CHAPTER 58:  PIPKAH THE GREAT

	Uzuri heard that Pipkah's latest fiasco was supposedly due to 
errors by the lionesses, for the manoever was a flawless one taught him 
by "my dear friend Uzuri."  Pipkah had been playing that association to 
the hilt lately, and Uzuri was determined that at her own time and in 
her own way she would set the record straight.
	Pipkah enjoyed the cool, clear waters of the cistern behind Pride 
Rock.  He came alone, which suited Uzuri just fine.
	Pipkah drank deeply, then let out a satisfying belch.  Ah, life at 
Pride Rock was good, even if there was not as much food as there used to 
be.  As one of Shenzi's trusted ones, he always ate well if nearly 
everyone else did without.
	"It's me," Uzuri said, stepping out of the shadows.
	"Uzuri!"  Pipkah stepped back a pace or two, not certain how much 
she'd heard or how she would react.
	"My Pipkah," she said softly, nuzzling him.  "You know I'm in my 
season.  Taka is content with Elanna, and where does that leave me?"
	"Very disappointed?"
	"Not really.  Not as alone as you might think."  She rubbed along 
him full length.  "It will be awkward at first, but you will adjust with 
a little help from me."
	Pipkah stepped back again.  "Adjust what?"
	Uzuri let out a protracted purr, her eyes half closed.  "A hunter 
like me and a hunter like you.  When I heard about your legendary skill, 
that was it.  I was lost.  Make love to me, Pipkah!"
	"Oh gods...."  Pipkah swallowed hard.  "I'm not really that good!  
I brag a lot.  Some of it is a downright lie!"
	"So modest and shy!  I think that's SUCH a turn-on!  Just think-
we'll have three days of non-stop passion."
	"Three days??"
	He started to leave, but she stepped in his path rather suddenly.  
"Make love to me, Pipkah!  Set me on fire!"
	"But I...."  He scrambled on top of a small rock.  She looked up 
at him and easily bounded up with him, her body crowded next to his on 
the small platform. 
	"But what about-uh-Shimbekh!  Yeah, Shimbekh!"
	"I'll have a talk with her."
	"No, don't do that!"
	"She deserves to know what we share between us!  She is a good 
girl, and needs to find another male."  She looked him over 
appraisingly.  "Those are the cutest ears, and that smile is so warm and 
sexy."
	"Uh, thanks, I think."
	"And check out that fanny!"  She reached back with a paw and 
tickled him.
	"Whoa!!!  My gods!!!"  He jumped from the rock, shivering.  
"Madam, PLEASE!"
	"You don't have to beg me!"  She jumped down, then walked in front 
of him and crouched down, looking over her back.  "Come on, lover!  Give 
it your best shot.  We'll work on it till we get it right."
	Ber padded around the corner and froze.  "Oops!"
	"Ber!  Hey, old buddy!"
	"Pipkah-I hope I'm not interrupting anything...."
	"Oh, not at all!  This is NOT what it looks like!"
	Panting and moving her lips in a pout, Uzuri stared at Pipkah.  
"I'm waiting, honey pot."
	"I can come back later," Ber said.
	"Come back in about three days," Uzuri said shortly.  "We're 
otherwise occupied."
	"You said it, sister!  But don't worry-I won't tell a WORD to the 
others.  Your secret is safe with me."  Ber laughed wickedly.  "But of 
course we ALL know how you feel about each other."  He started to go.
	"Don't leave me here!" Pipkah cried.  "I mean, there's no rush, 
old friend.  I have to get to guard duty.  You keep Uzuri company for 
me."
	"I took on your guard duty, remember?"
	"But you've been two days without a furlough.  I don't think 
that's morally RIGHT, Ber!"
	"Hmmm.  The only way you could relieve me if you wanted to would 
be to take the next eight days."
	"EIGHT DAYS??"
	"But hey, I got you covered.  You'll have NO INTERRUPTIONS.  Kiss 
kiss!"
	"OK, eight days it is!"  Pipkah looked at Uzuri.  "Sorry to 
disappoint you, but I have work to do.  Maybe in eight days, if you're 
still interested, we can have a red-hot honeymoon under the acacias."
	He ran away very quickly.
	Uzuri laughed.  "Ok, Ber, you remember our agreement?  I got you 
eight days of leisure."
	"And you sneak away for three days to see your husband that I'm 
not aware exists.  If anyone asks me where you are, you're sick and I 
saw you retching up breakfast."  He smiled coyly and added, "Behave 
yourself, my dear!  Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
	She smiled back.  "Honey tree, I'm about to do EVERYTHING you 
wouldn't do!"


CHAPTER 59:  FACING FACTS

	Ef a man is what he isn't, den he isn't what he am,
	And as sure as I'm a-talkin' he isn't worth a damn!
	Doan't ye be what you ain't, jes' you be what you is.
	Ef a man is what he isn't, den he isn't what he is;
	And as sure as I'm a-talkin', he's a-gwyne to git his!

                                       -- EDWIN MILTON ROYLE

	Simba was disturbed by some of the feelings his young adulthood 
gave him.  Hakuna matata was stretching thin.  He wanted a mate, he 
wanted meat, he wanted a territory, he wanted absolution.  In short, he 
felt trapped, with little hope of ever achieving any of the success 
predicted by Gur'bruk and Kambra.
	Sefu the secretary bird was unconventional, but his advice when 
given was not taken lightly.  And it was to Sefu that he looked for 
help.
	Of course, Sefu was not easily found.  Unlike his old friends on 
Pride Rock, there was no way of knowing when and were the Secretary Bird 
would show up.  Despondent, Simba paused one morning while Timon and 
Pumbaa continued on to the water hole to get a drink and bowed his head.
	"Please, Aiheu, help me!  I may not pray every night like I 
should, and I may be just a fugitive, but Mom said you were merciful.  
Please give me a second chance, God.  Please show me the way--I'm so 
lost!"
	Just when Simba was about to lose his faith in the power of 
prayer, Sefu surprised them at the watering hole.
	"Sefu!  I'm so glad to see you!"
	"Hey, cat!  Likewise!"
	While Pumbaa wallowed in the shallows and Timon gargled noisily as 
he drank, Simba managed to corner Sefu for a moment and try to put into 
words what was only a feeling of emptiness, a dread of dying alone and 
forgotten, a creeping despair that eroded him like fungi on a fallen 
log.
	"Hey, been there, done that."  Sefu looked at him appraisingly.  
"Some of us little folks can fit into a little hole somewhere and hide 
ourselves from the world.  Some of us can't."
	"Yeah."
	"I heard through the grapevine that you tried to take meat from 
the local tribesmen.  I guess you found out they have a lot of sense for 
creatures without fur or feathers."
	Simba uttered a short laugh.  "No darned kidding."
	"Well they have this custom of making shapes of geese out of pitch 
covered straw.  From a distance, they look real.  They are set out in 
the lake and when the real geese see them, they think its safe and 
light.  Then they get whacked."
	"Is there a moral to this story?"
	"No!" Sefu said.  "I just wanted you to know that you're an 
impostor.  You're not a jungle bum.  Hakuna matata does not fit you.  
You were meant to be marsh grass, and no matter how much they weave you 
or tar you, you can't be a goose unless you were born a goose.  Fish 
gotta swim, birds gotta fly--well, at least most of them do--and lions 
gotta roar.  You don't belong here.  You'll NEVER belong here.  You 
belong out there, free and unencumbered.  As free as the wind blows.  As 
free as the grass grows.  Born free to follow your heart."  He threw 
back his wing, held up his head and burst out with "BORN FREE!  AS FREE 
AS THE WIND BLOWS...."  
	Timon grabbed his beak shut.  "Please, don't sing it!"  He turned 
back to Simba.  "Listen, kid!  It does no good bringing up a lot of 
false hopes and stirring up a lot of pain.  Hakuna matata is the only 
way.  You gotta be like Pumbaa here--he's got it all figured out."
	But Pumbaa was looking at Sefu and Simba wistfully.  He was 
anything but sure about Timon's logic.  He felt sorry for Simba.
	"I was afraid this would happen someday," Pumbaa said.  "But when 
the time comes, I'll let go.  Simba, we're all born into this world with 
a destiny.  Some of us might have it easier than others, but you can't 
escape your destiny."
	"What is my destiny?" Simba asked.
	"That is something that you must figure out for yourself, my son.  
That's between you and God.  And whatever it is, I'll be there to help 
you fulfill it."
	Timon looked at Pumbaa disbelievingly.  But the warthog had a look 
of wisdom and nobility shining in his eyes that stunned him.  He could 
not find the nerve to contradict him, and looked away, sighing.  "Yeah, 
IF."


CHAPTER 60:  THE LEAP OF FAITH

	Makhpil was quick to join the Omlakhs.  She was filled with love 
and idealism, and she expected even more from her God.  Even before she 
saw chinks in the psychic armor of Melmokh, she knew that he was a 
pretender and evil.
	But her suspicions were confirmed in a very real and frightening 
way.  She had never spoken with Gur'mekh, but through her contacts with 
Shimbekh and Brin'bi she understood at a gut level the possibilities of 
her powers.  And in what was to settle her doubts forever, she lay on 
the ground and covered her eyes with her paws.  "Thou in me and I in 
thee.  Come together let us be!"  She repeated the mantra over and over, 
feeling in her heart the closeness of the one who claimed to be God.  
That she might not survive was not important.  One way or the other she 
must know.
	"Thou in me and I in thee.  Come together let us be!"
	She rolled over on her back, her breath coming and going in short 
gasps.  Reaching out with a paw, she touched the spirit of Melmokh.
	A wave of revulsion filled her as she felt a sensation akin to 
swallowing a mouthful of spiderwebs.  Fighting the urge to vomit, she 
pulled back hastily, breaking contact and opening her eyes wide in a 
shriek of horror.  The next several breaths she drew in escaped as cries 
of pain and despair.  "Oh my God!  It's evil!  It's evil!"
	She got up and ran around in tight little circles as if chasing 
her tail, the hackles raised along her back.  "Help us, Roh'kash!  Help 
us!  Great Mother, we're all being led to Hell!  Save us, God!"
	The false Roh'kash jumped up with a start.  "Who dared!  Who dared 
touch me!!"
	The followers were all at a distance and looked around at each 
other.  "Great Mother, no one touched you!"
	"Not with a paw, stupid!"  Melmokh shot a glance at the hapless 
hyena and he jumped, yelping in pain.  The others fell on the ground 
rolling over and reaching out with a paw.  "Mercy, Great Mother!  
Mercy!"
	With a look of ultimate rage, his hackles raised, Melmokh ran out 
of the circle and began running around the elephant graveyard looking 
for the source of the pain.  But it was too late--Makhpil had released 
her without betraying her own thoughts.
	Makhpil ran to Ber and fell before him.  "Okhim Ber," she gasped, 
"I've seen the devil himself!  I'll do anything to help you, anything!"
	Ber nuzzled her and rubbed her face with his paw.  "Blessed 
bak'ret, daughter of Roh'kash, may the true God reward your faith!"
	She knew that the Roh'kash was false.  She could not hide that 
from Shimbekh, who had her own doubts, but could not be sure.
	It was Shimbekh that Melmokh suspected, and so as Roh'kash, he 
persuaded Roh'mach Shenzi to order Shimbekh to give false prophesy.  If 
she refused, she would be killed.  If she did not refuse, she would be 
psychically blind.  Either way, Melmokh would preserve his dark heart 
from the sight of the others.
	Meekly, Shimbekh considered the life of her new daughter and put 
Makhpil's welfare before her own.  And she lied to Taka about his chosen 
heir, even as she was commanded.
	Cut off from her spirit husband and unable to reach her daughter's 
heart except through talking, she sank into a deep depression.  It was a 
frightening kind of aloneness.  From time to time she would beg Makhpil 
to take messages to Brin'bi as if he lived in a different land far, far 
away.  When Makhpil explained to her mother who the false Roh'kash was, 
she bit her own leg till the blood ran down.  "So it wasn't Gur'mekh who 
led to our downfall.  It was me!  Oh gods, it was me!  I could have 
stopped this!"
	Shimbekh began to grow gaunt and ill kept, looking as she did 
after the vision of Gur'mekh.  Makhpil had to beg her to eat--each bite 
was a concession to Shimbekh's love for her daughter, for she did not 
want to go on living.
	Then one day Makhpil prophesied that joy awaited Shimbekh at the 
gorge.  It was the hope that she was looking for.
	Shimbekh told Makhpil that as the one remaining seer she had to 
take care of herself and keep prophesy alive among the people if they 
were ever to survive.  Determined to repair what she had done, she went 
to Uzuri and confessed her full load of guilt.  Uzuri was not 
psychically gifted, but she could see the sincerity in her eyes and took 
the message to heart.  It awakened hope in her spirit.
	Shimbekh then went to the gorge.  "Great Mother, I have sinned.  I 
have tried to out guess your will and it will not be through me that the 
suffering will end.  But have mercy on me.  I have confessed my guilt, 
and I only ask for my husband back.  Please?"
	Then looking off the edge, standing far out on a cloud, she saw 
her husband.  She was so overwhelmed that she almost lost her footing.
	"It's time for us to be together," he said.  He sensed the rage of 
Melmokh at the edge of his awareness, and saw the assassins the false 
Roh'kash had dispatched to rid himself of Shimbekh.  Brin'bi shook his 
head sorrowfully.  He looked at Shimbekh and forced a smile for her 
sake.  "Our time is soon, love."
	"Our time is now."  Without removing her gaze from his, Shimbekh 
backed up and launched herself into the open space of the gorge.  
Without a sound she plummeted, caroming off the rock wall and beginning 
to tumble through the air.  She closed her eyes, not feeling the pain as 
her body was terribly abused by the unforgiving walls of the gorge.  
Brin'bi stood there in her mind, a look of surprise on his face as he 
saw her descend.  Her eyes opened and she saw trhe ground rushing up at 
her with terrible finality.
	"Brin'bi," she murmured, and was silenced forever.
	Makhpil was expected to be saddened by the death of her mother.  
Instead Makhpil seemed to grow in beauty and spirit, showing signs of 
joy and optimism for the future.  Only Amarakh knew that her life had 
changed for the better, for now her mother and father were together 
again, inseparable, and the three of them went on with their life with 
very little change.

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