Roar

by Natavia

  “It is a natural thing but I hold no interest in it. Besides, when you’re in a pride, your body doesn’t belong to you,” she said.

  “The king in your pride wants to marry you?” I asked.

  “How do you know?” she replied.

  “Most kings go for the alpha female. I don’t need to see the others to know you’re an alpha female,” I said.

  “The king in my pride isn’t a real king,” she said.

  “A fake king means a fake pride. You know I don’t understand y’all lions, anyway. What’s the point of having a bunch of muthafuckas to take care of?” I replied.

  “What’s up with you tigers? Big for nothing and can’t fight,” she spat.

  “Correction, I’m a sabertooth, not just a tiger. We consider most cats our offspring since we’re the oldest species. And to school you a little on history, Sabertooth Tiger is the name human archaeologists came up with because of our identical looks. It’s just Sabertooth,” I said.

  “The oldest species of cat but your kind became extinct due to climate change. So now the lion is the king of the jungle,” she said and I chuckled.

  “And that’s exactly why Scar pushed Mufasa off the cliff,” I said.

  “Fuck you. That scene was tragic,” she laughed.

  “Can I take you out to eat?” I asked.

  “I’d rather watch you hunt for me or are you afraid I might see a cow outrun your gigantic beast?” she said.

  “Naw, baby. You are pushing it,” I replied and she playfully rolled her eyes. “Since you have a smart-ass mouth, I’m going to keep you for the remainder of the day,” I said.

  “Are you kidnapping me?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I am. I’m curious about this female warrior,” I replied.

  “You must want me to kick your ass,” she said.

  “You can’t kick my ass. I’m King of Camden,” I chuckled.

  “And I’m queen of Madaja,” she joked. She thought I was joking about the vision I had of her.

  “I wasn’t joking about that,” I replied.

  “Even if you saw that vision, it was probably just a dream,” she said.

  “Or it could be an ancestor you’re connected to through the afterlife,” I replied.

  “It’s all in the past. Unlike you, I’m living in a world full of shit. At least you can live out your destiny. Mine consists of hunting, working and caring for my ungrateful sister. I doubt if my ancestors wanted this life for me,” she said.

  “Let’s go, I wanna show you something,” I replied. I handed her a company shirt because I ripped her uniform shirt.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Pride Rock,” I replied and she smacked my shoulder.

  “Enough of the Lion King jokes before I bring out the Ice Age jokes,” she said.

  “Ice Age?” I asked.

  “My nephew and nieces watch it. It’s a cartoon about a sabertooth, a mammoth, and a sloth,” she said.

  “The jokes will go over my head because I don’t know about that. Lion King is classic,” I replied.

  “We have to come right back so I can finish my job,” she said when we stepped on the elevator.

  “Don’t worry about the job. I’ll pay you triple,” I replied.

  ********

  “What is this place?” Sy’noba asked.

  “Saber Estate. The farm you snatched the goat from is a mile down the trail,” I replied.

  “This house is huge,” Sy’noba said while looking around. We walked down a long hallway with two large wooden doors at the end. I pulled the doors opened and it was a library.

  “You drove me all the way here to read a book?” she asked. Inside my father’s library were a few artifacts in glass cases he collected from centuries ago. Some pieces he’d paid thousands of dollars for.

  “Have a seat,” I said. Sy’noba stubbornly sat at the table. The books were in alphabetical order. After scanning through the shelf, I found the book I was looking for. I took it to her and dropped it on the table.

  “A book about Madaja. The village was short-lived. Madaja disappeared almost a thousand years ago,” I said. Sy’noba picked up the book and began reading.

  “Most of this is folklore,” she said.

  “It’s folklore to humans because they don’t know we really exist. There might be added details but there is truth behind the myths. Read it and tell me what you think,” I said and crossed my arms.

  “Madaja warrior, Y’kiki hair was used as spears? Get the hell out,” Sy’noba laughed.

  “Y’kiki is going to fuck you up for not putting some respect on her name,” I said.

  “It’s saying people worshipped her because she killed a lion. She ended up with her own village where the people brought her gifts and gave her gold in exchange for protection. It doesn’t say much other than that. It talks about her many battles and her ability to shift into a lion,” Sy’noba said.

  “But now you know where you came from. A queen shouldn’t be nobody’s peasant. Your pride should worship you because of your royal bloodline,” I replied.

  “You believe in me and you don’t even know me,” she said.

  “I know what my eyes showed me but I have a confession. I brought you here so we could hunt and spend some time together. The library was just an excuse to get you here, although I still believe in Y’kiki,” I admitted.

  “I knew you were up to something,” she said.

  “There you go, bruh. Why you didn’t tell me you were stopping by? I’m tryin’ to go to the club later on,” Quanir said when he walked into the library. Quanir moved into the estate so he could watch over the property.

  “Oh, shit. Who is this beautiful goddess?” Quanir asked as he held out his hand. Sy’noba shook his hand and Quanir sniffed her.

  “What kind of perfume is that? Jungle pussy? You smell like a cat,” Quanir said and Sy’noba hissed at him. He backed away with his hands up.

  “Get her, bruh. I don’t know what she is, but I can tell it ain’t nothing nice,” he said.

  “Why do you always have to act like a fuck boy, bruh?” I asked Quanir.

  “You know you can’t bring other cats around. Me and cats don’t get along,” Quanir said.

  “Aren’t you a cat, too?” Sy’noba asked.

  “Don’t worry about that, but I haven’t liked lions since Scar pushed Mufasa off the cliff. That shit scarred me for life. I can’t trust y’all,” Quanir said.

  “What’s up with you two and Lion King?” Sy’noba asked.

  “We learned at a very young age not to trust cats, that’s all,” I replied.

  “It’s a cartoon,” she said.

  “It’s like the Scarface of cartoons,” I corrected her. Quanir picked up the book Sy’noba was reading.

  “Y’kiki is every shapeshifter’s dream. I read this book a few years ago. Believe it or not, she didn’t have any cubs,” he said.

  “Told you she wasn’t an ancestor,” Sy’noba said to me.

  “I gotta give you the mack of the year. You told her she was Y’kiki to bag her? That’s fuckin’ classic,” Quanir said.

  “I know what I saw when I looked into her eyes,” I replied.

  “Wait, is this the one you can’t stop thinking about?” Quanir asked and I punched him. He flew across the library and knocked over bookshelves. The shelves fell like dominos. The last shelf knocked the picture of my father off the wall. Behind the picture was a passage. I climbed up the wall and peeked down inside. There was a tunnel. Sy’noba jumped up the wall and climbed over my head. She was ready to go into the tunnel but I yanked her back.

  “What’s down there?” she asked.

  “I don’t know but I’m ready to find out. Let me go first,” I replied. I crawled down the tunnel and Sy’noba followed me. After crawling for some time, I realized we were underground. At the end of the tunnel was a passage with drawings around it.

  “I don’t like this,” Sy’noba said.

  I fe
lt around the rock wall to see if it would open. Once I felt a crack, I pulled at it and a light shined in our eyes almost blinding me. When the light disappeared, I stepped out of the tunnel. There was a jungle with large cat statues. Quanir yelled as he went sliding out of the tunnel. He hit his head on the ground, landing with a loud thud.

  “What is this place? It’s beautiful,” Sy’noba said. She shifted and took off running through the jungle. I shifted and ran after her. Quanir’s cat was behind me. We followed Sy’noba up a hill. At the top, the scene was beautiful. It was an ancient world. I could tell by the structure of the statues that they were built a very long time ago.

  Uncle had a whole batman cave underneath his house. How come he hid this from us? Quanir asked.

  I don’t know but I’m sure he had good reason. This is a lost world and the tunnel was the portal to it. No wonder my father wanted his estate built here. This is paradise, I replied.

  A large leopard jumped out of nowhere and tackled Sy’noba’s cat. They slid down the mountain, biting and clawing at each other. I ran after them and guarded Sy’noba. The leopard jumped on my back and bit my ear. A spear went into my shoulder and I pulled it out with my teeth. Around twenty people stood at the top of the hill with spears and rocks. The leopard shifted into a man and Sy’noba shifted into her human form.

  “WE COME IN PEACE!” Sy’noba yelled.

  Climb on my back, I said to her. She hurriedly climbed on and blended in with my fur.

  “Who are you and what are you doing in Tiban?” the leopard man asked. He walked over to Sy’noba and sniffed her leg. My paw tripped him up and he rolled down the hill. The people shifted into different species of cat and ran towards us.

  “STOP!” an older man yelled. The cats shifted back into their human form.

  “Are you King of Camden?” he asked.

  Yes, I replied.

  “Son of Alexander?” he asked.

  Why do you ask? I replied.

  “Follow me,” he said.

  The villagers hissed at us as we walked past them. Someone threw a rock at Quanir and he kicked him with his hind leg. We followed the old man through the jungle until we came to a temple. The temple was of a sabertooth. The cave had bones of large animals the size of elephants. Wherever we were, there were other animals.

  “Have a seat,” the old man said. He tossed us a blanket made out of sheep skin. Me and Quanir shifted into our human form before sitting on the large rocks. My blanket was bigger than Sy’noba’s, so I pulled her into me to cover her. The man sat in front of us and began playing a flute.

  Tell me I’m still not high and we didn’t fall into Jurassic Park. I wanna go home, Quanir thought.

  Just wait a minute. He knows my father, I replied.

  “I am Ockbutu, the overseer of Tiban,” the man said.

  “What kind of place is this?” Sy’noba asked.

  “It’s the lost land. It has thirteen portals spread throughout the world. Shifters from all over come here, but before they do, they have to have good intentions. Your grandfather discovered a way to hide the portals. He built something he called hotels over them. There are still more portals we don’t know about, but once they are discovered, we hide them. Tiban is outside of Camden. We exchange goods, we give them gold and they give us livestock. Without the saber king, it will take us a week to get food and bring it back for the younger ones. You didn’t know any of this?” Ockbutu asked.

  “No, but why did you attack us?” I replied.

  “We thought you were outsiders until I saw your symbol. A few sabers are banned from Camden and we thought you were one of them. Did your father give you a pamphlet made out of mammoth skin?” he asked.

  “Yeah, he gave it to me on my birthday,” I replied.

  “Did you read it?” he asked.

  “Some of it, I’ve been busy with the company,” I replied.

  “The pamphlet shows you where the portals are located and ways to strengthen your spirit. Your ritual was your rebirth but you still have many strengths to obtain. The pamphlet will guide you,” he said.

  “You speak proper English,” I said.

  “I speak many languages, but English was one your father taught me. Many of us don’t speak it. Most of our communication is through sounds and sign language,” he said.

  “This place seems familiar,” Sy’noba said. Ockbutu walked over to her and moved the hair out of her face. He lifted her chin and sniffed her. He snatched a strand of hair out of her scalp and watched it grow back.

  “What tribe are you from?” he asked.

  “From the savanna,” she said.

  “Who is the king of your pride?” he asked.

  “Koja,” she replied.

  “Koja, son of Dabo?” he asked and she nodded.

  “Koja’s ancestors were banned from Tiban. They tried to migrate here and was rejected by Y’kiki. She was the protector of us cats but one day she vanished. You remind me of her, you have the same birthmark,” Ockbutu said.

  “Are they related?” Quanir asked.

  “You don’t have to be related to be chosen by a god. Y’kiki’s family was killed in a village by a lion. She didn’t have any family members left behind. You may not be kin to her, but you two have the same spirit. But you have a long way to go until you’re ready to protect. I can see you don’t know what you’re capable of. Your gift will keep challenging you if you don’t conquer it. Your kind doesn’t belong in a pride; it will keep you from who you are,” he said to her.

  “So, let’s just set this straight? She’s not Y’kiki?” Quanir asked.

  “We will never know but she’s connected to this place because her spirit was here long ago,” he said. A few shifters ran into the temple and Ockbutu used sign language to communicate with them. Seconds later, they kneeled in front of me.

  “I told them you are King of Camden. Let’s go, I want to show you something,” Ockbutu said. I shifted back into my sabertooth and told him to climb on my back. He was immortal but he wasn’t in good shape. He walked with a slight hunch and his heavy locs weighed more than him. After he climbed on, Sy’noba climbed on behind him. Quanir followed us as we headed out of the temple.

  What did we get ourselves into? I asked myself.

  Sy’noba

  E ze’s large cat walked for a long time through the jungle. My stomach growled and Quanir was panting from thirst. I didn’t know where the old man was taking us, but I loved the scenery. The smell of the air was fresh and the flowers blossomed. The water was crystal clear and different species of cats wrestled around with each other in the grass. We even came across a few hybrids.

  “Stop, this is it,” Ockbutu said.

  “It’s just a stone wall,” I replied.

  The symbol on Eze’s chest glowed and the stone wall rumbled as it opened. I thought Tiban was beautiful but Camden was amazing. The sabertooths kneeled at Eze when he walked past them. A few of them roared and a horn blew from the trees above.

  “Hey, Ma,” Quanir said when he shifted into his human form. A light-skinned woman ran to him and hugged him.

  “What are you two doing here?” she asked him. I jumped off Eze’s back so he could shift.

  “Y’all don’t want us here?” Eze asked.

  “Of course, but you’re only supposed to come when Camden needs you,” his aunt replied.

  “Who is she? Is she from Tiban?” Quanir’s mother asked Eze.

  “She’s from the savannas in Africa,” Eze replied.

  “She’s beautiful. Hi, I’m Riu. What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Sy’noba,” I replied.

  “That’s beautiful,” she said. She grabbed the wooden water jug around her waist and gave it to Ockbutu.

  “You’re supposed to be resting,” Riu said to him.

  “I can’t believe nobody showed Eze his world yet. Some rules are meant to be broken. After all, he’s the king,” Ockbutu said.

  “Who deserves to live his life outside of
Camden until he comes home for good. He can’t run Saber Enterprises from this world,” Riu said. I gave Eze and Quanir the blankets I held for them and they wrapped them around their waists.

  “Go see your father, he’s at the river. I’ll walk Sy’noba around,” Riu said.

  “Naw, Aunt Riu. She stays with me,” Eze replied and she laughed.