Spot Taken

Chaka didn't plan on wandering too far from the tree his sister was nestled up in for the night, but he did want somewhere comfortable to sleep, so he continued to walk through the long grass until he could find some warm rock to settle down on.

Finally the ground began to harden as Chaka found a bit of rock pushing up through the earth. Not paying much attention, he pushed his way through more long grass trying to reach a bigger piece when he suddenly felt something under his paw...

"HEY!" yelped a voice. Chaka stammered back in surprise, not expecting company. He looked down to see a lioness lying on the flat rock he'd been absentmindedly searching for. His jaw dropped a bit, but no words would come out.

The lioness chuckled. "Do you always step on other lions tails to say hello?"

Chaka said nothing. She looked at him from over her shoulder and smiled, realizing he was still a little surprised.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around before...what's your name?"

Chaka swallowed hard before replying, "Umm...Ch..Chaka, uh, mam'...err...miss..."

The lioness laughed. "It's Kuli. Nice to meet you Chaka. What brings you to these parts?"

Chaka could feel his cheeks getting warmer. "I was looking for a place to sleep."

Kuli chuckled again. "Well sorry, this spot's taken. Unless you'd like to join me? It'd be nice to have company again. It's been a while." With that said, she patted the rock next to her. "We could get to know each other better, if you're not too sleepy that is."

Chaka hesitated before taking her up on her offer and lying on the warm rock, but not too close to his new acquaintance. They talked well into the night, Chaka telling his story and Kuli hers, of her adventures as a female rogue, until both fell asleep against each other.

The next morning, Chaka woke to the sound of a low growl. He opened his sleepy eyes to see Kuli just waking beside him, and Shani staring at her, straight on. "What's going on here?" Shani asked as Kuli began to slowly get up, a look of irritation and a mild snarl sliding over her face. "Hey, back of chicky, I saw him first." Kuli replied.

"Whoa whoa, hold on! Kuli, that's my sister!"Chaka rose and stood between the two tense lionesses before they pounced on each other. "Shani, this is Kuli. I met her last night...while I was looking for a place to sleep." Chaka could feel himself beginning to blush under his fur. "And this is Shani. She's my sister I told you about last night." Both lionesses eased up and became less tense. "Well then, it's nice to meet you, Shani." Kuli said, with the same sly smile she had when she'd met Chaka. "Likewise..." Shani said hesitantly. She knew they weren't quite at the Pridelands' borders yet, but she'd never seen this lioness around before...
Chaka interrupted her thoughts when he asked Shani, "Hey, do you mind if she
comes along with us back home?"


With the extra body, hunting in a threesome was much easier than just the two siblings trying to take down a wildebeest on their own. And both Chaka and Shani could see for themselves that Kuli was a very skilled hunter. She immediately went for the jugular, cutting off the beasts air supply while Shani and Chaka jumped on its' back, bringing
it down with their weight.

The three feasted on their catch, with vultures beginning to circle above. Shani just chewed her food while she watched Chaka smile from ear to ear as Kuli made jokes and shared the laughter with him. Shani would throw in a small "Ha..." once in a while, but was really mildly amused. She could only think to herself, what was it that bothered her so much about Kuli? Was it maybe because she'd traveled so long to find her brother, and now he barely recognized that she was there? What was so great about this girl anyways? Shani just saw a lone female rogue, but to Chaka, she was wonderful.

*********
While she'd been kind of miserable the entire trip home, Shani sighed a sigh of relief when she felt the harsh sand below her feet turn to a more solid ground as they approached the gorge that told her they were back in the Pridelands, and almost home.

Kuli could see a sudden sadness flow over Chaka's face as they caught up to
Shani and had a clear view of the gorge below. "Something wrong, Chaka?" Kuli
asked. Chaka gave a small smile that quickly faded back into the face Shani was
used to. Shani looked back at her brother, and knew exactly what he was thinking about, which put a damper on her feelings too. "This gorge brings a lot of sadness to our family." Shani said to answer Kuli. "Our great grandfather was murdered here, many seasons ago…" In barely a whisper, Kuli replied "The Great Mufasa…"

The two siblings looked at her, both a little astonished to hear his name, and the fact that Kuli knew who they were talking about. Kuli noticed their expressions of surprise, and smiled. "Just because I'm a rogue doesn't mean I didn't come from a family once y'know." The two siblings looked a little embarrassed. "Well, whose Pride did you belong to then?" Shani asked, Chaka looking even more embarrassed now.

"Why don't we grab a bite to eat and I'll tell you my story. Give us a little break before I finally meet your family…" "-But were almost home!" Shani interrupted. Chaka finally spoke up to agree with Kuli, saying he could use a snack, and there was a herd of zebra just below that would be an easy target. Disgruntled, Shani agreed, the three took down an older zebra, and settled down to hear Kuli's story.

"My mother was attacked while giving birth to me. I'm extremely lucky my grand
parents came when they did, or I wouldn't be alive."

Shani had a look of "too bad." that Chaka frowned at before Kuli continued.

"I was raised by them, since none of us knew who my father was. They were good guardians, never letting me venture too far, which was probably why I left to begin with. Every day, after my grand parents told me what happened to my mother, I planned to seek my revenge for her, against any hyena I would come across. As soon as I was strong enough, I ran away, and have been living on my own ever since." There was a silence that made Shani suddenly aware of, and she fiddled with the bone she'd been chewing between her paws. "I've killed three hyenas' that have been stupid enough to wander from their pack, and I've stolen many kills from the hungry monsters." Kuli continued, quite pleased with herself. Chaka looked up at Kuli, realizing how much more brave she was than him. Shani could only frown, unsure of how she felt about all this revenge business.

"That doesn't explain how you know of our great grandfather." Shani finally said. "Oh that." said Kuli. "Well he was the father of the young prince my grand parents used to play with as cubs. When he died, they were told the young prince did too."

"That's our grandfather Simba!" said Chaka. Kuli smiled and nodded. "When he came back, there was much celebration and rejoice in the falling of the tyrant who was ruling the Pride Lands at the time. It was a great bedtime story my grand parents told me multiple times, and of how the late King Mufasa was such a great ruler the Pridelands had seen in a very long time."

Kuli suddenly got up and stretched, extending her sharp claws. She smiled at Chaka, and suggested they get moving again. Shani rose with Chaka, and the three of them set off once again, with Pride Rock just on the horizon.

***


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Woo, new character! Hmmm...she reminds me of someone...

Kuli and Chaka © Capricornfox