Author: Daggermouth

Lion King 4
Chapter: IV – The Fate of Afua and Beba.

Back after the war at Priderock, the several days of anguish and recovery has passed, Kula and Chumvi had gained the information which could save their home from glacial disaster, ironic how an ordinarily occupied forest can freeze in the hottest of times ever known in the savannah. Chumvi and Kula pad into the northern lands together, at Priderock they fought the hyenas which invaded their friends home, and it had affected them both in various ways. Chumvi felt stronger, he was always daring his friends on misadventures but never himself afraid to take on new challenges, but even had knocked Chumvi's confidence slightly, never before had he defended his love Kula like he did, the spiteful hyenas always attack the weak first and Kula had never fought before in her life, she is a pacifist, never fighting against everything, she never needed to hunt as Chumvi delivered the food most evenings, Kula loved to eat, infact her thoughts were usually about food. But now their home far to the north named the Dry Forest, but it now it was no longer dry and hot, it was frozen, a strange mist appeared over one night and suddenly the forest became cold, the mist had an icy bite to it, the mist must have been enormously powerful to do such a thing. Along the way as they approach their home, they keep comforting eachother, showing affection and supporting one another, but as they'll discover, their problems are just beginning. Approximately halfway away from Priderock Kula was glad to see Kopa whom she and her relatives thought was gone forever. She grimly remembers getting the news that Kopa had died—'

'—In times when the two mates had just settled down, they had just moved away from Priderock to the Dry Forest along with Afua and Beba, this was their new home, the four of them together in a beautiful jungle and forest with food galore. A strange young adult lion approaches them; he has tuff of hair on both his ears and a lions maine of two colours. It was Malka. He delivers the grave news to the couple laid in their home. With a sad face Kula calls over their adolescent son to give him the bad news. The younger cub sits himself down next to between his two parents who care for him very much.

"My darling cub I've just heard a sad story about your friend named Kopa. He is now one of the many stars you can see in the sky he is watching over his family now." They look up at the night sky beaming with hundreds of twinkling stars. Kula's son was rather grown for his age, he was no longer a cub but he had never experienced death before and he was wondering if his friend Kopa would ever come back. Their son looks up at his parents he utters just one word:

"Forever?" Just as a flock of small blue birds flutter past them distracting Kula for a second she turns to look down on her son to reply:
"Yes, Forever—'

After their lengthy journey home...

Chumvi uses his sturdy lion shoulder to crash into some ice in a feeble attempt to break it. Gasping when she saw what was before them Kula realises the full outside devastation of their once beautiful homeland.

"We shouldn't have left them alone," She instantly regrets leaving her home behind while Chumvi takes another running strike against the ice. For surrounding the Dry Forest was a huge thick ice wall encasing the forest in a circle, the solid barrier was made of seemingly impenetrable black ice; it stretched higher than anything either of them had ever seen before.

"Afua! Beba!" Kula calls out shouting upwards and hoping for a reply upwards, wishing her voice would carry over the wall, she runs up and down the length the wall of ice noticing it never ended either way. They started to feel full of remorse and neither of them could even enter their home or see inside, presumably their friends Afua and Beba were still trapped inside, Kula cries out again and she begins creating little stories in her head of the worst scenarios, wondering how some apparently harmless and unfriendly mist could do this, not even she thought this would happen, she begins to openly panic.

"Kula, calm yourself, your worrying will only destroy you," Chumvi says wisely and calmly, he draws his claws, dragging his paws down the white coloured ice carving little lines into the ice, he takes a few large steps back and charges at the wall, colliding with the ice and smashing through it like glass, Chumvi flies through the ice and lands on the opposite side before rolling above onto his front, his claws had weakened the ice. Kula rushes through the small gap as she does she could feel the cold bite of the air. Everything in the Dry Forest was still; inside nothing can escape nature's fury, the palm trees and the jungle was all frozen into crystal ice, it was truly a magnificent sight. everything was either frozen or melting. The mist had passed but their home was utterly destroyed. Silently Kula walks into the Dry Forest before helping her mate up onto his paws. The mist had passed; the ice was starting to slowly melt in the renowned savannah sun.

"Stay close to me," Kula says taking charge as she spoke she could see her warm breathe in the air, luckily Kula had a large thick fur coat more than most of the lionesses in the Pridelands she can keep her mate warm while they search for their old friends. Both of the yell the names of their friends, Afua and Beba, the mates head to the most likely of places, the den in the mountain above the once peaceful woodland and jungles. Huddling close together for warmth they march upwards on the trail towards their mountain, finally reaching their cave home, the enter the dark cave, it was strangely warmer within the den and laid in the back of the cave were Afua and Beba, cuddling together, they probably feared the worst and accepted their fate together in the cave. Suddenly jumping up both of them smile to know they're saved; it's only at this moment Chumvi and Kula notice the full extent of their friends struggle here. Afua, who always strands with his paws facing outwards had scares all across his face and Beba's spotted fur was covered in dirt.

"W-we thought you weren't coming, we were trapped here when the wall appeared, and were prepared to die, all the food is gone, we had to fight to survive as the other animals panicked and became enraged." Beba explains and sighs gloomily as she gets up off the ground, their struggle was finished. Wasting no time, the four of them make haste toward the exit. Beba leads the four now as she is the fastest, but no quicker had they started walking until a whole fragile tree falls apart around Afua, the tree shattering like glass into millions of pieces, but Afua acts quickly shielding his face with front paw. But he gasps suddenly and feels harsh stinging pains, he was bleeding, a shard of sharp ice had fallen and had pierced his face, right behind his ear, trying not to collapse to the ground in shock he whimpers a cry of help from behind everyone else who immediately turn to rush to their friend's aid. It was only a minor wound but still if it went untreated it could get infected or worse, Afua could lose his entire right ear. The lion groans in pain he could only hear the constant ringing pains in his ear but understanding the situation he nods to everyone to continue as the brave lion holds his right ear as a few scarce drops of lifeblood drip from the wound.

Moments After...

When everyone is safe back beyond the wall which encased the forest Chumvi decides rashly to go back inside to find the source of all the devastation. He had travelled to Priderock for a reason, the information he had from Simba was invaluable and he was not going to waste it. Travelling alone would be the safer option, and besides, Chumvi could look after himself. Knowing inside himself he wasn't coming back out until he finds the source of the mist and the heart of the destruction and he knew exactly where to go. With the forest destroyed, all Chumvi had to do was avoid getting the shards of glass stuck in his vulnerable paws, without his mates warm fur coat the lion shivered slightly, each breathe he took only served to fill his lung with cold air. Most of the danger was already over, with little effort the adventurous and daring lion in an act of desperation break's the cave entrance which they couldn't get into before. He breaks the large stone wall which previously blocked them from proceeding. his sore shoulder taking another round of beatings. Before they couldn't go any further but now the path was frozen it could be broken easier. Heading down underground like his friend Simba told him to. The cave was well lit from above and very cold; it was full of stalagmites and stalactites hanging from the ceiling and protruding from out the ground. It's not long before he discovers the mist is coming from a series of frozen lakes underground. A large cavern is connected to a series of many tunnels running underneath not just the Dry Forest, but the lion realises these tunnels go underneath the entire Pridelands! The underground lakes had been tampered with in some way someone had done something to freeze them and create the mist which then rose up into the Dry Forest. The cave were eerie and empty accept Chumvi finds a clue next to one of the lakes, there is a small pool of poisonous venom next to one of the underground lakes. There was nothing he could've done to prevent this Chumvi heads back up to mate and friends, ice is forming on the trees and when all four of them realise there's nothing more they can do to save their homeland and with Afua injured they couldn't stay here any longer without food, water or warm shelter. Planning their next move it seems the only option is to return to Priderock but Afua is sceptical about this option. Taking the moment in his stride Afua decides to disclose something personal about himself:

"Everyone there is something you need to know about me." The lion pauses taking a deep breath before continuing
"I am a Knight." Afua reveals. Beba is the most shocked, all this time she thought she knew her mate but Afua is a Knight.
"A Knight? Afua what have you gotten yourself into?" Beba places her head underneath that of her mates for comfort. The Knights were not welcomed in the Pridelands, and this explains why Afua is sceptical about returning there. Nobody knew truly who the Knights were because they never openly spoke about them, they were hundreds of stories about them and some say the Knights are related to the blue birds which are seen mysteriously flocking around the Pridelands in times of trouble or misadventure. The Knight's headquarters is called Vulcan Rock; it's a monument which rivals that of Priderock in enormity. But Afua reveals nothing more about the troop he is in. If his friends return to Priderock his true identity must remain a secret. It had been a long day for them all so saying nothing to eachother Chumvi, Kula, Afua and Beba all have to hastily begin their final trip back to Priderock. When everyone is walking back away from the Dry Forest, from a fair distance away perched on a hill far from the forest getting a wide view of below the purple snake Joka watches intently. His red snake eyes scanning their every move, and his small ears listening to their conversation in particular he looks at the spotted cheetah with the white maine. The white maine reminds the snake of the Great Spirit who had a whine maine of an angel. Beba was much older than Malka as she was born during Ahadi's reign, she even had the pleasure of meeting the king in the Sacred Valley, Joka knew everything about the cheetah, the snake thinks to himself its only then he gets a revelation of the adult cheetah below, hazy images emerge in the snakes head, Joka was gifted with the power of second sight, and just now he was revealed more of the future to come: "Soon little Beba you will run from Afua and the Knights, and you'll have to run faster than you've ever run before! Hisss!" Joka the snake talks to himself hissing threateningly, his words revealing more of the future yet to come. The poisonous snake Joka unexpectedly begins burying his way underground to quickly depart the area.

The Dry Forest is lost...

End of Episode IV.