Chapter 3 : A Quick Stroll Through Dream Land

The hyenas had been the first to essentially bail, when the ceremony was all but officially concluded. Though they had technically done nothing wrong that Abdul could discern, at least this time, that didn't mean he trusted them. Far from it, in fact.

Dream, hallucination, or whatever else this whole thing might have been, it was still the world of the Lion King. And all Lion King media, from the movies to the series, had made one thing abundantly clear. Hyenas were NOT to be trusted, for any reason. He really struggled to recollect any depiction of them that wasn't as some kind of antagonists.

Jasiri was certainly one, but if anything, she was the exception that proved the rule. Ed was maybe another possibility, but … It was Ed. To say that he was a 'special case', would be like saying that Kilimanjaro was a 'big mountain'. He rested his case.

Now sure, some would argue that this depiction was purely stereotypical, always showing their bad side and never showing anything redeemable about them. Most of the time, they were shown as being manipulated by the Bigger Bad Guy, or as simple grunts. And he did remember reading some FanFics that did try to address those facts, or at least portray them in a somewhat better light.

But overall, he and probably every Lion King fan, had it practically ingrained to them that the hyenas were this world's Token Villains. After all, it wasn't like they didn't play up to the "stereotype", or didn't constantly justify their Villain status. So, he thought he could be excused for having his doubts about them.

'But why are you here, in the first place ?' He silently pondered. 'This wasn't how it played out.'

Again, the other animals didn't look ecstatic to have them around -if anything, a lot of them looked relieved watching them go- but they didn't try to fight them, or kick them out either. What was that about ?

Had Abdul known better, he would have thought the hyenas to be part of the ceremony themselves, marking its official conclusion, for when their cackle had gotten some distance away from Pride Rock, all the other animals began to leave as well. It was almost as if some kind of spell had been broken. Did the hyenas really have that much of an effect on them, or was there something else that Abdul was just not seeing ? He couldn't tell.

'At least they're gone now.' It didn't really matter in the end, he concluded. After all, none of this was real. He decided to ignore the hyenas, and instead observe the other Pride Lands animals.

It was really interesting how much the now-exit of the animals into the areas surrounding Pride Rock, differed from their previous entry. Before, they had entered in unison, forming the closest equivalent to orderly queues that Abdul could think of. Now, they seemingly scattered in all different directions. Before, they had looked excited to greet their new heir to the kingdom, not worrying about a thing. Now, a lot of them looked almost uneasy, looking at the predator closest to them with suspicion.

The predators in-turn looked at the herbivores with glee, as if they had found their next meal and only some unknown force was just barely restraining them from charging at them.

Abdul imagined that, with the end of the ceremony, the temporary truce between predator and prey was about to fall apart entirely. Still, he found himself somewhat trembling -and also getting oddly excited, much to his own surprise- at the prospect that he might become witness to an actual hunt in the savannah. Honestly, he was more intrigued that there hadn't been any outburst of violence, as of yet.

He looked at Pride Rock. He pondered if there was some kind of "Gentleman's Agreement" in place between them, that they wouldn't hurt each-other while in the presence of their king, especially so soon after his son's big reveal. Or if Mufasa and the lion pride had some kind of peace-enforcement in place, and the animals knew better than to so blatantly break it.

Abdul seriously doubted that this "peace" would last when predator and prey left the immediate vicinity of Pride Rock, but he tried not to think about it too much. It wasn't like he would be around to see it. This was a dream after all.

The movement of lions, out of the corner of his eyes, was what drew Abdul's attention and tore him out of his thoughts. Abdul saw a small number of them climbing down the rocks, before making their way away from Pride Rock. The rest of the lion pride was observing them as they walked away, and Abdul saw even Mufasa staring at them from a distance.

'That's odd. Where could they be going ?' Abdul wondered. Wasn't Pride Rock their home ? Where could they be going ?

Abdul wasn't a lion expert -ironic given his current form- but they didn't strike him as a hunting party. They were walking slowly and methodically, even with a little regality in their step. Far from prowling predators, they gave off the appearance more of a formal envoy, than anything else. Their tight formation, as well as the fact that they promptly ignored any herbivores that quickly got out of their path, only further supported that idea.

"This didn't happen in the movie." Abdul muttered. He continued to observe the lion party.

He counted ten lions that were on the move. Six maneless, which he assumed were lionesses, and four ones with manes. They were moving in formation of twos, away from Pride Rock. On the front of the small column, a lion next to a lioness led the way. The lion's black mane-

Abdul did a double take at that. Black mane ? No, it couldn't possibly be …

'The only lion in the movie that had a black mane was …' Abdul narrowed his eyes, looking for the one other mark that would confirm his suspicions regarding the lion's identity, without a shadow of a doubt. 'Come oon ! Turn your head around ! Just for a second !'

As if the lion had listened to him, he turned his head towards the vicinity where Abdul was right now. It was only for a brief moment. He hadn't even looked at him, merely glancing around the area he had happened to be in. Yet in that brief moment, Abdul had seen what he had been looking for.

The scar crossed right through his left eye.

"Scar ?" Abdul wondered out loud. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped in recognition. How could this be ?

'W-why are you here ?! Y-you're not supposed to be here !' Why was he here ? He wasn't supposed to have made an appearance at all during the ceremony. That had been a major plot point to establish his Villain arc.

What was going on here ? Why were things so different from the movie ? What was he looking at ? Why was he being shown this ? What was his subconscious trying to tell him exactly ? What kind of dream would show you something that you knew to be false ?

'Unless, this isn't really a dream- No ! Shut up !' He slapped himself with a paw. 'This is a dream ! A weird dream, for sure. But a dream nonetheless ! Get that through your head !' He chastised himself. This couldn't possibly be real. It just couldn't be !

Abdul shook his head, then looked at Scar and his little pack. Not only had he been at the ceremony, when he shouldn't have been, but from the looks of things, he had a team of lions at his beck and call. Why ? Hadn't it been established that the other lions of the pride had barely tolerated him, which was the reason why he had to employ the help of the hyenas during the movie ? What was different here ?

'A lot of things are different. Far too many to be a mere coincidence.' A small part of Abdul thought cynically. And he couldn't even think of a good rebuttal.

Wait a second ! If Scar wasn't the social pariah that he had been in the film. If he had his own retinue of lions. What exactly was his standing with the hyenas ? Both had been here a few minutes ago, yet neither had interacted with the other. So what was going to happen afterwards ? How would future events play out ?

Abdul's curiosity piqued at that. He had to find some answers, if only to put his own mind at ease. If his own mind wanted to play games with him, he would gladly play along.

Abdul jumped down from the small rock he had been standing on, nearly tripping and falling in the process, yet quickly recovering. He started to tag along after the small lion-party, watching them from a safe distance.

Aside from Scar, he couldn't recognise any of the other lions that were following him. Although, now that he thought about it, their coats were actually much darker than the ones from the Pride Rock lions. Almost reminding him of the lions from the second film …

'Wait.' Abdul looked at the lioness walking right alongside Scar. 'No way …'

She had a lighter, yet still distinctly dark coat, in comparison to the Pride Rock lions. While Abdul was no expert, he noticed it also looked much rougher than the rest of them, despite her obvious grooming. Finally, a distinct notch was visible in her right ear.

'It can't be …' The lioness turned and looked at Scar in what Abdul assumed was supposed to be an affectionate manner, though given her wicked grin, he couldn't be certain. Only then, did Abdul manage to spot a pair of red eyes, as well as a single dark head-stripe, decorating her face.

Abdul stopped dead in his tracks, mouth agape in realization. He knew who this lioness was. He knew all too well.

"Zira ?!" But … That was just … Not possible !

He sat down on his haunches, eyes wandering aimlessly, trying in vain to make sense of what he just saw.

'That's just … What ?! She can't … She can't be here !' Why was she here ? How was she here ? It just wasn't possible !

Scar being somewhere else and doing something he hadn't done in the movie, he could handle that. Mostly. At least he had been in the first movie ! But Zira ? No, no he couldn't just ignore that !

Why was she here ? Why were the lions of the Outlands here ? This wasn't the sequel, they had never even appeared in the first movie ! So why had they been present at the ceremony ? Why were they here, in the Pridelands, now of all times ? Simba was still just a cub ! Their conflict was probably years away from now !

'You shouldn't be here ! That's just … This isn't right !' This wasn't making sense !

"What is going on ?!" He exclaimed. He didn't understand. He simply did not understand. None of this had happened in the film.

'Seriously ! What kind of dream is this even ?' What kind of dream showed its dreamer things he knew to be false, or events that simply did not happen ? What was his messed-up subconscious trying to tell him ?

'Unless this isn't- Stop !' He refused to continue that line of thought, lest it lead him to questions he neither wanted to ask, nor get the answers to right now.

"There must be something you're not seeing. Something you're missing. Yeah. Yeah, that's probably it. Something else." He muttered, trying to calm himself, with mixed results.

'Only one way to find out, I guess.' He crouched low on the ground on all fours, imagining himself as a predator stalking its prey. Then, he took one step forward, planning on following them and trying to find some answers. Hopefully.

He lifted his paw, about to take another step-

"BOO !"

"AHHHH !"

Abdul jumped in totally-not-fright in the air, hoping to get away from whatever had just touched his new tail -ya Allah his new appendage was sensitive to the touch, wasn't it-. That high-pitched squeal which came out of his mouth ? Definitely not him, that was his cub body acting all on its own.

He nearly tripped as he landed, yet quickly steadied himself. He felt his heart beating, and instinctively grabbed his chest with a paw. He felt his ears perk upwards, while shivers ran down his back. His fur had risen upwards, as if electrified. He didn't even know lion fur could do that !

'What ? Was ? That ?' Abdul wondered while taking heavy breaths, trying to calm himself down.

"Hahahahaha …" The sounds of laughter broke Abdul from his stupor. Curious -and more than a little annoyed- he turned to face his former assailant. His eyes widened and he promptly froze in place.

A lion cub. An actual lion cub was standing in front of him.

Well, not standing actually, considering said cub was currently on its back, holding its belly, and laughing hysterically.

"You… You should've…" The cub spoke, a male voice emanating through the laughter. "You should've seen your face ! The way you jumped …" He didn't get to finish his sentence, as he broke into even more hysterical laughter.

Abdul stood in place, uncertain of what he was supposed to do. On the one hand -or paw he supposed- the cub had just scared the crap out of him -suddenly he was glad he hadn't drank or eaten anything, or else his reaction might have been worse-, and so he had more than a few words to share with him. On the other hand, there was a lion cub, right in front of him !

What was he supposed to do ? Never in his life had he been this close to a lion before, cub or not. Neither in his current form, nor in his human one, not even when they had gone on that safari. He remembered a quote from an animal-documentary he had seen back home.

"If you ever come across a baby-animal out in the wild, do not let your guard down. The parent is never far away." That had been the quote.

Abdul quickly looked around in a panic, searching for any signs that the cub's mother might be around. Even when he didn't find any, he refused to let his guard down, not sure what to expect. But what was he supposed to do ? Should he maybe make a run for it ? Would he even make it far ?

"H-hey." Abdul snapped out of his stupor at that, and turned towards the cub. The cub meanwhile, had stopped laughing -for the most part- and was clearing his throat Wow, he had been really out of it to not notice him, hadn't he ?

"I didn't actually hurt you, did I ?" The cub had now stopped laughing, and was actually looking at him somewhat concerned. "I only meant to scare you, honest !"

Abdul shook his head, getting himself back into focus.

'Snap out of it ! It's just a cub ! He can't hurt you ? And none of this is real, anyway !' He had to constantly remind himself. This was just a dream. He was 99% sure of that. Maybe a little less, give or take.

"A-are you okay ?"

Abdul looked back at the cub. He didn't look that different from him, really. Light cream coat, no mane -what a shocker-, the one distinct feature of his were his light blue eyes. And-

'Why is he looking at me like that ?' He looked at him increasingly concerned. 'Oh crap ! He asked me a question ! I should probably answer !'

It was then that Abdul realized he had his mouth open the entire time, low-key hyperventilating. No wonder the cub was worried about him. He had probably looked like a maniac ! He shut his mouth, cleared his throat, then swallowed, before finally answering.

"Um, y-yeah ! I'm fine ! Don't worry about me." For his first talk with one of his dream-world's residents, he thought that wasn't half-bad.

"Are you sure ? Because …" Not good enough, apparently.

"It's okay. You didn't hurt me. It's just that …" He released a heavy breath at that. "Ya Allah, you scared the crap out of me !" He chuckled slightly at that.

The cub sighed in relief hearing that. "Oh thank goodness, I was worried I might have taken it too far with that prank."

'Huh, he got over it pretty quickly.' Abdul thought. 'Also, prank ? Really'

"I'm sorry about that, by the way." The cub continued. "It's just that, you were just sitting there, mumbling to yourself, and had an expression like this." The cub then pulled off the lion-equivalent of a deer-facing-headlights expression. Abdul refused to acknowledge the small smile that appeared on his lips at that.

"So you were clearly not paying attention, when you should have. And I just." The cub giggled. "I just couldn't resist ! I just had to do it !" A small laughter bursted out of his lips. He looked like he was about to start laughing again, yet quickly composed himself.

Jahannam, even Abdul snorted a little bit hearing that. 'Okay, when you put it like that, it does sound a little funny.' Sure, he was still annoyed, but even he could see the humour in that. Though he should probably pay more attention to his surroundings, from now on.

"I guess I should be paying more attention, shouldn't I ?" He rubbed the back of his head with a paw, slightly embarrassed.

The cub chuckled at that. "Don't worry about it. You were obviously lost in thought. And I did sneak up on you. Not exactly the best first impression. Speaking of."

He squinted his eyes at Abdul. "Are you new here ? I've never seen you before."

Abdul's eyes widened slightly. He didn't have a backstory. He hadn't exactly planned on interacting with the Lion King cast. He hadn't even known he could, until now. Still, he opted to play along, for now anyway. Hopefully, he could blend in, and keep a low-profile.

"Oh, um. No. No, I'm not from around here. This is all new to me."

"Wait, you're not from the Pridelands ?" Abdul shook his head. "And I'm the first lion you've talked to ?" Abdul looked at him confused, yet nodded. The cub facepalmed at that. "By my whiskers. Mum is gonna kill me, if she hears this is how I introduced a guest to the pride."

'By my whiskers ? What a phrase !' Abdul thought to himself. 'And seriously ? A guest ?' Of all things, that was what the cub was worried about ?

"Oh well, I guess proper introductions are in order then." The cub turned to him and approached him. He then lifted his right paw and held it aloft in front of him. "I'm Mheetu. What's your name ?" He asked with a smile.

Mheetu ? Wasn't that a non-canon character ? A brother or something of someone from the main cast ? He couldn't remember exactly. But why was he here ? He hadn't been in the movie, that was for sure.

Abdul wanted to get to the bottom of this, yet he couldn't just give up on the conversation. Not without looking like some kind of weirdo. Again. He had no choice but to drop it, for now. It probably didn't matter that much, anyway.

"Abdul." He replied, before he had time to think of his answer.

Mheetu tilted his head, hearing his name. "Abdul ? Heh. That's a funny name. Never heard a lion called that before."

Abdul realised his mistake too late. He groaned and screeched internally at his slip-up. How could he forget ? His name was that of a human ! It sounded nothing like the ones the characters in-universe used ! He was a Lion King's fan, fee sabi-lillah ! How did he not think this through !? So much for "blending in" and "keeping a low-profile".

"W-well, what can I say ? That's the name I was given." He couldn't backtrack now. He had committed to it. At least he wouldn't have to worry about remembering some fake name. "I doubt you chose your name." He hoped he didn't sound too defensive.

"Eh, fair enough." Mheetu shrugged, yet he still held his right paw in front of him.

Abdul stared at Mheetu's held-aloft paw, then looked at Mheetu, as he was staring at him expectantly. Clearly, he was waiting for him to do something with his paw, but … Yeah, no. He had nothing. He looked at the paw again.

'What do you want me to do ?' He wondered. He sure wasn't expecting a hand-shake -or was it paw-shake now-, the paw was facing towards him horizontally. Like those ladies in fairy-tales, expecting the lords to kiss their hand … 'You're not waiting for me to kiss it, are you ?'

"Um, is something wrong ?" Mheetu looked at him with concern again.

Yeah, Abdul couldn't think of anything. He briefly thought about just winging it, yet quickly discarded the thought, certain that he would just screw up even worse. Eventually, he decided to just get it over with and come clean. Better to mess up by not knowing, than to mess up by pretending to know.

"I … I'm sorry, I don't know what you want me to do with this." He lifted his right paw and waved it at Mheetu.

"What do you mean ?" Mheetu asked. His eyes widened a bit. "You don't know how to paw-greet ?"

'Paw-greet ?' Abdul became intrinsically aware that he had just committed some lion faux-pass. "Umm, no ?"

Mheetu looked at him in bewilderment. "How can you not know paw-greeting ? That was one of the first things my dad taught me !"

"W-well, I just … never got around to learning it." Man, even to Abdul's ears, that excuse sounded ridiculous. He had to change the conversation. Fast.

Right then, Abdul remembered a tactic his foster-father would use, whenever he was about to be caught ignorant on some topic. Ask a different question, and try to alter the subject. Maybe he could use it to his advantage.

"Hey ! Do you think you could show me how to do it ?" Abdul asked the first question that came to mind. And much to his surprise, it seemed to work.

Mheetu's bewildered look turned skeptical. "I mean, there isn't much to show, really. It's pretty simple." He was clearly not opposed to the idea. Abdul seized the opportunity.

"Then it won't take too long, will it ?"

"Oh, not at all. Here, I'll show you." Mheetu waved his paw. "Place your paw over mine and brush it, from top to bottom."

Abdul was confused, yet did as asked, placing his right paw over Mheetu's, and passing it once, up-to-down. "Now, lift your paw and hold it in front of me." Abdul lifted his paw and held it aloft. Then Mheetu placed his paw over his, and did the same thing as him.

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it ?"

"Wait, was that it ?" Abdul asked.

"That's it. Congratulations ! You now know how to greet with your paws." Mheetu waved his paw, and chuckled at his own pun. "Just so you know, the lion who greets first, is the one who lifts the paw first. Don't get it mixed up." Abdul could swear he heard him mutter to himself something like "... told me that sooner …", yet chose not to question it.

"I'll try not to. Thanks." He smiled at him gratefully. Hey, he had learned something new about lions -real or not- and avoided an awkward situation. Bullet. Dodged.

"You're welcome. I'm just surprised your parents didn't teach you this."

Bullet. Partially dodged, it seemed. Abdul's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a question. But he couldn't stall, the more time he took with his answer, the more suspicious it would look.

"My parents, uhh, they were …" 'Absent.' "Busy ! They were too busy to teach me. They always had to look out for me." Abdul lied through his teeth. He only hoped he wasn't too obvious with it.

"Really ?" Mheetu asked, worried. Strange, why was he worried ? He wasn't the one blatantly lying right now. "What about the rest of your pride ?"

'The rest of my pride ? Yeah, about that …' How could Abdul respond to that ? Suddenly, it hit him. A documentary about lions he had watched.

"... While certainly rare, there have been recorded cases of lions living in, what we would consider by our standards, a nomadic way of life. Without a marked territory to call their own, such lions wander throughout the savannahs of Africa, migrating alongside their source of food. The number of such nomad-lions may differ from case to case. They can range from one lonesome lion, to even small families. The largest recorded number of nomad-lions travelling together was …" That was it !

"We didn't live in a pride. My … parents and I were nomads. It was … It was just the three of us." Abdul wasn't sure how nomad-lions were viewed here. He wasn't really sure if they were even a thing here. So he wasn't sure how Mheetu would react to that.

Him looking at him with an expression of wonder and awe, was not what he had been expecting.

"Wow ! You guys are nomads ? I've never seen lion-nomads before !" Huh, he was actually buying it. "The grown-ups said that meeting a nomad was so unheard of. That they never stay in one place. By my whiskers, your life must be so cool ! You're like, always exploring, always seeing new places. That sounds awesome !" Mheetu cheerfully laughed.

"Y-yeah. Cool. Awesome." Abdul laughed along, and hoped Mheetu didn't pick up on his clearly forced tone. 'If only you knew the truth.' Thankfully for him, Mheetu was too awestruck to notice.

"But then," Mheetu asked him seriously. ",where are your parents ? Nomads or not, shouldn't they be with you ?" He looked around, searching for Abdul's "parents".

'If you manage to find them, please let me know as well.'

"Yes, but they have to take care of me as well. They're out now, hunting for food." Abdul responded quickly, pointing with his head towards some random direction, away from Pride Rock. It wasn't like anyone could confirm what he had said. "They told me to stick around here, where there are other lions, and wait until they get back." He hoped that sounded convincing enough to fool an actual lion cub.

"Well, if there's one place where no animal would bother you, it would be Pride Rock." Mheetu pondered out loud, sounding somewhat proud of that. "Ooh, maybe I'll get to meet your parents later. They must have soo many stories to tell." He said excitedly.

"M-maybe when they get back." Abdul was starting to regret coming up with that particular backstory. He was already feeling bad about lying to his new acquaintance. But this whole thing hit much closer to home, than he had expected.

"So, what are you going to do now ?" Mheetu couldn't possibly know how grateful Abdul was for this change in subject. Abdul seized the opportunity.

"I don't know." He shrugged. At least he hadn't lied, this time. "Maybe just, relax here and wait until my … parents get back ?"

"Pff, that's boring ! Come on ! Let's do something fun !" Mheetu jumped in front of him, trying to encourage him. But to do what ?

"Like what ?" Abdul tilted his head.

"Ohh, ohh ! How about we play a game ?"

"A game ? I'm not sure if I …" He couldn't play right now. He had to-

'Scar ! Zira ! The Outlands lions !' His eyes widened in sudden realisation. He had completely forgotten about them. He had to find them !

Abdul turned back where he had last seen the party of lions. There was no one there. He tried to look around. Maybe they had just moved ahead, while he wasn't paying attention. Yet his quick search bore no fruit. He couldn't find them anywhere !

'Shit !' Terrific. He had lost his one clue to understanding what in Jahannam was going on here. Why was his mind playing games with him like that ? What did it want from him ? 'What kind of dream makes you feel like you aren't in a dream ?' What was he supposed to do now ?

"Hey !" Mheetu jumped in, clearly oblivious to his internal plight. "How about a game of tag ?"

"Tag ?" Abdul looked at him surprised. Ya Allah, when was the last time he had played tag, of all games. First class in Middle School, perhaps ? All he really remembered from that was him eating a lot of dirt. "I uh, I'm not really sure-"

"Come on ! It'll be fun. I promise, I'll go easy on you." Mheetu challenged him, before lowering himself to the ground.

Abdul wasn't sure how to feel about this.

His first thought was to outright refuse to play such a childish game, even if his body was that of a cub at the moment. He liked to believe that he had outgrown such stuff, thank you very much. Besides, didn't he have much more important things to worry about, like the multiple inconsistencies that had appeared thus far, while he had been here ? Plus, why was he even being presented with such an option, he was very sure this was a dream, afterall. And what kind of dream would force him to do something he wasn't 100% willing to do ?

And yet, at the same time, he felt something else. A different sensation, which felt like it was coming from somewhere deep inside him, almost. Something that he felt as both familiar, yet foreign, at the same time. A part of him, yet simultaneously alien. A light, gentle presence that wanted him to play this game, that was looking forward to him having fun. That didn't want to treat this like a dream, but embrace it as if it was real. He couldn't quite find the right words to explain what this odd feeling was.

'What is wrong with me ?' He internally pondered, growing unsure of himself.

"Ready or not …" Mheetu wouldn't let him ponder further. He shook his backside, ready to pounce.

"W-w-wait-"

"Here I come !" Mheetu took advantage of Abdul's unpreparedness, and pounced. He let out what Abdul believed was supposed to be a mighty roar, but considering him being a cub, came out more as a squeal.

Abdul yelped and instinctively jumped out of the way. Abdul had just enough time to see Mheetu's surprised face, before it became thoroughly acquainted with the dirt, followed shortly by the rest of his body.

"Oh man, a-are you okay ?" Abdul asked, worried. He hadn't meant for that to happen. "I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, you got lucky with that !" Mheetu expressed and quickly got up. After shaking himself off, he looked at him with narrowed eyes, grinning widely. "But you won't get away next time !" He declared, before charging at him.

"Ahh !" Abdul's eyes widened. He turned and bolted. Surprisingly, he didn't trip or anything like that. He stayed on his toes, able to keep a distance.

"I'm gonna get ya !" Mheetu laughed as he gave chase. And soon enough, before he even realised it, Abdul began laughing along as well.

Eventually, Mheetu did catch him, then started running away giggling. This time, Abdul gave chase, laughing. Mheetu's turn. Abdul's turn. It kept going like that, for some time. Abdul slowly gave in to that strange instinct urging him to play along, if only for a little longer. And to his own surprise, he was actually having fun.

Maybe this game wasn't so bad after all.

They kept up playing for much longer than what had been expected. After tag, they played hide-and-seek. And other games after that. Abdul had actually lost track of time after a while.

He had to admit, not only was this the most fun he'd had so far, since he "woke up" here. Even compared to back home, it had been some time since he had this much fun, playing with someone else. Usually, he enjoyed being on his own. Still, he found this to be a welcome change of pace.

He praised his gut-instinct, or whatever that feeling before had been, for its intuition.

Nevertheless, all good things have to come to an end, sooner or later. Their good time came to an end, as both of them laid on the ground, panting from exhaustion from all the fun they'd had together. Abdul secretly wondered if they were qualified to be friends now.

"Heh. You're pretty good. The others usually get tired of playing way sooner." Mheetu said, looking at him from his spot on the ground.

"Thanks. You're not half-bad yourself." Abdul replied.

"You know, you pulled off some nice moves back there. Where did you learn them ?"

'What moves ? Oh …' He probably meant those tricks he used while playing tag and hide-and-seek. Yeah, movies were really an underrated teacher, when it came to stunts anyway. Whoever had said that movies don't teach you anything, had no idea what he was talking about.

Not that he'd tell that to Mheetu. "Um, I played such games with my parents. They taught me a stuff or two." He hoped the matter wouldn't delve any further into his "parents".

"Really ?" Abdul asked, surprised. "Mom and Dad don't play games with me that often. I usually play with the other cubs." He continued, somewhat skeptical. " Hey. Do you think you could teach me some-"

"Mheetuu !"

Abdul was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat, hearing that. Not the words themselves, but the tone of the voice speaking them. For the voice wasn't that of a child, but of a grown adult. A female one, to be more precise.

With a baited breath, Abdul lifted his head and turned towards the source of the voice. His eyes turned into pinpricks at the sight, while he could feel a shiver running down his back. The owner of the voice was a lion. A big, fully-grown, mature, lioness.

'Oh no. No, no, no !' Alarm bells were ringing inside his head. He had seen the documentaries. He was well aware of what lions did to cubs which weren't their own. Hallucinations or not, Lion King universe or not, there were plenty of reasons why Abdul had wanted to avoid any unnecessary contact with the locals. This being one of the primary ones, in particular.

Of course, Mheetu held no such reservations. He looked at the arriving newcomer and became excited, before rising to meet her. "Oh ! Hi there, Mrs Akina ! Didn't see you from here !" Mheetu said, as he closed the distance between them.

"There you are !" The now known as Akina exclaimed, relief clear in her voice. "Where have you been ? Didn't your mother tell you not to stray from Pride Rock ? Especially on your own ?" By now, Akina had fully closed the distance, staring down at Mheetu, who wasn't the least bit disturbed by her presence. If she saw Abdul, she paid no attention to him, for the time being.

"I'm sorry, I guess I got carried away." He responded to her.

'Yeah … No. Screw this ! I'm outta here !' Abdul tuned out the rest of their conversation. Trying to make as little noise as humanly -lionly ? cubbly ?- possible, he lifted himself off the ground and, while trying to make himself look as little as he could, began to tip-toe away from the two.

Talking and spending time with an actual lion cub was one thing ! At least the two could see eye-to-eye ! But interacting with a real lioness was another thing entirely !

That lioness may not be Mheetu's mother, but he still had no reason to trust her ! He didn't feel safe being anywhere near her ! That fear was enough to overcome even the most likely probability, that she was probably a figment of his imagination as well, though he had begrudgingly begun to grow serious doubts about that notion by now.

Abdul continued to sneak away, taking advantage of the two lions' chatter. He hoped that, by the time they noticed, he would be long gone. Hopefully over the hills he had come from, and on his way back to the cave-

"Hey ! Wait up !" Of course, it was at that moment that Mheetu decided to unintentionally throw a wrench into his plan.

"Fuck." Abdul mumbled under his breath. He really should have seen this coming. Nothing had gone right for him, since he woke up -back home- this morning. Why would things be different here, inside his head ? Or, at least, what he sincerely hoped to be the interior of his head. He dared not think of the alternative.

Of course, he had bigger problems to worry about right now. 'You know, subconscious. If this really is a dream, now would be a really good time to wake up.' He waited for a moment. 'No ? Nothing ? Okay, good talk.' Guess he'd have to tackle this issue by himself.

Mheetu had taken advantage of his freezing-in-place and quickly caught up to him. He sprinted in front of him, looking at him somewhat concerned. "Where are you going ?" He asked him.

"Uh, I really think I should be going-"

"Oh, come on ! You can't leave now ! Please, just stay a little longer !"

"W-well-"

"Is that your friend, Mheetu ?" Akina's voice was heard behind him, making Abdul flinch a bit. It was closer to him than before.

"Yeah, he is." He answered her in a proud tone. Then he turned back to Abdul. "Come. Let me introduce you." He walked by his left side, not giving him a chance to rebuke him.

Abdul gulped. 'No way out of this, is there ?' With a deep breath, he turned around and faced the lioness.

At first, he was surprised that he was only able to see the gap between her legs, only to then have to crane his neck upwards, just to meet her in the eye. 'When did she manage to close the distance that quickly ?' Speaking of which, now that they were this close, Abdul made out a few more of the lioness' features.

For one, she had more of a reddish yellow coat, in contrast to the coats of the other Pride lions. Oddly, it reminded him of the dunes found in the Sahara Desert. For a brief moment, he wondered whether she hailed from another pride as well, like the Outlanders, but he couldn't think of any other lion prides in Lion King. Probably a coincidence, he gathered. Another interesting feature was her bright orange eyes.

Said pair of eyes were looking him right in the eye with … Abdul wouldn't really say hostility, but there was clearly some reserved caution, with a little bit of a hidden judgement, in the way in which she was staring at him. Whether that was something good, or something bad, he really couldn't tell for sure.

At that moment, Mheetu chose to step in, sitting next to the two of them. "Abdul, this is Mrs Akina, one of Mom's best friends. Mrs Akina, this is Abdul, my new friend."

"Abdul ?" Akina cut in. "I can't say I've ever heard of a cub named like that before." To be fair, her tone was more confused than accusatory, yet it still made Abdul very uncomfortable.

"Hey ! That's what I said too !" Mheetu added.

Abdul was internally cursing himself. He hadn't expected his name to give him this much trouble. 'One more chance, subconscious. How about waking up ? Like, right now ?' He waited for what felt like an agonising moment. 'You know. This is why I never talk to you !' It hadn't worked the first time. Why would the second time have been any different ?

"W-well, l-like I said to Mheetu, th-that's the name my parents gave me." Abdul said, unable to hide the trembling in his voice. That excuse might have worked on a cub. But he wasn't so sure it would work on an adult lion.

Akina's eyes widened in reaction, while her whole demeanor changed. She now looked more worried and a little bit … saddened ? 'What ?' Abdul thought, confused.

"There's no need to be afraid, little one." Akina said, in a much softer tone. She laid on the ground -on her belly- and lowered her head, so that they could see each-other eye-to-eye. "Forgive me, if I scared you." Her whole stature became visibly relaxed. Even with his limited lion-experiences, Abdul could tell that she was clearly trying to make herself look as non-threatening as possible. "I promise you, I mean you no harm." She even attempted a faint smile at that.

It was then that Abdul realised. She had misread the situation. She believed his shakiness had been, because she was scaring him. Which, to be fair, wasn't wrong, but it was mostly because he was afraid she might blow his entire cover-story. Still, he elected not to correct her assumptions. But that gave him an idea. Both of them believed he was but a meek, little cub. Why not use that to his advantage ?

Sure, it was morally questionable, to say the least. Some would even call it a "dick-move". And those people would be absolutely correct. Yet, it wasn't technically wrong. He was in the body of a meek, little cub. Plus, in his defence, he really doubted that things would end well for him, should he decide to share the truth with them. So, he chose to play along, at least until he got out of here. Not the best option, but still much better than the alternatives. Of course, that didn't mean he had to like it.

'I'm really starting to not like this dream.' The more time passed, the less this whole thing felt like a dream.

"Hey, Abdul." Mheetu stepped in. "You really have nothing to fear. Mrs Akina is really nice. Please, just give her a chance." He pleaded.

"N-no, it's not that. Well, not only that. It's just that …" Abdul sat on his haunches and looked down, trying to look as meekly as he could. "My … parents, they told me that I shouldn't talk to lions that I don't know." That part at least, wasn't a lie -not all of it anyway-, and he had no trouble faking the uncertainty in his voice.

Akina drew his attention with a snort, smiling at him. "Your parents taught you well, little one." Okay. Firstly, now that they were actually conversing, Abdul noticed the differences in the voices between a cub and an adult. Whereas Akina's sounded just like a lioness from the movie would, his sounded more like squeaks in comparison. Secondly, they actually had a concept of Stranger-Danger here ? He had made that last part up !

"But you didn't know Mheetu a while ago, did you ?" Akina continued. Abdul shook his head. "Yet now you're speaking to him just fine. Pray tell, what changed ?" Her tone was more akin to a parent teaching a child … Wait a minute.

"That's, that's because I spent time with him and got to know him." Abdul replied.

Akina's smile didn't wane. "But in that case, can't you do the same thing with me, as well ?" Had … Had he just been, essentially, outplayed by -what he was very sure was- a figment of his imagination ? Her smile widened in turn. He really had been !

And the thing was, he had no reason to refuse. He really wanted to know her better. From what he could remember, there was no lioness called Akina in the movie. Though that could have just been one of the unnamed background-lions.

"S-sure. I guess I could do that." He said. Akina seemed to brighten up at that, and lifted her right paw in front of him. Abdul was confused at first, but then he saw Mheetu from the corner of his eye waving his paw. He understood, and lifted his own paw, lightly brushing Akina's from top to down.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Akina." Abdul smiled back, before offering his right paw in return. Akina actually chuckled at that.

"Such a little gentlelion." She carefully brushed his paw with hers in return. "Nice to meet you too, Abdul." Abdul mentally patted himself on the back, glad to not have messed the paw-greet up.

"I guess it's safe to assume that you aren't from here, are you Abdul ?" Abdul shook his head. "If you don't mind me asking then, what pride did you come from ?"

Before Abdul could think of a good answer, Mheetu cut in. " Get this, Mrs Akina ! Abdul and his parents are nomads ! Isn't that cool ?" He spoke excitedly.

Akina did not look excited hearing that. In fact, she looked worried. "Nomads ? But then, where are your parents ?" Uh-oh, that didn't sound good.

"Um, they're out hunting. They told me to stay around here, until they get back."

"No, I mean …" She sighed. "I don't mean to sound rude, Abdul. But why are you here ? You know these are the Pridelands, don't you ?" Abdul did not like the sound of that. It seemed like the Pridelands lions did not take kindly to strangers, after all.

"I uh …" What could he say, in order to save his ass ? The only reason he got here was because of … 'The ceremony ! That's it !' It was worth a shot, he supposed.

"That would be because of me. We heard about the ceremony of the king's son, and I just couldn't help myself. I had never seen such a ceremony before ! I practically begged them to come here !" He answered, only slightly lying and exaggerating, this time.

Akina seemed somewhat relieved, yet at the same time exasperated at hearing that. She groaned. "Mufasa told Zazu and the others not to spread word far away from the Kingdom ! We barely have enough room for ourselves !" She exclaimed, though it seemed like she was talking to herself, more than anyone else.

Abdul became somewhat uncertain. "I-I can leave if you want-"

Akina appeared to realise what she was insinuating with her words. She cut him off hastily. "Oh, no ! No ,no, little one ! I didn't mean it like that !" She calmed herself, before continuing. "The King had decreed the Pridelands to be open to any outsiders, who wanted to witness the Prince's ceremony."

'Wait, they actually did that ?' Again, he had made that whole thing up ! Not that he would correct them. He wasn't about to look at a gift horse -or was it lion now ?- in the mouth.

Akina continued. "Normally, they're supposed to leave the moment such ceremonies end. But, as you might understand, a lot more animals decide to stay here, rather than leave. Which can cause lots of problems. So, he also told his messengers not to spread the word too far away. But no, you're more than welcome here, Abdul. Your parents included."

'Whew. That's a relief. Except for that last part.' He was worried he might have to make a run for it, for a second there. And he didn't like his odds.

"Yayy !" Mheetu jumped in, hearing that. "Trust me, Abdul. You're gonna love it here ! We're gonna have so much fun."

Akina giggled at that. "I think you've already had plenty of fun." She said, pointing at the dirt covering parts of Mheetu's and Abdul's coats.

"Oh, right." Mheetu said sheepishly. Even Abdul looked somewhat embarrassed. He had never gotten this dirty, while playing. He subconsciously rubbed his face, clearing away a bit of dirt. If his foster-parents saw him now, they'd be livid.

"I guess I should … Hey, wait a minute ! Why don't you come with us back to Pride Rock ?" Mheetu looked at him excitedly.

Abdul froze at that. Him ? Going to Pride Rock ? Seeing the center of his favourite movie, up close and personal ? That was, like, a dream come true ! Which was incredibly ironic, given his current circumstance.

But at the same time, he wasn't so sure. So many things had gone differently, from the events of the film he knew and loved. What made him so sure that the same thing wouldn't happen there ? What if this Pride Rock wasn't really like the one he was familiar with ?

"I uh … I'm not really sure, Mheetu. What if …" What could he use as an excuse ? "... what if my … my parents get back. What if I'm not here ?"

"Oh come oon ! Please, Abdul ! I promise, you'll be back here, before your parents return ! They won't even know you're gone !" Abdul was about to throw a rebuttal. "Pleeaase !"

Damn it, why was he making this harder than it needed to be ? He felt like he was about to kick a puppy. Or like a puppy kicking another puppy, given his current form. Why was his pleading working at all ? What was wrong with him ?

"Abdul." Akina stepped in. "I promise you, nothing bad will happen to you. I'll be by your side the whole time. And when your parents get back, I'll bring you to them. Okay ?" She stated, clearly hoping to convince him to go with them.

'Yeah, good luck with that last part.' Still, Abdul might not have fully trusted her. But he trusted her a lot more now, than she did before. And certainly more than anyone else here, with the exception of Mheetu.

Not to mention, even if this turned out to be a hallucination after all, when would he ever get another chance to see Pride Rock up close. The bragging rights from that alone would be worth it ! Even if only he knew about it.

"Alright." Abdul eventually relented.

"Woohoo !" Mheetu cheered and jumped around a little. Even Akina beamed, her ears perked up, and a toothy grin could now be seen.

"Come on ! I'll show you around ! We must hurry !" Mheetu started running towards Pride Rock. Akina got off the ground, turning towards Abdul.

"Trust me, Abdul. You won't regret this." She smiled at him.

Wow, seeing their joyful reactions, Abdul actually began looking forward to this. He got up as well, that peculiar instinct from before coming back once again. And once again, he opted to let it guide him.

"Oh, and one more thing." Akina's words prompted him to stop and look up at her.

Before he had any chance to react, a warm, wet tongue suddenly licked his face, from down to up, leaving his face covered in saliva. He was too stunned by that, to notice the specks of dirt falling off his face, and onto the ground.

"You had a little dirt on you. You really should tell your mother to bathe you more often. It looks bad on your coat." She giggled at his lack of a reaction. Then gave his forehead one final, quick lick. "Welcome to the Pridelands." She then turned back and began to walk towards Pride Rock.

For a few seconds, Abdul simply stood there, absolutely stupefied. A lioness. Something that he was still somewhat certain was merely an elaborate figment of his imagination. Had just licked him. In the face. And he had actually felt it.

'What ? The ? Absolute ? F-'

"Come on ! Hurry up !" Mheetu's yelling broke him out of his stupor.

"Okay. Scratch that. I am definitely visiting a psychiatrist when I get back home." Abdul whispered to himself.

Abdul proceeded to quickly rub his face with the carpal part of his paw -not the rest of it, who knew what he had stepped on until now-. When he was somewhat certain that his face didn't drip of saliva, he sprinted after the pair, trying to catch up.

So far, things had progressed a lot differently than what he had first expected.

Translation(s)

ya Allah : by God

Jahannam : Hell

fee sabi-lillah : for God's sake