Chapter 2: home, yet foreign

Got… to keep… moving! She thought under her heavy breath. The last hours have been exhausting and terrifying. Every inch of her body hurt, she had bruises even on places she didn't even knew she had places.

I… can't… go on… too tired! The right side of her head was burning. She could feel the crimson liquid drooling down her right cheek. The pain was getting irresistible.

No… don't rest… find a shelter! She could feel her left hind leg giving up under her weight. To her, it was obvious that it was broken. She couldn't remember how long she had been going on like this. Or how far she would have come by now. The only thing she knew was… that it was night.

Clouds were building up on the horizon which was a clear signal for rain to start soon. Already the first growls of thunder could be heard. Her situation was getting worse and worse by any second. Her muscles were giving in to her and her vision became blurry. If I stop now… I… may… never… get back up.

She could already feel the first drops of rain dropping on her head. Soon, the wind and the water in combination with the earth that would turn to mud would make it impossible for her to get forward to any kind of protection from this sincere nature. And then, she spotted a small den erupting in the middle of the sandy plateau. It was a little glimpse of hope. She dragged her broken body forward; the rain drops now hammering on her figure and the wind almost knocking her over. Every time, a lightning stroke, it felt like her head would take another hit.

If I can… just… make it! With a last summoning of her strength, she crawled inside the shelter and immediately dropped onto the ground with exhaustion. Finally, she could relax a bit. It took her about half an hour until she could bring her body into another position. Every little move made her ache and grinched her teeth in pain. She leaned her body against a wall and glanced down onto her stomach.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I promise you!"


The next mourning, life went by just a normal as it could go in the African savannah. Herds of wildebeest wandered through the land. Zebras, antelopes and other kinds of animals gathered at the few places where they could get some fresh water to drink or where the grass was well enough to be eaten. All seemed normal…

That was except for a single male lion walking right through the veldt and receiving suspicious glances from the rest of the animals. Rogue lions were no rare thing in the animal kingdom. When a male cub reached a certain age, it was normal for it to leave his home pride and find another or found another one somewhere else. However, it was unusual for a single lion to travel so deep into another pride's territory. Not to say that it wasn't really that often for him being escorted by an African Pied Wagtail. It was a small black and white bird who had settled himself down on the lions shoulder. In contrast to the lion that kept walking on like nothing was bothering him. The bird constantly kept twirling around his head. It was if he was looking for something to attack them.

"You really think this is a good idea? You know how prides get when they see strays wandering around their territories!" The bird said into the lion's ear.

"Relax Kicho. It's not like we're doing anything wrong." The lion replied. "Besides from what I've heard, king Mufasa is not the type of king who immediately wants your head delivered as a mourning meal." Even though, his movements had certain elegance to them, the lions' appearance was a bit more of the 'bold' type. His fur was cream with a tint of gold in it, although it was difficult to clarify that with all the dirt lying upon it. He had red eyes and a dark brown mane.

The rather unusual duo now reached a small waterhole where groups of various animals had already gathered around for a drink. As they approached, they were greeted with mistrust. A few of the animals sneered at them.

The lion glanced from his left to his right and a sudden lust for sarcasm came over him. "Morning!" He greeted with an ironic smile and sunk his tongue into the water. The bird on his shoulder shrugged and grinned nervously before coming down to his feline friends' ear.

"See… I told you!" He whispered.

The lion didn't really pay much attention to the bird. Yet he decided that it would be the best to leave this place as soon as possible. He stopped drinking and trotted away from the waterhole.

"I knew that it was a bad idea to just wander into these lands in public and all by ourselves." Kicho kept going as they brought some distance between them and the scene they had just witnessed.

The lion shook his head. He and Kicho had been friends for quiet a while now. He was used to his flying companion to always be either afraid or concerned about any action he took. But sometimes, the small bird was really tiresome. "Seriously… what are you complaining about? How would you feel if a complete stranger would walk right next to you looking like I do? This is something completely normal. So QUIT whining."

The Pied immediately shut his beak and returned to staring into the distance.

Suddenly, the lion stopped dead in his tracks and started sniffing the air. His body tensed up as a horrified realization came into his mind. "Kicho! Do you smell that?" He called out to his companion who had his eyes widened and left the lions' shoulder.

"Unlike lions, I am not equipped with a superior scent!"

The lion now began to wander around in circles and scanned the ground surrounding him. "I'm serious Kicho; it smells like… there it is." He shouted and brought his nose down on the grass. "Blood! And it sure doesn't belong to any of the preys that we hunt. This is the blood of a lion."

It was hard for the lion to find the direction of the trace of blood. The heavy rain during the night had washed away a huge part. Yet he sniffed the ground and not only found the blood, but also the scent of the person which it belonged to. "Come on, this way!" He shouted to his companion and ran off into the distance.

I don't know what this is about, but I'm going to find out. He thought as his heavy paws hammered onto the ground and through the veldt. The blood trace got more and more blurred as well as the scent got mixed up with all the other animals' smells. It made the pursued of the hurt lion or lioness even more difficult. But to his fortune, the rain made the ground softer. Now he could make out paw prints in the marshy earth, whoever left these here, had a very unsteady walk. It looked like the animal almost dragged itself around. I got to find him or her.

And then, he spotted the small cave in the middle of the field. If I would have been sincerely hurt, I would take cover in there. He slowed down his pace and now trotted closer to the shelter. If the lion was still alive, every sudden move could come out as a hostile act which would make him look like the aggressor. Slowly he walked towards the mouth of the den. The scent he picked up before now was really strong. He was definitely there. The lion took a careful and swift glance inside and spotted a lioness that lay down and leaned against a wall with her fur sprinkled with blood. As he got closer, he noticed her covered with dried down tears.

The lion got closer and sniffed her before checking her out for any vital signs. Kicho on the other hand just landed in front of the den and stared inside.

"She's still alive… barely." The male gasped and pressed his right paw on her stomach. "Kicho, go get some help. There must be some pride around here."

The bird slightly panicked and hesitated. Something just didn't feel right. "What if I find a pride and find put that it was one that attacked her?" he answered as he tried to sustain his breath.

"I don't have time for this right now. She won't make it if we don't do something. GO!" He snapped and let out a growl of anger. Kicho didn't wait for another demand and took off into the air.

The lion stood behind and glanced at the lioness. Don't worry! I and my friend are going to get you through. He nudged her with his muzzle to receive any kind of reaction. He his eyes focused on hers in hope of movement. And finally, she blinked. Slowly, her eyes went open and revealed a very weak stare. As soon as she realized where she was and who was in front of her. Her eyes widened and fear ran over her face.

"Relax! I'm not going to hurt you. My friend is going out there to get some help. Just lay still for the moment." The male lion said with a soft and gentle voice. The least thing he wanted to happen right now was for her to panic and make her condition even worse.

"Who… are… you?" She sighed with a tired voice.

"My name's NI!"


Kicho flapped his wings as hard as he could as he flew over the African landscape. His gaze wandered around hectically for any sign of lions, or at least any kind of animal which could provide some help. He sure hoped that his friend knew what he was doing. In the distance, he spotted a huge triangle shaped rock staying in the middle of the veldt like a castle. He had heard of pride rock before but never actually met anyone who had really been there. He was taken aback by the size and the authority the giant rock formation beamed out. It was breathtaking. He flapped his wings even more as he gained up to what he heard of was the home of king Mufasa. And hopefully, one who could do something about their problem.

As he glanced to the left, he spotted a big male lion being accompanied by two lionesses. Without thinking twice, he stormed down to get their attention. What he didn't calculate was the speed he picked up as he spotted pride rock. Kicho was unable to slow down appropriately and directly crashed into something as he hit the ground.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" A voice under him yelled in pain as Kicho finally got back his senses. The pied turned around and looked directly into the face of a blue hornbill, an angry hornbill to be exact.

"Sorry but…" Kicho's speech right away failed him as he looked into the angry eyes of the male lion.

"I hope you have a good excuse for bumping into my major-domo." He said with a stern expression on his face.

"Well uhm… I… we…"

"You better get a grip of yourself. This is king Mufasa you are talking to. So watch what you are saying." The hornbills' voice was snobbish and with a slight English accent (AN: I doubt that a Pied knows what an English accent is. But it's something the reader can relate to when it comes to Zazu and his voice)

"Calm down you two." One of the females with a dark beige fur suddenly called out to the male lion and the hornbill. Right away, she stepped forward eyeing the black and white bird. "Now relax and speak slowly." She said gently to him.

Kicho took a deep breath. "Okay, so my friend and I were wandering through your pride. We didn't mean any harm. But… as we came down into the veldt, my friend smelled the scent of a hurt lion. We searched the landscape for the source of it and found an injured lioness in a small shelter not far from here. My friend send me out to find help… and I found you." He explained as he regained his calmness.

King Mufasa rushed over to them and got down on the same level as the bird. "Show us the way!" he demanded. Kicho spread his wings and took flight. "Zazu get Rafiki. Himaya, you better stay and escort Sarabi back to pride rock." His eyes fell on the other lioness accompanying them but, to this point, kept herself in the back round. Mufasa was about to follow Kicho when…

"STOP!" The lion turned around to face his queen. "I'm coming with you:" She said and walked past him.

Mufasas face turned stern and concerned. "Sarabi, please! I don't want you to put yourself in more stress than necessary, especially in your condition." He said with a now gentle voice.

Kicho took another look at the lioness and realized. How could he not have seen it sooner? She was pregnant not to say that the cub was not far away from being born. Yet he totally missed it out.

"Mufasa, I'm going to be fine. Besides, this is my kingdom too. And if there's someone who is attacking lionesses around here, I have a right to set things right as much as you." Her voice was strong and full of determination. Mufasa held her gaze as the two tried to stare each other down. Finally, he began to smile.

"Very well, but Himaya will escort you. And at the first sign of trouble, you get out of there. Deal?"

"Deal!"

"Lead the way young bird."


As soon as Ni revealed his name to the lioness, she fell back to sleep. At first he thought she might have lost her conscious. But as he checked her breathing, he was relieved to find her breath being rhythmic and calm. There wasn't much he could do for now. The best he could come up with was to go and get some food. Being on his own for the last parts of his life, except for Kicho to have around, he quickly learned the right way to a successful and quick hunt. And so he dragged a fresh killed baby zebra back to the den. He peaked inside to find the lioness still in trance and dropped the prey right in front of her nose.

Where is he dammit? Ni wandered and thought about Kicho and how long he had been gone. He then looked back at the lioness. Her expression had slightly relaxed, her injuries were still far from getting better, but she was not as torn up by her pain then when he found her. Got to admit, she looks kind of cute. How could someone do something that cruel to such a handsome creature?

"Ow!"

He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as he saw her moving her head again. Ni didn't hesitate and moved the meat forward with his muzzle. "Here, you need something to eat." He gently remarked and gave her a warm smile.

The lioness didn't think twice and sank her teeth into the fresh hunted prey. Still every bite and every chew hurt her jaw and took a lot of strength. Yet it felt good to finally getting back some energy. Her eyes wandered up to the male lion staring at her. "I don't know what to say…" She weakly brought out of her muzzle.

"You could start with your name!" Ni responded dry.

Even though she smiled, Ni could tell that it was kind of forced. "I'm Sarafina!"

"NI!" Someone shouted from the distance. The male lion turned around and spotted his bird friend landing directly in front of the den. "There over here!" He gestured to the side and took a few steps back. Both Sarafina and Ni looked towards the opening where another male lion came now into few. "Ni this is king Mufasa he's…"

"Sarafina?" The king gasped as he spotted the female lion laying there beaten up.

"Oh great kings!" A female voice sighed from behind as Sarabi walked right by the king and Ni and directly approached Sarafina with shock and sorrow in her eyes. "What happened to you?" She asked and nuzzled her.

"You know each other?" Ni was kind of irritated and decided it might be best to stand down and let the situation develop.

Sarafina couldn't help but started to sob a bit as she returned the gently gesture with closed eyes. "I… I… he… they… they!" She out of the sudden sank down again in cries as Sarabi put her arm around the broken lioness while resting her head on her neck. Sarafina slowly got her head back up. It didn't take a genius mind to realize that the two females had been friends for a long time and still shared a lot of love for each other.

Sarabi then turned her head towards Ni who still kept himself in the background. "My name is Sarabi, queen of the pride lands. This is my husband king Mufasa. I thank you for helping my long friend." She said honestly and bowed her head in thanks.

"No problem. I don't know if this is the right moment to ask this but… what happened to you?" Ni asked carefully not to give Sarafina another reason to break down in tears again.

Sarafina on the other hand gulped and raised her head. "I was born here in the pride of Mufasa and Sarabi. We had been friends for most of my childhood." She smiled slightly and this time, it was honest and natural. "One day, I met a lion form another pride and started to fall in love with him." Her expression turned stern. "He… got killed short after we found out that I was carrying his cub." All of the others' mouths dropped open as she revealed the news. It was now that Ni realized how big her stomach had been actually. He smacked himself inside his mind for not noticing it. "After they were finished with him, they turned their attention to me…" Her ears dropped to the sides of her head.

Sarabi nuzzled her friend again before they were interrupted by another. "Alright let me through." It sounded as Raifki walked into the now overfilled shelter. "Everybody out!" he commanded right away and waved his arms around hectically. Realizing that they couldn't do anything right now, the group trotted away. Except for Sarabi.

"Do you need my help?" She honestly requested holding her position beside Sarafina.

"Is der any chance of me getting' yu oud of ere?" The mandrill replied in a rhetorical matter but had already taken a look at Sarafinas leg.

"Rafiki… I don't you to fix my leg. There is something far more precious that needs attention." She said tired and glanced at her belly.

Understanding what she meant, Rafiki placed a hand on her stomach before resting his ear on the same spot. He slowly wandered his hands across the lioness while concentrating his hearing on the inside. Realization came to his mind and pulled his head away. "Oh Sarafina, she'll be fine. In fact, she's not dat far away."

Sarafinas eyes widened. "She? OWWWW"


Mufasa and Ni, accompanied by the two birds and the Lioness were waiting outside as the king slowly padded from one side to another. The events of the day had the lion and his pied friend left really tired out. Ni and Kicho were thankful that the huge and handsome lion was pretty occupied and yet missed out the chance to question them out. Ni at a glimpse of an eye could see the blue hornbill looking at them in a suspicious way. From what he could guess, he was some kind of right to the king. For now, we don't have anywhere else to go. If we act kind of smart, we might be able to get some shelter tonight. I can feel another shower of rain approaching.

On the other side Mufasa exchanged some quick gazes with his major-domo. This is not the right time to ask them of their doings here. They acted really noble. It would be wrong to send them away. Sarabi and Sarafina would never forgive if I start interrogating them right now. The king thought. He had a responsibility for his pride and his kingdom. That included having certain mistrust in strangers even if their deeds were of good nature.

The sky was now overcast and it already had the first raindrops coming down onto the group.

"OWWWWW!" Someone screamed from inside the den and shook them all out of their thoughts. Ni and Mufasa immediately stretched their heads into the opening of the den. Their gazes wandered down to Sarafina who was screaming in pain.

"What's wrong?" Ni asked right away.

"She's givin' birth!" The mandrill answered dryly as he put his hands back onto the lionesses' belly.

"Perfect timing! Really conveniant!" Kicho remarked sarcastically.

"NOT NOW!" It hammered back from both male lions

Sarafina was having another labour and again screamed up. "OK Sara, I need yu' to push hard!" Rafiki commanded. The lioness clenched her teeth together and gathered her strength to do as the mandrill ordered. She was barely able to move. And in this condition, she was supposed to give birth to a cub. "Yu der!" The monkey pointed towards Zazu. "Get to my tree an' get me som' implements. I gonna' be right back."

"Why me?"

Rafiki quickly stumbled over to him so that his mouth was on the same level as Zazus beak. "Because I need somethin' to keep her alive. Or else ther' won't be any cub to be born and no modder to give birth to her!" He whispered calmly not to start any more panic under the others. He then went back to the becoming mother who screamed again as another labour hammered though her body.

Zazu realized and set off right away. "I coming with you!" Kicho responded and followed the hornbill.

"Sarafina! Yo' need to relax. Breath calm and constantly. I gonna get yu' throu' dis. Just trust me." The mandrill said wand stroke his hand over the lioness forehead. She cried out again in pain as another labour shot through her.

And so the hours went by. With each labour that hit her. Sarafina became weaker and weaker. Soon the pain became unendurable. You don't have to be a scientist to realize that giving birth to a cub was no life threatening act. But giving the situation that Sarafinas body had been in, the danger was there all the time. Rafiki did the best he could to make her time the least painful and threatening. According to the gaps in which the labours were now coming, he knew that the lioness was in the end status. And that meant that the pain was driving her mad.

"I… I… can't… go on." She gasped between heavy breath and groans of pain. Her breath had become quick and hectically.

"Don't say that. I'm here with you." Sarabi as she kept her friends head in an embrace of her front legs.

"I'm back." It sounded and Kicho and Zazu stumbled back into the den, carrying a turtle shell with their beaks. Rafiki didn't waste any time and began to search through the stuff laying side. Quickly, he pulled out a strange looking fruit which he immediately broke in half. Its colour was of purple with orange lines running all over the shell.

"Her' eat." He offered it to the lioness that shook her head. Her gaze wandered up to Sarabi who gave her a quick nod. Slowly, she obeyed and started chewing on the fruit until she had swallowed nearly one complete half. Right in that moment, another labour ran through her stomach and made her yell at the top of her lungs.

"I think its coming." Sarabi said.

Rafiki right away put one hand back on her belly and one on her forehead. "Sarafina! I know dat' yu're tired. And I know dat' yu' can't go on. But it's now or never. PUSH!" he commanded and Sarafina clenched her teeth for one final stand. With all her left power, she pushed and could feel the small being crawling out of her body. She pushed again.

"Again!"

Oh great Kings… guide my little one through this time if I'm not going to make it. I beg you. Take my life if there has to be a decision. I beg you… at least let me stay alive to have at least one look at her. So that I can see her with my own eyes, and let her know that no matter what*'s going to happen tonight. I will be there for her. She closed her eyes and went for the final move. Here it goes…

With her last bit of strength, she pushed and immediately felt a lot of weight falling off of her body. She could feel that her little daughter had left her body and entered this world. She opened her eyes and found Rafiki smiling at her as he held a small bundle of fur lying in his arms. He laid it into her front legs and gently made an embrace out of them. Sarafina licked her daughter in joy as tears ran down her cheek.

"She's beautiful!" Sarabi remarked and nuzzled her. "Do you have a name yet?"

"What name could be appropriate for such an unbelievable gift from the great kings?" She said tired and powerless.

Sarabi sank her head and came eye to eye with the cub. "She's indeed a gift. Wait… that's it! There's a word for gift… Nala!"

Sarafina smiled towards her friend. "Nala? That's a beautiful name." She turned her muzzle towards her daughter and licked her one more time. "Your name is Nala… my daughter… Nala."

Then she passed out.