A/N: Hello, readers! I've had this idea since this morning, and I've been writing it out on paper ever since. Then I decided to edit on the laptop. I don't know why I'm used to doing that, but I'll try to break that habit... Anyway, what was I saying? Enjoy the story! I'll be making a sequel to this for sure!
Untamed Obsession.
Chapter 1: Amity in the Pride Lands.
Nia looked towards the yellow tint that marked sunrise on the horizon. Everybody always assumed it was nothing; something that told them the day was about to begin and there was nothing to it. But Nia was a smart cub. She took the whole perspective differently. She knew the sunrise meant something special, but she wasn't sure what it meant just yet. The honey-furred cub licked a paw; there was nothing better to do - the adults were sleeping, none of the cubs were awake and it seemed the sunrise never ended.
She sighed grumpily. "I wonder if my great-grandpa's up there," she pondered. The young princess flickered a rimmed ear and watched as a wildebeest strolled by. She knew the world was full of wonders. At least to her. One of her wonders was her first hunt. Would she be successful? The fact that her mother failed was giving her some doubts. She felt a large paw rub against her head and she spun around, quickly. "Oh, hey grandpa."
"You don't sound happy to see me," Simba said, solemnly. "What's eaten ya?" He rubbed his head on Nia's back, and licked her tenderly. Nia shivered in disgust.
"Haven't I told you I'm a big girl?" the cub puffed out her chest bravely. "I'm going to be a queen one day, and I'm not going to learn how to be a fighter and protector with licks and nuzzles."
Simba continued to chuckle. She seemed quite the contrary of her mother, and more like her father. The two apprehended the sound of echoing yawns that sourced from the den encarved in the kopje known as Pride Rock. Sooner or later, the rally of lionesses would leave to do their morning hunts, and Simba and Kovu would have to go on patrol. Which meant Nia would have to be babysat by the duo known as Timon and Pumbaa.
To her, it seemed they needed to be babysat, with their childish acts. But she had to admit their games were fun. Only their games encouraged her to stay with them until at least sunset. After that, her mother, Kiara would come home with meat in her mouth - the hunting party following behind. But sometimes, they'd return with nothing, much to their disappointment.
"Hey, grandpa?" the cub acknowledged. "Is it really true that great-grandpa Mufasa lives in the clouds with your mother?" she inquired. She pinned her ears behind her head. Kiara had always told her daughter not to speak of Mufasa - Simba found it painful. But Nia couldn't resist the curiosity. Surely he'd forget afterwards... There was an awkward silence between the two until Simba finally spoke.
"Yes. It is true, Nia." he brang his grandchild close. "Remember that all the great kings of the past will be there to guide you. Whenever you feel alone, just look up there, and remember they'll be there to guide you."
"Nia."
Two voices echoed from behind the pair of lions. Out of the shallow den emerged a female lioness and beside her was a male with full brown mane. Nia ran to her parents, nuzzling her head around her father's legs.
"I thought you didn't like nuzzles and licks," Simba said jokingly. Nia quickly spun around and giggled. Kovu then held his daughter by her nape and shoved her onto his back.
"Well looks like this little hyena told you a lie, Simba." Kovu said teasingly. Kiara buried her nose into her daughter's neck.
"Haha, don't mind her, Father. She's just another hyena, like me." Kiara beamed. The parents then licked each other's noses, causing Nia to shudder in disgust. She ran to her grandfather's ear and whispered.
"Of course Kiara's a hyena. She never stops laughing." Kovu mentioned, rubbing his nose against his mate's.
"That's gross." she teased. "Did they always make out when I wasn't born?"
"You'd be surprised if I told you how many times they did that," Vitani chimed in, walking to the bunch with Nala. "Well, Kiara? Shouldn't we be going now?"
Kiara's face flushed. Her face was now red. "Well, yeah. See ya! I've gotta go hunting."
"We'll be back by sunset. It's assumed that zebra will be brought back, though. Their herds just seem to grow and grow." Nala added as she nuzzled Simba's mane.
A teenage lion sauntered out of the den, stretching. His mane seemed to grow around his neck and chest; crimson like his father's. His claws unsheathed and his blue eyes not amused. A warthog emerged next to him, with a meerkat riding atop of his tusks. They yawned in unison.
"Morning Kion, Timon, Pumbaa." Kovu greeted, majestically, as he approached them. Kion payed no attention to his brother-in-law's intimidating voice. He just replied in a bored tone.
"Yeah, Morning, Kovu, Dad."
"Gee, I didn't know you spent the night here, Timon." Simba noted, beaming. "Didn't you go to visit your mother?"
"Uhhh, maybe not. I'll go tomorrow." the meerkat replied, rubbing his chin. "But who's gonna watch over Nia whilst we're away? I want Pumbaa to come with me. I don't wanna stay on my own."
"Well, Kion can." Kovu suggested with a grin. "Right, Kion?" He raised a paw and rubbed the teenager on the head. Kion still seemed groggy from when he woke up, but managed to nod. Soon, the two adult males were off on patrol, leaving Kion, Nia, Timon and Pumbaa alone.
Of course, they spent the day near the falls, and like always, Kion was asleep or guarding the Pride Lands from hyenas. But today, he happened to be guarding the horizon. With Timon and Pumbaa eating grubs and Kion watching the horizon, Nia decided this was the time to ask questions. She climbed onto her uncle's back, licking him teasingly to annoy him. But she didn't seem satisfied with the outcome. Kion just ignored her.
"Hey Kion?" she acknowledged after finally giving up. "What did Mom and Dad mean when they called me Hyena? I'm a lion, aren't I?"
Kion rolled onto his belly and grunted. "They meant that as, y'know, one of them metaphor things."
"That's a lie!" Timon chimed in, sticking his finger at Kion. "They meant she is one! Are ya really that stupid?" Kion growled, causing Timon to hide behind Pumbaa. "You were sayin'?" he said with a nervous grin.
"I'm a hyena?" Nia inquired in confusion.
"Oh, I think they meant you're going to meet one," Pumbaa noted. "Besides, hyenas live in Africa, don't they?"
"Of course they do." Kion argued. "Don't you remember the time I was almost killed by one when going to the watering hole?"
Something suddenly fell from the trees, causing the trio the flee. All except Nia that was. She couldn't resist the curiosity to see what it was that remained. The princess observed.
A tail, an black tail... Could it possibly be a baby wildebeest? she thought, as she looked harder. Paws? It can't be a lion. Lions have larger paws than that...
A head suddenly popped up, weary orange eyes staring at Nia. The creature quickly recoiled, baring its teeth and extending its claws. "G-Get away from me! What're you, anyway?"
"A lion...ess." Nia replied in a bored tone. "What are you? I've never seen a lion with spots before. And don't try playing dumb with me!" she shoved her face into the opposition's. "I'm the princess of this land, and I know everything I see. I haven't seen you before..."
The creature seemed to not be offended or afraid of Nia. The contrary, he almost bit her paw. "I said, Get away from me. I don't know where I am, okay? And I don't know where my mother is. And...what's a lion?"
Kion, Timon and Pumbaa appeared just in time to find Nia and the creature. "It's an alien!" Timon announced, recoiling behind Kion's leg. Kion rolled his eyes.
"It's a...Hyena." he mentioned, eyes widened. "Pumbaa was right! She was going to run into one, but I don't think that's what Kovu and Kiara intended towards meaning to."
"I was?" Pumbaa repeated in confusion. Kion, Timon and Pumbaa went to Nia's defense, Timon hopping up and down in Pumbaa's mane.
"Get outta our Pride Lands! Hyena's don't belong here! They stink, smell, cause trouble and laugh like there's no tomorrow."
Kion bared his teeth and extended his claws. The hyena pup recoiled behind the tree, expecting his mother to back him up in defense. He closed his eyes and thought of her.
"Never go near those mangy, stupid poachers that live the Pride Lands," the female hyena scolded. "This is the last time you try to sneak in there. Lions are our worst enemies. Look what they did to your grandmother. Shenzi is now eager to kill them. And that so-called Scar that had betrayed her."
"But, mother," the cub croaked. "Not all lions are like that. It was only Scar and Simba, right? Just them? I'll avoid them, I promise. H-Hey? Mom? What do lions look like? I've never seen one..."
Fauzi shook his head back into reality. So...these must've been lions... He looked at them. Yes, they were, no doubt about that. Long tails, mane, whiskers, large paws and they looked as if they were well fed. But the two beside them didn't look like lions. No, they didn't...at all. He shook his head again. Was he dreaming? Did he actually make it into the place with grass.
"Please, don't hurt me." he pleaded, barely audible, his voice trembling with fear. "I won't hurt you, and I won't call my mother, I'll only laugh when you laugh and-"
"What're you doing here, kid?" Kion inquired, his teeth still bared. "Every hyena knows not to place one claw into this turf."
"I-I didn't," Fauzi insisted. "I was back at my home, the Spotted Clan, and I was watching ahead. I saw the Outlands, and there was something with grass and meat in the backgrounds. We only get food once a week in my land, because no animal leaves that place. I wanted to check it out, because I was so hungry. My mother's about to die, and starve to death, and my grandmother. I wanted to get them food."
Kion could now see that the pup was crying, and being the guardian of the Pride Lands was to protect. Letting a pup's parents starve was not something he was going to let happen. Nia was now bubbling with guilt. She ate almost everyday, sometimes she was so full she couldn't, and this pup's parents were going to die sooner or later. She wouldn't like it if anyone at Pride Rock had died because of that. Let alone out of Pride Rock.
"But I'll leave, I'll get killed here anyway." he moaned as he stood on all fours. "The thing is, there are a lot of males back in my clan, it'll be hard to find a mother."
"Poor thing," Pumbaa sighed, sympathetically.
Timon wiped a tear from his eye, patting Pumbaa's head. "Yeah, Poor thing."
Kion turned his head for a minute. Maybe his father knew what to do, or Kiara. Kion desperately ran after the cub.
"Kion!" Nia gasped in astonishment. "Where are you going? You're not going to kill the cub, are you?" Kion ignored her.
"Timon, Pumbaa, take Nia back to Pride Rock, I'll handle the kid!"
Kion looked towards the cub below him. He sat out of obedience. The adolescent smiled proudly. "You really got that rhythm, kid."
Fauzi's eyes widened. "Y-You think so? You think they'll let me visit the Pride Lands whenever I want, to bring back food?"
Kion winked. "If you keep this up. Now let's show you to the king and queen." He helped the pup by the nap and galloped back to Pride Rock. With all the troubles hyenas put Simba's family into, Kion wasn't sure Fauzi was going to be accepted. There was a doubt, but there was also hope.
Stay Tuned for Chapter 2!
-LightLynx.