| Chapter Seven |
As Jozay approached the border of the Pridelands, he dropped to the ground and sat there for a moment. For the entire
walk—no, flight—over jungle, desert and grassland, he had waited to wake up. To snap out of whatever dream,
hallucination or vision he simply had to be in, and to resign himself again to normal life, with at most a chuckle and a sigh
left of this exhilarating fantasy. But no.
It was real. He had wings! He could actually fly!
The very idea still seemed ludicrous to Jozay, but he was coming to accept it as the hours had literally flown by. His new
chest muscles were warm and stretched, as if he had been prepping them for use his whole life, whereas in reality they
were less than a few hours old.
Suddenly another thought sprang to mind. Now that he was fully convinced that yes, he was an aerial creature, there
was something he had to do before proceeding any further. He stretched out his front paws far out in front of him, and
swept his wings outward as birds did when greeting King Kovu. He looked up with his eyes and spoke softly. “Sozo… I
don’t understand what has happened to me. But thank you. Thank you for hearing me and for giving me this…
miraculous gift. Help me to use it wisely.”
As he ended his prayer, his mother’s words came back to him. He had spoken out of anger and he would be sure to
apologize for his attitude the next time he saw her. But now he faced the prospect of entering the Pridelands for all to
see, even more so a freak of nature than his usual. His mother had also said he could mentally… ‘dismiss’ his wings.
What in the world did that mean? Well, as much as he was hesitant to lose his new dimension of freedom, they were a
gift, and if they were temporary he could hardly complain that he had been cheated. “Here goes nothing,” ha said aloud.
Jozay then closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out very slowly. He tried to focus his mind on his new muscles
and how his spine felt with the extra weight and balance. Then, as easily as extending or sheathing his claws, he felt the
weight of his wings start to slip away. Fascinated, he opened his eyes and craned his neck around to get a look. His
bright golden feathers were blowing away in the breeze! He could also see and feel the extra bones and ligaments
receding back into the rest of his body, melting a little with each beat of his heart. Now that he was paying attention, he
could feel his regular bones and muscles tingling, maybe getting a little thicker, or denser.
Fascinating.
Soon it was over, leaving Jozay the way he was before… presumably still having the Mark of the Destined One on his
cheek, but he hadn’t seen his reflection yet. He thought about that for a moment. Compared to suddenly sprouting wings
his mark didn’t seem like much, of course, but he had been looking forward to this event for as long as he could
remember.
He wasn’t just a prince anymore. He was a true Destined One, chosen by Sozo Himself.
He would never claim to have had a boring life, that was for sure.
Catching sight of Pride Rock in the distance, he started running towards it. At what he would judge to be about halfway
to the great stone spire, he could hear the sounds of his best friend Hope playing, most likely with her meerkat friend
Bela…
Wait. He could hear that? He paused and first squinted at Pride Rock. He then looked around him to make sure. Yep, he
was definitely near the border… which meant there was no way he should be able to make out Pride Rock against the
hilly horizon yet, let alone be able to pick out Hope’s laugh (distinctive though it may be) out from the many sounds of the
savanna at this distance. So his senses were also improving.
What next? Walking on his hind legs with a compulsion to wear a loincloth?
walk—no, flight—over jungle, desert and grassland, he had waited to wake up. To snap out of whatever dream,
hallucination or vision he simply had to be in, and to resign himself again to normal life, with at most a chuckle and a sigh
left of this exhilarating fantasy. But no.
It was real. He had wings! He could actually fly!
The very idea still seemed ludicrous to Jozay, but he was coming to accept it as the hours had literally flown by. His new
chest muscles were warm and stretched, as if he had been prepping them for use his whole life, whereas in reality they
were less than a few hours old.
Suddenly another thought sprang to mind. Now that he was fully convinced that yes, he was an aerial creature, there
was something he had to do before proceeding any further. He stretched out his front paws far out in front of him, and
swept his wings outward as birds did when greeting King Kovu. He looked up with his eyes and spoke softly. “Sozo… I
don’t understand what has happened to me. But thank you. Thank you for hearing me and for giving me this…
miraculous gift. Help me to use it wisely.”
As he ended his prayer, his mother’s words came back to him. He had spoken out of anger and he would be sure to
apologize for his attitude the next time he saw her. But now he faced the prospect of entering the Pridelands for all to
see, even more so a freak of nature than his usual. His mother had also said he could mentally… ‘dismiss’ his wings.
What in the world did that mean? Well, as much as he was hesitant to lose his new dimension of freedom, they were a
gift, and if they were temporary he could hardly complain that he had been cheated. “Here goes nothing,” ha said aloud.
Jozay then closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out very slowly. He tried to focus his mind on his new muscles
and how his spine felt with the extra weight and balance. Then, as easily as extending or sheathing his claws, he felt the
weight of his wings start to slip away. Fascinated, he opened his eyes and craned his neck around to get a look. His
bright golden feathers were blowing away in the breeze! He could also see and feel the extra bones and ligaments
receding back into the rest of his body, melting a little with each beat of his heart. Now that he was paying attention, he
could feel his regular bones and muscles tingling, maybe getting a little thicker, or denser.
Fascinating.
Soon it was over, leaving Jozay the way he was before… presumably still having the Mark of the Destined One on his
cheek, but he hadn’t seen his reflection yet. He thought about that for a moment. Compared to suddenly sprouting wings
his mark didn’t seem like much, of course, but he had been looking forward to this event for as long as he could
remember.
He wasn’t just a prince anymore. He was a true Destined One, chosen by Sozo Himself.
He would never claim to have had a boring life, that was for sure.
Catching sight of Pride Rock in the distance, he started running towards it. At what he would judge to be about halfway
to the great stone spire, he could hear the sounds of his best friend Hope playing, most likely with her meerkat friend
Bela…
Wait. He could hear that? He paused and first squinted at Pride Rock. He then looked around him to make sure. Yep, he
was definitely near the border… which meant there was no way he should be able to make out Pride Rock against the
hilly horizon yet, let alone be able to pick out Hope’s laugh (distinctive though it may be) out from the many sounds of the
savanna at this distance. So his senses were also improving.
What next? Walking on his hind legs with a compulsion to wear a loincloth?
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