Thank you to all who have read this story, and left me such positive support. I had no idea this story would be so successful. Don't forget to leave me a review when you are finished reading. And without further ado, here is the next chapter all the way from the Lone Star State!
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING
It's nothing that complicated; I just want to kill him.
-Masashi Kishimoto
Seven Months Later…
Seven months had passed since the self-enforced exile of Uru and Gaudium from the Pridelands. Around this time, most young male lions would be beginning to see the first signs of their mane, and females would begin hunting.
However, Gaudium was not like most young lions. He would obviously never grow a mane, but he had gotten bigger and more muscular. The former prince had become an adept hunter in his own right, no longer dependent on his mother to find him food.
On this particular day, mother and son were looking for prey when they stumbled upon a small family of zebras that were grazing in a small oasis in the desert.
Uru stormed out and chased the herd toward the northeast, which was in the direction of Gaudium's hiding spot. At precisely the right moment, the young lion leaped out into the open, his claws clamping down on an unsuspecting victim, breaking its neck instantly.
The poor zebra dropped to the ground, dead as a doorknob, and Uru quickly sprinted over to her son, who was smiling proudly over his kill.
"Gaudium, that was fantastic! You have really turned into quite the hunter my son!
The adolescent lion beamed proudly at his mother, who proceeded to lick him on his cheek. However, their victory was not long so savor, as two hyenas approached, and began to stare ravenously at the zebra carcass.
"Hey Beck, wasn't it nice that these two lions worked SO diligently to get this zebra just for us?"
"Sure was, Sandra. I think Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed will really enjoy this meal." The hyena known as Beck bowed sarcastically. "Thank you very much, ladies."
With anger in his blue eyes, and a resolve of steel, Gaudium spoke up in as deep of a voice as he possibly could. "Get away from the zebra. And don't you dare EVER call me a lioness!"
Sandra and Beck dropped to the floor in hysterical laughter. "Oh my gosh Beck! We don't just have a lioness! We have a confused lioness! I can't stop laughing!"
Beck managed to stammer out a few words between fits of laughter. "Just let it out, Sandra! Just let it out!"
It was at that very moment when something inside of Gaudium completely broke loose. He viciously roared, and charged at the hyena couple in reckless abandon.
Snadra was the first to fall into the path of the maneless young lion. He tackled her, catching the hyena completely by surprise. He blocked a few of her attempted bites with his teeth as the duo continued to tumble.
"Get him Sandra! This is only a waste of our freakin time!"
That comment only served to fuel the flame that was Gaudium's rage. Suddenly, the young lion managed to sneak his claws into the hyena's chest, and he ripped out the poor thing's heart, killing her instantly.
"Sandra! No! I'll get you for this you filthy lion!"
Beck charged towards Gaudium, and leapt into the air, attempting to secure a one-hit kill. However, Gaudium clamped his paws down on to the hyena's neck as it began to land, and with great agility, turned them quickly to the left, snapping Beck's neck.
The hyena fell lifelessly on to the ground below, but Gaudium did not stop there. He stabbed the dead hyena repeatedly with his unsheathed claws. Then, using his claws as a saw, he slowly began to separate the hyena's head from its body. Eventually, the head fell down with a thud and began to roll away.
Gaudium chased after the rolling head, soon catching up to it. He gauged out the head's eyes, before returning the body that it once sat atop, and the young lion spat on it, his saliva mixing with blood.
"Wow, honey, I think that was overdoing it a little. You may feel guilty, but you were only protecting your dignity."
Gaudium felt many emotions right at that particular moment, but guilt was not among them. He had…enjoyed…the battle and the…thrill…of the fight. The way that Beck's head had been sawed of his body and then rolled away was…amusing. The young lion realized that he wanted to do it again. When his mother was out of immediate earshot, Gaudium spoke to himself.
"Well, if I enjoyed killing, and killing is a crime, and if I plan on doing more of it, I guess Scelus really is a better name for me."
The maneless lion chuckled darkly, before running after his mother. But this wasn't Gaudium that was returning to his mother. No, this was Scelus that Uru was next going to see, although she would never realize it.
Well, that is all I'm going to write for now. This chapter took me four hours to write, as I fell asleep in the middle of writing it, so don't be afraid to tell me if the quality went down a little, so I can try to improve that next chapter. Thank you for reading, and I will see y'all next time!