Rafiki and Uhuru had just finished their evening prayers when there was a great deal of excitement among the other hyenas outside the baobab. Fabana was rudely thrust into the baobab hollow. One of her guards looked at Uhuru and relayed the orders of Shenzi’s anger:
“Krull, merketh Fabana om arant. Beershomb nik gorun om Shenzi flethun, om Fabana marukh! Oblez?”
“Oblez!”
“Kreblat Roh’mach!”
“Roh’mach kreblash!”
Uhuru glanced at Rafiki. “It seems we have company. Indefinitely.”
“Oh I see.” Rafiki sighed.
Fabana fell before Uhuru. “Krull, oms merketha besath! Beshum Taka gatha om Shenzi pardu om I’bu! Roh’kash ne nabu!”
Krull tried to comfort her as best he could. “Fabana, Roh’kash ne nabu. Disi blechuri m’oh, okash.”
Rafiki breaks in. “That is so sad! Your own daughter!”
Fabana stares at him. “Bet’ra hyanikha?”
“Bih hyanikha,” he said with a nod. “And without a strong accent, I might add.”
“Is there nothing you don’t know?”
“Plenty. Like why your own daughter renounced you?”
Her ears pricked up in anger. “Because I renounced her first. She is a butcher and an ingrate. She would kill Taka by driving him insane and pushing him to suicide. No daughter of mine would do that to her own brother.”
“Then it’s true, isn’t it? You adopted him.”
“Yes. Now they will probably tell him I’m dead or or that I’ve run away.” She looks at Uhuru. “Krull, in the name of the gods, please get a message to Taka telling him what had happened to me.”
“Not a good idea,” Rafiki says. “If your heart is still tied to your family, and I suspect it is, you must not tell Taka. Out of love for you, he would have Shenzi put to death. Do you want to make that kind of choice? Son or daughter?”
Fabana drew in a deep breath. “Oh gods!”
Rafiki scratched his beard thoughtfully. “My lady, you are a victim in all this like I am.”
“You’re one to talk. You put a curse on my Taka and all this is your fault. All your....”
“Now you listen here!” Rafiki cried, grabbing up his staff threateningly. “I won’t hear that again from you or anyone else! I breathed into him when he was born. Gods know how much food I scrounged for him when he was a young’un. I loved that boy like my own son--more than I loved Mufasa. I still do, but given a chance I would take this stick and beat him to death, understand? I pity you, but not enough to share this tiny baobab with your constant whining!”
Fabana looked down, her ears drooped. “I always knew he’d die young. But if you ever get the chance, please don’t beat him with the stick. Put him to sleep with one of your herbs. And promise me you won’t let them rip him alive. That’s his nightmare, you know.”
“I know. I’ll do what I can.” He reached over and rubbed Fabana between the ears. “Maybe we’ll get along after all.”
Fabana began to scratch energetically. Rafiki said, “Oh no!” He reached and got some fleabane. “You leave the little buggers outside when you stay here!” Krull grinned as Rafiki seized the protesting Fabana and began to rub the elixir into her fur.