Brothers Before Blood (Lion King Mufasa Fanfiction)

Chapter 37: Tensions Boil

The next morning, Mufasa woke up slowly. He felt his body ache and he moaned ever so slightly when he realized that he had slept on his paw at an awkward angle. He shook his head ever so slightly before he recalled why he was laying at such a strange angle with his paws tucked underneath his massive form.

He leaned forward and nosed his mother. Uru moaned a bit before she came to. She shifted forward and looked around to her mate. "Ahadi," she asked hopefully.

Mufasa pressed his cheek to his mother's. "I'm sorry, Mother. He's gone," he breathed with tears collecting in his eyes. He knew it from the moment that he awoke. His father was no longer breathing against him and the stench of death had truly settled in, masking the smell of sickness.

Uru let out a choked sob as she fell against Mufasa. Mufasa stayed firm before Sarabi and Abaku made their way back in. Sarabi hung her head as she crept forward and stopped beside her mate. She rubbed her cheek against his as tears ran down his face. "I'm so, so sorry."

"We need to get him out of here and bury him as quickly as possible," ordered Abaku with a cool tone about him. "If this is poison, then we don't want it to be passed to anyone else, much less the cubs."

Mufasa reluctantly glanced up and sighed. "Yeah, Abaku is right. We need to take him out of here," Mufasa whispered to Uru.

Uru moaned as she drew backwards. She allowed Sarabi and Mufasa to lean forward and delicately lift him. The king was still solid with rippling muscles under his pelt and was difficult for the two of them to manage. They struggled to share the weight between them before Abaku came on one side and Uru on the other side. They balanced Ahadi on their back and headed out onto Pride Rock to face the rest of the pride.

The lioness immediately glanced up in surprise upon hearing that news. They leaned forward in shock and moaned when they saw their king balanced on his family's shoulders.

"We must bury him," announced Abaku once more. "I need everyone to stay a good amount of distance away from him. What killed him might be contagious."

Everyone kept their distance and murmured to themselves. Mufasa flinched at the harshness in their gaze. He frowned before he noticed that everyone else was starting to head down the rockface. He followed, considering that he was still trying to balance at least some of his father's weight on his shoulders and back.

They made their way down with Mufasa pressed against Sarabi. A few times Sarabi stole a glance at him. Mufasa didn't have the energy to speak to her at the moment. He kept his gaze fixed firmly in front of him while he struggled to lumber forward, breathing heavily through his nose.

He wasn't sure how far they had walked, but eventually, Abaku halted. He ordered a few lionesses to begin to dig a hole large enough to swallow Ahadi. Once they were finished, Mufasa, Sarabi, Uru, and Abaku lowered him down. They began to place the dirt and sand back onto his body and cover the hole completely. Mufasa did so without looking at his father so he didn't have to see those blank eyes staring back at him.

He pinned his ears against his head and turned away, feeling like he was about to be sick. He stood for a moment as Sarabi came over to him. "Mufasa," she began.

Mufasa lifted a paw to halt her from speaking anymore. "I'm fine. I just don't like to see him like that," he confessed darkly.

"I know," chided Sarabi as she rested her tail upon his shoulders. "Do you want some time alone?"

Mufasa nodded slowly. "If you don't mind," he rasped.

Sarabi leaned up on her toes and licked his cheek. "Of course. Take your time," she urged as she turned and pelted forward with her paws barely touching the ground.

It didn't take long for the rest of the lionesses to follow. Vigils were normally a family matter, even for a king. They would return periodically to pay respects, but never all at once.

Eventually, even Uru left. That meant that Mufasa had some time alone with his father. He looked down at the grave and rested a paw on it. He felt his heart break all over once again.

"Can we talk?"

Mufasa spun around and nearly jumped out of his fur when he saw his brother standing there. A growl rolled deep within his throat. "Go away, Scar!"

"I just want to talk to you," began Scar as he took a step forward.

With a roar, Mufasa lunged at him. He tackled Scar to the ground. Scar let out a cry of shock as his head slammed against the ground. Mufasa snarled as he sunk his teeth into Scar's neck and gave him a gratifying shake. Scar went limp under his brother as Mufasa shoved him against the ground again. Scar buckled under him before he thrust a paw against Scar's cheek. He gasped in shock before Mufasa leaned forward with his eyes narrowed a whisker's length from his brother.

    "If I ever find out that you did this to him, I will hunt you down wherever you are and kill you," threatened Mufasa in a low and dangerous voice.

    Scar glanced up at Mufasa with fear in his eyes. Mufasa let out a roar before he leaped off of his brother. He shook the dirt from his mane and sighed as he made his way forward. He didn't hear Scar Follow him and he let out a sigh of relief flow from him.

    "Please grant me the wisdom and determination to be a good leader like you were, Ahadi. I need your guidance still and I know that you will do so from the stars."