[1st POV]
(1 week later)
It has been a week since Zael left the pride, and a total of 4 weeks since we began our journey back home from the Pridelands to the Serengeti.
After all this time of walking and travelling, we were finally at the outskirts of the Serenegti, my second home and my first kingdom.
The first thing we noticed when we reached the Serenegti was the lush greenery and the plethora of animal life that filled the region. It was currently the peak of the wet season, meaning the Serenegti was close to a paradise on earth as one could get.
At this point, we did not even need the vultures to scout prey for us. Even now, if I smelled the scents in the air, I could pinpoint a dozen animals that were close to us. There was prey and resources like a pond wherever you looked.
It was early in the morning and the pride was once again resting during the day after walking the whole night. I reckoned we would not even need to do that anymore; we had completed the journey. Now it was just a matter of going to the Central Serneegti, where the land was the most green.
"So this is where you went after you left the Pridelands," Zuri asked while coming beside me. We watched for a momnet, the sun that had already rised above the horizon and was showering the land with golden hue.
"Yes. It reminded me of home so I decided to settle here," I said, "Although there were three lion kings who ruled the land at that time, I didn't let it stop me,"
"Its a good land," she said while looking around.
"Indeed, almost comparable to the Pridelands. But the Serenegti is not alwasy like this, it has different seasons. The paradise you see now can turn into hellish land during the dry season," I said.
She hummed in acknowledgement while I turned to look at her. Zuri was no longer skin and bones. She was starting to fatten up in the right places and not just that, she was building muscles where it was necessary.
With her current appearance, I reckoned it wouldn't be long until...
"But what about the kings?" she asked suddenly.
"What...?"
"The scent of males in the air. Although you claim the land to be yours, it no longer carries your scent," she said, "It smelled like other lions,"
I growled, "I will deal with that later,"
And when I sniff the air and took in the scent, I was confronted with the truth of her words. The Serenegti carried the scent of other lions. It was not a strong scent, but a lingering one. We were currently at the outskirts and smelling that was not a good sign at all.
"But I'm afraid I have more work infront of me than I would've liked," I said with a strained smile.
"Would it have been better if Zael did not leave the pride?" she asked, thinking that with his help my workload would be lesser.
"Zael was never apart of my rule in the Serenegti," I shook my head, "His presence would not make a difference,"
"I see," she said and then turned around. She flicked her tail ever so lighly at my nose when she turned.
"Then would I at least reccomend that the king come to rest? If you are in for battles, the best you can do is to rest now while you still have the chance," she invited me.
Well, how could I say no to such invitiation? I followed her back to where the pride was sleeing and lay down among them.
Usually I wouldn't rest so early but I knew I had a tall task ahead when we would go deeper into the Serengeti. It did not take a genius to figure out there would be lots of rouge lions I would need to fight off.
But alas, the only time I dedcided to take rest, I was distrubed almost immediately.
..
*ROAR*
..
A roar echoed softly in the distance. It was not loud at all since it was far away but it was also not quiet enough to ignore.
I sprang up from lying down and looked towards the source of that roar. A growl left my throat instinctively as that roar was as complete as it could get. It was a roar of dominance and territorial.
My first instinct was to roar back but I stopped myself halfway. I would only wake up the pride if I did so. Althought it hurts my pride, it was better to let the roar disappear in the wind for now.
I would bestow a fitting punishmeant and tear out his throat when I met him.
"Grim," I called out to my trusty vulture as he came to me immedaitely.
"Let the vultures roam the sky of the Serenegti once more and like usual, let them count their meals," I said, "Report everything back to me. I want to know the exact state my kingdom has been during my absence,"
"As you wish," he said.
And off he went, and all the vultures that I brought back from the Pridelands. Their number had increased as well since every other vulture we found on our way back also decided to follow us.
They covered the sky like a dark cloud and flew into the Serenegti.
..
..
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(3rd POV)
The Serenegti.
In the absence of its sole ruler Leo, the kingdom had undergone drastic changes. What was once a huge kingdom with a sole ruler had now been spilt into five different parts. These five parts were all occupied by an indivudial pride.
First was the Eastern Pride. A pride with a total number of 6 lions. The pride has 1 lion king and 5 different females.
Second was the Northern Pride. It only has 4 memebers currently with 2 lion kings and 2 females.
Third was the Southern Pride with a total of 8 memebers. 3 lion kings and 3 females and 2 cubs.
Fourth was the Western Pride with 5 mebers. 2 lion kings and 3 lionessess.
And lastly was the four Musketeers and their Pride. They occupied the biggest and most prosperous part of the Serenegti. They were not as active or dominanat as Leo but they could be said to be the sole ruler of the region. The reason why the other prides exist was only due to their laziness and incompetence.
Other than these five prides, the Sernegeti was also filled with rouge lions that were actively searching for opportunities.
...
"Damn," Dr Tonson cursed out loud as he was told all this infroamtion and not just that, there were many screens infront of him that were displaying the current state of the lions.
Along with Leo and his Pride, the researchers had also made it back to the Serenegti. But unlike the pride, they did not linger in the outskirts but decided to join the rest of the crew that were camping in the Serenegti.
The palce they were in was the biggest camp in the Serengeti, a control station of some sort. It had a dozen memeber inside and the other researchers who come and go could return here in case of emergencies and supply.
"I can see why you do not want him to return," Dr Tonson said, "Its not just the Four Musekteers, Leo is bound to make enemeis out of everyone if he decided to rule the Serengeti like he once did,"
"It wouldn't be pretty," he said while looking at the research chief in the Serneegti.
But while they were discussing, something happened on the screens that were showing live footage of the different prides across the land. A couple of researchers were all stationed near the prides to observe them.
The lions looked up at the sky in alarm. Their tails stood up, ears perking to the limit while they were deciding whether to run or hide. When the camera turned to the sky, the screen showed the vultures. Creatures that were thought to be compeltely extinct in the Serneegti had now returned in waves, and they were more than ever.
Some knew what their return signified, others don't. But everyone knew to be wary.
And it wasn't just the lions either. All the animals in the Serenegti knew what came with the vultures. A mega herd of Buffalo was immedaitley plunged ito chaos and panic when they saw the vultures fly above them.
That was not a good sign to all the creatures, espeifcally those smaller than a buffalo.
In just a few minutes, the screens were no longer showing lions. The cameraman all decided to take a footage of the sky where a wave of vultures flew past them.
"Already?" Dr Tonson asked himself.
As someone who had been following Leo from day one, he knew what that meant. Leo was letting the vultures scount and he would be on the mvoe soon.
It would seem whatever kingdom or rule that had established in his absence would crumble faster than they appear.
..
..
..
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