Nakala

Chapter 12

Zazu paced nervously in front of the entrance of the Pride Rock cave. Having no idea whether he should wake the king up or wait for him to awake himself. Either way he would have to deliver the news of what he saw last night. He had no idea how he could react, though. His thoughts were interrupted as the lion he was fretting about stepped out from the dens.

"Oh! Um, good morning sire!" Zazu greeted with as much enthusiasm as he could.

"Good morning, Zazu. Something to report?" Simba said while stretching. Zazu gulped as the king once again saw right through him.

"Well, it just so happens that I was told that many sources say there is a rogue lion hunting here. He was seen last night and hunted a number of zebras," Zazu reported.

"A rogue lion? Here?" Simba asked, looking directly at the hornbill. "And hunted zebras..."

"I consulted the zebras perfectly and there seems to be no sign of him anymore. But they think that he may strike again. And I happen to agree, Sire," Zazu nodded.

Simba nodded as well and released Zazu to proceed with his daily rounds. Simba himself stood on Pride Rock thinking to himself. If there is a lion roaming around the Pride Lands it was a good chance it was one of the Outland lions from Zira's pride. He made a mental note to find someone to keep watch at night.

Nakala went about his day with a joyful mood. All around him were hyenas going about their days as well but with full bellies all because of what he did. Things seemed to be better than ever. After his daily training he was in motion to go back to rest in his den when Janja stopped him.

"Hold on a minute, Nakala," Janja instructed.

"What is it?" the lion asked, still in a good mood.

"I just wanted to ask you: You have any idea where those zebras came from?" the hyena asked, leaning in close.

Another grin spread across Nakala's face and he shrugged. "I mean I just wanted to make sure we had food." He gave a wink to the hyena. Janja noticed it and blushed, but quickly jumped back to the subject.

"I knew it was you who did it!" Janja exclaimed. "Wait, how did you do it?"

"Well...I. Kinda snuck into the Pride Lands in the middle of the night, you know," the lion shrugged.

"You just walked right in?!" Janja shook his head. "I know you go off and do your own things sometimes, but you're really playin with fire just trottin in the Pride Lands."

"Wait, you know about...? Anyway I was thinking....That you and I should do it again. But...together," Nakala suggested, leaning in close on the hyena this time. The hyena was once again flustered and this time Nakala noticed the blush on his face.

"Y-you mean hunt in the Pride Lands?" Janja asked. "Nakala I--"

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Nakala insisted and gave a devious chuckle.

"No, I mean. Uh.... I want to... We need to keep the mouths fed around here. But just going into the Pride Lands?" Janja mused about it. "What if we get caught by the Lion Guard?"

Nakala blinked and turned away from the hyena. It had been a while since he heard that title. "I'm not even sure the Lion Guard still exists, Janja. It's been a long time since I was gone," he shook his head and looked back at Janja. "It's not something I wanted to think about."

"How come?" Janja pressed.

"Well...you know. We used to fight a lot. Now I feel bad about all those times," Nakala sighed.