Zazu glided upon the thermals that wafted gently upward from the ground below. His eyes roved restlessly, scanning the grassland far beneath him, cataloging everything he saw for later reference, should it prove useful to the king. Dipping the leading edge of his wings, he descended slowly, arcing around the great spire of Pride Rock to come to a graceful halt at the base of the promontory. As he headed inside to report to Ahadi, he noticed Mufasa and Rafiki at the point of the promontory, having an extremely animated discussion. He chuckled to himself at the pinched look of concentration on Mufasa’s face.
“Oh my, looks like it’s time for mantlement rehearsal again.” Ruffling his feathers in amusement, he waddled inside, leaving the mandrill and lion to themselves.
Rafiki motioned with his arms energetically. “Ah! No slouching. Straighten up, there...yes. Head up!” he exclaimed, jerking his chin up at the lion.
Mufasa raised his chin up until he was nearly looking skywards. “Like this?”
“No...” Rafiki reached out and took hold of Mufasa’s head, feeling the huge jaw muscles playing under his fingertips as he turned his head slightly. “Hold your head just so, son.”
Mufasa stood, unprotesting as the mandrill turned his head this way and that. In his mind’s eye, he saw the assembled host stretched out on the plain before him, all come to see his great day. His chest swelled with pride, and he unconsciously raised his chin higher.
Rafiki responded with a tap on the nose. “No, no, now you look arrogant. Lower your nose....” His forearms flexed as he pulled Mufasa’s head down with his fingertips. The fringes of his new mane tickled the palms of Rafiki’s hands, complicating the mandrill’s task still further. “Lower..ah-HA! That’s it!”
Afraid to move, Mufasa’s eye rolled in its socket to look at Rafiki. “My neck hurts.”
"Ahh, you'll only need to sit that way for short while; just until your father finishes his speech."
The majestic pose vanished as Mufasa crumpled, looking aghast. "WHAT? Aww, c'mon, Rafiki, you know how Dad gets when making a speech...." He groaned and buried his head under his forepaws.
“Nonsense. Your father only says what needs to be said, and no more.”
“Yeah, but he takes so long to say it!”
Rafiki grinned. “If this is the worst ordeal you deal with in this life, you should rejoice, son. All right! Head up!” A shadow flitted overhead as they resumed their exercises, and Rafiki saw the blue-white form of the king’s majordomo heading back out over the Pride Lands. His eyes followed the bird for a moment, but then his attention was drawn back to his reluctant pupil.
Zazu soared in an ascending arc, the air slowly dragging away his speed as he climbed rapidly. He glanced around quickly to make sure he was unobserved, then grinned to himself. He had a little free time before he was to meet with Boga Kwitu, the elephant Incosi, and he intended to make the most of it. Tucking his wings, he tilted in mid-air and dropped like a rock. The soft whisper of the wind in his ears became a deafening roar as the ground rushed up at him. His wings flicked out and he leveled out perhaps two feet over the ground. He laughed joyfully as he sped over the tops of the waving grass, the slender stalks only a blur beneath him as he arrowed over the ground. In the back of his mind, the ever present voice nagged at him, reminding him of the dangers of flying this low. There were several predators agile enough to snatch him out of the air and drag him to earth forever, only to find out too late he was the king’s advisor and corban. Nevertheless, it was the one vice he had picked up from his obnoxious brothers, and he took the opportunity now to indulge in it shamefully.
A break in the grass appeared ahead; one of the many paths the lions used traveling to and from the water hole that lay nearby. As he flashed overhead, he caught a glimpse of a tawny shape moving along the path, but was past before he could identify the figure. He started to turn back, but a glance at the sun reminded him of his appointment with the elephants. Sighing, he lifted a wing and climbed gracefully away, turning southwest.
Far below, Sarabi trotted along the tunnel-like pathway that countless generations of lion paws had worn in the grass. A smile graced her young features, but it was partially obscured by the limp and dangling form of the hare she clutched carefully in her jaws. She floated through the grass like a spirit, humming to herself in a pleasant tone as she walked, switching her tail from side to side and slapping the tip against her flanks gently in time to the music she was making. Unable to voice her happiness, she kept up with the song in her head.
Sarabi smiled and glanced up at the sky overhead. Do you see me, Father? she thought. Aren’t you proud of me? I wish you were here today. Her cheeks pooched out around the hare as she sighed, then mentally berated herself for being so moody. Her father might not be here, but there was someone here who loved her just as much. Changing direction, she angled around the base of Pride Rock and headed towards a rough and tumble pile of stone a short distance away. Nearing it, her skin tingled with excitement as she saw the silhouette of the young lion in the small cave.
Taka lay quiescent inside, enjoying the coolness of the stone as it seeped into his belly, his legs sprawled awkwardly to allow more of his underside to contact the rock beneath him. His eyes tracked restlessly, observing the minutae of everything before him. The grasslands below rippled restlessly in the breeze, echoing his mood. Lately, things were...all wrong, somehow. Everything Muffy said seemed to irritate him to the point he felt like cuffing his brother across the nose. And Sassie...his pulse leaped at the thought of her. Reflexively, his claws extended and scraped the stone, leaving dull scratches in the gray surface. Crossing his forepaws, he lay his head upon them and watched as heat lightning played on the horizon.
His ear twitched as it picked up a faint swishing noise. Lifting his head, he looked around to see Sarabi padding toward him, her forepaws curling inward and then flicking out gracefully as she set them down. “Hey, Sassie,” he said, brightening. He raised an eyebrow at the dangling form that she carried in her mouth. “Whatcha got?”
Sarabi neared him and laid the hare at his feet, then stepped around him. She rubbed against his side roughly, catching him off balance and nearly sending him careening into the cavern wall. "For you, Fuzzy Love,” she purred, circling around and rubbing up the other flank. “Something special." Halting in front of him, she sat and smiled, her amber eyes twinkling in merriment.
"Huh?" Taka looked at the battered hare, then up at Sarabi’s enigmatic expression. He glanced down at it again, then swallowed. "Uhh, Sassie?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Uhh, it looks like an ordinary rabbit to me."
She cocked her head and grinned. "Really?"
The tone in her voice made him look up sharply. He opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but froze, staring.
On her left cheek, slowly drying in the afternoon breeze, was the reddish-maroon pawprint of a lioness.
"Oh-ho!" A grin split his features and he rubbed his cheek against hers, their combined purring making a rumbling noise in the confined space. Sitting back, he drank in her features, unable to contain his happiness.
"Look at my beautiful lioness!" He nuzzled he cheek again, and she responded, slowly licking his ear and sending a wave of feeling down his back. “Everything about you excites me.” He bent and rubbed his face against her rib cage. “I can hear your heart beating, Sassie.” She trembled, her eyes closed as he dreamily worked his way back. “Proud, strong haunches of a lioness, crying out for love!”
Her eyes shot open abruptly and she whirled, a forepaw whipping out and smacking him across the face. “Don’t touch me there! We’re not pledged yet.”
He rubbed his stinging cheek with a paw, his eyes watering. “I wasn’t going to VIOLATE you. Lighten up, girl. We’ll be pledged soon enough."
"But not yet."
"What's wrong with it?” He drew away and looked at her. “Are you ashamed of me or something?!"
"No! Are you trying to prove something?! Look, I just don’t feel right about this. You need to respect my feelings."
“And I have none, eh?” he shot back caustically.
“Well obviously you have ONE, and you need to cool it.” She spun and stalked away, her tail lashing furiously. Taka stood motionless as he watched her form recede. He looked over at the hare’s carcass, which still lay where she had left it. He walked over to it and nosed it disinterestedly.
“Great going, idiot,” he muttered.
As the days passed, by and large Mufasa made excellent progress in learning his part of the formal mantlement ceremony. Taka, however, had not been to practice in some time, and Rafiki was worried that a disaster was waiting to happen.
Finally, his patience wore thin, and Rafiki requested an audience with the king. He felt rather bad about getting Taka into trouble like this, but he had no wish to see the boy inadvertently ruin what would be one of the most important days of his life. Zazu bade him wait outside while he informed Ahadi of his presence.
He did not have long to wait.
“Your Majesty, I wish you would talk with your son Taka. He’s missed so much practice.”
Ahadi blinked at him, confused. “Have you seen him??”
“Your Majesty?” It was Rafiki’s turn to be mystified.
“He’s missing. His mother and I are going crazy. The moment you see him, tell him to report to me IMMEDIATELY.”
“Yes, Sire.” Rafiki left, wondering what mess Taka had gotten himself into now. “That boy is going to be the death of me someday.”
As he forded the long grasses on the way home, he saw something moving towards him. Abruptly, the stalks parted before him, revealing the tear stained face of a young lioness he knew all too well. “Sarabi! You haven’t seen Taka, have you?” He cocked his head curiously and peered at her face. “What’s wrong?”
She broke into fresh tears. “He’s gone! He’s run away, and it’s my fault!”
“How so?”
“He believes in that prophesy. I didn’t realize just how strongly till this morning.”
“So?”
“He felt if he remained here, it would come true. He wanted me to come with him, but I just couldn’t.”
“So it’s not your fault after all.”
“Well I....” She sighed. “Can’t you tell him it was all just a mistake? Like a bad dream?”
Rafiki rubbed her cheek softly. “My dear, it was not a mistake. I don’t want to upset you, but something from the other side came through the passage I opened. It is one of the Makei, I fear. Truly, Taka brings many of his problems upon himself, but this was brought on by clever lies, lies buried so deeply in his heart that only God himself can uproot them. I fear he will not know peace in this life.”