Lion King 4: Upelelezi's Journey (Chapter 3)



Lion King 4: Upelelezi's Journey (Chapter 4)

Upelelezi splashed through the pouring rain, looking for somewhere—anywhere—that she and Zazu could finally rest. She had no idea where Pride Rock was, but it must have been far, because he paws where aching.

Upelelezi took another, tired step, and bumped into something. A rock. Upelelezi stepped back. The rhino must have come back, to finish the job he had started.

But, luckily, this time the rock really was a rock. Upelelezi walked around it, and, to her surprise, it was one of many rocks that were all cluttered together.

Upelelezi gently placed Zazu under a nearby bush, where he would be protected from the rain, and she sniffed around the rocks. She examined the rocks closely, and found that they were placed in just the right position to create a small room, that looked as if it would be very dry. Upelelezi pushed her head through the opening. If her whiskers could fit, then so could she!

Upelelezi forced her shoulders through the opening, and her front legs. It was a very tight fit, and it was compressing her ribs, not painfully, but very tightly.

“Oof!” she yelped, popping through, and landing face-down.

Upelelezi rubbed her nose, and looked around. It was much roomier here than has been suggested by the cave's entrance. There was at least enough room for her and another cub of her age, certainly enough room for Zazu.

"Zazu, I'm gonna bring you in here, now,” she called through the cave's entrance, and reqaching her paw back outside.

“Zazu, I'm gonna bring you in here, now,” she called through the cave's entrance and reaching her paw back out into the rain.

She gently tugged Zazu in through the entrance, and cradled him in her paws. Zazu groaned, and glanced at his poor wing. He looked away, wincing.

“Upelelezi,” he sighed, “Tomorrow... you need to go... back... back to Pride Rock. First thing when... the rain stops.”

“No,” Upelelezi stated.

“What?”

“No. I won't leave you here, where you could get hurt or die or something. We'll both leave when you can fly again.”

“But you need to get... back home.”:

"So do you, don't you?”

Zazu sighed.

“And I have... absolutely no way of... of fighting you, do I?”

“None at all.”

“Well, fine then...”

And he finally passed out.