A real lioness
The young lion felt a pleasant warmth enveloped him. All he could remember was the feeling of fear. He had woken up in an unknown place and was chased by these strange creatures. At that moment, however, the lion cub felt safe and secure. He slowly opened his eyes and looked into the face of the lioness who had protected him.
"Finally awake, little sloth?" Sarabi asked in a teasing tone and smiled at the young lion.
Immediately, a memory flashed through the cub's mind, of a stand and a person who had called him that. He rubbed his head with one paw and noticed that the lioness had laid down next to him. Apparently, they were in a cave, but the cub couldn't see anything more. Sarabi noticed that the little one was already feeling much better and decided to ask him a few questions.
"It's good that you're feeling better, my name is Sarabi. Can I also know your name?" asked the lioness in a gentle tone.
The cub held its head again as if it were in pain and seemed to remember something. Two shadowy figures stood in front of him, but he didn't sense any danger from them. Unfortunately, he couldn't recognize them, as if he had forgotten who they were. They both smiled at him and called him by name.
"Sora... My name is Sora," he said with a smile and looked up at the lioness. "Hm, a nice name. Can you tell me where you come from and where your parents are?" asked Sarabi cautiously and slightly worried.
"I... I don't know, I... can't... I can't remember," said Sora in a desperate tone, breathing a little hectically and holding his head again.
"It's okay, calm down.", the lioness tried to calm the cub and put her front paw around him protectively. She had feared that something was wrong, no mother would leave her child alone in a strange place. She had probably fallen victim to these black monsters, and Sora's mind was trying to protect him from them. Gently, she stroked his head and hoped that his pain would soon be over. After a while, the lion cub regained his composure and his breathing also calmed down again. Sarabi decided that it was enough, she would leave him alone for now so as not to open up any more wounds. Moreover, it was not certain whether Sora knew anything about these creatures or this strange object that had appeared in his mouth. Presently, it was important to decide what to do next.
"What should I do? Scar will never tolerate a foreign lion cub in the pride, especially since there are already far too many of us. He would release him for hunting, and the hyenas would not hesitate to..." the lioness decided not to finish this thought and looked down at Sora.
The young lion had moved a little closer to Sarabi and seemed to have calmed down again, although he also seemed worried.
"Is everything okay, you look so worried," Sora said carefully.
He didn't know why, but the cub could sense that Sarabi was worried about something. Maybe it was because of those monsters, but the lion cub sensed that there was more. A sadness that reminded him of someone, a person whom he met long ago and who had lost a lot. Sora wondered if Sarabi had lost something too and was now so sad. The lioness noticed that the young lion had noticed her worries and wanted to calm him down.
"I'm fine, I'm just thinking about something," the lioness explained and smiled.
"I understand. May I help you? You'll see, I'll try hard," Sora said determinedly and stood up.
Sarabi smiled happily at the young lion's words, his words warmed her heart. Just seeing him so full of energy triggered a lot in her. At the same time, however, she was also worried because she wanted to protect him. Unfortunately, their kingdom was not safe at the moment, especially for a cub.
"Thank you for that, but unfortunately, it is not that easy. Our king is a terrible person, and his subordinates, the hyenas, are dangerous. They only let us out of their sight when they hunt, so it is very difficult for our pack to do anything without the king noticing." Sarabi explained carefully, the last thing she wanted was to frighten him again.
"Am I causing you trouble?" Sora asked dejectedly, letting her ears droop.
"No, you are a cub that needs help. A brave one at that, after all, you protected me from that monster," the lioness said proudly, ruffling the young lion's mane.
Sora felt a little better, but he still didn't want to cause problems for Sarabi.
He thought about it and asked: "Is there no one outside the pack that you can ask for help with your problem? Maybe a friend?"
A friend from outside, the lioness, immediately thought of someone. Someone the lions hadn't seen for a while and who Scar didn't pay any attention to. If he took care of Sora when she couldn't, it might work.
"You've given me an idea, thank you," said the lioness happily and hugged the cub, who enjoyed the hug very much and began to smile.
"He should be at his tree at the moment," thought Sarabi and stood up.
"Where are we going?" asked Sora and followed the lioness when he fell over again.
Sarabi immediately went to the younger lions and helped him up.
In a surprised tone, she asked: "Are you OK?"
She had already noticed that the cub had difficulty walking. At first, she had thought that he was injured and in pain. In the cave, she had searched his body for wounds, but found nothing. The second assumption was that he stumbled out of fear, after all, Sora was being chased by the scary black figures. But now the lioness feared that he had internal injuries and was having difficulty moving.
"I'm fine, I just need to concentrate better," the cub explained, slightly annoyed, and stood up.
Sora had noticed that when he slowed down and paid attention to the correct movement of his paws, walking was easier for him. The lion cub walked forward at a slow pace and then turned to the lioness.
"Like a young animal that has just learned to walk. Maybe he was recently injured and couldn't move for a while," Sarabi thought worriedly and walked towards Sora.
"You stay close to me and hide when I give you a sign. But above all, you have to be quiet," the lioness explained in a stern tone and looked at the lion seriously.
She would prefer it if he stayed here in the cave. But she was worried about these monsters that were after him. What if they were still looking for Sora? If they found him, he wouldn't even be able to escape. Unfortunately, it wasn't any safer outside with the hyenas. However, the young lion could hide in the tall grass, bushes and shrubs. The hyenas weren't the smartest either, and Sarabi knew she could outsmart them. Sora seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation and nodded silently.
The two lions crept quietly through the grass, the larger lioness walked more hunched over, while the cub could walk almost normally. Their destination was not far away, she could see the tree from here. Once they were there, they woud have made it. Sarabi looked over at Sora and had to smile. Although the young lion had had difficulty walking until recently, it was no longer noticeable. He had even stopped sneaking around and wasn't that clumsy. He walked hunched over, carefully placing one paw after the other and not letting himself be seen. However, Sora still had to learn to pay attention to his surroundings and what to do when the wind changed. Of course, she also had to teach him how to kill prey properly and how to read tracks.
Suddenly, the lioness stopped and also stopped the cub. Sora wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Sarabi put her paw on his mouth. Just from her first look, he could tell that he had to be very quiet now. The lioness carefully peered out of the grass, but she already knew what she would see. She would recognize this smell anywhere, even against the headwind. A little further ahead, outside the tall grass, three hyenas were walking around. All three of them looked very similar, they had gray fur with a light gray abdomen and dark gray spots on their flanks. While their ears and paws were black, the rims of their eyes were dark gray. However, unlike the other two hyenas, the female had a long black mane that ended in a fringe over her forehead. The other two had a mane that only reached about the back of their necks. One male let his tongue hang out and had three stray hairs on his head.
"Great, because of you, both don't have anything to eat again." Sora heard an annoyed female voice.
"That was Ed's fault, he didn't stop laughing so stupidly.", a second voice growled angrily, whereupon the lion cub heard a third voice laughing.
"That's enough now, we're in the Pride Land now. We can't go back to the King's Rock with empty stomachs," the female voice hissed, sounding increasingly irritated.
"Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Off all People, we had to meet those three. I really don't feel like dealing with them," Sarabi thought and decided to walk around her.
Sora followed the lioness as quietly as possible. Luckily, the three hyenas were too busy with themselves and didn't notice the grass. Unfortunately, the cub didn't pay attention to the ground and stepped on a branch that cracked louder than expected. Both Sarabi and Sora flinched and looked at each other worriedly. The hyenas had also heard this and immediately looked in the direction from where the noise came.
"What was that? Is someone trying to sneak up on us?" Banzai asked hostilely and growled.
"No, it looks like something is sneaking away from us now!" said Shenzi amused and happily went into the hunting position, while Ed laughed with joy.
"Shhh, stay calm. I'll do it," whispered Sarabi and straightened up, at the same time she stood over the young lion so that he was hidden between her legs.
The hyenas were both surprised and disappointed that it was only the lioness. Because of the high grass, they could only see Sarabi's head and upper body, the rest was hidden by the grass.
"Oh, just a lion, and I had my hopes up.", said Banzai annoyed.
"I understand your disappointment, I also wanted to sneak past unnoticed, so I wouldn't have to talk to you.", said the lioness in an indifferent tone and looked at the three rather disapprovingly.
"Well, look at that, someone seems to think they're too good for us," said Shenzi contemptuously and bared her teeth.
"It's not difficult when the requirements are so low.", explained Sarabi, trying not to sound too arrogant, which she managed quite well.
The hyenas, however, did not take the answer so well and growled in insult. Well, two of the three felt insulted, Ed only growled because the other two did. Sarabi knew how far she could go and hoped that the three hyenas would soon leave in a huff. She didn't have to fear an attack as long as the three didn't notice Sora. Without Scar's permission, the three wouldn't do anything to her, something like that would undermine his authority. It would also turn the other lionesses against him and the hyenas, after all, Sarabi held the pack together.
"If you three will excuse me, I still have to hunt some prey for today," explained the lioness and wanted to leave. Carefully, of course, so that she didn't step on Sora between her legs. The lion cub tried as best she could to stay under Sarabi and not get in her way as she walked.
"Wait a minute, Sarabi!" Shenzi called in a provocative voice, and the Lioness stopped and looked back.
"How can it be that the great leader of the hunters hasn't caught anything yet?" asked the female hyena in an interested voice and smiled darkly.
"Exactly, you should have had something to food by now," said Banzai suspiciously and looked at the lioness with a piercing gaze.
Sarabi just smiled disdainfully and replied condescendingly, "I would have already caught my prey, but then hyenas came and not only chased my prey away, but also managed to make fools of themselves. It's tragic when a pack makes such a fool of itself, it doesn't reflect well on the leader."
Shenzi gritted his teeth and said in a venomous tone: "Be careful, your "highness". Your arrogance will soon pass, I'll make sure of that."
The female hyena left with the other two, which was fine with Sarabi. When they were far enough away, the lioness leaned down to the cub and said in a gentle tone: "It's OK, they're gone."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you into trouble," Sora apologized in a dejected tone and looked down dejectedly at the ground.
"No, I'm sorry. I wish I could stand up for you and protect you openly, like a real lioness should," Sarabi said in a dejected tone and looked towards the tree. They'll soon have it done.
When Sarabi wanted to move on, Sora said: "I think you're looking after me well. You were there when those monsters attacked me, and you stayed with me when I was sleeping in the cave. I... I wasn't paying attention, and that's why you had to fight with those hyenas... Thank you for being there for me."
Sarabi couldn't help but smile at the lion cub's kind words. It made her happy that she could help Sora, even though the cub himself raised a lot of questions. Despite all that, the lioness was happy that she had found the young lion today. His friendly nature and brave nature warmed her heart and made her feel something other than hopelessness and sadness for the first time in a long time. She was determined that she would help him.