The Lion King: Shadows
by Samuel Simpson

"The Lion King" and all Disney created characters, settings, etc.
are copyrighted by Disney.

This story takes place sometime following "The Tales of Tanabi"
by Joshua C. Templin.  No characters from that story are used
here, but several continuity references are made.

Enjoy.  Comments welcome.

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     Dawn in the Pride Lands.
     A cool breeze blew in from the north, carrying leaves and
pollen in its wake.  Suddenly, a hand snatched them from the air.
     Rafiki sniffed, then frowned, thinking.  Quickly, he leapt
down from the topmost branches of his tree to land in the center,
his home.
     He hummed absentmindedly as the leaves went into a bowl,
followed by juice from a freshly cracked gourd and a dash of
sand.  Slowly, he rocked the bowl back and forth and waited for
the pattern to appear.
     When it did, he was so surprised that the bowl slipped
through his fingers and clattered to the floor, where it rocked
back and forth uncertainly.  "He's here," whispered Rafiki,
filled with dread.  He shook his head sadly.  This couldn't have
come at a worse time.
     Sighing, Rafiki went to the rock painting.  Not in three
generations of his predecessors had the Circle of Life managed to
wind its way into such a twisted path.  In the center of the
painted savanna sat Simba, King of the Pride Lands, still just a
cub with a hastily splashed-on mane.  Beside him were Nala and
young Tanabi.  Representations of all the animals of the Pride
Lands ringed them protectively.
     Off to the side stood Kisasian, Simba's cousin and bitter
rival, glowering darkly.  On the opposite side of Simba lurked
the hyenas.  That image was smudged, and streaked with red.
     Rafiki considered for a moment, then selected a shadowy
corner, scooped up his paints, and began to sketch in a new
figure.

     Simba was strolling along the outskirts of the Pride Lands.
Timon, lounging lazily on Simba's back, stretched and turned
over.  "Hey Simba, remind me again what we're doing out here."
     "We're patrolling the border," answered Simba.
     "What for?  The lionesses come through here every day during
the hunt."
     "Because, it's my responsibility, Timon.  I'm the King."
     "But there's nothing out here.  The hyenas are long gone.
Even Kisasian's keeping quiet for change.  The last border
skirmish was weeks ago."
     "Well..."  Simba paused and looked over his shoulder at
Timon.  "Just think of this as a relaxing stroll.  A chance to
get out on our own, like old times."  Simba seemed troubled, just
then.  He started to add something else, then apparently thought
better of it.  He walked on.
     Timon sat up.  "Hey Simba, are you okay?"
     "It's nothing.  Really."
     "Ah, come on, you can tell me!"  He snapped his fingers.
"It's about Tanabi, right?"
     Simba sighed.  "He's driving me crazy!  Waking me up at the
crack of dawn every morning, getting in trouble every time my
back's turned..."
     "But you still love the kid, right?"
     "Of course I do!  But it's hard being a father, Timon.  What
if I'm not good enough?  What if I don't do as good a job as my
father did?  I don't want to let him down."
     Timon started to answer, but he was interrupted by a shrill
voice calling "Sire, sire!" on the wind.
     Simba stopped.  "Zazu."  He broke into a run.  Timon lost
his balance and had to grab hold of Simba's mane to stay on.
Suddenly, Zazu flapped into view, hovering in the air.  "What's
the matter?" asked Simba quickly.
     "Sire," said Zazu, "Oh, thank heavens you were nearby!
Come, follow me, quickly!"  Zazu turned in the air and flew away.
Simba and Timon looked at each other, then Simba followed at a
brisk walk.
     A few minutes later, Simba realized where Zazu was leading
them.  It was the gorge.  The gorge where...  No!  He didn't even
want to think about it.  He'd never been back here, not ever.  If
he could have given a royal command to make this place vanish
from the face of the earth, he would have done so in a second.
He stopped, his thoughts a blur of pain and anger.
     Zazu landed on the ground in front of Simba's paws.  "I
truly am sorry about this, your majesty.  But there's something
here that you must see, right away.  I realize this must..."  He
trailed off.
     "Yeah, come on.  Let's get this over with."  Simba glared at
Zazu angrily, then started down the incline.
     "Hey, did I miss something here?" said Timon.
     Zazu glided down and landed beside Timon on Simba's back.
He sighed.  "This is where his father died," he whispered.
     Timon opened his mouth and shut it again without a word.
     Simba shivered as he reached the floor of the gorge.  For a
moment, he could see nothing but the old, broken tree at the far
end.  And then, suddenly, it hit him.  Bones, everywhere.  Here
and there, a fresh carcass lay, picked clean of meat.  "What
could have done this?" he asked.
     "Eeeewww," went Timon, waving his hand in front of his face
and holding his nose.  "You have to ask?"
     "The lionesses didn't do this," said Simba.  "They don't
hunt this far out."
     Timon shrugged.  "Okay, so maybe Kisasian's trying out a new
waste disposal program."
     "Sire," said Zazu, "there's more."  He pointed with his
wing.  Simba looked more closely.  To his astonishment, there was
a cave there, half hidden by a rock outcropping.
     "Let's see who's in there," said Simba, starting toward the
cave.
     "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" shouted Timon.  "Let me get this
straight.  You, want to meet whatever did that, to them?!"
     "I can't just ignore this, Timon."
     "Okay, so we go back to Pride Rock, and fetch some backup,
right?"
     "Wrong.  Timon, I can handle this.  It's my..."
     "...my responsibility, I know, I know," interrupted Timon.
"Sheesh.  Why do I let you get me into these messes?  Well, if
we're gonna go, let's go!"  He hopped off Simba's back and headed
right for the cave mouth.
     "Timon, no!" shouted Simba, but it was too late.  He sighed.
"Zazu, stay back.  If any happens, go get help, fast."
     "You can count on me, sire!"  Zazu took off and flew to a
safe vantage point.
     "Hey!" shouted Timon, boldly stomping right up the cave
mouth.  "Anybody home in there?  Well, guess not!  Too bad, guess
we have to go..."
     "On the contrary," announced a deep voice from within the
cave.  Timon stood paralyzed with terror as the owner of the cave
emerged.  Simba gasped.  Before them stood a creature like
nothing he had ever seen before.  He was feline, and huge, easily
as large as Simba himself, but his fur was brilliant orange and
white, with jagged black stripes.  The stranger looked down at
Timon and grinned.  "The mid-afternoon snack, I presume."
     Timon shrieked in terror and ran to hide behind Simba.  "Oh,
I hate it when this happens!"
     "Oh dear," remarked the stranger, walking out towards Simba.
"I just hate it when food insists on talking back.  Wouldn't you
agree?"  He stopped and settled down onto his hindquarters, then
studied Simba with haughty disdain.
     "Who are you?" asked Simba, more than a little unsettled.
     "My name," the stranger declared, "is Shere Khan."

     Timon peeked out from behind Simba's paw.  "Shere Khan?  The
Shere Khan?!"  He shrugged.  "Never heard of him."
     Shere Khan snarled.  "Be careful, my impertinent little
friend, very, very careful.  Once, every creature of India
trembled in fear of that name."  He sighed, and sat down,
forepaws crossed.  "That was a long time ago, I'm afraid.  Before
the humans came and stole our land."
     "Humans?" echoed Simba.
     "Yes, humans."  His face twisted in rage.  "There's scarcely
a tiger left in India by now.  That's why I've come all this way,
of course.  There aren't any humans here.  They're not allowed.
You should be thankful.  Now if you'll excuse me..."  Shere Khan,
stood up, then turned his back on Simba and headed toward his
cave.
     "Hey, wait a minute," yelled Simba, "where are you going?"
     Shere Khan stopped, clearly annoyed.  "What is it now?
Can't you see that I've got more important things to do that
stand around and chat with you all day?"
     "Then maybe you'd better make time," said Simba, stepping
forward.  "I'm Simba, King of the Pride Lands, and this gorge is
in my territory."
     Shere Khan rounded on Simba, fury in his eyes.  "Cub, I
don't care if you're the ruler of the Seven Deserts and lord of
the moon besides.  I am Shere Khan.  I respect no law but my own.
I do as I please, when I please, and so I shall until the day I
die."  And then, he stalked angrily away.
     With a great roar, Simba bounded around him and cut him off.
"Not while you live here, you don't.  This is my kingdom, Khan.
Either respect my authority, or get out of the Pride Lands."
     Shere Khan bristled with rage.  "Why you impertinent
little..."  Suddenly, a change seemed to come over him.  "Did you
say this gorge was in your territory?  If I'd known you felt so
strongly about it...  Perhaps I have been a bit hasty."
     Timon's jaw dropped.  "Simba," he whispered urgently, "he's
up to something!"
     "Surely," Shere Khan continued, "it isn't worth it, shedding
blood over this little ... misunderstanding.  I don't need very
much.  A wildebeest now and then, a place to rest and live out my
declining years.  Is that so much to ask ... your majesty?"
     Simba frowned.  "Look, Khan.  Stay, or go, or do whatever
you want.  It doesn't matter."  He grew suddenly angry.  "But if
you ever, ever harm a member of my pride, I'll..."
     "Of course, of course!  I would expect no less, from a
capable leader."
     "Good.  I'll be watching you."  Simba sighed.  "Come on,
Timon, let's go home."  He knelt down so Timon could scramble up
on his back, then turned and left.

     Zazu met them at the top of the gorge, and soon the three of
them were safely in the tall grass on their way back to Pride
Rock.
     "I don't get it," said Timon.  "Is that it?  Aren't we gonna
round up the lionesses and run him off?"
     "No, Timon," said Simba, "we're not."
     Zazu spoke up.  "I'm sure you've made a wise decision, your
majesty.  But I wouldn't trust him.  From the looks of things,
he's as mean as your uncle was, and twice as slippery."
     "You don't have to remind me."
     "So if he's so dangerous," said Timon, "how come we're just
leaving him alone?"
     Simba sighed.  "You know, Timon, my father told me something
once.  Just because you're brave, doesn't mean you go looking for
trouble.  We've got enough problems already without picking
fights with Shere Khan.  He hasn't done anything to us.  If he
just wants to live in peace and mind his own business, then
that's fine with me."
     "I just hope you know what you're doing, Simba," said Timon.
     "So do I, Timon," replied Simba, quietly.  "So do I."

     Back at the gorge, Shere Khan waited patiently until Simba
was long gone and the sun was beginning to set.  Then he snarled
in disgust.  "Wretched, pompous, overgrown cub!  I curse the day
I ever heard of lions!"  He looked around the gorge.  "Come on
out.  I know perfectly well you're there."
     High up at the edge of the cliffs surrounding the gorge, two
more tigers emerged from concealed positions.  Shere Khan
scowled.  "Senajit.  Nishtha.  So good of you to come."
     Suddenly, a small form burst from the cave - Rishi, his
young son, followed shortly by his mate Akuti, at a more sedate
pace.  "Dad, dad," cried Rishi.  "You were awesome."  The tiger
cub reached his father and scampered about excitedly.
     "I know," said Shere Khan smugly.
     Shere Khan and Akuti rubbed faces and purred.  Akuti smiled.
"Excellent as ever, Shere."
     "Excellent?!" exclaimed Senajit.  "What was so great about
that?  If I didn't know better, I'd think that the great Shere
Khan had become a coward in his old age."
     "Excuse me for a moment, dear," said Shere Khan to Akuti.
Then, lightning fast, he spun around and cuffed Senajit hard,
knocking him over.  Senajit tried to get up and found Shere
Khan's face just inches from his own, teeth bared and ears laid
back.  A low growl built in Shere Khan's throat.  "The day I
cannot make decisions because I'm afraid, I'll call the assembly
and propose the choosing of a new khan myself!  Is that clear?"
     "Very," whispered Senajit, furious.
     "Good," said Shere Khan.  He turned away contemptuously.
     "Serves you right," said Nishtha, a sly grin on her face.
Senajit glared back at her.
     "Now then," said Shere Khan.  "I want you two to go find the
others and pass on a message."  Instantly, Senajit and Nishtha
were all business, the quarrel forgotten.  "This land has two
opposing groups of lions.  Right now, they're too busy worrying
about each other to bother with us, and I want it to stay that
way.  My advice to everyone is to lay low.  Don't let them get an
idea of our numbers or intentions.  Remember, there aren't very
many of us.  Either one of the prides could easily crush us if
they had a mind to, so take no risks.  My family and I will
remain here to keep up appearances."  He looked at both of them
in turn.  "Now go."
     By now, the sun had nearly set.  Silently, Nishtha and
Senajit disappeared into the gathering gloom.