CHAPTER:  A WAR OF ATTRITION

	A lone lion made his way through the grass with the fearful, 

empty tread of the recently exiled.  His old friends, his family, and 

his familiar grounds were behind him, perhaps forever, but this time 

he did not seek solace in a new beginning.  He bore 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.

	"Oh gods," he muttered to himself, for he was once again his 

only audience.  "Oh gods, what could I have done?  What could I have 

said differently?  I was happy, truly happy and willing to spend my 

life with her!  She wouldn't even tell me what I did?  One moment she 

loved me, and now she has driven me away, and all I want to do is go 

to sleep and never have to wake up!"

	Memories of the blissful moments he had spent with Elanna came 

crowding over him, torturing him in his loneliness.  If only Gamu had 

known what his lie had caused, he would have reveled in perverse 

satisfaction.  Kubali fell to the ground and sobbed.  "Oh gods, 

you've taken away everything I lived for!  Why not let me die!  Oh 

gods!"

	Unaware of the extent of his mischief, Gamu was busy trying to 

solidify his claim on Elanna.  He felt victory, complete victory, 

waited for him over the next rise or behind the next rock.

	Gamu alternated fear and tenderness, playing on Elanna's 

helplessness and setting himself up as her one salvation.  So far it 

had not resulted in a mating with Elanna, the mark of his absolute 

and utter destruction of Kubali.  Knowing that Kubali had something 

that had eluded his grasp was more frustrating than his unfulfilled 

desire.

	She refused him consistently.  Once, in the throes of passion, 

he followed her about with a tense purring in his throat.  He reached 

out with a paw and shoved her rump down, starting to mount her 

willingly or unwillingly.  She turned about smartly and cuffed his 

face with all her might.  As he lay stunned on the ground, she 

snarled at him.  "Touch me there again and I'll leave scars visible 

at night!"

	She got very little sleep throughout the next day and night.  

She was afraid of him, almost as afraid as she was of the hyenas.

	The end of her receptive period offered Elanna some relief from 

his constant entreaties, but his war of attrition shifted to other 

fronts.  He went from a prospective lover to a caretaker.

	"Lannie, if you will pledge to me, I will find a pride where 

you can be a queen again.  You could hunt with pride sisters again as 

you once did.  You can be respected."

	It went on subtly, day after day.  Like water running across 

once baked earth, he began to gently, patiently wear gullies in her 

firm resolve.  She did not grow to find him handsome, but she began 

to submit to his kissing her.  She never kissed him back, but Gamu 

felt that would come with time.  "It's like that hyena game, whatever 

in hell that little weasel called it."

	Flush with what he perceived as signs of success, Gamu was more 

bold in taking leave of Elanna to chat with Griz'nik and keep him 

apprised of his progress.  With a plan that ingenious, Gamu had to 

brag to someone or he would burst at the seams.

	Never did Gamu pay any head to the circling buzzard overhead 

who watched--and listened carefully.  

CHAPTER:  MARKAAAGH'S ERRAND

	Markaaagh saw what he thought was a dying lion.  He had a 

personal preference, hoping it was not Kubali.  Despite his 

professional detachment, he had grown rather fond of the polite, 

intelligent lion.  He lighted next to him, hoping to at least say 

something to ease his torment at the end.

	"Hey Fuzzy, are you OK?"

	"I'm not ready to be the guest of honor at your dinner party."

	"For once I'm relieved."  The buzzard regarded him closely.  

"Where is your lady friend?"

	"Gone.  She dumped me."

	Markaaagh looked surprised and disappointed.  "Tell me it ain't 

so!  Brother, I know how you feel."

	"How could you?"

	"Oyeghegh left me without so much as a pinfeather."

	"Oh?  I'm sorry."

	"Of course, I take these things in stride.  In my younger days, 

I was quite the rage among the young ladies, and I still haven't lost 

it entirely!  Har har!"

	Kubali covered his eyes with a paw.

	"You poor boy, I was happy for you.  I was hoping this match 

would work out.  I'm really sorry."

	Markaaagh trundled across a bit of savanna, flapping his huge 

wings until he was airborne and could put some distance between 

himself and the lion.  He embraced the buzzard policy of not getting 

involved with animals he could eat.  It was only courting pain and 

conflict.  Still, he felt he had to get to the bottom of this.  If 

only to find some dirt on Gamu that would give him the satisfaction 

of ripping out his liver when Fuzzy got through with him.

	It took a while.  In fact, it took several days.  Then by 

patience and silent soaring, Markaaagh caught Gamu in a bragging 

mood, talking with a "dead" hyena about his imminent conquest.  He 

heard Gamu tell the story for probably the hundredth time, though it 

was the first time he could put all the pieces together.

	He had heard enough. "We can eat three day old carcasses, but 

some things we just can't stomach."  He smiled a nauseating vulture 

smile.  "Today, greedy gut, you get yours!  Drive me off with 

insults, will ya??  I'll see you ripped like a gazelle!"

	Markaaagh flew quickly to find the moping lion.  He told Kubali 

what he had heard.

	"You have earned yourself FIRST RIGHTS at my next five kills!"

	Kubali rallied.  Suddenly he stood tall and straight and proud.  

It did Markaaagh's heart good.

CHAPTER:  THE CONFRONTATION

	Gamu's fear campaign had worked too well.  Elanna was truly 

afraid to remain alone for even a moment with hyenas about.  If only 

she had known that the nearby clan was the histrionic attempts of 

Griz'nik to be seen in several different places in quick succession, 

using variations on his voice with every territorial yip!  He would 

call out "Ta'bliz!" (Attention!) and answer himself, "Mar roh!" (Yes 

milord!).  The sound of the dark tongue would send chills down 

Elanna's spine as she worried about those hyenas.  Not used to 

freeloading off the lions, these were surely hunters of the first 

order, fierce and coldly efficient.

	When Gamu left her with strict orders to remain behind, he 

really expected her to stay put.  Though it was supposedly for her 

own good, Gamu's ordering about was intended to complete his 

domination of her and to give him free reign to contact Griz'nik for 

further orders.  Without careful coordination with the hyena, Gamu's 

main trump card of fear of the hyenas would become worthless, for a 

frightened lioness can run faster than an angry lion.

	Elanna used all her stalking skills to stay within hearing 

range of Gamu that she might be a simple shout away if intruders 

targeted her.  Little did she know what she would hear that fateful 

day!

	Elanna saw Gamu talking to the hyena.  She overheard what he 

was saying.

	Griz'nik was laughing when Gamu told him again about the 

deception.  That Elanna was foolish enough to believe Kubali loved 

Gamu after making love to her all night!

	She knew that was the hyena that Gamu said he killed.  She 

recognized the voice as one of those that called about her in the 

night.  And she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out.  

	Griz'nik asked Gamu what would happen to him when Elanna 

pledged to him.

	Gamu said, "I was just about to tell you that myself."  He 

started forward.  "Old friend, I had three great ambitions.  One was 

to have her warm my belly.  One was to see Kubali dead in the dust.  

My third wish is of great interest to you.  It's to keep you from 

ever telling my secrets to Lannie.  I've practiced your little cries.  

Ta'bliz!  Mar roh!  En'khet koi, Roh'mach!  In fact, I think I can 

get along without you."

	"You're sending me away??"

	"Clear to whatever hell you believe in."

	The hyena backed back.  "Oh gods, don't do this!  Let me run 

away, Gamu!  Oh gods, don't hurt me!  Please!"

	Griz'nik had backed back into the corner of the small shelter 

as far as he could go.  "I'll do anything!  Oh gods, this is madness!  

Stop!!"

	Gamu was about to bite the hyena's neck through when suddenly 

in burst Elanna.

	"Griz'nik, I should have recognized your smell anywhere!  If 

you want to live, you better tell the truth!"

	Griz'nik urinated freely in his utter panic.  "He wanted to 

kill me!  Have mercy and I'll tell all!  Gamu is a cheat and a liar!  

He invented that story about Kubali being in love with him, and he 

told Kubali you had betrayed your husband!"

	She raised her face in an agony of extreme hate, roaring to 

shake the walls of the small cavern.  Her eyes glowed red with fierce 

bloodlust, and she sprang on Gamu.  "I'll kill you, you devil!"

	For all her determination, Gamu was a young adult male, and he 

outweighed her by half again her bulk.  Her claws tore hunks of fur 

from his mane but barely grazed the skin beneath.  He raked her 

shoulder and  easily brought blood.

	Elanna did not really care.  If she could only mark him before 

she died, she could look down from the stars on him and feel 

revenged.  Gamu, who had so often tried to make love to her, was 

bringing the terrible brunt of his anger on her.

	Then a lion announced his presence with a terrible roar.  "Keep 

your paws off of her!"

	Gamu looked about.  It proved to be his undoing.  Elanna 

clubbed Gamu on the back of the head with one massive blow of her paw 

and sent him sprawling.

	In an instant, Kubali was all over him, battering him and 

covering him in small cuts and scratches.

	From seemingly nowhere, a gallery of buzzards had gathered to 

watch the fray.  One of them yelled, "Give it to him, Kubali!  Tell 

him who's the stupid bird NOW!"  It was Markaaagh.  Somewhere, 

somehow, Kubali would remember that the bird used his real name.  He 

was "Fuzzy" no longer.

	Kubali wanted to kill Gamu, and with the rival pinned to the 

ground, he started to inflict a killing bite to the skull.  Elanna 

stopped him.

	"No, honey tree.  There are fates worse than death."  She 

looked at the pathetic lion  You wanted to take Taka's place.  So be 

it."

	Gamu tried to shake his head "no."

	She raised her paw and quickly raked his face.  He screamed and 

rolled out from under Kubali, whimpering and putting a paw over the 

fresh wound that lay where his right eye had once been.  "Oh gods!  

Oh gods!"  His back feet dug into the soil and he kicked 

spasmodically.

	"Now you ARE Taka.  Go and never come back, for the next time I 

see you, I'll kill you!"

	He scrambled to regain his footing.  Tilting his head to one 

side, he staggered away yammering in the half-darkness of pain that 

had become his world.  If he lived or died, Aiheu would decide.

	Kubali wanted to apologize, and so did Elanna.  Neither could 

get the words out.  Instead they nuzzled, wrestled, kissed and rubbed 

with a desperate intensity.  Tears came, and they lasted a long 

while.  The wounds were deep and cruel, but love would heal them all.  

	As for Griz'nik, he went away and they never saw him again.

	Kubali touched Elanna's tear-stained cheeks with his tongue.  

"We will never be parted again, though all the Makei in hell stand in 

our way."

	The buzzards smiled.  "Awwww...."

	"I'm so grateful, my friends."  Kubali touched Markaaagh with 

his paw, something he'd never done before.  "How did you know?  It 

was a miracle!"

	"Maybe you're right."  Markaaagh bowed, then took off, followed 

shortly by the others.