Chapter 6- A Guiding Path Through Danger
Sarabi couldn't give away that I was with her in case they didn't know, but it was likely they knew she wasn't alone. At that moment all I could think about was how Sarafina and Nala could have been in the same danger, although it didn't make much sense and I was snapped back to reality, hearing the approaching Hyena get closer to me. If it saw me and Sarabi was too busy being attacked by the others, then there wasn't going to be much hope for me. I inly had seconds to respond, so I took a deep breath and tried to move away, with Sarabi's advice to me in mind. "These are not your lands. Go." Sarabi commanded, trying to hold an aura of invincibility about her. It wasn't working though as they advanced with fits of laughter ringing out after the lion queen spoke. I didn't dare look to the three in front of her, keeping my eyes on the ground ahead of me, trying to edge away without a sound. However, the way that I moved through the grass wasn't as stealthy as I would have liked. Not that I noticed my own little mistakes.
With the grass rustling at my movement, attention was soon brought to where I was, and the closest hyena was already on its way to inspect the noise. With the other three hyenas looking ready to attack the queen, there was no chance for her to make a move in my defence. I kept moving though, trying to keep the distance between us the same, although this was more difficult with my smaller size. It felt like I couldn't even breathe and as the hyena got closer, I started to move faster, not even wanting to look over. I knew the moment I was spotted outright because there was a shiver down my spine. I almost felt the shadow grow over me as it stood there, just watching as I gained pointless extra metres. "I didn't realise there was a bitesize lion here." The hyena cackled, starting to growl as I finally turned around to get a look at it. Whilst they weren't the predators that lions were, being a cub meant they were still very much a danger to me. This hyena seemed crazed, as did the others when they joined in the howling laughter, they couldn't hunt like a lioness, but with their obvious hunger driving them to the point of targeting anything, even if they weren't in their own lands, which the Pridelands clearly wasn't. Without saying anything, I turned to dash away, causing a snarl from my attacker, the start of a chase signalled by this noise. I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun it for long, but hoped that something miraculous would happen in my favour.
The grass shortened after a few moments of running leaving me in the open. I didn't have time to stop though, only glancing back to see that the distance had been closed. Behind, I could just about make out Sarabi holding off the others, doing well to manage three of them. With the other gaining on me though, I couldn't focus for too long on Sarabi's battle. I sprinted as hard as I could, my heart racing as nothing but fear and adrenaline carried me just ahead of the hyena in pursuit of me. My focus didn't break for a moment as I saw a flock of birds gathered to collect any of the bugs that were breaching the surface. I used that as my chance, running into them, making them fly up in all directions. I knew my plan had worked as I heard a frustrated snarl, presumably the birds had either gotten too close or right into his face, slowing him down. I didn't have time to look back though, racing away as I knew the hyena would still be chasing me, and now it was even more angry, more determined to get to me.
There was some more tall grass and I took the opportunity to throw myself into it, hoping to hide away in there from it. "I know you're here. You can't hide forever, little kitty." He growled in a dark tone, starting his crawl into the tall grass. I could see where he was, but he couldn't see me, though that would change fast if I didn't do anything to help myself. I moved to counter him. Any step forwards, I would take two back, though I was mindful of where I stepped and how much noise I'd made. In the moment, I could hear nothing but my hunter and my own movements. It was hard to stay calm, but I knew my life depended on it, catching a glimpse at his searching eyes, I started to control my breathing to a point I was satisfied it wouldn't be heard. I saw that the grass was going to clear in my path once again, which would alert him to my location. With nothing else to do though and the hyena starting to make his way to me, I had to make a run for it and hope for him to notice late. It would buy me time, time that I needed if I were going to survive.
Taking a final look at him, I turned and ran out of the grass, putting myself in plain view. I heard his steps gather pace not long after, indicating that he had spotted me. His laughter sounded and I could only imagine the sort of sadistic joy he was having whilst chasing me. By this point, I was getting tired, finding it hard to keep running hard for so long and the adrenaline I felt was wearing off. It was only natural that I would start to run slower as my muscles screamed at me for a rest. What was worse was that the hyena seemed faster than before, closing the distance quicker than I anticipated. I headed forwards with all the strength I could give, but my body was starting to betray me, limiting my options. With the fight I had left in me, I turned and glared at my adversary, the male in question coming to stop with a confused expression. His fun was over, and I was going to make sure of it, one way or another. He was about to ask why I stopped when I lifted one paw, let my claws out and leapt at him, swiping said paw and making contact with his cheek, my claws digging into the flesh, I could feel them ripping across his cheek, falling away as he flinched in response, naturally backing away, which allowed me time to stand up and see the effect I had on the hyena. He winced in pain and turned his face for a moment, allowing me to see three very clear claw marks that dragged the length of his cheek, giving me confidence and strength to growl at him, my eyes narrowing as I prepared to go for another attack on him. I felt myself get lower to the ground, ready to pounce at my attacker turned victim, but my confidence didn't last long. The hyena recovered his composure and looked at me, his eyes filled with rage, as pure as it could be seen. "You won't be living to forget that." He warned, stepping close and whacking me with one of his paws, sending my little body flying, landing a few metres away, my side crashing onto a rock, sliding down it as I was too winded to move from it. With a sinister growl, he got over to me, admiring the work he had done. I could tell I wasn't bleeding, but I was definitely hurt. He started laughing again at seeing me in distress, speaking up again "You should have kept running. At least that way you would have made it more fun for me." He couldn't help but break into laughter again. I was too winded to properly react, still finding it hard to take in a breath.
"If you even lay a claw on her, I will do more than just keep you out of the Pridelands." A deep, powerful voice shouted, causing both myself and the hyena to look in its direction. I could seed the miraculous event I was hoping for. Mufasa was standing there, two lionesses by his side as they all glared at the intruder. He didn't seem so confident or sadistic at that point, instead he seemed scared, much like I was of him earlier. I didn't know what was going to happen to him, but at that moment, I just wanted Mufasa to get him away from me. Sure enough, the two lionesses made their way to me.
Before anyone could react though, Sarabi herself appeared, tackling the hyena to the ground, pressing onto his shoulders and baring her teeth right up to his neck, speaking to the intruder with a very angry tone "Leave these lands at once. Your fellow hyenas have met the resistance of our lionesses. I do not need to tell you how grave it would be for our king to get involved as well, do I?" The hyena shook his head, whimpering underneath the lioness who looked just about ready to kill him. "Good. Know that if you return and come close to our young, we will not be so merciful next time. Return to the home your kind gave itself." She got off, but gave a warning snarl and swipe as the hyena got up to run away. Sarabi didn't look away from it until he was out of sight, a permanent frown fixed on her face, making sure the danger was gone. Even through this, Mufasa said nothing, knowing that he wouldn't get a response from his mate until it was all safe.
The second he had disappeared from sight though, the lion king still wouldn't be able to speak with her because Sarabi's attention went straight to me, running over and checking to see if I was okay. In the time they had arrived, I had gotten over being winded, although I felt bruised, which was lucky considering I was thrown onto a rock. She prodded at me and I gave an appropriate groan. Hearing that and not hearing too much pain from me, Sarabi gave me a quick nuzzle, finally a smile returning to her kind face. "I am so glad you are okay, and I am so sorry I took so long to help you." She rushed her words as if she had to explain herself to me, showing aspects of the worried mother she was. It seemed like it didn't matter what cub it was, she wanted to be there to look after it. Although I was laying hurt, in the dust on the ground, I gave the lion queen a smile to reassure her, knowing that it would calm her a little bit. "Mufasa, are Sarafina and Nala okay?" She looked to the king, getting a nod in response as the two of them walked up by the king's side, both of them looking with concern at me. I could tell Nala wanted to get over to me, but had likely been told to wait until we were back. I offered another smile for their benefit, getting the response I'd hoped for. All lions stood around, keeping any eye on the area whilst Sarabi made further checks I was okay, leaning in to pick me up by the scruff of my neck. I didn't know what to think of the sensations it gave, unable to control where I was going; I was thankful to be in friendly company. It hadn't hit me just how close I was to losing my life in my encounter with the hyenas. It wasn't until I was being taken back that the emotion of it all started to hit me, the overwhelming relief causing me to cry, my tears seemingly unstoppable, though it wasn't loud. Mufasa had noticed though and looked to me, then to his queen. Sarabi nodded and Mufasa did the same, leaving the two of us, with Pride Rock in sight, close by.
With the two of us there alone, she placed me on the ground and was soon pulling me against her, her paws keeping me close, she comforted me by nuzzling and licking the top of my head, purring to try and ease my sobbing. It couldn't be stopped though, the only thing I could do was ride it out, waiting for the moment to pass. "I'm sorry." I sobbed, burying my face into her paws, my tears wetting her fur, though it didn't appear to bother her at all, instead she kept her eyes on me, not smiling, but she held a worried look as she continued to try and comfort me.
Sarabi spoke to me softly "You have nothing to be sorry for. The hyenas should not have come to the Pridelands. It was not your fault. Unfortunately, they do try to find their ways into these lands, and when they do, their targets are almost always the vulnerable. Can I be honest with you, Tishala?" She asked, confusing to me, but I nodded "I was scared. When the hyenas attacked, I was scared that they were going to get to you. I wouldn't have done my job as queen and I wouldn't have done what any lioness would do and protect her cub. Whilst you are not my daughter, I feared for your life as if you were. I think it littles matter if you are mine or not though, you are part of our pride now and to think your life could end before it had started…it is a thought that I cannot brig myself to dwell on for too long." She rested her head on mine for a moment, the silence between us spoke a volume of how much she cared for me, simply because I was a cub it seemed. It wasn't long before she spoke up again though, this time sounding happier as my sobs had quietened "I don't know if it will mean much to you right now, but you did the right thing by trying to get away. I don't know how you lasted as long as you did, but don't think I didn't notice the scratch you left on that hyena. For someone as outmatched as you were, it was both brave and reckless to turn and try fighting back." She sighed, making me ponder on the 'reckless' aspect of it "I cannot praise recklessness, but I can smile at the thought of a cub making a full-grown hyena yelp." She chuckled, causing me to picture the moment, which didn't make me laugh, but it hadn't traumatised me like it could have "Perhaps when you are older you will be able to use that bravery in a way that will make you stand out in a more measured way. I think you've given a glimpse of your capability to do that." The lion queen gave me one more nuzzle before standing up to get in front and face me. "Tishala, there are a number of great things one can find in the circle of life. The fact you were able to defend your place in it today shows that there could be a great role for you in the circle. It will be hard not to look for it yourself, but in the end, it will find you." She went to pick me up again, speaking before she got me "Come now, we must get back. I'm afraid further lessons will have to wait." I was soon picked up again in her jaws, being escorted back to Pride Rock with the sun still fairly high in the sky.
It wasn't long before I was back with the pride, Sarabi letting me down so I could walk in by myself, immediately coming face to face with Nala, bumping into her as we both fell backwards onto our rears. "Sorry!" Nala gave an apologetic smile, waiting until we were both up to stand by my side, guiding me her way, though it seemed like Sarabi had already made her way there too. I grew a little suspicious, finding ourselves in an area similar to the one where we were watched the other day. Sarafina was laying down in the sun and Sarabi found her spot on a slightly raised platform just out of the sun where a tree cast a large shadow over the raised rock and her. Nala moved away from me to go to her mother, the two nuzzling each other once again before the cub was taken into her mother's grasp. That is when it clicked for me, I knew what was coming and when I looked to Sarabi, she held a little smirk. She knew that I had worked out why Nala guided me over. Why she didn't just carry me there with her I'll never know, but all I could guess was because Nala wanted to see me first. It seemed a bit trivial, but it was all I could guess. I was here for a bath.
My first reaction was to stop in place, raise a brow at both of the older lionesses for a moment, a frown growing on my face, getting larger by the second "Do I have to?" I asked, loud enough for both of them to hear. Both of them looked ready to laugh at that, but Sarafina was starting to give Nala a bath, not that she minded, seeming to enjoy it in fact. Sarabi held her expression and nodded "What if I promise to be the best hunter I can be?" I gave a large grin, hoping that would get me out of it. The queen's expression did not waver as she shook her head.
"I would expect you to do that anyway. Even the best hunters need to be clean though." I sighed in defeat to her response, padding over to her where she could pick me up and get me into place, soon getting to work on me. "You're actually not too filthy for a cub who was chased by a Hyena. This won't take long." She purred as I felt her drag her tongue over my fur, for once not a focused stroke of it on the top of my head. I was still a little uncomfortable, being moved around like a ragdoll so she could clean me entirely, finishing off with my head. In truth, I quite enjoyed the attention on my head, the feeling when she got to my ears was good enough to let me start purring, getting a similar feeling to Goosebumps as her tongue dragged over each ear. I don't know what cane iver me, but with my eyes closed, so relaxed in that moment that I rested my head on her paws, just accepting the bathing, almost drifting off to a little slumber. Sarabi's words were enough to break me out of it though "it seems you liked this more than you thought you would. I'll never understand why cubs often seem so reluctant to be bathed, it's never as bad as you seem to think it is. Look at Nala, she doesn't make any fuss." The lioness pointed out to me. I looked to see that Nala was having a slower, more thorough bath than mine. I was free to go, but for a moment I was happy to just stay within the comforting hold of her large paws. The queen didn't seem to object and so, she rested her head beside mine, both of us just enjoying the pleasant change of pace from earlier. It wasn't long before that we were both dealing with hyena related problems. Having time to think about it, it struck me that it would be normal to live with such extreme changes of pace. The encounter with hyenas let me know that life can be cut short so quickly here, so many didn't have time to dwell on it before moving on. I had only been given the luxury of that because I was in a pride of lions. Had I come to these lands as a zebra, perhaps I wouldn't have had the benefit of protection, being prey, as opposed to predator. I didn't want to think about how bad it could have turned out, knowing I was lucky to have been found when I was. "Are you feeling less shaken now?" Sarabi asked, looking at me as I nodded in response. "Good. Sometimes the hyenas get restless from their exile, so they enter without permission. They were exiled before Mufasa became king, by his father, Ahadi. They disrespected the circle of life and hunted for sport. Ahadi was left with no choice in the end but exile them. They have still not learned the appropriate way to function within the kingdom and only when they do will they be considered to join the kingdom again. However, instead of seeking to learn, their hearts grow dark and lurk towards vengeance for what happened in the past. As a result, they are a threat to us." She finished, waiting for me to look like I had taken in every word. I did find it interesting to learn some of the history of this land and was left wanting more.
Before I could ask for more stories of the past though, a certain prince strolled into view, an excited look on his face. Seeing as I was able to get up, I met with Simba a few steps away from Sarabi, next to where Nala was still having her own bath. "Hey Nala, hey Tishala." He seemed to have an extra spring in his step about something, though it wasn't clear what made him so spritely.
Nala and I both spoke, surprised when we heard our words were the same in greeting the prince "Hi Simba!" We both looked at each other, not expecting we would have been so perfectly in sync. It caused the two of us to giggle for a moment, cutting it off as we could see the prince was waiting with an impatient look on his face, albeit mixed with excitement.
"Come on. I just heard about this great place." He explained, nearly bouncing around with his eager energy.
Nala however, was not impressed for the moment, too busy in her mother's hold "Simba!" She started, looking at him with a frown forming. The cub was held on her back, arched upwards with her head the lowest point, looking at us upside down "I'm kind of in the middle of a bath." She said through clenched teeth, looking like she was displeased her bath would be interrupted by something that may not be worth it.
Sarabi chose her moment to start speaking again, leaning over to reach for Simba "And it's time for yours." With a smile on her face, the lion queen was able to pick up the prince before he could make any attempt of an escape. With that, his mother got to work, dragging her tongue on his fur, the struggling cub unable to escape the motherly attention she gave him.
Simba protested, trying to get himself far enough away that she couldn't reach with her tongue, despite how futile his effort was "Mum, mum! You're messing up my mane." He huffed, looking disgusted with just the thought of even a hair of his mane out of place. Finally though, Sarabi relented, happy enough that he was clean, allowing him to break free, leaping down to meet in the middle with myself and Nala waiting for him. "Okay, okay, I'm clean. Can we go now?" He asked with a hint of irritation in his voice, seemingly desperate to go wherever it was.
Nala stood as if she was imposing to Simba, puffing out her chest "So where are we going? It better not be anyplace dumb." She warned, huffing a little bit. I couldn't help but agree with her, not wanting the place to be a let-down. "Me and Tishala won't stand for anything not cool enough." She added, giving me a little nudge, signifying we were going to be judging the prince.
Simba didn't seem bothered by this at all though, shaking his head and getting even more excited. "No. It's really cool." He beamed, his paws shuffling on the spot, showing his eagerness to go there.
Nala and I saw how Simba's excitement became very much scaled back when Sarabi spoke up again, craning her neck a little to try get a better look at her son, who looked back to her with an uneasy smile "So where is this really cool place?" Her smile seemed to grow when she saw the prince hesitate.
It was clear Simba was thinking of a cover up because wherever he wanted to go, it was likely his parents wouldn't want him there "Oh." He paused for a moment before stuttering out the start of a response, settling on "Uh…around the water hole." He answered, appearing set on that answer as his mother looked on, testing to see if her son would crack under pressure.
The tension was broken when Nala responded "The watering hole?" She asked, a frown on her face.
She was as confused as I was "What's really cool about the watering hole?" I questioned, causing the prince to give an annoyed sigh in our direction. With a brief glance at the two adults I could see they weren't listening too intently, but both found the back and forth amusing.
"I'll show you when we get there!" Simba whispered, making sure the other two in our presence didn't hear. Both Nala and I looked at each other in realisation that it would probably be a place we shouldn't go to. That did just make it more intriguing to go visit though.
Nala was the first to speak our minds though, leaving me silent once again between the two of them "Oh!" She whispered her response, our smiles growing when she turned to Sarafina, putting on a straight face "Mum, can I go with Simba and Tishala?" Her voice sounded calm despite the exciting prospect before us. Her mother had an expression to match, listening to Nala and nodding to show she acknowledged her.
She seemed to ponder the question for a moment before looking to her friend "Hmm…what do you think, Sarabi?" She let one of her brows lift up, seeing what her friend would react with. It made sense that the two of them weren't so convinced on where Simba actually wanted to take us.
All three of us rushed to get close to Sarabi, all three of our heads perfectly aligned as we pleaded with the queen to allow us to have a trip to the water hole, or so we would try to lead them to believe. It felt like a long time we had to hold our broad grins, forcing ourselves to show more enthusiasm in the hope that we would be allowed. "Well…it's alright with me..." She seemed satisfied, her answer leaving th three of us leaping in celebration, although my own celebration was a little more reserved to just cheering, my bruises affecting my ability to jump around as much for the time being. "…as long as Zazu goes with you." I looked to see her smile hadn't faded. She had planned to say it like that, when we thought we had won, knocking the wind out of our sails with the announcement. Our mood deflated, if only a little bit.
"Not Zazu!" Simba groaned, seemingly not a massive fan of the major-domo, though I hadn't found out why yet. Nala appeared to share the same sentiment as Simba, my face being the only one that didn't look disappointed with the announcement of our feathery babysitter.
When we were making our way to the water hole, Zazu seemed to put on a happy tone, flying above, making sure all cubs in his care were kept in sight "Step lively! The sooner we get to the water, the sooner we can leave." Despite his rather chipper tone, he didn't hide the fact he wanted to do this as much as the two cubs beside me wanted him there.
Simba, Nala and I were talking, but soon the talk tured back to an earlier topic, Nala asking where we were actually going. Simba responded in kind "An elephant graveyard." He seemed proud to give that information finally. Nala gasped in amazement, not thinking to keep the volume low, which earned her a small reprimanding from Simba "Sshh, Zazu." He gestured to the horn-bill, clearly wanting to keep our plans a secret, volume low so as to not raise suspicion.
Nala regained her composure, nodding at Simba, looking across to me with a smile for a moment before asking "So how are we gonna ditch the dodo?" Her brow raised, almost creating a mirror image to her mother's face, the only difference being she was younger and with different eye colour.
Simba brought us in closer, a wicked smile on his face as he started to whisper to us "Oh I know how we can…" he continue to whisper a plan to us, the details of which made the three of us laugh, looking up at the bird a few times as we discussed it further, each of us taking a turn to bring up a detail, all of us smiling, agreeing and laughing with each other.
We were so focused on this that we barely noticed the bird fly down to be in front of us, barely stopping in time. At this point, I had joined the group mentality of not wanting Zazu to be looking after us so we could go off by ourselves instead. "Oh just look at you three. Though particularly you two." He pointed to Simba and Nala with one of his wings "Little seeds of romance blossoming in the savanna. Your parents will be thrilled…what with your being betrothed and all." He smiled at the two of them. This had happened so suddenly, I didn't know what to think, I didn't even understand what the word was, reminding me of the younger body I was in. Some things were not going to make sense to me anymore.
My thoughts were interrupted from a confused sounding Simba "Be-what?" He asked, lifting his head with a perplexed frown.
Zazu was more than happy to elaborate "Betrothed. Intended. Affianced." He finished, hoping the two cubs would understand what he was saying. I was leaning in, hoping to find out what he meant as well.
"Meaning?" Nala joined Simba with a look of uncertainty.
The horn-bill sighed before starting "One day, you two are going to be married!" He seemed excited about the idea of it. The cubs on the other hand, were quick to express their disgust to it, Simba and Nala speaking at the same time.
"Yuck!"
"Ewww."
"I can't marry her. She's my friend." He leaned in to try and reason with the bird, who stood there, barely moving a muscle, just listening to the cub complaints.
Nala nodded in agreement "Yeah, it'd be too weird!" Her face shifted for a moment, smirking at myself and Simba "Besides, those two have already been K-I-" Nala started, bringing back the little mocking she made of when Simba comforted me.
She was duly cut off by the prince who saw exactly where she was going with that "Hey, that's not true, I was thanking her for being nice to me in front of uncle Scar." He stuck his tongue out, causing her to do the same.
Despite the chaos starting to break out, Zazu didn't seem bothered, instead he was set on finishing what he wanted to say "Well, in spite of this, that is what will happen. It's a tradition going back generations." He spread his wings out on the last word, emphasising it. He didn't realise that the lion prince was mimicking the words he spoke, mocking the horn-bill in the process. It caused the argument to stop and all three of us to laugh.
Simba started to walk beside Zazu "Well, when I'm king, that'll be the first thing to go."
The horn-bill poked him on the nose, jumping up into his face for a moment "Not if I'm around."
Simba seemed to contemplate this for a moment, a smile never fading from his face as I had Nala urge me forwards, like something was going to start happening. It was odd, I could feel the energy rising around us, as if something was building up. "Well, in that case, you're fired." He shrugged off the bird, keeping a confident pose by him.
Zazu responded in kind, poking his nose again, although a little more aggressive, countering the rather bored tone he gave "Hmm…nice try, but only the king can do that."
I couldn't help myself, entering the back and forth for just a moment, jumping to Simba's aid in front of the avian carer we had "Well, I mean…he is the future king." I said, looking to Simba with a smile as the agitation from Zazu grew; Simba's own smile growing more.
Simba nodded and pressed the bird onto the ground with his paw, though not too rough "Yeah, she's right, so you have to do what I tell you."
Despite his position to the prince, the major-domo was still resisting accepting Simba's words "Not yet I don't. And with an attitude like that, I'm afraid you're shaping up to be a pretty pathetic king indeed." He huffed, trying to tell Simba the reality of it, but the three of us in that moment could only see him wanting to be king.
In a defiant huff, the prince pushed down a little bit before walking away, letting the bird get up "Hmph. Not the way I see it." He smirked. I couldn't describe it, but it felt as if everything was becoming rhythmic, almost like a faint sound from nowhere was growing with time. I could feel the music, hear it perfectly as the three of us started to make our way forwards. The plan was being set into motion, all we had to do now, was follow it. Simba suddenly started singing, a gathering of various African animals were appearing and they all seemed tuned into what was going on. I couldn't explain how, but I felt like I knew what was happening as well, even my paws stepping to the rhythm as the music got louder. Simba started with a couple of melodic lines "I'm gonna be a mighty king. So, enemies beware!" We noticed even Zazu was feeling it, his own tuneful response coming out rather flat, but it somehow worked.
Simba, Nala and I raced away from the chaotic scene, all the animals scattering in all directions apart from a rhino and a missing Zazu, who was likely to be underneath it, knowing the luck of the horn-bill, if anything that happened to him in the song was to go by. I did feel a little bit bad that we had left him there, but we were free to do what we wanted at that point. All of us were laughing as we shared the highlights of moments in that song. I hadn't expected to have gotten so into a song, but it felt like it was a natural thing there, even to me. The scenes during the song were surreal, having ridden on ostriches and even traversed across giraffe heads. They didn't seem to mind, keeping in spirit with the song. Simba just couldn't wait to be king! With the jubilation of the moment wearing down on us, we slowed and looked to each other, Simba holding an arrogant smirk "All right, it worked! I am a genius."
Nala frowned at that and shook her head "Hey, genius, it was my idea." She growled.
Simba growled in return, starting another little argument "Yeah, but I pulled it off!"
"With me and Tishala helping you!" Nala argued.
I stepped up "Yeah, you didn't do it all by yourself!" I answered with a bold look on my face. At that moment, Simba could barely answer instead giving a little attempt at a roar and tackling into both me and Nala. I soon got pushed aside and they rolled a couple times more for Nala to land on top.
She pressed him down, being told to get off by Simba, which she did, but not before highlighting her victory "Pinned ya!" As Nala looked away, Simba thought he had the chance to get revenge. However, what he didn't account for was me. I charged into him, sending both of us tumbling, Nala chasing us to get in on the action.
The scuffle led us down a hill, not that we noticed, but it ended with me pinning Simba down, smirking at him as well "I also pinned ya." I giggled, using Nala's little phrase for my own use there.
I got off and that was when the three of us noticed the eerie setting we were now in after tumbling down the hill before. "This is it. We made it." Simba stated, forgetting about his recent failure to beat either female cub. We all got to the ledge of a steeper hill, looking over it to see the area was a mixture of dark colours, with grey being the dominant one as a sort of fog seemed to rest close to the ground, at least it appeared that way. Across the area we could see several skeleton remains that belonged to long deceased elephants. With another look to us, Simba stood up "Come on then, we should go in." He stated, not at all concerned by the haunting atmosphere of the place, enough to make me feel uncomfortable.
Despite my fears, we had got there, so I agreed, getting up to follow the other two into the elephant graveyard.
A/N: There it is, another chapter. Hopefully I will see some more reviews, I do like to know what others think of this story. I do not own anything Disney do. The next one may take longer to be released, depending on how well I can manage my time around my studies. All the best and until next time! FHCC