[1st POV]
I was fighting again.
I could smell the blood.
It was everywhere.
On my face. On my mane. On my paws.
I could feel it beneath my claws as I pushed myself against the ground, my muscles straining as I fought against something I shouldn't be capable of. Too young to even fight, but life left me with no other choice. I had to stand against death to survive.
Not all of me came out, but I came out nonetheless.
I tried to push myself up again. This time, I felt incomplete. Like I was missing something incredibly important to me.
Yet somehow, someway, I stood.
But only for a little while. Almost instantly, I could feel the weight of three lions against me. I struggled fiercely, using every strength I could muster. My mind was muddled, and I could feel shadows above me that somehow eased some of the weight upon me.
I stood up once more, leaving the ground with more blood.
The blood continued to pool up. It began rising like a flood, their level threatened to swallow me whole.
And they did, for a moment.
The blood grew teeth and claws as they swarmed me. It was certain death. I wailed my arms around, struggling fiercely as I tried to surface. But their sheer numbers weighed heavily on me.
For a long time, I flailed helplessly. But I never gave up.
Eventually I broke free, and I felt a weight lifted from my shoulder. It was like I had broken a chain I didn't know bound me.
But even then, the fight didn't stop.
Obstacles stacked against me like a mountain. They grew and grew and grew until they reached the sky. I fought and fought my way up. Sometimes it was as simple as teeth and claws. But other times it was steel, it was thunder, and sometimes it was a giant in the water.
Again and again.
The mountain crumbled. My climb all this time seemed to have gone to waste. As they collapsed, I was buried beneath all the weight. Individually, they might no pose a threat but they were so many. They were an army of weights.
I fought once more.
Again and again.
Until eventually, I could feel myself standing atop of all the rubble. The broken obstacles acted as a mountain I created on my own and a foothold for a high and gorgerous view.
And then a roar split the sky.
It was the last and final thing.
My roar.
...
My eyes snapped open.
I stared, dumbfounded at the small cub that was roaring at my face,
I blinked.
"....Asafa?"
Or was this one Aslan?
"Huh?" the cub pulled back in confusion. "You're talking weird again dad,"
It took me longer than I would like to admit to finally recognise the small cub standing before me.
"...Little Mufasa," I said out loud.
The young cub huffed, looking very pleased. "You sleep too much, Dad. The huntresses are already returning!!"
Right, how could I forget?
It had been years since Aslan, Asafa, and their siblings left my pride. My children who had already left the nest to continue my legacy. I was proud of them. I was missing them.
The life of beasts was too short. I lost count of how many members I lost through the annals of time. Tala, Eshe, Amara, Ishebe.....and my cubs.
"Dad, come on, or we might miss their return!" Mufasa, the cub I named after my father said while jumping up and down excitedly in his place.
"Coming," I said while standing up.
I was so light. So much lighter than I remebered.
And yet I got up with effort that I never gave to simple tasks.
Slolwy but surely, my body was also withering away. The immense power it once contained was slowly evaporating, leaving a somewhat empty shell that once was the pinnacle.
By the gods was I old.
How old was I again? 11 years old, I think.
Nearly 9 years of being a king.
I've been doing this for so long that it became an identity, not just a title. I wouldn't recognise myself without being a king. '
With the little burst of energy that was my son, we trundled down the hill and headed towards my pride.
The Serengeti was a paradise. It had been so for more than 5 years now since I waged my last war.
I took in the warm scent of spring; it was the perfect time of the wet season. The world was an ocean of green where trees thrived, the branches seemingly trying to touch the sky.
I shifted my attention towards my current pride. Once upon a time, my pride reached a hundred in number. But now, their number was much more humble.
14 females and 7 cubs, bringing their total to 21.
At one point, I got fed up with maintaining such a huge pride. And as my body and libido declined, I couldn't handle all those females, so I let them go one by one. They probably joined the other pride in the Serenegti.
The ones that were still with me were old lovers, and my favourites among the females. Obviously, I wanted the best mother for my cubs.
Even with my son's urgency, by the time we reached the pride, the hunters had already returned with their kill. It was a young zebra. The food was small but so was the pride now. And with our regular diet, the food would suffice for today.
My pride waited for me as I made my way to break the meal. No one dared touch the food before I got to it first.
I noticed two old lovers sitting by the side of the prey.
Nala and Zuri.
They were old now, just like me. In terms of human perspective, they could already be considered as the gilf in my harem. They already had difficulties getting pregnant in recent years. Luckily though, Mufasa was still Zuri's son. He might be the last cub to be born between Zuri and me, which was why I decided to give him such a special name in the first place.
I sat down slowly in front of the prey. And like I had done so for many years now, I opened up the abdomen of the prey and began eating the healthy organs.
They were small, not even enough to fill my belly.
My days of easily taking down a buffalo were long past me now. I could no longer feast on its flesh whenever I desired. I was sure I could still hunt them, but the effort needed was not something I could easily give anymore.
At my current age, I was only superior to other lions in their prime. I was no longer a supernatural force that could heal like Wolverine and was as strong as the Hulk.
These days, I reserve my strength only for fighting and barely even go out hunting for my pride. The days when I could take down two buffaloes in one night and feed my whole pride without the need for their help felt like a dream now.
To be old so soon felt quite strange.
But maybe it was the culmination of my years as a human and my lion years. Or maybe time wasn't the true reason why we feel old. Perhaps the body had a great role to play, not just experience.
My queens joined my meal after a few minutes. Then the rest of the pride came. The zebra was quikcly shred apart into different sections so that everyone could eat together.
After the meal, my pride lazed around the plains with full bellies. They clumped together under the shade of a tree and slept there.
On the other hand, I stretched my body and set out for patrol.
While I was slowly declining in dominance, the large and wonderful land of the Serengeti remained unchanged. It was not a land I ruled over fully anymore, at least not literally.
There were six prides in total in the Serengeti.
With my smaller pride, my territory wasn't too large. I laid claim to the central Serengeti, whereas the other prides shared the rest.
But then again, the whole of the Massai Mara and the Serengeti was still under my own banner and influence. The empire I established years ago was still maintained even now. Many prides had emerged, many kings had risen.
But I alwasy made sure to pay them a visit and force them under my dominance.
I had achieved my happily ever after, which I fought so hard for.
I took in the nature around me as I patrolled. An hour in, and I felt a familiar shadow loom over me.
A vulture landed beside me.
"Good morning, my Lord," said Grim. The one who had been loyal to me from the beginning and since.
I turned towards the vulture, giving a slight nod towards his unchanging appearance. Vultures lived nearly twice as long as lions. So while I was already an old beast, he was a middle-aged bird.
"Anything to report?" I asked.
"No signs of any challengers this week, my Lord," he said. "The other kings are dealing with the brunt of it. Even at your age, no young blood wants to challenge your greatness."
I puffed at his usual flattery.
My pride was still working closely with the vultures. They were my eyes and ears throughout the whole of Serengeti and even the Masai Mara. It was through them that I could maintain my rule.
"How are Simba and his children doing?" I asked.
"Simba is doing good, he remains king even now," Grim paused, "His children, on the other hand...."
"Tell me," I nudged slightly.
"Two of them fell this week, challenging Asafa," he said.
I laughed.
Instead of remaining in my territory, most of my cubs had gone to the Masai Mara when they came of age. They ruled most of the land there, which was one of the reasons why I didn't have to do much to maintain authority there.
Instead of outsiders, it was mostly my children fighting amongst themselves for the land. At least from what I've heard, I didn't want to hear too much about siblings killing each other.
It was the law of nature. But as their father, I couldn't help an ache in my heart when i heard such stories.
My hyena army remained as well. The vultures and hyenas were tightly connected these days. Since I was no longer hunting in abundance, all those vultures under me had to find another way. These days, the only thing my pride did was kill prey and leave it there as repayment for their contribution in scouting for prey.
"Any plans for today my lord?"
"I want to see my children," I said suddenly. "My giant children,"
"Do you know where they are?" I asked.
"Of course, my lord, alwasy," he said before taking flight, and I followed his shadow.
..
..
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Author : Okay, now. I know this is a huge timeskip, but there was not much I could do anymore since the plot has come to an end.
The details of the timeskip can still be covered in the end, though, through a documentary, so I left it there on purpose.
In the meantime, Leo is entering retirement and can do a lot. I would appreciate any ideas you have. Although he is old, he is still stronger than any lion on the planet through sheer experience alone.
Maybe finally go to the Congo and lead his pride there to get some tigerussy? I remebered entertaining the idea of ligers a bit.
Anything you want to see, just comment. Even if you have no particular idea, I have a few of my own to move the story to a satisfactory conclusion.