Ch 3: King Ranre
Midnight groaned lightly and rolled over, covering her face with her paws. A sharp pain in her side forced her to open her eyes.
"Oh, for goodness sake! I thought you'd never wake up!" her torturer squawked. Midnight's ears immediately flipped backwards. She stood and felt a light body fall off of her back, and growled as the bright blue-feathered birds began to dust off his plumage.
"I would prefer that you didn't toss me to and fro!" the majordomo said indignantly, glaring slightly at Midnight. He straitened up and coughed slightly. "King Ranre is ready to speak with you, if you are ready," the hornbill said, drawing a critical eye over Midnight's unkempt fur.
Midnight rolled her eyes and growled, stalking past the majordomo and over to the step-like boulders. She pulled herself up on the first one, scrabbling for a foothold. When she had gotten her balance, Midnight continued to ascend to Pride Rock.
---
When the black lioness reached the top, she felt dizzy with the height of her position. She swayed slightly, but was stopped by a powerful voice.
"Pride Rock is high off the ground. Careful not to fall; it would be quite a drop."
Midnight turned expectantly to see a powerful, dark brown male lion with a golden-brown mane step out of a nearby den she hadn't even noticed. At once, the bright blue bird swooped out of the sky and landed on the male's shoulder. He lowered his beak and whispered something, no doubt an apology about Midnight's appearance, in his ear. The male's expression didn't change, and he merely brushed the majordomo away with a flick of his ear.
He padded towards Midnight, passed her, and began to descend down Pride Rock. Midnight began to follow him down, her claws grabbing onto the stones as best they could. She felt awed to be in the presence of a truly powerful lion, not just two sneering princes. She followed him without being asked, stepping in his pawprints as if she would be doing something wrong if she didn't.
King Ranre padded on, saying nothing as his golden-tipped tail swished from side to side. After a while, he spoke. "I apologize for my sons. They both have quite a bit to learn," he said in a calm monotone. Midnight's ears flipped forward and a small smile spread across her face. The king must've given the princes quite a lecture. The tip of her tail twitched happily and her pace sped up slightly. King Ranre, however, kept up his steady walk, looking straight ahead and scanning the horizon.
"You come from the Outlands." It was more of a statement than a question. "And you say there is a war happening?"
Midnight's ears sank back into their normal position. "Well, not yet. But there will be if we don't do something," Midnight responded. She lowered her gaze to the ground when she thought about what might be happening to her pride now.
King Ranre seemed to take quite a bit of consideration on the fact. He stopped walking and watched as the sun beat down on his dark brown frame.
"And why did you come to the Pridelands for help?" the king asked slowly. His ears twitched in a nonchalant manner, and Midnight wondered if he was really a good king. The way he seemed to not have a care about anything set her nerves on edge. She dug her claws into the ground and blurted out her answer.
"Because you're the closest pride of lions we could ally ourselves with, and you're the most powerful force we could think of," Midnight responded, starring at the king. Ranre made no attempt to move; only the tip of his tail flicked back and forth. He sighed and turned his gaze on her.
"What makes you think we would corporate?" the king asked. Without waiting for Midnight's answer, Ranre stood and looked in the direction of Pride Rock. "This conversation's over. I'll let you stay in the Pridelands, but only because you intruded in the first place."
Midnight's jaw dropped in despair. She snarled and bounded in front of the king, her hackles raised and her teeth barred. She had to stop herself from clawing his face.
"What? I came all this way to get help from your pride, and you refuse. You're going to cause the death of my entire pride!" she roared. Ranre walked past her, a threatening growl rumbling in his throat.
"I am entirely sure of what will happen to your pride, Outlander," Ranre said, his teeth glinting. "What I'm more concerned about is what will happen to my pride if I choose to help you. The last war the Pridelanders had led to many deaths and injuries. If I sent my lionesses to help your pride, seeing as how we would be facing a massive amount of hyenas, there's no doubt they would all be wiped out."
Midnight's head sagged. She sighed, completely deflated, and growled slightly when Ranre brushed powerfully past her. He disappeared through the fronds of golden savannah grasses, his tail tip disappearing slowly from view.
---
Midnight's thin frame seemed to radiate gloominess as she padded across the Pridelands. She crested a large hill and gazed over the top, scanning the horizon, mulling over what the king had said.
I'll just have to convince him somehow. Someway or another, I'll sway him.
Midnight was snapped out of her thoughts by an angry snarl. She glanced down the slope and saw Cane scuffling after a young gazelle. Her tail twitched slightly and she smirked as the young male lost his catch, flattening himself to the ground and rolling onto his side, chest heaving and tail tapping on the ground. Midnight padded slowly down the slope, stopping when she reached Cane. She towered over him, sneering smugly and narrowing her eyes. Cane snarled and barred his teeth, swiping the air near Midnight's muzzle, his claws slicing one of her whiskers.
"Don't dare make fun of me," Cane snarled, pulling himself into a sitting position and glaring at Midnight. The golden brown prince got to his paws and stalked away, shaking his mane in anger. Midnight growled slightly under her breath.
"Sure, he can insult and sneer at me, but I can't make a friendly joke every once and a while. Self-centered piece of elephant crud," she said quietly, pinning her ears back. Did everyone in this pride have an animosity towards Outlanders? She dug her claws into the ground and padded away, her tail lashing from side to side angrily.
Midnight turned to pad away when she bumped into a creamy white lioness. The Pridelander smiled and flicked her tail apologetically.
"He's normally not like that. I'm sure he'll get nicer the longer you stay here," the lioness said softly. She was about Midnight's age, stocky but not overweight, and obviously very friendly. "My name is Nilany, by the way."
Midnight's ears flicked backwards in surprise, and her tail twitched.
"It's nice to meet you, but isn't it a custom not to speak nicely to an Outlander or something?" the black lioness growled. Nilany looked somewhat taken aback.
"Not at all! It's just… the last time an Outlander came to the Pridelands; he had a worse reason than coming for help. He wanted to kill off the pride. The king and the princes are just very wary. I'm sorry you couldn't get any help for your pride, but King Ranre was just trying to do what he thought was best," the pale lioness said understandingly. Her tail twitched from side to side and her eyes seemed to mirror her heart; showing never-ending kindness and caring. Midnight snorted half-heartedly and waved her tail to silence the Pridelander.
"Save your pity for some other lion. I can live without kind words," she said monotonously. Nilany's brown creased in worry, but she made no move to comfort Midnight.
The black lioness began to pad towards Pride Rock, her tail sagging. She climbed up the stair-like boulders, careful not to loose her footing, and soon reached the top. She walked over to the edge of the cliff where kings were named and cubs presented, and flopped down onto her stomach. Dust and dead grass flew into the air and were carried by the wind to a large baobab tree far in the distance. Midnight followed them with her eyes, pondering how she could possibly sway the King's judgment.
---
A mandrill shaman named Penzi had caught a fistful of the dust and grass in her hand. She sniffed it and tossed it into a bowl-like gourd, shaking it and chanting under her breath. Suddenly, she dropped in excitement the bowl and its contents spilled into the ground. She wiped her fingers in some berry juice and began to smear pictures on the wall, chattering happily to herself. Soon, a drawing of a pure black lioness was painted on the wall.
Penzi laughed and threw her hands in the air, as if motioning to the sky. She made an elegant bow and began to talk.
"It is as you said, Mufasa. History has repeated itself, but with a twist. But I fear danger is looming over the Pridelands. King Ranre does not see what he's doing to his kingdom. If the hyenas are not stopped now, they will press in on the Pridelands and make it their own," she finished, shaking her head sadly. "The king should be informed of his mistake right away!"
Wind whipped through the hollow tree, making a hissing sound that rang in Penzi's ears. "Alright, alright! I see your point: telling the King this would disrupt the already rocky flow of events. Poor Midnight will just have to set things right herself. Penzi shook her head and waved her hands in the air, then bean to turn her attention back to the paintings on the wall. Not to far away from the wet picture of midnight, two male lions were drawn on the wood. Penzi smiled and began to alter the smaller lion, adding something between its picture and Midnight. She chuckled to herself and turned away, letting the picture dry as she returned to mixing herbs.
---
Midnight woke blearily as the sun was setting on the Pridelands. Her internal hadn't had time to adjust to the fact that she could stay awake during the day, and she had fallen asleep with her paws dangling off the edge of Pride Rock. She stretched and yawned, opening her mouth tiredly. She gazed over the edge of the rock and sighed, her tail twitching with anxiety. Se considered trying to find King Ranre and begin trying to talk to him, but pushed the idea aside.
I've got to start at the bottom and then work my way up; get some of the lower-ranking lionesses on my side and then talk to the king, Midnight told herself. She shook her head, realizing how hard it would be to achieve that task. The black lioness sighed and padded away from the edge of Pride Rock, her eyes scanning ahead of her.
The sun had set fully, and that only added to Midnight's frustration. She had to get as many lionesses on her side as she could, but how was she going to do that if they were all asleep? She growled to herself and began to descend Pride Rock, deciding that she would tour the Pridelands before getting to know any of the lionesses. Grass bent wearily under her paws as Midnight walked, and her ears flipped forward as a bush next to her rustled in the wind. An unfamiliar scent wafted over to her, but she was relived to find that it wasn't a hyena. She peered at the bush, unsheathing her claws and pressing herself close to the ground, getting ready to pounce.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you! It's bad luck to hunt a shaman!" a voice called out from the bushes. Midnight pulled back from the shrub and stepped away, her ears pinned back. Suddenly, a lanky grey mandrill shot out of the bushes and waved a long wooden staff in front of Midnight's face.
"That's right! Penzi isn't food for you or any other predator on the savannah!" the mandrill said with an exited chatter of laughter. The gourds on top of the stick rattled loudly and Midnight bared her teeth as the sound drilled into her head. She struck out with her paw to halt Penzi, but her claws swiped thin air. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around wildly, only to dodge a blow to her paws from the staff by leaping into the air. Midnight spun around and glared at her tormentor, her tail lashing from side to side and her eyes glittering angrily.
"What's your problem, creepy monkey?" she snarled. Penzi chuckled and wagged her finger silently, an amused smirk hovering on her lips.
"It's not me who has a problem. It's you!" Penzi chattered. Midnight gave her a look mixed with confusion and anger, as if she was ready to pounce on Penzi, but was burning to know what she was talking about.
"I don't have any problems," Midnight growled, shaking her head with finality. When she glanced up to look at Penzi once more, the mandrill was gone. Midnight snarled as the shaman leapt out of a nearby tree and landed on her back.
"Yes you do! It's called denial, Midnight," Penzi said wildly, tapping the black lioness on the head with her staff. She pushed off of Midnight's back and landed on the ground, finally seeming to calm down.
"How do you know my name?" Midnight asked, flipping her ears back in annoyance. Penzi's eyes suddenly took on a flash of excitement and she bounded away to the edge of a forest. She swung her staff, motioning for Midnight to follow.
"Come with me if you truly what to know the answer," the shaman called sharply, swinging off of a nearby branch and disappearing into the thick foliage.
What's Penzi going to tell Midnight? Find out in the next chapter.