Emmanuel_Capricorn
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TLK : Chapter 122
🕑 Added 2025-09-05 15:37:52 +0000 UTC[3rd POV]
(Pride Rock)
While Leo had his reunion and the rest of his pride was feasting on a giraffe, things did not look as good in the Pridelands.
Everything was in chaos. Even the rise of the sun did not put an end to the dark turmoil growing in the kingdom.
And in the midst of all this chaos stood the king, Scar. Unlike Zuri, who finally got a peaceful rest, Scar had not slept even a wink.
Where their nightmares ended, his began.
Leo, his greatest threat, was back. And this time, he was no longer the green lion in his pride. Leo came back a king with the force of a full pride behind him.
But Scar was also prepared. At least, that’s what he told himself every passing minute.
..
"What?" he stopped moving around inside the cave and asked sharply.
Every member of his pride had returned. Their first instinct after hearing Leo's roar was to retreat and run back to their king. Well, almost all of them.
Because there was one among the pride who actually confronted Leo instead of running back to the king. And right now, she was sprawled before Scar like a used rag.
"It's true, my lord. I met the betrayer. The stump of a tail he had as a cub was still there. There is no mistaking him," the lioness said, out of breath and hurried.
She had been the last to return to the king because Leo had trapped her until the whole rescue operation was complete. She only reached Pride Rock by sunrise.
"And you came all the way back just to report that to me? Why did you not come back after killing that false king?" he asked.
"I tried, my lord. I really did!! I attacked him from behind, but he managed to suppress me before I could do anything," she said fast.
"You attacked him from behind and yet inflicted no injury?" he said, his voice angry. He walked close to the female and put his face near hers.
"Tell me, did you lie to me, or are you actually that worthless?" he asked, using himself to compare the full-grown Leo. In his mind, there was no way he himself could come out unscathed after being sneak-attacked by a lioness.
So naturally, he thought Leo would be the same.
Or maybe he did know the truth deep down, but was denying it with everything he had.
"You expect too much from them, my king," Zira, somewhat queen of the pride, said while lying down on a rock.
Scar turned his head slightly to look at his queen behind him before focusing back on the lioness.
"Is she right? Do I really expect too much from you?" Scar asked again.
The gaze of the king was too much for her; she broke into a panic.
"No, no, no, no!! It was not my fault. He is just too strong!! He was three times bigger than me, what was I supposed to accomplish with such a difference between us?" she said in a crying tone.
That caught the attention of every lion inside the cave.
Scar tilted his head, "Three times your size?"
For reference, Scar was much bigger than the lioness. He was extremely large for a grown lion. But even he was not twice the size of a lioness.
So how could Leo be three times her size?
"Yes! He was ginormous. He was a lion the size of a buffalo," she said.
"Impossible," Scar scoffed.
But deep down, considering Leo's size at a young age, he knew that it was very possible. His sharp mind became his greatest enemy in that moment.
"I tell the truth, my lord. Only the truth," she said, pleading.
Scar gazed at her for a long time before suddenly turning. He walked away with weight in his steps.
The whole pride watched their king as he processed the information. Whether it was true or an exaggeration, it was concerning all the same. A lion that was three times the size of a lioness or big enough to be mistaken as three times the size was a very large beast and a larger threat.
"His size and strength doesm't matter, I have an army behind me that he doesn't have," he said, telling himself as much as he was telling his pride.
"The hyenas want me as their king. ME!!! No one else," he said. "We won't even have to fight; they will kill our enemies for us."
And then a laugh.
The sound came from no lion. It came from outside. It came from a hyena.
Three hyenas walked into the den as if on cue. The lions inside immediately growled and bared their teeth. Even Zira, who was lying casually, became alert and stood in her place. A fanatic for Scar she may be, but she never trusted the hyenas.
"Do not be rude to them, welcome them," Scar said, effectively stopping the lions from doing anything as the hyenas invaded their most sacred home.
The laugh became even worse. The three hyenas were looking around, smugly eyeing every lioness they passed.
They stopped only when they stood before the king. They bowed out of respect, or at least a show of fake respect
The three hyenas were all females, and they were the three most dominant in all the horde. They were effectively the leaders because of that.
They were Grasha, Vurok, and Drekka respectively.
"What do you three think of the situation?" Scar asked when they stopped before him.
"You are absolutely right, King Scar, no lion can match our sheer number," Grasha said with a grin. The hidden meaning did not go unnoticed by anyone, even Scar, but he chose to ignore it.
Scar looked around at his pride.
"You heard what she said, everyone. Leo and his gang of outcasts will not be a problem to us; we have worthy allies after all," Scar said to the comfort of absolutely no one.
What a buttload of crap indeed. If Leo and the other lions were termed outcasts, what would the hyenas be? Aliens?
"Not only that, we also have information about your enemy, King Scar," Vurok said.
"Oh.." Scar raised an eyebrow, "And where did you attain such information?"
"Some hyenas among our numbers came from the Serengeti," she explained. "The Serengeti is the same place where Leo ran off to when you kicked him out of the pride."
"With their knowledge, we now know about his pride and the threat he posed to us. He is nothing but a brute, strength with no brain, that chased hyenas out from his territory instead of seeing our important role in the ecosystem," she said.
"Is that true? Did he really chase the hyenas out of his territory?" Scar asked, to which they nodded. "And what are the feelings of these hyenas that faced his cruelty before?"
"They were scared at first, but with our help, they overcame their fear, and now want revenge," Drekka said, bloodlust in her tone.
"And they will have their revenge," Scar said with a nod.
He straightened his posture and declared with a tone somewhat worthy of a king, "Gather the hyenas. Every last one of them from all across the kingdom.
"Tell them to prepare for war."
The hyenas cackled.
"As you wish," they said before leaving the den to do as commanded.
...
After the three hyenas left, every eye turned towards Scar. Their eyes showed that they did not exactly approve of the hyenas, but no one dared to say anything.
But among them, Zira was different. She confronted the king.
"My Lord, are you sure it is wise to get this close to the hyenas? To let them inside our den is..." Zira began, but was shut down sharply.
"I know what I'm doing, Zira," Scar said with a bite.
He took a deep breath to calm his temper. Then he explained to her, "Regardless of what I say and do, I do not consider the hyenas to be allies. At least not anymore. They have grown too much for even my control," he admitted.
He was talking to Zira, but the whole pride listened.
"But Leo and his pride give me a great opportunity to fix my mistake. We will take neither side in this fight, and we will let them kill each other. In the end, we will finish those that remain in the aftermath, no matter the victor," he said.
"We will become the sole rulers of the Pridelands once more", said the sickening lion without honour.
Betrayal was in his blood. A scum even below hyenas.
Leo wanted war, Scar wanted to win at all cost.
..
..
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[3rd POV]
(The researchers)
"Holy shit, they came out again!!!," Ramirez said while looking at the big screen in front of him.
He was controlling a drone with both hands while he looked at the screen connected to the drone's camera. He was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, and the whole crew was sitting beside and behind him.
They too were all starting at the video playing on the screen. They were left completely speechless as they watched three hyenas enter a lions den and leave afterwards with no scratch on them.
"Does this mean Hana's hypothesis is actually true? Do the lions really have some type of symbiotic relation with the hyenas?" Malik asked while turning to the researchers whom he thought were more knowledgable than him.
"I'm afraid so, but this is completely ridiculous. This is even more ridiculous than Leo's relation with the vultures. Hyenas and Lions are enemies!! They are biologically designed to compete with each other, to be rivals. How are they doing this?" Dr. Tonson said, his voice completley done.
And who could blame him? He had seen some weird shit this past month. Starting from how Leo was acting like long lost lover with a random female and all the way to them leaving their kingdom and coming here to a wasteland that no one had even heard of.
"Of course, my hypothesis was correct," Hana said smugly, "The main question is why they are doing this. What do they benefit from working with each other? Is it because of the horrible condition of their land? Is this a partnership that came from necessity?"
"To answer that question, we will have to learn more about this land. Why have we never heard of this part of the region before? And how can two predators sustain themselves in that plateau with virtually no prey?" Dr Tonson said.
"So many questions, I feel a headache." Ramriez said while rubbing his head, "And the other team reported that Leo took down a giraffe by himself as well."
"It's getting cliche at his point, I'm always expecting a surprise from him, so I'm not surprised," Hana said, "What I am surprised about is whatever the fuck is going on with this drama,"
"It's like we are in the middle of an elaborate plot point in a story to which we have no context," Ramirex joked, but he couldn't have been closer to the truth. "What is the realtionship Leo had with his place anyway, do you really think this was his original home?"
"Yes, but this straight up contradicts our initial hypothesis that Leo came from a thriving land where he could eat and grow to the limit during his cubhood," Hana said with a sigh.
"The more we learn, the more we are confused. Truly a science moment," Dr Tonson said with a laugh.
The researchers continued watching the story unfold, not knowing what part they play in the story and not even knowing the event that was going around them. They were the most confused audience in cinema history.
"Can't you get a better shot of the den?" Hana asked.
"Nope. I am at the limit of rage. Further than this and i won't be able to control the drone," Remirwez asnwered.
"Should we go to the plateau?" she considered.
"Fuck no!! I ain't going nowhere near that hungry hyena infested land. I will stay in the safety of Leo's aura thank you very much," he replied quick.
As a known hater towards hyena, they had faith in Leo for their protection.
Curse words had increased tenfold during the recent weeks as well.
"My father once told me that animals are as sentient as human with their own mind, story and soul. Maybe we should stop looking at this through the eyes of researchers and just observe and try to make the most sense," Dr Tonson said after a long winding discussion.
Whatever the case, and however they may complain, each and every member of the crew was stoked to find the truth.
And tell to the whole world wjhat happened and will happen here.
..
..
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Comments
Isabel Guillermo R.
Sorry for my poor English, it's not my primary language.
Isabel Guillermo R.
The human point of view of how to try to compose this story in your eyes I love it I hope you have good luck researchers
