Gandalf's Apprentice

Chapter Eight: Lion King

***Leandra's POV***

We made camp on the cliffs, Steel had no problem making friends, neither did I really. Bring these men a dead stag to eat and they're your best friends.

I walked back into camp, dragging the freshly gutted deer that I had just hunted down. "Who's hungry?" I asked to everyone and they all looked shocked.

"How did you get a fine stag, lassy?! Come on, Bifur! We gotta get this cooking!" Bofur ran over with his brother and got to work on skinning the deer.

"Where did you learn to hunt?" Kili asked.

I smiled sadly. "My father took me with him all the time on hunting trips when I was little. You pick up stuff and you don't forget...He died when I was 11...it's ironic that he was hunting near only to be killed by one." I chuckled wryly and Kili looked as if someone had just kicked him.

"What about your mum?" Balin asked.

"None to speak of other than the Lady of Light and she adopted me...my birth mother died of cancer." I explained.

"What is cancer?" Balin asked with concern in his eyes.

"Right...this world doesn't know what that is. Great..." I said sarcastically. "It's a disease...when your own body takes in too much darkness in one place at a time, it doesn't happen to most and some people in my old world wouldn't find out until it was too late. The darkness literally eats away at you...the pain is horrible if it's not treated and-...it's a slow...slow death." I sat down next to Kili against the stone face.

I just stared into the fire. "How is it treated?" Balin asked.

My heart clenched. "Very painful medicines...if the disease isn't what kills you, the medicine might. Other than that...hope. Hope is the best treatment." I managed a small smile.

"It comes in the forms of laughter, story telling, good food, better friends, cute nurse maids that you meet at the hospital." I chuckled and nudged Kili.

"What about love?" Kili asked quietly.

I giggled. "Absolutely! That's the main point of hope! You know what they say, love conquers all, love thaws the cold...and love pushes back the darkness with as much strength as you give it." I smiled at him and he flushed red.

Sitting like that, he was happy that I was slouching, he looked taller.

"Can you do a magic trick? Bring a little hope and happiness here?" Thorin hissed, turning to face me. He stood near the cliff edge.

I glared at him before smirking. I held my hands out in a cup shape. "Koron en' naur..." (fireball) I said softly.

A ball of blue fire grew in my hands and I split it into several pieces. "I can." I said and he narrowed his eyes at me.

The company gathered around. "There once was a place called the African Savannah...there lived animals in every shape, size and color you can imagine. White and black striped donkey horses called Zebras. Huge bloated elephants with short noses and shorter legs, with itty bitty ears, called Hippos. Big spotted cats that could run like lightning, the other animals accused them of cheating in races, naturally being named Cheetahs. Small dragons who lost their wings and fire long ago, watering most every river. Thousands more...all hailing to one king of the land to bring order and peace." I said, turning the whisps of flame into pictures, flying all around the company.

"That King was a great lion named Mufasa, big, regal, good with children, better at fighting. He had a pride of lions, only loyal to him. Even a little son named Simba, barely knew a thing of the world." I said, showing them.

"The lions lived in a great stone home called Pride Rock, the opitome of everything over a wide flat land. All was at peace for many years...until Mufasa's brother, Scar, hungered for power and his greed grew fierce...fierce enough to kill. He lured his brother into a valley, with the help of hyenas, much like wargs, they lived to serve evil...that evil took for in Scar. He brought little Simba with him. They were cornered in the valley, when a stampede of Antelope came through the valley, Scar was safe on the cliffs...but Simba and his father King were not." I said.

"Mufasa hid Simba in an olive tree, as the Antelope ran, Mufasa tried to climb the cliffs of the valley...but Scar was waiting. Mufasa trusted his brother and pleaded for help...but Scar only latched his claws into Mufasa's clinging paws and said: long live the king. Before thrusting his own brother down into the mayhem of the stampede...Mufasa did not survive this." I received many gasps from the dwarves.

Thorin looked at me with only wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape. "But Simba, the son, survived. Too much of a coward to kill Simba himself, Scar tricked him into believing that Mufasa's death was his fault...so Simba ran away. He ran so far that he reached a great dessert. The heat of the sun nearly killed him." I explained, showing the circling birds, Simba on the ground.

"But then...a wild warthog and a meerkat, a meerkat being like a mink, saved Simba from the desert and kept him safe, made him strong, watched his back...for years they were a family. Brothers in arms." I smiled to everyone and showed them dancing across the tree bridge.

"Then...a lioness named Nala found Simbe and told him the truth of Scar's lies. The once beautiful Savannah has been over grazed, poached and wasted away...animals were dying out of the natural order...a sickness laid upon Pride Rock. Simba, with the help of his allies, returned to their homeland and fought for what belonged to them...they won the day, Scar was dead and made into a fine fluffy rug." I smirked at Gandalf.

"They lived the rest of their lives, knowing that their forebears were proud of them and watching over them, wherever they were in the stars." I looked up to the sky and sent the flames just above camp, looking like the nothern lights.

I looked back to Thorin as I let the light fade. "So...how's that for a bit of inspiration?" I asked and he remained stunned, his face a blank slate.

"That was fantastic!" Bilbo said and Thorin broke our eye contact.

I sighed and nodded. "I have many more to tell, should any of you want any more. I'll save that for another night however...you all need your rest." I said and definitely didn't expect Kili to hug my arm, pretending to be asleep, his head against the stone face behind us.

"Kili?" I sighed with a soft smile.

"Shh...I'm resting." He said with a faint smile, his eyes closed.

"You could've just asked, you know? I can be friendly when I want to be."