Chapter 3 – Mufasa's Pride
They turned around, and walked out of the cave together, and I followed. I turned the corner, and reached the mouth of the cave. It was a shorter path than I expected. The mouth of the cave was within feet of the corner. When I got outside, I realized where exactly I was.
I was standing on the "L" shaped rock, right at the place between the vertical and horizontal rocks. The upper rock extended high into the sky. To my right, there was a pathway that I could see led up to the top. The lower rock extended at a slight angle towards the eastern Pride Lands. It seemed like a place to present something to the subjects of the king.
The sun was setting behind Pride Rock now. It cast a long shadow over the lands.
Mufasa cleared his throat, and I snapped back to reality. He was standing to my left, about ten feet away. He smirked at me, eyebrows cocked, and I caught up with him and Sarabi, who I stood next to.
Mufasa then took a deep breath, and let out an incredible roar. I covered my ears at the sudden burst of sound. It lasted for only a few seconds, but it echoed across the lands for some time.
Before I could ask why he did it, my question was answered. The pride of lions that lived here was walking up to where we stood. Lioness after lioness meandered up to us and stood silently in a circle, each one inclining their heads to Mufasa as they did in a silent bow. All of them stared at me after, some with curiosity etched into their faces, others, fear, and one in particular, resentment.
A blue hornbill flew in from seemingly nowhere, and perched himself on Mufasa's shoulder. He gave a bow to Mufasa, who nodded back. Then the hornbill glanced at me through the corner of his eye, then quickly looked back.
Several cubs trotted up to us, playing with each other as they did. They all went and stood next to their mothers. Two in particular were getting fiercely rough as they playfully came near us; a golden cub with a small tuft of hair on his head, and a very light tan cub with sparkling blue eyes.
"Simba! Nala! Knock it off!" Mufasa called to them. Instantly, they broke apart, and ran, laughing, to the circle. The blue-eyed cub went and stood next to a lioness with a pretty face and a medium build, just three lions down from me. The golden cub went and stood next to Mufasa, and said "Sorry dad! We were just playin' around!"
The cub looked at me and grinned the biggest grin I've ever seen. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.
"You'll find out in a moment, Simba." Mufasa told his son.
The circle was almost complete. Only one spot remained empty, and it was next to Mufasa. He looked displeased with the absence of one of his subjects.
"Late again." He muttered in annoyance, "We'll just have to fill him in later."
He then looked up at the pride and smiled.
"I've called this meeting to make an important announcement. This human is going to be a part of our pride."
The reactions were mixed. Some of the lionesses smiled at me, while others grimaced. The one who looked so hateful spoke up, with the same hate resounding in her voice.
"Him? Join the pride? Have you gone mad Mufasa? Aren't you the one who always told us of the dangers of the likes of HIM? Haven't you always told us to avoid them? Now you're telling us he's going to be one of us?"
"That's enough, Zira!" Mufasa growled, and Zira backed off immediately. Her face still showed the displeasure, but she spoke no more.
Mufasa stared at her for a moment, and then turned to address the pride again.
"Now I know I have warned against going near humans, but this one is different. He has no home, no family, and no friends. We found him wounded and very close to death. I called upon Rafiki, to heal his wounds, and so far, he is recovering well. I have spoken with him, and I do not see any reason for us to fear him, nor him us."
The lioness that the cub Nala had gone to stand by spoke up. Her voice was soothing and kind.
"What is your name?"
I stared around at the pride, and replied, "My name is Ayden." I hesitated for a moment, slightly put off by the glares I was getting from the one called Zira. Then I said, "I have nowhere else to turn, nobody to go to, and nothing to my name. I know that you have much to fear from my kind, but I ask you humbly to please accept me as one of your own. I know this may be too much to ask for at the moment, but in time, I will prove my usefulness to the pride. You won't be disappointed."
Most of the faces that were fearful fell. They weren't happy, but at least they had calmed down. Only Zira still glared.
"Well now, what have we here?" came a smooth, low voice.
I looked to the left where the voice had come from. A full grown lion was sauntering lazily up to the circle. He was a rusty brown color with a full black mane. He was not very large or muscular, in fact, he was rather thin. But he still had a powerful look to him. His eyes were a fierce, blazing green , but the most noticeable feature about them was a vertical scar on the left one.
"Scar!" cried the hornbill on Mufasa's shoulder. "How nice of you to join us!"
Scar ignored this, as he slowly made his way to the empty space next to Mufasa, and sat down. All eyes were on him, most were staring in annoyance. Only one pair looked different. Zira's gaze was happy, which looked eerie on her pointed face. Scar glanced at her and smiled. Then he looked in my direction. Nobody said a word.
He stared at me with neither curiosity or fear. There was a hunger in his eyes, and it sent shivers down my spine. Something about him unsettled me.
He must have noticed, because he smiled chillingly, then looked to Mufasa, who was the most annoyed of the entire circle. Scar did not even incline his head to the king.
"Who is this stranger? What is his purpose here?" he asked icily.
Mufasa, still glaring, said, "Ayden here, is going to join our pride. He is to be treated as any other member here, and is not to be harmed in any way."
He turned his head to the rest of the pride, glancing back at Scar for a moment, and said, "Is that understood?"
The pride roared in unison. Mufasa then dismissed them to continue with their activities. They all stood up and began to go down off of Pride Rock.
Scar slunk over to Zira, who nuzzled him. They then turned and set off together, both of them glancing back at me before disappearing out of sight.
When I looked back, only six remained: Mufasa, the hornbill on his shoulder, Sarabi, Simba, Nala, and the lioness who asked me my name.
Mufasa sighed and addressed me. "You'll have to forgive Zira and Scar. They are not the kindest of our pride, but they do make their contributions."
"Scar is certainly…different." I finished with a shiver. His glare at me still stuck out in my memory.
"He's my brother." Mufasa said. He glanced over at Sarabi and the other lioness.
The one who asked my name stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hello Ayden, we haven't been properly introduced yet. I am Sarafina, Sarabi's best friend. This is Nala." She indicated the tan, blue-eyed cub. "She is my daughter."
"And this is Simba," Sarabi interjected, gesturing to the golden cub with the tuft on his head. "Mine and Mufasa's son, and the future king."
Simba grinned at the last part. Nala looked at him smugly, and they both laughed.
The hornbill spoke up, and I was surprised to hear a British accent. "My name is Zazu. I am the king's majordomo."
I smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am glad that I have been accepted into your pride."
They all smiled back. As they did, I thought of my family. Through all the tragedy, I still had found a way to make good out of it. I found me a safe place to live, where I would feel happy, despite my losses. And as I looked at each of their smiling faces, one word flashed in my mind. A word that I knew I would only associate with this place for the rest of my life.
Home.