There she is! Scar sighed in relief once he finally spotted the lioness. He sent a quick glance up to the stars that were just starting to show and whispered a thank you to the Great Kings. Then he padded over and sat down beside her. "Fina? What are you doing out here? Everyone's looking for you."
Sarafina didn't answer. She sniffed and rubbed at her tear-stained face with a paw. "I needed to be alone, that's all."
"Why?" It disturbed him to see his cub-hood friend so upset. Truthfully Sarafina had been distant since she returned from her visit to the jungle. She spoke when others spoke to her, but otherwise made no effort to start a conversation. Now she was out here so close to the Elephant Graveyard, alone and in tears. Something wasn't right. And he needed to make it right.
"I..." Sarafina looked up at the stars then hung her head. "I've made a terrible mistake. I've been trying to figure out how to fix it." Her paw moved something at her feet he had not noticed. "I made it on my own, and I'll deal with it on my own. I don't want anyone else's opinion on the matter."
Scar's eyes narrowed on the items she had toyed with, then he swallowed hard. He recognized it from his studies with Rafiki. In his duties, it was useful to be aware of the effects of different herbs, as they could be used to treat minor injuries before the shaman could be reached. And so, he knew what it was, and what it was used for. "Fina... surely there's worse things then bearing a siku-"
"I said I don't want anyone's advice!" Sarafina growled as she turned to face him, her face contorted in fury and her eyes blazing. "Why don't you go and reassure everyone I'm fine and that I will return at my own pace, instead of judging me!"
"I am not judging you," Scar replied, stepping back out of reach. "But I fail to understand why the lioness who once spoke so eagerly of motherhood, would simply throw the chance away."
"You don't understand!"
"I am aware of that." He sat down and tilted his head in obvious interest. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to explain?"
Sarafina's ire retreated as quickly as it had come. She lowered her head in obvious shame. "Were it simply a sikubali, I wouldn't even be..." She stopped, tears returning to her eyes. "The cub... or cubs... that's not... How do I look them in the eye and tell them their father..."
Scar slowly moved closer as the whole story tumbled out. He let her bury her face in his mane and stroked her back soothingly. He had to fight back the growl that started in his chest. What kind of male betrays his mate like this?
It had started innocently enough, so she told him. She had gone to visit Leona, and on the way to see Panja and his new bride, she had came across a lone lion. The pair had started talking and found each other good company. So they had met, day after day. And eventually, become intimate. Sarafina had been infatuated and convinced she'd found the love of her life. Then...
"I couldn't believe my ears when she found us," said Sarafina. "I've never been so ashamed! Never! But then he denied it, Scar! Said there was nothing between us, that I was simply a friend! Bad enough to lie to me, but to not even have the mane enough to tell his mate the truth!" She blinked her tears away and once more toyed with herbs at her paws. "So what other choice is there? Better to not bring a cub... or cubs... into the world that one day I will have to tell their father is a liar and denied the act that created them, than to have them one day hate me."
Scar simply leaned in close, his tail lashing as he turned his mind to the problem. It was not the cubs fault their father was lower than a carcass. He could not see, had his own mother been a victim of such, blaming her for falling in love. It would simply make him rise above it. But Sarafina seemed so sure of her course... what could he do to buy time? Time for her to reconsider? To change her mind? "Lie," he said. "You need not tell them. To tell anyone else. I..." He drew a deep breath. "Let them think me their sire. Let everyone believe thus. No harm done."
Sarafina pulled back from him, staring at him in surprise. "But... but that's wrong."
"More so than ending an innocent life before it truly begins?" Scar countered softly. "Better a tender lie, than an act so fraught with peril. Fina, do you not know the dangers of those herbs? They could end your life just as much as the cub's." He took a deep breath. "Please, I've lost enough already."
Sarafina looked down at the herbs, moving them in a circle as her tail twitched. Finally, her face hardened and she brought her paw down upon them, smashing them beyond use. "Na la," she said, then looked in the direction of the jungle. "You deny your mate your loyalty. You deny my affections. But you will not make me deny them their chance." With a sigh, she turned back to him with a sad smile. "Thank you. So much."
Scar slowly smiled and nuzzled her cheek. "Anytime, Fina, anytime." He pulled back and started toward Pride Rock. "Let's go home. Everyone's worried long enough."
"Yes," she replied, coming up alongside him. "Let's."
Not fully sure if this is canon or not to the current version my The Lion King and the Jungle Emperor story. It is to old one. But I may change it for the revamp. This is my explanation for the assumption everyone made that Scar is the father of Nala - he allows that to be assumed, allows Sarafina to lie about it, to save his friend.
Sikubali is a semi-Swahili term used by the lions of the Forest and Pride Lands. It means "is not acknowledged", and is used to refer to cubs not born to a lion's mate or to an unmated lioness. A sikubali cub's sire is usually known, but the connection is never acknowledged (hence the term), and the sire has no legal rights to the cub, only its mother. In reverse, a King's sikubali cub has no claim upon the throne.
Na la means "You deny" in Zulu.