[1st POV]
I climbed onto my usual place in the kopje, the highest point on the hill.
But this time, I did not come to rest. I had another purpose.
My blood was literally boiling from my previous confrontation. I wanted so badly to see what Scarface would do when he was cornered. How long would it take for him to give up? And how hard would I have to try to get him to that point?
I wanted to know.
Fuck my injuries, they weren't bad anyway.
I roared as loud as I could when I reached the top. My voice came out excited, explosive. It was not a long, drawn-out roar meant to travel distance. It was a short burst to get attention.
The pride knew what that entailed. It was a summons.
They got up from where they were and came. They gathered under me, all lionesses and cubs. And when everyone was present, I declared,
"We are moving!!"
"We are not going to wait any longer in the worst part of my kingdom. We are going to move north, towards the Central Serengeti," I said.
The lionesses from the Siringet Pride perked up immediately. The Central region had always been their home since even before I appeared.
"I want us to get there in two days at most. We will be moving right now," I said.
The pride immediately followed my command, scaling down the kopje to begin their journey north. No one questioned why.
Grim returned right then, flying around in circles a few times before he landed beside me. I continued watching my pride climb down the mountain as Grim reported.
"I've lost sight of the lion. He hid under the cover of the trees, but I've told the other vultures to fly above and report back to me the moment he comes out into the open plains," he said.
"So he also figured out about us that quickly," I said with a smile. "Most animals are dumb, not knowing till now that you guys listen and work for me."
"So what should we do next? Should I go to the central region and scout them out?" he asked.
"That wouldn't be necessary," I said. "We are all going there."
"Will that be a good idea, my Lord?" Grim asked, his head turning toward me.
I met his eyes. "No. But it's a fun idea."
I was not going to wait here and give them time to plan or launch an attack on me themselves. No. This was my kingdom, and I would be the one to do the cleanup.
,,,
,,,
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[3rd POV]
"Scarface and Leo met. Our speculation was true. The leader of the Four Musketeers really came down to meet with him," Emmanuel said the moment Dr. Tonson came back to the tent with a cup of his favorite coffee.
"Wait, what?" Dr. Tonson blinked. "All that happened during the one hour I was gone?"
He immediately came in front of the many screens shown on the main table. One live footage caught his attention, and that was Leo's pride all leaving their kopje and heading north, from what he could tell.
"Are they moving again? Already?"
"Yup. Probably to the Central Serengeti if I had to make a bet," Emmanuel said while reclining on the chair.
"And who takes a shit for one hour?" he asked.
"There was this very peculiar honey badger who was very fond of me. Followed me around and tried to disturb every good spot I found," Dr. Tonson said. "Made me take a shit in five different locations."
"Ew," Dr. Emmanuel said. "Be careful. Some territorial lion might mistake you for marking the land and attack you."
"Don't give me ideas," Dr. Tonson said, pushing his glasses up to play back the existing footage of when Leo and Scarface met.
"Is the footage broken?" Dr. Tonson asked when he finally saw what he was looking for.
Leo and Scarface met, but it was mostly them just facing off with each other and growling. It was the strangest thing to look at, making everyone tilt their heads.
"Weird, huh? It's like they're having a conversation," Dr. Emmanuel said.
"It probably is. They're having a conversation as kings, in the language of lions," Dr. Tonson said.
Emmanuel scoffed, waiting for the joke. But Dr. Tonson was dead serious. There was no humor in his body language.
"Are you for real?"
"We never know."
Dr. Emmanuel stayed silent. Dr. Tonson was someone he highly respected, so seeing that he had belief, or at least speculation, that lions could communicate like that made him think a bit more deeply on the subject.
Indeed, most of these weird behaviors would make much more sense if they stopped underestimating these animals and, for a moment, gave it to them that they could communicate.
"Do you think there's a chance there will be a war? You know, pride wars, not just between the kings. Like the one you witnessed back then," Dr. Emmanuel asked.
Although unbelievable at first, there was proof of that happening. The doctor still couldn't wrap his head around how that could be real. Lion prides fighting. Hyenas becoming an army under a lion.
"The whole pride is moving, so maybe," Dr. Tonson said softly.
There was a silence of anticipation as Emmanuel smiled and rocked back and forth in his chair. How amazing would it be if he got to witness such a scene too?
But eventually, he remembered something.
"You know, I also heard some news while you were away," Dr. Emmanuel said.
"Hmm?" Dr. Tonson responded, but he did not take his eyes off the screen.
"We found an abandoned camp this morning. Still had some campfires and other residues, even though they were clearly trying to hide it," he said.
"Ok?"
"Thing is, we found it near the Mara River in the Northern Serengeti. We have no one there," Dr. Emmanuel revealed.
"!!" That finally made him turn.
"We think they're poachers," Dr. Emmanuel said.
"Goddamn it," Dr. Tonson took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Fuck."
"Yeah, but we're hoping to catch them or at least scare them off soon. I already called headquarters to send more rangers," he said.
"That's good. We don't want anyone dying over greed," Dr. Tonson said, to which Emmanuel agreed with a hum.
...
...
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[1st POV]
(Two days later)
Two days later, here I am.
On the outskirts of what the kings probably thought was their territory.
I stopped the pride the moment I smelled the scent on one of the trees. It was the first mark I had found of these kings, and from the smell, let's just say I was not that impressed.
"Should we go out hunting?" Zuri asked when the pride finally settled down.
"No. You will hunt after I defeat the lions here. Before that, it is too dangerous," I said.
"Okay," she obeyed easily enough.
She studied my body language for a moment, trying to see if it would be okay if she lingered or even showed some affection. But I was currently in preparation, my body taut with energy ready to be unleashed.
She decided to back away, returning to the rest of the pride.
After a while, I finally thought it was time.
"Are you ready, Grim?" I asked.
"Always," he answered, standing on top of a tree beside me. It was the same tree that had the scent.
"Let's do this then."
I sucked in a deep breath, allowing air to build up in my chest until it expanded and the air literally became mine.
I put my whole energy behind it.
I threw my head to the sky and roared.
ROAR!!!
It was so loud it shook the ground and spooked every living being. Even my own pride flinched back. It was just natural instinct to move away when you heard such a loud sound, even while knowing who it came from and who it came for.
My shattering roar was followed by a horde of vultures suddenly taking flight into the sky. They made sounds of their own amid the echo of my roar.
Then they flew toward those who were going to die soon.
Scarface, hope you prepared well.
..
..
[IMAGE]
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Double chapter