(A/N: I know I don't name my chapters, but let's call this one: rain and teammates. FYI, here's how each competitor got their name:
Bilauri: Swahili for glass
Eboni: we used to have a dog called Ebony and I just think its a nice name
Elvis: duh?
Guvu: nguvu is Swahili for strength
Juveda: Deja vu rearranged
Lenny: Lenny
Linda: Swahili for protect
Nala: I didn't make that
Peponi: Swahili for paradise
Shairi: Swahili for poem
Shemshi: Um...I guess I made it up
Simba: Swahili for lion
Tonka: When you're a kid, Tonka trucks seem like big things that are fun. Tonka is a fun guy who...do I have to explain everything?
Tumaini: Swahili for hope
Winda: Swahili for hunt
Enjoy this super long chapter!)
Lenny was the first one that the buffalo walked by. Lenny didn't budge. His brother had given him strong words of advice two years ago that buffalo were not Lenny's forte. The antelope was now on its way towards him, but so were Peponi, Winda and Nala. The prey began to break off into a run.
Then, up in the far hills on the backstretch, Lenny watched as the spectators all suddenly crouched down and covered themselves with their paws, hooves and wings. The heavens had opened and it was pelting it down.
Seconds later, it landed on the frontstretch and the whole track was coated.
Everyone was caught off-guard by how sudden the change in conditions had occurred, but none more so than the buffalo. He was the first to slip and fall, right in front of Bilauri. Bilauri saw the opportunity of an easy ten points and so ran over and killed it.
The zebra was also beginning to slide as the top layer of the track quickly turned from dust to mud. Peponi, however, had had a lot of experience at hunting in the rain, and so she was able to retain traction and kill the zebra, while Winda slid and fell behind her.
Now normally, Peponi would have made her way over to the outside of the track and lined back up in ambush. However, the antelope hadn't gone far away from her. And, though he was slowing down to a walking pace, he was still losing control of one of his legs every now and then. Peponi got back up and gave chase, hoping that she wasn't being overconfident.
She wasn't. She got the ten points but now her secret was blown. Peponi was good at this rain-stuff.
Three new pieces of prey were released and Nala was lined up first in ambush.
Nala dug her claws into the ground below her, testing the dirt to see how wet it really was.
Not too bad yet, she thought, though water was running like rivers down her sides, the only reason everyone began slipping was because it was so unexpected. They were simply just running too fast.
The buffalo went by her, and Nala gave chase. Indeed, this hunt could just well have been carried out in the dry as far as Nala and the buffalo were concerned. They both knew it was wet and they both knew their limits and so no slipping occurred. Still, a buffalo was not easy to bring down, and now it was made harder as the rain made it difficult for Nala to see clearly. Nala was an exceptional huntress though, and, while it may have taken her longer than usual, she was still able to kill the buffalo for another set of ten points.
The zebra was the next up and now Winda was the first in ambush. Winda let the zebra by.
Several spectators, Sarafina included, forgot about the rain and perked themselves up. They could tell what was about to happen.
"It is time," said Sarafina. "Winda's going to let the antelope go by. She's going to chase them both."
"What's so great about that?" Timon asked back, still with his hands over his head trying, in vain, to keep the rain away.
"She's going to initiate a chase around the track. Everyone's so far away from the prey-release point now. Each time they ambush they have to wait several minutes for the prey to get to them. Now, they can all run around the track and line up right in front of the prey release point. The big question is, who is going to go for the antelope and zebra, and who's going to stay and wait for the buffalo?"
"I thought the big question was, who's going to slip and fall?" Pumbaa said back.
Sarafina smiled. "Yes," she replied, "yes, that is a very good question as well."
Winda, as anticipated, began the chase. She was after the zebra, but the antelope was in front of her too. Lenny intended on joining the chase too, but ended up face-first in the mud almost immediately after he began to run. Several audience members laughed and Lenny, humiliated by his quick fall, decided to remain in his ambushing post and conserve his energy.
Nala remained in ambush for the buffalo while Peponi ran out to join Winda. Bilauri, Simba, Shairi, Tonka, Eboni, Shemshi and Elvis joined in too.
So far, they were all doing quite well, despite the fact that none of them had caught either piece of prey.
However, the track doesn't stay straight forever.
They ran into the first of the two long left turns, and Shairi was the first to fall. The pack of lions was now down to eight.
The second to slip over was the zebra. Peponi slowed down, hoping she could kill the zebra while he was on the ground. Simba wasn't as agile, however, and he slid into the lioness, knocking them both down into a heap.
Eboni and Tonka leapt over them and attacked the zebra themselves. However, it seemed that they were unsuccessful as the zebra was quickly back up onto its feet and away. Eboni snarled at Tonka before running back after the zebra. Obviously there had been some disagreement there…
Simba and Peponi untangled themselves and stood back up.
"Sorry about that, Peponi," said the lion king, despite trying hard to hold back a laugh. Half of Peponi was still her beautiful self, but the other side of her was coated in mud. "You stopped so suddenly, I just couldn't slow down for you quick enough."
Peponi sighed as a response. "I guess it happens," she replied, "just don't make a habit out of it."
Peponi ran off but Simba was not left alone. Tonka was still standing near him as the rest scurried off into the distance.
"Pretty little thing, isn't she?" the lion said.
"I'm married, Tonka."
"I am too," replied the cheerful lion, "but I'm not to worry. I think my wife would be too scared to come out here, so she's not going to hear what I say."
"Unfortunately I can't say the same," replied Simba. Remembering Nala, he looked back over at the frontstretch to see if she had been able to get the buffalo. Too early to check yet. The buffalo hadn't even made its way to her. They had all been lined up so far away in ambush.
"Any chance we'll be discussing diplomatic relations while we're out here?" joked Tonka.
Simba chuckled. "May have to sort something out between you and Eboni. What was all that about?"
"Oh, I just think she was upset that I'd joined her in attacking that zebra. She probably would have got it then and there had I not interfered."
A cheer broke out on the backstretch. Simba and Tonka looked over.
"Oh, looks like she got it anyways."
"Still a good chase for the antelope though," added Simba, "who's that? Looks like Bilauri, Winda, Shemshi and Elvis."
"Shemshi's a cool cat," said Tonka, "I got to meet him at last year's Siku Choka. I was there helping Kanafa run the thing."
"Yeah, I'd heard about that. Then you decided to do it yourself, huh?"
"Guess so. Not working out too bad either, 43 points now."
"35," replied Simba. "Come on, let's get walking again. Chase these guys up."
As the two kings began walking, Tonka's pick did score ten as Shemshi slipped the least and got the antelope down. The others continued to run, knowing that a new zebra and antelope had now been released on the front stretch. Nala, meanwhile, got the buffalo and so a new one of those was released too, while Nala took off around the track to log another lap.
The rain was still pouring but it looked like everyone had control. That was until Eboni slipped in the second of the two turns and slid across the track and into the track edge, where the increase in banking bent her paw back underneath her arm. It wasn't enough to break anything, but it was enough to put her in a temporary state of pain. The points leader was forced to limp her way around the rest of the track.
Lenny was the only competitor that had not gone on to run a lap around the track now, and so, when the zebra arrived, it was his for the taking. He lined back up in ambush.
A new zebra was released but Winda, Bilauri and Elvis quickly bundled on top of it, swatting their claws around until the creature was dead. In all the rain, fighting and confusion that occurred, Winda somehow suffered a nasty flesh wound onto her right shoulder. She wasn't in pain much but she ran her tongue over it a couple of times, trying her best to clean it all up. Still, she was quite satisfied knowing that the ten points had been hers.
Shemshi was already on the tail of the new zebra and so the three fighters lined back up in ambush. They were soon joined by Peponi and Shairi.
"My gods, Winda, what happened to you?" asked Shairi, looking at her sister's shoulder wound.
"Just a tussle, don't fret," replied her sister coolly.
Shairi frowned. "Well don't ignore it, that could get infected you know."
"Yes mother," Winda replied. "What happened to you, anyways? You're coated in mud. You look uglier than usual."
Shairi rolled her eyes. "This is what I get for trying to be nice," she murmured.
Their dispute was cut short, however, as Shemshi scored another ten for the zebra and Lenny scored another ten for ambushing the antelope. Both were, all of a sudden, putting on rather impressive performances.
Shairi, Winda, Bilauri, Elvis and Peponi all crouched down in anticipation of the next piece of prey. Tonka and Simba would have been bringing up the chase from behind, but Tonka slid over in a giant puddle, leaving Simba on his own. The new zebra and antelope were released.
The ambushers ran out and Simba gave chase too. Winda quickly gave up as she realized that her injury was worse than what she'd thought. She would need a bit more time in order to nurse that wound.
For the rest of the chasers though, it was a victory for the males as Simba scored ten for the zebra and Elvis scored ten for the antelope. The group lined back up in ambush.
Three new pieces of prey were being released as Shemshi had gotten ten points richer too after the buffalo had slipped and fallen.
Tonka was back up on his feet but not in time enough to beat Guvu, Juveda or Nala, all three of which flew on by him.
Guvu was planning on bringing the buffalo down while Nala and Juveda were homing in on the zebra. However, that all changed when the antelope slipped and fell.
Nala and Juveda both charged in on the fallen creature and began biting at its neck. A track worker ran out onto the course and pushed them both back from the corpse, investigating as best as he could who the killer had been. After a quick investigation, he declared Nala the victor. Juveda wasn't pleased.
"What a rotten call," she said aloud as she and Nala made their way back to the outside of the circuit. "Why don't you pipe up and tell him the truth, Miss Royalty? You know as well as I do that that bloody antelope was mine."
Nala didn't want to reply. She had no idea whether that antelope had truly been hers or not. She had just bitten down as hard as she could and hoped that the track worker had called it in her favor. She couldn't blame Juveda for being bitter, but did she really have to go on?
"I don't understand why you didn't just go for the zebra anyways, or did you feel it a necessity to deny me of ten points as soon as you saw that antelope go down? I mean it was obvious that I went for it first, I saw it first. If they really were too blind to see that it was I who killed it they could have at least gave me the points for…"
Nala sighed and moved on a few paces down the track. Strategically it was not a move that would help her, but she really did not want to listen to Juveda's rambling.
"…oh, running away now are we? Thought that's what the legendary Nala who brought Simba back to Pride Rock was against. Wasn't she always the one that stood up for what was right and fought her challenges head-on? That's not the Nala I'm seeing here."
Juveda, finally satisfied that she had gotten her point across, grew silent and returned her focus to the event.
Nala, however, just shook her head. What happened regarding herself, Simba and Scar could not be compared to what was taking place in a silly game, especially when lives were not at stake. Her best decision was to just ignore her.
Guvu brought the buffalo down and the crowd applauded. They also applauded as the limping Eboni made it safely back to the spot in front of her home pride. There, she could lie down and try her best to fall asleep…something that was, in the current weather conditions, not the easiest thing to do.
Tonka brought the new buffalo down while Nala let Juveda have the antelope. Perhaps that would cheer that miserable lioness up some.
Meanwhile, a short chase broke out between Bilauri and Shairi for the zebra. Shairi slid the least and she got the ten points.
Zazu landed back down in front of the Prideland group.
"Eboni leads with 96, our Nala is now second with 85 and Elvis is in third with 75," he reported.
"Great!" exclaimed Timon.
"Wow, you should be proud of your daughter, Sarafina, she's doing really well," Pumbaa added.
Sarafina smiled. "Thank you Pumbaa but those points are meaningless. It's still far too early."
Suddenly, the group was distracted as a loud cheer picked up from the hills on the far left-side of the course. The crowds had thinned out ever since the downpour had started, and so the group was curious as to what could have caused a cheer this loud with this few a spectators.
The answer was simple, as they soon found out. A lioness was making her way out from the infield and was now limping perpendicularly across the track towards the spectators in the hills.
"It's Tumaini," said Sarafina, beaming. "Thank heavens, she's alright. She must be off to take her place in the stands."
"Can't she return to the game?" asked Timon.
"Sadly, no. If you step off track during the game, that means you are taking a break from the Siku Choka. It's a mental challenge out there as well as a physical one. The track becomes your environment, a sort of prison almost. To be in that prison for 24-hours straight, even if you're sleeping, can really mess with your mind. As soon as you are taken away from the track, you've broken out of that prison. Mentally, you are rejuvenated, you want to be back in and fight for the prey. Tumaini would be at an unfair advantage if they allowed her back in now. Also, she's been healed by doctors. But you don't see anyone healing Winda's shoulder wound out there, do you? She's probably also on medications. Who knows what side-effects they could have given her."
"Ah well," said Timon, "better luck next year."
"Indeed," replied Sarafina. She looked back down at the circuit. The action looked like it was about to simmer down for a while again. In all the ambushing that had occurred, the competitors had slowly but surely worked their ways away from the prey-release point. They would have to wait a little while for the prey to come their way again.
"Could you keep an eye on Kiara for me guys?" Sarafina asked, "I think I want to go and see Tumaini."
Eventually, the buffalo made its way on by Tonka and Nala. They both gave chase, but they were going to play cleanly. Nala had been to see Tonka many-a-times when she and Simba had been on diplomatic ventures, and he had always been easy to work with. So, when Nala slipped and almost fell, she accepted that this chase wasn't hers. Tonka pounced and the buffalo was soon his. Nala lined back up in ambush.
The lion that was lined up first in ambush was Winda, but she was still unsure about running on her injured shoulder. So, she let the antelope by. The zebra was next up though, and Winda knew that he would be a slower target. Even if she lost the race, at least a chase would cause her to get used to the pain. Winda began chasing the zebra, and got lucky when the zebra slipped in the wet mud and fell into Winda's claws. Winda was ten points richer and still the first competitor in ambush.
Guvu had been losing out. Ever since his back-to-back wins, anyone who had entered their name in the Siku Choka knew that they would have to get good at killing buffalo if they were to pose any kind of challenge at all to Guvu. Thus, most of the field in Siku Choka 27 was quite capable and experienced in bringing buffalo down, with Lenny and Simba being the notable exceptions.
So, Guvu was going to try and find a new way to win. The antelope went on by him and he gave chase. Speed had never been Guvu's strongpoint, but it didn't have to be. If Guvu could retain his balance well enough, these ten points could easily be his.
Guvu was in control of what he was doing, but so was the antelope. Therefore, Guvu essentially had just chased the antelope into an easy ambush for Nala and Peponi. Peponi, who was better at hunting in wet conditions than what Nala was, scored the ten points.
The field had now moved its way far, far down the track. It was time to chase again. Hopefully none of them would end up like Eboni, who seemed to have fallen asleep quite easily in front of her home pride.
Winda had determined to herself that she was fit to run, and so she crouched down and got ready to spring the attack. The three new pieces of prey walked on by.
Winda gave chase. As each of the other competitors joined in, they each chose their own piece of prey that they wanted to target. However, the prey was huddled together and so the lions were as well. Really, they were just running in one big pack.
The first one to fall was Nala, before they even got to the first turn. The rain was still pouring and the mud was slipperier than ever. The antelope was the second to fall and, this time, Simba was prepared. He charged it down and got it by the back of the neck, cutting its life short in just a matter of seconds.
Guvu was right on the buffalo's tail as they headed off into the turn. Knowing that the prey was more prone to sliding in the turn than on the straight, Guvu reached out a paw and knocked the buffalo down to the side. The buffalo quickly lost his footing and slid into the dirt. Peponi and Elvis tried to run over for the kill but Guvu was there already. Ten points went to the two-time champ.
Winda's wound may not have been hurting her but it was slowing her down. Shairi ran out in front of her younger sister and brought the zebra down herself.
Shairi, Simba and Guvu were each ten points richer, but the field was all still playing the same game as they continued to run back towards the frontstretch. Three new pieces of prey had been released, and they had to be someone's for the taking.
"So, who's the best?" Sarafina asked, approaching Tumaini from behind.
Tumaini whirled around. "Sarafina, how are you?" she asked, pulling her former competitor into a hug.
"That's not important," replied the lioness, "the important question is, how are you?"
"Physically well, but mentally disappointed. Should've pulled myself towards the outside of the track before all that stuff broke out, then I'd still be in it." She sighed. "I hate hindsight, don't you?"
"Yet another unimportant question," Sarafina commented. "How about my one, who's the best?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well it's not often a spectator gets to talk with a Siku Choka competitor who's played against every player on the field. Tell me, who do I need to warn my daughter of? You know, who's going to win?"
"Now that I'm out I guess it would be Eboni," Tumaini replied.
"Why's that?"
"She reminds me of me, and I know I would've won."
Sarafina rolled her eyes.
"Then I guess Winda could always be a threat too," Tumaini added. "But it's too early to say yet really. Still a long ways to go. I mean, look at both of them…Eboni and Winda, they're both injured right now. Quite honestly, anything, and I mean anything, could happen."
The sun was setting now, and it was getting harder to see any of the puddles. Consequently, Tonka and Bilauri both slipped over in a giant puddle in the middle of the turn.
The problem the competitors had now, as they came running back out onto the frontstretch, is that the new prey had already walked on far away from the prey release point. If you went after one of them now, you would probably have to run around another lap if you wanted to be lined up first in ambush. However, with the track so slippery, running wasn't the most desirable activity at the moment.
Still, Juveda was leading the train of lions, and so she wanted to take advantage of her current position. She slowed down to a trotting pace and tried to make as little sound as possible as she crept up towards the zebra.
She could afford to be a little noisier than usual, as the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the ground helped drown out her footsteps.
The zebra heard her in time, but not in time enough to do anything about it. Juveda pounced onto the zebra's back and scored herself ten points. Meanwhile, Lenny, not realizing the disadvantage of chasing after the old prey, continued to run all the way down the frontstretch until he was able to get the antelope. True, he got ten points because of it, but he was now far down the track, far away from the prey-release point, and the last lion in ambush. Not the best position to be in.
The zebra and antelope had been killed, but nobody was after the buffalo. The buffalo continued on his way to log a lap around the track.
Shemshi and Winda, two good friends who lived in neighboring prides, had finished their lap around the track and lined up in ambush.
"I'll take the zebra and you take the antelope?" Shemshi asked, watching two new ones get released.
Winda nodded. "Sounds good," she said.
It seemed teams were already beginning to form…
Sure, there could only be one winner in the Siku Choka, but it was common for competitors to team up during the game in order to try and help each competitor of that team score as many points as possible. Eventually, matters of circumstance usually would tear the teams apart in the late hours of the game, but one could not be bitter about it. To think that another competitor could help you score points was reasonable; to think that another competitor would sacrifice their own chances of winning in order to help you win instead was foolish.
What Winda and Shemshi had set up here was a simple plan that would enable both of them to score an easy set of ten points. That is exactly what they did.
Two new pieces of prey were released but Tonka, Bilauri and Simba didn't bother going after them. They lined up in ambush for the next set of new prey instead. However, Elvis, Nala, Peponi, Shairi and Guvu did.
Elvis and Nala homed in on the zebra while Peponi and Shairi went for the antelope. Guvu didn't have the speed to match them, and so eventually gave up and made his way towards the outside of the track.
The antelope slipped and Shairi was on it in a heartbeat. Ten points went to the Lionrock lioness.
The zebra stumbled and both Nala and Elvis saw their opportunity. Elvis was there first, and he quickly had his canines in the zebra's neck and the carcass brought down to the ground. Nala had gone in for the kill too, but she was too late. As they all came crashing into a heap onto the ground, Nala slammed into the side of Elvis's head and caused the lion to fall over onto his side.
"Oh!" exclaimed Nala, "sorry about that Elvis."
"Oh, never mind me ma'am," replied the lion, picking himself back up. "Well I do see, uh, you're a real good huntress ma'am. You gave me a good challenge there. If you, uh, want to team up later in the game, just let me know."
Nala was caught a bit off-guard by Elvis's proposition but she smiled nonetheless. At least he had offered her the opportunity. She could always reject it later if it looked like it wasn't going to work in her favor.
"I'll consider it. Thanks for the offer," Nala replied. She lowered the tone in her voice. "Thank you very much," she added.
"Who's the next lion after us, Simba?" asked Bilauri, watching as the new antelope and zebra made its way towards them.
"Well technically it's Eboni," replied Simba, "but she's asleep, so after that it would be Guvu."
"Alright, well…wai—hang on…" said Bilauri, giving a perplexed glance down the track. "Oh no," she whispered, "Eboni's the only one asleep."
Simba looked over at the sleeping lioness too.
"True," he replied, "is there something wrong with that?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to get a bit worn out. I'm sure many of us are. If we keep on fighting through the mud for the next four or so hours, we're all going to collapse eventually and the sun will rise with all of us asleep, and Eboni picking off every point to herself."
"Aha," replied Simba, not really thinking about it too much. Bilauri seemed like a good strategist so he didn't want to critique her decisions. After all, he had been wrong and she had been right about Shairi's catnap earlier. "So, what do we need to do to prevent that?"
"Some of us are going to have to fall asleep, and soon. We can't have Eboni being up on her own later."
"Didn't you say that was your pride on the hill behind us?" Simba asked, gesturing towards a group of lions right behind them.
"Well…yes…but…I don't really want to fall asleep right now," Bilauri replied, "there are too many points to be gained still. It's…it's just something we're going to have to bear in mind for later." Bilauri looked back over towards the antelope and the zebra. They were not too far away from them now. "Speaking of points," added Bilauri, crouching down, "good luck Simba."
Simba crouched down too. "Good luck Bilauri."
Tonka had been lined up in ambush just in front of Simba and Bilauri, but he didn't put up much of a chase as he slipped almost immediately after he began running. So, Simba was after the zebra and Bilauri was after the antelope.
It looked like an easy ten points for both of them, but then a brown blur flew across the track and crashed into the side of the zebra, taking the opportunity of an easy kill away from Simba.
It seemed Eboni was back up to full health.
Bilauri killed the antelope and was happy to see Eboni back up on her feet. Now it seemed that every competitor was back on the same sleep schedule, although Shemshi had been asleep for many hours during the early part of the event. She would still need to keep an eye on him.
Tonka went after the new zebra and had no competition around to challenge him. The zebra slid in the mud and made it a short chase for the lion. Now, he may even be able to get the antelope too. He was able to sense it coming from behind. The antelope ran around him to the right and Tonka gave chase. The antelope was actually running towards the outside of the track, where the rest of the competitors were lined up in ambush.
Guvu ran out to try and get the antelope from in front. The antelope saw him coming and so actually stopped and began to try and run back. Unfortunately for the antelope, Tonka was right there behind him. The antelope bent his horns down and aimed them at Tonka while Guvu was tempted to attack the antelope from behind. The problem was that if Tonka took a step away from the antelope or if Guvu tried to attack it, they would both be taking a step the wrong way around the course: a big no-no in the Siku Choka rulebook.
So, Tonka decided to run around the antelope instead, and the antelope gave chase.
The audience was amused. Some were even confused. This wasn't the way the Siku Choka was meant to be played…
The antelope was chasing Tonka around the track. On a normal hunt, Tonka would have turned around and took on the antelope. However, doing that in this game would lead to disqualification. This chase could only end one of two ways. One: Tonka would get rammed by the antelope. Two: one of the competitors would ambush the antelope.
Tonka and the antelope ran on by Simba, Shemshi, Winda, Peponi and Shairi, who were all laughing too hard in order to bother ambushing the prey. Juveda, however, was hard to amuse, and so she took the antelope down, relieving Tonka of his embarrassment.
A new zebra and antelope were on their way.
Eboni, Guvu, Simba, Shemshi, Winda, Peponi, Shairi, Tonka, Bilauri, Juveda, Nala, Elvis and Lenny. That is the order they were all lined up in ambush.
The zebra went by Eboni first. Guvu, however, knew that this lioness had a healthy points lead. He was as determined as ever to ensure that this zebra was his. As the two lions ran side-by-side, chasing the zebra, they were actually making it more difficult for either of them to attack the zebra as they were both in each other's way regarding the optimal pouncing angle. The optimal place to attack was now from the side, and so that is what Peponi did, denying both Eboni and Guvu of ten points.
All three lined back up in ambush as the antelope began its deadly walk-on by the crowd.
Simba, knowing he had half a chance of getting the antelope down if it slipped, gave chase.
Winda and Shairi both joined in, and both outpaced the lion king with their speed. Shairi was the first on the antelope's back but Winda grabbed it by the rear legs, pulling it down. Shairi was caught off-guard and barely had time to recover before Winda jumped on by her and bit the antelope down on the back of the neck herself.
Simba had just lost out on an opportunity of ten points and his desired first-place in ambush, but perhaps the fight that he had just witnessed could help teach him something later in the event.
Winda, meanwhile, seemed fairly pleased with herself after beating her sister to the prey.
"And thus the pupil surpassed the teacher," she joked, lining back up in ambush.
Shairi just smiled and shook her head. She was now fully coated in mud; evidence to all the spectators that she wasn't the best at this hunting-in-the-wet thing.
Simba moved back into his ambushing position too and was delighted to see that he would be lined up next to Nala.
"Pupils surpassing teachers," Simba commented, "seems to be the theme of the day, don't you think?"
Nala snarled as a response.
"Well how are you, sir?" came a deep voice from the other side of Nala, "I never thought I would actually get to meet the world-famous Simba."
Elvis held out his paw for Simba to shake.
Why not? Simba thought. It wasn't like this lion had ever actually done anything wrong. Simba's disapproving statements of Elvis had been nothing but jokes between himself and Nala.
Simba shook his paw.
"Elvis asked if we wanted to team up later," Nala chimed in.
Simba regretted shaking his paw.
"Why with you?" asked Simba, meeting Nala's gaze.
Nala shrugged. "Guess he thinks I play well."
"I do think you both are very good players," Elvis confirmed. "We could always be a team of three."
That idea sounded slightly better to Simba.
"Ahem," came a voice from behind Simba, as a lioness cleared her throat. Simba turned around to see Shairi lined up next to him in ambush.
"You owe me one, remember?" asked Shairi, smiling politely.
Simba nodded. He turned back to face Nala. "Shairi wants to know if our team of three would have room for one more?"
"Ah—I never said that," Shairi interjected. "Elvis and Nala don't owe me nothing."
"No offense Shairi," Simba replied, "but Nala and I are mates. We work well together. I'd like to be on her team too."
Shairi opened her mouth to respond, but then realized that now would probably be a bad time. The new zebra was now closing in on the lions in ambush.
"Let's continue this discussion later," Shairi suggested, "for now, let's hunt."
Simba and the others agreed, and they got set for the new prey.
Shemshi did well at getting the zebra down quickly and so he was able to line back up first in ambush. A couple of the other competitors got a little nervous. Shemshi was now second in points behind Eboni and he had had a lot of sleep earlier. Shemshi could be a threat for this thing…
"Shemshi," Bilauri said to herself, "fifth Siku Choka. Third in Siku Choka 22, just nine points shy of winner Nakshi. Proved he was good in the wet. Sixth in Siku Choka 23 and fifth in 24. Injured by Wamariri both times. Could've won Siku Choka 24 otherwise. Seventh in Siku Choka 26 on his return. Good team-worker. Average 171 points per game."
Bilauri ran all those numbers through her head one last time, trying to see if she could make sense of them. She looked around to see if anyone else had heard her. Her face fell when she realized who was lined up in ambush next to her.
"Do you ever just think in your head?" asked Juveda.
Bilauri snapped her gaze away and found something else to look at. She and Juveda did not seem to be the most compatible of lions.
"Hungry?" asked Sarafina.
"I could be tempted," Tumaini replied.
"Antelope, zebra or buffalo?"
"Zebra sounds nice. I wouldn't want you to drag one from the carcass pile all the way up here though."
Sarafina smirked. "I don't plan on it," she replied. "Tell me, do you think there's about to be a chase?"
"For the antelope? Yup."
"A trip to the carcass pile says my daughter gets this antelope."
"So if she does, I'll get a carcass for us to eat and if she doesn't, you'll go?"
"Shake on it?" asked Sarafina, holding her paw out.
"Deal," Tumaini replied, knowing the odds were in her favor.
The two Siku Choka champions looked on down the straight to see who would get it.
The antelope walked on by Shemshi, but he stayed put. Tonka, Bilauri and Eboni ran out though, with Peponi, Nala, Simba, Shairi and Lenny riding out in a second wave.
A lot of them knew that the antelope would not be theirs, but the buffalo was still walking on his own on the backstretch and so there was an opportunity for ten points there too. Also, the one point that they'd each get for completing another lap could make a difference.
Bilauri was on the hind legs of the antelope while Nala was second in chase. The track was still wet though, and Bilauri slipped. Nala ran on by her and realized that now was as good as ever for her to make her move. She pounced onto the back of the antelope and brought it down for ten points.
The rest of the pack continued to run on by, knowing that there was a buffalo waiting for them on the backstretch.
Meanwhile, Tumaini was trying her best to avoid Sarafina's blatantly smug look.
"Eh…so remember how I got injured, Sarafina? Sure you don't mind if I make it an antelope?"
Sarafina chuckled. "Come on then, I'll help you. We'll bring it back up here together."
The two friends moved off to fetch their food.
During all of the action, five lions, Shemshi, Juveda, Guvu, Elvis and Winda, had remained on the frontstretch, waiting to ambush the zebra. Shemshi caught it and then decided to run a lap around the track himself. Winda joined in with him while Juveda and Elvis decided to lie down and see if they could attempt to get some sleep. With the rain still pouring, the chances were unlikely.
The pack had now caught the buffalo on the backstretch. Thanks to several of them slipping, Simba was now leading the chase. The male nyimbas jumped up on the back of the buffalo, using every trick that Nala had taught him in order to try and bring it down.
Simba's confidence grew as he realized that this buffalo was giving in, but it still wasn't dead yet. Then, Eboni jumped up and joined him. Simba could have watched in awe as the lioness just shoved her face into the back of the buffalo's neck and went at it like a mongoose on a cobra. Seconds later, and Simba was lying on the ground next to a dead buffalo carcass as Eboni rejoined the other competitors and ran off.
"The reason I don't think you should team with your mate," came a voice from above Simba, "is the same reason that you would not team with Eboni."
Simba ran that through his head, but the point that Shairi was trying to make was pretty clear.
"She's good."
"Exactly."
"You're saying that my mate's good too?"
"She's got a lot of points. And so has Elvis. The team they've already made is a formidable one. We don't need to be giving them any more points."
Simba stood up as a track worker walked up next to them and dragged the carcass away. Simba sadly watched the scene unfold, knowing that that buffalo could have, but never would have, been his.
Shairi could tell that Simba was disappointed, but she sensed an opportunity.
"Tell you what," she said, "I'll let you in on a little secret. I'll tell you three things that I've learned from the Siku Choka that have helped me kill buffalo. They're as fail proof as it can get, trust me. But if I tell you, you have to promise to be a teammate with me."
"Why would you want me to be your teammate?" Simba asked. "I'm not even that good."
"You're brilliant!" Shairi retorted. "You have determination, common sense, strength, stamina, all you need is a couple of hints and a little bit more experience. That's what I'm willing to provide you with."
Simba was thinking about it. He would be a fool to pass up an opportunity like the one Shairi was providing him with. She was, after all, one of the most experienced and successful competitors in the field. Simba just didn't understand why she wanted to work with him so badly.
"Why not…"
"Because either they're too good, or I don't know them that well," Shairi replied. "Trust me Simba, you're the perfect choice."
Shairi held out her paw for Simba to shake. Simba was still hesitant.
"You know you can walk out of this deal at any time," Shairi added. "It's foolish to make a promise in the Siku Choka, because it will always end up being broken. But heck, I'm willing to risk it. If you walk away, I'll be upset, but I won't be disappointed."
Those terms sounded better to Simba. He held his paw out, and Shairi shook it.
"Great," the lioness commented, beaming.
"Now, those three hints?"
"As promised," Shairi replied. "Rule number one when hunting a buffalo, always snarl loudly right before you pounce. It frightens them, causing them to run faster. When they put on that extra burst of speed, they're more prone to losing their balance, which, of course, is good for us. Rule number two: when you're on the buffalo's back, dig into its side with just one set of your rear claws. Don't do both because that will cause it to buck. One set though will put it in pain, causing it to forget about putting up resistance and, instead, it just falls into your trap. Rule number three: when you bite, never let go," said Shairi, looking directly into Simba's eyes. It seemed she was serious about this one. "I know that sounds stupid, I know you're probably thinking 'I never let go anyways,' but the point is that it's just so important. When you bite down, don't say 'oh, that bite wasn't good enough, maybe I should try and get a better one,' no, you've got to just sink your teeth in and you don't let go until one of you is lying dead on the floor, and you've just got to pray to the gods that it's not you." Shairi's tone was grave, but, suddenly, she perked up. "Other than that, it's no big deal really."
"No big deal," sneered Simba. "Coming from someone who was killed by a buffalo two years ago."
Shairi sighed. "I wish I could tell you what I did wrong," she admitted, "but, thanks to the accident, I can't remember a thing from that day. I don't even remember being introduced to the crowds. Today feels like just my fourth Siku Choka."
Simba and Shairi both turned around as they could hear footsteps fast approaching. A couple of competitors were making their way around the track.
"Oh, right," said Simba, "we've still got a game to play."
"Agreed," replied Shairi, "come on, let's get moving."
And with that, they both took off into a run.
(A/N: Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year!)