*This name means "Swift" in Swahili.

Chapter 11:

The Mystery Thickens

"Genetic? Well, I guess that would make sense. In that case, why am I not as muscle toned like the others?" I ask getting in his face.

Huru pushes me back answering, "Because when it comes to brains YOU got the lion's share, but not when it comes to brute strength."

"Peh," Kovu starts being very skeptical and making a joke, "it almost sounds like Scar's your dad."

"Hey hey, hold on Kovu!" Nuka says quickly getting in his face, "I'm not exactly the muscle of the family myself y'know! You've got that!"

Kiara says breaking the tension, "Okay you two, that's enough. We're not out here for a fight anymore."

I say, "We still have the issue of asking Simba if Huru can stay."

"Oh I don't want to intrude. He seems to have enough of a pride right now. I'd just take up more room. I'll sleep outside; I'll be fine." Huru says.

"Speaking of which," Nuka says, "we should head back. We'll meet by the waterhole tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me. You guys go get some sleep." Huru says turning and leaving.

With not much else to say or do, we return to Pride Rock. Once there, we tell Simba and Nala what happened and they become just as surprised. Timon, however, was thinking about the whole thing a lot more critically. I tell him not to strain himself and head into the den. The others follow, but Timon remmains at the ledge, looking out over the Pridelands. He kept thinking how there could be three very thick coated lions out here when all lions usually have much thinner coats in order to deal with the heat. He begins to think that my parents may be from another part of the world, perhaps a colder region. Simba eventually calls out to him asking if he's coming to bed. Timon takes one last look before retreating to the den.

The next day around midday, Nuka, Enlil, Kovu, Kiara, and I head out for the waterhole. From a distance we could see a few animals and Huru. Before we could trot over, Shenzi calls out to us. When we looked at her we found Banzai was not with her, but instead Timon was. This was a little odd as those two usually end up in two arguements a day.

"Hold on Mwezi, don't go near Huru yet." Timon warns with a very serious face.

"What's going on? Is something up at Pride Rock?" Kiara asks.

Shenzi replies, "Everything's fine there. It's more what Timon has to say to you; that's why I'm the one carrying him and not Pumbaa."

Timon looks at me and says, "Mwezi, what Huru said last night, what you told us, it got me thinking. You know how Enlil arrived here in a crate?"

Enlil says lowering his head, "Ugh, don't remind me."

Timon goes on, "Well, you and your parents are apparently the only thick-coated lions in the Pridelands. I have a very strong feeling your parents arrived here the same way Enlil did. Those two might come from a completely different part of the world."

"Whoa...where do you think they came from, dude?" Nuka asks with growing curiosity.

"I'm not completely sure, but I know Zira's lying about saying Mwezi's an 'Outsider'. That was just to get the blood boiling." Timon replies.

"Mwezi, your brother doesn't have a thick coat like you do. I don't know if searching the Pridelands with him is a smart idea." Senzi shares, expressing her fear.

I respond, "I have no choice though, Shenzi. If I don't start looking around with th only lion who could possibly know their wherabouts, I'd be living the rest of my life wondering where I came from. Not to mention, I want to ask them why they never returned for me."

Enlil says, "I'm siding with Mwezi. I remember the story of how she was brought up by Meerkats in the Oasis and then taken in by Simba. If she doesn't discover the truth, her spirit will never rest."

Kovu assures, "It's okay, Shenzi. If that guy tries anything, you can bet my claws wil be the first tearing at his face."

"Mhmm...just be careful you guys. I'll let the others know." Shenzi says.

We all nod and carry on to the waterhole to meet Huru. Shenzi and Timon can only watch as the distance grows bigger. Timon really starts to think. If my parents had gotten here the same way Enlil did, then pieces of their crate must be lying around somewhere.

"Shenzi." he starts, "Let's head back and start a little investigation team. Something just doesn't feel right."

"I hear ya. Something's off, and I don't like it." she agrees, turning and going into a full sprint.

We meet up with Huru who is looking into the water with an upset look on his face. We all sit down asking him why he looks upset. He looks right at me as if the others weren't around.

"Mwezi..." he tries to say but chokes a little, "I didn't want to start the day this way, but I need to tell you this, and it's the only bit of information I know. Apparently, we are only half-siblings."

"What?" I ask shocked.

"Half-siblings? Hold on, what the hell are you getting at?" Kiara growls.

"Like I said, it's the only bit of information I know. My father is not her father. Her father apparently died a few hours after Mwezi was born." Huru answers.

I demand, "So then, we're only related through our mother. Where the hel is she?"

Huru responds, "I don't know. I keep seeing them in different areas of the Pridelands, but each time I get close, my dad roars angrily. I only get to talk with them for a short while at a distance."

Enlil says, "I don't like where any of this is going. Do you know if your mother came here in a crate similar to how I got here?"

Elsewhere in the Pridelands, Simba has all of his pride out looking for clues. Timon and Shenzi had expressed their feelings and Simba took quick action. Simba scans the Pridelands with the Hyenas and a few lionesses. Vitani only leads Sarafina and two other lionesses through the gorge. Timon and Pumbaa are guarded by several lionesses as they search through the Elephant Graveyards. Zazu spreads word of this to Rafiki and is now en route to the Oasis to ask the Meerkats for help. Rafiki sits in his tree puzzled. He's been in the Pridelands for years and only recalls seeing Enlil's crate crash into the river. He looks at the drawings on his tree, smiling at the most recent ones, searching through to see if he made note of a mysterious crate. He soon comes to find he never made note of any crate. Rafiki sits at a loss once again.

He soon recalls a memory of me asking him why I looked the way I did when I was still a cub. He remembers something shining in the tree that night and quickly heads to the ground. Looking closely at the tree trunk, Rafiki finds something shining and pulls it out. It was a piece of a lock. Rafiki comes to the realization something mjust have crashed here one day when he wasn't around. He starts looking around at the ground heading away from his tree. He finds a plank of wood, a few screws, and the other piece of a lock. As he looks at it curiously, Sarafina is first to return from the gorge becoming tired of climbing all over hell and back. She sees Rafiki and heads over calling him.

He looks over at her saying in a happy tone, "Sarafina, what a pleasant surprise!"

"Yeah, it's been a while. Oh, what do you have there?" she asks smelling the plank of wood.

"Zazu told me of Mwezi's latest problem. These items I've found look like they belong to a crate, but I'm not sure."

"Hmm..." Sarafina thinks s she looks out, "Hey, there's some more there."

The two follow the random pieces lying around soon coming to a small fissure in the ground, created when Scar was ruling the Pridelands. Rafiki goes in while Sarafina watches just as Vitani and the two lionesses return calling her name. While they close in, they watch as Sarafina's fur stands on ends with a quick flick of her tail. When they finaly reach her, Rafiki comes climbing out of the fissure very scared.

"Guys, what's going on? Did you find something?" Vitani asks.

"There's a crate burried in there. It has thick fur on it identicle to Mwezi's." Rafiki replies as he holds up the fur.

Vitani's ears stand up as she turns to a lioness and says, "Ajia*, go find the others!"

"I'm on it!" she replies running off.

Ajia returns a little while later with the rest of the pride. Having overheard of the situation, Zazu brings us in but keeps us just within hearing distance of the others. Timon goes into the fissure quickly coming to the box. Already having been in other parts of the world, he had gained the ability to read and carefully looks over the words printed on the crate while climbing all over it.

"Let's see...'Fragile'...pfft, yeah, no kidding. Uh, what else? Oh 'North America to African Resevation'. Oookay, still not enough. Ah, 'Female Mountain Lion. Handle With Care'. Wait, a Mountain Lion?" Timon reads.

He accidentally slips falling a little deeper into the fissure. Shaking it off, he sees another crate, this one indicating a male Mountain Lion was in it. Seeing this, he darts back up the fissure making it to the surface. Simba asks about what he found.

Timon replies, "Mwezi's parents are Mountain Lions from North America! That explains why she's so fuzzy!"

"Mountain Lions? What are those?" Nala asks.

Pumbaa replies, "Mountain Lions only live in North and South America. They're also known as Puma, Cougar, Panther-" he is cut off from Timon, "Get to the point."

Pumbaa clears his throat, "Anyway, as the name suggests, they mostly live in mountainous regions. Their coats would have to be naturally thicker in order to survive the colder climate. They're not the most muscular built cats, but they're still just as dangerous and are actually unable to roar."

"Unable to roar? But I can roar just fine." I say overhearing.

Huru answers, "One of our ancestors was a regular lion. The ability to roar passed down to each generation."

"So, okay, that clears up one piece to the puzzle. But why your birth parents abandoned you is the other piece." Nuka says.

"Huru!" Zazu says turning and facing him, "It's all on you now. You must aid Mwezi in the search for your parents."

"You think I don't know that? I know our mother said they'd be in the Elephant Graveyard by nightfall. We'll have no choice but to head there." Huru replies.

I look at the pride and say, "In that case, we keep our distance from the pride for now. We need to focus on this as much as possible, and use the Prideland's animals to help us keep track of where those two are moving."

Kiara quickly asks, "Hold on Mwezi, don't you think you're being a tad irrational?"

I reply, "No. I need to find my birth mother and demand why she left me. I want to know the truth, even if it kills me."