A/N: This goes against a lot of what I think happened in the first Lion King movie, but I've had this idea for almost six weeks. Just a word of warning: if you're disturbed by violence and (implied) incest, you might not want to read this. It's really no worse than any other T-rated fic on here, but I have a feeling some people might take issue with it, considering who the characters are.
Kaidi and Tulivu are my characters; Tama, Tojo, and the idea of the Great Spirit come from two of the comic stories. The story of Mohatu comes from the book The Brightest Star. I don't think you need to have read any of those to understand this, but it's pretty easy to find them online if you want to. Basically, any character, place, or event that you recognize isn't mine. I hope you enjoy this!
Methods of Discipline
Nala collapsed into the grass with a sigh, bearing a weary expression as she gazed up at her friends. "So what are we gonna do now?" the lioness cub asked, rolling into a more comfortable position. Their request to follow the lionesses on the hunt had been denied, and the cubs were left to play by themselves. Normally, a day like this would be filled with possibilities: chances for adventure and exploration stretching endlessly before them. But since her daughter's run-in with a group of hyenas several days before, Sarafina had been loath to let Nala venture far from Pride Rock. When her inquiry yielded only blank stares, she raised herself to her paws, exasperated. "Come on, you guys have to have some idea."
"I don't know," Tama replied, pushing away one of the tufts of fur that forever hung into her eyes. She ran her claws gently across the roots of a nearby acacia tree as she thought, seeming almost detached. "Maybe we could play tag or something."
Tojo looked up from the pebble he was batting from side to side, his blue eyes scanning the savanna. "Yeah, but there's only three of us here. It wouldn't be very fun." He ventured out from the shade of the tree, blinking in the sun's glare. "Why don't we go swim at the waterhole? I bet all the other cubs are over there."
"But we did that yesterday," Nala said, walking over to him anyway. "I guess it's better than nothing, though. Come on, Tama." After following Tojo for several paces, she glanced over her shoulder. "Tama? What are you doing?" Tama had remained where she was, staring intently at the southern border.
"Why don't we go over there instead?" she asked, pointing at the shadowy ridge with a claw. Nala's blue-green eyes widened, but Tojo spoke before she could voice her protest.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed, running to Tama's side. "I've wanted to check that place out since you told us about it. What did you call it again? An Elephant Graveyard or something?" Nala stayed where she was, shaking her head in firm resistance.
"I'm not going," she said. "Were you even listening when I told you about the hyenas there? It's too dangerous." Tojo's enthusiasm remained undaunted.
"Oh, come on, Nala," he coaxed. "It sounds really cool! Don't you think?" he asked Tama, who nodded vigorously in return.
"No, it's not," Nala said, walking over to them. "You guys could get killed! I'm not going, and neither should you. Let's go to the waterhole instead."
Though Tama looked momentarily dismayed, she suddenly grinned as though she had found a solution. "How about we just walk there and look over the edge, then? We won't have to go in, and if we see any hyenas we'll be able to run away before they climb up to us." Tojo smiled in agreement, but Nala hesitated, still unsure. It did seem like a better idea than actually going inside, but she didn't think she could bear seeing any hyenas again. Even now, several days later, the thought that she and Simba had been inches from death made her tense up inside. But if she didn't go, what if Tama or Tojo got hurt? Even with her meager experience there, she knew the graveyard better than they did. Nala made up her mind.
"Fine, I'll go with you," she said reluctantly. She held up a paw, signaling for them to listen. "But we have to be really, really careful, okay? We can't do anything stupid. And if we see even one hyena, we're leaving, no matter what."
"That's fine," Tojo said, bounding ahead. "Now let's go before it gets too late!"
"But how are we going to get past them?" Tama asked, glancing at some rocks several meters away. Basking on the rocks were three lionesses, appointed to watch the cubs: Sarafina; Tama's mother, Kaidi; and Tulivu, an old lioness who no longer went out with the hunting party. Though they didn't seem focused on the cubs, any chance of visiting the Elephant Graveyard would be ruined if they were caught. To Nala, that wasn't a bad thing, but to Tama and Tojo it definitely was.
"Relax, they probably won't even notice us," Tojo said calmly. "And even if they do, we'll just act like we're going to the waterhole or something until we're out of their sight. Now come on." And with that Tojo set off, Tama following behind. Nala looked in her mother's direction, praying that Sarafina would catch her eye and stop her from going. Seeing that it was to no avail, she hurriedly ran to catch up with her friends.
All three cubs tensed nervously as they walked past the lionesses, trying to conceal any outward signs of guilt. Purposely slowing her pace, Nala glanced at Sarafina again, her feelings now of desperation. Mom, won't you do something? she thought. Please. Sarafina continued chatting with Tulivu, while Kaidi rested her head on her paws, looking bored. Not one of them seemed to notice her, and all she could do was reluctantly follow the other cubs.
"We did it!" Tama exclaimed in a low voice, once they were a fair distance from the lionesses. "For a second there, I really thought we were gonna get caught."
"So did I," said Nala, not bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice. Her friends didn't seem to notice. She looked back at the rocks with a sigh, seeing that nothing had changed.
"What are we waiting for, then?" Tojo asked, looking up at the sun impatiently. "If we take too long to get there, they'll notice we're gone." As if by an unspoken command, Tojo and Tama took off running, racing each other to the ridge of the Elephant Graveyard. Nala followed nervously behind, hoping for someone to notice them and make them stop, or barring that, at least a better experience there than the last time.
"It seems like she doesn't like the idea very much, but I'm sure when the time comes she'll be ready," Sarafina said, looking at Tulivu as if for approval. "I know right now it feels a long way off, but really, it's not. I'm not pushing her too hard, though, am I?" She was speaking of Nala's betrothal to King Mufasa's son, Simba. Over time, Tulivu had come to notice Sarafina's constant worries about her daughter's present and future, a trait that had only intensified over the last few days. Before she could answer, her attention was distracted by a slight movement from the corner of her eye, almost out of her line of vision.
She turned, squinting to make out the steadily diminishing figures to the south. Though Tulivu hated to admit it, her vision was fading with age, and none of the figures were immediately recognizable. Leaning forward, however, she thought she could make out Nala's light distinctive coat. Hoping not to alarm Sarafina, she spoke hesitantly. "You do know that your daughter --"
Sarafina stood up; she had already seen the cubs as soon as Tulivu had turned her head. "Oh no-- I told her not to go back there. I thought that would be enough... I should have known...." She seemed too stunned at the sight of Nala's disobedience to do anything but stare, and Tulivu began to think she should go after the cubs herself. Kaidi stood up and jumped down from the rocks, obviously sharing the same sentiment.
"I'll handle this," she said, taking off in the direction of the Elephant Graveyard. Even with the cubs' head start, the adult lioness's longer legs brought her to Tama and the others in a matter of minutes. The cubs hadn't gone very far; the graveyard was still a shadow on the horizon. "I'm afraid your journey ends here." Hearing her voice from behind, they turned around in surprise.
The three cubs stared up at Kaidi before breaking forth in a torrent of excuses. "We weren't going to go in-- I mean, we were just gonna look over the edge," Tojo said. Tama nodded, hoping to calm her mother down.
"We would've been careful," she supplied. "Nala already told us about the hyenas and everything...." She broke off, seeing that Kaidi was unaffected by her words.
"That doesn't matter. You were told to stay close to Pride Rock," she said, staring pointedly at her daughter. "But I'll deal with that later. Let's go back." She turned away abruptly, causing the cubs to scramble to catch up with her. No one spoke a word the rest of the way back, and were it not for the fact that Tama tried several times to gauge her mother's mood by glancing hopefully up at her, Kaidi might have thought she was alone. As the rocks came into sight once more, Sarafina leapt from her perch and ran to her daughter, ignoring the other cubs.
"How could you do something like this, Nala?" Sarafina asked, her voice sounding more upset than scolding. "How, after everything that happened there? After everything I've told you?"
"Mom, I'm really sorry," Nala said, rubbing her head against Sarafina's foreleg in a gesture of appeasement. "I wasn't thinking." She knew not to say that she had been thinking; that she'd been hoping they would be caught. It would only make her mother ask more questions, questions as to why she'd gone in the first place. And at that moment, feeling almost surrounding by the disapproving eyes of the adult lionesses, she wasn't sure herself.
"I thought I'd raised you to learn from your mistakes," Sarafina said, her countenance making her look like she was the one being punished. "I guess I was wrong." Tulivu approached, nudging against her in an attempt to cheer her up.
"It's not a big deal, Sarafina," she said comfortingly. "She's only a cub; things like this happen."
"It is a big deal to me," Kaidi cut in. She looked over the faces of the cubs, pausing only momentarily as if to detect a flicker of guilt. "Cubs grow up, and they won't have any excuses for their behavior then. Whose idea was this?" Tama stepped forward.
"It was mine," she said, taking a nervous look over her shoulder at Tojo and Nala. "I'm sorry; it's all my fault." Tama cast her orange eyes to the ground as Kaidi stepped forward, bracing herself for what she knew was coming. In one fluid motion, Kaidi struck her daughter in the side, claws partway extended. It wasn't hard enough to inflict serious pain, but it was enough to cause the lioness cub to stumble, only just catching herself. Though she flattened her ears in deference, Tama stood firmly, seeming to feel no pain. The other cubs stared in shock, while Tulivu shook her head in disapproval.
"Kaidi, I don't think that was necessary at all," she said, trying to keep her voice civil. "Whether she disobeyed you or not, that is not a suitable punishment for a cub." Kaidi narrowed her eyes.
"Ms. Tulivu, I don't think you have any right to tell me how to raise my child," she growled. "Especially considering you have none of your own." She turned back to her daughter, speaking in a low voice the words Tama had heard so many times before. "I hope you know that I don't want to hurt you. I shouldn't have to; that was for your own good. I come from the Machwa Pride, and in our tradition we uphold as a virtue obedience to parents. It must be learned."
"It's all right, honest," Tama said to Tulivu and the others, licking a paw and running it gently across her wounds. Tulivu could see, on closer inspection, that the claw-marks were superficial, insignificant. This didn't make her any more accepting of Kaidi's rough parenting techniques, however. Noticing her scrutiny, Kaidi spoke again.
"It is a practice of the Machwa Pride," she repeated, her voice confident. "The same was done to me at her age, and I have no intention of converting to the ways of the Pridelands. The traditions of my old home will stand no matter where I live."
Tulivu opened her mouth to speak, but before she could make another reply, Kaidi had already picked up Tama by the scruff of her neck, carrying her to the rocks to bathe her. Nala stared in her friend's direction, still not quite believing what she'd seen. Though she hadn't known Kaidi very well, she had never thought any mother could act like that toward her cub. She had never been punished like that before; in fact, she was scarcely punished at all. And what was even more surprising was that Tama had taken it calmly, as though it was just a part of life. Could Kaidi's old pride really have been that different?
Sarafina placed a paw on Nala's shoulders, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Nala, it's all right. I'll never do anything like that to you, ever. Just promise me," she said, her tone almost pleading. "Promise me you won't ever go back to the Elephant Graveyard."
"I promise," Nala said, still shaken from what she had seen. Sarafina licked her affectionately.
"Good girl. Now could you stay here and play with Tojo?" she asked. "I have to go speak to someone." Nala nodded as her mother turned away, headed in the direction of Pride Rock. Once Sarafina was out of sight, Nala returned to where Tojo sat. Because his mother was out with the hunting party, he had been largely ignored during the events of the last few minutes. It was clear from his expression that he wouldn't be telling his mother what had happened when she was out. The two engaged in a mock-fighting match, both uncomfortable at how much it reminded them of Kaidi and Tama, but having nothing else to do under Tulivu's supervision. All they could do was push the image from their minds when it resurfaced, and pretend it had never been.
Tulivu watched Nala and Tojo playing through half-closed eyes, her mind elsewhere. She couldn't get the image of Kaidi attacking Tama out of her head. No matter what the lioness had said about "tradition", Kaidi's actions had deeply disturbed her. Tulivu had lived for a long time; her once-golden fur was now marred with streaks of gray. Yet in all her years of life, she had never seen a parent with such a harsh approach to discipline. And to think Tama endured this on a frequent basis!
She risked a quick glance in their direction. Tama was still being groomed by her mother as though nothing was wrong; she was even smiling. Seeing that Kaidi didn't notice her, Tulivu continued watching. Except for her tawny brown fur as opposed to Kaidi's bright orange, Tama looked almost like a younger version of her mother. This made Tulivu wonder: would Tama adopt her mother's traditions as her own, or would she reject them in favor of the customs of the Pridelands?
Kaidi had certainly not rejected the traditions of her old pride when she first came to Pride Rock, not long after Mufasa had begun his reign as king, and had made it clear from the start that she didn't plan to do so. At first, Tulivu had wondered why she was even there. She had managed to pick up bits and pieces of information, from both the pride and Kaidi herself, but it wasn't enough to answer any of her questions.
She had apparently come from the Machwa Pride in the west, just on the border of a desert. Until Kaidi had come to the Pridelands, Tulivu had never heard of it; she supposed it was more like a group of lions that stayed together for protection, rather than an actual kingdom. And of course, as Kaidi was not hesitant to remind the others, the lions of the Machwa Pride had a completely different way of life than the Pridelanders. For one thing, they didn't believe in the Great Spirit. When Tulivu first heard this, she had been shocked. She had grown up with stories of how the Great Spirit guided every creature, enriching their lives with power beyond comprehension. Kaidi had never heard of it, believing instead in what she called "The Law of the Pride".
It was one of those "laws" that had brought her to Pride Rock, a rite of passage that had to be fulfilled by every member of the pride once they reached adulthood. What it was exactly Tulivu wasn't sure, but she had a few ideas. It seemed Kaidi was supposed to set out from her home and return after a specified amount of time, at which point she would be accepted as an adult member of the pride. Somehow or other, she had ended up in the Pridelands, and had simply never left. Not long after that, Tama was born.
Despite her strange beliefs, or perhaps because of them, Tulivu found herself strangely fascinated by Kaidi. The strange lioness was extremely self-sufficient, rarely socializing with the others and doing her own hunting. It seemed likely that she'd raise Tama to be like that, too, if she wasn't already doing so. Kaidi rarely spoke to others, and wasn't exceptionally kind when she did. Yet Tulivu had noticed a different side of her, a side that rarely showed. Kaidi was reliable, never lying or going back on a promise. Once she devoted herself to a task, she carried it out with a fierce intensity that Tulivu found impressive. And even though she wasn't fond of Kaidi's stubbornness, Tulivu had to admit there was something admirable in never giving up on her old pride's traditions.
Kaidi, on the other paw, seemed to feel nothing but annoyance toward Tulivu. It wasn't just the way she'd reacted when the older lioness had criticized her treatment of Tama; Kaidi seemed to resent even being in her presence. Whenever Tulivu would pose questions about the Machwa Pride, hoping to find out more about this way of life so different from her own, Kaidi would shoot them down with the argument that she never pried into her life. Tulivu knew that she was like this with the other lionesses, too, but it still struck her as odd.
On the whole, Tulivu thought Kaidi was one of the strangest lionesses she'd ever come across. She could never seem to come to a conclusion about her, thinking of her as a devoted, if slightly harsh, mother one day; a snobbish and aloof young lioness the next. Sometimes, Kaidi's apparent grudge against her made Tulivu wonder why she cared about her at all. She sighed, shaking her head lightly to clear it. It wasn't really important; she was too old to worry about another's petty feelings toward her. She leaned back on the rock, turning her attention once more to the cubs at play.
A/N: I know it seems like I wasn't focused enough on the canon characters, but don't worry; I'll be getting to them next time. This story is definitely going to be shorter than my last one; I'm thinking maybe seven or eight chapters at the most. Anyway, I'd really like to hear what you thought about it. See you next time!