(A/N: Back with another update! This chapter is pretty actiony. And as always, I really appreciate the comments I get back on this story. Thank you! :))
The threat posed by Zira's pride hung heavy over the Pride Lands. Zazu patrolled the Pride Lands and the Outlands twice a day, and someone was always watching from the spot where Simba had first seen his inheritance lit up by the morning sun. Simba and Kovu walked the border in the morning and in the evening. By night, the dark den was watched over by two sets of eyes… sometimes more.
But by the next moon, nothing had happened. The dry season was growing closer, and patches of land were becoming brittle, light-brown blotches on the savannah. Before the threat of an attack by the Outsiders put everyone on edge, Kovu and Kiara's solo hunt had been planned for the ensuing moon. It was obvious to Kovu that Simba was reluctant to let him and his daughter go, but eventually Kiara wore her father down, and they set a day.
That morning, Kovu walked out of the den and breathed in the cool air. He looked out and squinted at the sun as it balanced on the horizon.
A perfect day for a hunt- a successful hunt.
To distract himself from the Outsiders, Kovu had put all his focus on his hunting, and his efforts had paid off wonderfully, just as Simba had predicted. Kovu only wished that fixing the impending disaster between the Outsiders and pridelanders was so easy.
Kovu heard pawsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder. Kiara stood there smiling with her parents and grandmother. Several other sleepy lionesses hung back in the den.
"Morning," Kovu said, nodding to them. He asked Kiara, "Ready for the hunt?"
"Oh, yeah... I'm going to hunt circles around you," she replied, bright-eyed. She walked past him towards the path that led down the side of Pride Rock.
Kovu snorted good-naturedly and muttered, "Big talk."
"We're proud of you both," Simba said with a smile. He lifted his chin. "You've worked hard and you've grown up so fast."
These lions had given Kovu everything. He smiled before he looked over at Kiara, who was grinning.
"Thank you, Daddy, Mom," Kiara said. "Thanks for putting up with us."
Nala smiled and jutted her chin. "Good luck hunting. You'll do great."
More than anything, Kovu wanted to show the lionesses who still looked at him with suspicion and doubt that he wasn't in the pride just out of Simba's pity. He wanted to bring down the biggest, fattest animal, drag it home with a smug smile on his face, and take in the surprise on the judgemental lionesses' faces.
I'm coming home with something on my back.
His hopes were dashed, however, when he was out in the field and realized that Kiara hadn't taken their hunting lessons nearly as seriously as he had. Since he had snapped at her at the watering hole, they'd only worked together once. His focus had been on himself, and he only now noticed that she wasn't as ready for the hunt as she could've been.
"You're being too loud, Kiara." Kovu trotted up to her. Irritated, he watched the startled herd of antelope run into the distance. It was the third herd she'd scared away, and they were slowly getting farther away from Pride Rock.
Kiara huffed and whipped her tail. "I'm trying my best, okay?" she grumbled. "Just wait, you'll see."
"You need to relax"
"You've already told me that."
"You're still moving too fast."
"Fine, I'll slow down even more."
"And didn't Nala tell you that you fidget a lot? Because you do."
Kiara frowned in annoyance. "You know, it won't be the end of the world if we don't catch anything today. Mom and Daddy won't mind. We won't starve."
Kovu winced and glared at her. She glared back and raised a challenging eyebrow. He then said, "I really want to bring something home. I'd like to become a full member of the pride and show I can catch my own food."
"I don't think you're going to do that with me, I guess."
Kovu flared his nostrils. "Fine. We don't need to hunt together, right?"
Kiara rolled her eyes. "Read my mind."
Kovu sighed. They would get more done if they weren't bickering, and the last thing he wanted was to say something cruel. "I'll see you back at Pride Rock," he muttered.
"Great." Kiara's tone was sharp, but she looked relieved. She turned and ran. "Good luck."
Kovu turned and walked off in the opposite direction. He looked over his shoulder to watch Kiara go, but her form was almost out of sight already.
She'd never survive on her own if she had to. Hunting well is the least she could do for herself, instead of just lying around, playing when she feels like it, and staying soft like every pridelander…
Kovu's skin crawled at the angry thought. The meeting with Vitani had not left him. He had no delusions that Kiara would ever ask for his help. She was too stubborn and he should have known that. She would learn at her own pace, regardless of anything he could say. Although she wasn't the best huntress, he could admit that Kiara wasn't the worst. She also wasn't that lazy...
Why hadn't he taken the chance to encourage her like Simba had with him? Hadn't she been just as frustrated about the situation, too? Why had he gotten so upset with Kiara?"
"Have you gone soft? Living your cushy life here…? It's time you struck against Simba… You must like sitting on your tail… Mother really wants to talk to you… All she does is gush about how much of a genius you are…"
Kovu groaned. Now he really feared that Vitani's words had gotten to him. Crawled under his skin. Kiara hadn't deserved to be goaded because he felt guilty for ignoring the Outsiders…
Once again, guilt rose up inside of him.
I'm still just as bad at being a pridelander as I am at being an Outsider…
Kovu sucked in a deep breath and sighed. Then, to Kovu's confusion, he realized that he had smelled...
Smoke? Why am I smelling smoke?
Narrowing his eyes, Kovu looked up and around, swiveling his ears. When he felt the ground under his paws start to tremble, he raised a paw in confusion. The trembling began as a soft humming-like sensation, before it rushed into a terrifying rumble.
What the...
When Kovu looked behind him, his jaw went slack and the fur along his spine stood on end. A flowing mass of antelope, gazelle, zebra, and birds was coming right at him…
Flames from a brush fire rose up behind the terrified animals.
Thick smoke blackened the sky, blocking out the sun.
Kovu leaped and dodged to avoid the animals that threatened to trample him.
I have to find Kiara!
He ran the way that Kiara had gone. He had to find her, and quick.
"Kiara!" Kovu coughed. The smoke and his fear thickened. "Kiara!"
The sun was at its midpoint when Sarabi remarked to Simba, "I hope Kiara and Kovu can get along well enough to complete their hunt. They haven't learned to be a team yet."
Wanting a report on Kiara and Kovu's status, Simba had sent Zazu out to see if the young lions were having trouble deciding what to do with their kill… or to encourage them if none had been made.
"They have gotten on each other's nerves a lot lately, haven't they?" Simba replied. "I've told them to stop bickering, but they won't listen… We're all on edge, and Kovu has done nothing but throw himself into his hunting, while Kiara takes hunting only as seriously as she needs to. They're definitely different." Simba sighed. He said more quietly, "I really can only imagine what Zira must have put Kovu through as a cub… He's mentioned some things that Zira made him do, and what she'd do if he didn't complete the task to her satisfaction…"
"Not to mention," Sarabi said, her brow arched, "what she's still doing to him." She looked away for a moment. "He may never leave his past behind, but he's in good paws here." For a moment, her gaze grew unfocused and distant. "I know your uncle could have used the support that you've given to Kovu..."
Simba's heart clenched. His mother had only ever hinted at how Queen Uru and King Ahadi and raised their son Scar, but from what Simba had gathered, Mufasa had been the favorite son, and Scar had sought out others, namely the hyenas, for reassurance and companionship.
And we know how that ended.
Unintentionally, Simba flinched. His mother noticed and gave him a sympathetic look.
"Kovu will be fine," she said.
Simba heard the assurance in her voice, but he wasn't as certain as his mother. He paced back and forth three times before he stopped at the tip of Pride Rock.
Kovu will be fine… he isn't nearly as cold or conniving... but I'd be more confident if I had any idea what to do about Zira. What would Father do about them? I've already exiled them. We aren't ready to fight the Outsiders. Should I be more vigilant about their poaching? Let them starve so they're more preoccupied with finding food? But then what? I can't just wait around for them to cross the border to confront them on my-"
"Oh, no…"
Simba raised an eyebrow and turned around. With a look of horror, Sarabi was staring at something behind him. He turned back around.
A thick column of black smoke danced on the horizon, reaching up and stretching across the sky. A slight orange glow highlighted the base of the column.
"No!" Without hesitation, Simba rushed by Sarabi and leaped down the side of Pride Rock. The lionesses who were lounging around Pride Rock stood up when he bolted past with Sarabi following close behind him.
"Head out! Find Kiara and Kovu!" Simba shouted, aware of the terror that made his voice crack.
I will not lose those two!
"Kiara! K-Kiara!"
Kovu blinked his stinging eyes as he searched for the princess in the suffocating smoke and flame-heated air, which made each new breath worse than the last. Nearby trees stood by, stubbornly waiting for an enemy that was sure to ravage their fragile bodies. Every nerve in Kovu's body told him to run away.
Quit searching.
Get out of there.
Save his own skin.
Kovu knew he was as good as dead if he wasn't careful.
"Ki-" he growled and squeezed his eyes shut while a painful cough raked his body. When he opened his eyes, he blinked to clear them. And when he squinted, for a moment, he thought the smoke and his fear were playing tricks on him.
What- who?
Two figures dashed through the smoke, and just as quickly as he'd spotted them, the figures had morphed back into the smoke. One had been a lioness, and he was sure the other had been a lion.
"Hey! Hey, stop! Wait!" Without thinking, Kovu chased the figures.
Did I cross the border into someone else's land? Did the fire surprise them, too? Do they know a way out? Is it someone looking for us?
"Hey, stop!"
They didn't seem to hear him or want to stop. He quickly lost the two figures in the smoke, but just when disappointment and panic settled into his mind, he heard his name and he skidded to a stop. A second passed and he thought the fire was playing tricks with his imagination again.
"Kovu!" the female voice called. "K-Kovu!"
"Kiara?" he called back, looking around. The strangers could wait. "Kiara, where are you?" He coughed and crouched down along the ground where the air was slightly clearer. "Kiara! Follow my voice!"
A faint cough. "I can't move!"
Kovu coughed again. "Keep talking, Kiara! I'll find you!"
"Over here! Here, Kovu...! Here!" More coughing.
"Stay calm, I'll find you!" Kovu's head pounded as he crawled. Pinpointing Kiara's voice was difficult- one moment, it sounded like she was just feet away, and the next it was as if the entire savannah was between them. The fire roared on. When a breeze whipped up the smoke, clearing some of it out of the way, he called her name again.
"Kiara!"
"Kovu! Here! I'm here! Turn around!"
He spun on his paws. Kiara was on the ground with one paw stretched out to him. His heart leaped and he rushed to her side.
"We've gotta get outta here." He looked Kiara over and frowned. "Can you walk?"
"Kovu, I couldn't see an-and I must have stepped on some embers." Coughing, she tried to stand. When she put weight on one of her front paws, a wince jolted her and she sat back down. She quickly showed him her red, blistered pads. Her cough came in rasping gasps. The smoke swept back over them when the wind changed direction again. "Kovu, I'm so sorry." Her eyes were red and streaks of soot lined her cheeks.
Kovu's irritation rose. Maybe they wouldn't have been in that mess if Kiara hadn't run off.
No, she ran off because of me. We're in this mess because I didn't keep my mouth shut! This is my fault.
"Just keep calm. Here, let's do this," he said, crouching down and shoving his anger down. "I'll carry you. We'll move faster."
Kiara coughed and clambered up onto his back. Her cough rattled through his back and ribs, causing him to cough, too.
"You on?"
"Yeah." She issued a wheezing cough.
Bucking slightly, Kovu adjusted Kiara's weight along his back. "I'll get us out." He straightened his legs and started to jog through the smoke, dubious about where he was going exactly, so long as they were headed away from the flames.
Birds shrieked. Frantic animals loped in and out of the smoke. Kovu had to jerk up short several times. When a bleating gazelle ran out right in front of Kovu, so close there was only a whisker's length between them, he snarled in frustration, his heart thundering in his chest. Heat and sparks jumped off charring trees. The hot ground stung his paws. He plunged on, hoping the Great Kings were watching over him and Kiara, whose weight was straining his energy. The last thing he wanted was to burn alive, and he thought about how devastated Simba and Nala and Sarabi would be- the princess and their adopted son wiped out like that. His mind began to give into panic, and he didn't know where to run other than in a straight line. The wind blew acrid smoke into his frantic eyes once more, blinding him, but the smoke cleared away just when he reached the bank of a river. When he felt the water on his paws he skidded to a stop, gasping for air. Smoke floated over the water, which flickered with yellow and orange light.
A rasping sound filled his ears and he knew it was coming from his sore, heavy lungs. He couldn't be sure where he was, but he knew that the other side of the river was safer.
Safer… if we can make it.
"Kiara, we're-" He paused to cough and a wave of nausea came over him. He gagged and wheezed, "Can you swim now…? Kiara…?"
Nothing. A look over his shoulder confirmed that Kiara was completely out.
I'll have to swim for us both.
His knees were shaking, he was half-blind, and half-suffocated. He waded into the water.
With his mind in flight mode, Kovu swam and struggled to hold onto every last bit of rationality that he still possessed. Keeping his head, as well as Kiara's, above the water was difficult. He supported her head between his shoulder blades to keep her face from slipping into the water. When he looked back and saw that her muzzle had dipped below the water, he had to swim out from under her, grab her by the back of the neck with his teeth, and drag her through the water towards the opposite bank.
When his paws finally touched land, Kiara's weight became too much, and he had to drop her the moment he knew she would no longer be in danger of drowning. Coughing, he collapsed next to her. His sides heaved and his limbs shook.
We should be safe now…
Kovu looked over as Kiara's eyelids fluttered open and she coughed and snorted on the water in her nostrils. She murmured, "Kovu?"
"Hmm?" Kovu blinked hard. His stomach hurt and the stench of burning grass and trees made him feel worse.
"Wh-where are we? What happened?"
"Not sure. I-I just ran… You passed out. I swam across a river."
"A river?" Kiara asked, dazed. She looked down and noticed she was lying in the water. "You dragged me across a river?"
He coughed and nodded.
Kiara crawled out of the water, though she winced when she used her injured paw. Kovu crawled out next to her. They laid there for several moments to catch their breaths, staring at each other. He knew then that he never would have forgiven himself if the fire had killed her.
Finally, Kiara gave him a weak smile and rasped, "Thanks for saving me. You're really brave." She stretched her paw out to touch his. "It's so stupid how we keep bickering."
Kovu looked at her paw on his. He nodded dumbly. "Yeah."
Kiara groaned and remarked hoarsely, "What are the chances that there would be a fire today?"
"I don't know but..." Kovu then remembered what he'd seen. "There were others. In the fire. I saw two of them. Two lions"
Kiara's eyes widened and the space between her eyes grew pinched. "W-what?"
Squeezing his eyes shut, Kovu said, "I saw them… running away from the fire- right before I heard you call me." He opened his eyes again.
Kiara nodded, and then her eyes grew focused. "I-I thought I heard laughing before I heard you yelling- at them, I guess. But I was so scared and confused. I thought I imagined it."
Kovu tried not to show his shock when he heard this.
Two lions… a lion and a lioness… laughing…?
He stood up while Kiara rested with her head up. Dread filled him when he realized they were in dire straits. The only thing he felt good about when he looked around was that the fire was moving away from the river.
Kiara whispered, "Daddy and Mom will be so worried. We shouldn't have split up-"
"That was entirely my fault, Kiara. I shouldn't have gotten frustrated like I did. This is all my fault." He then gestured to the river. "Drink something. It'll help."
She drank from the river, and he lapped up some water as well. While they drank, Kovu kept seeing the figures in the smoke flash before his eyes.
Laughing… why would you laugh while the savannah goes up in flames around you? Anyone would be terrified.
Then his body grew cold when a horrible idea struck him.
Wait…
He groaned and turned away from the water. His vision began to swim and his lungs felt heavy and he struggled to breathe.
"Kovu, are you-"
His vision narrowed and his head hit the ground. Kiara pawed at him, but the blankness of unconsciousness yanked him under. But just before he blacked out, he made the connection.
"Kovu!"
It was them.
The Outsiders.
They set the fire...
They've made the first move and their message is clear.
They want us all to burn.