Kovu lay in the shade of an acacia tree, his ears swiveling. His posture was relaxed; shoulders back, tail swishing idly. But his guard was up and he was expecting to be pounced upon any second. Kiara was getting more and more adept at stalking, a little too adept if you asked Kovu. The first time she had successfully pounced him he had been so surprised he had had the wind knocked out of him. Kiara had been sure to gloat about it too. Kovu grumbled at the memory and swung his head to look behind him.
His mistake. Kiara exploded from the grass in front of him, landing only a hair from his face. Kovu commanded his body not to flinch, but his whiskers pulled back instinctively. Kiara responded with a giggle.
"So, oh great hunter, how was that?" She rolled onto her back, lightly pawing his muzzle.
"Well, it certainly was quiet." He admitted, puffing at her affectionately. "But, there was one thing you forgot."
"Huh, what did I forget?" Kiara rolled upright, confusion and surprise clear on her face. "I did everything right, right?"
"Nope," Kovu said matter-of-factly. "You forgot, to always keep your guard up on the hunt."
Another lioness leaped out of the grass, her blue eyes blazing. She snarled at Kiara and quickly advanced. Kiara was up in an instant, meeting the other with a snarl of her own. Kovu quickly backed away, giving the two enough space. Kiara and the other lioness circled each other, tails lashing and teeth flashing. It was the newer lioness who made the first move.
She leaped at Kiara, landing on her and sending them both rolling in the dirt. But Kiara met her blow for blow with sheathed paws. Their hits weren't serious, but they weren't cub swats either. The two lionesses finally broke apart, panting and disheveled. Kiara's snarl had turned into a smirk and her eyes shone with triumph.
"You thought you could get me, Vitani? Think again!" Kiara danced from paw to paw, ready for another scuffle. Vitani growled, but then her face too gained a smirk.
"I did think that. Too bad my brother here has been teaching you too well." Vitani said as she made a move at Kovu, and snickered when he jumped away. Kovu snorted at his sister, but couldn't help smiling at her jibe. Kiara was coming along nicely, and he took pride in the fact it was his doing paired with Kiara's natural talent. Except whenever she used that talent on him. And then teased him about it. That part wasn't very enjoyable.
"Too bad indeed. But that means another fine huntress for the pride." Kovu stretched and flexed his claws. The addition of all the outsiders had caused a need for more food. Some of the lionesses had decided to leave, joining a neighboring pride a ways off, simply knowing that too many mouths to feed meant too much prey in the area killed. The outsiders who did stay, like Vitani, were being taught how to hunt by Nala and the other Pridelander females.
After the many hearty meals, the previously scrawny lionesses were filling out nicely. Kovu noticed Vitani's waist wasn't so sharp and angulated anymore, as growing up living on mice and termites wasn't doing any cub a favor. But Kovu thought she'd probably always be lanky and lithe. The sound of flapping wings made them all look up.
"Ah, there you all are!" Zazu called down to them as he circled above. He came down to land in front of them and bowed. "Good day to you Princess, Prince, and...uh… Prince's sister." The hornbill finished awkwardly. Kiara politely inclined her head to the advisor, and then prodded Kovu to do the same. Kovu gave a stiff bow, a bit taken aback by the title "Prince".
"Why were you looking for us, Zazu?" Kiara asked while looking at the position of the sun. "It isn't time for hunting today, is it?".
"Well, more specifically I was looking for him." He pointed a wing at Kovu.
"Me?" Kovu startled.
"Yes, you. Simba requested you to come see him now."
Kovu shared a glance at Kiara and Vitani. Kiara only showed a hint of confusion, while Vitani had simply flicked her tail over her paws and was regarding him with an uninterested look (although her forward facing ears showed she was as curious as he was).
"Well?" Zazu fluttered his wings impatiently at Kovu's pause.
"Oh, yes. I'm coming." Kovu shook off his daze and started towards the direction of Pride Rock. Zazu gave a satisfied, 'Hmmm' and took to the air. What could Simba want with me…? Kovu paced after Zazu, or more accurately Zazu's shadow, and ran the possibilities through his mind. I obviously hadn't done anything wrong… He hadn't done anything he remembered, at least. Maybe he wasn't showing enough respect towards the other animals. I did get a little snappy with that water buffalo at the watering hole the other day… But that wasn't my fault, she got mud all over my mane! Splashing around with those clumsy hooves!
"Hey," Vitani came up to his side, bringing him from his thoughts. "If I'm the Prince's sister...does that make me a Princess?" She looked over Kovu's shoulder at Kiara, who had bounded after them.
"Maybe!" Kiara smiled at her. "I might have to ask my mother about that, or maybe Rafiki or even Zazu." Kiara looked up at the hornbill who was gliding on the air currents above them. Kovu guessed he could hear them, but his lack of response either meant he didn't know either or he didn't care enough to answer.
"Princess Vitani…" She chuckled, trying on the title.
"Great, now you can come with us to help settle any problems happening in the Pridelands."
"Really? Does any of it involve beating down rambunctious crocs? Showing rebellious buffalo who's boss?" Vitani said hopefully, her eyes bright. "I'm pretty good at both, by the way."
"Uh, no… It's mainly listening to zebras whining about how some impala accidentally stepped on some flowers they wanted to eat." Kiara laughed. Vitani gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. Kovu smiled at them both, their banter lightening his mood a bit. Maybe whatever Simba wanted couldn't be too bad. After all, his life was finally changing for the better. He was happy, and most importantly, in love. He turned to Kiara and grinned at her. She looked up at him, gazing softly into his eyes. Kovu was so enthralled by her orange eyes he didn't see the flash of mischief in them. Before he could do anything, Kiara hip-checked him hard enough to make him stumble and fall over face first. He looked up, spitting dirt out of his mouth. Kiara was galloping away, laughing triumphantly.
"Oh you think that's funny?" He growled playfully, and launched after her. He heard Vitani laugh too and heard her galloping behind him. Whatever Simba had to say to him, Kovu wasn't worried about it anymore. He could deal with anything, as long as Kiara was by his side.
Aye, how's it hanging?! Hiddengrotto14 here to give you a little info on the story. "Kovu's Travels" has been a story I've thought of for quite a few years. I think I first thought of it when I was 10. Actually, the main character of it was originally Simba! But I thought Kovu deserved the spotlight later on. As it usually goes, trying to write a decent story as a 10 year old doesn't go as planned (omg, all my stories from my younger days are usually cringy, ACK D: ). Some of you (by some I mean like...3...) may recall my story "The Liger King" (written I was 13/14 I think). It was a total flop by chapter 3, was pretty bad, confusing, deleted, and will never be mentioned again. Pls. ._. ... Now that I'm 16, I've improved and know when stuff doesn't make sense or when the story is all over the place with no plot. So, now that I've given a little information on the origin of this story, enjoy the chapters to come. I will take periodic breaks to refresh my knowledge on the canon, recheck animal facts (as this will be more of a serious thing when it comes to hunting and fighting; think more like Warriot Cats or Ratha's Creature instead of The Lion Guard when it comes to stuff like that (hence the T rating)), and just generally find time to write, plan character development, and try to work on writing skills like descriptions, building suspense, setting the mood, etc. etc. So if you like what you see, keep yourself updated. :D
