Read Fanfic : The Pride of Man (Page 12)

head to the northwest and roared.

“Who are you calling?” I asked curiously.

“Rafiki.” She replied as we walked around to the back of Pride Rock where the lionesses usually went to take naps. “He’s our shaman and local healer. He’ll be able to patch up your wrist in no time.”

As we came to our destination, I noticed we were not alone. Sarafina and Nala both lay basking warmly in the sun. Sarabi went and lay on a rock across from her. I sat on her right on a rock below her. I set down my backpack and looked through it, simply out of habit.

“Hello Sarabi!” said Sarafina from across the way. “Hi Ayden!”

“Good morning, Sarafina.” Said Sarabi, laying her head down on her paws.

“Hi girls.” I said, looking at Nala who had just woken up.

“Hey Ayden! Ow! What happened to your arm? And your chest?” Nala said, blinking back sleepiness.

Sarabi smiled smugly. “He just got back from a battle with six hyenas, one of whom was Tahri. And he won.”

Sarafina and Nala stared at me, their mouths agape in shock, just as Mufasa and Sarabi had done only a little while ago. I smiled embarrassedly.

They both simultaneously began to ask questions, but Sarabi held up her paw.

“We’re making an announcement after the hunt tonight. You’ll all hear the story then”

Sarafina leaned over and picked Nala up by the scruff of her neck. Then she started giving Nala a bath. I was reminded of the conversation I had with Simba earlier that morning about bathing.

As I thought of Simba, he came sprinting down towards us from a path that lead to an overhang on the back of Pride Rock. A place that, only moments earlier, Scar had went up to. The idea of Simba spending time with that fear inspiring creature made me scared for Simba.

I watched him as he sprinted down the slope to us. He looked excited, like he was ready for an adventure.

Brother…

The thought flashed through my head, and I could not help but smile.

“Hey Nala! Hey Ayden!” he called as he approached us.

“Hi Simba!” Nala and I said in unison.

He leaned towards Nala to whisper, but glanced at me to make sure I was listening. “C’mon! I just heard about this really great place!”

Nala glared at him and spoke through gritted teeth, “Simba, I’m kinda in the middle of a bath.” She lifted her head so her mother could clean under her chin.

Sarabi sat up and leaned down towards Simba. “And it’s time for yours.” She added.

She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and began to lick the top of his head, messing up the tuft of fur.

“MOM!” he protested, “Mom, you’re messing up my mane!”

She stopped and smiled down at him. Then she let him go.

He jumped down, and irritably fixed the tuft on his head. “Ok, ok, I’m clean. Can we go now?”

Nala was still getting bathed. “So where are we going? It had better not be anyplace dumb.” She told him, almost as if she was ordering him around.

“No!” said excitedly, “It’s really cool!”

Sarabi laid her head on her paws, and asked composedly, “So, where is this ‘really cool’ place?”

I knew exactly what was going through Sarabi’s mind. Simba was hiding something. He wanted to go someplace she would definitely not approve of, and she was trying to weasel it out of him.

Simba’s face fell a little. “Oh…uh, it’s around the waterhole.”

Nala looked up annoyed. “The waterhole?!? What’s so great about the waterhole?”

It was Simba’s turn to be annoyed now. Through gritted teeth, he whispered audibly, “I’ll show you when we get there!”

Nala got the message, and simply said, “Oh.”

Simba turned to me, smiling mischievously. “You comin’, Ayden?”

I shook my head no. I raised up my left hand. “I’m waiting for Rafiki. He’s gonna patch me up, then I’m going to go hunting with Sarabi. You go on without me.”

Simba stared at my hand for a moment, then asked “Wow! What did you do to it?”

I smiled mischievously, just as he did, and said “It was mauled by Tahri the hyena when I fought with him.”

Simba’s reaction was just as everybody else’s was. His mouth fell open and he stared at me in disbelief.

“You fought Tahri the hyena? And you won?” he asked, a smile creeping up on his face.

I nodded, and added, “WHILE fending of five other hyenas, and I still managed to kill him.”

Nala interjected, still amazed at this simple fact, “Ayden, you’re so brave!”

In that single moment, Simba gave me a dirty look for such a small amount of time, I almost missed it. He turned to Nala, a smile clearly back on his face. This puzzled me, but I wasn’t going to bring it up here, in front of his…our mother.

“Well…we gonna go?” He asked her.