[3rd POV]
Nala and her four new lion companions continued their journey towards the Serengeti.
It was around noon when they settled things between them and began their walk. But since they were already so close to the Serengeti, they were able to cross the border before nightfall.
There was no real conversation throughout the journey. This was mostly because Nala was not very cooperative when the three brothers tried to start one. The sole older lion on the other hand was quiet throughout, as if he knew something none of them did.
Nala was more interested in him than the three young males. She wanted to ask how he got the scar on his face, why he looked so cautious the moment he stepped into the Serengeti, and why he stopped the three brothers from announcing their presence when they reached their destination.
But he was not the talkative type. He was not trying to impress her like the younger ones did.
Most of the journey was spent huffing and panting under the searing heat of the savannah. The brothers would banter now and then, and that was about it.
The sun set into the horizon shortly after they entered the Serengeti region. Everyone else thought they would continue their journey under the chill of the night but Oba had other plans.
"Let's stop here for today," he said.
"Why? The sun has just set. We can still cover more ground before we rest," Jahil argued.
"No, we stop here," Oba said firmly. There was no room for argument in his tone. He turned and stood in front of the group, as if standing in their way.
"Hey, who do you think you are?" Jafari said immediately and his lips peeled back to show white fangs that were still needle sharp due to lack of use.
"Calm down, brother," Jabari said, and blocked him from moving forward. He waited for silence and then turned to Oba.
"He is older and therefore wiser. We should follow his order until we achieve our final objective," Jabari said.
"Thank you," Oba dipped his head in respect to the oldest sibling.
The two brothers seemed to have an issue, but they didn't voice it in respect to their eldest. Nala observed everything in silence, noting the hierarchy of the coalition.
Jabari was the oldest and the biggest among his siblings, so he was the leader among the three. Oba was still viewed as an outsider and was technically the bottom of the hierarchy, but Jabari greatly respected him.
"Let's rest up, everyone. We have reached our destination, and we will use this time to plan and continue tomorrow," Jabari said before turning and going to a spot with dry grass.
His two brothers followed, and the three of them rested right then and there. When you were the apex predator and there were three of you, you feared nothing the savannah had to offer.
On the other hand, Oba moved further away from them and found his own spot. Nala was conflicted. She looked between the two parties and contemplated which one she should join.
In the end, curiosity was the sin of all cats. She moved towards Oba and joined him in his rest.
He raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised. He kept his eyes locked on her as she took her place a few steps away from him. It was far enough to not be intimate in any way while at the same time, being close enough to interact.
A quiet followed. Nala settled in her place, and Oba only stared at her for a few seconds before he focused elsewhere. He began grooming his fur without speaking any words.
Nala observed him in similar silence. But when Oba began licking his paws and extended his claws, she gasped in a whisper.
He had the longest and sharpest claws she had ever seen. It was a nature-given weapon at its finest. He had 3 inches of dark claws that curved like a hook and made you want to run when you saw them.
He gave her a side eye, pride finally surfacing in his eyes. Clearly, he was proud of his weapons which he kept hidden most of the time.
Nala looked up, and suddenly, the scar on his face became more noticeable. She wondered how the claw that left those marks would look compared to his.
Oba saw that she was looking at his scars and immediately felt insecure. The pride became a phantom, and he turned his head.
"Female, what do you want?" he asked in a gruff voice.
Nala was quickly brought out of her reverie, "What do I want?" she began, "I want what you are not saying."
He turned his head towards her again with a confused tilt.
She clarified, "I know you are hiding something from us. And it's not female, my name is Nala,"
Oba was stumped into silence. He stared at her eyes, and she stared right back. A few moments of staring contest later, he sighed and then chuckled at the young, fiery female whom he couldn't help but find attractive as well.
A lioness with a fire like hers was rare. Most are just obedient NPCs that the lions passed around like trophies.
"Nala," he said, "I assure you, I am not hiding anything. I merely have a few things that I do not wish to talk about for no reason."
"So you will talk about it if I ask?"
"Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "Sure, why not?"
"What do you want to know about?" he asked.
Nala blinked, not really expecting to get the green light. She quickly collected her thoughts and arranged her question in order.
"I heard that you went to the Serengeti before. What exactly happened then?" she asked.
Oba deadpanned at her, "Is the scar not enough hint, or do I have to admit that I lost a fight?"
The scar was new and fresh. When he met the three brothers, it had not even scarred yet. They were lions and knew how much pride meant to them, so they never bothered asking him about what happened. They thought it would be a sensitive topic, which was true.
But the young lioness did not have such tact. She asked in a very straightforward manner.
"Oh..." she blinked, "Did you lose to the new king or..."
"Okay," he cut her off, "If you must know, let me start from the beginning because you seem to have absolutely no idea about the history around here."
Nala shook her head. She didn't know anything indeed so she would greatly appreciate some history lession.
"The Serengeti was once the home of many great lion prides. The land flourished, and so did the lions who lived in balance and harmony. That was until the rise of the Mbali brothers, the outsiders who hailed from the Maasai Mara. They are a coalition of three different lions who came from the same bloodline of a famed king, Mbali," he continued while Nala listened carefully.
She was immediately entrapped by the story. It was not often that tales of other kings were told. Mufasa would often tell them about his past or his ancestors but after Scar took over, his insecurity deemed that those tales diminish his non-existent glory. So such stories was no longer shared.
"One thing you should know about the Mbali brothers is that each individual lion was remarkable. Had they not been in a coalition, all three would have become legendary kings of their own. Baraka, the eldest, was blessed with unparalleled strength and size. Makali, the middle, was blessed with a warrior's spirit. And Roku, the youngest, possessed a mind as sharp as any claw," he said.
"They were all fearsome foes, but the three of them working as one, that was what broke the old dynasty of the Serengeti. They came and conquered every kingdom they came across. They overthrew all previous kings and united the Serengeti under one rule. My father, his father, my older brothers and my equal brothers. We all tried to reclaim the kingdoms which were passed down from our ancestors. It hurts our pride to see such outsiders ruling our lands. But in the end, all fell at the might of the Mbali brothers."
"Wow," Nala couldn't help but mutter out loud.
Oba smiled, "Yes, their reign was unchallenged. Although I was devastated to see the land of my ancestors fall into the hands of outsiders, they had my respect for their unquestionable strength."
"But they fell, too, did they not? You said the Serengeti is now under the rule of one king." Nala asked.
"Yes, they did. Although it stings my pride to admit it, the one to overthrow the Mbali brothers was not one of us who belonged to the land but another outsider," he continued after a sigh.
"A wandering rogue that came from nowhere. Not a single lion has a clue where he came from, but somehow, someway, he managed to overthrow the kings by himself in their prime. It was a story none of us believed at first. At least, not until we saw him and fought him for ourselves," Oba said with an acknowledging nod.
"He was infamous even before he took down the brothers. We had heard of a rogue that roamed the harsh lands of the Serengeti, one that was always out for blood and therefore should be avoided in his territory. But none of us thought he was such a powerhouse by himself, enough to kill three kings by himself." he said.
Nala nodded, taking in the information and noting how the rogue that Oba mentioned was similar to the lion that chased the hyenas out from their home.
"And you've fought this lion before, right?" she asked.
"Yes I did, and the scar is proof of that," he said.
Nala took a moment to look at the scar once more. She moved from her place, inching closer to him. She brought out her paw and although Oba flinched at first, he let her do what she wanted.
Nala brought her paw close to his face. Her claws extended and tried to fill the scars on his face. She found out vividly then, just how large the paw must be to leave the mark. It was twice as wide as hers, nearly covering his whole face.
"What was he like?" she asked after pulling back.
Oba stayed quiet for some time. His eyes showed that he was revisiting memories he was not too fond of.
"He was big enough to kill hope," he said, "His mane was jet black, the nickname of 'Black Death' seemed more fitting to him than the Cape Buffaloes. He was bigger than the giant Baraka, fiercer than Makali and was smarter than Roku. That is why he was able to defeat them,"
"You know, we all thought we would have a better chance against one powerful king than three. All the rogues that lived in silence crawled out when we heard of the news that the Mbali brothers had fallen. We challenged him immediately, hoping we could get lucky if he was still injured from his fight with the old kings. But we soon found out that he was just as formidable alone as the three brothers combined," he said.
Oba went a bit more in detail as he described what the new king was like. Perhaps it was because he lost to the lion but he was very generous with the praise. After all, if he lost to an extraordinary lion, a one of a kind, his defeat sounded better in return.
"Words are not powerful enough to describe him, you have to see it for yourself. But at the same time, he is a mortal and he bleeds like all of us. That is why I decided to ally with the three brothers. The dry season is harsh, meaning even kings will suffer this time of the year. Many rogue lions come here to challenge the weakened king. Our plan is to take advantage of the dry season and the surplus challengers to catch the king at his weakest," he said.
"I will take back the land of my ancestors," he said, determined.
After his declaration, he became self-conscious. He had said too much. He shared more than intended. But a male sharing too much to the opposite sex was a fact as old as time.
"I see," Nala said and gave him a smile, "I wish you luck in your endeavours,"
She could relate heavily with the last part. About retaking his home from an outsider, someone not meant to be.
Oba did not expect such an earnest wish so he coughed to pick up his bearings.
"Do you know the name of the lion?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Oh, I never told you did I," he said.
"The current king and lion who took down the Mbali brothers. His name is Leo,"
Now freeze.
"Come again?" she asked, there was a tremble in her voice.
"His name is Leo,"
..
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[IMAGE]
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Author : This is extra chapter for 500 stones. I will post another tomorrow if we manage to break 1000.