Chapter Sixteen: The Youngest Among Us

The mist curled like breath through the trees, its silver tendrils catching the soft light of afternoon. Jitu had slipped back into it moments ago, and though his towering form was gone, his presence lingered—like frost that refused to melt. Vitani stood frozen, her claws digging into the cold earth, her amber eyes still trained on the place where he’d vanished. “I can’t believe it…” she muttered. “He talks. He can talk. He just… won’t.” “Not won’t,” Kovu said beside her, rubbing a paw through his mane with a bemused expression. “He chooses not to. Did you hear him? ‘I’m the youngest one here.’ What does that even mean?” Shabaha snorted. “It means he’s messing with us. Or he’s got the driest, weirdest sense of humor in the entire kingdom. ”Rafiki stood a little ways off, his fingers stroking his long beard, eyes distant and thoughtful. “The youngest…” he murmured. “The youngest one here… yes, yes… but that would mean… unless…” Imara raised a brow. “Uh… Rafiki? You alright?” “The youngest…” Rafiki repeated, his eyes widening. “Ohhh…” Tazama tilted her head. “What’s the big deal? He looks ancient. Those scars, that size—he doesn’t exactly scream ‘teenager.’ ” “Oh, but he is!” Rafiki suddenly burst, his staff tapping the ground with a wild rhythm. “Oh-ho-ho! Do you not see?!” The Guard turned to stare. “That can’t be right,” Shabaha said flatly. “He’s a mountain with a mane. That old, stormy stare. He moves like he’s seen every war.” “But he said it,” Kovu muttered. “And it didn’t sound like sarcasm. He’s not exactly… expressive. ”Rafiki’s laughter bubbled out, soft and musical. “Oh, young ones… I must be getting slow in my old age! Yes, yes, yes. He is the youngest—physically towering, emotionally sealed, but yes… youngest.” Vitani stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “Okay, slow down, old monkey. What are you saying?” Rafiki spun his staff and grinned. “Jitu is not an aged warrior. He’s not some ancient ghost. He is young. A lion born not long ago—made old by the cold.” The forest stilled around them. “How is that possible?” Kasi asked, blinking. “Looking like he could take down an elephant with one paw.” “The north,” Rafiki said, “is not kind. Its trials forge lions like stone. They grow fast, scar deep, harden quickly—but their hearts do not age with their bodies.” Tazama’s eyes widened. “So… he’s just, a really big boy?” Shabaha fell back onto her haunches, throwing up her paws. Kovu laughed, leaning against a tree. “Explains the awkwardness. The babysitting. The vanishing, every time someone gets too close. He’s not cold—he’s just young and… overwhelmed.” Vitani’s jaw fell open, her mind racing through every moment—every evasive stare, every gentle nudge to a cub, every time he’d disappeared when things got too personal. “We’ve been chasing down a frost-covered, introverted young man,” she muttered. Rafiki cackled, staff tapping joyfully against the frost. “Not just any youth! A boy molded by storms. A heart built to guard. A cub with the eyes of a lion twice his age.” Imara flopped dramatically to the ground. “This is insane. I wanted answers, not… this. I hoped he’d train us or something!” Shabaha sank beside her. “I need to lie down. Preferably somewhere sunny and not full of cryptic lion-ghost children. ”Kasi giggled, her earlier tension evaporating. “No wonder he didn’t talk. Probably didn’t know what to say. Can you imagine trying to look cool in front of a bunch of grown ups?” “Or how to ask for help,” Tazama added quietly. “Especially if he was forced to grow up too fast. ”Vitani said nothing. She stared into the mist again, remembering Jitu’s voice—not just the words, but the way he’d said them. Quiet, controlled. Not angry or proud, just true. “A bulky, secretive, awkward boy,” she said softly. “Lived more than most full-grown lions.” Rafiki’s laughter quieted, and his expression turned warm, almost reverent. “Ah yes… the young grow fast in shadows. But even the mighty need light to show them how to stop hiding. ”Kovu nudged her shoulder. “So… what now?” Vitani’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smile. “Now?” she said. “We stop treating him like a ghost…” She turned, eyes shining with renewed purpose.