“Kovu… what has happened here?” she gasped as she looked at all the carcasses, and the lion pride sitting on their riverbank. She slowly turned around. First thing she saw was the clan, sitting on the other riverbank. And then, a lot closer to where she sat, right next to her even, she noticed a messy pile of spotted fur.

“But that is…” Vitani uttered in dismay, “Oh no… no… that can’t be…”

“I’m sorry, Vitani… he was already gone before we even got here.”

“Oh no… no, please no…” Vitani wailed as she hesitatingly tried to touch the paw that Vincent had tried extending at her. Only being able to see out of one eye, she found it difficult to estimate just how close the dead hyena lay. His paw still felt warm. She moved closer and sat down right in front of him. She gently stroked first his paws, then his neck and eventually his manes, somehow hoping he would suddenly let loose a single groan. But she knew that wasn’t happening; Vincent wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving, his eyes were shut and his otherwise yellowish fangs were colored red because of his own blood.

“No… please, no…” Vitani still wept, even in the full knowledge Vincent was gone. She carefully took his head between her forepaws and preeded her nose onto the manes on the top of his head, between his ears.

“This is all my fault…” Vitani sobbed heartbroken.

“Don’t blame yourself…”

“But it is my fault! I provoked Simba, he attacked because of me. And Vincent died coming to my aid…”

“No, it’s not your fault; this was all bound to happen anyway. This had been bound to happen for years. You just had the bad luck of being at the wrong place on the wrong time,” Kovu replied, putting on of his paws on Vitani’s shoulders, gently rubbing hence and forth, “We all had the misfortune of being at the wrong place on the wrong time…”

As Kovu pronounced those words, he could suddenly see one of the hyenas that had been sitting atom the riverbank coming their way, slowly and carefully. She looked quite big, for a hyena, and had a strange, greenish bird on her shoulder. Seeing as she came alone, Kovu remained calm, and he signaled at the pride to do the same. The hyena to approach them looked a bit like the one Vitani was mourning over, except for her longer manes and her unusual grey eyes, gleaming in the pale moonlight. Save for Vitani, she was the first mammal Kovu had ever come across to have bluish eyes. She halted at a respectable distance.

“You can come closer if you want to,” Kovu mumbled at her, “We won’t bite. Seriously, we won’t.”

That being said, the hyena moved closer, still careful though. As she did, Kovu noticed her eyes too were gleaming with tears. It made her more or less look like Vitani, Kovu considered. After a first hesitation, which was removed when Vitani nodded at the newcomer, the blue-eyed hyena also sat down next to the dead body, equally mournful as Vitani was. Meanwhile, the green bird hopped on the ground and moved closer to Kovu. Kovu considered having seen the green hornbill somewhere before.

“Have we met?”

“No, I’m afraid we haven’t, though I’m pretty sure I know who you are… Kovu, right? Son of…”

“Son of Taka and Zira, yeah. King of the Outlanders,” Kovu grumbled a bit annoyed, “And how come I recognize you but can’t tell who you are?”

“I’m Tiko, Zazu’s nephew. You probably knew him. We sort of looked alike, except for the obvious difference in color…”

That, and you look a bit more plump…

“Ah… that’s odd… and you work for her?” Kovu frowned, “Isn’t that a bit unusual for Zazu’s nephew, working for hyenas?”

“I get that question a lot, and no, I don’t consider ‘working’ for them any weirder than ‘working’ for lions. And it’s not really working, they just tolerate me and I give them some advice if necessary. As matter of fact, I had been assigned by Rafiki to try and help him out,” Tiko explained, pointing at Vincent’s body.

“Sorry to hear that…”

“Thanks… I didn’t really know him that well yet… but we got along pretty good… until further notice, I’m helping out his sister.”

“So they’re related? I figured as much…,” Kovu frowned, “So that’s his sister, I presume?”

“Indeed, his sister. Shenya, Matriarch of the Clan.”

“That’s me…” Shenya suddenly sniveled as she looked up from Vincent’s body, still stroking his back with one of her paws, “Some matriarch I make…”

“So you’re the one who’s calling the shots in all this?” Kovu wondered, “Shouldn’t you have some protection with you?”

“You went to immense troubles to prevent your pride from clashing with her clan, so much even we could tell from looking at you. I doubt you’d let that all be in vain now by attacking her,” Tiko noted coolly.

“Touché. Well… I guess, seeing as you’re the hyena in charge I should be congratulating you and your clan with a historic victory,” Kovu spoke at Shenya not at all without cynicism.

Shenya looked up from the remains of her dead brother to stare at Kovu with eyes devoid of all hope.

“You call this a victory?” she snickered, “My brother is dead, your king is dead, my clan has been decimated, and so has your pride. And for what? All because we wanted stupid vengeance, all that for your blood-drenched Priderock? This is no victory… this is… it’s just insane!”

“Finally something we can agree on…” Kovu smiled in sorrow, “It is insane, isn’t it?”

As Kovu had been speaking, Rafiki and Kiruhu had discretely crept closer, having noticed the arrival of the hyena matriarch after Rafiki had just briefly paid his respects to Simba. But as he still considered the living a priority over the dead, he had postponed his mourning to go check out what it was that Kovu and the hyena exactly had to say. Kovu suddenly spotted Rafiki.

“Ah, the baboon… or was it mandrill? Bah, that doesn't really matter, now does it...  I have been expecting you...” Kovu grumbled, “You know, Rafiki, I think I finally figured it out. Just now. I think I finally figured out the Circle of Life. Are you all listening? Rafiki, hyena? Sis? You want to know? I figured out just what the Circle of life is all about… And quite frankly, I couldn't ever think of a more appropriate time to tell you all about it.
On first glance, it is simple: each of us, all things to live and breathe, all of us, we live only by the death of others, but when our time comes, we too give life to something else in our demise. When we die, we become the grass that feeds the zebra, and the Zebra is what feeds us. But the Circle goes much further than that: it also encompasses the never-ceasing alternations that make up our lives. Life and death, day and night, rains and drought… they are all exteriorizations of that same ongoing Circle. This, we can not hope to fight for it holds the very essence of life…”

Rafiki was impressed. Kovu was the first one to have reached such a thorough understanding of the Circle of Life with so little education in the matter. But To Rafiki’s surprise, there was more. 

“Huh?” Vitani startled, “Kovu? You startled me. What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the very same question. But what I find stranger than your presence is hers,” Kovu replied, signing at Shanya, “Hyena, shouldn't you be with your clan?”

“I should. But there is something I have to take care of first...”

“Even so, you shouldn't wander off by yourself. Even now, while we are at peace, you should still avoid coming near some... bitter lions, especially not a matriarch like you...”

“You're right,” Shenya admitted, “I shouldn't be out here by myself... But this was something me and Vitani had to do alone... and I can imagine being safe now that you're around around.”

“Quite. What exactly are you doing?”

“Vitani thought it'd be best if we laid Vincent to rest somewhere appropriate... so we're taking him there now.”

“Ah. And where might that be?” Kovu wondered.

“The tomb near Priderock...” Vitani silently whispered, fearing Kovu wouldn't agree with her decision. But strangely enough, he did.

“That is indeed fitting... more than a Royal Tomb, that green den has become a symbol; in it, lions and hyenas are laid to rest side by side. Your friend fits in perfectly, so to speak,” Kovu nodded, “But you'll never get there at this pace. Here, let me help you...”

Kovu slowly knelled down, signaling Vitani and Shenya to put the body over his back; Vincent was only a male hyena, they're not an incredible burden to carry.

“Thanks, Kovu...”

“Don't mention it... we should get going – but let us not make too much haste, for we would want to avoid bumping into Pridelanders... It would be very awkward if we were to interrupt them as they say goodbye to Simba...”

That said, the small group silently set out for Priderock, advancing at very slow peace, hardly ever talking. Eventually, after hours of walking, they reached the vicinity of the Royal Tomb. Not before long, one of the Outlanders patrolling around the Royal Tomb noticed them. She looked a bit confused when she saw the unusual trio.

&nbsike you...”

“You're right,” Shenya