A/N: Hello, readers. Welcome back to this story and welcome to the first chapter of the second act of the first half of the first story of four two-parters. This time, we're back in the Pride Lands, a couple of weeks after the battle with the jackals. Before we find out what Alex and his friends are up to, I'll respond to the reviews for the last chapter.
L0RD3N: Thank you, I hope you are well too. Yep, a total of eight stories planned in total, and how far have I got after nearly 7 years? Just into the second act of the first one. What have I gotten myself into? XD I hope it will be as fun to read as it is fun to write.
Content warning: Death, gore, blood and strong language
Alex's POV
As soon as the gentle sound of birdsong lay upon my ears like a feather, I opened my eyes. I couldn't afford to lose any waking hours, for I had a busy day ahead of me. I was to take part in a tracking session with the hunting party. As usual, Morgan and I slept closest to the Royal Family and, over the last two weeks, Simba woke up closer and closer to me, inch by inch, night by night. His tail was tickling my fingers and the predominant sound of the scene was his gentle snoring, which was not irritating. It reminded me of his innocence, his carefree nature. These aspects of his life and character would change and evolve, but for now, I wanted to embrace the moment and decided to just lay there, resting my head on my hands. I didn't know how long I stayed in that position, but I noticed that light started to touch the walls of the cave.
I heard Simba make a cattish noise as he stretched and arched his back, one of his claws made contact with my calf. I quickly bent my leg before his claw could scratch me. This action caused Morgan to twitch before he himself stretched.
"Mmmm, morning, Alex," the boy groaned wearily as he rubbed his eyes.
"Hey," I replied with a weak voice before yawning. "You can sleep a bit longer if you want," I offered.
Morgan shifted onto his shoulder to face me. "I don't want to miss a minute of your big day," he said with more energy in his voice. His eyes drifted upwards and he smiled.
"Good morning, Mufasa," he grinned. I followed the boy's eyes and, indeed, the King was walking towards us.
"Oh, uh, good morning... Morgan. Are you going to be watching Alex join the hunting party later?" the King asked before distilling the urge to yawn into a heavy exhale.
"If someone told me that I'd be witnessing a human join in a lion hunt, I'd call them insane," he chuckled. Mufasa could only stare blankly at the child.
"What he's trying to say is... he can't wait," I interjected and saved the moment, now leaning on my elbows behind me.
"Right, well... I'm heading out for my morning patrol," Mufasa sighed. "See you later," he said as he walked towards the mouth of the cave.
"Dad! Wait up!" a wave of sound came from Simba's mouth as he bounded past us and towards his father.
"Oh, how could I forget?" Mufasa chuckled as he knelt down for his muzzle to meet with Simba's cheek.
"See you later, Dad," Simba said. "Love you," he added as he finished nuzzling his father.
"I love you too, son," Mufasa smiled as he looked down at his son for the last time that morning.
I let that moment settle in my eyes and in my ears before announcing my intention to liaise with Rafiki at his tree. He had been teaching me about the histories and customs of the Pride Lands. He reckons that he can trace the story of the Pride Lands to the beginning of time. It doesn't quite add up to what I thought I knew, but a lot of what I thought I knew about animals was thrown out the window. But today, he had a special lesson prepared for me about how to be a hunter.
"Right, I'm off to Rafiki's, he's got some training for me," I voiced my immediate plan for the morning.
"Can I come with you?" Morgan asked.
"Don't see why not, let's get washed and then we'll head off," I answered.
"So how does that shield work again?" Morgan interrupted the morning birdsong.
"As far as I can tell, it can absorb and release kinetic energy and it can turn into a reinforced fist," I replied.
"What would happen if I punched it?" he asked with a curious grin.
"It would hurt," I responded bluntly.
"Yeah, but... like, would I break my arm? Would I be thrown a hundred feet away?" he pushed for an answer. I sighed.
"Well, it hurt Mufasa when I had to use it against him," I said at length.
"What?" Morgan gasped, now standing still. I knelt down to his level.
"It was during the... the battle with the jackals, and it was the only way to stop the fight, to get everyone to listen... and it worked, and he forgave me," I explained.
"So that's why he was limping," Morgan concluded. "But why not just say that in the first place?" he asked.
"Because sometimes the truth is more confusing than a lie, and Simba probably wouldn't comprehend why I had to harm his father," I answered while cleaning my fingernails with the same nails on the opposite hands.
"He'll appreciate the truth more than being deceived. Grown-ups always underestimate us kids, I'm sure you of all people know that" was the boy's response. He was right. People have always assumed what was best for me as if they knew my own mind better than myself. People have always tried to tell me how to feel, how to use my abilities, or not use them. I then decided that Simba deserved the truth. The entirety of it. Of how his father was injured, but also about his deceased siblings that came before him. However, I would consult with his parents about revealing these truths.
"You're right," I admitted. "Thanks, Morgan," I voiced my gratitude.
"Once again, Morgan is right," he remarked with arms aloft.
"Whatever, if you keep that up, you won't be able to fit your head in Rafiki's tree," I said as I stood up to my full height and we both continued.
"What else can your shield turn into?" he asked. "Cause you're a bit like Captain America with just that shield," he commented. This conjured a thought that brought much frustration.
"Oh, shit... I'm never gonna see Avengers: Infinity War, am I?" I gasped.
"Well, you never know... it's two years away, we might be rescued before then," Morgan shrugged.
"Rescued from what? This is our new home," I said. Honestly, I haven't thought about my old home for a few days. I hadn't had any dreams about it for a while. No doubt that I miss it, but my attention was on my new responsibility, on this adventure that generations of Maximilians before me have embarked upon.
"Oh, you know what I mean," Morgan shook his head. "Oh, and that reminds me... we'll not have Christmas!" he exclaimed, with a hand hovering between his mouth and chest. He suddenly looked like he was about to cry.
"Hey, hey... it's okay," I rushed to comfort him, placing a hand on his shoulder and on top of his head.
"The only person who made Christmas worthwhile was... my mummy," he said with a weight in his throat.
"The first thing I'd do in the last eight Christmases was to wish my mum a happy Christmas by kissing a photo of her," I responded with my own Christmas memory as I cradled his head against my chest. "We can have our own Christmas," I declared while looking down at him. Any remaining sorrow and regret in his eyes were washed away by tears and gratitude.
When we reached Rafiki's tree, the sun was now noticeably warming the air. Morgan used the planks of wood pinned to the bark to climb up to the base of the tree, whereas I took the steps made of mud and wood. Morgan, of course, was already standing in the middle of the base of the tree. He was holding his right thumb and index finger against his forehead, forming an L shape.
"Now you've done that, karma says that Rafiki will jump-scare you," I chuckled.
"Rafiki scared me once, he can't pull the same move on me again," Morgan claimed with his arms folded.
"Is that so?" Rafiki asked while hanging upside down from a vine from which he descended. This caused Morgan to yelp in surprise and leap towards me.
"Hey, that was a fluke, and... and it technically wasn't the same move," he protested as he calmed his breathing down.
"Good morning to you too, Morgan," Rafiki responded.
"Uh, yeah, good morning, I suppose," he grumbled.
"How can I help you both?" Rafiki asked as he reached into the air. A rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs preceded Rafiki's staff quickly appearing in his hand with a wooshing sound.
"That's cool!" Morgan exclaimed. Rafiki bowed in response.
"Well, I'm here for the lesson you said about, and Morgan wanted to come," I answered.
"Ah, yes, you are to become a member of the hunting party, and Rafiki will teach you how to hunt,"
"A mandrill teaching a human how to hunt like a lion? There ain't much left to see after that," Morgan remarked on the surreal nature of the interaction. I was still adjusting to the fact that animals could speak, and in English, no less! Was there a TARDIS-style translator in my mind? Is that one of my powers? Well, no, because Morgan can understand them as well. Maybe only a few humans to ever exist had this ability.
"Yeah, no kidding, so where do we start," I asked.
"We start with patience and silence," Rafiki replied. "Shwari." Rafiki breathed as he crossed his legs and rested his arms on them. Morgan and I copied his stance.
"First, you must know where you are, you must be able to see where you are with your eyes shut," he said.
"How are you supposed to do that?" Morgan cut through the young silence like a scythe.
"Shwari, Morgan," Rafiki said softly.
"Oh, right," Morgan chuckled before he pursed his lips to quell the urge to break the silence.
"You must rely on your other senses. See where your target is with your nose and with your ears," Rafiki explained. "Hear the wind pass through the grass or through the leaves on the tree," he added. I followed his instructions and focused on the gentle rustling of leaves as the wind passed through them as if the trees were passing a whispered message. The current of air then knocked against the gourds that hung from the branches. I found that I could follow the sound of the wind as it enveloped the tree like a helix. There was a brief moment where I felt like I was falling backwards, and I could see the tree from afar, my vision of the environment surrounding it expanding like a shockwave, pulsing with my slowly decreasing heartbeat. If I could compare it with anything, it would be with one of those moments where you're falling asleep and then you feel like you're about to fall back into an abyss, only for your bed to catch you as your heart reacts as if you were actually about to fall.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Rafiki's unblinking eyes looking back at me. Of what I could see beyond him, in place of the colours of the brown bark were now the scarlet colour of the sap that I guessed would seep if the bark was sliced with sufficient depth. The warm, vibrant light that filtered through the leaves was now replaced with the cold, pale light of the Moon.
"The key to mastering your power is to harvest energy from your surroundings. You have begun to learn to find it, but you must now learn to harness it," Rafiki's voice remained in my head long after the last word left his mouth. His words echoed in my head as I became light-headed and felt as if it was moving rapidly within itself. My vision of the scene before me faded into a blinding light that made me clench my eyes shut until the warmth of day returned to my skin and the sound of Morgan frantically pleading for me to wake up and repeatedly shaking my shoulder as I found myself lying on the floor, now able to hear the gourds once more, now able to smell the ingredients of Rafiki's remedies. I opened my eyes and this act alone made Morgan silent and still beside me. I saw it myself as a flash of blue in my vision.
"Did... did I pass out?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. I was still a bit disoriented and I could only rub my face as I try to gather my senses.
"Dude, your eyes turned bright blue then... is that normal?" Morgan asked with a great deal of concern.
"Yes, well... at least for me," I chuckled.
"Does... does it hurt when that happens?" the boy asked. I smiled at his concern and shook his head to dismiss it.
"It can leave me feeling drained when it happens," I said. "The last time it happened was when I helped Safiri and Hatima," I recalled.
"Why did it happen now?" Morgan asked.
"Because I told him how to," Rafiki answered. Morgan looked at the mandrill with a confused expression, but considering Rafiki's abilities, accepted the explanation.
"I thought I was here to learn how to hunt like a lion," I said.
"I taught you that, and I also helped you unlock the power that resides within you," Rafiki said. "But to truly harness it, you have to harness the energy of the Earth,"
"When I was unconscious, I was in a strange realm where everything about where I am now was different,"
"I know what you speak of," Rafiki said. "It has been a fixture of my dreams for years. I remember it as if it happened many years ago, but it is a moment that takes place in our future," he revealed.
"Cool!" Morgan exclaimed with an excited exhale. "I wonder what will happen in my future, wouldn't it be awesome to see into the future?"
"If you spend too much time wondering about the future, you will meet it unprepared. Whatever path you take will prepare you for your destiny," Rafiki replied.
"Rafiki is right, if you try to cheat time, it will find a way to punish you. If you spend years trying to buy more time, you won't live at all," I seconded the mandrill's sentiment.
"Anyway, maybe the lionesses will be a better teacher of hunting than I am,"
"Wait, so you lured me here under false pretences?" I teased him with mock offence.
"Well, there was another thing I wanted to talk to you about," Rafiki punctuated that sentence with a sigh as he got up on his feet. "It's about the blade that was used by the assassin,"
My eyes moved at length from Rafiki to Morgan, who had now shuffled into a position where his knees were wrapped by his arms, exposing the bruises on his shins he had acquired while playing with the lion cubs.
"Still don't know where he came from?" I asked Rafiki. He was now walking over to the various ingredients and knelt down and put his hand under the platform. As he rose to his feet once more, he was holding the knife. I looked at Morgan and saw in his throat a heavy gulp taking place. It was understandable that he would react that way upon seeing the blade that was used to threaten him in the hand of someone who meant to kidnap him.
But I had my own mental scars from the encounter, and as I looked at my hand, I remembered the pain of not only the wound, the knife completely piercing my hand, but also how it made me remember when I used to harm myself. I was taken out of these thoughts when Morgan placed his hand on my wrist. I looked between the interaction and his expression of courage and compassion and a mild smile formed on my face.
"I have... suspicions, but I cannot yet be sure," he replied. "But what I can be sure of is that this blade and your destiny are intertwined," the mandrill declared as he walked toward me while holding the knife carefully for me to take hold of the wooden hilt.
"Sounds ominous," I remarked. Going by my first interaction with the blade, it would bring only trouble and suffering. I was hesitant to hold it and if I took another moment to decide to take it, I sensed that Rafiki would take my hand and place the knife on my palm. The handle snugly fitted in my closed hand and the blade was slightly longer than the combined length of the handle and hilt. It felt heavy. Not to hold, but with history, with emotion, with pain, and with blood.
"You want me to have it?" I surmised.
"It matters not what I want, it's up to you how you use it, or if you use it at all, but it will always find a way back in your hand," Rafiki replied.
I looked at the metal that provided an unsullied reflection of my long but filling-out face. The tanned skin on the expanse between my weary eyes and the corner of my mouth, above which some shoots of stubble began to emerge. God, I looked awful. In the corner of my eye, I could see Morgan's body language remained reserved and uncertain.
"What do you think?"
"Well... I guess it might help when you go hunting for real," he said with little enthusiasm.
I wondered if the presence of the knife was undermining his trust in me. He associated it with a traumatic event and he associated me with taking him away from traumatic events, and maybe if I possessed the thing that inspired such unease, he would lose trust in me. This gave me an idea. I twisted the blade horizontally with my fingers so the handle was closer to Morgan.
"You have it," I offered.
"Are you seriously offering a primary school child a knife?" Morgan deadpanned.
"What's not to like? As long as you keep it in a safe place, you can use it to protect yourself from all the meanies and creepy assassins who would want to harm you," I pitched.
Morgan's expression shifted to one that told me he was considering the offer. He cocked a brow as he slowly reached out and wrapped his hand around the wood before slowly pulling it from my own.
"Oh, it definitely looks better on you," I remarked in a puerile manner, eliciting a smile on the boy's face.
"Thank you," Morgan said.
Morgan's POV
What is Alex thinking? Does he have so much trust in me that he thinks I could use the blade responsibly? I don't think I even want that thing anywhere near me, as I can only associate it with a threat against my life. But not for the first time, it was Alex who stopped the assassin from carrying out their task. It was Alex who sensed my hesitation and anxiety about the presence of the knife, and therefore let me decide what to do with it. He really is a considerate person and I'm glad he was the one who survived with me. With all this talk of universes and destinies, were we the only people who were meant to survive? Was my mum always going to die then? Was this decided by higher powers millennia in advance? And where did the assassin come from? I had a feeling that it was from a different universe.
I don't want my life to be decided by other people. All these horrible things happened outside of my control and I want to be able to choose my own path. I want to make my own decisions. Alex gave me a choice and I made a decision. Was I always going to make that decision? And what will happen as a result of my decision? Will I directly or indirectly cause harm or suffering because of my taking the knife? Maybe it's better to do nothing, to play no part, to side with nobody, but is that an attitude of nobility or of naivety?
I can't do much now, as a mere boy, and I will need all the aid and wisdom I can get, from Alex, Rafiki, Mufasa, Sarabi, Simba... already, I can do more than any other boy of my age. I can speak to animals, I can fight against jackals, I possess courage and wisdom, I am a friend to a prince, and I can be the wielder of this knife.
"I think that is enough for today, the lionesses will be waiting for you by the time you return to Pride Rock," Rafiki said, interrupting my line of thought as I looked at my reflection in the blade.
"Thanks again, Rafiki," Alex replied as he stood up to his full height. I looked up to him in more ways than one!
"Don't thank me yet, you have only begun to tap into your abilities let alone control them," the mandrill responded as I walked towards the back of the tree where the multiple forms of exit and descent from the tree converged.
"So... same time tomorrow?" Alex asked. I looked behind my shoulder hopefully, wanting to attend Rafiki's lessons, not only to learn his wisdom and the ways of the Pride Lands but also to discover what my purpose is in this new chapter of my life.
"We shall see," Rafiki said ominously. With that, I climbed down the ladder and jumped onto the dusty floor from the third plank.
No POV
"My first impression of him was that he was indolent at best and an inciter of conflict at worst, but if he is as... athletic as you say, Sarafina, then you may have helped make our jobs easier," Sarabi chuckled.
"Damn it, Sarafina, you put us all out of a job," Dwala complained humorously, triggering a round of laughter between the lionesses that stood at the foot of the promontory.
"In all seriousness, how do you think this will affect our role in the Circle of Life, our... understanding with the herds?" Naanda asked her sister. The understanding was based on the herds of zebra, antelope, gazelle, and buffalo, if necessary, surrendering the oldest and weakest members of their herds in exchange for the right to roam and graze in the Pride Lands and security provided by the lions of Pride Rock.
"If he is taught it properly, it should make no difference," Sarabi replied. "The way you've described his attributes, he would be an all-rounder, but that doesn't mean he can do it all on his own,"
"Who is going to tell him how it works?" Diku asked.
"As Leader of the Hunting Party, I-"
"Ah... um, begging your pardon, Sarabi, but as you're out of action, I am Acting Leader of the Hunting Party, so I think I should induct Alex," Sarafina interrupted with a bashful realisation that she interrupted not only her friend, her boss but also her Queen.
"I stand corrected," Sarabi smiled.
"Ah, here they are," Naanda announced as she caught sight of the humans.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies," Alex called. He was slightly out of control of his breath, having walked several miles in an hour, and just as he finished his sentence, he flinched as a fly made its way closer to his face and he swung his arms wildly as he tried to swat it.
"Sod off, fly!" he muttered. This caused Morgan to howl in laughter.
"You're so funny, Alex!" he exclaimed before calming himself down with an audible sigh.
"It's no problem," Sarabi replied. "Sarafina?" the Queen asked for her best friend.
"Yes, okay, so the first thing you have to know is that with the Circle of Life, you only take what you need, and we as a pride need between four and eight kills every moon,"
"I never understood what they meant by 'moon'," Morgan whispered.
"They mean every 28 days, or a month," Alex replied in a less than subtle way.
"Do you understand?" Sarafina reaffirmed our attention.
"Yes, yes, Sarafina," Alex said sheepishly.
"Yes, miss," Morgan giggled, causing Sarafina to cock a curious brow as she allowed a gentle smirk to form on her face.
"While us lions are hunters and many of our citizens are also our prey, there is a delicate understanding between the two," Sarafina continued to explain. "In exchange for a safe haven in which they can roam and graze, they give up the weakest of their herds for our hunts," she said.
"Wait, so does that mean you'll get prey who will just stand there and accept their fate?" Morgan asked.
"That can happen, but you can't suppress the instinct to survive," Naanda replied.
"Today, we'll be tracking gazelles, who will have been at the watering hole this morning, and the law of the Pride Lands says that no hunting is permitted in the watering hole," Sarafina explained.
"Understood," Alex nodded.
"Affirmative," Morgan added with a soldierly salute of his right hand above his eyebrow.
"Okay, and as they will have been at the watering hole, that is where we will pick up their trail," Sarafina said.
"Lead the way, Sarafina," Naanda encouraged her pride-sister.
"Good luck, girls," Sarabi called as the lionesses began to depart. "And boys," Sarabi added with a chuckle as Alex and Morgan looked back at the Queen before they followed the lionesses on their way to the watering hole.
"Will I be needing this thing for tracking?" Morgan asked his de facto guardian as they approached the watering hole. The lionesses had to pause their progress several times so the humans could catch up with them. Alex was physically able to keep up with the lionesses' pace with no effort but chose to match Morgan's lesser pace.
"No, we're just tracking today, why don't you find somewhere safe to hide it so you don't accidentally hurt yourself or anyone," Alex suggested.
"Hmm, good idea," Morgan replied. "Oh, I know a place near the forest between here and Pride Rock,"
"Be careful, don't do anything silly," Alex said tenderly but seriously.
"Hurry up, boys, or else we'll lose the trail before we can find it," Sarafina called.
"Coming," Alex responded, allowing his voice to reach Sarafina's ears, which twitched slightly. The human then jogged towards the lionesses.
"Where is Morgan going?" Sarafina asked when Alex was within talking distance.
"Oh, he has happened upon this knife and he's gone to put it in a safe place so no one will get hurt,"
"What is a knife?" Naanda asked. "Is it one of Rafiki's contraptions?"
"No, it's something we humans use as a claw, as we only have blunt nails, which are actually made of the same stuff as rhino horn, believe it or not," Alex explained.
"That's... really very interesting, Alex, but we're here to teach you how to track, you can teach us about humans any other time, but for now, you are our pupil," Sarafina said.
"Of course, I'm ready and willing to learn," Alex replied appropriately.
"We first find the gazelle tracks, which is the easy part, but then you have to follow the right trail, make sure it's going in the right direction, make sure it has the correct pattern," Sarafina explained, motioning to the prints of the cloven hooves in the mud. As Alex moved further away from the saturated shores of the lake, scanning the near quagmire of overlapping tracks of various sizes and patterns, he noticed the gazelles moved from and to the west of their position, which was to the west of Pride Rock, which faced the rising sun in the east.
"The gazelles headed that way," Alex gave voice to his conclusion. He had experience in tracking pawprints in London, having dealt with animals such as foxes causing chaos in the neighbourhood.
"Correct, well done, Alex," Sarafina smiled. "Over time, you will be able to train your nose to detect trails hours, maybe even days after your prey was there, but for now, leave that to us," she said.
"Okay, lead the way," Alex responded.
Morgan couldn't believe the last few hours. He had been presented with an object that caused him a great deal of trauma, he was offered to wield it and then he was instructed to hide it in a safe and secure place so that nobody would come to harm from it, whether it was by a careless movement of a limb or used as an outlet to unleash the energy of a fit of rage - though he knew not if he had this within him. He knew only fear and sorrow, but he also knew that these could manifest into fear and hatred in the right conditions. There was one common feature in all of this - suffering. He was suffering and he needed help. Would the knife help or be a distraction or even a point of suffering itself?
If this was the beginning of the course of his destiny, he was anxious to see where it would lead to. But that was the curse of time, or maybe it wasn't a curse. If he saw what he was going to become, he might not recognise that version of himself, he might even fear it. And if he's going to become that, what's the point of freedom? Is his pursuit of agency only going to hasten his fate?
His deep, internal philosophical debate was ended when he came upon the edge of the said forest. In truth, it was a dense copse of various species surrounding a large baobab, while the largest tree of the thicket was nowhere near as tall as Rafiki's.
Morgan had found a thick, waxy leaf that made for a good form of packaging, but even then, the very tip of the knife pierced through the leaf that he had wrapped in. The whole time he walked from the waterhole, he walked with the hand that wielded the blade as far away from his torso as possible. If he could detach that arm and hold it with his other arm extended, he would do so. Anything to keep the knife away from him. He knew that as long as it was near him, he would be afraid of it. And deeds borne from fear would be done with it. He didn't want to be afraid anymore. Was the best thing to achieve that to conceal and suppress that which made him afraid? He held the knife wrapped in the leaf with both arms stretched out in front of him until he found a tree on a ridge that had exposed roots, and with his hands, he dug the soil beneath it until his arms were caked in mud up to his elbows. That would be enough.
The snap of a twig caused him to freeze in his tracks. He slowly rotated his head as if a sudden movement would alert a predator to his presence. Was it a rogue lion? A jackal? Or was it just a mischievous cub? When his head was fully turned, he could see over his shoulder the answers to his questions.
A buffalo calf. Eating some leaves from an outlying shrub, facing away from the boy. An idea entered his mind and he looked at the leaf-enveloped knife.
'This is why I was supposed to have this knife, so we could not only contribute but fend for ourselves,' he thought. The opportunity was too perfect. And it wasn't as if it would be breaking the hunting laws. It wasn't in the watering hole. It wasn't for sport. It was for him and Alex. He would surpass Alex's progress. He would kill the young buffalo.
He unsheathed the knife and crept towards the buffalo. He was in the shadows, the wind was blowing into the trees, making each footstep on the grass virtually silent.
He couldn't believe how close he was now. It was a matter of feet. The calf continued chewing on leaves, its tail swishing in ignorance. Now was the moment. He was going to make Alex proud. Make Sarafina proud. Make Mufasa proud.
He brought the knife adjacent to his chin, foreseeing the trajectory of his act, and tensed his legs, his breathing increased and he leapt towards his target with a mild grunt. All the buffalo could do was cease his mastication and only began to look behind him before the knife was plunged into its throat and it was felled by Morgan tackling it onto the grassy floor. Morgan kept the blade in the buffalo's neck as long as he could, the only thing stopping the knife from being plunged any further was the hilt. He could hear wet, gagging sounds coming from when he felt warm blood trickling on his hands in pulsating bursts, seeping between his palm and the handle. His grip was weakened and he pulled the knife slowly from the now gaping wound in the buffalo's neck. There was a lot of blood. Blood dripping from the knife, blood around the wound and more was coming out. He could see all sorts of tendons and glands, all saturated in the crimson liquid. A puddle of blood began to form on the grass and Morgan looked between the haemorrhage and the blood on his hands. The buffalo's eyes were still open and still had the same stunned emotion as when he was stabbed.
"I did it," Morgan breathed. "I made that happen," he said unblinkingly before letting out a chuckle of satisfaction. He then reached down and grabbed the buffalo's hind legs, rotated the body and began to drag it in the direction of Pride Rock.
'The pride will be grateful that they don't have to share with us anymore'," Morgan ruminated in his mind, but that concept was swept from his mind when a cry of grief heavier than a boulder and sorrow deeper than a canyon swept across the savannah like a gale, but no gale could cool the heat of regret that pooled in Morgan's face as he looked over his shoulder. He expected to see Pride Rock resting on the horizon, but what he saw instead was a much larger male buffalo that bore an expression of shock and grief.
"No... what have you done to my SON?!" Morgan released the hind legs and they collided with the floor with little dignity. In doing so, he dropped the tool with which he used to take the life of the calf and it landed on the floor with a clatter.
"Oh... oh, God... I'm..." Morgan stuttered as his throat became heavier than the buffalo carcass.
"You murdered my son!" the buffalo cried in anguish.
"I- I'm sorry, I'm really so sorry, I th- thought that I could-" Morgan stammered.
"What, that you could take what you want? Including my son's life?" the buffalo.
"I was... I was trying to contribute to the Pride," Morgan argued as his breathing was accelerated by grief, regret and fear. This wasn't how he thought it would go. He didn't mean to upset anyone, he just wanted to be less reliant on others. And now he had screwed up and was going to get in massive trouble, with Sarafina, with Alex... with Mufasa!
"You were hunting without permission, you were hunting prey that was not to be hunted, and you killed my son - you will pay for this!" the buffalo declared darkly before charging at the boy.
"I'm sorry, sir! Someone help me, HEEEEELP!" Morgan screamed as he ran into the copse.
"If our noses are correct, and they never mislead us, then the gazelles should be beyond this rise," Sarafina remarked as she crested a small hill. The trackers were now deep in the heart of the kingdom that was once known as the Anterior Pride Lands during a time when the land now ruled by one king was ruled by two. This happened to settle a dispute between twin princes, and there was an uneasy alliance until a shadow of an evil power irreconcilably divided the two kingdoms and it began the end of what was known as the First Age of the Pride Lands - we were living in the Second Age, according to Naanda. I wondered if Somo and his Guardian lived in the First Age, but I didn't think it was the time to ask her.
"Yep, there they are," Sarafina declared when we too crested the rise, and Alex's breath was stolen. Below them was a depression of lush green grass, a portion of which was protected by the shadow of the hill beyond it, providing the gazelles a sanctuary from the oppressive sunlight. The heat was such that it was a constant weight on Alex's body. A part of him wanted to liberate himself from the heat, but that would be a deviation from the task, which was to track the gazelles and was now to return to Pride Rock. Hopefully, Morgan has found a safe place to put the knife, a place where only he would know it would be and somewhere that won't be disturbed by any unsuspecting fauna. He also hoped that he wasn't getting into any trouble that he wouldn't be there to get him out of. He was a sensible and relatively mature boy, he wouldn't be the wilful cause of trouble... would he?
Sarafina gasped as her ear twitched.
"What is it?" Naanda asked with concern seasoning her usually calm voice.
"It's Morgan," Sarafina said. "Alex, Morgan is in trouble, you're the only one quick enough to get him out of it," the lioness declared.
"Yes, Sarafina and Hatima said you were as fast as a cheetah when you needed to be," Naanda said. "Now is the time to demonstrate that to us. We'll be behind you," she affirmed.
Alex nodded before he pent himself up to accelerate as he knew he could.
"Mr Buffalo, sir, I'm sorry for what I did, but I don't think King Mufasa will appreciate your idea of justice," Morgan said with a strained voice as he tried to re-balance himself, on a tree that he had climbed, every time the buffalo ran into it. He was sitting on an appropriately sized branch while holding onto the trunk, which was shaken every time the furious and grieving buffalo rammed into it.
"First of all, my name is Hasira, the leader of the Buffalo Herd, and what you did was murder my son, Hatia, so how you have the audacity to decide the terms of your justice is beyond me," the buffalo that Morgan now knew as Hasira responded with anger-fueled eloquence.
"Okay, Mr Hasira, I can't tell you how much I regret what I did, and I can't convey how heavy my guilt is," Morgan spoke with a weight in his throat. He did not know if it was out of the guilt he spoke of or the fear of the immediate or long-term consequences of his actions. "For what it's worth, I can assure you that I didn't do it out of malice," the boy added.
"The worth of your word is little in my eyes, and if you shall not be punished for murder, you should be punished for breaching hunting laws and I shall be asking the King for permission to try you against Buffalo law,"
"Buffalo law," Morgan breathed while shaking his head. It was still surreal to him that this was happening - not just that he had been caught with the body of a buffalo and possibly broken the law of the land in killing it, not just that the inhabitants of said land were able to talk but also followed concepts of authority and the rule of law, and at the bottom of it all, that he had wound up in the heart of Africa on this tremendous journey in which this obstacle was probably the first of many and probably not the most severe. He couldn't yet think of a situation that was more challenging, more desperate, more hopeless than this one, and knowing that one would undoubtedly come brought him terror. The only thing that brought him comfort and hope was the knowledge that he would overcome this situation, somehow. He would end up back at Pride Rock in Alex's protective embrace. This moment would be remembered as a mere mistake in the grand scheme of things.
But what if it didn't end up like that? What if he was exiled on the spot, ordered to leave immediately and never return? Could that even happen? Would Mufasa be that harsh if it was up to him? Alex mentioned that he was responsible for him during the citizenship ceremony. Does that mean he would decide his punishment? Or would he have to enforce Mufasa's law as a prospective Guardian?
What if this triggered a chain of events that led to something truly awful happening? Just like how, in his trance, he trespassed into jackal territory and that led to the conflict. Sure, there was peace now, but what if it never happened in the first place? What if his absence prevented anything bad from happening again?
He decided at that moment that he wanted to get out. Out of this situation. Out of the Pride Lands. Out of this game that is played by higher powers that Rafiki spoke of. He wanted to be alone, to affect nothing and nobody. He was better off that way, for he was useless and always causing trouble. At least that's what his Dad once said to him.
"I'm sorry, Alex, I'm sure you'll understand," Morgan sighed solemnly.
Morgan jumped down from the branch and cushioned his landing with a roll. He then ran as fast as his legs could allow.
Alex's POV
I hoped to whatever powers decided our fate that the trouble that Morgan had gotten into didn't involve that knife. If someone got hurt by it, that would have been a consequence of my choice, my decision to give it to Morgan. Would that be fate punishing him for defying the course of events decided for him? Or just because it was a really stupid decision to give a knife to a primary school child?
Would this always be the dynamic between us, at least in times of peace? One getting into trouble and the other getting them out of it? If our path leads us beyond the Pride Lands, will we be together then? I wish I was able to stop bad things from happening to Morgan, but bad happenings are just as important in a growing life as moments of peace and joy, but the thought of him being in pain, being afraid, and me not being there to take him away from that deeply perturbs me.
Alas, my fears were confirmed. More than confirmed, they were exceeded. What I saw in front of me stopped me in my tracks. A carcass of a young buffalo with a deep gash on the right side of its neck. A trail of blood led to a crimson pool on the outskirts of a coppice. The knife whose handle was stained in blood lay by the calf's hind legs.
Morgan did this. But I knew that he wouldn't have done this out of malice. Judging by the wound, it was a precise puncture. It wasn't as if he lashed out, it wasn't a sloppy kill. The calf did not suffer. The lionesses would be impressed... if he was supposed to kill it. He wasn't to know that killing calves was against the hunting law, he probably thought he was being helpful, catching a kill for me and him to eat, not relying on the lionesses.
But this was bad. He had indeed broken the hunting laws. Where we come from, children who break the law are exempt from punishment if they are young enough. Whether that was the case here, I would have to find out. But first, I would have to find Morgan.
"Hey! Get back here, murderer! You're only making this worse for yourself!" a voice filled with anguish and anger cried.
Enough blood has been spilt today. I would have to come between Morgan and what I assumed was the father of the poor thing that drew the short straw. I don't know if Morgan would know to stay in the coppice, where he would have the advantage of being able to weave between the trees. I knelt on the floor and placed a palm on the mud, and closed my eyes. Repeating the process of seeing with senses other than the one provided by my eyes, I felt the footsteps of the buffalo and heard Morgan panting as he ran as fast as he could. The thought of Morgan coming to harm,, no matter what he had done, was enough for me to surrender myself to the state of unbridled power, and when I opened my eyes, I saw everything in a bright blue tint, and I rose to my full height before I leapt into the air, attaining a height that could rival the baobab in the middle of the coppice, and landing with relative grace but a sizeable thump nonetheless between Morgan and the buffalo that was pursuing it. I looked either way at Morgan to my right and the buffalo to my left as my vision returned to normal.
"Alex?!" Morgan exclaimed in relief, surprise and confusion. "Where the hell- Look, I made a big mistake but this guy is trying to hurt me for it," he explained.
"What's your name?" I asked the buffalo as I looked to my left.
"My name is Hasira, and this child murdered my son, Hatia, and in doing so, violated the Pride Lands hunting law," the buffalo I now knew to be Hasira said. I sighed and looked to the sky between the leaves of the canopy. I recognised the name, it belonged to the leader of the buffalo herd. Of all the ways that Morgan could screw up, he found a massive one. I suppose the first screw-up of his wasn't his fault, and was this one truly his fault either? He wasn't around to be informed of the hunting laws.
"I'm sorry for your son, Hasira, but I'm going to have to ask you to calm down while we await the King," I replied with a mix of gentleness and firmness.
"I will have justice for my son!" Hasira exclaimed. "I won't be told what to do by a human, especially when they are standing between me and the one who killed my son," he added furiously. I looked behind my shoulder and saw Morgan looking at the floor and holding his right elbow. With every remark by the buffalo, Morgan was being pulled into a vacuum of guilt.
"We must wait for the King to decide, we will have due process or there will be no justice," I insisted. As I turned to regard Morgan, I heard a huff of contempt from the buffalo behind me.
"Are you okay, Morgan?" I asked as I knelt down to look him in the eyes. They were full of worry, guilt and tears. He then caused me to lean on my feet as he immediately embraced me.
"I'm so sorry, Alex," he sobbed into my shoulder. "I just wanted to help," he said with a hiccup. "You know I wouldn't hurt anyone, like, for the sake of it," he said as he withdrew from the embrace.
"I know, Morgan, don't worry, everything's going to be okay," I said as I brought his head to my chest.
"Alas," Hasira broke the tense silence. "I will have no justice here, so I must make my own," he uttered darkly. When I looked behind my shoulder to react to what the buffalo said, I saw Hasira charging at us at speed.
"Alex, he's gonna-" Morgan was cut off when I pushed him aside just before I was taken off my feet by an overwhelming impact that threw me several feet away. When I stopped rolling on the floor and regained my sense of place, I saw Hasira preparing to charge at Morgan, who was pushing his legs against the floor in an effort to get away.
"Oh, no you don't," I growled as I spun my body to quickly get back on my feet and then I lunged at Hasira. I landed on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck and eyes.
"Run, Morgan!" I shouted, unable to lock my eyes on where he was. I struggled enough to remain on top of Hasira as it was, but his constant rotating made me dizzy and just as blind as I was making him. It was only when the buffalo detected the root system of a tree behind us that he assumed a particular direction - backward.
I was pinned between the buffalo and an immovable tree, and this was what caused me to lose my grip and fall to the ground in a slump.
"Do not interrupt me again," Hasira warned before he charged in the direction that Morgan had run. I leaned on the tree to get back on my feet and stood at my full height before unleashing the full weight of my voice.
"In the name of His Majesty, King Mufasa, Sixth King of the Pride Lands, son of Ahadi, the Fifth King of the Pride Lands, I command you to stop," I uttered with depth and darkness in my voice that I didn't know I was capable of.
Surprisingly, Hasira stopped, and I could see that Morgan stopped and turned around just as he was about to exit the coppice.
"You dare to invoke the name of the King in the face of this injustice?" Hasira asked affronted.
"The King's justice will prevail, and it will not be on your terms alone," I replied.
"If I will have no justice, then my honour as the leader of my herd, as a father, as a buffalo, will be forfeit," Hasira proclaimed. "The only way I would let you decide the terms of justice for my son's death is... is if you were to become the leader of the Buffalo Herd," Hasira laughed.
"If you haven't the patience for due process, then you leave me with no choice - I challenge you, Hasira, for the mantle of the leader of the Buffalo Herd," I declared. "If you win, you decide Morgan's punishment, if I win-" I was interrupted by a scoff of contempt by the buffalo.
"Insult upon insult. I will not stand for this!" Hasira cried before he charged at me. My heart sank. I had done it now. Before I could decide which way to jump, the storming buffalo was merely metres in front of me, heading toward me at a speed equivalent to a car, and so I did the best thing one could do when being confronted with a speeding car approaching them and that was to jump into the air to be sent above the projectile rather than be ran over or in this case, trampled.
Once again, I was sent flying into the air. The sense of discombobulation told me that I was spinning in the air and when I landed, I made sure to use my leg to absorb the impact rather than my ribs - I really don't want to have to get them fixed by Rafiki again. When I stopped rolling on the floor once again, I saw that there was a cut on my shin, with blood dribbling down the side of my ankle. The sheer adrenaline in my body meant that I felt no pain. I wouldn't be able to concentrate to heal at my accelerated rate with a rampaging buffalo after me. I spun my body around my left arm and landed on my feet and clenched my fist, summoning my shield.
"Buffalos do not fight with shields, we fight with the weapons we were born with," Hasira said.
"I cannot fight you with what I was born with," I replied. "I can only fight you with courage and honour," I declared as I dropped my arm and willed my shield to fall to the floor.
"So be it," Hasira bowed before he once again charged me.
How was I going to go about this? I can't keep dodging him. I'd have to incapacitate him without my shield or my powers. I'd have to confront him while potentially tanking a full-on hit from a grown buffalo.
The buffalo in question was now lowering his head. I had to do something, and I did do something, and that something was to jump towards a tree to my left, kick against it and tackle Hasira. But it didn't go as I had conceived. Instead of undermining his momentum, his speed was such that I couldn't even latch onto him, and I was left tumbling in the avenue between feet of the trees once again. Despite all of the abrasions and contusions, despite the streams of blood running down my ankle, I couldn't yield. I couldn't let Morgan die. He had made a mistake, but he didn't deserve to die because of it. Every hit I took reminded me of what was at stake and only strengthened my resolve. I didn't know how this would end, but I had to make sure that Mufasa or one of the lionesses arrived in time to put a stop to this.
But when I got back on my feet, I literally saw how little time I had left before something was going to give - Hasira was charging at me and swung his head away from me before swinging it towards me, and his horns made contact with my shoulder before the weight and momentum of the buffalo's attack sent me flying through the air, only stopping because of a sturdy tree that knocked the wind out of me when I collided with it square one, and the only path from there was directly downwards.
From the moment I landed against the earth until the moment my consciousness was inspired by the cry of a distressed lioness, I saw nothing beyond the lids of my eyes.
"Alex, get up!" Sarafina cried desperately.
"Hasira, explain yourself this instant," Naanda ordered in her authoritative voice.
"I am exacting justice in a buffalo tradition,"
"The King's justice is supreme, you know this!" Naanda replied.
"The King cannot be just, he is biased towards the humans that he let in, and they have taken advantage of his hospitality," Hasira claimed.
"Watch your words, Hasira," Naanda warned.
The only thing I could focus on while my blurry vision was slowly returning to normal was the conversation, but now I could see things in detail without my head feeling like it was going to roll backwards, I saw among the blades of grass and the minuscule flowers on the mossy floor... the knife that took the life of Hasira's son. How did it get here? Morgan didn't put it there, did he? Unlike before, it was completely unsullied by any stain. I saw my face in it as clearly as a reflection in a mirror. Was I looking at the face of someone who could take a life? I planted my fingers on the smooth maroon leather wrapped around the handle with satisfying precision.
I was brought out of the reverie of shock, disbelief and confusion when Hasira's voice caught my attention.
"I dare anyone to stand between me and my justice," the buffalo said as he looked intently at me with a glare sharper than his horns. Silence descended upon the coppice like a storm in a valley. Not even the tweeting birds or chirping insects broke the tension. What could be heard was a twig snapping and the padding of paws against the grass and the rustling of shrubs as they were brushed aside.
Sarafina stepped between me and Hasira. My heart swelled with immense appreciation that someone would put themselves in harm's way for me, but then I realised the gravity of what she had just done - she had just walked into the path of a vengeful buffalo who was about to charge her. What on earth was she thinking? The lionesses who remained on the sidelines could only stare in stunned silence. Nobody wanted to move. I didn't want to dare to look away from Hasira, it was as if a blink or straying away would doom Sarafina. I remained in my crouched stance on one knee, as if I was preparing for an Olympic sprint, for what seemed like an hour.
"So be it," Hasira said before he kicked against the floor to charge once more, churning up the earth beneath him in doing so.
I clenched my hands and kicked against the floor myself as I sprinted towards Sarafina.
"Sarafina, out the way!" I cried. She did not move. And then I realised that she was standing at the point where Hasira and I would meet. I accelerated once more, almost tapping into my state of absolute power.
Upon reaching Sarafina's position, I shoulder-barged Sarafina into the undergrowth, and when I turned to face Hasira, I was confronted by his horns again, and it was at that moment that I realised that the knife was in my hand. My instinctive response was to hold the knife in front of me with both hands and because I couldn't decide which way to jump, I ended up tripping over my own feet and falling backwards. The last thing I saw before I clenched my eyes shut was the gap between the trees and the whisp of cloud in the cerulean sky. I then realised that I was being connected with Hasira somehow and was being dragged by him for several meters until he slowed down and collapsed on his flank. I opened my eyes and saw not only a different pattern in the gap in the canopy but also the solitary cloud at a different latitude. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were still holding the knife, which was embedded into Hasira's chest up to the hilt.
Hasira took a laboured breath punctuated by wheezes. He spoke weakly and at length what he knew to be his dying declaration.
"I die in the name of honour, and I was killed... in the name of honour - I was murdered not by a human, but by vengeance," he lamented before his eyes closed and his head fell to the floor.
It was only now that I let go of the knife, and it fell to the floor, followed by a heavy flow of blood that stained yet even more blades of grass.
I had killed a sentient being. I held a knife and that knife, because of my actions, fatally penetrated the flesh of someone who was alive only a minute ago. Because of me, their heart will never beat again. Because of me, his loved ones will have an empty space in their heart, as I do. I killed Hasira. I began to hyperventilate as I kicked myself against the floor and into the foot of a tree, doing anything I could to escape the reality of what I had just done, but it was futile. I was still looking at the evidence.
"What have I done? What have I done?" I asked myself repeatedly in a frantic whisper. I pushed the bottom of my slightly callused palms against my eyes, partly to wipe away the tears of regret and guilt that were welling in my eyes, but also in a vain and distant hope that when I opened my eyes, I would be looking at a different reality. Alas, I still saw a buffalo carcass in front of me, and the apprehensive and concerned teal eyes of Sarafina.
"Alex... are you alright?" she asked. I could only respond by shaking my head and opening my mouth.
"I killed him," I finally brought myself to say. "I killed him," I mouthed as my body shook from crying so crudely before my head fell into my hands.
"Shh, it's okay," Sarafina cooed delicately as she nuzzled what she could of my cheek and forehead. "It's going to be okay,"
"Alex?" Morgan interjected with a half-hearted voice that conveyed his hesitancy to interrupt. I looked up and saw the boy who bore an expression of sympathy, but even now, his face was deeply etched with regret and guilt.
"'Scuse me, Sarafina," I said as I leaned my elbow against the tree to get back on my feet. Sarafina promptly stepped backwards and I stumbled over the uneven floor and into the path that sundered through the forest. I walked up to Morgan and knelt down to his eye level and held his wrists, not wanting to let go - he was the one I had to kill for.
"Are you okay?" I asked, only now looking down at his hands. They were stained with crimson blood. He killed an innocent buffalo calf, breaking the hunting laws, and causing a grieving father to charge at me multiple times.
"Ow! Alex, you're hurting me!" Morgan exclaimed as he tried to free his hands from my now firm grasp.
"What did you think you were doing?! I told you not to do anything silly, and what do you do? Something really fucking silly!" I growled as I shook his wrists.
"Alex, that's enough," Naanda said from behind me.
"He wasn't to know, he left before he was told the law," Sarafina interjected. She was right. I had killed because Morgan had killed. This awful incident happened because I I had sent him on his task, and that only happened because I gave him the knife. My grip weakened when guilt once again possessed my entire being, from my racing mind to my planted feet. Morgan was then able to wrestle his hands out of my own and he promptly ran past me. I could do nothing but watch my trembling hands, stained only with mud and moss, but I could imagine them soaked in blood as they may as well be.
"Morgan..." Sarafina called but to no avail. He kept on running, but then he stopped running.
"What in the name of Aiehu has happened here?" the voice of Mufasa cut through the sorrowful silence.
A/N: Uh oh, the King is here! How is he going to react to the news of the killing of Hasira? You'll have to wait to find out! As ever, please leave constructive feedback and don't forget to add this story to your favourite/following lists to make sure you don't miss a thing. Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.