Mufasa stared on.
His body tensed as he glared at the lion cub before him, his claws unsheathed from his small paws, ready to strike. His heartbeat intensified. Mufasa kept low, ready to attack his opponent.
The cub before him had the same idea.
A light wind carried a wave of dirt. It made it hard to see, but nothing averted Mufasa's gaze from the green eyes that glared back at him. For a moment, only that coursing wind accompanied his slow yet panicked breaths.
It grew silent.
The opponent lion cub bared its teeth, letting out a growl that sounded more cute than threatening, to which Mufasa responded with his own high-pitched growl.
Suddenly, the cub pounced.
Mufasa's gaze watched as its dark-brownish body lunged through the air, and he responded quickly. He launched himself too, and tackled his opponent to the ground with ease.
A disappointed groan left the enemy cub.
"Pinned you again, Taka," Mufasa said, keeping one of his front paws on him, making sure he couldn't get up.
Taka, the cub below him, narrowed his eyes, his claws raking the ground as he tried to get out from under him. Mufasa lifted his paw, letting him go.
"Pfft, very lucky..." Taka said with a frown as his tail swished slowly behind him, "...I'll win next time,"
Mufasa smiled.
To have stated this life would be better...he had to admit that he was a little bit wrong. That bit of wrongness was Taka. If memory served him correctly, this cub, whom he called brother, was none other than Scar, and yet, Mufasa couldn't help but wonder if it were wrong to assume.
"Oh really?"
Taka's shoulders tensed as Mufasa said that, but he shot him a threatening glare anyway.
"You may be stronger..." He said, looking down at his claws, kneading them into the ground, "...but I have the smarts of Pride Rock,"
"Pouncing me again and again head-on and getting pinned over and over..." Mufasa chuckled, gazing at Taka with amusement, "You really are smart, brother,"
"I learn from my mistakes," Taka sighed and looked back up at him, "you'll see,"
Mufasa raised an eyebrow. To see the future Scar as a cub was rather uncanny, but even now when he looked at this cub, he felt the familiarity between them. In this new life, he was his brother, but, this is the Lion King.
And the memory of the movie made him shiver.
Despite what the system stated, and even if this was an alternate universe, would Taka still want to kill Mufasa?
"Ah...fighting again?"
A voice took him out of his thoughts.
Both cubs turned their heads, their ears raised, and saw a female lion walking towards them. Her peachy-coloured fur made Mufasa and Taka's expressions lighten at the sight, as she was one of their own. One of the Pride.
Lakia.
"So..." She said, dragging out the word. Mufasa could tell she couldn't hide her excitement, "...who won?"
Taka scoffed, turning away, his head lowered.
"Aw..." Lakia cooed, padding over to him, lowering her head to look at him, "...don't be so down, Taka..."
"Yeah, yeah..." He huffed, turning away from her, "...I get it..."
After he mumbled that, he walked away. Lakia tilted her head, watching the cub slink out of her view, looking on with an understanding gaze before turning to Mufasa, her face in a smirk.
"Congrats," She said, winking at him, "he mustn't be too bummed out, losing to you for the... umpteenth time in a row?"
Mufasa nodded.
"Wow, good for you, nephew!" Lakia congratulated him with a warm smile, before her face turned to thought, "...Mmm..."
She would call for Taka.
Meanwhile, Mufasa would stand and stretch, knowing exactly what Lakia was going to do.
A number of minutes later, the two, along with Taka, made their way through the Pride Lands, moving steadily across the messy floor of the Savanna. Lakia led them to the place that she always took them to, the watering hole.
Mufasa had his thoughts.
'It's quite strange how my parents allowed it,' He looked to his right. Taka walked next to him; his head still lowered, 'but, as they said, it is Lakia...'
The watering hole was just beyond them. Ample shade from the trees around the water's edge made this quite the spot for any animal to drink. It was a place of respect, too, as when they made it to the edge of the crystal clear water, Mufasa saw a few Zebra, Giraffe, and Buffalo lapping up from the cool lake to quench their thirsts. They didn't even budge seeing him, Taka, or even Lakia.
Nevertheless, Mufasa's throat felt dry, and in turn lowered himself, his muzzle nearly touching the surface, and his tongue went to work. Taka joined in, not saying a word.
"..." Lakia gazed around the lake at the other mammals before having a drink herself.
'This...is nice,'
As the cool see-through liquid dampened his throat, Mufasa tensed as he thought back to those dark times. He couldn't help but expect the all-familiar pain from his stomach.
Of course, he had his fill before.
'Never thought the day would come where lapping up water like a cat would be so refreshing,' Mufasa let out a small smile, 'I am a lion, though...'
His ear twitched as Taka let out a groan of satisfaction.
"That hit the spot," He said, nearing down to drink more.
Mufasa gave a quick glance at his brother. By now, he could sigh in relief, for he was a human with a bit of hindsight. There was a problem, however.
This was an alternate universe.
Perhaps it was all for nought, and Mufasa was led onto a false and assumption-based mindset, and Taka wouldn't have a reason to fling him off a cliff.
Would he?
A splash of water against his face froze him for a moment. Mufasa shook his head and, still a little confused, wondered who or what would do such a thing. He heard a light chuckle from his right, and when he saw the mischievous glance from his brother, Mufasa took no time to retaliate.
"Take that!" He swiped the surface of the watering hole, pattering Taka back with his own shot of water, a smirk on his face.
Quickly, the game turned wetter and wetter and so did the laughter and joy grew between Mufasa and Taka as they spent their time having fun while Lakia watched with a humourous smirk on her face. Long after, it was time to go.
As the three made their way back to Pride Rock, Mufasa had made up his mind.
'It's better than starving,'
He looked over at Taka, who yawned a few times, and Lakia, who gazed around with focused eyes as if to catch something beyond the grass, and Mufasa felt his heart warm.
He had made the right choice.