Mmm-hmmm. Chapter three. People, if you're still reading this story, I'm amazed. The second chapter wasn't as good as I intended. Now I'm fast forwarding the time a bit.. there's gonna be a bit of description in the beginning.. so if you like that.. good. If you don't, tough old cookies.
Months passed quickly since that rainy night of exile for Boniko and Obassi, and in those month they also seemed to change. Manes began to become fuller. Obassi's mane was bushy and red, much like Mufasa's, Boniko's came in light silver and draped long and graceful over his frame. They wandered all the borders of the desert, near the Pridelands, near the oasis's, and near the rain forests, but they could not find their place. The rejection of many prides, and many defeats of larger and more experienced lions left Obassi cold, but deep. He held many scars in his hide, so did Boniko but Boniko's wasn't as large.
Though the two young lions seemed depressed and forgotten wanderers, they were still playful as cubs and even had a hornbill to accompany them at times, who's name was Azia. Azia had a bright orange beak and deep red, orange, and yellow feathers, making it look like she was a flash of fire when she fell from the sky. Boniko found Azia one day in the middle of the desert, and she was dying of thirst. It was a good thing that Boniko and Obassi still had warm hearts and they nursed the young bird back to life at the nearest oasis.
On a hot day in the desert, Obassi, Boniko, and Azia had shelter in a small oasis with few palm trees to shade themselves. Boniko chuckled and kidded around with Obassi on how his coat was so dark that he stayed hot longer, and that his almost white coat kept himself cool. Azia, perched in the tree looked up, out into the horizon and gasped. She flew down and landed on top of Boniko's growing mane and spoke in a quick voice, "Hyenas! Again the hyena's are attacking!"
Obassi growled and stood up, looking at Azia, "Is it the desert pride, again?"
Azia nodded her head and Boniko stood up behind Obassi. "The hyena's are trying to take over these lands, terrible. Those damn minions of Scar. I bet he sent them here, to search for us, or to kill all the prides in this land so that he can expand the Pridelands."
A low growl formed in Boniko and Obassi's throats as they walked slowly towards the growling and fighting of the hyena's and lions. Obassi gasped as they reached the hill which lay over the fighting, like a cliff, and stared down. Hyena's, tens and maybe hundreds of them, were attacking a small desert pride. Many of the young cubs were already dead, their bloody bodies staining the sand below. The old male leader of the pride was doing his best to defend his pride from the evil dogs, but his age slowed him and caused him his own life as hyena's moved though the pride.
Azia chirped and hid her face in Boniko's mane, "Horrible creatures! So filthy and brutal. Barbarians!"
Obassi's eyes showed pure horror, as did Boniko's. One of the lionesses, about the age of the two lions roared as fierce as she could and swatted the speckled hyena away with deep, gashing claws, but more jumped on her and Obassi roared and charged himself into the fight to defend the young lioness. Boniko also roared, making Azia flutter away, and he ambushed many of the hyena's.
The large bloody fight carried on for only minutes. Obassi and the lionesses quickly made away with the hyena's with quick, heavy swats to their neck, breaking them, or simply biting their necks until they moved no longer. Boniko's quickness and swiftness easily let him be unharmed as he drove away the hyena's.
As the trails of blood and tracks form the remaining few hyena's left dust on the horizon, Boniko and Obassi had already began to wander off, back to their oasis to clean the few wounds that had been inflicted on them.
The almost white, almost snowy sand had been draped in red blood where a strong desert pride once was. But now, their leader had been killed and only three lionesses had remained, two with fatal wounds. The lioness which was saved by Obassi sobbed over the horror. She only had a few bite wounds and she sobbed that her friends should be spared and she should be the one who died. Once the first of the two dying lionesses passed away, the mourning only grew more and more. But the girl's heart snapped when the last one died in her own paws.
Licking bloody claws clean, Boniko spoke, "Do you think we should help the rest of those lionesses? Obassi, they don't even have a leader."
With a yawn, Obassi stretched out, "No, I didn't go to help the lioness." He lied, examining his paws, "I just don't want those hyena's meddling in territory close to ours."
"You liar! You fled straight into battle when that one lioness was being attacked." Azia sat between Boniko's ears, staring at Obassi. "Are you looking for a mate, already, Obassi?"
Boniko chuckled, "Dang, Obassi. You seem to want to get a pride started really soon..." Obassi started to glare at him. "I guess when she comes crawling back to you, I'll let you have some privacy." Boniko laughed. Obassi stood and growled, and Azia cowered in Boniko's mane, again.
Obassi shook his head and growled. He laid back down and placed his head on his paws and rested his eyes as the new scars began to heal on his body. Azia sighed and flew over go Obassi and landed gently on his back, "Obassi, you shouldn't act that way, it's not good for you. You've just been getting more and more depressed."
He looked back to the bird and sighed, the scars across his face had been reopened, so four different trails of blood dripped from his face. Azia gasped and held out a fiery wing that caught a drop of that blood, "Obassi, you never told me how you got those scars."
Boniko quickly put his head down and Obassi turned away, clenching his teeth. Azia turned her head to catch Obassi's gaze and he sighed once more and tried to begin. "When Boni..."
He was cut short. Boniko and Azia had instantly looked in the same direction. Obassi shrugged a bit, and keeping his head on his paws, he rolled his eyes over to see what they were staring at. Over one of the sand dunes, and dusty brown lioness stood. Her body was long and wiry that had a dark, sandy brown back and a creamy brown underside. The tuff of her tail glistened black in the, once again, setting sun.
Obassi's heart raced. 'That's the lioness I saved...' He stood up and approached the lioness slowly, forgetting that his face was bleeding. He stopped when he got a better look at the lioness's expression. Her head was low and there were two dark streaks in her fur under her eyes. 'She's been crying...'
Boniko stood up behind Obassi and gazed at the beautiful girl. Azia, still on Obassi's back, spread her wings and flew to the top of the palm tree over the oasis. The silence held tension between the four animals, and the young female collapsed in front of them. Obassi, instantly at her side, tried to pick her up to his back. "Boniko!" He struggled, "Help me with her."
In silence, Boniko and Obassi carried the lioness back to the small pool of water in their oasis. Obassi laid beside the girl as Azia and Boniko went off to sleep. When they were out of hearing range and asleep, Obassi stood and looked the lioness over. She had many fresh scars on her body, many of them were hyena bites. As he gazed over her, again, a small groan came from her throat and she opened her eyes, slowly.
Her eyes slowly searched the area before reaching Obassi's gaze and she froze. Relief and fear ran through her veins and she didn't recognize the strong figure in front of her for many seconds, then her face slowly brightened, and Obassi smiled. She stood quickly and nuzzled her head against his, then drew back, realizing what she was doing and looked down, "I'm sorry." She said in a soft, sad tone.
"It's okay..." Obassi trailed off in an equally soft tone.
She looked up, shocked, then took a step back. "My name is Azazsi, of the de... old Desert Pride." She did a slight bow in front of Obassi, which made him cock his head.
"Why bow to me? I'm not king..." He looked oddly at her. Azazsi glanced up at him, a bit confused.
"Then why do you act line one ... and how do you hold the wisdom of a leader?" She began. "You think our pride never noticed you and the white lion, and that annoying little bird? We were actually heading towards your oasis to see if you'd join our pride." Azazsi looked down, her voice became lower and quieter, "That's when we ran into that pack of hyenas..."
Worried, Obassi nuzzled under her chin. "Hey, it's okay." He glanced up at the black, starry night, "You need to get some rest. Don't worry, Boniko and I will be watching over you."
Azazsi smiled, looking up. "Thank you ... what's your name?"
"Obassi." He said with a small smile, and he stepped a few feet away and lay. Azazsi watched Obassi as he closed his eyes and chuckled to herself, feeling safe, and laid down to sleep.
Well, Azazsi has entered. n.n Sorry that it was a bit bloody, but it wouldn't be me if I didn't put some sort of fighting in the story. This one's a little short, but I decided to leave it because I felt content, and that it leaves off with quite a warm feeling. Once again, C'ya next chapter.