Ch 8: Talla
Midnight's heart stopped momentarily as Talla leapt forward. The pale lioness's expression changed from a mixture of anger and guarded fear to surprise. She barreled square into Midnight's side, causing them both to topple over in a frenzy of fur and dust. Talla scrabbled off of Midnight and got to her paws.
"Midnight?" she wondered out loud. She backed up slowly, her soft blue eyes taking in every detail of her battered pride mate. "We all thought you were dead."
Midnight was washed over with a wave of sadness for her pride, knowing how devastatingly horrible it felt to think that someone you knew was dead. Midnight's thoughts were interrupted abruptly by Talla.
"But this is great; you're alive!" The pale lioness said happily, nearly jumping from side to side on her paws. Midnight stared at Talla, a look of genuine confusion spread across her face. How could the very lion she believed despised her suddenly be so happy to see her?
Midnight pricked her ears and whirled around at the sound of rustling grasses behind her, readying herself to pounce.
"Midnight stop," Talla said, parting the grasses to reveal an old, scrawny, milky-eyed lioness. "It's Khaz. I found her a few miles away from the pride's old dens. If you pounce on her, it might take all the life out of the lioness that has the most power in our pride."
Midnight gasped and sunk close to the ground, pressing her muzzle against Khaz's warm side. It was no doubt; by her scent it was definitely Khaz. Midnight stood and her tail twitched nervously. "She needs help for her wounds, doesn't she?" Midnight asked. Talla nodded, confirming the obvious.
Midnight's ears swiveled backwards, picking up the slightest rustle in the tree behind her. "Penzi, this is no time for hiding games; Khaz needs your help," she growled. The Shaman dropped out of the tree, swinging her staff indignantly.
"I'm aware of that. It takes a brain to become a shaman, you know," she chattered, walking over to Khaz. She pulled a gourd off of her staff and cracked it open, sloshing some of its contents onto the ground. Penzi smeared the paste over her hands and began to rub it into Khaz's fur, all the while chanting under her breath. When she was finished, the mandrill stepped back slowly. "That's all I can do for her. She'll have to pull through on her own. We should stay here for the night. If she pulls through the next few hours, she'll be fine."
Midnight glanced over at Penzi, catching her eye and shivering. There was a guarded expression on Penzi's face, and it made the black lioness's heart sink.
Talla padded slowly up to Midnight and gave her a sympathetic glance and led her away from Khaz and Penzi.
"I know you really want to think she'll live, but I found her in really bad condition; she could barley stand, let a lone walk. There were all sorts of paw prints around her. Hyena paw prints," the pale lioness whispered. Midnight wanted to claw her right around the face, but all she did was turn and stare at Talla, an unreadable expression on her features. Talla gasped and stumbled backwards.
"Midnight, your face," she gasped. "That scar…"
A low growl rumbled in Midnight's throat, but she subdued it quickly. "It was King Ranre. He's banished me from the Pridelands."
Talla snarled under her breath, but her head snapped up and she smiled. "I can talk him into letting you back! I can talk anyone into anything, you know that!" She said. "Where is this King Ranre?"
Midnight's expression changed from unreadable to astonished. "Really Talla? You really think you can convince his to let me back?" she asked. Talla nodded, and Midnight believed her. "Her lives in the Pridelands. See that shadow over there?" she asked, motioning to a towering silhouette in the distance. Talla nodded briefly. "That's Pride Rock. All the Pridelanders live there."
Talla starred at the dark shadow of Pride Rock, her tail twitching. "It looks so gloomy," she muttered.
"At night it does," Midnight responded. "But in the day it's glorious. The light outlines the grasses and seems to make the rocks glow and the wind blows flower petals around. And the best part is when you climb up to the peak; you can see every-" The black lioness stopped herself, feeling a sudden wave of homesickness. She couldn't believe it; she missed Pride Rock. Talla didn't seem surprised, though. The pale lioness merely stared at the dark silhouette of the rock one second more and padded away, flopping down.
"Once Khaz is fit to walk, we will leave," she said. Midnight smiled and sat down, her eyes straying from Talla to Penzi and Khaz, and then she slid silently onto her stomach and slept.
- - -
When Midnight awoke, Penzi was gone. Talla had perched herself on top of a large, flat stone not to far away and was shivering dully. She sounded, for a moment as if she was coughing, but Midnight's blood turned to ice when she recognized the mournful sound of sobs. Carefully, the black lioness padded over to Talla, her paws making no more than a cold, dull rustle on the ground below her.
"Talla?" Midnight whispered. The pale lioness flinched as if she had been struck and fell silent.
"Khaz didn't make it," came the watery whisper of Talla. "I woke up and her body was all cold and stiff."
Midnight froze, but somehow the hole in her heart from leaving her pride didn't stretch bigger. Tears pooled in her amber eyes and a low whimper sounded in her throat, but she tried to convince herself that this was better for Khaz.
War with the hyenas seems inevitable; at least now Khaz won't have to suffer through that, Midnight thought blearily. She padded away from Talla and over to the spot where they had left Khaz the night before, faltering before she parted the coarse grasses and finding her elder's cold, lifeless body. Despite herself, a mournful whimper escaped Midnight's throat and wavered in the cold morning air.
Khaz's body was cold; the sightless eyes had closed forever and her withered figure look almost peaceful as the sun began to rise. Midnight buried her muzzle in her elder's grey fur and cried, her pelt quivering. Before she knew it, the black lioness had closed her eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep once more.
- - -
When Midnight awoke, her body was stiff and aching. She rose to her paws and looked down at Khaz's body, blinking sleep from her eyes. She couldn't believe her old leader was dead. Unable to bear the sight of Khaz's withered shape, Midnight turned away and began to pad over to the rock where she left Talla. She searched around the area, but the pale lioness's scent was trailing away. "Talla?" Midnight roared, hoping the pale-pelted lioness would answer. There was no sound except for the loud, annoyed cawing of a kookaburra in a nearby tree. Midnight parted her jaws to track Talla's scent and began to follow her at a swift pace, her heart sinking as she realized where she was headed. Midnight glanced up at the dark shadow of Pride Rock; she was headed straight for it. When she looked down, the black lioness could make out the widely-spaced paw prints of a running lion. Midnight picked up her pace, hoping she could catch up with Talla.
- - -
Midnight had been padding for only a few minutes when she spotted the dark Silhouette of two lions tussling in the distance. A small breeze swept towards her and blew two very familiar scents: Talla and Cane. Midnight began to sprint towards the two, noticing that one of the two lions had crumpled under the others weight. Midnight slammed into one of the lions and tossing them to the side. It was only after she had back up that Midnight realized she had thrown Talla to the ground. Cane rose to his feet, snarled and was about to pounce on the pale lioness when he noticed Midnight and stopped in his tracks.
"M-Midnight," he stuttered, wondering why she had stopped the fight. The black lioness was panting and had to push Talla firmly aside as she got to her feet and tried to lunge at the prince.
"What are you two doing?" Midnight asked with a twinge of anger and surprise. Cane looked struck with indignation.
"Ask her!" he growled. "She's the one who started the fight; and I bet she could tell what kind of state I'm in right now. It's not exactly hard to see my injuries."
Talla growled and tried to spring forward again, but Midnight blocked her.
"He's got the scent of Pridelander all over him! If the Pridelanders had just helped us in the first place, then Khaz wouldn't have been dead!" the pale lioness said angrily. Her lips where pulled back in a snarl and a deep, guttural rumble sounded in her throat.
"Enough!" Midnight roared, swiping her paw over Talla's head and cuffing her around the ears. The pale lioness snarled in surprise and sunk to the ground as Midnight continued talking. "Cane is the prince of the Pridelands. He got banished like me; have some sympathy! He helped me, too… and he was one of my only friends while I was staying at Pride Rock. You should be thanking him, not attacking him!" Midnight snarled, her anger bubbling. Talla looked ashamed and looked at Cane, seeming to apologize silently. Cane still seemed wary though and his fur bristled.
"Who is she, Midnight?" he asked, glancing away from Talla.
"This is Talla," Midnight answered. She glanced down at the pale lioness and nudged her to her feet. "She lived with me in the Pridelands along with Shade and some other lionesses. I don't want you fighting with each other; we'll need all three of us to convince Ranre to let us stay in the Pridelands again."
Midnight could tell that Cane wasn't going to swallow his pride easily as he padded forward and gave Talla a scrutinizing gaze. "I think we'd do just fine with one less lion," he growled. Talla gave him and angry stare, but the prince continued talking. "But if you really say so, Midnight, I guess she can come along."
Midnight smiled and padded past Cane, swiping her tail across Talla's shoulder. "C'mon. It's going to take us all day to get to Pride Rock, but we'll have to pace ourselves and be on alert the entire time."
"I know that," Talla growled, shouldering her way past Midnight and trailing behind Cane. Midnight sighed and followed the two, her head lowered slightly. Midnight couldn't help thinking that the three lions made an awkward sight as they cut a swathe through the thick savannah grasses: an outcast, a beaten prince, and a former Outlander, and chuckled slightly. Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint rustle above her and she glanced up to see a bright blue feathered bird flapping quickly towards Pride Rock. It's Kiku…we've been spotted! She growled in her head. She nudged Cane and signaled with her tail up at the bird; the prince let out a fearful growl. Talla glanced up at the majordomo, a look of confusion spreading across his face.
"At the rate that Kiku's flying, Father will be sending out a group of lionesses to attack us any minute," Cane said, his voice wavering.
"Run! The faster we get to pride Rock, maybe we can meet up with Nilany and some of the others who might help us," Midnight growled. The three lions began to run as fast as they could towards Pride Rock, but Cane was lagging behind. Midnight faltered and turned to Talla. "Keep going, I have to help Cane. If you get there before me, look for a completely white lioness and tell her that you're my friend. The pale lioness nodded and began to run, her paws a dust-covered blur, towards the towering stone. Midnight padded over to cane, letting him lean heavily on her side for support. They were about to continue running when Cane pushed her down to the ground. A dark, muscular shape flew over Midnight and cane sprang to his feet, his amber eyes blazing.
It took Midnight only seconds to recognize the light beige fur, the tan mane split like his ancestor Simba's, and the white diamond on his forehead.
"Saigon, you'll pay for driving me out of here," Cane growled, pressing himself close to the ground and unsheathing his claws. "I'm going to rip you to shreds, just like you did to me."
"You have no right to be here, Cane," Saigon snarled, padding forward angrily. He glanced towards Midnight and gave her an icy glare. "And neither do you… Sana," he said mockingly, throwing the insult directly at Cane. The dark brown prince lunged forward, ripping his claws across Saigon's shoulder.
Midnight glanced from one prince to the other, wishing she could jump in and help Cane. No… this is his fight, she told herself. Her paws quivered for a moment and she sprang away, heading towards Pride Rock. Cane can handle Saigon. I've got to get to Nilany before King Ranre does, she thought.
- - -
Midnight scrabbled up the step-like boulders of pride rock, her ebony claws scraping against the rock with an agonizing screech. She had just barely made it to the top when she felt a searing pain lance up and down her paws. She roared in agony and opened her eyes, snarling at the lion who had pinned her down. "Ranre," she growled slowly, not bothering to place the formal title in his name. The king gave her and icy stare, holding her powerfully above the precipice.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't throw you off the edge," the king snarled. Midnight's voice wavered as she answered.
"Because I think I can help you win the war with the hyenas," the black lioness said slowly.
Hooray for cliffhanger-ish endings.! What will Ranre's decision be? Where is the rest of Midnight's pride? Find out soon and don't forget to review!