Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC Ashanti and any alterations to the original storyline plot her presence creates to various readers amusement everywhere across the globe.
Ashanti: Peace Of Milele Chapter 14
What a predicament the trio have found themselves engulfed in at around midafternoon.
Despite all their efforts, the Outsiders have finally caught up to Ashanti, Mufasa, and Taka after relentlessly following their trail for weeks on end. Their persistence is unrelenting.
Even with Masego's spirit guiding Ashanti's direction, it's not enough to keep them away.
At first, when Ashanti had notified Mufasa about their father's spirit contacting her, he had been deadest in not believing that. He wants to think that both their mother and father are out there alive, not dead.
But then Ashanti was so unmovable in her certainty that Mufasa gave in and stopped arguing with his sister about it. Continuing to disregard it in his mind, Mufasa ceases to pester Ashanti about it.
Taka had no problem trusting Ashanti on this, although he had some small inhibitions on the subject that he wisely kept to himself.
A good smart take to start their bond together.
Unfortunately, Masego can't help them with this current dilemma.
Ashanti doesn't know how much longer they can keep this up. Little sleep and even less access to food are taking their toll. Sooner or later, exhaustion will eventually win out and relieve the trio of their faculties and remaining strength to go on. Clearly, the Outsiders would prefer it sooner rather than later. It's unfathomable that they've kept out of the Outsider's reach for even this long. Now they have the misfortune to lose the head start that they originally possessed. It's as if whatever progress had been made hardly existed in the first place.
Even with the brief surge of adrenaline coursing through their veins, they won't be able to keep this speed for very long.
Not with bloodthirsty Outsiders practically right on top of them.
The Outsiders have finally managed to intercept them.
None of them can slow down even for a second or else they're dead.
"Hunters," said Mufasa, jumping over logs and maneuvering in and out of the trees.
"What's the plan," panted Taka, breathlessly.
"Run…very fast," answered Mufasa.
Ears pricking at the sound of heavily flowing water, spotting a possible escape route, Ashanti said "This way!"
Ashanti leads Mufasa and Taka out through a break in the woods that unveils the top of a magnificent waterfall.
There are many waterways running over it, but Ashanti doesn't see any problem arising with that. As long as they use the dry patches to cross over, they should be able to make it over just fine.
Ashanti and Taka show no fear of the water as they make hop over to one such section.
Mufasa is another story.
Instead of jumping as Ashanti and Taka did, Mufasa skids to a stop, looking at the water in terror. Trepidation over water hitting Mufasa again in traumatic waves.
"Back to the trees," he said.
Shaking her head, Ashanti said "We're trapped. We have to swim."
"No, we have to fight," said Mufasa, refusing to budge.
"If we fight, we die," said Taka, stating the obvious.
"Butt if we swim, we drown," countered Mufasa, his fear of water outweighing his common sense.
Seeing this as a last resort, Taka said "Okay, I didn't want to do this, but I command you to swim."
"You what," said Mufasa, incredulously.
"Taka," said Ashanti, shocked.
"You've pledged your loyalty, so I command you to swim," ordered Taka.
"Taka, this isn't the time for jokes," said Mufasa, exasperatedly.
Only Taka isn't joking. Ashanti knows he isn't.
This disagreement is prevented from going further by a loud, booming, and ominous roar from behind them.
Out of the mist emerges a lone gazelle that has no intention of being someone's lunch. Unlike Mufasa it has no inhibitions about the water, effortlessly jumping over the parts of it leading to the waterfall to safety for the forest on the other side.
From out of the mist emerge the Outsiders with Kiros at their head.
Baring his teeth menacingly, looking back and forth between Mufasa and Taka, already knowing that his son was a male, Kiros demanded "Which one of you killed my son?"
Stepping forward without hesitation in an effort to protect both Taka and Ashanti, Mufasa declared "I did. These two lions with me are nothing but strays. Let them go. I'm the one you want. Take me and me alone."
"Kiros, the other male is no stray," informed Amara, a white lioness with one eye.
"He holds the blood of the pride," said Akua in silky malevolence.
Grinning darkly, Kiros said "The last blood of the king."
Catching a particular scent in the air originating from Ashanti, Amara said "Oh, no, Kiros. Not the last blood."
"What do you mean," questioned Kiros.
Catching the exact same scent her sister did, gleefully, Amara smirked "The female carries a secret. She holds the blood of the pride in her womb."
Laughing cruelly, Kiros sneered "The next generation."
Ashanti blanches, shrinking further back, chin tucked to chest with bile rising in her throat at the powerful intensity behind Kiros's gaze. Dread and panic pulsing through Ashanti's very core.
Kiros's main goal is clear. As he has lost his only son, with his bloodline ending with him, so would Obasi's with Taka.
Vengeance shall be his.
From behind Taka and Mufasa, Ashanti is crouched in terror, looking at each of the massive white lions with horror.
Taka and Mufasa instinctively shift places to act as a defensive wall in order to safeguard her, but they know all too well that they won't hold out for long against this massive force.
Knowing this, calling for the attack to commence, Kiros said "Blood for blood!"
Receiving the signal, they'd been waiting for the white lionesses to charge forward with sinister roars and for Akua and Amara to lead the strike.
"Run, Ashanti," said Mufasa.
Ashanti doesn't need to be told twice. Her thoughts only focused on safeguarding her unborn cubs, Ashanti was the first one to bolt, making a break for it over the water, jumping from rock to rock.
Taka and Mufasa are quick to follow, and adrenaline and fear of his sister's safety push the latter to temporarily ignore his fear of the water.
This doesn't last for long.
The three of them initially had been intent on reaching the forest on the other side of the water, but a wrong turn puts them on a rock literally on the edge of the waterfall.
There's no way out. They're trapped.
"They're coming," said Taka.
"What do we do," said Ashanti, eyes filled to the brim with abject horror, frantically searching for a way out that wasn't there, starting to border on hysterical.
Not a plain one at least.
"We fight the advantage," said Mufasa, weakly.
Spinning around, indignantly, Taka said "What advantage?! We're on a rock in the middle of the water!"
Kiros is at their head.
"Taka, this is it! We go for the king," said Mufasa, eyes locked on Kiros, feeling very strongly that if he and Taka team up against Kiros then they have a good chance of taking them out.
If Kiros had been alone then maybe, but not with all the other Outsiders surrounding them.
Regardless of the potential consequences, it's still something Mufasa is deadest on trying through his sheer determination.
No way in hell that is going to work.
With them preoccupied with Kiros the other lionesses ganging up on Ashanti would easily take her out and then turn on the boys.
They don't stand a chance. Mufasa's idea is foolhardy.
Taka and Ashanti both know this. Mufasa is too blinded by his fear of water to see it clearly.
But they're not.
Kiros, Akua, Amara, and the lionesses form a crescent-shaped prison around them, leaving no room for escape.
Kiros stalks forward, his eyes trained solely on Mufasa.
Baring his teeth, Mufasa hisses and snarls a challenge.
Kiros chuckles in dark amusement at Mufasa's false show of bravado.
Taka and Ashanti exchange an unseen glance behind Mufasa, the same idea hitting them at once. Taka nods, moving to stand beside Mufasa in an attack stance, appearing fully prepared to enter the fight with him. While Ashanti moves with delicate paws closer to the edge of the falls.
"Mufasa, I'm ready," said Taka. "Just one last thing."
"What," said Mufasa.
"Hold your breath," said Taka, grabbing Mufasa by the neck with his jaws and shoving him over the ledge at the exact moment Ashanti takes the leap.
"Taka," yelled Mufasa.
Realizing he might've made an error in judgment and miscalculated, Taka shouted "This was a bad idea!"
All three of them slam into the rough waters below.
Rolling and churning in current, Ashanti immediately starts kicking for the surface. Breaking through, Ashanti gasps for air and looks in all directions for Mufasa and Taka.
The two males are ahead of her, hanging onto a thick long branch as an anchor.
Taka is closest to her in the center of it and sees her coming before Mufasa.
"Ashanti," gasped Taka, reaching out with a paw, catching and pulling Ashanti in.
Right when all three recognize that they're safe and alive after a drop like that they instantly break out into laughter at the absurdity of it all.
"I can't believe that worked," said Ashanti, laughing in disbelief.
"Mufasa, we're alive. I did it. I saved us," said Taka, immensely satisfied.
"You did," said Ashanti, smiling.
Taka feels his confidence rising, assuming this was the "moment of courage" that Eshe had been referring to.
Yeah, they're not out of the woods yet.
A large splash is heard behind them, and they see that one of the white lionesses has taken the plunge to follow them.
Flatly, Mufasa said "You were saying?"
Taka still gets an A for effort though.
Ashanti doesn't know if it's luck or great timing, but the lioness is swiftly taken out by crocodiles lurking under the safe before she even gets halfway to them.
The other crocodiles that one is with turn their attention to Mufasa, Taka, and Ashanti.
This is bringing back memories.
The trio attempts to use the branch to climb out of reach, but their added weight combined with the current is too much for the limb. It breaks and they're sent tumbling back in.
This is actually a good thing for it causes the crocodiles to miss them by mere inches.
Leaving them alive to fight another day.
Luck is on their side as the river flow moves them at a speed where the Outsiders won't be able to gain on them for quite a bit.
A small respite of breathing room.
"Okay. Okay," said Taka, struggling to keep his head above the waves in the rapids, conceding that relying on the river from now on is a bad idea. "No…no more water."
He can say that again.
Authors Note:
I hope you all like this one! I certainly did while writing it for your vast enjoyment! ;D
For those of you just starting out with my stuff there are other works on my profile that may catch your interest. I highly recommend you take a look as soon as the opportunity presents itself to you. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.
Stay safe everyone. Especially with all of these crazy natural disasters occurring a lot lately due to global warming and climate change everywhere for sure. I swear it's like they're getting worse and worse all the time and it's like officials are simply just ignoring it or pretending it doesn't exist entirely just to go on with their daily lives. Especially those in multi-million dollar companies that rely on certain elements of our planet that we rely on to naturally keep us safe instead of adapting and finding new safer ways to keep in business. There are so many options out there where they can adapt, but they just refuse to see it because all they care about is money. Climate change is altering so much faster than anyone can really keep track of.
So, in light of all this, it is important to live life to the fullest as much as anyone can.
I know I am. ;) See you guys next time.