Well its chapter 20, possibly 20 more chapters to go, not sure though. Any way I just have to ask, what is everyone's favorite music group? My favorite is Matchbox Twenty, Rob Thomas is so hot and the songs are awesome. Any way thank time.
SunRise19: Thanks for the review. Yes Zira will be in this story she will show up in the next chapter too. And I will give the reason in a later chapter as to why she lives in the outlands. Also I'm hoping to get a lap top since its actually required at the Disney campus, TVs are too, not sure why they don't have them in the rooms already though, so I hope to update once a month when I am down there. Hope you like this chapter.
My Dear Sulkeniepoo: Thank you for nitpicking about the sight thing, I am so used to telling someone it's this site that writing site is second nature to me or something like that. But I'll nitpick you back by saying you spelled sad wrong which confused me and took me three reads to understand what you were saying. Well hope you like this chapter.
Grubswiper: Hey buddy thanks for the complement; see you in the Redwall area.
Pichooi: Thanks for the review. Glad you liked Nala's talk, thing. Hope you like this chapter.
Bounding Jackalope: Thanks for the review glad you liked it, hope you like this chapter.
Gryfffinrose: Glad you thought that chapter was good, hope you enjoy this chapter.
Nala5: Thanks for the review. And truthfully I forgot about Timon and Pumbaa for some reason guess I need to start thinking about adjustments for later on and stuff. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Nachonaco: Now that is awesome that I have a fellow Toon Zoner reading my story. Thanks for the review, hope you still continue reading this and I will see you at toon zone.
Skima: Wow just in time before I updated again. Thanks for the review I am glad you liked it. Hope you like this chapter as well.
Now time for stories.
Two weeks passed and nothing changed. Scar was still his stubborn self, the hyenas were being greedy and Nala was still depressed. I never saw a smile on Nala's face any more and it worried me and Sarafina who thought Nala would give up hope any minute, but the young girl stayed strong and was often seen playing with Penda even though the play time did not seem as fun to her any more.
Sarabi still had the same glow as she did before Mufasa died, yet it was less vibrant than before. She stayed willing enough to help the lionesses of the pride get through the difficult time but when Scar showed up, she never wanted to go near him, even though he wanted to know how the hunts went. Usually those hunts ended with killing of three types of animals because the hyenas would come and steal the food from them until Sarabi had to give them a lesson.
As for me, well I did not like the rule that Scar was under. There seemed to be an air of gloom throughout the pride lands and morning reports were just trivia to Scar who did not deal with any of the problems I discussed with him.
It was after one of these morning reports that I decided that I needed to be alone so I flew a few miles away from Pride Rock just to think and to wish that Mufasa was there to reprimand Scar for his evilness.
"Oh I bet you can see what is happening down here, too bad you cannot fix it," I said to the sky wondering if Mufasa could hear me up there since I heard Simba say that the great kings are up there watching over everyone.
"My dear brother, whomever are you talking to?" said a familiar voice behind me. I turned around to see Kalifa standing there and looking worried.
"Oh Kalifa I am glad to see you, how have you been?" I asked as I embraced her.
"I have been fine though sadly your grandfather joined our ancestors in the sky last week," said Kalifa who I could tell was nervous about telling me this.
The news of my grandfather's death hit me like I had found Mufasa's body; it was not a good thing for me to hear, seeing as how I had been having a bad time trying to adjust with the new king and everything. So before the first tear was down my cheek I grabbed Kalifa and began to sob on her shoulder.
"Oh my I did not realize you would take it that hard, is everything alright? And why are there hyenas in the valley?" she asked.
"I cannot believe I have lost two great mentors within a week of each other, my grandfather was my life and Mufasa was my greatest friend," I said through a tear soaked face.
"What Mufasa's dead! How did that happen?" asked Kalifa.
"It happened two weeks ago, he was trying to save Simba who got caught in a stampede, both of them were killed and now Scar is the ruler of this land, that's why you see all those hyenas," I said.
"That's terrible, Scar letting those hyenas live here now, I bet his ancestors are very mad now," said Kalifa.
"I bet they are too, they eat too much and waste too much, we are hoping Scar will change his ways but that has not happened yet," I said while I wiped some drool away from my nose. No I am not going to say boogers; I'm too sophisticated for that word.
"Well I'm sorry I had to bring you that sad news especially at a bad time as this, you really need to send some sparrows to tell me once in a while," said Kalifa.
"I had not thought about that, I'm just so worried about other things," I said.
"I understand, but how about I give you some good news. Our mother had a batch of two eggs with her new mate, they may hatch in about two weeks," said Kalifa.
"Well that is wonderful and I do hope your area thrives for a long time," I said.
Kalifa just nodded and looked behind me to see Sarabi walking slowly toward us. I knew I had to greet her so I flew down and perched on her shoulder.
"Good day Sarabi, how are you?" I asked.
"Very angry thank you, and I was wondering if you could join me into speaking with Tahir over at the western border, it seems as though some hyenas have been disturbing his land," said Sarabi in an angry voice.
"I do not mind and is it alright if Kalifa joins us?" I asked.
"Yes it is, then she will learn more about Scar's stupid rule," said Sarabi who continued to walk toward the east where Tahir and his pride lived.
I had met Tahir before, it was sometime before Simba was born, Mufasa had brought me with him to discuss overpopulation in his land and wanted to see if Mufasa agreed to take a few females off his paws. Mufasa did not mind either, he took three home with us and one of them was Nyarai who was very sad to leave and actually went missing for a few days afterward, we soon learned that she was pregnant after running off with a rogue for a few days.
I liked Tahir though, he was as simple lion a little younger than Mufasa, he had inherited his father's throne after his father was killed by human hunters wandering the area. Tahir had a light brown mane with a few flecks of gold in it and had a slender built, I could tell he enjoyed wandering his lands daily. He also had a kind voice which I liked and made Mufasa and I feel trusted around him.
Tahir's land was actually about a four hour walk away which all three of us did in silence and we actually did not arrive at the borders until late afternoon just before the sun went down.
The border was very recognizable; it was a small pattern of rocks that resembled a mini Pride Rock only this one had a rounder observation point and did not have a den. Their den was actually about a mile away in some eroded cliff.
When we arrived, we saw Tahir standing on the rock waiting for us with his queen and a few of his lionesses, he also had his advisor there, a snooty finch who the lions could easily swallow whole, I never liked him much because he acted like he knew all the rules of the pride he lived with and never seemed to have a smile on his face. He was the one who had told Scar about Tahir's problem.
Sarabi quickly approached the pride and sat at the edge of the base looking up at Tahir who whisked his tail once and began to speak.
"Good to see you Sarabi, you look well for someone who has lost your loved ones at such an inopportune time," said Tahir with kindness in his voice.
"I did not come to get comforted, what is it that Scar has done to your pride?" asked Sarabi. I could tell she did not want to be here since it was not her job.
"Well I was hoping to talk to Scar about this, is he arriving?" asked Tahir.
"No he would rather sulk in the cave all day than fix matters that are his problems, but if you will explain to me what is the matter then I can try to fix it myself or get him to fix it," said Sarabi.
I heard Tahir growl under his breath, I could tell he was not happy with this new king either. "Well I found ten hyenas prowling our land a few days ago and I thought we had agreed when he came here last to give me the news that he was now king that he would keep his hyenas under control, we do not trust them, they started looking at our cubs as if they were food," said Tahir.
"Are they still in your land now?" asked Sarabi.
"Not sure, we only saw them for one day but I do know they killed more than there fair share of food and left what they did not eat to rot," said Tahir.
"They are doing the same things in our land as well, I just don't understand what Scar sees in them, but I will try to deal with this matter with Scar and perhaps he will come to terms with me," said Sarabi.
"See that he does, and once you have found the solution, send your advisor over to me with the report," said Tahir who looked at me with trusting eyes.
I looked over at their advisor and he just sneered before rolling his eyes and hoping off the rock and down to the grass where he pecked the ground for seeds and acted like nothing was happening.
"I will do my best," said Sarabi who then bowed to Tahir and started to walk away. Tahir stopped her.
"Your highness, are you hungry at all, we would be happy if you joined us for a meal," he said.
"Thank you Tahir but I am tired and not very hungry at the moment, but I hope your pride continues to flourish and that Scar's rule will not hurt you in any way," said Sarabi.
I saw Tahir watch her go before slinking away from the border with some of his pride members. I looked over at Kalifa who seemed to have enjoyed that conversation.
"Wow that was very fascinating, seeing how your life is like now, looks like it keeps both of you busy," said Kalifa.
"Yes that's how life is if you're a king or queen," said Sarabi.
"What do you do all day any way?" I asked Kalifa since I had never really asked that before.
"Not much, usually it's just helping mom or chatting with other animals, nothing special, you know the pride that lives in our valley is very quiet, I rarely see them in the area where I mainly stay, they seem to keep to themselves mostly," said Kalifa.
"Any advisor that you have seen?" I asked.
"Truthfully yes, but he has not noticed me yet and he is quite attractive," said Kalifa.
"Oh it seems that my sister is interested in starting a relationship," I said with a teasing voice.
Kalifa just smiled and gave me a light slap on the head; it was one of her ways of showing how much she cared about me.
We did not noticed how dark it had gotten until we saw Sarabi slink behind a bush and disappear out of sight; we wondered what she was doing and flew down to her. Once we arrived, we found her lying down and looking up at the sky.
"Your highness shouldn't we be going back to the pride?" I asked.
"Not tonight Zazu, it's late and we will not be back until much later, we will return later tomorrow," she said.
"But won't Scar get mad?" I asked.
"I told him I would probably not be back until the next day, so don't worry about it," said Sarabi.
"But I have to do the morning report and I may not be able to now that we wont arrive until later that morning," I said worriedly.
"Don't worry about that Zazu, whatever you tell Scar will still be ignored like it always has been for the last two weeks, so calm down and enjoy the quiet night without any hyenas nearby," said Sarabi.
"I'm sorry Madame, I'm just so used to what I have been doing I feel like it needs to be done all the time," I said.
I noticed she was not listening but looking up at the sky. Her face gave the look of quiet serenity as if she was being scratched in the chin like humans do to their pet cats. She stayed that way for a quite a while until she broke the silence and spoke.
"I sense that Mufasa is watching me, he knows I am staying strong and keeping the pride intact. I bet he is also playing with Simba up there, my only son," she said before I saw a tear run down her cheek.
"So who first came up with the idea of kings being in the stars?" asked Kalifa.
"Nobody knows, it's just been handed down from generation to generation," said Sarabi who stayed quiet for the longest time and then pointed with her paw to one large star in particular. "You see that big star up there?"
Kalifa and I looked up to see the bright object; it truly was much larger than any of the others.
"Yes we do," I said.
"That star was formed after the great Mohatu died; he was a legendary king that many rulers respected. I knew him only for a short time but I must say that he was one of the wisest creatures I have ever met," said Sarabi.
"What did he do that made him so legendary?" I asked seeing as how Mufasa never really talked about his grandfather, his death must have been hard on him.
"He was the one who thought up the idea of having the hyenas live in the outlands after a horrible drought they caused that left many starving. It took months for the land to recover and the animals had to take a two day's journey just to get a drink of water. That's when Mohatu decided to move the pride lands to that area for the time being so the land could heal on its own. When it finally did, the animals returned and Mohatu established new rules, like the hyenas living in the outlands and the idea of not killing any cubs when a new successor takes over," Sarabi said.
"And Scar decided to change that I see, it makes me wonder why," said Kalifa who sounded very bitter now that she thought about what Scar did.
"I don't know, Scar never seemed to be right in the head, it must have been the way he was treated as the second born, we may never know," said Sarabi.
I sat there contemplating what Sarabi said, she was a very noble lion and I sensed she would be willing to sacrifice her life for the pride if any problem arose.
We spent the rest of the night, silently gazing at the sky and wondering what the future would hold.
Important Authors Note Please Read: There's chapter 20. Hope you all liked it. I am not sure when chapter 21 will come up because this Friday I am getting my wisdom teeth removed. I don't know how long I will be in pain for but I do hope to be back by next Wednesday. Also has any one else had their wisdom teeth removed and what did it feel like, I'm really nervous about it because I don't like going under and then having to deal with the pain afterward. Well please review and I hope to see you all soon.