preface: this chapter didn't feel as massive when it was still just in my head... Anyway, in the description of this story, I said it would go into what it was like to live under the rule of Scar, and this chapter is mostly just about that; one lioness dealing with the new normal - though it's also setting things up for bigger plot-points later. Also, canon-warning: I'll be deviating from the movie-coloring of the hyenas. In the TLK universe, they're gray, but IRL, it's all yellows and browns, and I prefer to work with those.
re ograndebatata ch5: Nala's overreaction is basically the result of her still being traumatized over Simba's death, something I'll touch on later. As for things going downhill in the Pridelands, I reckon I have a good two or three years of in-story time to work with, so plenty of room to slowly set everything up and then have things play out to their inevitable conclusion.
re Kovukono: I honestly plan to try and cover pretty much everything - though if my chapters keep inflating like they're doing now, I might run into a wall at some point... Zira-arc, Nala-arc, Sarabi, Sarafina, obviously Scar... And then there's all my OC stinking up the place.
re sarabiiiiii: glad you like it, and I hope you keep reading!
Eternal enemies
Tuli did not begrudge the other lionesses having gone hunting without her; it was an entirely understandable thing for them to do. All the same, it did leave Tuli hungry while everyone else was sated - no way she was going to be able to motivate any of them to do any hunting for at least a couple of days.
Zira still hand't shown up neither. Tuli remembered last seeing her the day before, when she woke her up in the middle of the day. That interruption had been why Tuli had slept way into the evening, and missed the hunt. And now, at the dawn of the following day, still no sign of her. It wasn't really any cause for concern - Zira hadn't quite been the most social type the past year, and she often spent time alone. Still, it would have been nice to have a hunting partner.
Only one thing for it, then: Tuli would have to go out looking for some breakfast all on her own. There are worse things in life. She waited until a little past daybreak: if you're out alone, it's easier if you can scan large areas for an easy opportunity, which requires daylight. By contrast, in a group, the numbers make it's possible to rustle an entire herd and single out the weakest members, so all you have to do is find the herd - easy enough to do even at night, with a dozen lionesses looking. But when alone, that's just the kind of thing to avoid, unless you like having your teeth kicked in by the more aggressive males of the herd.
Tuli set out without a clear direction in mind. She figured it would be easiest to cruise around from hilltop to hilltop, hoping to spot a meal down below. She encountered no other lionesses along the way; they were all still dozing in the Priderock den, digesting last night's meal. She did pass the odd hyena, but whenever she approached, they would move out of the way and stay far clear of her - which was fine by Tuli.
Back in her old pride, no-one ever had anything nice to say about hyenas. On the best of days a nuisance, but more often an outright threat. As a cub, whenever she was mischievous or careless, her mother would invoke the specter of hyenas coming to eat her - which ironically came close to happening only once she was older. They would steal kills from her pride whenever the opportunity presented itself - and the lions were more than happy to respond in kind whenever they happened upon a hyena hunt. There was little outright violence, but the older lionesses would sometimes recount tales of a lion that had ruled their pride in a dark past, and who was primarily remembered for killing a quite improbable number of hyenas. It was a tale told with glee.
Her current pride was even less sympathetic to the spotted scavengers. They had been banished from the Pridelands because they had at one point conspired to kill the king, or made war on the pride, or even outright killed a queen, and possibly all of those things - but it had happened almost three full generations back, so no-one was left alive to remember the specifics. Tuli always thought it odd that hyenas would have been part of the Pridelands in the first place - around her old pride, they kept their own territories. But whatever the case, the Pridelanders' animosity still ran deep - and as far as she could tell, the feeling was mutual.
None of that would fill her belly, though. Tuli ignored the scavengers, and kept on the lookout for a meal. The pickings were slim. A great many zebra and wildebeest roamed the plains, to be sure - but all of them adult, healthy, and gathered in herds. Tuli was a decent enough huntress, and she would be able to kill any one of those herbivores; it's just that it would be an incredibly risky venture. Sarafina's accident last night was never far out of her mind. So she kept looking for something easier.
All the while, the sun beat down mercilessly. Not quite withering, but still plenty uncomfortable after a while out in the open. Tuli went to sit down under an acacia ringed with lush, green undergrowth. She took the opportunity to brush past the greenery. As she ran her muzzle past the leaves, she could feel how the ones on the shadowy side of the tree still had dew on them. The vibrancy of the Pridelands still hadn't lost any of their wonder for her - but then again, she knew what it was like to live in deadlands. Now comfortable in the shadow of the tree, she let her gaze wander.
Then she saw an opportunity. A small herd of gazelle was foraging not all that far away; at this time of year, their ocher topcoats stood out quite starkly against the still green grasses. They weren't usually lions' fare; too fast and agile, basically - leave them to the cheetahs. On the other paw, nothing about them was dangerous, and even the impressive-looking horns were just for show. They were fairly small to boot, easy enough for just one lioness to bring down. And one particularly plump looking gazelle had wandered off, it would seem, and was now chewing it up fortuitously near a big spot of tall grass.
Tuli got up, and gauged where the wind was coming from - easy, there was no wind to be had. Then she circumspectly circled around and entered the patch of tall grass at the point farthest away from the gazelle. No sound of flight - she'd been far enough away not to get noticed. And now to sneak under the cover of the grass to get as close to the prey as possible. She hugged her body to the ground, tensed, and then started moving carefully, one paw before the other, making as little sound as possible - not even the level of a soft breeze. At first, all she could see was more grass, and she had to depend on her internal sense or direction. Eventually, though, she came near enough to the edge of the growth to be able to see through, and she froze, thinking: if I can see outside, someone on the outside might be able to see me.
But the gazelle hadn't noticed - it was still grazing obliviously, and in clear sight of Tuli. Now she'd have to wait - wait for the gazelle to either turn around, at which point Tuli would again sneak a bit closer, or wait for the prey to actually come to her, and that would prompt Tuli to sprint and pounce instantly.
For the longest time, neither happened. The beast kept grazing without coming nearer, and it always kept one eye on the grassy patch. Tui started feeling the day's heat again. A fly landed just outside her left eye. It tickled, and she'd as soon have wiped it away, but she remained entirely frozen - disciplined restraint is a necessary part of any hunt.
The gazelle shifted. Tuli now looked at its hindquarters, creamy white with a small tail outlined in black. Crunch time. Even more carefully than before, she snuck forward, vaguely aware of passing beyond the edge of the grass covering her - she was all in now: sneak up as close as possible and then break into a sprint.
A few things happened at once, then. Tuli imagined hearing a faint clucking sound, and before she even processed what she heard, the gazelle in front of her dashed away at a right angle from where it was facing before. Luckily, the lioness had reflexively darted in pursuit of her prey, not needing to fully comprehend what was happening before acting, and was now hot on the herbivore's heels.
With everything she had, she tried to accelerate and make up the distance between them. She was making some headway at it too, when the gazelle suddenly made another right-angle leap. This time, Tuli's speed was too high to correct in time, and when she was through taking a much wider turn, the gazelle had increased its lead by a couple of lengths again. Tuli strained to accelerate once more, legs burning, heart racing. But eventually, her speed started dropping off, while that of the gazelle only grew. Tuli slowed to a trot, panting, mouth wide open. It had got away. With the last of her breath, she hurled a profanity at the gazelle, now again at a safe distance.
Too fast and too agile after all.
Momentarily exhausted, Tuli dragged herself to the nearest patch of shade she could find and plopped down frustratedly. She'd come so close, but despite her best effort she still ended up with nothing to show for it. And now that she'd exerted herself so, the previously merely uncomfortable heat became neigh unbearable. She'd have to do something about that. Once she'd regained her breath, Tuli got back up, now with a renewed sense of purpose.
She needed a drink.
Trying to walk among the trees for shelter whenever possible, Tuli lazily made her way towards the watering hole. The watering hole was a small, permanent lake near the border of the Pridelands and the marshland beyond. It was fed by groundwater seeping in from the marshes, filtered trough the rock and earth separating it from the lake. Roughly banana-shaped, one part of the pond was ringed with rocky outcroppings and easily accessible for drinking or plunging, while the other end was clogged in thick reeds and palm trees. Tuli came at the lake from where the vegetation was thickest.
She'd strayed pretty far trying to find a suitable prey, and it was already past noon by the time she got to her destination. If she was going to avoid a heatstroke, she probably wouldn't get any more hunting done before evenfall.
"Might as well have slept through the day," she grumbled to herself as she trudged toward the water's edge, pushing aside reeds and thick grasses that sprang up from the soppy tangle of roots and mud underfoot, obscuring her view. The water steadily rose as she went on, becoming cooler as it got deeper. Not content with just a drink, she kept on wading until she couldn't feel anything under her paws anymore, and then paddled until she reached the edge of the reeds. Time for an impromptu refreshing swim!
That had been the plan anyway. Before Tuli got very far, however, the strain from her failed hunt made itself felt. The aching of her body all over took most of the fun out of swimming, and the feeling of exhaustion made her anxious to be out off the deep-end. She quickly doubled back to the nearest shore, pushing her way into another part of the vast forest of stalks blanketing the edge of the lake.
Can't hunt, can't go for a swim... Cursed day this is turning out to be. Gah, I really should have just stayed at Priderock doing nothing at all, she thought as she struggled to find a firm footing amidst the growth.
Then Tuli noticed something ahead of her, a little to the left. She couldn't quite see what it was through the reeds, but it had the look of a light brown hump sticking out of the water. Curious, she made her way there, and as she neared, the hump revealed itself to be covered in wet fur. An animal carcass, head and legs below the waterline, only the rump sticking out. A young kudu, from the looks of it. As it was, Tuli couldn't tell what had killed the beast, but it must have happened recently, as there wasn't yet any smell, and only minimal bloating. Although they are quick to reproach others for scavenging, no lion would pass up this opportunity for a meal.
It might as well have have been a fresh kill - wouldn't taste any different neither. What are the odds! Not stopping to wonder how the carcass got there, or to marvell at her sudden change of fortune, Tuli bit into one of the kudu's hind legs and started dragging it out of the water. No way was she going to dine among the muck. Once out of the reeds, she came upon a dry grassy clearing. That would do. She dropped her quarry right in the center. Wetting her lips in anticipation, and without much regard for anything else, Tuli prepared to dig into the animal's soft underbelly. She didn't notice the rustling on the far side of the expanse.
"Hey lady, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Tuli looked up, startled. A couple of yards ahead of her stood three hyenas. The one in the middle was the tallest of the bunch, though they were all pretty small for hyenas. She also looked the angriest, fangs almost bared under her dark, squat muzzle, amber eyes fixed in an aggressive squint. A short but bristly brown mane ran the length of her thick neck, ending in a peak between two large oval ears that had a number of nicks and tears in them. Tuli couldn't tell the color of the rest of her fur, though, as she was caked up to her neck in fresh mud. It detracted from her aggressive demeanor somewhat.
"Excuse me?" Tuli asked, unsure if she should be angry at the interruption of her lunch, or amused at the sight of the muddied hyena.
"I said, what the hell you think you doin'? That's ours!"
Tuli looked down at the dead kudu for a moment, then back at the hyena.
"Yeah, I don't think so. Finders, keepers. Take a hike."
"It's ours, you thief! Mizuri found it first," the hyena snarled, indicating her companion on the right with a nod. This one was slightly shorter, her fur a light brown riddled with patches that had the same sandy color as her muzzle - only her paws had a darker, muddy color. The fluffy manes on her head and neck had a rusty tint to them. Where the biggest hyena looked angry, this one looked awed, staring at Tuli with her dark eyes open wide.
"No, I'm pretty sure I just found it in the water, with none of you anywhere near..."
"That's because Mizuri hid it there, stupid! Go on, Miz, tell her."
"She's right, I found the kudu out in the open, then I hid it in the water," the red-headed hyena managed with some difficulty, shrinking under Tuli's skeptical stare.
"Is that the best you could come up with?" Tuli snorted, "You found it first, only to leave it again? Not likely! Wanna know what I think? I think you all just came along by pure chance, saw me preparing to grab a bite, and smelled an easy meal. So now, in typical hyena fashion, you're trying to steal my food."
"No, that's not true at all!" the hyena called Mizuri blurted out, now loud and aggrieved, "That's not at all what happened! I found it, but then I hid it away so the vultures wouldn't get at it while I went looking for my friends! Vultures can't land in the reeds, and they don't like the water."
"Don't bother, Miz. These lions think they're so much better than us, they don't care what a hyena has to say. If you want something from them, you have to take it!"
With that, the larger hyena snarled, baring her fangs, and started slowly advancing on Tuli.
"Hasira, don't!" her red-headed friend squeaked, but she nonetheless quickly fell in with her companion. The third hyena hadn't said anything yet, and she didn't say anything then, but in stead started silently circling Tuli from the left. Together they formed an unmistakable pattern: two of them presenting Tuli with a solid front while the third moved to flank her. It was the preferred plan of attack for hyenas everywhere.
"Really, that's how you gals want to play it?" Tuli sighed incredulously, "And here I was thinking we were all supposed to be friends now."
So much for her easy meal. She took up position standing over the kudu, to make sure they wouldn't be able to snatch it away. The hyena called Hasira momentarily seemed to hesitate when it became clear Tuli wasn't about to run, but then continued her advance. Tuli had noticed the slight pause, though.
"You better step away, lioness. If you're not careful you're gonna end up hurting yourself!"
To the hyenas' surprise, Tuli's only response was to burst out laughing. It stopped them dead in their tracks. Once she was done, the lioness addressed herself to them.
"I knew you hyenas were jokers, but heavens, this takes the cake. I should be careful? Spare me - if I put my back into it, I could kill twice your number, and that with any of them double your size too. But just you three? I won't even break a sweat."
Tuli crouched low, ready to pounce. She could feel the Kudu touching her chest.
Now, for the first time, the hyena that had tried to flank Tuli on the left spoke up. She was the smallest of the trio, with a sharp snout and long, dark-brown manes, and a coat nearly black, broken by uneven lines of copper coloring.
"Guys, I don't think this lioness is playing - she's scarred up worse than old Kongwe."
I don't know who that is, but I'm sure it's not that bad, Tuli thought. Sure, her creamy yellow fur wasn't exactly pristine anymore - she'd been in more than a few fights before coming to the Pridelands. Bloody and nasty fights. But she liked to think she still had a cute face. That said, left wasn't her best side; a few broads strips of skin had gone missing there, leaving stark, naked scars behind.
"Hasira, it's not worth it," the hyena called Mizuri whined. In response, the bigger one snapped at her companion, who only nearly jumped out of the way. She ended up taking the advice, though.
"Fine! Bunch of cowards you are," she spat. After a last angry look at Tuli, she turned around and went skulking off, still fuming. The other two followed close behind, the red-headed one having a parting glance at Tuli. She still looked utterly awed at the sight of the lioness.
Once the hyenas were out of sight, Tuli breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, she could probably have taken those three on without too much difficulty, but there was always a measure of uncertainty involved in any fight. Beyond that, Tuli would rather not get into a fight if she could avoid it, purely on principle - hyenas they might be, but Tuli did not relish the idea of hurting them, or anyone else for that matter. True, she put on a bit of a show of belligerence just now, but a credible threat will go a long way towards avoiding a fight - doubtful they would have run if Tuli had acted scared and deferential, and then she would have either had to fight them, or lose a meal.
"Have to say, none of this is feeling particularly great, or glorious," she mumbled to herself before finally digging into the kudu of discord. Having the whole prey to herself, she went straight for the organ-meats - those were the best parts; all gooey and nutritious. Whenever she hunted with the other lionesses, those parts tended to be gone before she even got to eating. Especially when the king joined them - he always got first choice.
After stuffing herself relentlessly for a time, Tuli eventually took her head out of the bloody mess she'd made of the Kudu's gut, taking a breather and belching loudly. By now she was covered from head to chest in blood, with chunks and giblets drooping from her chin. Delicious!
Only now did she noticed she was being watched. The red-headed hyena from earlier sat at the edge of the clearing, giving a little start when Tuli looked up. Quickly, the lioness scanned the surroundings for the other hyenas, but they were nowhere to be seen. That didn't mean they weren't there, though. Persistent little thugs.
"I thought I told you and yours to leave me alone."
The hyena opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again. She looked down at her paws, hesitantly, but then got up and cautiously walked towards Tuli. With a snarl, the lioness took up position over her food again.
"If three of you couldn't take me on, what makes you think you'd fare any better?"
"I - I'm not here for that," the hyena stuttered quietly. She came to a halt at a safe distance, glancing at Tuli. There were those big eyes again - you'd think she'd never seen a lioness before. There was something in the way she looked at her that Tuli couldn't quite put to words.
"Well then?"
A strange sort of resoluteness suddenly came over the hyena, and the volume of her voice rose to match it, rendering her inappropriately loud.
"I'm here to apologize!"
That threw Tuli for a loop. Before she got a chance to say or ask anything, though, the hyena droned on, her back erect and stare fixed, as if she were reciting a speech.
"I think my friend Hasira acted inappropriately! She was loud, impolite and aggressive. She did not introduce herself, she didn't ask to hear your side of the story, and when we didn't get our way, she threatened you. And I was wrong for going along with it. Your king was kind enough to allow us into the Pridelands, and if we want to live together, acting like this simply isn't right!"
The silence that followed in the wake of her recital was quickly subsumed by the buzz of cicadas.
"Yeah, your friend did come at me pretty hard," Tuli mumbled, not quite embarrassed, but certainly feeling awkward, "Apology accepted, I guess. You're still not getting the Kudu, though."
"T-That's fine," the hyena replied, returning to her previous diminutive posture, "It's just that the way you spoke just now, you made it sound like you thought hyenas were bad, and thieves, and... I don't know... It's just want you to know that's not true."
"Okay."
The hyena shot a longing glance at what remained of the kudu, but then went back to staring at her paws. When she first saw the hyena, Tuli had thought those paws had darker colored fur than the rest of her belly, but on closer inspection, they just turned out to be a bit wet, and covered in mud. Come to think of it... There were three hyenas, one angry and all covered in mud, this one, and the darker one. And the angry one had gestured at this one to indicate she'd supposedly found, and then hid the kudu.
"I should go, let you get back to your meal..." The hyena started to leave, before Tuli stopped her.
"Hey, wait! I wanna ask you something."
The hyena looked back. Tuli finally realized what it was she saw in her eyes - it was bleeding obvious, but she just hadn't thought to even consider it before: what she saw was total and utter sincerity. Now there's a rare sight.
"Your friend, the angry one, she was all covered in mud. Did you join her, is that like a thing you guys do?"
"No, it was just Hasira - I found her like that. Mud baths are fun, but I didn't have one."
"Then why were your legs all wet and muddy?"
"That must have been from when I..." The hyena started out wanting to say she got her paws dirty hiding the kudu, but thought the better of it. She'd given up on that - the meal was a goner. It was all about making a better impression on the lioness, to try and show she could be a good Pridelander-hyena, and to make the arrangement the king had decreed for all of them work.
Thing is, at that point, having heard the little speech, seeing the muddy paws, and realizing quite frankly just how guileless the hyena in front of her was, Tuli had about figured out what was actually going on. She had to keep her jaw from dropping in sheer amazement: here she was, feasting on a kill the hyena had obviously found first and that Tuli had in effect taken - yet it was the hyena that came apologizing to her. True, her leaving the prey unattended for anyone to find complicated the issue - but by that point, Tuli had lost her appetite for contention, and for the meat.
"Oh boy," she sighed, now most definitely embarrassed, "This is all wrong... You really did find the kudu first, didn't you?"
The hyena still didn't dare say anything.
"And you were really going to let me get away with taking it... no, you even apologized for it. Yeah, that won't do - go find your friends again. I ate a bunch of it already, but there's some good meat left on it..."
"You... you're letting us have the..." the hyena was dumbstruck in disbelief.
"It's yours, isn't it? Heavens, I should be the one apologizing, I already ate all the best bits."
"Really? You'd really do that? That's amazing! See, I knew lions weren't all bad - Hasira and Nyeusi kept going on about how all lions are pushy, smelly and ugly fleabags, but I said, no, look at Scar, he's been good to us - it's probably all a misunderstanding, and if we just tried our best, we can get along just fine!"
"Right..." Tuli drawled, taking a while to process the sudden verbal flood emanating from the previously quite timid creature, "Look, eh, sorry again for sorta-kinda stealing some of your food. I should probably be going now, leave you to you..."
"No, wait, you can't go now! We haven't even been properly introduced! Let me get my friends, so we can all get to know one another. It'll be great, I don't think I know anyone else who has a lion-friend yet!"
And with that, the hyena darted off, not leaving Tuli any chance to get a word in.
"A lion-friend, huh?"
The hyena returned before long, trailed by her darker friend - the one that had commented on Tuli's many scars. She seemed a lot more hesitant to approach than the red-head, though. Of the angriest of the trio there was no sight.
"Come on, Nyeusi, I told you, it's fine! She's actually a really nice lioness, and she's giving us back the kudu. See, she stopped eating and everything - I told you she was all right!"
The hyena called Nyeusi still seemed hesitant, shooting anxious looks at Tuli. Her friend carried on undeterred, though.
"I'm sorry, miss lioness, but Hasira didn't want to come - I think she's still angry at you, or maybe at me for talking to you, or maybe just embarrassed, I don't know. But wait, we should introduce first. I'm Mizuri, and I'm second cousin to the matriarch. The one who isn't here is called Hasira, and she' ranked even higher, because her mom is aunt to the matriarch, and second in line. And this here is Nyeusi. Her mom only ranks first tier, though."
"Well I don't know what any of that means," Tuli admitted, "And I'm pretty sure I don't rank anywhere. But my name is Tuli, pleased to meet you, Mizuri and Nyeusi. Sorry we got off on the wrong paw earlier."
The hyenas gingerly approached Tuli, looking, sniffing. Mizuri even tried touching Tuli's tail, jumping back when it whipped her on the nose.
"Wow, I've never been this close to a lion before. You're even bigger than I expected!"
Tuli kept silent, intuiting that now might not be the best time to mention she had seen plenty hyena up close, and had seen more of them than she cared to remember. Her scars could speak for themselves.
"Mizuri, can we eat now? I'm starving..."
"Lets! Tuli, would you mind sticking around, I'd really love to talk some more after dinner. Wow, this is so cool, I can't believe I know an actual lioness!"
"Well we could always just talk..."
...while you eat. Turned out that wasn't in the cards. The hyenas tore into the kudu, and this was accompanied by much sound and fury, signifying something something yet beyond Tuli's comprehension. She had never before been witness to two hyenas feasting - not quite this close to it anyway - and the experience turned out to be quite instructive. Her only knowledge of communal dining was that of lions, eating as they do in a paradoxically anarchic orderliness; you would have the lion or king eating first, but beyond that there wasn't really an order to it, no rules, no rank - yet somehow everyone always ended up with their proper share, without much of any animosity.
As far as she could tell - and this based entirely on the one example she was right then experiencing - the hyenas more or less turned that system on its head. Mizuri had made some references to rank earlier, and those had been pretty meaningless to Tuli. But now, seeing them eat, she could glint some of what the hyena had meant: every time both of the hyenas made for one particular bit or piece of the carcass at the same time, Nyeusi would defer to Mizuri - but not without ample growling, whining and snapping. A loud but bloodless struggle where the winner was always predetermined - yet they still insisted on the struggle. If Tuli hadn't been told differently, she would find it hard to believe these creatures were actually friends, based on how they treated each other while eating.
Her carful observations were interrupted when a third contender entered the fray. The third hyena, the one that had given Tuli so much trouble before and was called Hasira, suddenly appeared in the clearing. It was easy to tell she just came out off the water, her fur and manes drooping down and sticking to her body. Without the mud, Tuli now saw how, like her companions, she had curiously dark fur, with only lines of sandy coloring between. All other hyenas Tuli had seen before had been lightly colored all over, mottled with darker spots.
Tuli's guess was that Hasira had gone back to the watering hole to wash off the mud - and she had apparently cooled off some too while she was at it. All she did was cast a suspicious glance at the lioness, but she mercifully held of on shouted reproaches or gleeful exclamations of "I told you so". She addressed her friends in stead.
"Oh, that's nice, don't leave anything for me - just eat it all, why don't you?"
With that, she pushed Mizuri and Nyeusi out of the way and started chomping, after which the scum continued much as it had before. The most amazing part was just how quickly they went through the kudu - they stripped the carcass of all meat in no time at all, even going so far as to eat all skin and tendons. Much to Tuli's surprise, that wasn't the end of it, as they then went on to gnaw at the bones - which wasn't that unusual; there's always some meat left you have to scrape off. But what they actually did was to start tearing strips and chunks out of the bones themselves, chewing them to a subdued crunching sound, and then simply swallowing.
They were actually eating the bones - not just gnawing at them, or cracking them open for the marrow, but eating them shock must have been palpable on Tuli's face, because after a while the hyenas stopped.
"What?"
"The bones - how do you even..."
The hyenas just stared back bemused, then looked at each other wonderingly.
"Most of it is chewing," Hasira grinned, earning her a few guffaws from the others.
"... forget I asked.", Tuli sighed. Maybe not all bad, but the hyenas were certainly very different from her, a lioness, and it wasn't just looks - that much she could tell from spending less than half an afternoon with them.
She chatted for a bit after they had finished eating - mostly with Mizuri, who turned out to be very pleasant company, if rather a bit too loud now that her awe for the lioness had worn off. Hasira kept up a fairly confrontational air throughout, and often spoke over the other hyenas, though weirdly enough she neither got angrier, nor changed her demeanor when Tuli simply ignored her tone. Maybe that was just her way of interacting. Nyeusi didn't say much unless prompted, and then very little - she seemed rather preoccupied with something else.
After talk of food, hunting, and boys - they found the idea that the pride had only the king, and Chumvi and Mheetu, who were only still cubs, utterly bewildering and actually refused to believe it - they came on the subject of Priderock. Turned out none of them had ever been.
"What?" Tuli exclaimed, "How can you come live in the Pridelands, and never have been to Priderock? Plus, I'm pretty sure I remember your whole pride - sorry,I mean you entire clan - came visiting the night Scar announced his brother's death, and how he was going to allow you guys in. No offense, but it was actually pretty scary when you all showed up all of a sudden."
"Oh yeah, we're the scary ones," Hasira snorted.
"No, we had to stay in the den - our moms wouldn't let us go, told us it was too dangerous," Mizuri said, stressing the last word to show she disagreed with that assessment.
"What do you mean, your mom wouldn't let you?" Tuli asked, "Wait - you mean you three are only..."
"We're allowed out of the den on our own now, though!" Mizuri quickly interrupted.
"And I'm already allowed to go on hunts," Hasira added smugly.
The realization felt to Tuli like a kick in the gut. These were just a bunch of kids! Not quite cubs, but definitely not full-grown hyenas either. That's why their fur was all wrong - it was probably like the spots on a cub's back: those disappear when they grow up, and these hyenas' coats would probably just get progressively lighter until only spots remained of their dark fur.
To think that only moments before, she been ready to fight them, hurt them, and who knows what else, and all that over a bit of meat. Just kids, and seemingly good kids, too. It made her feel like she had something to make up for - besides stealing part of their kudu.
"All right, you know what, let's just go see Priderock, right now! I'll take you. It's something you really have to see for yourselves."
"You sure we won't get into trouble? The others tell us that most lions don't like at at all when hyenas come near, and they chase us off..."
"No worries! It's not too late in the afternoon yet, most lionesses will still be asleep anyway. Plus, you've got me to vouch for you."
That seemed to sway them. Without much further ado, the odd fellowship set off for Priderock, three young hyenas and a grizzled lioness. In the clearing, nothing remained of the kudu but a dark patch of bloodstained grass.
On the way to Priderock, the previous pattern held, with Mizuri again doing most of the talking, Hasira giving Tuli the evil eye, and Nyeusi remaining a bit aloof. At one point, though, either by coincidence of at Hasira's prompting, the two other hyenas started walking a bit ahead of her and Tuli.
"Tuli, I'm sorry about earlier - I was wrong about you, calling you a thief and all..." Hasira said in low tones, to Tuli's great astonishment. All hint of chagrin had gone from her voice.
"Eh... sure... I mean... I did inadvertently almost steal your food - so, sorry right back, I guess."
"Lets call it even, then," the hyena grinned, "Friends?"
The weirdest thing was, as soon as they rejoined the others, Hasira immediately fell back into her aggressive, domineering pattern. Tuli figured it was yet another hyena peculiarity she didn't quite understand yet. The rest of the way was uneventful, except for one encounter just outside Priderock. They were approached by an adult hyena only slightly bigger than Tuli's companions - which she figured made him smallish, in light of the others' age - and fairly unremarkable, except maybe for his dark manes and eyes, and a fair bit of scars.
"I'm sorry, miss, but I couldn't help but notice and I felt like I had to ask - were you actually talking to, and traveling with this lioness? That's amazing!"
Although the hyena had addressed Mizuri, it was Hasira who immediately stepped up to haughtily deal with the interlocutor, who in turn assumed a strangely submissive posture. Why would an adult behave that way to a kid? The longer she hung out with these hyenas, the less Tuli seemed to understand - but not in a bad way; it only made her want to find out more about them.
"Yeah, what about it? She's a friend of ours, it's not a big deal."
"Really? That's wonderful! I didn't know any of us had lion-friends."
"Told ya, not a big deal."
"You know," the dark hyena confided, "Every time I've tried to approach a lion, they've chased me off - it's really frustrating! The king told us we would be living together, after all, and I really would love that, but..."
"Well, it's not like we got off to a flying start either," Tuli joked. Seemed like Hasira didn't care much for that, because she frowned angrily. It was going to take a lot more time for to figure out exactly what her deal was, it seemed. Tuli opted to just ignore her for now. The dark hyena, on the other hand, seemed positively thrilled to have a lioness addressing him.
"Verily! Sadly, there is a lot of bad blood between our peoples - but I'm happy to see you are willing to give us a chance. I wish I could say the same about all other lions! There's this one lioness in particular; earlier, she chased me - and I don't think she intended it as a joke, I truly feared she wanted to kill me! Maybe you know her; she has about your built, but tawny, with frightfully maroon eyes, and a discoloration on the top of her head..."
"Frightfully maroon eyes?" Tuli laughed, "Yeah, I know her. Sounds like you met Zira! She can be a bit... challenging to the uninitiated. I doubt she really meant, it though - unless you did anything to get her angry."
"Zira's the name, huh?" A sly smile crept over the hyena's face, vanishing almost immediately, "Well, I never did anything to antagonize her - it must have been a misunderstanding. Hyenas and lions are very different, after all, and it's impossible to ever really know what, or even how the other thinks..."
"I don't think it's that bad. I know for a fact what my new friends here will think when they get to climb up on Priderock; they'll think it's super cool and impressive... I'm Tuli, by the way."
"Tuli, it's a pleasure to meet you! My name is Kuzinga - but you can call me Kuz. You know, I actually find lions quite fascinating - maybe you would do me the honor of meeting again when you're through with these lovely ladies, and tell me more about..."
"Please!" Hasira suddenly growled , and she pushed Kuzinga out of the way violently, "Tuli's got better things to do than hang out with a little nobody punk like you! Matter of fact, she's going to show us around Priderock - and you're not invited. Scram!"
Then Hasira snapped at the hapless male, who scurried off. The entire exchange bewildered Tuli - she wouldn't ever have dreamt of doing something like that to an elder when she was still a youngster! Then again, there was only so much she knew about her new companions. She decided not to go into it - showing them around Priderock was her priority now.
The hyenas trailed Tuli closely, seemingly afraid of what might happened if they strayed even an inch. A few lionesses were out, and most of them eyed the group suspiciously, though others seemed only curious. At least no one made any kind of trouble. Still, their stares made Tuli quite nervous - maybe it was best if she only made it a real quick tour, and came back later once she'd talked it over with the rest of the pride. She doubled down on that decision when, at the base of the promontory, they suddenly ran into none other than Zira.
"Zira! I haven't seen you since you woke me up yesterday afternoon! What have you been up to?"
"I'd ask you the same thing," Zira grumbled, glaring at Tuli's companions, causing them all to cower back, "What the hell are you dragging along?"
"They're, eh... friends. Come on, don't look at me like that - they're an all right bunch, once you get used to the, eh, hyenaishness. I don't see what the big deal is; the king told us we should all try to get along, after all."
"Whatever, I don't care." Zira shrugged. She struck Tuli as strangely absent-minded - doubly worrying seeing as how Zira was usually very alert, to a fault. "Listen, Tuli, when you're done showing your new pets around, can you come see me? We need to talk."
Well that sure was ominous, Tuli thought to herself as she gave the hyenas the tour. She decided to limit the visit to the promontory and the peak, though; letting them into the den unannounced was liable to cause an uproar. Still, those sights proved plenty impressive, and they especially enjoyed the gorgeous view of the Pridelands. If it were up to the hyenas, they would have probably stuck around until sunset - truly a sight to behold - but Tuli was anxious to get back to Zira, so she showed them out, and they said their goodbyes. Mizuri made Tuli promise she'd come see them again soon, to which she gladly agreed. After all, the hyenas would remain in the Pridelands for the foreseeable future, and she'd finally met a few more or less friendly ones - might as well make the best of it.
She was in a very good mood when she joined Zira in the usual spot: the rocky perch they used for napping. The tawny lioness was pacing back and forth restlessly, only stopping once she saw Tuli
"Well I'm glad at least one of us is enjoying this new arrangement," Zira sneered
"I am enjoying it, actually," Tuli smiled, "Had a good time - they're nice kids. We can't all be wantonly chasing random hyenas around for sport, like you."
"What, was that what one of your new friends told you? I did nothing of the sort - I doubt they can even tell us apart anyway."
"It's possible." Tuli recalled how the one hyena, Kuzinga, had perfectly described Zira - but she didn't feel like arguing. "So I have been out making new friends all day - what have you been up to?"
Zira looked around carefully, made sure no-one else was listening, then beckoned her friend to come closer. She told her about her sojourn to the Gorge, her rock-climbing exploits, and the startling discovery she'd made there - claw-marks, right above the spot where Mufasa died.
"Huh..."
"That's all you're gonna say: huh?"
"No, I mean, it's... huh... I suppose we can rule out some other lion going rock-climbing like you did?"
"In the exact same place?" Zira scoffed, "Fat chance! I'm telling you, those were Mufasa's - he tried to climb out, he must have."
"Yeah, probably," Tuli agreed calmly. Her lack of excitement, or unwillingness to speculate further seemed to anger Zira.
"Well?"
"Well what? If a herd of wildebeest came barreling down at me, I'd try climbing out too."
"But don't you see? That's not what Scar told us - he said he'd seen the whole thing happen, but he never mentioned Mufasa trying to climb out!"
"He probably forgot," Tuli reasoned, "I mean, it must have been pretty shocking, seeing his own brother and nephew die. You lose some of the details."
Zira shook her head slowly. "Not buying it - I bet he saw the whole thing."
"But why would he lie about that, and not tell us?"
"I don't know, you go ask him! Maybe he was too much of a coward to help his brother up, and now he's ashamed. Although... why would Mufasa even need help in the first place? I climbed out without too much trouble - and I didn't have the fear of death driving me on."
"You're making too much out of this..." Tuli yawned, "Besides, what does it matter? Mufasa's dead, Simba's dead, and Scar's the king now. And far as I can tell, the hyenas aren't all bad. Lets just roll with it."
Zira frowned angrily. Tuli knew her friend well enough to be able to tell she wasn't going to let the subject drop. "All right, so we won't just roll with it. So what do you want us to do now?"
The tawny lioness looked away, staring out over the ledge at the Pridelands. She sighed loudly.
"I don't know. It's why I wanted to talk. I don't know what to do now, and I didn't trust anyone else."
The other lioness pursed her lips pensively. "All right - so first, I've got to figure out what you want to do. Is there anything you want to achieve?"
"I don't know." Zira lay down resignedly, staring ahead into nothing. "I don't know what I want. I wanted to be part of this pride... feel at home, you know? But now, this whole thing with Scar, these hyenas, the claw-marks... It made the nightmares come back. It's like I can' rest easy 'till I'm sure nothing else is happening around me that I don't know about. I don't want any surprises."
"Pretty tall order, Zira... But if I can help, I will."
That seemed to cheer Zira up somehow what - a slight smile touched her lips.
"Say, here's an idea: the other day, I had a chat with Nala - she's Sarafina's's cub. Of course you know her, she's the Leader of the Hunt. You should really try to get out more. Anyway, Nala - she used to be Simba's betrothed, and as far as I could tell, it wasn't just a formality - she was pretty close to him, I think. The prince died in the Gorge, too - maybe, if you find out more about him... I mean, it's something. Plus, babysitting the cubs for an evening every now and then would be good for your standing with the other lionesses - I know you don't care, but they are our pride now... You asked for my advice, you got it."
"Gah, no thanks. I'm sorry I even asked" Zira grumbled. Yet, after much frowning and tail-wagging: "Ugh - okay, fine. But only because I can't come up with anything better. And I'll do the babysitting thing just once - that's trouble enough. You really think that Nala kid knows anything?"
"Honestly, no, but I couldn't think of anything else to do - I don't suppose you'd be comfortable asking some of the hyenas..."
Zira's nasty glare told her just what she thought of that idea.
