Talk it over
The black-maned lion gazed at her impassively. He received her in the usual spot, the new throne-room, where he lay sprawled upon his perch in all his apathetic majesty. A blue hornbill sat nearby, fidgeting nervously, itching to intervene. But the hornbill knew better than to give in to that impulse by now, and held his tongue.
Silence hung heavy between them, until the black-maned lion cleared his throat.
"Ahem, well... I don't know what you expect me to do about it. What does it have to do with me? Those brats aren't mine in any case."
Sarabi flinched. Not that his answer surprised her; quite to the contrary. He said exactly what she expected him to say. More accurately, what she feared he'd say. Sarabi had grown quite used to it by now. Whatever she or anyone else brought before the king, the reaction would be the same: dismissal, occasionally mixed with indignation.
How dare you even bother me, the king, with your quotidian concerns?
And he would send the petitioner away with a flick of the paw, leaving Zazu or Sarabi to deal with it.
Sarabi knew all this, she knew it even before she entered the throne-room. Yet she still went. A short bit of theater she had to play out time and time again. She would keep doing it, too – what else was she going to do? It was bad enough that they had to live with an indifferent king, but to openly admit that would be total catastrophe. Conscious of that fact, Sarabi would now try to convince the king to change his mind. He probably wouldn't be convinced, but it was her place to at least try.
"Scar, it is your concern; this is your pride, and you are our king. Whatever goes on with us, you should be mindful of it..."
"But I am mindful of it," Scar yawned, "Worry not, Sarabi, you've done your duty. Two kids got into one little fight, you duly informed me, and now I know..."
"Yet you do nothing!"
"Of course not, don't be foolish. This is hardly a matter for the king to busy himself with, you can't expect me to concern myself with every little trifle that comes along. So these two cubs had a little fight, bully for them. These things happen; I'm sure you and I got into a few tussles growing up, too."
Sarabi gnashed her teeth. Exactly as she predicted. She pressed on: "I think you don't appreciate the gravity of the situation, Scar. Chumvi beat Mheetu half to death, or near enough, and his mother is furious. This trifle is creating serious discord among the lionesses. We're a big pride, and it's a small wonder we've gone without cliques for as long as we have... but if you don't step in now, that's exactly what's going to happen. Before you know it, the pride will split right down the middle; it starts with this little thing, but before you know it, it'll be something else, something worse..."
"Your alarmism has been noted," Scar grumbled, interrupting Sarabi. He'd begun flicking his tail back and forth midway through her speech, signaling annoyance, "And it's still none of my business. Fighting cubs, aggrieved mothers... these are all lionesses' affairs. I am the king, and I'll busy myself with kingly matters. You're perfectly well able to deal with the lionesses, so there is no need for you to come and bore me with all that talk of this lioness being angry at that lioness – heavens! All just dreadful old-wives' gossip..."
Scar ran a paw through his manes, and started stretching.
"But that's enough. I grow wary of your whining – you may go now..."
Sarabi sighed. It had done no good; only more dismissal, and vague insults. Scar's kingship was proving to be everything she'd expected it to be. Now less interested in getting Scar to engage with the lionesses than to just annoy him, she couldn't help but dole out a parting jab.
"You're right, Scar; we lionesses usually deal with these issues ourselves. But the one who really should take charge, is the queen. I don't suppose you've given any thought to..."
"Get out!"
Whenever the conversation touched on the fact that Scar had so far neglected to choose a queen for himself, and that he paid a lot less attention to the lionesses than he should, he tended to get a little touchy. Sarabi calmly strode out, smiling faintly. But what little satisfaction she felt then evaporated as soon as she reached the plaza at the base of Priderock, where the other lionesses were gathered. They had coalesced in three groups, roughly representing those who backed Chumvi's mother Winda, those who sided with Mheetu's mother Kura, and those lionesses who didn't care either way and apathetically gazed out at the Pridelands while the others quibbled.
Naturally, Zira was in the third group. Her role in prodding Chumvi's darker side had been blissfully ignored, and the fuss caused by the fight between him and Mheetu filled her with nothing so much as detached amusement. Like watching a herd of zebra cross a stream filled with crocodiles – you can tell it's a momentous and fraught occasion for the participants, but at it's base it's nothing but stuff happening to other animals.
Sarabi took a big breath, straightened her back, and entered the fray. As with her tête-à-tête with Scar before, she very much dreaded having to navigate this social morass, but there was nothing else for it. As the queen-dowager, she was about the only lioness the others respected enough to be able to get both sides talking again.
Duty called.
Her first stop was Kura, Mheetu's mother, the aggrieved party. She was a stout and proud lioness, from the same stock as Sarabi and Sarafina. Currently, she was reiterating to her friends just what she thought of Chumvi's upbringing: she naturally found it lacking, implying that Winda in her old age had grown too frail to handle the pugnacious little rogue, leaving him to grow up wild and savage without a firm paw to straighten him out.
Her characterization was unfair on both accounts, towards Chumvi and Winda, in Sarabi's estimation, but that mattered little at present. She was not out to impose her viewpoint, only to try and restore some semblance of harmony to the pride. So she nodded along, hmmm-ed a few times, and frowned in silence on occasion, before gently trying to ease Kura into a more compromising stance. She pointed out that some of the things she'd heard about Mheetu's behavior had been rather disconcerting as well.
"Chumvi clearly went too far; from what I've heard there was no need for things to turn violent, and once a fight did break out, he should have restrained himself. There is never a good reason to do to a pridemate what Chumvi did to Mheetu. But from what I've heard, it seems like Mheetu wasn't entirely innocent himself..."
That mild suggestion was enough to bring an angry squint to Kura's eyes. Sarabi quickly got to the point, hoping to preempt an angry interruption.
"... because it seems he had been picking on little Nala throughout the day. What Chumvi did was obviously wrong, but maybe the way Mheetu treated Nala was what provoked him?"
"I don't see what that has to do with anything," Kura snapped, "My son is obviously the victim here, why are you trying to put the blame on him?"
"I'm just trying to understand what happened..."
"What is there to understand? Winda's brat is a vicious rogue, that's all there is to it. The brute is just making things up so he can put the blame on my Mheetu..."
"Now, Kura, stay honest with me, okay? You know that's not true. It's not just Chumvi who's been saying that, it's Nala and Sarafina, too. You don't think they are making things up, do you?"
Sarabi and Kura locked eyes for a moment. Eventually, it was Kura who looked away, and she shot a rueful gaze at Sarafina, who had taken up position with Winda's clique across the plaza. She sighed audibly.
"No, I don't think Sara is making things up. But what they're saying, it just doesn't sound like my Mheetu..."
"It doesn't have to mean anything – Mheetu made a mistake, that's all. Doesn't mean he's a bad kid! Your son is just as likely to screw up at some point as any of them, that's what being young is all about, there doesn't have to be a deeper meaning. And what Mheetu did doesn't compare to how Chumvi abused him, that's for sure..."
"I sense there is a "but" coming."
"You know me too well," Sarabi smiled softly, "Kura, your son was hurt, I get that. But look around: is this what you want? We're all sisters, us lionesses, and we have to look out for one another. Every time we go out to hunt, we put our lives in each others' paws. But now, what's happening is that we have you and yours sitting over here, while Winda is all the way over there... I don't want to see our pride fracture like this. I'm sure you don't, either. I'm not putting any of this on you, by the way, I don't think this is your fault – I'm just asking you to help me. Help me put everything back together again."
"But if you don't think I'm in the wrong, how do you expect me to make things right?"
"I'm sure we can work something out. Would you be willing to apologize for the way Mheetu treated Nala, and for what you said about Winda and Chumvi? If I can get Chumvi and Winda to apologize in turn for what happened to Mheetu, get them to admit there's no excusing what Chumvi did?"
It was an invitation to compromise, plain as day. Mheetu and Kura would say a few words, ditto for Chumvi and Winda, all in clear view of the pride, and that would be that. Both parties admitted being in the wrong about something, and could take the others' admission as an opportunity to save face. It was always going to end like that; the alternative was either that they stayed mad at each other for ever, or that one side capitulated utterly. The former would be very bad news for the pride, and the latter unthinkable, given the hardheadedness of the lionesses.
Now that Sarabi's offer was out in the open, Kura mulled it over for a bit, ostentatiously putting on her thinking-face.
"Sure, I can live with that," she said eventually, "But it should be clear that regardless of what Mheetu might have done, it just doesnt compare to what Chumvi did. When they apologize, they have to make that clear. I want to hear them say it."
"I'll... I'll see what I can do," Sarabi frowned. Shifting more of the blame on Chumvi would of course make Winda less amenable to a compromise. Then again, she was the more easygoing party to the feud... Sarabi's thoughts were interrupted when Kura suddenly made an additional demand, however.
"Oh yeah, and my Mheetu has to agree to it first; my poor baby 's been hurt, and I'm not forcing anything on him he doesn't want..."
Sarabi cringed, and she suspected most of the other lionesses in earshot did so too. Even Kura's closest friends realized that whatever faults of character Mheetu was cursed with, it probably had something to do with Kura's parenting; she doted on him like he was a prince, and it spoiled the brat rotten. There was no fixing that now, though, and Sarabi was more concerned with the things she could fix. So she abased herself with a sigh, and went to inquire what Mheetu thought of her proposition.
She found the cub near at paw, cowering behind his mother's back. It was an unusual sight: Mheetu wasn't one to ever show deference to anyone, bold and brash in his interactions with cubs and adult lions alike. To find him like this, shrinking back as Sarabi but looked at him, was a sight unseen. The queen-dowager considered she might have underestimated the severity of the trashing he'd received. Physically, though, he looked well enough, all things considered: scratches and bruises all over, a nicked ear, and a chipped fang - but nothing permanent, no broken bones.
There was something else going on, though, and Sarabi failed to notice it: Mheetu was alone. Even though both Kali and Zimua's moms joined with Kura's clique, the cubs themselves kept at some distance from Mheetu. He'd always been the center of attention before, but now suddenly found that the others avoided him.
When Sarabi asked him how he was doing, she expected the cub to start angrily venting about Chumvi. He didn't.
"Everything hurts," he mumbled, averting his eyes.
When asked if he was okay with apologizing to Nala if it meant Chumvi would apologize to him, his only reply was to ask if that meant the lionesses would keep Chumvi from hurting him again.
A vicious brat Mheetu might be, but at that moment Sarabi couldn't help but feel sorry for him, and she was starting to understand what it was that had so upset Kura – her son seemed to have taken the beating very badly. All the same, harsh as it may sound, the cub's well-being wasn't Sarabi's most pressing concern; getting the lionesses to end their squabbling was. She only needed Mheetu to agree with the proposed compromise – that he did so out of fear was regrettable, but but it would have to do.
When Kura then reaffirmed her intention to make up with Winda and Chumvi, Sarabi breathed a sigh of relief: getting Kura to agree to a truce was surely the hardest part, by far, and the other side of the bargain was left as a mere afterthought. Now flush with relaxed confidence, the queen-dowager promptly strode over to the other side of the plaza, to confront the Winda-partisans.
Winda lay stretched out, enjoying the afternoon-sun, with her son and daughter watchful at her side. She slowly got up when she noticed Sarabi approaching.
"I'm sure you think me a foolish old lioness," she began apologetically, "And you'd be right. I'm sorry for putting you through all this trouble, Sarabi."
"It's nothing I haven't seen before," Sarabi shrugged, "Besides, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself – I know Kura can be a bit... difficult."
"Don't get me started! Really, don't – I'm guessing that right now, the less said, the better it'll be?"
"You guessed right. What's happening between the two of you, it's bad for the pride..."
"I know, I know – and I'm sorry for making such a fuss over... well I suppose that to you it must look like it's a whole lot ado about nothing..."
… because whatever happened, at least Chumvi and Mheetu are still alive?
It remained unsaid, but Winda wasn't the first lioness to make that allusion: "my concerns don't compare to what you had to suffer through when Simba and Mufasa died."
Sarabi disliked that kind of talk on several levels. It wasn't just that it made for a painful reminder that indeed, Simba and Mufasa weren't with her anymore. No, it was the logic behind the remark that most irked Sarabi, how the other lionesses used it as a cover. It liberated them from having to admit they were wrong, allowed them to acquiesce to Sarabi's demands, not because it would be the right thing to do, but out of a perverted form of deference.
It was all the more jarring coming from a lioness like Winda, who had lost more cubs in her lifetime than most lionesses could expect to birth.
To Sarabi, what was right, was right, and what was wrong, was wrong. There was always a certain way things should be, and a way things should be done. Could be because of duty, virtue, tradition... But this idea that somehow, wrong could be made right just because someone happened to have suffered through something and held a different opinion... that personal suffering trumped objective truth... no! That's insanity.
Sarabi had long ago resolved that she would never think like that.
That being said, she wasn't about to berate Winda over it – that wouldn't be the right thing to do, either. Right now, it was Sarabi's place to try and bring the pride back together, and throwing a hissy fit over the finer points of argumentation and emotional manipulation would definitely not help with that. "The right thing to do" is only the right thing to do, all things considered – and being able to see that takes sound judgment and maturity. The former queen could usually manage that. Other unnamed lions, less so.
So for the greater good, Sarabi hid her annoyance and carried on the conversation unfazed: "It's quite all right. I'm not here to judge, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be this upset if it was really nothing – so go ahead, Winda, get it off your chest."
"You're too kind, Sarabi..." The old lioness then sighed heavily, looking away, "You know, if she was just badmouthing me, I couldn't care less. But the things she said about my son! I mean, Sarabi, you know Chumvi – he's always been a kind and quiet boy, right? I'm not denying that he might have hurt Mheetu, but he wouldn't have done it if he didn't have his reasons! He's never been like this before, anyway, so something must have happened to set him off – it wouldn't make sense otherwise.
"And we even know what it is; little Nala told us. Mheetu has been terrorizing the poor dear, and my Chumvi stepped in to try and stop it. He didn't just attack Mheetu on a whim, or because of some grudge. But Kura, she won't have any of it! And not only does she refuse to see that Mheetu is at least as guilty here, she insists on calling my son names in front of the entire pride, she insults me as a mother, and last thing I heard she was even blaming my daughter for what happened! Sure, Wana was supposed to watch the cubs that day, but she and Zira intervened as soon as they noticed something was wrong...
"But Kura, she just goes on and on... She called my son a monster, Sarabi! He's not! Chumvi is a sweet kid, and I won't stand for it when she makes him out to be some kind of fiend..."
Giving Winda a chance to have her say felt like half of a resolution already for her part, Sarabi thought. And indeed, the older lioness looked and sounded really relieved when she was done speaking. The former queen figured now was as good a time as any to broach the deal she'd negotiated with Kura.
"Things have been said that should not have been said," she summarized, "That much is obvious. And, sadly, Kura can't unsay them even if she wanted to. But she can apologize. Would you be willing to put this whole affair to bed if she agreed to apologize?"
Winda nodded eagerly – that was all she wanted.
"But," Sarabi immediately cautioned, "You need to give Kura her due, too. Her son was mauled, and we can count ourselves lucky he hasn't suffered any permanent injuries. Chumvi did that – he might have had his reasons, but the blood is on his paws. He went too far, no matter what it was that provoked him. For that, he owes them an apology."
Again, Winda agreed without a second's thought, remarking that "it's only fair." How much more pleasant it was to work with her than with Kura, Sarabi mused – but even so, they were both her pride-sisters, and as the former queen it was not Sarabi's place to take sides. She had to keep the pride together, especially now that their king was acting so standoffish. With Winda's assent, she felt like she had succeeded, too...
"I won't do it."
The remark fell like thunder from a cloudless sky. All who heard turned their heads in shock.
Chumvi met their stares without blinking.
"Excuse me?" Sarabi asked commandingly, sounding very much like a queen would. Maybe she hadn't heard correctly, or maybe it was Chumvi who was misunderstanding.
"I said I won't do it. I won't apologize to Mheetu."
Now, there could be no doubt. Anyone looking at the scene presently unfolding would have been perfectly able to tell what was happening, even without hearing what was said: Chumvi sat rigidly upright, his back straitened, head held high, as Sarabi stood in font of him. He looked the former queen straight in the eyes.
Chumvi was defying Sarabi, and she was left dumbfounded
Now, while the young lion certainly struck an impressive pose, he wasn't quite nearly as sure of himself as he looked right then. He was very much acting on impulse, and making things up as he went along, from his facial expression to his posture. Just under the surface, his thoughts were racing, his heart was pounding like mad, and all kinds of conflicting feelings battled for supremacy. Chumvi had never done this before, after all; it wasn't like him to stand up to his elders, let alone a former queen.
Yet here's what he knew with certainty: he wasn't going to apologize. He didn't feel sorry, and he was convinced he had nothing to apologize for.
Sarabi licked her lips, uncertain as to how she would proceed now. This was most unexpected. When she set out to reconcile the pride, she'd been prepared to have trouble convincing Kura and Mheetu especially. But Chumvi objecting, that was not something she had counted on. She knew the young lion well enough to tell this wasn't like him at all – Chumvi should normally just go along to get along. Yet here he was, staring her down. The former queen wasn't the only one surprised at this turn of events – pretty much everyone who knew anything at all about Chumvi, and could hear him now, was taken aback.
None more so than Nala: the you cub stared at Chumvi in wide-eyed disbelief. What happened to the placid youngster she remembered, who would look away abashedly when the other cubs picked on her? Now he was beating Mheetu into the dirt one day, staring down the former queen the next...
Sarafina was quick to pick up on the way her daughter looked at Chumvi. It made her see the youngster in a new light, too: the way he sat there, fearlessly, even proudly facing Sarabi, as a light breeze stirred his fledgling black mane... It was the first time she saw him not as a cub, but as a lion. A lion who, it seemed, would go out of his way to keep Nala safe.
"Chumvi..." Sarabi started, after a long, tense silence, "I understand that you and Mheetu don't exactly get along right now... and it's true that he might not have always been the nicest of lions..."
"Then why do you want me to apologize?" Chumvi interrupted.
At this point, the former queen found herself gritting her teeth. Once the sheer surprise wore off, she quickly felt herself growing angry at the impudence of the youngster. Maybe he didn't want to do what he was told – fine. But the way he was acting now was just rude; she was still his elder, and a former queen to boot. But once again, Sarabi decided not to let her feelings dictate her behavior. Restoring peace to the pride was all that mattered. She had indulged Kura's lack of self-awareness, and she could do the same for Chumvi.
"Because you overreacted. So you think Mheetu is a meanie – fine. But he's still a member of our pride, and your brother because of it. What you did to him, you don't do that to a pridemate. You could have well killed him if the lionesses didn't stop you!"
Chumvi swallowed, and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. He was wearing out Sarabi's patience. She decided to try another approach.
"Look, Chumvi... Do you see this? The lionesses way over there, where Mheetu is? Maybe you don't think you did anything wrong, but they sure do, and you won't convince them otherwise just by sitting here, looking grim. We're all part of the same pride, and it won't do to have us be divided over this. I don't care who's wrong and who's right – keeping the pride together is bigger than that. You want to act all grown up? Fine, but go all the way: it means swallowing your pride every once in a while, for the greater good.
"Now... apologize to Mheetu!"
So, what do I do now?
Chumvi got the sinking suspicion he might have about pushed things as far as he could. He lodged a protest against Sarabi's proposition, and clearly made his feelings in the matter known. The former queen even went as far as to admit that, in a way, maybe he was indeed in the right.
But then she ordered him to bow down to Mheetu anyway.
He still didn't want to, but now he found himself under orders. Was that as far as his power went, he wondered? Was there any more he could do? Well, he could just keep on refusing – but what would happen to him then? What would Sarabi do? What exactly is it a former queen does, anyway? She was strutting around, all self-important, but who was Sarabi to tell him to do anything? She wasn't the king. She did not own the pride; she was not even the queen anymore.
Chumvi pulled away from Sarabi's piercing gaze, and looked at the other lionesses. All eyes were on him, and he was surprised to realize just how anxious everyone looked – some even seemed a bit fearful. Everyone was waiting to see what Chumvi would do. All his life, he'd always followed someone else's lead, but now, for the first time, it seemed like the whole world had stopped turning, waiting for him to decide.
The feeling was overwhelming, terrible, awful, nauseating.
It felt good. Like he was in a sense all-powerful. Was this how kings felt?
Chumvi could no longer stop himself. He decided to measure up his power against that of the former queen.
"Now... apologize to Mheetu!"
"Make me."
Next thing he knew, Chumvi was lying on the ground, dazed. He could feel the side of his muzzle burning hot. A trickle of blood ran down his nose.
Winda was standing over him with her paw still upraised, the tips of her claws glistening red. Her face was contorted to an angry snarl. Then, sniffing dismissively, she turned away from her son, and towards a wide-eyed Sarabi. She threw herself at the former queen's paws.
"Sarabi, I don't know what's gotten into my son – he's never been like this before! It's unacceptable, the way he talked to you. I'm sorry! And if he won't apologize, I'll do it his stead – to you, to Kura, to Mheetu – whatever you want me to do, I'll do it..."
And that was the end of it. After angrily shouting at her son for a good while - he had nothing to say in response - Winda prostrated herself before Kura and Mheetu, and they, having seen just what they were dealing with in Chumvi, quickly agreed to leave well enough alone. Peace returned to the pride, of a sort.
Or so it seemed to most of the lionesses. But Sarabi wasn't fooled. She was of course grateful that Winda had stepped in and put her son in his place, and then went on to mend fences with Kura – she'd humiliated herself and lost face, all so the others could keep theirs. But that was just about appearances, and Sarabi was perceptive enough to be able to look beyond that.
She didn't like what she saw. It struck her when she crossed eyes with Chumvi, while his mother was over apologizing to Kura. Despite what the fresh scar that now cut across his muzzle would have you think, Chumvi came out of the whole mess not having given an inch. He remained unrepentant, and for what Sarabi was concerned, dangerously unhinged. There are few things more dangerous than a lion beholden to nothing, or no-one.
Sarabi looked away from Chumvi, and turned her gaze towards Priderock. From down below, this late in the afternoon, the entrance to the throne-room loomed like a dark void. Scar still hadn't emerged. Sarabi hung her head, and sighed.
When Winda went over to Kura for her apology-tour, the lionesses that had taken her side in the spat did likewise, as if to symbolize the reforged unity of the pride. Chumvi was left alone on the far side of the plaza, pondering the choices that had landed him there. His first thought was that he had made a horrible mistake in gratuitously confronting Sarabi; he'd let his delusions of grandeur get to his head, and was now left a pariah.
Maybe it was still possible to come crawling back, apologize, and resume being the same old amicable Chumvi everybody remembered?
Someone cleared her throat nearby. Chumvi looked up to see Sarafina pacing towards him. She sat down right in front of him, and extended a paw towards his muzzle. He recoiled a bit when she touched the now-puffy wound.
"She didn't hold anything back, did she? Are you all right, Chumvi?"
"It's fine – I've had worse," he lied.
Sarafina flashed an inscrutable smile – she could, of course, see straight through him. Yet she didn't remark on it.
"Chumvi... I'm sure I've told you this before, but... thank you for looking out for Nala. Some of the other lionesses might look at you sideways for what you did, but I'll be forever grateful. With all that's recently happened to the pride, I've become fearful of what the future might hold... but, knowing that you're watching over my daughter helps me sleep easier...
"Chumvi, please, promise me that, whatever might happen next, you'll keep looking out for my Nala."
And so Chumvi made up his mind.
author's notes: neat, another follower!
