Chapter 20 20: Small things

[1st POV] God damn, I truly was not made to be the submissive lion. I nearly lost control and fought against Scar for dominance when he tried to steal my prey. It took everything, and I meant everything, to hold myself back from ripping him up. I had a lesser chance at winning the fight, but I sure as hell was strong enough to hurt him badly now. "Inner peace, inner peace," I chanted silently while making my way up the Pride Rock and towards the den. "What the fuck are you looking at?" I said and smacked a hyena that did not have the survival instinct to move away when I got there. He released strangled puppy cries and writhed on the ground. That made me feel a little better. Fuck them. I climbed up the rocky path and went into the den. Immediately I was greeted by silent judging eyes due to what had just taken place. But before I could feel awkward and unwelcome, Zuri hopped towards me in a playful manner. She gave me a sweet eye smile and rubbed her head against me to show affection. I closed my eyes and released a pleased groan. "Although I am thankful for your return, it was quite mean to disappear like that," Zuri said while leading me towards my usual spot. "Something came up that required my attention," I said and lay down. My tired muscles groaned from all the training and journeys as I relaxed. She sat down beside me, showering me with the attention that none of the pride members were giving me these days. It was understandable, I was growing too big, too fast. All of them knew that showing too much affection to me could earn the King's distaste. "I was bringing home a Reedbuck, but as you saw, the King stole it from me," I said. "Reedbuck?" Zuri asked with a tilt of her head. "Yes, it's your favourite," I said with a small grumble of dissatisfaction. She paused, clearly taken aback that I was bringing home prey for her. She seemed happy, even though I failed to give her the food. But she didn't express her happiness in words, instead, she showed it through her actions. Her warm tongue brushed against my face before she started grooming my growing mane. I leaned into her as she cleaned every part of my fur. I tried to return the favour, but she was extremely clean already, so I was just doing it for the formalities. She licked the dried blood on my jaw and then pulled back with a smile. "I can taste it, it's delicious," she said. I sucked in a deep breath and looked away with a grunt. I couldn't fucking believe that that actually made me blush. Zuri was definitely one of a kind. Lucky for me, Sarabi came towards me right then and lay beside me. She started rubbing her head and grooming me as well, seemingly not wanting to be outdone by Zuri. After disappearing for three days, the three of us bonded and showed affection with each other. These types of things were important for the pride, it was what kept us together. "Leo!!" Nala ran into the den with joyful strides and slid to a stop in front of me. She had been staying outside and looking at the King, it seemed. She said, "You should've seen the King's face hahaha!! It's amazing that you stand up to him. You should do it more often." "Don't give such ill advice, Nala, he could've gotten himself killed," Sarabi said with a sigh, already accustomed to how Nala was and how she always rebelled against the King. "No way, Scar can't kill Leo, he is too strong now—" Nala said but Sarabi's glare made her pause. "I mean the King shouldn't be able to kill Leo even if he tried." "You are underestimating the King too much, Nala," Sarabi said. Nala rolled her eyes in return and pushed herself between the three of us. She cuddled against our bodies and said, "Whatever, he didn't even fight against King Mufasa." "Is that why you refuse to accept him as the King?" Zuri asked with a tilt of her head. "Kind of. How can you call yourself King when you don't even earn it?" she said. "You are talking too loud, someone might hear you," I warned with a chuckle. I completely agreed with her statement, though. "Whatever," was her reply as she licked her own paws to clean herself. I spent the rest of the day bonding with the pride and relaxing for a little bit. That didn't mean the day was wasted, though. A wise man once said that rest day was also growth day because you grow during your rest. ... ... ///////////////////// (The next day) The morning wind tasted cool on my tongue. It was not exactly sharp like dawn, but still heavy with the chill of night. I padded over the baked ground, my paws brushing through the short, dew-slick grass before I came to a stop on a slight rise overlooking the watering hole. The sun had barely lifted itself above the acacia line, its light turning everything gold. Even the flies seemed slower this early. Below me, life had gathered like it always did when water was near. Impala crowded near the edge, drinking in quick, jerky movements. Zebras stood further back, watching everything with twitching ears. Warthogs rooted in the mud while a pair of lanky storks stood nearby like silent guards. Even a few baboons perched in the nearby trees, arguing loudly over nothing. The grass here was greener than most places, thicker too. The rains had been generous, and it showed. Everything felt fuller, from the bellies of the prey to the buzz in the air. My eyes fell on the three crocodiles that lay nearby. They were basking on the far bank with their jaws open. A few birds were actually inside their open jaws, cleaning their teeth of rotting flesh. I was sure more crocodiles were inside the lake as well. The other animals knew it too, but the savannah made them choose between fear and thirst. I wasn't hiding. A few animals glanced my way, froze, then went back to their business when they realised I wasn't hunting them. When you saw a predator, it usually meant you were not their target. I walked towards the watering hole. I leaned down to take a few drinks before I decided to jump into the lake to go for a swim. Usually, big cats like lions did not like swimming. But as a previous human, I actually loved it. "So cool and refreshing," I said while splashing around the water. I always felt much cleaner after swimming than when we groomed each other. I felt some movements in the water, probably some crocodiles, but I was not too worried about them. They didn't see lions as prey, so they usually just ignored me whenever I came for a swim. And I've come often, so they've got used to my presence at this point. Swimming in the lake was not only refreshing, but it was also a full-body workout. I usually leave the water with sore muscles, which is good. I stayed in the water for nearly half an hour, swimming around and playing to my heart's content. Then my instinct told me that something was amiss. Immediately my eyes became razor-focused and I looked around the water. I saw a crocodile swimming towards me. Only the head was visible above the water, but I clearly felt the movement it made through the liquid. My first reaction was to focus on the crocodile while swimming back to the shore. This never happened before, but I knew how unpredictable nature could be. My fear came true as the croc lunged violently at me when it got close. But fortunately for me, by that point I was in the shallow part of the water with my feet touching muddy ground. The crocodile was also fairly small, it was young and inexperienced, which was exactly why it had decided to attack me. One of the most powerful jaws in nature clamped down on my left paw as I swiped at it on instinct. I felt a tiny ache but nothing too severe. The crocodile was not big enough to have that powerful bite that they were known for. "You chose the wrong cat to bite, lizard," I said while pulling it ashore with me. The crocodile refused to let go but that was better for me. It struggled for a bit but since my feet were on the ground, I was able to drag it to the bank with ease. When we were washed up on land, it was already over for him. The crocodile tried to do its death roll, but I stopped him after one rotation. I clawed at its open belly, which was softer than the armoured back. I released a growl and tore open the lizard. When it was ashore, I saw that it was only around 7 feet or so. Quite small compared to the 15–16 feet behemoth that I saw basking in the sun. In just a few moments, I killed the unfortunate crocodile. I tried eating it but the taste was really not my sto my liking, so I left it there. I washed the blood in the lake before I left. I did not want to go back into the water after what happened. The crocodile that I killed was also eaten by its own kind a few minutes after I left. Today marked a very unique and rare experience for me. But after what happened, forget attacking, no other crocodiles came close to me again. ... ... [IMAGE] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stones