Chapter 36 36: I fear no king

[1st POV] Oh god, I'm so fucking full. Normally, my diet was normal and consistent, but now it was scarce and heavy. I had to adjust my way of eating one meal if I wanted to consume the same amount of food as I did before. I felt like an absolute pig while I dragged myself towards my home. Home. If you really thought about it, the word wasn't big enough for what this place was. I looked upon the great place I found for myself a few days ago. The kopje rose like a sleeping beast in the tall green sea. If you didn't know already, a kopje was a small hill in a flat area. Normally, you would never expect such a hill to exist in an otherwise plain area, which made my home stand out. The whole place was like a small island in a sea of grass. Boulders were stacked, some sat low, while some were half-swallowed by the earth. Trees huddled between the crevices, their roots appeared on the surface of the stones. It was like looking at a small, unique living ecosystem in the wild. It looked like a castle if I was being honest. A natural castle that was completely mine. I walked up the rocky hill and headed towards the northern boulder where a small pool hides behind the vegetation. I drank a hefty amount to quench my thirst and wash the dried blood off my mouth and mane. After that, I climbed a little higher on the hill and stopped at a small cave that overlooked the landscape. I lay down there, my muscles relaxed as I took in the familiar smell of stone and greens. The place greatly reminded me of the Pride Rocks - which was a bigger kopje than this one - I felt right at home in here. I took a nap after that. The sun was beginning to set, and the cool breeze of the afternoon made for perfect weather. It was a bit too cold at night and too hot in the morning here, so the late afternoon was where the power nap was at. I must've slept for a few hours. But when the sun was half-swallowed by the horizon and the world was dyed in a deep orange hue, something woke me up. I was not jolted away, nor was I surprised. It was routine at this point. *ROAR!!!!* *ROAR!!!!* *ROAR!!!!* *ROAR!!!!* *ROAR!!!!* *ROAR!!!!* Three distinct roars filled the open air of the Serengeti. They thundered across the mountains in strange harmony and claimed ownership of everything under the sky. I was already getting familiar with the three lion kings, even though I'd never met them. Their roars were arrogant and prideful, like they were not afraid of anything in the world. I guess being in a coalition made lions even more egotistical than they already were. I listened to the roars carefully, determining how far they were and how healthy and big the lions were. A lion's roar could reach 8 kilometres. With the correct wind, even further. So, although I could hear them roar, I was in no real danger. I resisted the urge to roar back at them and let the trio declare their authority. They went quiet after a few minutes. They were clearly accustomed to having no rival or anyone to challenge them. Again, I mean, who would challenge three lion kings? That was potentially worse than a hundred hyenas, in my opinion. Hyenas were weak individually; you pick them off and eventually defeat them if you play smart. It was hard to do the same to lions. I went back to sleep after the show was over. I thought that would be the end of it, but I was gravely mistaken. The day turned out to be quite eventful. !!!!!! My eyes snapped open in the dark. At that point, the sun had long since sunk into the horizon, and it was early in the night. I propped myself up from lying down, and my ears stood up. My nose twitched as I searched for a scent in the air. *ROAR!!!* It was a roar, one single roar that had no other sound to mingle with. But the roar was extremely loud, and it was not only because of the silence of the night. The roar was loud because it was close. I was immediately alerted and stayed there, unmoving but waiting. A long stretch of silence followed, and then I heard the same roar once more. And then silence. And then another roar. And silence. And again, a roar. But the thing was, every time the roar came, it was closer and closer. It was louder and louder. And soon enough, I could smell the beast that was closing in on me. The odor was heavy, like wet fur left too long in the sun. It was mixed with the iron bite of dried blood, sweat, and the acrid stink of urine. It was overall a thick and musky scent that was impossible to mistake. The lion no longer made a sound after I smelled him. Because if I could smell him, it meant he could smell me too. I stood up and jumped down from the cave and swiftly climbed down the hill. I stood my ground on the open plain, eyes locked into the darkness where the scent was coming from. I stood there, waiting. And then two piercing eyes locked on me. They were the colour of boiling gold, and they penetrated the darkness with an eerie glow. You could literally feel the gaze, like an invisible hand had gripped your body. He came as swiftly as the breeze, like he was hunting me. My paws set themselves firmly on the ground. I did nothing, and that meant I was not showing any aggression, but also meant I showed no fear. I had been careful so far. I went as far as only doing my business in my home so that no lions could know that I was here. But I guess he found me in other ways. If I had to guess, it was because of the remaining impala that I left behind. It probably caught the attention of one of the lions, and then he decided to track the predator that ate the impala and left its remains. Which led him to me. There was no other explanation that came to mine. "What do we have here?" The lion walked towards me with confidence oozing from his gait. It was hard to make a distinction in the dark, the moon was only a curve on this particular night. I could not get a close look at my enemy but I saw his general size and structure. He was a fully grown male lion with a thick golden mane that had dark ends. His body was slightly longer than mine, but at the same time, he was thinner than me. I was the heavier one between us, and that was a good thing. The lion was nowhere near as big as Scar was, but he also looked way fitter if that made sense. I could almost feel his desire to start a fight by attacking me. "A young male who is living in my territory and killing my prey. A thief, basically," he said and then stopped approaching me. Instead of coming too close, he started walking in half-circles around me. He was checking me out very carefully. My size intimidated him, I could tell, but my build truly perplexed him upon closer inspection. He was itching for a fight, but he was not reckless enough to start a fight he couldn't easily win. "What kind of abomination has stumbled upon my kingdom? It's impossible to tell how old you are. Your size says full-grown, your mane says teenager, and your scent speaks juvenile," he asked. I did not answer him so he asked again with a louder voice and harsher tone, "Can you speak!?" "There is nothing to talk about. Leave, I've made this place my home," I said with a measured tone. He laughed, like really laughed. No comedian could've made him laugh harder than I just did. "Hahahaha, my home? Did you really just say that? With whose permission is that your home?" he asked with humour in his voice, and then in the next second, his voice was cold. "Everything in the Serengeti belongs to me and my brother. You are a trespasser, and you asked me to leave? Perhaps your mother didn't teach you manners." "I thought you'd say that. If you believe your words, then I'm standing right here." I said. And then he paused. My words seem to make him realise that I was not some young trespasser who was cowering in his boots and ready to run. I was standing on what he considered to be his land and claimed it as my own. Not just that, I was waiting for him to do something. His eyes flickered and then narrowed as he realised one other thing. While he was circling around me, I made no movement and simply faced forward. When he was at my side, I did not turn to meet him head-on. I did not keep track of his jaw or his claws. As if to say he was not a threat to me. It was disrespect in the language of the body. Whether he attacked from the left, right, or from behind me, it wouldn't matter. He growled, showing me the animalistic nature that hides behind a mask of intelligence. The ground vibrated with something raw and primal. It was the final warning from a king. "I won't ask you to leave. I'll kill you where you stand," he said his final piece and then a beast designed to kill starts to kill. He lunged at me. Shrouded by the darkness of the night, I embraced him with violence. There was no escaping this if I wanted to make Serengeti my new home. I needed to confront the pride living here sooner or later. And tonight will make the dynamic between the apex predators living in the same land. I was not afraid. All this time, the only reason I was not paying attention to him was because I was making sure he was really alone. And guess what, he was alone. At this point in my life, I fear no lion on equal ground. .. .. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author : I know y'all are excited but the documentary is after this fight lol. That was just a teaser and asking my patreon if they like it or not. ... Read 10 advanced chapters on Patreon and support the story. Patreon : Emmanuel_Capricorn