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HAKUNAPAW DUBOIS!
Hakuna had been defeated.
The mighty Hakuna master that was adored by all and feared by his enemies had fallen.
His pride had been taken with it, leaving a hollow shell of misfortune and an ashamed lion cub in its wake.
He would never forgive himself for walking into the trap that had been deliberately set for him, as it had cost him not only his sense of achievement, but also Arcade's life. Even though it had merely been a possession of a wolf body, Hakuna still felt deeply responsible.
Hakuna could not come to terms with the fact he had no control over whether or not he lived or died on that wretched day. It had been merely his humble and kind disposition that had led him to wanting to assist someone in need, someone that had been said to have been attacked by a boneclanner, and yet it had all been a lie. a trick. to get him to come into their territory, thus giving them a reasonable excuse to attack, and then beating him to a pulp afterwards.
hakuna knew that he was the cause of his suffering as well when it came down to it. medusa and him had defeated eric in battle. he had successfully been able to fight back against draco when approached. he had left alarm clocks around the boneclan camp just to tick eric off, and this is what he paid for his crimes. he deserved every wound, every stab, every burning sensation that knawed at his limbs, the lingering scent of burnt flesh and fur, and the feeling of christian carving his mark onto his prey.
the lion cub did not know why they had bothered to let him live. maybe just to extend his suffering further, as he was beginning to feel really self-conscious about all the horrified stares from NPC kits with his wounds and the fact that everyone in his mind was treating him like a liability. a dead weight. dave the NPC had even moved away from him when he came over to get something from the freshkill pile, shooting him a look of pure disgust that had left him crestfallen and upset.
mufasa and nala were there for him though, always aiding in giving him comfort in their own sort of small, yet reliable, ways. the spirit within his mind kept telling him how brave he was, how he was handling the change like a true king would, and yada yada yada. The typical stuff a worried father would probably say it seemed like. Nala, on the other paw, would chirp and flap her wings cheerfully each time he came back into the hut, not minding his change in appearance at all. he was not sure if it was just because he fed her each morning and night or if she actually deeply cared for his well-being, or maybe even a combination of both, but he was grateful for the encouragement.
hakuna was trying to act like he normally would for the sake of arcade, knowing that it was what he would want -- for him to be happy. it was the only thing hakuna could think of to even begin to repay him for the sacrifice he had made. the sensation of having friends that would give their lives for him was just unbelievable in a sense. it made him feel loved, yet it also scared him.genuinely scared him that something like this could happen again, and next time the said someone might not have another body to come back to. he would never forgive himself if someone gave their own life to save his, believing in his heart and mind that he was here to serve the clan to the best of his abilities and that it would be his job to ever do something of that magnitude if the situation arose.
his humble self would never take credit for his own accomplishments, even though it was not a horrible or sinful act at all to acknowledge one's own gifts and talents. he did not believe that his life was worth more than anyone else's, though he knew that he would give life or limb for the people he had come to know as friends and family within his eight moons in Blizzardclan. They all meant so much to him -- even the new joiners -- and how would he manage to be there for all of them when he was most needed? How could he be everywhere at once? It pained him that this ability was not made readily available to him. It only added to the pile that was already beginning to form; filled with his all of his strokes of bad luck and the multitude of mistakes he made in the past.
"Mufasa?"
"Hmm?"
"We're pals, right?"
"Right."
"And we'll always be together, right?"
"Hakuna, let me tell you something my father told me. Look at the stars. The great leaders of the past look down on us from those stars."
"Really?"
"Yes. So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those leaders will always be there to guide you. And so will I."
Hakuna glanced upwards right then and there to peer at the clear blue sky ahead, reveling in the chill that had set in early in the morning to announce the oncoming approach of the colder months. The words had comforted him in ways that he did not understand. It made him feel as if there was so much more that he had to do, and that lingering on all the negatives would only prove to do more damage than good.
"I just gotta stick to my problem-free philosophy."
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