The Mjuzi
When the two lions finally arrived at a thick tree, Sora was amazed. He had never seen such a thick tree that wasn't gigantic. On the other hand, he couldn't remember having seen many trees. Black outlines of something that looked like trees flashed in his head, but that was it. Curious, the lion cub walked around the tree a little and looked at it more closely, but never strayed too far from his companion. Sarabi grinned a little at the cub's astonished look, and at the same time found it adorable. The lioness looked around carefully to see if there was a hyena nearby. Of course, there wasn't one, why would there be? Scar paid no attention to this place and its inhabitant. And the hyenas, on the other hand, were too busy hunting the herds.
"Rafiki, are you there?" Sarabi called cautiously, whereupon a moment later a figure jumped out of the tree.
It was a tall and thin mandrill with long arms and legs. It has a blue-dark gray fur with a light gray underbelly, brown hands and feet. Its snout was pink, and its nose was red. It had blue stripes on its cheeks, and its eyes were black. In one hand, it held a stick that was attached to the two pumpkins.
"Your Majesty, what a surprise. Although I wasn't really expecting visitors today," Rafiki said thoughtfully and rubbed his chin.
"To be honest, I didn't plan it either. The reason I'm here is that I need your help." The lioness explained matter-of-factly and gestured with her head next to her.
When the mandrill looked to the side, he noticed the lion cub and looked at it with wide eyes. Sora also looked at Rafiki with an astonished expression, which did not go unnoticed. He slowly approached the cub and leaned down to the lion with the dark fur, fascinated. Without hesitation, Sora began to wipe Rafiki's cheeks with his front paws.
"Hey, be careful. Old Rafiki's face is ticklish," said the mandrill, amused, laughing.
"Sora, what was that about?" asked Sarabi in a surprised and amused tone, smiling slightly.
"I wanted to see if he had painted his face, I've never seen a monkey with such a colorful face," explained the young lion, fascinated, looking at Rafiki with wide eyes.
"Sora, you don't just touch other people's faces. Besides, Rafiki is a mandrill, not a monkey," said the lioness in a stern yet gentle voice.
"I'm sorry, I hope it wasn't too unpleasant," apologized the cub, his ears slightly flattened.
"Oh, don't worry, it's good to be curious. As long as you don't ignore caution," Rafiki said kindly and ruffled the young lion's mane, whereupon the lion smiled amused.
"Um... Rafiki, could we talk somewhere else?" Sarabi asked, looking a little uneasy and worried.
The mandrill nodded and climbed up the tree. Sarabi grabbed Sora by his neck and climbed up the tree with the lion cubs. As much as the lioness hated to admit it, climbing wasn't one of her great strengths. Having a cub in her mouth didn't make it any easier, but she would manage, and luckily the tree wasn't too high. It was strange for Sora to be carried like that, but it didn't feel bad. However, he could see that it was quite exhausting for Sarabi.
"I'll learn to climb as quickly as possible. Then it will be easier for Sarabi when they have to climb up where and how," Sora thought determinedly.
When the two lions reached the top, the young lion was amazed. Thanks to the width of the tree, the upper part of the trunk was a kind of platform, while the branches and the treetop served as a roof. Liana's with pumpkins strung on them hung from the branches, and there were also a few open and whole pumpkins lying around. Colors were mixed in some of the pumpkins, and you could also see what the mandrill needed the colors for. Various pictures of animals and landscapes were painted on the branches of the tree. Sora couldn't stop being amazed, and it was only when Sarabi put him down that he was able to tear himself away from everything here.
"This is amazing, what kind of place is this?" asked the young lion in astonishment.
"My home, I'm glad you like it so much," Rafiki said in an amused voice and sat down on one of the branches.
The lioness leaned down to the cub and asked in a caring tone: "Sora, I need to discuss something with Rafiki. Could you wait here for a moment?"
"Can I look at the pictures meanwhile?" the lion cub asked excitedly and looked expectantly at Sarabi.
"I don't think Rafiki has anything against it, but please don't go too far to the edge. And don't climb on any branches, understood?" the lioness said in a stern tone, to which the cub nodded.
He immediately went to a thick branch and looked at the pictures. He quickly understood that the pictures told a story and tried to understand what kind of story. One picture in particular caught Sora's eye; it looked like a golden lion cub, but someone seemed to have blurred it. Sarabi grinned a little at the young lion's fascination and turned to the mandrill. He also had a gentle smile on his face as he looked at Sora.
"Rafiki, I..." the lioness wanted to start speaking when he held up his hand and stopped her.
"I know why you're here, I may be a few years old. But old Rafiki immediately recognized what you wanted to ask. And I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Scar will never tolerate him, and the hyenas roam the land without considering anyone. This place has long since ceased to be a safe place for a young animal, not even for those born here," Rafiki said in a sad voice and looked dejectedly at Sarabi.
"I know, but he seems to have lost his parents. Something bad must have happened because he has no memories. And when I asked him about it, he had a terrible headache," the lioness explained sadly and looked back at Sora briefly.
"The mind is very complex, maybe he will have to face his past at some point. But if something terrible has happened, we should wait. The only question is whether he can survive here long enough until he reaches old age," the mandrill said thoughtfully and rubbed his chin.
"I'm afraid there is no place that is safe for him. When I found him, he was attacked by strange creatures that I had never seen before. They moved across the ground like shadows and chased him, their eyes were so empty. When I fought them and killed them, their bodies vanished into thin air," the lioness explained in a dark tone and made sure that Sora didn't notice.
Rafiki's expression darkened, and he grabbed his staff with both hands, as if he were bracing himself before a heavy weight pushed him to the ground. Sarabi hasn't seen the mandrill like this in a long time, not since the day her world shattered. However, his expression was even more worrying than then, which frightened the lioness a little.
"You know what kind of creatures they were, have you ever seen them?" the lioness asked excitedly, approaching him.
"No, fortunately I've never seen them. But I know who they are, they are more dangerous than Scar and the hyenas combined. They are creatures of darkness, some born of darkness. Others were created from all those who have fallen prey to darkness. They are said to search for the light and consume anyone who has the misfortune to encounter them. You were very lucky that you and the cub were able to escape, Your Highness," Rafiki said in an ominous tone, gesturing with his hand.
Sarabi's eyes widened as the story, realizing what she was hearing. The lioness looked back at the boy, who was examining a picture with his paws. For a moment, she thought back to the moment when Sora defeated those creatures of darkness. If these creatures were really looking for the light, then he really wouldn't be safe.
"Rafiki, I didn't escape those monsters. Sora defeated them, when one attacked me, he defended me. At that moment, a bright glow appeared, and something strange that I've never seen appeared in Sora's mouth. A strange stick that had a strange shape. This thing glowed strongly and destroyed the creatures," Sarabi said, stunned but as quietly as possible.
Rafiki's eyes were also stunned and fascinated at the same time. He had only heard legends before and never seen anything. And now an old story literally became real before his eyes, which at the same time worried him.
"If these creatures of darkness have been defeated, the others may not know where he is. Despite all that, you are right, Sora will probably not be safe anywhere. Knowing you, you have already made up your mind," Rafiki stated, looking at the lioness with a raised eyebrow.
"I want him to stay with me, but I cannot leave the King's Rock. The lionesses need me, especially in these difficult times. Our pack is so big with the hyenas that we have to go hunting every day. It is not uncommon for me to stay out for longer. I need someone to look after Sora when I cannot be with him, and you are the only one I trust," the lioness explained her plan.
"I see you have already thought about it, but it is still too much. And the boy cannot stay here, my tree is not straight ..." Rafiki wanted to say when he suddenly heard a noise.
Both adults immediately turned to the source and saw that some of the pumpkins with the colors were scattered on the ground. Most of the color, however, was on the lion cub, who had fallen face-first against a branch. His hind legs were green and orange, while his rear was blue. The two front paws were white and yellow, and his head was colored red. When he detached his face from the branch and fell on his rear to the ground, an image of his face remained on the branch.
"... Child-safe," Rafiki finished his sentence somewhat monotonously.
The lioness immediately went to the young lion, who smiled at them, somewhat embarrassed. Sarabi froze for a moment when she remembered that Simba had always looked like that when he had done something wrong. Her rigidity quickly dissolved, and she went to the little lions with a sterner look.
"Have you hurt yourself somewhere?" asked the lioness, stern and at the same time worried.
"My face hurts a little, but otherwise I'm fine. Sorry about the mess," said Sora sheepishly and suddenly felt himself being licked clean.
Rafiki's paints consisted mostly of fruit and soil and luckily were not poisonous. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that they tasted good.
They couldn't go to the watering hole because they didn't want anyone to see the strange cub. Nevertheless, Sarabi could overlook the taste, even though the cub had really caused chaos.
"Really, I can't take your eyes off you for a moment. How did you manage that?" the lioness wanted to know in a serious voice while she cleaned his face.
"I don't see one of the open pumpkins that had paint in it. And when I took out my front paw, I stepped into another one with my back paw. Then I slipped, luckily the branch prevented me from falling," explained Sora while his cheek was licked up.
He had to admit that it didn't feel bad to be cleaned like that. Still, he was sorry for what he had done here and didn't want anyone to be angry with him. However, the mandrill didn't seem to be upset, he cleared away the peels of the broken vegetables and turned to the two lions with a friendly expression on his face.
"I'm sorry, Rafiki. I didn't mean to leave a mess in your home." Sora apologized while his face was cleaned again by Sarabi's tongue.
"Don't worry, I've caused bigger messes myself. The main thing is that nothing happened to you, but our problem is not still solved," the mandrill explained matter-of-factly.
"As for that, there is a cave on the border. Near the river that leads to the Shadow Land. Now that the hyenas are in the Pride Land, they no longer stay in the Shadow Land. The only thing that is of interest to them is the elephant graveyard if they want to be left in peace from Scar," suggested Sarabi.
"Hmm, the cave is very far away from the graveyard, and the jackals' territory is probably in between. The herds also stay away from the place, which is why the hyenas aren't interested in the place," pondered Rafiki thoughtfully.
"I think so too, but the decision is yours. I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I'm asking for your help," asked the lioness, looking seriously at the mandrill.
The mandrill stroked his face and looked at Sora's face at the same time. Even if the part with the light and shadow hadn't happened, the young animal was still too small to survive on its own. Rafiki didn't need long to make his decision and then nodded.
"Of course I'll help, who could say no to such an innocent face?" said the mandrill, amused, and ruffled Sora's mane, whereupon he laughed with joy.
"Thank you, Rafiki," the lioness thanked him happily and smiled confidently.
"That goes without saying, Your Highness.
Sora, please give me and Sarabi a moment." Rafiki asked kindly, whereupon the lion cub nodded and went to the other side of the tree.
The mandrill looked at the lioness seriously and asked: "There's one more thing I need to know: what will you do if Scar finds out about our little friend?"
Sarabi looked at Rafiki seriously and answered determinedly: "I will protect Sora, whatever the cost. Scar and his hyena are destroying our home and tyrannizing the herds and us too. Originally, I wanted to keep the pack together and protect them, even if the price was high. I am loyal to my pack and not to Scar, but now someone else has joined. It is not fair to the other lionesses, but Sora needs us. How can I still live with myself if I don't help a lion cub that protected me?"
The mandrill nodded when he noticed that Sora was looking at them. He could see in the little lion's eyes that he was worried. Not about himself, but about Sarabi and him too. What a good-natured heart you have to think of others first in a situation like this rather than yourself. Rafiki now understood what light these creatures of darkness were after. They were desperately searching for a heart that they don't have. And the young lion's was so bright that you could see it with the naked eye.
"Very well, Your Majesty. It's time, let's go. Come on, let's go," said the mandrill in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice, which made Sora smile.
"Very well, Rafiki, but calm down. Come on, Sora, I'll carry you down," said Sarabi amused and went to the lion cub, lifting him up by his neck so that she could carry him down.
When the two were gone, Rafiki stopped briefly inside and looked back at the branch with Sora's red face print. He smiled and approached the branch in question as he began to look around. Luckily, the mandrill quickly found what he was looking for, an open pumpkin with brown and yellow paint. He picked it up, dipped his hand in it, and painted Sora's brown mane on the lion's face print. With the yellow colors, he painted the crown symbol that the brown cub wore around its neck below the face.
Rafiki smiled contentedly and said: "A spark of hope... in this long, cold darkness."