In the two weeks since Simba's disappearance and belief that he had died, the pride had been in low spirits and laughter was a rare occurrence. Sarabi had fallen into deep depression and never strayed far away from the pride rock cave and poor Nala, who had never experienced a death before was in total shock and rarely said anything.
Mufasa had not sunk into depression at all but the looks he gave to Sarabi told her that he was quite sad by what happened. He wanted to kill his brother for what happened but he knew that violence never solved any thing and believed that his brother had given up since it had been two weeks and nothing strange was happening.
One evening Mufasa wandered out into the savanna, he needed to think for a little while since being in the cave with Sarabi all day had emotionally drained him and he needed some advice. Slowly he ambled over to a small hill and looked up at the stars that had just begun to shine. They were brighter than usual tonight which he believed that it meant the great kings were more than willing to give him advice. Mufasa gave a weak smile and then began to speak.
"How's Simba up there Father, I hope he is keeping you busy. I just wish he was not taken from me so fast. Why do these things have to happen, why can't the world be good, why was I so stupid and not kill my brother when I had a chance, why?" said Mufasa who then for the first time began to cry uncontrollably.
Perched on a nearby tree, Ban'ai had heard the whole thing. Since Simba had been gone, he rarely stayed near Pride Rock because he was so ashamed of himself. He had probably only given Mufasa the morning report twice in the past two weeks and both those times he was quick and to the point before heading back out to scan the area some more.
Ban'ai knew he had to comfort the king so he flew down and perched on his shoulders.
"Sah if you want to blame any one for Simba's death, I believe you should blame me, I am the one who did not save him in time, I'm the one who warned you too late and if you want you may eat me for it," sobbed Ban'ai.
Mufasa continued to cry for a few seconds before answering. "Ban'ai its not your fault, we all make mistakes including ones that even if you don't want to make them."
Ban'ai sighed and looked up at the stars with Mufasa. He had never stayed awake this late before and this was the first time he really paid attention to the stars. "So you say that all the great kings are up there?" he asked.
Mufasa nodded.
"But what about everyone else of the pride?" asked Ban'ai.
"Oh they are there too but they don't shine as bright," said Mufasa.
The two remained silent for quite a while, neither of them saying anything, just enjoying the night and wishing that Simba was there to share it with them.
"Well what are you going to do now that Simba is gone?" asked Ban'ai.
"We decided that once Sarabi feels better we will have another cub, I need someone to carry on in my place," said Mufasa.
"I wish you luck the second time then sah," said Ban'ai.
"Thank you Ban'ai but I know nothing will ever replace Simba," said Mufasa.
Ban'ai just nodded while Mufasa let out a huge yawn. "I guess I am more tired than I think, better go back to the cave, you coming?" he asked.
"Not right now, I feel I need to talk to Rafiki," said Ban'ai.
"But he's asleep," said Mufasa.
"I know but I mean tomorrow," said Ban'ai.
Mufasa just nodded, he knew Ban'ai still felt bad and knew that it was best to just let him be. He watched for a minute as Ban'ai flew back to the tree he was on and then slowly walked back to Pride Rock.
The next morning Ban'ai woke to a very rude awakening. Rafiki hit him on the head with his walking stick. Ban'ai stood there shocked for a second as he rubbed his head and looked up at the old monkey.
"You needed me?" asked Rafiki.
"Uh yeah, how did you know?" asked Ban'ai as he rubbed his head.
"Because I know everything, now what is it you want to ask me?" asked Rafiki.
Ban'ai looked around and noticed that a lot of animals were nearby and he really wanted to have a quiet and private conversation.
"Can we talk in your tree?" asked Ban'ai.
"Certainly, I will see you there," said Rafiki.
Ban'ai then flew as fast as he could to Rafiki's tree but even though he knew that he was much faster than Rafiki, the old baboon still beat him to it and was there waiting for him when he arrived. Rafiki was definitely a magical creature.
"Now my young one what is it you wanted to talk about?" he asked.
"Well I thought you would already know that," said Ban'ai.
"You don't know me very well do you, now tell me what you want to talk about," said Rafiki.
"Okay sorry. Well I was just wondering, do you think I am a worthy advisor?" he asked.
Rafiki stared at him; he was surprised Ban'ai would ask such a question. "And why do you ask that?" he asked.
"Because you know I was too late to save Simba. I know if I did not stall like I did I would have saved him and Sarabi would not be so depressed like she is now," said Ban'ai.
Rafiki sighed, "I know Mufasa said it was not your fault so why do you keep thinking that it's your fault?" asked Rafiki.
"Because I know it is and that he is just trying to cheer me up," said Ban'ai.
Rafiki then hit Ban'ai on the head with his stick before talking again. "Stop thinking that, it was not your fault, it is no ones fault, only Scars for being the way he is," said Rafiki.
"Oh yeah I heard that story, just terrible," said Ban'ai.
"So let me tell you something, death is a part of the great circle of life, you cannot stop death no matter what, and our deaths could already be planned for us. Maybe it's of old age, being killed by a jackal, or even of a disease. That's how death is," said Rafiki.
"I understand now but once the next child is born I plan to be more careful with it, I will make sure it doesn't die and I will treat it like it was my own son," said Ban'ai.
"Well that is a big promise especially for a cuckoo," said Rafiki.
Ban'ai just smiled. "Thanks Rafiki," he said and then without a goodbye, flew back to pride rock.
Rafiki watched him go, he was glad he could talk sense into the bird and hoped that everything would go well for the pride in the next years to come.
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Extremely long Authors Note: Gah sorry about that chapter, I wanted to explain what was happening with the pride but it didn't seem to come out the way I wanted. But what really helps if you want to write something sad is go to the Lion King fan art site and look at the pictures that are sad while listening to Celine Dion, it kinda works. I hope the next chapters are better but I can't make any promises because I keep changing my mind with what I want to do. So in advance I apologize if the time span or the plot of the next few chapters get a little wonky. Also MGM PyroLion actually sent me an email saying he was truly sorry for the flame he gave me, something quite rare for a flamer to do. So I am going to remove you from my ignore list but if you flame me again I will be forced to taunt you a second time and fart in your general direction. (Sorry, stupid Monty Python joke) So any way that's all I have to say for now so please review and I will see you all next week with something better. Have a nice upcoming weekend.
Oh yeah one question for you guys, I've been noticing that a lot of people are saying that Mufasa's father was called Ahadi or something like that. What site do they have the story on, because I would love to read what happened before the lion king and how Scar got his Scar. I can't seem to find it any where, thanks in advance.
See I told you all it was a long authors note.
