I'm baaaaaaack!
After pokes and prods from my friend Chrisine (HIYA!) I'm finally gonna get this sucka done. Here's chapta four.
After several years of growing, Mulatto grew into what many of the other lionesses liked to call a quiet yet polite young lion. The other lions still thought he was a bit odd and his only true friend was Lybia, his childhood friend. Mulatto liked to think Zazu was his friend too and hung around him as much as he could, but Zazu thought he was just plain annoying. Until one day when he needed Mulatto's help.
In the Sahara, there was what the animals called The Cult of the Birds where all the birds met together and discussed how to better their feathered society. But that was for the business birds. The Cult was mostly for the birds who wanted to party, just a little part of their meetings was based on politics. That's why Zazu never really hung around there unless they needed him in a real emergency.
Which was now.
Nowadays, there was a spring in a taste for birds in the animals' diet. Many birds were getting eaten and mating season wasn't around yet, causing a downfall in the population. So The Cult had Zazu tell Simba about this, which didn't go down so well with the other lions.
"WHAT?" shrieked Synabin after hearing that they couldn't have their monthly ostriches and had to cut down their bird gurgitation. "That's unheard of, unthinkable, lions not eating birds."
Mulatto had to leave the room for this. The last thing he needed hearing was Synabin saying just how good ostriches were and what a treat she had having one each month. Instead, he went to talk to Zazu.
He found him on Zazu's favorite perch on the Sycamore tree. Mulatto had asked him many times why birds liked different perches but these discussions always ended with Zazu frazzled and sending Mulatto away. "What's wrong with the birds, Uncle Zazu?"
"God, why do you call me that?" Zazu said shaking his head. "Nothings wrong that you can fix (oh how wrong you are silly bird). There's just a shortage on birds these days." Mulatto looked like Christmas was cancelled when he heard that. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll get better soon."
But it didn't
During the next few months, the population of birds continued to fall. Some species were even on the verge of extinction. Mulatto was horrified at this. Maybe if pigs like that cow Synabin didn't keep gorging on the birds, they would actually be better off, thought Mulatto nastily. Synabin kept at her monthly ostriches, now a threatened species. She said no one could stop her treats from happening every month. She was ostracized from Mulatto as far as he was concerned.
But Mulatto and Lybia tried helping the birds out by putting on rallies and protesting for birds rights (no one came to them but the birds were grateful –slightly). Lybia had given up birds a long time ago when Mulatto told her he hated people who ate them, except the people he loved.
Mulatto would get the chance he needed to help the birds soon
The population of birds continued to decrease onto the next year. The Cult was becoming desperate. Most birds started leaving, hoping to find mates and new homes somewhere else which added to the decrease. Eventually the ostriches died out, and frankly, Synabin didn't care. She found other birds to eat. Except the one time when one of the birds fought back.
Synabin came home one night into the cave in Pride Rock with a falcon that she thought she killed. She was about to take a chunk off his head when she heard a single chur come out of the bird's mouth.
"YOU!" shouted the falcon in an ear piercing shriek. "You continue to eat us even after we have warned you! If you continue, then you will sign your death wish." With that, the bird clamped his beak on her nose and flew off. No one was around but Mulatto who had watched this in a corner. Synabin turned her furried face on him.
"Don't….. tell…… anyone," she gasped in angry breaths. Then she ran from the cave off away from the rock. She left Mulatto deeply puzzled thinking about what he just saw.
You continue to eat us even after we have warned you……… Mulatto pondered over and over the falcon's words for the next several nights. Then he got the chance of a liftetime to get all of his questions answered.
Zazu had invited him to The Cult of the Birds.
