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Chapter 4:

I shrugged off my pack. The last thing I needed was to get my laptop - and the precious fruit - crushed while fighting this brute of an alligator. I glanced back at Sarafina. Her expression was a combination of anger, frustration, and sorrow. She caught my pack with ease when I tossed it to her.

Good. Now I could focus on my opponent.

But I was too slow to turn around. By the time I had completely faced the brute, his basketball-sized fist caught my stomach. All the air escaped my body in an excruciating gasp. My trainer taught me to tighten up my abdomen to defend in a situation like this, but he caught me completely off guard. I hunched over in pain, and the crowd roared in approval. Then, a moment before I was able to regain some composure, another explosion of pain shot through my back as I felt his double fist slam into my spine.

I fell to the ground in a heap. Another roar of excitement.

Fuck, that hurt.

I had to reassess my body. No broken bones or ribs. I still had feeling in my legs, so my spine was okay. I took a big breath to fill my lungs. As I slowly got up, the brute's back was to me with his arms up, rallying the crowd into a frenzy.

Now was my chance. I sprinted to his position to catch him off guard. As I leapt to bring my knees into his spine, he looked back with a spin faster than I thought possible for a creature his size. He sent his elbow right into my flank. My prone body was redirected onto the hard ground, sliding into a stop at the edge of the crowd.

I was pulled up by a few bystanders. My side stung with pain.

Apparently, fighting in a controlled environment with sparring gear against a slightly smaller opponent turned out to be a huge difference; compared to facing off with this walking behemoth at least.

He squared off with me about ten feet away. As I took a deep breath, my lungs stinging, he began to do a few practice swings in the air towards me. That is when I noticed something. He warmed up with a big right hand haymaker, but just moments before this creature struck, his tail swung slightly to the left. Was this to counter balance his meaty swing? My kickboxing instructor taught me to always study my opponent and their movements. The training started to kick in. I needed to test this out.

“COME ON!" I yelled, beckoning my larger opponent to make his move.

He walked towards me, both arms ready to swing. I cautiously moved up to meet him with both arms up to protect my face. I kept my eyes on his fists while keeping his tail in my peripheral view.

Sure enough, there it was. His tail thumped to the right just before he took a powerful left swing at my face. I was too slow to react, and his fist caught my forearm. Even though it saved me from a cracked skull, I was thrown again, skidding to a stop in front of Sarafina's feet. Her face lacked any emotion. She wasn't even watching me. I followed her gaze to discover Crix seemingly being led away from the hall.

I quickly got up, adrenaline pumping in my veins, “LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I yelled towards the guards holding him.

Thorn leaned forward in his chair, chuckling at the entertainment. One of the female servants also stood up from her spot at the foot of his chair.

The crowd roared to life. Knowing that Crix's life was in my hands now, I was determined to give this moment all I had. If they wanted to see a fight, this match would no longer be one-sided.

A copper tasting fluid filled my mouth; I spit it out. I wiped my mouth with my arm and quickly lunged at my opponent, shortening the distance between us. His eyes seemed to glare with excitement as he readied himself. His tail thumped to the right, and I zagged to the left, ducking in the process. His fist missed my face by only an inch. I used my forward momentum to slam my shin into his soft gut as he was not expecting a kick from me.

“OOF!" was the sound that exited his massive alligator jaw. He doubled over. Not wanting him to make a recovery, with all my might, I kicked into the soft tissue of his lower jaw. His head flew upwards, his body following as he fell back into the dirt.

The crowd was silenced momentarily.

I used this time to back away a little, and catch my breath. Jeering reptilian words permeated the silence, seeming to encourage the brute to get up. He got up in a rage, holding his abdomen. He too spit out some blood, but his was followed by a few teeth. He seemed to be winded as well. I knew he wouldn't allow me to make that same move again. I wouldn't be able to win in a game of strength against him, but I bet I could win with endurance.

It felt like ten minutes, but time slows while in a brawl. It was probably more like sixty seconds of him taking swings at me, but never landing a punch. He couldn't figure out how I predicted his swings.

His breathing became erratic and strained. His arms swung lower at his sides. His mouth hung open. I was about twenty feet from him, so I took a chance and charged straight at him. I was in so much pain, but I wouldn't show it. His tail thumped to the left, and I banked right. Using his knee as a step, I lunged upwards and swung onto his back, grabbing his jaw from behind. I had spent enough time in Africa to witness the natives use this method in order to wrestle alligators away from their livestock. I pulled back hard, gritting my teeth and groaning with strain.

His head twisted upwards from the pressure, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward onto his stomach. He tried to reach back, but in this position, he couldn't get a hold on me.

The crowd was getting excited again. I was full of fury and anger. I pulled back harder, only to hear some popping in his body. I turned my focus to Thorn. He was nodding in approval, bringing his thumb across his neck to let me know I should finish this. One of the young female servants standing by his side began to lick her lips. I couldn't tell if she was prepping to eat my nearly defeated opponent, or if there was something else in mind for the winner.

I stopped my efforts of pulling back, and let go. The crowd made a sound similar to that of a missed field goal in American Football. The hulking brute fell limp to the ground before me, seeming to have already been unconscious for some time. I immediately stepped off the heap of ragged scales, and limped my way over to Crix, who was watching me approach with a wondrous gaze.

The guards stepped back, causing Crix to fall to the ground. He didn't have enough strength to stand. I lifted his featherweight body over my shoulder and started to walk out of the silent hall. The crowd parted for me to exit as I was joined by Sarafina, wordlessly holding my backpack close to her chest.

Just before we made our exit, the female servant spoke up. A raspy voice in an unknown dialect, she was repeating the words Thorn was whispering into her ear. Then she made a long, deliberate bow to finish off her statement. I glanced at Sarafina, knowing she was understanding what was said.

There was a slight grin on her face, then she said loudly, “As the voice of King Mufasa of the Pride Rock Kingdom, our lord would be happy to accept your offer. As for the other arrangement," she paused for a moment to side glance in my direction, “we would need further council before coming to a final decision."

She turned and motioned for me to follow. With Crix on my shoulder, we headed out to our hut for the night. Not a word was spoken between us.

As we reached the hut and closed the door behind us, I gently laid a sleeping Crix on the bed. I collapsed to the floor from exhaustion and pain.

Sarafina dropped the pack, and quickly made her way to my helpless body. She turned me over and sat me up against a supporting wooden pillar. I winced in pain while she carefully handled me.

“You're such a mindless ape," she said in frustration as she brushed the dirt off my cheeks.

She started to check my body for more wounds and spoke in a gentler tone, “Even though you have a missing piece of your heart, what is left is strong and kind."

Her eyes moved to see Crix snoring in the soft bed behind me, before she looked into my eyes, “Why do you do this, Lochlann? Why risk your life for a helpless soul in this cruel land?"

“Because," I winced while she prodded my flanks for gashes, “because he is helpless in a cruel land."

She brought up her hand gently to my shoulders and touched a painful gash between my shoulder and neck. It was bleeding through my buttoned shirt.

She removed my vest, and began to unbutton my shirt, “You can't save everyone, Lochlann. A kind heart like yours will not last here."

She finished unbuttoning, and gently eased off my bloodstained WNC shirt.

I closed my eyes. I was waiting for another painful probe, but instead I heard her gasp quietly. Without opening my eyes, I asked, “Wh - what's wrong?"

“Your wound. It stopped bleeding, but we need to clean the cut."

She unzipped my pack, “Do you have anything in here we could use?"

“No."

“Just hold still," she said.

I then felt her straddle my lap and tilt my head to the side, “I hope you don't mind, but if I don't do this, the wound could get infected."

“Okay."

With my eyes closed, I felt a gentle touch on my left clavicle where the gash resided. It was her hand...no, it was wet. Did she lick her fingers to clean the-

I opened my eyes ever so slightly. Her face was within inches of mine, just below my chin. Her mouth was open, with her feline tongue gently caressing my bare skin to clean the blood away. The sensation sent goosebumps throughout my body. She pulled back her head a bit to look at her handywork, before leaning back in to do it one more time. This time, she firmly held my arms still. I felt the barbs on her tongue, but they didn't hurt. I had been licked by wild tigers and lions before in Africa, and you could typically feel the sharp barbs. But hers... they seemed to have either evolved to be softer, or were manually retractable.

The way she straddled me combined with her “treating" of my wound caused some stirring in my groin. I accidentally let out a small groan of pleasure. She quickly backed away from the cleaning, only to bring her face square to mine. Her emerald eyes seemed to study me. Eyes darting to see all my facial features, I assumed she was doing what she does best, and understand why I made that sound. Her eyes then caught my eyes watching her intently. We both stared at each other in silence for just a split second.

She cleared her throat and awkwardly got off of me, “Ahem..ah…your wound is clean. The bleeding has stopped. You will probably be sore in the morning, but at least it will heal fast."

She turned around to enter the secondary room to leave me be.

Her back to me at the threshold, she said, “You need your rest. We have a long journey tomorrow."

I slowly lowered myself to the floor. “Sarafina," I asked inquisitively, “What did Thorn say to you as we left?"

Her head turned to the side to glance at me, “Thorn was impressed with the strength the Pride Rock Kingdom brought to his doorstep," she turned around to look at me directly, “Remember, this land respects strength. For that, Thorn has agreed to send an additional surplus of provisions from their harvest for the next three seasons as a token of respect."

I was silent, deep in thought. The sounds of swamp insects chirped from outside. Satisfied by answering my question, she turned into the room and began to close the door. I asked again, “What about the other arrangement?"

“Hm?" Sarafina popped her head back into my room.

“You said there needs to be council to discuss the other arrangement."

“Oh," she chuckled, “that."

The door opened again and Sarafina leaned on the doorframe to regard me. The moon highlighting her curved feminine features, she spoke quietly, “The tensions between this land and Pride Rock have been easing for some time. There has even been talk of merging the regions together. Now that Thorn has seen personal strength from Pride Rock, he wishes to move forward with that partnership."

I sat up a little, wincing, “Strength from Pride Rock. Does he think I'm from Pride Rock?"

“To reptiles, all warm blooded mammals originate from the same species," she said, resting her head on the floor again, staring up at the ceiling, “he wishes to arrange a partnership through marriage between his land and ours."

“Yuck," I replied. “Who'd want to marry that ugly sack of scales?"

I heard a giggle from her cloaked figure, “That isn't what he said would be arranged."

“What?"

“His proposal is for the champion of the hall, which is you," Sarafina stated, “to be joined in marriage to one of his great granddaughters. One of the two females sitting at his feet."

She ended the last sentence with some laughter.

“Yeah," I said, “I think we will go with a hard no on that one."

Another few moments of silence while she leaned on the doorframe regarding me. Then in a tender tone, Sarafina whispered, “You did good tonight, Lochlann."

I rested my head on the floor, “Thanks, Sarafina. I hope I did." Racing images of the brawl I just had caused my eyes to close. Sarafina's door began to creek shut. “Good night, Sarafina." If she said something, I wouldn't have known. I was already in a deep sleep.

*

I walked through the threshold of the hotel door to our room, carrying Sandra, my newlywed wife. She was still in her wedding gown while I carried her over to the bed. We both had been laughing the whole way from the reception. I could smell her perfume. With a hardy throw, she flew to the mattress, laughing hysterically when she bounced.

Moments later, our wedding attire was already strewn about the room, hanging from lamps, the television, chairs, and headboard. I was on my back, and she crawled up to me on all fours. She gently lowered her chest down to my erect manhood, and positioned both of her boobs around my shaft. I moved my hips up in time with her downward motion. The moment she saw some of the pre-cum seep from my tip, she stopped, and brought her face down to let her mouth gently partake in the dance.

It felt so good. The suction, the thick saliva coating my shaft. I felt her forked tongue wrap around my penis…a few times. Forked tongue? A few times? I felt a hint of a long row of sharp teeth gently slide around the base of my shaft.

Then I woke up. It was still dark outside.

I looked down, and noticed the young female monitor, gently glide her reptilian muzzle up, highlighting a long purple tongue coiled around my shaft. My penis was fully erect and soaked with her saliva. I was seconds away from sending my pent up seed straight into her throat.

I sat up, but was wracked with pain in my body. She quickly put her hand over my mouth. She said something quietly in her guttural reptilian language, but I couldn't understand. She moved a hand to her side, and found a pouch she brought. After digging around the pouch with her scaled finger, she fished out some greenish slime-like substance.

My eyes opened wide. I wanted to shout and wake Sarafina and Crix, but I wasn't sure what was considered taboo in this culture, and whether it could ruin any hopes of a nation-wide partnership.

She brought the slime up to my shoulder, and gently spread some of it on my wound. A shock of stinging pain was soon followed by instant relief. WOW! What was this stuff?

She said something else I couldn't understand, and quietly stood up. She was still wearing the light blue wrappings that covered her, but she seemed to have moved the cloth aside from her loin. You could see in the moonlight the opening between her legs, accompanied by a highly reflective, moist coating of her fluids. She must have been pleasuring herself. She moved the wrappings back to cover her vanity, and slowly back to the door. After a few more gentle reptilian words, she bowed, and disappeared into the night.

I exhaled, realizing I was holding my breath the whole encounter. I moved my wounded shoulder around and felt barely any pain. I tucked my half erect manhood back in my pants and zipped up. I rested my head on the floor and let sleep take me again, trying to forget about the strange encounter.

*

I woke up with Sarafina sitting next to me. She was chewing on some food while examining my chest.

“Good morning, Lochlann," she said while handing Crix some food, “We have a long road ahead of us."

I sat up, watching Crix work out his wrists (which had probably been in shackles for the past several years).

“How did you get your hands on uk'rha?" Crix asked, beginning to chew on some bread while pointing at my left shoulder.

I looked down at my bare shoulder, and with the daylight streaming through the window, I noticed that there was now a green, scab-like substance crusted over my gash.

“Uk'rha is a prized substance harvested from the glands of a rare fish we would catch in the harbor from time to time. Whoever could catch them would get an extra day of rations."

He stuffed his mouth with bread once again, savoring the abundance of food he now had access to. He continued while pointing at my green scab, “Uk'rha is never shared outside the lands here. Even then, it's really only shared within royalty. The healing properties alone make it highly sought-after."

Sarafina stared at me inquisitively.

I sat up, putting on my shirt, “We had a visitor sneak into the hut last night."

I looked out the window, “You know, one of the potential wives offered to me by Thorn..."

The lioness chuckled, “You're serious, aren't you?"

I knew there would be no lying to Sarafina, who could read anyone like book, “Yeah. I don't know what the traditions are here, but she wanted to pleasure me before we left."

A gasp came from both the jackal and lioness. Sarafina spoke, “So... what happened?"

I turned to look straight at her, waiting to see just how good she was reading people.

She stood up, not breaking eye contact with me, and broke a small smile, “I see. Not only do you have a strong heart, but an even stronger will."

She turned and opened the door, “I admire that. Now, lets go before Lochlann is offered any more potential favors from the locals here."

As we left the village on our zebra drawn carriage, I looked back and noticed a young female alligator with light blue wrappings watch us from the doors of the great hall. I instinctively rose my hand to wave at her, not knowing if I did it to thank her for the uk'rha treatment, or the…ahem…other treatment. I probably wouldn't see her again. Once I got my camera from Scar, my deal was done, and I'd be back to my own world with photos and documentation to show the management of the WNC.

On the first day of travel, I thought about documenting my experience with the reptilian culture. Unfortunately, most of the details would have to have been redacted for the simple fact that I had already broken several company policies on foreign relations by that point.

Crix was still very weak from forced labor and lack of care during his time in captivity. He was catching up on a lot of sleep in the carriage. Luckily, the road we had been traveling on hadn't been that bumpy, so his naps had been uninterrupted. His appreciation for my rescue was very evident. Crix didn't know how he could repay me, but my replies to said question had been that seeing him reunite with his family would be a sufficient reward in itself. He couldn't wait to be welcomed back by his community and family. He knew his children had grown much in his absence, but hoped they never forgot him.

We camped under the stars that night. My legs felt worn and tired. Even though I was in shape, a lot of the fatigue came from the bruises I sustained earlier in combat. While I stretched out my legs, Crix curled up and slept while Sarafina left to hunt for local food. We had spare rations, but I think she was craving something a bit more fresh.

I observed the stars, and was surprised to find some familiar constellations. I began to wonder how similar this universe was to my own. While I sat and marveled, Sarafina returned from the dark with a few small creatures to cook and eat. This was a moment where I wished I had my camera. To get a photo of a beautiful lioness prepping food over the fire would be the marketing firm's wet dream. I could see it now: Wildlife Swimsuit Edition, Animal Safari Fashion Weekly, Adult Zoology Fantasy Magazine. Without photo evidence, nobody would believe me.

“You're doing it again, Lochlann," she said as she turned back towards me from the fire, “Not that I mind. I'm quite flattered."

“Oh, Sarafina, I, uh, I didn't mean to," I was red with embarrassment.

She walked over to my sitting form, and squatted down to meet my eye level. She glared into my eyes again. I didn't know if I liked or hated when she did this. All I knew was that when she would, I'd become transfixed with her stare, unable to look away.

Her emerald eyes nearly glowed in the starlight, “You are thinking about your home, aren't you? I don't blame you. I'm sure you're missed."

She sat down to watch the flames with me, “I keep seeing that your heart is broken from a great loss. I won't pry if you don't want me to."

We sat for a moment. Her words cut right through me; to memories of my wife. It was hard to talk about her. She had only been gone for three months. Or was it four months? I was starting to forget. And that terrified me.

She spoke up again, breaking the silence, “I know it is hard to talk about past pains. I can tell you a bit about myself if you wish. At least it can break the boredom."

I didn't know a tear rolled down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away, “Sure, I'd love to know more about you." I needed something to distract the grief of my lost wife.

“I came from another pride called The Kessit; to the east. I was - or am - a part of the royal family there. The King of Kessit has several wives, and I am one of them. In fact, I have a daughter, one of the princesses of Kessit."

I turned towards her and asked, “Oh, you have a daughter? Why didn't you ever mention that? And doesn't that make you a queen?"

She smiled and kept her emerald eyes on the flames, “No, I am not a queen. Someone else got that title. I am more of…an optional lover and bearer of potential heirs. I usually don't mention my daughter during my assignments. Keeping her secret and within the walls of Pride Rock keeps her safe."

She poked at the flames with a stick, “Her name is Nala. She has survived ten cycles so far."

I assumed that meant ten years, “Nala, that is a beautiful name."

“Yes. She came with me to live at Pride Rock. King Mufasa and my husband made the decision to unify their kingdoms, agreeing to become allies. This unification was contingent on one thing: an arranged marriage - not too different from yours - functioning as the confirmation of our allied kingdoms."

“Wait, you're telling me that your daughter of ten is already betrothed?" I asked in disbelief.

“That is correct. Princess Nala is arranged to be married to Mufasa's only son, Prince Simba. When they become of age, of course."

She stood up and snatched one of the cooked creatures from the flames. She offered a piece to me. I took the morsel and ate it while I contemplated.

“I had a wife," I blurted out. I didn't mean to say it, but Sarafina's way of opening up to me made me feel comfortable. I don't think I grieved properly for her since she passed.

The lioness turned her focus to me, “Oh. You had a wife? What happened? Did you part ways?"

"She passed away less than a cycle ago," I tried to put it in terms she might understand.

“It was a sickness that grew inside her. One that couldn't be cured." I closed my eyes, trying to picture Sandra again.

“Oh, Lochlann, I'm sorry," she put her hand on my shoulder, “Did she leave any children behind?"

“No," I answered, holding back my tears. This was getting harder to hide my pain.

I realized this was the first time I had actually spoken to someone else about her. I was really pent up. There had been no emotional release for months.

I continued, knowing that talking about her might make her passing easier on my heart, “We wanted children, but the treatments started, and there was no possibility until she was cured."

Oh no. I was about to lose it. The floodgates had been opened, and I couldn't stop. Is this what therapy was like? Talking about what bothered you? Thoughts of my never-to-be-child running in the grass, swinging on the swings, swimming in the water. None of that was really true. The memories of Sandra flooded my head, and I couldn't stop. I gritted my teeth, and tried to hold in my sorrow.

Then I felt her furred arm reach over to my other shoulder, before she pulled me into her. It was the comfort of someone who would listen to my sorrow and pain. It felt like for the first time, support for my broken heart.

Right there, under the stars, by the campfire, was the sound of a sobbing man crying in the arms a lioness. I'm glad nobody was there to listen to this. She pulled me in tighter, and didn't say a word. She just let me cry in her embrace. Pathetic words spilled out between sobs, like “I miss her" and “she didn't have to leave me."

A low grumble came from deep within her. I couldn't tell what it was at first, but it vibrated within her core. It was deep.

It was comforting.

She...she was...purring.

What a sensation! I wanted to feel more of this. I felt like trying to find the source and holding onto it so I could feel calmer. My sobs stopped. I needed this. It was addictive. There was no sound other than the deep reverberations of her purr and the crackling of the fire. After all this pain, my sorrow melted away. I could have stayed like this for hours.

What I meant to do was look up at her and thank her for listening to my pathetic sobs.

What really happened was me looking up to meet her emerald gaze, her royal muzzle, and her mouth, slightly open within centimeters of my own. I could smell her breath, it now matching the quickening pace of my own. Her purr grew more intense. She reached her hand up and cupped my cheek, wiping a tear off my wet face. Her eyes quickly turned their focus from one of my eyes to the next and back again. She seemed like she was drinking me in.

Then….

Then, something aligned between us as we drew ourselves closer to one another, bringing our yearning lips to a slow, evocative deep kiss.

Oh shit!

What did I get myself into?