Emmanuel_Capricorn
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TLK : Chapter 130
🕑 Added 2025-09-14 15:48:56 +0000 UTC[1st POV]
(2 days after the battle)
Holy shit, I don't feel good.
God damn, I feel unfine.
After we retreated to a safe distance from the Pridelands, the whole pride began our rest and recovery.
We slept through one whole day. That was enough for the others to recover enough strength to move again, but not me. I persisted in sleeping for another entire day, meaning I was recovering for two days total until I felt like moving again.
But even then, I still did not feel fine.
The females had cleaned my body while I rested, so there was not a single piece of dirt or blood on my body. They also inspected my injuries while I was at it, and they noted many wounds and cuts all over my body.
There was not a solid inch in my body that was not harmed in some way. I guess that was to be expected when swarmed by hundreds of jaws.
But all of those were small wounds. They might penetrate my loose hide but the sheer muscle mass I had on me meant that I could tank those wounds rather easily. But it was not the intensity of the injuries but the sheer number that was really holding me down.
Yet still, even with all those wounds inflicted on my body, the most fatal ones were the injuries I gave myself.
Lions, like all other mammals, have a limiter on our bodies. It was a way for our brain to protect us from our own strength. The muscle fibres could generate enough power that the bones, ligaments and tendons could not bear.
And in my final rampage, I had gone past those limits put on my body by the brain. With the help of adrenaline and instincts that choose to fight when faced with a life-threatening situation, I was able to access more power than I should.
It was kind of like a power-up, and I was indeed able to face the hyenas in this state.
I believe this was the second or third time that it happened to me and I never wanted to experience it again.
The battle also did not go as it was supposed to. We were operating with the idea that we would take the fight to them, not the other way around. This was the reason why, even though we predicted a victory over the hyenas, we were only able to settle for a draw.
It was a silly situation, really. And also a reminder that real life did not give two shits about what you have planned.
After two days of rest, I finally got up and greeted the concerned eyes of my pride.
"Behold, your king has risen!" I said, a joke that was again received not as a joke but as a declaration by my pride.
I hid whatever pain and problem I had with a noble posture. I immediately felt the fatigue and strain on my body, but none was shown on my visage.
The lions did not talk; they showed their feelings and emotions through body language. They came to me one by one, showing affection and concern for the state I was in the past two days.
Lions could talk but never really did. Zael for example, came up to me, but he did not ask me whether I was fine or how I was feeling. He asked those questions by tackling me lightly and testing my strength.
His mouth opened and he gave me gentle bites everywhere to see which parts hurt and which parts were more injured than the rest. When I answered to his playfight with strength that was easily more than his, he was satisfied and concluded that I was fine.
'This youngster,' I thought fondly in my mind. I would admit that my impression of him took a massive leap after seeing him fight. As a lion, I respected strength and Zael showed me just that.
And it was not just Zael but the other lionesses too as they began testing their king. I was doing the same to them as I checked the extent of their wounds, like they did mine.
Most of them had injuries but none were fatal. Even Tala, who was swarmed at one point, came out healthy. The hyenas were not really known for their lethal bites and tearing capacoty afterall. They simply had a powerful bite to eat bones,
Even the cubs were all fine with none harmed. That was a silent releif on everyone. The sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was noon. And under that searing heat, the pride finally settled into normalcy.
Zuri was the last to come up to me, and unlike the other lions who used body language, she spoke.
"How are you feeling, Leo? Are you as good as you appear to be?" she asked while rubbing her head under my jaw.
Zuri would follow me constantly when I was a cub and it could be said we grew up together. My influence had made her very different from other lions. Yes, lions don't really talk but as a previous human, I talked a lot.
That trait rubbed off on her.
"I am fine, Zuri, and I will be better after I eat," I said.
That was what I was planning to do. There was so much recovery your body could do without food. I needed to hunt now and have a huge feast so that we could energise ourselves and allow our bodies to further recover.
"You are planning to hunt? Right after you wake up?" she asked to which I nodded.
"Why don't you let the pride do the hunting for you?" she asked.
"There are no prey here that the pride could hunt. The only possible prey is the giraffe and only I can take it down," I said.
Zuri processed my words before nodding and looking down, a bit of shame in her face, "Yes, you might be right about that."
"Follow me," she said and turned to leave, her tail on the other hand flicked on my nose lightly as she turned.
Wait a minute, was she inviting me for that?
Suddenly, I don't feel so tired anymore, so I followed her. We went a bit further away from the pride, but we were still close enough that we could see them.
She led me towards a tree without leaves, it had some bushes at the base and she stuck her head into the bushes.
"???" I was confused till the moment she began pulling out dead rodents from the bushes.
There was a hare, a giant rat and a half-eaten squirrel.
I watched the corpses as they were laid neatly in front of me. My gaze was held by those meats for a long time before I looked up at Zuri who still looked a bit bashful at what she was offering me.
Like she was afraid they would be too little.
"I went to hunt while you were sleeping, but even with the help of Grim, we could not find any prey. The only thing I caught was these," she said.
And this was it.
This was why I loved her.
That was not the behaviour of an animal. She probably needed food the most among all the lions, given her thin frame. But she still remained the only one to offer me food and caring for me to an extent that they would hunt for me.
The most my pride ever did was leave me parts of the meat that I like. But even that was out of duty they had as members of my pride.
But going out of your way, not pushed by duty or responsibility, to care for another person. That was not an instinct of an animal, that was a sign of love at its purest form. It was a trait most humans had, but only Zuri had among the animals I've known.
In that moment, I was reminded about why I had come all this way and fought so hard for.
"Thank you," I said and took the meat. I ate everything in front of her as a show of appreciation and she had a smile when I did so.
I could've finished the biggest hare in one bite, but I took four bites so that I could savour it. Suddenly, my favourite meal was not a buffalo but a hare.
My stomach rumbled when food came down. It was pleasing and it was a much-needed fuel for my hunt to come.
"It was not all me, Nala and Grim helped. The squirrel was caught by Nala," Zuri said.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen her after waking up," I said.
"She is still out there searching for bigger prey," Zuri answered.
After I ate the small meal, we went back to the pride. The lionesses greeted me warmly again and they all sprawled beside me.
But even as I rest among them, I still couldn't feel completely fine. I had been injured, and I had been exhausted, but somehow my situation felt different.
At the time, I thought it was due to the cuddles and the sun but my body was heating up. Only it was not due to anything else but a fever. A defence mechanism of the body to fight off infections and diseases.
After nearly an hour passed, the person I was waiting for finally came back.
"My Lord, My Lord!!" Grim said while diving down towards me.
He flapped his massive wings in a flurry before he landed on top of one lioness that lay beside. He was all smiles, well at least as much of a smile as a beak could get.
"You are awake my lord, it's good to see you again. I've grown worried since you didn't wake up when the rest of the pride did," he said.
"It's nice to see you too Grim," I said. Grim was also another example of an animal I talked to frequently. He was not a lion, our body language was not the same so words were necessary to communicate.
He bowed gently at that. But ever since he landed on top of the lioness, his posture was wobbly. The lioness beneath him did not really appreciate him mounting her, that was something reserved for me.
"Oh will you stop moving!" Grim finally snapped and pecked at her back. The lioness growled but then otherwise did not do anything.
Actually, she stopped moving. "Yes, stay still," Grim added.
I nearly laughed out loud seeing that. It's like the vulture was starting to lose the instinct to fear altogether since following me.
"Tell me Grim, did the vultures count the aftermath of the battle?" I asked, that was what I was most curious about since I was awake.
"Yes they did. We count a total of 173 dead hyenas," Grim said and I winced.
That was less than I expected.
"But the casualty would be more. After the battle, the hyenas took the corpses of their own and cannibalised to sustain themselves. We tried counting those too but the hyenas attacked, thinking we were trying to steal so we could not get close, and the buggers are really quick at eating and finishing their kind. We couldn't count those already in the stomach," Grim said.
I thought for a moment before saying, "I understand."
I assume there was at least 200 dead in total then. That was half of their number killed in the first battle. That was a huge win in my book, they would be wiped out next time. The difference between 200 and 400 hyenas was not double the difficulty after all.
"So I did the next best thing and counted the living hyenas instead," Grim said excitedly.
"That's great," I praised him, because his face was practically begging. It might not be much but that kind of innovative thinking was much from an animal.
"There are over a hundred hyenas still capable of fighting, 150 or so in number. But the rest are injured or disabled," he said.
I nodded. That made sense. In my final rampage, I was not really focused on precise killing and was more focused on destroying everything on sight. I understood how some might be able to escape me with heavy injuries.
Grim continued his report. The lionesses also listened while they pretended to lie and rest. His report helped me learn that almost all the hyenas had retreated back into the Pride Rocks and we were not at the risk of another attack at the moment.
After Grim was done with his report, I tasked him with another job immediately.
"Grim, let's go and find prey," I said.
My body was not in the best condition but for now, I needed to hunt.
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Author : This was a whole rewrite.
Thanks for the patience. I have some problems writing the story forward and what Rafikis role is going to be and what not but now I finally have a solid layout.
Chaptees should be rolling out smoothly now. Thanks for reading
Comments
Dexter MS
I think Leo should explain Zael about humans, that this creations very dangerous and Zael should be very careful
kinggundam21
hoping the researchers would get to him while I imagine it will happen while he's hunting.
