Author's Notes
Surprise! My brother let me use his laptop while we were out and so I was able to type something every evening. I hope you'll enjoy with this one!
Simba was clinging to a rock face, trying to reach his father's paw to try and help him up. Below them, a never-ending herd of wildebeests ran, their eyes shining with a demonic, yellow light.
"Reach... just a little bit," he urged, extending his paw even further towards Mufasa's. He was about to succeed when a malevolent laughter from above stopped him. He snapped his head in that direction, only to see a vague silhouette of a lion in the mist that appeared out of nowhere.
"Scar!" ha snarled, as the newcomer stepped forward from the mist. It perplexed him to no end, but rather than his uncle, Simba saw a hyena he remembered as the leader of rebel hyenas that tried to take over the Pridelands.
"Let me help you," the hyena smiled evilly, coming closer and sinking his claws in his paws... that didn't look right like those he was so used to: with grey fur and of smaller size.
"Siim-" a booming voice called from beneath him with despair. He turned that way to see his father let go of the rock and start falling towards the stampede... only to change into a female hyena after a short moment. "-zai!" the voice changed as much as its user, but there wasn't even a smallest pause to the transformed scream.
"NOOOO!" a voice that wasn't his erupted from his throat.
He could only watch, nonplus, as the hyena he recognized to be Shenzi fell towards the death with thousand legs. What was even more intriguing – the background changed as Simba looked at it: the rock darkened and the wildebeests' eyes grew so large that soon the whole gorge floor was nothing but a weird, reddish-yellow glow.
He didn't wait until Shenzi fell to her destiny, instead turning sharply to look at his attacker. Everything went red except for this one muzzle, spread into a malevolent grin.
"Gituku!"
Inside the royal sleeping chamber, Simba awoke with a start with an image of Gituku still present in his mind, hatred slowly leaving his body as he heaved heavily. Ever since he was changed into a hyena, the dream would return to him every few days, completely replacing the one he once had about his father's death
It was still dark outside, though sun was bound to rise in several minutes, already lighting part of the sky over eastern horizon. Priderock was as silent as its surroundings, with most diurnal animals barely starting to awaken and all the nocturnal ones already dozing off.
Simba yawned and stretched, then looked at the silent form of Nala. It would only take a gentle nudge with his head to wake her up, but he decided against it, wanting to have some time alone. Maybe Rafiki could help him unravel the mystery behind his dream?
With that thought firmly placed in his mind, he went out and began a peaceful stroll through the grasslands.
The rising sun was slowly making its way through the ever-lingering mists of the Elephant Graveyard. Starting from the border, it lit the uncountable amount of skulls, bones and huge rocks, making the place look even scarier than it did behind the veil of darkness. It was also a wakeup call for its numerous inhabitants – and so, quite soon, dozens of hyenas left their homes to hunt a meal for themselves and their families. One silent figure was watching them go, smiling to herself. She really did it, she created conditions suitable to live for her clan, fulfilling the dream of every matriarch since the banishment of hyenas many years ago.
She looked into the skull she had just left to see her three friends still asleep. There was a carcass left from the last day, so they didn't need to hunt for breakfast. She turned back out and went in the general direction of the border with the Pridelands to watch the guards change shifts, placing herself at the very end of the group headed that way.
Just as she supposed, some of the hyenas stopped at the border and scattered to the outposts they were given. They might not have liked Shenzi's decision, but they knew better than to disobey her commands.
Back inside the trio's skull, T woke up to see her two male friends already tearing into the leftover carcass, talking about something. Before she could make out the topic, they both silenced, noticing her being awake.
"Uh... hi, T," Banzai said. "We were just talking about your… mission," he added awkwardly.
Ed rolled his eyes and uttered a question in his own language.
"Nervous? No, I'm not," T answered. Both males gave her an unconvinced look.
"Well, ok, I am a tad nervous, but it's only because I don't know what to expect."
"From Gituku?" Banzai mocked thinking. "Let's see... lies, insults, threats, provocations, physical abuse... and you know what I mean-"
"Okay, now, that's quite enough," she stopped him. "He stated openly that he only wants to be let back to the clan, so he won't do anything stupid."
"Stupid? Maybe not. But believe me, Gituku will do something eventually," he said despicably.
"Why are you unable to believe he changed?" she inquired. "Even when Shenzi gave him a chance."
Banzai groaned, but kept his mouth shut. Shenzi had trusted him with the secret and he wasn't giving it away. In turn, Ed asked her something.
"Well, of course she did," T replied as though it was obvious. "I would be surprised if she didn't place the guards."
Banzai and Ed looked at each other, perplexed. Finally, the older of them decided to speak up.
"Isn't that... you know, kinda... showing that she doesn't trust him?" he said slowly, so that she could understand every word.
"Let me put it this way: when Shenzi decided to give Abeni and Kamau a chance, was it easy for them?" Both males shook their heads. "See, it wasn't. They were to report to her every day, they were under constant observation, almost no-one trusted them. But time has passed and they have once more proven where their loyalties lie."
"Yeah, but it's Gituku we're talking about," Banzai pointed.
"Is he so different from them? I mean, okay, he was the leader of the five, but then again, the whole five led the rest of the rebel hyenas," T explained.
"Whatever you say, T," Banzai gave up and joined Ed, who was already chewing on the meat.
She shrugged and helped herself to the food too.
They ate in silence for some time. Shenzi was soon to come back and follow suit. Only after they were done with it did the leader speak up.
"I tell you, this sucks. I've asked every single guard about the number of hyenas leaving and returning through the night. The answers vary from no-one leaving to five fellas returning. The only thing everybody agreed on is that Gituku didn't cross the border."
"That's all you wanted to know from them, isn't it?" Banzai asked.
"Yeah, but how can I trust their reports concerning Gituku when they aren't able to present a coherent summary of their watch?" she replied. Banzai just tilted his head.
"Eh?" he elaborated.
Shenzi thought for a while to remember the words she used, then sighed. "I guess I spent too much time speakin' to them lions recently. What I meant was – if the guards don't agree upon how much hyenas left the graveyard and returned throughout the night, how can I trust the information they give me about Gituku?" she explained. Two understanding oohs ensued.
"What about-?" T started.
"Bongani is currently hunting in the Pridelands, he should be back soon. I suggest you give him some time to catch a breath, then go find Gituku with 'im. I want to know everything he'll tell you," Shenzi demanded.
"Well, what should we talk about?" T asked. "I know nothing about the guy except that he led the mutiny."
"Then you know pretty much," Banzai cut in before Shenzi could answer. "The rest is only a violent nature combined with little wits."
"You'll have to figure it out yourself, T," Shenzi said ignoring Banzai. "You brought it upon yourself, now you'll have to face it like an adult."
"So I will," she stood up and did a step towards the exit of the skull, only to be stopped by Shenzi.
"Where are ya goin' now?" she asked.
"To Abeni and Kamau," she said plainly.
Suddenly remembered of the conversation that those three hadn't wanted to continue in her presence, Shenzi grew slightly suspicious. She didn't want to say it aloud, since there was little proof to support her worries, but T felt the change in her mood anyway.
"They were close with Gituku, maybe they'll be able to tell me where should I start searching," with that, T went out, leaving Shenzi with a feeling of guilt and Banzai and Ed oblivious of the conflict of characters that had just happened right in front of their eyes.
As Simba went through the plains, he was astonished to spot several hyenas already up and hunting. Even the lions' hunting party wasn't ever ready that early in the morning. Every time he thought about it, he was more glad that he had agreed to let them back in the Pridelands. Not only were hyenas skilled hunters, thus deserving some respect, but also – should any new threat for the kingdom arise – valuable allies. Allies even more valuable when their previous hostility was taken into consideration.
It didn't take him long to reach his destination – a large baobab, towering over the savannah.
"Rafiki!" he called, bending his head upwards as far as he could. "Rafiki!" he repeated a little louder after there had been no reaction.
"De answahs are not always where you seek dem, my king," a calm, elderly voice came from behind him. He turned around to see the Pridelands' shaman, old mandrill Rafiki, standing behind him with a satisfactory smile.
"How can I help you?" he asked. "Should we talk about dreams?"
"How did you-?" Simba began, astonished, but the mandrill's all-knowing smile made him stop. Rafiki had his ways and he wasn't giving them away. "Yes," he agreed, covering his unfinished question, "that's why I wanted to see you."
"So tell me, what was the dream that brought you here about? Maybe togethah we will unravel its secret," the shaman said, sitting on a flat rock and laying his walking stick beside him.
Simba nodded and described everything he saw in his vision, trying to remember even the tiniest detail.
"...and as she falls down, the wildebeests' eyes change into a strange glow of indescribable color, filling the whole space beneath us. Then everything turns red and all I see is the muzzle of that hyena, Gituku," he finished.
Rafiki was sitting silently during the whole speech and stroking his beard in thought. A minute after Simba ended his tale, he stopped and looked at him.
"A combination of dreams you have den," he said slowly. "One is the horrible memory of your father's death – that's where de whole scene originates, why there are wildebeests, Scar and Mufasa, about to fall."
The shaman paused for a while and took his staff back into his hands, rotating it slowly as he started to speak again.
"Next, de memories of yourself being turned into a hyena come into de picture. That's why you are placed inside Banzai's body and watch Shenzi, not your father, fall to death. That's also why instead of Scar, you see Gituku," Rafiki concluded.
"So it's all that simple?" Simba smiled with relief. "It's just an old nightmare combined with the recent memories?"
"I'm afraid it's not," the mandrill shook his head pitifully. "Such dreams rarely come back without a reason... And dere is something more to this one: I don't know why does de background change, especially de wildebeests. What fate does await Shenzi? I have no idea."
"Wait, you think... this is a prophetical dream? That this will really happen?" Simba was most confused. "The alliance with hyenas has been formed, why should I be changed back into one?"
"I know nothing fah sure," Rafiki calmed him. "And I doubt anothah switch should evah be needed. All I can say is: sometimes it's best to look before ya leap... but sometimes it's not!"
"What do you mean?" Simba asked, perplexed.
"I mean you should look," the shaman said, emphasizing the last word and vaguely pointing something with his finger. After Simba directed his gaze there, he laughed and finished, "While I leap and leave some thinkin' to you, my king!" the last words came from the top of the tree, reached by Rafiki in several swift moves before his guest could even divert his glance back towards him.
Simba shook his head at the ape's antics. He might have been the king, but Rafiki still treated him like he would treat anybody else. He didn't answer any of the questions Simba had either; in fact, he produced some more. Nonetheless, he was glad that he decided to visit him.
If Rafiki wasn't worried about the situation, there was no reason for anxiety.
T entered Abeni and Kamau's den casually, having grown accustomed to visiting them over the course of several last days.
"Hey, Abeni!" she greeted cheerfully, but her smile faded at the sight of the pair. Abeni was lying with her head on Kamau's paws, breathing deeply with her eyes closed, while he whispered words of comfort to her.
"What happened?" T asked, seriously this time.
Kamau looked up and answered plainly, "Abeni had a terrible dream. Look, T, I don't want to be rude, but she needs peace and rest now..." he trailed off.
"Of course, I'll leave you alone at once," T said and turned to the exit, but looked back. "Just one little question," she waited for Kamau to nod before she continued. "Do you know where's Gituku? Seeing you guys were friends I figu-" she stopped, seeing Abeni's sudden outburst: as soon as she uttered the word »Gituku«, she snapped up, making her and Kamau's heads collide painfully.
He immediately set to silencing her, but, as fate had it, to no avail.
"Just forget about him," he pleaded silently, delicately forcing Abeni to rest in the same position she had taken earlier.
"Forgetting about friends? Tsk, tsk," a new voice said from behind T. Two heads turned that way sharply to see Gituku standing at the entrance. Kamau barely had time to snarl at him, as Abeni spotted him too and her eyes widened. Soon, a scream of fright arose in her throat and she made a quick, hardly successful, attempt to stand up.
"I see you guys are busy!" Gituku yelled over the tussle, as Kamau tried to stop Abeni from running wild. "I'll come back later, maybe with company!" he added. Abeni yelped and fought harder.
Gituku smiled cockily and went out. T looked at the struggle going on before her eyes and followed in his footsteps, deciding there was nothing she could do to help.
"What's just happened?" she asked, unconsciously voicing her thoughts.
"Not quite the same unemotional façade she usually presents, huh?" Gituku answered, looking at her curiously. "It seems that what's not visible publicly has to be released somehow in private."
T thought it over quickly and nodded lightly. Then, she recalled the reason behind her visit to Abeni and Kamau.
"Uh, Gituku...? Where could I meet you in, say, one hour?" she asked.
"You're quick, huh?" he laughed. "Won't you even ask me if I feel the same about you?"
"I didn't mean... It's not..." T blushed involuntarily. "I just wanted to speak with you," she finally explained, backing off a step to emphasize she had nothing on her mind.
"Why not speak here?" Gituku asked, looking around, mocking a try at spotting anybody eavesdropping.
T just motioned her head to the den they had just left. From inside, Kamau could be heard, saying repetitively, "It was only a dream, dear. Monifa's dead. It was just a bad dream. You are safe."
"Right," Gituku said slowly. "I would propose going to my place, but it would be most improper, wouldn't it? Let's take a trip through the graveyard instead, shall we?"
T hesitated. She was to have a bodyguard while talking to him and it seemed downright wrong to simply walk around and talk to the past mutiny's leader. But she would need a very good excuse to refuse now, not to make him suspicious. And if she returned later the same day with Bongani, that would make it a whole lot worse.
"Come on, I'm not gonna eat you," Gituku snapped her out of her reverie. "Plus, how do you think, what'll Shenzi do to me if I as much as put a paw on you?"
Reluctantly, she stepped forward. He seemed to be right. They were in the middle of the most crowded part of the graveyard, what could possibly happen?
Simba was well on his way towards Priderock, deliberating over numerous questions filling his head. There were many things to do for the king of the Pridelands even without additional trouble caused by weird dreams and evasive, thought-producing conversations with Rafiki.
He looked in the direction of the gorge where he had almost lost his life to wildebeests' stampede, trying to imagine the two familiar hyenas in a situation similar to the one known from his dreams. It was quite easy, but the next attempt – to visualize the strange glow below – was fruitless.
His eyes lost focus due the images Simba was producing in his head, only to snap him back into reality as a blue blur zipped before him, stopping on a nearby rock. It soon turned out to be a medium-sized hornbill, commonly known to be his majordomo.
"Good morning, sire!" he greeted lively, bowing slightly before his ruler.
"Morning, Zazu. What's new on our land?" Simba asked, immediately putting the matter of his unintelligible dream behind – the current problems of his kingdom were most important.
"There are some things of minor importance, sir," Zazu reported, subsequent to puffing his chest proudly upon hearing the phrase »our land«. "As usually, a conflict has arisen between zebras and giraffes over the access to the waterhole. There are also uncountable pleas concerning changes of grazing areas."
"Why?" Simba asked, surprised. "Has something wrong happened?"
"With all due respect, sire, many don't agree with your decision to welcome hyenas back in the Pridelands. They say two species of predators are a tad too much to bear."
"I see," Simba said calmly.
"If I might... doesn't it concern you?" Zazu asked. "The herds seem to be willing to leave Pridelands unless the law is changed."
"If they were to do this, they'd had done so long ago, Zazu," the king replied. "In fact, I'm surprised the demands are showing after such a long time. They're just trying to win the peace they'd become so used to, having nothing to wager. Other lands are quite far away for an entire herd to travel; and even with the hyenas back into the equation, living conditions in the Pridelands are still among the best to find," he explained.
"So you have no second thoughts about letting the hyenas back into your kingdom, sire?" Zazu asked, his tone suggesting he wouldn't mind a negative answer.
"That's true, Zazu," Simba nodded once. "Even though I don't really understand why did they elect to live in the graveyard, I'm as certain of my decision as I was when I made it."
"Then the most intriguing news I have for you, sire, will be even more interesting," the majordomo bird announced. "The hyenas have posted sentries along their whole border with the Pridelands. The reasons are unknown to me, for the guards refused explaining anything to me."
"Most unexpected," Simba agreed, "is there anything more?" he asked, trying to focus on the present conversation as a list of things he needed to do spread in his head.
"Yes, sire," Zazu bowed and prepared to take off.
"Thank you then," Simba smiled and turned toward Priderock to continue his trek. Suddenly, he stopped and looked behind him. "Oh, and Zazu? I shall need your services in about three hours. I'd be glad to see you at Priderock then."
"Of course," Zazu saluted and jumped up, quickly gaining height. Soon he was just a speck on the wide sky.
And Simba was left alone with an overwhelming mass of things to do, problems to solve and riddles to work out.