***Chapter 2***
***Transition and Tragedy***
Yesterday, a child came out to wander,
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar.
Fearful, when the sky was full of thunder,
And tearful at the falling of a star.
-Circle Game by Joni Mitchell
Alex awoke to find the cave almost empty and felt a soft breeze pass through the air. Three older lionesses lay sleeping in the corner, enjoying their old-age privileges with their recently born grandchildren; the cubs ran about joyfully, pouncing on anything and everything while their grandparents watched with amusement. Several other lionesses lay asleep near him; he made a mental note to be quiet for them. Sunlight radiated into the cave from the entrance, giving the cave a vague hue of reflected golden light, and he became aware of how late he must have slept; the sun had clearly been up for some time. The young man promptly rose from his slab of stone that had served him well as a bed, and reached over for his pack. After a brief moment of rummaging through his meager belongings, he pulled out a rag. It was a little dusty, but far cleaner than the one that he currently had wrapped around his wounded arm. He started to remove the old dressing from his arm slowly, being painfully aware of the damage the Hyena's jaw did to it; the flesh was torn and ragged, but it still didn't look that bad. Still though, it hurt a lot to just press on the wrapping. He tried very hard to remain silent for the sleeping lionesses, but the pain became a bit much for him.
"Aaaah!" Alex groaned quietly as the dried blood peeled from his wound, taking some of his freshly forming scab with it. Fresh blood began to pool in the deeper spots, but quickly hid it all under the clean cloth.
Once it his new bandage was fastened to his liking, he looked over to the nearby lionesses. To his relief, the lionesses were still sleeping and oblivious to his existence. Waking them would have provided quite the awkward moment, and he was grateful for not having to do so. After gathering his pack and used bandages, he started off towards the cave's entrance, still being very careful to stay silent. Once outside, he looked over the lip of the great stone monument and gazed upon the stunning view before him. He was alone at the cave's mouth, but somehow this incredible sight satisfied him. The risen sun illuminated the savannah and revealed the serenity of a land without human influence. Not that man-kind couldn't make beautiful things, but there was something distinctly tranquil about a land that was untouched by the hand of man.
"Another stunning view…" Alex muttered to no one in particular. He hoped that the scene would not become too redundant if he stayed in Africa too long. He loved these sorts of sights, but he knew that it was easy to take them for granted if they were always around.
"Isn't though?" A deep satirical voice behind him startled Alex and made him turn. A deep brown scrawny lion slithered from the shadow of a large boulder to stand near him.
"Um... yea." Alex stammered, slightly surprised by the unseen lion.
"My brother made it very clear when he spoke to me that you are an honored guest for the time being and I just wanted to extend myself to welcome you to the Pridelands. My name is Scar."
His name fit well, considering the large vertical scar that ran over the lion's left eye. Despite the politeness there was an eerie feeling that Alex got from talking to the marred creature. It seemed as though he was hiding something, but Alex couldn't begin to fathom what.
"Thank you… I-I really feel welcome here. Mufasa is a great king."
"Yeeeessssssssss….." came the faintly sarcastic reply, "There is nothing he can't do, and his son, oh his son. Simba will one day follow in his father's paw prints."
"Well... it was good to meet you" Alex said, excusing himself from the strange conversation, perhaps a bit abruptly. Alex felt uneasy around Scar, he was just... not sincere.
"Be careful out there" called Scar, the Pridelands aren't always as kind as they appear to the eye… Especially on a beautiful morning like this….."
Alex waved back over his shoulder at the dark lion as he descended the pathways to the base of Pride Rock. He quickly noticed the countless stares from the many lions, curious of their new guest. It was intimidating to say the least, to be the focus of so many carnivores' attention. Despite his rising heartbeat, he kept his cool as he searched the area for the familiar lions. After just a short while he identified the pale tan pelts of Sarabi and Sarafina gazing at the horizon, discussing the day's plan. He greeted them as he approached.
"Alex!" Sarabi acknowledged "we were just talking about you."
"All good things I hope." Alex smiled casually, hiding his nervousness. It would not be a good thing if everyone was talking about him behind his back already.
"Of course" replied Sarafina with a smile, putting his mind at ease. "In fact, we were just talking about the cave Nala found for you. It's not too far from the main cave, and it would fit you well."
Nala ran over from the corner of their vision and promptly inserted herself into the conversation. "It's really cool!" There's little holes in the walls that you can put stuff in, and a skylight in the back!" as she spoke, Nala spun her body in little excited circles, but never broke eye contact with Alex. "And in the back there's this little spring that fills up this little pool!"
Alex grinned, it sounded interesting. "Well that sounds grea-"
"MOM!" Nala exclaimed in the middle of Alex's statement. "Can I go show Alex the cave right now?"
Alex and the other lions smiled at her sheer excitement as Nala wove herself in between their legs, begging for permission with her purrs. Sarabi and Sarafina exchanged a glance of agreement before Sarafina replied with stifled amusement.
"Alright, go ahead and show him."
"YYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Nala nearly did a black flip out of joy and led Alex away toward the cave that seemed to satisfy her wildest dreams.
The two mothers watched them leave and paused for several moments of silence, each thinking the same thing.. "They are going to get to be very good friends if he stays here a while." Sarafina mused with casual amusement.
Sarabi returned her gaze to the horizon and agreed. "I'm alright with them getting close."
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"Come on! It's over here!" Nala yelled back to Alex on the way to his cave. She was able to nimbly leap over the small obstacles along the way, but the larger human had to move at a slightly slower pace, being burdened by his backpack and the brush in his way. Alex watched his step carefully as they proceeded along the side of Priderock. The trail remained level enough, but the slope to the right grew steeper and steeper with each step. A fall probably wouldn't have killed him, but a nasty injury was almost guaranteed.
"Hurry u-OOF" Nala was cut off as a golden furball tackled her from behind a rock, sending her sprawling. She rose to meet her attacker with eagerness and lunged at him with a glint of excitement in her eye. Alex quickly recognized the young prince and just stood a short distance away, smiling gently at the playful wrestling. Within a brief moment, the two cubs became a uniform mass of tumbling fur, kicking up a thin layer of dust that had been laying on the rarely used trail.
"THUMP" As the dust cleared, Alex was able to make out Nala's form standing above Simba's.
"No fair!" yelled Simba from underneath his friend's paws.
"What do you mean not fair?" declared Nala indignantly, "You snuck up on me, so you had the advantage!"
"Well you always do that thing with the flip and the pin and stuff!" Simba said vaguely as he stood up.
"Well it works doesn't it? Maybe if you tried harder and used some moves other than just blindly charging, you'd be more of a challenge."
"Whatever." The male cub responded sulkily.
Alex shook off his grin and stepped towards them. "Come on guys, play nice." He told them, unsure of how to break up a fight between two lion cubs.
They both lifted their paws to blame the other, but Alex cut them off. "I don't care who started it, let's just keep going." With that, he stepped over them and kept moving down the trail.
The two cubs frowned at each other for a moment, but soon started off after Alex. Though the tenseness between the two was clear, Simba's curiosity of their destination eventually overpowered his resentment of Nala and he broke the silence.
"So where exactly are we going?"
"I'm showing Alex the cave he's gonna live in for a while"
"That sounds boring." Simba groaned.
"Nu-uh!" Nala retorted. "It's really cool. Just wait 'till you see it!"
Simba shrugged. "Okay I guess... So you're staying with us Alex?"
"I guess so, your dad was pretty great about it all."
"Where did you come from? Did you just fall out of the sky, or what?"
"Something like that." Alex replied shortly, not really wanting to explain to the young cubs the painful details of his crash. He knew it went against all advice he had ever heard, but it was a lot less painful to just pretend like it never happened. He just didn't want any reminders of the crash.
Eager to avoid more pressing questions, he steered the conversation to something else. "I'm from a place where we don't live like this. In a way it's actually really refreshing to be away from people."
"My dad says that humans are just misguided." Said Simba.
"That's probably a good way to put it." Alex replied. "It's easy for us to get off track and screw up."
"Have you ever gotten off track?" he asked curiously.
Alex grinned, "Yea, but not too badly."
"Here it is!" Nala declared as she ran around behind a boulder. Alex and Simba followed her around the massive object and into a seven foot opening in the rock. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Alex began to survey the cave. It was plenty tall enough for him to stand and definitely wide enough to move around in easily. Thirty feet back he could see a bright opening in the ceiling that he took to be the skylight Nala had been talking about. He stepped forward onto the damp stone and instantly felt the temperature drop from the stifling the outside humidity to the refreshing coolness of Priderock. As he neared the opening in the ceiling, he noticed the stream that that appeared in the back corner and disappeared in the opposite cave wall. The crystal clear water was nearly invisible as it ran over the dark stone.
"Isn't this AWESOME?" Nala screamed, being instantly startled by her own echo.
"How come we never found this before?" asked Simba.
"Because you never like to hang around Priderock, you always want to go somewhere crazy like that elephant graveyard the other day."
The smile vanished from Simba's face. "I said I was really sorry about that…" he said with regret that Alex had not heard before. "It was dumb and I shouldn't have-"
"And I told you not to worry about it!" responded Nala playfully. "It's fine."
Alex wasn't sure exactly what they were talking about, but he didn't press the issue. It seemed a bit personal, so he preoccupied himself with unpacking instead. As he was scattering his belongings around the cave, he removed his knife and set it on a large slab of nearby stone.
"What's that?" asked Nala, as she jumped up onto the rock.
"It's my knife." he replied simply as he removed the blade from its sheath and allowed her to look at it from a better angle. The black iodized blade was narrow and long, yet strong and durable. The bladed side was straight until its last inch where it sharply angled up to meet the other side in a sharp point. "I got it a few years back, and its worked really well for me." He looked back at the two cubs and judged from their blank looks that they still didn't know what it was. "Okay", he started over, "I hold it here and use the metal end to cut things." He gripped the handle and demonstrated by making slashing movements through the air. "It's really sharp and really strong." kind of like your claws."
"Oh!" said Simba, finally understanding the concept, "You don't have claws or teeth or anything, so you made something that you can use instead."
"Right."
"That's really smart" observed Nala.
Simba eyed the blade with awe for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Have you ever killed anythin-"
"Ah, there you are Simba." came a slimy voice dripping with false relief that sent chills down Alex's back. "I have been looking all over for you."
Alex and the cubs looked over to the mouth of the cave to see Scar's dark form approaching them.
"Hey Uncle Scar!" replied Simba, "Do you want to play with us?"
Alex could have sworn that he saw a sharp sneer on the corners of the lion's mouth, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.
"Actually I was coming to see if you wanted to do something with me."
"Really, what?" Simba was clearly surprised, as was Alex; Scar did not seem like the type of uncle to look for a playmate.
"Well, your father and I have a simply fantastic surprise for you over in the gorge if you would like to come see it."
"That sounds so cool! Whatisit whatisit whatisit wha-"
"ENOUGH!" boomed Scar, "I mean, um, you'll have to see it once we get there…"
"Okay! Let's go right now!" exclaimed Simba enthusiastically before turning back to face Nala and Alex. "If I can I'll bring some of whatever it is back for you guys!" Nala smiled and Alex nodded.
"Well let's get moving; we don't want to keep your father waiting." Scar said between his teeth.
Something was clearly off, but Alex did not have the slightest clue as to what it could be. Maybe the surprise was really cool, or maybe it was a surprise to Mufasa as well. Or maybe Scar was just a weirdo. Yea, now that he thought about it, that was the most probable answer.
Once Simba and his uncle had disappeared from sight, Nala turned to her new friend. "So what now?"
"Well..." Alex began as he looked out over the cave. "I think I'm going to find something soft for that rock."
"To sleep on?"
"Yea, I can't deal with the cold stone like you all can."
She looked at him with confusion. "Why not?"
"Cause I'm not fluffy like you are!" he exclaimed as he ruffled her fur, making the cub smile with amusement. "Now come on, I don't want to take forever with this."
Nala nodded and followed him out of the cave in search of the grass. They managed to find a nearby patch of foliage on the side of the stone slope, and began gathering it all for the padding. It took many bundles of grass, but eventually the bedding was finished and the two friends laid down on the improvised mattress.
"This is sooooooooooo comfy!" she remarked as she arched her back in pleasure. "Can I spend the night in here tonight with you?"
Alex nodded, "Sure, if your mom is okay with it. We should ask Scar if he wants to come too, I'm sure it would be fun to share a bed with him." He laughed as he watched Nala look at him and involuntarily gag.
He laughed at her reaction and closed his eyes for a moment, suddenly tired. He could feel Nala's eyes on him, searching his face for the answer to her unasked question.
"Alex?" she asked after several moments of silence.
"Yea?"
"You have home don't you?"
He didn't open his eyes. "Yea... but it's really far away from here."
"And you have a family there?"
"Yea."
'"Do you miss them?"
"Of course I do."
The confusion was apparent on her face. "Then why are you here?"
Right... he remembered. She didn't know anything about the crash. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, fighting any emotion that threatened to crack his voice. "I'm only here by accident... I want to go home, but I can't until the river calms down.
"What do you mean by accident?" she asked slowly. "Did something happen?"
"I-I..." he stammered uncomfortably. "I don't really want to talk about it, Nala."
She frowned, clearly disappointed, but nodded in understanding. "Okay... we can talk about something else."
He smiled softly. "Thanks, that sounds like a good idea."
Her eyes widened with excitement. "Let's talk about the hyenas you beat up!"
Alex couldn't help but laugh. "Fine, let's talk about that."
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Nala and Alex returned to the base of Priderock's main cave just as Sarafina woke from a short nap. The sun was not terribly hot yet, but the progression from morning to afternoon was becoming increasingly noticeable. The shadows were reappearing from their midday hiding spots and all the animals seemed to be descending into lethargy.
"Hello you two," greeted Nala's mother to the both of them, then solely to Alex: "Did you settle into the cave well?"
"Yea, thanks for setting me up with that."
"Mom, Can I stay in the cave with Alex tonight? PLLEEEEEEEEEAAA AAAAASSSSEEEEEE ?"
"We'll see…" Sarafina replied hesitantly. "But right now it's time for your bath young lady!" Against Nala's wishes and despite her protests, she was scooped up in her mother's mouth.
"Nooooo!"
"Yes." replied Sarafina simply. "Now stop wriggling, you are getting a bath."
She groaned in irritation, eyeing Alex with an annoyed glance.
He only grinned at her as her mother's tongue ran along her face, pulling at her cheek as it went.
"I'll catch up with you later, Alex..." she said with distaste.
Sarafina rolled her eyes. "It won't take thatlong, it's not like you're getting surgery or anything."
"I'll just walk around, I guess." Alex agreed. "I still don't really know my way around here that well."
"Well have fun, feel free to go wherever you want."
Alex nodded a thanks and started off around Priderock with plans to circle the entire thing. He followed the well worn ground, passing a lion every so often with little incident. They didn't seem to notice him all that much, those that did nodded in greeting, but that was about it.
It was weird, without Nala, Alex felt somewhat lost in the lions' home. Granted she was young, but she knew everyone and they all knew her. She knew all the paths and walkways and how to behave in this setting. Without her, he was just blindly wandering along, unsure of his surroundings.
After some time of walking, he decided to drop the idea of circling the whole rock and just sat on a small ledge that looked out over the pride's main area. It was a pretty sight, one that any National Geographic photographer would kill for. He watched small cubs play with their mothers and the older lionesses planning the evening's hunt. He liked how it seemed that everyone was doing something productive and playing a part to keep the pride going. From what he could see, there was a simple expectation of duty that was upheld in this family that would have been the envy of many human societies. Even within the hunting party, he was able to discern the different roles just by the small snippets of conversation he was able to pick up. Some located the herds, some did the actual hunting, some harvested the meat from the animal carcasses, and some simply managed the whole event.
Seeing how the whole event was performed by everyone in the pride, Alex suddenly felt ashamed for not participating. Bothered by this, he got up and walked back towards Nala and Sarafina who were just finishing the bath and beginning to debate Nala's sleeping arrangements for the night.
"We'll discuss this later Nala." Sarafina concluded when she noticed Alex's return. "Go have fun with your friend." As Nala brushed herself off, she turned to Alex. "I hope she's not too much trouble for you."
"Not at all." he replied with a smile.
"But we're BOOOOOOOORED!" Nala said in response to her mother. "Can't you play with us?" The weary mother sighed and glared on her daughter with eyes that clearly indicated her answer. "Go play with your friend."
"Actually Sarafina," began Alex, I'm kind of feeling like the third wheel around here, do you have anything you can give me to do?" He hoped that he was not ruining Sarafina's alone time by searching for a job.
The older lioness was clearly confused. "I'm sorry dear, but what did you say you felt like?"
Alex immediately felt foolish, of course they wouldn't know what a wheel is, much less a third wheel. In any case, Sarafina clearly did not understand the expression. "A third wheel is….. Uh….. ummm….nevermind. What I'm trying to ask is if there is anything around here I can help with."
Sarafina's clouded expression cleared with her understanding of her guest's desires. "Well we're always looking for more help if anyone's willing to give it. Tonight we actually have a slight shortage of hunters... that is, if you don't mind chasing down a zebra."
Alex grinned; hunting large animals without a gun wasn't something he'd ever done, but what the hell? After all, this was Africa. "I'll give it a shot." he offered.
"Mom, can you give us a stalking lesson? Please? It'd be really cool and Alex could learn how we hunt!" begged Nala.
"I don't see why not, after all, you'll be old enough to start hunting as well." Sarafina gave in easily and she led them over to a nearby patch of grass. "Lie down and sink into the grass." she told them. "Become a part of it. Move as it does when the breeze passes through."
Alex and Nala followed her directions, careful to move as little as possible. He lowered himself down onto all four limbs, but did not allow his torso to touch the ground. It was pretty tough after a while, like a really long-lasting pushup.
He listened intently Sarafina explained how less of them touching the ground would make less noise they would make as they crawled through the grass.
Despite the physical and mental energy required to do it all, Alex really enjoyed the practice. The two new hunters spent the afternoon developing their new skills. They skulked silently and stealthily through the tall grass, learning how to muffle inevitable noises and to memorize the ground debris so they could keep from looking down too often. They used obstacles and different kinds of foliage to break up their form and learned when and how to strike once they were close enough to their prey.
When the hunting party began to gather on the far side of the field, Alex and Sarafina joined them and Nala went off to entertain herself by pouncing on some small animal. Once in the circle of lionesses, Sarafina told Sarabi quietly how Alex was joining them. Sarabi smiled at the information before calling attention to the huntresses.
"Attention everyone!" she commanded with authority, "You have all seen Alex around
Priderock over the past day, so you should know by now that he is our guest. This evening he's filling in for Sheevni, whose ankle is still bothering her; he's going to be one of the secondary stalkers."
No one said anything, but Alex could feel critical eyes on him; clearly irritated at least a little by his presence. He didn't blame them, this was their hunt and he was not one of them. Hopefully the difference between him and them wouldn't create too much conflict. He tried to ignore the awkwardness of it all as he refocused his attention to Sarabi.
"Amai, would you please tell everyone now on where we are going?"
"Of course your highness." answered a pale, scruffy looking lioness with big eyes. "At midday today we found the antelope herd about 5 minutes towards sunset from the watering hole. We think they are heading to the grove of acacias after leaving the water hole. If we can cut them off here," Amai pointed to a crude homemade map in the dirt, "we can push the whole herd into the more dynamic terrain that surrounds the termite mounds and use the elevation differences to mount a surprise attack. Any questions?"
Though Alex understood what was being said, he found it fascinating at how much this hunt resembled a combat operation. The zebra were treated as the enemy, and that they must be killed or else they will kill the pride. As he thought about it, Alex realized that it was just that. It was kill or starve in Africa, if the antelope won the encounter, perhaps some of the weaker cubs or older pride members would starve. Survival depended on the careful balance of life and death, just as Mufasa had been saying. From what Alex could take from the faces of the huntresses, they didn't like having to deal with the death, but still no one objected. It was a matter of necessity and survival.
After some more brief discussion, group of lions moved out into the savannah, making quick progress to the herd. Alex took in the exotic scenery of the Pridelands, large colorful birds flew in varying patterns across the sky in the deep orange light of the setting sun. Off in the far distance, a large thunderhead steadily made its way across the plains, letting loose a visible downpour upon the distant grassland. The group moved silently, not wanting to spook any unnoticed prey along the way, or to lose the focus they all possessed.
It wasn't too long before the landscape reflected what had been discussed before. The herd was close, and everyone knew it. They climbed a final hill and peeked over the top to see a herd of around twenty or so antelope. Alex's heart began to pound with anticipation of the hunt as the others began to move off to their places. The main stalkers slowly split off from the main group and got into position farther away while everyone else prepared to chase the prey towards them.
In a matter of mere minutes, all were in their places and awaiting the signal to begin. The entire group was frozen in anticipation, any mistake from this point on could destroy the hunt and send them all home without a meal.
A small, barely noticeable flick of the tail sent the secondary stalkers into action. Alex and the others slowly inched down the small hill and toward the edge of the herd. Alex understood that he was not expected to actually catch a zebra, being that his job was only to guide them toward the other hunters, but he had still wanted to see if he could keep up with them if he could.
He held his body inches from the ground, following Sarafina's instructions to a tee. He moved with the grass and maintained his transparency to the herd.
"SNAP!" most of the zebra lifted their heads to investigate the unintended noise, signaling the progression into the next stage of the hunt. With the herd suddenly aware, the lions needed to strike now to keep their advantage.
The grass exploded as the lionesses took off at breakneck speeds, quickly spreading out to keep the herd moving in the right direction. Alex fell naturally behind due to his bipedal stature, but continued to sprint with all his speed. He watched as even those that had started far behind him began to pass him.
"Stay out of my way!" one lioness growled under her breath as she bolted by him, nearly knocking him to the ground. Alex just eyed her cautiously as she passed without slowing his sprint in the slightest. Her eyes were dark and sincere as she glared at him; something about her expression told him that she disliked him for more than just being new. Something in her eyes... it made the young man nervous.
Motion up ahead caught Alex's eye and he tore away from the threatening lioness. One of the zebras up ahead was confused, it had already been trailing farther and farther behind and it had finally lost all sense of direction. In a panicked frenzy, the beast began to thrash about, only sprinting short distances before turning around and sprinting right back. It knew it was in trouble, but couldn't calm itself to decide on a direction.
In a flash, the unfriendly lioness that had sped ahead of him tackled the zebra and slowed him to a halt. She climbed on its back with a growl, clawing at the ribs and shoulder, making the beast thrash violently in pain. Before the hunter could deliver a final killing strike to the neck, the zebra twisted sharply, throwing the lioness off and onto the hard ground. She fell hard, going limp as soon as she made contact with the dirt.
The zebra had managed to escape the immediate threat, but continued to leap around wildly. Alex glanced around for any other hunters, but was disappointed to see that he was the closest by far to the wounded animal. As he sprinted towards the still confused and raving animal, he tried to convince himself that he really wasn't afraid of the creature. No, he decided as he neared it at a dead sprint, he was definitely scared to death of this wild animal that just downed a lion, it just didn't matter if he was scared. They needed this kill, they needed to eat. His hand moved down to his side to where his knife was sheathed and drew it out carefully so as not to stab himself while he ran. He was tired, his breathing ragged and his legs fatigued, but that didn't matter. He was about to tackle a several hundred-pound zebra.
Upon hearing his footsteps, the creature started to turn towards him, but it reacted too slowly. It was only halfway around before Alex ploughed into its side with his full shoulder weight behind a knife point. He felt the blade sink into the living animal and he felt the animal react as they fell to the ground. He expected to feel hot blood soft flesh of the zebra, but there just wasn't any time. All he saw and felt was a violent twisting of muscle and steel as he and the creature rolled across the ground. He kept his grip on the knife, and it pulled out as he fell away from the grounded zebra. Without thinking, Alex climbed to his feet and lunged with an unintentional growl at his still living prey. He narrowly dodged a hoof as he closed in on the creatures neck and brought his knife up over his head.
It seemed to fall on its own accord, the blade burying itself up to the handle in the zebra's neck. It was a devastating blow, and instantly made the entire creature fall limply to the ground in sudden death. Alex stayed crouched down, his hand still on the knife's handle and his breathing still ragged. He almost couldn't believe that he had killed the huge beast; it just ended so fast after being so intense. Suddenly he felt nauseous and fell back onto the ground as his adrenaline faded away, leaving him with only sheer exhaustion in its place.
Alex had hunted before, but this was different. The simplicity that a gun offered had insulated him from the reality. He had killed animals before and watched them die on the ground before him, but never had he felt the life drain out of a healthy animal and felt, rather than saw the heart stop beating. This was his first real kill, and he was proud... And sad. The zebra had put up a good fight; it had already successfully escaped the clutches of another hunter and would have likely survived, had Alex not stolen its existence. As he slowed his breathing and regained his mental composure, he began to look at his kill. It was a beautiful creature, with contrasting stripes now stained with dark thick liquid. He was so entrapped by the dead animal, that Alex didn't notice when several huntresses along with Sarafina arrived.
"Wow...," commented his teacher admirably, "I wasn't expecting you to get one... "
"It was already hurt." Alex responded, his mind immediately going back to the hurt lioness. He looked back sharply, letting out a relieved sigh when he caught sight of the hurt hunter rising to her feet. Sure she had been unfriendly towards him, but he still hoped she was alright.
"Are you okay?" he asked as she neared him.
"Don't concern yourself with me." she spat with a frown on her face.
Alex just watched her leave with wide eyes, slightly shocked by her animosity.
"Ignore her," Sarafina said quietly. "Zira acts that way to just about everyone. Don't let it get to you."
"I won't..." he said distantly. "I just wasn't expecting it."
"You got the zebra and she didn't, you should be proud."
He shrugged, still slightly out of breath. "I am... it was one of the tougher things I've ever done."
Sarafina nodded with a smile. "Well we all appreciate it, the others only managed to grab a few more. They already started back towards Priderock."
"Well I guess we should head back too..." he said slowly, eying the downed zebra. "But I'm not really sure how to carry this."
Sarafina chuckled slightly at his worry. "It's not too tough, I'll show you."
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It didn't take too long for Alex and Sarafina to catch up with the rest of the hunting party, and their arrival was greeted warmly by all those present. Clearly everyone else was quite impressed by his kill, all except Zira of course. She stayed to the outskirts of the group, just glaring at her fellow hunters with apparent distaste.
He spent several minutes thanking the others for the many congratulations they showered him with; he hadn't expected such enthusiasm from a crowd that only hours before looked at him as an unwanted outsider. Once the conversations died down a bit, Alex offered to take one of the zebras and took a firm hold of it on his shoulders.
"Oof," he grunted. "It's heavier than I thought it would be."
Sarafina looked over at him from where her eyes had been glued on the horizon. "Well pass it off if you get tired, we need to hurry up on our way back."
Alex looked off to where she had been staring, only to see a rapidly approaching storm front. "Rain?"
She shrugged. "Really heavy downpours are uncommon this time of year, but can cause flash floods when they do happen. I just don't want to be out when it starts, if it starts."
"Sounds kind of dangerous." he remarked.
"Don't listen to her," a nearby lioness interjected. "She just doesn't like getting wet is all!"
"I also don't like getting swept away do my death!" Sarafina retorted playfully. "Make no mistake, weather like this isn't a good sign. It just feels dangerous."
"I won't argue with you there." replied the other. "Dark skies always make me worry."
Alex watched the two talk for a bit longer, but eventually grew distracted by the incredible sight of the late-day African savanna. He was grateful that the clouds were arriving from the east and did not interfere with the west-setting sun. Deep orange rays tinted the savanna with the bright hue of life and bliss, even as the foreboding clouds encroached on the land. The cool evening air was refreshing after the hot day and silenced the loud bugs that thrived in the humidity. The only audible sound as the sun began to sink below the horizon was the rhythmic chirping of the waking crickets from their daylong nap.
It took some time with the killed animals, but the hunting party soon arrived back at Priderock after their long trip. They were greeted by the other lions with much interest and enthusiasm; many had been hoping for a successful hunt. Needless to say, Nala was at the forefront of it all.
"Did you get one? Is it big? What was it like? Can I go with you all next time?" Her questions only broadened Alex's grin.
Sarafina was the first to respond. "You can go when you get older, as much as I know you hate to hear it, you just aren't big enough."
"I hate not being big!" she responded. "Why can't I grow faster?"
"You'll be big enough in no time." Alex interjected. He shifted the zebra on his back as Nala walked next to him.
Nala sighed deeply as she fell into place with the teenager. "Easy for you to say, you got a kill! What was it like?" She stared at him with her massive blue eyes searching for answers in his while Alex searched for words to describe the hunt.
"It was….. exhilarating." he finally decided. "My heart was pounding the whole time because there was so much going on."
"I'm reaaaaally jealous!" she said with a tinge of sincerity.
"Be patient..." he reminded her softly. "What did you do while we were gone?"
She shrugged. "Nothing, Simba hasn't come back yet."
Alex frowned. "Still? But it's about to storm."
Nala laughed quietly. "They don't care, Simba always liked the rain."
"Nala!" Sarafina's voice sounded from not too far away. "Come get some food!"
The young cub sighed and turned towards her mom. "Coming!"
"Enjoy." Alex said with a grin.
"Yea, I'll see you later." she called back as she started off towards the zebras.
After she disappeared from sight, Alex continued along his small trail. A small ledge seemed to beckon him as he approached it and he quickly decided to sit there for a bit. The hunt had left him exhausted and the march home hadn't helped too much; he was tired. As soon as his body hit the ground, his legs turned to jelly. He sighed deeply and leaned back against the stone wall behind him, looking over Priderock's main area. The pride moved about their business below him with a reassuring tone of calmness.
Nala was nuzzling her mother's side as she nibbled on a small piece of meat while others discussed the hunt in great detail. Everyone had their own story to tell, and everyone wanted to be the first to Alex to head inside soon.
He was just about to rise and head back to his cave when movement at Priderock's lip caught his eye. Sarabi and Scar were standing there alone, looking a bit distraught. It was strange, Alex thought. Since he had been here, this was the first bit of conflict he had seen. Everything was so near-perfect, the sight of the two upset lions threw him off. It couldn't have been anything too bad, these lions were too at home and conscious of their surroundings to face any real threat. No, he decided, surely it was something trivial and unimportant. But where was Simba? He should have returned with Scar. Maybe Mufasa had taken his son out on some lesson, who knew.
He was a ways away from the pair, but Alex was still able to notice the tears streaming down Sarabi's face. Something had happened, something bad. Alex felt a heavy weight in his stomach as he lifted himself up and started back down the path. Whatever was going on, he wanted to know what it was. For better or worse.
Just as he arrived back in the common area, Scar was climbing a nearby stone to sit higher than everyone else.
"Can I have your attention please." He began strongly, silencing all the side conversations. "I have to tell you all something that will be difficult," he began, silencing the lionesses. "There was an accident earlier today in the gorge... a wildebeest stampede."
Alex could feel dread rising in his gut and went over to stand next to Sarafina and Nala. "Mufasa and Simba were there, and they both were caught in it."
"Are they alright?" one lioness asked worriedly.
Scar looked at her sadly and shook his head. "They're dead."
Dead? Alex felt as though he had been punched in the gut, and from the looks of the crowd, so did they. Death was always a hard thing to deal with, but this was their king and their prince. He could only imagine the despair and loss that they were feeling. All were silent at first; in shock at the dark lion's words, but then came the grief. Deep sighs, heavy breaths and whimpers were soon replaced by saddened growls and quieted roars of discontent. Alex could only watch as Nala huddled under her mother's body, tears streaming down her face as scar continued his speech.
"It is a tragedy to lose Mufasa; but to lose Simba, who had barely begun to live…" Scar's words fell upon Alex's deaf ears as he struggled to comprehend the situation. How could Mufasa die? He was massive! And Simba, the cub was just too young. There was no reason that he should die. The cold familiar feeling of grief washed over his body as his mind flashed back to the crash. His friends were dead, and now were these two lions. It was too much and he knelt down to clear his head. Although he had only really talked with Mufasa once, the great lion's death struck his heart deeply, reminding him of the unflinching pain inflicted on those who were left to mourn. Alex slowly refocused on Scar's words.
"…And so, it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne. Yet from the ashes of this terrible tragedy, we will rise to greet the dawning of a new era…"
Alex blinked as he listened. Scar's tone had shifted sharply from grief to strength. His wavering voice was gone and now he stood straighter and with confidence. Something was wrong; Alex turned to hear a high pitched cackle from his left and felt his hand fly instinctively to his knife handle at his belt. He watched shadowy figures slink into the shadows, drawing nearer as Scar reached the climax of his speech.
"… An era in which lions and hyenas come together in a great and glorious alliance!"
They were everywhere; hyenas surrounded Priderock, filling its crevices and saturating the air with the putrid stench of decaying meat. Scar stood atop his stone and let loose a victorious roar that echoed across the Pridelands. The herds raised their heads uneasily as the roar was answered not by the traditional roar of the lionesses, but by the cackle of scores of hyenas.
The hyenas surrounded them all; standing at just the periphery of the lions, eying the freshly killed zebras with hungry and devious eyes. They were parasites, nasty beasts who only lived off of others' successes. And they were to live here? Among the lions?
It was clear that all the lionesses were thinking the same thing, but none spoke out against Scar's new plan. Maybe they respected his new position as king, maybe they feared the hyenas too much, or maybe they were just too stunned by the death of Mufasa and Simba to do anything.
Nala hunkered under her mother's paws, beginning to panic as the Hyenas drew nearer. She remembered clearly the events of the day before, and was not any more comfortable around the creatures than she had been after the attack. They started tearing at the fresh carcasses and nipping at feet of some of the lionesses, becoming more and more bold every minute. One of the creatures walked especially close to the young cub and suddenly became all too much for her. Overwhelmed by the events and her thoughts clouded with fear, she climbed away from her mother and broke into a panicked sprint away from the dreadful hyenas. Before anyone could stop her, she had disappeared into the brush and only the sound of her tearful whimpers indicated where she was.
"Nala!" cried Sarafina who was beginning to panic herself, "Come back!"
Alex ran after the young cub, mentally marking where she entered the brush and called back to her mother. "I'll get her! Don't worry!"
He ploughed through the bush, hindered by his size, but emerged on the other side quickly enough. He followed the small trail that she would have surely used and ran as hard as he could so as not to lose her. The pride had already lost its king and prince, they didn't need any more heartache. Alex could only imagine the despair of her mother if some hyena found Nala before he did. The pride had been through enough, and so had he. True, Nala was a cub he had just met from another species, but he felt something with her. She was his friend, and held something in her spirit that comforted him. If he was to survive here in Africa, he needed her to be there with him, and the thought of her getting hurt made his heart beat with fear.
He slowed as he took notice of quiet sobbing. A lone tree stood out on a small hill overlooking the plains, sheltering the grass and hiding its crying occupant. Alex slowed to a walk as he approached, not wanting to startle the timid cub again and begin another chase. He pushed the grass aside and sighed when he saw her curled into a tight ball next to the tree's trunk.
"Hey now…" He began as he sat down next to her. "It's gonna be okay." The poor cub only leaned up against his body and continued to cry. Alex lay against her, feeling her small heartbeat up against his. He stared up at the stormy night sky and let his own tears flow silently down his face. Lightning flashed silently as heavy raindrops began to fall, washing over the grassland like a gray funeral shroud. The two of stayed there for many minutes while Nala cried and sobbed into Alex's arms.
"Why… why did he have to die?" whispered the distraught cub.
Alex shook his head. "I don't know, it was an accident." His answer was poor, but he didn't know what else to say.
"But he was my friend!" she sobbed. "And why are those things here?"
Another question he didn't have the answer to. "I don't know." he repeated darkly. "I think Scar will be a different kind of King than Mufasa was. I think we need to be ready for more strange changes."
"But I liked how things were! Why do they have to change?" She began to cry bitterly again.
"Everything changes and there's nothing we can do to stop it. It's a part of life." Nala stopped crying at this statement and looked at Alex curiously. "The way I see it, you have two choices right now. You could roll over and give up, or you could adapt to the new routine and maybe even make something positive out of this whole tragedy."
Nala buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed again. "I don't want to pretend like it's okay when it's not."
"Of course you don't, I don't either; and we shouldn't… But we have to keep going. Your mom needs you Nala, so does Sarabi." He hesitated a moment and breathed in the cool night air deeply. "And I need you too."
Nala smiled up at him looked into his blue eyes with tear stains streaking her cheeks. "You do?" she asked quietly.
He nodded and was silent a moment before speaking. "You're the only real friend I've got out here."
She nuzzled into him and closed her eyes. "You're my only friend too."
Alex smiled and gently ran his hand through her soft fur.
"Let's head back; your mom is probably worried sick."
She nodded and allowed herself to be lifted into his arms. As soon as they left the cover of the small tree, the raindrops hit them with increased intensity like teardrops from heaven. By the time they were back at Priderock, the pair were soaked through to the skin.
Alex kept Nala's head down into his shoulder as they passed the many Hyenas and climbed the ramp and entered the main cave, searching for Sarafina. He found her with Sarabi, comforting the older lioness. She expressed her thanks and relief for her daughter's retrieval and took the cub from his arms. Alex watched Sarafina take Nala over to their spot and put her to bed. He was heading out towards his own cave but was stopped by Sarafina.
"Oh no you don't." she said quietly. "I'm not going to let you outside with those mangy things; you're staying in here with us for tonight."
Alex nodded, too exhausted to argue. He turned back towards the falling rain outside the cave and watched the lightning. A new era was certainly dawning, but he doubted that it would be as glorious as Scar imagined. He turned and followed Sarafina back to where Nala was sleeping, laid down next to her. Of a day where chaos had reigned and order had been lifted, Alex found comfort in the strength of the natural rhythm around him. The steady breathing of all the lionesses, the constant patter of falling rain, and even Nala's small and steady heartbeat; it all combined to calm him, to remind him of his safety. Things were different now, that was certain. But he knew what his role was in it all; he would be here for this pride, especially for Nala. He looked at her sleeping form, barely visible in the darkness. He didn't know why, but he felt responsibility for this young cub. He would protect her, he decided. He wouldn't let her give up.
***Author's note***
Terribly sorry about the long wait for this, rewriting this story is much more difficult than I originally thought it would be, (there's just so much to fix and the chapters are soooo long!). To answer a lot of questions I've been getting, I am not back for very long, only until the end of the month. Once college starts, I highly doubt I'll have time to do any writing while balancing my major with Officer training. Take care, I'll try to be faster with this next chapter.
-Ben