[3rd POV]
(The Pridelands)
Three days after the battle.
The chaotic horde was nursing its wounds, much like how Leo was doing the same. But unlike the lion king, that has his subjects to help him, the same could not be said for the hyenas.
It was quite the opposite, actually. While the lions helped each other, the hyenas were doing the opposite. They were sabotaging each other.
Canibalism went rampant.
The hyenas took home the corpses of their fallen comrade and began feasting on their own kind. But due to their endless hunger and because the vultures were competing with them for the spoil of the battle, the hyenas had to turn against each other.
They got their first taste of fresh meat in months, so they went completely insane after eating those corpses.
After three days, there was no longer any wounded or injured hyena among the horde. But not because they have healed, no, it was because all of them were dead, eaten to be exact.
The hyenas, even with the slightest bit of injury, became victims as the horde devoured them whole. They behaved more like sharks that smelled blood than a hyena.
The result of this event was the further reduction of their number. But at the same time, the strengthening of the surviving members.
In total, the number of living hyenas was now only around 150. What started off as a horde with more than 400 members has now been reduced to less than half.
Scar saw all these events unfold from the top of Pride Rock. But instead of panicking, he looked at the new army with a smile. The reduction of their number meant less force, but it also meant the army was finally within the ability of his control once more.
And it also meant the hyenas that survived were the fittest. They were the finest the previous horde had to offer. They were not blinded by hunger or chaos; they had turned into a proper army.
Along with his pride and the 150 hyenas under proper control, Scar was still confident in his victory against Leo.
The second battle will take place soon, and this time, it will be his victory.
Leo, the tailless cub, might win the battle, but Scar will win the war.
...
It was late into the evening and the whole of Scar's Pride was resting in their den. What used to be a dignified cave filled with lion's authority had now turned into filth. There were dry bones everywhere and the whole cave was filled with the stench of hyena carcasses.
The lions, much like the hyenas, had resorted to eating the dead or the injured. In a wasteland that no longer held viable prey, they had to eat what they could get or starve.
The pride had 16 members in total. 7 lionessess, 2 lions, 3 sub-adults and finally 4 cubs. In total, Scar had 12 fighting members in his pride while the cubs were still too young to even kill one hyena.
Although Leo at their age could already solo a leopard, the cubs of Scar could not have been more pathetic compared to him. It was like comparing heaven with a toilet brush.
They were lanky little kittens, starved by the land and their brain completely filled with the nonsensical ideaolgy of Scar. Especially the male cubs, Scar made sure to groom them properly in fear that they would grow up to challenge him. If Scar saw even the hint of rebellion, he would kill them before they became a threat.
He wouldn't make the same mistake he did with Leo. Even his own blood would not be spared in his desperation to hold power.
The adults and the sub-adults, on the other hand, were a bit more impressive. They had survived the harshness of the wasteland and there was something to them. They weren't well fed, trained, or big like Leo's pride, but they were sharp, like the edge of a razor.
Together, the pride was a formidable force in their own right.
And while the lions were loitering around the dark, gloomy cave like typical villains would, a hyena walked inside.
It was Grasha. She alone came before Scar, whereas she was followed by two other leaders before. But now, only she was the remaining survivor. One of them died in the battle against Leo, used like a weapon to beat the other hyenas until she was completley torn apart.
The other one came out alive but injured. She was Grasha's yesterday's meal.
When she reached Scar, she gave a bow. This time, it was a rather fearful and respectful bow. It was quite the contrast to last time when she was only pretending.
The battle with Leo was so astounding to the point it awakened the instinctive fear of lions in every hyena again, including her. And with the image of Leo, a lion, still fresh in her mind, she couldn't help but also fear Scar.
If Scar was even a fraction of what Leo was, then that was enough to get them back in line.
Indirectly, Leo had helped Scar control the hyenas better than ever before.
"The hyenas are now united under one clan again. We are no longer just a horde. The in-fighting has vanished, and hunger has been put on hold for at least a week," Grasha reported with head bowed low.
Scar released a pleased hum.
"We are ready to be commanded, my king," Grasha said.
"You have done well, Grasha, and the efforts of your fellow hyenas have pleased me. All of you had grown arrogant, but I'm sure the battle was a great reminder. I, as your benevolent king, will look past all your failures and shortcomings and next time we meet Leo in battle, I will give you victory," Scar said.
"And revenge,"
Things did not go as Scar had planned. Well, it never really did when his plan involved Leo.
The original plan was to let the two parties fight each other, swoop in at the last second and take all the spoils. But Leo and his pride were much more powerful than Scar expected.
And yet the current turn of events was favourable to him too. Scar was adaptable if anything, that was his innate nature.
He had seen the battle from afar and although Leo and his lions were strong, he had seen their weakness. He had seen how their whole formation crumbled after one lioness was caught. He saw how Leo literally put himself in danger for the safety of his pride.
Love. How horribly naive.
Love never ends well in nature. It was survival of the fittest, Scar was keenly aware of this. But in his mind, he thought Leo was not aware of this.
He planned exploit that.
Just like how he exploited Mufasa's love for his son.
He killed a king before, and he was sure he could do it again.
Like father like son.
..
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(The outskirts of the Pridelands)
"I didn't think it would go as well as it did," Dr Tonson admitted while standing beside the jeep. "All thanks to Dr Hana, she was a great help and the strategy she came up with for the injection was quite frankly brilliant."
Hana shook her head, "It was only because of your examples that I got the idea," she said with a smile.
The whole team of researchers was celebrating the small victory. Ever since they talked about the possibility of infection and disease, everyone had been on edge. They wanted to help but weren't sure how to do so.
They considered sneaking into the pride while they were sleeping but that was out of the question immediately. Sneaking up to a lion especially while they were vulnerable could only end in a disaster.
So they had to wait until Leo recovered and ate a full meal so that they could reduce the risk of any accidents. They were at least confident that Leo would not brutally murder them, he was not a mindless savage unlike what his appearance would make you think.
But the whole thing unfolded even better than they expected.
"Next time, I vote for Ramirez and Malik to take our place," Hana said with a grin after the celebration was over.
"Huh? Why does everyone insist on dragging me into this?" Malik asked in exasperation.
"The experienced would be better suited for the job," Ramirez replied.
These two were known to be more fearful towards Leo since the start so the crew had fun teasing them about it. Especially when it came to Malik, he seemed to have a natural phobia of big cats in general.
But while everyone was having fun and the two researchers didn't even bother climbing up the jeep yet, something was approaching them.
"Ummmm guys," Mo began, his voice nervous but his eyes never left his drone controller and the screen perched on top of it.
"I think you might want to see this," he said.
The researchers tried to squeeze themselves and see what Mo was talking about. But before they could see what was on his screen, he corrected.
"Not this," he said and looked up from the tablet, "I mean that."
"!!!"
The researchers looked out and it was then that they saw the whole pride coming towards them.
They all froze.
Confronting Leo was one thing but seeing a whole 28 lions approaching you was nerve-wracking to the limit.
"Hana... Dr Tonson... please calmly get your ass back on the jeep as quick as possible," Malik said.
The two nodded robotically and followed the command. They walked towards the jeep and were about to climb up but then a small roar stopped them on the spot.
They didn't understand why, but their bodies recognized the king's command to stop.
Leo walked forward but did not come beside them. He stopped a few feet away and he locked his gaze with them. Dr Tonson and Hana both found themselves looking into his eyes even though they didn't want to.
And when they saw his eyes, it was like they understood what he wanted instantly.
A lioness walked forward. She walked past Leo and came to them directly. The researchers did not know but the lioness was Tala, the most injured among the pride in battle.
Tala walked forward and began pacing back and forth in front of them. It did not take long for them to see all the wounds on her body, she was showing it to them after all.
Dr Tonson turned to Leo, "You want us to help her too?"
And Leo gave a nod. No matter how weird it sounded, Dr Tonson truly believed that Leo could understand them to an extent.
"Ok," he said.
And not just Tala, the researchers cleaned the wounds of every lion in the pride. Their wounds were nowhere near as bad as Leo's so they still managed with their remaining medicines.
As all the members of the pride trapped the researchers in their number, they began to feel like they were part of the pride. For a moment, the humans thought they could understand the lions a bit and what it meant to be a lion.
But not everyone appreciated that feeling though.
"He's biting me!! He's biting me!!" Malik screamed when a curious cub tugged at the hat on his head.
The cowboy-looking hat was tightly strapped onto his head so even as the cub tugged gently, it felt to Malik like the beast was trying to tear his head off.
All the cubs were more than half a year old so they were all bigger than leopards now. Even the smallest cub seemed dangerous to a human.
The others laughed. But those quickly died down as they too were surrounded by curious cats. The pride would look cute if they were not so big.
Each member had their own curious lions to deal with. There was fear at first, there was insecurity. But under the presence of Leo, the humans and the lions made their first contact.
The lions too no longer let the researchers blur with the surroundings as they began interacting with them. It was the start of something beautiful from both sides.
"Oh look at you, you magnificent creature," Dr Robert said while looking at Zael.
He reached out his hand fearfully. But just like him, Zael was similarly curious about the humans. So he allowed him to make contact.
"Hooooo... haha," Dr Robert felt his breath hitching as he felt the lion before him. Sometimes dwarfed by Leo's size and magnificence, Zael was one of the most extraordinary lions in his own right.
He was growing to the size of Baraka, he had the brains of Roku and he was the son of Makali. Fed buffaloes in his vital growth stage and having Leo as a father figure and an example, he was bound to be remarkable.
Dr Robert and Zael immediately formed a silent bond as the two interacted.
Leo watched everything unfold and he had a small smile on his face.
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