[1st POV]
"I don't know how to feel about this..." Nala said while coming to the freshly killed buffalo.
The scent of fresh blood that was slowly pooling around the carcass was mouthwatering to any predator. I could feel her hunger even though she tried her best to hide it.
"Should I be concerned?" she asked while nudging at the carcass, which was easily five times her mass.
"You shouldn't. As long as you are not a juicy buffalo," I said.
She walked around the carcass in an expectant manner. She observed the food from head to toe. Her eyes was no longer on me, they were only focused on the food.
I wonder how life was in the Pridelands. I suppose it was not good considering the drought and Scar's rule. Perhaps this was the biggest amount of food she had yet.
She turned to me after a while, "Are you not going to eat it?"
As I was the one to take down the prey and also the lion, she could not eat before me. This is why she was not doing anything else other than observing, no matter how eager she was.
"No, I just ate this morning," I said. My belly was still pretty full from that meal.
"What?" she was thoroughly stumped, "Then why did you hunt?"
"For you obviously," I said. It seemed obvious to me, but not to her. In lion society, it was the females that hunt and serve the lions. it was never the other way around.
She turned to look at the carcass again, "All this for me?"
"Sure, help yourself. I know you are hungry," I said.
She looked at the buffalo for a long time before eventually she turned to me. "Thank you,"
She said and immediately dug into the meal. Or at least she tried to. She had a problem opening up the thick hide of the buffalo, so I had to help her with that.
But when the belly was open and the organs were ready to eat, she no longer held back. Beastly growls and the sound of meat ripping and blood spilling filled the silence of the night.
I sat a few metres behind her and watched her feast with a smile. I was planning to talk during this time but it seemed she was too hungry to have a conversation.
She ate for an hour straight. Her eyes were closed as she savoured every part of the meat. She did not feed only on the organs or muscles; she made sure to taste everything. It was like watching someone eat a gourmet food, but I guess buffalo was indeed gourmet for all predators.
After she was done, her belly was visibly bloated. Something weird popped into my mind when I saw her in that state, but I quickly shrugged that off. Batman would not be able to get that line of thought out of me.
She came beside me and lay a few distance away. A content sigh escaped her lips.
"Had enough?"
"Yes. Thank you again, Leo," she said.
I let her have a few more minutes to rest before I finally asked what has been on my mind for quite some time now.
"So, what's happening in the Prideland? How is Zuri? Why did you leave home? How is Scar? Is he still alive?"
Questions after questions came out. Even I didn't realise I had this many questions until I asked out loud.
But Nala was understanding of my curiosity. She was patient as she answered every single question I had.
Drought had already hit the Pridelands, and animals were moving out from the kingdom. Soon enough, the kingdom will be void of life.
Scar still ruled the kingdom. He never had to face another challenger after me due to the secretive location of the Prideland.
Hyenas ruled the kingdom under Scar. Nala said there were hundreds, maybe a thousand of them. It seemed to me like Scar was afraid of my return and preparing himself in any way possible.
Getting so many hyenas under him was not something he did in the canon. It was a butterfly effect of my actions. This increased the severity of the drought and made the plot move faster.
Zuri was healthy, and she was even bigger than her.
Nala also told me the reason why she left the Pridelands and recounted the entirety of her journey during the past month.
When all was said and I had my questions answered, it was already quite late in the night. The savannah was in absolute silence; most living creatures were asleep at this hour.
"So you run away because you do not want to mate with old lion Scar," I said with a hum, "I respect that,"
That only made her more attractive in my eyes.
She huffed, "I'd rather die than have his children and pass down his weak bloodline to my cubs."
"What about Zuri? Had she mated with the king?" I asked. A flash of anger struck my heart just saying that out loud.
"No way. If I am willing to run away, she is willing to die rather than have such a connection with Scar. But strangely, he never tried anything on her," Nala said.
I felt relieved hearing that, but the tension came back instantly. If he was already acting creepy towards Nala, it won't be long before he goes after Zuri.
I need to return soon.
Fuck that, I need to return now.
"Thank you for telling all this," I said after a short break.
"Not at all, it should be me thanking you. I didn't think you would be interested at all in hearing about home," Nala said.
"Why would I not be interested?" I asked, confused.
"Well, considering all you have now, why would you bother returning to us? You are the king of this land, you have a pride of your own now, you have subjects who serve under you. Heck, you can take down a buffalo by yourself," she said, "Why would you need us at all?"
I was stumped for a few seconds, and then I laughed.
"What's funny? Why are you laughing?" she asked.
"Females are so stupid," I said.
"Hey!!" she said.
Or maybe it was we, lions, that are the stupid ones. After all, if you really thought about it, her reasoning was logically sound.
"Nala, that's not how it works," I said, "It's not about need."
"It's about hatred and revenge. I am willing to strip all I have right now to kill Scar. It's also about keeping a promise and pride," I said.
I realised it just now, but I guess it was normal for a lioness to understand all this. Especially about the sheer pride involved in the situation.
My proud roar would not sound the same if I knew I did not return to kill Scar and fulfil my promise just because I did not want the risk.
"I see." Nala said with a smile, "I guess she was right about you."
"Hmm?"
"Zuri. She always says that you will return eventually. A day never passed that she doubt you or question your promise, even though I always told her otherwise. She is still waiting for you, faithfully," she said.
I stayed silent. She made my heart flutter hundreds of miles away.
"She actually told me to pass a message to you in case we meet. She said she is still waiting and will continue to do so. But she wished that you could hurry, she has grown tired," Nala said.
Now there was no doubt in my mind.
I need to fucking return.
"I've told you everything that happened since you left the Pridelands. Can you tell me about what happened to you?" she asked.
I opened my mouth to speak, but paused at the last second.
"Maybe another time, Nala. We should sleep now, I want to introduce you to my pride tomorrow," I said.
"Oh.." she sounded disappointed but not sad. "Okay,"
She snuggled closer to me after that. I chuckled seeing that and put my arm around her body. I effortlessly pulled her into my embrace.
I put her under me, making sure that she could not escape even if she wanted to. But that did not scare her; instead, her body relaxed, feeling safe. Her upper body and her head were inside my mane. My father worked as a blanket to keep her warm in the cold night of the dry season.
My warmth and my scent filled her every sensation.
I made sure not to put my weight on her even though she was under me. She quickly fell asleep like that, her breath becoming even almost immediately.
On the other hand, my eyes glowed in the dark. I would not sleep soon. I had decisions to make and plans to build.
I need to return to the Pridelands but how? Should I just leave the Serenegti during the dry season when challengers were everywhere?
Should I bring the whole pride or only the able warriors? How should I do the journey? A quick and short return, or should we travel throughout the span of a week?
I had lots to think about.
...
...
//////////////
When morning came, Nala was the first to wake up. She padded lightly on my face, and her voice came out muffled beneath my mane.
I pulled myself up with a yawn, finally giving her a chance to slip out from my embrace and have her own space and air that was not polluted with my scent.
"Good morning, Nala," I said in a yawning tone.
"Morning, Leo," she said, but she was oddly shy.
I didn't give much attention to that detail and instead looked around. The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon, painting the ceiling of the world with orange hues.
The wind was chilly, but the sun promised warmth. I looked around, seeing no other animals besides a vehicle that was parked a great distance away. I honestly almost missed that. At this point, those vehicles were like boulders in my mind.
And finally, I saw the buffalo carcass. It was mostly eaten at this point, but it seemed the vultures were not able to finish all of it. There were no other creatures except ants because no predator was dumb enough to steal the carcass when I was sleeping right beside it.
I bet there were animals out there just waiting for me to wake up and leav,e though.
"It looks like the scavenger got to it while we were asleep," Nala said, her voice sullen.
"It's okay. It's probably the vultures,"
"Is that really okay?" Nala asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. They serve me well and I feed them well," I said and stretched my body, "And it's not like we lack food either,"
Nala stayed quiet and thought over my words before turning back to the carcass. Her thoughts were probably along the lines of how life was very different here. The Pridelands were starving, and here she was wasting food.
"Let's go, my pride must be waiting impatiently for me," I said and walked away. Nala followed right behind me.
Ever since my takeover, this was the first time I was away for a whole night from my pride. I already told them what to do in my absence, so I was not too worried.
The morning walk was peaceful. The birds were chirping lightly in the sky, their tunes setting up a good morning vibe. I patrolled so much these days that I missed simply walking around the savannah.
Being king was cool but the duty really was not.
Nala walked beside me. The difference in our size was such that where I walked normally, she had to jog lightly to match my speed. I slowed down my walking further because of that.
Before I realised it, we were talking with each other while on a walk. She was asking me about the land, and the topic quickly shifted to my pride.
"How many members are in your pride?" she asked.
"We are 26 members in total," I answered, "18 females, 2 juveniles, 6 cubs. We have no infants; all of them have passed half a year."
"Wow," Nala said, "That's huge."
"Indeed, the pride belonged to three kings before I earned it. I've done nothing but reduce the number since, kicked out four lions, two died recently too,' I said.
Then I looked at her, "I guess you can say you are the only addition I have made yet. Now our pride is 27 in total."
"Wait.." she paused, "Me?"
I tilted my head, looking confused, "Yes, you. You are now a member of my pride. Or did you not want to?"
"No, no. I want to!! I want to be a part of your pride," she said, "It's just...I didn't think it would be that easy. Don't you have any process that I need to go through?"
"Don't be silly, I am the king," I said, my tone gaining that kingly edge, "My words are law. If I say you are now part of my pride, you are now a part of my pride."
"Besides," I said and nudged her slightly, "I've known you for as long as I can remember. No need to act like a stranger,"
She gave me a smile and we continued our walk. I told her a few important things she needs to know. How to act with the other lionessess, who to avoid and who to make friends with, and how we function as a nomadic pride.
I said names that she would put a face to soon enough.
We had strayed further away from the pride than expected, so we took nearly the whole morning. A vulture who was not Grim was our guide, my best servant was out scouting for challengers and dangers.
Eventually, we reached our destination and I saw the pride in the distance.
I announced my presence with a roar. It was not a particularly loud roar. I meant it as a calling and to announce my return.
"Follow me," I told Nala.
I continued releasing roars as we neared the pride. The members stood in greetings, their heads dipped when I got close.
No one spoke, for they were not spoken to. They did not look at me as their whole focus was on Nala. They looked her up and down with varying reactions.
I walked through the pride, the members making way for me as I took my place on an elevated mound.
I stood there, roaring a few more times while the pride arranged themselves in circles around me. Nala stood right beside me.
"Take a good look at the lioness beside me," I said in a loud voice to make sure everyone heard me, "Her name is Nala and she will be the newest member of our pride."
"Welcome her with warmth and treat her with respect," I said, and that immediately turned heads.
I ignored that for the moment and announced again.
"Last night, I came to a new decision. We shall not move towards the West like initially planned. We will slowly move towards the South until we leave the Serenegti altogether," I said.
Now the lionessess were gasping and not knowing what was going on. Their king disappeared one afternoon, came back the next morning with a new lioness, and made a drastic change in their life.
"If you have any questions, this is your time to ask," I said after I finished. I could've just made them follow my command without having to explain myself, but that would make me like Scar.
"Why are we moving South? Where are we going? There is nothing there but drylands." Eshe said.
She was one of the most respected hunters among the pride, so she spoke up for the rest of the members.
"I am the one who is going there. The rest of you are just following your king," I said.
"And I am going home to fulfil a promise,"
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