In another area, as the sun was creeping up over the African horizon, the clouds were slowly changing colors to a dark blue, to a gray-lavender, to a rich pink. The first traces of sunlight began to inch its way gradually across the wide open land. It dawned over the gorge- which was not so far away from Pride Rock, the entryway into the desert, and came over the walls of an unknown canyon on the other side of the Sahara… where two jackals were making plans with each other once again.

"Think, Faraa. This whole thing isn't going so hot."

"Really? It was really warm outside yesterday, Mauti."

"Not the weather, you ding-bat. I mean the recruiting!"

"Oh, that? But we managed to get two, Sis."

Mauti was up and about, moving quickly along all fours. She then took a brief moment to glance up, suddenly eyeing darts at her younger sibling.

"Two," she retorted. "Against what? An army of fifteen? Twenty? Wake up and smell the competition, Faraa. You know Zira will be expecting better out of us."

The much more inexperienced Jackal let loose a small huff, displaying her slight disappointment. Like that of a small child who had just been scolded at.

Mauti was pacing. Again. She thought much better moving around. It made her feel busy and important. Her smaller sister watched as she just sat there.

Faraa's eyes began to move upward, and onto a more interesting sight.

"We need to think about our pitches," Mauti explained. She did not lift up her head. "How we're getting others attention."

She then stopped. Mauti took note of how Faraa's eyes were averted upward onto something, not even remotely relevant.

Mauti slowly tightened her lips in disapproval.

"Can I... request you... to give me yours!" she belted out.

Faraa suddenly stiffened up… fear locked in her eyes. She didn't think her lack of awareness was that obvious…

"I'm sorry, Mauti! I won't get distracted anymore, I mean it."

"…You do?"Mauti deadpanned… her eyelids dropping half-mast. She looked like she was getting really, very exhausted.

Faraa was at least observant enough to take note. She gingerly began to smile through her teeth. It was the only thing she could do with the way she was looking at her.

Mauti then stepped toward her- adding on curtly.

"Are you trying to antagonize me? Do you want to antagonize Zira? Sister! She is expecting another quota by the end of the month! Now, make yourself useful and contribute some ideas!"

Faraa sank a little lower. She wasn't very good at this. This is why her older sister was in charge and made all the important decisions between the two of them.

Suddenly, Faraa's expression lit up, coming up with an idea.

"Compliments! Everybody loves compliments!" she said.

This made Mauti turn. Her curious eyes met with her sibling's, showing interest.

Faraa's smile stayed in tact… and she closed her eyes, nestling her neck inside her chest.

"It makes people feel all warm and fuzzy," she said, nestling inside her own shoulders. "Everybody likes to feel special…"

But Faraa had opened her eyes. The smile that was plastered on her face then dropped in an instant… when she caught sight of Mauti's lack of expression.

Mauti's face was solid… just staring back at her... no response whatsoever.

After a few moments went by, Mauti then curled her lips into a warm smile… which was odd, since it wasn't characteristic of her to do so.

It kind of threw Faraa for a slight loop.

Mauti raised her head wisely and knowingly, beginning to stroll on over to her.

"Faraa," she began. Mauti's mouth was pleasantly twisted in a certain way… nice and big as if she planned on handing out special, little treats.

She stopped to stand in front of Faraa. Mauti held up her paw, squeezing her two claws together for illustration.

"I am… this close…" she said, smile still in tact. "…To disowning you…!"

Faraa said nothing. It took no time for the cutting derision to sink in for her younger sister.

Mauti gently wiped away the beaming grin on her face, and casually turned around, trying to think some more.

She immediately slapped on a dirty glare again once her back was completely turned.

Faraa pulled in her lips and kept her mouth closed after that.

"…Brother… we shouldn't be here."

"…Will you stop acting like such a killjoy? It's getting on my nerves."

"…But what if dad finds out we were here?"

"…He won't find out. Now, come on… we're almost there."

The voices rang against the walls of his head. They were clearer and fresher, this time. Their words weren't so slurred and distorted.

There were visuals to accompany these voices. Their surroundings were dreary… ominous. There was a strange, hush of voices drifting through the wind here, rattling through the animals remains here.

It wasn't very reassuring.

"This place gives me the creeps…"

"…I've been here before, you know…"

A small, orange-brown animal hopped up onto a ledge. No, not a ledge.

The dry, dead bones of an animal.

Another small individual came up to his side and waited at the bottom. The other animal was a blurry, golden color.

"This place gives me the creeps…" he said. "I don't like it."

This boy… this was a cub talking to Scar… someone he had to have known before. This was a link. This whole scene was. It seemed so familiar. The sounds, the place... why was it so familiar?

The other individual sighed, and spoke like he was getting exasperated.

"…I've been here before, you know…"

"-You've been here before?"

"-Well, yeah, lots of times."

"-But dad told us not to go here! He told us-"

"-Since when do you care so much about what dad says?"

There was a slight noise… weaving, drifting through the air… breaking through Scar's subconscious. It was a melody. It was almost too real to even relate it to what he was dreaming.

"-Forget it…" the boy said. "I'm going home, Taka."

The eyelids came open… after his name was once said.

Scar paused. Then began to slowly move his eyes… drowsily glancing around.

His surroundings appeared to be coming into fuller focus. The sky was turning a dark, gloomy shade of blue. A crow had squalled a few miles away, signaling that dawn was creeping over the horizon.

Scar closed his eyes again. Reopened them. He focused on trying to just get them to stay open without any early-morning pain running through their lenses. But the light was hurting his eyes too much.

Then, there was the noise again… the melody, apart from his dream. It was coming from not too far away. It was someone singing.

There were no words to the song… but plain, faint humming to a tune the old lion hadn't heard before.

Scar blinked groggily… inhaling through his nose, as if to brace up for getting up. Scar uncrossed his paws, attempting to stand up. As he listened in, it seemed as though the humming sensed he was awake.

And so it stopped.

Scar was far too tired to be curious about the owner of the voice… and lifted his head, glancing about. The Sahara around him was waking up as well.

Scar took his first steps forward, making his way down the small hill he was on.

Hamu giggled… gazing at his surroundings upside-down.

"…Okay, okay, I got another one!" he said. Hamu then cleared his throat. The boy was on his back, cradling himself back and forth. "…What did the lionesses say once they were about to eat their hunt?"

"Hmm," Thamani said. She took a minute to think.

She was sitting next to Hamu, pondering this from up above him. From Hamu's point of view, she looked upside-down.

"I dunno," she told him. "What?"

"Let us prey," Hamu finished.

Thamani smiled, revealing her white teeth to her little bother.

The sun was out, shining up in a cloudless, crystal blue sky. It was just as hot out as the day prior. Hamu continued to rock back and forth, lazily lying on the dirt ground along his back. It was to pass some time, since their mother was nearly ready to leave for her morning hunt. While her father… was off lying to the side, watching his grandson rock back and forth and hold his feet. For the most part, it looked like Hamu was enjoying himself.

Grandfather Lion raised a scruffy, white, big brow in perplexity at his words. Then shook his head and sighed, white mane shaking about.

He then glanced over to his daughter, who was sitting not too far away. Subira decided to gave him a warm, but tired smile.

"…I taught him that one," she said, just in case her father was wondering.

Her father's face moved, as if to smile back- entertained.

Just then, a rustle sounded from behind Hamu. The boy cub curiously lifted his head to see the source... And then smiled when he saw Scar coming forth out of the dead, grassy thicket to join them.

"Mornin' Sleepin Beauty!" Hamu piped out.

Scar said nothing.

The lion quietly strolled right on past him, keeping his head down.

Hamu's smile began to fade away. He then rolled right side up onto his side to watch him with more care.

Scar headed for a dry, secluded spot nearby. He sat down and hung his head, flicking his tail. Then sighed, shutting his eyes.

Thamani curiously pulled her lips in… wondering about him.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Scar still said nothing.

This type of attitude was a little bewildering to the family. They stared at him in curiosity… and then a few glances went to the next lion near them to exchange glances.

Subira smirked understandingly from a few feet away.

"…Bad night's sleep?" she said, taking a guess.

Scar this time lifted his head. He opened his eyes.

He looked in her direction… and nodded as a reply.

Grandfather Lion snorted.

"Those dastardly back aches!" he said. He then turned his head to Hamu and Thamani. "That's the problem when you kids get older. "Less sleep, more aches and pains- and a heck of a lot of back problems."

Hamu and Thamani gave their grandfather a weird stare… somehow not sure if they wanted to be enlightened.

Scar cleared his throat to clarify.

"…Grisly dream I had," he stated.

Hamu was still lying on his stomach. Out of sudden interest, his face quickly lit up.

"Really? Cool!" he then said.

He then immediately rolled over and excitedly made the attempt to stand on his paws.

"Tell us! Tell us what it is!"

Scar was about to make an objection, curling his upper lip. He shook his head with protest.

"Eh, no. No. It's trivial."

"Aw, come on," Hamu begged, leaning inward to listen.

"It might be a sign of who you once were," Thamani chipped in, sitting quite coolly with her paws folded.

Scar realized she carried a point. It was a stretch, but at this point, Scar wanted anything to help him remember who he was… and anything his mind was telling him may have been an indicator.

Subira's thin lips gave way to a smile.

"You're right, Thamani," she told him. Subira raised her head to look directly at Scar. "Subconscious awareness may be a more, er… powerful… agent than the conscious effort to recall in an individual's psyche."

Scar held his glance, thinking about it, only to look away from her.

He wondered for a brief moment. A rather chilling musical rendition and crazed laughter wasn't the first thing he had hoped for to help reveal his lost memories.

Which was a sign that his past didn't look so good.

It looked dark. And bad.

Scar's green eyes stared into the ground… and then were raised up again… thinking it over.

"…Let's hope not," Scar said.

Subira twitched her tail, and narrowed her eyes… thinking after he said this. Her tail brushed the dirt along the surface of the ground.

Scar's head came up again, now looking tired.

"But if it is… there was more after that," he explained. "…I…"

Scar felt although his audience wasn't paying attention. It was too quiet.

He glanced back at Subira, along with checking the glances of the other lions. Nobody was saying anything. It was really quite the opposite. Everyone was too interested- too concerned- with what he was about to say.

Scar dropped his glance again back to the ground.

"…I have some… small ideapertaining to what my name might be."

Subira's cat eyes opened wider.

"Your name?"she said. Her voice had gotten lower… although amazed that these details were coming back to him so quickly.

"What is it, lad? What?" Grandfather Lion gently asked.

Scar began to calmly shake his head… trying to decided whether to tell them this or not.

"Ahh…" he said uneasily. If the dreams he had been having recently were any clue- or any use to him whatsoever… he decided it would be best to tell everybody.

They seemed to care. They wanted to know, just as he did.

"Taka," Scar said. "…It's Taka."

"'Taka?'" Hamu and Thamani said together in unison, although they were strongly disappointed.

"'Taka?'" Subira and her father repeated after the two children… just as unsatisfied as they were.

Scar's head came up.

"I know…" he said, closing his eye lids. He was still tired, and he preferred not to question anything. "I know what it means. But… it's what I was referred to…"

He then led his glance over to Subira again… saying the next word meaningfully.

"…Subconsciously."

"-Dreadful!"

"-Despicable!"

"-What kind of parents did you have…?"

The family was now asking for more answers. They were quite good listeners. Scar told them more about the menacing details in his dreams… the ones that frankly made him uneasy, whether they be true or not. The green fog, the laughter… and the loyal comrades that all sang and praised him, like he was their leader. As Scar went on, the children, Hamu and Thamani showed more interest than he was expecting as he explained the darker aspects within it. They were not as sensitive to disturbing ideas as he thought.

As they pondered over this, the family then told Scar it would be best to try and not to think about it anymore. They encouraged him to take his mind off it. Subira was about to run off on her morning hunt, and Scar figured this would be an opportune time to clear his mind of all concern.

Subira was a proficient hunter. It hadn't been too long out on the field, but the heat from the sun was in full effect at this hour. Being a lion, all Scar really had to do was sit on the sidelines.

Subira said the hunt would be good for him. It would focus on new memories for him, rather than dwelling on old ones.

In the meantime, Scar sat unperturbed somewhere within observing distance in the savannah grass. He wasn't paying too much attention to what Subira was doing. He would glance up a few times to watch her sprint after a sea of zebra a couple of hundred yards away, but he was far too concerned with the increasing dream pattern he was having.

Scar looked back down again.

He couldn't help himself but to think again about any possible remnants that could still be lurking somewhere in that dark, cold corner of his mind that was called his memory.

But, like he had tried before… nothing in that forsaken area of his was coming to mind.

Scar hesitantly peered up into the prairie grass. He then spotted Subira, slowing down her run after the herd of zebra, watching their meal fade away. There must have been under fifty of them… galloping off and up over a hill… advancing further away from her.

She stopped in a power stance and hung her head low- breathing with some difficulty.

Scar narrowed his eyes as he observed.

He did not want to presume how old the lioness was, but even though her age didn't look particularly obvious close up, it was beginning to show through that poised etiquette of hers.

He felt like he should be doing something. Take initiative. He felt like the rules of hunting were discriminating because he was a male… with an injured head.

Subira didn't move. She merely raised her head after a few moments, nonchalantly inhaling and exhaling to herself.

But then, there was a faint, rumbling sound. It made the ground vibrate like a small earthquake.

Scar felt it jerk beneath his forepaws. He looked down at the ground.

He noticed bits of soil were shaking beside his forepaws. It sounded like thunder rolling beneath the ground.

An anxious moment passed… and Subira was listening in as well. She turned her head towards the small hill beside her.

It was getting louder… and it was coming from over that hill.

Then, every single zebra Subira was chasing earlier came running over the hill in a panic, whinnying and galloping in several directions.

The herd was too close to even try to outrun.

Suddenly, Subira turned away from the charging horde, and shielded herself with her forearm.

Scar then instantly realized that they weren't stopping. The black and white storm trampled passed Subira… galloping, swerving… cutting around her, and made their way over to Scar's location in a frenzy.

Scar spun away and buried his face into his forearm, waiting for the wild zebras to fly passed him.

The African horses were prancing everywhere, kicking, nickering… trying to avoid crashing head-on into the two lions.

Scar managed to steal a glimpse out of his forearm to see bits of the zebra herd. It was all a black and white show of stripes, blurring across his eyes Even through all this turmoil, Scar could see a few expressions on their faces.

They all looked scared.

Scar's eyes came up out over the hill they were all washing over like a wave of water. Then… his green eyes locked firmly on something.

Scar came to realize that the zebra were all running away from another animal species other than him and Subira.

"Aw, man, I hate fast food!" he heard a male voice called out.

Scar stared... holding his mouth agape. He stood motionless as zebra fled past his eyes. What was on the other side of the field made something in his mind… turn. Scar squinted squarely through the black and white forest passing in front of his eyes.

That voice…

On top of the peak of the hill, in the far distance… three spotted hyenas were charging straight after the wild horses, sending every bit of food running for it's life. Scar barely overheard their conversation.

"Ya bonehead!" a female screeched at him in the distance, running by his side. Her wafty, black bangs were suspended over her eyes like feathers.

"-Now look at what you did!"

The trio's last member dashed frivolously up behind them, tongue flapping in the wind with drool sent every which way. His eyes were crossed and glazed over, and was laughing like a schizophrenic, although finding their squabbling amusing.

Scar stood there aimlessly… and almost in that instant, the entire ocean of black and white trampling across the field were becoming a continuous blur for Scar, and their thundering hooves around him began to fade into nothing, ringing in Scar's ears.

The hyenas were snapping and biting at zebra ankles, ravenous to just catch one. The zebras yanked their legs away in horror.

Something was telling Scar that he should run. Turn away. Right now. A certain eeriness befell over Scar, sort of urging him to take some kind of action. But the little voice in the back of his head… it was so tiny, so insignificant, it was being overpowered by the sense of astonishment that he was almost certain he had heard the hyenas' voices before.

Scar watched the female hyena snap her head over at the male.

"-Ya just couldn't help yourself, could you?" she barked.

"-I wanna zebra now!" he shouted. His brows furrowed. "I'm skin and bones over here, man!"

Scar quickly blinked- snapping back to reality. He gave a quick, vigorous shake of the head. The fur under his chin wagged.

This was all so… surreal.

The rumbling of the stampede finally began to die down. A few late zebra pranced about, skipping and kicking away from the three hyenas. They disappeared out of sight, and into the distance.

The plain had gone silent again.

Nothing made a sound through the now cleared out hunting field, except the distant, faint laughter and chattering of the spotted hyenas atop the hill.

Scar eyed the three miscreants. Now he was irritated. They had all just scared off an entire buffet for everyone else in the desert. Which was incomprehensibly rude.

Scar rose on all four paws. Then scanned the vicinity, looking around for Subira.

She was still in her same spot… and she turned and made eye contact with Scar, as if she were silently inquiring him if he knew what had just happened. Scar immediately took off and made a jog over to her.

Subira caught sight of him.

"…Are you alright?" she asked him as he prodded over to her.

Scar began to slow down and look downward, pacing himself as he stood at the bottom of the hill.

"I'm fine," he said. "Are you, Madame?"

"Fine, but I'm getting really very tired of trying to hunt these zebras down."

Scar looked at her momentarily. He just that moment remembered that Subira's family was still waiting for both of them to come back with something.

Scar then looked beyond Subira and up over the hill… watching the spotted hyenas turn and yell at each other.

Scar slowly glared daggers at them.

He then took a step forward and climbed up the peak of the knoll they were standing on, about to give them a piece of his mind.

Subira immediately trotted up beside him.

"Taka! Sir…?"

Scar picked up her voice and coolly turned around.

"…I have a bone to pick with those lowlifes," he spat. Subira's delicate face turned into an expression of displeasure.

"A brilliant way to get your head ripped off." she explained firmly. "That would be an exceedingly foolish way to settle a dispute."

Scar blinked.

Perhaps she had a point.

Subira attempted to smile nicely and strolled up past Scar, clean and prim, and ready o present herself to the trio.

"Wait here."

Subira then turned, making her way over to the bickering trio. The spotted hyenas didn't seem to notice that a lioness was approaching.

"-Way'da go!" the female yowled. "Now we're gonna starve, numbskull!"

The idiotic grin on the rather disturbed hyena had vanished. He cocked his head worriedly with his tongue lolling out, his eyes on two different targets.

"Guh?" was all that came out of his mouth.

The other male shrunk in, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Aw, come on!" he groaned. "We're never gunna catch a dang thing hiding behind bushes all the time!"

"-It's hard enough to catch anythin' out in this danged sandbox!" the female loudly shouted.

The dazed-looking hyena began to laugh giddily, finding the female's negativity a bit entertaining.

The male being rebuked shot him a dirty look.

"Shut up."

"Eh he-he-he he!"

"It's not funny-"

"-Excuse me!" Subira called to them, coming up to the hyenas. All three snapped their eyes in her direction.

The male that was able to speak then came sauntering up to her casually.

"Hey, lady!" he said. "You wouldn't happen to have any leftovers, would ya?"

Subira pressed a smile, hopelessly rolling her sharp, green eyes.

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied. She spoke with a bit of sympathy. "However I would have, if your party hadn't sent the zebra running. Which was rather disrespectful for everyone else trying to hunt."

The male shot up a caterpillar brow, confused. The female grinned.

"Wow. Hey, she sounds like your mom," she teased him, playfully smacking the male in the side. The male grunted, then rubbed his hunched shoulder. She and the mental hyena cackled together.

"…You will leave while all twelve of your limbs are still in proper places," Scar spoke up angrily behind Subira.

Everyone drew their attention to him. The female hyena suddenly got choked up in mid-laughter when her eyes settled on Scar. She stopped cackling, trying to grasp her throat with a startled cough.

"YOU!" the male yelled out, which was nothing short out of sheer fury.

Scar actually flinched. Even the demented hyena's unfocused eyes got large, and then cocked his head questionably at him.

Scar wasn't even going to ask what his issue was. The mute hyena looked so lost, trying with all power to actually believe what he saw. Scar couldn't help but inwardly shrink away from his bright, yellow eyes.

The last time he saw glowing eyes like that…

He couldn't remember.

The female hyena's eyes went half-mast upon Scar.

"…You're still living…?" the female hyena dully questioned him.

"Would you happen to know Taka?" Subira asked in gentle curiosity.

"What?" the female then squawked, utterly lost. "Taka? Whatsa Taka?"

She snapped her glance to the obvious gash over Scar's left eye, honestly making him feel a bit self-conscious.

In the next second, she and her two hyena comrades pinned their eyes shut and burst out cackling in hysteria. She shook her head, fur over her eyes waving.

"Oh," she snorted in laughter. "Sumthin' like that…"

The female then took a step closer to Scar, her two pals doing the same.

"Well, I reckon we got new neighbors, gentlemen…!" she said with a dangerous grin.

Scar and Subira then realized the of possible danger they were in. They both began to slightly back away as the hyenas came strolling about in their personal space.

"How 'bout we greet them?" the female suggested, a grin forming on her face, revealing her black gums.

"Oh, please," Subira said, beginning to get exhausted with today. "We don't want any trouble."

The female hyena then beamed wickedly.

"Oh, we wouldn't wanna be any trouble, ma'am," she said. A little too friendly than necessary.

The female and her friends began to walk around Scar and Subira, surrounding the two lions. The female hyena's grin began smear away, replaced with a dirty scowl. She angrily got slightly closer to Scar's ear like she was exchanging a secret with him.

"…No, we'd never want to be the enemy."

Scar lurched back, their eyes meeting. Her words were like ice. He gave her an eyebrow.

What was that supposed to mean?

As the female hyena circled behind him, her dark eyes went wide, feigning worry.

"Whatsa matter, ol' buddy?" she asked Scar, trying harder to intimidate him. "Ya look like ya don't even recognize us…"

"-He wouldn't be able to recognize you," Subira answered for her, trying to follow eye contact as the hyenas continued to stroll around them.

Subira spoke softly and calmly.

"He doesn't remember much."

The three hyenas' brows scrunched up in confusion. They peered over at Scar's head, investigating his visible wound... still semi-open and exposed.

All three hyenas then maliciously grinned simultaneously. Like some fun, brilliant idea just came to mind.

"…So, he remembers nothin' huh?" the male said, getting back on topic. He was grinning ear-to-ear with the female hyena.

"Sucks to be you!" the female exclaimed in pure delight. "My, that's a nasty little bump you got there, too."

The she-hyena probed around at Scar's open head injury.

Scar was too wary and self-conscious to say anything.

"-I'll bet it hurt," the male added, smirking at the female. They appeared to be enjoying this.

"Eh-he he…" the mentally disturbed hyena glared daggers at Scar, drool streaming down his tongue.

Something wasn't right. Scar stayed stationary, standing next to Subira. The suspenseful mind games they were playing with them- especially him- were getting annoying.

"You're testing my patience," Scar informed them poshly. "Now I demand you tell me your names."

The female hyena's grin stayed plastered as she circled the two lions. She pulled in her lips and hung her head, sniggering in laughter. Then turned to look at her two friends- about ready to crack up.

"-And the cute thing is…" she began, still shaking in sniggers. "…He says it like a threat!"

"-BAH HA-HA ha ha!"

It was mere child's play to them. They were twirling him around their finger… seeing if they'd get a reaction out of him.

Scar was determined not to show any susceptibility whatsoever. He only got angrier.

Scar moved his glance to the circling female again, which seemed like the group's authoritative figure.

"What are your names?" he said to her, the fur on his pelt raising.

The female hyena purposely stayed silent… smiling smugly between her bangs. Scar kept a stony stare on her. She stared back.

They were all enjoying each sweet- almost vengeful second of this torturous game.

The female just smirked at Scar as her answer. She was ignoring his question.

"Gee, I sure am hungry, you guys…" the female hyena then said- obviously changing the subject. She winked at her male friend. He spread a devious grin.

"…Yeah! I'm not really in the mood for zebra anymore…" the male played along, getting closer to Scar.

"Ooh-hoo-hoo!"the demented hyena giggled excitedly, wagging his head. Scar glared ahead, pretending to look furious with the malefactors. Half of it was real. Bu he well knew that these hyenas could attack them at any moment.

Subira wasn't showing any anxiety, either. She just stood stoically next to Scar… standing her ground.

"You will mind your distance," Subira said nonchalantly. Scar took a look at her.

This composure for her was too resolute to be forged. Subira spoke again.

"…All I want is to feed my family."

"…An' you wouldn't be tryin to weasel your way out of this by flashing a pity card, would ya?" the female hyena snapped right back.

"-Your name, Madame?" Scar interrupted. For the third time.

The male hyena smirked, looking over at his female friend.

"Hey, ya know what they say about high-class food, right?" he inquired her, also ignoring Scar's attempts to leak information out of them.

The female hyena grinned along, eyeing Scar and Subira.

"Hmm, I dunno. What?"

"…It always tastes better with age!" the male finished.

"BWA-ha ha-ha!" the crazed hyena cackled even harder, laughing at the joke with his other two pals.

Scar flicked his tail… a telltale sign showing that a feline was aggravated. He truly felt like this was a waste of time.

"You're all wasting my breath!" Scar snarled- the cackling coming to a sudden end. "Answer my blasted question!"

In that instant- the female bared her fangs and snapped her jaws at Scar's ankle- and he jerked it backwards. It just missed his flesh by an inch.

He and Subira immediately took advantage of the situation and dashed the other way through their opening- finally free from the hyena barricade.

The female hyena snarled angrily, gritting her white, razor-like teeth together.

"HEY!" she screamed after them.

But Scar and Subira were already far off across the plain… and didn't even dare to look back. The male hyena began to lunge forward to pursue them, but the female stuck out her foreleg, telling him to halt.

"Forget it," she told him flatly. "…They ain't worth a chase."

The male stepped back submissively, then slowly baring his teeth after the sprinting lions. Their fun was over.

The hyenas then turned away. They all decided that they had nothing better to do than to just leave the field.