(A/N: I'm back! (Told you) - short chapter here, mainly because I wanted to get up and posting again so that you had something to read. Enjoy!)
The zebra led the antelope as they both strolled casually down the frontstretch. They could both sense a slight threat from behind, but their main focus was on the crowd of eleven lions which, over time, had built up. Everyone but Shairi, Eboni, Linda and Juveda were waiting in ambush for these two pieces of prey.
Shairi, Eboni and Linda were all stalking the antelope and zebra from behind, while Juveda had gone on to run another lap around the circuit. Bilauri was the first competitor in ambush, waiting for her first set of ten points in the game.
Linda broke out into a run first.
Being a rookie, Linda was prone to making bad judgments during this game. However, as soon as she started running, Shairi and Eboni's strategies were fixed too…they had to run.
The antelope had been walking behind the zebra. Now, knowing that there was a threat from behind, he had taken off into a run and was passing the zebra on the outside of the track. Since Bilauri was waiting in ambush on the outside of the circuit, the antelope's decision to pass the zebra on the outside meant that she was blocked from attacking the zebra.
Bilauri would have to go for the antelope.
Linda had pulled away from Shairi who had pulled away from Eboni. Linda and Shairi continued in their chase for the zebra. Eboni, however, knew that she was too slow to compete against them, so she went for the antelope, hoping that she still had more energy than Bilauri.
She didn't.
Bilauri scored her first set of ten with a well-timed attack on the antelope while Linda got up on the zebra's back first and was able to reach its neck before Shairi could push her off. Thus, Linda got ten more points too.
"Look at that," commented Timon, "no sooner after they run a hundred yards and they all line up in ambush again. How long is this going to go on for?"
"Not much longer," Sarafina reassured him. "Every time they run one hundred yards, they get a hundred yards farther away from where the prey is released onto the track. Eventually, they will work their way so far on down the front stretch that they'll be too far away from the entry point for their strategy to work."
"Why is Tonka doing so bad?" asked Pumbaa. "He hasn't even scored a point yet."
"Yeah," Timon agreed. "What gives? He was meant to do good and Juveda was meant to do bad…yet she already has loads more points than him!"
"That's because they haven't released a buffalo yet," replied Sarafina. "When the field stops ambushing the antelopes and the zebras, a buffalo will be released onto the circuit. A Siku Choka competitor's true talent is measured by how effectively they can bring down a buffalo. Because of their strength, usually males are better at it than females. So, Tonka should begin catching up with the others once a buffalo is on the circuit."
However, since a buffalo wasn't on the circuit yet, it was anybody's game as the next antelope and zebra made their way on down the track.
"This may be the final time this will work," Sarafina commented, watching Juveda. The rookie lioness was about to run back out onto the frontstretch. Once the zebra and antelope got caught, two new pieces of prey would be released onto the circuit…right in front of Juveda.
For now though, Bilauri, Peponi and Eboni were the first three competitors lined up in ambush. They were all waiting for the antelope.
Eboni took a glance to her left to see who she would be competing against for this antelope. Already, she had learnt that Bilauri and Peponi both possessed a good amount of speed. Perhaps she should go for the zebra instead?
The antelope wandered by them and Peponi took off. Bilauri, like Eboni, had determined that it was not worth the energy to lose a race to Peponi.
So, Peponi was in a chase of her own for the antelope.
Or so she thought.
To the crowd's surprise, one of the male lions jumped out of line and lunged for the antelope as it went on by. Peponi had to check up to avoid from running into him, and the male lion was gifted ten points as he was able to bring down the antelope unchallenged.
From her ambushing position, Nala watched the scene unfold with her jaw hanging. She could have never foreseen her husband being able to pull that off…but, there it was. It had happened. Ten points went to Simba.
Now, it was time for the zebra.
Simba and Shairi, both satisfied with what they had already been able to accomplish, had wandered off. Juveda, meanwhile, was waiting at the point the prey was released at for the next zebra. The other twelve competitors were all lined up, waiting to chase this zebra.
It went by Bilauri first. She crept up behind it. Then it went by Eboni. She joined Bilauri in stalking it. Then, it went by Winda…
She gave chase.
Guvu, Shemshi, Tonka, Nala, Lenny, Peponi, Tumaini, Elvis and Linda all joined in as they tried to attack the zebra.
Elvis was the first one who caught it, but he had only clipped its leg and wounded it. The zebra continued.
The pack of 12 continued in pursuit of the zebra. Even those at the back knew that they weren't losing out. This ambushing game had been going on for too long and, for those such as Tonka, it hadn't really been working that well. Whoever brought this zebra to the ground would be the last one to score 10 points in quite a while…everyone had the intention of waiting for the buffalo once this zebra was gone.
Peponi, Winda and Nala were the fastest runners. They were all on the hind heels of the zebra. Each one of them was waiting for the other to make their move first. They didn't want to be the one that got pushed off.
However, that's when Nala realized that the zebra had been wounded. This completely changed her strategy. Now, whoever got onto the zebra's back first would most likely be the one who got the ten points, because the wounded zebra would not be able to put up much of a fight.
Nala pounced.
Right at the point she was in midair, she felt something catch her on her side. The results weren't good. She fell short of landing on the zebra's back and, consequently, was hit by the herbivore's hoof as he took another stride. Nala fell to the ground as she gritted her teeth together, tasting blood on her tongue that had already rolled down her muzzle. She sent a wave of dust up into the stands as she collapsed into a heap on the ground.
Farther on up the track, Simba came to a halt. Shairi, who had been making her way around the track from behind him, did too.
"Get up Nala," muttered Simba, "come on."
Shairi looked into his eyes. She could tell he was conflicted.
"Don't go back," she told him. "It's not worth it. She's going to be okay."
Shairi's words were hit and miss as they ran through Simba's skull. He knew she was probably right. No, it was more than that…he knew she was right…but he couldn't bring himself to accept that until he knew it was true.
Shairi snapped her glance away from Simba and looked back in front of her. She wanted to get to her pride so she could go to sleep for real, now. She had provided Simba with her advice, so her conscience should have been relieved.
The problem was…it wasn't.
Shairi began to move off again. She walked on by Simba. At the same time, eleven lions charging a zebra overtook them both.
Shairi gave one glance back at Simba, just to see if he would get over it and move on.
A couple of track officials ran out onto the circuit and up towards Nala.
Simba began to take a step back.
"NO! SIMBA! DON'T!" exclaimed Shairi, whirling around.
Simba froze. Shairi had finally caught his attention. He turned back and, this time, finally met Shairi's gaze.
Shairi sighed. "Simba…I—I know we don't really know each other…b—but I've heard a lot about you. I've heard the stories…how you took over from Scar, what you and Nala had to go through to accomplish all that. Point is, Simba, I know she means a lot to you…but this is the last thing she'd want. She's going to be okay, Simba, trust me. This is my fifth Siku Choka…I've seen worse. Heck, I've been through worse. Sure, if you go back there, you may be there to comfort her for the next five minutes…but then she's gonna miss you for the next twenty-three hours."
Simba was still conflicted. "Well," he asked, "what do you think I should do?"
"Go around the right way," replied Shairi.
"She could be gone by then," Simba retorted. "I'm not that fast, Shairi."
"I'll run with you. I'll keep up my pace…force you to run fast."
"Shairi…you shouldn't have to go through all that trouble…"
"Nonsense," replied the lioness, "more laps I run, more points I get."
Simba sighed. Shairi had won this argument…
"Come on," called Shairi encouragingly. Simba was finally won over. He followed Shairi off.
Tumaini had been the lucky one who had taken the zebra down for another set of ten points. Then, as expected, Juveda took down the new zebra once he had been released. The track officials had left Nala out on the circuit which, as Shairi told Simba, could only mean that Nala had told them that she was okay. Still, they both kept on running.
Several minutes later, they finally arrived at the lioness's side.
"Nala, are you okay?" asked Simba.
Nala coughed before responding hoarsely, "I'm fine Simba…just…need a rest."
Simba and Shairi both heaved a sigh of relief.
Nala opened her eyes. "Shairi?" she asked, wondering why the lioness was with Simba.
"I…eh…it's a long story," Shairi replied. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. I best be going."
Shairi began to move off. However, before she could get too far, Simba knew there was something that still needed to be done.
"Hey, Shairi," he called.
The lioness stopped and looked back over her shoulder.
"Thanks," said Simba, "I owe you one."
Shairi simply smiled as a response, then she continued on her way.
Simba lied down next to his mate. "Go ahead," he said, "use my mane as a pillow. Rest will do us both good, everyone's waiting for the buffalo."
Nala's silence told Simba that she agreed. Simba rested his head down.
"Simba."
"Yes Nal'?"
"How would you rate her?"
…
"Eh…just a seven."
(A/N: Well, it seems all those nice things Winda said about her sister in "The Siku Choka" were true. I have observed that I have included Shairi quite a lot in the early chapters here. Mainly because I never had much chance to develop her in "The Siku Choka." For example, this is the amount of times each competitor's name appeared in the original "Siku Choka:"
Sarafina: 568
Nakshi: 356
Lenny: 320
Wamariri: 312
Tumaini: 276
Winda: 263
Anzi: 249
Bahati: 233
Juni: 228
Rakusa: 220
Guvu: 215
Ema: 107
Uku: 104
Shairi: 54
Zoea: 45
Maneno: 41
Yet Shairi's name has already been included more than 54 times in this story. If you're getting sick of her, let me know. Same with Bilauri. I'm trying to introduce characters as I go along. I know I've still got many, including Elvis and Juveda, left to go. Reviews appreciated!)