Mchawi
#2 of Zuri: A Lioness’ Destiny
After the incident involving Zuri and the crocodiles, a stranger approaches the pride... one whose intentions are less than pure...
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That night, the pride lay asleep on the home kopje. Mtemi lay in his usual spot at the highest point while his brother, the lionesses, and cubs slept spread across the wide flat space of the kopje. But while most slept peacefully, Zuri twitched and stirred in her sleep, her eyes moving rapidly beneath their lids as her mind produced all manner of mysterious images...
***
Zuri stood alone on the open savanna, looking around as if in search of something. The sky was like night, only there were no stars or moon to light up the sky. On the ground and in the trees all around her were gigantic golden-scaled coils, like a forest of fallen trees. A pair of familiar slitted blue eyes appeared in the sky, looking down on her as she looked in shock right back. A female voice began to speak, coming from everywhere and fluctuating between reasonably deep to downright demonically so.
"When a cub with fur of white is born,
The outsider feared by all will reign.
The cub will run, grow, and mourn,
And face trial by fang, foe, and flaming plain.
The golden serpent, the Serengeti's eyes,
The spotted queen, leader of her clan,
The former friend, fed tyrant's lies.
They and more play a part in this grand plan.
At the top of Utambi, when two armies meet in war,
A white lioness' blood will spill.
A white lioness will let loose a roar,
And unite the Serengeti under her mind or free will.
_ "That is Unabii. That is the prophecy. That is your destiny." The eyes turned into the sun and moon, which began to converge into each other's paths until the moon blocked out the sun's light. The world was now illuminated in red light, revealing a sight that horrified Zuri. She was standing at the base of the home kopje, and at her feet was the bloodied and broken body of Mtemi, his throat torn to shreds. A great roar came from the top of the home kopje. Zuri looked up to see a grown white lioness, her hide scarred with claw and tooth marks, her violet eyes burning with a fire that threatened to catch Zuri's soul ablaze._
***
Zuri snapped awake with a gasp, looking around in case her bizarre dream had turned into reality. The sky was bluish black, the moon not an eye, and Mtemi slept peacefully. Still, it had left her shaken and nearly hyperventilating. First the incident with the crocodiles, now this? Foronya opened a warm amber eye.
"Is everything alright, Zuri?" she said, nuzzling her in an effort to calm her daughter down. In a moment or two, it worked. Zuri's breath and heart slowed as the fear went out of her eyes.
"Mom," she said worriedly. "I had a bad dream."
"It's alright," said Foronya soothingly. "Tell me about it."
***
"So," said Mtemi gravely the next morning. Foronya sat in front of him, having told her brother-in-law Zuri's description of her dream. Askari sat beside her, listening and worrying as well. "The first part of Unabii will come soon."
"Are you not afraid?" asked Askari.
"No," said Mtemi. "If it's my destiny to die as part of Unabii, then I accept it."
"And what of the other white lion?" asked Foronya.
"Unabii states that 'the outsider feared by all will reign.' She must be the outsider... and the one that kills me."
(Travel Delays by Alan Silvestri)
A loud screech cut the air above them, and the lions looked up to see a large martial eagle flying overhead. Following it as it flew away from the kopje, they then saw an unexpected sight: a lone white lioness striding towards the pride. Zuri's family made their way down the kopje and stood as the strange white lion approached the pride, who were just as confused and astonished as their leader and his family. Zuri herself stood behind her mother's hind legs, fear taking hold of her mind and body. She thought about her dream... no, her nightmare. What if it came true? Was her uncle really going to die? The white lioness stopped just in front of Mtemi, who had taken the lead in confronting the stranger. Upon closer inspection, her eyes were a deep violet, and her hide was heavily scarred, no doubt from fights with other lions. Behind those violet eyes Mtemi could've sworn he saw something... suspicious. Confidence?
"I am Mchawi," said the white lioness in a cool but deep voice. "And the eagle is my companion, Tazama." As if on cue, the martial eagle landed next to Mchawi and looked up at the leader with intense amber eyes.
"Greetings," she said. "Sorry for the little scare before, just wanted to herald my mistress' arrival."
"Right..." said Mtemi as he switched between looking at Mchawi and Tazama. "Give up the peaceful charade and tell me why you're really here." Immediately Mchawi's face shifted into something far more grim-looking. Her eyes hardened and lit with a previously hidden fire, and her mouth turned into a slight scowl.
"Her." said Mchawi in a voice that matched her demeanor: cold and dangerous-sounding. Her gaze locked on Zuri, who tried her best to hide herself as her parents and uncle let out threatening snarls.
"Stay away from my daughter!" hissed Foronya, unsheathing her claws and tensing the muscles in her hind legs.
"Easy, Foronya," said Mtemi. "What do you want with Zuri?"
"She's a key component of my big plans for the future. I will have her. If not now, then later." Mtemi recalled a line of Unabii: "A white lioness' blood will spill." Whatever she had planned for Zuri, it clearly didn't bode well for his niece.
"You can have her when you pry her from my lifeless paws!" snarled Mtemi, roaring right into Mchawi's face.
"Very well." said Mchawi coolly, not fazed in the slightest as Tazama took off into the sky. Immediately after, Mchawi pounced upon Mtemi with a roar, taking him by surprise as he tried his best to force the intruder off him. Mtemi managed to fend off the initial attack and made his own, clashing with Mchawi in a chaotic tumble of claws and fangs. The rest of the pride watched intently, not getting involved because of pride customs: when the leader was engaged in a one-on-one battle, none may help him. Mchawi kicked at Mtemi's head, freeing herself from the brawl momentarily. Eyeing the home kopje, she began running up it, with Mtemi in hot pursuit. They both reached the top in seconds, the two adversaries circling each other.
"I can sense... fear in you, Mtemi," hissed Mchawi, her eyes glowing violet suddenly. "Fear for Zuri, your family, and... fear for yourself." Mtemi felt a wave of unyielding fear wash over his mind, his heart beating fast. What in the name of Simba was happening to him!? Was she making him afraid? Before he could question things any more, Mchawi swiped at his right eye with claws bared, blinding him in that eye with a roar. His vision and brave heart impaired, Mchawi clawed and bit and struck with all her might, bringing rivers of red and splintered bones to the leader's body. The white lioness bit down on his throat, his body and spirit broken.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Mtemi weakly as she dragged him to the kopje's edge. He saw that same confidence in her eyes, joined by malicious triumph.
Because it's one step closer to my destiny, came Mchawi's voice inside Mtemi's mind. And with that, the white lioness flung the broken leader off the edge of the kopje. After a fall of several stories, Mtemi landed hard on the ground, the impact driving out what little life was left in the leader.
The pride and Zuri's family stared in horror as Mchawi let out a roar of simultaneous victory and rage. Never before had Mtemi been beaten in combat, and now he was dead. But they knew they had no choice but to submit to their new leader.
"This pride," roared Mchawi, teeth and claws dripping with blood and staining her fur. "Is mine now! Where is the white cub!?"
"You won't have her!" roared Foronya back. "We'll run, and be free of your tyranny! Who will join us?" About half of the pride's thirty members immediately walked over to Zuri's family. Zuri locked eyes with Mchawi, the adult's eyes glaring with fire into the cub's fearing ones. Foronya grabbed Zuri in her mouth and, along with Askari and the rest of the deserters, ran east as Mchawi simply watched.
"Shouldn't you order your new pride to go after them?" asked Tazama after landing at Mchawi's side.
"No," said Mchawi coolly, still staring eastward. "My dreams told me this would happen. She'll come back. They all will. And my army and I will be waiting..."
***
Night fell over the Serengeti as the deserters settled down near a small forest of dead acacia trees. Zuri, who had fallen asleep in her mother's mouth, was gently laid down as her parents looked at her with worry in their eyes, hearts, and minds.
"I can't believe it," said Askari, pacing back and forth with his tail lashing. "My brother is dead, and that... monster took over the pride! What does she even want? A lioness has never ruled a pride on her own before!"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Foronya. "It clearly has something to do with Unabii. Which means she and Zuri are connected. She said she was there for Zuri, but for what, I'm not sure. But it can't be for anything good. Which is why we've got to protect Zuri so long as we draw breath." Askari stopped his pacing and looked into his mate's amber eyes. He walked up to her and nuzzled her in an attempt to calm both himself and her down. The two looked at their sleeping daughter before exchanging worried glances. With the moon overhead, the new leaders of this new rogue pride went to sleep after a day that changed the course of all their lives forever.