Edwin P.O.V.
It was a regular Monday morning when I entered the lab after a relaxing weekend with Jasiri. I resumed my usual lab work for my research. My colleagues and I were chatting with each other as we worked on our individual tasks. It was a pretty routine day for the most part with our work, lunch break and more research work.
At one point that was closer to the end of the day, I was writing an analysis on some data I collected earlier today that I had written in my lab notebook earlier.
I was a little thirsty and decided to refill my reusable water bottle, but the sink in our lounge is being repaired at the moment so I decided to go to the water fountain near the restrooms and the nearest back staircase. I left my office, and exited my department to head into the main hallway of the upper level of the museum. As I was walking, I had the strange feeling that I was being followed for some reason. I turned around and just saw a few tourists going the same and opposite direction as me, and I thought I saw Kion by the railing, staring down to the main floor. I then continued to walk in the direction towards the water fountain as I continued to hear footsteps from behind me. Then I approached the water fountain to refill my bottle and the fountain seemed to be working alright.
I soon noticed the sounds of the footsteps behind me started to slowly get louder and louder. I continued to fill my water bottle until it was completely full, after which I stopped the fountain and placed the cap on my water bottle. I was going to head back to my department…..but as I turned around…..I saw that Kion was right behind me….I guess now I know where the footsteps came from.
As I saw him, he had an angry expression on his face, his eyes seemed to follow me even when I tried to edge towards directions away from him and I thought that I could slowly hear him breathe.
"What do you want Kion?" I asked slowly with a hint of irritation.
"Ohhhhhh….YOU REALLY FUCKED UP THIS TIME MARCONI!" Kion said, yelling the last half angrily to my face.
"It's Mariani, and why the hell did you-" I was saying until Kion interrupted me.
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE HOW YOUR LAST NAME IS PRONOUNCED YOU PIECE OF SHIT! First you steal Jasiri and any chance of us getting back together, and now your manipulative mother somehow convinced my mother that she's gay for some reason. Ever since you came here…you were tearing apart everything me and my family has built….and now you got your mother involved in your little schemes. YOU FUCKING TORE MY FAMILY APART YOU BASTARD!" Kion yelled at me angrily as he walked towards me and I was slowly backing up. Plus, I think that one or two tourists were starting to look at us. I was also getting a little mad at him for both insulting my mother, blaming me for things that I was not a part of, and not even taking himself into account of his abuse towards Jasiri.
"Woah…..Fist of all, I did not steal Jasiri from you, both of us consensually decided to date each other, and based on what she and others told me, why would she EVER go back to someone that abused he physically and emotionally like some kind of punching bag. I was also told you did the same with your ex wife Rani and-" I was saying before Kion interrupted.
"OH PLEASE….You believe the stuff those two hags?! You are just as stupid as everybody else! Rani is just a manipulative hag that would do and say anything to get attention, while Jasiri is just a delusional puppy who just needs to be taught and controlled into the right direction, and I was getting there with Jasiri until Makuu unpleasantly convinced her to break up with me and broke my nose in the process. And I was about to execute my full proof plan to convince her to cancel her bullshit restraining order on me and we can get back together as we belonged…that was until YOU showed up to the museum and RUINED EVERYTHING!" Kion yelled, which made me get angrier.
"OKAY…THAT'S IT! NO ONE CALLS MY GIRLFRIEND A HAG YOU ASSHOLE! And man, you are clearly even more DELUSIONAL than I initially thought because first of all, YOU were the one who physically and emotionally abused her. Jasiri has shown me photos of the bruises you gave her then, along with the scar on her lower back…..she and multiple other people had told me that they saw similar if not the same bruising and wounds on Rani while you two were still married. Second of all, Makuu was defending her from you….YOU WERE THE THREAT…..Makuu sees Jasiri as a daughter so of course he would try to defend her. And neither her or anyone showed any sign that she had ANY interest in getting back together with you in this lifetime and dimension. In fact, she said at one point that she would rather be hit by a bus than EVER get back together with you EGOTISTICAL JACK-!" I yelled as I noticed that a larger crowd was forming around us.
"YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO INSULT ME WITH SUCH VULGAR LANGUAGE!? I WAS A GODDAMN KING OF THE TREE OF LIFE YOU PUNNY LITTLE BASTARD! And really!? Trying to explain away your side with a long story. You are just as manipulative as your mother. Somehow, she convinced my mother to choose to be gay rather than stay in a loving marriage to my dad." Kion yelled, interrupting me.
"And another thing, I don't appreciate you referring to my mother as manipulative…..Plus, your mother did not choose to be gay, she was born gay and had known since she was a cub but was pressured to hide it due to the Pride Lands being ignorant and sometimes even closed-minded about same-sex couples. My mom was just helping her get the courage to come out of the closet. And besides, from what I heard, your dad was far from this 'Mr. Perfect King' behind the throne….or rock…..you get my point. With his multiple affairs in both the Pride Lands and human world, arrogant, stubborn and kind of impulsive to some degree. Even if in the case your mother was heterosexual, she is too good for you father and he should have never been with him in the first place and-" I said, but before I could finish what I am saying, Kion aggressively grabbed my arms and pushed me against the wall. I then saw the crowd become even larger, hearing audible reactions from them as soon as I touched the wall….then all I saw was the fury in Kion's eyes as his face started to move closely to mine.
"NO ONE DARES SLANDER MY FATHER LIKE THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD! HE IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE OUR TRUE KING! I DON'T CARE IF WE'RE NOT IN THE PRIDE LANDS ANYMORE AND I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT DEMOCRACY, I DON'T FOLLOW DEMOCRACY, THE ONLY THING I FUCKING FOLLOW IS THE WORD OF MY FATHER, THE ONE TRUE KING. AND I ALSO FOLLOW MYSELF WHO WAS ALSO A KING! AND YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO MY DAD TOO SINCE HE IS ALSO YOUR BOSS! YOU LISTEN TO ME AND YOU LISTEN TO ME GOOD! MY PARENTS HAD A GOOD THING GOING FOR THEM AND YOU FUCKING RUINED IT YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF SHIT!" Kion yelled.
I was getting worried because he seemed to mean business. He seems clearly delusional with rage, and that is not a good combination. He then raised one hand and ball it into a fist while he kept the other on my torso to pin me against the wall.
He is definitely going to punch me….but all the sudden I heard something.
"HEY! WHAT'S GOING- KION WHAT THE HELL!?" a familiar voice sounded.
I was about to turn around until I saw that Beshte came in, grabbed Kion's fist and pushed him away from me with other security guards pulling him back.
"KION STOP!" Fuli said while pulling Kion away from me.
"YEAH, WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU THIS TIME!?" Anga said while she, Fuli and two other security officials assisting as Kion finally got off me and then walked towards the top of the stairs while still staring at me in an angry fashion.
"Edwin are you okay?!" Beshte said checking up on me while other security officials were either monitoring Kion or facilitating the crowd…..Though I did see one security person, I think it was that guy Bunga, didn't really do anything, he just stared at the scene with a blank expression on his face for some reason.
"Yeah, I'm fine now. I was just out here refilling my water bottle and then all the sudden Kion appeared and…" I was saying until something caught my eye.
From the crowd I also saw Kovu approach Beshte and I from the crowd.
"Hey what's going on? Edwin, are you okay?" Kovu asked.
"Yeah I'm okay, I was explaining to Beshte that I was out here because I was refiling my water bottle when I started to hear a pair of footsteps behind me and all the sudden Kion appeared and started berating me for allegedly 'stealing' Jasiri from him and also blaming me for the dissolution of my parents marriage because Nala is dating my mom now…." I replied.
"Nala's dating your mom? What are you…Wait? Did Nala…?" Beshte was asking before I chipped in.
"Yeah, Nala came out as a lesbian to Jasiri and I a few weeks ago. And she is now dating my mother through a series of events I initially didn't know about." I replied.
"Oh yeah, Nala came out to Kiara, Vitani and I over the weekend. She and Julia told us that when she came out to Kion….it did not go well. From what Kiara and I were told from Nala, after she came out to him with her whole story via FaceTime, he just berated her and he kept insisting her to get back together with his dad, along with insisting that she was 'confused' or that she was 'just going through a phase'. He seemed to be just as homophobic and ignorant on LGBTQIA+ identity and sexuality. I guess when he found out Julia is your mother, he decided to try to take out his frustrations on you. Fortunately, his attempt failed." Kovu said.
"Man, what a bigoted asshole…..and to his own mother too." I replied.
"Yeah, I can't believe that was what he has evolved to. I swore that he was a different individual back in the Pride Lands, but I'm not sure what happened to him since then for him to become like this." Beshte said.
Beshte then turned to the other security officials who were watching Kion to discuss how they should handle Kion.
"So guys, what do you think we should do? Should we escort him to Human Resources/." Beshte asked.
"You know what Beshte?! You don't need to escort me like a child! I'll go to Rafiki's damn office myself!" Kion said.
"Okay but security will make sure to follow you so that you will go to Human Resources." Beshte replied.
"Man, I can't believe I've been subdued and bossed around by the cowardice wimp who intentionally shot himself in the foot because he got 'overwhelmed' and couldn't handle the army. And you were once the 'Pride Lands Strongest'? More like the Pride Lands Whiniest as far as I am concerned." Kion berated.
"Hey, that is not relevant to what's going on right now. Plus it's none of your business. Can't believe you can be so insensitive." Beshte said sternly.
"Insensitive? Man, you are really oversensitive! You couldn't handle the army, whined about it, shot yourself in the foot and continued to whine about it called PTSD. Big whoop!" Kion retorted back.
At this point me, the former Pride Landers and the remaining individuals in the crowd were all shocked by his level of insensitivity.
"Are you kidding me?! You have become so immature and selfish! I don't even recognize the 'Pride Lands's Fiercest' anymore nor the King of the Tree of Life anymore….Oh wait, that's because they don't exist anymore. And you know that PTSD is a real condition right?! I think I actually might have developed it before our time in Afghanistan, and I think I might have developed early signs either after the coup or the drought. Plus I'm not the only person in the world that has PTSD." Beshte sternly replied.
"Yeah, you and a bunch of other whiners." Kion said.
"No….It's a real condition. Millions of people in the world have it or have experienced it at least once in their lifetime." I replied.
"Yeah Kion, you really need to stop living in the past Kion! Get the hell away from here and try to not bother Edwin, Beshte or anyone else here again!" Kovu said sternly.
"Okay…..I'll go downstairs…Man….You were once considered Scar and Zira's 'heir'?...more like Scar and Zira's wimp…You couldn't even take on a Ficus in a fight if that insane opportunity ever came up…." Kion said smugly then turning towards me.
"Oh…..and Edwin Marconi, Marani…uhhh..Macaroni? Whatever your last name is?! Don't think that this is going to be the last you are going to hear from me…You'll hear from me again…This isn't over." Kion said slowly, yet in a somewhat sinister tone and his piercing glare towards me.
Kion then soon slowly walked down the stairs as two security officials followed him. I then turned to Kovu and Beshte.
"Alright…..along with being biggoted…..I swear that Kion has serious problems!" I said.
"Yeah…..What the fuck is up with that guy?! I swore he was completely different when he was a full lion, along with his early years as a human. Outside his experiences serving in Afghanistan, I am not sure what else happened for him to turn into the individual he is now." Kovu said.
"Yeah, as you guys know there are multiple theories. Some think his experiences in the army changed him, some think that he changed during some points of his adjustment to the human world, and there are others who think that the treatments Kion received from Nirmla at the Tree of Life were not actual treatments but rather activities to divert us from discovering or looking into Nirmala and Surak's coup plans. In my opinion….I personally doubt whether Nirmala's treatments and activities for Kion were actually effective treatments for his condition at the time. Plus, I think that his experiences of insecurities in the human world and in the army just help him spiral even further." Beshte said.
"Yeah, I think his army experiences contributed a lot to that transition because that is when I started to see a more noticeable change in Kion's personality. Sure, I did notice some changes before that, but the changes were much more noticeable to me after he got discharged from the army." Kovu said.
Soon after Kion was escorted downstairs, we then headed back towards our respective workspaces until we saw colleagues from our workspaces and even Jasiri and Makuu were walking towards the three of heard commotion from the hallway or were texted about it from someone else and wondered what was going on. So, I explained the whole thing to them, and they seemed to be shocked and showed signs of concern.
It was a long week after that, I had to appear in Rafiki and Simba offices to describe the incident. Museum security and administration reported the testimonies of witnesses and people who were there during the incident. After a long conference in Simba's office a few hours later…shockingly Kion was NOT fired. I don't know how, but somehow, he avoided getting fired.
BUT….since the incident was in the museum, caused a public scene, and made museum staff look bad…Kion didn't completely avoid punishment.
At the end of the conference, Simba suspended Kion from his security duties for a week without pay, and he lost all security clearance of the entire upper floor, so after his suspension his security duties are completely restricted to the lower and main floors. He is no longer allowed in the upper floor where I work….on the bright side….Kion will be further from Jasiri and I during our work hours.
BUT….that was not all….when Simba suspended Kion and took away his security clearance of my floor….Simba also gave ME a warning since he heard I criticized him, which to him counts as slander against administration, but just gave me a warning since it was my 'first offense'.
I then explained it to others, including Jasiri, my colleagues from the lab and others. Many were surprised that Kion wasn't fired but weren't surprised that Kion got a lenient punishment based on his history and since the museum president is his dad.
After the incident with Kion on Monday, the rest of the week was pretty uneventful in comparison. On that Friday night, Jasiri and I had a casual dinner at my place. Before we ate, she had transformed into her anthro hyena form. We just talked about stuff that was going on this past week.
"Yeah, so outside the whole Kion incident it was a boring week. So far, I know that Kion's suspension lasts until Tuesday, and after that I know I would at least be safer on the upper floor that we work in since he is no longer allowed there…..but whenever I have to go down to the main or lower floors, it was recommended that at least one person accompanies me to avoid another incident with Kion." I said.
"I'm still shocked that Simba didn't fire Kion considering how he seems to care a lot about his public image. And though Kion did receive a punishment, I still didn't think that it was fair that he gave you a warning for what was virtually nothing other than disagreeing with him on something that was none of his business." Jasiri said as we both ate.
"Yeah, I got a feeling that like Kion, Simba is not particularly fond of me, but fortunately he can't fire me because I have done nothing to break regulations and Ma Tembo has mentioned nothing of concern that I know of." I replied.
"Yeah, and if he tried to fire you without valid cause, then you could potentially sue him, and I highly doubt Simba wants to bring in expensive lawyers to any of his conflicts. Also, have you heard about how Nala is doing after coming out to Kion?" Jasiri asked.
"Well, I talked with my mom, and she said that since coming out to Kiara, Kovu, and Vitani went well, Nala had potential hope of it helping reconnect with Kion…..but in fact it had the opposite effect with Kion refusing to accept his mother for her true self. According to my mom, Nala took Kion's disapproval seriously, but as time passed by, she moved on and a bunch of people, including us, told her that we will still be there for her. She's now moving on past her last interaction with Kion and focusing on the present. Also, I added an apology for telling Beshte, Ma Tembo, Simba and some of my concerned genetics lab colleagues about her dating my mom and being lesbian before she had the chance to do it herself, and she accepted my apology understanding that I had to reveal it amidst the whole Kion incident stuff." I replied.
"Well, that's good to hear." Jasiri replied.
"Yeah, and I was also not expecting Kion to make those remarks about Beshte's PTSD and army experiences." I said.
"I know right….I couldn't believe that Kion would be that insensitive to him considering that they were both in the army together. And even before the army, Beshte has actually gone through a lot when thinking about it. With his time in the Lion Guard, the Army of Scar battles, the Tree of Life coup, the Pride Lands drought, adjusting to the human world, and his time in the army in Afghanistan." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, he really is a brave individual. He tells me that he sees a psychologist at least once a week. He told me that occasionally he still has flashbacks and nightmares of some of his past experiences. He seems to be adjusting well based on what he has told me." I said.
"I get what he is going through….as you know I still have the occasional flashback from the chaos of the drought in the Outlands, and of all those I lost during that time. But I am doing comparatively better compared to years ago." Jasiri replied.
"I remember you telling me about that, for example there was that one time that you said you had a dream where your sister and former mate suddenly appeared in your living room." I said.
"Yeah, I remember that….though I still don't know whether that was a dream or some kind of hallucination. It was weird because I thought I felt and picked up shards of a broken vase, but when I woke up that vase was still intact with no signs of it even cracking. I still can't find the exact words to explain it…." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, I guess sometimes a dream, hallucination or vision can be so intense sometimes, it feels real sometimes. I remember one time in high school, I had a dream where I forgot to show up to school to take an important AP Bio exam and ended up getting a notification that I failed the test. But when I woke up I eventually realized that there was no test that day and my next test for that class wasn't until two weeks from that date." I said recalling that story.
Jasiri let out a light laugh in response to that.
"I also remember having several anxiety-induced test-based dreams when I was still in school." Jasiri replied.
The two of us mostly just talked the rest of the night until we started to relax in my living room.
Third Person P.O.V.:
While Jasiri and Edwin were spending time with one another, Rafiki was meditating in the living room in his apartment in the Wicker Park neighborhood. He was playing some soft nature sounds from his phone to try to make him feel more at home while meditating on those occasions where he might feel homesick for the Pride Lands.
While he was doing his meditation, he heard a loud low pitch tone from his phone, briefly interrupting his meditation for a second or two before his natural sounds played again. He realized that he had just received a text.
Deciding to check it out, Rafiki went up to his phone to pause his meditation audio to look at the text.
"Ah, it's Nala. It's been a while since I last heard from her." He said cheerfully as he read the text:
Hello Rafiki, it's me Nala. I know it's been a while since we last spoke with each other, so how's your life been? Also I have heard that you hosted these meetings for some Human-Hybrid Alliance and based on what I heard, it seems like a good initiative for humans and hybrids to communicate with each other more often! I have also heard it could be a good support group for anyone to open up about any life struggles or obstacles with little to no judgment. Even when I no longer work for the museum, I was wondering if there is a possibility if me and someone close to me can come to the meeting as guests for an upcoming meeting next week? It might help clear up some of the unknowns of an altercation between Kion and Dr. Mariani from the genetics lab
Rafiki's eyebrows raised, because even though he has no problem with her coming to the meeting with someone, he is a little curious because she has not really interacted with most of the Former Pride Landers in-person in over four months and wondered how people are going to react to her showing up.
While he smiled at the thought of seeing and communicating with an old friend. He then texted back:
Hello Nala, I have been doing well. Long time no see! Of course you can come to our meeting! It would be an honor to have you at our meeting with your guest! I am aware of the incident between Kion and Edwin, I facilitated the discussion between the two and Simba. Kion ended up being suspended from his duties for a week without pay. Though to be honest, after the discussions I told Simba that I thought Kion should have been terminated from the Field Museum, but Simba insisted that I didn't fire him because he thought I should 'give him another chance', and that 'he's a good guy, he just made a mistake' stuff that he has used countless times for excusing Kion's behavior. But even as I further expressed my disagreement with Simba's path of thinking, he just ended it with the whole 'I'm the boss and what I say goes' stuff.
After this, Rafiki continued to meditate for a few minutes until he thought that it reached a natural stopping point for the night.
As he was getting up, he heard the small low pitch tone again from his phone. He looked to find that Nala replied to his earlier message.
Yeah, I'm not surprised that was Simba's reaction. He exhibited this behavior ever since I knew him during our entire marriage. I'm glad that I'm now over that since I met and then moved in with my current partner. And I agree, I think Kion should have been fired. In recent times, I've noticed that Kion's behavior has gotten more unstable and that he is starting to become more close-minded, stubborn, and egotistic in the last times I have communicated with him. He seems to be turning more and more into his father and when last communicating or hearing either of them, it only seems to be getting worse. And thank you for letting me come to your meeting next week. There is something I need to tell the rest of the former Pride Landers that I have told a few but not all of them. I'm excited, curious and also a little nervous of how they will react to seeing me after quitting four months ago.
Rafiki texted back:
Yes, I sense it getting worse too. It's such a shame too because back in the past, I thought they had potential to have an everlasting legacy of good, but I have been sadly proven wrong multiple times. And about the meeting, I'm pretty sure it will be fine. The others will probably be just relieved that you are doing alright and are happier since the divorce. I'm about to sleep in for the night. It has been nice talking with you, see you next week and I wish you and your partner a good evening
Rafiki sent the message before quietly heading to bed