“I say I could acquire a taste for hyena,” Ajenti said.
“This talk is dangerous,” Yolanda said. “They could be spying on us.”
“Let them get an earful,” Isha said. “I heard Fini’s joke about the accident. But I believe we really could kill them one or two at a time tonight without alerting the others. By the time the news got out, there would be too few of them left to fight us.”
“And have you forgotten about Taka?” Uzuri said.
“Leave him to me,” Isha said. “I’ll kill him myself.”
“My gods!” Uzuri’s hackles were raised. “Do you mean commit murder? What about Elanna? She’s Sarabi’s sister, for God’s sake!”
“Don’t remind me,” Sarabi said with understandable bitterness. “That’s all that keeps me from marking her. She’s a disgrace to her people, fawning on that hyena-kissing brother-in-law of mine. As far as I’m concerned, the moment Muffy died, he was out of my family.”
Uzuri looked around at the other lionesses. “Don’t you know the gods would judge us if we just butcher him like a gazelle?”
“Can we possibly be any worse off?” Sarabi insisted. “Maybe the gods will judge us if we DON’T kill him!”
“Some of us have small cubs,” Sarafina said. “Nala might get hurt--or killed. I don’t think we should rashly jump into this.”
“I agree,” Uzuri said.
“You would,” Ajenti said and spat. “You’re her sister.”
“And I’m not yours??” Uzuri said, stepping in front of her and glaring into her eyes. “Aren’t we ALL sisters here? I didn’t say that we shouldn’t overthrow him, just that Sarafina was right. We can’t be rash. We won’t have to kill him if we can get rid of the hyenas. He wouldn’t dare fight all of us.”
“All right, so how would YOU get rid of the hyenas.”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll think of something. In the meantime, we have to bide our time.”
“Until what?” Ajenti looked around at the others. “Until we’re so hungry we’re too weak to fight?? I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime, but I never thought I’d live to see Uzuri turn coward!”
Uzuri cuffed her across the face--hard. “You take that back, Missy! We can’t fight them while we’re fighting each other! Pull in your claws and apologize!”
Ajenti tried to think of something angry to say, but the more she looked into Uzuri’s face, the more ashamed she felt. “Sorry,” she half whispered. “No one thinks you’re a coward. But it’s a dirty shame not to strike now.”
Uzuri nuzzled her. “One day we’ll cleanse the land of shame, I promise you.”
Upset by the bad news, they hunted very poorly. They missed a Duiker that was practically waiting to die, and tempers flared. Blame enough for three prides was quickly exchanged in low but angry hisses. Uzuri needed all her powers of persuasion to calm them down and refocus their energies on the quarry and off each other. And though it took most of the night, they finally found an old zebra and managed to kill it.
Ajenti was sent to call Taka and the others. “Fresh kill, My Lord,” she said to Taka, her bitterness concealed by a forced smile.
The hyenas ran to the site while Ajenti and the cubs merely trotted. There was no reason to run after Taka’s edict. So while the lion cubs sat and stared in misery, the hyenas feasted. And they feasted and feasted.
Lisani nudged her mother Beesa. “When are we going to get our turn?”
“Soon, dear. I hope....”
“That’s what you said last time.”
Beesa was hoping against hope for her daughter’s sake that something would be left at all. But the hyenas finished off the carcass and even began to crack the bones for marrow. Lionesses began to grumble. If ever they had hated hyenas, that moment was the all time high point of their rage. Somewhere in the melee a hyena pup shrieked.
Uzuri noticed the pup running from the carcass, sobbing. Fighting down her bitterness, she went after her; a child had no business running about the savanna alone, leonine or not.
Drawing up alongside, she asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like zebra?”
“Leave me alone!”
“What’s wrong? Hey, little girl, I'm not going to hurt you."
The pup looked up into Uzuri’s eyes. At once she relaxed. “I know. I’m a seer like Shimbekh.”
“Really?” Uzuri felt an odd sensation as the child looked at her.
"Yes. I wish I wasn’t!"
Uzuri nuzzled her. “I’m not a seer. Come on, little one. Tell me why you’re so sad."
Makhpil looked up. "Don't you think I can tell how much you lions hate us? Night and day wishing we were dead! All of us!"
"Heavens, child, don't say that! I don’t wish you were dead."
"You’re not like the others. But just a minute ago, one of them...." she pointed--"was thinking...." Makhpil drew up close and in a whisper of supreme embarrassment said, "Get out of my way, brat! I ought to send you straight to hell.” She looked down and wept.
Uzuri stirred uncomfortably. “Some of them are upset now. We had trouble on the hunt. We love our cubs the same way your mother loves you. When they have to go hungry, we get upset and sometimes we say things we don’t mean. But I don’t want you to die.”
Tears streamed down her face. "I don’t want to be here! I want to go home! I want to go far away and never come back!”
Uzuri comforted the child, holding her close with a paw and nuzzling her. "Hon, it's not your fault. I know one lion that’s going to have a lot of explaining to do when Mano gets a hold of him. But you do what’s right and someday when you face your god, you won’t have anything to be ashamed of. So why don't you get something to eat, OK?"
“I wish you were Roh’mach,” Makhpil said, rubbing against Uzuri’s cheek.
Just then, an adult hyena trotted up. “Is everything OK, Makhpil?” She looked suspiciously at Uzuri.
“Everything’s fine,” Uzuri said quickly, patting Makhpil with her large paw. “She just found out that the innocent often suffer along with the guilty.”
The female looked straight into Uzuri’s eyes with a peculiar stare that made her feel like her fur had fallen off leaving her naked. Then the hyena relaxed. “I’m sorry I doubted you. You were kind to my little girl, and I won’t forget that.”
“How did you....” Uzuri smiled shyly. “You must be Shimbekh. You’re the seer, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. I’ve heard my share of insults today. This unholy and unnatural union will lead us only to sorrow.”
“Don’t get me wrong, but if you’re unhappy here, why don’t you just leave?”
“We can’t,” Shimbekh said. “This thing has divided families down the middle. We’re trapped here to the bitter end, and it will be bitter you know. Death will grow fat on our misery, and pups will cry in the night for their parents but no one will answer them. Don’t judge my clan brothers too harshly. They have been misled, filled with false promises and foolish notions. They are expecting a golden age. They will find something very different.”
“Did you foresee this with your powers?”
“Uzuri, when the truth comes out, sisters will fight brothers and children will fight parents. And not just hyenas will know death, my dear.”
“Us too?”
“To a lesser degree, yes. At least one of your own will die--I have seen it. And what is a seer to do about it? I can make them listen, but I can’t make them believe.” She sighed. “Don’t you think I know about the plan?”
“The plan?”
Shimbekh sent Makhpil back toward the kill with a pat of her paw. “Run along, girl.” And as soon as they were alone, she drew close to Uzuri. “You know, the plan to kill the hyenas off one by one and make it look like an accident.”
Uzuri gasped.
“Don’t worry, hon. I’ve told no one about it. But we have to talk. There are hyenas good and true that would shed their honest blood to drive out Shenzi and cleanse the land of shame.”
Uzuri remembered saying almost the same thing to her pride sisters. She touched Shimbekh’s cheek with her paw and whispered, “When the last battle comes, fight by me. You and Ber and any willing to join you. I swear to you that there will only be two kinds of people that day--friend and foe. Understand?”
“Completely.”
CHAPTER: THE PHOENIX
Ugas trudged slowly along behind Adhama with an ache in his right shoulder that made him grimace slightly with each step. But it had been worth it to see Uzuri's sweet face. They neared the kopjes that served a home for the pride, and the old lion sighed and pushed through the edge of the grasses, emerging into a small clearing where the pride lay.
Lionesses lay scattered about in various spots, but they quickly straightened up nervously as they spotted him. Ugas had been very temperamental in recent days. Conversation dulled and fell silent as he paced past the group and settled onto the ground. His hip twinged again and he groaned.
A cub skittered past him, giggling, and he glared at her from under lowered lids. One of the lionesses hurriedly sat up and called softly. "Alyssa! Come back here!"
The cub slid to a stop and slowly crept back towards her mother under Ugas’ gaze. She glanced at him quickly, then she looked away when she encountered his stare.
Ugas saw the visible fear in her face and felt a thorn pierce his heart. "Alyssa?"
The cub came to an absolute standstill.
"Alyssa. Come here, Honey tree." He beckoned with a forepaw.
Slowly, trembling, she inched forward until she stood beneath his immense bulk. "Yes, sir? I’m sorry."
Ugas stared wonderingly at the shaking cub. "Sorry for what?”
“Whatever it is I did.”
“Did you just do something naughty?”
“I...uh...don’t think so, Sir.”
“Daddy will do nicely.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy.” She looked back at her mother and back at him.
“Don’t you want to give your old Dad a kiss?”
“I guess so.” She edged carefully forward, stretched out her neck and touched his foreleg with her tongue, then darted back a couple of feet.
“Honey tree?” He looked at Agavi. “Vivi, what’s wrong? Doesn’t she love me anymore?”
“She loves you,” Agavi said soothingly. “We all know you’ve been depressed since your brother died. And those aches and pains and now that crick in your spine. I know that a lot of noise and prodding makes you upset, so I told her not to disturb you.”
“Upset?? Since when have my children ever make me upset?? Maybe I like to be disturbed!”
Adhama said, “Let me field that one, hon.” She looked piercingly at Ugas. “Lately, everything makes you upset. You snap at us all the time and think we’re supposed to rub your shoulder all the time and say ‘poor baby’ and ‘there now, that’s a good fellow.’ Well it’s taking its toll on your popularity, as if you haven’t noticed!”
Ugas snarled. “Since when have I snapped at anyone??”
Adhama said, “Oh, that’s a tough one.” She frowned. “Shame on you, carrying on like this in front of the children!”
Ugas sat down, nonplused. “Well, maybe I have been a little....” He glanced over at little Alyssa. “Oh, the poor dear!”
He went to the cub. When she shrank from him, the pain that drew his face was not from his shoulder. “I love you, Lissie.”
Alyssa's jaw trembled and she almost cried. "I love you too, Daddy."
"There's my girl!" He rolled over on his back, scooped her up with a paw and when she stood trembling on his stomach for one moment, pulled in his back legs and arms, lifting her up wriggling on a pedestal of four paws. He began to pump her up and down. "Three baby bunnies a hopping around. Three baby bunnies hop over the ground. If you keep hopping, you'll never start stopping, but you'll get away from the hound!" His legs shot out straight, tossing her into the air. She fell giggling with a sound plop. His stomach was not as firm as it used to be, but he hid his discomfort. He held her to his chest and nuzzled her softly, kissing her with his warm, pink tongue and grunting with pleasure when she kissed him back and rubbed along his soft mane. “I’m never going to be gruff with my little girl again! I promise!” He nuzzled her, then looked over at the other cubs who were watching him closely. “And that promise goes for the rest of you too! Come here, you little scamps! Rides for everyone!”
The other cubs rushed over and mobbed the two of them. Ugas rolled about laughing as a crowd of cubs tickled him, pounced on his tail and tugged at his mane. “Oh, I love you all so much! I could just eat you up!” He would be bouncing bunnies for a long, long time before he got a rest.
Alyssa's mother watched Ugas rolling about, bellowing laughter at the cubs around him. Nudging Adhama with her paw, she asked, "What's got INTO him? You'd think he was young again!"
Adhama smiled. "Young again? Don’t you mean alive again?"
“Up we go!” Ugas cried, hoisting another giggling cub. “Now let your Daddy catch his breath....”
CHAPTER: THE OFFER
Rafiki was languishing in house arrest, unable to leave his baobab without a hyena escort. Once he had tended to be a loner, preferring to deal with one or two friends at a time rather than large groups. But the enforced loneliness was preying on him and he spent long hours in front of the scrying bowl desperate for some shadow of his past to comfort him. His father’s face looked back at him, tinged with sadness. Rafiki didn’t know if he was seeing the past, the present or the future, and tears began to run down his face. “Father, I wish you could be here. I always felt so safe when you held me. So safe and happy.”
Uzuri heard rumors that all access to Rafiki might be cut off without advance notice. She put on her best limp and headed out to the tree. The large number of guards chosen to guard one elderly mandrill was a testament to Taka’s fear of him.
A couple of hyenas stopped her. “My lady, no further please. We insist.”
“I’m injured,” she said. “I need medical treatment.”
“We have good doctors. May I recommend Da’klesh?”
“Rafiki is familiar with my problem. Now if you want me to wake Shenzi from her nap, I’ll do it.”
“No need. Come this way.”
Surrounded by hyenas, she went to the baobab. It was a very tense moment, and she could feel the oppressive sense of being confined already.
The moment she looked in the baobab, the mandrill’s face lit up. He threw his arms around his neck and kissed her. “Honey tree, you remembered old Rafiki?? I’ve missed you so much!” Then he backed off and looked worried. “Are you hurt? I should have asked before I grabbed you like that. What is it, old girl?? Nothing serious I hope.”
She winked and shook her head no. “I think my shoulder is out of joint,” she said loudly. “If you don’t fix it, I won’t be able to hunt for a long time.”
“Do something quick,” one of the hyena guards said, looking inside. “We don’t have enough food as it is!”
Uzuri smiled sweetly and walked over to him. Clearly he was uneasy at her approach despite her smile and he backed out.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she purred. “You know I’ll always take care of you, even if the others do without.” She gave him a long, slow lick on the cheek. “Meet me behind Pride Rock at sunset, and don’t tell anyone.”
“What’s this??” Krull demanded.
“Nothing, Sir!” The hyena began to tremble. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying!”
“Holding out on us, Dourbet??”
Uzuri looked at Krull pleadingly. “Leave the poor boy alone.” She kissed Dourbet again. “It’s not like he’s the only one to beg for scraps. You ride them so hard, they all wonder who made you a god.”
Krull went into a slow burn. “Well,” he said, his hackles raising, “They won’t wonder any more!!” He looked around. “General assembly, ON THE DOUBLE!!”
Uzuri went back to Rafiki. As Krull cursed the g
uards loudly in Hyannic, Rafiki began to rub Uzuri’s stiff shoulder.
She grunted in pleasure as the muscles loosened up. “We can talk now. They’ll be busy for a while.”
“I’ll say, you little devil!” He chuckled--his first good laugh in a long while. “So my dear, what is the latest news? I never know when I’m being lied to by those fellows.”
“Lies would have to be better than the truth,” Uzuri said with a sigh. “The land is dying. It’s being hunted out, and the rain has stopped. What’s happening to us?”
“I wish I knew.” Rafiki began to rub the other side, his eyes half closed as his thoughts wandered. “There’s a lion to the east. His name is Ugas. If things go too badly here, you could make the excuse you’re hunting for gazelles. When you cross that border, honey tree, no one is going after you.”
“I couldn’t do that. Not and leave my pride sisters in the lurch.”
“Somehow I knew you’d say that. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
She looked at him in the eyes for a moment and purred. “So you know Ugas?”
“Not very well. And these days I don’t get out much.”
“I know.” She began to groom around his face and neck and he sat still, a look of contentment on his face to feel her closeness. “I’ll mention your name the next time I see him. In fact, I might just arrange for you to drop by and see him in person. You could use some fresh air and sunshine.”
He put his arm around her neck and gave her shoulder a pat. “If those hyenas were all that stood in my way, I’d be out like a sparrow. They raid my pantry when I’m not looking. A little Bumpweed in a honeycomb and I guarantee they’d all be sleeping like little pups while I walked out as big as you please.” He chuckled for a moment, but then looked down at the tooth of Ahadi he kept with him always. Fingering the ivory fang, a wistful look of sadness washed the joy from his face. “My life is rooted to the Pride Lands deeper than this old baobab. I’ve lived most of my life here, and I guess I’ll die here. Whether I die happy or sad is for Aiheu to decide.”
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