Lion King: Tales of the Pridelands

by Hu-E3rd

It had been a year since Kion returned to live at the Tree, now the Pridelands have come to peace again. However, in the midst of all its change, one crafty Hyena, in particular, opposes it all and will do whatever it takes for him to usurp Jasiri's position and turn the Outlands back to their Lion-hating ways.

11. Pain and Loss

WARNING: This story contains scenes of abuse, sexism, and violence. Proceed with caution.

Wazimu belongs to my friend Jacob Lorenzo

The Outlands. A desolate wasteland filled with no signs of plant life and riddled with bones from leftover carcasses. This was a place very few ventured into, for they knew that there were in fact animals that resided here.

There were many animals that lived in the Outlands: Jackals, Vultures, Skinks, Scorpions. Each of them lived as the Pridelanders lived in the Pridelands. But none of these species added up to the Outlands most populous species.

The Hyena.

True, one may not see these animals as much. But in truth, all sorts of animals have their own opinions about this species of feliform. Mostly bad ones that root from the Pridelands. And who could blame them? After all, these animals nearly sundered the Pridelands to near complete destruction. Such was the will of the madman Scar, the Lion ee all may know at this point. Having such a horrible resume, it was ideal for many animals to be against them. To see them as ravenous, heartless, killing machines.

All the same, it is my duty to say that they are wrong.

Hyenas have more in common with Lions that anyone would ever think. Sure, they feed primarily on carcasses and butt heads with lions almost every waking moment, but their lives included much more than that. These animals were very caring parents to the very few offspring they would produce. It was a rare event for a Hyena couple to be blessed with more than two cubs. Mothers, of course, took extra special care for their cubs.

And Asante, she was no different.

Unlike the vast majority of her king in the Outlands, Asante had not been involved in the siege of the Pridelands orchestrated by Scar. No, she remained in the Outlands, where it may have been desolate, but she did not have to suffer through starvation as many of her kind did during those years. Sis Ni Sawa, that was her philosophy. This particular phrase not only stretched to her kind, but also to other species as well.

You see, Asante was what you may call an idealist. She had kept many of her own thoughts in her mind, except for when they truly contributed to other people's interests. Introverted and very well spoken, there was no hyena that came like her.

It was here in the Outlands that her family had been started. She was not alone in the Outlands, believe it or not. One male Hyena, known as Lenaar, was not allowed to join with Shenzi's clan. They all saw him as a shifty, no-account crook who stole meat from others first chance he got, taking it all for himself. But Asante saw him different. She saw him as strong, kind, and welcoming towards her. At least, that was what she saw him to be, mind you.

From the union of these two spotted came the birth of not one, not two, but three healthy little cubs. Two females and a male. There had never been a more loving mother to these two than Asante. She was that good with cubs. She held no favorites, all three were as pure as gold to her.

Wazimu was the eldest. Only male of the bunch, he was as tough and adventurous as a child could be. He always got himself into the worst scrapes and messes, but his mother was always there to save him and nurse his wounds.

Now Jasiri, being second oldest, was not entirely one for sitting still herself. She bore the most resemblance to her mother than any of the the three, and even spoke of her philosophy more than them. Just like the rest of her siblings, she was told the tale of the famine of the Pridelands by Asante while Lenaar just sat there and watched. And it was all because of the breaking of the Circle of Life. While her younger sister flinched in fear (perhaps maybe from something else), Jasiri just stood straight, almost more so than Wazimu. Almost.

The youngest and most extroverted of the three, Madoa spent much of her time playing around her family's home. To say that she enjoyed everything around home would be untrue. There was something there that she was absolutely scared of speaking about. She always had the choice to leave the boundaries and play with her siblings. But no, she was scared of that as well. Too scared to meet new friends. Too scared to open up.

But when a red cub came along with a broken leg, her mind had been changed. He was absolutely adorable to her. His red fur was amazing. And then, when his pain had subsided, the new cub had told her that she was cute as well.

Almost immediately after Asante patched him up did his family arrive. Shenzi. Asante's former enemy now turned next door neighbor. He bore no resemblance to her or his brother. Oh yes, Shenzi had three cubs as well. But no daughters, just three boys. And Tombie, the red one, was the Madoa of the three. Seeing him being stuck with such brothers made Madoa feel oh so sorry for him.

Her tail had wagged when he asked if he could come and see her again. To which his mother told him that he could whenever he wanted. It had finally happened. Madoa had made a friend.

Now, the events of this little tragedy take place three days after this event. Asante had come to speak with Shenzi about how she was willing to rejoin her clan for the sake of her family.

"Excuse me, you wanna join with us?" Shenzi was clearly perplexed. "Even after we bashed what you told us you believed in?"

"Hey, everybody makes mistakes Shenzi." Asante shrugged. "Take it from someone who has to bandage up her son every three days when he tries to get Ponya flowers off a cliff ledge. But you see, my cubs need loads of protection. There are lots of animals who would love to get their teeth into them."

"Oh I hear that." Shenzi nodded. "Did you know I had to show my claws at some Passerine bird three times in one day after he tried to take Janja? Of course, it was kinda his fault too. He just wouldn't stop trying to take its feathers."

"He and Wazimu would most likely get along, then. He's adventurous yet smart, and Janja's adventurous and clumsy. Out them together, they'd be unstoppable."

Soon, Shenzi's mate had come padding along. "Nice to see you here, Asante."

"Likewise, Banzai." Asante greeted the male. "So you've probably heard our discussion, right?"

"Ah yeah, and frankly, I wouldn't mind." Banzai waved his paw. "Ever since that day, there's been something different about Tombie."

"What?" Shenzi raised her eyebrow. "You actually noticed something about one of your boys?"

"Hey, just cause I'm gone most of the time doesn't mean I don't care for em!" Banzai retorted. "I think they'd be better off with you than with me anytime, anyways."

"That isn't so, and you know it Banzai." Shenzi replied. "The boys love you just as much as they love me. I didn't have a mom to teach me how to raise my kids and look at them now. Ok, don't take Makamu as an example, but look at Janja and Tombie. Janja may be a jerk sometimes, but he can be good to Tombie the other times."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Oh dear, am I interrupting something?"

The three of them turned to see Asante's mate entering the little meeting. If you were someone's friend, and you saw their married companion arriving, you would greet them with the same friendly expression as you did the other. But this one, Shenzi and Banzai only gave hateful glares towards him, but seemed to try and hide them from Asante.

"Asante, there you are." Lenaar greeted his mate. "I was wondering where you went off to."

"Oh sorry to worry you, honey. Just talking about our terms with Shenzi and her clan, you know. They all seem so eager to take you back with them." Asante flipped her main eagerly as she started ti bring her friends closer together with her mate. But when she did so, Banzai noticed something.

A scar underneath her mane.

"Say uh, Asante? Where's you get that scar?"

"What scar?"

"The one under your mane. I just saw it."

"Oh, uh, that? Well, it's a funny thing actually. See, my boy Wazimu git himself into one of his famous scrapes and stuck in a briar patch. Naturally, I went in to get him, but my back got caught in one of the thorn. Isn't that right, Lenaar?"

There was something off about how Asante spoke that Shenzi and her husband saw as suspicious. Something about Asante seemed... off. She had hints of nervousness inside of her. She almost stammered with her words, falling over them like walking on ice. Her eyes had darted from them Lenaar rather quickly. But Lenaar kept that pleasant smile on his face, smiling at his mate's friends.

"Well, we'd better come along, dear. Dinner is waiting for us." Lennar patted her in the back, right on her scar. They saw that Asante flinched slightly at this but covered it up.

"Sure thing, honey..."

As Lenaar turned to follow close behind her, he felt a paw on his back. He turned to see Banzai behind him. "Hey, mind if I talk with you?"

"Not at all, my friend. Asante, go on ahead back to the den if you please." Lenaar then turned to Banzai as he walked alongside the other male. The make with the big eyebrows wanted to take Lenaar away from Shenzi, because he didn't want to cause any trouble. When they were in a secluded area...

"I know what you've been doing."

"Pardon me?" Lenaar raised his eyebrow.

"Don't pardon me, me." Banzai growled. "That wasn't no thorn that made a scar like that. That looked like a claws mark to me."

"Banzai, have you been working out in the sun too long?" Lenaar questioned. "Because you're making stuff up in your own head-"

He then felt Banzai push him against the wall, his bushy eyebrows furrowed as he glared him in the face. "Stop the act Lenaar. I know you're beating your wife. And what's to stop me from believing that you're not doing the same to your kids? Answer me!"

Now the truth had come out. He seemed to have nowhere else to go. Lenaar turned from friendly and kind, to cold and calculating in a matter of seconds after hearing this. He stared at Banzai with a face as mean and serious as his. "And what if I am?"

"Why? Why, might I ask, are you doing this to your family?"

"Because filthy females such as Asante and her two brats need to know their place. I never wanted daughters. Females are the lowest form of life on earth, bar none. They do not exhibit the raw power makes do. My son Wazimu, that is my child. My only child."

Banzai could not believe what he was hearing out of this man. His eye twitched as he kept his anger inside. Not even Ed irked him as much as this Hyena. "I'm gonna let you go. I will let my wife get through with you, and I'll-"

"And you'll what?" Lenaar growled. "Tell Asante everything I told you? I think not, you impudent worm. You're no father yourself. You always leave your loving mate to do all the parenting, while you chew on every bone you can find! You disgust me, did you know that? And look at that pathetic little freak of yours. That red furred little hairball does not deserve to exist in this world."

"Don't you DARE talk about my son that way!" Banzai pressed his paw against Lenaar's throat. "He may not be as strong as Janja, but he's more deserving of love than you'll ever be! When I tell Asante, she's going to stay with us, and she won't have to deal with you anymore!"

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, you lazy fleabag." Lenaar got dangerously close to Banzai's face as he bared his fangs. "You love your son, don't you?"

"With every bone in my body."

"Thought so. You are weak, Banzai. You are a weak, pathetic, disgusting creature. You are no man. A man means holding power. Power over all other individuals around him. The weak ever are consumed by the strong. And you care for your family, I understand that now. You know, it's a hard world for hyenas nowadays, isn't it? It would be real shame if something happened to a certain pair of young men. Wouldn't you agree, Banzai? So if I were you, I would keep my motor-mouth shut, because you must go to sleep sometime. Never can tell what may be creeping about at night."

Banzai then lowered his head as he let Lenaar go. He truly did care for his family. He wanted them to grow up in a better environment then he did. He wanted to be a father to them even when he never had a father to teach him. And as far as he knew, a father was the opposite of what Kenaar was. He did not want to lower himself to the state of that piece of filth before him. But he also did not want his cubs to be taken in the dead of night.

Lenaar smirked at him triumphantly and turned to leave. "Good day, Banzai."

*Later*

Jasiri and Madoa rolled around as they played together happily. Whenever their father wasn't around, they could live life as children and not cubs who would love in fear who they were related to. True, they would've been afraid of Wazimu since he had the same eyes as him, but he was nothing like their father.

He looked out for his sisters when Asante wasn't around to do so. But he could not deny that he was the only cub that their father showed any care for. However, even though Lenaar saw great potential in him, he knew he didn't value him the way a father should. He only viewed him as a tool for him, and he knew it.

And why was it that he never spoke out to him whenever he smacked his sisters you may ask? Well, to be frightfully honest, I haven't the faintest of clues myself. These days, Wazimu tries to avoid most of his feelings and tries his very best to stay good and tough for his and sisters sake.

He enjoyed seeing that his siblings had a good bit of joy in their lives. He knew that whenever their father was around, he would not miss the chance to give his hateful glares to them and speak to them in an uncaring and abusive way. "Having fun you two?"

"We sure are!" Jasiri said. "Say, where's mom?"

"She's fixing up some grub back at the den." Wazimu sat down next to his playing sisters.

"Wazimu."

That cold voice that they heard meant one thing: playtime was over. The three cubs looked to see the shape of their father entering the area. Jasiri stood before Madoa in a protective way, but not moving her fearful expression an inch. Wazimu stared up at his father with a look of fear. "Dad, um-"

"Quit stammering!" Lenaar barked. "You know how I look upon fear, Wazimu."

The cub straightened up his posture as he furrowed his brow. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now then, where is your mother?"

"Back at the den, sir. She's fixing up some dinner."

Lenaar stared down at his son with those brown eyes of his. That was the one trait Wazimu did not pick up from him, besides his brutality. It was a shame for him to have his eye color passed down to his eldest daughter, the cur.

"I want all of you to be ready. Starting today, we will be leaving the Outlands and finding a better place to live." He put in that tone of his. "I will alert your mother immediately."

As he started to walk away, the tiny voice of his youngest cub caught his attention. "But we can't leave!"

The adult male merely stopped dead in his tracks, back faced to the little cub. This was enough to make her step back as her father glanced back at her with a hateful stare. His voice as cold as ice.

"Why?"

Madoa did not answer. The words fumbled around her lips like walking on a frozen lake. She could not get a single word out as she was faced with the gaze of the one hyena she feared the most. There was so much for her to fear from this person that she could barely speak.

Before she could even see it, however, Lenaar's paw struck her into a Boulder. Madoa bawled her eyes out from this impact as Lenaar rushed over to her. She heard his fierce growling every step he took. She looked up from her wet eyes and saw his paw hitting her again.

"Stop that wretched wailing and answer my question, runt." He growled ruthlessly. "What is it that gave you the mind to even think about speaking against my orders?"

Madoa then swallowed her sobs and spoke. "T-tombie..."

"What?!"

"Tombie w-ould m-miss me." Madoa shuddered as she stared at those terrifying brown eyes.

Lenaar squinted his eyes at the runt at his paws as his cruel and angry face turned into that of cruel laughter. "Are you trying to tell me that you even think that someone cares for you? What kind of person would care for someone like you? Ha, you miserable, indescribable waste. Not only are you a useless creature, you're as stupid as they come."

"B-but-"

"SHUT UP! You honestly think that someone would waste their time with a putrid female like you? Certainly not, welp. Who would want to waste their time with someone so ugly? If ever you did catch someone in your putrid, disgusting heart, he would leave you when the going got tough."

He then saw another small form approaching from the side. Jasiri had stood next to her sister and helped her up. "Dad, please don't say things like that to her."

Lenaar then did the unthinkable. He closed his jaws around Jasiri and shook her violently, throwing her to the ground. "And you, you poor excuse of a hyena." He said to her as she cried on the ground. "You try to make it seem that you are string, but you are weak. A weak, pathetic little creature who has no purpose in life."

He then pressed his paw on her and pressed her into the ground. "You hideous, waste of hyena flesh. Your poor mother. She loved you and your sister dearly. Oh dear, how your deaths affected her. Broke the poor, ugly thing to bits. Oh, those Jackals sure were hungry that day."

"You're gonna f-feed us to Jackals?" Madoa stuttered as she watched.

"It would do the world a favor." Lenaar did not bother to face her. "No one would want you anyway. Any of you."

He was truly going to enjoy it. The blood of his little accident, soaking his claws and fangs. It would leave a mess, but it would be nothing he couldn't clean up. He's killed so many cubs in his lifetime, squashing one under his paw would be easy pickings. And Jasiri would have been, too.

Had something not kicked dusty into his eyes.

Wazimu had stood by long enough. He had heard enough. All the physical and verbal abuse. Not to mention the mental abuse. He could not tolerate everything that his father had just said. He helped Jasiri to her paws and rounded up Madoa.

"This way!" He called to them.

Lenaar growled in fury as he began to wipe the sand from his burning eyes. The cubs fled through the nearby gorge as fast as they could. Jasiri and Madoa were internally terrified of what their father tried to do. They had been beaten by hims several times in the past, but never did he try to kill them!

They now feared him more than before. They dared not to look back, out of fear of the hyena who they once considered their father catching up. When they had reached a large, broken rock. Wazimu then turned to them both.

"OK, I need you both to stay quiet and low. He might have tracked us around here. I'll lead him away, and give you time to run. Get as far away from the Outlands as possible."

"But go where?" Jasiri asked.

"Anywhere." Wazimu breathed. "I want you both to have better lives. Start your own families, and leave this place behind."

"I can't have a family." Madoa shook as tears formed in her eyes.

Wazimu tilted his head. "Excuse me?"

"I'm too ugly for anyone to love." Madoa sniffed. "I'm too stupid. I couldn't ever find someone to love me."

Wazimu then stood up and looked her in the eye with a long, serious stare. "You listen to me, Madoa. You are not stupid. Just because that lowlife said you are doesn't make it true. You and Jasiri and beautiful people, and any man would be lucky to marry you. No one will leave you. If anyone leaves you, I will be there to make them lay. I will always be there for both of you. Always."

"Always, you say?"

Fear took over the three cubs as they turned and saw the monster approaching them with his fangs bared. He seemed to only be glaring at Wazimu, and not the girls. That was strange, considering how he almost tried to kill them. They both backed up as Wazim just stood there, glaring at him.

"What is all this about, Wazimu?"

"This is about me protecting my siblings." Wazimu seethed. "How could you do that to them? They are your children. Just as much as I am! Why don't you-"

"Why don't I what? Why don't I care for them? Why don't I cherish them with love and warmth? Why don't I, dare I say it, love them?" Lenaar growled. "Listen to me, you meddling little worm. The weak are doomed! Women are the weak! They do not deserve to love in this planet."

"But I care for them! The way that YOU should! The Circle of Life does not allow ANY of what you've been doing!"

Lenaar's left eye twitched as he stared at the cub with fury. "You worthless piece of filth! You're a disgrace to all hyenas, did you know that? The Circles of Life is for animals with low standards. You want to lower yourself to the level of those two brats. You claim to love them, but do you know what that means? It means you are weak."

"Call me mister weak then."

The older male circled around his son cruelly. " Perhaps I was a little too hatsh on you, son. You are making a big mistake here. Cine back with me now, leave them behind, and I will forgive you."

Wazimu shook with anger as he scowled at those big brown eyes. His own father, who he now saw as an brutal, sexist jerk, was asking him to leave his sisters for dead. He could not do that. He truly did love them. There was one thing he could do though.

He leaped forward.

And he sunk his little fangs into Lenaar's nose. The adult howled in pain as he tried to shake the cub off. Wazimu could barely see his sisters run away. At least they were safe. If today were the day was to meet the dead, he would take his ex-father with him.

He released the bloody snout and rushed to the top of the gorge. His claws helped him climb up rapidly as he heard his father snarling like a deranged lunatic below him. At least now, his sister were getting as far away from this turf as possible. They would live their lives, meet new people, start families. If anyone left them, any if then, for any reason, his sisters would be avenged.

He made a beeline to his first place of safety: the Valmont. He knew his father never ventured up there. As soon as he started runnub,running, however, he heard a yell of fury as he hears rapid footsteps as well, coming from behind. He knew now that his father was close behind him.

He dared not to stop. He dared not to breath. But this was nothing when he felt the paw crushing him from above. He saw the blood dripling from Lenaar's Snout. He looked up and saw his sickening smile.

"For your sake, Wazimu, I will make your death... slow."

He opened his mouth, ready to take blood from his cub. But as he lowered down to try and slaughter the small animal, something stopped him. It happened so fast, a blur of grayish pink. Lenaar git back to his paws as he looked up to see who it was that attacked him.

Asante.

"That. Is. Enough Lenaar." Asante snarled in cold fury. "Get away from my son."

"YOUR son?" Lenaar smirked. "Do you not mean OUR son?"

"You are no longer welcome in this family, Lenaar. I heard everything. Everything you said. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole Outlands didn't hear."

"Then I will have to keep you quiet." Lenaar said. "Not a word about this, Asante."

"No."

"Excuse me, WHAT?"

"I am done doing what you say." Asante snarled. "I'm done with you hitting me and the cubs. The only way you will harm my cubs is over my dead body."

Lenaar flexed his claws as he dug them into the ground. "A request. Well, permission GRANTED!"

He then left the unconscious cub under his paw to battle his former mate. He raked his claws across her hide. The two of them yelled and whined as they batted each other brutally.

Asante howled in anger as she headbutt Lenaar in the chest, knocking him backwards. Wazimu could not watch the fight take place, as he was still knocked out. But below, Jasiri and Madoa could hear the fight going on. Slashing and grunts. That was all the fearful sisters could hear.

Asante tried her best to grip onto Lenaar's raggedy fur, but her fangs could not stop him, for he was too quick . The make then sinister his fangs into her side and threw her back. She retaliated by getting back up and rolling around with him, snarling like mad.

Lenaar replied by showing her off of him violently and pinning her to the ground. Here, she had a good view of his face again. He looked extremely furious as he slowly started to smile.

"You know what I miss? How you used to cry when I screamed at you. Well, let me give you a real reason to cry."

He then forced her head to look below. He had her pinned her at the edge of the cliff. She now could see the faces of her daughters looking up at her fearfully. She then heard Lenaar's sadistic chuckle.

"Take a good look, dearheart. This is the last time you will see your pretty daughters faces. Oh, they will scream like never before. It will be fun."

Here, it was time to make a choice. Asante looked at those two cubs and she saw only the face of her ex-husband. A monster who did not truly love her. He had lied to her ever since she found him at the bottom of that mountain. She loved her children but could not stand the sight of his resemblance.

And looking around, she had seen something else. A log standing above the divide. She now knew what had to be done. She looked down to her daughters and said her final words to them.

[I]"Run."

As soon as the two cubs scurried away, Asante wriggled out of the grip of her former lover and chomped down on his scruff. She then lifted him off the ground and threw him into the log.

Splinters flew from the woods as Asante watched him rise from the hole he made. He glared intensely at her as he pulled himself out. He then got up and started to make his way back to her.

The creaking of the fractured log grew with each step. Lenaar drooled with fury as he prepared to lunge. But he never got the chance to. The log gave way beneath his paws and sent him falling into the gorge.

Only when the sound of broken wood hit the floor did his screaming stop.

*Real life*

Madoa had been watching her cubs play when these memories had returned to her. Why did they have to come back now? The answer was beyond her. She could not feel it, but her face fell when she recalled this horrible day.

When she was a cub, many would see her as a beautiful, happy, and cheerful young one. They new her as one of the happiest cubs in the world. But that was only in the open.

They didn't know the story, behind closed doors.

Behind closed doors is a phrase which here means: where no one can see her father abusing her. He always found something to scream at her for. Something to hit her for. She never knew why. Most of the time, she didn't do anything wrong. Oh, how she longed for a father like Tombie's.

Sure, Banzai was a bit of a grouch at times. At times, it was almost funny. Certainly, better than the evil scowl Lenaar always gave. However, Banzai was the very thing Madoa knew her own father would never be.

A father.

Someone who never beat his daughters and manipulated his son, eventually, killing him.

She turned her head as her mate came up beside her. "Hey, babe!"

She affectionately nuzzled him. "Hello dear."

"How's your face feeling?" Tombie asked his beloved mate.

Madoa's face was feeling much better. The impact of Kanuk's paw had become all but a memory. However, being the ever-cautious man that Tombie was, he still saw that something was wrong with her. "Honey, is something wrong?"

She looked back at him. "Oh? Um, no dear, nothing's wrong."

Tombie gave a dry snort. "Madoa, baby. Your eyes are the most beautiful things I have ever seen, but I never knew them to look past the big picture. You should see by now that I know you. Too well, in fact. Now, something is wrong with you, what is it?"

Madoa shook her head. There was no hiding anything from Tombie. He was a fun-loving kind of dude, there was no denying that. But he always knew when to get serious. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the sudden appearance of Mzingo.

"Madoa, Tombie! Am I glad I found you all. I spotted your sister. And she is not alone."

Hello, TLK/G fans! It's me coming at you with another chapter. I am sorry you all had to endure reading this chapter. But I wished to get it out in the open. First of all, I wanted to do something very few stories had done in this whole Archive as a whole, and that is presenting a real-life issue. I always wondered what happened to Jasiri's family outside of Madoa. The problem with the show was: they never gave any background to their fan-favorite character. Well, here I wanted to do just that.

Life is not all sunshine and rainbows for everyone. And not all parents are good parents. For those of you who are new to the concept of child abuse, I want to say that I am sorry you had to learn this way. Jasiri and Madoa were able to escape the cruelty of their father but their brother, Wazimu, was not so lucky. They managed to get out in the end, but there is still the issue of the same problem in real life. If you ever suspect your friend of being abused, don't be silent. Speak up. Tell your parent, teacher, or any other trusted adult. Get them the help they need. Children, adults, are all subject to abuse by a loved one. There are no such things as good beatings. You HAVE to speak up.

My name is HU-E3rd. This has been another chapter of Lion King: Tales of the Pridelands. Be sure to catch the next chapter for when Kanuk meets up with a special character from the show. I will keep it as a surprise. Stay safe out there, and I'll see you next time.