UNDER THE ACACIAS
by John Burkitt and David Morris
Part Four of Chronicles of the Pride Lands
FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORS:
Much of this material was originally slated to appear in “Shadow of the Makei,” and “Spirit Quest,” but it pulled from the focus of the works. It had to wait its turn to be published. Does this mean the material is a series of “outtakes” stitched together? Hardly! In a very real sense, the four parts of Chronicles of the Pride Lands were being worked on at once. Each part matured at a different time. In that sense, The Spirit Quest was not a sequel, nor were Shadow of the Makei or Under the Acacias. These form parts of a whole, and reading them out of order will make a lot less sense to you. It is my fond hope someday to see the four parts ordered chronologically and united into one work.
In completing this story, we have used the last of the “next project” file, and unlike the others this work did not produce the core of a future story. It is with a sense of fulfillment and closure that we submit the conclusion of the cycle begun with Chronicles of the Pride Lands.
Will Dave and I collaborate again? Sure! Will the stories be canon with Chronicles? Sure! Will it be Volume 5 of Chronicles? No. Than what will we do? From time to time I taunt David with humorous pitches for stories based on the gopher (“Under the Golden Savanna”), and the wildebeests (“The Little Chewer That Cud”). Don’t spread gossip about these pseudo-fanfics--not even in your dreams!! But Nala--hmm, that could prove an interesting challenge for two male authors trying to avoid stereotypes and clich?s....
This story is lovingly dedicated to the memories of George and Joy Adamson. Gathered to Aiheu, they are indeed “forever free.”
John Burkitt, Nashville, Tennessee
February 12, 1997
Well, here we are again. Pride Rock’s shadow has grown long, burying the promontory in darkness as the sun slips beneath the western horizon. We have many things to do tonight, but first there’s something we’d like to share.
Somewhere in the midst of writing “The Spirit Quest,” something strange and wonderful happened. This story is mainly about two figures from that work, one brand new, the other a familiar companion from “Chronicles” who came together, forging a relationship that was to ultimately affect not only those around them, but John and I as well.
The new figure from “The Spirit Quest” is of course Ugas. And the old companion? The lioness Uzuri. Master of the hunt, devoted mother, and stalwart friend, she has touched the lives of nearly everyone around her to some degree...and that includes the authors, as well.
Let us go now; the lionesses are gathering, and Uzuri is ready.
The hunt awaits.
David Morris, Wilmington, North Carolina
February 12, 1997
PROLOGUE:
High on top of Elephant Kopje where the bare rock lay exposed, weathered but defiant, there was a crack. Years of dust storms had patiently filled that crack with small amounts of soil. And in that crack grew a single stalk of Alba whose one red blossom looked up to God with hope for the coming rains. Where the seed came from, only Aiheu knew, but he looked down on it and smiled. “One Who Brings Rain,” Aiheu said, “take care of my garden.”
“Lord, I see but a single flower,” the cloud answered.
“But it has the faith of a thousand,” Aiheu said. “Any flower can grow by the river bank, but this one has brought beauty to barrenness.”
Even in the stoniest ground, the smallest spark of life may bring beauty. And where the beauty is found, Aiheu smiles. This is a story of one such spark--the lioness Uzuri--and the beauty she brought amid the dark days of Taka’s reign.
CHAPTER: HYENAS IN THE PRIDE LANDS
Birds still sang in the trees. Clouds still wafted across the sky. A gentle breeze still caressed the grass and stirred it in waves of serene detachment. But for the lionesses of Pride Rock, the old world they thought would last forever had abruptly ended: Mufasa and Simba were gone.
Sarabi was looking for strength to live from moment to moment. Nala was huddled against her mother, struggling to understand her loss. No longer would Mufasa call her “honey tree” and tell her stories of the great kings of the past. And her friend Simba was gone forever--no more games, no more words, no more anything. In the depths of her grief, she wished she had let Simba win at wrestling just once. Now she would never get another chance.
“How bad did it hurt?” she asked her mother.
Sarafina was a huntress and had seen her share of death. Shaking with emotion, she weighed her words carefully and said, “He was so surprised, he didn’t feel much pain. I mean, before he had time to think, they’d have been all over him.” She felt warm tears run down her face. “The poor little angel!” She began to fondle Nala with a paw. “If it had been my little girl, I’d have died! Just died! Don’t you ever go near that place, or I’ll cuff your behind! Do you hear me, Missy??” Sarafina nuzzled her and kissed her.
“Oh, Momma!” Nala began to sob. “I won’t go there! I promise!” She added in a near whisper, “But can’t we go see him one last time?”
“No!” Fini kissed her again. “You don’t want to remember him the way he looks now. You really don’t.”
Before the last warmth had left the old King’s body, a new ruler sat atop Pride Rock and proceeding toward him up the winding trail were the hyenas of Shenzi’s clan. This was the new world, a frightening place of uncertainty, mistrust and grief. Uzuri watched them with bitter anguish as they violated her sanctuary, and she silently cursed Taka for betraying his people. Hyenas had murdered his aunt and uncle, and he was taking them into his home!
Despite his promise of a “glorious new future,” Taka was merely paying his debt to Shenzi, and he cared little for most of her race. But there was one hyena that he loved above all loves remaining in his tortured heart. Fabana broke from her place in the processional and ran to Taka’s side, fawning on him. He nuzzled her gently, turning her small, scarred face with his large paw and kissing her cheek with his large tongue. “Muti,” he said in broken hyannic, “mo keth ban’ret dubrek!”
Some of the hyenas looked around, puzzled. “Betra hyannicha?” one of them asked.
He shook his head. “Just a few phrases I picked up.”
Shenzi satisfied the longing of a lifetime to see the world from the tip of the promontory, planning for the day when she didn’t have to share it with the lions. All the while, oblivious to her conceited gloating, Taka lovingly stroked Fabana with his paw and gazed into her smiling face.
“I sit here tonight because of you, Muti. I would have killed myself, and my hopeless spirit would have wandered the night while a stranger ruled the Pride Lands.”
“If it hadn’t been me, someone else would have stopped you.”
“You would say that. You always believe that goodness prevails.” He kissed her cheek. “I love you more than words can say.”
Tears ran down her face, and she sat leaning gently against him. “My dear son.”
CHAPTER: RECIPE FOR DISASTER
The first night without Mufasa’s comforting presence was the hardest for Sarabi. She slinked quietly to the spot where she had spent so many blissful nights pressed against his beautiful body. His scent still hung in the air, and closed her eyes, clinging to that one last trace. “Oh gods, help me!” she cried, falling to the ground sobbing.
That evening her own sister had practically thrown herself before Taka, even after he had brought hyenas into the Pride Lands. Hyenas had murdered her parents! After that, she could not bring herself to speak to Elanna. Now her dear friend Rafiki was confined in house arrest. She had no one to turn to for comfort and had to weep alone. Only God stood between her and total isolation.
There were exactly forty paces to the end of the promontory. On the forty-first she could find an end to suffering. One extra step into the arms of love, and all the things she wished she could say to Mufasa and Simba would come pouring out before them as sweet as fragrance from the nighttime jasmine. But what a blow it would be to those she left behind! Sarafina and Isha would have to drag her battered body to the jackals and watch as her flesh was torn from her by small, sharp teeth. No, after weighing the consequences, she accepted her fate and chose the path of duty. Her life, worth living or not, would go on.
Elanna had considered her own path of duty. Her heart was pierced with thorns over the anger of her sister and the disapproval of the Pride Sisters. It would have been simple to turn away from Taka and stay in the good graces of her friends. But she had watched Taka’s struggle with depression and frustration wear away at him and take his joys away one by one. His first love had rejected him, and his parents were dead. Now his brother was dead, and he had to turn to the hyenas for comfort. She wanted to love him, to comfort him and give his life meaning once more. And hoping against hope that he would find solace in her love, she had dared to offer herself to him completely and openly.
Sarabi had asked her to choose between her sister and her lover, to give up happiness and cubs of her own, and share Sarabi’s loneliness forever in return for acceptance by the Pride.
“It’s not fair!” Elanna prayed fervently. “I love her enough to die for her and right now I should be by her side, but she won’t have me! She loved him once--how can she blame me for needing him so? She doesn’t understand, God. What can I say that will make her listen??”
Taka stole quietly to her side and nuzzled her. “So sad, my darling?”
“Hold me,” she said, as tears ran down her cheeks. “Let me feel you near me.”
Taka kissed away her tears and began to stroke her with his paw. “I’ve never seen you more beautiful than you are right now. Such a kind heart, capable of such compassion.” He looked at her with a tenderness uncommon to him. “If I’d known how you felt before, things might have been very different now.”
“How?”
“Does it matter?”
Taka rested beside her feeling her comforting presence. He closed his eyes and could see Mufasa and Sarabi with little Simba resting in their favorite spot. Next to them, Elanna nursing a small Taka and a small Lannie. Taka loved Mufasa once, as he had loved Sarabi. If only he had stopped striving after a vain dream and seen the potential in Elanna long ago! Under the circumstances, Taka felt his deeds were justified, but still he wondered if there was more he could have done to purge the curse that poisoned Mufasa’s love and alienated Sarabi. The nagging doubt that he was partly to blame for began to eat away at him, and he felt contaminated--dirty in ways that no water could wash clean.
Oh to have felt clean again! He would have been content with Elanna’s sincere and unblemished love. And there would have been no hyenas in the Pride Lands earning him the undying hatred of the pride. The price he paid to rule was too high, but it was final and there could be no refund. Opening his eyes once more to the sobering truth, he kissed Elanna’s cheek and sighed deeply.
Uzuri and the other pride sisters were also very upset, but they found solace in the discipline and effort of the hunt. Sarabi’s missing position hurt them like a wound, and Uzuri discretely asked Ajenti to take the left point of the crescent formation. Ajenti took a few steps toward Sarabi’s old spot, but she broke down into tears.
“I can’t! I just can’t! It’s HER spot!”
“There now,” Isha said. “You take my spot, Honey Tree. I’ll do the left point tonight.”
Painfully, Isha stalked to the left point position and took the post with unaccustomed somberness. “Well, let’s do this thing.”
Meanwhile with unaccustomed jubilation, the hyenas were going to hunt the Pride Lands without the fear of being discovered. Used to the arid conditions of the elephant graveyard, the smell of fresh grass and trees, of blossoms and vines intoxicated their senses. The scents on the wind filled them with promises of good times ahead.
Not that Ber or the other loyalists got to enjoy any of that. Their ties to the former Roh’mach earned them endless, mind-numbing guard duty. Shenzi suspected that the old ways were too ingrained in them to trust them with anything else.
Ber watched the night sky and sighed. The distant laughter of his clan brothers stirred a longing in him to be out and about following the trail. “Roh’kash, first I lost my son, and now I’ve lost my true calling! Great Mother, am I to rot out here like a discarded bone with all the marrow stripped away? Show me the way out, Great Mother! There is only death here!”
Uzuri nodded, and her pride sisters spread out in a pattern of her own design, ready to advance on a herd of gazelles. The moon was kind-- just full enough to see by, but not full enough to betray the lithe lionesses in the tall grass.
Uzuri’s ears flattened back and her tail twitched. Instantly her pride sisters tensed up, ready for action. They waited for the signal to rush....
“Now I got you!” shouted a hyena, darting between the lionesses and the gazelles in pursuit of a bolting hare. The gazelles looked around and fled.
“Damn!” Uzuri yelled.
The hyena closed on the hare and with a snap, he had snatched the life from the small body. Bearing his trophy proudly, he trotted back across the meadow toward Pride Rock.
Ber watched Skulk prance by with a dead rabbit. Not far behind him was the hunting party of lionesses, and Ber could tell they were furious.
“Back early, I see? Did luck go with you?”
“Yes!” Isha spat. “All of it bad!”
“Hfff! Did it have to do with that rabbit?”
Without answering, Isha and the others pushed past him and went to see Taka.
The King was lying down napping when he got a rude nudge from Uzuri. “Look here, we have a problem.”
“We do indeed,” Taka said grumpily. “Never do that when I’m asleep!”
“Those--friends of yours--just spoiled our chances of pulling down a gazelle or two for a lousy rabbit! We can’t have them running wild while we’re hunting! You’re King--do something!”
“Well I just might, since I AM King. Not that you’d know it from the level respect you show me.”
“I’m sorry--Sire.”
“This union will work. I didn’t say there wouldn’t be any problems at first. What we need is more cooperation. Something like a mutual hunt. That’s it--you get together with Pipkah and plan something you can all pull off together.”
“But sire, our styles are so different!”
“That’s why I’m putting an expert in charge. You will justify the faith I have in you, hmm?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I ask of anyone. Now run along and let me get some sleep.”
He closed his eyes and rolled over. Clearly, the subject was closed.
CHAPTER: WITHOUT A PRAYER
The next night came in silent splendor. Sarabi looked with misty eyes at the stars as they made their nightly migration across the heavens.
“Aiheu,” she wailed. “Help us! Call up the ancestral spirits! Send Taka wisdom to turn from the path he has taken! Help him to see the folly of his ways. But until he finds the right path, help us to deal with these hyenas.” She pawed at the sky and added, “I don’t understand any of this. I don’t understand why good people like Simba have to die while Shenzi goes on and on. But you are merciful. I know you are just and good. Don’t forget us in our hour of need! Please don’t forget us!”
Ber also prayed. “We are hated here. I want to go home and take my family with me! These lions do not want us, and though their land is good, I cannot sleep safely in the shadow of this rock. Touch our Roh’mach and open her eyes to the truth! Drive out from among us the deceiver and forgive us of our recklessness!”
“Let the hunt begin,” Taka’s voice boomed with unbridled optimism. “Hunt mistress, we need your blessing!”
Uzuri went to stand near Taka. The blessing was supposed to be an important milestone, and the new King had given her some prompting on what he wanted her to say. It should not have taken her much thought to do that. He wanted her customary reference to “Aiheu” to be expressed as a more generic “God,” and wanted all references to “Him” or “His” changed to avoid offending the hyenas whose God was the female Roh’kash.
And yet Uzuri stood before the crowd, lions on her right and hyenas on her left. She looked at the expectant hyenas and felt a shiver run down her spine. Then she glanced over at the lionesses. Their faces were downcast and their ears and tails sagged. Taka’s ideas on a “glorious new era” stuck in her throat. She could say nothing.
“Come on, Hunt Mistress,” Taka hoarsely whispered.
The desolation on Yolanda’s face matched the depth of bitterness in Isha’s expression. Uzuri had to drop her glance.
“Uzuri,” Taka growled, “they’re waiting.”
The hyenas began to murmur uncomfortably. She had to do something, so she did the only thing she could do. She faced the lionesses squarely and prayed.
“Have mercy on us, O Lord. For our transgressions, do not punish us. Look with favor upon we who call on you. And on the trail, let us find sustenance for our bodies and comfort for our spirits. Blessed Aiheu, hear our prayer!”
The lionesses somberly bowed one by one. “Blessed Aiheu, hear our prayer!”
The hyenas looked one at the other. “Great Mother, sustain us,” they said, nervously, bowing. Soon, the whole hunting party lay prostrate on the savanna.
“Good hunting,” Uzuri said shakily. She started to walk off.
“Interesting prayer,” Taka said with a harsh edge to his voice. “Did I detect a note of pessimism?”
“You detected a prayer,” Uzuri said, pushing past him.
Ber pushed up alongside her. She had been avoiding eye contact with the hyenas and it took a lot of work for him to get her attention.
“Well, what do you want?”
“It’s about that prayer.”
“I’ve already been called down once about it.”
“I’m not calling you down,” he said. “I can tell that you’re a good person, and I know Roh’kash will side with you. When the revolt comes, and I feel one will, spare my mate and pups. They are loyal to the old ways and do not want to be here. Remember us.”
She stared at him and sniffed. “I will.”
“I was the hunt master. Now I’m just a guard. Of all the lions, maybe you alone know how much I’ve lost.”
She looked him right in the eyes. For the moment, her feelings for hyenas was tempered with compassion. “I know what you’ve lost, and I hope I’m not next. Pray to your god for me and I’ll pray to Aiheu for you.”
Ber smiled. “God is God. She will hear both our prayers.”
Uzuri went to initiate the first cooperative hunt. She looked at Beesa and sighed. “Well, let’s do this thing.” She felt even then that the hunt was doomed.
CHAPTER: KICKING A DEAD HORSE
The first cooperative hunt was a disaster. Now Taka did not ask her but TOLD her to give the hyenas another chance. To make it worse, Uzuri’s plea for Ber to lead the hyenas fell on deaf ears. Taka deferred to Shenzi in the matter, and she wanted Pipkah to remain in charge.
Apparently the little creep was a better liar than he was a hunter.
Uzuri had little choice but to accept Taka’s decision, but she was going to make it quite clear to Pipkah that THIS time he would wait for her signal to close in.
Just as she was thinking of a diplomatic way to make her point, Pipkah swaggered up to her with a couple of large hyena guards. “Your advice got us into this mess, and it’s up to me to get us out. This time I plan the strategy, Toots.”
Uzuri looked at him speechlessly.
He continued. “Shenzi and Taka have the utmost of confidence in my abilities when I’m allowed to do what I do best.”
“If that’s irritating me, you have succeeded beautifully....”
“This is an outrage!”
“....and NEVER call me Toots!”
Uzuri was ready to explode. She looked over at her sister Sarafina, searching for the right words to vent her feelings. Frustrated and inarticulate, she struck the ground with a paw. “Look, Sis. You deal with this--PERSON--while I take a walk to clear my head.” She turned and started off.
“You’d better take a mighty long walk,” Pipkah called after her.
She whipped about and snarled. “I warn you, Pip Squeak--you don’t have enough friends to keep me from ripping your leg off and jamming it down your throat!”
“Now Sis,” Sarafina purred soothingly. “Don’t threaten him like that.” She patted Pipkah on the head with a paw, none too gently. “He might lose his concentration in the hunt and have an unfortunate accident.” She winked in clear view of Pipkah and Uzuri winked back.
Pipkah’s ears went back and his jaw trembled. “Holy Roh’kash, you can do without me or my plan! I always said it was a mistake to trust your kind! Didn’t I, boys?? Accident indeed!” He slinked away, looking over his shoulder uneasily. “The Roh’mach will hear about this!”
CHAPTER: OUT OF BOUNDS
Taka was a lion who inspired pity for a while, then contempt and finally anger. Uzuri had pitied him once. She had reached the stage of contempt during his difficult adolescence. Now she had reached the point of anger, a white hot anger that could swallow up the moon and the sun and make the rivers run red with blood. She was headed to the eastern meadow, ready to leave and never come back.
Being hunt mistress was her sense of belonging, her identity. Uzuri was beautiful, but she always saw herself first as a good provider and a leader. That night by siding with Pipkah, Taka had stripped her of all she held dear. She felt naked and ashamed and very angry. If he did not appreciate her talents, she would find someone who did.
Uzuri had no idea where she would go. Indeed, the world beyond the Pride Lands was unknown to her and fraught with danger. The intimate knowledge of her home that made her such a fearsome huntress would be gone. She would see only what was in front of her nose.
As she calmed down, her reckless courage failed her and she felt very vulnerable and small. Could she leave her sister Sarafina and young Nala? Could she spurn Ajenti’s sage wisdom, Beesa’s compassion and Yolanda’s gentle advice? And then came the terrible thought of losing Rafiki’s matchless devotion.
She realized she could never turn her back on those she loved. And the void her anger left behind filled with fear. Glancing about, she saw a large pair of eyes glowing in the moonlight.
“Oh gods, no!”
She backed back. It was a male lion! She turned and started to run.
“No, wait!”
“Leave me alone!” She ran madly toward her territory and safety.
“Please, come back! I’m not going to hurt you!”
“Leave me alone!”
She ran blindly into some hedges and got tangled. It only stopped her forward progress for a moment, but that was long enough for him to catch up.
“I’m too old for this,” he complained, wheezing. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll protect myself!” she snarled defensively. “Let me go! I don’t want to cause trouble, but I’ll fight if I have to!”
“I don’t want you to fight,” the lion said soothingly. “You came on my land and almost walked into me. Won’t you at least introduce yourself?”
“Sorry,” she said stiffly. “I’m Uzuri. Glad to meet you. Can I go now?”
“Sure you can,” he said gently. “Run away if you must, but don’t tell them I harmed you. At least tell them the truth, and be sure you get my name right.”
“I don’t know your name.”
“You never asked me. I’m Ugas.” He smiled bashfully.
“I’m sorry. I’m not always this rude--uh--Ugas.” She relaxed. “Are you the King here or a rogue lion?”
“I’m King here.” He drew near enough to reach out and touch her with a paw but he made no move to do so. His large, beautiful eyes swept over her face in a search for understanding. “Uzuri, you look depressed. Is everything quite all right?”
“I’m fine. Just fine.”
“Your words say you are fine, but I see something in the way you’re standing, the set of your ears, even the way you look at me. It’s as if your whole being is crying out for help.” He sat like a sphinx and began to idly groom his mane and said matter-of-factly, “You were thinking of running away.”
“How did you....says who??”
“Don’t be upset, my dear.” He smiled pleasantly. “You can confide in me. That’s the best part of meeting a stranger--you can say anything that comes to your mind. I’ve lived a long life--maybe I’ll have the answer you’re looking for.”
“No, it’s nothing, thank you.” She licked her paw nervously but looked into Ugas’ eyes and his warm, fatherly smile. “Well, yes,” she said at last. It felt good to admit it. “Our King is dead and now his brother is ruling the Pride Lands. I’m sure he means well, but he’s....”
“But you can’t stand him. Mufasa was a good friend. Scar is...how shall I put this...acting like himself.” He shrugged. “So are the rumors true? Are hyenas really living on Pride Rock?”
“Yes! Oh gods, it’s awful!”
“And terribly unfair to you, hunt mistress. I hear your first joint effort was a disaster.”
“It sure was!” She gasped. “How did you know that??”
“I have eyes and ears all over. Even Zazu.” He saw her expression of shock, but only nodded and began to examine his claws. “Don’t look so surprised. His mother lives here, and she’s a first- class gossip. And then Mufasa used to always do border patrol with me before ‘IT’ happened.”
“You walked the line together?”
“He’d nod at me, and I’d nod at him. He never said much, but when he did speak, it was always something worth hearing. And the first day he wasn’t there, I had this horrible emptiness inside.” He sighed. “I didn’t realize Simba was dead too, not for several days. Taka didn’t tell me anything, and Zazu hasn’t been back.”
Uzuri hung her head. Tears began to run down her cheeks.
“You poor dear thing,” Ugas purred, reaching up with a paw and wiping her face.
She looked into his gentle eyes and saw genuine compassion. “You really liked Mufasa, didn’t you?”
“Yes. And the child, too, for I have no son of my own. I used to think Mufasa was so lucky.” A tear slid down his cheek. “You’re a parent. Surely you understand.”
“I understand, but I’m not a parent.”
“You’re not??” He looked surprised. “As beautiful as you are?”
She looked down, embarrassed. “You flatter me.”
“Oh no, my dear. You are beautiful. And when you cry, the beauty goes all the way through.” He lifted her chin with a paw and looked into her sad eyes. “I bet a smile would have the same effect.”
“I don’t have any smiles left.”
Ugas kissed away the new tears. “You pierce my heart with a thorn, child. Taka is so full of hate--I’ve seen it when he walks the border. He glares at me and shouts, ‘This land is mine! You want it, but you’ll never have it!’” He nuzzled her. “There is no hate in me, Uzuri. Come with me and I’ll see if I can find a few smiles left. Meet the others--they could be your pride sisters.” He watched for her reaction, but when she said nothing, he added, “I’m offering you freedom, my dear. Freedom and friendship.”
“You’re very kind, but not now. I have family there.”
“Bring them with you. Don’t go back to Taka--it’s not safe while he’s there.”
“Thank you, but it’s my home. There’s more at stake than family and friends. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yes. Do what you feel you must.”
She sighed. “Well, it’s time for me to make my report. You’re such a kind lion, Aiheu would listen to your prayers. Say a prayer for me.”
Ugas nodded. “I will. Take care of yourself, dear.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Call me Ugas,” he said, rising and touching her cheek with his nose, then kissing her lightly. “Come back to me.”
“When?”
“Any time you want to see me. Any time at all. That goes for your friends as well.”
She felt of his cheek with a paw. “Yes, I might just do that.”
CHAPTER: FAMILY TIES
Ugas hummed to himself as he trotted through the grass. His mind wandered back to Uzuri and the short time they shared, and he smiled despite himself. “Lovely Uzuri,” he thought dreamily, “what was Aiheu thinking when he fashioned you? Was he singing his favorite song? Was he in a good mood?”
Ugas had known many lionesses over the course of his life, but there was something about this one. The way she looked at him made him want to frisk about like a cub. He closed his eyes and summoned up the image of her face again. "Uzuri," he whispered.
He tried to imagine what her smile was like, but her pervasive sadness was too strong. “I will make you smile,” he thought. “I’ll devote my life to it. The magic of your smile would cheat death itself, and I’d be young again!”
"Daydreaming again, you old goat?!"
Ugas started and opened his eyes to see the lioness glaring at him through the scrub bushes that lined the path he had been following. "Adhama, what are you doing here?"
"Making sure you do your sentry duty this time." She emerged from the cover and stood face to face with him. "I found hyena tracks not twenty lengths from our kopje last night, Ugas! What have you been doing out here, napping??"
He drew himself up to his full height, his neck arching in indignation. "You know full well I was patrolling! If it wasn’t for me, Sis, this pride wouldn’t even exist!"
