Chapter 43 43: The Siringet Pride

[3rd POV] The Serengeti night was a blanket of stars, spread thick and glittering across a sky so vast it made even kings feel small. Crickets sang in the grass. A breeze danced through the acacias, rustling leaves like whispers. And beneath one such tree, the Siringet pride were sprawled around. A pride of thirty members strong sleeping in one area was a sight to behold. These animals were basically the rulers of the region, the royal family of the savannah. It was early in the night, but most of the members were already asleep. A few who were awake were also lying around and cuddling with their pride members. Lions were known to be very social animals, so cuddling together like this was a greatly appreciated bonding time. Among those that were awake, a few restless cubs were included. Lion cubs were always a ball of energy and activity, so even while most adults were sleeping, they were running around and chasing each other. Their paws thudded softly against the dry earth, and they released cute juvenile sounds as they played fight in the darkness of the night. They played without a care in the world, but in every passing moment, they were never in danger. Whenever they were about to wander too far into the night, a deep voice would call them back. "Come along, cubs, stay near me," a deep voice vibrated softly in the night. It came from one of the kings of the Siringet pride, Baraka. He was a giant in muscle and mane. Baraka was the biggest among the three kings, his sheer size would make the current Leo look small in comparison. Baraka could crush bones with ease, but if you saw the current look on his face and the gentleness in his tone, you would never guess he could harm anything in the world. With his smooth mane and thick fur, which was paler than any lion should be, he was the definition of a friend-shaped killing machine. He was the gentle giant. The cubs came bounding back at Baraka's call, like little balls of fur bouncing through moonlit grass. They skidded to a halt near his paws, panting with grins on their faces, only to leap on him without hesitation. Baraka let out a soft grunt as two clambered onto his forelegs, another biting playfully at his tufted tail. One of the more daring cubs climbed onto his shoulder and slid down the side of his thick mane like it was a hill. The pride of a king was not pleased, but the love of a father made him tolerate them. In the end, he couldn't help but smile and play along with them. "Is this how you treat your king?" he asked with an amused huff. "Yes!" one of them shouted proudly, swatting at his whiskers. "Then I'll have to punish all of you," he declared before swiping gently with his massive paw. He was careful not to let even his claws graze their soft pelts. The cub dodged and laughed. One lioness lifted her head nearby, watching with sleepy amusement as Baraka entertained her offspring, then lay her head back down. The king was a great babysitter, and every lioness appreciated him for it. They were able to get peaceful sleep without worry. The last king of the Siringet pride also looked towards Baraka with half-lidded eyes. He lay not too far away from his brother but you could see that unlike Baraka, no cubs dared approach him. His name was Makali, and he was the complete opposite of Baraka. His appearance was not majestic or full, instead, his body was marred with scars of battles in the past. He was the fiercest and the most violent of the kings. He was slightly bigger than Roku, so he would be around equal to Leo's current size. His mane was full black with a shorter and jagged appearance. His face also showed many scars. There was even a faint tear at the edge of one of his ears. Makali was also the one lion who killed the most rogues. Whenever a new male appeared, he would be the first to dive into battle. Sometimes he would kill or drive off rogue males without the help of his other brothers. So Roku being the one to confront Leo, a rogue, was a rare occurrence. The only reason Makali was not sleeping with the pride was that Roku had not returned. He was not the most caring beast, but he was loyal to those he loved. "Baraka, it's been quite a while since Roku was gone," he said to his brother in a distance. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Roku is the smartest among us, I'm sure he has his reasons for not returning," Baraka answered while entertaining the cubs with his front paws. Late in the afternoon, the three had done their routine patrol around their territory. But unlike other days, Roku had not returned with them. It was quite normal for one or two of them to come back late, but Roku was rarely the one to do so. Therefore, Makali was concerned. "Aren't you worried?" he asked again. "About what?" Baraka asked, "You and I both know that Roku will be the first to run from a fight he knew he could not win." Makali thought over that, and he agreed internally. He became a bit relaxed after hearing Baraka's thoughts. So he lay down and closed his eyes to rest. A few minutes passed, and their world was still and peaceful. And then... A sound ripped through the night like the earth itself had screamed. *ROAR!!!* Baraka's ears shot up, and he looked towards the sky. Makali abruptly stood up and his face morphed into something hard like stone. The cubs froze, their ears dropped, and their tails found a place between their tail. The joyous mood was gone, and they hurried to hide under Baraka's massive presence. The rest of the pride also stirred awake and they lifted their heads in unison. They were sleeping so peacefully a second ago, but now everyone was on edge. It was because the roar was unfamiliar. It did not belong to any of the three lion kings. A roar was easy to distinguish for lions. Braka's roar was deep and thundering, Makali's roar was sharp and tearing, and Roku's roar was always calm and commanding. But the roar that echoed through the land had none of these attributes. It lacked the dignity and elegance of a lion that roared daily while patrolling their territory. This roar was untamed and untempered. It was clear to everyone that this was the roar of a young lion, not a dominant king. But what frightened them was the sheer volume of the roar. All roars sound beastly to humans, but this one did even to other lions. The roar continued ten more times while the Siringet pride just listened. The two kings were also silent, finding the direction from which the sound came and also analysing what the unknown lion would look like from his roar. It was not a roar to call others, it was not a roar to defend a territory or to threaten it. It was simply a declaration of presence. The strange lion roared to exist. It was akin to saying, 'I am here. I have survived. And I'm not afraid of you,' When the roar ended, there was absolute silence. Even the insects made no sound afterwards, there was only chilling silence. In that moment, Baraka pushed away the young cubs with a smile before he stood up. When he stand, the smile and the gentleness were gone. He shared a look with Makali, and then they both bolted off. The roar came when Roku was missing. It could not have been a coincidence. They ran through the savannah and headed towards the direction where the roar came. The ground thudded in the darkness of the night, two beasts made their way towards a common enemy. The sound of a vehicle starting followed soon enough and then the group of researchers that had been staying beside the Siringet pride followed the two kings. Baraka and Makali were used to the presence of the humans and thought nothing of it. Instead, they quickened their pace and ran even faster. After around half an hour of travelling, they finally came to an open plain with no trees around. There, they saw a lone lion walking towards them. They stopped in their tracks and took in the scent of the lion. The smell of blood nearly overpowered the natural scent of the lion but after careful observation, they realize dit was their brother Roku. They bolted forward and reached their brother in a heartbeat "Roku," Baraka was the first to address him. His deep voice rumbled in concern and boiling rage. "Don't worry, I'm fine," Roku answered in a voice that was surprisingly calm considering his condition. "How many were they?" Makali asked with bared teeth. He could barely contain himself at that moment. "Only one," Roku said, somewhat ashamed. This surprised both brothers. All of them were in their physical prime, it should be almost impossible for them to lose to a new male rogue. "And you lost?" Baraka asked. "No!" Roku denied fast, "It was a draw. We both sustained injuries and decided to end the fight." "How did that happen? What did you do!?" Makali came up to Roku in clear aggression. He was angry at his brother for losing such a fight. Roku fought back, his bleeding teeth bore out and flitted towards his brother. He didn't commit to the attack, of course, but it was a warning that he wouldn't let anyone talk to him in that tone. He had lost enough dignity in one night. "You didn't see him!! You didn't see how he fought!!" Roku growled out. Both brothers snarled at each other, but Baraka soon came between them. His massive size worked to cool down their aggression. Even though both were fierce, it was almost instinctual to submit to the bigger beast. "Let's go home, the rest of the pride will be worried. We can discuss what happen in detail later," he said. "What?! Aren't we going after the rogue? If he is injured, as you say, we could kill him right now," Makali said. "Don't bother. The rogue will have run away by now. We will just be wasting energy in the middle of the night. Let morning come, and we will continue this affair," Baraka replied. "Leo," Roku said suddenly, causing both brothers to look at him. "His name is Leo," he said and walked past them. The two brothers stared at the back of Roku before they followed in silence. If the name is acknowledged, it means it was not just a rogue. It was a proper challenger. A threat in their kingdom, .. .. .. [IMAGE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Author : I was sleeping so I can't upload this at the exact moment we got 500. But here is the extra chapter.