"Dad… Mom… Please…" –Cub Kopa
Chapter 8 – The Tazua Pride (part 2)
Same time and place where the last chapter ended
It was a good thing King Abasi and Queen Malia had finished their patrol along the eastern border by the time they'd come across the unfortunate lion cub from the Pridelands. This allowed them to turn their full attention to taking Kopa to a safe place and treating him without having to worry about leaving the patrol uncompleted. It's not that a patrol was anywhere nearly as important as the life of another lion, especially a cub's, but at least that task concerning the border was already no longer on their to-do list.
As the two adults continued to make their way back towards their pride's den as quickly as they could without taking the risk of Kopa falling off of Abasi's back, their minds were filled with many questions. The pride living the closest to the Tazua Pride resided on top of the mountain that marked the Western border of the kingdom, but they'd found Kopa by the eastern border. This obviously made the king and the queen very confused because there were no lions living anywhere for miles in that direction – seeing how the lands beyond the eastern side of the Tazua Pride's territory consisted of no water sources. As a result, there were no prey animals to hunt there.
This cub they were carrying must have originally belonged to a pride that resided very far away from theirs. It was the only reasonable explanation. But this led them to once more wonder how Kopa ended up where he had to begin with. Surely a child wouldn't have been able to make the journey on his own, especially in such a bad condition. Despite how impossible it seemed, the fact was that this very young lion was now there against all odds. As curious as Malia and Abasi were as to how this could all be, they were far more concerned about making sure the cub would recover.
Surely enough, due to the fact that they'd patrolled along the entire eastern line of the border before finding Kopa and making their way back, the entire pride was already awake by the time they arrived at the top of the hill on which the den was located. Not all of them were right outside the cave, though. Some of the lionesses were elsewhere as were some of the males. They were most likely watching over their cubs (Kato, Hiari and their two friends weren't the only ones in the pride), spending the morning with their mates or just enjoying some time on their own.
Of course, the king and the queen never shoved their noses into the private lives and affairs of their subjects. However, for once, they were quite glad to see that the majority of the pride wasn't there. That included all of the cubs, which was even better. This meant that tending to Kopa's injuries would be somewhat easier thanks to the smaller amount of attention Malia was about to draw to herself. Sure enough, when she and her mate approached the entrance of their home, the adults who were there all stared in shock and confusion upon seeing the unconscious, heavily injured and unfamiliar cub on their ruler's back.
The cub was clearly alive (seeing how the queen had brought him back with her to begin with), but the extremely troubled expression on her face suggested that she was more than just simply upset because he was hurt. Knowing better than to interrupt, as well as realizing how good it was that all the cubs weren't around because of how nosy young ones could be when intrigued by something, everyone remained completely silent as the leaders of their pride entered the den without saying a single word.
It was almost completely empty; with the single exception being a rather drowsy looking adolescent. His dark grey fur made him feel comfortable enough as he lay down on the cold, stone floor of the cave. His head was placed down on his paws, which were a slightly brighter grey as was his underbelly. He had a dark brown mane growing on his head as well as beginning to appear on his chest and his red eyes were half closed as he stared at the wall, looking quite peaceful.
"Usiku." The young male raised his head upon hearing the king call his name.
"Uncle?" he asked somewhat sleepily as he looked up at the king and the queen. After seeing the unconscious cub on the king's back, however, all traces of sleep disappeared completely and Usiku rose to his paws immediately.
"Could you keep an eye on him while Malia and I go and fetch a few things?" asked Abasi softly as he lay down in the back of the den, allowing his mate to gently move Kopa from his back and place him down on the ground. While the king still didn't know the details, he had a feeling that the unfortunate cub wouldn't be very relaxed once he woke up. Therefore, since Usiku was smaller than the adults, Abasi figured that having his nephew stay there would be the best option until he and Malia returned. Kopa would be most likely less intimidated by his nephew in comparison to a fully grown lion or lioness. "We found him by the eastern border…"
"The eastern border?" The teenager raised an eyebrow, obviously confused by that small and seemingly insignificant detail. "How did a cub end up there? And in such a condition, too?" He then rubbed the back of his head with a paw as he suddenly remembered that he still hasn't made an answer to his uncle's request. "Oh, uh, yes, of course. I'll watch over him."
"We don't know how he got there, nephew." replied the king as calmly as he could in his worried state.
"We'll both be back soon with everything I need in order to nurse him back to health." said Malia as she slowly walked past the adolescent, offering him a soft smile of appreciation. She was followed by Abasi. "Make sure he doesn't get too frightened in case he wakes up before I get back." Usiku slowly nodded in understanding. He'd already figured why his uncle had asked him to stay inside the den rather than one of the adults. "He's in no condition to run off in case he gets scared, but still…" Whatever had happened to Kopa, the queen felt like it was more than enough as it was. There was no need to send him into a panic attack when he woke up. "Thank you, dear."
Much to the relief of Abasi's nephew, Kopa did not wake up at all during the queen's absence. He didn't show any sign of life as he slept aside from breathing, either. It's not that Usiku didn't want the cub to get better but, since he was a rather shy lion who did not do well in stressful situations, he preferred to not have Kopa wake up and panic as a result of his injuries, the unfamiliar place he was now located in and the presence of a complete stranger. When Malia returned she immediately took to treating the young pridelander, who continued to sleep the entire time. Yes, what she did was supposed to help him, but that didn't make it a very pleasant process so she was glad that there was no need for her to deal with any of that.
Kopa woke up a few hours after the lioness had finished tending to his wounds as much as she could. It was already early afternoon by the time he slightly opened his eyes, but he didn't know that not only because he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious for this time, but also because he wasn't outside anymore. He wasn't outside anymore… Somebody had moved him! The prince's eyes shot wide open at the realization and he immediately tried to stand up, but without any success. This time, however, much to his confusion, the pain that resulted from the attempt was far less severe than the two previous times earlier that morning.
Curious, he managed to move his head enough in order to get a look at himself. The various wounds he could look at, which were mainly those located on his chest and forelegs, had definitely been cleaned and had some sort of strange leaves pressed on them. While this did provide Kopa with a small sense of relief he still felt very weak and disoriented. Before he could try to study himself and his surroundings further, however, a voice reached his ears. "Hello, little one…" The cub's head immediately turned to look at Malia. Up until that point he'd been completely unaware of her presence, but a quick and rather forced examination indicated that she was the only one there with him.
Her voice was gentle and also soothing, almost like a gentle flow of water. Kopa couldn't help but feel slightly awed at how beautiful she was. There was an air about her that reminded him of his mother. The kind and concerned smile on her face added to that appeal. This immediately made him think of Nala (even though Malia looked nothing like her). Where was she? Or, to put it more accurately, where was he? As much as it looked like the lioness he was looking at meant no harm (she could have easily killed him before he'd even woken up and he knew it), he couldn't help but worry.
Malia could easily tell that Kopa was afraid of her. It was no surprise, but she was somewhat glad that his reaction to her wasn't as bad as it could have been. She was lying down some distance away from him in order to appear less intimidating by both making herself not look taller and by not coming close to the cub. "My name is Malia and I'm really glad you're finally awake. Are you feeling any better?" She had no doubt that he was, also seeing the fact that the cub was awake and completely aware of what was going on around him as a good sign. While she'd had her doubts upon first finding him, it was definitely starting to look like he would be okay.
Kopa continued to stare at the adult in front of him for what seemed like eternity to both of them, still unsure of what to think of what was happening. "D-di…" he stuttered, feeling dizzy for a brief moment. His voice was hoarse and weak, making him suddenly realize just how thirsty he was. This led him to also think about food… How long has it been since he'd last eaten or drank anything? "D-did you… do this?" as he looked himself over again, though, he made sure to keep the lioness within his sight.
Malia slowly nodded her head in approval as the cub finished examining himself, his eyes locking with hers once more. "Yes. I brought you here and took care of you." So far this was going rather well, she told herself. "What's your name, child?"
Kopa hesitated for a brief moment before forcing himself to answer. "I…" There was no reason for him to not tell her his name, was it? Also, even though his fear of Malia suddenly attacking him seemed very unlikely to come true, he didn't want to upset her by not cooperating. "I'm Kopa… Um… T-thank you…" He seemed to relax to a certain extent, though definitely not fully just yet, but he lost whatever sense of relief that had washed over him when Malia spoke to him again.
"What a lovely name." she said with a warm smile, before moving on to what made Kopa so uneasy. "Where are you from, Kopa? What happened to you?" This time she spoke with a somewhat less merry expression; her relief replaced with concern.
Kopa's eyes widened a little at the question as he suddenly became fully aware of his situation once more. It seemed like he was safe now, yes, but that seemed to lose whatever significance such a revelation would normally have on someone in his condition when he was reminded of the fact that he had no idea where he was or where to find his family. His parents… how badly he wanted to see them what had happened… Nothing would make him feel better and safer more than just having one of them show up and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He would have settled for anyone from Pride Rock, really, as long as it was a familiar face. Feeling tears forming in his eyes, he looked down at the ground and did his best to hold them in.
Noticing the change in the cub's already disturbed demeanor, Malia immediately regretted bringing up the subject. "I'm sorry, please excuse me." she said. She should have known better than to let her curiosity get the better of her like that. Just what was she thinking, asking one so young to tell her about how he'd ended up in such a horrible state? "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." The queen slowly got to her paws, causing Kopa to freeze in his spot as he looked up at her, afraid of what she might do. But she remained where she was. "Is it alright if I come closer?"
There was this pretty loud voice inside Kopa's head that told him to follow his instincts and tell Malia to stay away. She was a complete stranger at the end of the day, even if she'd obviously helped him, and after the way he was nearly killed by a lioness he thought was a member of his father's pride he felt more than just a little reluctant about putting his trust in somebody he didn't know at all. However, at the same time, he understood that she could have killed him already if she wanted to. As much as he wanted to be in the company of somebody he knew, he was also afraid of being left completely on his own. After a very long hesitation, the cub finally gave his consent with a short nod of his head.
The lioness smiled, feeling relieved to see, while Kopa was afraid to a certain degree and would need some time to get used to being in a pride filled with complete strangers, that he was at least calm enough around her. That was going to make it easier for him to come to terms with the place he was now in and was going to be in at least until making a full recovery. After slowly making her way over to the cub, she cautiously lay down next to him so that their sides were touching. While still clearly unsure as to whether he should be this close to the adult, he did seem to find some comfort in the sensation of her warm fur against his.
Kopa even went ahead and leaned against the queen's foreleg in order to increase the contact, but also winced as his body protested at having to move. "H-how long will it hurt?" he asked, looking up at Malia. He was still so confused as to why he had to be in so much pain and separated from his parents. Why had Zira done this to him? He's never done anything bad to her and he was a friend of Vitani and Nuka, her own children. The thought of his two best and only friends made him get all choked up again. Not having them around as well wasn't a welcome addition to not knowing where his parents were.
The queen looked down at the cub next to her with a sympathetic smile. She was definitely more optimistic now that he was awake. "You'll be a little uncomfortable for a few days but, after that, everything will be as good as new." If there was one good thing about the fact that Kopa's attacker hadn't inflicted any deep and serious injuries on Kopa (sadistic reasons aside) was that the young male would most likely not carry even a single scar on his body as a visual reminder of the trauma. "In fact, you won't even get any scars. You'll look as if nothing's ever happened to you."
A few moments of silence passed before Malia could suddenly feel Kopa shaking against her leg. She looked down at the cub, her ears going flat against her head when she saw that he was sobbing quietly. "What's the matter, Kopa?" she asked softly, the concern noticeable in her voice. She would have made a physical attempt to calm him down but didn't want to cause him and discomfort by accidentally touching any area of his body that was hurt.
In a way, she should have seen his answer coming. "I want my mom and dad…" he said, his voice a whimper as he buried his face against the queen's leg, his tears drenching her fur. She let out a soft sigh, knowing that she couldn't blame the cub for being so emotional about having been separated from his home and family. Before she could try to say something reassuring to him (even though she knew that the only way to truly calm him down would be to reunite him with his mother and father), Abasi walked into the den.
The noise caused by the king's paws as he made his entrance got the attention of both of them and Kopa let out a soft gasp before shrinking at the sight of him, suddenly feeling as if he was the tiniest being in the entire world. He'd never seen another lion other than Simba up until that point in his life (Nuka didn't count, obviously, being much younger at the time) and was naturally scared by his presence. Being a male, Abasi was a little larger than his mate was. His fully grown, majestic looking mane only added to the intimidating effect. He was carrying what seemed like a fresh chunk of meat which he placed down as he came to a halt upon seeing that Kopa was awake.
It was a relief to see that the cub was no longer unconscious, not to mention that the fact that he seemed to be comfortable enough with having Malia around was a sight for sore eyes as well. However, the king wasn't completely clueless and could immediately tell that Kopa was afraid of him (it was rather predictable as well as understandable), which was why he'd come to a stop by the entrance of the den instead of making his way to the back of it where Kopa and Malia were.
"There's no need to fear, Kopa." said Malia softly, gently nudging the top of the cub's head with her nose in order to get his attention and remind him that she was still there with him. "This is Abasi; my mate and the king of these lands. He's not going to hurt you."
Kopa looked up at the lioness by his side. It's not that he didn't believe her when she said he wasn't in danger, but… "King?" He wasn't unaware of the fact that there were other kingdoms out there other than Pride Rock. It was the fact that he was actually in one of them that made him uneasy. Did that mean he wasn't at least near the Pridelands? He'd hoped that he was somewhere in the area, but his father had told him that there weren't other prides living within the close proximity of their home… Just how far away from his parents was he?
"My mate speaks the truth. I mean you no harm." said Abasi with a small smile. "You're safe here, I can assure you. My pride will not hurt you either."
It seemed like the fully grown lion was about to say something else but Kopa cut him short all of a sudden. "D-do you know where the Pridelands are?" It's not that he wanted to appear disrespectful, especially not towards the king and the queen who pretty much controlled his safety, but perhaps the two knew something about his home. Maybe they'd be able to help him go back.
"The… Pridelands?" asked the king, exchanging a few glances with his mate. That had to be where Kopa was from, they figured.
However, to the young cub's dismay, Abasi then shook his head. His eyes started to water as his fears were confirmed. He was lost.
Sparkpikachu (guest): Thank you for saying that, it means a lot! Also, thanks for reading and reviewing my Pokémon story. I can assure you that I have not forgotten it. It's on hiatus at the moment, unfortunately, but it will be completed in the future.
Starzinmieyez: I know… I wish I could give him a hug…
Incarnate Firefly: This chapter pretty much provides him with a reason. By the way, I also felt bad for Kopa when I wrote the previous chapter… It had been quite a fright for him.
Thirsty19: I'm glad you think I did well with the descriptions in the previous chapter! One thing I noticed is that physical descriptions are something I don't put in very often and I'm happy I did well with it this time around.
ThoughtsOfAReader: Thank you!
Kusa: The memory loss isn't the first thing I've stirred away from so far nor will it be the last. I'm glad that not implementing the regular memory loss idea has received positive reactions from everyone. :)
A/N: Wow; the previous chapter was reviewed by 6 different people! That's absolutely awesome! Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I'll be delighted if this keeps up!
