A Brotherly Bond (Part 1)
By Malli

(Note: This takes place when Mufasa is a teenager and Taka is a cub.)

    	"ROWR! I've got you!" Young Taka pounced at a moth fluttering in the 
air. He swiped a paw at it, but missed.
	"Oof!" he said when he fell down.
	"Playing  your silly games again, brother?" a voice said.
	Taka turned around to see his older brother, Mufasa.
	"RRR! Will you go away?! I'm trying to hunt!" Taka growled back.
	"You are such a child!" Mufasa snorted.
	"Now hurry up, it's time for dinner!" he stomped away.
	"I'm so tired of him bossing me all the time!" Taka muttered. He went and 
sat at the table with Mufasa and his parents.
	"Eat up, Mufasa. Eat up, little Taka." Their mother said.
	"Mom!!"  Taka said with an annoyed tone. "My name is Scar, not Taka, 
remember?"
	"Yes, yes." Makani smiled at him.
	"Where did you get that silly name from?" their father, Alembi, asked.
	"Remember, Dad?" Taka still sounded annoyed. "When
Moof hit me yesterday and gave me this scar it became my nickname."
	"You know I hate being called Moof!" Mufasa snapped. "And I wouldn't have 
hit you if you weren't snooping around!"
	"I wasn't snooping, I was looking for my stuff, which you take all the 
time!"
	"I do not, Taka, you know that!"
	 "You DO TOO!!!!" Taka yelled back.  Alembi slammed a paw on the table.
	"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!!" There was silence.
	"Go to your rooms right now!"
	"Dad!" whined Taka.
	"This is not fair!" Mufasa complained. "That little BRAT started it! Why am 
I in trouble too?!" Makani bared her teeth at them.
	"Go. Now. Or get in worse trouble."
	"Humph!" Mufasa snorted.
	"Fine." Taka grumbled.
	Then they stomped off to their rooms.

    	The next day, Taka and Mufasa went to the water hole for a drink. 
Moof's girlfriend Vatina and her sister Sarabi walked up.
	"Hi." They greeted him.
	"Hi Tina, hi, Rabi."He said quietly.
	"What's wrong?" Tina asked.
	"Oh I got in a fight with my ANNOYING brother last night." Moof growled at 
Taka. Taka sneered back.
"Not MY fault. HE started it!" Sarabi laughed.
	"Come on, guys. Don't argue."
	"Yeah", Vatina grinned. "I fight with MY sister sometimes, too. But not 
that often. We're best buddies." She put her paw around Sarabi's shoulder.
	"Yep," Sarabi agreed. "Best friends." Moof grinned.
	"Hey!" Rabi said. "We said that we would meet someone in Sarabo. Want to 
come with us?"
	"Sarabo? But that's on the other side of the Pride Lands! Mom and Dad said 
we're not supposed to go there!" Taka protested.
	"Really, Mufasa?" Vatina asked him. Moof had an embarrassed look on his 
face.
	"Actually, the kid's right.  We're not allowed to go anywhere without 
asking our folks or they'd get mad."
	"What are you, a baby?" Vatina taunted.
	"Be grown up, you two. Do something BOLD for a change!" Her taunting 
angered Moof, and he didn't want his girlfriend to think that he's a baby.
	"What are we waiting for?" he smiled. "Let's go!" He started running.
	"Tina! Come on!" She smiled and ran to catch up with him.
As their older siblings ran, Taka and Rabi tried to keep up, but still 
lagged behind.

	It took the small group a long time to get there, but eventually, they did, 
at sundown. As Tina went to talk to some friends, Sarabi went to talk to 
Moof. The two noticed Taka sitting alone, staring at the sunset.
	"How come your brother is so sad and moody all the time, Mufasa?"
Mufasa sighed. "It started with the death of his mother."
	"His mother?"
        "He's my adopted brother," Moof explained. "His father had always 
been gone. He had died before Taka was born, leaving his mother, Keesari, 
and him to live alone. One day, a hyena attacked his mother. Keesari died, 
and Mom and Dad and I adopted him.  But he's still so sad. I think he loves 
us, but the memories about his mother will never leave his heart."
	 "How sad." Sarabi said sympathetically.  "How do you know all that?"
	"My parents have told me, he has told me some. I try really hard to be a 
good brother to him, I really do. I think that he just doesn't want to let 
anyone in his heart anymore, after the one he cared about most left his 
life."
	Tears filled his eyes.
	"Oh, Mufasa." She nuzzled him. "If you ever need a friend to
talk to, you always have me."
	"I don't think so, Rabi. Vatina--"
	"Yes, I know, Vatina's your girlfriend, not me."  She slinked off, 
saddened. Moof shook his head. Sarabi walked over to Taka.
	"Taka--" she started.
	"My name is "SCAR now." He snapped.
	"Sorry. Scar, may I talk to you?"
	"Bout what?"
	"Your mother. Keesari." Taka's small brown eyes filled both with sadness 
and surprise.
	"How do you know about her?"
	"Mufasa."
	 "Tell him to stop hurting me! Tell him that I don't wish to be reminded of 
her!" With tears overflowing in his eyes, the young cub ran off. Moof walked 
up.
	"Sarabi, what did you do?!"
	"I'm sorry, Mufasa. I just wanted to talk to him."
	"Don't talk to him about it. He doesn't understand that you are just trying 
to help. Please."  Moof walked off again. Sarabi sighed and walked back to 
talk to her friends.

    	They all stayed in Sarabo until it was deep into the night.  Mufasa was 
so tired that he had fallen asleep. He was awakened by his little brother.
	"Moof! Wake up! Now! It's late!" His eyes fluttered open.
	"Taka! Oh my gosh!  Why didn't you wake me sooner!" He jumped up.
	"Let's go!" He started running.
	"Let's just go to bed when we get there, and maybe Mom and Dad won't be 
awake." An hour or so later they finally arrived, exhausted.
	"Go to bed. Hurry." Moof said. But before they could take a step, they 
heard the voice of their mother.
	"Where have you been? Mufasa! Taka! It's 3 AM!" They turned
around to face their mother and  Alembi, who just came out, too.
	"Where were you?!" Alembi exclaimed.
	"Sarabo." Mufasa said, looking at his feet.
	"Sarabo! But that's 20 miles away! And without asking! Who's idea was it?"
	 "It was me!" Taka stepped in. "Dad, I wanted to meet some friends in 
Sarabo and Moof didn't want to, but I persuaded him. I'm sorry."
	"What? Taka, what do you mean?" Moof whispered.  Alembi frowned.
	"Thank you for confessing, Taka, but you both will still be punished." Taka 
looked at his feet again. Moof stared at his brother with unbelieving eyes. 
He stood up for him. And all this time
he thought that he hated him!
	"Go to bed." Makani said. The two trudged to bed.

    The next morning the family was eating breakfast.
	"Taka, you are grounded for a week. You shouldn't have disobeyed us."
	"Yes, Dad." he said sadly.
	"Your brother will be grounded for only a day because he's older, and 
should be able to go where he wants." Just then Moof stood up.
	"Father, I should be the one that gets the worse punishment. It was my idea 
to go to Sarabo, not Taka's." Taka gasped.  Alembi's eyes widened.
	"Mufasa! You know better than to disobey us, and THEN let your brother take 
the blame!"
	"I realize that I acted irresponsibly and I apologize. Forgive me, Taka? 
Forgive me, Mom and Dad?" Makani smiled.
        "Oh, son. We realize that you made  a mistake and are sorry. Yes, I 
forgive you." She hugged him.
	"Yeah, I do too." Alembi hugged him too.
	"Me too, Mufasa." Taka jumped on his brother's back playfully and bit his 
ear. Moof tickled him so that he fell down.
	"Thanks, Scar. And thanks for sticking up for me. I will figure out a way 
to make it up to you."
	"Friends forever?" Taka held out his paw.
	"Yeah. Friends forever." Moof shook it.


THE END (at least until part 2....)

Malli