Jasiri P.O.V.
I started to wake up to start my day. But as my vision was starting to clear up, my ceiling started to look….different….yet familiar. When my vision fully cleared up, I realized that my ceiling was made of….rock. And I'm not talking about sheetrock, drywall, concrete or anything human made. I'm talking pure unaltered rock.
"Wait?!...What happened to my ceiling?…Edwin wake-" I said when turning to the area next to me…only to find that Edwin wasn't there…in fact nobody was there. And I'm not even in my bedroom anymore…..I'm in a literal cave.
"Wha…Wha..Wha…How the fuck did I get in this cave? Are you in here Ed-Woah!" I said as I tried to stand up, but I lost my balance and fell.
I then took a moment to try to get back up and that's when I saw my hands…or paws I should say. There are no longer human-like fingers….they were the original paws I had as a full hyena. That also explains why I can't see my legs….or back legs anymore. Then I realized why the cave looked so familiar…this was my cave….or I should say, one of my clan's caves back in the Outlands….Wait I'm in the Outlands?! Why am I not in Chicago anymore? How did I get here?
I started to walk around the cave for a little bit and started to quickly walk out the cave to see what was going on and for any potential explanation of why I am here? But when I got…I saw something that shocked me to my core.
I saw my sister Madoa and my old mate Janja in front of me…..but this could potentially be another hallucination. But this time more intricate since I also saw the Outlands
"Oh, hey Jasiri, I'm glad to see that you're awake…." Madoa said.
"Yeah Jas, is that fever getting any better? You've been out for a while." Janja said.
I was just too shocked to even let out a response. I placed my paws on both of them and actually felt there….physically there, fur and everything….And relatively healthy, unlike the bloodied and emaciated states I last saw them in.
"Madoa?...Janja?...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Where's Edwin? How did I come here all the way from Chicago?How am I back in the Outlands? Wait…how are you two alive? Didn't you guys and nearly the entire Outlands die in the drought? Where's the rest of the clan? Plus how am I a full hyena again? Does this mean I'm not a hybrid anymore?" I said.
Madoa and Janja just stared at each other and then looked at me with looks of surprise and concern. With their eyebrows raised and their eyes wide open.
"Jasiri….are you okay? Do you still have the fever? Should we go to the Pride Lands and take you to Rafiki? Either that or you must have had a really rough dream." Madoa said.
"Yeah, and who or what is an Edwin? Plus, I don't think there's such a place called Chicago." Janja said.
"Plus….of course you're in the Outlands, you have never left in a while. The last time we left was for Kion and Rani's wedding and coronation at the Tree of Life. Ironically, you start to become sick when we come back." Madoa said.
"And what drought are you talking about? Sure, the dry seasons can be intense, but I don't recall a drought resulting in so many deaths since Scar's reign. Plus, of course we are still alive, and so is the rest of the clan, they are just out gathering food." Janja said.
"Also, of course you're a hyena. You've always been a hyena and what is a hybrid?" Madoa said.
"What are you talking about? And what fever? I don't recall ever having a fever?" I asked curiously.
"Well, when we returned from Kion and Rani's coronation, you started to get sick, and you have been out for a while. Based on what it sounds like, you had a pretty intense dream Jas." Janja said.
I was just in shock, because I actually now started to remember that I actually did have a fever before the drought and for the first time…..I started to doubt my own sense of memory.
"Wait…..so the drought? The injections? Milwaukee? LA? Chicago? The museum? Edwin? Are you saying that the past twenty-one, twenty-two years have all been a super intense fever dream?! Is that what you guys are saying?!" I said in confusion and shock.
"Pretty much…though we don't know what pretty much half of the things that you said." Madoa said.
"Yeah, the clan is just out getting food for the clan. Plus….you thought you were out for twenty-one years, most of the current clan would be dead when we reach that." Janja said.
"Man, it's just so weird that all of that was..was…just a dream….I mean it felt so….so real. I guess I was out for a while then…" I said.
"Yeah, but we are glad that you are back Jasiri….Oh and speaking of…here's our clan returning now with some of the jackals and crocodiles." Madoa said.
"Okay, I'm going to see how they are doing because it felt like so many years since I last saw them ar- AAHHHHHHHH!" I said before screaming to see that Janja and Madoa are now in the wounded and emaciated states that I last saw them in the drought…..exactly how they looked when they died….exactly as they appeared in the vision, I had in my apartment that one time. But their smiles change to slightly saddened ones
"Wait…what…how….WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" I said practical yelling.
"I really wished that we could say that we could actually say that we can be together or that all the struggles you went through during that time was a dream…but…..it was not. I'm sorry Jasiri" Janja said.
"But don't worry, neither of us blame you for what happened during the drought…but I'm not sure THEY will forgive you…." Madoa said smiling with her eyes still looking sad.
Eventually, the two hyenas standing in front of me suddenly disappeared…leaving me more shocked and confused than I already am.
"Janja?! Madoa?! Where did you- How did you-? Okay, now I'm really confused now- How did you guys manage to disappear right in front of me?" I said out loud as I was looking for any trace of them….until I started to hear sneering voices and whispers starting to call my name.
Jasiri…..Jasiri…Jasiri….Jasiri…Where are you?...Jasiri….Jasiiiirrriiiiii…
The whispers began to echo as the voices started to become louder and more frequent.
. . . . . .
JASIRI!
It was starting to ring in my ear, until I turned around to see a crowd consisting of the deceased members of my clan along with members of the jackal and crocodile communities that lived in the Outlands.
They were all either emaciated, wounded, disemboweled, dehydrated and showing obvious signs of missing organs. They all had expressions of anger and utter fury painted on their faces.
"Why did you leave us Aunt Jasiri? WHY DID YOU LEAVE US WHEN THE CROCODILES AND JACKALS TURNED ON AND KILLED US?!" A teenage female hyena with a torn out throat, several wounds and obvious signs of emaciation. She had a moderate length black mane and bluish-purple eyes. I recognized her as my niece Wema, who was killed when the last of my clan was ambushed.
"Yeah aunt Jasiri…WHY DID YOU CONDEMN ALL OF US TO DEATH?! WHY?! Yor own family too!?" A teenage male hyena said with the same wounds as Wema, but with no tuft on his head and darker blue eyes. I recognized him as my late nephew Tumu.
"WHY DID YOU LET US ALL TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER?!"said a larger and taller male hyena with gashing and bleeding wounds on his torso, legs and the right side of his face. That hyena was Janja's friend Chungu who both killed and was killed by their other friend Cheezi.
"GROUP AGAINST GROUP?!" A male jackal with brown eyes and a noticeable overbite said. This jackal had noticeable wounds including disembowelment, places where many other of his organs were torn out and even one of his eyes seem to be missing. I recognized him as Goigoi, the mate of the jackal pack's leader. As he got closer, I noticed that part of his intestine was being dragged along the floor with each step he took.
"FRIEND AGAINST FRIEND?!" Another male hyena said. This one had a noticeable overbite and his tongue was sticking out. He had noticeable gashes on his head, was bleeding from his eyes and nose, and there were noticeable wounds, openings and claw marks all over his body. I recognized him as Cheezi, the other of Janja's friends who both was killed and killed the other friend Chungu.
"FAMILY AGAINST FAMILY?!" Two teenage jackals said. There was a male and a female. The male had blue eyes and similar to Goigoi, he had gaping wounds all over their body. With at least three wounds still bleeding and what appears to be flies starting to gather around his body. The female, who had turquoise eyes. She had a dark fur tuft on her head, which was dripping blood since there was a gash located in the same area. She had similar bleeding and wounds to the male jackal. I recognized them as Dogo and Kijani, the two youngest children of Goigoi and jackal pack leader ReiRei.
"Eventually leading us to either kill each other or starve to death in the drought?!" An emaciated adult female jackal said. She had brown eyes and had lighter shades of fur than Goigoi. She had a wound across her eye that turned that eye milky, along with causing a leak of blood and other fluids from that eye. She had slash wounds on her neck, which was almost torn out. Like Goigoi, she has many deep wounds on her body, including a disembowelment that leads to their intestines and parts of other organs being exposed. There were noticeable signs of emaciation on her body as well. This jackal was ReiRei, leader of the Outlands's jackal pack.
"Or letting us WITHER away from dehydration and starvation until we become bare pieces of skin frying in the sun on the already dry ground?! YOU DID THIS TO ALL OF US?!" An adult crocodile yelled. This crocodile had dark green rims around his eyes and had some scratches and scars on his body….but what I noticed was how dry his scales looked, along with the clear signs of dehydration and emaciation on his body. I swear that his scales would be bone dry if I touched him. I recognized him as Kiburi, the leader of the Outlands crocodile float.
It was only two seconds when every hyena, jackal and crocodile in that crowd started to charge and run towards me…..ALL with anger in their eyes.
I immediately started running from them, adrenaline rushing through my veins. I was running as fast as I could to evade the angry crowd chasing me.
I soon made a sharp turn and found a cave for me to hide in. I guess the crowd didn't notice because I didn't hear any footsteps behind me in the cave.
I backed up to make sure that no one outside could hear or see me- But all the sudden I fell what felt like about ten feet until I hit the rocky floor.
I got up and felt that I might have sprained my ankle. I walked around the cave to try to find a potential way to escape. I tried climbing to where I initially was on that ledge but that wasn't successful. So, I decided to walk around the cave to find a potential escape route and I found this small opening that I eventually decided to go through.
That opening led to a narrow pathway that led to this large open area that resembled the inside of the Outlands volcano if all the lava had dried up. I started looking around for a potential way to escape…that's until I saw a familiar figure lying face down in the middle of the clearing on top of a rock that looked like some kind of altar or shrine.
As I approached the figure even closer….I know exactly what….or I should say WHO this figure is.
A male human body of average build with long brown hair, a blue T-shirt, a pair of jeans and black sneakers.
I immediately recognized the figure as Edwin and started to run towards him despite my ankle.
"Edwin! Is that you?" I said as I ran…but strangely enough, he never responded or even moved towards my calls.
I then hugged and nuzzled his body.
"Oh Edwin! I am so glad to see you! I'm not sure what is going on here but we-" I said excitedly…before noticing that Edwin wasn't moving and that his body felt cold.
"Edwin? Are you okay? Why aren't you moving? Please get up Edwin, I need you! PLEASE SAY SOMETHING EDWIN!" I yelled while shaking a still unresponsive Edwin.
I used my paws to turn his body around…..and that's when I saw the reason why Edwin didn't respond.
What I saw made my heart stop, my eyes widened, my jaw dropped, and tears started to form in my eyes.
It was Edwin, his eyes were open and bloodshot…..but his neck was torn open. I don't feel a pulse anywhere. There was blood all over the spot where he was laying….some had even gotten to my paws.
"No… . . .No. No. . NOOOO" I said screaming.
I then started to cry, and I placed my head on Edwin's chest….Still no heartbeat…There were also deep wounds present in that area…..He was gone.
After crying and holding Edwin's body for two minutes, I then started to hear laughing…..very maniacal laughter echoing in the background.
It soon started to get louder…..the source was getting closer and closer until it stopped.
I turned around to see Kion…..back in his full lion form….what he probably would have looked like as an adult lion with a muscular build and a long reddish mane.
He had blood all over his mouth and paws…..he did this to Edwin.
But the thing that stuck out to me the most were his eyes…..they were….different.
Instead of the light brown-amber color I initially knew as…they were strikingly vivid GREEN eyes.
For some reason, those eyes were so distant, yet so familiar to me.
I began to shake as he started to approach me and Edwin's body….his irises were practically glowing.
His eyes were paired with a macabre smile on his face that went from ear to ear. Showing his pair of sharp teeth….some of which still had Edwins's blood on them.
"Hello Jasiri….I've been expecting you…I see you got a chance to admire my handiwork with that little boy toy of yours…" Kion said in a sinister yet playful tone…just laughing off what he did to Edwin.
"KION WHY?! Haven't you caused enough damage in my life already?! You weren't always like this! What happened to the sweet lion that I helped guide to Flat Ridge Rock?! And what the hell happened to your eyes?!" I yelled in response.
"OOOOHHHH…that little cub has been long gone for quite some time…..I guess that as I changed so did my eyes…do you like them?...I'm basically just here to claim what is mine…now I can do that with that lump of skin you called your 'boyfriend'...man he was pathetic…" Kion said as he was circling me and Edwin's body.
"Edwin is more of a boyfriend than you ever were to me Kion! I am not yours…..nor have I EVER truly been yours….You only saw me as a punching bag when we were together…..and there is no universe where I would EVER go back to that…." I said as I started to walk away from Kion.
"I'm going to find a way out so I can try to find some explanation of what's going on here?" I said as I exited the room.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Kion said, but this time his voice transitioned to a deep demonic voice.
Suddenly I felt a sudden force lifting me from the ground and slamming me against a cave wall.
Even in pain, I managed to turn around to see that Kion had his paw up in the air while his newly green eyes began to glow. He soon walked toward me hastily with a menacing sneer on his face.
When he stopped, he was mere centimeters from my face.
"LISTEN YOU PUTRID BITCH! YOU AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE…We have SO much unfinished business to get to." He said in that deep agitating voice.
He then started to slowly form that frighteningly sinister smile again, eventually tilting his head towards his right.
He then backed up a few inches from me. Bending his legs in a pounce position. I tried to get up- but what?! I can't move anymore. I'm trying to get up, but my legs just can't do it. Are they stuck to the floor or something?! WHY CAN'T I MOVE MY LEGS!?
He then pounced and was heading towards me with his eyes and mouth wide open. The latter letting out a guttural, loud and just straight-out demonic sound. I don't even know how to describe it. It sounds like a deep roar but at the same time it does not sound like it was from a lion or any kind of living thing at all.
I felt his teeth and claws painfully tearing into my skin.
Then all of a sudden. Black.
I woke up screaming to the near top of my lungs and breathing heavily afterwards. My forehead and hair is drenched with sweat.
But then I realized…I'm no longer in the cave….I'm in my bedroom in my apartment, on my bed.
That whole ordeal….whatever the fuck that was…was ALL a dream. No….a nightmare….I had another nightmare. It's been a while since I had one that intense.
I rushed out of my bed towards my bedroom window on my two legs and looked out to see that it was snowing outside, icicles forming on some of the windows outside and the occasional car passing by. A typical sight some days in Chicago in January.
My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Jas? Are you okay?! What's wrong?" The voice said.
I turned around to see that it was Edwin….more importantly, Edwin alive and well….I must have startled him awake when I woke up screaming. He had a look of concern on his face.
I want to explain my dream to him…..But I'm so sweaty and warm….and my throat is so dry. Only five words can come out of my mouth at the time.
"Water….I need some water." I said before rushing out of the bedroom and heading to the kitchen.
I opened the fridge and grabbed my water pitcher, and then grabbed a glass from the adjacent cabinet. I poured myself a glass and finished the whole thing in like twenty seconds.
Feeling a little better. I continued to breathe rapidly while I looked around the kitchen. Based on the digital clock on my oven it's 1:20 AM so still pretty late…or should I say early in the morning.
I looked at my hands to see that I am still in my anthro hyena form and won't change into my human form until it gets light outside.
I was pouring myself another glass when I heard footsteps and a concerned Edwin hastily walking towards me.
"Jasiri, are you okay?! Only a few minutes ago, you got up screaming, started to haphazardly run around the place breathing rapidly and…..Did you have another nightmare?...About…..you know…." He said in a concerned yet sympathetic tone.
"I'm fine Edwin….I'm actually feeling a little better now. And yes, I had a horrible nightmare. Though some parts of it dealt with the drought and the Outlander's I lost…but this was different from ANY of those dreams…It's been a while since I had a dream THAT intense. Because first, I woke up in that dream thinking that the entire drought and the transformation of the human world was all a fever dream of some sort. Initially I started believing in it because I actually remembered having a fever after returning to the Tree of Life for Kion and Rani's wedding. But then, almost all the Outland residents appeared as their corpses did in the drought. Talked about how all their deaths were my fault in one way or another before they started chasing you…Then I end up in this cave where I was in this cavern and I found your….your….dead body with slash marks and your throat torn out….and….and…and Kion appeared with your blood on him….With these…..green eyes and this strange voice…..he seemed more evil than I ever seen him….almost demonic in one way or another….And then Kion….Kion…he…..he…" I said. Breathing more rapidly as I got further along.
My eyes started to tear up as I recalled the dream…especially the latter half of it. I was sweating again and wasn't able to go on further without starting to cry.
Edwin soon approached me, and we wrapped our arms around each other. I started to cry on his shoulder. Though some of his long hair was also near…but that's okay, all that matters is that he is still alive, with me, and wants to voluntarily be with me.
"It's okay Jas…..It's okay sweetheart…..I'm alive.I'm here. I'll always be here for you whenever you need someone my love. I'm so sorry that you experienced such a dream. It sounded very intense. But fortunately, it's over. It's just a dream. No one is chasing you and Kion is not here. It's alright….you are safe in your apartment. That experience was all a dream." Edwin said as he continued to hug and comfort me.
After a few minutes, my tears started to dry out and the two of us were together in a long and quiet embrace. Eventually I started to talk more about the specifics of my dream. We then made ourselves some tea to help calm us down. I then started to go over the more specific details of my nightmare.
"To be honest, the chase and Kion parts of the dream weren't the worst parts of the dream…..losing you was the worst part. Both the part where I found your dead body and that time where I was almost convinced that what we had never existed. The last part was particularly confusing because at first I didn't remember but shortly before the drought, I had a fever when coming back from Kion and Rani's coronation….I haven't thought about that fever in a while. The dream just…..felt so real…..yet also so offbeat at the same time…." I said.
"Yeah, based on what you told me, it sounded like a really intense nightmare….but fortunately it was just a nightmare and it's over." Edwin said.
"You're right, it's just a dream and I am fine right now. But still…it was incredibly vivid…." I said in a calmer tone.
"Yeah….Also you said that Kion appeared in your dream with green eyes ….do you know why he specifically had green eyes?" He asked me.
"Well, you know about Scar…the evil lion that was Simba's uncle and killed his father Mufasa?" I said.
"I think so….I have heard him mentioned a few times in conversations about the Pride Lands." Edwin replied.
"Yeah so we learned that when he was alive….he had these bright green eyes and a scar on his left eye. In the Pride Lands and Outlands…..those two traits, just like the ones Kion had in that dream. And as you know Kion has the scar in real-life, the only thing missing are the green eyes. Those are typically traits associated with great evil." I said.
"Wait, but Kovu has both those exact traits, and he is the furthest thing from evil." Edwin said.
"Yeah….but remember that before he and Kiara united the two prides, Simba's Pride used to unfairly judge Kovu frequently because he looked like Scar and that he was initially part of Zira's Pride….that along with the systematic brainwashing and 'training' he experienced when he was under her control." I replied.
"Oh yeah….I almost forgot about that…" Edwin said.
"And funny thing….when Kion got that scar over his eye and started having those bursts of aggression….some thought that he was going to turn into Scar reincarnated…..man it's sad to think how that became closer to truth in the future…." I said.
We continued to talk for about an hour or so about a variety of random topics from dreams, to work, and just life in general. Then all the sudden, Edwin started to get nervous for some reason.
"Hey…..Jasiri….can I talk to you about something?" Edwin nervously asked.
"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" I slowly replied.
"Well…..we've been dating for five or six months, and I love every minute of it…in fact, I can't even imagine a moment in my future without you in it. So, I was wondering that since we know and trust each other so well, why not take our relationship to the next step….So…here goes nothing….Jasiri…would you be open to us living together?" Edwin said, taking a breath after the last part.
To be honest, I was surprised when he asked me that. I wasn't sure what to say. I am glad that Edwin feels comfortable to move on to such a new stage in our relationship.
"Oh, don't worry Jasiri, I wasn't thinking of doing it immediately….we can do it when you are ready. It's just that I feel so connected when we are together thatI want us to get to know each other on a deeper level. But if it seems creepy to you we can just forget the question and wait until you're ready and-" Edwin said before I placed my hands on his to get me a chance to respond.
"Edwin…I would love for us to live together. Truth be told, I was kinda thinking the same thing because it gets pretty lonely in the apartment when you are not here. We have a lot of good times together and I don't want them to end. And sure, there have been some bad days as well, and there will be bad days in the future…..but it's alright because that's what most relationships are like and we are going to go through it together. We are going to go through both the good times and bad times together as equal partners. So again yes, I would love for us to start living together….Though we might need some further discussions on where to live and start searching where in Chicago we can stay that we can both afford and such….." I replied.
"Actually…..I was thinking about proposing the idea of potentially moving in…..your apartment…..this apartment…..because I'm not particularly attached to my apartment and with the rent increase coming up, I'm probably bound to move out of that apartment anyway. But it's not going to be an immediate thing because the lease renewal is not until a month away, so this plan is for me to notify the new landlord that I will no longer be renewing my lease for that apartment, after which they will give me some time to move out of my apartment and move in here. When living together, I can pay half the rent and we can split all household responsibilities, bills and other responsibilities. Perhaps even before the move, we can do a trial run to see if we are ready to live with each other…..But if you don't think it's a good idea and want to search for a completely new apartment, we can do that, I'm open to anything right now. I'm sorry if I'm talking a lot, I guess I just don't want to pressure you into anything you're uncomfortable with because that is not my intention at all." Edwin said.
After this I started to laugh a little because I find it cute when Edwin tries to give long explanations or statements to let me know what he is thinking, when he could have done the same in less words…but beside the point. After his explanation, he actually brought up a good case of him moving into my apartment. It would definitely help with rent and bills, it would avoid heavy moving costs if we decide to go to a completely different apartment, and a trial period would be helpful to see if we are ready to live together.
"I'll definitely think about it some more, but you actually did set up a convincing case of you moving in with me here. It could help with bills, rent and such, plus I like the sound of the week trial run to see if we are ready to live together. How about we set the trial run for like next week or the week after that? As long as we get to spend more time with each other. I would say let's set up some time to have some further discussion with each other on the specifics." I replied.
"Sounds good, we can discuss this further in the morning." Edwin calmly replied.
We continued to talk for another half hour before realizing that it was almost three in the morning and decided to go back to my room to get some sleep.
We placed our mugs in the sink, headed back to my room to get some sleep. We got into bed, pulled and got comfortable.
After we got in the bed, I decided to slowly approach Edwin because I wanted to put my arms around his body….but then he turned around and saw me with my arms approaching him.
"Hey….Is something wrong Jas?" Edwin asked me.
"Oh nothing…I was just wondering if I could potentially put my arms around you while I sleep?...You know, just to be more intimate with one another…" I quietly asked.
"Sure, no problem….let me adjust myself so we can be in each other's arms." Edwin said as he started to readjust his position in the bed to put one arm around my shoulder, while I put my arms around him and I rested my head on his shoulder-chest area.
We soon got comfortable in each other's arms. Letting the serenity of night….or should I say early morning…..surround us as we both drifted into a relaxing sleep. It is always nice when Edwin and I have time to spend with each other. And I am happy that we could potentially be spending more time with one another if the trial run goes well, but I guess that's all in the future right now, so I will just enjoy what I have today.