Sarabi jumped as Mufasa landed beside her. He hissed in surprise as he flicked out each numb paw in turn. "That's farther down than I expected," Mufasa joked.
Sarabi spun around and flattened her ears against her head in surprise. "What are you doin down here?! You're supposed to be up there." She pointed a paw to where the rest of the pride was staring at the two of them in shock.
Mufasa shook out his dusty mane. "I wasn't just going to leave you down here alone for another moment. You're tired, Sarabi. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible and get you something to drink," he told her with a flash of an emotion through him that Mufasa didn't quite understand.
"Then what is your fabulous idea for getting out of here? Do you want me to just jump?" She strode to one of the sides and pressed her paw against it. More grit and pebbles fell onto her shoulders. "It's not like we can climb this."
"You just need to climb on my back and I'll help you get up," reassured Mufasa excitedly.
Sarabi thought for a moment before she shook it slowly. "I don't think that that's a great idea. What if I fall," she fretted.
"We don't really have another option right now, Sarabi. Either you jump on my back and I'll help you out, or we're going to be stuck down here." He lifted a paw as he watched Sarabi's face twist in fear. He scraped his jaws against the wall. "See? It'll break off. Come on. I promise that I won't let anything happen to you."
Sarabi swallowed thickly. She looked up and met her mother's worried gaze. She nodded slowly before she looked to Mufasa. "O-Okay."
Mufasa spread his paws a shoulder length apart and hunkered down ever so slightly. "Climb on. I'll rear up and then you have to climb up my shoulders and then jump, alright?"
"Mufasa, I don't know if I can-"
"Yes, you can," argued Mufasa. He straightened and rose to his full height. He took a step forward and touched his nose to her cheek and felt her trembling. "If you can take down a zebra, then you can climb out of here with a little help from me. I'll help you along the way, I promise."
Sarabi let out a breathy sigh. She eventually nodded as Mufasa walked to the edge of the hole. He hunkered down once more and prepared for Sarabi's weight. Sarabi took a moment before she climbed onto Mufasa's shoulders. Mufasa tensed his body and reared on his hind legs with his paws thrust against the sides of the hole. Sarabi yelped as she stumbled slightly backwards.
Gasps from the top of the hole caused Mufasa to gulp. He quickly composed himself with a shake of his head. "Okay, Sarabi, you're doing great. Just climb as high on me as possible and jump as high as you can," he instructed.
Sarabi didn't answer as she bared her teeth in concentration. She started to climb Mufasa with her claws dug into his pelt. Mufasa gritted his own teeth in pain as she continued to scale him. Eventually her front paws rested on the edge of the gritty surface. A shower of dirt fell onto Mufasa's face. He hissed as it burned at his eyes as he thrust his head downward to protect his eyes from the haze.
"Sorry," Sarabi whimpered.
"Keep going! I can't hold this forever," puffed Mufasa with a small cough.
Sarabi lifted one of her hind legs and rested it on his shoulder. She lifted her other to match before she tensed her haunches and leap. Mufasa's head darted up in time to see Sarabi's front paws land on the edge of the hole. He held his breath in suspense.
Suddenly, Ahadi leaned forward and sunk his teeth into Sarabi's scruff. Saourown and Uru grasped her paws on either side and pulled her up. They set her down heavily as she panted with horror still showing in her eyes as she shook her head to and fro in shock.
"She'll be alright," announced Uru as she pressed against the trembling lioness.
Mufasa let out a breath of relief. He skipped his paw against the ground in sudden frustration as he debated how he would climb out. He paced around the edge of it before he thrust his paws against it. His paws sunk in, but they instantly broke free as more grit showered down on him and dislodged his paws. He fell on the ground and shook out his flank.
"If you can jump high enough we should be able to pull you out," Ahadi called as he leaned forward and sunk his claws on the edge of the hole. "Do you think that you can do that?"
"I can try," Mufasa announced as he padded to the back of the hole. He tensed his shoulders and haunches before he charged forward. He leaped as high as he could against the hole. He felt his paws slipping as he let out a yowl as he felt himself start to tip backwards.
He was thrust forward and slammed his muzzle against the edge. He yelped in surprise before he looked up and saw Ahadi gripping his one paw and Uru gripping the other. He groaned as his parents hauled him out of the hole. He panted after the ordeal was over, sprawled on the ground with his eyes stretched wide in surprise.
Just as he was about to stand, Sarabi bounded forward. She touched her nose to his cheek. "Thank you! You were so brave."
Mufasa gave his chest a few embarrassed licks. "It was nothing."
Sarabi purred warmly before she headed back to her mother. Pikra lapped at her daughter's ear thankfully while Uru pressed against her son. "Sarabi is right. You are brave."
"Anyone would do the same," argued Mufasa as he fought for breath.
Suddenly, he felt something wet collide with his muzzle. He shook his head before more drops landed on him. He rose to his paws in wonder while everyone else looked upward to the sky.
More raindrops started following until everyone was drenched from paws to tail tip. Mufasa allowed the cool water to flow down his body. He purred in relief at the thought of rain.
Uru let out a yowl of relief. "It's happening! It's finally happening! The drought is over!"