Chapter 6: Where Shadows Lie

Enjoy the chapter!

A hiss of steam and a puff of foul smelling vapor burst out from a vent in the ground. Coughing came up from the odor and the large quantities of dust that melded together into a toxic combination. A groan escaped her throat as she rolled over to her front, feeling large clumps of dirt topple of her fur while she sneezed.

"Nadra?"

Her eyes began to water as the familiar face of her twin appeared over a pile and he shimmied on over to her side. She reached out and wrapped her legs around his neck, pressing her watering eyes against his fur in a firm embrace.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," she wailed against him. Feeling the relief wash over his fear, he also felt liquid gather against his lashes.

Suddenly, another pair of forelegs wrapped around the both of them. "Thank the Great Kings, you're okay." Nadra's head rose up and then pressed into the new warm body's fur.

"I didn't mean to fall, really, I didn't."

"It wasn't your fault Nadra."

Nala stood a pace away from them. Her eyes stared firmly at the wall and the large gap where they once stood. Her gaze fell down to the huge quantities of dirt and rock that surrounded them, then up again. They followed her eyes and winced at how far they had fallen.

"The rain from last night must've loosened the dirt," she said succinctly. An sharp exhale broke through her nostrils, followed by a sneeze. "It's not your fault we're all down here."

The steam vent released another blast of water vapor, causing her to squeal and scamper over to them uncomfortably. "What matter now is that we all have to find a way to get out of here."

Simba nodded and pulled out of the group huddle. "Agreed. We obviously can't climb out the way we got in- off." A snicker rose from the group as a smattering of dirt fell down on his head in a perfectly timed manner. He growled as he furiously swiped it off. "If the hyenas can sneak in to the Pridelands, then surely they must have a way that leads out of this place."

"Hyenas?" Simba winced as he watched the younger male shrink back, trying to hide against his cousin and sister, who looked no braver then him. "Do you think they'll find us here?"

He bit his lip, paused for a moment. A shake. "Not if we stay low and be quiet." With a shake to get some of the soil off his coat, he softly trudged on over out of the debris and nodded towards them.

"There! I can see the cliffs get smaller. If we just follow them, there's bound to be a way out. C'mon."

Just before he could take a step further, he was suddenly yanked back with a yelp which he quickly shrank back from, eyes darting around for any potential listeners. He then swiveled his head towards Nala, who stared determinedly back at him.

With a cough, she spat out his tail. "Simba, I think it might be best for us to take it slowly and to put some distance between the each of us." She gestured towards the twins. "If anything happens to us..."

His eyes widened with the implication. He nodded softly, then walked around her and behind the siblings.

"If that's the case, you lead. I'll take up the rear to look out for trouble." The twins looked expectantly at him. "You both take up the middle of the line." A grin then spread across his lips. "We'll pretend that we're out hunting gazelle and we have to stalk through the land to get them." His smile grew wider. "Whoever is the quietest wins and gets half my dinner."

"But you have to be very quiet and do whatever we say until we get back home, got it?"

At the prospect of extra food and the game now put into a competition, the two eagerly got into position. The prince made a quick walk around, making sure they were both at least a meter between each other before nodding at Nala. Before he got to the caboose, she quickly whispered into his ear.

"You sure this will work?"

"What other options do we have?" He quickly replied, suppressing a wince and trying to put on his best brave face for the younglings.

"Everyone ready?" she whispered. They all hunched down and nodded. "Okay, let's stalk some gazelle."

From a far away, bird's eye view, one could surmise that a rather huge, multi-shades of tan and yellow, weirdly shaped caterpillar was trudging softly along the edge of the border. From a closer bird's eye view, one could clearly see the looks of determination, fear and and constant vigilance on the two cubs at the front and back, while the mainly determined, though slight unnerved looks on the smaller two in the middle.

From any creature's perspective of the group, they probably would've thought that the group was rather courageous, rather foolish, and rather pitiful in their current predicament. Though Simba and Nala weren't too much older from their companions, they were barely out of cubhood themselves, with Simba barely having a hair of his mane to speak of. Still, young as they were, the seeds of maturity were already planted within them, as they quickly surmised a plan to get themselves out of their predicament while also taking into consideration the danger and how to go about the forbidden plain.

Still, despite their wit and bravery, they still were tantamount in fear to their younger companions. As the seconds passed on and more steps were taken, they would all occasionally take glances at the scenery and environment around them. At every geyser blast, they would flinch. At every dark, menacing crag or crack in the background, they would shrink down. The path they took against the cliff thankfully had a small trench, meaning they could just hunch down and hopefully be hidden from sight.

Hopefully.

All of them froze in shock as the sound of ground spilling out hit their ears, followed by a moan of pain. Nala and Mheoto swung their heads back, bodies relaxing a bit as they saw Simba gently nudging Nadra back up. She withheld a gasp as her other paw came up to cover a bruise that was forming on her arm.

"Please try to be quiet Nad'," Simba urged with the softest tone he could muster. She bit her lips and nodded, but her eyes never left the area where her paw had slid out from beneath her. She experimentally dug her claws into the earth, or whatever could be said for it. It was blackened and rough beneath her paw pads, unlike anything she had ever witnessed before.

Leaning down, she gave a tentative sniff before recoiling, coughing into her shoulder to muffle it. She murmured, "What's wrong with this dirt?"

Her brother followed suit, yet his paws came up to his nose at the scent, then he shook his head to rid the scent of his paws from his nostrils. "It smells like... like," he titled his head in confusion. "It reminds me of home, but dry. And... worse."

At his confused tone, she nodded. "Yeah.. almost like the dry grass and plants and soil back on our side, only-"

"Burnt."

Hardly had Nadra let out a terrified scream when a pair of jaws clamped down on her nape and yanked her out of the trench. At the sight of the wailing cub, Simba shouted out for the remaining two to run while he surged up at the hyena who had just taken his friend. His claws extended out on one paw to try and scratch at the scavenger's jaws and the other to reach out and yank her out, when a heavy leg slammed into his back and forced him down. He let out a yell as pressure was applied to his injuries.

Meanwhile, Nala had tried to lead Mheoto out by rushing forward and down the ditch and away from the hyenas, only to skid to a halt as the rest of the pack appeared before them and surrounded them. They soon found themselves, forcefully nudged back to where Nala was squirming in one of the scavenger's jaws and Simba was pinned down under one of their paws.

As the four came to realization that they had been discovered and captured in barely a few seconds, they felt any sort of hope of getting out of this place die.

Before nay of them could give protest or say anything, their words were replaced to screams and yells of fear and terror as each of them were suddenly lifted up by their napes and found themselves being swiftly rushed through the Elephant Graveyard.

Steam hissed out of holes in the earth, along with the sour scent of sulfur and other airborne minerals. Great mounds of bones surrounded them and they soon came to realize the true meaning of the Elephant Graveyard was where the elephants came and were laid to rest. Their massive skeletons either glistened white and bare from the weathering effects of time and nature or they two shared the color and nature of the soil that the cubs had discovered.

Through tight niches and walls they were carried through, their helpless bodies swinging as sharp turns and twists were made at harsh speeds. They had all stopped screaming, aside from the occasionally yelp as they got rather close to the hard walls, so much so that they could feel their paws skim the surface. The air, though it blasted through their fur, was foul and still. They realized hardly any wind came through the tight niches.

Eventually, the tight spaces suddenly broke through to an open area and the four found themselves let go and flung forward into the dirt in rapid succession. They groaned as their bodies made contact with one another and the dirt around them and they groaned as the pain in their joints and legs became renewed.

As they started to get up, they realized where they were and the two older cubs quickly twisted themselves into a barrier to shield the twins as best the could at the sight before them. All around them, some laughing sinister, some licking their chops at them, all they could see around them, were hyenas. Grey, spotted, filthy, unkempt, undisciplined, stinky, mangy, frightening, and whatever other negative connotation they could think of, hyenas.

Fear ran cold through all their veins as the yellow eyes stared menacingly down at them. In an effort to relieve the fear and to give them the impression that they were not, the two's hackles rose up, puffing up their small, unimpressive forms. Nala barred her teeth and hissed, lifting her unsheathed paw up as a warning, though she had little strength or battle prowess to speak of.

Simba, additionally following suit, slapped his paw down on the rough earth in an effort to look intimidating. When that failed, he tried to force a roar from his throat, remembering how strong and unyielding his father had made it. Only growls he could muster out of his throat, however. He kept growling, trying to hide the embarrassment off his face, when all the hyenas did was laugh at him. He took a deeper breath, nearly gagging at the stale air entering his lungs, and then thrust out a louder rumble in his throat.

"Rrrraaaaaggghhh!"

A snarl broke against his growl and Simba nearly lost his balance as a pair of yellow fangs flashed against him, followed by the stinking smell of carrion and rotten meat. Mheoto squealed as Simba's foot came down on his tail, but his voice shrank to a squeak at why the cub had done so. To Simba's horror, and more humiliation, the hyena then began laughing in a more noticeable manner.

"Hee hee, hey Azizi, Ed. Check out this furry cat. He thinks he so brave," the hyena chuckled, then peeled back his lips into a slasher smile. "Bet he's got some meat on his bones."

"Gee I don't know Kamari, seems just like a bunch of fur with a temper." Nala yelped this time as another male thrust his face into hers, inspecting her with a glare. "I'm not sure if their even worth trying to eat without getting hair stick in your throat."

At that, the first hyena rolled his eyes. "Oh c'mon Banzai, like we have any right to be picky in this place. When was the last time you even had freshly delivered meat right at our doorstep."

A scoff and groan. "Before everything went up in flames and we got stuck with the short end of the burning stick, that's when."

"Enough!"

The silence that followed after that single word was drastic. All the hyenas shut up and stared up towards the massive elephant skeleton up ahead. The cubs all turned to where they were facing, right up towards the headless pile of bones and the hyena laid casually across the stone where the skeleton rested. All that remained up the skull were the two, elegantly curved tusks that jut out from the rocky pile like two arms for a menacing throne.

The hyena herself fell right into place among her subjects and the atmosphere, yet the cubs could instantly tell what set her apart from the rest of them. For one, she was heavily muscled and several scars stuck out against her legs and chest. A trio of slashes cut across her left cheek, marring her grey fur. Her eyes were focused sternly on them. Although they showed a still anger inside, their was a spark of cunning wit and power swirling within them.

Her leg were suavely draped over the other and they both hung over the edge of the rocky, bone throne with the air of both confidence and disinterest.

One of the males stepped forward slowly, stopped, and bowed his head respectfully at her.

"Matriarch Shenzi. We found this group of lions alongside the Eastern border. We checked and their was no one with them. No lionesses or anyone."

"And this you are certain?" Her voice was gravelly, yet strong, like the eroded, but standing structure that was Pride Rock. With that analogy, it then occurred to the group that this hyena was their leader.

"Positive ma'am." He turned to them and barred his teeth in a merciless grin. "Guess no one told them to stay on their own side."

Feeling a sudden surge of anger, Simba stood up straight and glared at him. "That's not true! My dad has told us enough times to stay away from the Elephant Graveyard. He told us about the dangers and why we should stay away."

"So why are you here then?"

With the soft, but near deafening question, the shame returned with a flattening of his ears and a sudden frog of his throat. He could feel their gazes boring into him and felt his form unconsciously shrink under them.

"It's not our fault." He perked up at Nala's voice and her shoulder brushing against him. "We had no intention of heading into your territory. We were just minding our own business when Scar appeared and frightened us away-"

"Scar!"

Nala clamped up as the matriarch screamed his name and immediately the tense silence was broken by fearful murmurs and unintelligible whispers where the name was briefly understood with a venomous tone. Everyone shuffled uncomfortably and even the matriarch looked stunned and thoughtful.

"Yeah!" Mheoto, in his youthful ignorance to reading the atmosphere, continued. "He spooked us away and then Nadra fell down the border and we tried to rescue her but-"

"Quiet! Quiet."

The word was yelled, yet the second had a softer tone, as if she was sampling his words and comparing them to a recent memory. Mheoto shrunk back and curled against his cousin and sister, the former covering her foreleg over him. The worried muttering continued.

"Matriarch, if I may?"

As if broken out of sleep, she shook back to reality and nodded. "Yes, what is it?"

"Scar or no Scar, these cubs have still trespassed into our territory and must be dealt with accordingly." The male turned back, looking sternly, yet interested at them. "Might I suggest and eye for an eye, considering all the crimes their kind have committed against us."

Their hackles rose, claws unsheathed, and muscles tensed as the two prepared to defend the younger at any and all cost.

"No Kamari, no." With a brief stretch, the matriarch hopped down from her perch and down several rocky steps before standing straight and strongly before them. She stared down at the group, a strict, yet tired and wise look in her face. "There has been enough violence and blood shed already. If we depose of these cubs, it will only trigger more suffering. As if we needed more then that."

She took pause, then called out in a loud booming voice.

"Kitu!"

"Yes ma'am." A female hyena rushed forward. Well, rushed was a relative term, as she more hobbled forward at her top speed of slightly faster than a tortoise. Her back leg had a thick, bare and partially scabbed over scar starting at her hip and going down to her thigh. She had another scar right below her neck. Some of the cubs shuddered at the look at her.

"Are the elephants still in our territory?"

She perked up and nodded. "Yes ma'am. This is there last day of mourning before they head back and give us the opportunity to feast." There was a hint of excitement under her serious tone and her tail seemed to wag. The matriarch nodded.

"Good. You, Kamari, Banzai, Azizi, and Ed will all go and escort the cubs to them. Explain what happen and they will be willing to help them out."

There was a bit of protest from the males to the side. Kitu just tilted her head in confusion. "Ma'am?"

"You heard what I said," Shenzi replied with an exhale. "Best let those overgrow bags of wrinkles take them back. They're on good terms with the king anyways,." She paused and added softly, "maybe it would help to ease up our sentence here."

Her front paw twitched and kicked up the dry, charred earth, letting the clumps be flicked back into the four's faces. When they opened them again, her muzzle was a hair's breadth from theirs.

"As for your four, you have until sunset to be out of this place before my kindness run out." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't want to see you, or any of your pride ever in here again. Is that understood?"

Four heads furiously nodded and she pulled back, seemingly satisfied. "Good, now get out."

Just as she turned away and the designated escorts came forth to lead them out, Simba found back his courage as his father's teachings came back to him. "Thank you matriarch. Thank you for your kindness and your mercy."

Shenzi stopped and looked over her shoulder at the young prince. He had barely a hair of mane of his forehead, yet he was the very image of a lion that had once come here. Her fur bristled as the cub suddenly put his two front feet out, as if he were to stretch, only to just dip his head down and keep it that way.

The pack and his companions all gasped. He, the prince of the Pridelands and it's future, bowing respectfully towards the leader of the hyena pack. Willingly humbling himself before his species' natural enemy and showing respect towards her.

Nobody moved or spoke, but eventually the female cub around his age also stood up and copied her friend's actions, politely kneeling down and bowing her head. Ever the followers, the twins did the same.

The air was silent, though eventually a rare breeze swooped through the rocky crevices and giant skeletons and brushed against the fur of everyone in the area. Lion, hyena, a quiet ceremony of connection and respect being performed.

Shenzi felt her knees go weak as the wind died down and the cubs got up from their positions and turned around to follow their escorts out. She waited a second, until they had left from sight, then sank to her haunches and exhaled deeply. Several of her guards approached and one of them spoke out.

"Matriarch? Is everything alright?"

"Sifa ziwe kwa vijana."

They bristled at the sound of the old language being spoken and the tone at which it was spoke. Finally, her head rose, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Matriarch?"

"Go." She rose to her feet, her formal, natural stance and behavior returning. "Go and follow them. See that everything goes as accordingly." With that she, leaped up back onto her perch and into the shadows further back, chuckling softly to herself.

"There may be hope for us after all," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The earth below them was blackened in some places and torn and uneven in others. The cubs became very grateful that the route they were taking thankfully was taking more of the latter and giving them some ease on their injured bodies.

However, as the group walked in relative silence through the dark and gray landscape, it soon became apparent to the older, more mature, and more socially aware cubs that they wished that the younger, less mature, less socially aware cubs had bitten their tongues in the midst of this no good, terrible, horrible, very bad day.

"So Kitu. Doesn't that mean nothing?" The hyena perked at Mheoto's voice. "Why'd they name you that?"

"Don't be rude Mheoto," Nala scolded, feeling a rush of heat into her cheeks while Simba just flinched awkwardly and Nadra became interested without understanding the situation.

The males giggled while she merely scoffed. "Hyenas are typically named for out skills, talents, or behaviors." She paused. "Although we also may be given names with negative or weird meanings in order to confuse our enemies and spirits."

Nala could see the sly glint in her eyes and Simba sighed. Already they saw Mheoto's fur prick up and his ear dip down.

"There are spirits here?" The males chuckled softly, some bringing their paws to cover their mouths.

"Oh yes, plenty of them," Kitu said, her voice purposefully sounding soft, yet exaggerated. "They come out every night to roam the Elephant Graveyard and snatch away any unsuspecting hyena or unfortunate animal to be caught all alone." She grinned wildly at him, then shortened it to a deadpan, serious face and tone. "And that's why they call me nothing. If the spirits see nothing is there, they leave me alone and let me scout unhindered."

"Oh, I get it!" She frowned as the cub's form perked up. "It's like how my mom named my Mheoto after I got a fever at birth. Confusing the spirit attacking my by giving me an unlucky or weird name." He pranced with pride at the realization of this, only to stop shortly at the pain his scratched limbs were giving him.

"Why is the ground weird and black like that here?" Nadra scraped her claws against the ground to illustrate. "I've never seen anything like it?" She cocked her head and strared up towards Banzai. "You said it was burnt?"

"Yes, it's burnt ground," he replied bluntly.

"How'd it get that way?"

"Fire."

"What's that?"

"It's-"

He paused, a confused look coming over his face as he thought hard about it. "It's hot. And it hurts. And it glows like the sun."

"It also spreads quickly in the dry season," Kamari added.

"But what is it?" Nadra pressed further. "Where does it come from? Will I be able to see it?"

"Hope not," Kitu interjected. "All I can say about it is that this land didn't always look like this. We actually had plants and stuff until it came." She then whispered, "Until he came."

"He?" This time, Simba perked up with the question. "He who? My uncle, Scar?"

"Don't say his name!"

Kitu and half of the males shrieked while the other two, one who had previously been zoned out and drooling and the other zoned out and not drooling, now shied back and whimpered. The group was shook by their sudden change in behavior, changing from strong, disinterested and unyielding scavengers to a group of stunned, frightful and uneasy pups in a matter a seconds due to a word.

"I'm sorry! Sorry. Sorry," Simba quickly blurted out. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Well you did, cubbie," Kamari spat out before he was knocked upside the head by Banzai. "Hey, don't tell them that man. Else they might say it again," he muttered.

The silence was back again, interrupted only by the rocks being disrupted underfoot and the steam vents releasing vapor. Simba kept his head down, but the aching question still lingered until his patience wore out over his guilt.

"Can I at least ask what he did?"

"Hey look, we're here," came the speedy reply. The cubs yelped as they were forcefully shooed before the edge of a lower level of land. Their before them, among the elephant skeletons laying softly on the ground, their live counterparts were gathered tightly around in one area. Their tails flicked and ears flapped while they remained otherwise still in one area. The low hum and rumbles from their massive chests could be heard even from their distance away.

As if on cue, the largest of the group pulled out from the group and turned to face them. Her eyes were a neutral gaze upon then, though quickly surprise filled her face when she took in the sight of the cubs. Her trunk curled on out and flicked at them, a silent gesture to approach.

Before they could bound towards her, a snarl broke lose in the air, followed by the loud cries of pain and whimpering. All of a sudden a hyena lunged at the group, it's paws clumsily breaking out from under him as he barreled blindly at them. The cubs, feeling instinct overpower fear, rushed over the edge while the hyena made impact with the group, releasing a cacophony of snarls, yelps, and squirming limbs.

The group raced down the slope, many losing their balance beneath and were sent tumbling down while the sounds of loud cries and agonizing wails came up from the top. As they tried to get their bearings, they could only watch in frightened confusion at the sudden break in silence and the sounds of pain up above.

They all screamed again as a hyena came flying over the edge, mouth foaming with bits of fur and blood stuck between razor teeth. The eyes were unfocused, but full of fury and fire. Though she didn't appear to be coming towards them on her own power, her paws scrambled against the slope and he rode down it with some degree of control.

When she reached to the bottom, she let out a huge, scary, painful yelp as she lost control again and slammed against the hard ground. At that point the cubs had broken out of their former scared-stiffness and rushed across the open plain towards the elephant heard, releasing a scream as the hyena's legs kicked out from under her and moved her closer to them.

The distance between them and the elephants quickly grew shorter as they ran, but also as Ma Tembo, the elephant's matriarch, rushed over to them, moving around their path and closing in-between them and the scrambling, noisy pack. A huge, threatening rumble got released from her chest and her ears flapped powerfully. Her feet caused tremors to erupt from the earth, felt even by those at the top edge of the slope and catching their attention. The sheer display of intimidation by her was enough to get them to shrink back and slowly back away.

A shriek then broken into the tension as another hyena came out of nowhere and was flung out of the shadows nearby and directly down into the pit. Having more control and flexibility then the others, they somewhat stuck the landing, though buckled slightly as the force of the impact shook through their body. They suddenly snarled, head throwing up in anger at what had just occurred and a warning to those nearby of what they might do.

Ma Tembo charged at them, a heavy snort breaking through her long trunk and blasting hot breath at the unfortunate hyena. Her tusks were long and gleaming, even in the gray light. Quickly realizing the sheer magnitude of the opponent and having a moment of mental clarity and common sense, they turned around and fled, whimpering as their back leg made impact with the ground painfully, forcing them to limp away.

A trumpet call broke through her trunk as she addressed the larger group above her. Some regarded her with looks of confusion, others with anger and low growls, but all of them showed signs of defeat and surrender. Backing up slowly, they turned around over the edge and fled back into the shadows.

The cubs were stunned silent, but still panted heavily as they found sanctuary beside the herd. The calf that Simba and Nala had met at the watering hole graciously offered his legs as support for them to collapse against, short of breath and fully done with today. They had watched in awe as his mother had scared them away, but something prickled uneasily within them as they watched them disappear from sight. What had just happened? Did they suddenly choose to negate their leader's orders? Why had they attacked them?

Was it even an attack? The hyenas didn't seem to lunge at them, rather they looked to have been thrown.

As they regain a bit of the remaining energy they had, they took notice of the shadow approaching. Above them, in the slowly setting sun's light, the majestic and powerful, yet wizened form of the elephant's leader came forth. Her face was tired, betraying her age and the emotions of the day. Her eyes looked weary and bright, despite blazing with strength and maternal instincts a moment ago.

Her head dipped down and even her old joints bent as she knelt before the group, trying to make as much eye contact with them as possible and to avoid any distractions from the surrounding area.

In a soft, but slightly stern voice she said, "Care to explain why you're beyond your borders?"

Sifa ziwe kwa vijana: Praise be to the youth.

Guess the hyenas aren't as separate from the laws and beliefs of the Circle of Life as one would think. They are strict and fearsome, yet they do have a rather strong system and rules to abide by. Still, what could've sprung the hyenas to go for the cubs even after Shenzi's orders for them to remain unharmed? Is it a mutiny? By accident? Or did the trailing group run into something that disrupted their mission?

Whatever the case, Ma Tembo is not alright with the drama interrupting the funeral and the sudden appearance of her ally's cubs suddenly appearing way outside their territory.

Hope ya'll are doing okay out there, what with the COVID-19 virus still going strong. I shouldn't have to tell you guys to keep practicing social distancing, washing your hands and staying at home unless absolutely necessary, but as it stands things will only get worse if we don't adhere to these guidelines. I know it's difficult to stay home all day, but limiting social contact limits the virus' spread. Hospitals around the world are swamped with cases and just by doing the bare minimum with these things we limit the virus' spread and give hospitals less to worry about. This is crucial and we must all do our part if we want to beat this epidemic. Stay safe guys.

Sincerely, v.t.7