Author's note: I apologise for the comparatively long wait for the new chapter. Been busy here. But yeah, here it is. Once again I thank everyone for the very kind words and reviews. I hope you all enjoy this rather long chapter. Also, I decided to include a brief description of the non-movie characters so it'll be easier to remember who they are in the fic.
So yeah. Please continue to read and review, I intend to finish this story.
Simba – Adult male lion, King of the Pride Lands
Nala – Adult lioness, Queen of the Pride Lands, wife of Simba
Kiara – Adult lioness, Princess of the Pride Lands, hunting party leader
Kovu – Adult lion, Prince Regent of the Pride Lands, husband of Kiara
Vitani – Adult lioness, half-sister of Kovu
Amaryllis – Adult lioness, foster mother of Amabi, former loner, wanderer, former loner
Nadhari – Adult lioness, mother of Alyssa and Kelt
Sharhal – Adult lioness, a member of Kiara's hunting party
Aetti – Adult lioness, a member of Kiara's hunting party
Tumai – Adult male lion, competitive, aggressive, mocking
Juvi – Adult male lion, quiet, thoughtful young male
Tenzer – Half-grown male lion, loner, quiet character but gentle with cubs
Ryana – Half-grown lioness, talkative and besotted with Tenzer
Amabi – Male lion cub, adopted son of Amaryllis, cheeky, inquisitive cub
Alyssa – Lioness cub, daughter of Nadhari, more reserved and careful cub
Kelt – Male lion cub, son of Nadhari, slightly insecure cub
Zazu – Adult hornbill, Simba's majordomo
Timon – Adult meerkat, Simba's friend
Pumbaa – Adult warthog, Simba's friend
Shenzi – Adult female hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan
Banzai – Adult male hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan
Ed – Adult male hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan
Ridikill – Adult male hyena, hunting pack leader, extremely aggressive and antisocial
Burudi – Adult male hyena, scarred face, Ridikill's 'lieutenant', less vicious
Groco – Adult male hyena, weakling, low-ranking scout trying to improve his social standing
Sarkil – Adult female hyena, sarcastic huntress
Kapungu – Adult male hyena, fearsome hunter with a lust for blood
Babaka – Adult male hyena, always hungry
Mali – Adult male leopard
"And that's why everyone's mad at you two", Kovu finished.
Tenzer and Ryana looked at him. The former nodded slowly with his head down and eyes closed: Kovu's words had been clumsy but straight to the point. Tenzer could see where he had failed the pride.
The latter of the two youngsters had tears in her eyes. Kovu had made it clear that the blame had been laid equally on both of them, but she knew it was really her fault. Tenzer hadn't been interested in hanging out with her. She had kept nagging and nagging him to step outside and look at the stars with her. Finally he had relented. After an hour of her babbling away to him, they had returned to find half a dozen of their charges gone.
They had started a desperate, panicked search of the surrounding area. Tenzer hadn't said a word but Ryana knew he silently blamed her for distracting her when he was entrusted to look after the cubs. The fierce look in his eyes and the sullen glances…it was too much for her.
"But nobody was hurt, and that's the important thing", Kovu was saying, "But next time we might not be so lucky. So yeah, you two…"
Ryana turned and ran, doing her best to force back more tears that were threatening to run down her cheeks. Kovu shouted her name in surprise. She clenched her teeth and ran on, not knowing where she was heading, her head down and eyes shut firmly.
"Hey, what's with her?" Kovu turned to Tenzer.
"She's pretty emotional", Tenzer said indifferently, "Give her a few hours, she'll come running back".
"Oh, right", Kovu watched her go, "You sure? Shouldn't we go after her?
"I'm sure. She's a bit of a drama queen".
"Oh. Well, fair enough. I suppose you know her. She's annoying huh?"
"Very".
"Ah. Well, don't sweat it. A lot of girls her age are. You should be flattered by her attention", the bigger lion placed a paw patronizingly on Tenzer's head and ruffled his scruffy hair.
"Hmph", Tenzer grunted.
"Well, anyway, you think about what I said, okay? We can't have anyone letting the pride down, especially not in these dangerous times. Okay?"
Tenzer nodded and bowed, formal again, "Yes Prince Kovu. I am sorry".
"Don't sweat it, buddy", Kovu said over his shoulder as he headed back up a winding rock path. He got about thirty feet when three lionesses leaped out in front of him.
"Oh, that was really subtle", Kiara scolded quietly, so Tenzer couldn't hear.
"Yeah, I thought I was pretty good…oh. You're being sarcastic, right?"
"Of course she is!" Aetti the huntress piped up, "That was about as subtle as an elephant on musth!"
"Well, what did I do wrong then?" Kovu asked, looking back and forth from Kiara, Vitani and Aetti.
"'That's why everyone's mad at you two?'" Vitani sneered, "Why didn't you just go ahead and slash them across the face?"
"Hey, it wasn't that bad!"
"Are you kidding?" Kiara said incredulously, "Ryana ran off in tears!"
"She's an emotional girl! Or at least that's what Tenzer told me".
"All girls are emotional! Jeez, why can't you males see that?" Kiara groaned.
"Oh come on, not all girls are as weepy as you or Ryana", Kovu looked to Vitani, "You're sure not".
"Yes I am", his half-sister narrowed her eyes, "Maybe I don't show it often, but even I can feel...delicate. Trust me on this: all females are fragile".
"I'm gonna rip your heads off if you don't cut that out!" Shenzi snarled.
Ed and Banzai were writhing on the floor, snapping at each other. They ignored their leader and kept scuffling, kicking up the dust of the savannah. They rolled in the yellow grass of the Pride Lands, a whirlwind of teeth.
"I said knock it off!" Shenzi snapped and reached out with her forepaw to grab Ed by the nape of the neck and yank him off Banzai. Banzai got to his feet and glared at Ed, whilst Ed just squirmed in Shenzi's grasp and gnashed his teeth at Banzai.
"I told you, I have another headache! So, no fighting. I'm not in the mood to baby-sit you two".
"Baby-sit!" Banzai demanded angrily, "Don't look at me! He's the idiot who can't stop giggling. He kept scaring our lunch away!"
"Lunch", Shenzi snorted, "Don't give me that. You two were just looking for some entertainment".
"Food and fun are easy to confuse", Banzai grinned, a necklace of saliva hanging from his teeth.
"True", Shenzi smirked, releasing Ed, "But anyway, we need to keep quiet. I sent Agiza and her hunters west of here. I'm not risking sending a hunt further south today, not after what happened to Ridikill's party last night".
"Why did you drag us out here anyway? Any reason except food?" Banzai grumbled.
"Just one, honey. Us three are going south".
"I thought you didn't wanna go south and run into any lions?!"
"Not a hunting party. But just the three of us? No sweat. The King's little spies won't pay attention to us with Agiza's pack to the east, chasing down the wildebeest and scaring those morons to death. The stupid lions won't know we're here. And we, my dear Banzai and dearer Ed, are gonna head south and do some spying and scouting of our own".
"Okay, so why are us three going, and not some of our goons? And what are we looking for?" Banzai cocked his head.
"I'm going because I'm the only one I trust to bring back reliable info. You two are here for the same reason you're always five steps behind me – I can't seem to shake you off.
"And we're looking for a few things. First of all, I wanna see just how rich the hunting grounds are: I ain't seen them for myself for a while now. Second, I wanna get an idea of just how strong Simba's pride is. And finally, it wouldn't hurt if we let Simba know the three of us are back. I'm sure he'll remember us. I mean, after all", Shenzi assumed her most flattering pose, head up and shoulders back, "Who wouldn't remember someone like me?"
"My mother could never remember your name, actually", Banzai reminisced thoughtfully, "My Dad neither".
Shenzi cuffed the dog hyena over the top of the head with her paw. He whimpered. Ed laughed.
"Shut up and let's get moving!" Shenzi barked, "I don't want any interruptions".
The trio picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. They headed south as the sun reached the highest point in the sky and cast noon shadows at their clawed feet. Passing an outcrop of flat rocks after a few minutes' march, Ed stopped and sniffed the air eagerly, panting eagerly.
"What is it, Ed?" Banzai asked, stopping to look back over his shoulder at the excited hyena.
"Aie-whoo, eheh, woo-hahahahah!" Ed slobbered.
"Really? Where?" Banzai whirled around.
Ed jabbed his paw in the direction of the rocky outcrop as he hopped from one hind leg to the other in exhilaration.
Banzai flashed his teeth, "Awesome! Whatcha say, Shenz, can we make a quick stop? I mean, you said we could grab a bite to eat on the way so…"
Shenzi looked at them with narrowed eyes, then she laughed and grinned a cruel grin, "Sure, why not. It'll be just like old times. On the count of three. Ready?"
The other two nodded eagerly and crouched.
"One…two…three!"
As one the hyenas leapt forward and bounded up the nearest flat rock. Clustered there in a group were a large band of hyraxes, little animals that looked basically like moving hairballs to the hyenas. They looked up at the trio of predators with tiny black eyes filled with terror, rooted to the spot for a moment. Then in the next instant the furry creatures panicked and darted back and forth across their rock outcrop home.
The hyenas whooped with glee and gave chase, driving the hyraxes into their boltholes. They snapped at them half-heartedly, pursuing their shrieking victims more for amusement than out of hunger. The sight of the wriggling little creatures scrambling for cover and the thrill of the chase was what they wanted they wanted more than anything else.
In a few brief, intense seconds of slamming jaws and squeaks of fear it was all over. None of the trio had managed to catch any hyraxes, although Banzai had a few tufts of fur in his teeth from one who had escaped death by literally millimetres. The hyenas rolled with laughter.
"Oh, that was priceless!" Shenzi hooted.
"Did you see the way their little legs scooted them off like that?!" Banzai said between bouts of chortling.
"Hoo-hahahahaha!" was all that could be gotten out of Ed.
"Oh man, it may not be that old meerkat colony we used to raid, but it was nearly as good!" Shenzi wiped away a tear of mirth from the corner of her eye as she stood up, "Come on, let's get a move on".
The trio walked away, chattering about how funny the sight of the squirming hyraxes leaping to safety had been between sporadic bursts of laughter. The hyraxes crept out of their rock tunnels and watched the hyenas head south intently.
"Oh come on, there's no reason to get Simba involved in this!" Kovu protested.
"There's plenty of reason", Kiara ignored him and kept marching up the rock path to Pride Rock's main caves.
Kovu kept pleading with Vitani, Kiara and Aetti as they sought out Simba, saying he would go and resolve the situation himself but they ignored him. These days Kovu practically lived and breathed for Simba's approval and he didn't want to let his father-in-law down, even though Kovu still couldn't really fathom why anyone would be mad at him for letting Ryana run off in tears.
Soon they found Simba sunning himself next to Nala, alone outside their cave. They were talking quietly to one another and smiling: obviously enjoying a tender moment alone. Aetti and Vitani hesitated to disturb them but Kiara sprang forward, surprising the King and Queen.
"Kiara! What are you doing here?" Nala exclaimed.
"Daddy, Mom, you got to help! Kovu yelled at Tenzer and Ryana for letting the cubs run off last night…".
"Hey, I didn't 'yell' at them!" Kovu said defensively, creeping into Simba's presence carefully.
Kiara ignored him, "…And Ryana got upset and ran off crying! Now she's out there all alone and upset".
"It doesn't help that that Tenzer kid is so insensitive towards her", Aetti added.
Simba stared at the lionesses. They seemed to be troubling him with what was basically idle gossip when he was trying to have a few minutes alone with Nala. He looked at Kovu, who was crouched submissively. Simba could sympathise with him. Females could be so intrusive and pushy at times, overreacting at any social 'crisis'…
"Dad! What are we going to do about Ryana?" Kiara demanded.
"Oh…um…well…I'd just calm down a bit, dear. I think you're overreacting".
"Simba!" Nala glared at him, "Don't be so insensitive! Ryana's a young lady and is still growing up! It would do her good for her to realize her pride cares about her now. You don't know what it's like for young girls growing up…"
Simba zoned out. As much as he loved Nala and all members of his Pride, there weren't many things he cared about less than the struggles of female adolescent hood. As Nala, Kiara, Vitani and Aetti took it in turns to lecture him, Simba managed to exchange a brief glance of exasperation with Kovu, who shrugged his shoulders and grinned helplessly.
"Simba? Simba! Are you listening?!" Nala shouted, jarring Simba back to the present.
With no idea of what the lionesses had just been saying or how long he'd been standing there phased out, Simba was grateful for a timely interruption:
"Simba! Simba!" a deep voice grunted.
The lions looked down the path to see Pumbaa the warthog scooting up the path towards them on his improbably nimble legs. Timon was perched on his back, clutching his shoulder-fur. Zazu was flying with them.
"Simba! Simba!" Pumbaa bellowed again.
"The correct term of address is 'Your Majesty', riff-raff!" Zazu exclaimed.
"Hey Simba", Timon leapt down from Pumbaa and approached the King, deliberately ignoring Zazu, "Zazu has bad news. Although I gotta say I've noticed that generally Zazu is bad news".
Vitani sniggered.
"Hmph! Well, anyway", Zazu ruffled his tail feathers, "Sire, I'm afraid hyenas have entered the Pride Lands again".
The lions all found themselves tensing naturally, "What? Where?" Simba growled.
"To the north east, sire. A big hunting pack of about thirty is running down the wildebeest herd as we speak! They're causing havoc!"
"Oh no! Ryana's out there on her own!" Kiara yelped.
"Not to mention Amaryllis, though I wouldn't worry so much about her. She can take care of herself", Vitani added.
Simba leapt into action, "This time we're going to catch the hyenas in the act. Kovu and I are going to rally the other males and we'll head north as soon as we're ready. We'll drive the hyenas off".
"What about Ryana? What if the hyenas find her?" Aetti despaired, "She's only young!"
"She can't have gone far so soon. The hyenas won't have come this far south by now", Kovu replied.
"Come on, Kiara, Vitani, Aetti", Nala said, "Simba, you go round up the males. We'll go find Ryana and bring her back!"
"Okay, fine, but be careful. Let's go, Kovu!" Simba said and he and Kovu bounded down the path in the direction of the cave complexes to find the other males.
"Hold on Simba, we're coming wit' ya!" Pumbaa hollered and galloped after them, Timon clutching his tail and being dragged along too. With a sigh Zazu followed.
The lionesses sprinted down the descending path that led onto the plains, "Please be alright, Ryana!" Kiara pleaded.
Ryana threw herself down in the coarse grass and wept. She sobbed until her eyes were sore and red and her breath came in shuddering gasps. If anyone could see her she didn't care.
It was so humiliating. All she had tried to do was spent some quality time with Tenzer, her beautiful Tenzer…and disaster had struck. Someone could have been killed because of her stupidity. She could still feel the burning shame and the anger of the Pride focused on her.
It hurt, but it hurt all the more because she knew that this wasn't going to help her get over Tenzer. She still adored him. His noble stance like a king-in-training, the way he fought, his fearsome roar, that scruffy mane, his dispassionate face, his cool demeanour, how he played with the cubs, how he…
How he…totally ignored her. She plunged her head into the dirt and bawled like a little cub. She knew it was pathetic. Just like her obsession with the young male…
But she couldn't help it. She'd always obsess over him now. She was enthralled to him. No matter how many seasons came, no matter how many times the grasses dried and withered under the sun and no matter how many times the rain came and soaked the soil…
A spot of moisture dripped onto her forehead. She started and wiped it with her paw and looked at it. Rain? No, it looked almost like…saliva.
"Ooh-hahahah!"
Ryana looked up. A hyena was staring at her, slobbering and making strange noises. It had drooled on her head.
She leapt up and backed away from it, not crying now, just terrified. She had never seen a hyena before. The creature craned its head to one side and laughed manically: its pink tongue protruded from its toothy jaws.
Ryana was stricken with pure panic. She had never really been in a dangerous situation before. She was only about half the size of the adult lionesses and had never been on a hunt. Her teeth had only been used to chew meat that was given to her; her claws only to flex and admire; her legs for padding around Pride Rock lazily in the shade.
The hyena was still a little smaller than her, but it seemed completely unafraid of her. It had, after all, wandered up to her when she was crying and stood over her, drooling.
She suddenly realized why it was dribbling. It wanted to eat her.
Ryana screamed and whirled about to run. She got about five steps when two more hyenas reared up out of the grass in front of her. She screamed again and staggered back helplessly towards the drooling hyena.
"What have you found here Ed?" one asked in a gruff voice, stepping forward.
"Looks to me like a poor little lost pining teenage lion. Doesn't get much lower than that.", the other said smoothly. The hyenas quickly positioned themselves: in a second they all stood equidistant from each other in a ring around the frightened young lioness.
Ed laughed and reared up proudly, pleased with himself.
"Can we afford to get…distracted a second time Shenzi?" Banzai wondered.
"Oh I think so Banzai. We've had a good look at the herds and everything was even better than I expected".
"But you still wouldn't let us bag something for lunch", Banzai grumbled.
"For the last time, I didn't want to draw attention to us, okay? The herds were too alert today. But with a bit of luck Simba's on his way to deal with Agiza's hunting party by now. I told her to make as much of a commotion as possible so they can't miss her. We've got a bit of time to kill now, at least until Simba and his pals get close to Agiza's pack".
"Agiza and her pals are gonna have to run like crazy once they realize the lions are onto them, right?" Banzai grinned: his sadistic sense of humour extended to members of his own species as well.
Shenzi shook her head, although she didn't take her eyes off Ryana, "One of us is gonna run ahead of Simba now and make contact with Agiza. We'll tell her to come meet with us and then we'll head back together. The more of us that are together the better: for protection. With Simba out for revenge I don't want the three of us to get caught out here on our own. We're done here for today".
"I thought you wanted to see how big Simba's pride is?"
Shenzi smiled sweetly at Ryana, just subtly showing her teeth, "How many members of Simba's pride are there, sugar?"
"Seven adult males, twenty four adult lionesses, fifteen adolescents and cubs", Ryana found herself blurting out under the bitch hyena's spell of sweet-talk and terror, before she realized what she was saying, "Um…I mean…"
Banzai and Ed laughed hysterically while Shenzi cocked an eyebrow and grinned, "See? That was pretty efficient".
"Sure was", Banzai snorted with mirth, "By the way I gotta admit Shenz, you planned everything good today".
She looked at him, "What?"
"Well, ya know, sending Agiza off to distract Simba, us three sneaking in while he goes off on a wild-goose chase, tallying the herds, scouting the land…it worked out well".
There was a moment of silence before Shenzi said slowly, "You never compliment me on anything, Banzai".
"Well, I am today! Jeez, can't I say something nice for once?"
"Save your niceties for when we get back home safe! Now, anyway…" she turned her attention back to the quivering Ryana.
"Yes…anyway…" Banzai and Ed leaned in closer towards the lion, chuckling.
"What are you doing out here all alone, crying your eyes out dear?" Shenzi said.
"I…I…I…" Ryana gaped helplessly. She had been listening to the chatter of the hyenas in silent horror, praying for some miracle to save her because her own physical prowess wasn't going to. There had been no miracle.
"You must be hungry", Banzai declared, "That's the only thing that ever upsets me".
Ed nodded in firm agreement.
Shenzi placed a paw on Ryana's shaking shoulder in mock sympathy, "Honey child, please. Calm down. I know what's wrong. Love problems?"
For some reason Ryana found herself nodding as she stared wide-eyed at the hyena.
"Aww, ain't that cute. Brings a tear to my eye!" Banzai said teasingly.
Shenzi nodded as she looked at Ryana with mock severity, "My heart bleeds for you. Really. I feel your pain".
Ed pretended to wipe away imaginary tears while Banzai said, "Hey, all this talk of bleeding and pain is making me hungry!"
The two male hyenas sniggered evilly. Cold sweat streamed through Ryana's fur as Shenzi pulled their faces close together and whispered sardonically, "Don't worry, child. You haven't missed out on much. Trust me on this: males just ain't worth it".
Ryana's predator instincts kicked in at last. She shook herself free of Shenzi and bolted towards a shocked Banzai. The male hyena bared his teeth but she reached out with her paw and struck him hard. Her claws were sheathed but it knocked the hyena over and sent him rolling. She darted away just as Ed's teeth snapped together and tore off a piece of fur from the tuft of her tail.
Instantly Shenzi and Ed galloped after her. Banzai scrambled to his feet and snarled.
"I'm gonna get her for that!"
Shenzi stopped and looked back over her shoulder, "Uh-uh. Sorry Banzai, but you snooze - you lose. You go back and get Agiza and her pack".
"Me? Why me?!"
"Sorry Banzai, can't hear ya all the way over here", she smiled wickedly and galumphed after Ed and Ryana.
With a bitter grunt Banzai ran off back east, muttering to himself.
Ryana's moment of audacity was gone and she was submerged in dread again. Despite the fact she had never run at top speed in her life before she discovered she was surprisingly fast – she drew away from the hyena who was closest behind her, Ed.
However the two pursuing hyenas were deceptively fast too, and they had an advantage. Unlike lions the hyenas were not sprint-based hunters – they did not rely on short, sharp bursts of speed to run down their quarries. They were coursers, like Cape hunting dogs, instead pacing themselves to run at a more modest but still decent pace while conserving their energy. They would follow a fleeing victim for a very long time, sometimes even an hour or more, until it wore itself out and they would close in to finish off their tired prey.
It wasn't in Ryana's blood to pace herself. Her body was pushed to its limits in trying to pull away from her pursuers as quickly as possible and even as she looked back at the two hyenas she could feel the first pangs of exhaustion wrack her body.
Nala, Kiara, Vitani and Aetti sprinted through the long dry grass of the plains, startling some nearby African swallows. They ran on, silently praying for Ryana to be okay.
Before long they ran into Amaryllis who was heading back to Pride Rock after her encounter with the hyena Ridikill.
"Amy! Thank goodness you're alright!" Vitani leaped forward and nuzzled Amaryllis in a rare moment of tenderness.
"Uh…what's going on?" Amaryllis wondered.
"Have you seen Ryana?" Nala asked.
"Ryana? No, why? What's happened?"
"There's no time. We'll explain on the way. Come on!"
Amaryllis could see the desperation in the eyes of her fellow lionesses' and hear it in their voices. She nodded and bounded away with them. Vitani explained the situation to Amaryllis on the move.
"I see. Hyenas again huh? I just ran into one myself", Amaryllis said.
"Really? What happened?"
"I met him far north at a waterhole. A real psychopath. If all hyenas are as bad as him we can only hope Ryana's okay".
Ryana had been running for several minutes now, far longer than lions were used to. By luck or perhaps by some form of rational thought in the back of her mind that she'd failed to recognize, she had been heading in the direction of Pride Rock. But it wasn't going to do her much good now.
She was beginning to stumble. Her head was down and she was panting. She ached with fatigue. Sweat dripped into her eyes and blinded her. She was also vaguely aware that she was crying.
Her predator instincts told her to turn around and fight in one last glorious stand or maybe in the vain hope of driving her pursuers off. But the thought terrified her.
She looked up. Ed was level with her on her right and frighteningly close. The hyenas had caught up. Ryana had a clear view of Ed as he glowered at her. He wasn't laughing now. Drool hung from his stinking maw and deadly teeth and he sneered malevolently before opening his jaws wide and sinking his fangs into her flank.
Ryana screamed and staggered. The hyena held on grimly as she stumbled forward, dragging him with her. He used the weight of his body, anchored by his teeth, to drag her down. She slowed to a halt as blood drained from her side.
She felt a tremendous impact on her left shoulder. She saw Shenzi biting down on her and blood leaking from a gaping open wound. Shock kicked in and she could feel none of the pain as the hyenas tore at her ravaged body. She fell to the blood-soaked floor and lay in an unmoving, gaping heap.
Shenzi released the lioness, her muzzle red with blood, and looked at Ed, "Hehehe, nice catch Ed".
Ed nodded and giggled. He opened his jaws and spittle dripped from them.
Ryana shuddered and gasped. Her mind and body were numb. Suddenly she knew what it felt like to be one of the helpless antelope or zebra that the lionesses dragged home most nights to feed her and the others. All she could see from her bleary eyes were the feet of her tormenters and an improbably cheery sky and sun.
"Well, I guess we won't have time to eat her here or drag her back, but it was worth it. This can be our personal message to Simba", Ryana could dimly hear Shenzi saying, "Banzai's gonna be annoyed he missed out on the kill. Anyway, Ed honey, do the honours will ya?"
Ed nodded eagerly and grasped Ryana by the neck with his teeth. He was going to twist and break her neck.
"No!" a voice screamed.
Shenzi and Ed leapt back, yelping in surprise. Nala pounced and landed directly in front of the pair, roaring fiercely. Vitani was soon by her side. Kiara, Amaryllis and Aetti knelt down to examine Ryana.
"Uh-oh", Shenzi murmured under her breath.
"Oh, you poor thing!" Kiara exclaimed and nuzzled the barely conscious youngster, "What have they done to you?"
"Yes, what did you do to her?" Nala snarled, stepping forward. The hyenas took a step back.
"What does it look like?" Shenzi snapped, still unable to resist sarcasm despite how unhappy she was with the change of circumstance.
"Can you stand?" Amaryllis was asking Ryana.
Ryana couldn't answer. She started to choke and cough violently.
"Oh, please tell me she'll be alright! She will, won't she?" Kiara wailed.
Nala was torn between exacting revenge on the hyena culprits and tending to Ryana. After a moment of growling she walked over to the young lioness and examined her wounds while Vitani still kept the two enemies in her sights.
Nala peered down to look at the two bites. The injury to her flank wasn't as bad as it looked – the hyena had grabbed mostly fur and fat and while it had produced a lot of blood there was no deeper damage. Of course there was a danger of infection.
Ryana's shoulder, however, was badly torn. The teeth of the hyena had actually managed to punch into the bone. It was going to seriously restrict Ryana's movement and, more than likely, kill her.
"Mom? She'll be okay, right?" Kiara asked, tears in her eyes.
"Yes, darling. She'll be fine", Nala silently cursed herself for lying to her own daughter.
"You…you monsters…" Vitani snarled at the hyenas.
"Monster is such a strong word…" Shenzi said hurriedly, backing away from the furious lioness.
Nala looked up suddenly, "I know you two!" she exclaimed.
Shenzi and Ed cocked their heads, "Huh?"
"You…you're the hyenas who Scar convinced to kill me and Simba in the Elephant Graveyard, aren't you? And then you and your other friend – the other male – you were Scar's main henchmen when he ruled the Pride Lands!"
"Oh, right, yeah", Shenzi said, daring to take her eyes off Vitani for a moment, "And you're Nala. The lioness who escaped and ran off to find Simba. Now you're his mate and Queen, yeah?"
"And you're…you're Shenzi", Nala nearly spat the name as it came to her memory, "The evil hyena female who acted as the main liaison between Scar and his followers".
"Evil? That's kinda harsh…"
"Evidence does not point to the contrary!" Vitani declared, gesturing to the helpless Ryana.
"Uhm…well, anyway, yeah. Shenzi, that's me. And this…" Shenzi grabbed the cowering Ed and dragged him in front of her to deflect some of the animosity from herself, "This is Ed. Our other pal was Banzai. And we're very flattered you remember us, for sure, but um…if you don't mind we'll just be…"
"You're not getting away!" Aetti suddenly roared and bounded forward. She slipped around the two hyenas and positioned herself so that the hyenas were trapped between Vitani and herself.
"Uhhh…." Ed gaped at the lioness and pressed himself up close to Shenzi, trying to hug her for comfort. She didn't resist.
"Look…let's…erm…let's just calm down a bit, shall we?" Shenzi babbled, "I'm sure we can work this out without resorting to violence".
Aetti and Vitani each took a step forward.
"Look, we all need to understand some of the fundamental differences between lions and hyenas, okay?" Shenzi tried to buy time desperately, "That way we can avoid unfortunate accidents like this. Uh…well, for a start, us hyenas, well…we get a little over-excited, it's true, but….uhm…"
Ed suddenly cocked an ear. He sniffed the air and laughed, then made some of his characteristic slobbering noises.
Shenzi looked at him and her face was split by a grin, "But yeah…the main difference between us hyenas and you lions is that…unlike you, we know the meaning of preparation".
"'Preparation?'" Nala echoed, puzzled at the sudden confidence boost of the two hyenas.
"Yeah. See, you came out here with just the five of you, no reinforcements. We got reinforcements, a back up. And here it comes now".
The lions looked in the direction she and Ed were staring. On the grassy hill behind Aetti, thirty or more hyenas stood silhouetted against the sky. As soon as the lionesses spotted them they cackled with savage glee. The lionesses started in surprise and horror and leapt back.
"Nice timing, Banzai!" Shenzi called, and then she turned to Nala, sneering triumphantly, "See, if you big dumb lion brutes were a bit smarter, you would know you can't hold us hyenas down for long. Unlike you, we'll always…be prepared".
The lionesses growled and bared their long canine teeth as the hyenas marched boldly towards them, howling with laughter. Hurriedly Amaryllis and Kiara stood on either side of Ryana. Banzai joined Shenzi and Ed at the head of the sniggering horde.
"You were quick", Shenzi said.
"Yeah", Banzai looked pleased with himself, "I can run when I want to. You owe me big time Shenzi".
"I don't owe you nothing", Shenzi snorted and placed her paw on his face and pushed him away casually, "Where's Agiza?"
"Here boss", a young female with a bright coat plodded up to her leader.
"How'd the hunt-joint-distraction go?"
As the two hyenas exchanged information Kiara and Amaryllis gasped in shock. Ryana was getting to her feet, shakily but surely, gritting her teeth in pain.
"Ryana! Don't strain yourself!" Kiara exclaimed.
Ryana didn't answer. The bleeding had stopped and she had regained her senses, but every time she moved a spasm of pain crashed through her body. She winced and barely stopped herself from screaming.
"…As a bonus, did you catch anything?" Shenzi was asking Agiza.
"Yeah, two wildebeest. Big fellas. I sent my fastest runner back to the Graveyard to call for some lads to drag the carcasses back. When we get home they'll be there waiting for us".
"Honey, you don't disappoint", Shenzi said and Agiza beamed under the clan leader's praise, "Anyway, now we'll deal with these lovely ladies and…uh…what?"
She stared. All the lionesses and hyenas followed her gaze to look at Ryana who had managed to lift her head upright and glare defiantly at her attackers.
"Woah, you two sure messed her up!" Banzai exclaimed, "But how can she stand with wounds like that?"
"I…don't know", Shenzi confessed.
"Uh?" Ed mumbled.
There was a moment of silence as the hyenas stared at the struggling Ryana. Nala looked at Vitani. She was crouched, ready to pounce and leap into the hyena pack and fight. Nala gently extended a paw in front of her to block her.
"Too many", she whispered.
"What? With all due respect, Queen Nala, we can take 'em…"
"No. Too many. Trust me on that. We're going to have to run".
"Ryana can't run in her condition!"
"Leave that to me", she raised her voice a little so all the lionesses could hear her, "When I tell you to move, we run south without stopping for anything. Okay?"
Before any of the lionesses could reply Banzai snapped, "What are you whispering about?!"
"Ah, who cares", Shenzi shrugged, "Let's just kill 'em".
She took a step forward.
"Move!" Nala yelled.
Immediately all the lionesses wheeled about and ran. Except two. Ryana staggered a little and tried to turn. And Vitani snarled for a moment, staring down the hyenas. Nala leapt towards Ryana and slid her strong body underneath the wounded youngster, hoisting her across her back, her head hanging down one side and her hind legs and tail down the other. Ryana was either too shocked or too weak to protest.
Nala glanced behind her, "Vitani, move!"
As she did the hyenas charged, enheartened by the sight of their mortal enemies, the lions, taking flight before them. Vitani waited a moment longer, loathing the idea of running, but she suddenly flinched as the hyenas seemed to become a veritable avalanche of gnashing teeth crashing down towards her. She span about and ran.
Initially the lionesses sprinted ahead as their instincts told them too. Nala, slowed under the weight of Ryana, called to them.
"No! Pace yourselves. Run fast enough to get ahead of them but don't exert yourselves or they'll catch us after a while!"
Nala knew she was kidding herself. The hyenas were going to catch them, regardless of how they ran. And when the hyenas caught them they would be killed. Messily. Hyenas, unlike lions and leopards, weren't known for their ability to make a clean kill when attacking something larger than themselves.
But at least by pacing themselves the lionesses could deny the hyenas their prize for a little while longer. Although it wasn't going to be very long. Ryana was still only half-grown but she was well fed and fit, and as such quite heavy. Nala was powerful but the extra weight was slowing her down and wearing her out fast. Every time she took a step Ryana bounced on her back and then fell back down heavily, winding Nala every time.
"Can't keep that up forever, can ya?!" a gruff voice mocked. It was Banzai. The hyenas were closer on their heels than even Nala had realized.
Whether Ryana had fallen back into unconsciousness or not Nala couldn't tell, but she had stopped moving. Her flanks were soaked with blood from the youngster's fur. The minutes passed. The hyenas were bulldozering on ahead with no sign of flagging. The lionesses were tiring rapidly. Pride Rock was still depressingly far away.
"We're not going to make it!" Aetti suddenly wailed up ahead, "We're not going to get out of this, are we?!"
The other lionesses didn't reply.
"Ooh hehehe, oohahaha!" Ed cackled. He was enjoying himself as he honed in on the lagging Nala. Shenzi, Banzai and some of the other fastest runners were just behind him.
Kiara looked back over her shoulder, "Mom!"
Ed reared up behind Nala, slobbering eagerly. He opened his jaws wide and lunged at Nala's rump.
Kiara ran back and with lightning speed struck Ed with her paw, claws out. Ed yelped and fell. The hyenas ran past and over him, ignoring him as he rolled to his feet and resumed the chase like nothing had happened.
"What's wrong with them?" Kiara gasped before taking to heel again just as Banzai and Agiza snapped their jaws at her, missing narrowly.
There was something profoundly disturbing about the hyenas, Kiara decided in some distant corner of her mind even as she ran for her life. The hyenas seemed informal, maybe even comical, when they talked to one another, bickering and mocking each other. They didn't appear to take anything very seriously. But as soon as they started hunting they seemed possessed of alarming ferocity and drive, utterly obsessed with finding flesh to sink their teeth into. And their sense of humour took on a whole new light; sadistic and twisted.
The lionesses kept running. Up ahead there loomed an area of dense scrubland. Amaryllis, in the lead, made straight for it in the hope that maybe they could lose the hyenas in there. The other lionesses saw the faint hope and made one last effort to drive themselves on, away from the teeth of their enemy.
Shenzi looked up and saw their plan, "Everyone stay together!" she barked, "No splitting up unless I say so. That's what they want – to separate us and slip away when we're divided. Everyone just follow the one in front of you!"
Her followers whooped their agreement. Already the scrubland up ahead was looming close. In a few seconds dead acacia trees and thorn bushes were flying by as the lions darted between the dry vegetation, weaving back and forth to confuse their pursuers. The hyenas were close behind them, surprisingly nimble and gaining on the weary lionesses.
Shenzi was grinding her teeth in anticipation. The chase itself was effortless for her now – a combination of her ancestor's instincts and her training guided her. Dodge left, dodge right, duck under that branch, leap over that fallen trunk…it was automatic. She was simply enjoying the sight of the ever-slowing lionesses fleeing up ahead, casting fearful glances back at her and her comrades.
Shenzi loved hunting, but the fact that this time they were hunting the hyenas' worst enemies and utterly humbling them was making it all the sweeter. Really she knew they should have left for the Graveyard by now but she knew her pack certainly wouldn't begrudge her for a chance to kill six lionesses, including the Queen of the Pride Lands. She could almost taste Nala's royal blood.
The chase was winding down. Banzai and Ed, fast runners both, were by her side again at the head of the snarling, whooping column of hunters. Nala was staggering now but still she refused to drop Ryana – instead the Queen was almost literally dragging herself down the winding paths in between the acacia trees.
Idiot, Shenzi cursed mentally. She had known Nala rather well during Scar's reign over the Pride Land – Shenzi had been put in charge of organizing the lioness hunting parties and Nala had been one of the most outspoken of the lions against Scar's rule. Shenzi had had to tell her to keep her mouth shut on many occasions. The hyena had somewhat admired her in a way – the lioness wasn't afraid of either Scar or his hyena henchmen. After all, as Nala had said herself defiantly to Shenzi once all they could do in the worst scenario was kill her. And she didn't fear death.
That seemed to ring true even now. Nala seemed the least panicked of the pursued lionesses. What was going through her mind Shenzi couldn't tell. It wouldn't matter for much longer. She was now within about five feet of Nala's heels.
The lionesses turned a sharp corner in the game path through the thicket and disappeared from sight. A split second later the hyenas rounded the same bend, cackling sadistically.
In the lead, Shenzi leapt forward, "Now we've got you!" she snarled…
…And found herself face to face with Simba and seven other adult male lions.
"True as you tell it", Simba said urbanely, "But what are you going to do with us?"
Behind him, the angry male lions growled and stepped forward, unsheathing their claws and baring their teeth.
Shenzi turned and ran.