Beneath One's Dignity (Part One) {Steele/Shenzi} [Crossover]
Disclaimer: I do not own The Lion King or Balto, or any of their characters.
~ Story Start ~
The savannah sun was blistering hot and blinding, it beat down on the backs of the ever restless bustle of bush-life, from the smallest scurrying Field-Mouse, to the gigantic tusked Elephants. Even the great Lions had almost no cool shade, save the occasional tree and the small, cramped cave in Pride Rock.
But here she was living like the queen she was, in her spacious steam caverns. Shenzi puffed out a long sigh of contentment, rolling onto her back, letting the top of her head lie flat to the cool stone floor, leaving her soft under-belly turned up to the gentle wafts of air the steaming geysers made.
A sultry male laugh resounded somewhere from above, causing the she-hyena to lift her head, and perk her ears.
Suddenly a huge dark furred Lion landed next to her, a slightly mocking look on his face. She yelped, before realizing that who it was.
" Oh, Scar it's just you! Gosh, you almost had me Scar, I thought you were Mufasa. " She rolled onto her side laughing, facing the large male.
Scar sat up on his hind-legs, his customary condescending smirk in place. " I was just walking by when I noticed your delicious looking little fat tummy,- " He poked her teasingly, causing her to glare. " When I caught the most intriguing smell. "
Shenzi felt a blush rise under her fur as she stood up quickly. " Um, it's nothing, really. "
The Lion's smirk grew wider as he leaned in and sniffed. " Oh, I beg to differ. The heat sent of a female Hyena can't very well be put off as nothing. Wouldn't you agree? " He chuckled malevolently at the obvious discomfort the conversation was causing her. " Besides, when that said female happens to be the leader of the whole Spotted Hyena tribe I would say it is most definitely something. "
Shenzi glowered at him fiercely. " Yeah? Well, what's it to you? "
Scar's eyebrow quirked. " Well, I was just wondering where are all your suitors my dear? Isn't their any male you would help assist you? "
Shenzi snorted ruefully. " Yeah right! And wind up with pups? You must be kidding. Like I don't have enough on my plate already, what with running around and cleaning up all Banzai and Ed's stupid messes. "
He nodded understandingly, his look almost pitying. " Yes, your friends aren't the best bananas in the bunch when it comes to brains. " He shrugged nonchalantly. " But anyway- " He grinned down at her. " So, you say you don't want pups, hmm? Well, I have a simple solution to that. "
In an instant, Shenzi felt herself slamed up against the hard wall, Scar's paw pressed to her throat. She tried to cry out for help, but he pressed harder, cutting off her oxygen.
His evil green eyes gleamed with delight. " Shush shush. Now listen, I have a proposition for you. " He leaned in whispering into her ear. " I can calm your heat. I will mate with you. "
Even as stars sprung before Shenzi's eyes from lack of air, her stomach rolled. Mate with a Lion? With Scar? She struggled vigorously, clawing at the paw on her neck, and bucking out with her hind-legs.
A harsh grunt sounded and she fell limply to the ground. Gasping in lung-fulls of air, Shenzi knew she had made contact. She felt dizzy and sick, from both lack of breathing and sheer disgust. Scar had just tried to rape her.
She saw him lying limp a few feet away. Poor bastard must have been knocked cold. She staggered up, going over to him slowly. She gasped. A thick pool of blood surrounded Scar's face, a horrendous crack splitting down his head.
Shenzi had just killed the king's brother.
She was a murderer of one of the most highest members of the Lion Royal Family. She had killed Scar.
She had to hide. But where? Where could she hide from the wrath of the most powerful and terrifying Lion King to have ever lived? Where could she hide that King Mufasa wouldn't hunt her down?
She would run. She had to run as far as she could, past the caves, past the elephant graveyard, past the outlands, until she couldn't possibly run any farther.
_ ~0*0~0*0~0*0~0*0~0*0~ _
Shenzi felt cold and alone, more-so than she ever had been in her life. She had no idea where she was, the only thing she knew was that if she didn't find shelter soon, she would freeze to death.
She had known getting in that box had been a bad idea.
About a month ago she had found herself in a large human port-city. People were everywhere. Then suddenly they were all chasing her with guns, shooting. She almost got hit multiple times before she lost them. She had gotten so tired from running, that when she found a nice, welcoming box, filled with soft, warm fabrics, she crawled inside and quickly fell asleep.
That had proved to be a poor idea. She had wound up boarded up in said box, and had only narrowly escaped days later, after having been found and chased out into the blistering cold.
Things were looking rather bleak to be honest. She was starving and practically frozen. She sighed, then shivered.
Suddenly her ears perked. What was that? That sound on the very edge of her hearing? ...Could it be? Was it ...Barking?
She stumbled blindly through the snow, searching, listening. God, let her be saved. Let her have been found.
Before she even had time to register it, she was surrounded by Hyenas. Large, fluffy Hyenas.
She laughed loudly and uncontrollably, in instant relief, before finally passing out, and letting the darkness consume her. She had at long last reached the point where since she had been found that she would either be saved, or killed, and after being trapped in this white abyss, she no longer cared which came.
_ ~0*0~0*0~0*0~0*0~0*0~ _
Shenzi was warm. She smelled earth, sweat, and dog. She heard the hiss and sizzle of what she guessed to be steam from the geysers.
She smiled lazily. So, it had all been a horrible nightmare after all, just like she kept telling herself.
Shenzi slowly opened her eyes, before squeezing them shut again.
Her nightmare was real.
She was in a strange room of some sort. On the other wall was a large human contraption that seemed to give of a abundance of heat and was the cause of the hissing. The floor was dirt, covered in paw prints of all sizes.
She heard a shuffling somewhere on the other end of the room. " Hello, are you awake now? " The voice was odd sounding, but not unpleasant.
Hesitantly she opened her eyes once more, before sighing and rising to stand.
The Hyena before her was startlingly scrawny, especially for a female. Female Hyenas where always larger than males, they being the leaders and the defenders of the Hyena packs. But this one was tiny, almost bite sized. And Shenzi had never seen such fur in all her life. The mysterious she-Hyena's fur was thick and voluptuous in weight, and harsh crimson red on soft pearly white in color.
" Hey look, just what kind of Hyena are you? You don't even have any spots! "
The other female raised her eyebrow, a confused look spreading across her face. " Hyena...? What's that, is it a breed of dog? Well I'm not a Hyena, I'm a Husky. My name is Jenna. "
Now it was Shenzi's turn to look dumbfounded. " What the heck's a Husky? "
A door that she had previously not noticed beside the human machine opened. Standing in the doorway was the most attractive male she had ever seen. He was robust and stocky in sature, and his fur was, instead of Jenna's dark red, a deep midnight raven black. Around his neck was a tick band of leather, and on his face was a sultry seductive smirk.
" Hi there, my name's Steele. "