lack of sleep, and he still looked weakened by his days-long coma as he walked, but the way he held his head up high and the look on his face were unmistakably regal. In his wake slowly followed Kucha and Maitha, who still limped heavily, as well as Tiko, who flew behind them.
The green bird shot a look at his uncle Zazu, who sat silently with Simba and Nala. If looks could kill, Zazu'd have died ten times over. In stead, the former advisor just looked away, as did Nala. Simba, however, kept his eyes fixated on the party exiting the caves, especially Tanabi. The King noticed his father's stare and slowly started walking towards him. Instantly, Simba got up and took position in front of Nala.
For Tamath, Simba's behavior had been one of the biggest surprises of the day. The former king, after all, had more or less refused to play along wih Nala's plan for pretty much the entire duration of the crisis. Yet the moment the lions had set foot upon Priderock again, after a long and silent night of mourning in which Tanabi had taken Queen Vitani to her final resting place in the Outlands, Simba had been the only one to stick by Nala. Whilst all other lionesses had, be it because they saw their error or because they knew better than to side with the traitor, not even deemed their former Queen worthy of one word, Simba had stayed by his partner throughout the entire night and day that had followed the Coup, as it would come to be known. It seemed as if Simba's love for Nala conquered even the greatest mistakes from her part, no matter how it would make his son Tanabi think of him. Whether that was ultimately a sign of weakness or of re now, alone and miserable, Tamath couldn't help but think it might not have been love that kept Simba with her, but pity. Pity for a fallen Queen.

“Father, you don't have to do this...” Tanbi suddenly grumbled, shattering the suffocating silence surrounding Priderock.

“You would do the same thing if you were in my stead...”

The memory of Vitani flashed through Tanabi's head. Would he have sticked with her, through good times and bad times, no matter what horrible things she did? The King sighed profoundly, then turned around. Nala seemed somehow what relieved. Funny, how she'd gone from a killing machine to an old, tired and scared lioness in one day. The incident with Yakta earlier must've had something to do with that. The moment Yakta had figured out what role Nala had played, it had only been an alert Jino to stand between Nala and her violent death. It must've been around that time Nala realized that killing Vitani hadn't been a victory, but a crushing defeat, possibly even worse than she herself getting killed in the duel.
Tanbi slowly continued to stride towards Priderocks promontory, walking right through the clutter of lionesses who had sided with Nala. All of 'em were fast to grovel out of the way and avoid the King's stern look, even though he'd have seen straight through them if their looks ever crossed. Kucha and Maitha, probably ordered to do so, followed his lead, all the way onto the promontory, sitting down halfway. Officially, that didn't have to mean anything, but it was obvious Tanabi wanted to transmit some kind of message with that – those lionesses were moving up in the world, even though they didn't exactly got to sit right next to the King just yet.
Tanabi scanned the crowd of animals surrounding his home with surprising indifference.

“Your Queen...” he had wanted to start of, yet he found his voice too hoarse for the volume he'd hoped to reach. He cleared his throat, then resumed with clearer voice.

“Your Queen, Vitani, has passed away. Yesterday, a day that will live on in infamy for generations to come, your Queen was slain in a vicious uprising. Those responsible are known, and will be swiftly and aptly punished. I will hold no eulogy. There was one in the Outlands, for those who cared...” Tanbi suddenly turned around and fixed his eyes upon his own pride, “And those who deserved. The Shaman will now give the last official passing rites, and give you the chance to pay your respects. In silence. Also, I would like to take the time to honor Shenzi, the late matriarch of the Graveyard Clan. For all the mistakes she made during her lifetime, she did eventually choose the right path, and even found the courage to lay down her life in defending Queen Vitani. For her there will be no sermon, as her own kind have looked after that. But we all pay respects to her nonetheless.”

In the secluded corner of Priderock where they sat, Tamath could see the hyena representatives bowing down their heads in silence, as did most of the lions. After that, without any further ado, Tanabi simply turned around and walked back down towards the rest of the lions, without giving a closing statement; the King had already personally mourned the death of his Queen, what happened now were just formalities he executed without much enthusiasm. In fact, chances were that few to none of his actions from her on would ever be enthusiast again.
After Tanabi had walked away, the shaman took to the forefront, giving the official passing rites to Vitani. These consisted of a series of motions and gestures, but no words. The entire Pridelands seemed silenced for a moment.
Every now and then, Tamath would look down and gauge how the other animals were doing. He saw a lot of distraught faces – Tanabi's address had given rise to more worries than it had actually relieved – and with good reason. The animals rightly feared the times that lay ahead; some of them had subconsciously already connected the dots. The freak heat-wave to have happened that very day had not been a coincidence. That was pretty much why the shaman had trouble focusing on his duties at hand: what was the use? No-one would be watching. The pride would have to do without the Kings of the Past's protection for the foreseeable future – and they had themselves to thank for it. One does not strike down his own Queen, in defiance of all the laws that governed the Circle of Life, and expect not to bare any consequences. No, there would be grave consequences alright. And they would follow shortly, be they imposed from above or below.
After Tamath wrapped up the sermon with a final gesture of the hand, most of the animals down below started dispersing, as night would fall soon. They would bring to their respective families the terrible and disturbing news gathered that day. Many would go to sleep fearing what the next day would bring, if they slept at all.
But before the day's end, Tanabi had still one last task to finish. Ever since Vitani had passed away in his own paws, the King had not spoken even one word to those responsible. His first urge had been to beat them down and exact revenge, but he had soon realized his weakened body would not have been able to do so. And besides, with an entire pride accomplice to the crime, how to ever punish them himself? It was at that time that Tanabi had felt a change in his mind, a new calm descending over him. He couldn't quite put it, it had been as if someone had stood by and whispered advice in his ear. And maybe that was the case; Tanabi had been to the other side. He already knew there were forces at work beyond those the eye could see. And then, he had suddenly known what fate awaited him. It wasn't what he had envisioned his life to be, but he really didn't care anymore. Vitani was gone. Whatever followed now... Tanabi would play his part, he would manage the kingdom until his son was old enough to continue his mother's line. But before that could happen, the pride would have to face many dark days. This would be the first.

Tanabi, sitting halfway the promontory in between Maitha and Kucha, looked down at his pride. Interestingly enough, no-one seemed to have the stomach to look back.

“Pride!” Tanabi suddenly roared, causing all the lionesses to spring up. Even Yakta and Jino, who had tried to stay in the background as Tanabi addressed the kingdom, seemed a bit surprised.

“Now that I've got your attention,” grumbled Tanabi, until he suddenly noticed one of his lionesses looking away again, “Hey! You, yes you! Do at least have the decency to look at your King as he speaks to you, will you?”

“Silence,” Tanabi gnawed, pushing Umeme deeper in than she was already, “You have no right to speak. You, the one who has shifted course more often than the wind. First opposing the traitor Nala, then turning over to your righteous Queen to eventually end up being complicit to her death? You are indeed the lowest...”

“But all I wanted to do was...”

This time, Tanabi didn't even bother to tell her to shut up, he just struck out at her, claws bared. As Umeme tried crawling back up again after having been floored by the impact, she stared at him with eyes filled with utter disillusionment. This was not the Tanabi she remembered. This was not the Tanabi she loved. The King himself held those very same thoughts: he couldn't recognize himself in anything he did anymore. Then again, the Tanabi they had both known before had been at Vitani's side. She was gone now, Tanabi saw no necessity anymore to hold back everything he feared about himself. To the contrary: it was his destiny to become that which he had always feared, he was convinced of that. It was the only thing which could help restore that which had been broken in the Kingdom.

“If anyone ever deserved death, it is you, Umeme. However, I shall spare you such fate. In stead, you shall continue to do what you so love to do: stand by Queen Nala. You will follow her into exile and become an outlaw beside her...” Tanabi gave her one last disdainful stare. “Am I not merciful?”

This time around, Umeme stayed silent.

“By that I take it you accept