A Half Moon Before Simba's Return to Priderock
It had taken all night, but Zira had felt it would all be worth it when Scar saw her cubs, her Vitani and Kovu. Maybe he would finally make her his Queen, even. The thought elated her, but she knew better than to get her hopes up.
"Sarabi!" The beige lioness walked into the cave and smiled at the sight of the cubs suckling at Zira's side.
"I see the birthing went well, Zira." Sarabi smiled at the younger lioness in a motherly way.
"It did," Zira allowed a hint a smugness to creep into her tone, lifting her head so that she could look Sarabi in the eye. "Could you tell Scar that his cubs have been born?" Sarabi's orange eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, and left the cave to tell Scar of the news. Zira waited patiently in the cave, briefly wondering if it had been the best idea to leave Nuke alone and making a mental note to ensure that Sarabi had taken care of him while she was gone. Eventually, Sarabi returned with Scar in tow, waking Zira up by tapping the outside of the den. Zira gently pushed her cubs away from her and stood, squeezing out of the small den and nearly running headfirst into Scar in her rush to greet him.
"My King!" Zira hastily bowed, changing Scar's scowling face into a wide smile.
"At least one of my lionesses knows how to treat their King." He growled to Sarabi, who said nothing and kept her eyes downcast. Scar turned his attention to Zira, who had kept bowing and motioned for her to stand. "Have you finally provided me with an heir?" Zira frowned but quickly recovered.
"Yes, of course!" Scar eyed her suspiciously. "I would never want to disappoint you, my King!" She quickly pushed herself back into the den and swiftly picked up Kovu, silently praying that Scar would be pleased. Scar's eyes lit up when Zira set the cub down in front of him and he smiled as he looked the cub over, prodding and poking the brown cub with a satisfied smile.
"Yes...He will do nicely." Scar muttered as he looked over the cub, poking and prodding him with a claw. He raised his voice to talk to an elated Zira. "Well? Where's the other one? Sarabi said you had cubs." He emphasized the "s".
"Oh, well..." Zira turned away from Scar. "She's healthy, I suppose."
"I'll be the judge of that." He growled. "What are you waiting for? Bring her out!" Zira flinched and pushed herself into the den to get Vitani. She hesitated before picking her up and worriedly gave the mewling cub a lick before picking her up and gingerly setting her down in front of Scar.
Scar poked and prodded her and seemed to be...happy with her? "This cub is better than healthy! She will make a fine Huntress and will be a good back-up heir."
"What about Nuke?" Zira asked, hoping Scar's good mood would somehow rub off on his opinion of her first son.
"He was a disappointment." Scar scoffed, dating Zira's hopes. "It's getting late into the day." He turned to Sarabi. "What are you waiting for? Go find something for her to eat!" He snapped and turned away from the lionesses and now crying cubs. Sarabi glared after him, but left to track down her Pride-sisters. Zira sighed as the mewling cubs' cries became louder and louder. She slowly groomed them both, calming them down and taking them inside the den to feed them and get some rest.