Well I just found out something rather interesting. Zazu in Swahili means stupid. What was his mother thinking?
Thankee time.
Sunrise19: Don't worry Zazu is okay, if he wasn't he would not even have a story. Thanks for the review.
MorpheusDreamer: Glad you liked my idea for the birdie boiler. And I agree with your statement on Pride Rock being iconic to us. Thanks for the review.
Maran Zelde: Yay someone else liked the birdie boiler! And you went rafting in West Virginia huh. I would not blame you since there's not much else to do there. I spent a week and a half in Morgantown once; I was bored out of my mind. Thanks for the review.
Gryfffinrose: Glad you liked the chapter. I'm guessing that Sasha is a cat then, since she does not like the thought of a cat boiler. Thanks for the review.
ImCrazyAndProudOfIt: Oh yay a new reviewer. I don't know if you have read all the chapters yet but I am glad you liked the first chapter. Hope to hear from you again. Thanks for the review.
Nala5: Yeah History teachers are evil, I just had one who wanted us to write like a six page report on this one document, it was so annoying. But that's okay if you are behind, especially when it involves school, when do you get out any way? And you will see who saves him in this next chapter. Thanks for the review.
Now on with the story.
I awoke from my terrible ordeal with the hyenas a few hours later. My body ached everywhere and my head felt as if something was being compressed on it. I tried standing up but discovered that my stomach was also giving me a bad feeling so I lay back down. It was then that I realized that I was not in the savanna or in the mud puddle where I landed; I seemed to be in a tree, a big tree to be exact.
"Oh I see you have awakened," said a friendly voice.
I lifted my head up a little to see what it was and found an old mandrill walking toward me. According to my grandfather it is best to avoid monkeys and apes since some have been known to eat birds when nothing else was available. I of course could do nothing to get away since I was in too much pain and this mandrill had a kind face so I knew he could be trusted.
"How long have I been out?" I asked.
"An hour or two, not too long, now here, drink this, it will help you bring your strength back quickly," said the mandrill.
I took a small sip of the liquid he gave me and found it to be quite sweet. I drank a little more before the mandrill pulled it away from me.
"Now then what is your name?" asked the mandrill.
"Zazu," I said weakly.
"Well Zazu I'm glad I was nearby when I saw you fall or you would be dead by now, how did it happen?" asked the mandrill.
"Three hyenas decided to pretend that I was curious about a birdie boiler," I said.
"Oh I've heard some nasty stories about those creatures, always picking on others and getting into trouble, I was glad when King Ahadi kicked them out of the pridelands," said the mandrill.
"Oh you know about King Ahadi?" I asked as I sat up quickly. And it did not hurt sitting up either, the potion the old mandrill used actually worked. I was amazed by this and in fact I am still amazed with Rafiki's potions to this day. Rafiki just smiled at my reaction before continuing
"Oh yes I know about King Ahadi er more like royal council now, his son Mufasa has been the king for six months now, he has been doing a wonderful job too, " said the mandrill.
"I was told King Ahadi has done a good job controlling this place," I said.
"Yes he has, though he is a little stubborn, but any one can be at his age," said the mandrill.
"Yeah true," I said not knowing what else really to say.
"Also I am glad that I found you because that royal family is looking for an advisor that will tell the king how things are going in the pride lands and a bird is one of their main specie to look for," said the mandrill.
"An advisor, to the king!" I said astonished.
"Yes, you help him decide what he should do in his kingdom, keep the kingdom in check, and do whatever else the king wants you to do," said the mandrill.
I wasted no time in thinking it over; I wanted to take the job. "I would love to do it," I said.
"Good now to find the king, he is on that rock over there. He is most likely taking a nap or something so it might be a good time to meet him. He is the male lion with the big red mane, you can't miss him since the other too have a much darker mane," said the mandrill.
"Alright then thank you very much, and oh I never got your name," I said as I began to fly out toward pride rock hoping that I would get the job.
"It's Rafiki and good luck, I hope to see you again soon," said the mandrill.
I then waved goodbye to him and flew as quickly as I could toward pride rock. As I got closer I noticed how much bigger it was up close and in person. I thought for some reason it would be smaller mainly because I had only seen it from afar. Of course your eyes can play tricks on you, something my grandfather always warned me about, especially when a predator looks far away to you.
I soon arrived at the rock and looked around for the king. At first I only saw the female lions basking in the sun or cleaning their cubs for the day. A second later though, I found three males sitting under a tree obviously enjoying each others company.
I flew over and perched under them to study the three for a few moments. I quickly spotted Mufasa; in fact he wasn't hard to miss for he was the biggest and most powerful looking. His red mane flowed with the breeze; I could see from his face that he was a friendly lion so it would not be hard trying to talk to him.
I then turned to the other two; the first one I looked at seemed to be a few years younger than Mufasa. To me he looked like a rogue because of his lanky build and scruffy fur. His mane was the darkest of blacks I had ever seen in a lion. He did not look friendly at all, especially since he had that scar over his left eye. I made a note to avoid him if I could.
The last male I looked at was much older than both so I quickly assumed that it had to be Ahadi since Rafiki did say he was old. His mane which had once been a lighter black was now graying with age and he was skinny though not as skinny as the other lion. He had the look of tiredness on his face giving him the look as if he rarely slept.
Once I was done studying the three lions, I decided to make myself known by calling to them.
"Er excuse me, uh King Mufasa," I had said nervously.
The three lions looked up at me curiously before Mufasa stood up looking like he was ready to listen to what I had to say.
"Yes how may I help you?" he asked with the most deep but gentle voice I had ever heard in my life.
"Hello my name is Zazu, a fledgling who just left the nest about a week ago and I came out here to find a home. As luck would have it, I met a mandrill who told me you were searching for an advisor to help you with your needs, and I thought I could be the one for the job," I said with as much bravery in my voice as I could.
Mufasa smiled for a minute before he finally spoke. "I would love for you to be my advisor. I've been waiting for quite a while for one, seeing as how my last advisor was a disappointment to me," he said.
"He was not a disappointment, he was just old and senile," said the skinny lion with a voice that would make any one shiver.
"Taka, don't talk dirty about your elders. Mango just needed to retire just like I did," said Ahadi as he hit his son in the back of the head with his paw.
"For the last time father, it's Scar," said the skinny lion.
"I don't care what you changed your name to, you are still Taka in my eyes and I am going to keep it that way," said Ahadi.
Mufasa just growled at them before turning to me. "Don't mind my brother and father, they are always arguing nonsense," he said.
"Oh it's quite alright, I had that problem with my brother too when I was still in the nest with him," I said.
Mufasa gave a small smirk before starting to walk away from his father and brother. "Since you are going to be part of our family now it is best you meet the pride and learn of our history," he said.
"Oh that would be wonderful," I said as I followed him through pride rock.
We did not go far before Mufasa jumped on a high rock and looked down at a group of lionesses sunning themselves in the midday sun.
"Ladies, I would like you all to meet our newest advisor Zazu, you are to treat him with respect and kindness, which means don't try to eat him," said Mufasa with a slight chuckle in his voice.
The lionesses looked up at me curiously before giving me a greeting and then returning to their task of sunning themselves, all but one. She was a lovely female who walked up to both of us and smiled at me happily.
"Hello Zazu, I am Sarabi, Mufasa's mate and queen of the pridelands. I welcome you to our new home, may you enjoy your stay," she said.
"Thank you your majesty," I said knowing the proper etiquette when talking to royalty.
"If you cannot find Mufasa and have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me," said Sarabi.
"I will remember that, thank you," I said.
"My my, your shaping up to be the perfect advisor already, so polite and kind," said Mufasa.
"That's only because I grew up with my grandfather, he taught me everything I know, and how to be polite to those who were higher ranking than I," I said.
"I had the same kind of grandfather as you, he was so wise and strong, I wish he would have lived forever," said Mufasa as he looked up at the blue sky.
"Yes it is never easy to see our elders go," I said.
Mufasa gave a deep sigh and then dismissed the subject entirely. "Come with me, I want to show you my kingdom," he said as he went up a straight trail that led to the top of Pride Rock.
I flew behind him, ready to see the new view of my home. It took us a few minutes to reach the top since there were a few spots where Mufasa had to jump to get to the other side but when we arrived at the top, I found the view to be most well worthed trip I had ever encountered. You could see for miles and all the animals traveling throughout the land. This was truly a king's view.
"As you can see everything the light touches is our kingdom," said Mufasa.
"It is so beautiful your majesty, how did you come to acquire this magnificent place?" I asked still stunned by the beauty of everything.
"It's been in our family for generations. According to my grandfather, the first king here was named Phomello. He acquired the place after leaving his fathers pride in search of a better life. We don't know how many years ago that was," said Mufasa.
"He must have been as amazed as I was when I first saw this rock," I said.
"He probably was," said Mufasa.
"Forgive me for asking but is your mother still alive?" I asked since I had only met Sarabi and had not learned any of the other lioness's names.
"No, she died six months ago, that is why my father is retired, he did not want to rule without her, they were both very close," said Mufasa with a slight shudder in his voice.
"I'm sorry to hear that sir," I said.
I was not sure what to say any more, not after asking about his mother. But after thinking it over I thought about a child for him and if he had one yet.
"Have you had a cub yet?" I asked.
"No and we have tried, I asked Rafiki for help but he told us to be patient, it takes time to have a child, and if we are patient enough, we will have one eventually," said Mufasa.
I just nodded, I could tell it would be good for Mufasa to have one, he looked like he needed a cub to play with, but I bet he played with the ones that weren't his own but were part of the pride most of the time.
"So your brother Taka, how did he get that scar over his eye?" I asked.
"I gave it to him about a year ago over who would be king, I swiped him so hard that he lost consciousness and did not wake up for days. Somehow what I did to him changed him and so now he sulks around like I should give him this land for feeling sorry for him. But I don't back down that easily," said Mufasa.
"What was he like before the scar?" I asked
"He was a happy lion, friendly and full of energy. Yet he wanted to be the ruler of the land so finally one day he just came up to me and said that we should fight to see who should be ruler. I agreed and that's what happened," said Mufasa.
I nodded again and remained silent while looking down on the land. I felt proud that it was going to be my home and that I was an advisor to the king. I would be protected by him and sleep where I wanted; it was definitely going to be the life.
"Well let's head back down, just to let you know, you start your job first thing in the morning. Just come to me when you are awake," said Mufasa.
"Yes sir, and I hope you don't mind if I find myself a meal I have not had one all day," I said.
"Oh not at all, in fact go any where you like, just report to me in the morning," said Mufasa.
I nodded and flew off away from pride rock in search of something to eat. I was able to find an ant hill and filled my stomach full of ants until I was satisfied. Once I was done with my meal I went to the water hole and had a quick drink before heading back to Pride Rock.
I decided to make my home in a nearby tree that had a small opening in its trunk like Duka had. Someone had lived there a while back, it may have been the original advisors but I'm not sure. I added a few touches to the place, some grass, leaves and some pieces of Ahadi's mane. Ahadi did not mind, his hair could easily come off when you grabbed it.
Once I was done with the finishing touches of my new home, I sat in a nearby branch and listened to the members of the pride talk about their day. They even talked to me and asked me where I came from, I was quite happy to tell them and they enjoyed my story about my first flight from the nest.
Once it got really dark though, everyone in the pride began to yawn and head into the cave that was inside the rock for bed. Mufasa waited until all left before saying goodnight to me. I said my goodnights as well and quickly went into my new home were I instantly fell asleep.
A/N: Yay chapter 9's done, I hope you liked it. And if it went too fast I apologize. In case you all are wondering where Sarafina is in this story, well she's not even a member of the pride yet but she will be soon. Well please review, I love reviews, have a great weekend.