The Lion King: Dawn Of The Nations

Episode 27: Ambiance

Dogo and Garia were in their cave, expecting sleep to take them over, talking about the dinner and the alliance with the Pride Landers. "You are the best hunter, my love." Dogo licked her. "Thanks for readying the feast for our guests, I'm sure they had a great time, just as all of us."

Garia chuckled silently. "They didn't deserve less." She caressed her mate's face with her snout. "For how long did we dream with nights like this?" She felt the forgiving warmth of the rocky cave. "Now it's up to us to enjoy them the most we can."

"We will, Garia." Dogo laid his head over hers. "This is our present, our future." He yawned. "A beautiful future."

Garia had some words stuck in her mind. "And our cub's…"

Dogo was already falling asleep. "Of course." He exhaled with tranquility. "When the time comes."

Garia smirked with a tear on the corner of her eye. "Dogo…"

"Mhm?" Dogo expressed with a sleepy voice.

"The time has come." Garia let out a laugh of joy, she couldn't keep hinting anymore and just spoke out her mind. "I'm pregnant."

Dogo's eyes widened then he straightened and sat down, looking at his mate's teary eyes of happiness, with a small cub wandering in his thoughts. A lump started to form in his throat. "Am I…" He sobbed and a tear traveled through his fur. "A…" A big smile appeared on his face.

Garia nodded at him and approached him, resting her neck on his. "You will be a father, Dogo." She sobbed and started to cry deeply, but it was a crying of joy and hope.

Dogo also started to cry blissfully. "Thank you…" His voice was already greatly broken. "…Garia, thank you so much." Dogo kept crying, with a strength he had never felt before, feelings of attachment and love for his upcoming offspring. He began to lick her face, then she started to do the same, the love between them had increased, the tears and strokes they shared for their cub were filled with emotions they had never experienced before, as if a growing light was brightening the deepest corners of their hearts and minds, a new sun had come to their lives, and a grateful feeling raised among them.

Way beyond the Pride Lands and the Outlands, under the aggressive heat of the morning's sun, several families of hyenas were continuing their way to an hypothetical new place to live. "Mom." A teen, male hyena said. "My paws hurt…"

The mother had her gaze locked on the sandy ground. "We're close, Jantu." She responded.

Jantu groaned. "Close to where?" He barely had the energy to keep speaking. "I only see sand, no trees, no food…" Jantu's empty stomach was hurting him more than his exhausted paws. "...we're going to die here."

"Don't say those things, my son." She spoke with sadness. "Please."

"What else could I say if there's only death in my mind, mother?" Jantu groaned and sobbed.

"Just hold on." The mother said with some hope.

Jantu didn't want to continue the conversation, as if he preferred to save that energy to keep living. He began to look around him, seeing the tiredness, the hunger, the defeat and the resignation of his kind. Jantu's sight got locked on a cub that was having trouble to keep moving, just as him. The little hyena couldn't follow the quicker steps of their parents, thing noticed by his mother, who walked fast towards him, telling him words that Jantu couldn't hear, but intuited they had been similar to the ones his own mother had told him moments before. But the cub closed his eyes and fell over his side, breathing weakly, the mother called her mate immediately while getting her head over her son, speaking to him, with tears on her eyes, the father arrived, some other hyenas stopped walking to see what was going on, Jantu kept watching the scene through the empty spaces between the crowd, managing to see the parents' faces of unbearable sadness, his ears twitched when listening to the sudden crying of the two hyenas, mourning for the death of their cub, brought by the sun and the hunger. The father carried the body of his little son over his back, crying deeply along with his mate, both of them kept walking, with an additional, terrible burden on their lives.

Jantu kept glaring at the dead cub, seeing the two parents walking away between the crowded path. A heavy, unexpected sorrow fell over him, bringing him down, laying over his side, with his face resting over the hot sand, crying out strongly for the cub, sobbing with desperation, the unending tears that fell over the sand faded away rapidly with the sun's heat. The other hyenas just walked past him, some with more caring looks than others. "Jantu." He heard the voice he knew the better, the one of his mother, who began to help him to stand up. It took him a great effort to do so, but the aid of his mother made it easier. When they were both over their paws, they resumed their steps. Jantu was still crying and his mother accompanied him in his sadness, sharing the same tears and sobs.

Mornings seemed to be way longer in Ungari, the tunnel where Kovu rested among his sons and nephews was rarely reached by the sun, the dark green vegetation of the inside blocked the sunlight uniformly, even if it tried to enter through the window that faced the brief cliff. Keru was the first to open his eyes, as almost every morning. The cub welcomed the day with a long yawn, he stretched and began to get over his paws, looking at his sleeping father, brother and cousins. He walked calmly over the fresh plant covered ground until exiting the tunnel. Keru sat down at the edge of the cliff, greeting the colorful flying insects of the morning with his gaze and smile, getting lost on the deep green of Ungari and the vast colors of the insects. "Keru." Emba approached him with no previous warning, yawning slightly and sitting down next to him. "What are you looking at?"

Keru kept contemplating the scene. "The plants and the insects."

Emba tried to find the interesting in Keru's reply, focusing on the scene himself, tilting his head a bit. "I'm quite accustomed to this, you know?"

"Me too." Keru said.

"But don't worry, I'm sure we'll be back soon." Emba said, thinking Keru needed reassurance.

"Back where?" Keru responded.

Emba raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, at Pride Rock."

"Oh." Keru responded, his eyes were still locked on the scene. "But, I want to stay here forever."

"Forever?" Emba chuckled. "That ain't happening, this is just temporary."

"I know." Keru said. "But…" He delayed a bit to think of the simple word he wanted to let out. "…still."

"Don't you miss your mom?" Emba asked, lowering down his head. "I know I miss mine."

"Yes, I miss her." Keru replied. "But I want her to be here too."

"I admit this is a nice place." Emba said. "But Pride Rock is our home." He glared at the waterfalls.

"Is better here." Keru argued. "Here I'm not afraid, not even a little."

"Afraid?" Emba looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"The Pride Lands have become…uhm…" Keru was ashamed of what he was about to say. "Scary." He expressed with a low tone. "I don't like being scared."

Emba chuckled. "Well, who does?" He replied. "You know that we'll rule one day, don't you?" Emba waited for an answer. "Ker…"

"I don't want to rule!" Keru exclaimed, thing that woke up Kovu and the other cubs. Keru was gazing at his cousin with eyes of anger. "No one asked me."

Emba was very confused as he found unthinkable that anyone could refuse to being in charge of an entire kingdom. "Why?"

Keru maintained his glare on his. "I want to play, to eat." His voice was broken. "To sleep just like the rest. Not like our parents."

Emba felt rather offended. "What are you talking about?"

"They…" Keru gave thought to his response. "…they only fight and argue and discuss stuff, I don't want to live like that."

"That's because they are rulers, Keru." Emba said with a straight tone. "It's their responsibility."

"And it will be yours." Kovu said all of a sudden, standing behind the two cubs, looking at his son with eyes of disappointment. Ari and Zale were hiding behind the tunnel's entrance.

"You think he's in trouble?" Ari asked with a murmur.

"Maybe." Zale replied.

"Emba, could you give us a moment?" Kovu asked while sitting down next to his son. "There are antelope leftovers if you want to eat. We'll join you in a moment."

Emba hesitated a bit to leave them alone but he finally obeyed his uncle and got away from them. Kovu waited for Emba to get inside the tunnel, then when he no longer saw the furry tip of his tail, he looked into Keru's eyes which were lost in the plants under his paws. "Son." He spoke with a firm, deep voice.

Keru had a straight face, close to one of anger. "You've heard me." He said daringly.

"Keru. How many times have I told you?" Kovu got his face close to his son's. "You were born to be king, you and your brother."

Keru didn't move. "How do you know?"

Kovu didn't have an answer ready for that question. "Aren't the children of a king meant to follow his steps?" Keru finally looked into his father's eyes, without saying a word. They stood looking at each other for a long moment, then Keru let out a strong sigh of annoyance while walking away from his father. "I asked you a question!" Kovu's voice went gradually more severe. Keru ignored him while heading to one of the other tunnels, almost at the opposite side of the cliff. Kovu didn't got his glance away from his son until he entered the tunnel with his head lowered.