Rifts in the Ice: A Lion King Story

Chapter Seven

Simba lay prone under cover, waiting instinctively alert. Dry, brown leaves concealed his form, irritating his fur. The snow, collecting itself cold in blankets of cloud, floated on down into a pile, concealing the cub further. Simba smiled, enjoying the extra advantage.

But one thing he didn't enjoy was all the waiting. How long had he been under these leaves? How much longer could he stay here? Their prickly tips itched his fur, sweltered his body. Given another half-hour and the young cub would fall asleep, miss his shot. But as his eyes started waning, the purpose of this sneaking finally emerged: a brown rabbit, darting hither and tither, nose probing the air.

Simba squinted his eyes, flexed his shoulders. As the unsuspecting prey approached, the cub held his breath to escape anxiety. He'd missed two targets from earlier; he had to nail this one.

The rabbit hopped closer, as close as Simba could allow. With his chest heavy and his heart throbbing like a pulsing headache, the young prince pounced out of his cover, exploding snow and leaves.

His prey panicked, stuttered in place. But by the time it realized what was happening, it had already happened. Simba clamped down on the rabbit's form, wrung its body limp. Then, when he was sure the rabbit was dead, he gleefully trotted back to the path, a light skip in his step.

Nia lay on a nearby bank, washing herself. She blinked when she noticed Simba approaching. The young lion dropped the rabbit at her feet.

"Breakfast," he said, beaming.

Nia smiled. "Well done, Simba!" She nuzzled him. "Our ways of hunting suit you."

The cub returned the affection before brushing off remaining flecks of leaf still clinging to his fur. "I got to admit, though," he said. "Why not stalk the prey instead of waiting in ambush? That's how my pride hunted."

Nia lifted her head. "If there's one thing I've learned out here, Simba, it's that the unexpected strikes best whenever your guard is down."

Simba rolled his eyes.

"I know that sounds obvious, but there's much truth in it." An eerie wind moaned over the mountains, shivered the trees. Nia had spent the whole morning training Simba on how to hide, how to conserve his strength. Her philosophy was why spend precious energy chasing down your food when it can wander into your trap, saving you time? Let the prey be stupid, you stay smart. And so, despite his doubts, Simba listened, lying low and coating himself white with snow. But his brownish, gold fur stuck out in places, giving away the trap, and so Nia had the cub adjust. Instead of snow, Simba burrowed under the leaves, some sticks, whatever worked best at concealing his presence. And even though the waiting game was long, Simba emerged victorious. Maybe there was more wisdom in this worldview than Simba gave credit for?

"But what's wrong with chasing down your prey sometimes?"

Nia looked back at Simba. "From where you come from, I'm sure it's not an issue. You have clear lines of sight in the savannah, viewpoints covering miles of open turf." Nia motioned a paw towards the forest. "But here, we don't have that. Our sight is blotched with mountains, hills, and thick pine. And even when these trees shed their greenery, our view is still crippled."

Simba shrugged and nodded. Such trunks were thick.

The female snow leopard continued. "Were you to chase prey through this land, you might catch it; I'm not saying you wouldn't. But there are several dangers lying in wait, and we both know what lurks outside our territory. What if the little rabbit led you straight out of our protective realm, distracting you?"

Her words spiked Simba's nerves worried. Sensing the poor cub's unease, Nia stroked his back. "I know our ways of hunting may seem unorthodox but keep practicing." Nia gently pinched his cheek. "You'll master it in no time."

Simba smiled. "Okay, Nia." He nudged his kill towards her feet.

"Oh, sweetie, no! That's for you."

"But I want you to eat it. I can just go hunt another one."

"No need for that!"

Simba and Nia turned to see Karina standing on a hill, smirking. The sun's glimmering rays bathed her in a hammy magnificence, and the wind blustered her fur like some epic hero's mane. It was an over-the-top performance, one Karina whole heartily milked as she walked slowly and purposefully down the hill, three dead rabbits lying on her back.

"The mighty and benevolent Karina has hunted game aplenty." She reached the pair and plucked one of the rabbits from her back. "And I will generously share them with my starving companions."

Nia bowed low. "My hero!"

Simba cocked an eyebrow and frowned.

"Hey, don't give me the jealous stink eye!" Karina said, pawing Simba's shoulder. "I've been doing this my whole life. You just started."

"How much longer until we get to the council?" Simba asked, changing the subject.

The trio had traversed the snow leopard territories for some time. Come morning, they hunted. Late in the evening, they rested, and this pattern repeated over the last three days, turning Simba restless. And what was worse, the cub knew the effects of Radimir's special fruit would soon wear off. If they didn't reunite with the bear in time, the weather would resume its nippy nature. For Simba, at least.

As the group ate the rabbits, Nia assured the young prince they were close, a day's march. So, Simba hurried with his meal, urging the others to do the same. And, after a quick clean up from Nia, they were all on their way again.

Simba marveled at the mountains as they trekked up a slope. He could live in this place for a hundred years and still not grow used to their colossal nature. They were masterpieces of space, magnificent to behold, and Pride Rock was nothing compared to them. How epic would it be to rule the land from their vantage points?

A splat of snow careened with Simba's face, snapping him back to the now. Spinning towards its source, Simba glared at a laughing Karina. Then, he jolted towards his friend, suffering more hurled snowballs before reaching her. Leaping, Simba managed to pin Karina on the first try. He gloated down at her, saying, "Now, what you going to do?"

But Karina leaned up with a mischievous smirk and licked his chin. Simba recoiled with a grunt and rubbed away the kiss, giving the snow leopard her window of escape. She swung out from under her friend, and dunked his head in the snow before sprinting away.

"You're too easy," she called back. But Simba rose up and shook himself free of the clingy snowflakes before resuming the chase.

The two cubs ran circles around Nia's figure, weaving between her legs. Simba pounced again but missed, landing on the snow leopard mother's front paw. Nia stopped in place as Karina dashed up her back.

"Ha! You can't touch me up here," the snow leopard cub said, her breath rattling. But before Simba could react, Nia caught her daughter by the scruff and held her out, winking. The lion cub winked back and gathered his own snowball arsenal. Karina swung her paws like a gorilla flexing its strength. She accused her mother of treason, demanded her immediate release, but Nia's grip held strong. Taking aim, Simba turned his tormentor into the tormented.

"Hey," Karina sputtered, laughing as the pitched snow splattered her fur wet. "Hey, hey! This isn't fair! Alright? I – help! Help!" Simba kept at it. "Someone help! I've been framed!"

After a rich minute of delicious payback, Simba ceased fire, and Nia lowered her daughter. Karina's body sparkled with icy flakes. Her fur stood up in places, and her paws shivered from the onslaught of cold. Now, it was her turn to glare at Simba.

"You started it," the lion cub said, laughing. Nia licked her daughter's fur clean.

"What goes around," she whispered, finishing her work.

"Well…" Karina turned towards her mother. "If I'd known my own flesh and blood would betray me, I-"

"Hey, what's that?"

Everyone looked in the direction Simba pointed. Before them, the wide, snowy slope game way to a rising, narrow path of rock and cliff. It hugged the side of the mountain and snaked its way around an outcropped bend. The heavy air, so compact you could chisel it, moaned its way towards the three felines, and Simba suddenly felt fear delving down his legs.

"Are we walking up there?" The cub asked.

Nia nodded. "This trail is one of the few available to us within the territory. We must ascend it."

Simba didn't need to peak over the side to know how high they were, how far a fall would be. "Is there really no other way?"

"Any alternatives will take us outside of our protected land. That'll put us at risk for encountering the Yeti." Nia lifted both Simba and Karina onto her back. "Don't worry, little one. Just hold steady, and I'll take us through to safety."

Karina patted Simba on the back. "Mom's really good at navigating paths like these. We'll be fine."

The female snow leopard moved onto the route, its edges sleeved with ice. A few rocks broke loose and tumbled below her steps. And the wind voiced new moans as if prematurely lamenting their deaths from a plummet. Simba dug his claws into Karina's form, a tick clasping its source of life, and the female leopard flinched.

"Not so tight, Simba," she said, bending her head around with a reassuring look. "You're alright."

Simba gritted his teeth, a poor gathering of bravery, but loosed his grip a bit. Out the corner of his vision, he could make out a red tint coloring Karina's cheek, and the poor cub couldn't tell if it was from the cold or her holding back laughter. In the moment, he wasn't brave enough to look.

Nia resumed her pace, a slow, calculated stride, like stepping on cracked ice. But as she approached the bend in the trail, a new fear struck Simba harder than a finger – stab to the collar bone. How would the other snow leopards react to a runaway lion cub from some distant land? What would they do? Would they accept him like Nia and Karina? Suspect him like Radimir for a time? Or would they manipulate and harm him like that Yavick character? Simba peeked out at the land below, a looming collection of naked trees, spiked and pointing like the back of a porcupine. Ever since he arrived to this place, Simba discovered new ways to fall. Having already fallen from grace thanks to his actions at the gorge, he fell for Yavick's tricks, fell away from Radimir's anger, and, sometimes, found himself falling for Karina. But these leopards sounded desperate, eager to avert their own downfall as expected. Should Simba prove himself useful to them, maybe everything would work out. Until he knew for sure, he'd be anticipating the hour of approach like a fish anticipated predators stalking its waterfall.

The group of felines rounded the bend, revealing a canyon lying deep and dark below. Its thick walls shelved layers of ice, and its top surface ran flat, walkable. But as Simba saw what stood on its highest ledge, his insides flinched.

"Hello there, my friend," Yavick called out. Two white Yeti flanked him, and on his face stretched a crescent smile, slicing Simba's heart like a moon slicing night. Nia's whole body jerked tense, harsh snarls crawling out her throat, and Karina likewise growled.

Yavick patted the shoulders of his companions, and they reached down to the ice, pulling up shards as easily as peeling bark off a tree. Once they'd collected an arm's load of the sharp stuff, Yavick looked back at the group.

"I assure all three of you: I don't plan these chance meetings. I just take advantage of them."

"How're you here?" Simba asked, his voice ringing with dread.

Yavick shrugged. "You can blame my parents for that."

Simba blinked and made a face. "I meant: how did you find us? I don't have your stupid symbol anymore!"

"Why don't you come on down here, and I'll tell you."

Simba inched back, saying, "No thanks!"

"Simba's staying with us!" Karina added. "Go monkey around somewhere else!"

Nia picked up her pace. "Hold on, children!" She said, doing her best to cover ground, but the ledge was too narrow, its end still far off. Yavick would maintain a visual of them for some time.

The bipedal creature released a savory laugh, tasting the situation's delicious opportunity. "More fun for my servants." Yavick patted their shoulders again. "They love a chance to sharpen their skills." He turned his head between the both of them. "Impale the young lion, and I'll send your souls back to the abyss."

The fair Yetis stepped closer and took aim. Using their arms as ballistae, the vile creatures bombarded the opposing side with large icicles. Shards of frost and freezing mist exploded upon impact. Fragments of ice showered the group of felines sliced, cutting their pelts bloody. Nia winced as one of the freezing blades cut her forearm deep. She bent forward from the pain, nearly careening the cubs off her back.

"You monsters!" The mother leopard shouted. The Yeti threw more icicles into the mountain, crashing chunks of sharp cold down onto the path. Some sections of ledge took a heavy hit, and Simba heard the muffled, deadly sound of ice breaking. This narrow corridor wouldn't last much longer.

The cub barred razor teeth, his anger flailing like a bush fire. Karina cried into her mother's back, and Nia verbally assaulted the Yeti with curses. A new round of icicles crashed with the ice, and Nia moved the two cubs below her belly, shielding them from the bladed rain's onslaught. But the snow leopard's fur trickled sticky with blood, and her eyes grew heavy with the burden of pain. A few ice shards struck Karina in the paw, and she cried into her mother's leg. Simba couldn't take this anymore.

Forgetting his fear of the heights, his worry of meeting the other snow leopards, and the terror Yavick secreted himself, Simba dashed out from under Nia's body. His paw prints were quick, prodding swiftly over the snow. His gaze lay fixed on the path's end ahead. If the Yeti wanted him so badly, they'd have to draw their missiles away from the leopards and towards his figure, hopefully sparing his friends of any more abuse. What's more, if he cleared the skinny trek, perhaps the Yeti would chase after him, forgetting Nia and Karina entirely. It was a long shot, but Simba had to do something.

The missiles did indeed chase after the cub, whistling through the air, piercing everything punctured. Yavick shouted harsh reprimands, scolding his minions for their shoddy aim. But as Simba leaped over a stray, icy spear, aimed right for his leg, the projectile's impact with the mountain released clotted snow from within, the same way a predator's tooth released blood out a victim. The rapid flurries waterfalled into the young cub, bleeding themselves out in wild avalanches. And as they dragged Simba's body under their bulk, over the edge, the last thing the cub heard was Nia and Karina screaming his name. But the snow swallowed him in white currents, hazing his vision blurry with cold, and gravity's plunge sent his body tumbling down towards the canyon's abyss, down towards the endless darkness, towards what the cub was sure to be his doom.