THE LION KING: THE FREAK
Chapter 24: Long Journey Home II (I didn’t anticipate a double release. Anyway, author’s notes from the previous chapter still hold true here—now, up, up, and away!) Freak was wrenched back to reality mostly by Kochai’s astonished, confused shout. Had he been alone, though, it was likely that he’d have released himself from that super-conscious state to investigate the strange rift, or blip, so to speak, in the supernatural world that was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before… except for once. It didn’t take long for the li-tigon to reorient himself in his simple surroundings—the walls and floor of what had been his home for some time were, by then, familiar enough to allow him to focus on the one irregularity of the shack within seconds. He was confused, and understandably so. Like Kochai, he stared at this strange newcomer—she was snarling, panting heavily, prepared to attack, but he didn’t return the hostile display. Rather, he merely sat, examining her at his leisure. She looked familiar… impossibly so. This wasn’t a coincidence. Canting his head to the side just a little, he felt a name and face—long forgotten to him—come to mind. It couldn’t be… she couldn’t be right here, standing in front of him… this was impossible. “Uvuli.” It wasn’t a question so much as it was a statement; he’d said it with such conviction. There was no mistaking the black hyena, after all—though so much had happened to her since he’d last set eyes on her, she was still hard to take for anyone else. She froze at that, and blinked several times, before refocusing her gaze directly on Freak. Blunt claws gripping the dusty ground tightly, she gasped, slowly, then spoke. “Shu… jaa…?” “How did you know my name?” There wasn’t time to ask, though. As Freak watched, the young hyena’s chest heaved, and he opened her mouth, as if to gasp again. This time, though, blood flowed from her maw—lots of it. He observed a thumb-sized hole just next to her shoulder, saw just how deep it cut into her, and took a single step forward, before stopping himself—this could be a trick of some sort, or an illusion, or some other trap— Then, though, the hyena fell, and Freak ignored the not insignificant sense of doubt lingering in the back of his mind. He rushed forward, intent on helping her—the first female that had ever loved him. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep. She was, however, sure that it had been more than just a few hours—and she was absolutely correct. For two full days, she’d been unconscious, healing from the grievous, almost fatal wound that the demon had dealt her. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, taking in her surroundings—dingy cement walls so dirty that their original color was hidden, a roof of stamped sheet metal... Truth be told, she had no idea of where she was. There was conversation in the room, though, and she attempted to listen in on things—it was difficult, though, and she was only capable of picking out a few words, here and there—this wasn’t helping. Perhaps, then, the best decision was no decision. There wasn’t really any reason to believe that she was in imminent danger, and even if she was, she wouldn’t be able to do much (read: anything) about it. Rest, though, might be helpful. So, with that thought in mind, she allowed her eyes to drift shut again. Just before they did, however, she saw a small, creamy orange face look down at her, asking her just how she’d come to be here… wherever here was. “Ahh… so she was the first one to give you your name, big brother?” “That’s right,” Freak replied, replacing a set of bandages around Uvuli’s wound for the umpteenth time. “She was very, very young when that happened… in fact, she was about your age.” “I am not that small anymore, big brother,” Kochai said. The tigress kitten was standing next to the downed hyena, nose twitching as, yet again, it detected some residual scent native to the Pride Lands. “Very soon, I will be able to live alone… though I do not plan to. I love being around others.” “I know.” There was silence, for a moment, as Kochai merely smiled widely, then looked down at the first Pride Lands female she’d ever seen. Though Uvuli had been unconscious for over two full days now, from the grievous wound in her chest, Kochai regardless felt herself forming a bond with the hyena—she couldn’t wait for her to wake up. And perhaps she wouldn’t have as long a wait as originally thought. “Big brother?” the tigress asked, as Freak continued his work gently, dutifully. “Yes, Kochai?” the li-tigon replied, noting, with a sense of relief, that Uvuli was no longer bleeding to any appreciable degree. “Is she supposed to be stirring like this?” Freak’s eyes widened suddenly at that, and he stood up to notice that the black-furred female was, in fact, softly moaning, attempting to run as she lay on the ground. The li-tigon smiled, just a little, as he answered. “Yes, Kochai. She’ll be awake soon…” “It’s been so long since I’ve seen her or anyone from the Pride Lands. I’ve… missed them all so. Uvuli… please get up…” She fell still, and, for a moment, Freak felt that he’d been tricked, in a fashion. It seemed that she was merely dreaming, and needed more rest. The li-tigon sighed, somewhat disappointed—then froze. “Wh… where am I…?” That voice was as unfamiliar as his own as his lips moved without his knowledge or permission, answering curtly, not wasting a word. “Hindustan… in the immediate vicinity of the Ganges River.” The hyena moaned again, and Freak blinked, regaining control of his limbs. He knelt down next to her, examining her face carefully—had he upset her into unconsciousness? “I… got no clue what any of that means…” Her lips formed a trembling, slight smile. And then, her eyes started to flutter open. “Who are you…? You’ve been takin’ care of me…” “That’s right,” Freak said, in a much more gentle voice, which didn’t betray the sudden spike in heart rate he experienced, as well as the fact that he felt tense, for some reason, physically anticipating what was surely—hopefully—coming next. “We’ve both been taking care of you. That’s because we know one another.” “Is that so?” the young hyena smiled as she blinked, a few times, pupils dilating as they attempted to make sense of the powerful, confused signals they received. “I never knew I had friends in ‘Hindustan’…” “Neither did I.” Her eyes were fully open, now, and fixed upon Freak. Her soft, somewhat weak smile disappeared, slowly; her face settled, becoming blank. She wasn’t the only one that had changed since they’d last seen one another, it seemed. Freak was bigger, stronger, faster, and physiologically different from the cat that she’d known—at first glance, in fact, there were no real similarities between him and what he had been just months ago. Beyond the physical level, though, there were more differences. The new Freak wasn’t as brutally solitary and untrusting, or as cold and, paradoxically, in need of warmth—in a hundred thousand ways, he’d grown during the time they’d been apart. Uvuli almost felt like she hadn’t changed at all, in fact, in comparison to him. A ray of sunlight peeked through the window-hole of the shack, warming its occupants and dying a certain patch of the li-tigon’s fur a shade lighter—as well as intensifying the telltale stripes that crisscrossed his thick, insulating coat. “Shujaa.” It wasn’t a question—it was a statement. At first, Freak didn’t respond to it; then, though, after a moment, he slowly nodded. “That’s right… Uvuli.” “Heh, you recognized me… I’m surprised,” the young hyena said, smiling very, very widely, before falling silent for a moment. “How… did you get here?... come ta that… where exactly, is here?” “Hindustan is very, very far from the Land of the Spirits… we’re to the southeast of that part of the world,” Freak said. “As for how I got here… technically, I don’t know. All I know is that it was an act of evil that sent me here.” Uvuli nodded, a little. Seeing Freak again so suddenly was like a dream—but she managed to give at least the illusion that she was coping with things. She was still too weak for the gravity of the situation to hit her; it would probably happen after she’d rested up a little more. “So… how did I get here?” “I was hoping you’d tell me that. You were injured… does that have anything to do with it?” “I… dunno… can’t remember…” the young hyena said, eyes fluttering, a little—Freak noticed this, and reacted appropriately. “You need more sleep,” the li-tigon said gently, looking down at the female. “You’ve been through a lot, Uvuli. Just rest, and don’t worry—I’ll take care of you.” His words were spoken without much palatable emotion, but she knew him well enough to know that there was a lot of unspoken meaning behind his words. So, shifting a little on the ground, she nodded, allowing her eyes to fall shut again. After a moment, Freak was certain she was asleep. Thus, she surprised him when she spoke again, in a very soft, curious tone. “By the way… who else is in the room…?” “…A relative of mine. She’s shy.” “Ah…” Uvuli smiled, yawning, just a little. She could almost taste how surprised, and impressed Freak was that she’d detected the presence of his relative. She might have gone on to describe more things about the other one in the room—her size, perhaps, or her species, or some other characteristic, but the hyena found that she was too tired. So, thankfully, she accepted sleep. It came far, far easier than it had in months… because, at long last, she was with Freak again. All was well. When Uvuli woke again, Freak wasn’t there. That upset her somewhat, but of comfort was the fact that she felt better, a lot better—as she stood, the hyena looked at her shoulder. The terrible wound there was starting to heal, and while she wasn’t her old self again, quite yet, she’d be at her best soon enough. Now, finally, she had a chance to realize, on a gut level, where she was. The shack, she found, was already familiar to her—the yellowed, dust-covered walls, the craggy, poorly-fashioned windows, the ancient-looking ladder that led up to a hay-covered wooden platform… there was nothing of interest in immediate view. Moving to one window, Uvuli looked outside. Until then, she’d been somewhat dozy from her long bout of unconsciousness—the sight, though, woke her up instantly, completely. “Oh my Spirts,” the hyena said, in a shocked tone, as her mind struggled to make sense of the view of the thousands and thousands of houses before her, “what am I looking at?” “It is called a city,” said a voice from behind Uvuli. “Big brother Raj’s people have a name for it… but I do not remember what it is…” “A city… and what’s that smell?” the hyena asked, bewildered. “The… the things that there are lots of. They’re kind of like monkeys, sort of, but… I think I’m lookin’ at one now…” “That is a human,” the voice said, and, after a moment, Uvuli heard cautious footsteps approach her, very slowly. “They are not like monkeys at all, in my opinion. Big brother Raj was much, much nicer than any monkey that I have ever met…” “Huh. Guess I’ll have to take your word for it… where’s Shujaa?” “Big brother has gone out to hunt, but he will be back very soon. He always is.” By then, Kochai was next to Uvuli, though a few feet still barred the hyena from the small tigress. After a moment, though, the dark-furred female turned and looked to the shack’s other occupant with a smile, which, after a moment, was returned in kind. Then, both females looked outside again. Technically, Freak had told Kochai to stay away from the windows, just in case, but she’d never been the most obedient of cubs. And, surely, since Uvuli was there, everything would be alright. “So…” the hyena said quietly, after a moment, “I guess this place is your home?” Kochai turned towards her, and, very shyly, shook her head. “Not at all. I have only been in this city with big brother for a few weeks...” Uvuli smiled a little at that answer, and turned to face Kochai. “I was talking about this land in general, kiddo.” “Oh… then yes!” the tigress kitten replied brightly. “And you, big sister… you’re from the Pride Lands, yes? Big brother said it… but I want to be certain…” “Yeah, I am. Well, technically, I’m from a place near the Pride Lands that basically no longer exists…” Owing to the fact that Kochai had still been spared, mostly, from the details of Freak’s early life, it took quite some time for Uvuli to explain her life to the tigress. Kochai was a good listener, and seemed to hang off the hyena’s every word—she didn’t interrupt once, and only tilted her head curiously, silently asking for further explanation a few times. The entire while, the females looked outside, enjoying the scenery. The Sun was starting to set, and the shadows cast by the taller, larger buildings in the distance combined with the bright orange glow of the late afternoon gave a strangely ethereal feel to the city—Uvuli still felt like she was having one huge, bizarre dream, and half expected to wake up to reality at any time. Of course, that didn’t happen. Finally, she found herself explaining the subtleties of Simba’s leadership tendencies to Kochai, when her ear twitched—then her nose. Then, she turned. “I’m sorry. I’ve been watching you two for some time,” he said, before smiling, ever so slightly. “It was too cute.” The tigress laughed, bounding forward, crossing the space between herself and the li-tigon in a remarkably short amount of time. She rubbed the blunt, soft smoothness of her head against Freak, for a moment, before turning and looking, curiously, towards Uvuli—the hyena hadn’t moved a muscle. “So… this wasn’t a dream….” “I’m afraid not,” Freak said. “You’re stuck with me and Kochai, here, until we get back to the Pride Lands.” “That’s not what I meant—wait, get back to the Pride Lands? I—I thought that they were mad far away; I mean, that’s what I remember, I guess it could have been a dream or something, though…” Freak cut the hyena’s chatter off with a single, piercing look. He stepped forward, walking past her, for a moment, then looked outside for the window. Satisfied that they hadn’t been detected, he looked over, vaguely, to the kill he’d brought along—a simple meal; a young but nicely-sized deer he’d picked off at the outskirts of the city. “Let’s eat, then I’ll explain things to you. There’s a lot you need to be caught up on.” In some ways, Freak hadn’t changed at all since when Uvuli had last seen him. All at once, he could be so close… and so distant. For example, he was never more than a few feet from the hyena as, together, they ate with Kochai—but at the same time, he was worlds apart from her. She found herself staring at him, several times through the course of the meal. He surely recognized this, but he didn’t react—he just kept eating, ignoring her, acting as if she wasn’t there, or even alive. Uvuli noticed this, at it rather hurt her… but she still couldn’t stop herself for constantly peeking at him through the corner of her eye. He’d grown since they’d last been together. His powerfully-built form was the size of a large lion—no longer was Freak small and lean; he was built to fight. Being in the same room as him was somewhat intimidating; he was as silent and brooding as ever, for the most part… The li-tigon smiled much, much more than he had before. Furthermore, he played with Kochai, showing a side to him that even Uvuli wasn’t sure existed. His sharp features and the fluid, liquid grace he moved with made it clear just how devastating he could be in a fight, though she hadn’t seen his prowess in action—yet. By the time they were finished eating, it was almost dusk, and Kochai was understandably sleepy—she’d been kept awake by Uvuli’s gripping story for most of the day, and was left stumbling on her feet, eyelids drooping, as she rubbed her head against Freak’s and Uvuli’s shins. The hyena smiled slightly as, for the first time, the young tigress shared physical contact with her, and reached down to ruffle her headfur with a gentle paw. Kochai smiled at that, and then made her way to the corner of the shack reserved for sleeping. Once there, she stretched, for a moment, yawning, then rested on her side. “Good night, big brother… good night, big sister…” she said quietly, smiling, as she rested her head on a neatly folded paw. “Good night, little sister.” Uvuli glanced at Freak at that, a bemused expression on her face—they’d spoken in almost perfect unison. The li-tigon didn’t visibly react, though, and held Kochai with an intent gaze, for a moment. “If you wake up, don’t be afraid if we’re not here. Big sister and I… have some things to discuss. Many things to discuss.” They were walking together through the old, abandoned part of the city. In this valley, no humans lived any more, and only JKT members occasionally ran reconnaissance ops—they were safe. It was dark, but the city was still alive; this was what hit Uvuli about it. In the Pride Lands, night meant silence above everything else: only an explosion of violence from a hunt or scuffle would shatter the perfect tranquility of the area. This land at night was a far cry from the slowly sifting grasses of the plains, or the gentle chirps of frogs and crickets of the ponds and oases, or the foreboding but peaceful jungles of the Pride Lands—the urban life, it seemed, was not for Uvuli. Freak, though, seemed as home in the city as he did anywhere… which, actually, probably wasn’t much at all. Still, there was an unmistakable aura of calm about him that comforted Uvuli as they walked side by side—close, but never touching. Never touching. They were traversing across a street, then, and Freak had just finished explaining what he’d been doing since he’d left the Pride Landers so long ago. He… wasn’t exactly a good story teller, so Uvuli had to cut in every now and then to prompt him for explanation or clarification. Now, though, everything that needed to be said had been said, and things were starting to make sense to the hyena. For her part, she’d explained, in as few words as possible, those last, confused moments in the Pride Lands. When Freak had learned that Sarabi was no longer among the living, he froze in his tracks, for just a second, before walking on, bowing his head sadly. Walking in almost near silence, their paws making no real nose as they padded across the dusty, unpaved street. Things were getting awkward, fast, but if Uvuli knew Freak, he’d never say something to break the uneasy silence. The hyena looked at him, and smiled. “So… when’s this ship coming?” she asked. “I’m not sure…” the li-tigon said, adding, after a moment, “soon.” “But we don’t have any water or food ready for the trip.” “Yes.” “And we don’t know how to get either.” “Yes.” “And we’re still taking the ship?” After just a heartbeat of hesitation. “No, now that you mention it.” That answer certainly surprised Uvuli—she looked at Freak, for a moment, rooted to the spot. He was abandoning the Pride Lands…? “I will take the ship. You and Kochai… will live here, or find some other way to get to the Pride Lands. It’s too risky of a journey—I don’t want your deaths on my conscience,” the li-tigon said, breaking off somewhat quickly—his throat felt quite dry, for some reason. Perhaps it was due to his reference to something so unthinkable as the deaths of the two females under his protection. Uvuli smiled for a moment, before walking on, again alongside Freak. She should have known… he wasn’t a coward. “Y’know, Shujaa,” the hyena said, “you’ll have a hard time keeping me and that crazy kitten away from you. You’ll have to use force, and lots of it… we’ll be injured. And you wouldn’t leave us injured in a strange land, alone, right? And if you do try to stop us from following you by force, I’ll fight back… and I’ll probably injure you, too. Uh, a little,” she added, glancing at the cat’s powerful forelegs. They were at the coast, then, or nearly there. Prudence dictated that they not reveal themselves to anyone glancing across the river so easily—but from behind a thick, dry bush, their view of the darkened city was much, much better than it usually was. The reflection of the moon on the water shimmered, slightly, due to the small, unpredictable waves that rolled across its surface. The night was surprisingly clear; Freak could hardly remember the last time he’d seen so many stars in the sky. He found himself looking skyward, for some reason. After a moment, Uvuli caught on, and joined him. Neither of the two said anything, for a few long moments. “You know… I can’t see too many stars here in Hindustan. Could be because the air here is garbage…” the hyena shrugged, and again, fell silent for a moment. “But you know, Freak, even if we can’t see the Heavens as well as we normally can, they can still see us. No matter what, no matter how bad things get,” Uvuli said quietly, “I know that we’re being watched over by the people that have left us. There’s no question about it to me… none at all.” She wasn’t expecting an answer; speaking, in Freak’s opinion—or, rather, her conception of it—would ruin a moment like this. But the li-tigon did speak, then, albeit a very soft, one word acknowledgment of her words. “Yeah…” A few feet still buffered Freak from the hyena, but that wasn’t true for much longer. She moved towards him—the night was chilly, in contrast with the stifling, moist heat of the day. Freak was warm though… so, after glancing up at the li-tigon and not seeing an unspoken but explicit threat or warning in his eyes, she rested against his side. Yes… he was warm. “Hey, Uvuli…” Her ear perked up at that, but she didn’t look up much. So, she wasn’t treated to the rare pleasure of seeing Freak smile. “Would you like to play tag?” He hadn’t changed at all, Uvuli decided, as she walked, exhausted, back to the shack that held Kochai. She was sweating, panting, but laughing softly and smiling—Freak was still fun to play with… and even she had to admit that he could take her apart just as easily as he had when she was small enough to hold in one paw. The li-tigon was a good sport, though, and that was strange when one considered all the lack of justice he’d experienced in his life—he let her tag him, several times, and even dramatically collapsed when she managed to tackle him. There was even enjoyment on his face—it wasn’t obvious, but Uvuli knew how to read the li-tigon well. He didn’t need to smile or say anything to let her know that he’d had fun with her. They’d cavorted all over the abandoned sector of the city—it was a slight risk; for all they knew, some gang or miscellaneous vagabond might have taken refuge there. Thus was not to be, it seemed, for those entire two hours had passed without incident. They were only two blocks away from home base, so to speak, when Uvuli spoke. She kept her tone casual, as if this was something she said all the time. She paced along, shrugging, nonchalantly, as she turned to face the male. “Y-y’know, Shujaa… I love ya.” “I know,” the li-tigon replied… and that was all. How maddening. The hyena considered explaining the true meaning of her words, for a moment… but then decided against it. She was, of course, no expert in the matters of love—at least, not this kind—but for Freak, she guessed, rather shrewdly, in the opinion of the Lion Sheikh, that the best course of action wasn’t bold and daring… but slow, gradual, subtle. So she kept quiet and just smiled, enjoying the cooling effect the night breeze had on her as it ruffled her coarse dark fur. It made her sigh, a bit—no matter what she did, she could never get it to be soft and smooth… ah, well. Hopefully, Freak would come to look beyond that. “And you know,” he said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts, “I love you too, Uvuli.” Freak wasn’t facing her as he said that. Rather, his gaze was forward, on the building that held his relative. Massive paws noiseless as they padded across the ground, he was the epitome of feline grace—watching him execute the simple action of walking was an experience in itself. “I’m sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye to you… but… it’s complicated. I couldn’t be around anyone… Vitani’s death affected me. Even now, it’s hard for me to say her name without regret… “I’m different now, though. I no longer accept the narcissistic utility of running away from problems like this as acceptable—that’s why I’m coming back to the Pride Lands… why I’m coming home.” “For good?” the hyena said hopefully, and, for a moment, Freak seemed on the verge of nodding… but he didn’t. “I won’t promise that. I still don’t know if life among so many others is good for me,” the li-tigon admitted. “Granted, I’ve created bonds—powerful ones—with many all over the Land of the Spirits… and one more, in Hindustan,” he nodded in the direction of the shack, “but… it still doesn’t feel right. I was born alone… and it could be my fate to live alone. After I’ve done my duty to my family and my homeland, of course.” “But what about the rest of us? We’ll all miss you,” Uvuli said, trying not to sound too desperate. “That’s true, and it will be taken into consideration, when the time comes. For now, though, I have to concentrate—first, on getting home. Then, on defeating my twin…” His expression darkened, then, to a degree imperceptible by most. But not Uvuli. They were just in front of the shack, then, and it took no effort to hear Kochai’s unbearably cute, purring snores. The two looked at one another, for a moment, then turned, facing the river—though a thick bush, of course. There was still the danger of being seen… “You don’t think you can do it.” The li-tigon didn’t reply to that. But Uvuli just smiled. “Look, Shujaa, when you were gone, I talked to my dad about your cub days. He knows a lot more about you than you think—heck, there were even times that your little misdeeds had witnesses; he silenced ‘em, of course. You were just a cub—you couldn’t be perfect,” she said, trying not to giggle at the way his head snapped up in alarm, as if the fact that he’d occasionally blown his cover several years ago would change anything now. “Anyway, as I was sayin’… you did some pretty incredible stuff back then. He told me—is it true that you took out a blackfang python before you were a year old?” “If that’s what they’re called, then yes… I always thought it was strange that there was only that one…” “Nope, they’re a fully established species. I think Dad said that they’re native to the Bloody Shadows, but then sort of migrated to the Unexplored Regions… I guess the one you fought got left behind.” Freak was curious, and wanted to ask any number of questions about how, or why, an entire species had done that—but he pulled his thought back to the subject at hand. “It’s not that I don’t think I can do it…” the li-tigon said. “It’s just…” Uvuli looked at him skeptically. So, Freak’s expression hardened, just a little, and, as his gunmetal eyes bore into her, he spoke. “Kill your father.” That certainly took the smirk off her face. “…Huh?” “He’s a threat to all you know and care about,” Freak said harshly. “Kill him. Don’t hesitate, don’t look back, don’t question yourself for a second—if you do, everyone is dead,” he snarled, “or worse. Kill him. Do it. Now.” There was a pause. “You can’t, can you?” After a moment, Uvuli replied, somewhat breathlessly. “’C-course I can’t… my dad’s in the Pride Lands--no, just kidding. I see what you’re sayin’, Shujaa. But what other choice do you—we—have? That’s it,” Uvuli said, “we’ll help you. I mean, there’s all of us, and just one of him—“ “No,” Freak said. “This is my battle. I’m not being a fool… but it’s part of Mohatu’s prophecy. No one can defeat him but me… I’m the only one that can do this, and it will be alone. There’s just him and me… I’ll trust the rest of you to give me room to fight, keep a close eye on the borders, but, mostly, stay out of the way. If any of you are injured…” he shook his head, “I won’t forgive myself.” The li-tigon’s throat was starting to get sore. While he’d toughened his vocal chords up to the point where one paragraph no longer hurt to say, this was a bit much. “Well… don’t expect this ta go over well at home,” Uvuli said, conceding to the li-tigon. She was still, for a moment, then, annoyed at how incapable of defying his wishes she was, blew at a stray shock of fur, and sat down. Freak didn’t join her, immediately. He looked, ponderously, over the water, then, slowly, shut his eyes, starting to meditate. He was interrupted, though. Uvuli nudged his shoulder with her own—somewhat irritated, the li-tigon peered at her with one eye, lips thinning. “Yes?” he said, expectantly. The hyena inexplicably started to trace something in the dirt in front of him with her claw. Freak sighed, softly, but didn’t complain, and merely looked down at the symbol she’d made when she withdrew her paw. “That’s what’s on the ship we’re supposed to get on, right?” “Yes. Why?” Freak asked, turning from the drawing to Uvuli, head tilting, a little. She didn’t answer. Rather, she just looked, pointedly, across the river, and, indeed, much of the city. From around a bend in the river, a massive craft was approaching. Freak’s heart stopped, for a second— Then restarted, at best speed. Their ride was here. Although its insignia was hidden, for a moment, beyond a distant multistoried apartment, the moment it was visible, it was impossible to mistake. This was it. “Stay here,” the li-tigon said sharply. “I’m getting Kochai. Keep an eye on that boat—don’t let it go anywhere.” “But—“ Uvuli started to protest; but it was too late, Freak was gone. The hyena sighed, then looked, sardonically, at the massive, slowly approaching vessel. “How the fuck am I supposed to stop something like that?” He didn’t bother to wake her—rather, Freak just grabbed Kochai by the scruff of her neck. He noticed that she hadn’t responded when he entered the room, and that was strange… she was usually quite a cautious feline. Perhaps, somehow, she knew that it was him, even while she slept. This was a question to be pondered at a later time—now, they needed to move. Freak left the shack without a second glance, and glided, silently, back to Uvuli. He set Kochai down—by then, her eyes had fluttered open, but she didn’t say anything. “The ship’s here,” Freak murmured, peering around the corner of the old, crumbling wall behind which he and the two females were huddled. “I’m not sure if it’s going to stop, and if it does, that’s another set of complications. We’re going to move,” he said, “quickly, but quietly. Kochai—I’m carrying you. No arguments,” he said warningly, but the kitten just looked up at him, with her big, green eyes, and nodded. “Uvuli—“ “Nah, I’m good, I can swim,” the hyena murmured. “Pretty well, actually. Calm down for a second, Shujaa—we’ve got another ten minutes until it gets here.” Though the tough lessons he’d learned as a cub pointed to action, Freak now had new wisdom—and, after a moment of deliberation, he nodded, and forced his tense, quivering muscles to slacken. There was nothing to be gained by being so tense, just then. Quickly, the li-tigon ran over things in his mind. Though they had the cover of darkness on their side, there was frighteningly little cover between their current position and the water’s edge—and, once they hit the water, there was, of course, no cover at all. Swimming underwater was the only option… and it would be difficult for them to hold their breaths that long. The ship itself was a two-story cargo courier; there wasn’t much on it but for large, lashed-down crates of goods. So, at least, once they were on, they’d probably be relatively safe from discovery… by humans in the city. Because there was still the crew to worry about. Moonlight reflected, lazily, across the glass-smooth, shimmering surface of the Ganges River. Such a serene, peaceful scene was at total odds with the turmoil going on in Hindustan, Freak knew… and the Land of the Spirits. “This is an interesting emotion,” the li-tigon thought, as he glanced from Uvuli to Kochai, insuring that they were ready to go, “I’ve never felt homesick before…” There wasn’t much time to savor the feeling, though. The boat was approaching them, and fast. Freak stepped out of cover, carefully, and, for a moment, just looked at his target—it was moving slowly, as was to be expected by such a behemoth structure. In the lack of light, it was difficult to tell much about the vessel, apart from that it was, undeniably, theirs—Freak had little idea of whether or not it had any weak points, or any sort of traps or tripfalls or alarm systems. It seemed, though, that the humans doubtlessly on board were somewhere inside, sleeping—good. One less thing to worry about. “Alright,” the li-tigon murmured,” shifting his head, to the side, though his eyes never left the ship. “Let’s move… but keep it quiet.” This was like a hunt, in a way, Freak noted, as he moved, eyes forward, expression intent, from scant bit of cover to scant bit of cover. He couldn’t go into deep cover in Hindustan as readily as he’d been able to in the Land of the Spirits, so long ago, but the li-tigon was sure, somehow, that he, Uvuli, and Kochai hadn’t been compromised—at least, not yet. There was only a half-broken concrete wall left; then, there were several meters of bare gravel, dirt, and grass before the river met land. This was a huge risk, but Freak could see no way around it, and there was no time to wait… the ship would leave. Keeping track of the females’ position with his powerful sense of hearing, he moved forward, creeping past the final obstacle without pausing for a heartbeat. Kochai had to struggle, a bit, to clamber over it, but overall, they made it into the water without difficulty. Noiselessly, they made their way ankle, then knee deep into the clear, somewhat chilly fluid. Freak stopped, for a moment, jerking his head to tell Uvuli to move on, and picked up Kochai, carrying her in his paradoxically powerful yet gentle jaws. Seconds later, they were up to their necks in the Ganges—now things were getting interesting. The tension in the air was so taught it was practically palatable—if they were going to be caught, now was when it was most likely to happen. After taking a deep breath through his nose and hearing Kochai do the same, Freak slowly dipped his head underwater. He opened his eyes, and, after ensuring that Uvuli was exactly where she was supposed to be, swimming alongside him, the li-tigon started to move. They were almost perpendicular to the boat, now, and things were going well—they hadn’t been found. It seemed, though, that they’d either underestimated the vessel’s speed… or it was moving somewhat faster, now, as it started to get out of the narrow, twisting waters of the city. Furthermore, it would take some acrobatics to get over the lip of the craft… which was at least eight feet above the surface of the water. They stopped, for a minute, treading water as the ship started to pass them by. It was long, though, so they had some time, at least, to figure out how to get up. Still, staying out here, like this, was dangerous… Uvuli was the one that figured it out—or perhaps Freak was. The two adults merely shared a glance, and then the hyena nodded, and dove. She vanished, for a minute, under the river’s sleek, placid surface… Then, with a startlingly loud explosion of noise and action, she rose impossibly high into the air—and caught hold of the ship’s deck with her paws. Scrambling, for a moment, she managed to pull herself up—there. She was onboard. Without wasting a second, the hyena turned, and reached down, beckoning to Freak. The li-tigon acted swiftly, and, a heartbeat later, Kochai was tossed into the air. “Typical,” the li-tigon thought, watching the kitten’s arcing vector carry her towards Uvuli’s paws. “Giggling during such a serious situation…” Uvuli caught Kochai successfully, and, when the young tigress was on board as well, she looked over—but Freak had vanished. But only for a second. The li-tigon jumped up from the surface of the water, teeth gritted with effort as he launched himself towards the ship… before falling short. His eyes widened and his claws extended, uselessly skittering across the toughened metal of the craft, as his face took on a shocked, horrified expression. “If I can’t get on board…” He hit the water again with a loud thud, splashing water everywhere. Hardly a show of his supposedly natural feline grace… but dangerous as well. If someone woke up, and investigated… There was no time to think about that, though—it was time for action. Freak quickly started to swim back to the bottom of the river. Once he tapped the sandy, muddy river floor with a paw, though… he paused. Turning, slowly, lazily, he looked up, past the passing boat. “If I can’t get on board… everyone will die. I’ll never see any of them again… and I’ll be alone. Again.” His mind traveled back to the dark, silent days of his youth in the Jungle. It felt so long ago… but it hadn’t even been a year ago that the only reality Freak knew was one in which the only one to worry about was him—when there was no one to ask him how his day had been, no one to worry about when they were a few moments late coming back from a hunt, and no one to eat with, sleep with, and, yes, play with. It was a reality that was now more disconnected with the li-tigon’s current path in life than anything he could construct. Motivation… This time, when Freak swam upwards, he clawed his way through the water almost as if it was an enemy. He wasn’t angry—but his face took on an even more determined, set expression. Nothing would keep him from the Land of the Spirits—least of all his own weakness. When he jumped up again, he hooked one paw over the boat’s edge. Then, for a second, he dangled… until he got the other over. And then, with a slowly rising sense of jubilation, the li-tigon pulled himself up and over… and there he was, with Uvuli and Kochai again: soaking wet, on a boat, traveling eastward on the Ganges River—which, somehow, would take them to the Land of the Spirits. …Without any food, or clean water… But Freak decided to focus on the positive, at least now. The smile on his face didn’t fade as he, Uvuli, and Kochai exchanged congratulatory looks—this stage of their journey was complete. “Alright, alright, calm down,” the li-tigon murmured, lowering himself to the deck, muscles tense as he peered about. “We could still be spotted by someone in the city…” This problem was easily remedied, though—Kochai looked around, for a moment, then hopped over a low, long box, vanishing, for a moment. Then, the tigress peeked over, green eyes reflecting thanks to the darkness, and beckoned for Uvuli and Freak to join her, which they shortly did. There was space where the kitten was, it seemed, for all three of them to stretch out comfortably… invisible to anyone in the city, unless they happened to be at the top of a very tall building, set very close to the water’s edge. Perfect. With that concern taken care of, Freak moved on to his next worries—the crew. Where were they? He couldn’t tell, immediately, so the li-tigon filed that caution away, for the moment, focusing on his surroundings. The crates he was surrounded… they all looked the same. Large, tied down with chords, covered by tarpaulins… he wondered what they contained, then decided that it hardly mattered. Unless… The li-tigon blinked. No way… “Raj… are these your last gifts…?” He didn’t dare let that thought surface—not yet; he had to be sure, and he couldn’t’ rise Uvuli’s and Kochai’s hopes. He had to confirm it by himself, first… and to do that, he needed to know where the crew was. As he sniffed around, for a moment, looking over every bit of the craft for any signs of recent human touch, the li-tigon’s mind was visited by a thought—a strange, impossible, radical thought. “Kochai,” he whispered, causing the kitten to look to him instantly, intently, seriously, “Raj’s little helpers… how did he say they worked?” “Hold on a sec—Shujaa’s got an insanely amazing memory,” Uvuli thought, canting her head, eyes tightening, just a little, as she looked between the two felines. “Why would he ask Kochai—unless he wants to make doubly sure…? But… why?” “I did not understand the details, big brother,” the tigress admitted sadly. “But I understood that he sends signals to them in some cases… or they have parts that act as minds of their own, yes? So that they can be autonomous, yes?” “Yes,” the li-tigon replied. “So…” He didn’t continue. So, killed by the suspense, Uvuli spoke up. “So, what?” “So…” Freak continued, sucking in a breath, slowly, doubting himself rather more than a little, “why should it be impossible for someone else to do the same thing… to a much, much bigger… helper?” “What are you say—ahh…” Uvuli said, blinking, before chuckling, once, and looking at the ground. “Yeah, I see what you’re sayin’… haha. The things these humans’ll do…” “I do not understand,” Kochai mewled, looking pleadingly up at her big brother, then her big sister. “Please, explain? What are you talking about?” “Do you smell any humans, Kochai? On this boat?” Freak asked. “Can you detect any humans here… any at all?” The tigress was silent, for a moment. She shut her eyes, sniffing, pink nose twitching, as she analyzed the various inputs her senses were giving her carefully. Then, she shook her head—still, it seemed, she didn’t understand. “Think,” Uvuli urged. “No humans,” the hyena said, before smiling, and nudging Kochai’s shoulder with the back of her paw, “and Raj could make autonomous moving things…” “I do not—ahhh…” the kitten said, eyes widening as she looked down, then all around at the ship, struggling to comprehend things. “So… this is someone else’s little helper, in a way?” Uvuli nodded, but Freak didn’t. “Let’s have a look around, first. We have to be sure about this…” “Dude, relax,” the hyena said. “If we can’t smell any humans here, any at all… then they haven’t been around this part of the ship for at least a few weeks—more like a few months,” she amended, and Kochai nodded. “This is definitely… an autonomous ship…” “Do you think that big brother Raj knew that he was sending us on an autonomous ship, big brother?” Kochai asked, habitually rubbing her head against Freak’s shin before shaking some of the water out of her fur. “Probably,” the li-tigon said, looking blankly ahead. “He would have thought it was funny… he probably wanted to tell us at the last possible moment… but then, of course…” “He was killed…” A pause. Then, deciding to take a risk—a calculated risk—Freak continued. “And… I think that he may not have had time to tell us something else.” The li-tigon turned, extending his claws, making his way to a nearby tarp-covered crate. As he started to slice it free, taking it in his massive forelegs, turning it this way and that, searching for a lock or catch to break to open the box, he spoke again. “Did you ever wonder what, exactly, is being shipped from Hindustan to whatever this ship’s destination is?” Somewhat guiltily, both Uvuli and Kochai shook their heads. It was then that a soft click was heard—Freak had gotten the crate unlocked. With his nose, the li-tigon nudged the top off, then smiled, out of view of the females. Turning, his gunmetal eyes bore into theirs, for a moment. “Neither did I. Then I realized… Raj would have taught us how to pack meat and water if he had any reason to think that we might need to know how to do it.” The same scent—or, rather, medley of scents—met Uvuli’s and Kochai’s noses at the same instant. The females froze, for a moment, then darted forward, past Freak, propping themselves up on their forelegs to look inside the crate, one with more difficulty than the other. “Th-this isn’t enough,” Uvuli said in awe. “Not to last all of us for more than a week, tops…” “My sense of scent is still stronger than yours,” Freak replied, taking his place in between the females, looking down into the crate with them. “This isn’t all…” “No effin’ way…” But the li-tigon was gesturing to every single crate on the boat with a sweeping motion of his paw. They were all silent, for a moment. Kochai broke it, however, by speaking softly, gratitude—and tears—in her eyes. “Thank you, big brother Raj… thank you so, so much.” The ship’s cargo was, entirely, water, meats, and, for Uvuli, Freak, and Kochai, life, hope, and a fighting chance to return to the Land of the Spirits with enough strength to get to the Pride Lands… and confront whatever evil would meet them there. These were Raj’s last gifts. “Are we there yet?” “No, of course not. We’ve only been travelling for ten hours now.” “You sure? It feels like so much longer…” “Ten and a half hours, then.” “That makes me feel so much better, Shujaa. Thanks. Really.” Freak smiled once, without looking at Uvuli. He was too occupied—not with Kochai, who was sleeping, cutely, just a few feet away, in a box cleared out for her usage. Rather, the li-tigon’s eyes were on the passing country. He certainly wasn’t so arrogant to think, even on a subconscious level, that he’d seen it all. But, at least, he believed that he’d seen something similar to most everything he might encounter in the world. This wasn’t so, apparently. Not even in the slightest. Kochai had wanted to stay up to watch, but, after seeing her stumble on her feet, several times, Freak had insisted that the kitten sleep. She’d protested, of course, but didn’t really have the energy to defy his efforts at all as he lifted her up by the scruff of her neck, setting her down in her box. That was five hours ago. Since then, Freak had hardly budged. With Uvuli’s help, the li-tigon had adjusted the set up of the ship’s cargo, so that it formed the outline of a rectangle at many points—this would give Freak the opportunity to sit down and look out at the heavily populated banks of the Ganges River without the fear of being spotted by an over-observant human. To be perfectly honest, Uvuli didn’t see how the li-tigon found the passing scenery so interesting—she was bored. She was half-tempted to follow Kochai’s example and sleep, but, eventually, decided that she’d rather stay up to keep Freak company. The li-tigon didn’t seem to move a muscle as he watched, ostensibly with great interest, at the passing terrain. It was impossible to tell what thoughts were going through his mind, even for Uvuli. In contrast with the varying forests and jungles that seemed to comprise the vast majority of the Hindustani geographic area, they were now passing a vast expanse of relatively barren plains. This was the one largest continuous part of the Ganges unflanked by cities or slums, farms or suburbs. There were, occasional, small huts that dotted the landscape, but these were few and far between. Mostly, their eyes met nothing but miles and miles and miles of grassland and steppe. Uvuli hadn’t had the opportunity to go around in Hindustan at all, so she was incapable of fully appreciating the multitude of plant and animal life the area support, as well as how different it was from the Land of the Spirits. Still, she was rather struck by how obsessed Freak seemed to be with things—there had to be a good reason for his interest. Keeping that in mind allowed the dark-furred hyena to sit with the li-tigon as, slowly, the day wore on. “I’m surprised at you.” She hadn’t fallen asleep, but, regardless, jumped a bit when the li-tigon spoke. Apart from the soft, ambient sounds of water pulsing against the ship and shore, and the deep hum of the vehicle’s operating motor, it was silent—Freak’s voice caught her by surprise. “O-oh? How so? I haven’t exactly been spontaneous for a coupla hours…” Uvuli smiled somewhat and lay down on her side, resting her head and back against Freak. Though she expected what happened—a complete lack of reaction on the li-tigon’s part—she was still somewhat disappointed. Reaching out to him might be difficult after all. Or, perhaps not so difficult. The li-tigon smiled, albeit slightly, before falling back into a brief bout of silence. Uvuli didn’t mind—she just shut her eyes and continued to rest against him, enjoying the heat from his body. “It’s just… most people are so… active. Just watching nature in action… is a pleasure that not many of us enjoy. I was the same, in some ways, before I came to the Pride Lands… I always felt that I had to be protecting myself from some threat in some way, twenty four hours out of the day. Most people aren’t that bad… but…” he sighed. It would take a lot more than a few months around Nasher and Raj to turn Freak into a being capable of accurately, verbally expressing his feelings. “No, I get what you’re saying,” Uvuli said, slowly rolling to her paws. “It makes sense. What’s the point of living, if not to enjoy life?” Freak nodded… and again felt silent. This was another big question that, he realized, he’d never actually asked himself. Not directly, anyway—of course, he’d considered some long-term goals, and relatively vague strategies for achieving them… but he’d never really asked himself what he intended to leave when his time on Earth was over. “Apart from peace in the Land of the Spirits… what would I like my legacy to be?” The boat ride was long, and that was fortunate. He’d keep fit, of course, and continue educating Kochai, now that the responsibility for his wellbeing had passed from Nasher to him—but apart from that, he decided, he’d have to directly address what the purpose of his life was. At least with himself. “Uvuli… have you ever thought of getting a mate?” “Oh ah yeah um well…” the hyena blushed, under her fur, and stammered a bit more before speaking. “Well, uhm, I guess so… but… Banzai and Ed are like brothers to me; I dunno if I could ever see them as mates… plus, I kinda think they both have their own things goin’ on with T and Shenzi…” “Is that so?” Freak was surprised to hear this—he’d missed out on a lot in his home, it seemed, and it made him that much more anxious to get back. “T and Banzai… or is it Ed?” “You’ll have to wait till we get home to find out,” Uvuli grinned. “As for me, though… there aren’t really that many hyenas left in the Land of the Spirits. I mean, there’s just us in the Pride Lands—literally, that’s all. Dad said there might be clan or two to the far, far west… maybe I’ll check that out someday… “…Hey, uh, Shujaa…” the hyena said, continuing, before pausing, abruptly. “Yes?” “Same question. Have you, you know…” The li-tigon didn’t answer immediately. After a moment, he turned to the hyena, though… and shook his head. “So…” Uvuli said, grinning deceptively, “the whole startin’ a family thing… not for you?” “That’s not it,” Freak shook his head. “I’ve just… never really thought about it. There was always something else, something more… immediate to do. Now that I consider it, though… imagine. I could never be a good mate, or father.” The li-tigon smiled. But Uvuli knew him too well—she saw the shocking emptiness behind that expression, and shook her head. “No—I mean, yes, yeah you could. I mean, think about it for a second. You’re strong, you set a good moral example… you’re a great leader, you’re loyal as anything—I mean, look at what you’re going through now! What kind of cub wouldn’t be proud to have you as a father? What kinda female wouldn’t love ta have you as a mate? Worse guys than you get it all the time. Don’t tell me that you could never be a good mate or father… that’s bullsh—“ “Language,” the li-tigon said warningly, not quite glaring at Uvuli… but the dark furred female just grinned, shaking her head. “See? A good disciplinarian, too.” “…Clever,” Freak conceded. “Then… I acknowledge that it may happen, and may even have net positive results. But I don’t think that it’ll happen to me. Vitani loved me… I don’t think anyone’s lucky enough to have been loved by someone like her, and someone else, as well.” Looking away from Uvuli, back towards the passing landscape, Freak said, quite clearly, that he wasn’t interested in talking much more. Of course, she could have pushed him, just a little… but the hyena sighed, and kept her mouth shut. She’d give him a break… at least this once. “I dunno,” she said very, very softly, so that even Freak might have missed her words, “I think that someone lucky enough to survive an attack by his mother at birth, kill a blackfang python before turning one, wipe out a colony of hyenas, destroy an assassination corps, turn the tide of a brutal, multi-generational war, survive being yanked by the tail to another continent, and be able to take out his own twin… might be lucky enough to be loved… by…” (Look forward to the next chapters soon. Peace out.)
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