and leaned forward VERY close to my face. I felt slightly uncomfortable.

Sarabi cocked her head in mock thought. I was sure she would say no. “Well…”

Simba and Nala both walked up, and at the same time, grinned and said “Please?”

To my utter shock, Sarabi said, “It’s all right with me.” I looked at her doubtfully. What is she thinking? They’re gonna get in so much trouble!

Simba and Nala jumped around whooping. Then Sarabi spoke up again.

“…As long as Zazu goes with you.”

Both the cubs stopped immediately. Simba’s ears dropped instantly as he cried, “NO! Not Zazu!”

I looked up at her and smiled. She startled me for a moment, making me worried for the cub’s safety.

Sarabi smiled impishly, then leaned up and roared again, this time towards the grasslands to the east. In less than a moment’s time Zazu flew in and landed in front of Sarabi. He bowed low to her, and smiled at me.

“Yes, your highness?” he addressed Sarabi.

“Zazu, I need you to tag along with Simba and Nala right now.” She told him. “They’re going someplace ‘really cool’, and I need you to make sure they stay out of trouble while they act ‘cool’.”

Zazu grimaced at the thought of babysitting, but he would never refuse an order form the queen. He bowed low, and called for Simba and Nala to come with him. Both of  their ears were lowered in disappointment.

I looked up at Sarabi again, and she was grinning.

“You are so sly.” I said to her, laughing. “You REALLY had me going there! I thought you were going to let them go without lifting a paw!”

Sarabi laid her head on her paws again, and closed her eyes. “I’m always looking out for the safety of my son and his friends.” And she slowly drifted into sleep.

Sarafina stared at me for a moment, the look of shock still etched into her face. Then she smiled, and laid her head down as well.

I laid back and rested my head against a tree that grew next to the rock. I closed my eyes, and rested for a few moments. As I started to fall into dreamland, I heard a chant growing louder and louder.

“Asante sana, squashed banana, wewe nugu, mimi apana! Asante sana, squashed banana, wewe nugu, mimi apana!”

I opened my eyes and saw a tall, gray mandrill with an even taller walking stick hopping up the rocks to us. His face was half covered in white fur that resembled a beard. There were blue markings underneath his eyes that looked like tattoos. He had a kind face, with an unmistakable air of somebody who was not entirely sane.

Sarabi lifted her head, eyes open. She smiled and said, “Thank you for coming Rafiki.”

l">“Umm…what are you doing?” I asked, backing away a little bit.

“Hmm…” was his only reply. Then he brought down his walking stick, pulled off a gourd, and cracked it open. Inside was a red juice that smelled very sweet. I made a mental note to ask where I could find one to eat.

Rafiki set it down on the ground, and disappeared over the side of the rock. He returned quickly with an arsenal of twigs, leaves, grass, and other assorted items.

Humming a quiet tune, he began to mix and mash the items together in the juice of the gourd. When he was done, he held out his hand for mine, and I extended it.

He put his fingers in the mixture, and ran them over each individual puncture wound. Initially, the medicine stung, but felt better afterwards. He repeated the same thing on my chest.

When he was done, he turned to Sarabi, who was watching the entire time, and asked in a kind voice, “Is dat all you need?”

Sarabi replied, “Almost. There is one more thing. I would like to invite you to eat with us tonight. We have an important announcement for the entire pride.”

Sarafina perked up her ears at this.

Rafiki glanced over at me, as if he already knew the purpose of the announcement. He smiled, and said, “It would be an honor.”

“We will see you tonight, old friend?” came a deep voice from behind Rafiki.

Mufasa had returned from his business with the antelopes and zebras.

“Of course my king.” Said Rafiki, grinning toothily at Mufasa.

Mufasa grinned back, and he embraced Rafiki. When they let go, Rafiki bowed, and set off to a large tree in the distance. Mufasa went and lay down next to Sarabi. He glanced at me, a smile tugging at his muzzle, and then he too laid his head down and drifted into sleep.

I laid my head back down, and easily fell into a deep sleep.

 

 

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

 

 

I was standing in the grasslands again. The sun shone brightly on the beautiful lands. The sky was a deep blue. Not a breath of wind disturbed the grass or trees around me. It was eerily calm and quiet.

Then, all around me appeared hundreds of dark shapeless figures. They surrounded me, laughing menacingly as they did. I was completely encircled, with no way to escape.

Then, one of the blobs glided forward, and it shifted into the form of Tahri. I reached into my pocket for my knife, but it was nowhere to be found. Totally unarmed, I positioned myself, ready for the impending attack.

The spirit Tahri opened its mouth and spoke the words he had spoken hours before.

“We’ve got a job to do. We have orders from the boss to take care of this one. Then we can take these lands for ourselves!”

Then, all at the same instant, all of the shapeless black blobs pounced on me, and I was immersed in total darkness. The beauty of the Pride Lands disappeared and all that I could see was blackness. Then a huge, blazing green eye blinked at me, shining through the darkness…an eye with a vertical scar running down it.

 

 

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

 

 

My eyes sprang open as I woke with a start. I sat up, panting heavily, sweat trickling down my face. Tahri’s words still echoed in my subconscious.

We’ve got a job to do. We have orders from the boss to take care of this one. Then we can take these lands for ourselves!

I replayed the dream over and over again in my mind, trying and failing to make sense of it.

If Tahri was the leader of the hyenas, then who was “the boss”? And why did this boss, whoever it was, want me dead? What had I done to deserve such a fate?

And that eye…I knew that eye anywhere. What was I doing dreaming of Scar? Was it simply because of my intimidation of him, or was there something more behind it? Something more sinister…

I decided that I needed to speak with Scar at some point. I needed to get to know him, see if he was really the fear instilling creature I made him out to be. If I was wrong, then that would mean the dream simply reflected my fear of him. If not…I shivered at the thought.

I looked around. The sun was still high in the sky, just past midday. I stood up and stretched. Sarabi and Sarafina stirred, and stretched lazily as they awoke. Sarabi looked up to the sun, and said, “It’s about time for us to begin our hunt.”

She stood up and looked at me. I nodded to show I was ready. She hopped down from her rock, and began to go around to the front of Pride Rock. Sarafina and I followed her. I began to feel the excitement of the coming afternoon. I had never hunted before, and it was something I defiantly looked forward to, especially since I discovered my agility.

We reached the mouth of the cave that entered Pride Rock, and Sarabi, for the third time today, roared out to the lands. Instantly, the lionesses all converged and formed a circle. I noticed Zira was staring at me, displeasure of my presence imprinted in her eyes. I looked away from her, and looked around at all the lionesses.

Sarabi began to speak to the company. “I have spoken with Mufasa, who has told me that the herds in the Pride Lands do not have any sick or dying among them. So we’ll need to hunt just beyond the border.”

This seemed pretty normal to the company, because some of them smiled, while others faces remained the same.

A lioness about halfway around the circle, called Yetunde, spoke to me.

“Will you be accompanying us again, Ayden?” She beamed at me, waiting for me to answer. Sarabi spoke up.

“Actually,” she said, addressing the entire circle, “Ayden has recently demonstrated several skills that would be very useful to us. Ayden is going to hunt with us today.”

Zira lost her composure. “Are you going insane, Sarabi?” she yelled. “He is not even a lion! He won’t be able to keep up with us!”

I became very annoyed. Zira’s negativity was becoming unbearable. She had not given me one chance ever since I had arrived here. I couldn’t stop myself from speaking to her.

“Maybe if you would pay attention to your surroundings once in a while, you would notice that things are not alwaMsoNormal"> 

 

My eyes sprang open as I woke with a start. I sat up, panting heavily, sweat trickling down my face. Tahri’s words still echoed in my subconscious.

We’ve got a job to do. We have orders from the boss to take care of this one. Then we can take these lands for ourselves!

I replayed the dream over and over again in my mind, trying and failing to make sense of it.

If Tahri was the leader of the hyenas, then who was “the boss”? And why did this boss, whoever it was, want me dead? What had I done to deserve such a fate?

And that eye…I knew that eye anywhere. What was I doing dreaming of Scar? Was it simply because of my intimidation of him, or was there something more behind it? Something more sinister…

I decided that I needed to speak with Scar at some point. I needed to get to know him, see if he was really the fear instilling creature I made him out to be. If I was wrong, then that would mean the dream simply reflected my fear of him. If not…I shivered at the thought.

I looked around. The sun was still high in the sky, just past midday. I stood up and

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