The previous night, while resting atop his rock, Scar had watched Nala settle herself down. Naturally, he had opted for her presence next to him—side by side and feeling each other's warmth—but since he still had a long way to go gaining her trust, he had permitted her to choose a place within his den herself. The lioness had picked a spot located closer to Zazu's cage than to Scar's rock.
At present, in contrast to last night, Nala observed Scar. The black-maned king remained asleep, which for Nala meant the perfect opportunity to overthink their brief conversation they had shared before they went to sleep. "I don't know if I'm able to sleep with you looming so closely!" Scar, remaining calm, had responded by simply reassuring Nala of her safety. Nala yearned she could fully trust her king, but he had yet to convince her. Her night had been restless, widening her eyes countless times, she had forced herself to remain cautious to see if Scar had kept his word and that there were no hyenas or Zira hiding in the dark corners of the cave. Subtly, Nala had attempted to communicate these worries to Scar.
"If Zira or any hyena were hiding themselves here, I would've smelled their foul odour… I'm not the cruel lion you perceive me to be," Scar had responded, sighing. "Nala, all my actions are for the greater good of our kingdom. We'll address this subject after we both have rested. Night…"
Nala's train of thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she heard Scar hum an eerie song in his sleep. She frowned, glimpsing the lion. Scar's singing remained still imprinted in Nala's memory, yet not for its delightfulness. It was a jarring experience she'd rather forget. Currently, Scar's behaviour reminded Nala of the time she thought she had heard him speak to the dead. What's going on inside his mind?
"No—no, leave!" Scar loudly gasped in his sleep. The king, lying on his side, rapidly twitched his paws as if he ran away from something unseen. At that and at his heavy breathing, Nala frowned upon. She, however, wasn't given further time to observe as the two leading hyenas entered the cave. Nala turned, her expression altering upon spotting Banzai carrying a fresh piece of their latest kill.
"Better wipe ya exciting expression off ya face, girl. This is for Scar," Shenzi spoke hostilely. The hyena's rude behaviour tempted Nala to correct her, but, after Banzai had aggressively dropped the prey on the floor, a loud yell startled her and drew all the attention of those present.
The source of the loud yell was unmistakable—it was the king himself. Violently awoken from the nightmare he apparently was having, his piercing yell reverberated all around the den's walls. "What was that? Where am I?" Scar scanned the area nervously, yet upon spotting the two hyenas, his facial expression darkened. He narrowed his eyes at Banzai, realising the hyena had been the one who had caused the blast. "Where did you do that for? Were my apologies insufficient?" he spoke in an upsetting tone.
"Uh sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"Nevermind…" Scar frowned, flashing the food the hyenas brought a look. "You're lucky I'm not that hungry. This isn't enough for two. I'm expecting a larger piece tomorrow!" he commanded, casting the two hyenas a strict gaze.
"What?! Ya are looking at the biggest portion!" Shenzi objected. "We can't work miracles! There's just not enough to—"
"Begone!" Scar cut the female hyena off, ignoring her complaints. "Before we eat you as well!" Following a clearing of his throat, he quickly gave the two leaving hyenas a sign of gratitude. "Um, thanks a lot, pals…" he said, recalling them expressing their issues with the recent changes the day before. "We appreciate it."
"I notice you seem in better spirits today," Scar said after they both finished eating their breakfast. He had allowed Nala to eat the largest part.
"Despite the circumstances, I am," Nala responded. She sat herself down next to the remains of their breakfast. It had been weeks since Nala had felt so stuffed that she almost couldn't remember the sensation.
"Good, because we eventually have quite some work ahead of us. Cubs don't just fall out of the sky, and lands sadly don't magically restore. At least, not on my watch..." Scar mumbled, whereafter a yawn followed.
Nala flashed the scarred lion a stare. She still wondered why a king would be constantly haunted by nightmares. "I don't know if I should address this, but—" Nala, afraid to provoke an aggressive response from Scar, struggled to find her words.
Scar arched his eyebrow seeing Nala's awkward look. "Please, spill it out…" he responded. "Don't hesitate. If there's something on your mind, speak."
"I noticed you had a nightmare," Nala finally said.
"Ah, that... I've had them quite a lot lately," Scar started. Nala would soon discover his weaker sides, he knew that. "A king alone, well, that's a tragedy. For countless nights, I was forced to sleep all alone on this cold, sad rock!" he spoke dramatically and highly extravagantly.
Nala hesitated, almost rolling her eyes, but when she locked eyes with him, an overwhelming sense of pity washed over her. "There's still so much I don't know about you," she said, hoping her curiosity wouldn't trigger Scar to switch his current sincere persona to his musical one.
"I'll take you to a private spot this afternoon." Briefly, Scar threw Zazu a look. "I'll answer your questions."
As a reaction to Scar's silent hint, Zazu inhaled deep. "For crying out loud, just set me free then!" the bird responded.
"Wait, why don't you?" Nala asked. She never understood Scar's insistence on imprisoning the hornbill inside his cave. Entertainment surely couldn't have been the reason, as it was evident Zazu brought Scar no joy at all. The bird was seldom released, and only when Scar or the hyenas were around to supervise. Nala couldn't remember the last time she had seen Zazu beyond the royal cave. Nala hoped, as queen, she could be an influence to the king. She was determined on her mission to provoke Scar into changing some of his absurd choices, yet she acknowledged she had to remain cautious.
"I've developed my personal issues with that flying tabloid over the years," Scar responded, shaking his head. "If I would set him free, he'd cause trouble the moment I do so." He flashed the imprisoned bird another look. "I admit it's no five star residence, but he could've ended far worse. As I recall those old—" Scar coughed deliberately, "—horrible times correctly, Zira had other plans…"
—Flashback Scar/Zazu/Zira—
Scar let out a yawn as he emerged from his new residence, the royal cave. Zira followed behind him. "Ah, there's my flying morning report!" Scar said, smiling oddly upon seeing Zazu flying towards them.
After landing, Zazu's face expressed dislike as he stood across the black-maned king. "Morning report? You may stick that into your—" With his sentence left unsaid, the hornbill's widened eyes evidenced his anger, his blood vessels on the verge of bursting. "If you thought I'd work for such a despicable king, then you've thought wrong! I quit!" he snarled loudly. In a swift manner, Zazu flapped his wings rapidly.
"If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out. Out of service, out of Africa. I wouldn't hang about... This child is getting wildly out of wing…"
The situation led Zazu to recall a small encounter he recently had with Simba, which had formed itself only due to playful actions of an innocent cub. Only a few days had passed since, yet it felt like a decade to Zazu. The bird shuddered, his feathers ruffling as he stared down, avoiding the gaze of the much darker lion, who he knew had always been hungry for power. "What a tragedy…"
Scar frowned. "What a temper… Be careful your eyes won't pop out," he said sarcastically. He had to withhold himself from rolling his eyes. "How terrible is it to utter such horrible words to a lion who recently has suffered the loss of his entire family… I've been king since, what, two days? What could I've possibly done wrong already?" he added, using a rather fake innocent tone.
"During your entire existence, what haven't you done wrong?" Zazu sighed. "For your benefit, let's focus on the past few days only then…" Strictly, the bird stretched his wing, touching Scar's nose as if pressing a button. "You've let the hyenas in! Those slobbery, mangy, stupid poachers! My feathers are still ruined from that day they tried to cook me!" Zazu flashed both Scar and Zira a sour look. "A traitor! That's what you are!"
"I explained why I did that!" Scar, pulling a face, used his paw to swiftly avoid Zazu's wing strike, as if it were an insignificant annoying fly.
"And you've knocked me down! I intended to seek help, but you interfered by knocking me down!" Zazu continued, sounding panicky.
"Nonsense! You flew into me, you idiot!" Scar quickly responded. He noticed behind him, Zira growled. The lioness stood ready to strike the chattering bird, but Scar blocked her path. "Your own hysterical fluttering is what knocked you down, nothing more!" he improvised.
"If only Mufasa followed my advice and had made a throw rug out of him…" Zazu muttered, inhaling deep once more.
Scar rolled his eyes, his blood boiling. "Fine! I don't need you!" he shared, narrowing his gaze. "You've made your choice, and now I'll make mine… I forbid you to ever again step a foot—or to fly over—" Scar sighed as he clumsily stumbled over his words. "Just get out of my land!"
"Gladly!" Zazu yelled, a spiteful glance present in his eyes. Promptly after, he flew off.
From the corner of his eye, the king observed the bird's flight and witnessed him heading towards the lionesses. Scar let it go. He figured after years of service and a recent mourning period, Zazu and Sarabi should be allowed to have a goodbye moment together. The lion wasn't given time to overthink that since, roughly, Zira claimed his opposite space, his comfort zone.
"You fool! We could've fed him to the hyenas!" Zira growled, spitting the words in Scar's face.
Upon backing a few steps in reverse, Scar responded with a roar. "Don't you ever call me a fool again!" he called out, his tone sounding slightly offended. "We don't want those lionesses to connect the dots, or do we? Don't you think feeding Mufasa's right hand to the hyenas is a major clue, hm? The dimmest creature would've solved the puzzle…" Scar shook his head, sighing. "Your task, as the queen, is to provide me with an heir, not to meddle in the way I rule my kingdom!"
"A kingdom which, by whose aid you obtained!?" Another growl escaped Zira's mouth, her intentions clear. "Without me, you would've still lived your life under Mufasa's rule, boring yourself until your skin started to rot off your bones!" she continued, yelling.
"All right, stop!" Scar sighed, feeling backed into a corner. Females…
—End of flashback—
The present evidenced Zazu hadn't been able to depart from the Pride Lands indefinitely. One day, as the sun set and Scar had finally kicked Zira out of his den, the hyenas had stumbled upon a familiar face they soon identified as their favourite hornbill... "Just create a cage out of bones," Scar had commanded them, frowning upon Zazu's return. The rest was history…
"In here, at least, I'm safe from the hungry mouths of those ugly friends of yours!" Zazu shivered, certain events of the past still lingering in his mind. "I hope you'll have better luck with him than I had, Nala. No matter how hard I've tried, I've never succeeded in having a meaningful conversation with him!" he exclaimed. "I'm afraid, from now on, this will be your every day's morning report…"
Blasting some air from his nose, Scar neared Zazu's cage. He gave the bird a strict stare. At that, Zazu swallowed and directed his gaze down. Subsequently, Scar grabbed one of the cage's bones that restricted Zazu from his freedom. Aggressively, the lion pulled it out. "Change of plans..."
Confused, Zazu's eyes locked onto the empty space where Scar had effortlessly removed the bones. For the first time in what felt like ages, he could just walk out or fly away. Or at least, that was what Zazu thought for a fleeting second, until Scar blocked his path, his claw shining menacingly in the bird's gaze.
Scar, narrowing his eyes, said to Zazu, "Don't think I'll make this a habit." He shifted his focus towards his queen. "Nala, take him out for a little while. Fresh air helps your healing process anyway," he instructed her. "We'll reschedule ours. Tomorrow, I presume, will do as well." Although Scar had rather not altered his plans, he figured if he could make Nala feel less like a captive, it might work to his advantage in the long run.
Nala, after glimpsing Zazu step beyond the cage carefully, turned to the king. "That's thoughtful of you!" The black-maned king was full of surprises, Nala thought. Nala's intentions of creating a better life for all the Pride Lands remaining residents, perhaps, were to be an easier task than she had anticipated it to be.
"I'll inform the hyenas. They'll form no danger to the both of you," Scar shared. His eyes once more found Zazu's. "I expect you to remain at Nala's side the entire time, bird. Don't make me regret my decision..." Scar, eyes wide, sent the hornbill a look worth a kill. He knew he had to contain himself, so slowly, he turned his back. "Please, go!" Scar urged, his voice sounding doggedly.
"Just like the good old days," Zazu said with a smile, breathing in the long desired fresh air. The hornbill referred to Nala's childhood, when he often had to monitor her and Simba. "You don't intend to ditch me, I assume?"
"Zazu," Nala smirked, "I think we've got the roles switched, don't you agree?" Despite her still being cautious towards the hyenas, Nala couldn't help but assume that, after Scar's warning, they would now think twice before actually posing a threat to the queen.
"What's your secret, Nala?" Zazu suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, how did you manage to enchant the um—" Zazu lowered his voice, as they had barely left the royal den. "—mad tomcat? I honestly can't recall a single instance where he made a decent decision until today, and believe me, he and I go way back!"
"Hopefully, I'm also able to break his singing habit. He even sings in his sleep, haven't you heard?" Nala arched an eyebrow.
"Uhuh—" Zazu nearly choked. He figured all the moments he'd heard Scar testing his vocals were beyond counting. No earplug would've had any impact… "Good luck with that! It's a typical trait of Ahadi's bloodline, and Scar, by far, is the worst! His singing even sets the hyenas running." Zazu couldn't decide what he loathed more, Scar forcing him to listen to his theatrical performances or having to serve as Scar's personal singer himself. "Between you and me, Nala, I'm starting to believe you're exactly the queen we've all long yearned for…"
A/N:
Zazu's imprisoning required some background information I presumed :D. Can't make any promises, but I hope to give you one more chapter this year.