The early morning sun reflected in Akase’s eyes.  Ahadi looked into their beautiful fire and whispered “penda.”  She smiled and nuzzled him, then kissed her two sons as if the four of them were alone in a private kingdom of love.

                But they were far from alone.  Next to them sat Shaka and Avina with their young daughters Sarabi and Elanna to welcome in the dawn.  And spread out across the plain in their tribes were all the works of Aiheu in their splendor—the solemn elephants, the tall giraffes, the lithe zebras, all standing side by side, rank on rank, row on row. 

Through the gathered hosts walked Rafiki.  Those near him drew back and cleared the way.  He blessed them with signs of Aiheu’s love, touching the very young with outstretched fingers, and also the very old with his palms.

                Rafiki forded the boulders that protected the base of Pride Rock.  Up, up the winding trail he climbed until he reached the promontory of stone where destiny awaited, and as the world held its breath, he approached the two princes. 

                “So we have come full circle,” the mandrill intoned, stepping forward and burying his arms in Ahadi’s mane to enjoy a moment of closeness.  He smiled as a strong but gentle paw patted his back.  “I remember how your father worried that I would drop you.  Instead of a tragedy he saw a miracle.”  Rafiki thoughtfully stroked his chin whiskers.  “Perhaps today we will see it again.  Have you made your decision?”

                Ahadi lay his paw on small Mufasa and nodded gravely.

                “I touch your mane,” Rafiki said with deep respect.  “Incosi aka Incosi.”  He sprinkled Mufasa with dust and powdered Alba and anointed his brow with Chrisum.  Then he picked up the small golden treasure, took two steps to the end of the promontory and held him up.

For a brief moment nothing happened.  Then the clouds parted and a shaft of light broke through, lighting the cub like a kiss of joy.  Rafiki trembled, holding the cub into the light.  “Aiheupenda,” he said, tears filling his old eyes and running down his cheeks.  “Don’t forget your old friend—or your new one.”

Through the shouts from the clamoring crowd a voice of sweetness whispered through the light.  “I will not forget you.”

                Some thought they heard the thunder roll.  Others said it was a mighty wind.  But all the crowd bowed in respect and awe felt the presence of God, and they fell to the ground bowing, scraping and calling in their own tongues the words of worship each according to their own belief.  But Rafiki did not hear them.  Taking the tender baby to his arms, he kissed him.  “May the wind blow kindly on you.  May the sun shine brightly on you.  May the gods take you to their heart.”

                Reluctantly, he lay the cub down by Akase.  Small Taka looked up expectantly, his eyes full of innocent curiosity.  With a smile, but some regret, Rafiki cuddled the cub under the chin and felt the hum of his happy purr.  “This will be the wise one,” Rafiki whispered.  “He would have made a great king.”  As he stroked the cub he looked up thoughtfully.  “While I am here, let’s see if Elanna or Sarabi will rule.  A wand of wood is first to bow before the queen.”

                Ahadi shrugged.  “Time will tell.  Love will find a way.”

                Rafiki looked up.  “And what riddle is this?”

                “It’s not a riddle.  I want my son to choose when he comes of age.”

                Rafiki shook his head.  “Sire, that’s very dangerous.  You are inviting trouble.” 

                “But if love will go where it will, why should we try to interfere?  Can’t the gods work their own magic?  All we do is make life more complex.  I don’t like it—I’ve seen what it can do.”

                Rafiki looked at him long and hard.  “Didn’t your mom and dad love each other?”

                “Well—yes.”

                “I see.  Then what are you telling me?”

                Ahadi looked down, embarrassed.  He would tell no one about Moshana’s private grief.  “I’m telling you that the gods can do what they do and I won’t oppose it.  But there shall be no betrothal.  I’d rather not say why.”

                Rafiki relented, smiled and hugged his neck.  “You are a hopeless romantic.”

                “Let us then pray for love.”

                Rafiki took his rattle and shook it.  Looked up into the sky.  “Little prince, in love you were conceived and love shall be your guide.”

 

 

 

                Ahadi loved to play with his young sons, but he also took time to see to their education.  Some lessons were fun, like stalking and pouncing.  Others were less fun, but equally important.

                Mufasa was always good at stalking and pouncing, and he held his own wrestling with his brother Taka whom he almost always beat.  But Taka could listen to hours of the Chronicles of the Kings and the Law of the Pride while Mufasa would start to squirm and follow the distant herds with his eyes.

                Ahadi found Taka a thirsty sponge, and flattered by the rapt attention he got, he drew on all the learning of a lifetime and told him many wonderful and strange things on the inspiring setting of the promontory.

                “The words of wisdom are sometimes hardest to hear,” Ahadi said.  “N’ga and Sufa, the sons of Ramalah ignored their father’s teachings, and it would bring them to grief.  For a father teaches out of love, and to reject his teachings is to refuse his love.  It’s the same with us, my sons.  I would not have you come to grief....”  Ahadi paused, glanced at Mufasa who was wrapped up in his own daydream, winked at Taka, and kept right on going in the same voice.  “And it was in this time that a certain lion cub watched the plains for wildebeests, dreaming of the day when he would have no more lessons to learn.  And doing so, he stuffed his head with dead grass instead of knowledge.”  He added with some emphasis: “Isn’t that so, Mufasa??”

                “Yes, father.”

                Taka laughed and rolled about, singing,  “Dead grass, dead grass, nyah-nyah-na-nyah-nyah!”

                “What’s so funny??”  Mufasa looked at Taka with irritation, but his father scowled, and he looked down embarrassed.

                “Taka, what were we talking about?” Ahadi knew he could rely on him.

                “There were these two brothers N’ga and Sufa.  They were very famous.  One day N’ga got into this fight with Sufa over this girl.  Not just any girl, because she was white as clouds and magic, see, and if one of them married her, their kingdom would be great.  But she was one swell number, and they both wanted her to marry them.  So they went down by this lake (and this is the really neat part)--they fought all day and all night without stopping.  And they fought the second day.”

                He began walking around Mufasa as he talked.  “They fought all the third day.  They didn’t sleep either.  They fought for five whole days and nights, cause she was such a babe, and they were so stubborn that neither one would give in.  And on the fifth day, they both fell asleep at the same time.  And while they were asleep, the girl sneaked out and married a magic lion with powers like hers, and boy did N’ga and Sufa feel like a couple of idiots!”

                “Good job!”  Ahadi nuzzled Taka.  “And such a unique interpretation.”

                Mufasa looked dejected.

                “Come here, Muffy.”  Ahadi pulled Mufasa over with his paw and nuzzled him.  “I wish you could play all the time if that’s what you really want.  But you need to learn the skills of leadership.  Besides, while I learned these lessons from my father it was a special time for us to spend together.  Enjoy this time while it lasts, and make the most of it.”

                “I try.  Really I do.”

                “I know.  But remember that I don’t love you for how smart you are or how strong you are.  I love you because you’re my sons.  Whatever gifts Aiheu gives you, you need to make the most of them, and that takes education.  Understand?”

                “Yes, Dad.”

                Ahadi smiled indulgently.  “Why don’t you two go play for a while.”

                The cubs gamboled away, but Ahadi shouted, “Whoa!  Aren’t you forgetting something?”

                Muffy and Taka ran back and gave their dad a quick kiss.

 

 

CHAPTER 3:  TAKA’S “LITTLE PROBLEM”

 

                Taka was wrestling with Mufasa, a game he always enjoyed though he rarely won.  He was making one of his better efforts, knocking one of Muffy’s back legs from under him and nearly throwing the larger cub.  “You’re going down!” he cried.

“No I’m not!”

Mufasa redoubled his efforts, but Taka was full of confidence and in rare form.  The smaller cub strained hard, keeping his focus and working on shoving the other back leg askew.

Suddenly, with victory so close, Taka stopped and stepped back one pace.  Mufasa took advantage of the moment to seize victory, shoving him to the ground and sitting on him.  “Gotcha!”

“Let me up!” Taka said.

“Not till you say ‘Uncle!’  Besides, I hate to say it but you let me win.”

                “Let me up!” Taka said excitedly.  “It’s happening again!  The noise!”

                Akase who was nearby padded over quickly and shoved Mufasa aside.  “Run along, Honey Tree.  I’ll handle this.”

“Oh Mom,” Mufasa said, hanging his head.  “I didn’t bite him.  Really I didn’t.”

“I know,” Akase said quickly.  “Taka, Honey Tree, do you hear that buzzing in your ears again?”

                “Yes, Momma!  Please, make it stop!”

                Though Taka was a bit too large, Akase still seized him by the back of the neck as if he were a newborn and carried him into the cave.  Mufasa did not understand, but knew he was not to follow them or he would get a cuffing.

                Ahadi understood all too well what was happening.  He left his seat on the end of the promontory and ran to the mouth of the cave where Mufasa sat trying to hear something—anything—to explain the mystery.

                “Taka is feeling a little sick,” Ahadi said gently, shooing his son away.

                “Will he be okay?”

                “In a few minutes.  He always is.”

                “What’s wrong with him?”

                “I don’t know.  I wish I did.”

 

***

 

                Taka, who was already a spindly little cub, looked all the more frail as he stood with trembling legs on the bed of grass.  His mother had prepared him a safe haven in the back of the cave, and its purpose would become all too clear.

                “Mom?” the cub asked in a weak voice.

                “I’m here, Honey Tree.  It’s going to be all right.”

                “I feel so…I feel…”

                “What, my son?”

                “Purple,” he stammered.  “Lots of them and they are…”

                Taka’s mouth opened in a silent snarl, then he collapsed on his side.  His legs stood out at full length and his back stiffened.  Then the slight tremor in his limbs turned to an all out thrashing.  His body convulsed and contorted with a wild-eyed expression on his face that could be rage or fear.  Through his explosive breaths, a slight whimper came. 

Akase watched helplessly, tears running down her cheeks, trying to touch him with a paw but afraid to do so.  “My baby!  My poor baby!  Come back to me!  Aiheu heal your precious little body!”

The lioness agonized over the suffering of her son.  She never really knew if the bouts were painful for Taka could never remember anything when he awoke.  He only knew he felt tired.  Indeed, he had strained against the chains of earth with the strength of a mad beast.  Without the protection of the straw, he would probably get hurt.

                Akase did not have the heart to tell him of his problem.  She thought it better he never know.  But she knew, as did her mate, that Taka could never be the next king.  Whether it was more merciful to tell him or not, she didn’t know.

 

 

 

                The next morning, Ahadi rose earlier than was his custom.  Stealthily, he crept over to where his twin sons lay side by side, and with the most careful nudge touched Mufasa.  The cub shifted but did not rouse.  He pressed again, a little harder, and stirred Mufasa from his sleep.  Muffy looked up a little surprised and irritated, but Ahadi touched his mouth with his paw and silently jerked his head about.  His interest piqued, Muffy struggled to his feet quietly and began to follow his father out of the cave.

                Taka, who was a light sleeper, felt a cold place on his back where it was warm before.  He grunted and pushed himself back toward a brother that was not there.  Sleepily he felt around with a paw, then looked about and just caught a glimpse that he was missing something important.

                On stealthy paws, he stirred himself and crept out onto the platform that served as his spectacular front porch.  There in the light of the early morning sun sat father and son.  Mufasa leaned against his father, gold rimmed in the splendor of daybreak.

                “Why wasn’t I invited?” Taka wondered.  He wanted to bury himself in the fragrant softness of his father’s mane and enjoy the sunrise.  For a moment, he considered snuggling up on the other side.  Then Muffy said, “What’s up, Dad?”

                “Shhh!  You’ll wake Taka.”

                Taka enjoyed secrets, so he crouched in the doorway where he could see and not be seen.

                “See what the light touches,” Ahadi purred softly.  “That is the boundary of my kingdom.  I sit here sometimes and look at it and it humbles me.  So many peoples depend on me, and I must put their needs above my own.  But it has been wonderful.  It is always wonderful to be needed, especially when you always do your best to meet those needs.  Someday you will know that feeling when I am gone, for I have chosen you to follow me.”

                “Me?”  Muffy looked genuinely surprised.  “Whoa, neat!”

                Taka gasped.  “No!  It’s not fair!” formed on his lips, but no sound came out.

                Muffy said, with some difficulty, “But Taka has always been the smart one.  I thought sure he’d be King.  He knows everything.”

                “Not everything, son, though he is very bright.  You’re bright too, though you need to apply yourself more in your studies.  I brought you out here in the hope that you would work harder if you knew what was at stake.  What you are learning is the wisdom of our people.  You are the future king.  As long as you know how to be a good king, you will have lionesses who can chase wildebeests.”  Ahadi sighed deeply.  “The decision was not easy.  Don’t tell Taka just yet.  Right now, it’s our little secret.”

                “Why is it a secret, Dad?”

                “Because as you say, Taka is smart.  He tries so hard.  If he knew he would not be King, he may be discouraged and waste the talents that Aiheu gave him.  Much as you were tempted to do.”  He looked deeply but not judgmentally into Mufasa’s eyes.  “You know I speak the truth, don’t you.  You are very clever when you want to be.”  He sighed deeply.  “This should have been a happy occasion.  Instead it breaks my heart.  I wish I had a kingdom to give each of you, but I don’t.”

                “Why can’t we cut it in half.  He can take that half, and I’ll take this?”

                “That’s very kind of you, Muffy, but it won’t work.  Hunting would be poor in a smaller kingdom.  Accept fate--the whole kingdom belongs to both of you, but you will be King, and he will not.  That’s why I taught you the story of N’ga and Sufa.  If you always fight and can never agree, the prize will often go to another.  If you love Taka, and I know you do, you will say nothing for now.  I want to tell him in my own way when the time is right.  I will be gentle.”

                “I see.”  Mufasa said thoughtfully, “I want to be King someday, but I sure feel bad about Taka.  I won’t tell till you say it’s OK.”

                Ahadi smiled.  “Maybe you have to work harder on your lessons, but you have a good heart.  That was my greatest hope, to leave this world without worries or regrets.  When I think of you as King after me, I feel no worries or regrets.”

                For a moment, Taka was very angry, but his anger soon changed to hurt.  Head bowed and ears flattened, he sneaked back to the warmth and comfort of his mother.

 

 

 

                “Minshasa, cloud white, borne upon the breast of the savanna like a dream of love.  Who that bears the mane shall look upon her visage and remain unsmitten?  Minshasa, the voice of tender longings.  Minshasa, beloved of the gods.  Beware, my sons, her awful charms!”

 

                     -- RAMALLAH, FROM LEONID SAGA, “D” SECTION, VARIATION 1

 

                Akase was worried about Taka.  She had a mother's sensitivity to how her own cubs felt, and she knew Taka was not feeling well.  He moped about, and at times he would not meet her eyes.  At other times he would pace restlessly and stare into her eyes as if he were trying to see something deep inside.

                Even Ahadi could tell something was amiss.  He nudged the small cub playfully with his nose.  “Something got you down, Taka?”

                “No sir.”

                “You can tell your Dad.  I know--how about a nice story?  You know, one of the Great Kings of the Past.  Have I ever told you about Moko Greatmane?”

                “Yes sir.”  Taka sighed deeply.  Ahadi started to say something, but Akase silently shook her head and mouthed, “No.”

                Ahadi gave his son a warm lion kiss on the cheek.  “I love you, son.  You know there is nothing you can’t tell me when you’re good and ready.”

                Taka looked up pitifully.  “Do you, Dad?  Do you still love me?”

                Ahadi bit his lip.  “Oh gods.  Don’t you know?”  Deeply affected, he stared at the cub for a while, then wandered off a few steps to sit facing the distant mountains.

                Akase was a little sharp.  “What on earth made you say that?  Of course he loves you.  Look how you hurt him!”  She softened her tone.  “Honey tree, what ever made you think he didn’t love you?”

                “Well I....”  Taka could tell her the truth, but she would know he had spied on his father.  He struggled with the burden for a moment, then said, “I was just asking, that’s all.  I’m sorry.”

                Quietly, Taka went over a secret list of every foolish thing he’d ever done, wondering which one condemned him to be second place for life.  Was it the time he sneaked away without telling Mom?  Was it the time he pulled that practical joke on Uzuri and she got so upset with him?  Maybe Uzuri told Dad, even though he’d begged her not to?  Should he have the nerve to ask?  No.  Of course not.  He was not even supposed to know anything about it.  Besides, after his Dad told Muffy his decision, it would be too late to change anything.

                It was nearly noon, time for Taka's nap, but Mufasa gamboled up like a box of rubber balls, so full of cubhood enthusiasm that he was about to burst.  His mood was contagious.  "Taka, you just gotta see this!"

                "Gotta see what?"

                "What is it, son?" Akase purred.  "Another hedgehog?  A meerkat perhaps?"

                "Well, it's--"  His tail twitched.  "Yeah, a meerkat."

                "What's so great about a meerkat?  We see them all the time," Taka said, sulking.  "It's almost noon.  It's hot enough to melt your brain, if you had one."

                "But this meerkat is DIFFERENT," Mufasa said with a sly wink.  Taka saw the way Mufasa's tail twitched, something that always happened when he told a lie.  He half-smiled with a toothy, wry grin.

                "Different, eh?”  Taka was shaken out of his self-pity.  “Well, I guess so.  Is it okay, Mom?"

                "If you're back soon.  You’ve been kind of under the weather today."

                Almost before she could finish her sentence, Mufasa and Taka bounded off like a shot, startling a flock of noisy guinea fowl into a conniption.  They headed through the deep grass of the plain, stopping once in a while to stand up above the grass like furry jack-in-the-boxes.

                Deep in grass though they were, young Sarabi saw them fording the broomsedge and knew there must be something up worth seeing.  She hurried across the rocks and plunged into the green waves.  Before long, she joined them, panting.

                "So what's up?" Sarabi asked.

                "Oh, nothing," Mufasa said.  "We were practicing--stalking."  His tail twitched.

                "Every time you're up nothing," Sarabi said, "You're up to something."

                "We are going to look at--a meerkat," Taka volunteered.

                "A meerkat?" Sarabi asked, a little unconvinced.  She saw his nose twitch, a sure sign that he was lying.

                "Well, this one is different," Taka said.

                "Then I want to see, too," Sarabi said.

                "Good work, lame brain," Mufasa half-snarled.  He cuffed Taka soundly on the cheek.  Taka growled and cuffed him back.  These were done with the claws in, like the well-bred lions they were, but they started wrestling full-tilt.

                Muffy was stronger, and he fought cleanly.  Taka was a determined opponent, and before long he started snapping at ears and tails.  As the fight threatened to turn really ugly, Sarabi started running little circles around them, distressed.

                "Stop it!  Stop it right now!"  Sarabi was highly indignant.  "We'll never see that stupid old meerkat at this rate--if there ever was one."

                She had no effect.  The snarls began to sound more serious.  Taka was losing, as he usually did, but he wasn't giving up.  "Say Uncle!"

                "Not till you--ow!--stop calling me names!  Just cause you're bigger than I am doesn't make you smarter!"

                Sarabi shouted, "I'll tell your mother if you don't stop!  You're both lame brains sometimes."

                "We're just funning," Mufasa said, on top.

                "Yeah.  We didn't mean anything," Taka said, wiggling out from beneath, and giving Mufasa one last hard swat with his claws out.

                Sarabi looked Taka over, and seeing a small spot of blood on his right ear felt very motherly, began to clean it with her tongue. 

                Taka could always count on her sympathy, but he wanted to look more grown at the moment.  "Doesn't hurt."

                "You're bleeding."

                "Oh, it's nothing.  Really."

                "Yeah, really," Mufasa said, cleaning a nasty cut on the back of his paw by himself.  "Well, if you insist on coming, there's this honey badger near the forest.  He's white--whiter than clouds.  He must be one of the nisei!  If we catch him, he’ll have to give us what we wish for!"

                “Neat!” Taka said.  “I’ve never seen a real nisei before!  So what are you going to wish for, Muffy?”

                Mufasa smiled an embarrassed smile.  “That’s why I wanted you to come.  I want you to sit with me when I join the great kings of the past.  Dad wants me to be King when he dies.”

                “I heard him.  I was hiding behind a rock when he told you.”

                “You shouldn’t spy on people,” Mufasa said sternly, but he added, “Maybe you won’t be a king in this life, but if you get your wish, you’ll be a king when you die.”

                “Really?”  Taka was in transports.  “You’d do that for me?  What a neat idea!”  He nuzzled Mufasa.  “You’re the best!  And you said wanted to give me half of the Pride Lands.  I heard you.”

                “Yeah.  But it’s not going to happen, so don’t tell anyone I said that.”

                “I won’t.  It doesn’t matter now, but it was really neat.  You’re the best, Muffy!”  He laughed and took a swat at his brother.  The two of them got into a wrestling match, giggling and squirming.  Both of them did their utmost, but as usual Mufasa quickly won, pinning Taka.

                Mufasa had to smile a little inside.  He was glad he didn’t wish for something selfish.  Still holding Taka down, he said, “Look, when Dad tells you I’m the new King, you act surprised.  You’d better.  You know he’d cuff you good for spying on us.”

                "I want to be where Taka is," Sarabi said.  "Either I get to sit with Taka, or I'm telling on both of you!"

                “That’s going to be my wish,” Taka said.  He squirmed out from under Mufasa, went and nuzzled her.  “Now what are you going to wish for?”

                Sarabi gave Taka a quick tongue touch on the cheek.  “You’ll find out.”

                With this settled, the three cubs headed toward the burrow at the edge of the acacia grove.

 

 

 

                The entrance to the burrow was a forbidding black hole.  Mufasa started to enter it, but the opening was barely large enough for a regular cub to squeeze in properly, not really enough to maneuver in.  "Oh great.  I'm too big.  I guess we're going to have to call the badger out here."  He poked his muzzle in deeply.  "Hello in there!"

                There was no reply.

                Mufasa's ears went back and he got a determined look in his eyes.  “Come out, badger.  I can hear you breathing in there, so I know you’re in there.”

                They waited several moments.  Nothing happened.

                “Let’s go,” Sarabi said.  “Looks like he’s a no-show.”

                “Wait.  I think he’s holding out on us.”  He yelled down the hole, “I'm Prince Mufasa—I’m going to be King someday and THEN you'll be sorry!  If you want to get free, you’ll have to bless me and my friends!"

                They could indeed hear the sound of muffled breathing coming from the depths of the tunnel.  Carried by the walls of the burrow, it sounded loud like the sound of the sea in a shell, and it was quick, almost urgent and upset.  They didn't know if he was afraid or angry.

                "Maybe he's deaf, Your Majesty," Taka said with a laugh.  "You pulled me all the way over here for a hole in the ground?  I bet it's a rabbit.  A scared little rabbit!  And YOU called ME a lame brain!"

                "But there was a white badger here, honest!"  Mufasa looked at Taka, then at Sarabi.  "You do believe me, don't you?  I mean, does this smell like a rabbit to you??"

                Taka sniffed carefully of the opening.  He'd never smelled a honey badger before, but he knew it was not a rabbit.  It was strange and pungent, and full of possibilities.  "I've come this far," Taka said.  "If I'm going to get my wish, I guess I have to go in there."

                "You'll never do it," Mufasa said, looking at the dark hole with a barely repressed shudder.  "He sounds really angry.  Besides, it's dark in there, and you're afraid of the dark."

                "Says who?"

                "Says me, that's who!"

                Taka was deeply stung.  He looked over at Sarabi’s expression and his stomach knotted.  He looked at the hole and knew what he must do.

                Sarabi could see the fear and cuddled up next to Taka.  "Don't do it if you don't want to.  I sure wouldn't."

                "That's cause you're a girl," Taka said, but he looked at her kindly.  Then he faced the dark hole.  "I'm not afraid of the dark.  I'm not afraid of the badger.  I'm a lion, and lions aren't afraid...”  He looked over at Muffy.  “...no matter WHAT their brothers think."

                With stooped shoulders and head held low, Taka angled down the steep passageway.  As he reluctantly headed down the dark shaft, inch by inch, he kept talking.  "We're not going to hurt you.  We just want you to give us a wish, see?  There are three of us, so that’s three wishes."  The sound of breathing from the depths grew faster, as did Taka's.  “Three wishes ought to be real easy for someone like you.  I mean, what’s three wishes for a real Nisei?”  Silence.  “Please say something.  Anything.”

                "Hey Taka," Mufasa said, "You don't have to do it.”  He stuck his head in the hole and said, “I'm sorry I called you a dim wit."

                "It was lame brain," Sarabi said.

                "Whatever." Mufasa snapped.  Then his face fell.  "Hey Taka, come back.  I was only funning about you being afraid of the dark."  He grew impatient.  "Taka, I SAID I WAS SORRY, all right??  Now come out of there or I'll tell mother!"

                “Don’t block up the hole,” Sarabi said.  She listened carefully at the entrance.  “What’s he doing down there?”

                “How should I know?  Hush.”

                They heard Taka's voice from the depths of the tunnel.  It was distant, thin and stammering.  "We don't want to hurt you.  You see, my brother Mufasa is going to be King when he grows up, but I’m just his brother.  He had this idea that if I could sit with....”

                There was a low rumbling from the depths.  It sounded like a growl.

                “Please help me.  I’m scared.  It's so dark in here."  It was Taka.  Mufasa and Sarabi did not know if he was talking to the badger or to them.  Mufasa tried to push his way down the hole.

                It was a tight fit, and he realized he wouldn’t be much help.  He started digging.

                “Don’t!”  Sarabi pulled him back.  “It will cave in!”

                “But he’s in trouble.”

                “If he gets buried, he’ll really be in trouble.”  She looked in the opening.  “Taka, are you OK?”

                “Is that you, Sassie?”

                “Please come out.  If you love me, come out.”

                “In a minute.”

                “Not in a minute!  Right now!”

                The sounds of breathing quickened again.  There were some sounds of movement.  Then silence.  After a moment, Mufasa looked at Sarabi.  "I didn't think he'd do it.  Either he's very brave or very stupid."

                "He's not stupid," Sarabi said firmly.  "If you hadn't called him stupid, he wouldn't be down there!  Just because he's smaller than you are doesn't mean he's stupid."  She called out more loudly.  “Please come out!  You’re scaring me!”

                Just then there was a loud, menacing growl and a cub's shriek of agony.  "I'm going!  Oh Gods!  Let me go!  Let me go, you’re hurting me!"  They could hear Taka trying to back out.

                Muffy started digging furiously.  “Taka!!”  Dust flew from his paws, and he managed to work his head in.  “Hold on: I can see your tail!  Come back a little more.  Give me half a length!”

                Mufasa grabbed at the tail and pulled with all his might.  Sarabi grabbed Muffy’s tail, and trying not to hurt him too much gave a yank.  Taka came stumbling out of the hole backward, his face covered in blood, and one of his eyes protruding from its socket.  The white badger came out after him, but saw the other two cubs raise the fur on their backs and snarl.  Thinking twice about its options, it reluctantly went back in its hole. 

                Taka laid on the ground shivering.  "Oh gods!  It hurts!  Somebody help me!  I want my momma!"

                Mufasa stared at the unseeing eye in a pool of blood.  It took a moment for him to tear himself away from the horror and move.  "I'll get Mom--no, I'd better get Rafiki."  He started off, then stopped.  "No, he'd have to come back here.  Can you walk, Taka?"

                Taka struggled off the ground and began to limp.  Blood dripped down his face and onto the grass.  "I'll try.  Is it very far?"

                "No.  Just follow me."

 

 

 

                “Three things there are which cannot be called back.  The spilled wine, the sped arrow, and the spoken word.”

 

                                     -- MENELAEUS OF NAXOS

 

                It was a long trek to Rafiki’s home in the baobab tree.  In the hot sun, the blood began to cake in Taka’s fur, and flies mercilessly swarmed around him.  His gait was unsteady, and try though he did, his bravery could only stretch so far.

                “You shouldn’t have gone down there,” Sarabi said.

                “I know that now,” Taka said.  “But nobody told me I was going to get mauled.”  He looked over at her, his terrible wound almost too much for her to bear.  “What would you have done?”

                “Well, we could have threatened him.  We could have said we’d fill in the hole and he’d be stuck there.”

                “He would have digged out,” Muffy said.

                “Dug out,” Taka corrected.

                “Whatever.  Anyhow, I would have peed down the hole.  That would teach him.”

                “A typical male reaction,” Sarabi said with a pout.  “You can be so crude.”

                Taka half smiled.  “I wish I’d thought of it.”  A spasm of pain quickly crumbled his smile and he gritted his teeth.  “How much further is it?”

                “Just a little more,” Mufasa said.

                “That’s what you said the last time.”  Taka began panting uncontrollably.  “It hurts.  Do you think he’ll have something for the pain?”

                “He has stuff for everything,” Sarabi said.  “Don’t worry, Taka.  Everything will be all right.”

                “How much further is it?”

                Sarabi got ahead of him and looked into his face.  His good eye did not seem to focus.  She realized he was following the sound of Muffy’s feet.  “You must keep going,” Sarabi said.  “Do it for me.”

                Loss of blood and the pain was sending Taka into shock, and he was getting weak in the limbs.  “Sassie, I don’t think I can make it.  If I die, don't forget me.  Promise you won't forget me.”

                "Don't say that!  You're not going to die!  You can make it.  You have to!"  She leaned into him.  “Taka, did you hear the one about the two wildebeests and the zebra?”

                “No.”

                “Well there was these two wildebeests, and one said to the other, ‘I bet I can get that zebra to laugh before you can.  So he went to the zebra and said, ‘Watch this!’  He stood on his head and stuck out his tongue.  But the zebra didn’t laugh.  So you know what the other wildebeest did?”

                “What wildebeest?  I don’t see any.”  He stumbled and lay still in the grass.

                “Get up, Taka!  Come on, you got to keep going!”

                She nudged his flank with her nose, prodded him with her paws, and even tugged on his ear.  “Get up!”

                “I can’t.”

                “You have to!”  She nipped his leg.

                “Ow!”  He looked directly at her.

                “Get up or I’ll nip you again.”

                Muffy put his snout under Taka and pushed.  With a little help from his brother, Taka stood again and began to stumble along.   “I can see it from here.  Oh thank God.”

 

***

 

Rafiki saw the blood spattered cub and gasped.  "Oh gods, Taka, what happened to you??"  He ran to his favorite cub and hugged him.  Then he held up his hand on one side of Taka's head, then the other.  "No sight on that side.  This is bad.  Very bad.  But perhaps I can fix it."

                Rafiki got some moistened Alba and squeezed it on the ground.  The dust became mud, and he took this mud carefully in his hand.  “These are badger marks.  If I couldn’t see it, I could sure smell it.”  He shook his head.  “What on earth possessed you to play with the badgers?  You know they are dangerous.”

                “It was a white badger,” Taka said.  “A nisei.  I wanted to get a wish.”

                “Oh I see.”  He frowned.  “You don’t know the difference between a spirit who smells like honey and a badger who smells like a badger?  So you wanted a wish, did you?”

                “It was my idea,” Mufasa said.  “When we died, I wanted my brother to sit by me with the great kings of the past.”

                Rafiki softened.  “Noble sentiment indeed.  But all living things are precious to Aiheu.  He gathers them all to himself and sits them where he will, not according to bravery or strength of body, but by the immortal Ka.”  He washed his hands in a basin.  “If your Ka is full of love and wisdom, it does not matter if you are smaller than your brother.”  He patted Taka.  “Courage, little one." 

                Taka gnashed his teeth.  His good eye closed tightly and his ears went back.

                Rafiki was gentle with the lion cub.  The cool mud surrounded Taka’s damaged eye, not hurting as badly as he thought it would.  Then with a press of his paw, the mandrill popped the still-intact eye back into its socket, then with infinite care he took water from a gourd dipper and washed away the mud a few grains at a time.  “Don’t squint.  It makes my job harder.”

                When all the blood was washed away, and the eye was clear, Rafiki got a twig of Dwe’dwe and broke it in half.  A single drop of resin came out, and he skillfully ran it the length of Taka’s cut, pressing the sides of the wound together carefully with his fingers.  He blew on it a few times to make sure the wound would stay closed.

                Asumini brought a gourd of water for Taka.  She added some herbs for building blood, relieving pain, and a small pinch of Tiko Root for good measure to prevent infection.  Finally she added some honey.  “It won’t taste good, but it will feel good.”

                Taka found the mixture bearable, but he was terribly thirsty after losing so much blood in the heat.  And it did feel good.

                It seemed like an eternity to Sarabi before Rafiki was finished.  She worked up the courage to ask, "Will that eye work again?"

                The question made Rafiki nervous.  He was afraid of the future, as afraid as any shaman.  But he kept his composure and went to work.  From a high fork of the tree he got his scrying bowl, added a bit of water to it from a skin bottle, and peered into the reflection of his face. 

A wind came out of the west and stirred the water.  It carried with it the odor of decay.  The ripples died down, and he gasped.  "Wait, something appears.  It tells me...."

                "What?" Sarabi asked impatiently.

                Rafiki stared into the water as one possessed.  “This is not good.”

A sudden gust of wind swept through the small group, sending the bowl and water careening over.  The stench of death was almost unbearable, and Taka looked about into the strange wind.  Then he let out a shrill squeel of fear, staring at a shadow in the grass.  A shadow without an owner.

Rafiki spotted it too and gathered the three cubs protectively against his sides.  The shadow approached and they heard the crunching of pawsteps in the grass, though they saw no blades bend.

“You stay away from them!” Rafiki shouted, clutching the cubs more tightly.  “Come no closer!  In the name of Mungo!  In the name of Pishtim!  In the name if Aiheu himself!”

The shadow stopped short but made no sign of retreating.  “The little monkey wants to know the future,” a deep, cold voice spoke.  “Listen well, Taka, son of Ahadi.  The road is long and hard for you.  Those who smile to your face bare their teeth as you leave.  Friends come from unlikely places, then abandon you in your hour of need.  He who is first to touch you shall beget your doom, and she who gives you love shall let it turn to hate.  Anger is your only salvation.  Arm yourself with cruel hate.  Take what is yours, for it shall not be freely given.”

                Taka tried to hide behind Rafiki, crouching low and trembling.  “No!  It’s not so!  Rafiki, tell me it’s not so!”

                “Don’t listen to it!”  Asumini shouted.  “It’s a makei!  Don’t listen to it!  Don’t listen to it!”

                “You shall know soon enough,” the voice said mockingly.  “Are you as tasty as you are beautiful?  If I were a crocodile, I would find out.  Perhaps I will be there to watch when it happens.”

                Asumini felt beside her on the ground, never once taking her eyes off the shadow.  As she looked harder, she thought she could see two glowing eyes.  With urgency she groped for a small pouch before the look could transfix her and rob her of her will.  Her fingers closed around the pouch.

                “Eat this!!”

                She flung the pouch.  It appeared to strike something.

                “Damn you, witch!” the dread voice cried.  “It will not be a quick death!  It will be slow and painful!”

                “Leave us!  Now!”

                “Slow and painful!”

                The shadow disappeared and the wind died to a hush.

 

***

 

                Mufasa was horrified.  "Is this really going to happen?  Can’t you stop it?"

                Rafiki was as weak as a newborn kitten.  He crawled over to the cringing Taka.   “Don’t be afraid, my son.  The dirty liar has crawled back into his lair—may he rot!”  He stroked the trembling child and wept.  “I love you!  Poor little Fru Fru!  You must love, always love, the way I love you!  Hate is the destroyer—part from it and save yourself.”

                Taka started to cry.  "Do they really hate me?"

                "No, Taka," Mufasa said firmly.  Then he looked a little embarrassed.  "We all love you, even if you do get in trouble all the time."

                "But what if it's right?" Sarabi asked.

                "It’s all lies," Mufasa said.  He went to his brother and draped his paw over Taka's shoulder.  "There--I'm the first one to touch you.  I'm your best friend, so you don't have to worry any more."

                "And I'm the one that loves you most," Sarabi said aloud, not caring who heard it for once.  "When we grow up, I'm going to marry you."  Without thinking, she touched Taka's face with her warm tongue.  The taste of blood reminded her of her mistake.  "Oh Taka, are you all right?"

                Taka stared at her, then tilted his head.  He smiled.  "I can see you!  I can see you with both eyes!"  He nuzzled her affectionately.  "You would never hurt me, would you, Sassie?"

                "Never!  Not in a million years."

                Taka gave her a weak lick.  "We will always be together, I promise.  You did mean it--about marrying me--didn't you?"

                "Yes, Taka.  That was going to be my wish."

                He smiled.  "I just know I'm going to catch it when I get home, but it was worth it.  Really.  Will you walk home with me?"

                "Of course I will," Sarabi said.

                "Dad won't spank you," Mufasa said.  "You don’t spank someone when they’re hurt.  You know, you REALLY should have come out when I told you to.  Maybe you’ll listen next time."

                “Yeah.”  He looked at Mufasa closely.  “Does it show?  Do you think Mom will notice?”

                Muffy looked at him carefully as if he were trying to make up his mind, but it was no contest.  “She’ll notice all right.  I think it’s going to leave a scar.”

                The three cubs bounded off as quickly as Taka could keep up.  Rafiki had crawled to the wall of the baobab where he rested his head and wept.  “Poor little child!  Don’t let them hurt him!  Please don’t let them hurt him!  I would give him the blood of mercy!  I would die for him!”

                “Darling, are you all right?”

                “Who cares, my love!  Is Taka all right??”

                “Do you think he is?”

                “Penda, I’m afraid the shadow is no liar.  Evil, yes, but no liar.”

                “I know,” Asumini said.  "But sometimes it is in the telling that things come true.  You did not pray for guidance first--you left yourself unprotected.  Evil spirits just wait for chances like this.  They speak their piece, filling innocent little heads with foul thoughts to stir up trouble.  Sometimes silence is the wisest prophesy of all."

                Rafiki hung his head.  "I am so ashamed.  Can't I undo it?  Is there nothing I can do?"

                “There is always something you can do.  And I’m sure you’ll find it.”

                “And what about you?” Rafiki said.  “It threatened you.”

                “We all have to die someday.”  She put her arms around him and kissed him.  “It’s how you live that truly matters.”

 

 

 

                It is difficult, if not impossible, to hide a fight from parents with a hunter’s instincts and an excellent sense of smell.  Taka saw the pain in his mother’s eyes as he described the incident in the badger hole to her, and felt mixed sadness and gladness.  It was a strange kind of gladness that warms the heart when tears and sympathy spring from love.  She pulled him to her side and began to nuzzle him and kiss him.

                His father Ahadi left early without much to say.  Secretly, Taka had hoped he’d feel a little guilty for making Muffy his heir, and reconsider whom is the bravest of the two.  Instead, all Ahadi did was say, “I’ll be back.”

                Akase kept the wound clean with her tongue, but even so it began to be stiff and throb with each beat of his heart.  Taka began to moan as the pain made each movement painful.  He wanted to rest, but he could not sleep but the most fitful of naps.

                “How long is this going to hurt?”

                “I don’t know, son.”  Akase began to lick the wound again tenderly.  “I’ll see if Rafiki has something for the pain.”

                “I can’t stand it anymore,” Taka said.  “Please see what he has.  My whole face is burning.  I have a headache.”

                “I don’t know where Zazu went.  I’ll have to send your father as soon as he comes back.”

                “Where has dad gone?”

                “I don’t know, but I have my suspicions.  Try to rest again.”

                “I hope he comes back soon.  Real soon.”

                “So do I.”  He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.

                Sarabi came by.  “How is he?”

                “Resting.”

                “Is he hurting?”

                “Yes, the poor dear.  As soon as Ahadi comes back, I’ll send him for Rafiki.”

                “I’ll go,” Sarabi insisted.  She did not word it as a question, and without waiting for a reply, she headed for the distant baobab tree.

                Taka’s fragile sleep was fraught with dreams.  His legs jerked, and his mouth and ears twitched.  “It’s so dark in here,” he muttered.  “Let me go.  Let me go!”  Akase didn’t know whether or not to wake him.  But the decision was soon made by another.

                “Son, wake up!”

                Taka rolled over and opened his eyes.  He saw the large hazel eyes of his father looking down on him.  He was dusty.  A trace of blood was on his lips, and his nose had been scratched and was bleeding.  Taka started.

                Looking down beside him, he saw the white badger stained crimson with blood.

                “He won’t hurt you again.”

                “Dad, you’re bleeding.”

                “Am I?”  He half-smiled.  “I think he got a little desperate when I found his secret exit.  Is it my nose?”

                “Yes.”  Tears began to roll down Taka’s cheeks.  “I love you.”

                “I love you too.  You do believe me, don’t you?”

                Taka ran and buried himself in Ahadi’s mane, kissing his wounded nose and nuzzling him.  “I'll always believe you!  Anything you say!"  The cub cooed happily.  "Promise we’ll always be friends.  Promise?”

                “Better yet, I’ll swear it.”  He smiled broadly.  “You feeling better, champ?”

                “You bet!”

                “Now do you want that story?”

                “Sure!”

                Just then, Yolanda walked up.  She glanced at Taka’s face, and before she could catch herself, said, “Oh my God!  What happened to him??”

                Taka quickly hid his face in horror.

 

 

CHAPTER 9:  THE GAME

 

                Taka yawned, then sat up, blinking at the bright light streaming into the cave mouth.  He ambled over to the entrance, squinting.  The pain in his left eye still made him wince, but it was better than it was two nights ago. 

                Looking about, he spied Sarabi and Elanna having fun while Yolanda watched them comfortably from the shade of an acacia.  Little Zira came up behind Yolanda, making the supreme effort to leap over her, but collapsing in a heap on her back.

                Taka laughed.  “Look at the little frog!”

                Sarabi looked around.  “Hey, Taka!  Are you OK?  Wanna play tag?”

                Taka ambled over slowly and sat down.  He sighed deeply.  “I can’t.  Rafiki said I have to stay out of the dirt for a week till my eye gets better.”

                “Why?”

                He stuck his lower lip out in a pout, trying to imitate Rafiki.  “Keep da eye clean Master Taka or id’dll get een-FECK-ted.”

                “Now Taka,” Yolanda purred with a mild hint of reproof.  “Rafiki is only trying to help.  You should appreciate what he’s done, saving your eye, and giving you all those herbs for the pain.”

                “I know.  I’m just bored, Aunt Yolanda.  I can’t do nothing!”

                “You can’t do ANYTHING.”

                “Yeah.  That’s what I said.”  He scratched some dust up with his back paw and harrumphed.  “Stupid old badger!  Why did he have to scratch my eye anyway!  All I wanted was his stupid blessing!  I mean, he could have at least faked it or something!”

                “Getting angry doesn’t change what happened,” Yolanda said.  “Besides, he died for his crime.  You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”

                “You always take up for the ones that act bad,” Taka complained.

                “You’re right, you know.  Remember the cub that got in trouble by the watering hole?  I said I wouldn’t tell on him if he tried to act better.”

                Taka looked down, embarrassed.  She nuzzled him gently and he rubbed along her side.  “Yeah.  I guess it works both ways.”

                Elanna brightened.  “Hey!  We can play ‘King’s Command!’”

                Sarabi perked up.  “Yeah!  You don't have to get dirty to play that.”

                Taka looked at Yolanda.  “Can I?”

                “Sure, I think so.”  She nuzzled him gently.  “Go ahead.”

                “Yeah!”  The cubs gamboled off to the shade of some nearby bushes.  They lined up in a rough group.

                “Who’s gonna be the king?”  Elanna asked.

                “Let Taka do it!”  Sarabi said.

                “I’ve never done it before,” he said, looking down.  “I’m not sure I know how.”

                “That’s ‘cause Muffy always gets to do it,” Elanna said.  “But he had to go to see Rafiki this morning.  His stomach was hurting cause he ate too much last night.”

                Sarabi giggled.

                “That’s NOT funny, Sassie!”  Elanna elbowed her sister roughly.  “Cut it out!”

                “Okay, okay.  But it’s not the first time.  One of these days he’s going to explode!”

                “I’ll do it!”  Zira said.

                “You’re a girl,” Sarabi snorted.  “You can’t be king.  I still say Taka ought to do it!”  She smiled at him beguilingly.  “For me?”

                “Okay.  Uhh, lessee...”  He squinched his face in thought, then grinned.  “King commands you to raise your right forepaw.”

                The girls complied.  “That was easy,” Elanna said.

                A gleam appeared in Taka’s eyes.  “King commands you to put your paw down.”  They did that too.  He grinned, and continued.  “King commands you to wave your tails.”

                They did, Sarabi giving hers a little flick at the tip each time she waved it.

                “Stop waving your tails.”

                Sarabi and Elanna kept waving, but Zira dropped hers.

                “Gotcha!”

                “Aww, come on!”

                “The king didn’t command,” Taka smirked.  “You’re out, Zira.”

                “Phooey!”  She growled, scuffing sand angrily with a forepaw.  “I don't care!  Mufasa’s going to be the real king, anyway; he wouldn’t trick me like that!”

                “Come ON, Zira,” Elanna said sharply.  “Just wait till we’re done, then you can try again.”

                “I don't want to play anymore!”  Zira glared at Taka furiously.  “I don't want to play with YOU anyway, you creepy little one-eyed freak!”

                There was stunned silence as Taka’s chin began to tremble.  “I am NOT a one-eyed freak!” he stammered.  “You take that back!”

                “Freak, freak, Taka’s a freak!  He thinks he owns the world, but he’s just a snotty-nosed one-eyed cry baby!”

                “STOP IT!” Taka shouted, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.  “Just ‘cause I got cut doesn’t make me a freak!  At least I’m not a stuck-up prissy butt like you!”  He sprang up and ran, a wailing cry trailing out behind him as he fled across the rocks and vanished behind an outcropping. 

                Zira fell silent, looking down in shame.  Elanna looked stricken, but the anger left clear tracks on Sarabi’s face.  She got up and slowly walked over to Zira.  “You’re the little snotty-nosed freak!  You’re just lucky I’m a lady, or I’d rearrange your face!”

                “I didn’t mean to make him cry.  I just got mad.  You understand, don’t you?  I mean, he can be so--”

                Yolanda meandered over.  “What is going on, here?!”

                Sarabi growled, startling Yolanda.  “Zira made fun of Taka’s eye ‘cause she got out!  She called him a snotty-nosed one-eyed cry baby and a freak!”

                Now it was Zira’s turn to sniffle as the lioness glared at her.  “But I didn’t mean it!  I was just mad!”

                “You go inside, young lady.”  Yolanda said softly but firmly.  “I’ll talk with you later.”

                “Yes ma’am.”

                Yolanda stroked Sarabi with a paw.  “Calm down, honey tree.  Tell me where he went.”

                “That way, toward the cistern.”

                Yolanda padded quietly around the side of Pride Rock.  Pride life was communal, but lion cubs, like other children, need some places to be alone from time to time.  The cistern was an ideal location.

                Even before Yolanda could see him, she knew where he was.  She could hear Taka’s gentle sobs, and her heart sank.  He was sprawled on the edge of the spring, paws over his face.  “Honey tree,” she purred, drawing near and nuzzling him.

                “Go away!”  He sniffled loudly.  “Leave me alone!”

                “Come on, honey tree.  It’s Yolanda.”  She licked him with her warm, moist tongue.  “Shh, it’s all right.”

                “It will never be all right.”

                “It will take some time, my child.  But never say never.  Zira is very sorry she hurt your feelings.  She really wants to make up, and she will apologize.”

                “You should have seen her,” Taka said, shaking.  “She hates me!”

                “Nobody hates you.  Zira has a temper, but she also has a big heart.”

                “There you go again.”

                “Yes.  Taking up for those in the WRONG.  And honey tree, she was in the wrong.  Having that scar doesn’t make you a freak.”

                “Oh yeah?  I saw how you looked at me the other night.  You think I’m ugly.  You think I’m a freak, just like everybody else!”

                “Oh, hon!”  Yolanda’s eyes stung.  “I didn’t think you were ugly!  I think you’re beautiful!”  She began to groom him.  “When you love someone, really LOVE them, you get all knotted up inside every time they get hurt.  If I came back from the hunt limping--let’s say I had a broken leg--how would you feel?  Would you think I was ugly?  A freak?  Would you hate me?”

                “Oh no!  Never!”

                “Or would you maybe take in a deep breath and say something like, ‘Oh my gods, what happened to your leg?’”

                Taka looked at her in stunned silence.  He swallowed hard and tears--compassionate tears--welled up in his eyes.  “Do you really love me, Aunt Yolanda?”

                The lioness took him by the scruff of the neck and padded over to a corner.  She laid down, setting Taka beside her and grooming him.  “There are lots of people that will say they love you lots of times.  Then there are people who get off their haunches and show you.”  She filled his fur with the scent of lioness love.  “How does the eye feel, honey tree?”

                “It still hurts, but it’s getting better.”

                “Good.  Now come on, Your Majesty.  After your bath, let’s see if I’m still as good at ‘King Commands’ as I used to be.”  She grinned mischievously.  “I betcha you can’t get ME out.”

                Taka grinned back.  “Betcha I can!”

                She laughed warmly.  “You’re on!”

 

 

 

                Avina was always a free-spirited lioness.  She enjoyed hunting with her Pride sisters as much as any other lioness, but she also liked to try her skill at stalking prey alone like a leopard.  She was uncommonly good at it, as good in single hunting as Uzuri was at leading a group hunt.  So even though she married the King’s brother and should be setting a good example for the others, she continued to make solitary forays into the savanna.

                To keep from disrupting the night’s hunt, she would stalk by day.  Spoiling the evening stalk for the other lionesses would be unforgivable.  But hunting by day only increased the challenge, and she relished each kill she could win for the Pride as she showed it off proudly.  “I did it by myself, and in broad daylight,” she would boast.  The others did not mind as much as might be expected.  They enjoyed a good meal as much as she, and Avina always sang out cheerfully, “Dinnertime!”  It was her open invitation to whomever wanted to dine on the results of her labors.

                With Sarabi and Elanna in the care of their Aunt Akase, Avina went blithely into the tall grass, blending her golden body into the gilt colors of the savanna.  Sarabi would be fine playing with Taka, and Muffy would content himself with a few words from Elanna.  And few words there would be, for while many thought Muffy would end up marrying Elanna, there was no magic the way there was between Taka and Sarabi.

                Avina ghosted through the fields on quiet paws, seeing all and being seen by none.  Her pride in her own skills was evident, and well she had reason to be proud.

                A herd of Hartebeests did not even hear her approach, though they were rather uneasy, stopping from time to time in order to listen.  Hartebeests had a feeling about such things that makes them very hard to stalk.

                Ears down, tail down, and legs moving in perfect oneness with the rhythm of the earth mother, Avina kept her eyes on the herd and gradually, methodically closed the gap, stopping from time to time as a head looked up from grazing to glance about.

                Chuckling inside, Avina knew that she would have a sure kill.  There was a buck on the outside of the herd that she had picked out.  He was old, and chances are he would be slower than the rest.  She kept on concentrating, contemplating, and closing the gap until a rush was forced upon her.

                A Hartebeest looked up and saw her.  Without waiting for a reaction, Avina sprang out of hiding, sprinting with all the speed Aiheu gave her toward the old buck.

                Indeed, he was slower than the others.  The herd opened like a large blossom, but she ignored everything but her target.  It was a very private matter staged in the middle of a large herd.  Her strength flowed, her courage rose, and the buck was coming closer, closer, ever closer.

                The hartebeest changed direction, but so did she.  Avina cornered tightly and cleanly, and even managed to gain a little on her target.  “You are mine!”

                With all her might, Avina sprang as she had sprung many times before.  Up and forward she came, rising to loop her strong arm around his neck and pull him over.

                But she missed.  “Damn!”

                A strong hoof slammed her cheek.  In an instant, her great strength left her.  Tumbling out of control, she rolled to a stop.  There, stunned and breathless, she writhed in agony, clutching at her face, and letting quickly go when it burned like fire.  She tried to cry out, but her jaw hung open crookedly and all that came out was a dull, wordless shriek.  Anger and disappointment quickly gave way to terror at her predicament.  She desperately needed a friend.  Someone, anyone.  There was no one.  As she lay on the ground, she wondered if she might die there alone.

                “No,” she insisted, summoning all her strength to pull her wounded body from the bonds of gravity and stand once more.

                When she could struggle to her feet, she felt something drip from her chin.  Blood and saliva were dripping profusely from her battered face, out of the corner of her mouth.  She started to panic.

                Gasping, she fought to think clearly through the muddled haze.  “I have to get to Rafiki,” she thought.  Unsure where she was, she lost valuable time trying to focus on the distant horizon and find the baobab tree.  “Aiheu abamami—Lord, give me strength.”

                She began her long march in the hot sun.  Her useless jaw seared her with each step, and she fought to keep her eyes focused.

                Avina was staggering across the grassland, lamenting her crushed face and the death of her happiness.  It was a foolish accident, one that she never should have had, and since she was on a solo hunt there was no one to help her.  She had leaped for a hartebeest, and all was well until she felt almost like someone had grabbed her ankle and pulled.  The hartebeest struck her in the cheek, burying her under a mountain of pain.

                She tried once to feel with a paw to see what had happened.  The tip of a shattered jaw had stuck through the skin.  It was like a sharp dagger, covered with her lifeblood.  “Oh Gods,” she thought.  “My face!  My face--is gone!  It’s gone!”  She wondered what she looked like, and what she would do if the pain did not lessen.

                What would Shaka think when he saw her?  He would still love her, for he was a good and gentle lion, but her beauty was gone forever.  And most likely she would never hunt again.  What a foolish waste!  What a stupid thing to do!  And that is if she even lived to see him again.  All of her cleverness, all of her boasting and bragging was now a reproach to her.  “What a fool I was!” she thought.  “What an idiot among fools!”  Now she would be a charity case, an example that parents would hold up to their daughters when they acted recklessly.

                She staggered forward, trying to hold her head up.  It was not easy.  Her neck was strained, her panting dried out her throat, and her eye was running on the side where she had been kicked.  “Keep going, girl,” she thought.  “I can’t stop.  I have to find Rafiki.  Please, gods, let him be home!”

                The sun tormented her.  Flies were gathering in hosts to plague her, and she could not raise her paw to swat at them.  In fact, she could barely raise her paw to step forward.

                Her eyes began to go out of focus, and she could not compensate.  The world was growing darker, and the image of distant trees began to sway and shimmer.  “No, I can’t die!  I have two cubs!  I have to get home!  I have to get home!”

                Blood had covered her chest, running down her legs.  The smell of it entered the side of her nose she could still breathe through.  Surely it had traveled other places by now.

                There were footsteps in the grass around her.

                “Who is there?”  The words came out almost unrecognizable as speech so she painfully and slowly uttered.  “Who...is...there??”

                “Just us.”

                It was a hyena voice.  “Help me.  I’m the wife of the Prince Consort.”  The words burned like fire.  “If you...get me to Rafiki...my husband will...reward you.  Imagine...all you can eat!”

                “That’s what I’m imagining right now.”

                “No!  Don’t do this!  In the name of God!”

                “Nothing personal, dearie,” the voice said.  As if at a signal, a hunting party came out of the grass and attacked her.

 

 

 

                It was Shaka’s turn to do border patrol, a job he didn’t like thought he didn’t really hate it either.  It did take away time he could be spending with his family.  He would have been playing with Sarabi and Elanna, but instead he was defending the Pride Lands against enemies that rarely ever show up.

                Young Isha padded along beside him.  Her companionship kept him from going stir crazy on the long walk.  While Isha was not exactly royalty, she was his half sister and was a lot like her father.  Shaka as an older brother felt especially protective of her and was flattered that she would travel the boundary with him.

                He amused her by remembering the long passages of the Leonid Saga he had memorized as a youth from his father.  Shaka was good at reciting verse, and he was a living encyclopedia of lore and ceremonial prose.  He sang in his rather good voice one of his favorite songs.

 

“Moko Greatmane was a great cat,

And a great big cat was he,

He climbed up over the mountain pass

to see what he could see,

As the cat climbed up, all the rain climbed down

and the wind was blowing fast....”

 

 

                “Hello there!” shouted Zazu.  “Sorry to interrupt Your Highness, but there are hyenas on the eastern meadow!  They’ve killed something.”

                “Thanks,” Shaka said.  “I’ll get on it.”

                “Can I watch?” Isha said.

                “MAY I watch,” Shaka corrected.  “You MAY if you stay back.”

                He was looking for a little excitement anyhow.  Chuckling to himself about the impression he’d make on the hyenas, he loped across the savanna and plunged through the reeds.  “Let them hunt on the Pride Lands, eh?  Not as long as I’m on the job.”  His easy but massive lope made up the distance rather quickly.  Isha on her gangly legs kept up as best she could.

                At last they spotted them, eating quickly as if they knew it was a matter of urgency. 

                He roared at the hyenas.  They growled, but withdrew from the carcass and stood back a few yards.  “Stay here, Isha.”

                “What is it?”

                “The color!  My Gods, it’s a lioness!”  He sniffed the air and began to tremble.  “Oh no!  Please God!  Please no!  Please God!”

                He ran over, his heart in his mouth.  He didn’t know for sure until he got close enough to turn what remained of the face with his paw.  The final look of horror still hung on Avina’s shattered face.  He stumbled back a few steps and began to wretch, losing scraps of his last meal in the grass.  “Oh Aiheu, help me!”

                As soon as Isha found her voice, she began shrieking, nuzzling the fur on Avina’s one intact haunch.  “Vini!  Vini!  No!”

                For a moment, his grief and rage were competing like two jackals fighting over a rabbit.  For the vital moment, rage won out.  His eyes red with hate fixed on his target.  “The dirty bastards!  I’ll kill the dirty bastards!!”

                He took out after the hyenas at full tilt.  For a lion, his onslaught was something terrible to behold.  But he was built for power, not for speed, and was unable to catch up with the lighter-built hyenas the way a lioness might have.  Instead, he kept up with them.

                The scavengers flew across the savanna swiftly as evening swallows.  They put on one final spurt and with great relief crossed the border into the elephant graveyard where their grounds began. 

                They stopped for a moment to look back—a foolish mistake.  Shaka kept coming.  He ran over the invisible line that delineated his authority.  He half-ran, half-stumbled down the slope and into the dusty realm of the dead.  Finally, one of the hyenas stumbled over a pile of bones and headed to a terrifying stop.

                Shaka pounced, and in one horrifying arc covered the distance to the unfortunate hyena.  The scavenger found himself trapped under the awesome weight of Shaka’s front paws.  The lion leaned back or he would have crushed him at once.  He had other plans, and merely kept the captive gasping in a tight embrace of rage.

                Shaka was on top of him very quickly, bearing the hyena’s small body down with crushing weight.  “You killed my wife!  You ripped out my heart, and I will rip out yours!  I give you a moment to pray to your god.”

                Before he knew what was happening, Shaka was surrounded by hyenas on all sides.  They seemed to materialize from the dust and emerge from the skulls and caves.

                “Let him go!” said Amarakh, the ruling Roh’mach.  “You are trespassing on our lands.  You are holding one of my people.”

                “He’s a murderer!”  Shaka narrowed his eyes at her.  “He killed my wife in cold blood, and he was on my land!  She had two cubs, Amarakh.  Two cubs that won’t have a mother coming home tonight!  She was alive when they ripped her!  Alive!”

                “I will investigate it.  I know him.  He’s a trouble maker anyhow, and you can be sure I will punish him if he’s guilty.”

                “IF??”  Shaka looked down at the trapped hyena.  “I saw him over her body.  Zazu saw the kill.  You tell her.  TELL HER, VERMIN!”

                The trapped hyena squealed in fear.  “Somebody help me!”

                “You can’t extract a confession to a murder by death threats.”  Amarakh glared back.  “This is my land, and I give you my word we will investigate within the customs of our law.  But you must let him go.  Leave—now!”

                “I do not believe you.”

                “You are not in a position to negotiate,” Amarakh said.  “Leave at once.  I will see your brother the King tonight.  We will talk.”

                “You are right,” he said.  “You are absolutely right.  I am NOT in a position to negotiate.”  Shaka looked up at the sky.  “Aiheu abamami!” he cried in his deep grief.  Then he quickly dropped his head and bit with tremendous force, snapping the hyena’s neck and almost severing his head.  The body twitched spasmodically before collapsing with eyes staring sightlessly into space.  A deep gasp whispered through the assembled throng.  Then with bitter rage, the crowd closed in on Shaka.

                Isha watched the living wall of hyenas cover him.  She watched horrified as he flailed about for a moment, managing to inflict grievous wounds on a couple before falling.  The lion rose once again for a moment.  For just that moment Isha could see Shaka's bloodied face.  His glance met hers for a moment as he shrieked, “Run, Isha!  Run!”

                Tearing her eyes away from the carnage, she bolted toward home and safety. 

                One of the hyenas looked at Amarakh.  “Shouldn’t we kill her before she tells the others?”

                Amarakh cuffed him--hard.  “Will I have Roh’kash abandon us as murderers?  Do you not know the law, Skulk?”

                “I know the law,” he hissed.  “When a lion crushes your skull, you die.  How many more must die, Roh’mach?”

 

 

 

                Sarabi, Elanna, Mufasa and Taka were playing outside the cave.  Isha pushed past them and did not answer their greetings. 

                Ahadi was in the cave discussing something with another adult.  Isha came in wild-eyed, panting, at full-tilt, and tried to interrupt.  Of course she had interrupted before but this was different.  She was hysterical. 

                Ahadi looked about.  “Namabi, your daughter needs you.  Please see to her.”

                The lioness came and began to push Isha along with her nose.  “Come on, Honey Tree.  Tell me all about it.  Everything’s going to be all right.”

                Isha regained her tongue at the last moment and looked back at the king. 

                “SHAKA!” 

                Ahadi looks about.  “He’s not here, Honey Tree.”

                “HELP!  IT’S SHAKA!”

                “Isha, calm down and tell me what’s wrong.  Is Shaka in trouble?”

                “Oh, it was awful!  So awful!”

                The cubs tried to hear what was goin on, but couldn’t make out more than the name Avina.  “The girls” had no idea of what had happened to their mother.  Zazu was afraid.  He tried hard not to show it.

                There were some voices from the cave.  Urgent, upset voices.

                Suddenly the cubs scrambled as Ahadi came bursting from the cave.  “To me!  Pride Rock, to me!”

                The lionesses came from every direction at the urgent tone of his summons.  Ahadi looked down at the four cubs.  “Zazu, take them in the cave.”

                “Sire, what’s wrong?”

                “NOW, Zazu.”

                “Yes, Sire.  Isha, come along now.”

                “No.  She is leading the way.”

                The hornbill ushered the other cubs into the protection of the stone hallway and as soon as they were a safe distance away, Ahadi told the lionesses what they had guessed all along.  “We are at war.  The red of tomorrow’s dawn will be painted in blood!”

 

***

 

                The party of lions reached the boundaries of the elephant graveyard, still shaking from what they saw of Avina.  Waiting for them there was a large group of hyenas, and in front was Amarakh.

                The lions showed fangs, daring anyone to bother them. 

                “Come no further,” Amarakh said.  “This is the start of our lands and the end of yours.  You know the law.”

                “I know the law,” Ahadi said, stepping across the border and toward the chief.  “Do you know the law?  The law says my brother’s blood has bought me passage.”  Ahadi went to the spot where the turf was flattened and smeared with blood.  A few strands of mane clung to the grass.  The lionesses stepped across the line and came to his side.

                Amarakh scowled, but glanced from side to side to make sure she was protected.  “He took the law into his own teeth and killed one of ours on our own land without a trial.  We offered to hold an inquest, a fair trial by the law of our people.  But he turned us down and killed a male whose wife is pregnant.”

                “So you murdered him!”

                “We couldn’t wait for him to kill others!  He was too dangerous to place under arrest!”

                “No doubt he was dangerous after his wife was ripped alive!  We have seen the evidence.”

                “We had not, Sire.  We could not be sure, and we could not wait to be sure.”  Amarakh motioned for Fabana to be brought forward.  “Here is the dead male’s wife.” One of her eyes had been clawed out and healed with a brutal scar.  She cowered, whimpering before the mighty King.

                “If you would have revenge,” Amarakh said, “let all the people see that you fight honorably with her, one on one.  Let them see that you have given her the FAIR chance to defend the honor of her family.”

                The quaking hyena female stammered, “Have mercy!  I am with child!”

                Ahadi looked at her with some pity.  “Now you know what it feels like to lose someone you love.  The Roh’mach is courting death to toy with my sympathies like this, but she has won this round.  You will not be harmed.”

                But Ahadi looked sternly at Amarakh.  “Because your people have killed my brother, and because his wife was basely murdered, you are Corban on penalty of death.  No more shall you scavenge on the Pride Lands.  Not until the last of the group that killed Avina is dead.”

                “But my Lord, we will all starve!”

                “Perhaps a few hungry nights will motivate you to enforce your own laws, Amarakh.  Besides, this is not such a bad spot to scavenge.  You never know when an elephant might show up to die.”

                Yolanda cried, “I say kill ‘em all—NOW!”

                “Enough!” Ahadi said.  “How many more cubs must lose a mother before the sun sets?”  The lion then looked back at Amarakh.  “It is up to your Roh’kash if you survive.  You will get no help from me.”

                She held up her head and stared back.  “You mock me because you are powerful, and I am but a hyena.  But the gods know I must be fair to my people as you must be fair to yours!  Grief has blinded you, impaired your judgement and robbed you of your wisdom.”

                Ahadi said slowly and deliberately, “Weren’t you the blind one, Amarakh?  The guilty reeked of Avina’s blood.  Was it so hard to give up even one of them for ripping her alive?  Have you never been in love?”

                Amarakh looked down.  “Yes I have.”

                “And still you did not forgive my brother.  Be glad I do not make you tell his daughters what happened.  That punishment is mine for I let her hunt alone.  I will have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

                Ahadi turned and left with the lionesses trailing behind.  “Aiheu abamami,” he stammered.  “Give me the strength to say the words!”

                “I’ll tell them,” Yolanda said gently.

                “No.  But bless you for asking.”

                Behind them a hyena voice began chanting, “Might makes right!  Justice fails!  Might makes right!  Justice fails!”

                Two joined, then three more.  Within a few moments the greater part of the clan was shouting in unison.  Above its roar Amarakh’s lone voice called out, “Silence!  Silence!  We’ll all be killed!  How many more must die??”

                The hyenas went right to the edge of the border calling louder and louder.  “Might makes right!  Justice fails!”

                Yolanda drew up alongside Ahadi and asked, “We could have finished the hyenas.  Why didn’t you didn’t give the word?”

                He sighed deeply.  “Old Madu once told my dad that he would live a short but happy life..that I would face troubles but would prevail over them if I had character.  Obeying my father’s laws is my only hope.”

                “Maybe he’s wrong.  Hasn’t Madu ever been wrong?”

                “Yolanda, what a good friend you are.”  He walked into her side and let her rest her face in his mane as they strode together.  “I only hope I will not die before my sons have had their mantlement.  If I die before Akase, promise me that you will look out for her.”

                “I promise,” she said.  “But I’m sure you will outlive us all.”

 

 

CHAPTER 13:  JUDGEMENT DAY

 

                One afternoon, Ahadi heard the signal that there were trespassers in the pride lands.  Ahadi came to the promontory and looked out at the distant approaching band of hyenas.  He was not sure what was on the wind, but he had a good idea what was about to happen.  He sent out a delegation of lionesses headed by Uzuri to confirm his suspicions.

                One of the hyenas, surrounded by the others, whimpered, his ears drooping and his tail hanging limply. 

                The lionesses fell in around the hyena guard, walking at a distance but still menacing with their strong, lithe bodies looming like giants around them.  The prisoner began to shudder.  “I didn’t want to hurt her!  I swear!”

                One of the lionesses glanced over at him and scowled, showing her fangs.  “So, you’re the little wretch that killed her!  I’ll make you pay for that meal, scum!”

                Amarakh said.  “The King alone will pass judgment on the prisoner.  The King alone!”

                Of course, ringed by so many powerful lionesses, Amarakh’s shouting was so much empty noise.  She began to feel apprehensive herself.

                Ahadi stood on the promontory next to Rafiki.  The prisoner caught sight of them and began to squeal and yelp, struggling against the hyenas that held him fast.  “Oh gods!  Don’t do this!  I’m innocent!  Let me go!  Oh gods, he’s going to kill me!”

                “Quit whining like a pup!” Amarakh said.  “We have our dignity.  Face him the way you faced Avina.”

                “Amarakh!” he shrieked.  “I didn’t do it!  Let me go!  In God’s name, let me go!”

                Ahadi watched the agony in the hyena’s eyes.  “There goes the most unfortunate of creatures,” he said to Akase.  “I expected an arrogant buck and instead I got a terrified boy.”

                Ahadi had been told the usual lioness tales as a cub about the nasty poachers.  He saw this little adolescent whimpering and begging him to let him live one more minute.  He saw the looks on the faces of those who brought him.  The disturbing quality about this is that it flew in the face of all he'd heard about hyenas.  He saw the worst and the best at a glance.

                “What is going on?”  Rafiki asked.  He looked at Ahadi curiously, but the Lion King sat immobile, as if carved of stone.  The mandrill felt a touch behind him and turned to see Yolanda, her normally soft features now hard edged with anger.  She bent and whispered softly in his ear.  The mandrill began to tremble as he heard the details of first Avina’s, and then Shaka’s death.  Looking at the shaking hyena before him, he realized what was happening and moaned softly.

                At the base of Pride Rock, two more lionesses appeared, flanking the prisoner on either side as he scrabbled up the slope, babbling incoherently between choking sobs.

                The hyena tried to hold himself steady as he reached the top of the path, but when he turned to see Ahadi sitting silently in the mouth of the cave waiting for him, he began to whimper again.  He’d seen what happened to his companion, and he trembled like a leaf.  “Roh’kash, help me!  Help me!”

                Rafiki watched in horror.

                “This is Gur’mekh,” Amarakh said.  “He called for Avina’s life.  His jaws are stained red with her blood.  We bring him to your justice.”

                Gur’mekh looked into the face of Ahadi.  He could see death in his eyes.  His knees began to buckle, and he urinated on the cave floor.  “Roh’kash, help me!  Help me!”

                Ahadi came over to him.  Quietly, without malice, he purred, “I do not want to kill your immortal Ka.  Aiheu will decide.  I give you a chance to admit your guilt.”

                “Have mercy!  Oh gods!”  Gur’mekh fell on his back, soiling his fur in the urine as he began to paw at Ahadi.  “I don’t want to die!”

                “I know, but that is not an option.  You will have a chance to be right with your God.  Now tell me Gur’mekh, they didn’t torture it out of you, did they?  Are you guilty as they say?”

                Gur’mekh’s chin trembled.  “Please spare them,” he stammered.  “Forgive the others.  I talked them into it.  All my fault.  The Roh’mach didn’t know—I swear.  All my fault.  And I’m sorry.  So sorry!”

                “It’s good that you’re sorry.  Your friends are glad as well, for I will not punish them.  Now don’t you feel better for telling the truth?”

                “I thi-think so.  Yes.”

                “Now then, I want you to think really carefully.  I can make it swift and nearly painless.  But the gods may not think you have suffered enough.  Or you can suffer now and die forgiven.”

                Gur’mekh tried to think clearly.  The enormous towering bulk of the lion before him and the certainty of his own death clouded his reason, and worse he had to pronounce the instrument of his own death.  “I don’t know,” he cried.  “I don’t know!”

                “But you must know, Gur’mekh.  When you do something, be it good or bad, there are consequences.  I would not want to face God after an easy death.  I would take my punishment now, but it is your decision.”

                Gur’mekh’s jaw began to tremble.  “Roh’kash,” he stammered, “Great Mother, help me!”  He gasped for air, his heart pounding.  “I want to be sure.  Hurt me bad.  Hurt me bad.”

                Ahadi looked around.  “Take the cubs outside.  Far away.  Cassie, you may want to leave as well.”  Ahadi glanced at Rafiki, but the mandrill could neither move nor answer.

                One by one the lionesses got up and herded their cubs before them.  Even Mufasa and Taka had to leave.  Gur’mekh watched one lioness who had to carry her tiny cubs one by one in her jaws.  As she moved them, she counted off the last remaining moments of the hyena’s life.  Cubs with their whole lives ahead of them.  Gur’mekh would have given anything in that moment to have been one of them.

                Time dragged by as the young and fearful walked away.  Soon there were only a few adult lions, two mandrills, and all of the hyenas, none of whom budged.  Gur’mekh kept silently repeating his prayer.  “Roh’kash, Great Mother, save my spirit.  Roh’kash, Great Mother, save my spirit....”

                Finally, Ahadi nodded gravely.  “You ripped her alive.  If you would find peace, I will have to return in kind.”  He looked upward.  “Oh gods, look down on your child.  Witness his suffering and accept his atonement.”

                “If you do this, do you promise you’ll forgive me?  Promise?”

                “I promise, son.  While you can, go as far as you can.  Your friends will have to drag you the rest of the way.”

                “I understand.”  Gur’mekh shut his eyes and whimpered.  “Help me, Mother Roh’kash!!!”

                Ahadi swept his abdomen with his outstretched claws.  The flesh parted with a crisp sound like a gnu plucking a mouthful of grass.

                “GAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

                In a private hell of pain, Gur’mekh shrieked all the air from his lungs, gasped in and shrieked again. His cries were deafening in the confines of the cave.  Hyenas winced.  Gasping, he lay curled tightly about his shattered abdomen, shuddering as blood seeped into his fur and his inner secrets showed through the five parallel wounds.  Was this what she felt before she died?  Was this what Avina endured?  No wonder the lion was so stern.

After the initial shock, he stretched out as well as he could and looked down at the damage.  Gur’mekh then looked around at the others and their expressions of horror.   His glance fixed on one young female and his mouth moved, but the initial wave of pain was too great and all that came out was a thin, reedy squeal.

                Every eye was fixed on him, and he tried to redeem one last bit of pride for himself.  With small wordless utterances of agony, he tried to struggle to his feet.  The weight of his belly tugged at the deep gashes and he began to yelp as tears ran down his face.  His paws slipped from under him and he fell.

                Sitting on the rocks Isha heard the heart rending cries of pain.  She put her head down and put her paws over her ears to drown out the sound.

                Gur’mekh gasped for air, foaming at the mouth and shuddering on the floor.  His mangled, bleeding entrails were laid open to the horrified audience of hyenas.  The Roh’mach had to look away, covering her face with a paw.  Ahadi looked at his paw red with Gur’mekh’s blood and glanced again and the unfortunate wretch gasping out his life.

                “Help me!” Gur’mekh hoarsely cried.  “Can’t get up!”

                The hyenas could not stir.  They were planted like trees.  Ahadi looked down with the gentleness of a lioness moving her cubs and took the back of the hyena’s neck, lifting him upright.  “Can you walk?”

                “I’ll try.” With all the courage he could muster, he took a few hesitant steps, his abdomen exposing bits of bleeding entrails.  As he stumbled forward, blood streamed down his hind legs and left crimson tracks.  “Roh’kash, great mother, my spirit longs to nurse at your side.”  He gasped, struggling to finish the prayer of confession.  “Forgive me.  Brother Sun, Sister Moon, do not shine on my transgressions.  Shine only on my good deeds.  Let my debt be paid.”  Tears began to flood his cheeks.  “Oh gods, it hurts!” 

                With each beat of his pounding heart, blood fled his br