Kovu was sprawled out on one of the ledges in the cave, staring into nothingness. His eyes were hooded and unfocused, and his mind was foggy and his thoughts came at an incredibly slow pace. How long has it been since I woke up here…? He thought about it for a while. Probably at least a day… He had felt woozy ever since he had awoken after being knocked out by that baboon thing.
She had come back not too long ago with food, some type of meat that smelled similar to buffalo. But Kovu had been too tired to think about eating and she had put the food away and left. What did they do to me…? He tried to lift up his paws but the effort just didn't seem to be worth it. He sighed and closed his eyes, attempting to drift into sleep. The sound of the primate returning made him open his eyes again. More food? He still wasn't particularly hungry.
Kovu saw her hands were empty. She made a few indistinguishable noises as if she were trying to communicate before walking out of view again. He heard her feet shuffling around before a loud buzzing sound filled the cave. Kovu propped himself up from surprise, some of the fogginess in his mind shook off from the shock. The baboon thing peeked back into his view with a smile on her face. Kovu looked down at her skeptically.
A sliding sound coming from below him made him peer over the ledge. The shiny flap that had blocked the opening in one of the walls was moving upward, revealing the gap in the wall. Sunlight poured through and the smell of fresh air made Kovu's nose twitch. He turned to look at the primate again. Was she letting him go? He hopped off the ledge and looked out through the gap.
"What have I got to lose?" Kovu said before walking through. He emerged into dazzling sunlight and looked around in a daze. He was definitely outside. But as he looked around he noticed that the same shiny, silk-esque material that made up one of walls in the cave rose up out of the ground. On the other side of the silk wall was a strip of grass, a bright red barrier of some sort, and then a path made of smooth black rock. Another one of the primates, this one also seemed to be female, leaned against the red barrier, watching him with apprehension.
The silky walls were too tall to climb and he didn't think he'd be able to dig under them. He noticed two other cave-like structures. When he looked behind him at the cave he had just came out of, he realized they must've have been the same type of cave. His nose twitched again as another scent came to him. Lions… It smelled like two individuals, a male and a female. He sniffed again. The scent was fresh and all over. The owners of the scents must spend a lot of their time in this area.
He must've been in their territory. He looked around again, scanning the area for any hidden forms waiting to pounce. But the area was devoid of hiding spots. An odd tree Kovu had never seen before stood in the center of the space, but he guessed it would've been a terrible hiding spot. The leaves were too wispy and vibrant for camouflage. His gaze came to rest on a small pond, the sunlight reflecting off the surface.
His throat ached at the sight. The primates had provided him with water but it had an odd taste and smell to it, so he had decided not to drink it just to be safe. Kovu padded over to it and lapped up the water greedily. A golden, carp-like fish slowly swam up to the surface and floated right in front of Kovu's nose. Kovu cocked his head in confusion. What kind of fish would be so brightly colored and swim right up to a predator? He half expected a fish eagle to swoop down and carry it off in its talons.
Kovu's ears perked up as the same buzzing sound he had heard before rang out again. His ears instinctively swiveled towards one of the other 'caves'. Before he could even process what was about to happen, the shiny flap that blocked the gap in that cave came up. A lioness stepped out and stretched herself. But as Kovu watched her, he realized she was no normal lioness.
Her fur was a warm shade of brown and her legs were covered in darker brown cub spots, which seemed odd to him since she appeared to be the same age as he was. Her face had darker brown markings as well, but they seemed too intricate to be simple cub spotting. They were almost like...stripes. He had never seen such markings. And as Kovu's nose twitched to bring in her scent, he also noticed that the scents he had smelled before weren't exactly lion either. They had another predatory tang to it. Almost lion...but not quite.
He stared at her as she gave a large yawn and shook herself. She looked around the area with a smile on her face. Until her eyes met his. Kovu watched as her silvery-blue eyes widened in shock and terror and her whole body froze. They stood staring at each other for a few moments. Is she alright…? Kovu thought. He hadn't taken on a particularly malicious look, and he definitely wasn't looking for a fight in the state he was in now. She had no reason to be afraid, or at least he thought so.
"Um...hello?" He said, taking a small step forward. The female gave a frightened squeak before scurrying in the opposite direction. She pressed herself against the flap of the third cave and began whispering to herself in a panicky voice. Kovu strained his ears to hear what she was saying, but she was speaking too quietly and too quickly to make out the words. But he did pick up the voice of someone else. He realized she wasn't talking to herself, someone else was on the other side of the flap.
He watched as the female stared at him from the other side of the field. Kovu slowly raised his tail in a greeting signal, hoping it would show her that he was not a threat. Some of the fear lifted from the female's eyes and she found the confidence to stand up. She seemed to be readying herself to speak, but a loud roar rang out from the cave she was standing in front of. A series of loud banging sounds followed, paired with ferocious growling and snarling.
"Pan! Pan, stop!" The female shouted, hastily trying to calm down the cat on the other side. Kovu's hackles raised immediately and his claws came unsheathed. Whoever was on the other side of that flap was not happy. He glanced back at his own cave. The flap was still open, but retreating back inside would leave him trapped. He snapped his head forward as another loud clang came from the cave. The flap went flying off, landing almost halfway across the clearing.
A cat almost the size of Simba stepped out, his eyes scrunched up in anger and his teeth bared in a nasty show of aggression. His coat was a light brown color and covered in darker brown stripes. The cat sported a mane the same color as his fur and oddly small for his size. What kind of weird cats were these? Kovu's grogginess was thrown off as he prepared for a fight. The large male, Pan, sprinted in Kovu's direction with claws outstretched. Kovu gave a snarl of his own, his muscles ready for action.
Pan closed the gap between them and sprang at Kovu. Kovu rolled out of the way and Pan landed on empty space with a clumsy thump. Kovu quickly lunged for the other male, slamming his weight into Pan's shoulder to knock him off his paws. He firmly planted one paw on Pan's shoulder and the other on his throat, giving him a chance to submit. But the bigger male only squirmed and kicked out like a trapped cub.
Has this cat ever been in a fight in his entire life? Kovu quickly backpedaled, letting Pan scramble to his feet. Kovu narrowed his eyes at him, watching to see if Pan would lay down and submit or launch another attack. The way Pan's muscles bunched up gave Kovu his answer. But Kovu was ready, he knew a move that would end this fight quickly. Before Pan could pounce once more, Kovu reared up on his hind legs to his full height. With an outstretched paw, he slammed down on Pan's head with as much force as he could muster.
Days of training with his mother had taught him that move, and he definitely knew how much it hurt. He watched as Pan stumbled backwards in a daze. The trick wasn't to catch your opponent with unsheathed claws, but to deal a huge blow that stunned the enemy. It had obviously worked. But before Kovu could make sure Pan would surely be out of the fight, the female leaped in front of him.
"Stop!" She pleaded, blocking his path. "Please…" She crouched down submissively but still seemed ready to block his path in case he tried to step around her. Kovu gave a disbelieving snort. He attacked me! If he's so quick to fight he needs to learn a lesson. The female must've saw he wasn't willing to stop and placed a paw on his chest. "Please… He was just protecting me."
Kovu stopped and took a deep breath. Something about the way she said that reminded him of Kiara. His heart gave an aching lurch at the thought of her, and the fighting spirit drained from his claws. A shout made him and the female turn their heads towards the primate, who had hopped over the red barrier. She held something in her hands that reminded Kovu of a python, but its limp body looked dead and not very dangerous.
The female gave another frightened squeak and quickly slunk back to the cave she had come out of. Kovu looked after her in confusion. Was a dead snake enough to make her cower? But Kovu saw the snake's body suddenly stiffen with life. He was shot with a forceful jet of water, strong enough to sting where it connected. He gave a snarl before retreating back to the cave he had come from.
When he got inside the flap instantly shut behind him, leaving him trapped inside. Again. He shook himself in annoyance, trying his best to dry his now soggy fur. "I need to get out of this place…" He growled to himself. He tried to remember all the details he'd seen outside before he was attacked by that clumsy brute. Kovu was done trying to see what these primates wanted. He was getting out and going back home, no matter what.
Um...so... This is really over due... Sorry. My laptop decided to suddenly stop turning on back in April (April Fools Day of all days) and I've had to snatch time to sit down and work on this story on my family member's laptop. Luckily, this has given me time to think about how to connect the big events that are going to happen. There's a character coming up in some chapters further down and I just can't wait to add him to the story. Summer is here and I should have more time to work on this, so I'll try to stay as focused on this as I possibly can.
