A Hyena's Tale

A Hyena's Tale Ch. 12

Jasiri padded through the gorge as she kept her eyes on the land before her. Although she was worried about the good of her clan and the other two, she could not stop thinking about one thing.

Kion.

Right now, this was what prompted Jasiri to push forward. To get as far away from the Pridelands as possible. It had been three days since Kion had destroyed the home her parents had left her. That one act was the thing that made even her tough as nails bodyguard, Barbatus, skeptical about being around her. She knew she was being a bit harsh, but this was the only way to let the clans know her new rule: No Pridelands, no Lion Guard.

She also thought about how Tombie was doing.

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"And then I tell him, "Oh sure, pick on the guy with Stripes!""

Janja chuckled a little bit as his brother gave his punchline. "So, what happened next?"

"So then he says, "Tell you what, I'll knock that rotten tree over so you can cross." And then I say, "Or we can just go AROUND the giant puddle of Quicksand, just for a change of pace. And also, a save of energy."

The two of them began to laugh. It had been a long time since Janja had heard a good joke like that. It was also the first time he had enjoyed another animals company like this in such a long time. As a Hyena, laughing was one of the things that made you so. Pure Laughter, however, was not something that just happened.

"That-that's actually pretty funny!" Janja laughed, "You know, Rhinos sure ain't too good at planning ahead."

"Not really." Tombie shrugged as his smile stayed on his face, "They sure know what to do when something tries to eat 'em, though."

"I guess they do." Janja slowly stopped laughing. His ears began to lower as he followed the two Hyenas that carried his brother. It was more than apparent that he had something on his mind that was troubling him. "Hey Tomb?" He asked the red Hyena. "I wanna tell ya somethin'."

"What's on your mind, Janja?" Tombie asked curiously.

As Tombie was about to find out, Janja was about to say something that came deep from inside. It may have been the case after he saved Tombie from the cliffs edge, but what he was going to say next must've been an older wound. One that hurt his ego more than stating that they were the same.

"I'm sorry."

"What? I didn't hear that." Tombie looked confused as he tilted his head. Janja had spoken so softly that he couldn't hear him.

"This is my fault." Janja's voice raised, his tone shaking from guilt. "I left you on your own when we were just pups. You could've died, Tombie! And it was all my fault! I mean, what happened to you three days ago was my fault, too. If I had been there instead of getting you stupid food, this would never ha-"

"Wait." Tombie put his paws up. "Janja, what're you talking about?"

"Everything is my fault." Janja said slowly. "It's my fault Ma and Pop died, It's my fault you almost died out in there, it's my fault Scar's back."

"Janja." Tombie swiftly set his paws on Janja's shoulders and stared him in the face. "It is not your fault Mom and Dad passed, and whatever else you did was in the past. I've let go of everything you did to me. Sure, I wanted to get you for it at first, but then I realized something: I was angry. Like you were." He closed his eyes as he seemed rather ashamed of admitting this. "If I kept on being as angry as you were, I would be like you. Alone."