The Lion King: Dawn Of The Nations

Episode 31: Aid

Jantu was laying over the grass, strong green as everything around him. Four cheetah cubs were with him. "He is bleeding." Faeze said.

"What do we do?" Aozo asked.

"Do we accept hyenas in Karu-Karu?" Niri asked Faeze.

"Uhm, yes, I guess." Faeze replied.

"And what are they good for?" The third cub, Tizei, inquired.

Faeze sighed. "Let me think." He walked around Jantu, checking if he had more wounds, confirming the hyena only had one, on his side.

"Faeze, maybe we should call your mom." Aozo proposed.

Faeze had his glance locked at the hyena, thoughtful. "Or..." He looked at his friends. "We could take care of him."

"Uhm, Faeze?" Aozo raised an eyebrow.

"I´ve heard my parents talking with the warriors, I think hyenas are enemies." Faeze explained.

"So, aren´t they Karu-Karu´s enemies too?" Tizei expressed.

"Yes, but..." Faeze could only see the grief in Jantu´s unconscious face. "But..." He sighed. "Maybe he is good."

"Yes." Niri opined. "A hyena member could be useful!"

"Oh, for what?" Tizei asked.

"Uhm, I don´t know, we´ll have to find out." Niri said.

Aozo approached Jantu, sitting next to him, with a doubtful glare. "I don´t know, Faeze. What if your mom finds out?"

"Well..." Faeze looked at them all with a look of warning. "If we are cautious enough, and keep or snouts shut...there´s no reason for that to happen, right?" The three cubs nodded with hesitation. "Fine." He glared back at Jantu then gestured rightwards. "Let´s take him to the lair."

The four cubs used all their strength to drag Jantu over the thick, green grass, dodging the tall, leaved trees, sometimes unsuccessfully, as Jantu´s head just bumped in one. "Careful!" Faeze scolded, keeping moving, pushing the hyena with his head just as the others.

Niri was watching over the hyena´s wound. "It´s stopped bleeding."

Faeze gasped as he was starting to get tired. "Good..." He sighed. "Rest, rest..." He stopped dragging and laid down, followed by the others.

"How much left?" Tizei asked while sighing.

Faeze looked around, noticing the familiar trees and bushes that served as orientation for him. "Not too much."

"Shall we call a healer?" Niri noticed a strange yellow suppuration appearing over the wound. "That doesn´t look good."

"They could tell mom, or dad." Faeze opined.

"I´m friends with Rila, Randa´s daughter." Aozo said. "I could just tell her to bring her mom´s stuff."

"Good idea." Faeze gestured away. "Go, then meet us at the lair." Aozo nodded at him then left in a hurry.

"Do you think he has a name?" Niri inquired.

"Duh, of course he has one." Tizei mocked.

"Either way, we won´t know it until he wakes up." Faeze opined, getting onto his paws after stretching. "Rest´s over, keep moving."

Niri yawned while standing up along with Tizei, both of them continued pushing Jantu with their heads as well as Faeze did. "You had to send Aozo before getting this guy in the lair, hadn´t you?" Tizei disputed.

"Shut up, Tizei." Faeze warned, gasping by the effort with each push.

"I got a provisional name for him." Niri insisted.

"Yeah? We don´t care." Tizei replied.

Niri ignored him. "Potea, it suits him, you know? Because he was, like, lost there."

"It sounds terrible, I´ll just keep calling him…well, ´him´." Tizei said with an eyebrow raised.

"Doesn´t sound bad to me, actually." Faeze gasped. "Potea."

After several exhausting minutes of dragging, the three cheetah cubs managed to bring Jantu to their lair. They did the final push towards the entrance of the old, cracked cave, getting him under its low, gray and rocky ceiling. The three cheetahs took about a minute to recover their breaths. "Okay..." Faeze was looking at Jantu. "Let´s just wait for Aozo and, uhm, his friend to come."

"Who will stay with him?" Niri inquired. "I mean, we can´t leave him alone."

"I will ask my mom to let me sleep here, just for tonight." Faeze looked at his friends. "I hope you do the same."

"Sure." Niri responded.

"Whatever." Tizei rolled up his eyes.

The three cubs heard the gasps of Aozo at the distance, as well as the ones of his friend, Rila. The two cheetahs arrived at the cave. Rila raised an eyebrow. "A hyena?" She asked Aozo with an opaque voice as she was holding some plants with her mouth. Rila lowered her head and put the plants over the ground. "Where did you find him?" She glared at Faeze.

"In the river." Faeze answered. "His side is wounded, can you cure him?"

"I mean..." Rila walked hesitantly towards Jantu, gasping after seeing the yellowish liquid over the red of his wound. "I...I think so." She walked back and took the plants again with her jaws, then she approached the hyena with quicker steps. Rila got closer to the wound while chewing the plants. When she felt the plants were mashed enough and noticed the taste her mother had indicated, Rila got her snout just before the wound, then she began to lick it. After several licks, Jantu let out a long sigh all of a sudden, which sounded relieved and restful. Rila kept licking while the four cubs looked with amazement. When all of the greenish paste covered the wound entirely, Rila stopped licking. "That should be enough." She looked at the cubs.

Faeze sighed. "Thank you so much." He smirked at her.

Rila smiled back. "No problem, it serves me as practice." She chuckled a bit. Rila looked back at the hyena. "Still...what are you going to do with him after he gets better? How do you know he isn´t, well, dangerous?"

"We don´t." Faeze answered, also glaring at Jantu. "But we hope the best."

"And that means, the first hyena in Karu-Karu!" Niri exclaimed.

Rila sighed while shaking her head. "Your little 'squad' game?"

"Karu-Karu is not a squad, is a lifestyle." Aozo corrected.

"Neither a game." Tizei added. "By the way...do you want to join?" The other three cubs looked at him with disapproving eyes. "What?" He blushed a bit.

"So funny, like if anyone in Ferezan would like to be part of...whatever this is." Rila responded. "But...thanks for the offer, anyway." She began to walk away towards the cave´s exit. "Keep me posted about, uhm..."

"Potea." Niri expressed. "I came up with that." He added with pride.

"Sure..." Rila raised an eyebrow. "Potea." She finally exited the cave.

The four cubs stood in silence for a few moments, looking at Jantu. "So..." Tizei looked at the exit then right back at the hyena. He raised his gaze to look at Faeze. "What now?"

Faeze delayed a bit to respond. "We ask our mothers." He switched his glare from Jantu to Tizei and the rest. "You know, to stay here this night."

Tizei nodded. "Alright, but I can´t guarantee you she´ll accept."

"Me neither." Niri and Aozo said at the same time.

Faeze sighed. "Yeah, same here." He thought for a moment. "We´ll have to try at least. Let´s go." The four cubs left the cave in a hurry. Faeze, inside his thoughts, was trying to figure out what Jantu could´ve gone through, and how would he react when he woke up.

Niri approached his parents cautiously, who were laying in front of the entrance of their cave. "Uhm, mom?" He sat down before them.

Laye, as Niri´s mother was called, let out a brief yawn. "Hey, Niri. Had fun with your friends?"

"Yes, uhm, I just wanted to know if, well, only if you want I mean..." Niri started to get nervous.

"Yes?" Laye raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." Niri took a deep breath. "The boys want to have a...sleepover at the lair."

Laye nodded slowly. "And you want to go, right?" Niri replied with a firm nod. Laye sighed and looked at her mate. "What do you think?" Her mate, Govo, just raised his shoulders. She let out another sigh and looked at her son with eyes of warning. "Alright, Niri, but be caref..."

"Thanks!" Niri left with hurried steps, letting his mother´s advice unfinished.

"No, Faeze." Fuli told her cub, they were inside their cave, the Great Cave as it was called, next to the fire at the middle. "You are not old enough for that yet."

Azaad was giving more thought to Faeze´s request. "Well, there´s always a first time, right?" He smirked at his son.

"Azaad..." Fuli looked at her mate with a straight glance.

Azaad chuckled and approached her, nuzzling her face. "Come on, love. It could do him good."

"Yes, it could! Maybe that will show me how to live in herd and take care of myself!" Faeze raised an eyebrow as he was unsure if those words actually came from his mouth.

Azaad looked at Fuli. "Sounds good to me."

Fuli kept her straight face, making Azaad to look away. She looked into Faeze´s eyes, trying to make a decision, remembering she was about his age when she went on wild and dangerous adventures, considering this was far away from that level. She let out a long, hesitant sigh. "One night, only. You understand?"

Faeze nodded several times, with a smirk on his face. "Yes, yes I understand mom." He approached his father and licked his cheek briefly, then he did the same to his mother.

Fuli chuckled and licked him back. "Have fun. And take care, Faeze."

"I will!" Faeze left the cave, excited and relieved.

Fuli looked at Azaad again. "Since when you´re the good, permissive dad?" She raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly at him.

Azaad chuckled. "I´ve always been, love. The bossy, tough mom, that´s your role."

"Hey..." Fuli hit his face gently with her paw. "Not funny." She made up a face of annoyance.

Azaad caressed her with his forehead. "You know I´m kidding...a bit."

"Mom, please! All Karu-Karu will go!" Aozo was pleading to his mother, who laid over the top of their cave. "Mom." He patted her front paws.

"No it´s no, son." Saisa said with a firm tone. "I don´t know why you enjoy playing with those kids that much. They´re bad influence."

"They´re not, mom, they´re my friends. Please, just one night." Aozo insisted.

"No!" Saisa reaffirmed strongly, making him to lower his head. He raised it a bit, wanting to try again, but the imperative eyes of his mother prevented him to do so. He turned around instead, jumping off the cave, leaving with his gaze lowered.

Tizei climbed a tree with the help of several thick branches, reaching the one where his mother was sleeping. He walked towards her slowly. "Mom." He murmured. "Hey, mom."

"Mhm." Anira expressed with tiredness.

"Uhm, can I sleep in the lair tonight? You know, with Faeze and the others." Tizei said, not getting a response. "Mom?"

Anira yawned. "Ask your dad."

Tizei rapidly went down the tree and ran in search for his father, finding him hanging out with other male cheetahs under the shadow of the trees. "Dad!"

Tombe looked at his son, getting into his paws as he saw him approach. "Tizei?"

Tizei stopped running right before him, breathing in and out with exhaustion. "I...I want to sleep in the lair..." He inhaled. "...tonight...can I?"

Tombe thought for a moment. "I don´t know, son."

"Come on, let your kid have some fun!" One of the adult cheetahs joked, being mimicked by the rest, telling Tombe similar statements.

"Hush!" Tombe warned, silencing some of the funny comments. "Ask your mother."

"She told me to ask you." Tizei replied, generating some chuckles between his father´s friends.

Tombe didn´t know what to say. "Uhm, did she?" He looked away for a moment then glared back at his son. "Then, uhm, do as you...wish."

Tizei raised an eyebrow, looking away a couple of times then back into his father´s eyes. "Uhm, thanks? Dad?" He left with doubtful steps, looking back a few times.

"Is that all you got? Really?" Another cheetah mocked, making the rest to laugh strongly, to Tombe´s chagrin.