Nestled deep within Pride Rock, Kiara, Tiifu, Zuri and the other maternal lionesses, along with their young, waited for the conflict to die down. Nala had left the lair not long after Simba, seeing as the lair was secure and safe. After all, her talents were needed on the front lines, being a survivor of the first battle for pride Rock. The occasional scream of pain and death echoed from outside. The smell of burning grass and flesh spread through the air, lined with a choking, unbearable layer of smoke and soot.
The lionesses were terrified. Their cubs even more so. They had provided a secure, circular perimeter around the tight, cramp cave system, huddled up to the weeping lion cubs. Their mothers cooed them, calming their cubs from the apocalypse above.
Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri, whilst nearly mature, had not yet learned to fight or hunt fully, and so were confined to the protective caverns. They rested on the outer rim, huddled up to each other. Kiara glanced out of a small crack in the wall, watching as the flicker of greenish lightning flashed across the skies outside.
"We're doomed!" One of the lionesses wept, clutching her tiny, newly born cub. "They're coming for us!" The other lionesses, also in tears, tried to calm her down, but nothing was working. The slight sound of scuttling feet shivered through everyone's spines. A signature, demonic sounds of wheezes and whoops crackled through the air.
Hyenas.
The group froze, holding up to each other. Their ears flickered as their spines shivered further. The scurrying and scratching grew louder every second, echoing from all angles. The lionesses cuddled up as the few that were still able to fight took defensive positions. Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri huddled up together, near a crumbling, pebble-filled hole in the cave system. Spots of moonlight beaming through the cracks, onto their innocent, tearful faces.
Suddenly, the hyenas stopped. All the lionesses stopped breathing; their hearts skipped a beat. Had they really survived? Were they safe? They all gave a sigh of relief, all apart from the older ones. They knew that hyenas didn't back down not like this. They knew they were coming. It was just a matter of time.
The beams of moonlight disappeared from Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri's faces. They stared into the cracks where the light beamed through, curious as to what was happening. A pungent, rotting stench crossed across their muzzles, causing Tiifu and Zuri to jump back. Kiara, still curious, continued, placing her eye at the cracks in the cave's wall.
Everything seemed normal, or at least as normal as it could be. She saw the fire ravaging the land, vultures dive-bombing, picking up large chunks of meat, even bits of zebra and antelope, especially their legs. The sight rocketed through her mind. How could this be?
She continued to peer into the lands beyond until something blocked her sight. A figure, covered in a brownish-grey fur, came into view, bearing large, pointy teeth. She shot back into the huddled group of lionesses; her eyesight locked onto the loose pile of boulders blocking the figure out of the cave.
Kiara didn't move, nor say a single word. She continued to stare forwards, her chest beat in fear at the sight she had just witnessed. Tiifu looked at where she was staring, their nose flickering as a familiar scent brushed across her muzzle.
At the same moment, the crumbly wall collapsed. A sea of greyish brown fur flushed through, causing a wave a panic to erupt among the lionesses and their young. A handful of the older lionesses lept into the fray, tearing and growling through the waves of hyenas and lionesses plunge into the cramped cave.
Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri leap for the opening, shifting through the screams of pain and fear surrounding them. Tiifu and Zuri made it out easily, cowering in a patch of grass just outside. Kiara nearly made it out, before she felt a sharp, agonising pain rupture through her tail.
"KIARA!" She heard her mother's scream. A flush of creamy fur charged through the attacking Outlanders from the side, landing upon a hyena before ripping its neck cleanly and ferociously. She quickly took position in front of the lair's entrance, unaware of the unstable rocks above. As Kiara turned to see what had attached to her tail, she noticed one of the hyenas, its fangs scraping across the surface of her tail. The young lioness roared in agony. Instinct cushioned the blow, her claws, though small, unsheathed. Without thinking, she targeted to hyena's eyes, gouging them with little power she had. The hyena let go, whining and screaming in blinding pain.
Kiara was free. She leapt into the tall grass nearby, landing not too far from Tiifu and Zuri. Whining in pain and agony, the hyena stumbled, knocking a pile of unstable boulders to the floor, crushing the poor creature, and blocking the rest of the lionesses, including Nala in the sea of savage fur and claws of the Outlanders.
Nala turned towards the crumbling rock pile where she had seen her daughter just a few moments ago. The crushing silence forced her ears to flop. A bleak coldness froze her heart. Without feeling, she fell to her stomach, the weight of her attackers crushing her to the dusty ground. Her vision blurred as her lungs failed. It was over. Before losing consciousness, apart from the final screams of the small cubs, she heard one of the Outlanders giving orders.
"Take the 'queen' to Pride Rock." The lioness's breath boiled across Nala's scarred back. "He demands her presence." As she felt a lioness' teeth clutch her scruff, she faded into the void. A small, hidden tear rolled down her cheek as her head fell, losing itself to the pain in her heart. She had lost everything. Her daughter, possibly her son, her kingdom.
And it was only going to get worse...
...
Elsewhere, deep amid the fires and chaos that had spread across the Pridelands, Simba stood his ground. Just his mere presence on the battlefield had changed everything. Every Pridelanders around fought to the death. To see such loyalty! Especially in times like these. Hope still beat through the land, even if its flame was dying slowly.
Simba lead the charge, ushering an earth-shattering, rallying roar across the land. Though powerful, it wasn't enough to pierce the Outlander's fires, barely extinguishing even the embers. A row of outlanders came into view, led by two lionesses. Simba instantly knew who they were. The younger one carried a branch consumed in a greenish flame. The older one stared him in the eye, death seemingly staring out of her eyes. Her own roar echoed towards him and his assembled army. The fight for everything was about to begin.
The Outlanders charged, meeting the Pridelanders head-on. Waves of lionesses and hyenas poured ono the small group of Prideland lionesses, elephants, wildebeests and giraffes. Vultures rained their attacks from above, breaking apart his forces in swift, precise strikes.
Simba was left with the two leading lionesses. The older one approached slowly, her shoulder blades rising and falls as sharp as her flesh-puncturing teeth. The younger one, clutching the flaming branch circled them, igniting the grassland surrounding them with a circle of greenish flame.
"ZIRA!" The king growled. How dare the lioness place her step on Prideland soil once more. She growled back her teeth gleaming in the greenish flames surrounding them. The pair stared at one another, analysing their enemy's movements and positioning. Unfortunately for Simba, this would not be enough.
As he analysed Zira, Vitani approached from behind him. She dropped the flaming branch in the tall grass, providing a constant source of fire and smoke to hide her advance. Within a few meters of her target, she unsheathed her claws, blood pumped through her body. The joy of a hunt, the hunt of a king.
She pounced onto Simba's back, causing the king to flail. Her claws dug into his loose skin, forcing her to slide off as he wiggled around. This, however, gave enough time for her mother to sprint at him, knocking the king to his side. He grabbed hold of Vitani's hind legs, bringing her to her knees. His claws scraped through her leg, leaving a large gash in her fur. The young lioness screeched in pain, biting her lip, hoping her mother didn't hear her. Instead, she striked back at the old king, retaliating by leaving a large gashing wound on his soft, open stomach.
Simba, roaring in pain at his attacker, was only barely able to kick the young lioness away from him. As he slowly crawled to his paws he noticed figures leaping through the greenish flames surrounding them. More lionesses, Outlanders. Outnumbered, he crawled backwards, before hitting a cold, stony boulder. He was surrounded. He felt a liquid squirting out of his body, running through his fur and mane. Taking a squint at the feeling, he saw the auburn red liquid running from his body. Blood. His blood. He tried to lick his wound, staunching the bleeding, but the Outlanders were approaching, slowly approaching him through the flames. The final screams of his forces, the Pridelanders rang through his ear. He had failed. They had failed. Zira walked up to him, giving a spine-chilling giggle as she did.
"It's all over!" The lioness, victoriously smug, approached the injured king. The cries of his subject only delighting her and her followers even more. "The king, and his kingdom, has fallen." Roars and laughter crackled through the air as a multitude of lightning bolts scarred the land, birthing even more flames across the Pridelands. Smoke and ash rained into the sky, the smell of burning flesh and flora choked the once refreshing, pleasant air.
Zira stabbed her claws into Simba's. Vitani, not far from them, reclaimed the flaming branch from the ground. The source of their victory and hope. Her mother stared at her victim; fear etched into his eyes as he stared into her death lit eyes.
"I... We have waited far too long for this, Simba." She retracted her claws, causing Simba to roar in agony. Two lionesses approached them, either side of their leader.
"But, we have a use for the fallen king." She smirked as the lionesses grabbed Simba by his hind legs. Ther teeth piercing his flesh. By now, he was too tired, to tainted in agony to even care. He couldn't fight back, even if he wanted to.
"Your uncle wishes to speak to you, where it all began."
What could she possibly mean? Simba couldn't understand. The only uncle he had was Scar, but he was dead. He saw it with his own eyes, eaten alive by his own followers, the hyenas. He couldn't be back, could he?
Within seconds, the lionesses started to move, dragging the fallen king behind them. The small group headed to Pride Rock, where greenish flames rained from the sky, bombarding the old monument of pride. They dragged him through the surrounding flames causing his mane to ignite before extinguishing itself through the dry, lifeless dirt.
As the void started to drag his body into its embrace. His final thought was that of his family. Nala, Kiara. Were they still alive? And Kion. He had heard he went to find Kopa. But was he safe? Had he found the Royal Mlinzi? He hoped so. He had heard the stories, the legends.
And if the Pridelands was going to survive, they need a legend...
They needed Kopa...
…
As the land burned around them, Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri ran. The tall, soot-coated grass hiding their movements from the vultures looming overhead. The echoes of fatal roars and agonising screams ruptured their ears, only empowering their mad dashes through the quickly combusting land.
None of them could see where they were going. They didn't care. Anywhere was safer than here. As they sprinted, Zuri, on the verge of breaking apart in a fit of emotional turmoil, fell to her knees, tripping on a loose root. Crashing to the floor, her cheeks poured with tears. Her chest beat with the power of an earthquake.
"I... I can't go on!" The young lioness cried. Her entire body shook as she thought about their situation. She thought of her mother. Was she dead? Would she ever see her again? Tiifu and Kiara slowly wandered back to her, terrified of their position too.
"Zuri?" Kiara, barely holding it together looked at her long-time friend. Tiifu nuzzled the terrified lioness before her, though this didn't have much of an effect.
"They're gone!" Zuri burst into tears, roaring with emotional agony. "Everyone's dead Kiara!" The young princess tried to comfort her friend, nuzzling and cuddling up to her. Her ears flicked; she knew not to let her guard down, not now. They were still in danger. Any second now, an Outsider or hyena could find them, a death sentence.
"We're gonna die!" Zuri's cries became even louder, echoing across the burning land. A sudden shiver shot up Kiara's spine, her ears rattling with the breeze. They were not alone. Without thinking, she grabbed the weeping lioness's muzzle, clamping it shut. Tiifu looked on, bewildered as to what Kiara was doing until she heard the same noise.
"Shhh!" The princess pushed her friend to the ground, blanketing them in the tall, dry grass. Tiifu followed suit, laying not far away, her ears working overtime, tracking the source of the sound. Kiara began to sniff the air. A strong, masculine scent brushed across her muzzle. No, two. They were fresh, young, though one was younger than the other, more attractive, at least by the musky scent he was producing. It seemed familiar, almost too familiar.
"Stay quiet. Someone's over there." Kiara crept off; her injured, crimson soaked tail slithered through the grass. Tiifu followed slowly, covered by Zuri, who tried to keep herself composed. Maybe her mother was still alive, and everything was going to be ok after all.
The trio crept through the overgrowth, using only their tails to communicate their positions, just as they had been taught during their hunting training. The scent was getting stronger. Kiara knew it wasn't a Pridelander. It was too dirty, unclean for that to be the case. Still, she couldn't help but think about the smell brushing her muzzle. Was it really who she thought it was?
Reaching an opening, she received her answer. A look of amazement brushed her face as a muscular, dark-furred lion came into view. His green, piercing eyes scanning the grasslands, seemingly looking for something or someone. A boiling feeling rumbled in her chest. Her heartbeat increased. It was him! After all this time!
She stepped forward, out of the grass. Tiifu and Zuri looked on in horror. "Kiara!" Their whispers were not answered by the princess. They could only watch on in horror as she approached the young male lion, seemingly the same age as them. Their hearts burst from their chests when they saw their friend approach him, her injured tail dragging across the floor. Even more so when she ushered a single word.
"Kovu?"
…..
Moments prior...
"Can we head back yet?" Nuka continued to complain. He had been complaining ever since Scar had sent him and Kovu to the edge of the Pridelands and now, after many hours, it was starting to grind through Kovu's fur. He tried to ignore his brother's moans, but now, he'd had enough.
"NO!" The young lion snapped, his long, flesh-tearing teeth snarled at his older brother, who just coward in his half-sibling's more powerful, dominant presence. Kovu's eyes glistened with a darkening tint, overshadowing the green in his iris'.
The pair looked out upon the burning land. A devilish grin forming across their muzzles. The plan was working. Yet, no survivor came. They hadn't seen a single Pridelander. All they could do is watch the flames rise, the screams of countless innocents only heightening their smiles. Nuka began to laugh even, his claws raking the dry dirt as he did so.
"Wouldn't you just love to be in the midst of that?" He had begun to practically daydream. The smell of burning flesh and blood intoxicating the young lion. Kovu didn't mind the smell, in fact, he slightly turned his head away, scanning the horizon for threats instead. The flicker of greenish flame striking his slowly developing blackened mane.
"Maybe." He looked down, his mind trying not to think too much. True, he wanted to fight, to dye his claws red with the blood of the Scar's enemies. But he knew his role in things. Scar wanted him alive. After all, he was the backup, in case Simba died. "But we have a duty."
"Oh, come on!" Nuka pounced around his younger half-brother. " Wouldn't you like to feel a Pridelander's skull under your paw, their blood dyeing your fur." His grin widened. A demonic giggle erupting from it. His eyes glistened black, swirling around his iris'.
"I guess." Kovu continued to walk scanning the surrounding bushes and grassland for any survivors. He picked up a weak scent, sweet and gentle as the wind blew towards them. Nuka seemed too preoccupied with his destructive thoughts to even pick it up. It seemed familiar, a bit too familiar. Taking a few more sniffs, the scent became clearer. Kovu recognised its base smells. But it couldn't be, Could it?
He could tell from her scent that she had slightly developed over the past year and a half, since their last meeting as small cubs. If it was her, she smelled beautiful.
"Come on, let's just go." Nuka nudged his half-brother. Kovu wasn't having this. They were here for a reason. It only made sense to stay and finish their task. And with this new scent, Kovu felt it may be worth staying.
"No!" He lept in front of his brother, blocking him from wandering off to Pride Rock, their meeting place with Scar. "We'll finish here first." Kovu saw a small patch of grassland not too far away they hadn't checked out yet, away from the source of the sweet scent. "You check over there, I'll carry on this path."
Seeing as he didn't have a choice, Nuka nodded, slowly wandering to the small patch of grass, his tail and back hanging low to the ground. Now alone, Kovu continued to track the scent. His mind working overtime. Surely it couldn't be her, not like this. Surely, she would've been in the midst of the fray, fighting alongside her fellow Pridelanders, especially with the strength and bravery she showed as a cub. She would probably be dead, rotting among the burning grass. Kovu didn't hold onto this thought for too long. No, he wished for her to alive. A weird, glowing, warm feeling brushed through mane, spreading throughout his body. His heartbeat increased, Pumping overtime. There was only one other time he had felt this feeling, one other time that he felt this weak yet so strong. The day they first met.
He continued to walk, approaching a patch of grassland. His nose still nestled at the ground, tracking the scent. It had disappeared, seemingly as the wind changed its direction. Following the wind lead him to the grassy patch.
As he arrived. He looked around. Nothing. Not a single sight of anything, let alone a young lioness. His ears dropped. Had he imagined it? The feeling in his heart stopped. She was surely gone, along with her pride. A small, salty tear rolled down his cheek. Wait! Why? Why was he crying? Kovu never cried, even when Nuka used to bully him, torment him for being Scar's chosen heir, instead of his actual son.
He lowered his head, slowly turning to return to Nuka, empty-pawed. He wiped his tears from his face, leaving a few droplets on the dry, ashy dirt, which absorbed it instantly. There was no place for emotion in Scar's army, especially this one, even if Kovu didn't' understand it.
But as he wandered away, his ears perked up, a single patch of grass started to rumble behind him. Something crawled out, creamy furred and of slender build, yet muscular too.
"Kovu?"
The young lion turned around. Before him stood a young, beautiful lioness. Her brown eyes shot through his mind. It was like out of a dream. Her face, her body, her smile of amazement. The way the majestic moonlight shone through her fur, illuminating her face. She was perfection if he had ever seen it. The scent he had detected earlier spread through the air. So perfect, so intoxicating. It couldn't be!
"K... Kiara?" He stuttered. His mind melted with amazement and relief. Here she was, standing before him in all her glory. The princess of the Pridelands. Supposedly his enemy. He could easily pounce on her right now, tear her apart and stain the dry, crumbling dirt with her blood. But something was stopping him, something powerful. More powerful than even Scar's teachings.
"Wow!" The young lioness ran up to him, brushing her warm, tearful face into his short, developing mane. Kovu froze. The heat in his chest had boiled. What was this feeling? Whatever it was, He loved it, even if it kinda hurt containing it. He started to brush his chin against the top of Kiara's head, causing a series of hums to escape the young lioness mouth.
After a few moments, their pair separated, sitting within muzzle distance of one another. Kiara looked at the young lion before her. He was strong, fierce and handsome. She stared into his eyes. The layer of darkness that had covered them had vanished replaced with the bright glow of green. The short burst of blackened fur around his neck and stomach, so soft, warm only made her desire him even more. If only he wasn't the enemy.
"You've... grown!" She smiled up at him. Kovu looked down at her. He wasn't the only one. She had grown too. He noticed her sharp, flesh piercing teeth through her smile. The strong fangs nestled deep within her mouth. Every muscle in her body had plumped up. What power she must have. He certainly wouldn't want to be her prey, even if part of him wouldn't mind.
"You have too." A level of shyness brushed through his voice. Here he was, within muzzle distance of the most beautiful lioness in the Pridelands, possibly the entire Savannah, whilst her home burned, her people screaming in agony, all because of him and his pride.
How could he deserve her?
Behind her nestled in the overgrowth, he noticed two other lionesses, both looking at the air in utter fear. Kiara turned to see her friends. Turning back to Kovu, she explained her situation.
"That's Tiifu and Zuri. My friends." Kovu stared at the lionesses. His stare causing even more uncertainty in the pair. He wondered if these three the only survivors? What would happen to them now? Kiara turned back to him, with a question that would change everything.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
Kovu froze again. He had to tell her. tell her to run. Run and never look back. Never to even think about him, for he and his pride were monsters, killers. He couldn't turn from them, not now. Luckily, or maybe not so, a spine-chilling shout echoed through the tall grass behind him.
"Kovu!" It was Nuka. Quickly and without thinking, Kovu pushed Kiara back into the overgrowth. The lines growled at him, a look of shock and bewildered overcame her muzzle.
"Run!" he growled back, his eyes darkening once more. "Run and never look back!" He heard his brother's footsteps. Kiara's beautiful eyes stared into his heart. Without thinking, he gave her a single, affectionate lick across her cheek, before staring into her loving brown eyes.
"Kovu?" She pleaded. This didn't make things any easier. He really wanted to go with her, to run away from this carnage, possibly start a pride together. But no, Scar would know. He always knows. His thoughts were interrupted by the young lioness' tearful face approaching him. Her tongue brushed the side of his face, sending shivers of warmth through his body.
"I love you!" Barely able to contain her feelings, the lioness whimpered at the young lion before her. She saw the uncertain, worried tone on his face. The footsteps of his brother echoed louder, nearly within visible distance of the pair. Kiara turned around to see Tiifu and Zuri, about 100 meters away, running through the tall grass, only their tails occasionally bobbing up and down as they ran.
"GO!" Kovu gave her another nudge. She listened to him this once, following her friends even as her heart erupted with grief. The mixture of first losing her family, now her lover, was too much. Her cried rattled on the wind as she ran, disappearing into the overgrowth once more.
Kovu sat still. He felt another small stream of tears roll down his cheek. Had he really done that? Had he really let his only true love go? He thought of what would have happened if he hadn't. no, this was for the best, for her best. Wiping his tears from his face, he turned to see his half-brother leap through the grasslands.
"There you are" Nuka rolled his eyes with the weight of a heavy boulder. "Are you coming?" He nudged his head towards the burning monument at the centre of the Pridelands. Green flames scorching the land surrounding it.
"Yeah, sure." Kovu replied. He watched his brother take the lead, leaping and sipping through the tall grass leading to the burning kingdom's centre. After a few steps, he couldn't help but turn around, staring at the patch of grassland he last saw the beautiful lines of his dreams. Even if they couldn't be together, at least he knew she was alive and safe. Maybe one day, he would see her again, in a more peaceful, less destructive environment. This thought caused his chest to spark with energising feeling. There was hope. His eyesight looked to the heavens above, the stars glistened on him gleaming their wisdom down onto his awaiting eyes.
Someday...