Alright, before I apologize for taking so long with this chapter, I have a few readers I'd like to answer to their nice reviews...
Jestalnaker94000: Lol, well, you'll just have to wait and find out, I wouldn't be a good writer if I gave away spoilers X3
JJChandler: Thank you so much hun, I'll try to work on the next chapter as often as I can so I can post it *crosses my heart*
I-Love-Trunks1: She is rather nasty, isn't she? But that's what makes her a good villain, though, right? :) Yeah, I really wanted them to have a close friendship, even though she knew that she'd probably be the only one who wouldn't doubt his word. Thank you so much for your review! *hugs*
Samguti729: I shall keep it up! *salutes* I hope I'm able to continue writing enjoyable chapters for you! :D:D:D
Holy muffins I'm so sorry that it has taken a while for me to post this chapter, it's been super crazy over here! Between my eldest cousin having a beautiful baby and being a nanny for a family with three young toddlers, it was hard enough to find a moment to sit down or work up the energy to work on this*faints*
Also, we've been a bit nervous for my grandparents, they have a house in Texas right where hurricane Harvey blew right through. Thankfully, they were visiting us in Alaska when the hurricane hit, but they had to cut their visit short to check up on their home and other family that live there. By some miracle, their house was one of the few that wasn't destroyed, but we're still pretty anxious about them being in the middle of all that*shudders*.
Again, I'm really sorry for the wait, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :3
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Chapter 7: Sketchy Arrangement
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Ryan didn't know how long he had been walking out here in the Pridelands. Well, he ran for most of it at first, at least until he could no longer keep the pace and Pride Rock was far off in the distance behind him where he deemed it safe to continue walking. The thought of getting mauled by more than a dozen lions for something he didn't do was great motivation to keep moving.
So here he was, trekking through the sweltering Savannah with his head down and hoping that he wouldn't run into something that would decide to make him a meal while his mind seemed to be on a repeat of 'left, right, left, right' with every step. That is, until the ground seemed to disappear from under his left foot where he then fell and slide down a slight slope to a tiny pool that was down in the middle of a fairly deep depression in the earth.
He didn't even know this had been here thanks to a bush that had stretched over almost the whole of the opening, and he would have considered it a happy accident stumbling across this cool and shaded rest stop...if only he didn't end up soaking the legs of his cargo pants in the process.
Ryan gave a heavy sigh as he lay there staring up at the bit of light that shone through the leaves of the bush, annoyed at his spill; but seeing as he couldn't do much about it, and was given the opportunity to be out from under the glare of the sun and rest his feet, he just decided to take a ten-minuet breather.
He shrugged off his hoodie and set it to the side, unzipping the wet bottoms of his pants lags before stuffing them in his pack. Once he was done, he splashed handfuls of water over his face and on the back of his neck to clean off the sweat he had accumulated on this unbearably hot day; but as he stared into the water at his rippling reflection, his mind was on other things besides his own discomfort.
Ryan felt so confused, upset and bitterly hurt over what had happened at Pride Rock and he couldn't understand why Simba would actually believe that he was the one that harmed Kiara. Even if he had been capable of doing something like that, what would he even have to gain? He had no idea where he was or how to find his way back home, and it would have been counterproductive and risk to his own health to anger an entire pride by mistreating a cub.
But since he was a human, he should have expected that he would have been looked upon as the most likely suspect if anything had gone wrong; at least he could be thankful that Sarabi believed he was telling the truth, but it still didn't make the situation sting any less.
A sudden rustling and the snapping of a twig from up above him nearly made Ryan jump out of his skin, and when a low, familiar growl reached his ears, he felt his heartrate spike when he realized that there was a lion nearby. He sat there frozen, trying to listen to the soft padding of their paws over the pounding of his own blood rushing in his ears, hoping that they didn't notice he was there.
Who was it? Were they from Pride Rock? Did Simba send someone to track him down and finish him off?
Through the small opening he fell in from, he managed to catch a glimpse of the top of their back from the edge of the dip he sat in; thankfully, they just glided right past him and continued on their way without breaking their stride. But he barely had time to let out a sigh of relief when a soft 'mrrah!' reached his ears. Was that a cub?
Steeling his nerve, he slowly rolled himself to his hands and knees and crawled up to the opening until he was just high enough to peek out through the leaves of the bush to see who had walked by. Sure enough, it was a lioness with tan fur, and although he couldn't see her face since she had her back to him, he was still able make out a very familiar dark brown strip that stretched down from the top of her head all along the middle of her back to between her shoulders.
It was Zira.
"Where's she off to so far from Pride Rock?" he quietly asked himself before he suddenly heard another tiny cry of a cub. "And...who does she have with her?"
As Zira continued forward, Ryan silently watched as she ducked through the tall, golden grasses until she disappeared from sight and left him struggling on what he was supposed to do now. He tried to tell himself that anything to do with Simba and his pride wasn't his concern anymore as it was pretty clear that he, or even his mother, would never be welcome here again.
For all he knew, Zira must have simply come out for a long walk to get some fresh air and...just took one of her cubs with her.
Yeah, he wasn't sure who exactly he was trying to convince, but what could he do about it? And why should he even care?
Ryan gave a short huff as shook his head, reaching down behind him to grab his water pack before he climbed out of the shaded dip in order to get going before he got any more unexpected passerby's. But the moment he slung it back over his shoulders, he found that he couldn't bring himself to move as this feeling to follow her nagged at him, to find out why she was out here when she should be a Pride Rock despite all his common sense screaming at him to just leave.
He wasn't wanted here, he wasn't trusted, and if he followed her there would be no Sarabi to help him again; but as he glared at the ground and wondered what to do, a strong breeze suddenly rustled through the grasses and trees, caressing his hair as though it was trying to push him in the other direction while he could almost hear Mufasa's plea to him once again...
'Save my family.'
He closed his eyes, thinking back to that night and everything the past king had told him, about the strange nightmares he had...he didn't know what was going to happen or what to expect out of this, but it was obvious that he couldn't just leave; not when he still had some unanswered questions concerning that red eyed lioness. So, with an exasperated sigh, he looked down in the direction she went in and quickly started through.
"I am such a moron!" he stated in exasperation.
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Several Minuets Later...
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It had to be the most nerve-wracking experience Ryan had ever gone through in his entire life as he continued to tail the, hopefully, unsuspecting lioness through the tall grasses of the Pridelands. But it was also the most curious as he kept going back to his first question when he first saw her back at the pool; just what was she even doing out here in the first place?
He had that inkling that it couldn't have been for anything good if she was going through so much effort to keep herself hidden from sight like this, and the occasional mewl from the cub she carried only made that suspicion grow more sound. There were only three cubs that came to mind on who the infant could have been, and he highly doubted that she would have taken only one of her babies and left the other behind.
That left only one other cub...Kiara.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to get a better look without getting caught in the process, but just the thought alone that she may have had the princess in her clutches was enough to make the bad feeling he had in his gut feel even worse. So, he was forced to quietly wait as he made sure to stay on her trail while keeping off her radar.
He about had a heart attack when she suddenly stopped, and he instantly ducked down lower into the grasses. He thought that she might have finally caught onto him when she began moving her head left and right, her glaring eyes surveying the land; Thankfully though, it seemed she was only making sure that no one was watching her before she suddenly dropped out of view in a blink of an eye where he then heard a splashing sound.
Ryan hesitated for a couple of seconds, then he quickly moved over to the place where Zira once stood. Blinking in surprise to see himself at the bank of a wide river that stretched out across the land further than he could see both ways; And swimming right through it was Zira and the bundle of fluff she carried until she finally climbed out on the other side where everything seemed to be even drier.
And only when she disappeared from sight within the grasses again did he stand up, looking down at this little setback with concern as...he couldn't swim. Living in the middle of a city and having absolutely no interest in fishing or any hobbies that involved water, Ryan never saw any point in learning how; but it was a choice he was now regretting as he watched the grasses rustle Zira's rapidly retreating form.
He couldn't find anything within sight that he could walk on to get across, and if he stayed any longer, he would end up losing her; taking another, closer look back down to the river, he noticed that the waters were running rather low on the bank due to the hot weather and days without rain. That could mean that it wasn't as deep as it looked when Zira was in it, and he did stand more than a few feet taller than her, after all.
Either way, the lioness was getting further ahead of him the longer he stood there doing nothing, he had to take a chance...
So, after he took in a deep breath to settle himself, Ryan sat back on his haunches and allowed himself to slide down until his feet dipped into water where he bit the bullet and stood up before started his way through the river. But as he waded further in until he was at the middle of it, he gasped in fear when he suddenly sank into a deeper spot where he was now standing chest deep in the river.
The teen took in calming breaths to keep from panicking as this was way beyond his comfort level, but he took note that he wasn't sinking any lower and forced himself to take one step after another until he finally made it to the other side. He was a little worried at first because he thought he might have of lost Zira's trail, but after a quick look-around, he managed to spot her wet paw prints that were perfectly set in the dry, dusty ground.
Making sure to keep low in the tall grass, he began to follow their trail as quietly as he could.
His heart pounding from the fact that he was intentionally trying to track down this dangerous individual that he knew he shouldn't mess with while the unforgiving Savannah sun bore down on his back, it was quite a struggle to keep his breathing even and low as he put one foot in front of the other until a low growl rumbling in his ears made him freeze and sink to his knees.
Peering through the grass, he finally spotted Zira standing in the middle of a small clearing where the turf had been laid down and flattened with her back towards him. After a few moments of just standing there, she slowly stooped her head down and set her bundle on the ground between her paws before she straightened up; all the while, Ryan made sure that he stayed hidden out of her sight as he watched on and waited to see what she was going do.
"...You can come out now." she suddenly announce with a tone that oozed with disgust. "I can hear you panting like the dog you are!"
Ryan instinctively clapped a hand over his mouth, even though he knew it was pointless if he had already been discovered. Though just as his mind began to race to figure out how he was going to get out of this, a snapping sound in the grass right before the lioness caught his attention and he watched three figures step out into sight.
African wild dogs, or painted dogs as they were also called because of their mottled coats of black, brown, white and gold.
Ryan thought back to the conversation he heard between Zazu and Simba the other day...did these guys belong to the pack that had been sighted in the Pridelands? If they were, he remembered that Simba only ordered them to be monitored as they didn't seem to be causing much trouble; but from where Ryan sat, 'trouble' seemed to be exactly what they were here for.
"Oh, I do so apologize." the largest of the trio stated sarcastically, his voice low and graveled. "It's hot."
He was ignored as Zira looked to the other two lycaons that were with him, sneering irritably.
"This is all you brought, Buziba?" Zira sniffed, clearly unimpressed. "Underestimating a lion such as me like this, I must say I'm insulted."
Ryan admittedly didn't know all that much about painted dogs, this was the first time he had ever seen them in person, before; But even though they were noticeably smaller next to Zira, they were comparable to wolves in size, and that was enough for Ryan to feel wary of them.
"Bringing the whole pack would have been suspicious." the one now known as Buziba told her. "Gamba and Zuberi are my best and strongest; believe me, they'll deliver more than even you can handle!"
"For your sake, I hope your claim holds true!" Zira stated as she roughly pushed the little bundle over towards Buziba.
And as she pulled her paw back, Ryan's eyes widened, and he fought to contain a gasp when he saw that his haunch was right. The cub she had been carrying all this time really was Kiara!
"So, this is the hairball." the wild dog leader stated as his striking gray eyes, which seemed as bright as water reflecting sunlight against the black mask of his canine face, looked down at the little cub as she mewed and sniffed the air in confusion; no doubt wondering where she was because of all the new smells.
"Yes." the lioness affirmed. "Do this for me, and I'll be sure to leave a fresh kill for you and your pack to find every three days."
Buziba said nothing at first as he just stared down at the infant with a rather indifferent expression. But after a few moments, he moved his light eyes up and glared at Zira with obvious suspicion.
"How do I know you'll keep your end of the deal?" he finally asked.
"Having second thoughts, are we?" Zira questioned as her ruby eyes narrowed dangerously
"Not at all, I'm just not entirely sure I can put my confidence in the word of a traitor." Buziba stated in an unwavering tone holding his gaze with her. "If we follow through with this, then I'll have to live with the probable cost of my pack getting chased off and left to starve in the Outlands so long as Simba decides not to wipe us all out, instead; If you ask me, there seems to be far too much going in your favor and too much risk for us!"
Instead of getting angry at the accusation of going back on whatever kind of sketchy arrangement they had, like Ryan thought she would, an eerie smile only spread across her muzzle.
"Well, I can imagine that making a deal with someone who's supposed to be ever loyal to the "king" would arise a bit of doubt; I can hardly blame you for questioning my word." She finally told as she gave an almost careless shrug of her broad shoulders while the three multi-colored lycaons watched her every move ever so carefully. "But the funny thing is...it'll cost you just as much even if you decide to walk away."
"You'll just have to trust me."
Buziba's ears flattened, his muzzle wrinkling slightly as a low growl rumbled out of his throat and making it obvious that he didn't trust her one bit. But after a moment, he just gave a relenting snort and draped a paw over Kiaras' middle to drag her closer to him while Zira gave victoriously toothy smirk and turned to his packmates.
"Now, let's see if what Buziba spoke of you is indeed a fact." Zira told them while both Gamba and Zuberi showed their fangs as they glared at her.
Ryan swallowed as the three of them began to circle each other, hearing rumbling growls from Zira and these high-pitched clicks and chirps from the wild dogs; they really looked like going to fight each other while Buziba stood off to the side with the princess. He couldn't understand what the point, or need, for a skirmish was for, but he didn't have to wonder for long when Zira spoke again.
"I advise you both to give it your all; we want Simba thinking I made an earnest attempt to rescue his sweet little girl before her..." She chuckled darkly, "Untimely demise."
The second he heard that, Ryan's eyes went wide as he felt a cold numbness spread over him when it all finally clicked...she was conspiring against Simba; the reason she brought Kiara all the way out here was to kill her!
Time seemed to slow when he looked away from Zira and the two other painted dogs and back to where the pack leader stood; Watching as Buziba began to lower his jaws filled with sharp teeth towards the defenseless and unsuspecting infant before that numb feeling gave way to anger. Abandoning all caution and forgetting all reason, Ryan leapt to his feet and sprinted across the ground as a thundering yell ripped from of his mouth.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Buziba barely had time to jerk his head up at the unexpected shout before Ryan gave him the hardest body check he had ever delivered, causing the painted dog to let out a loud yelp from getting knocked clean off his paws and catching the attention of Zira and his packmates who looked over just in time to see their leader practically eat dirt before the raven-haired young man took the tiny princess protectively in his arms.
"I knew there was something off about you!" Ryan exclaimed, sending a seething glare to the treacherous lioness; adrenaline coursing through him as he took a few steps back when Zuberi and Gamba rushed over to their alphas' side to see if he was alright.
"It was you all along, wasn't it?!" the angry boy continued. "You purposely left Kovu and Vitani out in the sun where Nuka would have no choice but to seek me out for help, then you hurt Kiara after I was gone and then framed me for it!"
Zira only stared at him with wide eyes, obviously shocked upon seeing Ryan there, but she didn't stay too surprised for long as an oily grin soon found itself upon her feline features.
"Well, you had the annoying habit of hanging around so closely to little Kiara." She told him as she suddenly began to walk towards him with this almost carefree leisure. "I had to think of something to get you out of the way."
"By using your own cubs?!" Ryan demanded, making sure to stay a good distance away from her. "Putting their lives at risk just to get at a helpless infant? What kind of twisted mother are you?!"
"The kind who will provide a better future for all of her cubs by any means necessary!" Zira snapped, her smile melting away into a snarl. "A future promised to them by the true king of the Pridelands before that glorified brute took it from him!"
"No offense, lady, but I don't think a crazy murderer is true of anything, much less a king!" Ryan shot back.
At that, a low, threatening growl rose from Zira's chest as she glared at him with a dagger like gaze.
"Since when has man been able to speak?" came Buziba's strained question as Gamba and Zuberi helped steady him as he got back on his feet, shaking himself a bit before her glowered at Ryan and then to Zira. "This wasn't part of the deal!"
"Yeah, Zira, the deal!" the boy spat. "I'd like to see you try and weasel yourself out of this when Simba finds out you stole Kiara and tried to kill her like this!"
"Stole her?" Zira repeated, her insidious smile coming back with a laugh. "After I charged in and "saved" our poor little princess from your vile clutches? It was Simba who granted me guardianship over his daughter, asking me to care for her as I would my own in his absence. And it's all thanks to you and your generous assistance for gaining his favor!"
Ryan faltered a bit upon hearing that...would that mean that it would only be his words against hers? He quickly shook away his doubt and forced himself not to lose face, she was just trying to get in his head, but he knew there would still be someone back at Pride Rock who would have his back!
"Sarabi, then!" he said confidently. "She wouldn't have let you just take off with her granddaughter without question, not unless you wanted to put suspicion on yourself; you'd be the first to blame if anything happens to Kiara!"
"No, I suppose you would have been right with that..." Zira agreed, making Ryan feel very nervous with how cool and collected she was. "But what a pity she wasn't even there when the decision was made."
She seemed to delight in the fact that Ryan's face visibly fell into one of confused concern.
"Shortly after you were banished, she disappeared." The lioness continued. "Where one can only guess was to find the young man, whom she was so attached to, like the sentimental old fool she was!"
"Sarabi's no fool, she already knew something was up with little scam earlier, and here I am!" Ryan said with no hesitation.
"Yes...here you are." Zira agreed, unbothered as that smile stretched even further along her muzzle. "All alone and surrounded by enemies, with a secret that will easily die with you!"
As she said that, Ryan felt his blood turn to ice when he realized that she was right.
"Buziba, I do believe there's been a delightful little change in plans..." She suddenly added. "The evil man that Simba banished, came back and stole the princess in revenge; But it would be an utter shame for him to discover, that even when the wild dogs, who gallantly came to the aid of his loyal lioness, were still unable to save her."
"How would that work for your favor?"
"I think it would work just fine, Zira." Buziba said with a callous smirk of his own. "My pack has more than one score to settle with these two-legged savages, anyway."
It was at that moment that Ryan realized his dire mistake; he had been so scared for Kiara, that he just charged right in the middle of everything without a plan of what to do next.
But as he glanced down at the grass that crunched under their feet, which where all dry, brittle and turning an unhealthy brown from going days without any good rain, an idea suddenly came to him; Turning his body slightly so that his right side was out of their line of sight, he began to slowly move his hand to the right cargo pocket that was at his thigh, hoping that they wouldn't take notice...
"Well, have you any last words?" Zira asked smugly.
"Just a question I'd like answered," He started, trying to stall for time as he unsnapped the button to the pocket as silently as he could. "How bad was it?"
"How bad was what? " The lioness asked, her ruby eyes narrowing as she wondered what kind of question he could possibly want to ask of her when death was only seconds away.
"You've been plotting to kill Kiara for who knows how long, you're willing to endanger your own cubs so long as it gets you what you want..." The young man started, taking a hesitant step back when he noticed that Buziba and his pack mates stepped up beside the lioness. "You're going through so much effort and trouble to hurt Simba and make him suffer in Scars name, even though you were never his first choice; it must have stung when your 'oh so perfect' king totally passed you over for Nala to be his queen!"
The look that went over her face made Ryan instantly regret his choice of words to stall for time; Even the three dogs seemed a little surprised that he didn't end up with her teeth in his throat at that very moment. Luckily for Ryan, she restrained herself, if only not to give a lowly human whelp the satisfaction that he had managed to get under her fur.
"You really should have left when you had the chance, boy." She said as she started prowling towards him with a predatory glint in her eyes. "It would have been less messy that way!"
The young man couldn't help but swallow at the lump in his throat as he held Kiara closer to him, trying hard to keep his searching hand out from their line of sight while Zira slowly stalked towards him with Buziba and his packmates alongside her as struggled to keep a brave face.
"I...I think you'll find it won't be that easy Zira!" he bluffed, causing the lioness to let out an amused chuckle from the waver she clearly heard in his voice.
"You know as well as I that you're not fit to fight me, I'm faster, I'm stronger, and with those blunt teeth and spindly paws, you're so helpless that it's pathetic!" she taunted. "Although, I suppose I must at least commend you on your courage for coming here despite these shortcomings."
"Courage? Are you kidding?" Ryan asked with a nervous laugh before his fingers finally closed around what he was looking for in his pocket. "I'm so scared, I feel like about to pass out at any second."
"So you came knowing you would die?" Zira asked as she tilted her head slightly to the side at his confession.
"No, because lucky for me, there's an upside to being human." Ryan told her, a slight smirk appeared on his face, waiting for them to come just a little bit closer...
"Oh really?" the lioness asked, not at all convinced. "And what would that be?"
The four predators instantly froze in their tracks when Ryan suddenly moved and whipped out his trusty black zippo with the roaring lion head, watching as he flicked the top open with his thumb and igniting the flame full blast before he held it up high in the air for all of them to see.
"I don't need fangs or claws to be trouble!" the young man said.
And with that, Ryan threw his lighter down on the grass right before Zira's paws, causing her to let out a gasp as a wall of flame made her and the painted dogs back up several paces when it began to erratically spread all around at a rather alarming rate. But as they were effectively cut off from them, Ryan wasted no time running as hard and as fast as he could physically manage in the direction he came from as he wanted to get back to the river as soon as possible before this fire spread any further
"NO!" Zira cried as she watched Ryan's' retreating form over the flames with the princess in his grasp before she whirled around to Buziba and the other two dogs. "After him you idiots! We can't let them get away!"
Buziba barked out a command before he, Gamba and Zuberi all split up to find a way around the fire while Zira took a few steps back, running at the flames before she fearlessly leapt over them with a thunderous roar.
When she landed on the other side, she quickly looked left and right to see which way Ryan went. But with the tall grasses and smoke that began to fill the air with the growing fire, the young man was nowhere to be seen.
The heat she could feel at her back only added to the burning rage and hatred that grew within her for the worthless human that continued to deny her victory. When she got her claws on him, she would be sure to have him squealing for a quick and merciful end!
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...Yeeeeah, I'm so glad I'm not in Ryan's' shoes right now O_O;
Also I'd like state right now, just in case some of you are wondering how the flip a fire started from a little lighter can spread as big and as quickly as I wrote it out to be, I have a perfectly good explanation...Disney Logic! *throws glittery sparkles in the air*
I probably have lots of errors here in this chapter that have managed to sneak past me, but I really wanted to give you guys a chapter to read before I left the house tonight. So if you happen to see any gaps, or spelling or grammar problems, be sure to point them out so I can fix it when I get back :3 :3 :3
I hope you guys still enjoyed the chapter, but I'll give you guys a little heads up now that it might be a little while before I come back to fix this up or post the next one again, at least until my family are able to breathe easier when we know that all our relatives in Texas are safe.
Until then, take care guys!
