DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LION KING FRANCHISE. I DO OWN Asali (young Zira), Hamu, Maua, and Shujaa

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The next few weeks had been some of the worst in her life. Not only were the "Pridelanders" - as they called themselves – less than civil with her pride (whom they deemed "Outsiders"), the quality of life was horribly dull. Since only the most skilled lionesses were permitted to hunt, as no prey could afford to be lost, most of them were left inside the massive cavern. The stuffiness and cramped feeling of being indoors was making her feel terribly irritated.

She was also feeling betrayed by her mother. Maua had since moved up in the hierarchy in this mixed pride and had somewhat forgotten her daughter. Much to the disappointment and malice of many of his "girls", Hamu had chosen her to be his second mate. The first being a beautiful lioness with fur the color of pale sand and eyes as green as spring grass. Her name was Sarafina; she seemed young and was clearly intimidated by the older and equally beautiful Maua.

Although like the other Outsiders, her appearance was at first somewhat homely, the sudden regular availability of food and water had caused dramatic changes. Her eyes were now bright and shown a brilliant sky blue, and her fur was now sleek earth tan and free of bare patches. The three brown stripes that started on her head and trailed down her back only made her seem ever more like exotic royalty. This and the fact she was now Hamu's mate made her one of them. The Pridelander lionesses from then on swarmed around her as if they had been friends since cubhood.

It was then clear to Asali that she would be alone in this new land, without the guidance of her mother; who had forgotten her so easily and was now with the same creature who had killed Shujaa. It was yet another incident that continued to fuel the flames of hate within her heart.

Just as the rains had begun to return, the Pridelander king Ahadi had died. It had not been a sudden death. He had gotten ill and despite the constant treatment of Rafiki, he had not recovered. Most likely due to his old age. The now lush and rich Serengeti was darkened by the moods of sorrowful Pridelanders. To her it had only seemed fair. Now they had lost a king as well.

Even though the rainstorms had put an end to the food/water problem, the pride was now in turmoil as to who the new king would be. Most argued that Mufasa, the true son of Ahadi, should be king, although others desputed that it should be Hamu, his half brother. She had seen both roaming the lionesses part of the den occasionally, but nothing was very impressive about Mufasa. And she would never support the monster that had murdered her father. However, Asali had heard of a third sibling, though he was rarely mentioned by the gossiping lionesses; the main source of her information in the confusing and alien environment. Apparently his name was Taka, although he was now calling himself "Scar" after an injury disfigured his face some time ago.

This whole mystique made him intruiging to her, unlike the dull perfection of Mufasa and the lusty nature of Hamu. Perhaps he should be king, she thought to herself. From that point forward she was resolved to meet him. Yet she was fully stumped as to where to start looking on her own. She realized that she would have to intergrate with the Pridelanders in order to achieve her goal of finding the elusive lion.

She decided that she would first observe. One of the first things she saw was that these lionesses took a great deal of importance in their appearance. Some bathed daily, but almost all spent non-hunting hours grooming themselves from head to paws to tail. A few even formed grooming circles of four to five members. The whole thing seemed excessive to her in a way that made her uncomfortable, but if she was to fit in she would have to mimic this behavior.

Another thing she noticed as she skulked around the lionesses, was their way of fighting. Back at her old home, if two lions had had a conflict they would swipe, bite or claw at one another. Within moments the victor was known, the matter was settled, and by the next day things would go back to normal. However, with these Pridelanders it seemed the way to victory was done through speech and manipulation. If one wanted to get revenge or the upper hand, a simple rumor could be spread easier and faster than wildfire. This damage could be done back again and again causing a large web of such confusion that no winner would be easily decided.

She knew it would probably be hard for her. She had known only honesty and confrontation her entire life. It looked impossible to learn this way of being tricky so quickly. To her surprise it was actually quite easy. And very enjoyable.

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Feel free to PM me any questions! ;)

Fun Fact:

Taka means "want" in Swahili which sort of makes sense since he wants his brother's throne. But it can also mean "dirt" and "trash"; who'd name their kid that?

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