preface: bit more time between updates. Not super motivated - when that happens, the trick is to just keep chipping away at it. Does take longer than when you're in the flow.
Child's play
"I don't think this was a good idea..."
"Nonsense, you'll do fine!"
"What if I just didn't go?"
"You can't just not go, everyone is already counting on you to do this."
"But I don't want to! Can't you do it in stead?"
"Sorry, Zira, but I have things to do. Plus, it's you who wanted a chance to spend some time with Nala - it's your conspiracy theory, you figure it out."
Zira frowned, grumbling under her breath, but she didn't lodge any further protest. She'd hated the idea of cubsitting from the moment Tuli proposed it, and she was even less enthused now that she was actually up for it. There was nothing else for it, though: it would be the only chance for her to have some time alone with the cub called Nala. She needed to interrogate her about the late prince Simba, find out if the little runt ever let anything slip about a threat to his life, or something like that. It could be another piece to the puzzle that was Scar's kingship.
Zira was growing more suspicious of Scar's rise to power by the day; there were too many things that didn't make sense. Scar's story of how the former king died had proven to be inaccurate, omitting a last ditch effort by Mufasa to climb out of the Gorge where he died. That the king had failed to make the climb was also quite suspicious, seeing as how Zira had managed on her first try without much trouble. Then there was the question of what Simba and Mufasa had been doing in the Gorge to begin with.
Last but not least, why did Scar allow the hyenas back into the Pridelands, and why was it the very first thing he did as king? Tuli had tried convincing Zira it might have been out of conviction, or kindness - lately, Zira's friend had been developing some sympathy for the poachers, and she thought it might have been the same for Scar. Good on her, but Zira didn't buy it, and she wouldn't rest easy until she'd done all she could to get to the bottom of the matter. But she had to do it without raising any suspicion.
Who was it Zira was afraid of alerting? Anyone - apart from Tuli, Zira didn't trust any of the lionesses, let alone Scar and his hyena-minions. Lion or hyena, it didn't matter, they could all turn killer on a dime - better to trust no-one. Zira had learned that he hard way.
All the more reason to try and pry some info out of Nala; cubs are pretty guileless, so Zira didn't worry too much about them. All the same, she would still have preferred not to do any cubsitting. Her last experience with cubs was back when she'd still been one herself. But she was committed to the job now - no way but forward. At a deliberately slow pace, she followed Tuli to the communal den, where the cubs were waking up from their noontime nap. It'd be on Zira to keep them entertained 'till sometime after sundown.
When the lionesses took a siesta, they slept wherever was convenient for them; might be somewhere on Priderock, or any random spot of shade out in the Pridelands - where they happened to be was where they'd sleep. Not so for the cubs: they were kept together, to be returned to the communal den at set times, mostly as a safety-precaution. When Zira and Tuli got to the den, it was deserted save for the cubs and their caretaker. They were already up, with most of the cubs play-fighting under the watchful eye of Winda, mother of the oldest cub Chumvi. The lithe, ocher-furred lioness hailed the duo as they entered.
"Zira, Tuli! 's About time you showed up, I don't think I can keep these little devils cooped up in here much longer. Okay kids, calm down, come over here, and say hi to Zira - she'll be keeping an eye on your for the rest of the afternoon."
Of the six cubs in attendance, only two did as they were told, Chumvi and Nala. The others continued to romp about unabated, shouting and giggling over Winda's commands.
"Hey, I told you to get over here!" the lioness shouted when she noticed the other cubs kept messing around, "You don't want to see me angry this early in the afternoon!"
The lioness' voice rang throughout the cave, stopping the youngsters in their tracks. That got their attention - sometimes there really is no substitute for volume. All the cubs gathered in front of Winda, looking up questioningly at Zira, who was in turn nervously glancing sideways at Tuli.
At least she knew who all the cubs were. Chumvi was by far the biggest of the bunch, with the same slight built as his mother, and the beginnings of a wavy, jet-black mane. The only other male cub, Mheetu, was still too young to look distinctly different from the three young lionesses his age, called Kali, Zimua, and Rinda. The last cub, then, was easier to tell apart: you could tell from her size that the cream-colored cub with the blue eyes was younger than the others. Her name was Nala.
"So, Zira, I see you brought Tuli. Is she going to join you, or..."
"No, I'm just here to drop Zira off - she's a bit nervous," Tuli replied, earning her an annoyed growl from Zira. The tan lioness' embarrassment was only further increased when her friend nuzzled her playfully in response. "I'm actually due to get a tour of the Elephant Graveyard today. It's where the hyenas used to live."
"Wow, an elephant graveyard, that sounds so cool!" Mheetu immediately piped up. Him and the rest of the cubs rushed Tuli, jumping up and down, asking if they could come along. Only Nala remained behind, refusing to join in and protesting loudly: "No, it's not cool! It's dangerous, and you could die if you go there!"
"How would you know?"
"I've been there!"
"Pfff, who cares what you think, you little crybaby," Mheetu snorted.
"She's just a scaredy-cat! Scaredy-cat, scaredy-cat!" Kali chimed in, snickering. The other cubs giggled along, save for Chumvi who was left frowning in silence.
"Hey! Enough!" Winda thundered, "Nala has got more sense than the rest of you put together - not one of you is going to the Elephant Graveyard, understood? That place is dangerous even for grown lions. Zira, make sure they don't try anything stupid, like sneaking off, all right? Don't be afraid to knock them about a bit if they do - it'd be well deserved."
"Sorry, guys 'n galls, you heard her, too dangerous," Tuli agreed, disentangling herself from the mob and making her way to the exit, "Plus, I'm pretty sure your moms would have my neck if I let you come along. Zira will no doubt help you find plenty of other fun things to keep yourselves occupied with."
Further protest was silenced with one firm look back from Winda. Leaving the cubs in the hopefully capable paws of Zira, the lioness followed Tuli out of the cave and quickly caught up with her once outside.
"Hey, Tuli, wait - you're really going to the Elephant Graveyard?"
"Yep," the pale lioness replied cheerily, "I told you, I'm getting a tour of the place."
For a few moments, the other lioness only sat there biting her lip and staring at Tuli, before she finally asked, quietly: "You're going to see hyenas, aren't you?"
"I am." She'd been hanging out with a trio of young hyenas she once met on a failed hunting-trip, though never very long, or near where other lions were. The most enthusiastic of the bunch, called Mizuri, even insisted on introducing the lioness to her mother - it had been a polite but exceedingly awkward affair. Tuli hadn't spent much time with the other two, Hasira and Nyeusi, not yet anyway.
Winda bit her lip again, demurring. "They're bad news you know. My mother used to tell me of how my grandmother had gotten into a great big fight with the hyenas, and about how they live by stealing kills from others - evil, vicious, thieving, ... well, you get the picture. With all the times Mufasa had to chase them out of the Pridelands when they came poaching, I don't think she was wrong about them."
"I was in a big fight with hyenas once," Tuli replied casually, careening her head over to her heavily scarred flank, "Can't quite remember which of these scars were made back then, though. At any length, I've had my share of nasty encounters with hyenas. But since they've moved into the Pridelands... I dunno, some of them have been very nice to me... don't really know what to make of it all."
"Yeah, I can't really figure it out myself either. All these things I thought I knew - and then our king suddenly lets the hyenas in, and they mostly just, I dunno, they just do their thing. It ain't evil, it's mostly just boring. They are pretty strange, though."
"They are. They're different, not the same as us. Still, I can't help but feel there's something there. Zira keeps wondering why Scar would let the hyenas into the Pridelands, but now that I've spent some time with them, I think I get it. Scar must have seen something in them, and I think I'm starting to see it too. Could be wrong, though - all this will end up sounding very silly if at some point they decide to try and eat me!"
"That would pretty much settle it, it would," Winda chuckled uncomfortably, "Say, Tuli... I've never actually seen the Elephant Graveyard up close myself... I don't suppose I could, you know, tag along for a bit?"
"Sure, I'd love for you to come along!" Tuli grinned, "And I'm certain the hyenas won't mind either. After all, if they are planning to eat us, it just means more for them, right?"
"So... what do you kids usually do at a time like this?"
The cubs looked at each other wonderingly. Was this lioness called Zira being serious? The lioness guarding them was supposed to take charge, not sit there with a scowl waiting for them to take the initiative. But while the other cubs just stared at Zira bemusedly, Mheetu had already sensed an opportunity for mischief.
"Well, miss Zira," he started sweetly, "What we usually do is go out to some place or other, and then everyone just does their own thing for the day, we all go where we want, and then just meet back after a while."
Mheetu tried his best to look like innocence incarnate, but Zira was having none of it. She got up and advanced on the cub, baring her teeth and backing the youngster into the corner.
"If you lie to others, at least do them the courtesy of making it believable," she growled, "Otherwise you make it seem like you think them fools - animals tend to take offense to that."
"I-I'm sorry," the cub stuttered, "Honestly, I didn't mean to..."
"Much better!" Zira interrupted, "You're still lying, but it's a lot more convincing this time around."
She left Mheetu alone, and turned towards the other cubs, "Enough nonsense. Let's get out of this place."
Momentarily scared straight, the cubs followed the adult lioness and hurried out of the cave. Once outside, Zira kept going, taking them away from Priderock with the offhanded comment that she thought the place "too crowded", even though only a handful of other lionesses were lounging around.
"Out in front where I can see everyone - especially you!" she ordered, fixing her stare on Mheetu. The youngster didn't like being told what to do by the upstart lioness, though, and was already planning his next move. He started walking next to Chumvi, whispering to the larger cub when he though Zira wasn't paying quite as much attention anymore.
"Hey, Chumvi, you mind helping me out with something?"
"Why, you're fixing to get into trouble again? I'm sure you can manage that without my help."
"Well someone has to show that lioness who's boss," the younger cub grinned, "Never talked to us before, and now she thinks she can just come and tell us what to do? She hardly even knows us!"
"I don't know, Mheetu, she looks like a mean one. Why don't we just play it cool for the day?"
"Fat chance! I'm going to go see the Elephant Graveyard, and I'm not going to let anything stop me - certainly not that bossy lioness."
"Don't you think that's dangerous? Mom just said it's where the hyenas used to live... Plus, you don't even know where it is."
"What, you're running scared too?" Mheetu sneered, "It'll be fine - King Scar said the hyenas are supposed to be our friends now anyway. And I'll just get Nala to give me directions."
"Fine, as long as you don't expect me to come with - I don't want any trouble," Chumvi sighed, "What do you need me to do?"
"I need a distraction. How about you try to race Zimua and Rinda? Then, once Zira comes after you, me and Kali will make a run for it. By the time she catches you and gets back, we'll be halfway to where we want to go already!"
"What about Nala?" Chumvi asked, "She wouldn't be able to keep up in a race, and she already said she didn't want to go to the Elephant Graveyard."
"I don't care what she does - let the stupid crybaby stay behind for all I care."
Chumvi frowned. He didn't like how Mheetu and Kali kept picking on Nala. Yet didn't think remarking on it would help her any, so he didn't.
"All right, it's your funeral," Chumvi shrugged eventually, giving up on trying to convince his friend. He went up to Zimua and Rinda to challenge them to a race, while Mheetu slunk over to his closest friend Kali and informed her of his little plan. She was both delighted at the chance to go see the Elephant Graveyard, and impressed by Mheetu's daring - now there was a real lion, unlike that boring, timid Chumvi.
All the while, Nala could see the other cubs whispering too each other, but never to her. She was being left out again, even by Chumvi, who would otherwise always be nice to her. They always did that, not let Nala play along, and she wondered if it was because she was younger, or because they just didn't like her? When the others suddenly began their race, Nala was still caught up in her own thoughts.
The only warning Zira got was when Chumvi shouted "Race ya!", before three of the cubs suddenly bolted away laughing. She called on them to stop and stay in sight, but they ignored her. Cursing angrily, using language quite inappropriate for her current audience, she made to catch up with the runaways, but not before warning the remaining cubs.
"Damn it! All right, I'm going to go and try to catch those blasted little rats. You three stay here - try anything funny, and I'll skin you alive! Especially you!" She again focused most of her ire on Mheetu, who in turn maintained an almost angelic air. As soon as Zira was out of sight, he turned to Nala.
"Quick, Nala, tell us where the Elephant Graveyard is - if you don't, you'll be sorry!"
"But... didn't Zira just tell us to..." Nala tried to stop the others from leaving, but Kali viciously cut her off.
"Heavens, I don't care! Mheetu and me are not a scaredy-cats like you, Nala! We're not scared of Zira, and we're not scared of the Elepahnt Graveyard. Now tell us where it is!"
The two cubs threateningly advanced on their younger companion when she didn't immediately respond. Panicking, Nala blurted out that the graveyard was on the northern border. It only occurred to her afterwards that she could have given them false directions, for their own good of course.
"How very sweet of you to tell us," Kali said icily, "All right, now's our chance - lets go!"
With that, her and Mheetu ran away and left Nala behind, alone. After a little while, however, it suddenly dawned on Kali they were going the wrong way. When she told Mheetu, he explained how that had been his plan all along: they'd go halfway back to Priderock, and only then turn towards the Elephant Graveyatd. Meanwhile, Zira would be expecting them to beeline straight for the boneyard, and go looking for them along that route - but doing so she'd come up empty.
"That's some quick thinking, Mheetu - you're so smart!" Kali complemented breathlessly
"I know," he smirked. The cub didn't get the chance to bask in his own smugness for long, though - he'd hardly finished speaking when something heavy suddenly pressed down on his shoulders, causing his legs to buckle. Mheetu's slammed into the dirt face-first, coming to a sliding halt, unable to get up because of the weight still pressing down on him. A shadow loomed overhead. The cub spit out some grass and dirt, then looked sideways and saw that Kali was down on the ground too, a lioness' paw pressed firmly on top of her.
He tried to look up, and Zira's head came into view. The lioness was breathing heavily, lips contorted into a furious snarl, eyes burning red.
"I wasn't even doing anyth...!" Mheetu's breath cut off when Zira pressed down even harder. He couldn't breathe, and he struggled furiously to get out from under the adult lioness, to no avail. Zira put her snout to the cubs ear - he could feel it when she exhaled.
"I told you to stay put, you little shit... You should have listened..." she hissed through clenched teeth. She let up the pressure somehowwhat, and Mheetu tried to take a big, relieved breath, only to freeze when he felt claws digging into his back. "From now on, you'll do exactly as you are told, or..." The lioness made one shallow cut across Mheetu's shoulder blade. The cub screamed out in pain.
Kali's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe what she was seeing! She'd never know a grown lioness to hurt a cub like that before. When Zira looked at her, she wanted nothing more than to run away, but the lioness still kept her pressed to the ground. Seeing the cub's terror, Zira grinned maliciously.
"So, I take it you've learned your lesson, too?" Kali nodded furiously. "Good. Now, I'm going to let you get up, and we'll make our way back to the others. No running, no whining, no scheming, no trickery, no racing - you won't do anything unless I tell you to."
When Zira let her go, Kali immediately ran over to Mheetu.
"Mheetu, are you all right?"
"I'm fine!" he grunted, pushing Kali away. His teary sniveling made the attempt at saving face rather unconvincing, though, and he eventually allowed his friend to lick clean the wound Zira had inflicted. On closer inspection, it very much looked like too small an injury for the anguished shout Mheetu had let out.
Herding the two escapees in front of her, Zira returned to where she had left the other cubs. She was relieved to see no-one else had run off in the meantime - it very much seemed like Mheetu and Kali were the biggest troublemakers, and the others just followers.
"Told you it wouldn't work," Chumvi whispered as soon as he saw Mheetu.
"Whatever! It's probably your fault anyway; you should have run faster, and then she wouldn't have been on to us so quickly."
"That's right!" Kali chimed in, " And besides, how did she even know where to find us? We weren't going straight for the Elephant Graveyard, after all..."
"That's for me to know and you to find out," Zira sneered, "Now get moving!"
But Mheetu wasn't about to just let let the matter drop. He was angry at his little plan coming apart, at being hurt, at being made a fool of in front of the others, and, most of all, at being made to feel powerless. "No, wait, I know what happened! Nala told her; she was the only one who saw where we went, and she keeps trying to tell us not to go to the Elephant Graveyard!"
Mheetu and Kali growled at Nala. But this time, the cream-colored cub wasn't going to let herself be intimidated. "I was just trying to keep you safe! The Elephant Graveyard is dangerous, you'd just end up getting yourselves hurt!"
"Tattletale! Snitch!" Mheetu hissed. He made to pounce Nala, but a quick swat from Zira's paw brought him back down.
"Enough! Leave her alone, or you'll be dealing with me. Now move!"
Sufficiently intimidated, Mheetu and Kali didn't dare speaking up again and were reduced to shooting nasty looks at Nala. The group got moving, with Nala consciously keeping some distance from the others.
Chumvi felt sorry for the youngest cub. She'd just tried to do the right thing, and now she was being attacked for it. He'd never dare do that himself, stand up to someone older or more popular. Even now that he was the oldest and strongest of the cubs, he still let Mheetu talk him into doing stupid things, like racing the others to distract Zira. He went to walk beside Nala and told her how he thought she was in the right.
"Thanks, Chumvi. But if you think Mheetu was wrong, why didn't you say or do anything to stop him? You're the oldest, he'll listen to you. But you even helped him by racing Zimua and Rinda... why'd you do that?"
"I dunno," the dark-maned youngster shrugged, "Because he's my friend?"
"Friends shouldn't let friends get into trouble like that."
"I guess..."
After a while the group reached a clearing ringed by rocks and trees, suitably remote for Zira's liking. She took up position under a leafy, thick-stemmed baobab, and told the cubs to keep themselves busy and stay where she could see them. They busied themselves with pouncing and playfighting, though with little enthusiasm, and they didn't dare trying to race each other again.
After regarding the cubs a while, Zira took Mheetu aside. Having had some time to think things over, Zira realized she might have overreacted a bit when she scratched him earlier - in fact, she risked getting into trouble should the other lionesses find out how rough she'd been with their spawn. So now, she'd see if she couldn't try and patch things up with the mischievous cub.
"How's the shoulder, kid?"
"Fine - no thanks to you!" he spat.
Tough crowd.
"I'd rather not have hurt you, you know. But you didn't leave me much choice. Wanna know why I was so hard on ya?"
"Because you hate me, and you like hurting me!" the cub growled.
"That's not why. I don't hate you - I hardly know you."
"Then it's because you're evil."
That made Zira smile. Evil, huh? "Maybe a little. All the more reason for you not to anger me. But that's not why I hurt you. It's 'cause I needed to teach you a lesson."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Two of them in fact. The first one: don't mess with me. I'm sure you got that. But more importantly, don't get into a fight you can't win."
"But I wasn't trying to pick a fight," the cub whined.
"No? You were lying to me, running away, not doing as you were told; you were defying me. If you defy someone, either they roll over, or they fight you - and when they do, you'd better know how to beat them. What did you think was going to happen, that I was just going to let you get away with walking all over me?"
"No. But I didn't think you'd find us anyway," Mheetu admitted, "We weren't going straight for the Elephant Graveyard, after all... If only Nala hadn't told on us..."
"Trying to outsmart someone is just another kind of fight, a battle of the wits," Zira shrugged, "You look like a smart enough kid, Mheetu. It's just that you couldn't outsmart me, this time."
"So you think I'm smart, huh?"
"Smart enough."
"Well.. thanks, I guess. Still, if it weren't for that tattletale Nala..."
"You know, there's another lesson in this for you," Zira interrupted when she saw Mheetu looking over at Nala, "Never trust anyone."
That piece of advice left Mheetu visibly confused; it was diametrically opposite to anything the other lionesses had ever told him. Zira elaborated: "If you put someone in a position where they can tell on you, you shouldn't be surprised when they do. It's your own fault giving them that power over you. Don't blame Nala because she told on you - it's your own fault for trusting her not to.
"Anyway, that's enough talk. From now on, just do as I tell you, and we'll end up best of friends. I might even see if I can't take you to go visit the Elephant Graveyard sometime."
Mheetu's eyes went wide. "You'd do that? Even after you got so upset when I..."
"Sure. I don't care that you tried to go there, it's just that you tried to go there when I told you not to. Big difference."
With that, she let Mheetu get back to his playmates. Zira trusted that the promise of visiting the Elephant Graveyard at some point would keep him from piping up about her cubsitting skills. She didn't exactly relish having to spend more time with the brat, but it was preferable to having to explain herself to an angry mom.
With all that out of the way, Zira set out to accomplish what she had planned to do in the first place when she volunteered to go cubsitting: have a friendly little chat with Nala. In that regard, the whole spat with Mheetu turned out to have been a blessing in disguise: most of the other cubs seemed to be blaming Nala for telling on their friend, making her much more amenable to Zira's company. What's more, it gave Zira an easy excuse to engage the cub. She went over to where Nala and Chumvi where playing together. The young male seemed concerned when Zira took Nala of his paws. When Rinda later asked him why he even bothered wasting his time on the young cub, he brushed her off, telling her that "I just felt sorry for her, 's all."
Zira guided Nala out of earshot from the others. "I noticed most of the other cubs didn't seem to want to talk to you... They're not giving you too much of a hard time on account of what you said to me earlier, are they?"
"They're just being stupid," Nala replied, more angry than sad, "Think they're so much better than me 'cause they're older."
"Yeah, I noticed; you're the youngest, aint'ya? That one lion seems nice enough, though. Chumvi's his name, isn't it?"
"He's all right," Nala admitted, before adding: "Bit boring, though. He's always just going along with what the others do, even though he's older than they are!"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, like just now, how he was helping Mheetu by racing - no, wait, I meant..." Nala caught herself halfway when she realized Zira didn't even know Chumvi had intentionally distracted her.
It earned her a chuckle from the older lioness. "Just can't help yourself from snitching, huh?"
Nala wasn't amused. "Please don't do anything to Chumvi, I don't want him to hate me too!"
"Hey, lighten up, it was just a joke. Plus, it's like you said: he's just a follower. That's punishment enough; pretty pathetic, really, and it'll get him in plenty of trouble down the line, if you ask me."
"Just don't tell him what I said!"
"Yeah, yeah. So he's the only one that'll hang out with you? Don't have anyone your own age? Must be tough."
"Not anymore," Nala whispered, and she stared down at her paws. She didn't see the slight smile appearing, then immediately disappearing from Zira's face.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Not really - it was exactly what Zira was getting at. "I forgot about that. Yeah, come to think of it, you must have been pretty close with Prince Simba, what with him being the only cub your age and all..."
"He was my best friend - we did everything together..."
Everything? Good thing you skipped out on his little sojourn to the Gorge, then. "Really? Tell you the truth, I don't really know that much about Simba..."
Zira spent the next few moments quizzing Nala on Simba, without really ever learning anything interesting. Only once their conversation started to die down, did they happen upon the subject of the Elephant Graveyard - Zira offhandedly asked the cub why she'd been so adamant about not wanting to go there anyway, seeing as how she didn't come across as particularly timid. It's then that Nala recounted how she and Simba had once sneaked over to the boneyard, only to end up with three hyenas chasing them, trying to eat them.
In of itself, that didn't tell Zira much: at that point, the hyenas and the lions had still been mortal enemies, so there was nothing particularly surprising about them trying to kill a couple of intruders. Intuiting that the whole affair might have been a trap, though, Zira inquired if Nala thought anyone had put Simba up to the idea of going there, but she replied she didn't know. No luck there.
One little detail of Nala's report did pique Zira's interest: the cub noted that she overheard the hyenas talking to one another, and that one of them had been called Shenzi. The only time Zira had heard that name before had been when she'd attended a court-day some time ago, and one of the other attendees had been the hyena queen (or, as Tuli would point out, versed in hyena lore as she now was, the hyena matriarch). She was also called Shenzi.
Zira sent Nala away, needing some time to herself so she could think things over.
Scar had allowed the hyenas into the Pridelands as soon as he became king. Zira reasoned that must have meant he'd had some contacts with Shenzi, the hyena leader, before that time. It couldn't be otherwise - no way she would have trusted a strange lion enough to just instantly accept the invitation into the Pridelands. Such an invitation coming from a stranger could have been a ruse, a trap - even hyenas wouldn't be stupid enough to just take their eternal enemy's word for it. No, she must have trusted Scar, meaning she must have know him beforehand. Was Scar palling around with the hyenas while at the same time they were trying to kill the heir to the throne? Shenzi herself complicit in the attempt, no less - couldn't even blame it on an ignorant underling.
Now that would be a nice quid pro quo: the hyenas kill the heir, Scar gets the throne, and then he lets his accomplices into the Pridelands.
Except it didn't happen like that; Mufasa and Simba were killed in a stampede. Suspicious dealings all around, it seemed, but none of the pieces seemed to fit together. All it did was feed Zira's suspicion without getting her any closer to a resolution.
What a waste of a perfectly good afternoon.
Frustrated that she'd come at another dead-end, she turned her attention back to the cubs. They were fooling around as carefree as could be expected of anyone who knew Zira was watching them. It only served to heighten Zira's annoyance: hyenas were loose in the Pridelands, and conspiracies abound - these cubs would grow up in a dangerous and uncertain future... Yet all they engaged in was pointless, childish games!
That just wouldn't do.
She roared for the cubs to assemble, and they were quick to oblige - making an example of Mheetu had served Zira well in that regard.
"All right, you've had enough time to play around today, it's about time you brats learned something useful!"
"But we already had hunting lessons yesterday..." Kali complained. At their age, those "lessons" mostly involved two attempts at stalking, followed by the instructing lioness loosing control of the group, after which they mostly just went around pouncing one another for the rest of the afternoon.
"We already had hunting lessons yesterday," Zira mimicked, putting on her best whiney voice, "You've got plenty of stamina to hatch a plot to run away to the Elephant Graveyard, but when your elders ask you to do two things on two days, that's too much? Not buying it. And besides, hunting is child's play; they hardly have to teach you anything. No, it's about time you little rats got a real education. I'm going to teach you how to fight."
"Miss Zira, that's silly; we already know how to fight - in fact, we fight all the time! Watch!" To illustrate his point, Mheetu immediately jumped Nala and pinned her to the ground. She screamed in protest, but the young male gleefully held her down.
"That's not a fight..."
"Sure it is!" Mheetu bit down on one of the younger cub's ears, and yanked it until Nala screamed out in pain.
"Aaah! Mheetu, stop it, you're hurting me! Get off me!"
"Why should I, you little snitch?" He used one paw to push Nala's snout into the dirt, "There, how you like that?"
"Stop it! Miss Zira, help me!"
But Zira only sat and watched impassively, as did Zimua and Rinda. Kali was sprawled out on the ground laughing out loud. The only one who seemed bothered by the display was Chumvi, but as soon as he looked like he was going to intervene, Zira stepped in.
"No! It's her problem, let her deal with it."
"Haha, fat chance! She's just a weak little crybaby - I could do this all day if I wanted to!"
Sensing she was on her own, Nala turned and squirmed, trying to get from under Mheetu, but to no avail. The older cub did for a moment almost loose his balance, causing him to have to put one paw on the ground right next to Nala's head. That's when she saw her chance. She bit down on Mheetu's paw as hard as she could. When he recoiled in pain, Nala was able to turn around, claw Mheetu across the face, and finally kick him off.
The male cub quickly recovered, though. He licked his own snout, and was surprised to taste blood.
"Aaah! Blood! I'll get you for that, you little..."
Only now did Zira finally separate the two cubs. "Enough! Good show, though. Now that was a fight. I take it you all felt the difference?"
The two belligerents didn't respond, but only eyed each other nastily.
"Of course, I don't expect all of you to get into actual fights right now - but I'll try and show you how to come out on top if you do ever get into one. Especially you lionesses - there won't always be a lion around to defend you and yours, and when that time comes, you'd better know how to take care of yourself. Little Nala here showed how useful raw fear and anger can be, but it's not enough to rely on those. You have to train. Me and my friend Tuli have been in a few tough fights, and ever since we've spared regularly, just to keep our skills sharp..."
After explaining a few basics, she paired the cubs up so they could try their paws at some mock-fighting - taking care to keep Nala, Mheetu and Kali separated so there wouldn't be any more actual fights. The youngsters seemed to take to the assignment well enough. Even Nala, although at first upset about the incident with Mheetu, eventually ended up enjoying herself; at least now, she wasn't being excluded, unlike during free play.
Zira was pleasantly surprised at the cubs' aptitude, and at how much she actually liked engaging with them now that it involved something she knew and liked. She was giving serious thought to the idea of volunteering for cubsitting duty a second time just so she could keep on teaching them. One of the youngsters disappointed, though. After watching the halting, hesitant, almost clumsy display he put on, Zira called Chumvi to order.
"Chumvi, what 's this you're doing? Everyone is managing just fine, except for you - what's going on? You're the oldest, the biggest, and the strongest - but what I'm seeing here makes me think even little Nala could take you on!"
"I... I just don't like to fight," the dark-maned cub mumbled, looking away.
"You don't have to like it, you just have to do it."
"But I... I don't want to hurt anyone!"
Zira sighed. Of course he didn't. The would-be lion in front of her was having the exact same problem Nala was having, but from another angle: she was the only truly young cub, while Chumvi was older than everyone else. "Oh, I get it. Always being the oldest of the bunch has made you too cautious; if you don't hold back, the other cub end up hurt, and you get punished - right?
"Well, what you need, is to fight someone your own size!"
Without further warning, Zira suddenly lashed out at Chumvi, hitting him hard on the side of the head. She kept her claws retracted, but the force of the blow was enough to make the young lion topple over. As he groggily tried to get back up again, Zira started circling him.
"Still don't want to fight? Still don't wanna hurt anyone?"
Her next pawstrike targeted the cub's forepaws, again sending him to the ground.
"You're just going to sit there?"
When he got up again this time, Chumvi had his fangs bared.
"There we go. Different when you're up against someone big enough to actually hurt you, isn't it?"
This time, when Zira tried to strike at him, the young lion dodged. She struck again, and hit him, but this time he managed to stay standing. Then, he actually retaliated by trying to pounce at Zira. She easily turned the tables on him, of course, and he ended up on his belly, pinned to the ground, with Zira looming over him and whispering in his ear.
"There, I knew you had it in you! I'll make a killer out of you yet."
ps: alternative titles for this chapter were "Terrible life lessons with Zira", "Never let Zira alone with your children", "Zira: responsible adult", and "Zira: shaping the Pridelands' youth".
