[1st POV]
(4 years old)
It's been a week since I took over the Pridelands and defeated Scar in an epic showdown of vengeance and redemption.
And now that a week has passed, it is finally time to move on to the next part of my life.
It was time to return to the Serengeti.
The Prideland, as it was now, was still a complete wasteland that could not support a dozen lions, much less a mega pride like I owned. Although this was my home, I suppose I need to return to my second home.
After giving it enough time, maybe I would return to the Pridelands again. After all, the Prideland was a much more prosperous land than the Serengeti in its prime.
But that brought up some new problems, specifically among what remained of Scar's pride.
"What are you going to do with them?" Eshe asked from my side while we gazed at the seven lionesses and four cubs.
They were huddled up at the corner of the cave. The rest of the pride was already outside, ready to start the journey back home. But it was finally time for me to decide the fate of these lions.
At first, it seemed simple. I won the land and the pride, so they would belong to me. But at the same time, I did not really want them. My pride was already big enough as it was, so adding more could do more harm than good.
There was also the fact that they once belonged to Scar. Although the thought of stealing his lionesses was tempting, I was not sure how much influence Scar still had on them. I would expect these lions to be much like their king, cunning and treacherous.
The cubs were still alive as well. Lions mostly kill the cubs because they want to mate with their mothers as soon as possible, and since I did not really desire their mothers, there was no reason for me to kill them.
I hummed thoughtfully while deciding their fate.
My eyes went to Sarafina, Nala's mother, and then the lioness whom I caught once outside the Pridelands. They were familiar faces that made it hard to decide.
Should I just leave them here?
Ahh, fuck it.
"I won them. Broken or weak, they are mine now, so they will follow us," I said with a tone of finality.
What kind of king would I be if I only ruled over the already good bunch? A king should take care of all.
"I understand," Eshe said with a slight bow.
"Make sure they don't fall behind," I said before turning around and leaving the cave. Eshe would instruct them on how to behave. She was a lioness a little past her prime, but that only meant she had the wisdom.
After making that decision, we began our journey back home.
I was leading thirty-seven lions on this journey. I kid you not, my pride was absolutely massive now. I wonder if there had ever been a lion in history who had a pride as large as mine.
The journey began early in the morning, and by noon, we reached the gorge and went down from the plateau. After reaching the outside world, we continued walking for another hour before I decided to make them rest there.
We had not eaten anything for more than a week now, so food was vital. I had to provide for the whole pride, which seemed like a tall task now that we had that many lions.
Rafiki and the baboons had been living around these parts for the past week now, so luckily, they were able to point me toward the nearest prey.
They would not follow us back to the Serengeti. Instead, they would live here for a bit until the Prideland bloomed into its former glory, and then they would move back to their old home in the woodlands again.
I sent out two hunting parties, and they followed the directions of the baboons to search for prey. On the other hand, I was out on my own hunt. I did not need the baboons, for I had a better subject in the sky.
"Grim, show me something good," I said while moving through the sparse region.
"On it, my king," he said and flew higher into the sky.
I followed behind him at a slow pace. He would return after finding suitable prey. It was not just him either, Grim had the vultures at his command. They all knew he was my right hand, so the vultures obeyed him.
Suffice it to say, every bird of prey was excited for a new meal, so the search did not even last long.
An hour later, Grim flew down to me. I could tell from the unusual amount of flapping and chaotic gust that he was excited. He revealed to me in an excited tone,
"We found something good, my lord!" he said.
I beckoned.
"A herd of eland a few kilometres away. They are actually moving toward your position," he said.
I paused.
That was indeed good news.
Eland. They were basically a giant version of the antelope. The males weighed over a thousand kilograms most of the time. They were antelopes as big as buffalo, basically. They were one of the most underrated animals.
Lions usually did not hunt them because of their sheer size and because they were quite rare to find.
But suddenly, here they were. It felt too good to be true even. I guess fate was no longer against me and was starting to bless me instead.
"If that is what you are interested in, I could have told you the same thing," a voice suddenly said from the tree next to me. It was Rafiki, and I honestly did not notice him.
"You are already helping my hunting parties. Speaking of, I thought you went with them?" I asked.
"Hah," he said and jumped down from the tree before landing beside me. "I wouldn't miss seeing you hunt over any other predator."
He saw me take down a giraffe once, and I guess he wanted to see such impressive feats again.
Grim, too, came down from the sky and landed beside me. He could have landed anywhere but chose to land between Rafiki and me.
"The herd is around thirty in number, not so huge, but they are scattering quite a bit unlike the usual buffalo herd," he said.
"Nah uh," Rafiki cut him off. "Thirty-four to be exact. Eland live in nomadic herds, they just happen to pass by this region in their journey. They never stay in one place for long. The opportunity to hunt them will not be open for long."
Grim, who was looking at him in offense, scoffed before turning back to me. "There are seven males among them. They seem to be dragging a little far behind, acting as some kind of guard for the core made up of females and calves. I think you can take them down without much trouble. Like I said, they are all moving far apart."
"Ptfff, there are three pregnant among them. They should be slower than most, and among the males, the older they get, the grayer they become. So the grayish ones mean they are the oldest, you would want to," Rafiki said with a glint, sharing his in-depth wisdom.
When did this become a competition?
"Hah, of course most people who don't know my king would assume he'd go for the easier prey," Grim said and clicked his tongue with a shake of his head.
"My lord, the biggest one is on the right side of the herd, flanking the rest of the herd," he said.
Grim was correct yet again. Not only did I like the challenge, but the biggest one needed to be brought down because of the number of mouths I had to feed.
"Thank you, Grim," I said with a smile.
"My pleasure," the vulture said with an exaggerated bow while side-eyeing the monkey.
Rafiki just showed a grin. It seemed he was not really that competitive to be of help but was more messing with the bird than anything.
"You have good subjects," he suddenly said. "Reminds me of your father's messenger, Zazu."
"Excuse me? I thought we were over this," Grim said. "I am much better than Zazu."
"Enough of the banter," I said and growled. "Lead the way, Grim, and don't get in my way, Rafiki."
"Not at all. I only plan to watch and admire," he said.
And so, I went out to hunt a new giant.
An eland.
..
..
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