Dawn Of A New Era Part 2

Kefir fell asleep inside the den. It had been so long, he had almost forgotten about the disaster with Kopa. A shiver went down his spine when he thought of how Uzuri looked after the fight with Zira. He, Kaliona, Adia and Kefir had been on a hunt. Unluckily, they arrived too late to save Kopa. But luckily, he was alive and came back during the fight along with Vitani.

Kefir shook his head and slid into good dreams. When he woke up, he saw Adia waking up too.

"Good morning." She said.

"Good morning." He replied.

"Looks like its going to be a good day." Adia said.

"Especially now that Simba has accepted Kovu." Kefir nodded.

"Feels like a good day to hunt, don't ya think?" Adia asked him.

"I really could use some exercise." Kefir admitted.

He got up, stretched, and went out of the den. Before he got out, he cast a glance at Safari and Uzuri curled up together in a corner of the den. He smiled, remembering the first time he met Safari. It all seemed like so long ago. How time had passed. Kefir's scars had healed, but he could never forget the battle. But things seemed to be calming down now that Zira was dead.

He heard his sister Kaliona waking up and glanced at her. She got up and walked up to him. He greeted her with a nuzzle. Then, Hadi got up and joined his friends outside the den. Kaliona sighed when she saw the brown lion. She seemed to be sighing a lot these days when she saw Hadi. He didn't need a baboon to tell him that Kaliona was in love with Hadi, but was scared to tell him how she felt. 

Hadi came up and walked over to his sister. Then, Safari also got up and went over to them. The five lions headed down to the water-hole to catch some prey. Lately, Uzuri had been leading the hunting patrols as Nala had some leg injuries from the battle with Zira and needed to rest. Adia and Hadi had been working extra hard for their aunt.

Halfway to the water-hole, Adia and Kaliona caught the scent of zebra. Instinctively, they both crouched down in the grass and stalked the herd that was grazing nearby. Safari, Hadi and Kefir stayed back to watch. Safari marvelled at the way Adia and Kaliona stalked slowly, putting one paw lightly down on the ground before the other. When they were barely a breath away from the herd, the zebras sensed them and began to run. 

Adia and Kaliona also began to run along with the herd, aiming blows for a huge and strong zebra. Kaliona distracted it at the front while Adia jumped on its back. Kaliona jumped on the zebra and sunk her teeth into its throat. Taking advantage of the confusion, Adia sunk her teeth into its neck. Soon, the zebra crumpled to the ground. The three males ran up to them.

"That was amazing." Hadi exclaimed.

"How did you do that?" Kefir asked.

"Well done." Safari said. "I'm proud of both of you. But you knew there were other smaller zebras in the herd, why did you go for this?"

"Dad, with aunt Nala in the den, the Pride needs as much fresh-kill as possible." Adia said.

"So we thought that this would atleast sustain us for a few nights. Its big and has much more meat on it." Kaliona said.

"And, we also have to stock up on food. Its the migration season." Adia said.

"Sooner or later, we're gonna be having less food, so we might have to stock up as fast as possible." Kaliona said.

Safari was impressed. He knew that the pride would feel weak sooner or later, and the pride was already stocking up on food. He saw that a full grown zebra would make a valuable addition to the food pile. He raised his eyebrows at his daughter and niece. They immediately began tugging the zebra with the help of their brothers.

They got to Pride Rock and Uzuri greeted them with good news.

"Nala's leg is getting better." she announced happily.

She looked at the zebra and then at her kids. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"You caught this?" she asked the four young adults.

"Well, Kaliona and Adia caught it." Hadi said.

Uzuri's gaze softened. She looked at the two females with equal love and admiration.

"You did well." she said. "Both of you."

Kaliona and Adia beamed with delight. Uzuri was the lead hunter in the Pride and knew almost every corner of the territory. She also knew how to take down even the toughest, meanest and baddest prey of all. She herself had taught the two lionesses how to hunt. 

Kefir and Hadi gazed at their sisters with a new respect growing in their eyes. They looked at them proudly. They were happy to have sisters to might make it to the hunting patrols in the Pride. They followed Uzuri into the den. Once they were in the den, Kefir pulled Hadi aside.

"Hadi, do you know about Kaliona?" he asked.

"What about her?" Hadi enquired.

"Don't you know she's in love with you?" Kefir asked.

"Kaliona? In love with me?" Hadi asked, like he didn't know it.

He hung his head as Kefir gave him a look that said that he hadn't fallen for his trick. 

"Okay, I'll admit that I like her too." he said. "But if I tell her, it'll give her the chance to rejet me."

Kefir nodded. If the two weren't going to tell each other how they felt, it was their problem. He had learnt long ago that scenes can get ugly if you mess with other lions' buisness. He walked off to sit by Adia.

The next day, Adia went off to have a solo hunt. Kaliona didn't accompany her as Uzuri had put her on border patrol to renew the scent markers of the Pridelands. Kefir or Hadi couldn't accompnay her as Safari was giving them a lesson in the Circle of Life and Uzuri had to stay with Nala to look after her leg. She hadn't gone off without telling anyone though. Simba had agreed to her idea and told her to be careful. 

Adia walked around absent-mindedly. She looked around for prey. She was heading for the low cliff that ran outside Pride territory.

She thought only about how Kefir would be happy if she got back prey again. Then, she thought she felt something. She looked around, and with a pang of horror, realised that she was in THE gorge. She suddenly felt fear clawing her heart, trying to get at all her deepest memories. She thought that she could feel the fear young Simba felt as he saw his dad plunge to his death, or she could hear the last words Scar had spoken to Mufasa; words that sent a chill running down her spine: "Long Live The King".  She could feel al of Mufasa'a confusion, his fears, and regrets.

She suddenly snapped out of her vision and looked around. She could feel something getting close, and it was not good. Pebbles on the ground bounced up and down. Adia looked up to the slope and what she saw made her shiver like she was in the cold North. A herd of wildebeest was coming down the slope, and heading straight for her!

-------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Safari had been teaching the two young lions about the Circle Of Life. He told them the story of Scar and Mufasa.

"Scar couldn't control his hate." Safari explained. "In the end, it destroyed him."

"I've....never heard a story like that before." Kefir said.

"He truly was a killer." Hadi commented.

"FIRE is a killer." Safari said. "But what's left behind can become even greater than the generation before," He pressed his paw into the ground and uncovered a small plant."if given the chance." 

Both Hadi and Kefir stared at wonder at the tiny plant that might just grow into huge tree. Then they all hear something faint. They put their heads up to hear. They suddenly understood that the cry was a cry of help.

"ADIA!!!" They yelled and ran in the direction of the gorge.

When they came to the gorge's edge, they saw Adia running for her life in the wildebeest stampede. Kefir, without thinking, jumped into the stampede and ran after her.

"KEFIR!!! Come Back!!" Safari yelled.

"Kefir!! Don't be so stupid!!!" Hadi yelled.

But Kefir was deaf to their yells. He ran towards the brown lioness in front of him. Soon, he caught up with her.

"Kefir?" Adia asked.

"No Time." he said. "Follow me."

He led her forward towards the cliff and, at the last minute, changed direction to head for the slope. The wildebeest stopped at the cliff. Meanwhile, Kefir managed to haul Adia up where Safari and Hadi caught up with them.

"Adia!" Safari said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Dad." she panted. "Thanks to Kefir."

She turned to him.

"Weren't you scared?" she asked him.

"The only thing I was afraid of was losing you." he replied.

She went over to him and nuzzled him. Hadi's eyes softened at the sight. Safari looked on proudly. Hadi took a deep breath and went over to them.

"Kefir." he said. "I see that nothing's going to stop you two from loving each other. And its fine by me."

Adia's eyes lit up hearing her brother's words. She walked over to him and nuzzled him.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"Don't mention it." he replied.

Kefir stood by and smiled at them. He looked at Safari. Things were looking pretty good now in the Pridelands.

***