CHAPTER:  THE OUTCAST

	The golden eye of N'ga stared at the savanna relentlessly.  The 
effect was palpable, seeming to stir the savanna grass like a gentle 
wind, but it was only an illusion created by the hot, still air.  The 
occasional wind did little to bring relief.  It dried the nose and 
stung the eye like a fierce enemy.  Zebras panted and remained near 
the shrinking pools of water.  One-who-brings-rain had been scarce of 
late, and the grass has turned from gold to a tawny brown.  
'Dry...but not too dry,' as the zebras had said.  "Merely peckish," 
the oryx had replied.  Prey was still plentiful, but it had been a 
lean time for lions, a time to avoid unnecessary effort and rest 
often.  Still, the land fared better than it did in one kingdom 
rumored to be forsaken by the gods, the lands of Taka.
	A lone lion made his way through the grass with the fearful, 
empty tread of the recently exiled.  Now his fate rested on two 
points: the mercy of Aiheu and his own resourcefulness.  His old 
friends, his family, and his familiar grounds were behind him, 
perhaps forever, and he sought out solace in a new beginning.  Only 
that lion seemed to bear an extra weight on his shoulders that made 
his ears a little flatter, his tail a little lower and his step a 
little slower than most.
	"Why didn't I listen to Dad?" he said aloud.  Rogue lions often 
talked to themselves for a while to fill the void--at least until 
they got used to doing without companionship.  He looked back from 
where he came and let out a loud sigh as if the weight of the land 
was on his shoulders.  "Why was I such an idiot??"
	Only a week ago his life had been so simple.  An heir apparent, 
he was used to respect and concessions.  Everything had been fine a 
week ago, but those times seemed like a distant memory.  Fewer days 
than he had toes?  Could it be that short a time?
	He had been given a commoner's mantlement and sent out never to 
return.  It was a shameful fate for one destined for greatness from 
his birth.  The promise of his presentation was not kept, and he was 
alone and vulnerable.  Sure he had stirred up the lionesses.  But he 
had meant no harm by it.  Many princes go through a phase of acting 
like a brat, a child wanting to test the limits set by his elders and 
have a little fun bending a few rules.  The lionesses didn't mind too 
much when the young cub would come to them and demand things.  'He 
will grow out of it,' the king would assure them.  `It is just a 
phase he's going through.'  But he did not grow out of it.  It got 
worse with age.
	He had been warned.  Warned that he would be sent away like the 
troublemaker Gamu.  But the constant warnings had become a familiar 
part of his life, a background noise that got tuned out from constant 
repetition and no enforcement.  A commoner's mantlement would never 
REALLY befall him.  At least that was what he used to think.
	His mother had died giving birth to him.  The thought of what 
she must have been like, and his father's stories about her, filled 
him with awe.  He loved the lioness he never knew as much as many 
cubs love their living mother.  But to the other lionesses he had 
shown little respect.  His father had tried to raise him differently, 
but he did not know how to channel youthful energies into productive 
growth.  Many of the lionesses would have gladly given the young cub 
lessons, but the King only let them give him milk.  That was a 
dreadful mistake, not only in how the son turned out, but in shaping 
how the lionesses felt about him.  Finally with a threatened 
rebellion looming large, the King decided to overcompensate, becoming 
a harsh disciplinarian and making life for his prince a living hell.  
That only aggravated the situation.  More warnings were met with more 
rebellious behavior.  It was only a matter of time until the 
situation came to a head.
	The King's younger son Ababu was only five minutes younger, but 
he had no claim on the throne.  Still, he had been properly trained 
by the lionesses, and they were demanding that he be the heir.  "Five 
minutes younger, but years more mature!  Either Ababu will be our 
next king or we're out of here!"
	The King had no choice, and he called a commoner's mantlement 
for his former prince.  With many bitter tears from father and son, 
and glares of satisfaction from most of the lionesses, the prince was 
sent away.  That was only a few sunsets ago, and the young lion had 
experienced his first taste of the loneliness that would be his 
curse.  When he could finally work past the anger and bitterness he 
felt, he took a long close look at his life, comparing himself to 
Ababu.  He remembered all the times he'd snickered about his 
brother's prim and proper behavior, calling him "stodgy" and "stuck-
up."  He wished he'd been more stodgy and stuck-up.
	Step by step he was headed into nowhere.  He thought about his 
father's kindly voice and the way Debara's milk had tasted as she 
stroked him with her soft pink tongue.  He thought about Debara's 
daughter Penzi, and how he used to lie beside her under the shade of 
the acacias to watch the clouds float by.  Penzi was his betrothed, 
and she had been aching for her first kill so she could be a true 
lioness and unite with him.  "Dear, gentle Penzi," he stammered, 
"I'll never see you again."  He was without hope, and with a deep 
pain in his gut he fell to the ground and sobbed.  She was afraid of 
exile, too terrified to accompany him.  He did not blame her, but he 
felt the lonliness gnawing at his ribs and a moan escaped him.
	"Help me, Aiheu!  Help me!  Send me a friend, God!  I'll be 
good!  Please, God!  Oh Aiheu!  I'll never be so selfish again!"


CHAPTER:  THE SUNSET OF TAKA

	The last few days of Elanna's marriage to Taka went by in a 
blur.  Taka had more frequent nightmares, sometimes three or four a 
night, and the lack of sleep left him looking prematurely old.  
Sometimes she would find him huddled in the cave whimpering.  She 
would ask him what was wrong and he would say, "My mother really 
loved me, you know.  I wish she were here right now."
	She would answer him, "I'm here, and I really love you."  He 
would kiss her and nuzzle her desperately.  His temper was very 
short, and he snapped at her from time to time, but afterwards he 
always came to her sobbing and begging her for forgiveness almost 
incoherently.  She would hug him tightly and move him gently with her 
arms from side to side like a crying cub.  
	Taka insisted that others eat a bit of his food before he would 
touch it, sure that the hyena healers would try to drug or poison 
him.  He was afraid of sleep for more than just his nightmares.  He 
finally got to the point where he was afraid to sleep if Elanna was 
asleep.  So the two of them spent less time together--she mainly saw 
him asleep, and she collapsed from exhaustion shortly after he awoke 
and was tired all the time.  Finally Uzuri, in her kindness, offered 
to stand watch over them part of the day so they could sleep touching 
and maybe spend some wakeful moments together.
	Then one evening right at the end of his life he went out on 
the promontory and looked up at the clouds that passed overhead but 
did no good.  In the grip of his encroaching madness, he shouted, 
"Have you forgotten how to rain??"  He turned about, lifted his tail 
and urinated, the golden drops falling on the ground below.  Elanna 
thanked God that the others were out on the hunt at the time.  
	He came trudging in and looked down at Elanna who lay on the 
floor of the cave.  "What's the matter, Honey Tree?  You never saw 
someone take a whiz off the rock before?"
	She did not answer him, but patted next to her with her paw.  
He came and lay beside her, sighed, and closed his eyes.  He tired 
easily, and it did not take long for him to fall asleep.
	A moment passed, then he opened his eyes.  Something was wrong-
-very wrong.  He looked around, surprised that he couldn't find his 
love.  "Odd," he thought.  "She hadn't left me in my sleep in a long 
time."  He called out her name but heard nothing in return except a 
quiet laugh, a hyena's laugh.  His stomach began to knot up, and 
nearing panic he rushed out onto the stone ledge toward the mocking 
sound.  He looks around expecting to see his mate.  Instead he saw 
Shenzi.  
	Slowly and carefully, he approached her.  Shenzi regarded him 
with an amused grin.  "What do YOU want?"
	"Have you seen Lannie?"
	She only laughed demonically.
	"How DARE you laugh at me!  How DARE you!  I remember when you 
were a little brat messing in your own den!"
	Shenzi laughed louder, a red fire glowing in her eyes.  "Now 
I'm messing in YOUR den!  Who is the scavenger now??"
	Taka begins to quail with fear.  "Where is Lannie??"
	"What's a matter, cubby??  Can't hold on to your Mommy??"  She 
approached him, hackles raised.  "Maybe she wants to crouch with a 
REAL lion?  Maybe that warped little body of yours makes her sick!  
Sick, sick, SICK!"
	"If that's how you feel, take your--people--and get out!!"
	"It's not that easy, cubby!  You don't scare me one bit."  
Shenzi grinned broadly.  Taka gasped in horror as he saw the signs of 
fresh blood on her strong, sharp teeth.
	"Where is Lannie??  What have you done with her??"
	"Wouldn't you like to know!"
	"What have you done??" Taka demanded, shoving her back with a 
paw.  "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??"  He moved closer as she backed back, 
still laughing at him.  "Stop laughing and answer me!  WHAT HAVE YOU 
DONE??"
	He shoved her with a paw again and she tumbled backwards over 
the edge of the promontory, falling, falling, falling to the distant 
savanna.
	"Shenzi!!"
	Taka quickly made his way down the steep sides of Pride Rock.  
Maybe in her dying breaths she might reveal the truth.  He searched 
under the promontory, expecting to see her twisted body.  Instead he 
spotted a lioness laying in the grass motionless.
	He approached the form slowly with a growing panic.  The pain 
in his stomach was almost unbearable as he crept the last few lengths 
on trembling limbs and looked at the face of the lioness.  
	"LANNIE!!  OH GODS!!"
	There were fresh claw wounds on her otherwise flawless form.  
"NO!!"  LANNIE!!  NO!!"
	Suddenly he was stirred from sleep by a familiar presence.  He 
gasped and tried to catch his breath as Elanna's dear face approached 
his and kissed him.
	"Dear...dear...you were having another bad dream.  You screamed 
out my name."
	"Oh Lannie, never leave me!"  He kissed her face and rubbed his 
paws against her.  "Never leave me, girl!  Never leave me!"
	"I won't, honey tree!"
	He continued to kiss her.  "I love you, honey tree!  You don't 
think I'm a warped little lion, do you?"
	"No!  You poor fool!"  She rubbed against him softly, returning 
the affection.  "I've felt that strong body next to me in the night 
every night and rubbed your beautiful dark mane.  I've made love with 
you every time you came to me with that sweet little hungry cub look.  
You scare me when you talk like that--like you don't trust me.  Taka, 
you're the only one in the world that trusts me anymore.  If you 
don't trust me, what will I do??  What will I do??"
	Taka put his forepaws about her neck and rubbed his face 
against hers, his breath finally returning to normal as calm returns 
to his body.  "I will always trust you.  You are the only real truth 
I've ever known."
	"My poor foolish husband!"  She kissed him.  "At least this 
cave is our gentle place.  If only I could stop those nightmares, my 
darling.  If I could take them on myself...."
	"NEVER say that!  NEVER!"  He kissed her desperately.
	"But I would.  I would."
	"I know you would.  And don't think I don't appreciate it."


CHAPTER:  THE BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS

	The rogue lion wandered the corridors between territories.  
There he was relatively safe from the territorial males.  They would 
remind him to avoid their lands, but not fight him.  Some of the 
kinder ones who remembered what it was like to be alone would chat 
for a while when they saw he meant no harm.  Ugas would share a 
couple of jokes.  Old Mabatu would even stroke his mane and give him 
a blessing.  Once, Duma let him eat a small portion of zebra haunch 
because he reminded him of his son.
	Because the other rogues had to share the same corridors, he 
would also chat with them briefly.  He wanted to join a coalition 
that would end his solitude.  But most of the rogues had a brother or 
another friend already.  They were quite content to keep their 
infrequent kills or carcasses to themselves.
	By and large, the most companionship he'd known was the flock 
of buzzards that collect at every kill.  He had negotiated an 
arrangement with them--in a real sense they were his buzzards.  They 
would spot prey, and rather than watch it go to the hyenas and 
quickly vanish, they let a lion friend have his fill, then he would 
guard them while they took the remnants.  It was a great system, and 
because this rogue was alone, they were assured of a large share.
	The rogue saw the distinctive signs of a meal ahead.  The 
buzzards were flying in circles.  So the lion hurried ahead and saw 
their target.  It was a wounded antelope with a broken leg.  It 
staggered along in the oppressive heat on three legs, a look of 
desperation on its face.
	The antelope spotted him and tried to run, but could only 
hobble quickly.  Soon the lion overtook it and pushed it over, 
pinning it to the ground with a paw.
	"No, don't!  Don't!"
	"It's over.  Just relax," the lion said softly.  "Don't 
struggle and it won't hurt much."  He gripped the antelope by the 
throat, pressing firmly but not causing unnecessary pain.  The 
antelope hardly moved.  It pawed at him almost gently with a hoof, 
vainly gasping for a breath.  Then it quickly felt the need to 
breathe slip away and relaxed, falling into a last sleep.  
	The buzzards landed not far away.  "Now that's right nice, 
Fuzzy," said the leader said.  "I hope when it's my time I go that 
well."
	"Thanks," the rogue said, quickly ripping the carcass and 
availing himself of a long-awaited meal.  "I could have been an 
antelope--he could have been a lion.  That's what my father used to 
say."
	"Go easy on him, Fuzzy," the buzzard warned.  "Remember, make 
it worth our while and we'll help you out.  Fair and square all 
around.  That's what MY father used to say."
	"You'll get yours, Markaaagh."
	"You learned to say it properly, I'll grant you.  Maybe you 
have some vulture in your blood."
	"Maybe," the rogue said with a laugh.  "Any hyenas around?"
	"Nope."
	The lion could have easily finished it off himself, but he left 
plenty for the small crew of buzzards to eat their fill.  He watched 
them eat with some satisfaction.  They were in a sense his pride.  
	"So what's up, guys?"
	"Nothing much," Markaaagh said.  "Things have been kind of dead 
lately.  Har har!"
	The lion's nose wrinkled at the terrible buzzard breath.  "Dead 
lately.  Good one."  He looked around.  "You have a new one today."
	"Count us, did you?  Which one is new?"
	The lion looked around and quickly pointed.  "Her."
	"Haaaargh!  True enough.  Most carnies say we all look alike!  
That's my new mate, Ohyeghegh."
	"Interesting name.  Congratulations."
	Moments later, they had picked what was left of the Antelope 
clean and with a quickly mumbled good bye, they headed away like 
leaves in the wind.  He looked after them longingly.  As poor company 
as they were, he felt his loneliness close around him tighter still.  
He was alone once again.  At least he thought he was.
	He was being watched and followed by another rogue.  The 
strange lion crept along, watching him from the bushes and through 
the blades of golden grass.  Beside him was a hyena....

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