Entry 318: "Distant"

…A deep, wilting forest. There weren't many leaves hanging from the branches, and the grass was black as the darkest of night. They felt hard and fragile as I ran my paws through them. The sky was also peculiar; red and purple stripes of light ran across the dark navy skies, intertwined and aimed at one direction. Puzzled, I followed the streak and went deeper into the forest and deeper still. I pushed through the naked limbs from bushes and went around the crumbing tree trunks discreetly as to not provoke them to collapse. Finally, I came to this large clearing where a giant, dim spotlight was pointed over. The origin of that odd streak of light was revealed. It was made from clouds of smoke of the same color floating into the air from a peculiar dark geyser from the lifeless ground...

This 'cauldron' was full of warm, bubbling water that had a strange yellowish-green tint to it. Curious and mystified by this odd sight, I proceeded to come closer. But, after one step, a strong wind rushed by me. I looked away from it to shield my eyes. After it had shortly stopped, I looked back toward the geyser and silently gasped. Suddenly, white and pale feminine figures appeared around the 'cauldron' in a triangular formation. All three of these frightening beings lacked eyes within their very sockets. They were also very old and decrepit; it was apparent from their long 'beards' hanging from their chins and their bellies lacking of so much muscle that their bones underneath their skin were visible. They sat down and held their paws to the geyser, their claws ridiculously long and overgrown. Silently, the gaseous liquid inside the 'cauldron' began to react and slowly boiled right out of it. While this was happening, the great mist continued to evaporate into the air and stained the sky from above. As I stared upward to the creepy, demonic skies, three voices echoed through my mind…

"Beware…"

"Beware the good lion…"

"Beware the good lion wrapped in evil's arms…"

"The one who lost true character shall lose loving memory…"

"Only a child's faith shall bring salvation…"

"Dad! Hey, Dad!"

Sitting in the grasslands, I gasped and took a moment to catch my breath. What was that just now, I thought? But, I never had to chance to stop and think about it. Someone was biting my tail. I looked over my shoulder and found a young golden lion cub with fiery brown eyes and tugging my tail. As soon as he noticed that I was looking at him, he let go and frowned at me. "Dad, you didn't see me catch that butterfly!" he pouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, son," I smiled. "I must have been daydreaming. Why don't you let me see that one more time?"

"All right, but you gotta pay attention this time, 'kay?"

I nodded. "I promise."

With that, the cub ran off to the group of butterflies fluttering over a patch of flowers nearby and went to chase and catch a butterfly as I watched attentively.

The rains finally came! Dark clouds came over the lands one day and the gods shed their almighty tears upon it. Several, myriad days past and the lush grass reappeared. The watering holes were replenished, and the citizens of the Pridelands that migrated before had returned, one group after another. The atmosphere finally calmed down, and our home regained its tolerable temperature. A year almost past, and the Pridelands were flourishing once again. I returned to my usual routine as the Lion King… with a slight difference. Right now, I was teaching and playing with my little boy, the new Prince of Pride Rock, Simba… at least for a short while, much to my dismay.

I used to never mind hearing this call, but in recent days, it has been an irritating shriek that never knew when to stop. "Sire!" Once again, Zazu had called out for me. I clenched my fangs and rolled my eyes before I turned around to face him as he fluttered down to me. "Yes, what is it, Zazu?" I asked.

"You must report to Pride Rock immediately!" Zazu replied urgently. "Two guests are waiting for you!"

"More neighboring kings have come to see me?" I guessed.

Immediately, I heard Simba audibly pouting with dejection. "Again? Dad, you promise you would spend more time with me today!" I most certainly did, and I wanted so much to stay with him. But ultimately, my duty as the king couldn't be ignored. I came to Simba and purred apologetically to him. "I'm sorry, son. I must go."

"But, Dad…" Simba groaned.

"Now, now. Sarafina still hasn't come back with Nala yet, so play with Zazu until then."

Zazu quickly protested against my word. "You expect me to…! I mean, I must come with you, right?"

I frowned apathetically and replied, "I'll leave Simba to you; don't let him get into any trouble. But, if he wants to tug your tail feathers or chase you around, let him."

"Your majesty!" he panicked in a comedic manner.

With that, I quickly turned toward the direction of Pride Rock and set off. I briefly looked over my shoulder to see a depressed look over Simba's face. I looked away with shame in my eyes. It's times like this when I truly discovered the inconveniences of being the Lion King. Maybe this was partially what fueled my desire to go out to the outside world. Out there, I would be… free to do as I please…

As soon as I made it back to Pride Rock, I immediately grew tired of one king's complaints towards me. Sitting behind him, a much younger lion's mane was completely messy and filled with dead leaves and branches, no to mention that he had a rather miffed expression over his face. "Is this how a princess of the 'legendary Pride Rock' supposed to act?!" he growled. "Look there! Your daughter completely ridiculed our prince! I have never been so embarrassed!"

I rolled my eyes and quietly replied, "Your son was the one shoved over a hill down to a tree. What does your embarrassment have anything to do with it?"

"Don't give me that! I will not tolerate any shame towards my pride as long as I'm king!"

"If you going to continue like this, I suggest that you leave."

"Why, I…!"

Before he could say anymore, Sarabi suddenly appeared by my side and snarled back at him at my defense. He quickly backed down with a nervous gleam in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and arrogantly scoffed at us. "What a disappointment. Come on, son." With that, the two lions marched off and began to leave the Pridelands.

I shook my head in exasperation and sat down on my laurels. "What a mess," I murmured. "Sarabi, why couldn't you have taken care of this?"

Sarabi quickly snapped back, "Well, excuse me if I was already occupied by a shameless suck-up of a king!"

"Honestly, this is getting out of hand. How many prides are close by, anyway?"

"Remember? Word has been going around about the 'beautiful daughter of the great Mufasa and Sarabi.' Knowing that this pride defeated two of the continent's greatest threats, every pride and their grandchildren have journeyed far in hopes of making Zuhura their queen."

"How long is Zuhura going to wait until she picks someone she likes?"

"Will you be happy seeing our daughter with just anybody? I can't believe you would say such a thing."

"You know that she'll have to choose as soon as possible."

"Let her decide who she wants to be with!" Sarabi growled. "Zuhura is our child as well; it's not just Simba!"

I hissed back, "Sometimes I wonder! Nowadays, I haven't spent any time with him at all!"

Quickly, I regained my senses and realized what was happening simultaneously with Sarabi. We kept quiet as we stared at each other apologetically. It had been a long time since we went at each other's throats like that, and we both couldn't believe that we had an argument for the first time in years. "I, I'm sorry," I said, clearing my throat.

"I don't know what came over me," Sarabi gulped. "Excuse me."

Sarabi suddenly turned around and slowly ascended Pride Rock to hole herself up in the den. I knew to let her have her space when she was like that, but I still reached out for her, wanting to chase after her. I put my paw back down on the ground and hissed a vile curse I never wanted anyone to hear from me underneath my breath.

So many problems were happening all at once. By the passing day, the crevasse between my son and me grew larger and larger. Because the situation called me to focus on marrying Zuhura off to another pride, I barely had enough time to spend with Simba, my successor. In the same time, while I wished she would make up her mind and pick herself a mate, I would probably never see Zuhura again once she became the queen of another pride. And right now, because of this much focus on both our children, Sarabi and I was almost driven to verbally attack each other again. It felt like the royal family was falling to pieces, and so much activity wasn't allowing it to recover. Yes, I thought. I was truly discovering the inconveniences of being the Lion King.

In the middle of the large grasslands, I rested on top of a boulder behind a flowing river. I was watching Zuhura hiding deep in the tall emerald blades on the other side. Before her was a gazelle eating its fill by itself, and Zuhura was stalking it, coming closer and closer. After each step she takes, the prey had yet to notice. Excitement was throbbing within my pounding heart, but I did well to stay put and not ruin the moment. Finally, with marvelous speed, Zuhura dashed at the gazelle! It just noticed a split second before she made her move, but it was clearly not enough to escape. From a powerful jump, Zuhura soared over the gazelle and grasped it tightly in its neck! Crimson blood briefly rained over the ground as the golden lioness brought her prey down on the ground, holding it down until it eventually couldn't breathe anymore.

I leapt from my boulder and over the river to walk over to Zuhura's side as she stood over the carcass she recently won. "Excellent work," I praised.

"Thanks, but… you didn't have to watch," she replied, looking away in embarrassment.

"I have a right to watch my daughter succeed. And I don't have much time to watch over you."

As I stared down at Zuhura, I noticed a look of doubt and anxiety over her face. "I guess you know what I did earlier today."

"Well, too many kings are angry with me that I always know."

"You should've seen him, Daddy!" Zuhura cried out. "So arrogant and chauvinistic! I had to shove him down the hill!"

"Yes, I understand," I nodded. "But, you know that this can't go on."

"I don't like it! Why does it have to be this way? Why do I have to be married off to a total stranger? Is it because of Simba?"

That outburst caught me off-guard for a moment. I couldn't say that I was expected something like that to escape her lips. "Excuse me?" I asked.

"It's because you have your successor in Simba, right?" Zuhura continued. "Now that this pride has their future king, I'm not needed here anymore."

"How in the world can you say that? My God, I can't believe you thought of such a ridiculous thing."

Zuhura bowed her head with a dejected grimace and looked away from me. I could see it. I could see that she wasn't necessarily blaming Simba. "What is this really about?" I asked. "Are you afraid?" She didn't move, but I saw her eyes shifting back and forth in a brief, frantic moment, as if she was trying to think of a way to respond. "You don't have to be afraid," I purred, putting my paw over her back. "As long as you remember your family and friends, you're never alone. Remember and cherish what you have, and you can move on to make your own decisions in life. Whether we're separated or I'm no longer of this world, I will always be with you." Zuhura finally looked up with an attentive stare. I smiled at her and held my paw to her cheek. "It's all the same. No matter what happens to you, you will always be in my heart and my memories. You have my word as a lion… your father."

She nodded and purred, "Okay. I'll… try. But, I still don't like it."

"He doesn't have to be a complete stranger, you know," I grinned, winking at her.

With that, I marched past her and left her to do whatever she was going to do next. I momentarily thought back to when she said she shoved that over-complimenting fellow down the hill. I found that amusing… and nostalgic. "Heheh. Just like her mother."

Everything seemed to have calmed down finally. Perhaps there was just enough time to myself to be with my son. His usual spot where he played with Nala was the western plain, so I wasn't too far from where he was. As I went on that way and walked a few yards, I stopped a moment to take a refreshing sip of water from the watering hole I came across. I waved my tail back and forth in satisfaction for the delicious taste. Then, for a moment, I peered down at my concerned reflection. It made me think about him. "Subaru… I wonder where he is now." Then, all of a sudden, my head swelled up in sharp pain. I hissed through my clenched fangs and held my head to try and fight the pain…

…Do you love you?

…I staggered backward, shaking my head from those thoughts. But, I looked back up to my black counterpart who gave me a playful, accusing grin…

…Two paws hugged around my neck, and I jumped once I found my shadow clinging to me, his nose pressed against mine. I briefly felt lightheaded and began to collapse, but my black self caught me and threw me onto my back. Before I could rise back on my feet, he hovered over me, revealing more of his wet fangs in his sly grin…

Do you hate me? Do you hate yourself?

The pain finally disappeared and I sighed with relief. "It's gone," I thought. "But, why did I remember that just now?" I remembered when I first saw Subaru. So dark… so demonic in nature… I remembered that I was terrified of him and wanted so much to get away from his embrace. I remembered that I was made aware that I may have hated myself back then. I wondered if I still felt that way now. I should know, but… I wasn't so sure.

"Shush, shush! He's gonna hear you if you keep on!"

"Then, get out of my way and let me look! Come on now!"

I heard voices behind me and looked over my shoulder to find the bushes behind me rustling violently. I turned around in wonder, for I didn't recognize those voices at all. Were they trespassers? "Who's there?" I called. In an instant, the rustling behind the bushes stopped. "Oh, great. He heard us," the first voice whispered harshly.

"Ain't my fault!" the second voice replied. "So, do we jump 'em?"

"Yeah, yeah! I bet we can take him if we catch him by surprise. So, keep quiet!"

"You gotta keep quiet, too."

"Just shut up; he'll hear us!"

I slanted my eyes with a judgmental grimace. It was hard to take this situation seriously, as they already appeared to be not so bright. "Just come on out and see if it's that easy," I said.

"D'oh! He heard us again!" the two voices gulped simultaneously.

Finally, one lion emerged from each side of the bush and the two confronted me.

I was briefly caught aback by their incredible size. The lion to my right appeared to be the shorter of the two, exactly the same size I was. He had a deep grey fur coat with a mane of a lighter grey shade. A large tuff of hair blanketed over his left eye, and he sported a unique crimson patch around his right brown eye. At his side and to my left, there was a much larger lion whose dark, off-brown furred muscles were as big around as boulders. He had a loose, spinier deep orange mane that grew down his back similar to a hyena and a deep golden stripe followed down and around his tail. Staring me down with wide and ecstatic brown pupils, I observed the two once more to see the similarities of their facial expressions. They must be brothers.

The larger lion approached me and threatened to strike me with an overhead swipe of his paw. But, he moved so slow and sluggish that I swung around him the moment he swung down at me. His brother quickly leapt after me at a much quicker pace, but I anticipated this and got his left arm with my mouth. I threw him over my back and into his giant counterpart. Already, the fight was over as quick as it started.

I took one step towards the two lions, and the larger one hugged around the other in mismatched fright. "Ahh! He's so strong, Big Brother!" he cried in a deep bass, dopey tone of voice.

"Right, right. Just let go of me," the other lion sighed coolly.

"Tell me, who are you?" I asked. "And what were you doing here?"

The lion with the grey mane shoved his larger brother away from himself and stood up to wipe his arms free of dirt with his opposite paws. "Sorry; I feel that I don't have to answer that question," he replied arrogantly.

"Excuse me?" I huffed.

"Uganda, let me talk to him!" the larger lion cried, shoving him away to take his place. "Hi there; name's Bambari, baby! I can't tell you how much I wanted to meet you, King Mufasa!"

"You idiot! Why are you introducing yourself after I said all that?" the older lion scowled.

I raised an eyebrow in perplexity of their odd, constantly conflicting characters. While indirect, I had at least learned their names. "So, Uganda and Bambari, why were you spying on me? What were you trying to do by attacking me?"

"Well, we weren't exactly trying to hurt you," Uganda replied. "I was going to say something before my stupid little brother came at you."

"I'm sorry!" Bambari exclaimed, bowing his head multiple times. "I couldn't help but test your strength. I've been looking for another strong lion like me for a long time."

Bambari suddenly came in front of me and took my paw to shake it. "Okay, you got to see him; so, can we go now?" Uganda sighed.

Bambari growled, "Oh, come on! Like you didn't want to see him, too!"

Uganda scowled in reply as he looked away, slightly blushing. I gently pulled my paw away and cleared my throat. "That's enough now. You still haven't answered my question."

"Uganda, Bambari!" another voice called. "Is that you?"

From the bushes the two lions emerged from, a new lioness appeared to confront them.

This woman was tall and lanky in stature. She had a deep, dark brown coat with a light tannish underbelly and faded black spots along her body. Her stern brown pupils burned into the nervous Bambari and the perspiring Uganda like a mother with her children. I was caught off-guard for the moment I saw her. For just a brief moment, I felt a surge of familiarity from her. This lioness resembled my late mother so much that I had thought she came back from the dead.

The dark-colored lioness came to Uganda and Bambari and smacked the both of them hard across the head. "I swear, you're both still children! Were you not told to come into this land on your own?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Victoria," Uganda apologized. "I tried to stop Bambari, but…"

"No excuses. Head back now."

"I just wanted to see King Mufasa, that's all," Bambari pouted.

The lioness named Victoria swung around to face me. Then, before she said anything, her jaw shortly dropped and she stared at me with a stunned, wandering glare. I could feel her observing me with her attentive eyes, appearing unsure of what to think of me. Deciding to help her break away from her thoughts, I approached her and spoke. "Excuse me, miss. I assume the three of you are together?"

"Oh!" Victoria replied, shaking her head. "Y, yes, they are. I told them not to trespass onto this new land that obviously belonged to a pride nearby. Our pride stopped to rest at the border after a long journey from the Rainlands, and I had to trespass your land to find these two troublemakers. I ask for your forgiveness."

"Yes, of course," I nodded.

"Well, I'm sorry to keep you, your highness. We'll be going now. The pride won't wait for us."

"Would you like me to escort you across the border?" I asked.

"I'm sure you're busy. We'll leave your kingdom immediately."

"Very well then. Have a safe journey."

Victoria nodded, "We will. Now come, you two."

With that, Victoria bowed down graciously before me and turned to leave with Bambari and Uganda sulking behind her.

As the three left for the border as promised, I turned around to continue on to Pride Rock. Then, I stopped for a moment after I replayed our conversation once more in my mind. I looked over my shoulder and watched those three go in intrigue. Victoria had said that her pride came from the Rainlands… the same lands that Kabaila's pride claimed to be from. Suspicion arose, and I continued my trek towards Pride Rock as I tried to link this odd puzzle together. Were these two prides related in some way? And what I've heard about the Rainlands in general… these facts seemed to contradict each other. I was certain now. Kabaila was hiding something from me.

I shortly returned to the vicinity of Pride Rock and heard laughter near the base of the castle. As I approached the familiar source of that joyous sound, Zazu who was perched on top of a rock noticed me and glided to land just before me. "Oh, sire! You're here!"

"Did something happen, Zazu?" I asked.

"Yes, actually. The young prince got into an accident and fell off a tall rock slab from the ground after I told him several times not to."

"What? Is Simba alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine, sire. In a stroke of luck, a rogue lion appeared and saved the young master's life. After I told Sarabi about it, she allowed him to stay and keep Simba and Nala company in thanks for saving him."

"I see. I would like to see him."

"Yes, of course. He's right this way."

Zazu fluttered back to the base of Pride Rock and led me to find both Simba and Nala lying down attentively before the one who saved my son.

He was a lion with a tawny brown fur coat and a moderate build for a male. He had a stylish, grey-black mane with two branching bangs hanging down the right side of his face. While he didn't appear to be too strong physically, a pronged scar over his left shoulder indicated that he had battled before. His most unusual characteristic was that I didn't see his eyes. He had his eyes comfortably shut, and together with his wide smile, he appeared overly happy that it seemed suspicious.

As he lied down, the lion noticed me there and greeted me with a casual wave. "Oh, hi there," he spoke with a relaxed, treble-sounding voice. "You must be 'Little Simba's' papa." Simba was next to notice me and came running and climbing up my front paws to stand up with an excited laugh. "Hey, Dad! This is Zema! He saved me after I fell off a big rock earlier today."

"So I heard," I replied. "What possessed you to do something so dangerous?"

Young Nala replied bluntly, "He wasn't watching where he was going when he was chasing a rabbit. Badly, I might add."

"Be quiet," Simba scowled. "Anyway, Zema saved me, and Mom allowed him to stay for the night! That's okay, right? He's telling me a whole bunch of cool stories!"

I faced this Zema character once again with a grateful smile. "Zema. Thank you so much for your help."

"Just passin' through," Zema replied modestly. "I beg your pardon for my intrusion."

"Did you come alone?"

"Yeah. Kinda a loner, ya know? Actually, I would prefer to head on out, but your lovely wife and especially your cute boy were so insisting that I at least stay for the night."

"I see. Then, I shall reassure you that you are quite welcome here."

"Much appreciated."

Zema and I exchanged paws and confirmed a friendly alliance with one another. I wasn't quite sure about this lion. I felt a mixture of relief and hostility towards him, not to mention that he appearing simultaneously with Victoria and those two other lions was rather suspicious. I simply ignored it for now; he had saved my son's life and I truly appreciated his kindness. That was all that mattered right now.

I turned to Simba and petted him over his head. "Say, son, I'm free right now," I said. "So, what do you say about picking up where we left off earlier?"

"Aw, but Zema's just telling us the story about a traveling nomad battling with a ravaging rhinoceros!" Simba pouted. "I wanna hear the end!"

I was briefly caught aback from Simba actually declining my offer to play with him. He wanted so much for me to spend the day with me before, after all. But, he looked so happy with those wide brown eyes and his lashing tail. I couldn't very well pull him away from the fun he was having at that moment. "Oh. Very well then," I replied.

"Yay!" Simba cheered.

With that, Simba hopped back to Zema and lied back down, readily waiting for the rest of the story. I decided to go up to Pride Rock to rest. I turned back for a moment and watched as Zema continued his story and both Simba and Nala were in complete awe of every word. Honestly, I felt kinda sad, disappointed even. I wanted to be with my son so much that I felt my heart aching as I watched Zema there in my place. I sighed dejectedly and continued on with my head hanging low. I could only make a promise to myself and to him. I promised that I would do better. In my mind, I promised Simba and myself that I would be there for him more often.