by Carl » May 28th, 2012, 7:49 pm
Chapter 4: Something to Prove
For the next few days, Jongeni kept to himself except during mealtimes. He would often find himself walking alone, lost in thought. He wanted to process what he'd learned from every possible angle. He wanted to rethink everything he was, and everything he could be. He knew that he had done nothing wrong, nor had his mother. It wasn't his fault.
His father had killed the last king, but somehow, Jongeni felt guilty. He did it for me. For me and Mom. That's why he killed King Simba, that's why Notai and Kimitar's grandma and great-grandma don't talk to me. Because he attacked and killed King Simba. Because he wanted a pride to look out for me and Mom. Because of me, he thought to himself on one such day. Today he was out late. Dusk had set in, but he remained sitting by the waterhole instead of returning to Pride Rock, looking down at the water, studying his reflection.
"It's not like I wanted him to do it," he said to his reflection, as he studied it, thinking. "I wonder: do you look like him? Do... I look like him? Do they see the face of the king-killer when they look at me?"
His reflection didn't answer. He sighed, rising on his paws, feeling the dampness of the earth where something had splashed in the waterhole before he'd arrived. What had he expected when he'd come out here? He could find the answers nowhere within himself, and he felt like he shouldn't ask the lionesses. He shouldn't remind them of why he was here. He shouldn't make them think about what they had lost.
Footfalls, behind him. Soft, almost unnoticeable, but clumsy. Fast-paced, but making slow progress. He sighed and turned to look at the little runt.
"What is it, Sky?" he asked, looking down into the younger cub's huge, deep blue eyes.
"'S gettin' dark, Jongie. You stayed out later. Wanted to come and find you," said Sky, his slightly angular face showing concern. Jongeni smiled at him.
"You're sweet, Sky, but shouldn't you be getting back to your mother? It's a bit too dark for someone so young to be out on his own. Come on, I'll walk you back, okay?"
The youngster nodded vigorously. "Kay, Jongie. Let's go back together."
Jongeni stretched before walking slowly in the direction of Pride Rock, making sure to go slow enough that Sky could keep up. The younger cub trailed along beside him almost at a run. He grinned up at the older cub.
"Why'd you go here so late, Jongie?" he asked suddenly.
"I wanted some time to think, and I was thirsty, that's all."
Sky didn't say anything else as they padded through the tall savanna grass back towards Pride Rock. It was almost completely dark by the time they made it back, and Vitani was approaching them from the foot of the rock formation, a look of concern plastered across her face.
"Where have you been?" she demanded of Sky as the young cub ran to his mother, "You had me worried to death."
"Wanted to find Jongie," he said pitifully, "Didn't mean to make Mama worry."
"He's alright, Vitani. We were only at the waterhole," Jongeni told her. She frowned at him.
"Don't go out alone anymore, Sky. I don't care who you're looking for," she told her son, picking him up by the nape of his neck.
"Okay Mama."
"Thanks for bringing him back," she mumbled to Jongeni through a mouthful of cub. With that, she turned and made her way back up Pride Rock, Jongeni trailing along behind her. Even she sounded reluctant when thanking Jongeni, and he'd heard that she hadn't been a member of the pride for long when Simba had been killed. He'd helped keep her little cub safe, and she was hardly grateful. Maybe it would be better if he left. Not that he could; he was much too young to make it on his own.
Resigned to stay with them, Jongeni realized what he must do. He had to prove to them that he wasn't like his father. He would start training everyday to make himself as strong as possible, and when he got bigger, he would protect the pride, and the king, with everything he had.
The next morning when he awoke, the den was empty except for himself and the old lioness, Sarabi. She was still asleep, so he didn't disturb her. He stretched and went outside in search of Kimitar. After glancing around, he realized that it must be a hunting day. All of the lionesses except for his mother were nowhere to be seen, and she was sitting away from Kovu, who was grooming little Sky. Seeing it as the best place to start looking, Jongeni made his way down the rock formation and over to the king.
"Good morning, Jongeni," said the king as the cub stopped before him.
"Good morning, Your Majesty. Do you know where Kimitar is?" he asked. Sky nipped the king's tail, and Kovu flicked it for the youngster.
"She's over there with Notai," Kovu replied, gesturing with his head. Jongeni looked in the direction he'd indicated and spotted the princesses pretty quickly. Without further ado, he thanked the king and scurried away towards the two girls. As he drew near, Notai beamed at him.
"Hey, Jongeni! We thought you'd decided not to talk to us anymore," she teased. He snorted.
"Why would I do that? The grown-ups don't like talking to me," he retorted.
"So whatcha want? You wanna play?" she asked.
"No, actually I wanted to ask Kimitar if she'd wrestle with me."
"What?" the prettier princess asked quizzically, "Why?"
"Sounds like fun," Kimitar said over her sister.
"Great."
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Notai complained as the other two began growling playfully and circling each other. She huffed and sat down to watch them. It was really boring for her, so she tried to get their attention again. "Hey, guys, let's go exploring."
Still she got no response. She was getting frustrated with them and more than a little mad. They just kept fighting, as if she wasn't even there. She narrowed her eyes at them, growling a little bit.
"Would you two knock it off and listen to me?" she asked, but again, to no avail. She couldn't believe they'd ignore her like this, so she finally snapped and raised her voice, "That's it! You guys are so infuriating!" She then promptly rose to her paws and stormed away, back towards Pride Rock. It was only then that she got their attention.
"Hey, Notai..." Jongeni called after her.
"Come on, sis, I was fighting!" Kimitar said. But Notai didn't stop, or even turn to look at them, much less respond. She just kept going and started climbing Pride Rock. The other two cubs gave up on sparring and went after her, following her into the den. When they got there, she was standing beside her great-grandmother, looking concerned.
"Notai, don't bother her with this. We'll play with you," Jongeni told her as the duo approached the upset princess.
"She won't get up. Something's wrong. She won't wake up. Can't she hear me?" Notai said, turning her worried eyes to the male cub. He and Kimitar got closer, both dreading what they would find. Jongeni looked at Sarabi. She was laying in the same exact place where she'd been laying when he'd woken up. She hadn't moved at all, and there were flies crawling around on her face, especially around her eyes. He hadn't noticed them this morning. How long had they been there? How long had she been dead?
"Oh no. Notai, I'm sorry..." he said, nuzzling her in an attempt to comfort her.
"What? Why are you sorry?" she asked.
"Don't be so naive, Notai. Our great-grandma's gone," Kimitar told her, "I'm gonna go get Dad."
The darker princess turned and left as Notai started crying. She laid down on the ground against Jongeni, and he gently placed a paw on her back. Tragedy had struck again, and he was now even more determined than ever to take care of this pride.
Last edited by
Carl on July 14th, 2013, 4:30 am, edited 1 time in total.