The secret
"Where are we going?" asked Sarafina nervously as she followed her friend through the tall grass.
"We'll be there soon, keep your eyes open and your ears pricked up," said Sarabi, slightly worried, as the other lioness led her through the grass.
The former queen was sure that the hyenas weren't following her, but she couldn't be too careful, and she certainly didn't want to take a risk. When the two lionesses left the Pride Rock, they took a special detour. Sarabi knew firsthand that hyenas weren't the quietest pursuers. These scavengers were usually loud, and you could see them from afar when they were hunting. And yet, she didn't want to take any risks; yesterday's encounter with Shenzi and her two followers was too close for her.
Sarafina nervously followed her friend and tried to follow the other lioness's movements as best as she could. Unlike Sarabi, she was not a fighter and was only an average hunter, usually teaming up with more successful hunters. Especially in these bad times, Sarafina wished she were as strong as Sarabi. She was happy that the old queen had found her determined and fearless nature again. And yet, she asked what had happened. What had given her friend new strength? Sarafina followed Sarabi with excitement until she realized that she was already close to the border of the sacred land.
"Sarabi... what are we doing here?" asked Sarafina, looking at her friend with a worried look.
"I would like to introduce you to someone, it's not far now," said Sarabi and continued walking.
At that moment, Sarafina wondered what her friend meant and followed her. What did she mean by introduce? Did she meet someone? Who was he, and what did he have to do with the former queen's change of heart? The cream-colored lioness's ears twitched, and her eyes widened as something occurred to her.
"Does Sarabi have a new male?" Sarafina asked herself in her thoughts and shrank back briefly.
That couldn't be, Mufasa had only recently died, and yesterday she was devastated. It was impossible that she could fall in love with a new lion so quickly, especially since there were no other lions in the area. So it had to be a lion from outside, which was not so unlikely. In addition, Sarabi had rolled around in a meadow of flowers yesterday, did she want to cover up his scent? Not even if a long time had passed could Sarafina imagine that her friend could ever love a lion other than Mufasa. Feeling nervous, she followed Sarabi as they both reached a waterfall.
The beige lioness approached the wet element, turned to her friend, and nodded her head in the direction of the waterfall. Sarafina's fur immediately stood on end; she hated water more than the bad smell, hyenas or both. The cream-colored lioness sat down and stubbornly turned her head away.
"Come on, Sarafina, I know you don't like water..." the beige lioness wanted to say, when her friend interrupted her: "You must have meant 'detest' because that's what I do."
Just as the former queen was about to try to convince her friend again, the waterfall parted like a curtain and revealed a passage. Sarafina's eyes widened in surprise, and she stared in disbelief at the spectacle in front of her. A small smile formed on Sarabi's lips as she looked amusedly at the other lioness. When the two big cats finally passed the waterfall and entered the cave, Sarafina was amazed. She had heard of this cave before, but didn't know that it was so far outside the sacred land.
"Ah, Your Majesty, you're back, and you've even brought visitors with you.", the cream-colored lioness heard an all too familiar voice and looked deeper into the cave.
"Rafiki... who else could it be?", Sarafina thought, and she felt a bit silly for not immediately thinking of the mandrill.
"Hello Rafiki... how have you been with Sora?" Sarabi asked curiously and in a good mood.
The other lioness immediately pricked up her ears and looked at the two animals.
Was she right about something, and had Sarabi really found a new love?
She stood next to the beige female, the mandrill could tell from Sarafina's look that she had a lot of questions and decided to answer them.
"The little one didn't cause any problems, we were outside a bit today. He's moving much better than yesterday," Rafiki explained, and quietly went to the back of the cave, where there was a small pond.
Sarafina immediately recognized the little bundle that was curled up and sleeping in front of the pond. A lion cub, even though she had never seen a cub with such ash brown fur and even a light-brown mane. She looked at her friend with wide eyes and had to pull herself together not to ask out loud. Sarabi pointed with her head towards the entrance of the cave, which meant that she, the cream-colored lioness, should follow her there. When the two lionesses sat down with the mandrill a little way away from the young lion, Sarafina could no longer pull herself together.
"Sarabi, where did this cub come from?" the lioness asked the former queen, slightly panicked, and looked at her questioningly.
The cream-colored big cat didn't know what to make of it; lion cubs don't just appear out of nowhere. She was also sure that her friend wasn't pregnant; the other lionesses and Scar would have noticed something like that. The cub was also much too old, certainly the same age as Nala or... or as Simba.
"I found him yesterday, he was all alone in... in the gorge," explained Sarabi, and she had to gather her strength for a moment.
"What were you doing there?" Sarafina asked worriedly.
Like everyone else, she knew what had happened there and was worried about her friend.
"I... I happened to pass by there, and Sora was attacked there. After I saved him, I asked where he came from and where his parents were. He doesn't remember anything except his name. His mother and father were probably killed, and his spirit is trying to protect him from the loss itself," said the beige lioness dejectedly and looked back at the cub.
"I understand... and what about the rest of his pack?" asked the lioness with the cream-colored fur and looked back at the little lions.
"There was no one near him, and no one was looking for him, he's alone," said Sarabi sadly and also looked at Sora.
"Something seems to have happened to his home too," added Rafiki, whereupon both lionesses looked at the mandrill.
"He remembered his home in his sleep and told me that he felt that he would never be able to return there," said the Mjuzi in a sad tone.
"What does he mean by that?" Sarabi asked curiously and approached Rafiki, while Sarafina just looked confused.
"I don't know, he didn't say much. But the way he said it... I felt the finality in it. It's difficult to describe, but it was probably destroyed somehow," explained the mandrill and sighed.
"That's really a lot for me... I don't even want to know how a young animal feels about it," said the cream-colored lioness and let her ears droop.
"The fact that he can't remember is a blessing for him. But that's one more reason for me to be there for him," explained Sarabi determinedly.
"But... is that the right decision? If Scar finds out about him, he'll kill him without hesitation. And I don't even want to imagine what he'll do to you if he finds out about it," said the cream-colored lioness fearfully and looked worriedly at her friend.
As a mother who raised a lion cub surrounded by hyenas, she lived in constant fear. The only thing that calmed her down was the knowledge that the other lionesses were also looking after Nala. Above all, however, she was afraid for Sarabi and that she was getting too involved with the young lion. Of course, she agreed with the former queen that Sora needed help and someone to be there for him. But if something were to happen to the ash-brown cub, her friend would be heartbroken again, and this time she would never recover from it. In addition, unlike Nala, Sora was not surrounded by lionesses to protect him, and Sarabi could not stay with him. Even though the cave was far away from the King's Rocks and the hyenas, there was no guarantee that something couldn't happen.
"Sarafina...!" the cream-colored lioness suddenly heard her friend's voice, tearing her from her thoughts and looking at the former queen.
"I understand what you mean and your concerns, especially about Scar. But we already let too much happen, what else do we want to let go of? I am prepared to make sacrifices for the pack, but be honest: Should I really just look away when a young animal needs our help?" asked Sarabi in a serious tone.
"That... I wouldn't ask that of anyone, especially not you," answered Sarafina, looking back at the young animal.
She knew that her friend was right, as a mother, she would be the first to save a young animal from danger. She would certainly have rushed to Sora's rescue herself if she had been in Sarabi's place. And yet, Sarafina was worried about what might happen if she did.
Meanwhile, the little lion began to stir and slowly woke up, he began to stretch like a cat. He yawned loudly and then looked around for Rafiki, but couldn't find the mandrill at first glance. However, the young animal heard a few voices talking to each other. He immediately recognized the voices of Sarabi and Rafiki, but he didn't recognize the third voice. Of course, he was curious to know who the new visitor was. But above all, he was happy that the beige lioness was back. A big smile spread across his face, and he started to run towards the lioness.
"Saaaraaabiiiiii!" Sora shouted excitedly and jumped towards the former kings.
The three adults only heard the call, the female that was called couldn't even turn in the direction of the spring because Sarabi was already caught by the young lion. Completely surprised, the larger big cat was torn from its paws and landed on its back on the ground, while at the same time looking confused at the ceiling of the cave. The little lion had rolled over her and almost landed in the waterfall when it remained lying on its stomach.
"Oops... that was probably a bit too hard. I'm sorry, Sarabi," Sora apologized as he then stood up again and went to the lioness.
"You really are a boisterous cub, you could hardly walk yesterday," said the beige lioness, still a bit dazed, and turned onto her four paws.
Meanwhile, Rafiki and Sarafina were observing the situation between the two. The lioness was completely surprised by the lion cub's bright nature; she had never seen a cub run over an adult lioness before. Above all, she noticed that the ash-brown lion was very agile. As soon as she noticed him, Sora had already taken her by surprise. Rafiki, on the other hand, just giggled a little and had to put his hand over his mouth. After all, the young male had only recently been tired from his training, and when he had noticed the former queen, he could run like a young gazelle.
When Sarabi sat up again, she looked sternly at the cub and said in a serious voice: "I'm glad you remember that you don't just run others over. But it would be better for everyone if you didn't bump into anyone when you greeted them."
Sora let his head and ears hang a little while he said in an apologetic tone: "Okay, I was just so happy to see you again."
"I'm excited to see you again, too. And especially that you didn't cause any trouble for Rafiki," said the lioness, carefully wiping some dust from the young lion's mane.
"Um... yes, I'm excited to see you again too. Is the new lioness a friend of yours?" she asked curiously and looked past Sarabi to see Sarafina.
"Yes, she is. This is Sarafina, she belongs to our pack and is a close friend of mine. That's why I brought her with me today so that you can get to know each other," said the former queen and moved to the side so that both big cats could see each other.
Sora immediately ran to the new female, who flinched a little and was afraid of being run over. But before that happened, the boy stopped and looked at the lioness with a broad smile.
In an excited voice, he said: "Hello, I'm Sora. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sarafina."
Sarafina had to smile at the cub's cheerful and at the same time bright nature. Although the young lion had suffered so much, his blue eyes seemed so alive. It had been a long time since she had seen such a happy and lively cub, or indeed a cub that beamed so much. Her heart hurt when she had to think of Nala. She was probably scared again at that moment and was comforted by the other lions. She immediately let her ears droop and lowered her head a little, which the lion cub noticed.
"Are you okay? You look so... sad?" Sora asked worriedly and approached Sarafina.
"I-It's... it's nothing... I... I was just thinking about my daughter," the cream-colored lioness explained, trying to put on a smile.
"Is she okay?" the cub asked cautiously.
"Not really, it's... complicated," Sarafina replied, closing her eyes and sitting down.
The last thing she wanted was to scare Sora and burden him with problems. Sarabi knew only too well how Nala felt, and also knew why her friend was avoiding the question. The ash-brown lion cub had already been through enough of his own, and no one wanted to burden him anymore. How bad things were for her home and her pack shouldn't cause him any additional worries. Especially when he himself had lost both and was now all alone.
"I understand... but I think as long as you're with her, she'll be fine. I... I felt sad, too... and was scared. But then Sarabi saved me, and she looked after me. As well as Rafiki... I still feel bad... but thanks to them, I feel better. I think... as long as you're with her, everything will be fine," Sora said in an encouraging tone and put his front paw on Sarafina's.
Just by trying to comfort her, the cream-colored lioness couldn't help but smile and feel better. At the same time, Sarafina was also a little amazed at how a young lion who had been through so much could find such mature words. And she wasn't alone in this, Sarabi was also impressed by Sora's inner strength. She wondered if it was because he didn't remember his past. But then the beige lioness remembered that he still felt the pain of loss. The former queen wondered where the cub got the strength from.
"Thank you for trying to cheer me up, you really are a special little lion," Sarafina said in a grateful tone and ruffled the little lion's mane, whereupon he laughed and giggled loudly.
"Yes... he is. And that's not just because you can't ruffle his mane anymore," said Sarabi in an amused tone and laughed.
"Perhaps his will look better after you've done a good job of ruffling it. At the moment he looks more like a porcupine than a lion," said Rafiki in an amused tone and laughed while holding his hand to his mouth.
The cream-colored lioness let go of the cub's mane and laughed a little herself. It had been a long time since she had laughed with joy. On one hand, it felt good, on the other, it was tragic. Especially when she thought of her own daughter, who was plagued by nightmares. Sarafina could only hope that things would get better, maybe it would do Nala good if she got to know Sora.
"Well, I'm glad that you two get along so well. Because I plan to go out with Sora and could use your help," said Sarabi in a somewhat worried tone.
Do you want to go out with Sora now? It's afternoon, the hyenas will soon be up for their next meal," said the cream-colored lioness worriedly and looked down at the ash-brown cub, who wondered what it was about.
"I understand you, Sarafina. But we still have to go out, and for important reasons. The first is that Sora hasn't eaten anything yet," explained the beige female, whereupon the stomach of the said cub began to growl and attracted everyone's attention.
The lion cub smiled embarrassed, while the two lionesses wondered how such a small stomach could be so loud. Rafiki, on the other hand, just laughed and wasn't surprised at all, after all, she had moved a lot today. After a while, they looked back at Sarabi and waited for the next reason.
The lioness looked at the cub and sighed, and in a somewhat dejected voice she said, "The second reason is that Sora must learn to stand on his own paws as quickly as possible. He must learn to track, sneak and hunt."