Chapter I

The sun slowly arose to the pride lands once more. The slow, burning orange gracefully lifted to present its gifts to the earth; light. Light and warmth. The sun's warmth would often feel like the warmth of a loving nuzzle whereas other times it could feel like the unbearable overheating sweat dripping from the body.

The light gradually beaconed over the pride lands more and flowed through, creating an orangey pre – morning glow, before lighting up a large rock.
This large stone had an open spaced comfortable cavern directly in its centre where a pride of lions resided. The rock held up a long summit that stretched out where many leaders had stood tall, and a much smaller but wider and higher summit that was only accessible by a crumbling ramp.
It was none other than Pride rock.

The rock was showing signs of age with the moss sitting on the sides and the erosion of the ramp leading to the upper summit, however no one could deny it's beauty. It had been hit with lightning and pelted with rains, hails and the movement of the tectonic plates meant it gradually changed positions from left to right. It had also seen many different lions; Good and evil. But it still stood strong and home to the king. Which is where the story begins. Right under the roof of the cavern.

A small glimmer of light quickly escaped into the cave and shined on a lioness' eye, which flickered a few times before opening to see the light flooding through the cave. The drowsy lioness stood up. There was something graceful about her, just something. As she extended her body back in a stretch, yawned loudly and groaned slightly, she opened her eyes once more. Her eyes were a softly coloured brown that had an adventurous look to them. Next; her fur. A golden tanned with a white covered underbelly. Her pink nose stuck out the most from her face.
It was Kiara, the daughter of the current king Simba.
She nudged the black Lion next to her.

This lion was well built, with a friendly essence to him. Brown fur coat with a lighter brown underbelly and a darker brown mane. His eyes slowly, but reluctantly opened. Strong green that glistened ever so slightly. A vertical scar he had received years ago still haunted his left eye however, and would give any passers by the wrong impression after the stories of what a lion with a scar was like. When he stood up, the lion stretched as well looking like he had only just regained consciousness due to the recent lack of sleep.
It was Kovu, the adopted son of Scar.
He yawned almost in a roar and followed his mate into the more than welcoming outside.

The light had sent an orange blanket of warm morning light that covered the lands. The trees began regenerating their shadows and the summer breeze brushed up against the mix of yellow and green, long and short grass. The grass swayed peacefully back and forth as surrounding animals of the Pridelands left their dreams.

"Isn't it pretty?" Kiara yawned.
"Yeah." Kovu chuckled in response.

Today was the three year anniversary of the demise of Zira, and the reunification of the prides. Though it was for the best, Kovu still couldn't comprehend why he did nothing to at least attempt to save his adopted mother. Both prides had found it difficult to live peacefully in the same cavern, but they knew they had to do it. Most of the lionesses from Simba's pride secretly never forgave the ex outlanders for their brutal attack. Darkness had occasionally returned to the lionesses and sometimes even Kovu. Though he didn't acknowledge it, he tried not to.
Two and a half years ago all signs of darkness and evil subsided when Simba exiled any lioness still showing signs of darkness, this meant half of the ex outlanders departed. Kovu had noticed the evil about that time but decided to keep it to himself, he knew it would have passed.

All the familiar lions continued to reside at Pride Rock, however one lioness about a year ago moved away; Vitani. She took the choice to live in a damp, small hidden cavern that was half – buried underground that had been found vacant in another part of the pride lands with highly close proximity to the outlands. Mostly because even though she was the first to turn against her insane mother, she still felt a strange attachment to her and the outlands that she couldn't let go of. For her this meant she couldn't live with pacifists, she just couldn't. Vitani had also taken time, sometimes even a lot longer, to forget the teachings of evil and join as one. Evil had been the only thing that she had learnt her entire life. However she still cared for her younger adopted brother, not showing it ever, but she did. The fact that she had taken the decision to move away from the pride to live alone meant she wasn't exactly, 'trusted' by any of the pridelanders purely because of the possibility that she was planning their downfall and that her teachings had remained.

Kiara slumped down in a sit and smiled, closing her eyes tightly and feeling the fresh breeze of the new day on her face. Kovu glanced down at his mate, weakly smiled and as he sat down too, he could automatically feel the breeze flow through his elegant mane. This was too relaxing. It was the most relaxation they had gotten in ages. They snuggled in together and stayed in their embrace for a period of time. After a prolonged sigh from the princess of the pridelands she looked up at her mate.
"Thirsty?" She questioned still drowsy.

Kovu nodded.
Kiara gave Kovu a playful wink as she sprung up, stretched her hindlegs, and gave a grin to her mate. Kovu chuckled and smirked as he stood from his relaxation and knew what was coming next. Kiara moved in closer to Kovu, into his ear and began to whisper.

"I'll give you a ten second head start."
"I don't need it this time." Kovu bluffed.

He suddenly dashed away and Kiara laughed before she cheated when counting backwards.

"10...9...6, 2, 1!"

Knowing that he had been cheated, Kovu attempted to increase his speed by galloping, which only tired him out more. Within seconds, strangely he could feel his mates paws clawing away at his hindlegs, attempting to trip him up which he eventually did. Kiara laughed as she sprinted ahead. Kovu sighed, struggled up and dashed in a sprint.

()0()0()

Back over at Pride Rock, a strong, large lion emerged from the shadowy depths of the cavern slowly and squinting when the light reached his brown eyes. The lion also had a strong golden coloured fur coat that was greying slightly, a now dusty underbelly and a greying reddish burgundy mane. The mane was enormous and still flowed through the wind.
It was Simba, the son of the late King Mufasa.

King Simba groaned in a yawn and plodded sleepily towards the tip of the lower summit, where he slumped down and stared into the pridelands. His heart was warming as he watched the much younger lions play and laugh in the long grass. As he sighed another older lioness stepped out into the yellowy sunlight. Her blue eyes twinkled like a graceful shooting star and reflected off of them was her mate. Her fur coat was a pale cream and a white underbelly, the coat was unintentionally showing its age, but the presence of elegance entwined in the lioness subsided this.
It was Nala.

The queen sat beside the king as they moved in closer and watched their daughter with pride. They hadn't shared an intimate moment for quite some time, and today just had to be about relaxation.

"Can you believe it?" Nala sighed.
"Believe what?" Simba replied.
"We're all finally at peace. I still can't believe it!"

They shared a quick and intimate nuzzle. The nuzzle spoke to them internally; this was it. No more worries. As the two lions finished Simba's happiness drew to a sudden close when he noticed something in the sky flickering.
The fact that he continued to stare at the strange star in the sky that was visible during light hours not only confused the king but also frightened him a little. The light wouldn't go away when he flickered his eyes open and shut and for some reason which Simba just couldn't describe, it felt like an omen.

He continued to stare at the unidentified star like glisten, other things became a blur, his eyes squinted, before closing them tightly to a point where his eyelids moistened and reopened them. The 'omen' had gone; but his cautious emotion surrounded him. Nala said nothing to him, not noticing his slight distress, and began to walk to the watering hole. Simba trying to ignore his worry followed his mate to the water; perhaps it was all in his half – asleep head.

As they arrived Simba was startled when Kiara was pulled suddenly into the water by Kovu. Thunderous laughters came from the two lions as memories of their jungle romance flooded back. Kiara, after a brief pause fumbled out of the water, gasping for breath and laughing at the same time and shook the cold morning water off of herself, hitting almost everything around her with cold droplets. Kovu hopped out, spat water from his muzzle and relinquished the water from his body as well. Simba and Nala stood together, dripping from cold droplets of water, feeling the drops slide slowly down their bodies.

"Do you mind?" Simba chuckled. Kovu was having a blast; he just never wanted his joyous sensation he had felt only a few times in his life to end. Kiara, still soaking and exhausted sat down to catch her breath, where she was then startled by her mate nuzzling her. The purrs of pleasure as they nuzzled relaxed both lions even more. Every minute that Kovu and Kiara nuzzled had added more trust to their relationship. Kovu slowly pulled away and without warning playfully pushed his mate to the floor. She gasped as she fell, glanced up and caught a glimpse of Kovu sprinting away.

"There's your 10 second head start!" Kiara shouted after him. Pulling herself up, she sprinted after him, giggling as she did. By now, Simba and Nala both had their tongues rippling the smooth surface of the water as they took long extended drinks of water. Once Simba had finished, he swallowed the water and sighed, but cut it off when he saw the strange 'omen' star again. It was brighter and bigger than before, so much that it was reflected in his eyes.

"Nala," Simba spoke up, 'Nala!'
'What?' Nala yawned.
"Look to the sky and can you see a light?"
"That would be the sun Simba. I told you before, that's a burning ball of gas that..."
"No! I know that. But away from the sun, can you see a glimmering light?"

Nala sighed and looked in the sky and saw nothing but blue and the morning sun beaming down on them. Simba pressed his paw against her face and pushed it in the direction he was peering.

"I can only see the yellow gas ball, no creepy star."
Simba looked to Nala.
"Hmm?" He said.
"I can't see anything. Why, did you worry about it?"
Simba sighed. "No, no reason really." Nala gave him a sneer as she nuzzled him for a few moments in comfort.
"You do make me laugh sometimes."

Nala and Simba continued to nuzzle lovingly, remembering their first dip in a lake. As Nala nuzzled Simba under his chin, Simba looked to the sky once more, looking out for the what he thought was a warning star. Whatever Nala said, he still didn't trust that glimmer of light in the sky. It was natural instinct for him now, he worried about every small thing he saw. It was only because he wanted to be recognised as one of the greatest kings of all; just like his father. His brown eyes reflected the sun and flickered at the light. He turned his attention back to his mate, pulling away from their nuzzle.
"I have to do something." Simba said.

Nala nodded her head understandingly. Taking the hint, she stood up gracefully and sleepily walked back to Pride Rock for a quick snooze. Simba walked around the side of the watering hole where he and his father would always sit and get a drink in the morning, bent down and extended his tongue in the water. Drinking the soothing water sent Simba back to a simpler time. He remembered drinking while looking at his fathers reflection to the side of him, almost ten times bigger than him. Simba always looked up to his father with pride and optimism. But every time he did something haunted his memory; how much he trusted Scar. The four words that his uncle Scar had uttered all those years ago still coldly replayed in his mind:

"It's our little secret."
The fact that Simba allowed his trust to be placed on his uncle, even though when Mufasa told him not to, could still break Simba's strong heart. That black lion was far too cunning. His presence could be felt even when he wasn't around, those constantly unsheathed claws ticking along the ground was still audible in the lionesses mind, some never being able to forgive themselves for witnessing the most heartless king's reign. Attempting to mix hyena's and lions was never going to be a good idea, one of the main reasons the puny pack of hyena's escaped while they had the chance.

After Simba had finished remembering the past, he lifted from the water, swallowed what was in his mouth and belched loudly. He chuckled remembering the first time he met his best friends; Timon and Pumbaa. Being brought up by an outcast meerkat and warthog was still unbelievable to the king. How they managed to raise him was entirely beyond Simba, something he couldn't describe, nor question. That's how it happened, that's how it will always remain.

Simba stood from his prolonged drink and looked to the skies.
"Father," He started. "If something is to happen and I die...protect my family."

A gust of wind that flew through Simba's mane startled him slightly but strangely; he could feel his own father's presence in the winds.

()0()0()

The afternoon scurried along quickly that day, no one had really taken notice of the importance of the day. It just felt normal, unlike it was three years ago. Most animals had actually forgotten the relevance of today's important meanings...
Kovu lay alone, soaking up the warm and gleaming afternoon sun trying to forget about his future stressors and duties he was going to have to pick up in very little time. He was snoozing while lying on his back, trying to think of happier things than being a weak king he thought he was going to be. Just as the thought occurred to him Kovu realised that he hadn't checked on his adopted sister for over a week and a half. Groaning, he flopped onto his right side and proceeded to stand. He stretched longways and then his hindleg's stretched. He knew that because of her condition that Kovu was obliged to enthuse to her the importance of the reunification.

Kovu proceeded to walk slowly and calmly to the small, uncomfortable cave in which Vitani resided. When he arrived an awkward silence loomed down as he gulped, exhaled and proceeded in. When he walked in all of the natural light was evacuated leaving a dim glow making surroundings barely visible. Inside the cave was pathetically puny and extremely damp. Even during the heat of the afternoon the cave was a chilling frozen, and a few droplets of water dangled from the roof of the small cavern, not all of them dripping. Whenever Kovu entered the cave not only did it give him a chill it gave him a happy memory of when Kovu and Vitani would play in here.

No one was in.
"What do you want?" A voice boomed that echoed in the cave. It startled Kovu.
"I just wanted to check up on you, that's all." He replied.
"Well, I'm fine! So you can go." The familiar voice retorted. Kovu turned around.
The lioness at the opening was a direct halfway between fat and skinny, and her fur was a dusty golden with a faded creamy underbelly. Atop her head she also had a tuft of fur. Her face was very rounded and sharp at the same time, with dark circles around each eye. Her eyes were a soft blue but the look in her eye suggested what the colour didn't.

It was Vitani, the blood daughter of Scar.
"It's gross here." Kovu responded. "Its dark and damp, why would you want to live here? The rest of us are fine now, I just don't understand it."
"I can't live with you," Vitani decisively suggested. "It's already too difficult now I can't –"
"Look I'll help you! I can't stand to see you all locked away in here. It just hurts me."
"I should be the one hurt, Kovu, not you I can assure you."
"Mother's death was three years ago now, Vitani. We all hurt."
"It wasn't just that, remember who else died that week? Your brother?"
"I know that, we just have to get over things."

Vitani sat abruptly.
"I don't want to forget where I'm from. Don't you miss those summer days where we would just play and be ourselves? Not what mother wanted us to be?"
Kovu sighed.
"I do miss that. At times I sometimes even think I deserve all this. But look, Vitani, we just need to move on with our lives. It's not gonna stop for us."
"You mean me."
"What?"

"What your telling me your still blind? You can't see it? Life stopped for you and sorted itself out, not for me. You have everything. Everything. What do I have? An attachment to outlanders and a cave."
"You have me..."
"Oh aren't I lucky?"
"You have me." Kovu repeated. "Someone who has and still does care for you. If you need help; I've been offering it for two years now, you just don't want it. Do you realise what your giving up?"
"A life in a lie?"
"No. Your giving up a life of luxury. I love living where I do now, I know you would to. At least come to pride rock with me now, I wantto help you, Vitani. You're my sister. Please."

Vitani stared at Kovu giving her a warm, welcoming and much deserved smile for a few minutes before sighing and lowering her head.
"…Okay. Just for you."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Woop started again :D hehe