TOUCH OF THE NISEI
A Chronicles of the Pride Lands Story of Elanna
by John Burkitt, Ian Layton and David Morris
LEGAL NOTE
This original copyrighted work is based on Walt Disney’s feature film, “The Lion King.” Elements taken directly from “The Lion King” are the property of The Walt Disney Company. “Touch of the Nisei” is distributed free of charge excepting reasonable distribution costs. Quoting passages from our work, writing original pieces based on our work, or using characters we created is fine as long as you secure prior approval. That begins by sending one of us a copy of the work. Our e-mail addresses are
David A. Morris: damorris@wilmington.net
Ian Layton: rama@pridelands.org
John H. Burkitt: john.burkitt@nashville.com
Your comments on our work, pro and con, are always welcome. We have been asked about our legal note. This is our official response: “The copyright is maintained solely to prevent patently vulgar or lewd misuse of our characters. Most any work, including parodies would be fine as long as it meets certain reasonably broad standards of decency. We reserve the right as copyright holders to define and change those standards. None of these standards is meant to force the applicant to be consistent with the literary style or plot of the original work.”
The character Isha is the property of Brian Tiemann. Used with permission.
This story is a fictional work, but we don’t claim that any resemblance to any characters living or dead is purely coincidental. With love and respect, we acknowledge the debt we owe to those who taught us how to laugh and cry. Without acting as clear models for any one character, many great souls, some non-human, have been woven deeply into the fabric of our lives only to end up in “Touch of the Nisei.”
FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORS
When I first heard the suggestion from Ian Layton that we do a story on Elanna’s exile, I didn’t know whether to shout “Never!” or “Let’s do it!” The project, by its very nature, was chock full of challenges and rewards. But as his pitch was laced with some specific suggestions that intrigued me, and I had little chance fighting the temptation. The idea took hold of me, and I was no longer in control of the project, it was in control of me!
It was fun while it lasted. In addition to the story line itself, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to work with Ian on something canon to the Chronicles of the Pride Lands. Dave and I had become very comfortable with each other’s style—Ian added a unique note to the theme that kept us on our toes. He has been a good friend to both of us, and I think I speak for Dave too that the experience has been fascinating.
— John Burkitt, Nashville, Tennessee
What is it about Elanna? What is it about a character who has repeatedly come back in our minds over and over, demanding her tale be released to the world? Perhaps it is the agony of her pain which makes us sympathize with her… or the depth of her love that sustains her through it… or perhaps it is the iron will that holds her up even in the darkest hours, refusing to succumb to despair… something that inspires us all as we yearn for our happy time in the sun.
The time has finally come round for Elanna to have hers… and we’ve been invited along. Won’t you join us?
— David Morris, Wilmington, North Carolina
Through the past few months, I have been through some bad times. From pressure at school, to my vehicle, and then to my computer, everything seemed to pile on me all at once. Throughout that time, I learned that I had many close friends, willing to do almost anything for me in my times of pain. Two of them, and among the closest, are John and Dave. I really don’t know what I would have done without you two being there for me to talk to. Through all the Ugas jokes and bad puns, thank you.
Now about the story… I was on IRC one night when ideas started to be flung around by some people for an idea for another ‘Chronicles’ story. Someone mentioned Elanna and my wheels began to spin. The next day, I sent an e-mail to Dave with an idea for an Elanna story. He told me to forward it to John which I did. The idea was all I had planned for my part of the project, but before I knew it I was drug into the project as a writer. I would say it was a very interesting experience working with two people with different writing styles from my own… and very rewarding.
Finally I give my thanks to the Disney corporation for making the movie which this series of stories is based on. For better or worse, ‘The Lion King’ has affected me far beyond what I ever thought possible for a mere movie.
— Ian ‘Rama’ Layton, La Vergne, Tennessee
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to the memory of Jacques Yves Cousteau, 1911 - 1997. Conservationist, oceanographer, citizen of the world, friend to all life everywhere. May his light ever shine on us from the stars.
CHAPTER: THE OUTCAST
The golden eye of N’ga stared at the savanna relentlessly. The effect was palpable, seeming to stir the savanna grass like a gentle wind, but it was only an illusion created by the hot, still air. The occasional wind did little to bring relief. It dried the nose and stung the eye like a fierce enemy. Zebras panted and remained near the shrinking pools of water. One-who-brings-rain had been scarce of late, and the grass has turned from gold to a tawny brown. ‘Dry… but not too dry,’ as the zebras had said. “Merely peckish,” the oryx had replied. Prey was still plentiful, but it had been a lean time for lions, a time to avoid unnecessary effort and rest often. Still, the land fared better than it did in one kingdom rumored to be forsaken by the gods, the lands of Taka.
A lone lion made his way through the grass with the fearful, empty tread of the recently exiled. Now his fate rested on two points: the mercy of Aiheu and his own resourcefulness. His old friends, his family, and his familiar grounds were behind him, perhaps forever, and he sought out solace in a new beginning. Only that lion seemed to bear an extra weight on his shoulders that made his ears a little flatter, his tail a little lower and his step a little slower than most.
“Why didn’t I listen to Dad?” he said aloud. Rogue lions often talked to themselves for a while to fill the void—at least until they got used to doing without companionship. He looked back from where he came and let out a loud sigh as if the weight of the land was on his shoulders. “Why was I such an idiot??”
Only a week ago his life had been so simple. An heir apparent, he was used to respect and concessions. Everything had been fine a week ago, but those times seemed like a distant memory. Fewer days than he had toes? Could it be that short a time?
He had been given a commoner’s mantlement and sent out never to return. It was a shameful fate for one destined for greatness from his birth. The promise of his presentation was not kept, and he was alone and vulnerable. Sure he had stirred up the lionesses. But he had meant no harm by it. Many princes go through a phase of acting like a brat, a child wanting to test the limits set by his elders and have a little fun bending a few rules. The lionesses didn’t mind too much when the young cub would come to them and demand things. ‘He will grow out of it,’ the king would assure them. ‘It is just a phase he’s going through.’ But he did not grow out of it. It got worse with age.
He had been warned. Warned that he would be sent away like the troublemaker Gamu. But the constant warnings had become a familiar part of his life, a background noise that got tuned out from constant repetition and no enforcement. A commoner’s mantlement would never REALLY befall him. At least that was what he used to think.
His mother had died giving birth to him. The thought of what she must have been like, and his father’s stories about her, filled him with awe. He loved the lioness he never knew as much as many cubs love their living mother. But to the other lionesses he had shown little respect. His father had tried to raise him differently, but he did not know how to channel youthful energies into productive growth. Many of the lionesses would have gladly given the young cub lessons, but the King only let them give him milk. That was a dreadful mistake, not only in how the son turned out, but in shaping how the lionesses felt about him. Finally with a threatened rebellion looming large, the King decided to overcompensate, becoming a harsh disciplinarian and making life for his prince a living hell. That only aggravated the situation. More warnings were met with more rebellious behavior. It was only a matter of time until the situation came to a head.
The King’s younger son Ababu was only five minutes younger, but he had no claim on the throne. Still, he had been properly trained by the lionesses, and they were demanding that he be the heir. “Five minutes younger, but years more mature! Either Ababu will be our next king or we’re out of here!”
The King had no choice, and he called a commoner’s mantlement for his former prince. With many bitter tears from father and son, and glares of satisfaction from most of the lionesses, the prince was sent away. That was only a few sunsets ago, and the young lion had experienced his first taste of the loneliness that would be his curse. When he could finally work past the anger and bitterness he felt, he took a long close look at his life, comparing himself to Ababu. He remembered all the times he’d snickered about his brother’s prim and proper behavior, calling him “stodgy” and “stuck-up.” He wished he’d been more stodgy and stuck-up.
Step by step he was headed into nowhere. He thought about his father’s kindly voice and the way Debara’s milk had tasted as she stroked him with her soft pink tongue. He thought about Debara’s daughter Penzi, and how he used to lie beside her under the shade of the acacias to watch the clouds float by. Penzi was his betrothed, and she had been aching for her first kill so she could be a true lioness and unite with him. “Dear, gentle Penzi,” he stammered, “I’ll never see you again.” He was without hope, and with a deep pain in his gut he fell to the ground and sobbed. She was afraid of exile, too terrified to accompany him. He did not blame her, but he felt the lonliness gnawing at his ribs and a moan escaped him.
“Help me, Aiheu! Help me! Send me a friend, God! I’ll be good! Please, God! Oh Aiheu! I’ll never be so selfish again!”
CHAPTER: THE SUNSET OF TAKA
The last few days of Elanna’s marriage to Taka went by in a blur. Taka had more frequent nightmares, sometimes three or four a night, and the lack of sleep left him looking prematurely old. Sometimes she would find him huddled in the cave whimpering. She would ask him what was wrong and he would say, “My mother really loved me, you know. I wish she were here right now.”
She would answer him, “I’m here, and I really love you.” He would kiss her and nuzzle her desperately. His temper was very short, and he snapped at her from time to time, but afterwards he always came to her sobbing and begging her for forgiveness almost incoherently. She would hug him tightly and move him gently with her arms from side to side like a crying cub.
Taka insisted that others eat a bit of his food before he would touch it, sure that the hyena healers would try to drug or poison him. He was afraid of sleep for more than just his nightmares. He finally got to the point where he was afraid to sleep if Elanna was asleep. So the two of them spent less time together—she mainly saw him asleep, and she collapsed from exhaustion shortly after he awoke and was tired all the time. Finally Uzuri, in her kindness, offered to stand watch over them part of the day so they could sleep touching and maybe spend some wakeful moments together.
Then one evening right at the end of his life he went out on the promontory and looked up at the clouds that passed overhead but did no good. In the grip of his encroaching madness, he shouted, “Have you forgotten how to rain??” He turned about, lifted his tail and urinated, the golden drops falling on the ground below. Elanna thanked God that the others were out on the hunt at the time.
He came trudging in and looked down at Elanna who lay on the floor of the cave. “What’s the matter, Honey Tree? You never saw someone take a whiz off the rock before?”
She did not answer him, but patted next to her with her paw. He came and lay beside her, sighed, and closed his eyes. He tired easily, and it did not take long for him to fall asleep.
A moment passed, then he opened his eyes. Something was wrong—very wrong. He looked around, surprised that he couldn’t find his love. “Odd,” he thought. “She hadn’t left me in my sleep in a long time.” He called out her name but heard nothing in return except a quiet laugh, a hyena’s laugh. His stomach began to knot up, and nearing panic he rushed out onto the stone ledge toward the mocking sound. He looks around expecting to see his mate. Instead he saw Shenzi.
Slowly and carefully, he approached her. Shenzi regarded him with an amused grin. “What do YOU want?”
“Have you seen Lannie?”
She only laughed demonically.
“How DARE you laugh at me! How DARE you! I remember when you were a little brat messing in your own den!”
Shenzi laughed louder, a red fire glowing in her eyes. “Now I’m messing in YOUR den! Who is the scavenger now??”
Taka begins to quail with fear. “Where is Lannie??”
“What’s a matter, cubby?? Can’t hold on to your Mommy??” She approached him, hackles raised. “Maybe she wants to crouch with a REAL lion? Maybe that warped little body of yours makes her sick! Sick, sick, SICK!”
“If that’s how you feel, take your—people—and get out!!”
“It’s not that easy, cubby! You don’t scare me one bit.” Shenzi grinned broadly. Taka gasped in horror as he saw the signs of fresh blood on her strong, sharp teeth.
“Where is Lannie?? What have you done with her??”
“Wouldn’t you like to know!”
“What have you done??” Taka demanded, shoving her back with a paw. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??” He moved closer as she backed back, still laughing at him. “Stop laughing and answer me! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??”
He shoved her with a paw again and she tumbled backwards over the edge of the promontory, falling, falling, falling to the distant savanna.
“Shenzi!!”
Taka quickly made his way down the steep sides of Pride Rock. Maybe in her dying breaths she might reveal the truth. He searched under the promontory, expecting to see her twisted body. Instead he spotted a lioness laying in the grass motionless.
He approached the form slowly with a growing panic. The pain in his stomach was almost unbearable as he crept the last few lengths on trembling limbs and looked at the face of the lioness.
“LANNIE!! OH GODS!!”
There were fresh claw wounds on her otherwise flawless form. “NO!!” LANNIE!! NO!!”
Suddenly he was stirred from sleep by a familiar presence. He gasped and tried to catch his breath as Elanna’s dear face approached his and kissed him.
“Dear… dear… you were having another bad dream. You screamed out my name.”
“Oh Lannie, never leave me!” He kissed her face and rubbed his paws against her. “Never leave me, girl! Never leave me!”
“I won’t, honey tree!”
He continued to kiss her. “I love you, honey tree! You don’t think I’m a warped little lion, do you?”
“No! You poor fool!” She rubbed against him softly, returning the affection. “I’ve felt that strong body next to me in the night every night and rubbed your beautiful dark mane. I’ve made love with you every time you came to me with that sweet little hungry cub look. You scare me when you talk like that—like you don’t trust me. Taka, you’re the only one in the world that trusts me anymore. If you don’t trust me, what will I do?? What will I do??”
Taka put his forepaws about her neck and rubbed his face against hers, his breath finally returning to normal as calm returns to his body. “I will always trust you. You are the only real truth I’ve ever known.”
“My poor foolish husband!” She kissed him. “At least this cave is our gentle place. If only I could stop those nightmares, my darling. If I could take them on myself…”
“NEVER say that! NEVER!” He kissed her desperately.
“But I would. I would.”
“I know you would. And don’t think I don’t appreciate it.”
CHAPTER: THE BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS
The rogue lion wandered the corridors between territories. There he was relatively safe from the territorial males. They would remind him to avoid their lands, but not fight him. Some of the kinder ones who remembered what it was like to be alone would chat for a while when they saw he meant no harm. Ugas would share a couple of jokes. Old Mabatu would even stroke his mane and give him a blessing. Once, Duma let him eat a small portion of zebra haunch because he reminded him of his son.
Because the other rogues had to share the same corridors, he would also chat with them briefly. He wanted to join a coalition that would end his solitude. But most of the rogues had a brother or another friend already. They were quite content to keep their infrequent kills or carcasses to themselves.
By and large, the most companionship he’d known was the flock of buzzards that collect at every kill. He had negotiated an arrangement with them—in a real sense they were his buzzards. They would spot prey, and rather than watch it go to the hyenas and quickly vanish, they let a lion friend have his fill, then he would guard them while they took the remnants. It was a great system, and because this rogue was alone, they were assured of a large share.
The rogue saw the distinctive signs of a meal ahead. The buzzards were flying in circles. So the lion hurried ahead and saw their target. It was a wounded antelope with a broken leg. It staggered along in the oppressive heat on three legs, a look of desperation on its face.
The antelope spotted him and tried to run, but could only hobble quickly. Soon the lion overtook it and pushed it over, pinning it to the ground with a paw.
“No, don’t! Don’t!”
“It’s over. Just relax,” the lion said softly. “Don’t struggle and it won’t hurt much.” He gripped the antelope by the throat, pressing firmly but not causing unnecessary pain. The antelope hardly moved. It pawed at him almost gently with a hoof, vainly gasping for a breath. Then it quickly felt the need to breathe slip away and relaxed, falling into a last sleep.
The buzzards landed not far away. “Now that’s right nice, Fuzzy,” said the leader said. “I hope when it’s my time I go that well.”
“Thanks,” the rogue said, quickly ripping the carcass and availing himself of a long-awaited meal. “I could have been an antelope—he could have been a lion. That’s what my father used to say.”
“Go easy on him, Fuzzy,” the buzzard warned. “Remember, make it worth our while and we’ll help you out. Fair and square all around. That’s what MY father used to say.”
“You’ll get yours, Markaaagh.”
“You learned to say it properly, I’ll grant you. Maybe you have some vulture in your blood.”
“Maybe,” the rogue said with a laugh. “Any hyenas around?”
“Nope.”
The lion could have easily finished it off himself, but he left plenty for the small crew of buzzards to eat their fill. He watched them eat with some satisfaction. They were in a sense his pride.
“So what’s up, guys?”
“Nothing much,” Markaaagh said. “Things have been kind of dead lately. Har har!”
The lion’s nose wrinkled at the terrible buzzard breath. “Dead lately. Good one.” He looked around. “You have a new one today.”
“Count us, did you? Which one is new?”
The lion looked around and quickly pointed. “Her.”
“Haaaargh! True enough. Most carnies say we all look alike! That’s my new mate, Ohyeghegh.”
“Interesting name. Congratulations.”
Moments later, they had picked what was left of the Antelope clean and with a quickly mumbled good bye, they headed away like leaves in the wind. He looked after them longingly. As poor company as they were, he felt his loneliness close around him tighter still. He was alone once again. At least he thought he was.
He was being watched and followed by another rogue. The strange lion crept along, watching him from the bushes and through the blades of golden grass. Beside him was a hyena…
CHAPTER: THE WORLD IS ON FIRE
Elanna had given up hope. She was waiting for death by her husband’s side, no longer clinging to the fiction that everything would turn out all right. But a small group of hyenas told her Rafiki had the answer to her prayers.
They led her out of the cave by great stealth and smuggled her away from Pride Rock without being seen by Taka. And Elanna cooperated, stealthily slinking on her huntress feet near several lionesses without a sound. Had she known what awaited her, she would have cried out and the hyenas would have been quietly dispatched. However, by the time she knew it was a trick, it was too late to call for help. Death was about to claim her, when suddenly in the distance she heard a loud shriek in hyannic. A lion roared—and it was not Taka. Her would-be executioners abandoned her and ran back to Pride Rock. The battle for Pride Rock had begun.
Elanna stood in shock for a moment. She thought of taking her chances with the beasts, but the better part of her took control and she hurried away from the hyenas into the cover of some nearby trees. Suddenly, the sky filled with light and the heavens shook. Elanna had to focus a bit to where the light came from, and saw the telltale faint orange and curls of smoke rise from the dry grass near pride rock.
Fixed by her fear, she stood and watched as the long-predicted battle raged on. Her thoughts moved back to her husband, and the fight that he must be in right now. How desperately she wanted to be by his side, but she knew that she couldn’t risk herself going back right now. She knew that her husband would never want to see her hurt. She did not know if she would be perceived as friend or foe. This was evident in how she had never been allowed to hunt. With a small sigh, she stayed among the trees.
“Help him, Aiheu! Please! He has not been perfect—who has? But he suffers so! Help him, God! If he must face exile, send him to me! I’ll take care of him, but don’t let him die!”
Suddenly… the sounds of hyenas filled the air near her. Turning her head quickly, she spotted the defeated bands moving toward her position. Quickly, she huddled closer to the ground and trees, trying to stay out of sight. “Please Aiheu…”
The hyenas passed her without incident, but another sound filled the air. This time, the roar of the lion. She looked down and quietly wept for her husband, suspecting that this lion sent Taka to be with Aiheu. Along with the roar of the new male, she heard the roaring of her pride sisters. She sighed, thinking how happy they must be now that they are rid of him. Still she didn’t leave her cover. Her hopes continued that somehow, some way Aiheu guided him out of the fight alive.
Time passed and the night continued with no sight of her love. Finally she saw movement in the grasses. Without thinking she jumped from her cover in the hope it would be him. She was horrified to find a hyena that has fallen behind of his friends. Quickly she adopted a defensive stance, looking at the beast.
The hyena caught sight the lioness as soon as she jumped out. “Well, Lannie-poo! You thought you were so much better than us! But you know what? My mate survived the battle, and yours is lying in three separate pieces! Ripped! He was ripped like a gazelle!” The hyena laughed demonically.
Elanna’s mind had been prepared to hear this but her heart was caught by surprise. Suddenly she could feel her insides crumble. She struggled not to give the hyena the satisfaction of seeing her grief.
The hyena added, “And you know what? If you go back, you’ll be next! Your husband confessed to killing his brother to get the throne. I heard the new king saying that anyone that gave your husband comfort would be killed on the spot.” He grinned evilly as his lie took its toll on her already fragile nerves and she began to sob.
A tearful Elanna watched the hyena slink away. She considered her options. She could go back to her home to embrace death first, then embrace her husband. Then the thought of how she would die came to mind. Would she be choked like prey or would the new king rip her abdomen and leave her to gasp out her last breaths like Gur’mekh?
“I’m afraid, Honey Tree!” she cried into the heavens. “I’d come now, but I’m afraid. I’m a coward, but how I love you!”
She collapsed to the ground, crying. But a few moments later she heard the soft tread of lionesses in the grass. “Oh my God! They are looking for me!”
Quickly, she jumped off and ran into the empty plains, putting some distance between her and the land of her birth.
CHAPTER: THE MISSING HUNTRESS
In the initial confusion after the Battle for Pride Rock, frightened cubs began to come out of hiding and look for their mothers. With a squeal of delight, Isha found Habusu and Lisani alive and unhurt. Other cubs ran to their mothers’ sides to be kissed and fondled in the flush moment of victory.
Rafiki thought briefly of ways to purge Pride Rock of the hyena smell lions found revolting, but he knew that project was very low priority with so many wounds to heal. Not all the wounds were physical, either. Some of them were deep emotional wounds that would take time to heal. Sarabi sat by Taka’s body sobbing to see him laid open who had once lived for her affections. Isha went to the place where Jona and Minshasa had died during the drought. She looked up at the rain, a little bitter, then back at the place where they had lain in death. “I hope wherever you are, you know it’s raining.”
A few hyena stragglers were left on the Pride Lands but they were soon driven back into the elephant graveyard. In that sensitive moment, even the hyenas that sided with the lions wisely retreated across the border to let things cool off.
Finally, as the rain was beginning to taper off, the lions began to regroup and let Rafiki tend their wounds. It was during that informal meeting, as Sarabi was searching for the right thing to say to Elanna, that Sarabi noticed she was missing. Since Elanna was not in her cave on the rock, no one had any idea where she had gone. No one remembered seeing her during the fight. In fact, it was as if she had just vanished.
Since Elanna had left the cave only rarely, it was easy enough to follow her tracks down the side of Pride Rock, but in the wet grass, the scent was lost. Sarabi quickly ran to Simba.
“Son, Elanna can’t be found and no one has seen her since before the fight.”
Simba looked to her sadly. “Form a search party, Mother. May Aiheu guide you.”
Isha pointed out the hyena’s hidden cache of food and a few morsels of food were taken for quick strength. But without rest and heedless of their own wounds, the lionesses headed out and searched the fields, calling Elanna’s name. They knew why Elanna might try to make herself scarce. “Don’t be afraid!” Sarabi shouted. “By Aiheu’s whiskers, we only want to see you!”
After many hours of searching, nothing was found except her scent, which was quickly lost again. Then as the group was heading home in defeat, they turned towards some soft moaning in the grass. Hoping against hope that it would be Elanna they found instead a dying hyena.
CHAPTER: THE WITNESS
She had a head wound from a canine tooth that opened into her brain. Her pain was stronger than her fear, and she looked over the group whimpering in pain. Her eyes stopped on Rafiki. “The pain! Oh gods, the pain! Please help me!”
Sarabi pushed forward, “Now listen to me, you fiz’lo! Where is my sister Elanna?”
The hyena whimpered. “Help me! Please! Please?”
“We will give you something for the pain,” Sarabi said, “But only if you tell us what you know.”
Rafiki pushed past her and held out some herbs. “Take this.”
The lionesses scowled. Isha said, “Those painkillers should go to wounded lionesses!”
“There is enough to go around, Isha. They are no great friends of mine, by and large, but the poor wretch is dying. Let me work.”
“Kind ape, turn me to face the east,” the hyeness stammered. “I want to see Roh’kash.” Rafiki grunted with the exertion, and without help from the lionesses managed to drag her forequarters part of the way around. But Uzuri saw the strain on his face and helped move the hyeness on around. She never questioned his motives on anything.
The hyeness started to fade out. Using a small twig, Rafiki cleared the clot of blood from the head wound. Blood came out, relieving the pressure on her brain. He then held some silvervein in front of her nose. It made her mind work more clearly and she briefly opened her eyes again.
Gently, Rafiki said, “Tell me where Elanna is. It is too late to save you, but you can undo hurt for those who go on living.”
Struggling to focus on his face, the hyeness said murkily, “Taka said he’d kill himself if anything happened to her. We thought we had a plan. Skulk said…” She grimaced with pain. “… bring me his tail to prove he’d done it. We carried her to the woods. Ten of us.”
She started to fuzz out again. He held silvervein in front of her nose and stroked her gently.
“And?”
“She knew what was about to happen. Die with dignity… Screaming… Fire everywhere… The whole world on fire… Mer’kh toh embas, doh pekhtureh frogam meklu… De’h mirchet ere… Immobrek Elanna mes kroth…”
“What’s she saying?” Yolanda asked.
“Did Elanna die??” Sarabi demanded. “Common speech! I don’t speak that gibberish!”
The hyeness drew in a breath and shuddered. “Ten hyenas to kill one lioness… Ten hyenas to kill…” Her eyes closed.
Sarabi put her paws on her chest and shook her. “Did you kill her?? Tell me, damn you!! DID YOU KILL HER??” Sarabi put her paws on the hyeness’ chest and began to slowly sink them in. Blood sprang from the points. “DID YOU KILL HER??” Her claws moved slowly down, leaving red trenches. “DID YOU KILL HER??” Sarabi’s voice fell to a near whisper and she drew close to the hyeness’ face. “Please? Please tell me?? Oh God, I have to know! Did you kill my sister?”
The hyeness’ eyes opened briefly, though it is doubtful she saw much. Her breath escaped in a long gurgle and her pupils dilated to large black lifeless orbs. A stream of urine ran unchecked down her hind legs, forming a pool beneath her shattered body.
“DID YOU KILL HER??” Sarabi pounded on her with her paws and shrieked, “SPEAK, DAMN YOU!!” She gripped some silvervein and scattered it across the still face in her panic. “IS SHE DEAD?? IS SHE??”
Rafiki gently but forcefully gripped one of Sarabi’s paws. “It’s too late. Don’t make a scene, dear.”
Sarabi stepped back from the dead hyena. Her chin trembled. “She didn’t tell me,” she stammered. “She had nothing to lose. Why wouldn’t she tell me??”
“I think she did,” Rafiki said gently. “I’m sorry.”
“I saw Lannie just yesterday,” Sarabi said, still in shock. “You know what she said? She said, ‘We need to talk.’”
Rafiki put his arms around her neck and held her. “You poor dear!”
“She wanted to talk but I said, ‘I have nothing to say to you.’ My gods, can you believe I said that to my own sister??”
Rafiki began to stroke her cheek and kiss her. “Poor honey tree! Poor dear honey tree!”
She pulled away from him and headed to the top of a small kopje. “Elanna??” she shouted. “ELANNA?? CAN YOU HEAR ME??”
The name echoed off the surrounding hills, mocking her.
Sarabi’s chin trembled again, and she drew in a deep breath. “ELAAAANNAAAAA! PLEEEEASE!! I’M SORRY!! OH GODS, ANSWER MEEEE!!” She roared and pounded the ground with her paw. She roared again, and the other lionesses joined her. Tears began to course down Sarabi’s cheeks, and she stumbled off the kopje, nearly collapsing to the ground. “First my parents, then my husband and my son, now my sister! I’ve tried to live a good life. Why does everything bad happen to me??”
Rafiki ran his paw through her fur gently. “Lannie is with Taka now. That’s where she would want to be, Honey Tree. At least you got your son back. Go to him, Sassie. He will bring you comfort.”
Sarabi kissed Rafiki, then turned and slowly trudged up the side of Pride Rock. “Yes, I have Simba. Thank the gods! I should be grateful.”
CHAPTER: THE NISEI
As her Pride mates mourned for her, Elanna was walking alone across the savanna contemplating her own death. She looked ahead of her and saw nothing. Her whole life seemed to lay behind her, a tragic story destined to have a tragic ending. With his faults, Taka was still loved her with his whole heart. Now no one loved her, and the one time she needed a shoulder to cry on most of all, she was isolated, a tiny yellow speck on a vast golden plain.
Sadly, she looked back from where she came, the sight of Pride Rock now long gone from the horizon. For the first time in her life, she could not see any part of it. Pride Rock, whose golden shaft greeted the morning. She had been born there, and she had thought to die there. Her mother lived again in its grasses, and looked down upon it from the stars. Her husband had taken her in its protective embrace. A horror enveloped her that she had not really escaped death, but exchanged a quick one for a lingering, painful ordeal.
She took stock of her life, forming an inventory of all the good and bad times that made up her days. She remembered the sweet richness of her mother’s milk, and the comfort of Sarabi’s body next to her as she closed her eyes and nursed. She remembered cubhood games of tag that lasted for hours, and wrestling with young Mufasa in the cool of the cave. She remembered her first kill, and how proud she felt when the red pawprint in blood was placed on her cheek. She remembered using the warm muskiness of Taka’s soft mane as a pillow, and the breathless pleasures of his lovemaking. She remembered the feel of a small life inside her. Once, in death, she looked on the face of her son Fabana. “Oh gods, if only those little eyes had opened one time and seen the love I bore him! If only once I could have held him to my belly and given him milk!” Tears welled in her eyes. Voices were calling to her from the realm of Aiheu—Mom and Dad, lover and child. And the voices were getting louder, beginning to drown out even the piping of the weaver birds and the chirping of the crickets.
The thought of returning and facing justice played in her mind. Her reasoning was simple and compelling. If Taka had indeed killed Mufasa and Simba in his madness, she could die to pay the blood debt and set him free. His death would atone for Mufasa’s, hers for Simba’s.
She had not rested since the hyenas had told her of her former pride’s plan for her. Finally, her body gave out and she collapsed on the ground exhausted. Soon sleep had claimed her.
Her sleep was fraught with dreams. In her visions she relived her days with Taka. Mercifully it was not what life had become for them in the past few months, but what is was like in the beginning. She smiled softly in her sleep as she felt his body against her.
“Lannie, there is a full moon outside. Let’s sit on the end of the promontory.”
She followed him up the stone spire and laid her head against his soft, dark mane. “What will we name our son?” she asked.
“There is one name for him. Three great loves have I known. My mother loved me. You loved me. And Fabana loved me.”
“I think Fabana would be a lovely name. But what if I have girls? Three little girls. Ever think about that?”
“Three little Lannies!” He smiled and nuzzled her. “Then I’d have to keep trying, wouldn’t I?” He turned his gaze back to the full moon. “Dad used to say if you wished on the full moon and you just believed hard enough, it would come true.”
“I’d never heard that.”
“Neither had he, I warrant. Dad was always like that. Wishing and believing. Oh gods, I wish he was here right now, and my mother too. Once life was so simple. So simple and so good.”
“It can be simple and good again, my love. And you can believe that.”
Taka looked back at her face, washed silver with moonlight. “Gods, I love you!”
Then the vision changed. It was no longer like a dream. A bright light flooded the spot where she stirred. “What the…”
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Taka appeared before her in a cloud of glory fire. “Taka? Is that you?”
“Listen, love! I don’t have much time!”
“Honey Tree, are you coming to take me with you?”
“No. I’m here so you will NOT die.”
She ran and nuzzled him. “Oh my husband, but I want to join you!”
Taka just shook his head. “Do not try to atone for my sin. I will pay my debt to the last drop of blood. I will start with you. You will have a comforter in your time of grief.” He kissed her cheek softly. “When your time comes, we will sit together forever and never be apart again. Till then, be my brave little girl.”
“Taka, Honey Tree, I must know the truth. Did you kill your brother?”
The lion looked at her sadly. “Remember the good times, Lannie. Remember the blissful moments. Those were the truth.” With that, he faded quickly. She had her answer.
CHAPTER: IN MEMORIUM
The search party quietly headed back without their Pride sister. Even the cubs were hushed as the lionesses slowly made their way through the grasses with their heads and tails hung low. Simba, who had stayed at Pride Rock to guard against the last of the hyena stragglers, saw the group approach. One look at their posture affirmed in his mind that Elanna was lost to them. Silently, he made his way to the queen mother. “I’m sorry mom…” he said softly to her as he rubbed against her gently.
Sarabi looked up at her new king, her eyes still wet with tears, “At least I have you, son.”
It had been a long time since Rafiki had been able to walk out alone without the confines of his hyena jailers. Even through the somber mood of the night, he was determined to make the most of his new freedom. He went to each of the pride members and blessed and stroke each of them in turn. He even had a special blessing for Timon and Pumbaa. Slowly, he began to fill in the gaps in the last two years of his life. He quickly ran out of his jerky as he gave all the cubs a treat… and even the lionesses he remembered as nothing but a cub.
As he went through the pride, he treated their wounds. True to his words, there were enough herbs for the lions of the pride, even if he would have nothing for his aching joints that night. It had been indeed fortunate that no one was seriously hurt, the worse injuries being some cuts and bruises. The hyenas that followed Shenzi were quick to leave after they passed their sentence on the former king and upon seeing their cousins fighting with the lions. Still, in the distance, their sounds could be heard, mocking the newly freed pride.
As the evening passed into night and the lions were able to rest their sore bodies, it was time to remember the lost member of the pride. Sarabi, being her sister, called the group together for a memorial to their fallen pridemate.
Rafiki stepped into the circle of lionesses. Everyone knew how he felt about Taka, and for this reason he was the only one left alive that could speak the opening words freely.
“Great Aiheu, we commend to your care Elanna, and pray that she will be reunited with her husband. And may Taka…” The mandrill leaned heavily on his staff as tears streamed down his face. “Grant them peace. Forgive him as I have forgiven him. He loved me once. He really did love me.”
As Rafiki stepped away, Isha came forward. “She was gentle and kind. And how she suffered! I wish I’d known her better.”
Ajenti did not step forward, but she stammered, “Me too.”
Nala crept to the center of the circle. “She really loved children, though she had none of her own. She was always very nice to me. She was always sad, but one time she sang to me. She had a very pretty voice, you know.”
Nala edged back to Simba who nuzzled her and pawed her face.
As the turn passed from lioness to lioness, most remembered her strength. How, even through the mental isolation from her pride, she stayed faithful to her husband to the very end. How even through their scorn, she still loved everyone. The cubs remembered how kind she was… how she would always want to give them affection and how she would, the few times that she could, always had a story for them.
Finally, it came to her sister, Sarabi.
Sarabi sighed softly as the memory of her sister and their cubhood comes back to her mind. The wind whispered quietly among them. Her face remained motionless except for the slow blinking of her eyes. The other lionesses began to stir uneasily, looking to one another uncertainly as they sought an answer to her silence. Thus it was that they all started nervously when she spoke.
“Elanna…” A wan smile creased Sarabi’s face and she looked up finally, her gaze passing through the gathered pride into a haze of time into which only she could penetrate. A half sob, half laugh escaped her and she looked down again, staring through the air. “I keep thinking of a day, back when we were cubs…” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with a paw, smiling. “Once she saved my life. We were lost in a cave, and though I never told anyone about his, I nearly drowned—or worse—in the haunted cave under Pride Rock. She pulled me from the water. And how did I repay her?” New tears welled from her eyes. “I’d give anything to have her back here again… oh gods, I can’t even remember what she smelled like before those damn hyenas defiled this place.” She shivered, gripped by the terrible agony of her grief. “I’d give anything to be able to look her in her eyes… and tell her I’m sorry!”
Silence gripped the group as the former queen looked up to the sky. “I hope you are happy, sister, with your husband. I wish you all the joy in the next world that you never had in this one.” She drew a deep breath and uttered a mournful roar, venting her pain in a cacophony of sound echoed by her pride sisters as it swept across the savanna into the depths of the night.
CHAPTER: STRANGE PREY
After a long night with very little sleep, Elanna was unable to lie still any longer for she suffered from a different emptiness. She had eaten well for the times of Taka’s pride, but still that was poor, and she had been given even less over the last day. Taking Taka’s words in her dream to be a sign, she started off to quench her desire. Hunting had been denied her for over two years by her overprotective husband. She remembered the lessons taught long ago, but she was woefully out of practice. First would be to find some prey to test her luck with her old skills.
That didn’t prove so difficult since the terrible draught had not scorched the land beneath her feet. Silently, she made her way toward a small herd of impala. How she wished for her sisters to be behind her to back her up. But oh, if she DID succeed, what a bounty would be hers! It had been a long time since she had seen so much food. She continued to stalk the prey, hoping against all hopes that she would be able to get her wish.
Finally, after closing the distance farther than she had hoped, she burst from cover and rushed. The excitement of her youth came back. She felt so alive, so exhilarated that she began to understand what she had been missing the last two years.
The herd separated, just as she remembered from her lessons of so long ago. In front of her was a lone impala, unsure where to go. Elanna wasted no time in closing the distance and taking her prey down, ending its life so she could continue hers. Elanna panted and said her blessing as she began to tear into the body of her prey.
Just then, the familiar whoops of hyenas began to close in on her. Before she knew it, a group of hyenas closed in and surrounded her and her prey. At first, they are silent, looking over the lioness and the prey beneath her. Finally, in common speech they said, “Our share! Our land! Part is ours!”
She snarled at them as she stayed protectively over the life giving meat, “Krekh toh! Barekh moh amspach Elanna!”
The hyenas were startled for a moment and backed off, looking at each other. “Hfff! The scholarly type! But, my dear bakhret, even from our own kind we require our share of everything killed on our land.”
The hyenas began to approach her, but as it appeared that Elanna would lose her work and maybe her life, a rustle was heard in the grasses. The rogue lion came out of grass, looking at the lioness, her prey, and the hyenas. He moved out more looking intently at the hyenas and growling, “You wouldn’t be making trouble for her, would you? I advise you to leave and now before I make sure you don’t come near here again—EVER.
The hyenas looked at their numbers and decided not to risk their lives for such a meager meal. With curses, both in their language and common speech, they disappeared into the night.
With a grunt of satisfaction in his work, he moved to Elanna.
Suddenly she snapped at him, “This is mine!”
“You’re quite welcome,” he said with a bow. “Maybe we can do this
again sometime.” With that, he turned and began to disappear into the night.
Elanna watched as the rogue faded from sight. Finally she called out, “I’m sorry. Would you share with me?”
The lion turned around and began to trot back towards her. “How can I refuse an offer like that? But you go first—you look a bit thin, my dear.”
Elanna dug in to the still warm body of the impala. Her stomach, unaccustomed to this food, had shrunk from long fasts and meager meals. As her insides began to rebel, she moved away from the meat and purged the food from her body, crying as she did. The male, not wanting to miss the free meal, dug in, his eyes still on the crying lioness. Finally, his hunger quenched, he moved closer to her and sits down.
“If you’re wise, you’ll eat a little grass, then take a few bites. With time you’ll get your appetite back.”
“Sounds like good advice,” she said, still sick. She nibbled half-heartedly at a few clumps of green grass.
“Are you a rogue lioness?”
“No. At least I wasn’t.” She sadly looked down.
“I hope I didn’t offend you. I’m a rogue male—of late.” He approached her closer and though she shrank from him at first she let him touch her cheek with his paw. “My dear, you look like a ghost. If you don’t mind, we can help each other.”
“How?”
“Well, I can drive off the hyenas and flush game. And you can talk to me.”
“That’s it?”
“Hey, it’s the silence that gets to me. I can’t stand it. I even talk to buzzards. And when they’re not around, I talk to myself. All the time.”
“Well, I can talk,” she said. “And if you help me hunt, you may eat your share. Deal?”
“Deal! I am Kubali, by the way. And you?”
She tried a small bite of the impala, chewing it carefully and uncertainly, then swallowing. “My name is Elanna.”
He smiled. “Elanna! What a beautiful name.”
CHAPTER: SOMEONE TO LEAN ON
The day’s event had taken their toll on the two lions, and when the sun had slipped below the horizon, they quietly searched for a clearing which to bed for the night. Upon finding one, Elanna lied down in the short grass and Kubali did the same, a few passes away. Kubali, long accustomed to the solitude, fell asleep rather quickly. Elanna wasn’t so lucky. As he mind filled with visions of her Taka, she softly wept.
Kubali’s ears were pricked on this weeping. Looking over at her for a few moments, he rose up and moved towards her. Hearing no protest on her part, he lied down next to her, still keeping a small gap between their bodies. Almost absentmindedly, Elanna turned and draped a paw over him, which brought forth a soft purr from him. Felling his warmth, they finally drifted off to a quiet sleep together.
Morning came quickly for the pair. Elanna woke first, and while she was thinking of her Taka and how nice it was to see him wake in the morning, her paw wandered on him. She softly stroked his mane, as she once did for the fallen king.
Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t at Pride Rock anymore. She turned her head to see her paw across Kubali’s mane.
“I’m sorry!”
“Don’t be. My nurse used to do that.” He sighed. “I bet he was special, this mate of yours.”
“He’s dead.”
“Oh…” He touched her face again. “That’s why you were crying
last night. I haven’t known you that long, but I already hate it when you cry.”
Elanna pawed his shoulder gently. “Look, Kube… Kublia… uh…”
“Kubali.”
“Yeah. You’ve been very sweet to me, but I don’t want you to get any unrealistic expectations. I need a friend now, and I think you could be that friend. But I don’t know if I could ever fall in love again.”
Kubali smiled gently and touched her nose with his. “I need a friend too. Someone I can lean on when the trail is long and weary. I wouldn’t take a chance of ruining this.”
Elanna smiled, relieved, and returned his nuzzle.
Over the next three days Elanna and Kubali worked hard to prove their friendship would never blossom into romance. It was a tense time for both of them, a time of guarded words and cautiously touching only when necessary. They would allow themselves a good morning nuzzle and, when they made a small kill, a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. Still, it was done timidly and with great restraint.
Then on the fourth day a remarkable thing happened. They stopped being afraid and decided to enjoy their friendship.
Elanna was sunning herself on a small kopje that morning when Kubali came and laid beside her. “Lannie, we have to talk.”
“My husband called me Lannie,” she replied. “It makes me feel uncomfortable to hear it from anyone else.”
“Fine. Lots of things make me feel uncomfortable. I think we’re both pretty miserable.”
“Are you saying we should part?”
“No. I’m saying we should stop being miserable.” Kubali said, “I’ve been holding back from you. Surely you wonder about my past.”
“I try not to.”
“See there—that’s what I mean. This secrecy is tearing us apart. I mean, if we’re really friends, let’s be honest with each other.”
“Are you saying I’ve lied to you?”
“No. You have to say something first.” Kubali looked around with building frustration. “Look, I have a sordid past. If I can tell you what I did to wind up here, you can tell me, can’t you?”
Elanna looked about, surprised. “Just how sordid?”
“Then we have a deal?”
“It depends,” Elanna said, rolling over to look at him in the eyes.
Kubali sighed nervously. “Where shall I begin? Well, I think it started when I was a little cub. My mother died the day I was born, and I was raised by nurses. My dad is a king, you know. I was the heir apparent, and I guess I had free rein to do what I pleased.” He laughed nervously. “Oh yes, it pleased me to do a lot of selfish things—a whole lot! The lionesses got fed up with me and one day they said my polite little brother would make a better king—or else.”
“Or else?”
“Or else they would leave. Dad banished me.” Tears came to his eyes. “I’ll never forget the look on his face when he said good bye. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“Poor Kubali!”
“I deserved it, though. I really messed up my own life, and I have no one else to blame. Now I have to make a new life for myself, and I’ll be different. I begged Aiheu for a friend. Someone—anyone—that would end my awful loneliness. I swore I’d be better. I meant it too. Then I saw this feisty lioness facing off a whole group of hyenas. I knew that you were the answer to my prayers.”
Elanna kissed away his tears, a rather intimate gesture of friendship. “Your honesty puts me to shame. Really, I should have told you more about myself. You’ve been so kind to me.”
“Am I kind? I wondered if I was doing well.”
“Better than well, my friend.” She nuzzled him. “My husband was a king. His name was Taka. He was never popular, but I loved him. I loved him the way snow loves the mountain peaks, and you know the snow would never leave the mountain peaks lest it should melt and die.”
“What did he do to be so unpopular?”
“Well he…” She sighed. “He was not completely sane. He did a lot of strange things. Very strange. But it was not his fault. I did not know that he had killed his brother to take the throne. Not till after the hyenas ripped him alive.”
“Whoa, you poor dear!”
“I loved him, but I wouldn’t have stayed with him. Not if I’d known. Still the knowledge has not killed my love. Somehow I cannot turn years of love into hate. Now you know why I have not fallen in love with you. When he died, my dreams of love also died. He was killed and I live in exile, a wanderer with no place to lay my head.”
“Wrong. Lay your head on my mane, dear. It doesn’t matter if you love me or not. I have enough love for both of us.”
She laid her head on the soft fur of his mane and sighed peacefully. “I’m glad we had this talk. And I didn’t mean what I said before—call me Lannie. You’ve earned the right.”
“It’s not a right, it’s a privilege. A privilege to be earned daily. Your suffering is over, Lannie. Over and done.” He stroked her gently with his paw.
CHAPTER: HAVE IT YOUR WAY
If calling Elanna ‘Lannie’ was a privilege to be earned daily, Kubali did his best. The truth had freed them to enjoy each other’s acceptance. Elanna became to Kubali more than just a mystery, however alluring. She became a person with strengths and weaknesses, and compassion like a river bearing away his sorrows to lands unseen. In return, Kubali treated Elanna with a gentle humility he didn’t know he had. He devoted himself to making her feel important and cared for.
With each passing day, Kubali and Elanna drew closer to the inevitable moment when one or the other would use the word “love” to describe their feelings.
With all the truth and experience, however, small quirks showed up in their behavior. Elanna found Kubali’s snoring intolerable when he lay on his back. Often in the night she would shove him over with a paw, hoping to find peace. And Kubali noticed to his irritation that she always deferred decisions to him. It was nothing much really, just a ‘You decide’ or a ‘We can do what you want’ every so often, but it bothered him. And for him, this was one problem that a simple shove of the paws would not rectify. He decided to let it past and wait. She get use to the freedoms, he thought to himself.
One day, they went on a hunt together. Quietly, before they were close to any prey, he jokingly nuzzled her and said, “So… what do you feel like today, my fair lioness? The savanna is filled with choice prey.”
She smiled up to him, “Oh… I don’t know… you pick.”
He could feel his insides tighten on her words. “Come on Lannie, I always chose… I think it’s your turn to chose.”
She just shook her head, “I’m no good at making decisions… you can. It’s all right.”
Kubali could sense where this was going so he swallowed his pride and nodded, “All right… how does gazelle sound today?”
She smiled and rubbed against him softly. “It sounds wonderful.” She didn’t notice, or care to notice, the tightness in his body she caused.
Together they walked until they were able to find their target. Quietly, Kubali slipped away from Elanna and stalked about to a point where he was sure the gazelles can smell him. He jumped out and roared, causing the gazelles to flee towards Elanna. She burst out of the brush, her swift and fatal onslaught bearing a struggling beast to the ground. Some of the others in panic turned and headed back.
Kubali did not react swiftly enough. One of the gazelles caught him on the side with a hoof, nicking him and bringing a few drops of blood.
Elanna quickly and compassionately snuffed the life from her horrified captive, then spoke a quick blessing. Kubali went to her after the dust had settled and rubbed against her gently. “Good job, Lannie!”
As his body pressed against hers, she noticed the blood on him. “Oh my gods… you’re bleeding, Kubali!”
Kubali turned to look at the wound and chuckled. “Don’t scare me like that! It’s really noth…”
“Oh you poor dear…” She got up from the fallen beast and began to lick at the blood on his coat. “My sweet little Nisei, let me make it all better.”
“Lannie… not that I mind your affections… but I’ll be all right.”
She began to stroke his side gently. “My brave little lion. There, there! It’s all right. I’m here.”
Kubali stepped away from her, “Didn’t you hear me, Lannie? I’m all right. It’s really nothing. I didn’t even notice it until you mentioned it.”
Elanna looked up to him. “But Kubali… aren’t you in pain?”
He just shook his head. Elanna looked down at his paws, “Oh…”
Kubali came and nuzzled her. “You don’t have to treat me like a cub, Lannie… and you don’t have to think of me as your master.” He kissed her gently. “Lannie, I don’t want someone to command around. That’s what got me in trouble in the first place.”
She nodded. “OK. I’ll try if you want me to.”
He shook his head. “You still don’t get it. Try because YOU want you to.” He looked around and said, “We better eat this before it falls to the hyenas.” Ripping at the flesh, he opened the beast. “Hunter’s choice?”
Elanna just looked at him, about to ask what he wanted. Then quickly she dove her head into the carcass and pulled out the heart. She moved over to him and dropped it at his feet.
Frustrated, Kubali sighed. “Lannie, listen to me.”
“We’ll share it. You and I together.”
He smiled and licked the blood from her check, giving her a kiss at the same time. “That’s my girl.”
CHAPTER: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
The cold gray eyes stared silently out at the small clearing, taking in all that they saw and revealing nothing, like their owner. He crouched in the overgrown scrub, the soft fronds swaying in the quiet breeze, batting at his face in a maddeningly repetitive pattern, but he lay still, like a stone. Finally, he grunted in satisfaction and rose, shaking out his mane, and emerged from the grass, padding silently over to where the other two lions had lain the previous evening. His small companion followed, the hyena glancing about nervously at the waving grass.
Gamu bent his face to the ground and paced about slowly, nosing at the bent blades of grass where the two lions had slept the night. His head jerked aside of its own volition, drawn by a particular scent, and he breathed deeply. Nodding, he lifted his face to look at the hyena in satisfaction. “Soon, now.”
“Soon?” the hyena asked. “I wish you’d hurry up.”
The lion smiled complacently and strolled over towards him. “Patience, Griz’nik.” Whipping a paw up abruptly, he extended a single claw and lifted the hyena’s chin with it sharply, dimpling the flesh in. “Your days with of pushing lions around are over. You will remember who is your boss, and it’s not Shenzi.” He lifted his paw higher, watching the hyena flinch with detached amusement. “Understand?”
Griz’nik coughed and nodded carefully. “Yes sir.”
Gamu released the pressure and dropped his paw. “That’s better. Now be a good little hyena and tell me who that lovely creature is with Kubali.”
Griz’nik rubbed his chin gingerly, staring at Gamu with undisguised hate. “That’s Elanna. She used to be my queen.”
“Your Queen?” Gamu laughed. “I was unaware you were making a career of obeying lions, Griz.”
Griz’nik spat. “Remember that when I gnaw on your bones.”
Gamu waved a paw absently. “Yes, yes. She was a queen, you say?” His eyes gleamed as he looked at the hyena. “Royalty, eh? Then tell me what she’s doing out here eating on leftover carcasses with that flea bag.”
Griz’nik scratched an ear self-consciously. “Well, back when Amarakh was our Roh’mach, there was this hyena named Gur’mekh—”
Gamu swung heavily with a paw, barely missing the hyena who dodged away with a yip of terror. “The condensed version, please, and spare me your savage chatter. I don’t have all day.”
Griz’nik stood warily just outside the reach of his paw. “We helped kill the old king in my old home. His brother took his place and allied with us in return for our help. She married him.”
“You little devil!” Gamu grinned humorlessly. “It seems you do have a few redeeming vices.”
“Thanks—I guess.”
“That still doesn’t tell me why she’s here.”
Griz’nik flattened his ears. “Uhh… the old king’s son came back and kind of took over the place.”
Gamu threw his maned face back and bellowed laughter into the sky. “Oh my… you ARE priceless. I wondered why you came crawling to me.”
“Well, we did for her husband before she left, O Great Hairy One. But you’d better watch yourself.”
Gamu snapped his head down and bored twin holes into the suddenly silent hyena with his eyes. “Ahh… so hubby isn’t going to come looking for his long lost mistress, eh?”
“Not in this world.”
“I see…” Gamu rose and paced slowly past the clearing, his companion following at a respectable distance. “Excellent. I shall have to move against this young upstart before he endears her to him. He manages to exude a certain charm—despite his good qualities.” He paused and surveyed the area slowly. “I could rush him from the reeds, but they do make so much noise…” He eyed Griz’nik uncomfortably. “How fast can you run?”
“Oh no you don’t! Don’t drag me into this!”
“It’s either I drag you into this or drag your carcass away. Now stop whimpering and answer me.”
“Not very fast,” Griz’nik said nervously. “Hey, why don’t you just get him when she goes to drink or something. I make a lousy decoy.”
“As well as a fabulous idiot. If I kill him in front of her, do you think she’ll want my attentions?” Gamu snorted derisively. “Besides… I don’t want to kill Kubali outright like that.” A slow grin spread across his muzzle, humorless and cold. “I can think of other things I want to do to him first.”
Griz’nik tittered. “Then I get him, right?”
“You can have what’s left, certainly.” Gamu sidled uncomfortably close to the hyena and patted him. “After all… what are friends for?”
Griz’nik chuckled. “Dessert!”
“Precisely.” Gamu leered at him, making him shy away in fear. “Now tell me more about this Elanna.”
CHAPTER: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
Brother Sun padded slowly across the sky, shedding his warmth across the savanna in a proclamation of Aiheu’s glory, exposing all His works for the world to see. The light was reflected from the ground, the golden grass barely wavering in the stillness of highsun as the world slowly revolved about its axis, the intense heat rippling the air and making the world shiver in a macabre dance as the two lions sought surfeit from its hungry embrace.
Kubali groaned and shifted again in another fruitless attempt to get comfortable in the sweltering heat. His chest rose and fell rapidly, tongue lolling absurdly as he panted, the hot air seeming thick as liquid as it burned at his throat. Rolling slightly, he reached out with a paw and stroked Elanna gently, wishing for a delightful rub against her fur but unable to stand the heat. She purred tiredly, glancing at him and smiling.
Movement yanked at the corner of her vision and she glanced upward. “Look, Kubali!”
The young lion twisted and squinted upward into the azure sky, perking up slightly as he spied the dark shapes drifting high above on the thermals. “Vultures. Looks like they might have found a meal.” He debated a moment, then sat up. “Care to join me?”
Elanna hesitated a moment, then nodded and rose to join him, following him as they left the pitiful shade of the kigelia trees and padded through the high grass, glancing upward now and again to keep their bearings. The birds were circling still, but lowering; whatever it was would soon succumb to heat or predator’s jaws, preferably theirs. Kubali increased his pace a bit, trotting through the golden sea of waving grass, his own form nearly indistinguishable from the plants around him. Elanna, distracted by the birds, trotted after him quickly, feeling the heat encapsulate her in the enclosed grass.
Abruptly the circling birds descended and vanished. “Quick! Let’s go before they get it all!” She sped past him, ripping through the tough plants effortlessly as she hurried towards the unseen carcass, her ears detecting the raucous squawk and gabble of the birds as they began fighting for position.
“Elanna, wait!” Kubali sprinted to catch up, seeing her moving eagerly towards the fallen animal, now discernible as a zebra, albeit a decidedly feathery one with the carpet of vultures around it. The bird scattered out of her way, forming a rustling ring about the animal as Kubali cantered up beside her and cut her off. “Wait.”
“But they’re going to eat it all! They already ate the eyes for heaven’s sake.”
“They have their right to the kill as much as we… none of us brought it down. Aiheu chose this spot for it to die upon of its own accord.”
She paused, nodding at his wisdom, but unable to fathom his hesitation. “All right… but they’re just birds… it’s not like they’re helping us hunt.”
“Aren’t they? What signaled us that there was a carcass to be had? In return, we dispatch the prey quickly and they can eat sooner.”
“Oh… I see your point.”
Kubali nuzzled her playfully. “Hey, they’re the next to best thing that’s happened to me out here. They’ll take care of you if you respect them.”
She looked at him askance. “And what’s the best thing?”
“Not what—who.” He nuzzled her again, meaningfully this time. “Gods, it’s good to hear a lioness’ voice again. I was beginning to forget what it was like.”
Elanna purred and lashed her tail shyly as the two approached the downed zebra. One of the vultures hopped astride the striped form and cawed in greeting. “Fuzzy! Still making life miserable for hardworking birds, I see.”
Kubali laughed. “I have yet to see you break a sweat, Markaaagh. Since when have you worked hard in your lifetime?”
“Ever since I met you, Fuzz; it’s hard enough trying to fill my own belly with this crowd without a walking gizzard moving in, har-har!” Markaaagh cackled wittily and looked at the lioness. “Two for dinner? Does she know the rules?”
“It’s safe. This is Elanna.”
The vulture clucked and shifted his weight. “Oooh, so you want to lay a few eggs and raise a brood? Pretty thing for a lioness. No scars or anything.”
“Thanks, I think,” Elanna said. “And might I mention that you don’t have a feather out of place?”
“Aw!” He looked about at his wing coverlets and groomed self-consciously. “This one has manners, kid. Hold on to her.”
Kubali looked at Elanna. “He thinks we’re in love,” he whispered with a grin. “The silly old buzzard.”
She looked at him. “Yeah, silly idea.” Her ears fell flat at his chastened expression, and she hurried to correct herself. “I didn’t mean it that way. I mean, you’re really handsome.”
Kubali arched his neck slightly and smiled. “Why, thanks. And you’re no blot on the landscape yourself.” He waved a paw invitingly. “Shall we?”
They fed on the carcass until their hunger was satiated, then stood guard while the buzzards ate. As Elanna groomed herself clean from the meal, she paused and looked about at the tussling pile of birds, a wry smile coming to her face as she watched her ‘pride’ wrestle its way through dinner. She returned her gaze to the surrounding savanna, watching for predators and feeling a mild sense of wonder at guarding what she had previously seen as nothing but a nuisance or a competitor for her dinner. She looked over at Kubali, who lay with his back to her as he watched the western plains, and wondered at his sense of composure, the odd peace which wrapped him in a near visible aura of confidence. She muttered a short prayer to Aiheu in thanks for sending the young male… otherwise she might have met the acquaintance of the vultures under much less pleasant circumstances.
Sighing, she exchanged greetings with a contentedly stuffed Markaaagh and chatted with him absently, fielding his odd questions and wondering what Uzuri would have made of all this.
CHAPTER: COMING TOGETHER
One morning as Kubali and Elanna were sitting side by side, they watched the clouds and imagined what things their shapes might be.
“There’s a wildebeest,” Elanna said.
“It has a calf,” Kubali said. “See, that little puff to the left?”
“So it does! And there’s a rabbit. He’s eating a—oh, it’s a lion!”
“That must be some rabbit!”
“No, I mean there! A rogue!”
“What the…”
“Should we say hello?”
Kubali tensed up. “To him?? That dirty rascal??”
“You know him?”
The strange lion trotted up, obvious pleasure on his face. “Kubali! Our paths cross again!”
“I wish the pleasure had been postponed—indefinitely.”
The stranger showed disappointment. “Surely not!”
Elanna nudged Kubali disapprovingly. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
“This is Gamu,” Kubali said shortly. “We grew up together.”
“Your brother?”
“Heavens, no!”
Gamu looked down. “Whatever wrongs I’ve done, I’ve paid for in the hell of my solitary existence. I’m sure I wasn’t perfect like you, so they weren’t sad when I left.”
Kubali’s face fell. “Well, maybe I’ve been harsh with you. But you asked for your hard times.”
“Asked and received. Remember at your mantlement? Something about the proving grounds of hardship which strengthen the Ma’at and purify the Ka?” He bowed his face to the ground. “I have suffered, Kubali! Please let us try it again from the start? Please??” He looked up and mustered a withering smile. “Kubali! Our paths cross again!”
Kubali came forward and nuzzled him. “So they do. This is my friend Elanna. Elanna, this is my old pridemate Gamu.”
Elanna shyly nuzzled Gamu and felt his timid kiss on her cheek. She felt sorry for him at once.
“So what brings you this way?” Kubali asked, pointedly.
“The whims of the savanna. Some gracious chance, or was it Aiheu? But since kind fate has thrown us together, let us band together. I can help protect you and aid you in hunting. Maybe someday if you want lands of your own, I can be a valuable ally.”
“And in return?”
“I have a real audience. I’ve had no one to talk to but myself for many long weeks. I’ve lost track of the time.”
Kubali nodded, then looked over at Elanna. She nodded back at him and smiled shyly.
“Very well. Behave yourself and you may travel with us.”
CHAPTER: THE STARS
Gamu managed to steal a few moments from his new companions to visit Griz’nik in the reeds. The hyena had brought him a rabbit, and Gamu nodded silently, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and took the carcass a short distance. He rolled it in the fragrant leaves of a Corbynanthus and then licked the wound on the neck, chewing it a bit to fully disguise the hyena scent and toothmarks. He brought it back to where Kubali and Elanna sat. By their sudden silence, it was clear they were talking about him, but unfazed, Gamu sat the rabbit in front of Elanna. “For you, my vision of lovliness. Have you made your decision yet?”
“My decision??” Elanna looked at him puzzled.
“Oh come now, I didn’t mean to hint around at anything naughty. I meant to come straight to the point. On the one paw, Kubali is dependable, reliable, and is saddled with a strong moral character. Not that I hold any of that against him…”
Elanna laughed. “Oh, Gamu! You are such a wit!”
Kubali grumbled. “At least she’s half right.”
Gamu sneered. “Come now, Kubali. Would you stand in the way of true love?”
“No. And I hope the one of you will be very happy together.”
Gamu laughed. “Why Kubali, you’ve acquired a sense of humor!” He looked over at Elanna and winked. “Well, how about it? Do you want the perfect marriage or some real fun?”
Elanna shoved him with a paw. “You wicked lion! If you must know, I haven’t given the matter a lot of thought.”
Gamu smiled innocently. “Insects don’t give the matter a lot of thought. That’s why there are so many of them.”
“Her husband is dead,” Kubali said, a bit ruffled. “Have a little respect.”
Gamu’s face fell. “Oh my gods! That’s my problem. I had a little respect when I should have had a lot.” Gamu nuzzled Elanna tenderly. “I meant no offense. No doubt he must have had many bitter rivals for your affection.”
“It’s OK,” Elanna said, nuzzling him back. “I’m not offended. I know you meant it all in fun.”
“Of course, my dear. Of course.”
Gamu was better than his word. He proved to be an intelligent, polite, and charming companion. That night when the stars winked in, he astounded Elanna with stories even she had not heard; Maku the Hunter, Ari and Kuzima, and the Love of the Evening Star. When Gamu spoke in his rich, well-cadenced voice, even the most improbable of tales sounded as firm as the stone, and as warm as a nuzzle. He touched her emotions with tales of great kings and epic struggles in long ago days.
Through it all, Kubali sat there jealous and uncomfortable. His own knowledge of star lore was adequate, but no match for Elanna, much less Gamu. And rather than learning something from it all, he merely tolerated it as best as he could.
Gamu saw the sullen look on Kubali’s face, and to avoid offending his host he left the admiring Elanna to contemplate all that she had heard and caught up on events with Kubali. Gamu listened to Kubali’s story, and in return he told Kubali a great many things. Only he did not mention the hyena Griz’nik or the plans Gamu made with him.
CHAPTER: THAT CERTAIN TIME
Elanna had been married to Taka for three years. During that time certain habits had become ingrained in her that were difficult to break. Kubali lay asleep, but Elanna lay wakeful, watching the smooth rise and fall of his chest. She kept her vigil faithfully, and at the first sign of dreams—twitching paws and limbs, she shook him. “Wake up, Honey Tree! It’s all right! Lannie is here!”
“Huh?? What’s wrong??” He looked around. “What time is it??”
“About midmoon. You were having another nightmare. I couldn’t stand to see you in torment like that. Let your Lannie make it all better.” She began to paw him, stroking his mane and pushing him gently from side to side. “Feel the tension roll away, my dear.”
He looked at her askance. “I was hunting gazelles. Just about had one too.”
“You weren’t having nightmares??”
“No. I almost never do.” He yawned. “Hey, if you don’t mind, let’s finish this talk in the morning, OK?”
“Sure.” Elanna’s ears flattened in consternation as she watched him begin dozing again almost immediately. She lay her own head upon her forepaws and watched him surreptitiously, waiting for his limbs to jerk and yank him upright as he howled his torment from the nightmares. Absently she gazed at his side, watching his ribs rise and fall with the gentle tides of his breath. Easing forward, she rolled sideways until her back touched his, assuring herself that any sudden movements on his part would alert her in time. Relaxing slowly, she lay her head down, feeling a faint rumble-purr from him at the contact. The sound lulled her gently down, and she let herself drift away, daring to wonder if she might sleep through the night once again without awaking to a scream.
Her eyes opened to the pleasant sounds of morning, the twitter of birds beginning to fill the air as the sky reddened in the east. Jerking upright, she looked around to see Kubali washing his face, rubbing his paw busily over his muzzle and mane as he lay a few feet away. He noticed her staring and stopped, smiling at her. “Good morning.”
“Uh, good morning.” Elanna looked at him carefully. “Are you all right?”
“Fine.” Kubali frowned. “Shouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, uh, of course.” Elanna lashed her tail and sat upright. “Excuse me… I need to go get something to drink.”
Kubali nodded and watched as she padded quickly away through the brush, heading towards the small pond they had passed the previous evening. Footfalls sounded in his ear and he glanced over to see Gamu plodding slowly toward him, yawning hugely. The lion paused and crouched slightly, lowering his chest and splaying his forelegs, claws extending with the effort as he stretched contentedly. Emitting a self-satisfied grunt, he arose again and meandered over to Kubali.
“Quiet one, that,” he said, motioning to the lioness who was lapping at the water’s edge some distance away.
Kubali hummed thoughtfully. “And a strange one, too… do you know she woke me out of a sound sleep last night, rocking me like a cub?”
Gamu’s ears rose upright. “Oh? Whatever for?”
Kubali shrugged with a flick of his tail. “Aiheu knows… I was dreaming of gazelle. She nearly rolled me over trying to get me to wake up, going on about ‘my torment.’” The lion peered after Elanna, who had finished her drink and was watching the marsh birds flitting about, screeching angrily at each other.
Gamu’s eyes sharpened as he stared at the back of Kubali’s head. “What did she say?”
“Something about me having another nightmare… and she was trying to ease my tension.” Kubali glanced back at Gamu. “Have you ever heard such things?”
Gamu quickly lowered his gaze, his expression carefully neutral. “Only from mothers soothing their cubs… I daresay it’s nothing, my friend.” He smiled ingratiatingly. “She was probably half-asleep herself and dreaming of cubs.”
Kubali nodded absently, his gaze returning to the lioness who was making her way back towards them. “You’re probably right.”
“I always am.” Gamu grinned oddly. “Excuse me.”
As the following days progressed, Elanna began to show the outward signs of a lioness entering her receptive period, and Kubali accepted Gamu’s idea that her idiosyncrasies were just another symptom of that special time which all lionesses experience when their bodies yearn for cubs. Eventually the subtleties grew more and more obvious, and the two males spent their days pacing agitatedly about, growing snappish and irritable.
Elanna felt guilty about the effects of her heat upon her friend, although she was not responsible for it. Anxious to avoid a confrontation between the two males, she persuaded Kubali that it would be best if they separated temporarily, since a nearby kopje provided adequate shelter and an excellent vantage point from which to scout for prey.
“Good idea,” he said, relieved. “I’ll sleep up top on the rocks, and you can stay inside that little cave in the side until it passes. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nuzzled him chastely and stepped away quickly, curling up inside her temporary abode and tucking tail beneath her.
Kubali ascended the rocks and lay down at the top, sighing uncomfortably as he fought to shove away the memory of the quick lick on his cheek she had given him. “Easy, boy, nothing but trouble there.” He watched absently as the herds moved slowly across the landscape, noting the dark shadows that chased each other across the ground. A heavy rumbling filled the air, and his nose twitched as the thick smell of approaching rain hit him.
“Oh, great,” he muttered.
Elanna settled down in a corner of the cave and closed her eyes. She felt lonely and a little depressed. The soft warmth of Kubali next to her had been a comfort she had learned to rely on. She rolled over and reached out her paw to put it on his shoulder, only he was not there. It was the worst time to be alone, and it took her a while to fall asleep.
Elanna’s nights had been full of bad dreams. She had a morbid fascination with the last moments of her husband, and had experienced them many different ways in her troubled nights. For a change the insistant yearnings in her body changed the course of her slumber.
“Lannie?”
“Yes, Taka?” She rolled on her back, gazing up at her husband that loomed over her with that hungry cub look on his face. “Did you want something?”
Silently, fervantly, he reached down and nuzzled her face, then kissed her throat right above her throbbing pulse. Passionately, he took his paw and rubbed her chest, then passed his paw down to fondle her sensitive belly, awakening sensations in her that made her shiver. He touched the paw to his nose, closed his eyes, and inhaled. “Oh gods,” he stammered. “I’m on fire! Crouch for me, Lannie. I want to make love to you all night.”
She reached up with a paw and fondled his chest mane. “Give me a moment, darling. Let me get ready.”
Elanna lay on the ground in the throes of her romantic dream. Her paws twiched and her jaw trembled. A thin, high moan escaped her lips.
Suddenly an earsplitting crack sundered the air. Elanna’s eyes popped open. She was alone. Once again, Taka was dead and the remnants of her dream were washed away in the downpour. Lightning flashed again. The world outside her cave was cold and miserable, and she thanked Aiheu for the shelter as the rain descended in solid sheets.
The drops fell on the dry earth, splashing in small crowns of splendor. After the plunge to earth, the small sprites sought out their friends, joining to form small trickles that merged into rivulets seeking sanctuary from the strange, hard soil. Some clung to stems of grass, turning them to gemmed scepters that swayed in the wind. Lightning lit the sky with infinite diamonds of brilliant lustre.
A hornbill began to bail water from her nest, her chicks shivering and wet. Lightning framed a couple of meerkat sentries that ducked quickly into their holes. Water ran unchecked into a gopher hole, and the agitated resident came out, looking about in the wet darkness. Nearby a badger slept safely, a drain passage keeping the flood from his bed chamber.
Kubali wended his way down the rocks to the lee side of the kopje and crouched miserably in the mud, his tail tucked between his hind legs and his bedraggled mane soaked and drooping. A flash of lightning made him cringe, and he wished it would all go away and let him sleep.
Elanna came to the mouth of the cave and called softly, “Kubali?”
The faint cry reached his ears and he turned to see Elanna beckoning him frantically towards her. Ears flattened, he padded quickly over, paws sending up small splashes of water and mud. Shivering, he trotted in next to her, grateful for the short respite from the driving rain.
“Huh?”
“Hsssh! Quietly. Come in here.”
“But what about Gamu?”
“What about him!” She looked at him sympathetically. “Gods! You’re soaked! Stay in here until it quits, at least.”
“Thanks.” He lay down on the rock floor, still shuddering from the cold air, the water forming small puddles around him as his body steamed away the moisture. Clucking reassuringly, she padded over and lay down next to him, draping a forepaw across his broad shoulders and pulling him close, sharing her body heat with him.
“Don’t do that! You’ll get wet!”
“I don’t care. Besides, it’s my fault you got soaked.”
Kubali had grown used to the feel of her and the scent of her next to him, and he had trouble sleeping alone. He grunted with contentment as her warmth began to penetrate his cold fur. “Thank you, Lannie. You’re really very special.”
“So are you.” She patted his shoulder and rubbed his side. A smile spread across his face.
Kubali closed his eyes and sighed as her warmth sank into his wet fur, seeping in and easing the shivers which caused his tail to tremble with their vehemence. Gradually, the heat of their bodies filled the cave, giving it a cozy feeling and relaxing him. A contented purr rolled out of his chest and Elanna answered it, sliding closer and touching her side to his.
A bolt of lightning struck, and Kubali felt Elanna tense. “Are you afraid?”
“Well, not actually.”
Another bolt of lightning hit nearby. She clung to him with her paws. “There wasn’t much rain where I came from. I’m not used to it, that’s all.”
He turned over to face her, stroking her face with his paw and saying, “I’m here, Honey Tree. You’re safe. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“You do make me feel safe,” she said, kissing him.
He tried to kiss her back, but stopped at the last moment. Something about it did not seem right. Then a flash of lightning lit her face. There was fear in her eyes, and it was not all from the storm. “It’s all right. Really it is.” He gently reached out with his arms and bore Elanna’s face next to his own. He put a soft kiss on her cheek and on her forehead. “If you want it, I do too. If you don’t, just say so.”
She said nothing, but nuzzled him quietly and passionately, kissing him with the barest touch of her tongue. A purr escaped her.
Kubali swallowed heavily, his heart beginning to hammer in his chest. “Oh girl, I’ve wanted you for the longest time.”
“Shhh.” She covered his muzzle softly with her paw, silencing him. Craning forward, she nuzzled him firmly, her warm tongue flicking out and tracing down his cheek in a kiss. “Kubali, do you really love me? Are you sure you do?”
He nuzzled her passionately, his wet mane filling her with his fragrance. “I was never so sure of anything in my life.”
She purred, rolling over into a crouch and moving her tail aside. “Come then. Make love to me. I’m yours.”
His heart pounding, Kubali rose to his feet. He kissed her once again, then trembling with anticipation gently took hold of her shapely neck in his jaws, stepping across her supple golden body.
The rain came down furiously. The lovers’ muted cries were muffled somewhat by the pouring rain, but Gamu listened intently and missed nothing. He cringed with every soft moan and cursed his luck, both the rain and the passion lost to another. Staring at the dark opening with narrowed eyes, he bared his teeth and trembled. “Damn you, Kubali! Damn you to hell!”
He listened until he could bear no more, then stalked away stiff-legged with rage, the rain filling the depressions he left in the soft earth.
CHAPTER: AFTER
Elanna laid on her back, forepaws tucked neatly on her chest as she lay nestled against Kubali, basking in the delightful warmth of his body and listening to the soft patter of water dripping outside. The cool evening breeze tugged gently at her fur and she shifted slightly, the mane of her beloved falling gently about her face and shoulders. She inhaled his scent and smiled, a small secret smile that intrigued him.
“What is it?”
Her eyes lidded, she looked at him and purred softly. “Oh nothing.” She lifted a forepaw which could snuff the life from an impala with one blow and gently caressed his face. “For the first time in a long while I feel safe.”
He answered her throaty purr with a low rumble of his own. “You are safe, Elanna. Now and forever.”
“Not Elanna. Lannie. Remember?” She smiled up at him and kissed him.
His eyes sparkled. “Lannie, then… do you know how beautiful you are to me right now?”
Her tail lashed in embarrassment and she looked away shyly. “I’m not beautiful.”
“You’re right.”
Her eyes turned to glare at him. “What??”
“You aren’t merely beautiful.” He drew a paw along the side of her muzzle, tracing the soft line where her fur lightened. “Sunsets and flowers are beautiful, but they don’t inspire love. There must be another word for this.”
A nervous laugh escaped her. “The word is lucky. Do you really think I’m attractive?”
“No.”
She glared at him again. “Will you make sense?”
“I don’t have to think so. I KNOW so.” He nuzzled her again, more intensely this time. “I wish I were a flea so I could spend my life on top of you.”
“Oh, don’t say such things!” She giggled, enjoying his attentions. She lay her head back, purring louder as his rough tongue bathed her throat, immersing herself in the waves of pleasure he was inciting in her.
“I wonder what our children will be like?”
Elanna tensed. Her eyes opened in alarm and she twisted to look at him, but his expression was far away and dreamy.
“Uh… it’s a little early to think about—”
He grinned at her, the sight so overwhelmingly beautiful it stole her breath away. “Just think of it Lannie! Our children…” He glanced down absently at his crossed forepaws, as if contemplating a squirming cub there.
“But I thought that would be an awful burden on you. You have no lands of your own, and you’d have to support your children.”
“I don’t mind! They would be OUR children. They’ll be safe and well fed, I promise you! I’ll take such good care of them and love them, my darling.” He looked at her again and beamed. “And they’ll all be as beautiful as you.”
Lannie wore a look of pain. Abruptly, his expression melted away like water steaming under the hot son. “Lannie? What is it?”
Tears were coursing down her cheeks as she stared unseeing out the darkened entrance to their cave. “I can’t talk right now!”
“Elanna?” His voice took on a frightened tone. “Elanna, what’s wrong?” He raised a paw to touch her and flinched in surprise as she jerked away, her eyes burning.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” she shrieked.
“I’m sorry! What did I do? What did I say??”
“Leave me alone! Please, just go away!” Elanna lurched into motion, leaping up with such violence that her hindpaw struck Kubali in the face, dazing him momentarily. He shook his head, fighting to clear it, only to see the empty savanna stretching before him in the night.
“Lannie?” He rose and paced out worriedly. “Lannie! Please come back!” He swallowed heavily, fear gripping his heart and making him giddy. “Oh gods… LANNIE!!”
The subject of his concern was just over a rise, her own sobs too loud in her ears to hear him. “M-My love, I’m sorry… oh gods, Taka, I miss you so much!” She choked back a cry and looked down at her forepaws. “I wish you were here.”
A soft touch brushed her shoulder and she growled unsteadily. “Damn it, Kubali, I said leave me alone!”
“You summon me and dismiss me in one motion?” A warm voice chuckled behind her, making her eyes widen. “Come, Lannie, make up your mind.”
She whipped around to behold a dark maned lion surrounded by a soft glow of starlight. “Taka??”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Dear Aiheu, how I’ve missed you! I’ve been so alone!” She swept forward and collapsed against him, feeling his soft fur and breathing in his dear, familiar scent, now touched with wild honey.
Taka lifted a paw and stroked her cheek. “I know, love. But I have sent you help and you have refused it. Lannie, go back to him!”
“What??” Elanna stared at him. “How can you say that? Taka, I want to be with YOU.”
“No you don’t, love. The tides of life still beat strong inside you. My time is past, but you still have a path to walk here.” He lifted a paw and brushed away a tear from her face. “He needs you, Lannie… and you need him, not some old memory of love.”
She shook her head, silent tears still rolling down her cheeks. “He doesn’t need me. Not like you did.”
“No, our needs are different, but that does not make his need any less, love. There is a thorn in your heart, and only he can remove it.” Taka purred deeply and kissed her muzzle. “When I see you happy with him, it fills me with joy. Go to him Lannie. Go to him and LIVE. If you don’t, I cannot be happy.”
Elanna nodded and nuzzled him one last time before turning away and padding slowly back towards the kopje in the distance. A final warmth passed through her and then the savanna fell dark and silent again around her. Lifting her face to the heavens, she beheld the glitter of the stars, and sought out one in particular. “Thank you, my love.”
The star seemed to shine brighter for a moment, as if in answer.
“Lannie!”
She jerked her head down to see Kubali bound over the rise, puffing for breath. “Lannie! Thank God I found you! I heard someone talking over this way and recognized your voice…” He trotted over to her and drew up short of nuzzling her in greeting, suddenly uncomfortable.
“Lannie? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you… can we talk about this?” He looked at her miserably. “Please?”
Elanna cried aloud and ran to him, wrapping her forepaws around him and bearing him to the ground as she covered his features with warm kisses. “I’m so sorry, Kubali… I’ve been such a fool.” She rubbed her cheek to his and nibbled his ear gently. “Love me, Kubali… you make me feel so special.”
He smiled at her warmly. “You ARE special, Elanna. I want to make love to you, but I need to understand what just happened.”
“My mate appeared to me. He told me that I should not be afraid of my feelings for you.”
Kubali stared silently at her in awe. “I’m glad. Your Taka really loved you. I really love you too. I won’t be jealous if you won’t feel guilty.” He nuzzled her. “Do you want to tell me about him?”
She initially looked away, but she settled beside him. “Taka was very sweet but very sad and afraid. Once when he was a cub, there was this badger…”
CHAPTER: AN AWKWARD MOMENT
The next morning, Gamu looked at Kubali with a smile but also a hint of reproach. “Miss some sleep last night?”
“Yeah. The lightning and thunder.”
“I bet. It’s a wonder you slept at all.” He glanced at Elanna who hung her head embarrassed. “All that lightning and thunder.”
Kubali looked at Elanna. “Lannie, are you OK?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” She edged nearer to him, but said nothing more. Kubali glanced at Gamu, then back at her. She made no sign whether she wanted Gamu to know about them.
“I bet you didn’t sleep well either,” Gamu said at Elanna, pointedly. He winked slyly.
“Look here, Gamu,” Kubali said sharply.
“Yes?” Gamu smiled.
For a moment, Kubali was nonplused. He didn’t know what to do or what to say. He looked at Elanna again, seeing how she wanted to curl up and die.
“Look here, Gamu. I’m unworthy of her, an exiled prince with no one to blame but himself. But last night, that wonderful creature…” He became inarticulate for a moment, looking for the right words.
“We made love,” Elanna said, moving next to Kubali and nuzzling him.
Kubali found his tongue again and straightened with pride. “Yes. Many times. And if I died tomorrow, I could look Aiheu in the face and tell him I’ve lived a full and meaningful life. Well, Gamu, aren’t you going to congratulate us?”
Gamu smiled meekly. He’d clearly lost the first round. But if anything, he was tenacious. “I’m glad for you. Both of you. I’ve lost to the better lion.”
Elanna pawed Gamu playfully. “We need to find you a mate. But for right now, you understand, we’ll need some privacy.
“Of course. You just give the word.”
Kubali leaned against Elanna and purred softly. “The word is given. Go scout up some gazelles—or something.”
“As you wish, Lover Boy.”
CHAPTER: JUST BETWEEN US
Gamu was soon over his disappointment at Kubali’s triumph. After all, no prize easily won was worth much. Tolerating their desire to make love in the morning, Gamu went to the watering hole and looked at his own reflection. He tried to make the most sad face he could create and looked at the reflection. “Oh Gamu,” he said in a rough imitation of Kubali’s voice. “Why did I ever let you back in my life? Why didn’t I see this coming??”
Gamu could no longer keep a straight face, and he rolled on his back with laughter. “Griz, get over here!”
Nonplused, the hyena left the cover of the reeds. “How did you spot me?”
“I didn’t. I just know you, you little sneak. The same way I know Kubali and Elanna. And my little flea-bitten friend, knowledge is power. So he’s breathing down her neck, is he? It will give him something to think about when he’s on the savanna alone.”
“I thought you wanted to kill him,” Griz’nik said.
“I’m not sure. I wandered around alone for the longest time. I know what it’s like. But for him it will be far worse. He’s lost the kingship, and he will also lose her. I see those shapely thighs of hers, and I think about the sweet delight of her lithe golden body…” He trembled. “How much sweeter it will be to know my enemy is alone and unloved! And every time she cries out my name, it will pull out a thorn that lion put in my heart!”
Griz’nik looked at him crossly. “You’re sick, you know that? Even I can tell she’s beautiful for a lioness. If I were you, I’d take her out behind the reeds, and Kubali would be the farthest thing from my mind. My gods, Gamu, if you want to know what I think…”
“I DON’T,” Gamu said, swiping at the hyena and shoving him into the water.
“One of these days you’re going to go too far,” Griz’nik said, huffing and puffing as he left the cold water.
“And then you’ll do what?” Gamu patted Griz’nik on the cheek. “Face it, my little friend. You need me. Even if you could kill me, and the thought is laughable, what would you do? Expect a handout from the mistress you ill treated and her husband? I think not.”
“You promise me much,” Griz’nik said, “but what have you actually delivered? A couple of lousy rabbits?”
Gamu gave him a withering look. “These things take time to be done right. Remember what I told you about the territory to the south?”
“The land between the hills?”
“Yes. You and Elanna and I. You’ll get to hunt gazelles and no one will bother you. Maybe you’ll find another mate and have some little—whatever it is hyenas have.”
“Pups.”
“Yeah, right. But only if you obey. Only if you wait. I’m not like your Taka. I won’t be pushed around or circumvented.”
“Circumvented?”
“Shoved aside.”
“You and your big words.”
“Big words for a lion with big ideas.”
Griz’nik shook himself, and water went flying about, getting in Gamu’s eyes and wetting his mane. Griz’nik tried not to smile broadly at the mischief he’d created. “Oh, pardon me.”
CHAPTER: LATER THAT DAY
Gamu came back later that day. Elanna was lying on her back, a blissful smile on her face. Kubali was sitting sphinx-like a short distance away, looking at her with mixed pride and love.
Gamu tapped Kubali on his shoulder, jerking him out of his reverie, and he signaled for him to come away a short distance.
“This had better be good, Gamu. You know I said I needed some time alone with her.”
“You know, Kubali, I’ve tried hard to earn your respect and trust. I keep hoping someday we’ll have a land of our own, and you will be my King as it was meant to be.”
“So?”
“I come to you as a good friend to tell you something you need to know about your mate. She carries a burden on her heart and you can help her find peace. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Kubali looked at him skeptically. “A burden? She discusses everything with me, no matter how drastic. We’ve been completely honest with each other.”
“Then you know about how her husband died? Have you told her yet that you’ve forgiven her?”
“Forgiven her? For what?”
“Oh my gods,” Gamu said in a near whisper. “I thought you said you were completely honest with each other.”
“What are you going on about, Gamu?? Is this another one of your tricks??”
“Tricks?? It’s true—no good deed ever goes unpunished. Fine thanks I get for trying to help you! I know very little about her past, but she’s admitted to me the cause of her nightmares.”
“Her nightmares? She won’t discuss them with me. Why should I believe she told you?”
“That’s PRECISELY why. She doesn’t care what I think of her. She could ask me anything. You’re another matter entirely.”
“And why are you discussing this with me?”
“Because I feel I owe you something. Now do you want to hear it or not?”
“OK.”
“See, you two are not completely open as you thought. I told her that I thought she could talk about Taka with you, but she’s afraid. You need to reassure her. Then she’ll bare her soul about everything and seek forgiveness. It will set her free, Kubali. If you really love her, you’ll want her to be happy. And true happiness comes from the inside out. With this locked inside her, she’ll never be truly happy.”
“I know that Taka killed his brother, and that he tried to kill Simba. She was not aware.”
“That’s not what she told me. He went completely mad at the end. She knew it was only a matter of time until there was a civil war, so she worked with the hyenas in their plot to depose the king. She betrayed him to his enemies. They ripped him, you know. Now she has nightmares racked with guilt and remorse. I mean, when Taka died he was screaming her name. And she will carry that burden all her life. She felt she had to tell SOMEONE. It was all bottled up inside her, and she was going crazy holding it inside.”
Kubali’s face fell. Gamu tried not to smile and betray his deep satisfaction. The lie was planted, and he would give it time to grow.
CHAPTER: A MATTER OF TRUST
It was a clear night. Kubali held Elanna’s trembling body beneath his own and shuddered in the grip of passion. He climaxed, and with a roar, he sprang from her. She turned to snarl at him, but she was not angry with him. She rolled over in the grass and invited him over. Kubali lay next to her in the soft grass and looked with her into the night sky. Elanna snuggled into his soft mane listening to his heart beat. It was a comforting sound, a familiar sound, and she drew solace from it. Still, as she scanned the night sky she let out a small sigh.
Kubali looked around. “Are you all right, Lannie?”
“I’m fine. It was nothing, really.”
“If it’s nothing, you won’t mind telling me about it. I mean, we don’t keep secrets from each other—do we?”
She smiled, but it was a melancholy smile. “I was wondering which one of those stars was my Taka. I miss him…”
Kubali frowned slightly, but he quickly hid it. “I know you do, lover… he sounds like he was everything to you.”
She turned her head to face him more, “He was. And he used to tell me I was everything to him. He had no other friends. He relied on me for comfort and friendship. I was all that kept him going.”
“I see.” Kubali’s jaw set firmly. “He trusted you entirely, I imagine?”
“Why yes, he did.”
“Uh huh. Everyone needs someone they can trust entirely. Someone whose love for them is unconditional—who would never betray them.”
“I know.” She rubbed his chest mane with her paw. “You are that person for me.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said.
She seemed to be waiting for him to answer her more meaningfully, but he did not.
“You do trust me, don’t you, lover?”
Kubali changed the subject quickly. “Look, the bats are out. They don’t fly in straight lines like birds.”
Elanna glared at him. “I asked you a question!”
Kubali looked back, tensely. “Look, I’m trying to let this whole business about Taka be firmly in the past. If you help me, I’ll help you.”
“What about Taka?? Today I’ve made love to you many times! Do you think I’d just go crouch with any lion in the bushes??” She shoved him roughly with a paw. “Kubali, if there is no trust between us, there sure as the world will be no more intimacy. I don’t crouch for someone that doesn’t trust me!”
“I trust you all right. I just can’t forget what you did just like that! I’m sorry, but it’s going to take time!”
“And what did I do??”
“You know.”
“Assume for a moment I don’t!”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Look, I trust you, OK? Let’s get some sleep.”
“Sure! You sleep here. I’ll find me a place.”
“Look, you little spitfire, you’re acting like a complete fool! Everything was fine, then all of a sudden you change toward me!”
She got up quickly and moved away from him. “I thought you were gentle and sensitive, but you’re not at all! You’re coarse and inconsiderate, and it’s no wonder they drove you out!”
The words seemed to sting him more than words could express. He stared at her for a while silently, a look of barely suppressed rage on his face. Then when he found his tongue, he blurted out, “Yeah right, like I’m the only outcast here! If you’re so perfect in every way, where are your pride sisters when you need them? Huh??”
Shocked and hurt, tears welled up in her eyes and she stammered, “Good bye, Kubali. It’s over.” She turned quickly and walked off, leaving him alone in the night.
He growled back at her as she drew away, “FINE… leave me.” He shouted, “I don’t need you! You HEAR me?? I don’t need ANYONE!” He let out a loud roar and turned from her.
CHAPTER: HURT FEELINGS
At first Kubali was angry enough to hide from the grimness of his situation. He muttered to himself, “How could she betray Taka? Even if he was insane! I could understand if she’d left him, but having him ripped alive?? My gods! Hey, I was willing to forget and forgive, but she started acting like a complete…”
He stopped and sighed. The loneliness was beginning to find the chinks in his defenses and wear away his resolve. “And I guess I helped her a lot, didn’t I?? Way to GO, Kubali!” He flopped on the ground where they lied together a few moments ago. He inhaled slowly and deeply, reading her fragrance. “She was the most beautiful and loving lioness I had ever met—and I went and blew it! She was my last chance for happiness.” He rolled on his back and sighed. “My last chance. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I rubbed in her exile.” He frowned and growled. “But she never should have said what she did! She started it! She insulted me first! She made me mad, and I just had to say something—I just had…” He sighed again. “Well, I didn’t HAVE to. Oh God, help me! Maybe I’m not the most patient lion in the world, but I really love her, and I need her. Help me please!”
Kubali rolled over and got up. “I am not the lion my father exiled.” He opens his eyes slowly, “I will find her… confess my love to her… and ask her to be mine.”
He moved off slowly in the direction that he saw Elanna disappear in, nose close to the ground, seeking the scent that will lead him to her.
As Elanna walked away, disappearing into the night, her ears turned to hear his roar of frustration after her. “What did I see in him?” she muttered softly. “He is nothing like Taka. Why did I give myself to him like I did?” She walked a short distance more, intent on leaving Kubali for good. As she continued to move away from him though, she turns her head more often, as if a part of her is saying no. Finally, she gave up and sat down to work through her thoughts.
Out of frustration for her remaining feelings for Kubali, she muttered, “He did not trust me.” She sighed and looked over the open fields. “Maybe I should go home… I have nothing here either. Even if they kill me, I will be with my husband and I won’t be lonely again.” She looks up at the stars, searching for him. “I will join you, my love… you must keep your faith. I will be there to cradle you again, tell you how much you mean to me. In Aiheu’s fields you will dream no bad dreams and I will weep no tears. How could you send me to that lion? You were mistaken about him, Taka. I don’t need the kind of care he gives me. You were wrong, Honey Tree.”
She laid her body in the grass and, with a deep sigh, allowed her head to fall to her paws in thought. Through her mind ran the times she spent with her husband—how she courted him. The expectation of giving him cubs, then the tragedy of losing them and with them her fertility. She smiles softly, remembering how he wouldn’t replace her and how he remained faithful through it all. “He was always there for me. He loved me. He truly loved me!”
She gasped softly, remembering the moments of passion she had shared with Kubali. “Will Taka be jealous? Will he want me back? Oh gods, if he refuses me what will I do??”
She remembered the last days of Taka’s life. She recalled the sleepless nights she spent cuddling him close and protecting him from his bad dreams. She remembered trying to anticipate his needs and fill them one by one. She could not always know what would please him, and he would sulk. Then she would have to use all her powers of subtlety to draw out the cause of his ill humor and make it up to him. She remembered staying in the cave by herself and not even given the satisfaction of feeding herself. His temper had become even worse in the weeks before his downfall. She stayed by his side through it all for their love was strong. But he would leave her alone for hours or days in a private hell of despair.
She didn’t know what to make of Kubali. Their first meeting still fresh in her mind, remembering how alone she felt until she meet him. How he didn’t try to control her life… how she could actually sleep through the day without it being interrupted by a scream. She could even express her thoughts to him, something she never dared to do to Taka. He was more like her memories of Mufasa and Ahadi. She sighed softly, trying to chart her future course.
Her eyes traveled back up to the sky. “I loved you so much, my dear, that I never realized how much you controlled and used me. Whatever you did to me, I still loved you and I always will.” She sighed softly, “But what is this I feel for this other lion? Is it love like I felt with you, or is this just my season? I talk about you so much to him, I guess that is unfair to him. You mean so much to me, even when you aren’t here, how can I just forget you?”
She heard a voice. It might have been beside her or just in the back of her mind. But its message arrested her. “Don’t forget me, but don’t forget him either. If he knew the truth, all would be well between you. Tell him the truth, Lannie.”
A lioness has little trouble following even an old trail when they are following someone else. But they are so accustomed to their own scent that it is hard for them to backtrack. She desperately tried to trace her steps back to Kubali. “Help me, Taka! Guide me, Aiheu! Gods, give me success!”
Suddenly, she saw a form move through the grass. Seeing the mane poke through the grass, she held her breath, hoping that it is the one that she is hoping for. As her line of vision cleared and his face came into view, she gasped and ran after him. Together in the middle of the savanna, they came together. At first, both are silent, just looking over each other slowly. Suddenly, they both began to speak. With a slight laugh, they tried again, this time with Kubali starting.
“I’m sorry for what I said. I believe in your love, and I’d trust you with my Ma’at and my very Ka. Gods, Lannie, I don’t know why you should love me, but I am grateful and I don’t question my good fortune. Can you forgive me?”
Elanna nuzzled him gently. “I’m sorry I was so angry. Let’s promise it will never happen again. The only good part of this whole argument is making up afterwards. Kubali, I love you.” With that, she gave his cheek a soft lick, walked a short distance and crouched. “Make love to me, my lion!”
He looked in the sky and smiled. “Thank you, God! You haven’t abandoned me!” He turned his attention to the golden body of his lover. With a soft purr, he approached her. “Beloved, I come!”
CHAPTER: GAMU’S FRIENDSHIP
Kubali went running to Gamu. “You know, you were right! Lannie and I got this out into the open, and she and I are closer than ever!”
“You did??”
“Yes! You’re a dear friend, and I’m sorry I ever doubted you. And someday when I have a kingdom of my own, you’ll be my Prince Consort—the brother I never had—and everyone that sees you will owe you respect.”
“Oh—great. Thanks. That will be nice—when you get one. There is this land to the south I think we could grab.”
“Soon enough,” Kubali said, giving his shoulder a little pat. “I have to get back. Lannie will wonder where I am.”
Gamu nodded absently. “Oh yes… go to her, by all means.” He stared off in the other direction as Kubali rose to pad away from him. “We can’t keep our lovely savanna flower waiting, can we?”
Kubali paused and eyed the other lion oddly. “Gamu?”
“Eh?”
“Are you all right?”
Gamu flashed a grin at him. “I’m fine… just full of thoughts. Go on, Kubali.”
Gamu realized that he had lost the battle, but was determined not to lose the war. Knowing that Kubali and Elanna would be otherwise occupied for the rest of the day, he slinked away to find his companion. The hyena was eagerly awaiting him.
“Any food?”
“No, not now. Lover Boy is in search of slower prey.”
“Oh.” Griz’nik’s ears drooped. “I guess your brilliant plan didn’t work.”
Gamu glared at him furiously. “No,” he spat out. “It didn’t.”
“I think you should cut out the fun and games and knock off the lion. This isn’t a pakh’jimbi match—there’s too much at stake.”
Gamu looked down his nose at the hyena and paused for a moment. “Dare I ask? What is pakh’jimbi?”
“It’s a pup’s game. You need at least three players on both sides. The head of each side is called a kor’hum, and it’s his or her job to coordinate the other players called gam’gis. Now when the referee, which we call a bar’gem, gives the signal with three sharp cries, the two sides assume a formation called a tar’tar on either side of the center line or mehlo. The object of the game is to rack up the most points by getting more of your gam’gis through the four obstacles or mosh’muikheti…”
“I get the point!”
“The point is you’ll never ditch the lion at this rate, and I’ll be stuck in this hellhole with no hope! You’re a big disappointment, Gamu. You have no hope of ever being but a THINKER—you should be a DOER.”
Gamu snarled at the hyena, setting him aback. “Be glad I’m a thinker right now. You wouldn’t like what I’d do!”
“All right! OK! Don’t get upset—you know you’re bigger than I am, and I know it too. You don’t have to prove anything.”
Gamu calmed down at the hyena’s show of submission. He made a very clear show of sharpening his claws on a tree trunk. Then he yawned, showing off his ivory daggers of death. Out of the corner of his eye, masked by a quiet expression, the lion watched with glee as his companion stared at the arsenal. And satisfied, Gamu finally settled down and closed his eyes for a nap.
Griz’nik watched him very closely. “Gamu almost looks decent when he’s asleep,” he thought. He waited several minutes, looking deceptively like a guardian angel. The great chest rose and fell softly. Once, before Griz’nik realized the true depth of Gamu’s disdain for him, he had longed for the soft warmth of another body next to him as he slept. He would have tolerated the odor of a lion which he found foreign and irksome. “We might have been friends,” Griz’nik silently mouthed. “As my mother used to say, if you hunt trouble, someday you’ll catch it.”
The hyena looked at the thin-skinned spot in the upper throat right under Gamu’s jaw. Griz’nik knew if he suddenly bit down—hard—and then ran away quick, Gamu would bleed to death before he could catch him. Griz’nik squirmed close, his belly to the ground, his eyes fixed on Gamu’s throat. From time to time he glanced up, and the great eyes were closed. Now was the moment of his destiny, the moment he took charge of his own life once again. The eyes were still closed. Gamu’s breath was even and slow. He crept closer, every movement designed for stealth and accuracy. One last time he looked up—the eyes were slitted… watching him. He froze.
Gamu said, “Come here,” and patted with his paw on the ground. “Lay down, old friend.”
The hyena crawled next to him, exposing his neck in submission. The lion, with a razor-sharp claw stuck out, said, “You know something…” He drew the claw lightly over Griz’s throat and abdomen. “Claws are a wonderful thing. A mother tends her little cub. It glides through his fur and gets out the mats very gently, very tenderly. Then that evening she puts her little cub in a safe place. ‘Now don’t you move—Mommy is going to get you dinner… ‘ Then she goes out on the hunt, and Mommy becomes a huntress.”
The claw tightened on his skin. “She stalks the gazelle like a ghost… then, suddenly, springs! Those claws become very different!”
Gamu swiped quickly down Griz’nik’s soft underside. The hyena looked down in panic, expecting to see blood and entrails. Whimpering and shrieking, he examined his abdomen. There was nothing—Gamu’s claws had been tucked in.
Gamu laughed. “But you’re my FRIEND, Griz’nik! I wouldn’t hurt a FRIEND, would I?” He shoved the hyena away and stalked off, leaving Griznik to stare after him, rubbing his belly and shivering.
CHAPTER: A FRIENDLY GAME
Early the next morning Gamu came to Elanna. “Good morning, my dear.”
“Oh, hello Gamu.”
He stared at her sensual curves, his jaw hanging slack as he thought of those curves pressed against his body. “You are really very beautiful, Elanna dear.”
Kubali was away, and Elanna was not very comfortable being alone with Gamu. But she nodded and said, “Thanks.”
Your face is kind and gentle. Your eyes are like twin sisters of the stars. Yes, my dear, Kubali is lucky.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said, laughing nervously. “I’m sure someday you’ll find someone who can make you very happy.”
“And those strong huntress shoulders which can be so soft. Sleek sides that ripple with each step, and hips like Minshasa’s.” He kept looking further back.
Elanna felt naked and ashamed, and she made a subconscious effort her clamp her tail firmly against her backside.
“Kubali will be back soon, Gamu. Oh look, there he is now!”
Kubali had returned from the watering hole. “That was refreshing.” He looked at Gamu who smiled innocently and at Elanna who was supremely uncomfortable.
Elanna glanced at Gamu. “Why don’t you drink now?” She wanted to speak alone with Kubali, and she was hoping he would leave.
“No, go on, Elanna. I’m willing to wait for what I want.”
She reluctantly left the two of them alone. And while she was gone, Gamu saw Kubali’s good mood and twitched his tail. “Think you’re hot stuff, huh?”
“And I suppose you are??” Kubali reared up and flailed at Gamu, laughing. Gamu seized him around the neck with his forelegs and began to wrestle with him.
“I guess you think you’ll win,” Gamu grunted in the height of his exertions. He tried to shift his weight and throw Kubali.
“I always do,” Kubali grunted, compensating with a hind limb and pushing hard.
“You won’t win this time!” Gamu broke away, then started flailing out with his paws.
“You’re quick,” Kubali said, sparring with him. “But you’re not quick enough for me!” With a sudden jab, he had Gamu on his side and bore his great weight down on him. “Beg for mercy!”
“Never!”
“Beg for mercy!” Kubali rubbed the back of his paw against the fold of Gamu’s hind leg, making it kick.
“Stop tickling me!”
“Beg for mercy!” Kubali laughed and nudged his thigh again. Gamu’s face tightened into a mask of misery as he struggled to keep his composure. “I can stay here all day, Gamu!”
“OK, MERCY! Get OFF me!”
Gamu struggled out from under the laughing lion. “You win—this time.” He looked at Kubali from narrowed eyes. “But be careful not to let success go to you head. It makes you careless, and that’s a big mistake while I’m around.”
Kubali laughed at what he thought was a joke, and he rubbed against Gamu, nuzzling him. “I used to think you didn’t like me.”
I can hardly wait to show you how true my friendship really is.” Gamu nuzzled him back. “Someday, you’ll look back on this talk and remember what we said.”
“Yeah, buddy.” Kubali looked in the distance. “She’s back. Go for it, Gamu. There’s a long hot day ahead.”
CHAPTER: MATCH POINT
Gamu was gone a very short period of time. He had something to do, and it had to be done quickly. He was gleeful when Kubali thought he heard a strange noise and went to check it out. “You pulled it off, Griz’nik,” Gamu thought. “You’re totally unprincipled and ruthless. If you weren’t so irritating, we could be quite a pair.”
Gamu used his moment alone