Chapter 13

Scar was ready to murder Rafiki.

"Excuse me," the baboon gave Shenzi a sour look as he came round the corner, "But 'that monkey' has a name."

Growling, Shenzi seemed to make a snappy comment back when a bewildered Molly of all people beat her to it.

"Rafiki?! You barely gave me any time! What the hell are you doing here?"

"You knew he was coming?" Scar stood.

Blushing, Molly nodded, "Well...yeah...he came to me out in the fields, after we fought..."

Scar closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He found Rafiki irritating, but the monkey was responsible for letting Molly be with him. The least he could do was listen to what he had come so far to say.

Bowing low, Rafiki answered Molly, "I'm sorry, I meant to give you more time, but the wind and the stars told me I must speak with you as urgently as possible."

"What message have you brought?" Scar settled back onto his haunches next to Molly.

"An unwanted visitor has come to the Pridelands, Scar."

Scoffing, Scar shrugged, "Then why are you telling me? Why don't you go report this to Mufasa? He's King, it's his duty to-"

"This particular visitor isn't unwanted to your brother, Scar," Rafiki gave him a meaningful look that made Scar's blood run cold.

"Scar?" Molly rubbed a cheek against his shoulder, obviously sensing the change in him, "Scar, what's wrong?"

Scar didn't answer her, he only had eyes and ears for Rafiki right now, "What do you know, Rafiki?"

The baboon looked round at the hyenas nervously, "Maybe we should speak privately?"

Nodding, Scar turned to go up to the cliff he'd shown Molly the night before. Rafiki would be able to scale the cliff with no problem, and the hyenas didn't dare follow. They understood the sanctity of the spot, "Molly, stay here."

"What?" she growled indignantly.

"Stay HERE," he ordered.

Looking as if she was about to argue again, Molly looked to Rafiki for support, but the baboon shook his head. Rolling her eyes and huffing, Molly turned away without a second glance for Scar.

Damn the monkey. He'd ruined a perfectly good moment and now Scar had to separate himself from Molly. Rafiki had better have decent information.

...

Molly stomped off down into the graveyard, not really paying attention to where she was going. Banzai and Shenzi were suddenly on either side of her, Ed trailing behind, grinning at everything.

"What do you guys want?" Molly snapped, instantly regretting being short with them, "Sorry," she heaved a sigh, "I guess I'm just..."

"Hungry?" Banzai offered kindly.

Giving a short laugh, Molly nodded, "Yeah, sorry bout that earlier."

Shenzi shrugged, "It's alright, we're not exactly pros ourselves," she exchanged a look with Banzai that Molly couldn't read. Ed laughed inanely behind her.

"The three of you have been with Scar for a while?"

Another look, then, "I guess," Shenzi leaned back to scratch an ear, "I guess it's going on forty moons now?"

Molly did the math in her head and came up with something close to three years. It didn't seem like a long time, but then again, she knew lions matured faster and lived shorter lives than humans. The idea scared her for a moment.

"The boss left Mufasa's pride early," Banzai offered, "After their mother died."

"Their mother? What about their father?"

Even Ed stopped smiling for a moment. Shenzi shook her head, "King Nemean was the reason Scar left the pride."

"Oh," Molly had no idea what to say to that. She had figured Scar's family life couldn't have been great if he'd chosen to leave, but she'd originally chalked it up to normal lion behavior. She'd assumed Scar had left to start his own pride like any other male lion usually did. Obviously he'd been through a bit more than she'd originally thought.

"What about you?" Banzai asked a question she'd truly been dreading, "Where's your pride? Lioness' don't normally travel alone."

"I...I was held captive by humans," she decided to use the same lie she'd told Sarabi, "I was released and Scar found me. He's been helping me get back on my feet."

"Hmm," Shenzi mused, watching her carefully, "Lucky for you he happened across you."

"Yeah, definitely," Molly smiled, trying to not look suspicious, "Just like he was lucky to find you I guess."

Scoffing, Banzai nibbled at his leg before saying, "Well, until you came along, we probably wouldn't have said so. Er- I mean...please don't tell him I said that," he looked truly scared.

"I won't...what exactly was he like before I came?"

This time the look they exchanged was obvious. They really didn't want to talk to her about this.

Ed chuckled from behind and she turned to see him watching a group of pups wrestling. Turning back to her, Ed gave her a big goofy grin, his tongue lolling out of one side of his mouth. Moving closer, he snuggled up against her side happily.

"The boss was...more agitated," Shenzi was choosing her words carefully, "When he first came, we had to watch out for the pups. We were worried he'd eat them. He never did," she added quickly, "But...lions and hyenas don't normally get along. We thought he must be either crazy or sick. Either way, we kept our distance."

"Then he started bringing kills home," Banzai interjected, "It wasn't much. Usually only a leg or half an antelope, most of the good parts chewed off already, but he always made sure it got spread around. He's never been talkative or really approachable, but the free grub was always a welcome sight."

Nodding happily, Ed gave a short, crazed laugh and Banzai said, "Oh yeah, he's good security too. Keeps other lions away. We don't have to worry about Sarabi and her hunting parties as long as we stay out of the Pridelands. Used to be they'd actively hunt us down, even here."

"So, he's a good leader?" Molly felt like Scar didn't sound too bad, not in a way that would support the hyenas fear of him.

"Well," hesitation again as they judged whether they should be telling her this or not, "We wouldn't say he was a BAD leader. Mufasa's more dangerous to us than he is, but..." Shenzi looked to Banzai.

"He's still a lion," Banzai finished.

"Until you came," Shenzi continued, "He never really did anything to act like we were family, or his pride. I think he just couldn't stand to be alone, so he tolerated us."

Blinking and glancing back up towards the tall rock tower, Molly wondered to herself who exactly Scar was and what had made him that way.

...

The climb up the cliff was silent save for the soft klunk of the gourds on Rafiki's staff. Reaching the top, Scar settled himself and waited patiently for the baboon to catch up.

Lifting himself over the edge, Rafiki let out a whistle, "Almost as good a view as Pride Rock."

Bristling, Scar growled, "Get on with it, monkey."

Glaring, Rafiki settled himself on a boulder, crossed his legs, and said, "You should take Molly to your brother as soon as possible. It's not safe for her to be out here."

Narrowing his eyes, Scar asked, "Did Sarabi put you up to this?"

"Scar, I know you don't have many reasons to trust me, but believe me when I say this has nothing to do with your brothers summons. There's a true danger out here that the two of you would be better off not facing alone."

"Speak plainly, Rafiki," Scar felt a pain start behind his eyes, "I'm not in the mood to play at riddles with you."

"Pacha's returned."

Scar felt the world fall out from underneath him. There was no way. The monkey had to have it wrong. Pacha was dead. "You KNOW this to be true?"

Rafiki shrugged, "The winds seldom lie. There's a very slim chance I read them wrong, but that is also a rarity. I...wouldn't have come all the way out here if I was unsure, Scar."

Feeling panic sweep over his body for a moment, Scar quickly composed himself and hardened his gaze, "So you want me to run to my brother, tail tucked between my legs, asking for sanctuary?"

Eyes widening, Rafiki bared his long canines, "I want you to take Molly somewhere she'll be safe, Scar. Whether you have to swallow your pride and deal with Mufasa cordially is your own concern."

"Hmph," Scar gazed towards Pride Rock lazily, "Thank you for bringing me this information, Rafiki. I'll be sure to tell my brother when we finally go to see him."

"Scar, don't be stupid. There's only one reason Pacha would bother coming back, and you know it."

"Yes, and he will know where to find me, whether I return to Pride Rock or not. I do not need my brother's pity or protection."

"But Molly-"

"Is safe with ME!" Scar leapt to his feet, roaring.

Watching him in silence for a moment, Rafiki sighed sadly, "As you wish, Scar," lowering himself from the boulder, he turned to go, then hesitated, "I'll go say my goodbyes to Molly."

Tail lashing behind him, Scar glared at the monkey's retreating back. Once he was sure he was gone, he let the facade slip and allowed the fear to creep back into his heart. Looking to Pride Rock, he considered for a moment. Rafiki was most likely right. Molly WOULD be safer with his brother's Pride, but if he couldn't protect her himself, why would she want to stay with him?

Eyes raising to the stars, Scar fought down the urge to call up to them. He knew what the answer would be.

Silence.

Omg, I bet your heads are about to explode! Two chapters in one night after FOUR YEARS of inactivity? Hehe, hopefully it's still just as enjoyable to read as the previous half a decade. ;) Starting to actually insert the plot I had planned ages ago! Woohoo! Not a lot of gooiness between Scar and Molly in this one, but I figured there's plenty of time for that. :D