if your parents are up high enough in the hierarchy, droughts and famines never really concern you, especially not when your mother’s the matriarch: although food wasn’t aplenty, I have to admit I never seemed to be short of it, unlike a lot of others who did suffer greatly from the drought. To ensure things stayed that way, mother once again readied herself for a journey to Priderock, to do nothing short of beg for more food from the King Taka. Where he was to procure that food in the given circumstances, only the Spirits know. As always, the  odd-couple (whom only mother and a few others bothered to call by their actual names, Edward and Banzaï) tagged along as mother's only modestly useful acolytes. I still wonder why they bothered, seeing as how them being born in the clan ensured they’d never become her mate. Anyhow, mom was getting ready to head for Priderock, which was at the time not our actual residence, as about half the clan lived at Priderock, whilst the other half (including me) still had their den at the Elephant Graveyard. Mom had previously lived at the Priderock too, she only returned to her former home at the Elephant Graveyard after me and my sis had been born, a decision which no one understood at the time but which probably saved my life.

Me, dad and Shenya, my sister, were there too, to wish her good luck on her begging-plea, although only dad really understood what mom was doing; I just considered it one of her many trips made for no good reason whatsoever.

 

“What humiliation you should beg for food… you, the matriarch” dad grumbled in his defining cold manner, “Watch yourself out there, all right?”

 

“I’ll watch myself all right, ya just make sure ya watch the kids. Make sure they don’t do nothing stupid, got it?”

 

“Hey, Shenzi, cut the small-talk already will ya? We’re starving out here! I’m sure Mikhy will still be ‘round when we get back,” Banzaï interrupted. As always, Edward just giggled, seemingly oblivious to the world. My guess is he got a bit too little oxygen at birth, but I could be mistaking; he isn’t around to tell anymore.

 

“Righ, ya heard ‘em, gotta go. See ya soon, darling,” mom quickly uttered before kissing dad, “And you guys too. Keep an eye on dad for me, all right?”

 

Me and Shenya just saluted, as if we’d been given a real assignment. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. After one last lick of the manes with me and sis, mom took off. Now, dad was in charge, and he’d planned to put his authority over us to good use: he wanted to take us to a small plateau nearby, so we could get a view on he entire Pridelands, which was only fitting now that it belonged to us as well. Mom, however, had never let us out of the den’s protection, so we had never gotten a chance to actually see the Pridelands. But now, she wasn’t around, now was she? So we went ahead and looked for a nice lookout. Of course, the ongoing drought kinda put a damper on things, as it really masked out the inherent beauty of the Pridelands. But getting a view on the barren Pridelands is better than getting no view at all, so me, dad and sis set out on our little trip, trying to find higher ground (which is pretty hard as the Elephant Graveyard is in fact somehow what of a basin, a crater even). But dad was very persistent, as allways, and although it took us the better part of the day, we eventually found a decent elevation. It was a bit rocky, but unless the rains would suddenly appear after a seeming eternity of absence, it would be pretty safe.
But I’m guessing you’ve already guessed the drought wouldn’t ensue: on the one day we wanted it to stay dry, it decided not to. First thing that happened was of course a small lightning-storm, something extremely dangerous if it happens in dry and inflammable surroundings. You get where this is going at? Right from the first lightning-strike, me and Shenya had wanted to turn back in terror, but as we were only yards away from the highest part of the rocks, dad told us to keep on moving. So we did. Then, when we reached the part of the rock that would give us a nice view over the Pridelands, everything happened at once, as we gazed over the Pridelands.
The rain started, suddenly pounding down heavily, immediately getting soaked up into the bone-dry ground. As me and Shenya had never before seen rain, we were of course terrified, although dad did his utmost best at calming us.

But looking back, it wasn’t the rain which was most scary, as I stood there, staring at the Pridelands... it was the reddish glow in which all of the Pridelands seemed to be drenched in, Priderock most of all. The Pridelands were ablaze, caught in a magnificent yet terrorizing inferno. I'd never seen such massive fires ever before: they seemed to cover the better part of the Pridelands... The rain of course put out most of the fire in a reasonably short time, but as the fire had been utmost destructive and intense, the damage had already been done; much of the Pridelands now lay in ruin after a drought and a massive firestorm. But even after so much destruction, there was still one thing more terrifying than the fire, it was the Priderock. I’d never again get the opportunity to look at the Priderock that clearly, seeing it rise up high above the lands, pitch-black in the wake of the storm, both impressive and intimidating. On it, we could distinguish a lone figurine: tall, proud, intimidating, regal. Upon the rock stood not Taka, or Scar as he was infamously called, but another lion, seemingly stronger, bigger and more powerful. In one word, more dangerous. As to illustrate that, the strange lion roared, and his roar echoed over all the land, even reaching as far as our little rock-formation. Although I hadn’t the slightest notion of what that strange lion’s roar meant, it immediately sent a shiver down my spine. Much in contrast to me, my sis did seem to realize what was going on.

 

“Daddy, is mommy all right?”

 

Dad just stared at Priderock in disbelief, and I can’t say I blame him. It must have looked quite surreal. As always, though, he was quick enough to get over the surprise.

 

“Kiddos, we’re heading back home… now!”

 

And he just turned round and began walking towards the Elephant Graveyard again, without any further explanation.

 

“But dad, where’s mommy?”

 

“Not now, comrade. Come along, hurry it up.”

 

So we just headed back home, in the pouring rain which made walking the rocks we were on a life-threatening endeavor, but that didn’t slow dad down one bit. Of course, we couldn’t keep up with an adult without cutting some corners, so it didn’t take long before Shenya hurt her leg, forcing dad to carry her. I can imagine he didn’t mind too much: it made sure he didn’t have to answer any more difficult questions we might pose. We didn’t exchange a single word along the way. It must’ve been somewhere late in the afternoon when we got back to the Elephant Graveyard, by now soaking wet and overly miserable.
The clan was in total chaos. At first, I hoped it was because of the rain, but I was soon to be proven wrong. At the center of the chaotic clan’s attention were about three of our clanmates, surrounded by a thick pack of bystanders. With some mild pressure, dad was able to part the crowd, allowing us to have a look at what everything was all about. Apart from having some of their fur scorched off (probably a direct consequence of the firestorm earlier) the trio at the center of the clan's attention didn’t seem all that peculiar. But Kali’s mother (Kali, the broad who chased us off the cliff, remember?), who was by the way the only one who seemed to be able to keep her calm, clearly thought otherwise, as she interrogated them in a less-than-subtle manner. She halted when she saw dad.

 

“Mikhail, tank the Spirits, there you are! Where’s Shenzi? I need to talk to her right now, there’s…”

 

“… trouble at the Rock, yeah, I figured as much.”

 

“Huh?” Kali’s mom replied in confusion, “How…”

 

“Not important. Tell me what happened, how it happened and who made it happen.”

 

“Hey, do remember who you’re talking to, will ya?” Kali’s mom grumbled a bit annoyed because dad was obviously commanding her, whilst it should have been the other way ‘round.

 

“Please, Sunshine, I’m trying to help here, we can do without formalities for now.”

 

After short hesitation, she seemed to agree with dad and then she reluctantly told him what she’d gotten out off the three hyenas behind her. Turned out they had ran all the way from Priderock, and they had witnessed Simba’s return and the ensuing lionesses’ uprising, which had targeted the part of the clan present at Priderock. The three hyenas to whom Kali’s mom had talked to had been the first, and still only ones to have made it back to the Elephant Graveyard after a failed counter attack of the hyenas present at Priderock.

 

“You mean there was a fight at the Rock, and we lost?” dad wondered. Kali’s mom just nodded. Surprisingly, dad remained stoic, even after Shenya asked the question which must have been haunting him as well.

 

“Dad, didn’t mom go to see King Taka?”

 

“Dear Spirits…” Kali’s mom mumbled after dad had confirmed Senya’s suggestion, “You mean the matriarch is…?”

 

“We have to assume so,” Dad nodded coldly, “We’ll have to do without Shenzi for now, I'm afraid... We’ll have to look out for ourselves first. We can't do anything to help yet; the Matriarch is on her own for the time being.”

 

“But we can’t just…”

 

“We have little choice, do we? Look around you, Sunshine, our clan’s in panic and chaos. That rabble is in no shape to face the lions, not now that half

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