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~~~

It didn’t take Jeki long to find his niece. Asante sat upon a distant cliff, bathed in green light, her dark blue eyes staring hard at the ground below. The Elephant Graveyard was silent and still in the heavy night air, and he knew that she could hear him approach. Asante stayed silent as he climbed the rocks that lead up to her perch, and didn’t look at him when he sat down beside her.

“Help me to understand,” she said, “How you—and Dad, and Mum, and everybody—could just be so... evil.”

Jeki took a deep breath, and steadied himself.

“It isn’t really just one answer,” he replied, “It won’t be very easy to explain.”

“Try,” Asante spat, finally looking her uncle in the eye.

“I will.” Jeki paused to collect his thoughts, before he said: “I wasn’t ever friends with Shenzi, or anybody high-ranking in the clan. All I can say for them is that some individuals are just more angry than others. It doesn’t at all mean they have to become murderers, but if they’re encouraged to be violent, or just never discouraged from it.... Well, like I said, I didn’t know them very well, but I think Scar took to them and they took to him because they all had that hatred brewing in their hearts.”

Asante nodded.

“When it comes to the rest of the clan,” he continued, “We were accustomed to falling in line behind our leader. When Shenzi took up her mother’s place—this was quite a few years before you were born—we started taking orders from her just as we always had from Risasi. The difference was that Shenzi ordered us to poach. Some enjoyed breaking laws, but many of us just did what we were told without question.”

“Including you?”

“I participated in a few illegal hunts, early on. But eventually I felt too guilty, and limited myself to hunting in our own territory. A few of us did that, actually. We didn’t eat as much as everybody else, but we felt a little better about ourselves.” Jeki look a deep breath. “By the time that poaching turned into regicide, most of the clan had learned to hate the Pridelanders. The competition over food between ourselves and Mufasa’s pride—the competition that we started, by not respecting the circle of life here in the Outlands—had been going on so long that it had become personal to the clan. They came to feel that, by protecting their fellow Pridelanders, Mufasa’s pride were actively harming us. They became the enemy in our clan’s eyes, it was us versus them.” Hesitantly, he put his paw on his niece’s shoulder, as he said: “Asante, I hope you never fall into this trap, but when you decide that there’s an ‘us’ and a ‘them’ it becomes so easy to do things that you would have never thought yourself capable of. Things like... like hurting cubs. Nearly our whole clan fell into that trap.”

“That’s how Mum and Dad felt,” said Asante, quietly, “That it was us versus them.”

“Yes,” replied Jeki, “And that’s how your dad still feels.”

“You didn’t fall into that trap, you always told me about the circle of life.”

“You’re right, I didn’t fall into that trap.” He sighed, looking away from her as a wave of shame washed over him. “No, I fell into another. I knew that what they were planning was reprehensible, but I saw a hundred hyenas cheering, all excited to murder the royal family and overtake the Pridelands... it scared me. I didn’t say anything to anybody because I was afraid that they would kill me too, if they thought I was a traitor to their cause. So I stayed silent while they killed Mufasa, while they killed Simba—or so we all thought—and when they began to destroy the Pridelands I just let them. I didn’t tell the pride what I knew, or even leave the clan.”

“Why?”

“I guess I’m a coward,” Jeki answered, with a bitter smile.

Asante looked at her uncle with a pained expression. She opened her mouth to speak, before closing it again and rubbing her eyes.

“You taught me about the circle of life,” she said. Her voice was quiet and small, like a cub’s. “You taught me to be good; I won’t overhunt, o-or hurt anyone. You tried to make up for what happened....”

“You’re right, I did do that. But, honestly, it doesn’t make up for anything,” he said, “We can’t go around ruining things—or letting others ruin things—and just pin our hope for a better world on the next generation. It may have been better than nothing, but if I were a decent hyena I would have made my own effort. Not made it your problem.”

Silence fell over the Graveyard. For a few minutes, the two simply sat side by side, listening to the sound of distant rain and wind.

“I don’t think I can be a part of the clan anymore, Jeki.”

The older hyena closed his eyes, as he replied: “Yeah, I thought that you might say that.”

“I love you... I love Dad,” Asante continued, “But I just don’t... don’t know if I can deal with it.”

“I understand,” he said, “But I feel like I should remind you that you have a little brother, back there. It isn’t your responsibility, but it would be good for Tano to grow up with someone other than Fisi for him to look up to.”

“Jeki—“

“I’m not saying you need to be his parent! I’m just... I’m saying—“

“I don’t need to worry about Tano growing up without a positive influence in his life,” said Asante, taking her uncle’s paw, “He’ll have you. If you can be brave for him.”

Jeki’s breath hitched, and Asante smiled sadly. Drawing away from him, she hopped gently down from the cliff, and looked up to where he still sat.

“If you ever need me,” she called to him, “I’ll be around—I can’t stay in the Graveyard with you, but the Outlands are where I belong, and I’m going to care for them. Hapa ni kwetu: this is home.”

~~~

There’s more story to go, but here we see the beginnings of the two hyena clans who lived in the Outlands throughout TLG: Jasiri’s clan, beginning with Asante (and maybe some yeens we have yet to meet!), and Janja’s clan, beginning with Fisi, Jeki, and the handful of cubs.

Obviously something will have to happen to Jeki, since Janja and co. do not grow up respecting the circle of life, nor do they stay in living in the Elephant Graveyard, instead moving to the volcano—but all that’s for another day

Description
Previous

~~~

It didn’t take Jeki long to find his niece. Asante sat upon a distant cliff, bathed in green light, her dark blue eyes staring hard at the ground below. The Elephant Graveyard was silent and still in the heavy night air, and he knew that she could hear him approach. Asante stayed silent as he climbed the rocks that lead up to her perch, and didn’t look at him when he sat down beside her.

“Help me to understand,” she said, “How you—and Dad, and Mum, and everybody—could just be so... evil.”

Jeki took a deep breath, and steadied himself.

“It isn’t really just one answer,” he replied, “It won’t be very easy to explain.”

“Try,” Asante spat, finally looking her uncle in the eye.

“I will.” Jeki paused to collect his thoughts, before he said: “I wasn’t ever friends with Shenzi, or anybody high-ranking in the clan. All I can say for them is that some individuals are just more angry than others. It doesn’t at all mean they have to become murderers, but if they’re encouraged to be violent, or just never discouraged from it.... Well, like I said, I didn’t know them very well, but I think Scar took to them and they took to him because they all had that hatred brewing in their hearts.”

Asante nodded.

“When it comes to the rest of the clan,” he continued, “We were accustomed to falling in line behind our leader. When Shenzi took up her mother’s place—this was quite a few years before you were born—we started taking orders from her just as we always had from Risasi. The difference was that Shenzi ordered us to poach. Some enjoyed breaking laws, but many of us just did what we were told without question.”

“Including you?”

“I participated in a few illegal hunts, early on. But eventually I felt too guilty, and limited myself to hunting in our own territory. A few of us did that, actually. We didn’t eat as much as everybody else, but we felt a little better about ourselves.” Jeki look a deep breath. “By the time that poaching turned into regicide, most of the clan had learned to hate the Pridelanders. The competition over food between ourselves and Mufasa’s pride—the competition that we started, by not respecting the circle of life here in the Outlands—had been going on so long that it had become personal to the clan. They came to feel that, by protecting their fellow Pridelanders, Mufasa’s pride were actively harming us. They became the enemy in our clan’s eyes, it was us versus them.” Hesitantly, he put his paw on his niece’s shoulder, as he said: “Asante, I hope you never fall into this trap, but when you decide that there’s an ‘us’ and a ‘them’ it becomes so easy to do things that you would have never thought yourself capable of. Things like... like hurting cubs. Nearly our whole clan fell into that trap.”

“That’s how Mum and Dad felt,” said Asante, quietly, “That it was us versus them.”

“Yes,” replied Jeki, “And that’s how your dad still feels.”

“You didn’t fall into that trap, you always told me about the circle of life.”

“You’re right, I didn’t fall into that trap.” He sighed, looking away from her as a wave of shame washed over him. “No, I fell into another. I knew that what they were planning was reprehensible, but I saw a hundred hyenas cheering, all excited to murder the royal family and overtake the Pridelands... it scared me. I didn’t say anything to anybody because I was afraid that they would kill me too, if they thought I was a traitor to their cause. So I stayed silent while they killed Mufasa, while they killed Simba—or so we all thought—and when they began to destroy the Pridelands I just let them. I didn’t tell the pride what I knew, or even leave the clan.”

“Why?”

“I guess I’m a coward,” Jeki answered, with a bitter smile.

Asante looked at her uncle with a pained expression. She opened her mouth to speak, before closing it again and rubbing her eyes.

“You taught me about the circle of life,” she said. Her voice was quiet and small, like a cub’s. “You taught me to be good; I won’t overhunt, o-or hurt anyone. You tried to make up for what happened....”

“You’re right, I did do that. But, honestly, it doesn’t make up for anything,” he said, “We can’t go around ruining things—or letting others ruin things—and just pin our hope for a better world on the next generation. It may have been better than nothing, but if I were a decent hyena I would have made my own effort. Not made it your problem.”

Silence fell over the Graveyard. For a few minutes, the two simply sat side by side, listening to the sound of distant rain and wind.

“I don’t think I can be a part of the clan anymore, Jeki.”

The older hyena closed his eyes, as he replied: “Yeah, I thought that you might say that.”

“I love you... I love Dad,” Asante continued, “But I just don’t... don’t know if I can deal with it.”

“I understand,” he said, “But I feel like I should remind you that you have a little brother, back there. It isn’t your responsibility, but it would be good for Tano to grow up with someone other than Fisi for him to look up to.”

“Jeki—“

“I’m not saying you need to be his parent! I’m just... I’m saying—“

“I don’t need to worry about Tano growing up without a positive influence in his life,” said Asante, taking her uncle’s paw, “He’ll have you. If you can be brave for him.”

Jeki’s breath hitched, and Asante smiled sadly. Drawing away from him, she hopped gently down from the cliff, and looked up to where he still sat.

“If you ever need me,” she called to him, “I’ll be around—I can’t stay in the Graveyard with you, but the Outlands are where I belong, and I’m going to care for them. Hapa ni kwetu: this is home.”

~~~

There’s more story to go, but here we see the beginnings of the two hyena clans who lived in the Outlands throughout TLG: Jasiri’s clan, beginning with Asante (and maybe some yeens we have yet to meet!), and Janja’s clan, beginning with Fisi, Jeki, and the handful of cubs.

Obviously something will have to happen to Jeki, since Janja and co. do not grow up respecting the circle of life, nor do they stay in living in the Elephant Graveyard, instead moving to the volcano—but all that’s for another day