Nakala

Chapter 76

Nakala was a panting mess when he returned to the caverns. He was so caught up in leaving no trace or scent of his catch that all track of time was lost. Now he only hoped that none of the hyenas would notice or even question him about it. The day was just getting started but Nakala had to fight back a yawn. His claws and tongue ached from all the cleaning he did. All the lion desired was a chance to retire to his den for the moment.

Weaving his way through the other hyenas in the entrance, Nakala was pleased that no one asked him anything. That was until he ran into Chungu. The larger hyena caught sigh of the lion and made a beeline for him. As much as he wanted to, the feline knew better than to turn tail.

"Hey, Nakala. There you are. Where have you been?"

"Oh, I..." the lion paused for a moment as if he was being dramatic. "I was—Surveying the Outlands on my own. Yeah, things have been crazy lately and I wanted to patrol the area."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense," Chungu nodded. Nakala gave a smile but knew he was taking advantage of the hyena's naivete and it only made him feel bad about himself.

Chungu's expression turned to much more serious. "You should tell that to Janja. He's been up all night waiting for you."

Another bout of guilt came over the lion. Now he wondered why he didn't take a moment to tell Janja where he was going. It wasn't hard for him to imagine Janja worrying about him the whole night through. Nakala gave Chungu a nod and thanked him. It was clear that the only way to make things right was to apologize to his mate. Weaving past the other waking hyenas, the lion soon ducked into the tunnel leading to the dens.

"And where were you last night?" Janja asked the moment he laid eyes upon the returning lion.

Nakala padded into their den, keeping eye contact with his mate. "I'm sorry, Janja."

"It's one thing to just go off into the Outlands but you were gone the whole night with any kind of warning," Janja barked. Nakala expected to see anger in his mate's eyes but he was instead met with a gaze full of concern.

"I know you're a tough lion and all," the clan leader scolded. "But you still make me worried about you."

"First it was the leopard attacks, then that whole thing with Zira and your sister, and now we've lost Cheezi too. When you were gone the whole night I waited for you. I knew you were coming back but there was still a chance that something could have happened to you."

Now guilt all but consumed Nakala. He considered telling Janja the truth of where he was and what he did. But deep down the lion knew better than that. If the clan leader, mate or not, knew that he hunted without bringing something back...

"I've been worried lately, too. That's why I went out last night. I just needed to be sure."

"I'm sorry, Janja. The next time I do something like this I'll tell you first," Nakala promised with a quick bow. There was so much that Janja had to do every day and the fact he made him worry for long made him feel terrible. His guilt extended to the meal he had last night while his clan was still chewing on bones. There was no way that he could just sit idly by.

"Janja. When I was out last night I went by that jungle. That one right by that border," Nakala explained. "I'm sure there's some good things just waiting for us to pick them off. It's close to the border but the plants are so thick we'll be gone before anyone catches us."

Nakala failed to mention it was also the jungle that he had his fill from. In the lion's eyes he figured that if he got his clan a good meal then the good would outweigh the bad. He was determined to hunt as best he could and bring back more than usual just to make up for his secrecy.

Janja stopped in his tracks and quickly turned around. On his muzzle was an intrigued grin. "Well. It has been a while since we've been on a hunt and we need more than scraps and bones."

Nakala smiled as well, padding alongside his mate. "Heh. I knew that you'd be up for it." He gave Janja a gentle lick on his cheek and smiled. Janja just shook his head.

"Alright, alright. Let's save all the lovey-dovey stuff for later. I got a lot of work to catch up on," Janja chuckled. He padded towards the den's entrance. Before leaving, he turned around. "But I'll take you up on your offer."

Now left alone, Nakala grinned to himself. Janja was someone he could always depend on and it made him all the more determined to make it up to him and the clan. The activities of the night were catching up to him once again. A yawn parted the lion's maw. The smooth rock below felt much more comfortable than usual. He couldn't resist laying down on it and closing his eyes. All he could think of was Janja. It had been a while since the two of them had done anything just by themselves. A hunt together would be just the thing.

The lion's breathing was soon slowed. His body was splayed out on the stone floor. Nakala was peacefully dreaming about him and Janja chasing each other through the jungle. As fast as Janja ran there was no way he could outrun a lion. Nakala pounced on him, making the two of them tumble to the ground below. Somehow Janja managed to overpower him while they wrestled through the dirt. A warm feeling spread through him as their noses pressed together. For Nakala this was true bliss. In the jungle they had nothing to worry about. The land was lush, the water was plentiful and there was much for them to hunt. Janja sprung from the lion's hold and took off. Nakala got to his paws and ran after him. Around trees and over fallen logs the lion ran, determined to catch Janja once again.