Return to the Pride Lands: Part 3

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Return
“There” said Kopa as he pointed to a shaded spot on the horizon. “That’s an elephant graveyard next to the border of the pride lands.”

The two lions headed towards the graveyard with a quickened pace, they were almost there. Kopa knew that if they made good time, they could be at pride rock by sundown, if not then they could go to Rafiki’s tree for the night. The graveyard loomed ahead of them with the bones of many a great beast in them. The closer they got to the place, the colder it seemed alough the sun shone brightly in the sky.

Uvuli followed them at matched pace. I’ve been here before… The path was too familiar to him he had seen this elephant graveyard before, but could not remember when. He shrugged and kept following the two lions that he had raised from their childhood. He knew that they wouldn’t return to the oasis after this. Bidi would finally be with her own kind, Kopa would finally be with his family that had thought him dead for almost his entire life, but he felt uneasy, like something was there for him to do…one last thing before he died. He had hoped that he had done this after he had raised Bidi and Kopa and he would finally be able to rest. The fates had other plans, and he knew it.

The graveyard itself was as foreboding close up as it was far off. The two lions moved cautiously, their senses keen for any disturbance. Uvuli followed silently, easily keeping up with them as they made slow progress. A slight disturbance in the bones caught the attention of all three. “Hyenas live down here.” Kopa whispered, “Be careful, one or two are not a problem, but a lot have a habit of showing up once a fight has started.” Bidi nodded in recognition.

The hyenas had left soon after Zera’s appearance, afraid that Zera would have killed the weakened clan. A male lion stood on a ledge overlooking the scene. He only saw the two lions and did not notice Uvuli following them. He decided to follow them to see where they were headed. As he slipped into place behind them Uvuli noticed his presence and decided to keep an eye on him until he left. Staying carefully out of sight, he stayed within striking distance of him. If he made a move, any move, he could easily end him. It had been a while since he had killed a lion with his bare paws. He knew the adrenal rush that he felt all too well.

Eventually, all four made it out of the graveyard. The lion saw that they were headed to pride rock. Uvuli kept an eye on him and filed his presence away in his mind, this could mean trouble along the way.

“So is that pride rock? I mean the big rock pointing up from the ground, it’s kind of-”

“Yes, that’s pride rock.” replied Kopa, cutting her off before she could get into a rant. Bidi looked around. It was getting dark, and Kopa was itching to move ahead. “Bidi?”

“I’ll just take my time and catch up to you later Kopa.” She said in a detached voice.

Kopa gave her a funny look, “Okay, I’ll meet you up ahead.”

Bidi nodded as Kopa ran off towards pride rock. She sat down, “I know that you’re there.”

The lion was stunned that she could tell, “How did you know that I was there?”

She smiled, “I had a great teacher. So, what’s your name?” she asked as she turned to see him.

He took one good look at her and knew her immediately, “Nice to see you too, Bidi. Glad you remember me”

Bidi looked at him for a moment before exclaiming, “’Dari! Is it really you?” She hadn’t seen her cubhood friend since she had left the pride with Uvuli.

“Do you have a nickname for everyone?” He said as he drew closer to her. It had been so long since he had seen her, but her eyes had not changed.

She purred, “No, just you.” Kopa got really nervous whenever she acted like this towards him, usually her humor would get the better of her around now and she would burst out laughing at the look on his face. But Hodari…

He chuckled, and drew closer to her so they were touching, “well then, I guess I should feel privileged then.” They lay down next to one another and started to look at the stars as they had when they were cubs. They brought back many memories that had almost been forgotten.

“Bidi? Are you OK?” Kopa’s voice rang out from the direction that he had gone in. Apparently, he had decided that she had been too quiet for too long. Hodari sprang to his feet at the sound of Kopa’s voice. Bidi looked at him, and sighed with a look of annoyance and disappointment on her face.

“Don’t worry, ‘Dari, it’s just Kopa, he’s my brother…sort of, he’s not really my brother, you see-” she looked over her shoulder to see Kopa approaching and looked back to see that Hodari was gone.

“Oh, you’re OK.” Kopa looked sheepish after seeing the annoyed look on her face, “I though that I heard someone else here, so I just came to check on you.” He put out this excuse feebly, in the hopes that she would stop looking at him like that. Bidi looked around to see if Hodari was still there. He was so nice too, and shwe had missed him…”come on, Kopa, you need some sleep, you’re staring to hear things.”

Reunion
“The view from here is great!” Said Bidi as she sat on the edge of pride rock, looking at the sunrise. Kopa nodded. He was home, after all this time he was finally home.

Simba wondered groggily out of the cave where he and the rest of the pride slept. Who is awake at the crack of dawn? He thought groggily as he left the cave to see who it was. “Who are you?” he asked as soon as he saw Bidi.

She turned and saw a large lion that had a gold-brown coat and a red mane. “I’m Bidi,” she replied, her gaze shifted up for a moment, as she tensed for a fight. “Oh, Uvuli, I thought it was someone dangerous,” She said with a sigh and her muscles relaxed.

Simba turned and looked up to see a large dark colored caracal sitting on top of the rocks that formed the entrance to the cave. His fur made him almost invisible to the casual observer.

Uvuli laughed as he saw the look of confusion on Simba’s face.

A third voice came from the vase of pride rock “Uvuli? Here? I thought he was going to stat at the oasis. The third lion came up and Simba got a good look at him. He had a brown mane and a gold brown coat that was only a shade darker than his own.

“Kopa, you decide to join us, then?” said Uvuli as he looked in the lion’s direction.

“Kopa?” said Simba as he looked at the lion. They looked the same, but Kopa was dead, or so Zera had told him. We can only trust her to lie. The shaman’s words echoed through Simba’s mind. A voice came from the cave “Simba?” It was Nala; she must have heard the noise from inside the cave. As Nala walked out Uvuli’s attention was drawn to her…Where had he seen her before? She must have been only a child when he had seen her…but where…and more importantly, when…

“Simba, who are you talking to?” she asked.

“I’m Bidi, he’s Kopa, and that’s Uvuli.” Bidi piped up before anyone could respond.

“Kopa?” Nala whispered to “Simba, could it be?”

“I don’t know…” he replied quietly.

“Who?” asked Bidi.

“Our son was killed by a traitor, named Zera,” Nala said, “Simba banished her and her followers to the outlands, but our daughter fell in love with Kovu, Zera’s youngest and successor to Scar.”

“Scar?” asked Bidi. Uvuli looked at Kopa, he knew that Kopa would know who this Scar was, and why he had a successor to the throne.

“Scar was Simba’s uncle and killed his own brother and tried to kill Simba in order to gain the throne. Simba escaped and grew up with Timone and Pumbaa who taught him to run from his past. Nala found him there after they were grown, and took Simba back to take the throne from Scar, who was killed by the hyenas he had employed to help him take the throne.” Kopa answered.

Bidi looked at him, her curiosity satisfied. Uvuli just smiled in his direction. The expression seemed strained as if it was unused. Simba looked at him with a look of shock and Nala looked at him with a look of joy in her eyes. “Kopa!” she cried as she ran over to her son who had thought to be dead for years.

“I’m finally home, mother.”

A leopard sat not too far off. So Uvuli is here…this just got a lot more interesting. He smiled cruelly as he contemplated the death of the carcal. This makes it all worth it. He slipped away into the gathering light to report his discovery.

“You should stop gawking and go greet your son,” said Uvuli as Simba continued to stare at Kopa.

Simba shook his head and went over to greet his long gone son.

“They look so happy and adorable, why don’t we ever do that?” Bidi asked Uvuli with a slightly mocking tone. “Because, unfortunately, we were never separated for a long time.”

“What do you mean ‘unfortunately’?”

Uvuli chuckled as he slipped away.

“Where are you going? Hey! Get back here! I’m not done with you!”Uvuli was smaller than Bidi and faster than any other creature she had yet encountered. He had gotten away…for now.

Zazu arrived and the lionesses came out to see what all the commotion was about. As Zazu flew overhead he saw someone familiar, it was a caracal, what was his name? ... Uvuli! What was he doing here? Zazu flew in as stealthily as he could, but Uvuli saw him.

“Why, hello Zazu!” He said in a cheerful tone “How are you? It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”

Zazu looked at him with narrow eyes, “why have you returned? Didn’t Mufasa give you sufficient warning the first time you came?”

Uvuli’s smile faded. The scar remained; the pain in his left leg had never left his memory.

“I am glad to see that you remember, now leave before anyone fids you here and, this time they won’t miss.”

“I am no fool Zazu, I know that Mufasa is dead, killed by Scar, his own brother. I did not think he would do it personally, but he needed some revenge on his father.”

“Just how old are you?” Zazu had known that Uvuli was old, but old enough to remember Mufasa’s father? It couldn’t be…

“I never knew Mufasa’s father, I just know that Scar wanted revenge on him. I also remember how you tasted…meat gets better when it ages.”

“Simba!” cried Zazu as Uvuli scooped him up in his paw and dangled him over his mouth.

“Uvuli! You don’t know where that’s been!” Bidi had caught up with Uvuli and Simba was not far behind with most of the pride and Kopa in tow.

“Oh…I never really considered that,” the more time he spent thinking about it, the more he grimaced until he threw Zazu aside like a diseased corpse.

“So…you two know each other?” asked Bidi.

“Yes, we’ve met before.” Replied Uvuli.

“He was spying on Mufasa, for Scar prior to your birth Simba.” Said Zazu to Simba.

Simba looked at him, “Why?”

“I got food and a safe place to sleep, even if it was only for one night,” replied Uvuli with a shrug, “although, I didn’t leave without some revenge on Mufasa’s part.”

“Your father tried to catch him after he tried to eat me, but only his claw caught him on the left leg, but that was enough to get him to spit me out before he limped away.” Said Zazu to Simba.

“Even wounded, I managed to escape, never heard from Scar again though, that’s what happens when you get caught.” He sighed, “It was the only blemish on my perfect track record.”

“You worked for Scar? Didn’t you know what he was planning? He killed Mufasa and tried to kill Simba!” asked Nala. “I didn’t know exactly what he was planning, but I knew that he probably wanted the throne, didn’t think he’d actually kill his own brother though…didn’t strike me as the kind of lion who would do that,” replied Uvuli. Everyone was staring at him and he looked as if this was a perfectly normal occurrence. “What?”

“How can you say that like it happens every day?”

Uvuli’s cheerful face sobered instantly, “because it does. I have seen kings cast down by their own sons, nephews killed by their uncles. An entire family killed by the prince, all in pursuit of the throne. I, or one of the guild have usually some part in all this, however large or small. We do not take pride in it. It is simply all we know.”

“You think you are better then them? Just because it is ‘All you know’? You think that’s an excuse?” demanded Zazu.

“No”

After this strange remark, everyone made their way back to begin their day. Uvuli, Bidi, and Kopa stayed. The silence between them was oppressive.

“Morning!” The call shattered the mood and everyone turned to see Kovu and Kiara approaching the group.

“Hi!” Bidi made her usual greeting to the couple, “I’m Bidi, and you are…?”

“He’s Kovu, I’m Kiara” Kiara responded brightly. They were oblivious to the solemn mood that had been shattered by their arrival.

Uvuli glanced up to see them. He is the splitting image of Scar. “Are you the son of Taka?” Uvuli tried Scar’s birth name to avoid an awkward situation if he wasn’t.

“Who?” asked Kovu with a puzzled look on his face.

“Never mind” Uvuli said. I guess not.

Kovu, perplexed by the question asked, “So, who are you?”

“He’s Uvuli, and that’s Kopa.” Bidi responded sprightly, gesturing to each in turn.

“Nice to meet you.” Said Kiara. As she looked at them, she thought she recognized the male lion that was about the same age as Kovu.

“Have I met you before?” she asked Kopa.

Kopa looked at her and realized that he was looking at his little sister Kiara, she had yet to open her eyes when he had fled the pride lands because of Zira’s plan.

Uvuli looked at Kopa expectantly, as if he already knew that this was his sister. Bidi waited patiently for the answer looking from Kiara to Kopa and back, as if she saw some connection.

Uvuli, tired of Kopa’s hesitation, responded for him, “he’s your brother.”

Kovu looked at Uvuli, then Kopa and back in total confusion. Kiara just looked at Uvuli in shock and then looked at Kopa in stunned silence. Kopa looked at Uvuli with a mix of anger and relief, then turned his attention to Kiara, the sister he never knew.

“You have a brother?” Kovu asked Kiara.

Just as Kiara was about to respond, Zazu noticed the confusion, and came down from a perch overhead to answer Kovu’s question, “yes, the prince was presumed dead after he disappeared and Zira confessed to killing him, that’s why the outlanders were banished in the first place.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that I had a brother?” Kiara asked.

“Well…King Simba did not think it would be good for you if you had to live with the death of your brother hanging over your head. He was afraid you would become paranoid.”

“He’s the one who became paranoid,” said Kovu

“I am well aware” replied Zazu

As all this was happening, Uvuli had slipped away and was headed towards a place to think. Where have I seen her before? The thought had been bothering him since he had seen Nala. As he headed into the pride lands, he came across a large tree which he climbed into to think. As the light gathered he remembered he had been here before, at this time of day. He continued on this train of thought until it struck him. He had been ordered by a lion that he had owed a favor towards to escort his lover and her child back to pride rock. They had met on a hill just outside of the elephant graveyard. After a conversation, they had decided to name the child Nala. He had followed them back to pride rock where he had decided to take a rest in this tree. After that he had headed towards pride rock to see what he could find out. Then he had met Scar, or Taka, depending on whether you used his birth name or his chosen name.

He was woken from his musings by the sight of Kopa walking with a lioness. He knew that it was not Bidi or Kiara, so to find out, he listed to their conversation.

“Kopa, I was afraid as the rest that you were dead, why didn’t you come back sooner?”

Kopa’s eyes filled with sadness, “I was afraid that…that everyone would have forgotten me.”

“Forgotten you?” she said, “How could anyone forget you? How could I forget you?” “I know it was dumb…but I just…I don’t know, Vitani.” He looked into her eyes, searching for forgiveness in her gaze.

“At least you were alive. I was afraid that I had lost you to death from starvation after saving you from Zira.”

Vitani…nope, never heard of her. Uvuli thought as he slipped away from the two so that they could have some privacy.

Moon and Stars
Simba looked at the stars for guidance once more, and once again found none. He heard someone next to him; he turned and saw that it was Uvuli. As he looked he did not see the same caracal as that had come to pride rock that morning, it was undeniably Uvuli, but he was different, the moonlight reflected off his pelt bringing out the grey from the rest of his dark fur, his shoulders sagged with age and fatigue, his eyes were tired wary from watching the world, yet they were content, his soul battered by time and the path that fate had chosen for him. Still, he defied death…or maybe death denied him. “Simba, you should listen to Nala more often.” The image of Uvuli that Simba had seen just moments before had disappeared and was replaced by the Uvuli that had come this morning, “she can see people for who they are, not for the masks that they wear.”

Simba knew what he was referring to, and he was right…but he had looked exactly like Scar. “You’ve been talking with her, haven’t you?”

Uvuli chuckled, “Her and some others. I know the entire story; I just haven’t heard it from you yet.”

“If you got everyone, you’ve head the entire story. Sometimes I think they know me better than I do.”

“More often then we know that is true.” Uvuli looked at the sky, “Who are you seeking guidance from, Simba?”

“The Great kings of the past, who watch down on us from the stars.”

“I am sure that they are there too.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ‘Great kings’ are not the only ones, as you can see there are many stars in the sky and each of these stars represents one who has died.” Uvuli’s gaze became unfocused, “There are some stars that you cannot see except on the darkest of nights, when the moon hides its face from the world, they are those who did not let their souls shine forth in their life, and so in death they are often consumed by the darkness in which they lived.”

Simba looked at the stars once more. So much had happened, Kopa, who was long thought dead, returned. He brought with him the issue of who would inherit the throne. So many questions filled his mind. Simba looked at Uvuli, only to realize that he was gone.

As Uvuli slipped through the night, he looked up and saw a giant tree. He had heard that an old baboon named Rafiki lived there. As he climbed the tree, he came upon the spot where there were paintings on the wall. Each one of the seemed to resemble someone, there was Simba, Kovu, Kiara, and Kopa. All of the males had manes; however the one on Kopa was fresh. “So you must be Uvuli.” The voice came from above him in the tree; Uvuli looked up to see Rafiki looking at the sky.

“Does everyone here depend on the stars for guidance?”

Rafiki laughed, “No, I look to them now for beauty.”

Uvuli took a look around the tree and saw a stick for rituals, fruits, and dried herbs. “You know, fresh herbs are better.” Rafiki came down from his perch, “I know, but I do not have ready access to fresh herbs.”

Uvuli nodded, “that is always a problem, however if you find a young plant, you can transfer it, and eventually you will be able to harvest herbs from at your whim.”

“One would need a source of water.”

“True, it would just die in dry ground.”

“Where did you gain such a wealth of knowledge of herbs?”

Uvuli looked at the sky towards a single star that he knew well. It had never led him astray; it was true to its position night after night. “Lisha…” his eyes filled with tears. Sadness filled his heart as his mind returned to that night. The rain had mixed with his tears and blood as he looked at her dead body. The blood from the wound staining her pure white fur, her kind eyes shut forever. Then nothing but cold, cold hate. He knew who was responsible, and they would pay. No other thought had filled his mind until the morning of that night. Bidi’s mother…why did she not hate me for my cold blooded killing of her entire pride? It was a question which he had searched for the answer to for so long. He did not understand why it was that she felt no hate.

Rafiki looked at him, and he realized just how cruel fate had been to Uvuli. He wanted death, but it would not take him. He had found love, only to have it ripped away. Why he let himself live was a mystery. “Who is Lisha?”

Uvuli’s gaze never left the star he looked at. “The first one who did not hate what I was. I had assumed on a role which even those who used it did not trust. They all hated me or did not care. It was hard to tell which was worse, dying by the hand of one who hated you, or by the hand of one who does not even know your name.”

“What of the one who trained you? Did he not care for his own apprentices?”

“He did not care, the only reason that he even knew my name was because he named me, and his other apprentice is a lunatic.”

“Who are they?”

“Jini, a jaguar who was apprenticed with me, takes far too much joy in draining the blood and life from his victims, slowly. Master was what we called the one who trained us; he tried to change that one flaw in Jini, but failed.”

“Flaw? How can an assassin consider taking joy in their profession as a flaw?”

“One who can take life as fast as lightning should not enjoy using their abilities. None of them are assassins by choice; we were all abandoned or orphaned, then found by the guild.”

“You do not know your mother and father?”

“I have none. None of us did. The closest thing we ever had to a parent was our master, who barley even cared if we lived or died.”

“Who is this Lisha? Was she one of the others?”

Uvuli sighed, “No, she was not. She would have never survived such training. Her heart was too kind.” He stared off in the sky, “your curiosity has led father into me than any other has gone. As for Lisha, she was the one I fell in love with. She had a pure white coat and red eyes, but her eyes were softer than any other eyes I have seen. She knew the healing properties of herbs that the master had neglected to teach me. And she loved me in return for my love. I was happy for the first time. I did not kill, spy, or poison. I had no need to do such things. I would gather herbs for her ands he would heal those that came to us for healing. All was well. But one of the pride leaders snapped and took action to break this delicate balance. Lisha was pregnant with my child we were happier than we had ever been before. He hired out Jini to kill us, thinking that we were some kind of threat to him. Jini came to where we lived and found only Lisha. He killed her. When I returned I found her dead. I felt cold; I wished that he had killed me too. Rage took over. I gathered poisonous herbs and added them to the water pool that they drank from. When I returned that morning I found a mother restraining a cub from nursing. She knew that she had been poisoned and she knew that it had been me. She did not hate. I felt such sorrow for killing her. She asked me to care for the cub, and I agreed, as soon as she heard this, she died, she knew that I would keep my word. I took the cub to the neighboring pride and I gave her to them to care for until she could eat solid foods. I took a job out on the pride that I had just killed. Then, when Bidi was older, she found Kopa. I raised them and taught them how to fight and hunt. One day Kopa decided to come home, Bidi followed him, and I followed Bidi.” “And here you are?” Asked Rafici.

“Pretty much,” Uvuli looked at Rafici his eyes had assumed their usual look, “mind if I stay here?"

Still lonely. respond. please.