"Huh?" Taka looked at the battered hare, then up at Sarabi’s enigmatic expression. He glanced down at it again, then swallowed. "Uhh, Sassie?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Uhh, it looks like an ordinary rabbit to me."
She cocked her head and grinned. "Really?"
The tone in her voice made him look up sharply. He opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but froze, staring.
On her left cheek, slowly drying in the afternoon breeze, was the reddish-maroon pawprint of a lioness.
"Oh-ho!" A grin split his features and he rubbed his cheek against hers, their combined purring making a rumbling noise in the confined space. Sitting back, he drank in her features, unable to contain his happiness.
"Look at my beautiful lioness!" He nuzzled he cheek again, and she responded, slowly licking his ear and sending a wave of feeling down his back. “Everything about you excites me.” He bent and rubbed his face against her rib cage. “I can hear your heart beating, Sassie.” She trembled, her eyes closed as he dreamily worked his way back. “Proud, strong haunches of a lioness, crying out for love!”
Her eyes shot open abruptly and she whirled, a forepaw whipping out and smacking him across the face. “Don’t touch me there! We’re not pledged yet.”
He rubbed his stinging cheek with a paw, his eyes watering. “I wasn’t going to VIOLATE you. Lighten up, girl. We’ll be pledged soon enough."
"But not yet."
"What's wrong with it?” He drew away and looked at her. “Are you ashamed of me or something?!"
"No! Are you trying to prove something?! Look, I just don’t feel right about this. You need to respect my feelings."
“And I have none, eh?” he shot back caustically.
“Well obviously you have ONE, and you need to cool it.” She spun and stalked away, her tail lashing furiously. Taka stood motionless as he watched her form recede. He looked over at the hare’s carcass, which still lay where she had left it. He walked over to it and nosed it disinterestedly.
“Great going, idiot,” he muttered.
As the days passed, by and large Mufasa made excellent progress in learning his part of the formal mantlement ceremony. Taka, however, had not been to practice in some time, and Rafiki was worried that a disaster was waiting to happen.
Finally, his patience wore thin, and Rafiki requested an audience with the king. He felt rather bad about getting Taka into trouble like this, but he had no wish to see the boy inadvertently ruin what would be one of the most important days of his life. Zazu bade him wait outside while he informed Ahadi of his presence.
He did not have long to wait.
“Your Majesty, I wish you would talk with your son Taka. He’s missed so much practice.”
Ahadi blinked at him, confused. “Have you seen him??”
“Your Majesty?” It was Rafiki’s turn to be mystified.
“He’s missing. His mother and I are going crazy. The moment you see him, tell him to report to me IMMEDIATELY.”
“Yes, Sire.” Rafiki left, wondering what mess Taka had gotten himself into now. “That boy is going to be the death of me someday.”
As he forded the long grasses on the way home, he saw something moving towards him. Abruptly, the stalks parted before him, revealing the tear stained face of a young lioness he knew all too well. “Sarabi! You haven’t seen Taka, have you?” He cocked his head curiously and peered at her face. “What’s wrong?”
She broke into fresh tears. “He’s gone! He’s run away, and it’s my fault!”
“How so?”
“He believes in that prophesy. I didn’t realize just how strongly till this morning.”
“So?”
“He felt if he remained here, it would come true. He wanted me to come with him, but I just couldn’t.”
“So it’s not your fault after all.”
“Well I....” She sighed. “Can’t you tell him it was all just a mistake? Like a bad dream?”
Rafiki rubbed her cheek softly. “My dear, it was not a mistake. I don’t want to upset you, but something from the other side came through the passage I opened. It is one of the Makei, I fear. Truly, Taka brings many of his problems upon himself, but this was brought on by clever lies, lies buried so deeply in his heart that only God himself can uproot them. I fear he will not know peace in this life.”
CHAPTER 41: THE LETTER OF THE LAW
Over the next several months, Rafiki watched helplessly as his relationship with Taka went from bad to worse. Taka was a great favorite of Rafiki’s, and even when most of the lionesses did not like him and Zazu addressed him with open contempt, Rafiki kept trying to prove that his heart was steadfast. Still, for Taka, all of Rafiki’s attempts to make friends seemed like plots against him.
When Sarabi finally deserted Taka in favor of Mufasa--and most everyone thought Taka brought it upon himself--the frayed ends of his sanity began to completely unravel. Rafiki had to avoid Taka completely to avoid an “accidental” injury. And since Taka was pacing about like a thing possessed, it became harder and harder to avoid those confrontations and still do a shaman’s job.
In the middle of this misery, Sarabi with ever-flowing optimism announced that her love for Mufasa was bringing life into the world. What words of encouragement they were to everyone--everyone but Taka. Sometimes Taka prayed, often beautifully. Other times he cursed God and defied the universe. In that sense, he was being torn apart from the inside, raising love from hate and hate from love. In a timid way, Rafiki sought to bolster the strength of the good fighting within him. Once when Taka was deep in prayer, Rafiki slipped down on his knees beside him and offered him some jerky.
“I love you, my precious boy. Remember when Makedde used to tell you stories? Remember how I would stroke you and sneak you extra treats?”
Taka looked at him fiercely. “Leave me alone! Have you no pity??”
“Pity born of suffering. Pity born of death and despair. Pity that only one who has suffered can understand. But I have loved, too. Loved you and cooled your fevers and rubbed your sprains. Don’t reject me, little Fru Fru. Don’t put a thorn in my heart!”
“Don’t call me that!” he snarled. “My name is Scar, remember? It’s what everyone calls me. It’s quite difficult to forget; just look at my face, and you’ll have no problem remembering!”
Rafiki passed a hand over his own face, wizened and deeply lined. “And am I so different? We have each been marked with pain, for all to see. But I bear my marks proudly, for they were borne of love. For you, my boy.”
Taka’s fierce expression crumbled. Turning, he walked into a corner of his cave and flopped down, sobbing. “Oh gods, I wish I were dead!”
Rafiki fell upon him, rubbing his mane and kissing his cheek. “Not my little boy! Don’t say that, Fru Fru! You know how it hurts me. I saved you once. I told you to live forever! You must live! You must!”
A soft paw reached up and draped over Rafiki. “Remain a moment. I could use some company now.” In that moment, Rafiki felt perfectly safe and very loved.
There were moments like that, and then there were other moments, dark ones when Rafiki feared for his life. Still, he had promised Ahadi and Akase that he would take care of Taka, and as long as Aiheu held breath to body, he would.
CHAPTER 42: KOH’SUUL!
After the marriage of Mufasa and Sarabi, all of the joy went out of Taka’s life. The one thing that held his spirit and flesh together was the unconditional love of his parents. Particularly his mother’s love, for she saw the childlike yearning for love and responded to it much as she always had since he was a young cub.