Lioness Tales

Tale 1: Njano's Secret

DISCLAIMER:

- Any references to The Lion King movie and its characters are property of Walt Disney. I am making absolutely no profit out of this story.
Any other character you don't recognize from the film belongs to me. If you want to use one of my characters for writing, fanart, etc., just drop me a note!

- The lions in this story pay little or no attention to blood relationship. This means that just like in a real Pride, the couples in this story could be somehow related to each other, but they don't give much importance to that. This particular situation, while not acceptable for humans, is pretty normal in the lions' world, but it will not be emphasized or glorified in any way so as to make things look perverted.

- The story contains non-explicit scenes of lions and lionesses mating. While the scenes are not extremely descriptive, they might be more suitable for adult/mature audiences.

- The story includes mild cursing and some violent fighting scenes.

- I am not a native English speaker, so if you find any recurrent grammar issues, please feel free to point them out!

- Special thanks go to my Beta-readers Spirit-of-the-Rain here at , and Jeroen van den Berg!

I hope this covers everything up, now on to the story! Reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcome. Thanks in advance, and enjoy!

Foreword

Zira had always wondered why her close friend Njano never spoke about her past. Njano always avoided the topic and had been very secretive about the reason why she was banished from her own Pride.

The only thing that Njano ever disclosed to Zira was that she had been extremely unpopular, and the leader's patience towards her simply ran out at some point.

Zira actually enjoyed Njano's company, so she was extremely curious as to what she could have done to make her pride-mates loathe her that much. But Njano refused to tell, insisting that it didn't matter anymore. She had moved on, and was not willing to dwell on past events.

But there were times in which Njano would appear to be sad for no reason. Truth to be told, the secret she carried inside her still weighed her down every now and then. It was during those days that Njano could not help recalling her life as a member of a successful and stable Pride, as well as the events that led her to become a nomad, an outcast, an outlander.

It all started with the birth of her own mother...

Chapter 1: The Orphan Cub

A small herd of buffalo was grazing calmly, as the African sun shone down upon them in all its splendor. It was quite a hot day in the Savannah, but the buffalo were not bothered by the heat. They were too engrossed eating, and paid little attention to their surroundings.

A few of them were vaguely aware that there was lioness nearby, who had been roaming around the area, but they felt no fear. They knew that one single lioness would never stand a chance, if she ever decided to attack them.

She had been sniffing and studying the area carefully, and retreated after a while. The buffalo shrugged, uninterested, and carried on with their meal.

But what the buffalo didn't know, was that the lioness was actually not alone. She slunk away and went to meet with the rest of her hunting party, a group of five lionesses, all belonging to the Eyasi Pride. They were well camouflaged between the tall grass and the bushes.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," she said, addressing them quietly, "Bahiya, Chiku and I will go and hide on the opposite side, over there, by that tree. We'll be downwind, so the herd won't smell us easily. The rest of you will launch the attack, and will herd the buffalo in that direction. Once they get near, we will come out of hiding and ambush them. I will target one of them, so be on the lookout for my signal."

The lionesses nodded, looking excited about the prospect of hunting such a big prey.

"And what do I do in the meantime?" interrupted a male lion, who had been listening to their conversation, without them knowing.

The leader of the hunt appeared startled for a moment, and turned to him. "I told you already, we can handle this. You can go back to the lair, and wait for us there, like usual."

The lion shook his head. "Hunting buffalo could be dangerous. I'm afraid you're underestimating them, Adla. Even in small numbers, like this herd here, one single kick or knock with their horns can be deadly. I think I'll stick around this time, just in case you need an extra set of claws and teeth."

The lioness he referred to as Adla sighed, looking unhappy at his lack of faith in her party's hunting skills. "Fine, as you wish. Just stick around here, then. I'll let you know if we need your assistance."

The lion gave her a smile and licked her cheek. "Good luck, and please take care."

Adla nodded, pulling away from him quickly, and then concentrated again on the matter at hand. "Let's go..."

The hunting party split, while the male lion sighed and remained glued to his spot, alert and ready to help out if needed.

As Adla and her team sneaked stealthily towards their hiding spot, Chiku whispered as soft as possible, "Why are you so upset with him, Adla?"

"Because I feel like ever since I got kicked by that gazelle, he's been treating me like a huntress in training, that's why," Adla grunted in return.

"I'm sure he's just worried about you," Bahiya said, "he just wants to make sure you'll be fine."

Adla rolled her eyes. "Sure, like I am the only pregnant lioness in the Savannah who's ever gone hunting."

"Let's be quiet now," Chiku interrupted, "I'm afraid the herd will hear us."

The other two lionesses hushed, and they all took their places in between the plants and bushes. They were nervous, shaking slightly with anticipation.

Once everybody was in their position, the lionesses on the opposite side launched the attack. The buffalo, startled at first, tried to stand their ground, but they felt overwhelmed when they saw there were more lionesses giving chase.

With imposing roars and growls, the lionesses succeeded in herding the buffalo towards where Adla and her group were hiding.

Adla waited until they were close enough, and darted in the direction of the herd, who panicked even more when they saw the whole Pride, attacking them from both sides.

Adla singled one buffalo out quickly; an older female who appeared to have a wounded leg. The lioness roared as she targeted the injured prey, and the Pride quickly followed her lead and gave chase, while the rest of the herd scattered in the opposite direction, towards a thicket of thorny bushes, trampling mostly everything in their path.

The male lion also walked closer to the scene of the chase, but simply sat down as he watched his lionesses in action, looking satisfied. His mouth was already watering at the thought of feasting on such a fine specimen.

It took the effort of all six lionesses to bring the buffalo down, but they eventually succeeded. Adla herself administered the killing bite to the throat, panting heavily, while the adrenaline still rushed through her body.

Once the buffalo had stopped thrashing, the male lion approached his Pride. "Well done. I guess you really didn't need my help after all..."

"Told you so..." Adla replied, still panting, feeling proud of herself, "Should we drag this to the lair, or do you want to eat here?"

"I'm very hungry, let's just stay here for a while."

The lionesses nodded and moved aside, offering their hunt to their leader, who started eating with enthusiasm.

Adla groomed her dusty face with a paw in the meantime, removing the stains caused by the blood from her prey. As she did so, a strange noise caught her ears. She looked around, trying to identify the source of the sound.

"Listen... Do you hear that?" she asked Bahiya, who was sitting closest to her.

Bahiya pricked her ears for a short moment, and nodded. "Sounds like someone crying... Over there, by those bushes."

Adla glanced towards the male lion. "Faraji always takes his time while eating, so maybe I can go check it out in the meantime. Feel like coming along?"

"Yeah, I'm curious now," Bahiya replied, and followed Adla, while the rest of the Pride remained behind, guarding their catch.

The two lionesses sniffed the ground carefully to see if they could detect any trails, but the soil had been disturbed by the trampling buffalo, so it was hard to catch any scents.

"We'll just have to get closer, come on..." Bahiya said.

Adla tried not to curse as the thorny bushes scratched her skin every now and then, but once she made it past the thicket, she stopped in her tracks.

"It's a lioness," she whispered to her friend, "And she looks badly injured..."

They approached the wounded lioness slowly, keeping their guards up. From the looks of her injuries, the lioness must have been resting there when the buffalo stampeded, and ended up being trampled too in the process. She was crying at first, obviously feeling a lot of pain, but went extremely silent when Adla and Bahiya came closer.

"Why would she be lying here, of all places?" Bahiya asked, looking at the prickly, uninviting bushes around them.

"That's why..." Adla said, as she pointed to a motionless bundle of fur. It was a small cub, only a few days old, who passed away while still cuddled up against its mother's tummy.

"Oh, dear... She'd come here to give birth... This is horrible!"

Bahiya looked around and found the limp body of another cub not far away. It also looked bruised and trampled. She shook her head, looking sad, and returned to Adla, who was also inspecting the area.

"Here's another one... and it's still alive!" Adla said, brightening up.

She inspected the cub closely. It was covered in blood, but the lionesses couldn't tell if it was its own, or its mother's.

"There's something wrong with it... Not sure if it got kicked around too, or if it was born this way... See the shape of its head?"

Bahiya looked and agreed that the cub's face looked strange, slightly deformed. Instead of the usual round head, the cub's right front side looked a bit flattened.

"It looks like it's lost an eye, or was born without one," Bahiya mused.

They were still looking at the cub intently, when the wounded mother, having realized which cub they were talking about, finally dared to speak. "She's... She's still alive? Please, take her with you," she whispered, sounding very weak and tired.

Adla turned to her and walked closer, feeling quite sad for her and her dead cubs.

"Don't leave her here to die with me, please... She's already survived this ordeal, give her a chance..." she insisted with more urgency.

Adla took a deep breath, pondering for a moment, but then nodded solemnly in the end. She felt responsible for this massacre, as she was the one who ordered the pride to herd the buffalo in this direction.

"I'll take care of her, I promise. What's her name?"

"Duni," the lioness replied between groans of pain, "she's the runt, and was born unhealthy... I thought she wouldn't make it past the first night, but as you can see, she's... she's a... fighter..."

Bahiya paced from side to side nervously. "Are you sure about this, Adla? What if Faraji doesn't agree?"

"It's worth a try," Adla replied softly, staring at the wounded lioness, whose chest was not rising anymore. She had closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, only not to breathe again.

Adla placed the other lifeless cub next to its mother and sibling, and kept a short moment of silence. "Let's head back, there's nothing else we can do for them now."

Adla then picked up Duni by the scruff of her neck and tried hard to make it through the thorny bushes without harming the cub in the process.

Once they reached the spot where the buffalo was killed, Bahiya went to join the rest of the lionesses, glancing nervously at Adla and the cub every now and then. She wasn't sure how Faraji would react, as he didn't take kindly to strangers in his territory. Bahiya could only hope that Adla, his mate and the alpha lioness, would be able to persuade him to take this cub into the Pride.

Faraji was already done eating, and the rest of the huntresses were now enjoying their meal. Bahiya quickly filled the lionesses in on what had happened, and now the whole Pride was looking nervously at their two leaders, wondering what Faraji would do in this case.

In the meantime, Adla had walked to Faraji resolutely, and gently placed the cub down, in front of him.

Faraji, who up until then had looked relaxed and content after a good meal, frowned immediately. He stood up quickly and sniffed the tiny cub carefully. "What's the meaning of this?"

Adla explained what happened, and how she had promised to take care of the only survivor of the terrible accident.

Faraji rolled his eyes. "You cannot do that! You have your own future cub to think of! You cannot go picking up random cubs here and there, much less unhealthy ones!"

"If she's meant to die, then she'll die anyway, but I want to give it a try," Adla replied, keeping her composure, "Come on, Faraji. She's a female, for all you know she could make a good huntress in the future. I really want to keep her and give her a chance."

"You're only doing this because of your current state. If you weren't pregnant, you wouldn't have given this weak cub a second glance," Faraji muttered, looking sour.

"Maybe you're right, but I guess we'll never know," Adla replied, "All I know for sure is that this is how I feel right now. We can take her back to the lair, so that Gasira can feed her, and just wait and see what the future holds in stock for her. Will you let me do this, please?"

"You know... Just... Do whatever you want; you always do, anyway," Faraji replied, looking angrier than before, and turned around to leave, "Just promise you won't come crying to me when she passes away in the middle of the night one of these days..."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to spare you my tears," she replied coldly as she watched him walk away, but her face sported a triumphant grin. The Pride joined her once Faraji was far enough, wondering if she was okay.

"I'm fine, don't worry. As for him, just give him some time alone. He'll get over it soon, you'll see. I say for now we drag our catch back to the lair, so that Gasira can also have something to eat. She'll need the extra energy to feed both her cub and this little one here."

The lionesses agreed, and they started the way home, dragging the buffalo remains along with them.

Their lair was located at the base of a small rock formation, with a few niches all around it, where the lions liked to lay down to sleep or just relax. There were also several trees nearby, which provided shelter from the heat of the sun.

Adla carried Duni gently by her neck as they walked back. The cub was blissfully unaware of everything that was going on around her. She was so young, that she could not understand the tragic events that had just taken place. Duni simply enjoyed the warmth of a lioness body next to her, once Gasira, the only one who was able to nurse cubs at this point, had accepted to feed the new comer. Duni welcomed Gasira's milk enthusiastically. She ate well, and went to sleep almost immediately after.

Safi, Gasira's male cub, nursed next to her. He was about two months older than Duni, and could already tell that there was something strange about this new cub. He kept giving Duni curious glances every now and then, but it was not long after that he also joined Duni in a peaceful nap.

Adla watched the two cubs for a while, and smiled warmly. Soon she would be able to feed Duni and her own cub, and she felt she could hardly wait.