Chapter 4 : A Pride And A Rock
Abdul kept walking alongside Akina and Mheetu. The two of them would casually make small-talk as they kept a relaxed pace, talking about this and that. From time to time, they would even try to include him in the conversation as well.
However, seeing as he was a stranger, and most of what they talked about, were about things they were very familiar with -like the goings-on of various members of their pride-, he really didn't have much to offer as input. So, he mostly kept silent.
Even so, they at least tried to keep him up to pace with what they were talking about, and would try to explain things to him, whenever he clearly looked lost. Well, Mheetu did, for the most part. He would usually jump in to answer any question he might have had, before Akina even had the chance. Not that she looked very bothered by that. This probably wasn't something new.
Abdul had gotten the impression that Mheetu had a bit too much energy, even for a lion cub. He briefly wondered if something similar applied to him as well, given his current circumstances.
With that being said, most of the information Mheetu gave him were things like the names of the king and queen, their son's, and other animals, like Zazu and Rafiki. In other words, things that he already knew from having watched the movie, yet he wasn't supposed to know. Therefore, he kept his mouth shut, pretending to eagerly take in this "brand new" information he was being given.
Though if he was being fair, Mheetu did offer some interesting tidbits here and there that Abdul actually hadn't known about.
Like the fact that there were more cubs around than just Simba and Nala. Honestly, Abdul had understood why the movie had put so much focus on the two of them -being the main stars of the film and all- but he had found it a bit odd that no other cubs, apart from them, had ever been depicted. Even as background characters. At least, until additional material was introduced, but most of that came after the film's success. And even then, it mostly ranged from "secondary afterthought", to "questionable canonicity". So he didn't really think that counted.
It was also interesting to find out a little bit more about their relations within the pride. For example, he learned that Mheetu was Nala's younger brother -he knew he was related to someone, canon or not-. Still, that revelation had left him stunned for a little bit. Discovering that Sarafina had more than just one cub sure was something. How did that compute into the rest of the story ?
But, all in all, it was pretty interesting to see there was more to this place than what he had only seen on screen. But it also kept making it all the more difficult to accept that this whole thing was little more than a very elaborate and sophisticated dream.
'What kind of dream shows you something you couldn't possibly know ?' He tried not to think about it too much, but the doubts still clung to the back of his head.
"Oh Abdul, you really need to see the view from the top ! It's simply breathtaking !" Mheetu unknowingly offered him a welcome reprieve from his inner thoughts. Abdul shook his head and looked ahead. His eyes widened as he craned his neck upwards.
Oh, he knew that Pride Rock was big. Both the movie and the view from afar had made that very clear. But having closed the distance, actually seeing the natural formation with his very own eyes, up close and personal, really drove the point home.
Pride Rock was massive. He didn't remember any part of the Lion King lore going into detail about it, but it was certainly taller than even the flats back home. To Abdul, it really gave off that aura of a great natural wonder. Sure, he might have been in the body of the cub at the moment, but even then, he felt small when looking at it.
It shocked and awed him. Terrified and captivated him. All in equal measure.
"Wow." Abdul managed to utter.
"He-he. Yeah, wow." Mheetu agreed next to him.
Akina laughed at Abdul's reaction. "You know, Abdul. I think I had the exact same reaction when I first gazed upon it." She looked down at him. "They say you never forget the first time you lay your eyes on it. What do you think ?"
"It … It's amazing !" Abdul responded with utter sincerity. Witnessing Pride Rock, the home of his favourite movie characters, with his very own eyes -subconscious or not-, was simply incredible. He got shivers down his spine, and tried to keep his giddiness under control, lest he look like an overly excited fanboy.
"More like, awesome !" Mheetu cut in. "Come on ! We have so much to show you." He finished excitedly, before running off towards the Rock's entryway.
"Mheetu ! Stop running off on your own !" Akina tried to yell, yet Mheetu kept running, laughing along the way. She sighed. "Oh, when will that cub learn ?" She then sprinted after him.
"H-hey ! Wait up !" Abdul quickly broke out of his totally-not-fanboying. Not wanting to be left behind on his own, he ran after them. Yet despite his efforts, he couldn't keep up. Mheetu had gotten a great head-start, and Akina was a grown lioness.
"S-slow down !" So focused was he on catching up, that he didn't notice the terrain become uneven beneath his feet. Nor the obstacle in his path. By the time he noticed the tiny crack sticking out of the ground, it was too late. "Wait for mee-"
Abdul slipped, and his face became reacquainted with the ground once again. The air wheezed out of him on impact, and he heard a loud thud. It wasn't the first time Abdul had fallen on his face today. But it was the first time he had done so, while on the run, and having fallen on hard rock.
In other words ? It had hurt !
'Owww … And just when I thought I had gotten the hang of this.' But the question still lingered in his mind. Why did that hurt ? You weren't supposed to feel pain in a dream. Exhaustion ? Sure. Soreness ? Maybe. But pain ? Shouldn't his subconscious have woken him up from that ? 'What is even happening here ?'
"Abdul !" Akina's terrified voice broke him out of his stupor. With a groan, he lifted his head off the ground. He managed to see Akina running towards him, with Mheetu following behind. Not wanting to look completely helpless, he put his paws together and with some effort -and a little more groaning- he lifted himself onto a sitting position.
Akina came to a dead-stop in front of him, leaving small trails of smoke behind her. "Are you alright ?" She looked at him with worry, and concern was evident in her voice. Abdul felt a little touched by that.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. It just hurts a little."
"Where does it hurt ?" Akina continued, undeterred by his assurances.
Abdul placed a paw on his muzzle, where his right nostril was. That was where he felt like his nose was burning up. "Ow !" A string of pain hit him as soon as he touched it. He flinched his paw away from it. "There."
'Sweet. What a great way to start the Pride Rock Tour.' He thought, sarcastically.
Akina lifted a paw, but Abdul leaned away from it, as she was about to touch his muzzle with it. "I'm not gonna touch it. I just want to look at it. Okay ?" Akina tried to assure him. Though he hesitated a bit, Abdul relented and let her touch him.
True to her word, she gently held only the left part of his muzzle -her paw nearly as big as his muzzle-, while closely inspecting his right nostril. Even though she was trying to look concentrated, Abdul could spot a hint of concern in her eyes.
"What happened ? Is Abdul hurt ?" Mheetu finally caught up with them. From the corner of his eye, Abdul could see he also looked worried about him.
"I'm not hurt." Abdul's voice sounded a bit muffled, with Akina's paw covering his left nostril. His breathing also sounded more strained. "I just fell. Nothing to worry about."
"I think I'll be the judge of that, little one." Akina asserted, as she kept inspecting him. "How did this happen, anyway ?" She asked him.
"There was a small crack, sticking out of the ground. I didn't see it." He answered, a little frustrated at his own carelessness.
"Hehe." Mheetu laughed next to them. "How did you not see where you were going ? Did you learn how to walk this morning ?"
"Mheetu !" Akina said sharply, staring at him intensely. "If I remember correctly, I've also seen you stumble and fall plenty of times around the dens." She scolded him, before going back to inspecting Abdul.
'Yeah, Mheetu ! Stop calling me out with such chilling accuracy !'
Mheetu, meanwhile, looked pretty embarrassed, all of a sudden. He probably remembered a case where something along those lines had happened. "Sorry." He said meekly.
"Don't apologise to me. It's Abdul you have to apologise to." Akina said, not even looking at him.
"Sorry, Abdul." Mheetu tried again, this time looking at Abdul.
Wow, even in a world of talking -and most certainly imaginary- animals, one of the universal rules still applied. Kids being insensitive pricks, when it comes to other people's thoughts and feelings. Not that Abdul was really in any place to judge. He also used to be a child, after all.
'Used to ? Buddy, have you looked at yourself recently- Shut up, brain !' No, no. He was not gonna go down that rabbit hole. He already had doubts about whether what he was looking at was real or not. He was not going to add "identity crisis" to the list.
"It's alright, Mheetu." He hastily distracted himself by responding to him. "I should've been paying more attention, anyway. It's not bleeding, is it ?" He asked.
"No, just bruised. You were lucky." Akina stated relievedly, letting go of his muzzle, making it easy to breathe again. "It only left a little black spot on you. Leave it be. It should heal on its own. But Abdul." Akina leaned surprisingly close to him. "Please, be more careful next time. Okay ?"
Oh, why did she have to look at him like that ? Why was he suddenly reminded of the way Amina had looked at him a few times as a child, when she had been worried he was about to get into trouble ? Why did he suddenly feel like a kid being reprimanded -even oh so slightly- by a parent ?
"Okay-okay. I'll be more careful. Can we just keep going ?" He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about this. He didn't want to deal with it. He just wanted to get a move-on.
Akina didn't look convinced, yet didn't push further. "Yeah, let's keep going." She turned back towards the Rock's entryway. "And no running !" She sharply looked at Mheetu, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
"N-no problem." Mheetu walked after her, and Abdul followed along. "Hey, are you sure you're okay ?" Mheetu asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not like this is the first time I've been injured." Technically, it wasn't a lie. He had gotten much worse than a bruise, back home.
"W-wait, what ? What do you mean ?" Mheetu asked him with concern. Even Akina looked at him with widened eyes. Why were they looking at him like that ?
'Was it something that I said ? Why do they look so concerned … Laenaha Allah !' Only then, did Abdul realise just how messed up what he had said, actually was. They thought he was a lion cub. A cub. If someone had just tended to a small child's injuries, and their only response was something like "Don't worry, I've had worse." they wouldn't be reassured at all ! 'I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut !'
"I-I mean …" 'What to say ? What to say ?' "We-we are nomads." 'Okay, getting somewhere.' "Th-things aren't easy when you have no pride to rely on. No one to help you ... If you get in trouble out there, you're all … alone …"
'Why … Where did that last part come from ?' He hadn't meant to say that final part. It just kind of … came out ? 'Almost as if it came out from the heart … What is wrong with me ?' He hadn't expected this whole subconscious-thing to affect him so much.
Abdul knew he had messed up, and it wasn't just because of the stares Mheetu and Akina were giving him.
Mheetu looked at him with what Abdul assumed to be a mixture of confusion and worry. Like someone not truly understanding the situation, yet having a pretty good guess that it was something bad. One who wanted to help, but didn't know how.
Akina, on the other hand -paw ?- looked at him with compassion and pity. Like many of the adults had, whenever they found out he was an orphan. As if he was merely a fragile thing, that was only a wind-blow away from breaking. Oh, he hated that look !
'It's not their fault. It's not their fault. They don't understand. They can't possibly understand what it's like.' He told himself.
"Anyway !" Abdul suddenly uttered, just when he saw Akina open her mouth. "There really is no need to dwell on such things, right ? Just like you said Mheetu, we're here to have fun !" He saw Mheetu about to say something. "Come on, there is only so much daylight left ! We'd better hurry !" Abdul then trotted forward, walking in front of both Mheetu and Akina, wearing a completely genuine smile that was in absolutely no way fake or forced. He even showed his teeth, to really sell that fact.
Abdul hoped the two of them would stay behind him. At least long enough for him to get himself back under control. He'd rather avoid them asking him why his eyes were watery all of a sudden.
He wouldn't cry. This was a dream. You couldn't cry in a dream.
'Subconscious … What are you trying to tell me ? What am I supposed to learn from this ?' He kept pondering that question, as the three of them walked up the entryway to Pride Rock. The sights didn't seem that interesting all of a sudden.
They kept walking in relative silence. Well, mostly. Abdul's ears were subconsciously tilted backwards -he really had to learn how to control those things-, and he could vaguely hear Abdul and Akina whispering to one-another. He didn't join in. And he wasn't particularly bothered to learn what they might be talking about.
Sure, he had calmed himself down by now, but he was worried they might bring up what he had unintentionally said to them, should he open his mouth. Abdul became frustrated at himself. How could he have possibly slipped up like that ? He really needed to control himself better.
'Oh well. What's done, is done.' He thought. 'But how can I break the ice now ?'
Abdul decided to take a look around, in the hopes that something might peak his interest again. They were walking down a path -using the word "path" very loosely here- alongside Pride Rock. The natural formation was so huge, it was blocking the sun, creating a comfortable shade and providing protection from the heat.
"Wow." Abdul muttered as he walked. The movies really didn't do the lions' home justice. This was much better than the TV screen.
A rustle of leaves snapped his attention forwards. And suddenly, a lion jumped out of the nearby vegetation, making Abdul yelp and jump in surprise. Before he could even process what was going on, the lion crossed the path and jumped back into the vegetation on the other side, climbing down the Rock and vanishing just as suddenly as it had appeared.
The whole event lasted no more than a few seconds, yet it shook Abdul and stopped him dead in his tracks. It happened so fast … If the lion had decided to lunge at him, he would have been torn apart, before he even realised what had happened.
"Ha ! He got you, didn't he ?" Mheetu laughed behind him. And he was sure he could hear even Akina snickering a little.
'Wait. "He ?" That was a male lion ?' Now that he thought about it, he did vaguely notice a mane decorating its … his head. 'So, it's true. I wasn't just seeing things.' He had hoped to have been mistaken, when he had seen other male lions during the ceremony. Unfortunately, this just proved him right. 'So, there really are other male lions, other than Mufasa and Scar. But why ? How?'
"Are you okay, Abdul ?" Mheetu asked, catching up right next to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just, I just wasn't expecting that." Abdul replied, mentally shaking himself off.
"Oh, trust me. Nobody ever does." Akina said, chuckling. "But that's Hofu for you. Always manages to scare you out of your coat. Without even meaning to."
'Hofu ? That's … That's not a character's name. It's brand new !' Another new lion, which wasn't originally in the movie ? And a male one, no less ? Akina could have passed as one of the unnamed lionesses in the film. But Hofu ? Where did he come from ? He certainly wasn't a canon character.
'A third brother, perhaps ? Some distant relative ?' Abdul thought to himself.
"I'm telling you, Abdul. Mr Hofu is a ghost. There is no other explanation."
Abdul wanted to laugh at Mheetu's words, he really did. But the thought of a ghost-lion suddenly brought back memories of that bizarre shadow-lion he had seen, back in that cave. So, his face remained at what he could only describe as a poker-face.
"Okay. I wouldn't go that far." Akina snorted. "Though he is pretty good at ambushing others, like you saw."
"So, was he trying to scare us ?" Abdul asked, curiously.
"Oh, no. Not at all." Akina replied, amusingly. "In fact, I doubt he even saw us. If I had to guess, he probably slept in, and is now late for his patrol." Both her and Mheetu giggled at that.
Abdul chuckled a little as well, but then he began to wonder. 'Wait. Patrol ?'
"What patrol ?" He asked.
"Why, his patrol around the Kingdom, of course." Akina replied.
'... I'm sorry, what ?' They … They had lions patrolling the Pride Lands ? What ? How ? Since when ? The only lion he had seen in the movie doing the closest thing to a patrol was Mufasa, and even he hadn't ventured far from Pride Rock.
"So, he does that all by himself ?" Abdul asked cautiously, trying not to give away anything he clearly shouldn't know.
"Ha, Great Viongozi, no. Why would you think-" She was about to ask him, yet she seemed to realise by herself. "Oh, right. You're not from here. Forgive me, Abdul. But no, Hofu doesn't patrol the Kingdom on his own. He does so with the help of the other male lions."
'Viongozi ? With the help of the other male li- What does that mean ? What other male lions ? Why are there other male lions here, in the first place ? And what "patrol around the Kingdom" do they do ?' Abdul couldn't figure out what any of this meant. None of this had happened in the film. There had only been three male lions in the first film. Mufasa, Scar, and Simba. All the other lions were female. 'Well, not here, apparently.'
"But you needn't worry about such boring, grown-up things, Abdul. Let's keep going." Akina said with a tone of finality.
Abdul sighed at that. For the first time thus far, he was frustrated at the restraints of the role he had to play. He wanted to keep up the appearance of a meek, little cub. And so, as much as he didn't want to, he had to drop the entire "male lions patrolling the kingdom" subject. After all, like Akina said, what cub would be that interested in such a boring, grown-up topic ? Not a normal one, that was for sure.
Plus, he really didn't want to draw further attention to himself, not after what had happened earlier. If there was any benefit to this whole incident, it was that they had seemingly forgotten about his little outburst. And he'd rather keep it that way.
"Yeah, come on. Let's go !" Mheetu spoke up, before trotting forward.
Abdul hesitated a bit. His eyes were subconsciously drawn towards Akina. She, in turn, looked down at him, gave him a gentle smile, and motioned him forward with her head. Surprisingly, Abdul felt more assured by her notion, and started walking after Mheetu, with Akina walking right next to him.
They didn't make it much further down the path, before a new obstacle appeared. Honestly, in hindsight, Abdul should have seen this coming. He had seen so many lions so far. He was bound to see even more, in the lions' home of all places.
Yet the sight of the lions lying on a flat rock to their left, still startled him.
Mheetu, completely undisturbed by their presence, simply greeted them, and carried on his merry way.
But Abdul didn't feel ready to deal with other lions right now. Instinctively, he inched closer to Akina, trying to keep up the same pace as her, using her front legs as a shield. Granted, he didn't fully trust Akina yet, but he trusted her a lot more than the other lions.
Despite this, Akina didn't seem at all disturbed by his actions. If anything, she looked more amused. She took a quick look at him, offered him a little smile, then kept walking. She even slowed her stepping a bit, probably to make things easier for him.
Akina greeted the lionesses as well, and they returned her greetings in kind. Not wanting to look rude, Abdul offered them a quick wave with his paw, from his moving barrier. They looked a little surprised to see him at first, yet they waved back at him as well. One even offered him an *Awww*. For the sake of his own sanity, he thought it best not to pay them any further mind, and kept walking alongside Akina.
He briefly wondered how come they were so calm with a stranger -cub or not- roaming about. But he figured that Akina accompanying him probably acted as some form of indirect voucher for him. He felt a little glad at that.
"Hey, Abdul. Have you ever been in caverns ?" Mheetu asked him, standing right in front of the mouth of a cave.
"Um, no. Can't say I have." Abdul had been in a small cave or two -not counting the morning incident-, but nothing like an actual, deep cavern.
"Oh, you're gonna love this, then. Come on." Mheetu nodded towards the entrance, before rushing into the darkness.
"It's safe, right ?" He asked Akina. His morning-cave-experience, had him on a bit of an edge when it came to underground exploration.
"Perfectly safe." Akina assured him with a smile. "Go on, I'll be right behind you."
Abdul mentally braced himself, and then trotted forward, inside the mouth of the cavern. The sudden shift, from sunlight to near-darkness, threw him off a little at first. For a few moments, as he kept going further inwards, he wondered internally how in Jahanam he was going to traverse the caverns, without bumping into any walls.
But surprisingly, his problem quickly solved itself. His vision adjusted incredibly quickly to the new, near-dark environment. He looked around him, impressed. As a human, walking in here without a flashlight, would've been a surefire way of ending up in serious trouble. But now, it felt like he was walking inside a well-lit room, while he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. He supposed being transformed into an animal had its own little benefits.
'Not bad, not bad. I wouldn't mind keeping this vision, after I wake up.' He thought.
"Hey, slowpoke." Mheetu's voice had a bit of an echo to them. Abdul spotted him further in the cavern, looking at him challengingly. "Don't fall behind !" He added, before jumping in the air, and then trotted faster -deeper in the cavern- with a laugh.
Abdul knew this was a bait to get him to chase after him. And still, he took it. 'Oh, it's on !' He briefly looked behind him, making sure that Akina was following them. Seeing that she was, he looked ahead and sped-up his stepping -more power-walking than outright running-, going after Mheetu. "I'm coming !" He shouted.
Abdul kept up his quick pace, right behind Mheetu. As he pressed on, he kept looking around, taking note of his new surroundings. He was actually amazed. He felt like what material existed about the natural monument didn't do it justice.
Granted, the official lore had never gone into great detail about Pride Rock's interior, save perhaps a few pictures and concept art. He had seen some pretty impressive fan-art created about it, but they were all pretty much speculations.
Being here, watching it all in-the-flesh. Even subconsciously, it all felt so real. He wasn't just seeing this from a digital screen. He was running through it. Living it. He felt elated, as he kept traversing the near-dark tunnel.
Both he and Mheetu passed through other tunnels, leading who knew where. Abdul stayed behind Mheetu, not wanting to get lost. Occasionally, small rays of light shone through the cavern, no doubt the sunlight breaking through cracks in the rock, giving off a more homely aura.
Abdul briefly wondered if the lion pride had truly hit the jackpot, when it came to natural lairs. Or if -based on an interesting Fan Theory he had once heard- someone -perhaps some prehistoric human tribe- had carved into the rock and called it home in the past. Only to later abandon it, leaving the lions to claim it as their own. There had never been any such indication in the Lion King lore, but having seen so many deviations from it so far, Abdul didn't rule it out entirely.
Finally, Mheetu led the both of them -with Akina a little more behind- to the tunnel's mouth, opening up to a much bigger, underground chamber than where they had previously been. If Abdul had to guess, the room operated as some kind of hub, with other tunnels decorating its surrounding walls. He could only imagine where those led to. In addition, the chamber was somewhat lit by small sun-rays, breaking through the rock.
'Huh. Good substitute for torches.' He figured. Abdul doubted they needed them to walk around, but he couldn't deny, they helped make this place look much more inviting. Sure, it was by no means a luxurious villa, but he was certain that plenty of people would have paid good money to visit such a wonder of nature. 'Not to mention the movie fans. Heh.' Abdul chuckled at that thought.
Abdul had just enough time to spot the back ends of two lions, vanishing into one of the caverns on the other side of the room, before he heard Mheetu calling out to him from the middle of the chamber.
"So ? What do you think ? Pretty cool, right ?" Mheetu asked, gesturing around the stone room.
"Are you kidding ?" Abdul answered, looking around him. "I've never seen anything like it." He heard Akina snorting, as she slowly entered the chamber as well.
"Just wait till you see the dens' area. Your jaw will drop." He said, chuckling.
'Oh, trust me, Mheetu. My jaw has already dropped. More than once.' Abdul thought to himself.
"Bet you can't catch me before we get there !" Mheetu challenged him, before rushing towards one of the caverns. Abdul heard Akina sighing close to him. He was about to give chase, when his eyes widened.
Mheetu was looking back at him. He wasn't paying attention in front of him. So, he didn't see the obstacle in his way. But Abdul did.
"Mheetu, wait !" Akina had too, apparently.
"Watch out for that-" Abdul tried to warn him. But he was too late.
Mheetu -alarmed by their warnings- merely managed to look in front of him, before he collided, head-to-head, with the cub in front of him. Both of them yelped as they bonked their heads together, only to then fall on their backs with a thud.
"... cub." Abdul mumbled. He visibly cringed, as both Mheetu and the new cub clutched their muzzles with their paws, groaning in pain as they did. 'Yikes, right in the kisser.' He thought internally.
Akina rushed past him, towards the two cubs. Abdul, worried as well, ran after her.
"Are you both okay ? Are you hurt ?" Akina asked with concern in her voice. She quickly looked over both of them, checking for any injuries.
"I'm good." Mheetu was the first to recover. From the tone of his voice, it was clear that Akina didn't really believe him, but still gave him space to get up, focusing on the other cub. It, meanwhile, groaned again. Abdul noticed it had a feminine tone, marking the cub as a she.
But he set that aside, for now, as he leaned close to Mheetu, offering himself as support for him to hold on to. "How are you feeling ?"
"I'm fine." Mheetu answered, as he leaned on Abdul, in order to lift himself up. Abdul almost tripped and fell, yet quickly recovered. "Thanks." Mheetu continued, standing on his legs.
"Don't mention it." Abdul checked Mheetu's head. "Are you sure you're not hurt ? That headbut looked nasty."
"Ah, it's nothing." Mheetu waved his paw dismissively, yet Abdul was sure that he would soon have a headache from that, at the very least. "It's not even the first time it's happened."
"You say it, like that's a good thing." Abdul did a sharp turn at the annoyed -and most importantly feminine- voice of the other cub. He watched in surprise, as she got up, holding onto Akina's paw. "Thanks, Mrs Akina."
Abdul's gears began to turn, as Akina looked over the young cub. 'T-that voice …' That voice, why was it so familiar ? Who did she remind him of ?
"Seriously, Mheetu." The she-cub turned and approached Mheetu. "What is this ? The fifth time ?" She asked him, clearly frustrated.
"Oh, come on, Nala. It's not even that bad." Mheetu tried to retort, his tone betraying just a hint of nervousness.
"That's not the point, Mhee …" Abdul tuned out the rest of their little argument, after hearing the female cub's name.
'N-n-nala ?' That cub … That cream-coloured cub in front of him … Was Nala ? 'No way. No fucking way !' One of Lion King's main characters. One of the movie's … No, the entire franchise's greatest characters. Who quite a lot of fans considered even better than the film's protagonist, Simba. Was standing, in the flesh, right in front of him ?!
He could feel his mouth hanging open. He put his paws in front of his mouth, hoping to cover any gleeful noises that might come out of it. Right now, he didn't trust himself not to act like some crazy fanboy. 'You know, this dream-thing is finally getting better.' He thought internally.
"... perhaps if you paid more attention-" Before Nala could continue her sentence, Akina interrupted her.
"Nala ! Mheetu !" Akina drew the attention of all three. "Arguing isn't going to fix things." She had a bit of strictness in her voice, mixed in with her soft demeanor. "Tell me. Are you hurt in any way ?" Both cubs shook their heads. "Good." She sighed in relief at that. "Now, Mheetu. What do we say ?"
"B-but, Mrs Akina, I-"
"What do we say, Mheetu ?" Akina's eyes slightly narrowed at that.
The little cub sighed at that. Then, he turned towards Nala. "I'm sorry I bumped into you, Nala. I should've been paying attention." He then lifted his right paw, but unlike before, he had his palm outstretched towards Nala, this time. "Please, forgive me."
Nala looked at the offered palm for a second, before sighing and offering her own in return, in what Abdul considered the closest equivalent to a hand-shake he had seen so far. "Fine, but this'd better be the last time." She said, decisively.
'Probably some kind of forgiveness-gesture.' Abdul pondered.
"Don't worry, it will be." Mheetu uttered, yet Abdul had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time.
"Well done. Both of you." Akina praised the two cubs, with a pleased tone.
"So, are you gonna tell this to our parents ?" Mheetu asked her.
"Oh, absolutely." Mheetu pouted at her response, while Nala snorted a little. "But, that's not important right now. I think you're both forgetting someone." The lioness said, amusingly.
It was at that moment that Nala seemed to finally notice the newcomer. Her teal eyes slightly widened in surprise, as she stared at Abdul, who straightened himself and tried to look as self-composed as he could -while trying to clamp down on his giddiness, while staring back at Nala-.
"Oh, hi." She spoke first.
"H-hello." Abdul wasn't really sure where to go from there.
Thankfully for him, Mheetu decided to step in right there. "Nala, this is Abdul, my friend. Abdul, this is Nala, my sister."
"Abdul ? Never heard a name like that before." Abdul was beginning to notice a theme here.
"Y-yeah, I'm not from around here."
"He's a guest, Nala." Mheetu added. "And a nomad."
That got Nala's attention. "Wait, really ? A nomad ?" Abdul nodded with some hesitation. "Wow ! That's awesome !" She added excitedly, and Abdul swore he heard Akina chuckle a bit at that.
Nala proceeded to lift her paw in front of him. Abdul, familiar with paw-greeting by now, brushed her paw with his own. "Nice to meet you, Nala."
"Nice to meet you too, Abdul." She uttered in excitement, as she too brushed the paw he'd offered her, with her own. "Heh. It's funny. Mom and Dad always said we wouldn't meet other lions, until we grew up. Yet here you are."
Mheetu giggled at that. "Yeah, just wait till they hear this."
"Wait, are you gonna tell them now ?" Abdul asked, a bit worried. He'd rather not draw too much attention to himself.
"Oh, not now. Mom is out hunting and Dad is out on patrol." Mheetu answered.
'Another lion "patrolling" ? What does that mean ? How many lions are doing this ?' Abdul had to restrain himself, lest he utter anything he shouldn't know.
"Speaking of." Akina interrupted them. "Nala, who was supposed to be watching you ?"
"Oh, Mr Hesabu was. Aaand …" She quickly turned towards the tunnel she had come from. "Aaand, I could swear he was behind me."
"Nalaa !" A deep, male voice echoed through the cavern, briefly stunning Abdul.
"Oh, there he is." Nala said, completely undisturbed.
Suddenly, a huge lion emerged from the tunnel's mouth, his dark silhouette coming into the dimly lit room. Abdul, though on edge by the sudden presence of another grown-up lion, still observed his features. For one, his coat was distinctly similar to that of Akina, reddish-yellow though his was a bit darker. As a male lion, he also bore a mane, dark orange in colour. Finally, Abdul noticed his red eyes, which both fascinated him, and slightly unnerved him.
'He sure bears a lot of similarities to Akina. Maybe they're related somehow ?' Abdul pondered.
"Na- Oh there you are, thank goodness. What did I tell you about wandering off ?" The lion asked, a bit sternly.
Nala looked at him sheepishly. "Um, not to do it ?"
"And what did you do ?"
"I did it ?" The lion kept looking at her, not impressed. "Sorry ?"
"Sabu, dear." Akina stepped in. "While I'm not saying that what Nala did wasn't wrong. But how did she wander off on her own ?" She promptly got next to him, almost touching him.
'Sabu ? I thought his name was Hesab- Ohhhh. I get it.'
Now, it was Hesabu's turn to look like a child caught with his hand -or paw- inside the cookie jar. He rubbed his left paw with his right one. "Um, well. I … might have encouraged her to work on her sprinting." Akina's smile didn't dissipate, as she rubbed herself on his mane. "And I … may have gotten my eyes off of her for a second." Nala and Mheetu cackled at that. Even Abdul struggled to hide his grin.
"A second was all she needed, dear." She rubbed her head on his. "That's why we have to always watch out for them. What sort of example are we setting for them, otherwise ?"
This time, Hesabu reciprocated the gesture. He placed his head over her own.
'Well, I was close enough, I suppose.' Abdul thought to himself.
"Yuck." Mheetu gave a grossed out look, at the couple's tender moment. "Why are grown-ups so weird ?" Nala didn't say anything, but her expression showed that she agreed with him.
Abdul actually laughed at that, followed by the loving couple as well.
"Speaking of. Honey, we have a guest." Akina withdrew from their embrace, and pointed towards Abdul.
"Guest ? What do you- Oh." Hesabu looked somewhat surprised at seeing him. Abdul's cheerful attitude died down, under the grown lion's intense gaze.
'Sweet. Thanks for putting me in the spotlight, Akina. Really nice of you.' Abdul wondered if he concentrated really hard, maybe his subconscious would finally wake him up. 'Of course, it's not gonna work. It didn't work before. Why would it now ?' Once again, he would have to face this head-on. Alone. 'No pressure.'
Abdul tried to put on his most non-threatening self. He tried to make his smile look as genuine as he could, and he attempted to get his slight trembling under control. "H-hi, mister. N-nice to meet you."
Hesabu wasn't fooled by his calm facade, if the shift in his demeanor -from skeptical to somewhat worried- was anything to go by. He briefly looked at Akina, and then he lowered himself on the ground, slowly approaching him. "Hey there, little one. The pleasure is all mine." He said, using a calm tone.
Abdul realised that Hesabu was only trying to make himself look as harmless as he could. He probably thought he -like Akina before- was scaring him. Abdul saw no need to correct him on his assumptions. 'Another lie to add to the pile. Why am I feeling bad ? None of them are real. None of this is real.' Still, he couldn't help but be reminded of a prowling lion, ready to pounce on its prey, as Hesabu slowly made his way towards him. 'So, why does all of this feel so real.'
"So, you're our new guest in the Pridelands ?" Hesabu tried to add some cheer in his voice, as he stopped right in front of him.
"Yeah, that would be me." Abdul replied. "Mheetu is showing me around, and Mrs Akina is keeping an eye on us."
Hesabu smiled and snuck a peek at both Mheetu and his mate. "That's very nice of them. You know, you're not gonna find a better guide, or a better guardian, than those two." Mheetu adopted a prideful posture -which prompted Nala to roll her eyes-, while Akina snorted at his words.
Abdul could tell that he was cracking a joke, trying to break the ice. And to be fair, it kind of worked. It did get a smile out of him, after all.
"So, what's your name, little one ?" He continued. "Mine's Hesabu, though you probably knew that already." He chuckled a little, extending his paw in front of Abdul.
"It's Abdul, Mr Hesabu. And it's a pleasure." He carried out the, by now quite familiar to him, paw-greet.
Hesabu gave him a look of surprise at the sound of his name, but quickly exchanged a glance with Akina. Abdul immediately recognised it as them having a silent conversation with one-another, though what they were saying was beyond him. Hesabu's surprised look vanished, and he looked back at him with a small smile. Despite the sudden nature of it, Abdul felt the gesture as still being genuine.
"Like I said, Abdul. The pleasure is all mine." He told him, as he brushed his much larger paw with his own. "Though, if you don't mind me asking. Where are your parents ? You're not here all by yourself, are you ?" He asked, somewhat concerned.
'Yeah, I'm here all by myself.' Abdul understood why he was asking him that. If anything, it would've been extremely bizarre if an adult who found a lone child didn't ask where their parents were. But the question still made him uneasy. Because he had to lie to people -sorry, lions- that clearly trusted him and cared for him. Again.
"Um, they're out hunting for food." He recited what he had told Mheetu and Akina so far. "They left me close-by for safety."
"Yeah, Mr Hesabu." Mheetu stepped in. "We're not only showing him around." To Abdul's surprise, Mheetu placed a paw over his shoulders, as if they were old buddies. "We're also protecting him." He giggled as he said that, but he still had a proud posture. Even Akina snorted at that.
Abdul stared at him with widened eyes. Sure, he was only a cub. He was probably just saying that as false bravado. But he could also sense, by his tone, that he wasn't lying when he said that. And the fact that he was putting on a brave face for him, even if only for a moment, he actually felt touched by that.
Even Nala, who was hearing all this for the first time, gave him a sympathetic smile. He didn't need to look at Akina, in order to know that she certainly agreed with Mheetu as well.
"Hey, why are we standing here ?" Mheetu let him go. "The day is passing, and you haven't even seen the dens. Let's go !"
"I'm coming too." Nala jumped in excitement.
Hesabu looked like he wanted to say something, but Akina beat him to the punch. "We should go. Why don't you cubs go ahead ? We'll be right behind you." She rubbed her head on his shoulder.
Abdul had lived with his foster-family for as long as he could remember. He realised that this was adult-code for "I want to tell you something, but I don't want the kids to overhear.". There was no doubt in his mind that they wanted to talk about him. The idea of them doing just that, literally behind his back, didn't sit right with him. Had the circumstances been different, he might have even objected.
But these were not normal circumstances. Once again, he had no choice but to keep his mouth -or muzzle, he supposed- shut. He didn't like how common this pattern was slowly becoming.
Hesabu seemed to catch onto Akina's "hint", and quickly acquiesced. "Sure, why not ?" He flashed them a quick smile. "Best not to wait till the Sun sets. Don't wanna miss out on anything, do you, Abdul ?"
Abdul decided to listen to Hesabu's encouragement, and focus on the further exploration of Pride Rock with his new acquaintances. The thought did somewhat excite him, at least. "No. No, I wouldn't."
"I'll lead the way." Mheetu cut in, and made his way towards the tunnel Nala and Hesabu had come from.
Nala objected to that, by sprinting ahead of him. "And get us lost inside the caverns ? Ah, ah. I don't think so."
Mheetu grumbled at that. "That was one time." Still, he followed behind Nala. "Can't even show off." Abdul was sure that last mutter wasn't meant to be out loud, but he still heard it. Akina and Hesabu did too, judging by their giggles. He grinned as well, truth be told.
Abdul stole a glance towards the two grown lions. Hesabu looked at him encouragingly, and motioned at the tunnel's mouth with his head. Akina smiled at him, as well.
Feeling somewhat braver than before, Abdul took a quick breath and went after the two cubs, waiting for him in front of the cavern. With the two adult lions a small distance behind them, they left the dimly-lit chamber behind them.
They walked through the tunnel, Nala leading the way, with Mheetu on her left side, and Abdul on her right one. Some rays of sunlight would occasionally break through the rock, giving the tunnel some illumination -though his night-vision helped Abdul see just fine-. Abdul's ears were subconsciously pinned backwards. He tried to hear if the two grown-ups were saying anything, but couldn't hear a word. Still, he was sure they were talking about him.
Abdul was expecting their journey through the caverns to go on in relative silence -not that he'd mind that, honestly-, but Nala had other plans, apparently.
"So, Abdul. How did you meet my baby brother ?" Nala asked him.
Mheetu pouted at her comment. "I'm not a baby. We came out together." He rebutted her, not giving Abdul a chance to respond.
"Yeah, but I came out first. Which makes me the big sister." She lightly tapped him with her paw. "And you, the baby brother." Mheetu humphed at that.
'Aren't you both cubs ? Doesn't that make you both babies ?' He started to ponder that, but just as quickly cut that line of thinking short. After all, by that logic, wouldn't that make him a baby as well ? He'd rather not have that question answered.
"So, when were you two born ? Do you remember anything ?" Abdul asked, curious to find out more information about the movie characters.
Mheetu looked at him thoughtfully. "Umm, no, not really. And all Mom and Dad ever told us was that we "came out together", but they didn't explain more".
"Yeah, they were, like, really weird about it. Like they didn't want to tell us." Nala added. "Hey, do you have any idea what they might have meant ?" She asked him curiously.
'Okay. Yeah, no. Nuh uh. Not happening. Nope.' Abdul had a very good idea what their parents might have meant. But he sure as shit was not going to tell them the story about the birds and the bees. Losing his own childhood innocence had been traumatising enough. He wasn't about to take theirs away too.
"Um, beats me." He hastily replied. 'Quick. Think of a distraction.' "Say, you wanted to know how I met Mheetu, didn't you ?" He hoped they would take the bait.
Nala seemed to bite. "Oh, yeah. Did he bump into you, or something, as well ?" She stole a glance at Mheetu, who laughed nervously.
"Eh, not exactly. He snuck up on me and scared the shi- Uh, shifts out of me." Phew, that was close. He had to pay more attention to what he said around them.
Nala giggled. "Haha. So, wait. Mheetu was the first lion you met ?" Abdul nodded. "And the first thing he did was pounce on you ?" Another nod. She laughed and looked at Mheetu. "Hehe. You're in so much trouble, when Mom finds out."
Mheetu looked horrified, all of a sudden. "Please, Nala. Mom doesn't have to know. It really wasn't even that bad. Abdul wasn't even insulted."
Nala looked to be contemplating this, but Abdul was certain that she was simply putting on a show, and was merely teasing him. Living with two foster-siblings gave one personal experience, when it came to sibling relationships.
"I don't knoow, Mhee. Why don't we ask him ?" Nala turned towards Abdul, grinning at him. "What do you think, Abdul." Abdul caught Mheetu looking at him pleadingly, from behind her.
Okay, now Abdul was certain that Nala was simply teasing her little brother. Not that he was going to call Mheetu out like that. But just in case this was serious … "Oh no, not at all. If anything it was a little bit funny." Abdul chuckled a little.
"More like, very funny." Mheetu giggled a little as well.
Nala looked at her little brother with a toothy grin. "Fine. Won't say a word. But, you owe me, Mhee."
"Deal." Mheetu said, a little relieved.
Abdul snorted, as he was reminded of the plots he and his foster-siblings would hatch, to try and ensure that their parents wouldn't find out what they had been up to. 'Once again, siblings trump parents.'
"Hey, are your parents always gone at this hour ?" Abdul asked curiously.
Nala gave him a look of confusion. "Um. Sorry, Abdul. What's an hour ?"
'What ? What do you mean what's an … Oh.' Right, they were animals. They didn't have clocks here. So they probably wouldn't know what hours are. 'Crap.'
"Um, at this time." Abdul tried to correct himself. But the two cubs still looked at him, confused. Abdul began to sweat internally. Was their concept of time that different from his ? Did they even have a concept of time ?
Finally, Mheetu spoke up. "Wait, when you say time, do you mean, as in all day ?"
Abdul didn't mean that, but he wasn't going to waste the out that Mheetu had unintentionally offered him. "Y-yeah, that." He nodded.
"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say that ?" Abdul quietly released the breath he was subconsciously holding, not heeding Mheetu's questioning.
Well, guess that answered his internal question. The Pride Rock lions did have a concept of time. It was just very different from what Abdul had been used to. The revelation both excited, and worried him.
On one hand -paw, whatever- it was brand new information, giving this place almost a life of its own, encouraging him to look at it from a new angle, which the film had barely even explored.
On the other, it was one more thing he'd have to keep an eye on. One more potential thing that could potentially blow his cover, should he drop his guard. And an opener to a host of brand new questions.
After all. If this was different … How many more things were different as well ?
'Dreams -hallucinations, or whatever else this can be called- really, really, shouldn't be this complicated.' Could this really be called a dream, at this point ?
He let the unspoken question go unanswered, as Mheetu drew his attention back. "But, no. No, our parents aren't gone. At least not all day. And some days, they don't go anywhere, and stay in Pride Rock with us." Mheety told him.
Abdul opted to distract himself from his pondering, by fishing for more answers. "So, what days do they leave, and what days do they stay ?"
Nala responded to that. "Um, I'm not sure. But, Dad said they use something called … err … What was the word he used ? Mheetu, do you remember ?" She asked her brother.
Mheetu looked lost for a moment. "Umm, I know it was something with an "r". Was it "rote" … Or "roti" …" He tilted his head, in deep contemplation.
Wait, they couldn't possibly mean … "Do you mean, rotation ?" Abdul asked.
"Yeah, that's the word. "Rotation". Hey, you know grown-up words." Nala told, in what Abdul assumed to be a praising tone. But he didn't feel very praised.
'Just can't keep not outing yourself, can you ?' He mentally chastised himself. And silently prayed that neither Akina, nor Hesabu, had overheard any of this.
"But yeah, they use this "rotation" thing, to find out who gets to stay in Pride Rock, and who gets to leave for the day." Nala continued, unperturbed. "Though they didn't explain it much. But today, it was Mom and Dad's turn to go for the day. Still, they'll be back by the time the Sun sets. They always are."
"Hey, speaking of the Sun. Look." Mheetu cut in, pointing forwards with his paw, drawing the attention of both Nala, and Abdul.
They were still quite a distance from the end of the tunnel. Yet they could now spot it with their own eyes. The sunlight was pouring through the entrance, unimpeded. Though Abdul knew it was a trick of light, since they had spent so much time in near-darkness, the sun rays coming in looked like a thick wall of white light, not letting them see anything from the outside world. It actually looked quite stunning.
"You're thinking what I'm thinking ?" Mheetu asked them. Nala grinned, indicating that she did. Abdul simply blinked, making his ignorance quite clear.
"Race to the surface ?" Nala asked, quite rhetorically.
"Race to the surface." Mheetu confirmed, excitedly.
Abdul wasn't too thrilled about the idea. "Uhh, do we have to ?" The two of them had been lions their whole lives. He ? Less than an -imaginary- day. It was clear how such a race would go.
"Of course we do. You don't say no to a race." Mheetu asserted.
"Yeah, Abdul. Don't be a meerkat." Nala challenged him.
Abdul was too thrown off by the meerkat comment, to offer a rebuttal. 'Was that supposed to be an insult ? How so ?' He thought about it for a moment. And then he thought he got it. Given the context, he imagined that Nala had just called him the lion-equivalent of chicken.
'So, meerkat is lion-talk for chicken. Oh ho, man. Nala, Timon would have a few words to share with you, if he heard you say that.' Abdul thought amusingly. They hadn't had much interaction during the film. Seeing them talk more would have been … interesting, to say the least.
Still, now that he was sure he understood the context, he felt oddly slighted by the open-challenge. He wasn't sure what exactly was causing it. If it was something about his lion-body. Or something deep within him. Or something about his dream. But he felt like he couldn't let this challenge go unanswered.
So, with a lot more bravado than what was really warranted, he took Nala's bait. "Fine, let's do it."
"That's the spirit !" Nala praised him. Both she and her brother took up positions next to each-other. Abdul stood right next to Nala. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Akina and Hesabu stopping close to their backs, with Hesabu elbowing Akina, pointing at the three of them.
If the two cubs saw the adults watching them, they didn't show it. "On the prowl." Mheetu said, and both he and Nala lowered themselves as close to the ground as they could, as if ready to pounce. Abdul quickly imitated them, at least as well as he could.
"Ready." Mheetu said. Both of them shook their lower halves, ready to bolt. Abdul didn't know how to do it, and didn't want to make an ass of himself. So, he stood still, ready to jump and run. "Aaand …" Besides, he wasn't particularly invested in the race. He knew there was no way in Jahanam he would win. But it was the thought that counted. And the spirit of sportsmanship. And a tiny bit of ego.
"GO !" A roar echoed through the cave behind them, prompting all three of them to jump in brief fright, before their competitive spirits -and a little bit of survival instinct- kicked in, and they made a beeline for the cavern's entrance.
Despite the sudden start in their little race -courtesy of Hesabu's natural air-horn- all three participants quickly recovered, and soon got into a steady rhythm, each of them focusing all their energy into winning.
"Too slow !" Mheetu yelled, holding first place for now.
"Ready to eat dirt ?" Nala taunted, slowly gaining on him.
Abdul, meanwhile, stayed silent, trying to concentrate, clearing away any possible distractions. He knew he wasn't going to win. But damn, if he wasn't going to at least try. With no stakes, this actually was quite nice. He was honestly starting to have fun.
And the race had only just started.
Translation(s)
Laenaha Allah ! : God Damn It !
Jahanam : Hell