#i scooped up a golden pelt but never got to use it which made me sad :(

[skull-storm-daily]

5/28/2022 (mantis deck)

[its-theeaqueen17-stuff]

The Gazelle Hunt

(What's up everybody! Its ya girl coming at you with some lion king fan fiction, this takes place when Mufasa and Scar *still Taka at this point* were still cubs it explores Scar's feelings toward his parents specifically his father and how he treats him in comparison to Mufasa, I hope you enjoy it)

Evening enveloped the Pridelands, a thick blanket of stars began to cover the night sky, and under them sat one very bored, very irritable little lion cub. The cub in question was Taka. The son of Ahadi and Uru and the second born prince of the Pridelands.

Taka sat sulking with his head held low and his shoulders hunched over. If his mother had been there to see him he'd have caught a lecture about his posture. "A prince always sits with his head held high" she'd chide "Remember you not only represent yourself but every single animal in the Pridelands and you should carry yourself accordingly." However his mother wasn't present at the time being, she was off on a business trip and even if she was he wouldn't care, for at the moment Taka was very angry.

Ahadi had taken his brother Mufasa, out to practice hunting while he was napping and they had left him alone...again. He knew that he shouldn't be angry after all he didn't even like hunting, sure he knew it was necessary in order to get the food that they needed, but the brutality of the practice still made his skin crawl. Nonetheless it would have been courteous of them to at the very least ask him if he was interested, even if he would have turned them down.

It seemed like Taka was always getting left out, whenever there was any fun to be had Taka would be the last one considered, Ahadi always took Mufasa out to practice hunting, go to on rambles through the pridelands and things of that nature, while Taka was always left to the wayside. It seemed to him that to his parents Mufasa was the golden child while he was considered the sloppy seconds. While Taka was wallowing in self pity a thunderous roar let out and snapped him out of it. Low and behold the two had returned, with his father Ahadi taking the lead and Mufasa in tow.

"Wonderful..." he thought to himself. As they neared closer to the pride rock Taka heard Mufasa, excitingly recounting the events of the chase. "Did you see the way that I dove at that gopher? He didn't even know what hit him." "Yes your leap is definitely improving, however you need to work on your stealth remember 90% of hunting is remaining unseen by your prey." Ahadi then preceded to give Mufasa tips on how he could refine his hunting style.

Taka definitely didn't want to be outside when they came back, they would want to speak to him, and he was far too aggravated to indulge them so he opted to turn around and start his way into the cave. "Hey! Taka!" shouted Mufasa It was too late, he had already been spotted. "Drat" he thought. Mufasa and Ahadi made their way up the stone to greet him.

"Hi there Taka! What's up?" Mufasa exclaimed right into Taka's ear "Oh same old, same old just sitting out here contemplating, fratricide." said Taka coldly "Taka! Be nice!" Ahadi warned "Oh father I was merely jesting....kind of." "Hahaha! Taka you're such a crack up!" laughed Mufasa "Ok, ok enough jokes, lets get you to inside before you catch a chill." said Ahadi and with that the three lions filed into the cave.

Taka slowly padded toward the soft leaves at the corner of the cave, all he wanted right now was to be left alone. Mufasa made a beeline to the corner of the cave to play with his favorite toy a wildebeest's tail his father had brought back for him after a hunting trip, however they where both cut short by their father. "Hey now. Where do you two think you're going?" "Um to play wildebeest hunt." replyed Mufasa "Not with that dirty pelt you're not. You need a bath, Taka you too come on." "Oh great. Just what I need." thought Taka more irritated now than before, all he wanted to do was get away from his brother and father for a while but he getting dragged right back to them. What did a cub have to do to be left alone around here?

Ahadi laid on the floor and started to groom Mufasa who then started to talk about what happened at hunting practice again. "Man that gopher was so mad when I pounced on him." "Well I don't blame him, you have very heavy paws. You probably gave him a nasty bump, of course you won't have to worry about that when you actually start hunting, but for for now try to show a little restraint when you're playing with others." Ahadi said gently. The incessant chatter was getting to Taka, the more Ahadi and Mufasa spoke about what they had done while they were away, the more Taka was reminded of everything he had missed out on, and the more furious he felt.

"Boy Taka you should've seen me out there, I was terrific." said Mufasa excitedly "Well maybe I would've seen you if you two had you know asked me if I wanted to go!" Taka yelled "Oh yeah, sorry about that its just that well you where sleeping and you said that you didn't like hunting so we just assumed...." "Assumed what father? That I matter so little that you shouldn't even bother to see if I wanted to go out with you?!?" "Hey I never said that!" shouted Ahadi "Well you didn't have to! Actions speak louder than words, and your actions have made it quite clear that you favor Mufasa more than me!" "Taka you know that I would never put one of you over the other." said Ahadi dejectedly "Well you sure have a funny way of showing it." With that Taka got up, stormed to the opening of the cave and laid down.

Ahadi was at a loss. Sure he did tend to spend a bit more time with Mufasa but only because he was preparing him to be king not because he favored him. But it was clear that Taka felt slighted, and he didn't know what to do. Just then Ahadi got an idea. Taka looked back to see Ahadi whispering something to Mufasa, "What could they possibly be talking about now?" he wondered almost immediately after he thought it Ahadi and Mufasa started talking again

"My oh my, would you look at the size of that gazelle." exclaimed Ahadi making sure he spoke loud enough for Taka to hear. "A gazelle? Where?" Asked Taka very confused. "Isn't he a big one Mufasa?" "I'll say." said Mufasa, "He's almost as big as an elephant." "Hey I've got an idea. Lets you and me sneak up from behind and tried to catch him." explained Ahadi, "Good idea." Uttered Mufasa, "Have you two lost your minds? There isn't a gazelle around here for mil-hey!" Taka was cut off mid sentence as he was scooped up in his father's paw.

Ahadi flipped his son on his back and put him in between his paws. "What is the meaning of this?!? Unhand me at once!" Taka demanded "Boy this gazelle sure is chatty." said Mufasa "Well maybe this will calm him down." with that Ahadi stated to nuzzle into Taka's ribs. "Hehehe hey! That tickles!" giggled Taka, "Hey that looks fun let me try." Mufasa then wiggled his paws on his brother's other side which caused Taka to howl with laughter "Hahahahaha!" "Hmm that's funny this gazelle sounds just like Taka" "Maybe he ate him." "Oh no! Don't worry Taka I'll save you!" Mufasa started to tickle Taka's belly with his paws. This made Taka's laughter go up another octave as his eyes started to water from laughing so hard "AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Stop! Sthahahap!" shouted Taka "Alright Muffy, I think to this little gazelle's had enough." Taka then flipped himself over to his side and started to pant; still a bit giggly from the tickling he'd received after he had calmed down a bit Ahadi started to say speak

"I'm very sorry Taka." he stated "You were right we should've took you into consideration and asked you to come along with us. I apologize." Taka wasn't as angry as he was before and his father did seem sorry so he forgave him. "Well its alright. Just don't leave me behind again, who knows you might need my keen eyesight in case you run into gazelles."

[leonthecardboardunicorn]

But All Things Considered, Chapter 11

"Zeus, you better not try to summon something-"

Alfonse shook his head as he heard Lucious yelling after Zeus. He then turned his attention back to his father, barely able to hold back his laughter. "Well, those make quite the interesting pair, don't they?" It had been a long time since his father laugh like that, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Just make sure you have your wand, just in case," he warned. "You never know when you might have to fight something."

"I'll be sure, I'll be sure!" Walter said, waving his hand, the eggnog spilling out of his glass. "It'll take more than a little beast to take me down!"

“Are you sure that you're going to be okay?" Alfonse asked. If his friends thought that he was a bad drunk, they should have seen how ridiculous Walter could be with his drinks. "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't have your wand-"

"Don't worry, dear," Winona Goldstein stepped up to her husband, pulling him by the arm. "I'll take care of him. Why don't you go be with your friends?" She pulled Walter away, but another group came over to him.

"Liz, Klaus, it's good to see you again," he said, pulling each of them into hugs. He didn't think that they would come, but here they were.

"Looks like Father's up to his usual antics," Klaus said with a hint of a smile.

"It's nice to know that things are always going to be interesting with this family," Caesar said, coming to Alfonse's side, slipping his hand in his own. "Oh, while we've got you, there was something that I've been wanting to ask you for a while. How did you two get together anyway?"

Liz and Klaus glanced at each other, their faces going red. "O-oh, it's not that interesting of a story," Liz said hurriedly. "I'm much more curious about the two of you! I always thought you two would be cute, but it seemed so sudden."

Alfonse glanced at Caesar. "Should we tell them?" he said quietly, and Caesar shrugged. "Well, it's kind of a funny story actually. You see, after I revealed my identity, all of these noblewomen started harassing me.."

Liz's jaw dropped as they told their long story, and Klaus buried his face in his hands. "You've got to be kidding me," he said.

"In retrospect, it may not have been the greatest idea, but-"

"That's not the funny part," Liz said with a smile. "You see-"

“We were fake dating too," Klaus finished for her. "I asked her to be my partner for the same reason, but well.." Now it was Klaus's turn to blush, and he slipped his hands in Liz's.

"Oh, I see that we weren't the only ones who's fake romance turned genuine," Alfonse said with a smile. "But I'm happy for the two of you, honestly."

Klaus shook his head, but Liz just laughed and put her head on his shoulder. It may have been a rocky road, but it seemed like it had worked out for all of the parties involved.

"Come on, it should be right around here-"

"What are we looking for?" Alfonse asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew.

"The mistle- Oh." Caesar broke out in a wide grin as he saw the other pair standing under the mistletoe, though they immediately broke apart.

"Ahem. I was just trying to stop him from summoning something. Yeah," Lucious said, folding his arms.

"Is that why-"

Lucious grabbed Zeus by the arm and pulled him away. Caesar let out a little laugh. "Well, I saw that coming." And then his entire attention was grabbed as he saw that now Alfonse was standing under the mistletoe, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, okay~"

They shared a sweet kiss under the mistletoe, but, as always, it was broken up by Caesar turning to a pig. Alfonse didn't even bat an eye, scooping him up and pressing a kiss to his nose.

"You know that you're going to have to do that a lot," Caesar pointed out as soon as he was back in his human form, but Alfonse never lost his smile.

"I don't mind. I mean, it's a little different, but.. I love you for all of you, including the piggy side of you.”

Caesar's face went bright red, and he let out a squeak that sounded suspiciously like an oink.

Alfonse's grin grew wider. "Did you just-"

Caesar hadn't even been aware until that very moment that he'd do that. "No, I didn't, shut up."

"That was ridiculously cute," Alfonse said, taking Caesar's hand and kissing him again.

"All right, everyone, it's time to open gifts!"

Caesar knelt by the tree, watching as the gifts were passed out; Alfonse came to sit by his side, whispering in his ear, "I thought that we'd give our gifts when we got back to the dorm."

"That works for me." Caesar felt the small box in his pocket. As much as he would love to see Alfonse's face when he brought out the ring, most of the rest of the party thought they were already engaged. No, much better to give it in private.

But he did find some.. interesting gifts from the others. He opened one of the gifts to find a tiny costume, and he didn't need to think hard about who it was probably from. "Zeus, is this a Santa costume?"

"Just your size! There's a little hat in there and everything!" He had half a mind to remind Zeus that he kept his outfit between forms, but he decided against it.

"Is this a scrapbook?" Alfonse asked, and Walter nodded.

"For all of the wonderful memories that you're going to have," Walter said.

"I can help provide you with photos," Klaus said. "I still have my collection of photos of Elias that I should share."

"I remember you showing me those!" Liz said. "Elias was so cute when he was little."

"Klaus, what photos did you show her-"

"That reminds me," Alfonse said, "I think I have some baby pictures of Klaus that would go nicely in this~"

"Alfonse, don't you dare!" Caesar laughed as he watched the family. He had never thought that he would get the chance to have a family like this, so how wonderful it was to know.

"Look, it's the first snowfall of the season! Isn't it beautiful?"

Caesar couldn't take his eyes off of Alfonse as they walked together, and he was reminded of his dream from long ago. At the time, it had seemed impossible, but now here they were.

"We should take the long way home so we can admire it," he told Alfonse. "I wouldn't mind."

"Well, we could do that," Alfonse said with that charmingly innocent smile, leaning down to gather snow in his hands, "or we could have a snowball fight!"

"What- hey!" Caesar barely had time to dodge before Alfonse started flinging snowballs in his direction. He knelt down and started gathering up snowballs, which was a difficult task when dodging Alfonse's snowballs. "How did you even learn how to do this? I thought that as a noble, you'd be too busy studying all the time!"

"Me and my brothers used to do this all the time!" Alfonse boasted proudly.

Okay, so maybe things weren't quite the same as they had been in his dreams, but this wasn't bad either, he thought.

Alfonse laughed as the pelting of snowballs came to a halt. "Truce?" Caesar nodded. "We could build a snowman together, if you'd like; I haven't done that in a long time."

"That sounds like fun."

"And then maybe after this, we could go ice skating, I saw a pond over there-" Caesar couldn't help but smile as Alfonse talked about the plans they'd make; coming home from the party had turned into an impromptu date, and he was fine with that.

"Sure, sure, my dear, we've got all the time in the world." And they'd have many more winters to come, he thought. Maybe now was the best time to secure that. "But, actually, Alfonse, there was something that I wanted to ask you first."

"Sure, anything!" Alfonse replied without hesitation. He hadn't even asked yet.

"Once, I had a dream that we spent a day in the snow like this, that you would stay by my side, but when I woke.. I thought that it couldn't be. I thought only about my curse; I thought that I wouldn't get the time to spend with you. But now we have more time than I'd ever dreamed, and it's all thanks to you."

"I didn't do anything," Alfonse said shyly, but his face was burning red.

"You saved me, Alfonse, time and time again. With you, my dream became a reality. And so I wanted to ask you.." Finally, he knelt, taking out the box from his pocket, revealing a golden ring. "Alfonse Goldstein, will you marry me?"

Alfonse smiled. "Yes!"

Caesar slipped the ring onto his finger, pulling him into a kiss. When he transformed, Alfonse scooped him up in his arms and twirled him around in the air. He set Caesar down on his feet, pressing a kiss onto his forehead.

"And now, Caesar, there's something that I wanted to ask you as well." Caesar tilted his head.

"Growing up as the heir of a noble family, I thought that all of life's choices would be made for me," Alfonse explained. "Where I'd live, what I'd do with my life, who I'd marry.. And then, when things happened with Elaine, I freaked out because I believed that I'd made the wrong one. I abandoned everything, and I didn't have the courage to come back and face it. But, with you, I was finally able to make a choice for myself, and I couldn't have made a better one. And now I have a choice for you." This time, Alfonse knelt, revealing a golden ring. "Will you marry me?"

Caesar couldn't stop smiling. "Yes!"