The Guardian Prophesy

by LionKingLibrarian

The guardian Prophesy is a story about a man who's airplane crashes in the Pridelands. The character lives with the Pride. It is set just before Simba's birth

3. Chapter 3

My apologies for how late this is! This story is getting more interesting every chapter. The next and last chapter will be out probably this week, I'd say the weekend.

Cmon everybody. Where are the reviews!? I am curious as to what you think of the story. You should share your opinion of it, especially when the last chapter comes out. Anyways, without delaying you all any longer, I give you

The Guardian Prophesy (Chapter 3) by D. Ritchie

Forcing aside his squeamishness, Fox paid close attention to the feeding
rituals of the Pride. He noticed that Mufasa was the first to feed. He
assumed that the male would always be the first to eat. He had no idea
where he was in the pecking order of food, and he didn't want to impose, so
he waited until everyone was finished.

He approached the zebra carcass. There was still a lot of meat on the
animal, but the thought of eating raw zebra made Fox's stomach turn. He
needed cooked meat… he needed a fire. After a quick look around, he saw
tinder brush that he could use, and he gathered it together. He had enough
matches in his emergency bag to last him a couple weeks, and he assumed
that would be sufficient. Mufasa watched him curiously as he piled the
wood.

"A human ritual?" he asked Fox.

"In a manner of speaking…" Fox said, running a match across the rough box
surface. It ignited. "…Yes."

Mufasa's eyes widened in shock, but he remained calm. "Fox?"

"Yes?" Fox replied, turning to his lion friend.

"The… uh… stick, Fox," Mufasa stammered. "It's… on fire."

Fox realized that lions – and probably all of the animals in the Pridelands
– were wary of fire.

"Hey, don't worry," he said smoothly. Mufasa shifted uncomfortably, trying
to decide what to do.

Fox could tell that he was still uneasy. "Trust me," he reassured the lion.
"It's under control."

Mufasa recoiled at the assertion. Control? Mufasa wondered. Fox could
control fire? He inquired about this, and Fox explained how to put out a
blaze, demonstrating on a small part of his embers. Mufasa was thoroughly
impressed. Controlling fire was surely something the Guardian would know
how to do.

The coal-preparing process took almost half an hour, and Fox was starving.
He went over to the zebra carcass and pulled a large piece of meat from it.
Impaling the raw zebra on a stick, he set it over the fire to let it cook.

The lion looked on with infinite curiosity. "What now?" he asked. He'd
never seen such practice before.

"Humans don't hunt their food," Fox explained. "We have it hunted for us
and sent to us a long way to where we live."

"But if the kill isn't fresh, then you can't eat it," Mufasa pointed out.
"It rots."

"Exactly," Fox said. "But, if you keep the meat very cold, it doesn't rot.
Only problem is, when you get it, you can't eat it cold. So you heat it
with fire."

Mufasa shook his head, trying to comprehend. "Why don't you just eat fresh
meat?"

Fox thought for a moment. "That's just how it is. That's how we live." He
looked back at his meat, which was cooking nicely. A couple more minutes,
he thought. "Mufasa," he said. "What's the Guardian Prophesy?"

Mufasa looked up quickly. He'd must have been listening in on his
conversation with Rafiki, Mufasa decided. "I'm not sure, Fox. That's why I
asked Rafiki."

Fox looked him seriously. "You said you thought I was the Guardian. You
must know something about it," Fox said. "Level with me. If you're gonna'
sacrifice me to a volcano or something, I wanna' know."

"Nothing like that," Mufasa chuckled. He didn't like keeping secrets from
his friends, and there was really no reason Fox couldn't know. "It's a
legend that my father told me when I was a cub. It was about a Guardian who
protected the gods' children from danger. The story says that the sun
captured the Guardian and imprisoned him. My father told me that one day, a
brave young cub would rescue the Guardian from the sun, and then he would
return to watch over us." Mufasa was slightly embarrassed at the story. "It
sounds childish, I know," he admitted.

Fox blinked. "That's out there, pal."

Mufasa winced, but retorted. "You freeze your dinner."

"Touché," Fox replied, and it was time to eat. He pulled the meat out of
the fire and sampled it. His It was by no means the best he'd ever tasted,
but he was hungry and the food was edible. He swallowed some more. He

thanked Mufasa for the food.

"It's the least we can do," he said. "I want you to know that you're
welcome to stay here as long as you like," he added. "The lionesses will
feed you and you can sleep in their cave." Fox wondered why Mufasa wanted
him to sleep in the lionesses cave. Sarabi arrived and suddenly he knew
why.

"It's getting late, Mufasa," she said with a wicked smile. She turned to
Fox. "Did you enjoy your-" she noticed the fire. "Mufasa?" she started with
concern.

"Don't worry, my love," he cut in. "Fox can control the fire. He uses it to
prepare his food." He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "It's a human
thing." Raising an eyebrow, she nodded understandingly.

Fox decided to let the newlyweds be. "I'll just head over to the lionesses
cave now," he said.

"Sleep well" Mufasa said. Fox extinguished his fire and turned toward the
cave in the base of the plateau.

"What a strange creature," Sarabi said after he was out of earshot.

"Indeed," Mufasa replied. "He heats his food with fire." He fell into deep
thought. "So, do you think it's him?" he asked distantly. Sarabi knew what
Mufasa meant. Recently he'd been pitching the possibility to a couple of
his closest friends… Zazu, Rafiki, and now her. She didn't know what to
think. She didn't care right now. There was only one thing that she wanted
to think about…

"Maybe," she said, rubbing her head under his chin provocatively.

"It would explain why he can talk to us," Mufasa reasoned, paying little
attention to his mate. "And it would also explain why he can control fire
and why he fell from the sky." Sarabi made another attempt at capturing
Mufasa's attention, but to no avail.

"I guess it would," she clipped, starting to get frustrated. Stowing her
irritation, she softly nuzzled her mate, licking his cheek and lion-kissing
his face. Mufasa was unfazed.

"And then there's the name," Mufasa continued. Sarabi had had enough. She
stormed up in front of him as he spoke. "I wonder what Palafox means… or
Aegisthus… or—"

"—See if you can figure out what this means," Sarabi growled, swatting him
with her paw. She turned abruptly and stomped back to the Rock. The blow
had no force in it, but it was sufficient to startle Mufasa from his
contemplation. A moment's thought led him to realize what had just
happened.

"Oh…" he muttered. "Uh… Sarabi?" he called out weakly, trotting after her.
She didn't look back. "Sarabi? My love? I'm sorry…! Wait up!" Sarabi
ascended the incline and entered the cave, and Mufasa was right behind her.
As the king and queen disappeared from the plains, night set in and the
Pridelands became still.

Fox entered the lionesses cave, and there was a sudden pause. The females
had been talking among themselves, presumably about him. He smiled weakly.
"Mufasa said I should sleep here."

After a short pause, a cub bounced up to him. He recognized it as young
Kala. "You can sleep next to me!" she announced. "Will you sing me another
song?" she asked suddenly.

The lionesses looked up at him quizzically. He shifted uncomfortably. "Uh…"
he said in embarrassment. "We'll see. Maybe later." Sarafina stood up from
the Pride and trotted up next to the human.

"You're welcome here, Fox. Please, come in," she said. The lionesses warmly
added their approval. Fox edged his way in and moved to the back of the
cave where he sat against the wall. He was uncomfortable being so out of
place. The lionesses began to talk amongst themselves once again, although
he heard nothing mentioned about him. Sarafina followed him to his niche.
"So what do you think?" she asked. He was interrupted by Kala, who pounced
onto his lap. He petted her head and continued.

"It's great," he said. "I thought I was seeing the whole story from up in
the Cessna, but this," he said sincerely, gesturing to their surroundings.
"This you can't see from the sky. It's incredible."

Sarafina smiled. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. If you need anything,"
she said, "just ask me. We're all glad to have you."

"Thanks," Fox said, unsure of whether or not the lioness meant it. Sarafina
moved back to the Pride. For the most part, she did mean it. The lionesses
were intrigued by the human, and the news that he'd saved Mufasa's life
placed him high in their esteem.

"I'm very glad you're here, too," Kala's little voice said from below. He
looked down. She was a cute cub, he thought. He wondered which of the
lionesses was her mother, but he didn't ask.

"Well… thank you, Kala," Fox said warmly. "I'm very glad to be here." What
else do you say to little kids? he wondered. He wasn't very good with
children of any kind, and he was trying to muddle his way through. "So," he
began, trying to generate a conversation. "What's a girl like you doing in
a place like this?" he asked without thinking. Immediately, he kicked
himself. That isn't going to work! he thought. It did, though.

Kala snickered. "I sleep here," she said. "But I usually stay outside. I
don't like it where it's always dark. Sometimes, I go play at the water
hole. It's really neat there…" The young cub began to tell him about what
she did all day. Fox was remarkably patient, surprising even himself. He
listened to every word Kala said, and although he didn't pay any close
attention to every detail, he managed to respond in the necessary places
with "That's nice," and "Very good." He liked the little cub. She was more
open minded than any of the animals he'd met so far. It takes someone so
young and innocent to be so unprejudiced, he thought. Soon, the lionesses
were laying down to sleep. He picked up the cub and set her down next to
him.

"You should go to bed now, Kala," he said.

"Can I sleep here next to you?" she asked. Fox didn't want to be in a
position where he made any decision for fear of imposing.

"You'd better go sleep with your mother," he said. The cub nodded and
curled up next to one of the lionesses Fox hadn't yet met. He stretched out
on the hard rock floor. This will take some getting used to, he thought.
Despite the floor, he fell asleep almost instantly, having had an active
day. He woke up only once during the night – at what time he had no idea.
He noticed that Kala had curled up next to him, though. He thought about
waking her, but to do so would be to turn away the only friend he'd met so
far that trusted him entirely. He smiled to himself and reached his arm
out. Pulling the cub in close, he went back to sleep.

As time passed, Fox became more and more aware that he had no desire to
leave Pride Rock. The lionesses were more than happy to feed and take care
of him. Unbeknownst to the human, the lionesses were also growing fond of
him, particularly Sarabi and Sarafina. He'd already saved Mufasa's life,
which they respected him a great deal for. Beyond that, though, he seemed
to fit in very well with the Pride – like one of the lions. In the secrecy
of sorority, the lionesses decided amongst themselves against Mufasa's
wishes to drop influential hints to Fox that he might want to stick around.
Mufasa didn't want to push him either way, and he'd made it clear to the
Pride that he wanted the decision to be entirely up to Fox. Sarabi had made
it clear afterwards that they were not to listen to Mufasa, and they'd
happily decided to follow her lead on that particular matter.

All of this occurred outside Fox's realizations. He was too busy to think
about it anyway. He'd begun to spend a lot of time with Kala, who always
wanted to play. Frequently, she'd ask him to sing to her.

"Again!" she begged. "Pleeeease?"

Fox was always happy to oblige. He had become close friends with Mufasa and
Sarabi, and he'd befriended the Pride as well, but he was more attached to
Kala than any of them. He always loved to spend time with her, and he was
never to busy to take her on walks or tell her stories about the human
world.

He realized that he was contributing nothing to the Pride, and that
troubled him. It wouldn't have, had he know how they felt, but he didn't,
and so it did. For now, though, he was happy. He'd even started getting
along with Zazu.

The turning point for him and the bird had been a territorial argument that
Zazu had been mediating. Fox, who'd had nothing to do for the time being,
followed the bird to his negotiation. Apparently, two groups of meerkats
had been disputing over land. This was all very amusing to Fox, who'd never
once in his creative thinking conceived of territorial mediations between
animals. It was something you'd see only on Sesame Street, but here it was,
happening. He felt like Gulliver, experiencing an amazing world of
unbelievable things that no one would ever believe him about. The
Lillyputians were going at it hard, too.

Zazu had reached a reasonable agreement on both sides, dividing the land up
to share equal resources. One of the two factions was unhappy. Claiming
that they had nested in the area first, they demanded nothing less than
three-quarters of the land, or what Fox perceived to be three-quarters.
Zazu argued persistently that this was unacceptable, but the meerkats
threatened to feud, which was precisely what Mufasa had told Zazu to
prevent. It became obvious to Fox that Mufasa's job was not only to rule
the land, but to maintain order as well. In that respect, he was not unlike
the human kings of Medieval Europe. Zazu, he noticed, was reaching wits
end. He felt sorry for the bird, who he knew had worked feverishly for days
trying to decide how to fairly divide the land. Fox decided to do everyone
a favor. He reached down and grabbed the belligerent meerkat, careful to
hold his thumb over its strong jaws.

"Listen," he said seriously. "Zazu's given you far more than you deserve,
you little bastard. King Mufasa told me that he wants this issue resolved
stat, and if it isn't, then we get to hand the territory to whomever we
like." His eyes narrowed to slits. "We don't like you."

The meerkat had no idea what a 'bastard' was, but given his position, he
was inclined to agree that he was indeed a little one. Zazu was looking up
at Fox with great concern. This wasn't diplomatic at all. "Fox?" he asked
anxiously. The human wasn't finished though.

"Not only that," he continued. "I'll see to it that the King puts me
personally in charge of all territorial mediation, and you'll be lucky to
find a swamp that I can't kick you out of! Get it!?" He doubted whether
Mufasa would put him in such a position, but he spoke with fake sincerity.
He was overplaying his hand heavily, although the meerkat didn't seem to
notice. Instead, he nodded eagerly. Fox set him down next to Zazu again.
The furry lemur spoke quietly.

"The fifty—fifty arrangement is… satisfactory," he said quietly. Zazu
smiled.

"Very good," he said. "Then it's settled. I don't want to hear any more
disturbances from you two," he said to the faction delegates. Once they
were safely away from the disputed land, Zazu opened up on Fox. "Who do you
think you are?!" he asked incredulously. "If Mufasa finds out about this,
he'll have my head! Where did you learn diplomacy, anyway?!"

Fox defended himself adamantly. "You weren't getting anywhere. I thought
I'd try. It worked, didn't it?" he asked innocently.

Zazu's angry expression slowly turned to one of amusement. "Yes," he said
finally. "Yes, it did work." He thought for a moment as he eyed the human.
"I won't tell Mufasa if you won't."

"Deal," Fox returned, grinning.

"Just the same, though, Fox?" Zazu began.

"Yeah?" Fox replied.

"Leave the negotiations up to me from now on, okay?"

"Fair enough," Fox said. The two put their disagreements behind them and
became fast friends after that. Fox stopped referring to him as 'bird' and
'blue-thing', and Zazu stopped calling him a 'filthy human'. A definite
start in the right direction.

Roughly two weeks after he'd put in on, Fox removed Mufasa's bandage from
the wounded leg. He was unsure about how well the wound would heal, but he
was pleasantly surprised.

"Hold still!" Fox demanded as his survival knife sliced through the
bandages.

"I'm trying to!" Mufasa growled. "You're jerking my leg around."

Fox tried to be more careful. "If I cut you with this," he said, nodding to
the knife, "the wound will be worse than when I put this thing on."

Mufasa sat without moving as Fox worked as quickly as he could. "There!"
the human said triumphantly, severing the last piece of the bandage. It
fell away to reveal Mufasa's leg. Some of the fur had died away from lack
of oxygen, but Fox assured him that it would grow back. He was more
interested in the wound itself. It seemed to have healed completely, Fox
marveled. There wasn't even a scar. "This looks really good," he said
finally. "Should be business as usual for you now."

Mufasa looked down at his leg. It felt normal. He'd been able to walk
normally for a couple days, but Fox had insisted on keeping the bandages.
He smiled. "Thank you again, Fox," he said.

Fox grinned back. "My pleasure. It isn't everyone who gets to play doctor
for a king."

Despite Fox's deepest affection for Kala, he found that she had a maddening
habit of seeking him out when she had ponderous questions. To make matters
worse, Kala seemed to be an expert on asking questions that had no answers…
deep questions… questions that kids should only ask their parents.

"Fox?!" Kala cried out as she raced out through the plains. She'd been
thinking all morning, and she had finally come up with a really good
question – or in Fox's case, a really bad one. Fox had been returning from
the water hole when he heard Kala's call. His first reaction was to shout
back, but then he realized what she probably wanted. He darted to the
nearest tree and made his best attempt to climb up into the concealing
branches above.

"I don't know why you only have two eyes!" he muttered. "I don't know why
you're a girl instead of a boy!" He reached the hidden branches of the tree
and positioned himself so that he would be invisible from the ground. "I
don't know why Mufasa and Sarabi spend so much time in their cave…" Well,
he did know that one, but he wasn't going to tell her.

"Fox?" Kala called out again. "Where are you?" Fox was resolute, though. He
wasn't coming out. Under no circumstances would he show himself.

"Please come out!" she pleaded. No! Fox thought. Don't beg! It won't do you
any good.

Kala stopped and sat down, mewling dejectedly. "Please?" she whimpered. Fox
cursed at himself. Be strong! You're a man! You know what's going to
happen, he screamed in his mind. You know!

"Don't you like me anymore?" she cried, flattening her ears and slumping
her head to the ground. It was too much for Fox to resist. For some
inexplicable reason, Kala had managed to do what no other force in the
universe could do… she could break his will in half without even trying. As
if possessed by tiny little devil-cubs with huge, sweet blue eyes and light
golden-brown fur, he slid down the tree and scooped up his little girl.

"Of course I do," he said, rubbing her neck and scratching her head. Fox's
descent startled the cub, but she kept her composure, managing another tiny
mewl as Fox picked her up.

"Reeeeealy?" she asked with her best sad-cub face.

"Absolutely," Fox replied with determination. He was coming to realize that
while Mufasa was a master at fighting and the lionesses were masters at
hunting, their natural ability paled in comparison with Kala's knack for
manipulating him. It was uncanny. Even worse, she knew it, and so usually
got her way when she asked Fox.

"Well… okay," she said finally, exceedingly proud of her performance. "I
have a question."

Like a faucet, the charm that was flowing from Kala was turned off, and Fox
immediately came to his senses. He'd been had! Again! he realized. Played
like a harp! Still, what could he do? With resignation, he let out a long
sigh.

"Okay, Kala. What's your question?" He was sure he didn't want to hear it.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" she asked.

"Of course," Fox lied. He felt powerless to say no to those big blue eyes.

Kala shifted uncomfortably a little bit it his arms. Fox wondered why, but
he knew immediately when she spoke. "Does it hurt when you die?" she asked.

Fox was taken completely off guard by the question. "Huh?" he answered.

"You know… when you die. Like the antelope and zebras and stuff we eat."

"I don't know, Kala," Fox replied. For the first time ever, he wished he
had an answer for her. "I've never died."

Kala swatted him playfully. "I know that. But you know everything… I bet it
does." Fox reached down and scratched under the cub's neck.

"You shouldn't worry about that stuff," he said. "You're too young to worry
about that."

Kala moved into more discomforting territory. "Am I gonna' die?" she asked.

"Er… well…" Fox stumbled. "Yes – but not for a real long time." He could
tell that she was disappointed and even a little scared. He explained
further. "It's just part of life… like growing up. Everybody dies."

"Even you?" she asked sadly.

"Even me, kid," he said, rubbing her head. "But not for a real long time."
He realized that Kala would be long dead by the time he died, as lions in
the wild rarely lived beyond fifteen years. He didn't like to think about
that, though.

Kala looked distressed over the revelation. "I don't wanna' die, Fox," she
said. Fox's heart ached for his little girl, but he could do nothing more
than hold her.

"Why don't we go do something?" he asked. "Just you and me?" Kala shrugged
a little.

"Can we go to Paris?" she asked. A while ago, Fox had found a hidden alcove
on the stream that fed the water hole. It was far out of the way of the
plains and no one else ever went there, so Fox had decreed it their
'special place'. They spent a lot of time there, and they never told anyone
where they'd been. That's why Paris was so special. 'We'll always have
Paris' Fox would say frequently with a laugh, and although she didn't
understand what that meant, she always laughed along. When Fox laughed, it
made her laugh too.

"Of course," he said kindly. "You know what I always say?" he asked as he
carried her toward the stream. He didn't even have to finish. A tiny smile
broke out on the cub's face, and Fox knew that everything was okay. Kala
never mentioned dying again, and Fox never thought about it after that.

In the weeks that followed, things ran smoothly. Fox helped Zazu with his
daily rounds. He played with Kala and the other cubs. He always ate well –
Sarabi had seen to that. He still cooked most of his food, which was still
puzzling to the lioness, but she never mentioned it. One night, he'd felt
particularly adventurous, and decided to try the meat raw.

"Do it!" Kala had urged him. He didn't want to disappoint his little
friend, but he also didn't really want to taste the uncooked meat. He tried
to explain that humans needed to cook their food before they ate it, but
Kala wasn't taking excuses. "Come on!" she pushed. "Don't be a sissy!"

"Okay… Okay…" Fox said, immediately wishing he hadn't. Kala brought him a
large chunk of wildebeest. Among the things he'd had to eat out here,
wildebeest was his favorite. It wasn't steak or a hamburger, he thought,
but it was better than everything else. He picked the meat up in his hands.
It was still warm. "I can't believe I'm about to do this," he groaned, but
curiosity got the best of him, and he sampled a small piece. It was gummy,
and the texture was terrible, but once he got past the initial distaste, he
realized that in tight situations he could depend on such food. To Kala's
delight, he finished the meal that night without cooking. After that,
though, he decided to only eat raw meat when he absolutely had to. He was
proud of himself anyway.

Sarabi would want to see this, he knew. He'd seen her stare with a puzzled
expression at how he cooked his food, and he knew it struck her as odd.
Since I tried the meat raw, maybe she'll give my cooking a chance, he
mused. Then he noticed that the lioness hadn't come to eat that night. He
looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Kala?" he asked suddenly. "Where's Sarabi?"

Kala looked up from her dinner and glanced around. She thought for a
moment. "Don't know," she declared and went back to eating.

Nobody knew, he'd found from asking around. They didn't seem worried, so he
assumed that this happened frequently. Still, he thought, I'd better go see
what's up. He ascended the incline to the Rock, where Mufasa was sitting
outside of his cave, gazing over the land as he frequently did. Tonight,
though, his solemn, pensive expression was replaced with a wide smile.

"Mufasa?" Fox started. He didn't want to interrupt the lion, but he thought
it would be best. Mufasa turned to him.

"Yes, Fox?" he replied kindly. "What can I do for you?"

"It's Sarabi," Fox said. "I haven't seen her…" he thought for a moment.
"All day, come to think of it," he finished. He'd expected Mufasa to be
concerned, but instead, the king beamed at him.

"Come here, Fox," he said, his voice full of pride. Fox followed Mufasa
into the cave, where Sarabi was laying on the ground asleep. She looked
just a little different, Fox thought. Ever so slightly, almost
unnoticeably, she appeared to have gained a little weight. "What," he
asked, confused. "Is she on a diet?"

"No," Mufasa said, staring proudly at his mate. "She is with child."

Fox was startled by this, but a huge smile found its way to his face.
"Mufasa, you Casanova!" he laughed, punching the lion playfully on the
shoulder. "That's great!" Cubs, Fox grinned. His friend was going to be a
father, and he was going to be a… well… kind of godfather. "So," he asked
anxiously. "How long?" He knew that incubation for lionesses was about
three months - a National Geographic Explorer fact – but he wanted to know
for sure.

"A while," Mufasa said. "Not until the rain season is over."

A little less than three months, Fox thought to himself. He looked back at
his friend. "Wow, Mufasa. This is heavy," he said. He was grinning
uncontrollably.

Mufasa, he knew, was going to make a good father. He envied the cub for the
kind of care he would receive from the king. Fox himself had never been
very close to his family, but he knew instinctively that Mufasa would be a
family man… er lion. "Does she need anything?" Fox asked. "Food or
something? I can bring her some food."

Mufasa shook his head. "I've already taken care of that, he said.

Of course he had, Fox thought. Mufasa would be hyper-attentive for the next
three months. As it should be. "Well, does anyone know yet?" he asked.

Mufasa shook his head again, and looked up at Fox. "No, not yet. Would you
find Zazu for me?" he asked. Fox nodded and was off.

"With child!?" Zazu exclaimed in disbelief. "Why… why… I'll have to tell
the kingdom!"

You always have to tell the kingdom, Fox didn't say. Instead he smiled. "Go
to it, Zazu!" The bird flapped away as quickly as he could. Mufasa had been
right. Zazu was a loyal friend. He could tell how proud the bird was that
his young Master was going to be a father. Zazu had watched him grow and
helped raise him. Now, the cub would be like his grandchild. Fox began to
wonder what Mufasa was like as a child. Probably pretty good as far as kids
go, he decided.

Fox thought about going along with Zazu, but realized that it was getting
late and it would be dark soon. If he wanted to say goodnight to Kala he'd
have to hurry back to the cave.

As he entered the cave, he saw that the lionesses were putting their cubs
to rest. Kala was pestering her mother, Mwanda.

"But he said he'd be here!" she whined. "If I go to sleep, I'll miss him!"
Mwanda rolled her eyes and tried to console the cub.

"When he gets here, I'll wake you," she offered. "Go to sleep." Kala
frowned and crumpled angrily to the ground, almost in tears. Fox slid up
next to Mwanda.

"Hey, cupcake," he said softly. Kala's head snapped up from her sulking.

"Fox!" she burst out. "I knew you'd come to say goodnight! See mom," she
said, addressing her mother proudly. "I told you!" Mwanda smiled softly.

"That's right," she agreed. "You told me. Now go to sleep."

Kala nodded happily. "Good night, mother," she said. "Good night, Fox." Fox
bent down and kissed the cub on the forehead.

"See ya' tomorrow, kid," he whispered. The cub laid down comfortably this
time, curling up into a tight ball. Her eyes snapped shut and she was
asleep in moments. Mwanda sighed and looked up at Fox.

"She's really taken with you," she informed him. "You're all she talks
about now."

Fox grinned proudly. "I've never been good with kids," he confessed. "But
she makes it easy." The two sauntered back to the rest of the Pride and Fox
sat down next to Sarafina. He'd become closer to the lionesses than with
any other friends he'd ever had. It was like a clan that he'd been accepted
into, and once you were a member, you were in for life. He wasn't sure he
would ever be a member, but despite this, there was never anything but
hospitality from the Pride.

The social scene consisted of constant grooming and bathing, but the only
thing Fox was a part of was their evening conversations. Every night they'd
sit around and talk about a variety of things. Usually the discussion would
wander until they all decided to go to sleep. Tonight, the conversation was
about him.

"There he is," Sarafina laughed as she noticed Fox. "We've been talking
about you."

"Uh-oh," Fox groaned. "What have you been telling them?"

The remark elicited a chuckle from the Pride, but Sarafina had a more
serious question on her mind. It had been almost two moons – what Fox
called months – since he had arrived, and she wasn't sure what his plans
were. She'd heard him talking with Mufasa about the possibility of staying,
which she was excited about. Although he was a human and although humans
were usually persona non grata, Sarafina had taken a deep liking to Fox.
She knew that she would be sad to see him go, so she decided that it was
finally time to do something. After their brief conversation while Fox was
putting Kala to bed, she knew she had the consent of the Pride.

"Do you have a family?" she asked, indirectly moving toward a point. Fox
was taken by surprise at the question.

"Well… yeah, I guess," he replied. He had a mother and a father. That was a
family, wasn't it?

Sarafina tried to hide her disappointment. "So they probably miss you?" she
asked. There was a slight hint of dejection in her voice, and immediately
Fox understood. It hit him like a flash of lighting that maybe nobody
minded that he was leeching off of the Pride's kills.

"No," he replied. "We were never very close." He knew they were likely
wondering what his plans were for the future. He'd given some thought
himself to what his next move was. He didn't like the idea of leaving the
Pride, but he didn't feel like he belonged. Still, what did he have outside
of the Pridelands?

Sarafina carried on. "You weren't happy at home?" she asked, angry with
herself at how happy she was to hear it. Fox shook his head.

"No… not at all," he answered, as much to himself as to Sarafina. He'd
hated home, he remembered. He'd left with no intention of returning. But
now that he'd been to Pride Rock, he knew he'd never be satisfied with
routine flights over the Olduvai Gorge either. Not after he'd learned what
was actually here. It was a bad situation indeed.

"Why don't you stay here?" Sarafina burst out suddenly. She tried to catch
herself but was too late. She cringed and her head snapped around to the
Pride. Until now, they'd been skirting the edge of disobeying Mufasa's
wishes by interfering in Fox's decision, but she'd just stepped way over
the line. She expected expressions of shock from her pridemates but was
comforted to see their reassuring glances of approval. She turned back to
Fox, whose face was unreadable.

Fox wasn't entirely convinced that it was a good idea for him to stay. "We
should think about this some more," he responded slowly. Sarafina wasn't
surrendering.

"What's there to think about?" she asked. "Don't you like it here?"

Fox shrugged his shoulders. "It's great," he answered, at a loss for better
words. "I've never seen… anywhere like it."

"…and you weren't happy at home?" she continued.

"No, I was miserable," Fox said. Miserable? Sarafina wondered. She decided
that Fox needed to remember just how miserable home had been. But that
would be taking advantage, wouldn't it? Nah… She abandoned her attempt to
be ethical and went for the kill.

"Poor dear, it must have been awful," she cooed, grinning wildly in the
back of her mind. "Why don't we talk about it?"

Fox shrugged his shoulders once again. Talk about it? "What's there to
say…?"

{"THIS IS THE PLACE" cue. Introductory hat begins with shuffle beat}

"Tell us everything," Sarafina prompted…

"You want everything?"

"Everything."

"Okay…" {Fox says with a shrug. He steps to the entrance of the cave and
leans cavalierly against the wall…}

THIS IS THE PLACE (TAKE A LOOK AT THE PRIDELANDS)

FOX: I USED TO LIVE IN CHICAGO

I HAD A JOB AT CHATEAUS

LOUSY PAY

I HAD TO SPEND MY DAY

SELLING WOMEN'S CLOTHES

HATED LIFE TO THE FULLEST

SO I SOLD OFF MY SHACK

I GAVE MY BEST TO THE WEST (AND I) NEVER LOOKED BACK

SARAFINA: {Approaches FOX, indicates outside the cave.}

(BUT) TAKE A LOOK AT THE PRIDELANDS

THE EARTH THAT HEAVEN ORDAINS

(CAUSE IT'S) INCOMPLETE WITHOUT THE STARS OF THE SWEET

SERENGETI PLAINS

TAKE A SHOT WITH THE PRIDELANDS

(AND) BRING YOUR BAGS JUST IN CASE

IF YOU'VE GOTTA' BE SOMEWHERE, THIS IS THE PLACE

FOX: {In realization and slight disbelief}

I'd forgotten how much I hated it…

SARAFINA: {Spoken with a knowing smile}

Awww… It wasn't that bad, was it?

FOX: People are so… dull…

SARAFINA: {Deeply sarcastic}

Gee… you can't mean that!

FOX: Yeah…?

AN EXAMPLE

TELEVISION

WE LOVE (TO) THROW OUR LIVES AWAY

WE JUST SIT AND STARE

IT'S LIKE WE'RE WAITING THERE

TO DIE

IT'S THE GREATEST

EXHIBITION

OF A SAD AND PATHETIC WASTE

SO I PACKED MY STUFF

(I'VE) HAD (IT) THAT'S ENOUGH

GOODBYE

{On "Goodbye", FOX throws his hands
up in disgust and turns away from
the cave. SARAFINA moves
immediately to his side and
comforts him.}

SARAFINA: NOW YOU'RE HERE IN THE PRIDELANDS

THE EARTH THAT HEAVEN ORDAINS

(CAUSE IT'S) INCOMPLETE WITHOUT THE STARS OF THE SWEET

SERENGETI PLAINS

FOX: {Considering}

TAKE A CHANCE ON THE PRIDELANDS

(NO) TELLIN' WHAT I MIGHT FIND

SARAFINA: {Leads FOX outside. PRIDE follows behind.}

BUT TEN-TO-ONE IT'S MORE FUN

(THAN) WHAT (YOU'RE) LEAVIN' BEHIND

IF YOU'RE LOOKIN'

FOR A REFUGE

THEN YOU'VE REACHED THE RIGHT DOMICILE

JUST TAKE A GLANCE

ALTHOUGH YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES

IF YOU'RE SEARCHIN'

FOR NIRVANA

AND YOU'VE (BEEN) AT IT FOR A WHILE

THEN LOOK NO FURTHER,

HERE'S WHAT I ADVISE

DUO: TAKE A LOOK AT THE PRIDELANDS

THE EARTH THAT HEAVEN ORDAINS

(CAUSE IT'S) INCOMPLETE WITHOUT THE STARS OF THE SWEET

SERENGETI PLAINS

SARAFINA: (YOU) COULD STAY HERE IN THE PRIDELANDS

FOX: {Shrugs with acceptance and smiles.}

I'VE ALWAYS WANTED MORE SPACE

SARAFINA: WHAT DO YOU SEE ALL AROUND YOU?

THIS IS YOUR PLACE

PRIDE+DUO: {PRIDE gathers around DUO}

TAKE A LOOK AT THE PRIDELANDS

THE EARTH THAT HEAVEN ORDAINS

(CAUSE IT'S) INCOMPLETE WITHOUT THE STARS OF THE SWEET

SERENGETI PLAINS

TAKE YOUR CHANCE ON THE PRIDELANDS

AND BRING YOUR BAGS JUST IN CASE

SARAFINA: (CAUSE) IF YOU'VE GOTTA' BE SOMEWHERE, THIS IS THE PLACE

FOX: {With decision.}

IF I'VE GOTTA' BE SOMEWHERE, THIS IS THE PLACE

ALL: IF YOU'VE GOTTA' BE SOMEWHERE, THIS IS THE PLACE

{End "THIS IS THE PLACE"}