[1st POV]
"Be calm Nala, they don't mean harm," I said gently to the suspicious mother as the humans went near the cubs to examine them.
I allowed them to be near around my cubs because I knew they could help them in case of diseases and also monitoring their health.
I wanted my cubs to be healthy. In the wild, the survival of cubs was less than half. I wanted to make sure my cubs were not on the wrong side of the probability scale.
The humans were also ones I trusted, Hana and Dr Tonson.
They had brought a bag and a small weighing scale. It was a platform scale, the type often used to weigh vegetables in supermarkets.
They had done the same thing to the other cubs; Nala's cubs were the last because she was the least on board with the whole letting a hairless monkey touch the cubs.
But when Nala saw the softness and the gentleness with which they handled Kiara, her doubts were starting to melt away.
"7 kilograms from Kiara at one month old," Hana said when she gently put her on the scale.
Dr Tonson jotted down on a notebook, "Like expected, every cub is on the higher end of the expected weight at one month."
"Well, they have a big father," Hana said, softly patting Kiara, who quickly walked off the scale. The steel platform was different from the soil of the savannah and cubs were not too comfortable with new things at this stage.
It was cold too.
Kiara ran away from Hana's grasp and buried herself under Nala's belly.
"They are adorable."
I know, humans. I know.
"Up next, the last male cub," Hana said, and looked at Aslan who was peeking out from behind his mother.
Nala was laying sideways on the ground and he was mounting her giant body with his small frame. His eyes were not fearful like his sister. He was studying, he was curious but at the same time, he was cautious.
"Aslan," I called the cub and he responded. They couldn't talk or understand yet, but they knew their name.
"Go," I said, gesturing with my head.
It seemed he understood my body language because he slid off his mother and slowly approached the humans. When Hana tried to grab him, he lowered his body and made the fur on his back stand like a cat.
Hana quickly retracted her hands.
Of his own accord, Aslan went and climbed on top of the scale.
"11 kilograms," Hana said, looking at Dr Tonson in astonishment. "That's the biggest cub in the pride. And also might be the biggest measured one month old."
I smiled, prideful.
"Let me just..." Hana said and began looking at his body. She searched for any signs of infection or injury. After finding none, she softly nudged at his behind to make him climb off the scale.
He turned to me while returning to his mother and I gave a soft smile and a nod to show that he did a good job.
His tail wagged and he shyly went back to his mother.
"That's all the data we need," Hana said with a smile. "They are growing a bit faster than other cubs but that's all within our expectation. The father's genes and the splendid diet of the mother were bound to make them grow."
"Thank you for letting us see your children," Dr Tonson turned to me and said like he knew I could understand him.
I could but I shouldn't be. He was truly a mad man.
I rewarded him by nodding.
"See that? Did you see that? He understood!!" Dr Tonson said excitedly.
"Calm down doctor, he is just mirroring your action," Hana said while pushing at him to stand.
"No no no, I will do it again. Thank you," he said again, this time without a bow.
I gave him a blank stare.
"That doesn't prove anything! He responded the first time!" Dr Tonson said as they walked away from the pride.
I chuckled seeing that. I turned to the mother and gave her affection for going with my words even though she was against it at the start.
After a few minutes of staying with Nala, I got up and walked towards the humans. Their vehicle and makeshift camp was not that far away from where the pride was currently staying, so I reached there in a short time.
The nomadic life of the pride was put on hold for the moment because it was difficult to move around with the cubs. But let a few months pass and we should be moving again, albeit a little slower and more infrequent.
But to make up for the dominant king staying in one place, I had lots of hyenas under me now. They kept the challengers out of my territory in the land where my presence was barely known.
And if a huge coalition appeared, it was just a matter of them telling me and I would just take a few days trip to eliminate them.
When trouble arises, so does solution.
When I reached the human camp, it was much more comfortable than expected. They had proper tents and a campfire place that had seen some frequent use. Since the pride was not moving too much, they weren't either.
There were two vehicles in the scene, one where the researchers moved around and another that was reserved for carrying supplies.
I didn't need to search to see the reason why I came here.
"Jumbo, Mamo," I called out their names.
The two rhinos turned to me, their snouts completely drenched in white liquid. In front of them was a large plastic tub that was surrounded by rocks to make sure it didn't tip over or move.
A six or seven month old calf still needed milk. And since I wouldn't allow them to take away my two babies, the humans were forced to compensate in any way. One of them was by giving them milk like this to make sure they could grow even while being at my pride.
The two of them left their milk tub and jogged towards me. They didn't come to a pause when they reached me so I had to brace myself.
Two calves that didn't know how big they were or how strong they were slammed into my body and I braced myself and stopped them. Had I been a lesser lion, I would've been folded.
"You having a good time?" I asked while raking my claws down their growing hides. I did not apply pressure so they liked the scratching.
"Yes, Yes!!" they answered.
The baby rhinos could speak words now, albeit they still didn't really talk. But it was a huge improvement.
They were also not as fearful of the humans as the lions. Since the humans literally replaced their mother's milk, they were attached and knew the humans were harmless.
I led the two of them to the milk tub where they continued feeding. Their diet was a 30/70 mix between grazing grass and drinking the milk. They were slowly reducing their need for milk and pretty soon, they would grow only by grazing alone.
I played with the growing giants for a while before we all headed back towards the pride. After everything was settled and I stayed with the pride for a few hours, it was time to go on an afternoon patrol again.
It was the same routine every day.
A routine I enjoyed very much and planned to keep doing forever.
I'd tear anything that stood in my way.
..
..
////////////////////
[3rd POV]
For another two months, life moved forward in a rare state of balance.
The pride remained settled, anchored by the presence of newborn cubs and the silent authority of their king. The grass was still green then, nourished by lingering rains. Prey moved in steady herds, predictable and plentiful. The rivers ran full, their banks soft and dark with moisture. Nights were cool, days were warm, and hunger was a distant concern rather than a constant threat.
The cubs grew quickly. Too quickly, Leo might have said.
They learned to walk with confidence, their legs still unsteady but strengthening by the day. They tumbled over one another, bit tails, climbed over sleeping adults, and tested their small voices in clumsy roars that drew indulgent glances rather than reprimands. Mothers remained watchful but relaxed. There was no immediate danger that required sharpened instincts.
Even the orphaned rhino calves continued to thrive. They were quickly growing into the living tanks nature designed them to be. Leo had the absolute pleasure of watching them grow.
The Serengeti continued in peace. There were challengers here and there. A few coalitions that needed to be humbled after they survived the clan of hyenas. But there was nothing too serious.
It was Leo's happily ever after indeed.
But if one observed closely, they would be able to tell that perhaps peace was not peace, but a silence before disaster. The rare sightings of challengers could be attributed to Leo's absolute dominance. But it could mean one thing and also another.
Leo continued to grow as well. He was slowly approaching five years old and although his body was reaching its prime and growth had stalled, he still grew closer to half a ton.
The closer he got to being five years old, the closer he got to five hundred kilograms. It was oddly perfect in a way.
But the growing size and power did not truly mean an increase in aggression. After a long life where he had to be pushed by threats and goals to be violent and angry, his current stage in life had taught him to be soft and gentle.
With the decrease in challengers and most of them being picked apart by hyenas, Leo had to find alternative ways to keep himself sharp. He brought up his old training routines, took more part in hunting down giants, and often wrestled with the two rhinos to build strength.
When his cubs turned two months old, Leo celebrated by taking down a giraffe, much to their astonishment. Not like they could eat meat at their age, but Leo let them play on the fallen prey.
And when the cubs turned three months old, they experienced a big change in their life.
The wet season was coming to an end.
The rain began to falter subtly at first. Storms grew shorter and clouds passed without releasing their burden. Patches of grass yellowed, then browned. Mud cracked along riverbanks, shallow channels shrinking day by day. The change was slow enough that life continued as if nothing was wrong, until one morning it was impossible to ignore.
The dry season had come yet again.
The pride had adapted to the dry seasons. Not only was the whole of Serengeti theirs, their main source of diet was not going anywhere during the dry season. In fact, it was actually easier to hunt buffalo in this season.
But the lack of prey was only one of the challenges brought by the dry season.
And Leo learned soon enough that this season would bring with it many unexpected hurdles.
Happily ever after was a myth.
Because life was a bitch like that.
...
...
"My Lord, my Lord, my Lord!!!" Grim came flying towards Leo as he was on his usual morning patrol.
It was a day in the early dry season.
"Hmm?"
"The rhinos!! The rhino calves!!" Grim said, stopping above Leo.
"What is it Grim? Spit it out," Leo asked, his body immediately posturing.
"They are in the watering hole!"
"So?" Leo asked with a tilt of his head.
The dry season meant a huge reduction in pastures. Herbivores had to gather near watering holes not only to drink but also to graze there because it was really the only place with green at this time of the year.
Therefore, it was not strange that the two rhinos would be in or near a watering hole.
"They are in THE watering hole," Grim said.
Leo's face finally had a moment of realization before it morphed into anger and worry.
"Let's go," Leo said, immediately following Grim.
But while most herbivores were gathering near water sources, there was one beast in specific that was very territorial of them.
And no, they were not crocodiles. These beasts not only claimed the water but also the surrounding land and the green grass that grew there.
The third largest beast in the world.
An animal Leo had done a splendid job in avoiding throughout his life.
The hippopotamus.
..
..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : A bit late but Merry Christmas. The festival that makes this shitty weather bearable.
And yes, I'm the odd person who prefer the hot then cold weather.