Kiara wasn't sure what Ramik wanted that morning when, with a lick of her ear, he asked her to meet him later that afternoon. It was still dark out and she cracked one bleary eye to peek at him.
"What…?"
"I'll be by the lightning split tree, darling. Don't come on an empty stomach."
She'd perked her ears and opened her mouth to press further, but Ramik was already jogging away from the pride to catch up with his father to go on their morning patrol. She had glimpsed Tojo's backside in the distance.
Her whiskers had barely dried after her visit to the watering hole when she met up with Ramik while he sparred with his younger brother, Kenyi, in the shade of the lightning split tree. They shoved and snapped their jaws at each other, and only paused a second to nod in Kiara's direction. Kenyi landed a heavy paw right on Ramik's nose. Her future mate chuffed and wrinkled his muzzle.
Sitting down to watch the rest of the match, Kiara curled her tail around her paws. The sunshine felt warm on her face, and as she watched them train together, a faint memory filled her vision.
Her parents would often play-fight together. It was a spontaneous thing they would do when they were out for a family walk. She'd always pictured them as cubs, leaping on each other and rolling around in very much the same way. A corner of her mouth quirked up in a smile. Nala had almost always bested her father in those wrestling matches, and it hadn't been because he'd just let her win.
The match ended when Kenyi stood panting tiredly over his brother. Ramik was on his back, limbs tucked close to his body and a grin on his muzzle.
"You barely pushed me! I'm not some kid cub anymore."
Ramik glanced over at Kiara. He stood up as he winked at her. "You think I'm humoring you, little shaman?"
"Shaman! No!" Kenyi's brow crinkled and his mouth puckered in offense. He grumbled, "You know… I'm not gonna help Tinni. It's not going to happen. Fight me seriously so I can be one of your guards."
Ramik smiled in an almost fatherly manner. "Not before you're my size and your mane grows in."
"You'll get there before you know it," Kiara added.
Kenyi rolled his eyes. A short, jagged strip of light brown mane hedged the back of his neck like teeth in a lower jaw. His pale, narrow chest was still barren. She never would have shamed him by saying it out loud, but he still had a cub's face. Sometimes, it struck her as peculiar that he was clearly still so young, considering, of all Ramik's brothers, Kenyi was the most serious and mature. He muttered, "Are we done today?"
Ramik nodded and playfully nudged his younger brother with a paw before Kenyi loped off, leaving the pair alone.
Kiara smiled at Ramik. Slowly, she'd adapted to her new life, and had learned what it was like to be loved by a partner. Looking back, it was a godsend that Ramik had been so welcoming and willing to help her adjust and recover.
By the start of the next rainy season, Ramik would make her his future queen. She hadn't sorted out in her mind how she felt about it. It had barely sunk in at all, and her sullenness about losing the Pride Lands hadn't at all faded. Tojo was right to say that she was lucky, but what did that really mean? She still felt silly and useless… Maybe not entirely useless, but close to it… She would be queen of a pride she had no familial attachment to, or at least not until she produced Ramik's heir. Would they respect her? The other lionesses were friendly enough, but they were still leery of her. And what was that going to mean for the Pride Lands and the family she had abandoned?
I suppose I'll find all that out soon enough, she thought as Ramik came over and nuzzled her.
"Sweetheart, glad you came."
She nuzzled him back. His breath was warm and his fur smelled wonderful. "What's up?"
"Well…" He nosed her ear affectionately and licked her cheek. "I thought we could spend some time combat training, too. Just the two of us."
Kiara perked her ears, surprised by the offer. "Really?"
Her mother and a couple of the other lionesses from her pride had taught her a few combat moves. Inwardly she cringed. Her knowledge paled in comparison to the rigorous training undertaken by the Outsiders.
If she had any hope of taking back her home, she would need to know much, much more about war. She rarely spoke about her dreams to Ramik, but she trusted that he would not hesitate to help her.
She grinned. "All right, teach me."
"I love training with my brothers." Ramik beamed. "I want you to be able to protect yourself, too. To know your limits, and hopefully stretch them."
Kiara squared her shoulders and nodded, feeling a spark of enthusiasm. When Ramik mirrored her pose, her eyes reflexively flicked to his large paws and forelegs. Her heart sank a little. He was powerful. But it didn't even cross her mind that he wouldn't treat her even more carefully than he had his brother.
He showed her several defensive moves, coaching her in a level voice. She learned how she might be able to deflect a strike or how to roll away of someone's grasp, even if only for a few seconds. Then they began to practice. They used no claws. Using only light nips, they play-fought, but stayed on task. At first Kiara felt awkward. She was decent at dodging Ramik and staying just out of his reach, but that quickly tired her out. He easily caught her. And the lightest blow unsteadied her.
I can't even imagine the damage he could do if he really wanted to hurt me. He's not even in his prime…
Perhaps too stubborn for her own good, she got right back up again and again and tried to focus on what he wanted her to learn. She wasn't supposed to beat him; she only needed to defend herself, right?
They were panting hard. Smiling, Ramik ordered, "Now… attack me. Really attack me. You're holding back."
"I'm holding back?"
He raised his brow and gave her a look. This is about you, not me…
She admitted she was holding back a little, too, but probably not as much as he perhaps thought. It took time and concentration, to shut down her frustration and hopelessness that Ramik was so much stronger without even trying, and to get over her aversion to harming him. But soon, she imagined that she could at least last more than a second against an attacker. She beat him over the face rapidly, imagining the damage it could do to his vision. When she had the opportunity, she baited him and used his own momentum against him. He roared loudly as he stuck out a paw, and she raised hers to deflect the strike.
The claws on her right paw slipped out in the heat of the moment and drew blood on Ramik's upper foreleg. As he looked down with a flinch and a semi-dazed look, she inwardly cringed and jumped to his side. A drop of blood trickled from the small wound.
"Ooops! I didn't mean—"
He laughed. "I'm sure I'll survive, Kiara… It doesn't bother me at all."
She relaxed and smiled shyly up at him, still breathing hard. "I'll clean it for you later."
Ramik gave her a tender smile and lowered his head. He was about to lick her forehead when a voice called—
"Very good!"
Kiara turned at the unfamiliar voice. The couple had been distracted while Tojo and a guest had arrived to watch them. Tojo stood with a chocolate brown-furred lion with a thick, dark brown mane that faded into black in the middle of his chest. The dark-furred lion grinned, causing his orange-brown eyes to squint.
Kiara straightened her posture and nodded. "Thank you," she breathed, trying not to wheeze while she caught her breath.
"I'd recognize the daughter of Nala and Simba anywhere."
Ramik leaned into Kiara's ear. "That's Chumvi. He was from the Pride Lands like our fathers. Grew up together. He never got a pride of his own. Could, though."
She didn't doubt that. Chumvi was smaller than Tojo and Ramik, but his frame was bulkier. Thinking back, she faintly remembered that he'd visited her pride once or twice, perhaps at a time when she'd been barely old enough to acknowledge strangers. He was a nomad more than anything, and obviously did well even without a harem. "It's nice to really meet you." She dipped her head to the rogue.
"Keep practicing," Chumvi remarked. "It might make a real villain out of you."
"Yes, a queen should be capable. Just like her mother." Tojo turned to Chumvi. "Ceremony is in a few moons. We're lucky to have her."
Chumvi grinned at the couple, but his joy didn't reach his eyes this time. Kiara suspected he preferred the single life. "Ah. I'm sure Simba will smile down proudly on you two."
Kiara nodded. "They'd be happy for me and Ramik."
They chatted a few more minutes before Chumvi went on his way and Tojo pulled Ramik aside to speak with him. As he spoke with his father, she saw the agitation in Ramik's eyes, the way his agreeable smile became forced. Like always. They might have been father and son, but they were two very different lions. Kiara strained her ears to pick up what they were saying; it was no use. She didn't like to eavesdrop on the prince… it was just… something seemed… off.
Ramik, looking more uneasy than usual, walked back over to her, and Tojo left.
"You all right?"
Ramik gave her a smile, but he hesitated.
Kiara lowered her ears. "What?"
"I'll tell you later," he whispered. He sighed. "I think we're done here for the day, huh?"
She could only nod. Nuzzling Ramik's cheek, she asked if he wanted to nap together beneath the split tree while she licked his scratches. Ramik agreed, and within moments of snuggling beneath the tree he was sound asleep. What had Tojo said? She watched his sleeping face and waited for it to relax, but the tension around his mouth and eyes gave him away.
She wanted to believe there was nothing wrong, but something told her otherwise.
Batzail used her claws to pinch the tiny bits of dry grass from Nuka's mane, snorting through her nose and muttering to herself as she tidied her mate's appearance like he was her cub. A tick showed itself in his mane and she crunched it with her teeth.
While Nuka rested on his side, enjoying the strengthening dawn light, she hovered over him. He wondered if she would let him get away to hunt and bring her breakfast.
Sometimes Nuka wondered if even Vitani was surprised that he'd found a mate… Someone who leaped at the chance to groom him, who offered words of comfort before he even realized he needed them, and someone who wanted his friendship—when few wanted that. He'd always liked Batzail, and once they'd come to the Pride Lands, she'd stopped her feeble attempts to discourage his advances. His mother had wanted everyone to stay on task in the Outlands. And they definitely did not need more mouths to feed. Now, there was nobody to forbid him from romancing a mate and taking her for his own.
"Just watch yourself, Nuka," Vitani had warned him when he'd admittedly gushed about his undying love for Batzail. "Kovu's still a new king with a new queen. Don't make yourself a target. You don't want to look like competition."
He'd snorted at his sister's words. Not everything was about Kovu anymore, and his fleas concerned him more than Suki did. Kovu had done what their mother had wanted; why couldn't the son who'd been cast aside all those years ago finally enjoy himself?
Haven't I suffered enough?
When Kovu had been a cub, Nuka had dreamed that his younger brother would get too skinny or sick, and that they'd have to bury his frail body beneath the cracked earth of the Outlands. He'd even thought of a couple places that their mother might pick for the grave. His mother would have cried over her dead son until she realized that Nuka was the child she should have held up and honored all along…
I can't stand him…
Kovu had often led hunts when they'd grown up. Nuka wished that a wildebeest or zebra would kick the dearly beloved Chosen One in the jaw or skull. If anyone should be unlucky enough to choke on a bone, he hoped that one would lodge in Kovu's throat.
Batzail pulled a bur from his fur and he flinched.
Nuka wished more than anything that Death would take Kovu away from them. He was supposed to be Scar's heir—not a cub fathered by some drifter his mother had used behind his father's back! But what he could to do about it all now—he had hardly a clue. As far as Kovu was concerned, they'd won the Pride Lands. End of story…
Nuka glanced at Batzail's growing belly.
He smiled. Maybe he had some clue. Or maybe it didn't bother him as much that there was nothing left to be done. The future was uncertain and open.
But above all, Nuka wanted Batzail to be as comfortable as possible during her pregnancy. They'd found a little home together, far enough away from Pride Rock that their pridemates had to make a conscious decision to look for them. Thick bushes surrounded several old and shady trees. A few birds lived in the branches. They had learned when a serval had walked by one day that the birds would scream at any perceived threat.
Nuka turned his head and tried to lick Batzail's cheek, but she reared back and swatted at his nose playfully. She kept her paw raised.
"I didn't get all the grass yet."
Nuka snapped his teeth at the air near his mate's paw. "You're more annoying than termites!"
"You're not going to look like garbage."
With a playful growl, he caught her in his arms and rolled on his back. She struggled, but he tightened his hold and laughed. Soon, she was laughing, too.
It was comforting to feel her round belly against his side. He loved it when she called him over to feel the life, or lives, moving within her. To feel a twitching limb or a wriggling body. He'd never felt anything better—he'd felt his mother's belly when Kovu and Vitani had been on the way, but this birth… words could not encapsulate his happiness.
"You're gonna have a son, Nuka. What should we call him?"
He scoffed. "How d'you know?"
Batzail snorted back and raised her head to look him in the eye. "I just know. At least one son." She settled back in with her cheek on his mane. She jostled her shoulder, getting comfortable. "I just do."
Nuka went wistful. "I would love that…"
She looked up at him. "So what're we gonna name him?"
He'd thought for a long time about what he'd name a son, if he should ever get one. Warmth spread through his chest and a slow smile ran up Nuka's muzzle into his cheeks.
"Taka."
(A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Little bit of a hiatus with this story, but more in a slow-update-kind-of-way. A couple of you checked in with me about King's Heir, which I really appreciated, so thank you!
If you are enjoying this story, tell me about it! 3)
