Judgement
Cubhood
Chapter 14
Taka lead the guard at a breakneck pace, rushing from the watering hole to the savannah where Zazu directed them. Kasi, ever the fastest among them rushed ahead as always, the others following quickly behind him.
The guard was unleashed. Gone was naive and idealistic Guard of his cubhood. Every day from the day the Mark of the Lion Guard had appeared on his shoulder, Taka had led the Guard. Every day they trained, every day they protected the Pridelands, and defended the circle of life. Every day he did his duty. Kasi, the Fastest, Nguvu the Strongest, Imani the Bravest, and Jicho the Keenest of Sight. And Taka? Taka led the Guard now as always as the Fiercest of the Pridelands. In what seemed like no time at all, the Guard had crossed the savannah, and found the plains where the Zebra herds had been grazing. It was a mess. Here and there, blood lay splashed upon the grounds, grass was trampled underfoot, dirt and dust kicked up and shards of rock lay pressed into the compacted ground. Zebra charged this way and that, not even possessing the coordination to form an orderly stampede. They panicked and ran in all directions.
There. Weaving in and out of the black and white striped equines were wisps of grey. Then he heard it, the familiar echo of laughter, manic with bloodlust and the thrill of the hunt. It made him cringe, and looking ahead, he saw Kasi's eyes narrow. He'd heard it for several months, whenever he came into conflict with Caliban and his black hyenas, and he never quite become used to it. It still set him on edge as every sense he possessed and every instinct within him warned him of the inherent danger.
The Lion Guard took in the madness within only a few moments. Then he saw them again, as here and there, dashing among the zebra, were the unmistakable shapes of hyenas. Flint grey and spotted across their bodies, the hyenas snapped and yipped and let out another round of hunting chorus.
"Oh no you don't!" Taka shouted, and gave a roar. The Guard leapt into action. Imani dived in headfirst, claws lashing out, and slashing towards one of the grey shapes, who gave a yelp of surprise and fear as Imani rushed him. Its two compatriots bolted, but Kasi was there. The slick-maned male dashed forwards with blinding speed, cutting off the hyenas' escape. One snapped at him with powerful jaws, and Taka dived to the side. The hyena tracked his pounce, but was immediately set upon by Nguvu who charged into it, sending it flying. It crashed into the ground with a thud, and the two other hyenas darted apart, separating, yipping and snarling as they did so. Imani clawed at one of them, forcing it to back off, and Jicho let loose a warning roar. The hyena backed up, suddenly faced with two lions, and then Taka rushed forwards. The leader of the Lion Guard swung a paw, catching it beneath its jaw with a clawless strike across the side of the head, sending it to the floor into a rough heap. Kasi chased after the fleeing hyena, encircling it, and landing ahead of her, growling threateningly. She skidded to a halt, backed up, unease clear on her face, as she pulled away. Within a few moments, the remaining lions were backed up by their comrades, and the hyenas were herded into the centre of the killing fields and surrounded. The zebra had fled now, and the carrion that might have circled high above them had long since left for less fought over kills. Two zebra lay on the ground, holes ripped into their stomachs and flanks, chewed pieces of meat torn from them. Blood streaked the ground and the muzzles of the offending hyenas, who spat blood and glared at their attackers. Then Taka was there, emerald eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Stay where you are." He ordered, and the hyenas froze, they looked to one another anxiously, possibly for reassurance. The leader the trio of hyenas, a female looked about. She was thin, underfed creature, probably about Taka's age. Not quite a pup, but still growing. An adolescent.
"Aww great." She muttered, and gave a loud growl.
"Hey hey, back off lion! We ain't got anything you want," She said, and looked about, counting the odds. Five male lions. Against three malnourished hyena youths. Things didn't look especially good for her, and she knew it. It was written over her face. She padded over to Taka. Taka was the larger of the two animals, and he loomed over her, but the hyena though wary, didn't appear to be intimidated. Taka took a step back, nostrils flaring as the all too common stink of carrion that clung to her fur permeated his sense of smell.
"Shenzi!" One of the two hyenas hissed at her. Shenzi, the leader of the trio didn't look at him. She just looked up at Taka with her dark eyes, set in sickly yellow. She gave a snort. And spat a great ball of saliva and blood she'd been holding in her mouth directly into his face. Taka recoiled, his paw immediately going to the stinging substance ejected into his eye, and the hyena slammed into him knocking him to the ground.
"Banzai, don't just stand there move!" She said, and the hyenas made a break for it.
"Taka!" Kasi shouted in warning, and darted towards Taka, shielding their leader should the hyenas use his lack of balance to push an attack. They didn't though. Instead they ran, trying to get away. Jicho rushed towards them, but the hyenas were slipping free! Taka crawled to his feet.
"No." He snarled. "No you don't. You have a lot to answer for first!"
"They're leaving!" Kasi said.
"Just leave them." He said in annoyance, looking for signs of injury on their friend. For all his hatred of hyenas, his first concern was for his friends. Taka growled.
"Get behind me." He warned, and the guard quickly pulled back. He inhaled, deeply, feeling the internal sense of calm he always felt. Then he felt the mark of the Guard tingle slightly, a prickling under his skin. He felt his connection to the Pridelands grow. Every tree. Every blade of grass. Every cloud in the sky above him.
And he roared. He roared the roar of the elders, the cry of the Pridelands.
And the Pridelands roared in reply and the Pridelands roared in exaltation of their prince and the Pridelands roared with him.
The sound reverberated throughout the lands, within the lands. A shockwave ripped towards the hyenas, kicking up dust, throwing up grass as it hurtled towards them like a meteor of force, a great howl of wind thundering towards them. It struck the fleeing hyenas and passed harmlessly through the ground. They were thrown to the sun-dried earth with some force, and didn't climb to their feet. They even skidded some distance, and Jicho cringed.
"Eww… Yikes. They're going to feel that in the morning." He said. Taka smirked.
"That's the idea. And when they do, they'll think twice about returning to the Pridelands." He said. "Leaving the Pridelands is good. But I'd rather not let them think they can return whenever they feel like it. I don't want them emboldened. Quite the opposite." He said, looking satisfied.
"Nice job Taka." Kasi said. Imani looked pleased and Nguvu nodded, satisfied. Jicho was staring quizzically.
"Uh… Taka? They're not moving…" he said. Taka frowned.
"Playing dead?" He asked.
"Or just dead…" Imani said ominously, looking uncomfortable.
"I can't tell." Jicho said.
"Hmmm." He shrugged. "Only one thing for it then. Let's go inspect the damage."
They needn't have been concerned. By the time they arrived to where the hyenas had fallen, one was conscious, and trying to drag the other to their feet. She was faintly bruised but seemed shaken. In fact Taka wondered if it were the shock more than any injury. They appeared to have had the breath knocked from them, nothing more.
It often amazed Taka how in tune the roar could sometimes be to his wishes. It was sometimes as if it modulated itself to his need. A useful tool, though he was anxious to avoid using it too much. He couldn't help but think it would be all too easy for its use to become a crutch. The female matriarch was eyeing him warily.
"Oh err hey there! I guess you're the top cat around these parts?" The female of them asked cheerfully, with a nervous laugh. Taka glared at her, wiping away saliva from his face. He growled ominously. Shenzi watched him.
"Good guess." Taka said. "What are you doing in the Pridelands?"
"Oh the Pridelands, is that where this is? Nice place. Uh, we must have gotten lost." She said. Jicho growled in anger.
"Oh really? You're lost! That's brilliant. You got lost." He said, sounding unconvinced. Imani circled around, and the hyenas glanced at him nervously.
"Maybe you ought to do that again? You know. Get lost. Before someone finds you. Someone who might take exception to having filthy hyenas poaching in their lands." Kasi said.
"You'll have to forgive Kasi. He's not too fond of hyenas." Jicho interjected. Kasi snorted.
"Imani. Don't apologise to the hyena!" Kasi snapped, irritated. Jicho blinked in surprise.
"Well, excuse my good manners." He muttered.
"Guys, for the love of the Kings, can you please focus!" Imani hissed.
"Hey! This hyena's name, is Banzai, thank you! Manners my spotted behind! And spare me your threats. We hunt where we please. I am guessing you don't have the authority to go around executing criminals..." He said. The other hyena jabbed him in the ribs. "Ugh… Not that we are criminals." He added hurriedly. "We're, uh, just passing through, going from one place to another place." He finished unconvincingly.
"Uh huh." Jicho's expression was sceptical and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Incorrect. Sorry." Nguvu said, firmly.
"We are the Lion Guard. And you are talking to Taka, Prince of the Pridelands!" Kasi said brightly, but despite his tone, there was a glint of hardness to his expression as he scowled at the interlopers. "And whilst we don't wander around trying to stiff our enemies, the Guard absolutely has the authority to kill you. If you leave us no choice." He said. At that threat, Nguvu shot him a look of indignation. The Lion Guard didn't go about ruthlessly murdering people, and Kasi's intimidation of the hyenas came off as crude in his eyes. Come on Kasi. His eyes seemed to say. I know you can't stand hyenas, but seriously?
It seemed to have the desired effect though, because the hyenas were glancing at each other in undisguised panic. "Ooookay." The female piped up quickly. "Let's not let this chance meeting turn unpleasant." She said, as the one she'd addressed as Banzai made desperate choking sounds.
"You probably should have thought of that before rushing the Prince of the Pridelands… And spitting in his eye?" Kasi said. She gulped.
"Hey. Listen. My name is Shenzi. I'm the leader of this… uh… operation. Banzai here is my second, and the one you hit is called Ed." Shenzi said. Jicho looked down at the hyena he had pinned to the ground. The creature stared up at him with a peculiar glazed look, and Jicho guessed that he had hit his head on the ground at little too hard. His eyes seemed to be looking in two directions at once. Catching Jicho's expression, Shenzi gave a snort. "And don't worry, you didn't hurt him – he's been like that since as long as anyone can remember."
"Too bad." Kasi said.
"Enough talk. What were you doing in the Pridelands?" Nguvu asked shortly. Banzai snorted.
"What does it look like?" He rolled his eyes. "We were hunting, doofus. You guys have more than enough prey to spare a few juicy flanks of zebra. We thought, hey, there's no way they'd miss a few fresh pieces of meat… Then, you guys came out of nowhere like a storm of locusts." Banzai said.
"At which point, your leader spat in my face, charged past me and tried to make a break for it." Taka finished for them. Shenzi glanced at Banzai and shrugged.
"Eh. Can't blame a bitch for trying. You guys didn't look like the friendliest sort I've ever seen."
"Hey! I am the friendliest lion I know!" Imani protested in indignation. Nguvu snorted.
"You tried to knock Zira out with a rock when she said she couldn't sleep. Then told her it was Sarafina." Nguvu said.
"I did it with love, I assure you." Imani said.
"And didn't you once start a stampede to clear out the watering hole, because you didn't want to have to wait your turn?" Jicho commented.
"The creative use of one's environment, and an imaginative interpretation of the King's law regarding the rations of water use does not constitute unfriendlybehaviour." Imani grumbled. "Merely uncharitable behaviour. I was thirsty." He protested.
"Yeah well, friendly or not, in my experience, hyena and lions don't mix. Every cub and every pup knows that. I wasn't going to stand about and see how badly we mixed. I mean, just look at you guys? Attacking us out of nowhere, chasing us from the lands?" Shenzi said. Imani gave a laugh.
"Out of nowhere? You mean when we stopped you from exterminating a herd…"
"Exterminating! We killed two…" Banzai protested.
"And you only needed one! At the most! When were you planning on stopping?" Jicho asked them.
"I don't know… The low twenties?" Banzai suggested, as Shenzi elbowed him in the ribs. Banzai yelped in pain and Nguvu snorted. Shenzi at least had the self-respect to look away when she addressed them.
"Oh so we get a little over-excited and suddenly –"
"Save it." Kasi snapped. Shenzi fell silent. "We didn't come because you were hyenas, you cretin. We did it because you broke our laws," he said.
"To you that's the same thing."
"It's not the same at all! We chase out people who hunt for sport because it corrupts the circle of life and endangers the balance in the Pridelands. If you object to all hyenas being treacherous, schemers with no respect for the land or the circle of life, then you're the ones who need to do something about it! That's between you and the Creator Spirit!" Imani said.
"Whatever… honourless lions…" Shenzi sneered. Imani laughed again. Oh kings, this was priceless. To be called honourless by a hyena? That was too much. He smirked as he recalled her under-pawed assault on Taka preceding her frantic dash for freedom. Imani shook his head.
"Do all hyenas fight as dirty as you?" He asked conversationally.
"Only the living ones." Shenzi snapped, looking annoyed. Imani held up a paw in mock surrender. But Taka cleared his throat.
"You're scavengers. You don't need to hunt like that. You know you're not supposed to hunt for sport. If you want to do that, do it in your own lands, where the King has no power! Go mess up the circle of life somewhere that doesn't spoil the land for the rest of us!" Taka ordered them. He sighed. "You know the penalty for hunting the Pridelands."
Shenzi hung her head, looking defeated.
"Actually, Your Royal Highness, we don't. What we know, is that we are tired, hungry, sore, and would love to go back home to our termite ridden, geyser-prone deathtrap of a cavern, which is a real sweet piece of home. Nothing like these blasted Pridelands. Not worth the trouble." Shenzi said.
Taka hesitated, as Shenzi looked defeated. "Do what you want with us. Take your pound of flesh. Then when you've had your fun, leave us alone." She said. Kasi growled, and Imani looked to Taka.
"Is it just me, or do these wretches feel different to the usual cut of thieving poachers we keep having to deal with?" He said. Taka nodded. He felt it too. There was something different about them. There wasn't the same ruthless cruelty in their eyes. Nor the same low cunning. Indeed, there didn't appear to be a scheming brain cell between them. Oh, there was malice, lurking there in Banzai's eyes as he glared up at them. Envious loathing in abundance. And there was definitely a razor edge of spite to Shenzi shallow breath. But they were not behaving in the same defiant way typical of Caliban's crew.
"Forget it. Get out of here." Taka ordered them. Shenzi glanced back their way, suspicious.
"You're not going to –"
"Shut up Banzai! Let's just go! Before they change their minds!" Shenzi urged him, pushing past the young male.
"Not going to do what?" Nguvu asked looking confused. Shenzi let out a sigh, as Banzai's eyes widened. Sensing it wouldn't be a good plan to lie now, Banzai gave a nervous chuckle.
"Uh… Well… We've seen the hyenas you catch in the Pridelands… We know what usually happens to them. They always come back hurt… Bleeding… or bruised. I told Shenzi it wasn't worth the risk but she convinced me otherwise. Uh… Sorry. We'll be on our way. They said you'd probably try and kill us if we got caught…"
"Who said that?" Taka said, glancing at Kasi. "Despite what Kasi may want you to believe when it suits him, we don't go around executing poachers. That's barbaric." He said. Kasi shrugged in surrender. He hadn't been suggesting that they would do it. Merely pointed out that they could. It didn't do to let hyenas get inflated opinions of themselves, and it certainly didn't do any good for hyenas to have delusions as to how far the Lion Guard would go to defend their land.
"Oh, you know… just people that come in and out of the Pridelands." Shenzi said distractedly. Taka looked at Jicho, who nodded in agreement.
"That sounds like Caliban alright…" He muttered.
Blast it.
Even when he wasn't in the Pridelands, he was making a mess of things for them.
"You're not one Caliban's lackeys, are you? You'd just heard him talking about his 'free meals' and decided you wanted a slice, didn't you?" Jicho asked them, eyes widening, then he sighed. "They're just a trio of pathetic layabouts, hoping to get a free meal." Keenest of sight indeed, but one didn't need especially good vision to see that these hyenas were of an entirely different clan to Caliban and his ilk.
"Wait, Caliban? The Black Hyena? Oooh. He's bad news alright. He's closely related to the Black Clan's matriarch. That explains your ugh… zealous… defence of the herds after spotting us..." Shenzi said, recognising the name.
"Nah, we aren't his thugs. Caliban wouldn't have anything to do with us if he could help it." Banzai added. Jicho looked to Taka. "Not that, uh, we'd want anything to do with him." He said. Kasi rolled his eyes.
"Well, lucky for you. I don't know what he's been peddling to you out there in the Shadowlands, and I don't want to know. You can clear off now, and count yourself lucky." He said, as Shenzi scrambled to her feet, looking pathetically grateful.
"Uh… Thank you. We'd heard you guys, uh, usually beat living daylights the hyenas caught in the Pridelands… So uh… Thanks for… Not." Banzai aid. Imani shifted uncomfortably, and looked at Kasi who scowled.
"Only the thieves, murderers, and fighters who try to have a go first. We don't go around attacking creatures just for being hyenas." Kasi said, looking uncomfortable at the idea. Taka nodded. It was true that confrontations with Caliban and other poachers usually led to a fight that often could only be solved with violence. But even so, they didn't go out to attack hyenas. They just chased them out of the Pridelands, back to where they could hunt and kill without rending the entire ecosystem apart in the process. They'd do the same with the jackals or wild dogs – and had – on a number of occasions.
Taka growled in annoyance. It was pretty clear Caliban had been trying to save face by spreading misinformation about the Lion Guard and its purpose to other denizens of the Outlands and Shadowlands.
"Yeah. I can believe Caliban's stupid enough to try something first…" Banzai agreed.
"Well, we're neither. So… better be off…" Shenzi said.
"Wait…" Taka said after a while. Kasi blinked at him in surprise.
"What?" He asked, looking annoyed. Taka sighed.
"What if… What If we made an exception? What if I decided you could stay here?" Taka said. The Lion guard stared at him quizzically. The hyenas looked at one another in astonishment.
"I… What?" Shenzi asked.
"What if you agreed to follow the Law of the Pridelands? If you did, we'd have no reason – nor the desire – to chase you out of the Pridelands." Taka suggested, but was serious. He was staring at Shenzi intently, gauging her reaction.
"You…mean… You'd let us live in the Pridelands?" Banzai asked, sounding suspicious.
"And all we'd have to do was follow a few dumb rules?!" Shenzi exclaimed.
Jicho stared at them in surprise.
"Well of course! I… What… precisely… did you think it took to live here?" Jicho asked in surprise. Banzai looked at Shenzi.
"A mane?" Shenzi suggested. Nguvu snorted. Banzai however, didn't look pleased. He was only now appreciating how he'd been misled by the crafty Black hyena and he wasn't happy about it.
"I am going to kill Caliban…" he muttered to himself.
"Better do that in the Shadowlands. Its frowned upon here. One of those stupid rules." Imani said helpfully.
"Let them go. They can stay here." Taka said, sounding tired.
"Taka. Not to put too fine a point on this, but they're hyenas!" Kasi protested, looking agitated.
"Believe it or not, Kasi, I had noticed that." Taka said impatiently. "But they're not Caliban. They don't have to live with other clans, if they don't want to. Or are you proposing we exile them for their species?"
"What? No! Of course not! But let's not be naive about this, Taka! Look – that one is still slobbering over the Zebra, there is no way they'll keep it together!" He said. Ed was staring past them, as the meaty remains of a zebra carcass. Kasi raised a valid point. And if they upset the balance of the circle of life and word got out it had happened on the Lion Guard's watch, things wouldn't look too good for them.
"Hey! Listen here!" Taka said. "If you hunt here, then you obey the law of the Pridelands! You don't hunt for sport. Tame your bloodlust and your appetite. Take only what you need, without throwing the circle into disarray." He said.
The hyenas nodded gleefully, and Ed yelped something that sounded pleased.
"Uh… Please, accept the hunt, Prince Taka." Shenzi said in her most pathetic display of grovelling yet. Taka looked at the half-chewed carcass. Well. It was dead now. No sense it going to waste.
"We'll send a lioness to claim it later. And speaking of which, you had best be off by then. Wouldn't want any misunderstandings." He said. Banzai's eyes widened as he took the hint.
"Uh, yeah. Good plan. We ought to be leaving. Thank you, uh, Lion Guard. Thank you Prince Taka." He said. With that, the hyenas left, dragging the second zebra with them, looking unduly optimistic and altogether too cheerful for a party of carnivores just set upon by the Lion Guard for hunting for sport and harming the land. The Guard watched them leave.
"I don't like it…" Kasi said.
"I know."
"Hyenas killed my parents, Taka. They can't be trusted." Kasi said. Taka sighed.
"I know. But tell me honestly, Kasi. Do you distrust them because of your own history, or because you genuinely believe them to be dangerous? Because if you can do that, with a straight face, and look me in the eye, then on my word, I'll withdraw the whole offer." Taka said seriously. "I trust you far more than I do them." He said.
Kasi hesitated. Was he prejudiced?
He paused.
Blast it.
"Oh Kings damn me. Let them stay. But don't say I didn't warn you." Kasi said. Taka nodded.
"I don't expect you to trust them. But trust me. We have to give them a chance. Who knows? They might surprise us. And if not, what do we really lose? Maybe it might give the others an incentive to stop raiding the Pridelands like their own personal pantry." He suggested.
"Zira won't like this, you realise." Kasi said. Taka paused.
Damn. He hadn't thought of that.
"Well at the very least, it might stop cretins like Caliban playing the victim… He nearly took my ear off last time! What are we, some kind of thug squad, going around beating up hyenas?" Jicho said, looking offended. Imani raised an eyebrow.
"Man. That really got to you didn't it?"
"I happen to take pride in the Lion Guard!" Jicho snapped.
"Come off it, Jicho. Even they knew Caliban was a murderous, treacherous, lying, sleazy scumbag. I doubt anyone listens to a word of what he says." Nguvu said, though he looked troubled.
"Exactly. Those hyenas are not Caliban. I won't treat them as if they were." Taka said.
"She did spit in your face." Kasi said flatly.
"Yes. Yes she did. Then made a run for it." Taka said thoughtfully.
Kasi stopped, and stared at him.
"Oh you idiot. You admired them." Kasi said, rolling his eyes. Taka gave a small smile.
"Heh. Maybe I do. She had spirit. And there were the rudimentary precursors of an intellect there too… A sort of cunning that could be cultivated." He said. Kasi snorted.
"Oh please."
"Heh. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am right. Maybe it doesn't matter. We don't chase people out of the Pridelands for their species, Kasi. Only their actions. You don't think for a moment I'd hesitate to drive out a rogue, nomad, or even a Pridesister, for violating my Father's Law? I'd do my duty. They wouldn't be exempt just because of their species. Or do you think that I would?"
"Of course not." Kasi said.
"Well then. Don't expect me to leap at the chance to do so to others, because of another's species." He said. Kasi scowled.
"I don't. And I wouldn't either, you know…" he said shortly. Taka nodded.
"I know." He said. "It doesn't mean I expect you to like them though." He added. Kasi nodded.
"What if it had been one of Caliban's Clan?" Jicho asked suddenly. Taka snorted.
"Different situation entirely." He said quickly. Imani smirked.
"Of course."
"Do you think I am complete moron? As if I'd let Caliban and his crew get within ten leagues of Pride Rock…" Taka said. Kasi grinned.
"Now that is a something I trust." He said.
The white mist enveloped the scene yet again and the three observers found themselves back in the ghostly ethereal version of the Pridelands they inhabited between visions.
"So that is how you met the hyenas? I'd have expected something a little less ordinary." Ammit said.
"I didn't find them in some spirits blasted cavern feasting on marrow and gristle if that's what you were expecting. They're hyenas. What more natural a place to find one, than poaching across the borders? It seems to be their species' speciality." Scar said. Ammit was still smirking, and that annoyed Scar. In fact, it was beginning to irritate Scar to such a degree that he began to wonder if it were possible to murder a ghost. He was more than willing to give it his best effort.
"Did you expect them to be different?" Kivuli asked.
"They weren't like Caliban. I didn't think so anyway. Caliban was more cunning. As much as it's possible for a hyena to be cunning, anyway. He was more vicious, too." Scar said.
"More malevolent you mean." Kivuli said with disapproval. Scar shrugged.
"Yes. That too." He agreed.
"How pathetic. In your prime, you had a lion guard, lionesses, and the Roar of the Elders. By the time you died, you were relying on hyenas like that." Ammit snorted in disgust. Scar scowled.
"Pathetic is right. Those spineless, cowardly creatures. I was wrong though. They turned out to be just the same as any other hyena. They broke every promise they ever made in the end anyway. They betrayed me and the Pridelands." Scar snapped, with only the faintest hint of bitterness. If one weren't looking for it, one could almost mistake it for mere irritation. But Scar was grinding his teeth in fury. Kivuli was looking at Scar carefully.
"If memory serves you betrayed them first, selling them out to try to save your own skin." Kivuli said. "What did you expect?"
"I expected loyalty! I expected submission! I expected them to follow orders, to fight for me! To kill for me! And if necessary, to die for me! I expected them to obey." Scar said.
"Obviously that didn't go so well…" Ammit noted.
"Loyalty isn't just demanded, it's earned. You lost their loyalty when you tried to sell them out to Simba." Kivuli said. Scar scowled.
"Oh brilliant. I'd never have worked that out without your sage wisdom." Scar said. "I know that now, you foolish piece of –" Scar cursed.
"Enough. Regardless of how you felt about them before their… betrayal… if you want to call it that…" Kivuli said, silencing Scar with a glare, "I am more interested in the aftermath. Did it hurt? That they betrayed you? That they turned against you, and forsook the trust you had in them?" Kivuli asked, almost conversationally. Scar let out a breath, relinquishing the seething anger.
"They turned out to be worthless vermin anyway." He said, deflecting the question.
"Ah I understand. It's not nice to be betrayed is it? To have the people you trust betray you?"
"Alright…"
"Is it the humiliation? That you ever believed their barefaced lies and their manipulations? Or is it the anger that they were close to you when it benefited them? I am curious." Kivuli probed. Scar scowled.
"Enough! I get the point." He snapped.
"And what point is that?" Ammit asked him with a faintly bored expression.
"This isn't about me and the hyenas. It's about me and Mufasa, isn't it? You're trying to get me to admit that I hurt Mufasa when I betrayed him, just like the hyenas hurt me. That I hurt my family when I turned against them. Well maybe I did hurt them. But let me tell you something. That was the point." He seethed. "I meant to hurt them. I meant to betray them. And honestly, I suspect that murdering my brother produced more pressing concerns to my glorious King, then the sting of betrayal, but if the sting of betrayal struck at his soul as it was ripped from his body, then so much the better." Scar said venomously. Kivuli shrugged.
"You're wrong actually. That last thing he thought was the horror that you'd betrayed him. You could see it in his eyes, if you were looking. There wasn't time to consider anything else. Not even his Son. Mufasa didn't know whether his son was alive or dead, and the only thing he could think about as you flung him from that cliff face, was the shock and the horror of you, his own brother betraying him. I think it's important you know that. I think it's important that you understand how much it hurts to be betrayed."
"I understand the feeling of being betrayed all too well." Scar said seething. "You say that I betrayed that miserable filth first? That I turned against the hyenas before they turned on me? Well maybe I did. But Mufasa? He betrayed me first." Scar said.
"And Simba? How did your nephew betray you?" Kivuli asked him.
"He drew breath. That was betrayal enough." Scar hissed.
Then he paused, as the gravity of what he had said hit him. For a moment, Scar stared at them in horror, terrified of what he had just admitted. Kivuli however didn't look angry. Disgusted perhaps. In fact, he appeared disgusted as Ammit looked amused at the idea. But for all his revultion, He didn't look angry. He just looked… sad.
"I… I didn't mean… I…" Scar stuttered, looking alarmed.
"Yes. Yes you did mean it." Kivuli said. Taka swallowed. "And your honesty here, is worth more than any lie you might have told to try and pretend otherwise. Even if the truth is as repulsive as that." Kivuli said, looking revolted. "We shall not condemn you for speaking the truth." He said. Ammit grinned.
"Not to worry." He said. "I am sure there is plenty of equally repulsive things in your history to sift through." He said. "Who needs condemn you for speaking truth, when what the truth is, is damning enough?" He said. White mist began to descend on them again, and a new vision appeared before him.