With the Lion Guard confirming Simba's Pride is considered canon I started having sudden ideas of what happened in the in between from when Kiara meets Kovu up to the Lion Guard, mostly because I couldn't help noticing Kiara's character developtment from one time to the other.
This will be a short story focusing on the characters, mostly Kiara, as they develop after their first encounter with Zira. Please enjoy!
As the sun set in the horizon Kiara looked back one more time to the Outlands with a sigh. After that experience and her father's words her mind was overwhelmed enough, and dwelling too much on what had happened wouldn't do her any good.
Figuring she could think everything more calmly tomorrow Kiara climbed back to Pride Rock to where Simba had gone in. However as she stepped in Kiara halted to a stop at seeing Simba addressing the entire pride.
"Some time ago in the past I had already forbidden going to the Outlands, but after today I'm taking more drastic measures. No one is to go near the Outlands, not even for hunting, and if someone were to do otherwise there will consequences."
There were whispers and worried looks exchanged among the pride, but no one dared to say anything.
When there were no objections Simba turned back to exit Pride Rock. As he walked out he saw Kiara looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite read, and smiled down tiredly at her.
"You should go to sleep."
Kiara didn't say anything and watched as Simba left, noticing how not so far behind Nala made her way towards him. She would have thought that Nala would talk to her too, but her mother seemed to be more focused on talking to Simba, so taking that as her cue Kiara decided she would go to sleep early that day.
Walking outside Nala found Simba quietly sitting by himself and sat down beside him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just… thinking."
Simba didn't seem angry or scared, but hesitant.
"Everyone understands why you did it." Nala spoke up, referring to his previous announcement.
"That's not it." Simba sighed shaking his head. "I'm really considering not letting Kiara leave Pride Rock again."
"You can't be serious." Nala's eyes widened. "Simba, keeping her locked in won't solve anything, do you have any idea how that would make her feel?"
"What else am I supposed to do?" Simba turned to look at Nala angrily, raising his voice. "You heard what Zira said. What if she wants to do something to Kiara?"
Nala scowled indignant in Simba's direction.
"You don't think I'm worried too? I'm as concerned as you are for Kiara's wellbeing!"
When Simba looked away from Nala in defeat Nala took a moment to calm down her slowly rising temper. They both wanted their daughter to be safe, there was no point in arguing about it.
"I'm scared too." Nala mumbled, nuzzling Simba's mane. "But we can't do that to Kiara, and you know it."
"Yeah, I know." Simba sighed. "I just don't know what to do."
Nala looked up sadly at Simba. She couldn't say she blamed him, Zira's words were still fresh in her mind and so was her warning, but there had to be a better way to go around it.
"What am I supposed to do Nala?"
Nala stood silent for a moment, thinking how to properly reply.
"We don't have to keep her locked in, but we can watch over her if she stays close."
When Simba didn't say anything Nala looked in his direction and was relieved at seeing he was considering her proposal.
"Would that make you feel better?" Nala asked, urging Simba to answer.
It wasn't a solid solution but it was good enough to calm down his nerves, at least for now.
"Yeah, yeah it would."
Nala smiled when Simba finally nuzzled her back. Though they were both sure that it was yet to be over as of now they could rest easy for the night, it had been a long day.
"Kiara what exactly happened yesterday?"
"And are you okay? Simba looked really upset!"
Kiara looked between Tiifu and Zuri and sighed frustrated. She figured they'd both ask her about what happened, but that didn't mean she was looking forward to it.
"I'm fine." Kiara mumbled. "And I'm not entirely sure what happened, I just met a cub nearby the Outlands, Kovu, and we were starting to get along when his mom and my dad suddenly appeared. I could tell they've met before, but they didn't get along."
Tiifu and Zuri looked curiously at each other.
"What do you mean?"
"Kovu's mom did something, I'm not entirely sure what, but whatever it was daddy banished her to the Outlands because of it." Kiara frowned at the memory. "Something about her was really scary."
"That's really weird." Tiifu pondered under her breath.
"It sounds like grownups stuff, that would explain why Simba seemed so angry."
"I guess so." Kiara agreed with a nod. "But, I still want to see Kovu. At least one more time."
Both Tiifu and Zuri gawked surprised at Kiara.
"Are you crazy?!"
"Just yesterday Simba said to stay away from the Outlands!"
"I know I know!" Kiara cried annoyed. "But if I'm not going to see Kovu again I should at least be allowed to say goodbye to him!"
"Whatever you're thinking it's a bad idea Kiara." Zuri warned her worriedly.
Kiara frowned in thought. She knew they were right but she wouldn't give up that easily, at least not without trying.
"Good morning ladies."
Tiifu, Zuri and Kiara flinched in surprise when they heard Simba's voice behind them. Tiifu and Zuri greeted Simba with nervous smiles, but Kiara avoided his gaze knowing fully well he was looking for her.
"Kiara, I need to talk to you for a second."
When Simba looked expectantly at Tiifu and Zuri the two young lionesses excused themselves and left him and Kiara alone. Simba didn't seem angry, but Kiara was ready for the worst nonetheless.
"Your mother and I talked last night." Simba began. "And we've decided you can still leave Pride Rock, but you can't go too far away, you need to always be with someone, and you have tell either me or your mother where you're going to be."
If there was an escape maneuver Kiara was planning to go see Kovu one more time Simba had just completely foiled it. To be honest he was being more flexible than Kiara imagined considering what happened, but nevertheless she'd still have to think of another way to carry out her plan.
Simba's eyes softened when he noticed Kiara was avoiding his gaze.
"If you don't abide by these rules I'm afraid I'll have to resort to more drastic measures. You understand?"
Kiara nodded quietly, quickly meeting his eyes as she did so.
It was to be expected Kiara wouldn't be too happy about it, but Simba could only smile and hope she'd understand.
"Be good okay?" Simba whispered as he leaned down and nuzzled her briefly.
Kiara watched with a guilty frown as Simba walked away from her. Simba only wanted her to be safe, but she still needed to see Kovu one more time. If she could say her goodbyes successfully Kiara would follow her father's rules with no problem, but until then she'd carry that feeling of guilt at the bottom of her belly.
If she wouldn't be able to leave her parents' watchful eyes throughout the day, the only viable solution was to sneak out in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep.
The day seemed to go by faster than Kiara would have liked as she slowly realized the dangers and risks her planned involved. Suddenly the idea of leaving the safety of her home to wander the savannah in the middle of the night where there could be predators looking for dinner didn't sound so good. But despite the odds not being in her favor Kiara was still determined to properly say goodbye to Kovu.
The moment the sun set Nala went after Kiara and brought her back to Pride Rock. Considering that was the first day of the new regime Simba and Nala had established for her Kiara didn't say a word when Nala carried her all the way by the scruff.
Simba was still nowhere in sight, but usually he was the last to come in, so Kiara just made herself comfortable next to Nala hoping her father wouldn't pick to lie down by her other side. By the time Nala had fallen asleep Kiara noticed Simba finally stepping in and cursed inwardly when he lied down by Kiara's other side, keeping her trapped between both her parents.
Any other day Kiara would have been happy to sleep by Simba's soft mane, but that night in particular it only made things more complicated. Keeping her eyes closed to not rise any suspicion Kiara waited for Simba to fall asleep, and only when she was sure his breathing was slow and steady did she open her eyes.
Thankfully neither Simba or Nala had their paws close to her, so Kiara only focused in carefully wiggling out from between them without waking either up. When she finally jumped out to freedom Kiara peeked behind her to make sure they were both still asleep, and sighed relieved at seeing they hadn't budged an inch. Avoiding the other sleeping lionesses Kiara ran outside with a determined smile on her face.
Being the light sleeper that she was the subtle patting of paws against rock woke Nala up. She opened her eyes to barely catch a glimpse of a small tail exiting the den, and was able to put two and two together at seeing Kiara was gone.
Frowning preoccupied Nala stood up and decided to save Simba any more worries by letting him sleep. Whatever Kiara was planning to do it couldn't be good.
Going the same way Kiara had ran off to Nala saw not so far ahead her daughter climbing down Pride Rock and going on a straight line deeper into the savannah. Curiosity got the best of her, so instead of directly stopping Kiara Nala decided to follow her closely behind.
As Kiara kept going she was pleasantly surprised at not encountering anyone. In the distance she only saw a couple of Aardwolves that looked confused in her direction and at times the sound of the breeze against leaves took her by surprise, but travelling in the tall grass made her feel somewhat safer.
However when Kiara got closer and closer to the cliff with the crocodile lake at the bottom her heartbeat began to race. She wouldn't be able to cross it again on her own to go look for Kovu, and there was no telling if he would come out here too, so all Kiara could do was hope that by some chance Kovu would appear. The stakes weren't clearly in her favor, but it was still worth a shot.
Stopping right at the edge of the cliff Kiara sat down and stared deeply into the darkness on the other side. She couldn't see anything. If there was indeed someone over there she couldn't tell.
"Kovu?"
There was no response.
A few yards behind Nala watched hidden in the grass how Kiara kept calling for the young cub, not entirely sure what her daughter planned to do if he did show up.
"Kovu are you there?" Kiara called once again.
There was the sound of grass ruffling coming from the other side, and Kiara's ears perked up in excitement.
"Kiara?"
"Kovu!"
Kovu's form appeared from the darkness and the cub sat down by the edge of the cliff to greet Kiara with a shy smile.
"I can't believe you came all the way out here too."
"Of course I did! I just had to see you again."
The happiness was short lived when Kiara remembered the reason as to why she had come out all the way there in the first place.
"I wanted to see you again to say goodbye." Kiara said, her ears falling down the side of her head as she frowned. "My parents don't want me to leave home ever again."
The sadness in Kiara's voice caused Kovu to frown empathetic.
"I wanted to say goodbye too. My mom, she…" Kovu looked away from Kiara, almost with guilt. "She won't let me leave for a while either."
"Oh…"
There was silence between the cubs as they didn't know what else to say. What are you supposed to say when you're seeing someone for the last time?
Trying to at least end it on a positive note and be as brief as possible Kiara did her best to muster a smile.
"Well, no matter what my father says, I'm still glad I got to meet you Kovu."
Kovu's eyes softened and he couldn't help smiling back.
"I'm glad I got to meet you too Kiara."
As short as their friendship had lasted Kiara felt like she was losing something important and very dear to her. She loved both Tiifu and Zuri to bits, but when she met Kovu she had found something in him that had been missing in her life. If it were up to her she'd do anything to see Kovu every single day, but everything and everyone was against it.
Their gazes lingered on each other for a few more moments before Kovu finally stood up and began to turn back around where he came from.
Kovu looked back at Kiara one more time with a sad smile. "Goodbye."
Kiara sighed, watching as his small figure disappeared in the shadows.
"Bye."
Until Kovu was no longer visible Kiara finally stood up and turned around to head back home, her tail dragging sadly between her back legs.
"Kiara you know it's dangerous to come out here on your own. What were you thinking?"
Kiara froze on her tracks when from the darkness Nala's figure appeared in front of her. For how long had she been there?
"M-Mom I…"
"Did you seriously think it was a good idea to go out in the middle of the night on your own? What if Zira had followed Kovu too?" Nala scolded her. If something had happened Nala would have jumped out without a second thought, but if she hadn't been there and something did happen there was no telling if Kiara would have been okay.
"I wasn't going to the Outlands! I just wanted to say goodbye to Kovu!" Kiara cried trying to explain herself, but sighed in defeat at Nala's unfaltering gaze and looked down at the ground. "I was going to come back before you woke up."
Though Nala was still mortified by Kiara's actions she was able to sympathize with her daughter. Her intentions were good, even with the bad circumstances.
"I'm sorry." Kiara murmured timidly.
Nala sighed and leaned down to nuzzle Kiara.
"It's okay. What matters is that you're safe." Nala waited for Kiara to open her eyes so their gazes could meet. "But we better not tell anything about this to your father."
Kiara nodded in agreement.
"He'd be really angry wouldn't he?" Kiara asked as the two began to walk back to Pride Rock.
Nala looked ahead where their home could be seen in the distance.
"Not angry, but scared."
Kiara looked up curiously at her mother.
"Scared?"
Nala stared down at Kiara to see genuine curiosity in her eyes. It wasn't so hard to guess that a cub wouldn't realize their parents feel scared too from time to time.
"Kiara why do you think your father made those new rules yesterday? About not getting close to the Outlands and you not going so far away from Pride Rock."
Kiara hummed briefly in thought.
"Because he doesn't want anyone to see Zira again?"
"In a way yes, but mainly he did it so you're not in danger. Your father and I love you and all we want is that you are safe. You knew that didn't you?"
Kiara recalled how Simba had said almost the exact same thing after their encounter with Zira.
"Yeah, I did."
"And not just us, everyone else in the pride loves you. Your friends, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu and everyone else cares about you. And one day we will all need you to be queen of the Pridelands. You're the only one who can do it Kiara, that's why you have to be more careful from now on."
'Everyone?' Kiara wondered inwardly.
Kiara stopped paying attention to where they were going long back ago and didn't realize they had already arrived to Pride Rock. Nala didn't add anything else as she returned to Simba's side and urged Kiara to join her as well with a nudge of her head.
Still deep in thought Kiara returned to lie down between her parents and cuddled against Simba's mane.
'Everyone is expecting a lot of me, aren't they?'
Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated!