his own state of post-mortem manifestation.
"I thought it was a lovely little scene. A young family. The parents not long mated. And two brothers at play. When was the last time you had a moment like that?" Kivuli asked him. Scar growled, but said nothing and looked away from them both.
"I doubt he remembers..." grumbled Ammit.
"I don't see how it's enlightening." Scar said. Kivuli rolled his eyes. Both opted to ignore the darker spirit for the moment.
"No? You didn't always hate your family Scar. That helps us. Helps me. It shows that something happened to change things. Something… shifted, and was broken along the way." Kivuli said with what seemed to be a hint of sadness.
"Nothing happened." Scar said, looking irritated. He snorted at the idea of their games.
"What changed it I wonder? You were once so close to your family... what ripped you apart?" Ammit asked with his usual level of care and concern. That is to say, as if he were describing a meal or discussing the weather.
"Nothing 'ripped us apart'." He said. "I just grew up. That was all. Mother died, and our father made Mufasa King. There was nothing else to it." He said. Kivuli sighed.
"That's elephant dung. There has to be a lot more to it than that Scar, you and I both know that much. What happened to Taka?" Kivuli asked him. Scar snarled back.
"Don't ask stupid questions. You know what happened to him." He said, as if the answer were so obvious.
"But I want to hear you say it." Kivuli seemed to know more than he'd first let on. "In your words."
"He died in the flames of Pride Rock. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he died a long, long time ago." Scar said. Ammit snorted.
"Accurate? I highly doubt that. Dramatically enigmatic though? You've got that down to a point." Ammit said, and gave another of his smirks. "So let's hear it. I'm dying to know."
Scar growled in anger at the mocking tone. Then he put a clawtip to the scar that ran across his eye. The Scar that gave him his name. The razor sharp edge touched the soft white flesh beneath it, sending a shiver through him. It had remained so sensitive. He had spent a lot of time avoiding touching it except when absolutely necessary. Even Zira had never been permitted to touch it.
"Taka died when I got this. I stopped being him many years ago." He said. Finally impatience overrode him. Anxious to change the subject he turned to the dark doppelganger behind him.
"Have you made your decision yet? Can I go now?"
"Not by a long shot Scar. I think we will need to see more of your memories before we make a decision." Said Kivuli. "We need to know the whole story, the first chapter alone isn't enough to judge you on. Before you got that scar. Before you died as Taka. Back when you were just a cub. Show us the rest, Taka. Show us everything."
Once again the air around them condensed into white mist. Scar could only wonder what this might bring.