The Hyena King by qatsby on DeviantArt (original) (raw)
Visual aid/notes on Akina’s appearance within this scenario
Rumors lately had passed through Akina’s pride that there were cubs along the Tribeland’s borders, apparent sightings of one specifically who was boney and aggressive. The queen didn’t take lightly to these rumors as the hyenas of the Tribelands were ruthless rulers who took what land they could conquer; their territory once belonging to her uncle Kopa long ago.
The Tribelands were typically barren of prey and consisted of dry, cracked earth and wilted plant life. The sun beat down harshly on the territory as it had little shade to protect itself with. Granted, it didn’t always appear this way. Under Tribe Mother Shenzi’s rule the land was plentiful and thriving, only when it was passed on to her son Janja did the land take a turn for the worst as he had little respect for the circle of life. The tribes have been rumored to of attempted to overthrow the male hyena and return to a matriarchal ruling, but little has been left to prove those allegations of being true.
Akina was heavily pregnant with her cub as she trotted along the border, her staggering gate still frightful, though a bit wobbly at the moment. The lioness had an aura of strength and power at all times. She chose to patrol the Tribeland border alone as the rest of her pride were fearful of their hyena neighbors and didn’t fully believe in the sightings of the cub. Though Janja usually respected the territorial lines, he has been known to cross over and fight for food if it were close enough. Kiara’s daughter did not fear him though, as she’d trumped him in displaying her strength time and time again. She would not allow a slobbering disgrace of a hyena to push her family around.
Hunting for cubs isn’t something she would typically do, as she’s not too fond of the small annoyances, but the fact that they’ve been sighted on dangerous grounds and potentially starving is a problem. Maybe it was the fact that she was currently pregnant that the issue was weighing heavier on her mind than usual; but the question needed to be asked: Where did these cubs come from? What pride do they belong to? It was unusual for cubs, Pridelanders or from elsewhere, to be seen roaming alone and within hyena territory, surviving.
The lioness gazed across the barren landscape before her, the spikey grass digging into her paw pads as she scanned over her surroundings. She grumbled irritably, lifting up her paws, one by one in an attempt to ease the irritation. “It’s absolutely disgusting to be proud of lands such as these,” she mumbled to herself, a dry breeze blowing debris into her scarred left eye. Growling loudly, she sat down with a thump and pawed at her eye, cursing the dead environment that enveloped her. Her fat belly sat uncomfortably upon her legs, causing her to sit in an awkward, compromising position.
Akina sighed heavily as she cleaned her eye as best she could, lowering her paw and relaxing, only now realizing how bothersome it was to be pregnant. She gazed down at her figure, pondering it, “how do lioness’s do this regularly and enjoy it?” she asked herself. She felt like nothing but a burden as a queen of her pride, as most of the members now babied and doted on her every chance they received. She absolutely hated it and could not wait to be back in a position of power. She didn’t feel an overwhelming joy for motherhood, but she didn’t necessarily have a bleak outlook on it either. Akina just found it hindering for lionesses to have their cubs hanging off of their limbs at all times, unnecessary even.
“Hopefully you’ll be something of value,” she scoffed at her belly, half-jokingly, “you’ve got some pretty big paw prints to fill-“ Akina cut herself short and perked up her ears; there was a rustling in the bushes nearby. Snarling loudly, she hoisted her heavy body into a guarded position, roaring into the line of sparse shrubbery in the distance, “who’s there?!” She bared her fangs, prepared to take on her sneaky guest. The bushes went still, no longer harboring whatever was watching her. The fur along her spine prickled anxiously as she desperately listened for movement near her, her tail lifted slightly to balance her. She heard small plodding noises approach her from behind.
THUD! Akina felt a small force slam into her hind leg, unable to budge her lumbering force. She roared angrily and turned around, her center of gravity failing her as her belly compromised her balance; she whipped around awkwardly and less threatening than she had planned. She glared before her, confused as there was nothing there, her snarl directed toward open air. But again, she felt a smaller thud against her foreleg, causing her to look down and see something more resembling a sun-bleached carcass than a cub.
The cub standing before her roared up her menacingly, sounding pathetically like a kitten. He rammed his head into her foreleg, pushing on her, desperately trying to move her. She scrunched up her face and lowered her massive head, sniffing over the cub’s visible ribs and spine; he was ill and close to death. He smelled of dirt, rot, and flies. His brown fur was bleached from the harsh sun and his small bones poking painfully through his pelt. He was really a pathetic sight. Akina lifted the leg he’d been pushing on and gently rolled him back away from her, the cub visibly draining his strength.
He panted desperately and squared up toward the queen, his forelegs spread threateningly over the ground and his head reared up to meet eyes with the lioness. The dirty cub’s small frame heaved with visible ribs as he caught his breath. “You need to leave NOW!” he roared toward Akina, a ferocious spark ignited in his eyes as he stared her down, not backing away from the challenge that she would present to him.
Akina held back a smirk as she held eye contact with the sickly cub, putting her mindset back into that of a ruler and adjusting her position to that of a more threatening stance. “And who might you be?” she bellowed at the cub, visibly flexing her thick, black claws into the dirt threateningly. The lioness didn’t allow her eyes to linger over the cub’s frail body once more, but she did take notice of his figure; he was seemingly once a strong cub, what has happened to him?
“I’m the Hyena King,” he shouted menacingly, also unsheathing his claws, sadly chipped and fragile in comparison to Akina’s. “And you’re in my territory!” the cub roared, baring sickly yellow teeth, the stench of his breath hitting the queen square in the muzzle. She blinked at his response, unmoving and trying to keep her composure as the smell of his rotten breath burned at her fur. Akina looked over him studiously, raising her head in response.
“You’re a bit young and… lion-like to be a hyena king, no?” the queen questioned him, she sheathed her claws in respect to him, slowly bowing her head and no longer presenting her throat. She stared deeply into his sticky eyes, attempting to read his next move.
“And you’re a bit fat and ugly to be a lioness, no?!” he roared in response, lashing his whip-like tail over the dusty ground. His growl vibrating in his throat as he continued to bare his fangs. This response took Akina by surprise, causing her to flinch in confusion and screw up her face.
“Why you little- I’m PREGNANT you no good excuse of a bone-pile!” Akina roared in response, shifting her paws and exposing her engorged stomach. She pouted angrily, unable to come up with a response to throw at the ill cub. Akina snorted loudly and threw her head toward the cub, “what exactly are you doing out here anyways?” she questioned, gesturing to the open, dying plains, “where are your parents?”
The cub relaxed a little at that, laughing a bit at the response he got from Akina, as cubs do. He bit back a smile and shook his head, throwing it toward hers as well, pressing his boney skull to Akina’s muscled brow. “I told you,” he began annoyedly, “I’m the Hyena King and I live here!” his voice wavered at that point, his exhaustion becoming apparent. His eye contact faltered as he slowly lost his strength.
Being the warrior that she was, Akina caught all of the body language he was displaying. Gently she pulled her head back and sat down, showing the cub that she would compromise her safety first in order to speak with him. Swallowing the urge to prod at the pathetic thing, she continued, “It doesn’t seem you’re doing much living, Hyena King,” the queen remarked, gesturing toward his sunken in eyes and stomach. He truly was a sad sight to see, so much aggression and courage with a sick body such as his to contain it.
Hyena King slowly watched the queen take her place upon the ground, her scent momentarily filling his nose with a second of nostalgia for his mother. He eyed her wearily and painfully lowered his haunches to the dirt, his bones supporting what little weight he had left. “I live here,” he responded once again, “and I protect my pride from Janja…” there was a hint of pain in his voice at the mention of his pride.
“Your pride,” Akina stated, “that’s a pretty big responsibility for a cub.” Akina glanced over Hyena King, hiding the pity in her eyes and replacing it with respect. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Queen Akina, ruler of the Pridelands,” the lioness greeted, gesturing politely with her tail that they were equals. Akina was highly curious as to what other lions were under this cub’s rule. “You don’t seem to have the most… opportune of territories, Hyena King,” she prodded gently.
“It’s all that I can keep at the moment… I can’t move my pride members,” he gazed sadly into the dirt. “I want them to have more but this is all I can offer… Janja and his tribe are ruthless and we’d be caught if I tried to move them,” his voice cracked painfully. Akina felt her heart twist painfully in her chest as the cub explained his circumstances.
“Perhaps I can offer you a portion of the Pridelands,” she said, of course not meaning it, only presenting the option as a way to get the cub and his pride to leave the Tribelands with her; she wanted to get them to safety and into more plentiful hunting grounds. “The Pridelands have much more to offer than this dusty, carcass filled oasis.”
The Hyena King seriously pondered the proposition, meeting Akina’s eyes once more and leaving her speechless that he wasn’t accepting the offer right away. This was extremely respectful in her eyes; he was truly making an adult decision concerning his pride. This cub was forced into an adult mindset far before his time. He swirled his paw in the dirt pondering over her offer, finally stating: “I can only accept the offer if you agree to help me in moving my pride.” The Hyena King didn’t say much else, once more averting his gaze.
Akina nodded solemnly, accepting his offer. “I can do that, but you need to bring me to them,” she said as she once again lifted her heavy body to her paws. “Introduce me to your pride members and we’ll start the move tonight. I smelled the hyena’s have a kill of some sort on the wind further into their territory; they won’t be out hunting for a while,” she stated boldly, “tonight would be best to make the move.”
The Hyena King slowly rose to his wobbly paws, trying not to allow himself to feel relief in the proposition he’d made. “Great… I’ll bring you to them…” he took his lead ahead of the queen at a wobbly pace, his body visibly exhausted.
“Lead the way, Hyena King,” Akina smiled behind him, also wobbling as she slowly followed him, respectfully not passing him in gate. She watched sadly as his hip bones shifted beneath his pelt.
“Fisiwa... my name is Fisiwa.” He stated without looking back toward her, a sudden burst of pride ran through him as he lifted his head and continued to lead the queen into his territory.
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Characters Shown/Mentioned
