Welcome to my story! I hope you enjoy it! Just a reminder, The Pridelands, Priderock, Mohatu, Ahadi, Uru, Mufasa, etc. All belong to Disney and The Lion King. Rainaria, Sheba, Gamba, Eliza, Quinn, Mayzie, Jamal, Tanya, Epesi, and Zuri all belong to me. Enjoy
Rainaria's Story
Prologue
Night in the savannah. Not a sound was heard. Until now. Streaking through the grass was a large male lion. He was stocky, and strong. He was a bright golden color with a thick brown mane. His green eyes glinted with determination. He was King Gamba, leader of the Pridelands. He was on a mission. He rushed through the savannah and hurled over a hill. He slowed down. Just ahead was a small cave. He pulled a small piece of cargo off his back.
A cub.
The small cub had dusty brown fur and blue eyes. On her head was a birthmark, shaped like a raindrop. She was named after it, her name being Rainaria. The cub was an adolescent, and small. She yawned. "Are we here daddy?" She murmured. He snarled and scooped her up.
"Keep quiet Rainaria." The cub didn't though. She was full of questions.
"Where are you taking me daddy?"
"Away." The cub's eyes widened.
"Why?" He sighed. They had just reached the mouth of the cave. "Why can't Sheba come too?"
"Sheba is staying here. You must go away, were you will not ruin Sheba's destiny," He snapped.
"I'm supposed to be the queen though! I'm older than Sheba!" the cub wailed. The lion dropped the cub.
"You were never meant to be born! Sheba will be more of a queen than you ever will be! You are a scrap of fur, and useless." He took a step back. "I never wanted more than one cub, and Sheba is more worthy than you." The cub was astounded, and ashamed of herself. Then, a lion trotted out of the cave. She was scrawny, with dark brown fur and frightening red eyes. She circled around Rainaria, inspecting her.
"Gamba, this is marvelous! I thought you would never show up," the lioness hissed. He curled his lip.
"Eliza, take her and go. Far from here. Anywhere." He growled.
"She's going where all orphaned cubs go. Lina's Home for Orphaned Cubs." He nodded, and stepped back.
"Thank you Eliza." She only nodded her head and scooped up the cub. The cub struggled.
"Daddy? Why is this lioness taking me? Don't go!" Gamba was already walking away though. The cub was frightened, and started thrashing around. "DADDY!" She wailed. Eliza took her into the cave. They would set out for the orphanage tomorrow. Gamba ran up the hill, and looked back. He could hear Rainaria yelling. He turned and shook his head. He wanted nothing to do with that pitiful excuse of a cub. He roared, and ran into the darkness.
Chapter One
I reared up on my hind legs and swatted at Tanya, my training partner. However, I lost balance and fell flat on my face. My group instructor Quinn snarled in my face. "No, you don't do it right! Pay attention or I'll give you something to be distracted about!" The rugged, faded yellow lioness loped back into the clearing. I sighed. I had been in this awful place since I could toddle and talk. I was never adopted, and was neglected. Quinn opened her jaw to come up with another searing insult, but a roar sounded in the dusty valley. School was over. I bounded away to enjoy my few minutes of freedom.
This place disgusted me. I shared a cramped cave with five lions, 3 females and 2 males. We were grouped judged on our skills in school. It was rough here, and I was only a teenager. I felt awful when I first arrived, but everyone else here is like me. They don't fit in.
1. Tanya- Has a small chunk of mane on her head
2. Mayzie- Half lion half cheetah
3. Jamal- White lion
4. Mohatu-Second born in the royal family of his pride
I slouched into our tiny cave to sleep. I hated it here, and every time I close my eyes for a nap, I see my father leaving me with the cold-hearted leader of this dump. I felt a small tear run down my eye. I missed the mother I never knew, who died giving birth to me and my sister, Sheba. SHEBA! What was so special about her? I was older than her, and next in line for the throne. I rolled onto my side, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
The next time I woke up was in the middle of the night. In the faint light, I could see Jamal, Mayzie, and Tanya, but no Mohatu. Mohatu. We shared a lot in common. We were both from royal families, and were both cast aside. I wandered out, and saw him looking at the stars. He was sitting a few feet from the guard's path. They constantly patrolled there to make sure nobody ran off. He sighed.
"Father, why would mother do this? I saw her laugh when those hyena's tore you to shreds…." Mohatu hung his head. "It was my fault; I never should have brought you down there like mother said to. She said there was a great surprise waiting, and….." His voice trailed off. "I failed you father….mother is a murderer, and a cruel liar! I hate her!" He sat there with his head hung low. I took a step forward.
"Mohatu?" He raised his head and looked at me. He was just barely holding back tears. "I heard everything, and it's not your fault." He just stared. He was a caramel colored lion with a darker brown mane, and green eyes.
"But it is. If it weren't for me, my dad would still be alive." I nuzzled him gently. "Nobody knows the terrible things I've seen." I pushed my head into his tiny mane. He looked surprised at first, but then relaxed.
"I have. My father abandoned me because he thought I was a disgrace to him and my younger sister. He wanted her to have the throne, even though it belongs to me." Mohatu pulled away and looked at me.
"You are a princess, or maybe even a queen!" I felt myself blushing.
"Yeah, I know." His smile began to fade though.
"Nobody cares anymore, at all." I nuzzled him again, and turned his face toward mine.
"As long has you are with the Gang and I, we will always care." I stepped back and turned toward the den. Nothing more needed to be said.
"No Rainaria, no!" Quinn lunged at me, and hit me in the face with her claws. "Pay attention." She stood on her hind legs, and did an amazing back flip. She landed with ease, and glared at the rest of the group. "Begin…." She hissed. I stumbled over to Tanya, trying to keep the blood welling from my forehead out of my eyes. Tanya looked horrified, and swiped the back of her paw over my eye in an attempt to clear away the blood. It just made it worse. Then, a roar sounded. It was Quinn.
"Get ready for action! Today is Adoption Day!" she called. I was surprised, and I obviously wasn't the only one. "Eliza is sorry she changed it on such short notice. Go to your dens, prepare, you know the drill." She bounded off. All of us were dumbfounded. It was quiet the whole time we headed to our cave, but Jamal broke the silence.
"We might get adopted! This is going to be GREAT!" Jamal bounded ahead of us and into our cave. I just sighed and flopped down outside. My eye stung, and I was very tired. As Tanya and Mayzie headed into the cave, Mohatu broke away from them and came to me. He swiped his tongue over my eye. I purred and pushed my head into his tiny mane.
"I'll miss you if I get adopted," I breathed. He continued licking me, and then paused.
"I will too," he murmured. With that, he got up. "You best start getting ready." I nodded.
"Of course." He smiled and loped into the cave. I heaved myself to my paws, and went over to the small puddle outside of our cave. The guards replenished it for us once a day. I dabbed my paw in and rubbed the water into my eye. Soon, the blood washed out, and I groomed my dusty fur.
We sat outside the cave in a perfect row. All of us down to the sporty, always dirty Tanya, were clean and ready for adoption. I shook with anxiety. Would anybody want a lioness cub like me? I was a teen, but still. Mohatu nuzzled me. "You'll be fine." I didn't answer him though, because the first potential parents were walking on the path that visited every cave in the orphanage. We waited excitedly at first, but no one seemed interested in us. I almost fell asleep on my paws waiting. Then I heard Jamal gasp.
"Look! Cheetahs!" he yipped. Gliding down the path on their thin legs were a pair of cheetahs. Mayzie ducked down. She had always been ashamed of being a crossbreed, and never liked talking about cheetahs. I was excited though. I had heard stories about how cheetahs and leopards came to the orphanage on a rare occasion, but I never expected it was me who would experience it.
Quinn was guiding them down the path, and for once, she was being nice. I examined the cheetahs. The male was thin yet muscular, and had brilliant green eyes. He walked with his head held high, and didn't seem to notice us gawking at him. The female was thin, and had sparkling blue eyes. She had a perfect smile, and obviously like cubs, because when she saw us, her gaze brightened.
"Epesi! Look, cubs! Aren't they just the cutest little things you've ever seen?" She bounded down and over to us. The male and Quinn continued walking, but he called to his mate.
"Zuri, please stay calm, the cubs look exhausted." He trotted over to her and examined us. His gaze hardened when it fell on me. I felt my eyes glass over. He looked over to Mayzie though. "Little cub, why do you keep your head hung low?" Mayzie didn't answer. "He lowered his face down to her. "You have spots like Zuri, my mate, and I. You are half cheetah aren't you?" She nodded slowly and met his gaze. He smiled. "That's it, be proud, be takabari, and good things will come your way." He then turned to Quinn. "Have these cubs had any training?"
"Of course, sir. They have some basic fighting techniques, as well as some complex moves." Epezi rolled his eyes.
"Besides fighting. Can they hunt?" Hunt? We had food brought to us! Quinn looked at the ground, then at the sky.
"No, they can't. Eliza thought they were a little young." The cheetah's eyes widened.
"Of course they aren't! Cheetah cubs know how to hunt by now!" Quinn fought to keep her cool.
"I know sir, but these are lions."
"They should know too." Quinn looked like she was out of comebacks, so the female cheetah, Zuri, took charge.
"Can we play with them for a bit?" Quinn shifted her paws.
"Of course. I hope you find one you would like to adopt." With that said, the cheetahs introduced themselves, and games and fun commenced.
I brushed dirt out of my fur quietly. We were back in line, and the cheetahs were discussing with Quinn about adopting a little bit away. I could see them sneaking glances at us and whispering, and I became fidgety. The others were nervous too, especially Mayzie. She was shocked after the male talked to her. Finally, the huddle broke up. They came back over to our cave and settled down. Zuri's eyes were shining, and Epezi had a faint smile as well. Quinn stepped forward. "Epezi and Zuri have decided to adopt not one, but two of you." Quinn was smiling her evil grin. "Epezi, you can take it from here." Quinn stepped back, and Epezi stepped forward.
"All of you are excellent cubs, with lots of potential. Two of you stuck out like zebras in a herd of gazelle though." His smile widened. Zuri stepped forward as well. "Are you guys ready?" We all nodded, and my stomach began to boil. I was so nervous. Zuri spoke first.
"Mayzie, we would love it if you would join our family as our first daughter." Everyone turned to Mayzie, who looked astonished. Jamal piped up.
"Say yes Mayzie! You have a family!" Mayzie's smile suddenly brightened, and she raced full throttle towards the cheetahs. She wrapped her paws around Zuri's leg and started crying tears of joy.
"I have a real family!" Epezi smiled and patted Mayzie on the back.
"I knew you would be my daughter the moment I laid eyes on you." Mayzie giggled, but didn't let go of Zuri's leg. Epezi patted her head, and spoke again. "Now for our next cub." Mohatu stiffened, and I felt fear radiating from him. I comforted him with a lick to his ear. Who would adopt a cub like me anyway? Then, Epezi spoke up again. "Our next cub will be Rainaria." Everybody in the clearing looked astonished. I was now the daughter of a cheetah.
Thanks for reading the first few bits of my Lion King story. For those of you who aren't Lion King fans like me, Mohatu is really apart of the Lion King. Mohatu had a daughter known as Uru. Uru had a mate named Ahadi, and from them, two of the most famous brothers in the Lion King were born, Mufasa and Scar. You know the rest. However, no one ever knew who Mohatu's mate was. This gave me the idea for this story. I plan to tell it all the way up to when little Uru is born.:) Thanks for reading!