It was the second sunrise of Nala's new life at Chui and the first under
which she was to step out of the cave since her capture. Blinking as she
stepped from the dim light Nala looked at her.her.subjects beneath her,
lazing around from the kill made hours before under the light of a full
moon. Osisis was up on the dead tree, cleaning the dried blood from her
paws and mouth. It made an eerie scene when combined with the crimson rays
cast by the sun, and looking up to the white streaked clouds seared like
wounds across the sky. How those mirrored what the Queen felt inside! Torn
between what she felt and what she had been told.
Suddenly she felt a shadow brush across her flank and whirled round, her mate Ketu stood there, he could have been a rock for all the motion he displayed and the expression he gave, before he smiled at her and made to lead the way down the path. Nala had nothing else to do but follow him, indeed she had had nothing else to do but be under his guidance these past days. Somehow, somewhere, nothing felt more wrong, yet for the moment there was no other option. Like in the hunting for example, he remained adamant she got a generous portion of the kill even though she had as yet no part in bringing it down. Yes, that was what she looking forward to, going back to the hunt, where she had always felt at home, no matter how much she was feeling "herself"-
Whoever that was anymore.
The other lions ignored their King and Queen as they walked among them, the best basking spot had been left for them automatically as Keta and Nala settled down to doze. Nonetheless Nala looked at her.her.friends as she passed, each twitch of an eyelid or flexing of a muscle another thing to register in this strange new world.
As a whole the pride also paid no heed to the long shadows of the trees stretching over them, and certainly not the silent, gliding silhouette of a bird who now alighted in the furthest one. A bird whose sharp eyes also missed no flex of foot or twitch of tail. Eyes that looked on the Queen with pain and a bare second of recognition.
Her posture, her very beauty was unmistakeable.
Zazu jerked his head to the side nervously as she inexplicably looked up and met his eyes. In hers was blankness, no recognition of the bird she had chased over the Pridelands in cubhood, though she glanced at him a second time over her shoulder as she settled her self onto her side.
That blank look confirmed to Zazu all that he had feared since beginning to observe this pride from a discreet distance all last night. Simba had wanted him to find her, but not like this surely. He had made his own right conclusions about her status in the pride and Ketu's treatment of her, though he could only guess at how it had come about from what he had seen earlier. Either way he dreaded having to report to Simba and was torn between heading straight back home or remaining to further ensure Nala'a was alright.
After many minutes of indecision, in which he hopped both ways along his branch he finally made up his mind.
'Well, it is obvious she is not alright,' he thought. 'And there is little I can do for her sat up here, Simba needs to know so he can help her.'
With that, he stretched his wings in preparation for takeoff.
"Psst!"
The branch under him bounced as he closed his wings in alarm.
"Zazu!"
He peered down. While deep in thought he had failed to notice one lioness break away from the huddle and sneak round stand under the tree. As he recognised the voice his cursed himself for ignoring the obvious, the other lionesses that has been captured with Nala! In his observations of the day, with the shocking discovery of Nala'a fate, the other missing lionesses had slipped his mind. There was no reproach in Chetu's eyes, as he recognised her then Dasa lying some metres away.
"Not here," she continued, and sprang silently away into the grass. Zaza took flight and followed her running form into the thicker foliage on the side of a nearby waterhole.
They met again, and one closer look was all it took for Zazu to see that something was very wrong for all the lionesses, perhaps beyond even what he had guessed. As Chetu filled him in on his worst fears it was obvious she could find no rest, her claws were out and she rose every few moments to pace along the sandy ground, her ragged breathing echoing out through the morning air and her coat dark with sweat even though a chill remained from the night before. Eventually, as she reached the end of her story, told to a silent listener, she sank to the ground exhausted. It wasn't just from living on constant alert with high nerves as much as Ketu having personally taken measures to ensure that she and Dasa were kept busy.
"What are we to do, Zazu?" Chetu wailed into the silence that followed her story.
"Very little I fear" Zazu replied grimly. "At least until Simba is better informed."
"And until then?" the lioness asked with a heavy heart, which already knew the answer.
"I suggest you do as little to provoke this Ketu as possible."
"Those are not empty words," Chetu assured the bird. "But he is so unpredictable, and can be as easily angered by one thing one moment as placated by it the next."
She broke off and Zazu could see she had more to add. He stayed silent, hoping that would prompt and encourage her to disclose further.
"Dasa."
The name escaped her and hung between them as the sun rose higher. Then she at last continued saying, "I don't know what to make of her behaviour lately."
Zazu thought quickly to what he knew of Dasa, she was one of the quieter lionesses of the Pride, but had proven invaluable both to the hunt and as a friend of Nala. Chetu seemed to read his thoughts.
"She is far from the quiet shy creature I knew her to be. It is increasingly evident that she is going out of her way to fit in and seems to have switched allegiances as easily she breathes. And with just as little thought!" Chetu added.
It was just more disturbing news, who would have foreseen this not more then four days ago? The Pride that had come through years of hardship to be reunited, was cruelly torn apart one again. Zazu hated this new evil, it carried the same humiliation that had been the hallmark of the reign of King Scar. And as for cruelty, well that had many forms. There was not a precious second to waste now that Zazu had a better idea of what had happened. He wondered how to communicate this to Chetu after they had spoken of Dasa, but then he realised she had her own priorities as she stood for the final time, eyes widened and back arched.
"I have stayed too long!" she said. "Ugali was supposed to be guarding me, but Ketu may have discovered. He will be angry. Dasa may be awake." From her run on sentences Zazu easily picked up on her panic.
"Shall I fly back with you?" he offered.
"No! I wouldn't want Ketu to know that there was a possibility I had sought help. And it is imperative, and our only hope, that you return to Simba as soon as possible!"
With that, and a call over her shoulder of thanks, she darted back into the grass as Zazu flew to a higher branch to watch her return for as long as possible, wondering all the while about the lion called Zetu.
Zetu was also wondering, though for once, not about himself. That idiot Ugali had indeed been supposed to be watching both the captive lionesses but he had been so caught up with Dasa's sleeping figure that it was now apparent that Chetu had taken the chance to sneak away.
He let out a roar that carried far beyond Zazu's tree, who knows what could have happened now, if she was aloud to get back to Simba! That was one of the things keeping her here, his promise that she could not make the boundaries before being intercepted.
And now look.
This assumption that she had headed for the border meant that Ketu did not find Chetu straight away, the waterhole where the lioness had met Zazu was actually in the opposite direction from the Pridelands and it was as he circled around towards its banks that Zetu spotted her walking sedately back to the others.
Nonetheless he was angry, at her, at Ugali, even at Nala, it wasn't supposed to have been like this! And he sprang towards her.
Chetu leapt to the side as he landed with a thud on the path before her. Silence did not come as naturally to him as it seemed cunning did. They eyed each other in silence and may have began circling had the width of the path allowed it.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked.
"What business is that of yours!" she spat back.
He gave her the disgusting yellowed smile.
"Everything, but of course you would have a good excuse wouldn't you?"
"I never knew that going to drink was forbidden."
"It is, for you, alone. Saying nothing of the long time you have taken."
"So you've known I've been gone that long?" she said innocently. "I wonder then, that you didn't come and get me sooner!"
They both knew that she had tricked Ugali, and that her absence had only just been discovered. Ketu curled his lips in distaste at not having the upper hand, or paw in this case.
"Well, you can guess at what kept me distracted." He said with a wicked grin. "Zuri, your Nala, is improving everyday!"
Chetu jolted back as if caught in a trap. How she hated him! She should have known there was nothing he wouldn't stoop to get his way.
Opening her mouth to retort back she was stopped, they both were, by the sudden appearance of a third lion, who stared back at them.
Zazu missed all of this, having taken off as soon as Chetu had faded from sight. Like an arrow fired from a bow he now headed straight for the Pridelands, trusting that he still remained undetected by the lions at Chui. He was both glad and sorry to leave that place, though something told him this wasn't to be his last visit.
Truth be told, he had been tired before he had even arrived there, not daring to stop often in case time was running out. Even though there was just as much urgency to return he did at least have the knowledge that the three were alive, so at the next waterhole he swooped low and landed on a boulder overhanging the water to refresh himself before continuing. As the water slid down his thrat and dripped from his beak, Zazu knew he had been kidding himself about his ability to remain in the air, yet alone be able to tell Simba what had happened.
So exhausted was he that the surroundings faded from his periphery as he gulped down the water and began to preen his feathers. He didn't notice the lazy bug that shared the boulder, or the crouching figure that now emerged from the shadows and leapt straight at him.
Suddenly she felt a shadow brush across her flank and whirled round, her mate Ketu stood there, he could have been a rock for all the motion he displayed and the expression he gave, before he smiled at her and made to lead the way down the path. Nala had nothing else to do but follow him, indeed she had had nothing else to do but be under his guidance these past days. Somehow, somewhere, nothing felt more wrong, yet for the moment there was no other option. Like in the hunting for example, he remained adamant she got a generous portion of the kill even though she had as yet no part in bringing it down. Yes, that was what she looking forward to, going back to the hunt, where she had always felt at home, no matter how much she was feeling "herself"-
Whoever that was anymore.
The other lions ignored their King and Queen as they walked among them, the best basking spot had been left for them automatically as Keta and Nala settled down to doze. Nonetheless Nala looked at her.her.friends as she passed, each twitch of an eyelid or flexing of a muscle another thing to register in this strange new world.
As a whole the pride also paid no heed to the long shadows of the trees stretching over them, and certainly not the silent, gliding silhouette of a bird who now alighted in the furthest one. A bird whose sharp eyes also missed no flex of foot or twitch of tail. Eyes that looked on the Queen with pain and a bare second of recognition.
Her posture, her very beauty was unmistakeable.
Zazu jerked his head to the side nervously as she inexplicably looked up and met his eyes. In hers was blankness, no recognition of the bird she had chased over the Pridelands in cubhood, though she glanced at him a second time over her shoulder as she settled her self onto her side.
That blank look confirmed to Zazu all that he had feared since beginning to observe this pride from a discreet distance all last night. Simba had wanted him to find her, but not like this surely. He had made his own right conclusions about her status in the pride and Ketu's treatment of her, though he could only guess at how it had come about from what he had seen earlier. Either way he dreaded having to report to Simba and was torn between heading straight back home or remaining to further ensure Nala'a was alright.
After many minutes of indecision, in which he hopped both ways along his branch he finally made up his mind.
'Well, it is obvious she is not alright,' he thought. 'And there is little I can do for her sat up here, Simba needs to know so he can help her.'
With that, he stretched his wings in preparation for takeoff.
"Psst!"
The branch under him bounced as he closed his wings in alarm.
"Zazu!"
He peered down. While deep in thought he had failed to notice one lioness break away from the huddle and sneak round stand under the tree. As he recognised the voice his cursed himself for ignoring the obvious, the other lionesses that has been captured with Nala! In his observations of the day, with the shocking discovery of Nala'a fate, the other missing lionesses had slipped his mind. There was no reproach in Chetu's eyes, as he recognised her then Dasa lying some metres away.
"Not here," she continued, and sprang silently away into the grass. Zaza took flight and followed her running form into the thicker foliage on the side of a nearby waterhole.
They met again, and one closer look was all it took for Zazu to see that something was very wrong for all the lionesses, perhaps beyond even what he had guessed. As Chetu filled him in on his worst fears it was obvious she could find no rest, her claws were out and she rose every few moments to pace along the sandy ground, her ragged breathing echoing out through the morning air and her coat dark with sweat even though a chill remained from the night before. Eventually, as she reached the end of her story, told to a silent listener, she sank to the ground exhausted. It wasn't just from living on constant alert with high nerves as much as Ketu having personally taken measures to ensure that she and Dasa were kept busy.
"What are we to do, Zazu?" Chetu wailed into the silence that followed her story.
"Very little I fear" Zazu replied grimly. "At least until Simba is better informed."
"And until then?" the lioness asked with a heavy heart, which already knew the answer.
"I suggest you do as little to provoke this Ketu as possible."
"Those are not empty words," Chetu assured the bird. "But he is so unpredictable, and can be as easily angered by one thing one moment as placated by it the next."
She broke off and Zazu could see she had more to add. He stayed silent, hoping that would prompt and encourage her to disclose further.
"Dasa."
The name escaped her and hung between them as the sun rose higher. Then she at last continued saying, "I don't know what to make of her behaviour lately."
Zazu thought quickly to what he knew of Dasa, she was one of the quieter lionesses of the Pride, but had proven invaluable both to the hunt and as a friend of Nala. Chetu seemed to read his thoughts.
"She is far from the quiet shy creature I knew her to be. It is increasingly evident that she is going out of her way to fit in and seems to have switched allegiances as easily she breathes. And with just as little thought!" Chetu added.
It was just more disturbing news, who would have foreseen this not more then four days ago? The Pride that had come through years of hardship to be reunited, was cruelly torn apart one again. Zazu hated this new evil, it carried the same humiliation that had been the hallmark of the reign of King Scar. And as for cruelty, well that had many forms. There was not a precious second to waste now that Zazu had a better idea of what had happened. He wondered how to communicate this to Chetu after they had spoken of Dasa, but then he realised she had her own priorities as she stood for the final time, eyes widened and back arched.
"I have stayed too long!" she said. "Ugali was supposed to be guarding me, but Ketu may have discovered. He will be angry. Dasa may be awake." From her run on sentences Zazu easily picked up on her panic.
"Shall I fly back with you?" he offered.
"No! I wouldn't want Ketu to know that there was a possibility I had sought help. And it is imperative, and our only hope, that you return to Simba as soon as possible!"
With that, and a call over her shoulder of thanks, she darted back into the grass as Zazu flew to a higher branch to watch her return for as long as possible, wondering all the while about the lion called Zetu.
Zetu was also wondering, though for once, not about himself. That idiot Ugali had indeed been supposed to be watching both the captive lionesses but he had been so caught up with Dasa's sleeping figure that it was now apparent that Chetu had taken the chance to sneak away.
He let out a roar that carried far beyond Zazu's tree, who knows what could have happened now, if she was aloud to get back to Simba! That was one of the things keeping her here, his promise that she could not make the boundaries before being intercepted.
And now look.
This assumption that she had headed for the border meant that Ketu did not find Chetu straight away, the waterhole where the lioness had met Zazu was actually in the opposite direction from the Pridelands and it was as he circled around towards its banks that Zetu spotted her walking sedately back to the others.
Nonetheless he was angry, at her, at Ugali, even at Nala, it wasn't supposed to have been like this! And he sprang towards her.
Chetu leapt to the side as he landed with a thud on the path before her. Silence did not come as naturally to him as it seemed cunning did. They eyed each other in silence and may have began circling had the width of the path allowed it.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked.
"What business is that of yours!" she spat back.
He gave her the disgusting yellowed smile.
"Everything, but of course you would have a good excuse wouldn't you?"
"I never knew that going to drink was forbidden."
"It is, for you, alone. Saying nothing of the long time you have taken."
"So you've known I've been gone that long?" she said innocently. "I wonder then, that you didn't come and get me sooner!"
They both knew that she had tricked Ugali, and that her absence had only just been discovered. Ketu curled his lips in distaste at not having the upper hand, or paw in this case.
"Well, you can guess at what kept me distracted." He said with a wicked grin. "Zuri, your Nala, is improving everyday!"
Chetu jolted back as if caught in a trap. How she hated him! She should have known there was nothing he wouldn't stoop to get his way.
Opening her mouth to retort back she was stopped, they both were, by the sudden appearance of a third lion, who stared back at them.
Zazu missed all of this, having taken off as soon as Chetu had faded from sight. Like an arrow fired from a bow he now headed straight for the Pridelands, trusting that he still remained undetected by the lions at Chui. He was both glad and sorry to leave that place, though something told him this wasn't to be his last visit.
Truth be told, he had been tired before he had even arrived there, not daring to stop often in case time was running out. Even though there was just as much urgency to return he did at least have the knowledge that the three were alive, so at the next waterhole he swooped low and landed on a boulder overhanging the water to refresh himself before continuing. As the water slid down his thrat and dripped from his beak, Zazu knew he had been kidding himself about his ability to remain in the air, yet alone be able to tell Simba what had happened.
So exhausted was he that the surroundings faded from his periphery as he gulped down the water and began to preen his feathers. He didn't notice the lazy bug that shared the boulder, or the crouching figure that now emerged from the shadows and leapt straight at him.