preface: another month, another chapter... With regards to ograndebatata and anon for continuing to read and review the story, I truly appreciate it!


Hunted

Zira thought she heard something behind her. She turned her head back with a jerk, but there was nothing. Nothing to see, and nothing to be heard. She tried to swallow, but her mouth had run dry.

Even if she didn't see them, she still knew they were out there, somewhere. Hunting her.

The wind picked up, stirring the long grass that surrounded her on all sides. Zira stood up tall, her head now perking out above the undergrowth. She could see the fields of grass around her ripple as gusts tore through them. Thick clouds overhead filtered out most sunlight, and rendered everything drab and desaturated. She crouched down again.

She'd hoped to maybe pick up their scent, but had no such luck. They were careful to stay downwind. Zira hadn't expected that. Yet she knew they were nearby – she could feel it, almost taste it.

The wind died down as suddenly as it had appeared, and the rustle of dried grass was replaced by deathly silence. It took Zira a while to start registering the habitual background-noise again – birdcalls, chirping crickets, her own heartbeat. Now again on guard for possible tell-tale sounds, Zira imagined hearing something to her right, but when she looked she could see nothing but an opaque wall of sun-bleached grass. She got up to move forward again, cautiously.

She'd only taken a few steps, when suddenly there came from behind her an off-pitched yell, not quite a roar.

They had found her, then. It was now Zira's turn to make a run for it. Without turning back to get a look at her assailant, she dashed forward, sprinting to get away as fast as possible. As she barreled through the parched grass, cutting a path of broken and trampled reeds, she became aware of a great rushing sound on either side of her. There were at least four others, two on either side, only visible as faint yellowish blurs, and they were closing in fast. They'd be on her in mere moments.

It seemed like Zira had run right into their trap. As she was being boxed on the flanks, the hunter that had flushed her out with his yelp moved in to jump her from behind. He was too reckless, however, perhaps overconfident after the initial success of the ploy, and just before he made the leap, Zira kicked him in the face with one of her backpaws. It was only a clumsy facsimile of the kind of deadly backwards kicks she'd seen zebra deliver on occasion, but it still sufficed to knock her target out of the chase.

It did her little good however, as she was still surrounded on the sides. And worse was yet to come.

As she tried to get a look at one of the attackers on her left, she suddenly saw from the corner of her eye a dark shape dead ahead. Before she has a chance to come to stop or even turn her head, it lunged at her and crashed into her chest. All the air was knocked out of Zira, and her forward momentum clashed with that of her foe, sending them into a messy tumble as the attacker stubbornly held on to his quarry. Before they'd even come to a stop, the four other bandits also latched on to Zira, pinning her to the ground.

And so ended the chase. It had been a resounding success for the hunters.

"All right, all right. You got me. Now get off, before I tear you all a new one."

The cubs were quick to jump back. They always listened to Zira – say what you want about her methods, but they did listen.

"Ow, damn. My shoulder hurts like hell - you got me good, Chumvi. No complaints on the overall performance, but trying to jump me head-on? Don't ever do that again. You'll break something, and more importantly, if you ever tried that on a zebra or a wildebeest, that's it. Dead. They'll trample you, run you down."

The black-maned youngster got up slowly, having to crawl away from Zira first. She was right – ambushing and jumping her as she ran towards him had hurt him more than it did her. Chumvi didn't show it, though. He felt far too proud for that. They'd done it! They managed to stalk, chase, and ambush Zira.

It was supposed to be hard, the most important thing they'd ever learn: ambush. That's how lions hunt. But they got it right after only a couple of tries – so what did that mean for them? Obviously hunting prodigies, the lot of 'em!

All five cubs now arrayed themselves around Chumvi and Zira, complimenting one another, their smiles beaming. Zira had no complaints about the overall performance – that was about as much praise as she'd ever given them! And everyone had managed to contribute, too, even Nala. No matter that she was the youngest of the bunch – she'd managed to keep pace along with Rinda on the left flank, perfectly synchronized with Kali and Zimua on the right.

Of course, the real star of the practice-hunt was Chumvi, the leader. At the start of their group-hunting lessons, Zira had put him in charge of the mini-pride, made him the leader of the hunt. And Chumvi had taken to the role like a duck to water. He'd planned the ambush, divided everyone into teams, and generally just spurred everyone on with the necessary supportive encouragements that were typically lacking in the talk they got from Zira.

Just as importantly, the other cubs had readily taken to following Chumvi's lead. Most simply recognized his natural ability, while the rest still vividly remembered when Chumvi had shown a different side of himself not too long ago, and were anxious not to rub him the wrong way ever again.

Now that the "hunt" was over, though, the young lion seemed to fall back into his old mannerisms, and he shifted uncomfortably as the other cubs started to crowd around him, alternatively gushing about Chumvi's role, and demanding that he validate their exaggerated claims of having contributed to the outcome of the ambush. All he did was grin dumbly.

He'd much preferred the atmosphere of the hunt – everyone single-mindedly focusing on a clear goal, him giving orders, and almost no talk. Being in charge without being the center of attention.

Those feelings quickly dissipated when Chumvi looked around him and he saw the smiles on everyone's faces, though - even Zira seemed to manage a toothy smirk. The cubs were now a team, one happy family working together, with no cliques, no bullying, and much of it was owed to him – the realization hit him right as he crossed looks with Nala. The young lioness was the happiest he'd ever seen her, and cheer radiated from her brilliant blue eyes.

Chumvi felt his heart swell knowing "I did this, this is what I am capable of". Before he had heard elders, when speaking of the sensation of ecstasy following a difficult but ultimately successful hunt, describe the experience as feeling like they could take on the world. But only now did he understand what they had meant: to know you have the power to effect a change in the world, if you will it. It was almost enough to make Chumvi go light-headed.

The reveling was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone pushing through the long grass and stumbling onto the scene. All eyes turned towards the newcomer, a cub with a nicked ear, a chipped fang, and the paltry beginning of what would become a reddish-brown mane. He looked rather bedraggled, with dirt and bits of grass clinging to his fur, owning to the tumble he had made after Zira kicked him in the face during the chase.

"Mheetu, how nice of you to finally join us!"


"Hey Kali, wait up!"

The young lioness briefly glanced behind her. She could tell it was Mheetu perfectly fine just from his voice – that wasn't why she looked back.

From the look in her eyes, he could tell she didn't want to talk to him. Mheetu wasn't having it, though. It had been going on for a while now; the other cubs kept avoiding him, and only talked to him when they absolutely needed to. Preparing for their mock-ambush just now had been the first time in days he'd gotten more than a few words in. Mheetu was sick of it. They all treated him like he had some kind of disease, and for what? All because they wanted to get on the good side of Chumvi...

It was all Chumvi's fault. Mheetu had blamed Nala at first, but she was nothing, nobody – just an excuse for Chumvi to get to him. It was obvious now, with Chumvi acting like he was about to become King of Priderock or something, all menace and swagger. That had been his plan all along, Mheetu figured, putting himself above the other cubs. And of course Chumvi had to go through Mheetu to do that, the only other male, who was smarter and more popular than he was to boot.

If it had been only that, Mheetu could have lived with it. So Chumvi turned out to have been scum all along, and stabbed Mheetu in the back when he got the chance – sure, why not; bad lions will do bad things. He hadn't thought of Chumvi as a lion being capable of doing that, but that's how it turned out.

Thing is, it wasn't just him. To Mheetu's bewilderment, all other cubs seemed to have turned on him, too. It's like from one day to the next, they suddenly looked to Chumvi for what they could or couldn't do, who they could or couldn't talk to.

Even Kali. They'd been best buds for as long as he could remember, and whenever Mheetu was looking to pull some mischief, she'd be right there beside him. Yet she fell in line just like the rest of them when Chumvi took the helm. That had hurt the most.

The saddest part was that, in spite of everything, he couldn't think of anyone else to talk to.

"Come on Kali, I just want to talk for a bit..."

He could hear snickering coming from Rinda and Zimua, who were walking with Kali. What was so funny about him wanting to talk to her, huh? Mheetu ground his teeth in anger.

The cubs were on their way back towards the nest, with Zira, Chumvi and Nala walking in the lead, Kali and her friends in the middle, and Mheetu trailing the group.

"Ugh – fine, but don't take too long."

With a flick of the head, Kali signaled to Rinda and Zimua that they should move a bit up ahead. They couldn't resist rolling their eyes and giving each other a knowing look before they went.

"So what do you want, Mheetu?"

"Why are you acting so rude? Just talk to me like you would to any other lion..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kali said, looking straight ahead.

"See, that's what I mean! Just look at me when you talk to me, all right? Don't pretend like I'm not here!" Mheetu jumped in front of Kali, to make sure she couldn't help but look at him.

"If you pulled me aside just to whine, I'm not interested." The young lioness deftly sidestepped Mheetu, and walked on unperturbed.

"No wait, don't go! You guys are all avoiding me, like some kind of a conspiracy – I can tell, and I'm sick of it! Did Chumvi put you up to this? Whatever, I don't care anymore, just tell me, what do I have to do to make it end?"

"Just stop, you're being pathetic. If anyone's avoiding you, it's because they're sick of you being all self-pitying and obsessive lately, not because of some grand plot against you."

"Obsessive? What the hell does that mean?"

"The way you've been going on first about Nala, then about Chumvi all the time. Like they were out to get you all along. Life isn't just about you, Mheetu – we all do things for reasons that don't necessarily involve you. Anyway, you asked me what you could do to make things better? Well, how about you try and talk things out with Chumvi? Apologize to him and Nala for they way you've been talking about them."

"I, apologize?" Mheetu bristled, "He almost killed me, and I should apologize to him? Just look at what he did to me!" He then indicated his chipped fang and nicked ear.

"D'aww, is the witle wion still upset about the booboos?" Kali rubbed one of her paws against her eyes, while donning an exaggerated frown – the universal symbol for a crybaby. "You didn't expect to keep your pretty-boy looks forever, did you? I for one think it's an improvement – makes you look half a year older in a flash."

"Don't try to excuse what he did! You almost sound like you're in league with that..."

"You're unbelievable," Kali sighed, "Fine, make of it whatever you want – but I'm done talking to you."

Without as much as a goodbye, Kali ran ahead and caught up with her friends. When they asked her what their chat had been about, she replied that it was just "Mheetu being Mheetu," and then they laughed.

Mheetu was left alone at the tail end of the group. When he stopped walking, nobody seemed to notice or care, and they moved on without him. It was for the best – he didn't want for them to see him cry anyway.


When Mheetu eventually returned to the den, upon entry he was greeted by the sight of a peculiar scene: all the cubs were gathered on one side, with Chumvi standing protectively in front of them, a fierce look in his eyes. Opposite them were Zira and another lioness that looked not unlike her, but more scarred – Mheetu remembered her being called Tuli. Like Zira, she too had not yet had any cubs, and as she was almost never on cubsitting detail, they had never gotten the chance to get to know her very well.

Zira's face betrayed anger and annoyance, more so than usual. The other lioness looked only disappointed.

"Watch your tongue, brat," Zira snarled, "Just because you're big enough to knock your little friends around, doesn't mean you get to talk back to me."

Chumvi sniffed defiantly.

"It's fine Zira, really. It was just an idea, they don't have to if they don't want to..."

"As if! They're just kids, all they get to do is what we tell them to do. You got that, you little twerps?"

"W-What's going on?"

All heads turned towards Mheetu.

"Oh, it's just you. And what the hell were you up to, huh?" Zira leered at him, "Why aren't you with the rest of them?"

"I dunno."

"I dunno," she mimicked him mockingly, "Well there's a surprise. Go on Tuli, tell this idiot what's got all the other idiots so worked up."

The other lioness shrugged apologetically before she started talking, well aware of Zira's propensity for terrible temper.

"Hi, you're Mheetu, aren't you, Kura's son? I'm Tuli..."

Mheetu didn't reply, and just cocked his head to the side a bit. What's with the long-winded introduction?

"So as I was telling the others, I have this friend... and she, eh, she has a brother – he's about your age I think – and, well, the thing is, we thought it would be neat if we could introduce you..."

"He's a hyena," Chumvi interrupted. Zira snarled for him to shut up.

"He is," Tuli acknowledged uncomfortably, "But that doesn't mean you guys won't get along! I met him, he's a really sweet kid..."

Zira nudged her friend in the ribs.

"I mean, he's cool."

"Whatever, still a hyena," Chumvi shrugged, "And we don't want anything to do with them."

Mheetu was taken aback. To be sure, he didn't have much love for hyenas himself: they looked, sounded and smelled weird, for one. Also, he'd never heard anyone utter a good word about them, and the threat of being eaten by a hyena was a prominent feature in most fairytales and fables the adults imparted to young cubs.

But ever since Scar had invited them into the Pridelands, Mheetu had taken those stories to be just that: fairytales and fables. After all, if the king invited them in, how bad can they be, really? And so far, they hadn't caused Mheetu any trouble.

Was Mheetu itching to meet one in person? Not exactly – preferably not, actually. But if Zira insisted? Sure, why not; it beats angering Zira. He'd learned to stay off her bad side by now.

Yet here was Chumvi, making a scene, and using rather strident language at that. Leaves one to ponder...

"Hey Chumvi, what crawled up your butt and died?"

"Stay out of this, Mheetu, it's none of your business," the young lion growled.

"None of my business? You pretend to talk for all of us, then tell me it's none of my business? Get bent! You guys, are you okay with this, with this wannabe-king here acting like he owns the place, pretending he can speak for all of us? Are you, huh?"

"Cut it out Mheetu, you're embarrassing yourself," Kali remarked snootily.

"Why, 'cause I dare to think for myself? You'd rather I fall in behind Chumvi the Wise, like the rest of you drones?"

"You really are an embarrassment," Chumvi chimed in, confident that he had the other cubs behind him, "What's the big deal, did you turn into some kind of hyena-lover all of a sudden?"

"Go to hell! You're the one making such a big deal out of this; it's not me that's talking back to Zira."

Mheetu stole a quick look at her, hoping to get some support, but no such luck: Zira's expression was one of disdainful incredulity. She had no use for a sycophant. He wasn't about to give up, though – any excuse for confronting Chumvi was a good one: "What's the harm in meeting with the guy, huh? If worse comes to worst, and he offends you somehow, you can just beat him into the dirt – 'cause that's how you do, isn't it?"

Chumvi bared his fangs, but before he could advance on Mheetu, or get a few words in, Nala stepped forward.

"What would you know about that, huh?" she shouted angrily, "Have you ever met a hyena, ever seen one up close, ever had to talk to one, or run from them? No, you haven't! You don't know anything about them!"

Aha! So that's what's up with Chumvi; he's trying to earn some points with his girlfriend again.

"I know enough," Mheetu said dismissively, "I mean, uh, our king seems to like them fine, so, you know, who do you think you are, huh? Think you know better than the king?"

"They tried to kill me, Mheetu! Me and Simba, first time we ever met hyenas, and straight away they tried to kill us! We hadn't done anything, just took a wrong turn, and next thing we knew we had to run for our lives. If Mufasa hadn't gotten to us in time then they'd have eaten us for sure!"

"You don't know that," Mheetu demurred, "And besides, even if it was true, that doesn't... eh, I mean, you know, maybe... maybe it was just bad luck! Yeah, that's it – maybe you just happened upon a few bad apples. You shouldn't put that on all hyenas, that would be bigoted – you bigot!"

Zira snickered audibly at that accusation, but fell silent when she noticed no-one else was cynical enough to be in on the joke.

"Believe what you want to, but I know what I've been through. They were snapping at me so close by I could feel their breath on my heels. They would have killed me then, and I'm never giving them another chance at it if I can help it."

Too bad they failed, or I wouldn't have to look at your stupid face all day!

Mheetu caught himself, though, and refrained from provoking Nala further. Much as she got on his nerves, his quarrel wasn't with her. Heck, she was probably the only lion in the den with a justifiable grudge against hyenas. The rest of them, though... Chumvi was using Nala's very real fears as an excuse for another power-trip, and the other cubs just fell in line, again.

But not Mheetu! He would make a stand, right then and there, against Chumvi's unfolding tyranny!

Or something. The truth of the matter was that he agreed to meet the hyena cub only to spite the others.

"You know what, fine, you all do what you like – stay here and be haters! But I'm going out there, going to, eh, step forward into the great and glorious future that's been promised us, and eh, you know, make all kinds of hyena friends and stuff! Do cool things! And you'll all be here, all jealous, saying 'Oh I wish I'd gone with Mheetu that one day, he was so much smarter than we were...'"

"Okay that's enough out of you," Zira grumbled, and she picked Mheetu up by the scruff, who gave a little yelp, "Would you look at that, Tuli, we got ourselves a volunteer!"