[1st POV]
"I was born with a gift, a special kind of gift that no one else in the world has. You see, the earth talks to , fate whispers in my ear her little secrets," he said.
"And the funny thing is," he said and gestured for to co close. He cupped his hands and said to my listening ears.
"She never told about you," he said.
I was not surprised. Not by a long shot.
"And yet here you are! All grown up and stronger than ever! Isn't that absolutely hilarious?" he said and began laughing while holding his belly.
"I don't see how that is funny," I said honestly with a straight face.
"Oh it is. Trust , it absolutely is," he said and then he turned around and began walking. I sighed in exasperation and followed him.
The monkey was quite the character for sure. The more I spent ti with him, the more I wondered what his intentions were or what was going through his mind.
"Tell ," he asked suddenly after a bit of walking, "How is it like to swim against the currents of fate?"
At first, I was stumped by that question. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how fate absolutely loved throwing problems at . Problems that would've killed a weaker will.
My leopard encounter, the loss of my tail, Scar's takeover, my journey to the Serengeti, the harshness of the dry seasons, the Mbali brothers that I had overco, and every little challenge in between.
They were all challenges quite out of the ordinary for the rest. It's like the world itself was not rooting for at all throughout my life.
But...
"I didn't even notice it," I said, there was the firmness of honesty in my tone.
"But looking back now, I could see how it made stronger. And how the choices I've had to make in those tis turned into who I have beco today," I said.
Rafiki laughed at my answer. It was a funny laugh, it was a pleased laugh.
"You are definitely not the prince I was promised," Rafiki said. "Not shaped by challenges or strengthened through the guidance of fate. Instead, you claim to be shaped by choices and strengthened by the opposition of fate."
"I can't even imagine what that would be like," he said thoughtfully. "Is it even possible?"
His pace slowed down a bit as he delved deep into thought. I was also starting to understand what his deal was and what his intention was by listening to what he was saying.
He was testing . Or it would be better to say he was trying to understand.
From what I have seen so far, Rafiki was not so magical monkey. He was simply a shaman that had so kind of connection with the world, so he knew how certain things would unfold. Kind of like a seer or priest that kings used to have.
But everything he had known so far was about Simba and his story like how it should've happened. But my sudden appearance had greatly confused him.
He wanted to know if I would be a worthy king. And to know that, he was trying to understand .
I kept silent and continued following him. Now that I had a general idea of what he was about, it made relax a bit in his presence.
But before I could relax for long, he suddenly ca to a halt and he put his hand near my mouth in a shushing motion.
"???"
I paused too before I looked ahead.
Finally, I saw the prey which Rafiki had promised. But it was nothing like what I was expecting. It was not so much a prey but more like a al waiting for without a need to hunt.
I went ahead and examined the corpse, equally aghast and disgusted when I finally saw what it was.
"A dead giraffe calf," I said while looking at the calf that was as big as an adult antelope. It was clearly a newborn and the corpse was still covered in slick substances like it just ca straight out of the womb.
The sll was still fresh and I could still feel heat coming off from the dead baby. Clearly it had died only a few minutes ago. I bet it had not even been an hour since its death.
"The mother was an old giraffe and could no longer produce healthy offspring. So the calf was born weak and it could not survive the fall after birth," Rafiki said while walking towards the corpse. He stopped right next to and we both observed the corpse for a mont.
Giraffes had one of the most brutal births among mammals. The mother did not bother laying down while giving birth so the baby is born while the mother is standing up. Right after coming out of the womb, the calf was forced to fall from the height of a full-grown giraffe and crash on the cold hard ground.
Usually they survived but in so cases the calf died at birth. This was one such case.
"An unfortunate death. The best thing we could do for him is make sure he did not die in vain and give him a role in the circle of life," Rafiki said, suggesting that I eat the baby.
I did not say anything back.
"I told you, you can trust . You can trust fate," Rafiki said. "There is your prey."
I stared at the dead calf for a long ti before I looked away. Yeah, no. I think we both had different definitions of prey. There was no way I was going to eat the baby of anything. To make matters worse, I didn't even earn the al and it was still covered in womb juices which felt absolutely disgusting for so reason.
Plus, the baby giraffe was not going to be enough to feed the whole pride. I could not only think for myself but also for others. i am the king.
I walked away from the corpse and began following the marks left by the mother instead. It was easy to track the mother giraffe as her fluids marked the ground, leaving a trail of scent to follow.
"Wait, where are you going!!" Rafiki asked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"I am going to hunt. Thanks for leading to the clues," I said and sprinted off. The region barely had trees so Rafiki was not able to jump from tree to tree.
Instead, our previous situation was reversed. He beca the one trying to catch up to as I continued onward without any other care in the world except for the giraffe I was tracking.
After just a few minutes of sprinting, I saw the mother giraffe standing beside a tall Acacia tree. She was nibbling at the green leaves at the highest top of the trees.
*ROAR!!*
I released a roar and that got the attention of the giraffe imdiately. The prey quickly stopped eating and turned to . My whole posture and presence scread danger so the giraffe reacted defensively.
She turned to , her long legs spreading a little wider than her usual standing. Her long neck moved back and forth, ready to whip at if I dared to charge at her.
Her weight also shifted subtly to her hind legs, so that she could use her front hooves to kick and slam at any incoming attacker.
I had a clear strategy in mind. I already had success in hunting down a full-grown bull, so I was confident in taking down an old female giraffe that had just given birth.
Even with my current state, this should be light work.
So I charged at the giraffe like a bull charging at a target. My body entered hunting mode and the small burst of adrenaline made my wounds almost beco forgotten.
I accelerated like a machine and when I entered her attacking range, the giraffe did not hold back. She pulled her head back before twisting her neck and swinging her head towards like a wrecking ball.
The precision was insane. She instinctively took into account the speed at which I was approaching and was adjusting her aim perfectly to hit .
But her precision only gave confidence. I twisted my body sideways and began sliding through the ground. My body kicked up a cloud of dust as I slowed down by scraping my paws and underbelly on the land.
That was enough to slow down my montum and the head of the giraffe swung past right before in a clear flush that swiped away the cloud of dust. After that, I straightened my body and exploded forward again.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the giraffe stood on her hind legs and then stomped down her front legs at . This ti, I did not slow down but launched forward even faster by pushing myself off with great strength.
I moved past the hooves before they could reach . I could hear stone denting the ground as the hooves planted a crater.
But by that point it was all over.
I conjured up every single power my fatigued muscles could muster and along with the montum of my charge, I slamd at one of the hind legs of the giraffe from under her. My shoulder slamd on the thin bony leg of the prey and there was a clear snap.
The giraffe humd in agony before her towering figure collapsed. Due to my montum, strength, and the fact that she put most of her body weight on her hind legs to attack, the bone could not resist the blow that it should have been able to endure.
The giraffe fell on the ground and by that point, it was all over. A fallen giraffe was as helpless as a turtle on its shell. There was a reason why she refused to lay down even while giving birth. They were extrely vulnerable.
My teeth sank on the neck of the giraffe and with one brutal twist, I tore out a chunk of flesh. Blood sprayed out in copious amounts but the giraffe was not dead yet. So I attacked the remaining inch of the neck until she trembled violently and then stilled.
And that was it, the hunt was already over.
When you had experience before, it was not hard to fell a giant. Oftentis, the most unlikely way to kill sothing was the best way to do so.
No sane animal would try and get under a giraffe after all, that seed like the stupidest thing to do. It was like aiming for the horns in a buffalo. But that was the best way to hunt them.
Luckily, I was smart enough to realize this.
By the ti Rafiki reached , I was already done with the hunt. He stopped a few ters away and stared in absolute disbelief at what I just did.
But then a smile stretched across his face. It wasn't like those crazed laughs or forced amusents from before. This ti, the smile on his face was genuine.
"HAHA!!! I think I get it now!" he scread with hands in the air like he just won sothing.
I synced his joy with a roar of my own.
The sound traveled through the air. It was a call to my pride far away.
Dinner is served,
..
..
[IMAGE]
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Second extra chapter. With the usual update, that's three chapters tonight.
Thanks for reading.
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